Assembling a Colombian-Cloned Computer: National Development and the Transnational Trade of Electronics Parts in the 1980s

Abstract

This article examines the history of the DISCOP-1, a computer prototype designed by a Colombian company. Amidst debates surrounding Colombia's future in computing, DISCOP-1 captured local media and industry attention. Focused on the growing practice of microcomputer assembly, the prototype connected local small businesses with the transnational trading networks boosted by free-market policies in the 1980s. Despite never truly taking off, DISCOP-1 helped expand Colombia's installed base of computer machinery. In tracing this history, this article explores the notion of unexpected technologies as a moment of disruption in “developmental computing” frameworks. This article argues for the inclusion of offshoring in computing history in terms of how it developed specific industries while destroying others and harnessing existing transnational trade networks that expanded computing technology consumption worldwide.