[rospaya]

> How one engineer beat the ban on home computers in socialist Yugoslavia

The title simply isn't true. There was no ban on home computers, just a value limit for an import. And as the article shows, homegrown computers were common.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_systems_from_...

[grujicd]

It was not a ban on home computers, so wording is not the best one, but limiting value for an import is effectively a ban. Especially since there was a significant inflation at that time in Yugoslavia. Import limits were defined in dinars, and if it was enough for let's say Commodore 64 with disk drive, monitor and printer when new limit was introduced, the next year it was barely enough for Spectrum, and afterwards not even for that. If I remember correctly (and maybe I don't), Galaksija computer was planned around this limitation - CPU and other components had to be imported but they were below the import limit.

So, in those periods when inflation made importing impossible, there were two main sources of "west" home computers - smuggling, and Yugoslav citizens who went abroad to work for few years were not subject to import limits when returning home with their personal belongings.

General idea behind these limits was to strengthen domestic industry, and your list shows that - plethora of home computers made in Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, these computers were not compatible with anything and with no software they were educational tools at best. That's why no one was buying them except schools and other organizations who had no other choice. It changed a bit with Lira as it was PC compatible, but it came a bit later when Yugoslavia started opening up and these import limits were slowly lifted.

[tlogan]

The point here is that in the former Yugoslavia, there was essentially a ban on almost everything, pushing a significant part of the economy into the grey or black market. These bans often felt like the odd attempts of a dysfunctional and decaying system to maintain control. For instance, it was technically illegal to buy foreign currency, yet all valuable assets—like land and houses—were still priced in Deutsche Marks (DMs).

Adding to the irony, nearly a million Yugoslavs worked in Germany as “Gastarbeiter” (guest workers). They acted as unofficial import channels, bringing foreign goods and currency back home.

Interestingly, despite the “restrictions”, there was a vibrant tech scene. Commodore and ZX Spectrum computers were surprisingly common. If I remember correctly, Galaksija actually looked like attempt by government to maintain control - I could be wrong (war might change perspective).

[grujicd]

Galaksija was purely enthusiasm of one man (Voja Antonić), with support from Dejan Ristanović and crew gathered around Računari u vašoj kući magazine, who published Galaksija bluprints and instructions, and provided logistic help with boards and parts. It was not in any form government project. If anything, it was intended to fly under the radar. At that time in Yugoslavia, enthusiastic people doing progressive things were more concerned about how to make something work without the government noticing and meddling too much. There were several factory made home computers afterwards in Yugoslavia, and for them we can discuss whether they were encouraged by the government to keep things under control and locally produced, but it should not apply to Galaksija.

[pookha]

It's true from what I can see. They specifically banned the general public from importing any goods worth more than 50 Deutsche Marks (all computers). I'm sure those with connections could get around that and not wind up locked up though but after googling prisons in Yugoslavia I can see why DIY computing became popular.

[trehalose]

On one hand, the import value limit effectively did ban home computers, which is why these "homegrown" computers became common as a way around the ban. On the other hand, "a ban on home computers" sounds like an intentional ban on home computing, which is a distortion of both the letter and spirit of the law.

[rasz]

>There was no ban on home computers

Surprising, was there no opposition to russian occupation in Serbia? In Poland there was a strict ban on personal ownership of typewriters, fax machines, copiers, printers, radio transmitters, modems and computers (3 year prison term minimum). CIA was smuggling those to Poland with the help of Church https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/18/world/reagan-and-pope-rep...

>The report in Time adds many new details, particularly the role of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Roman Catholic Church in opening networks across which telephones, fax machines, printing presses, photocopiers, computers and intelligence information moved to Solidarity.

Personal possession anecdote from book "High-tech behind the Iron Curtain. Electronics, computers and control systems in the Polish People's Republic" ("High-tech za żelazną kurtyną. Elektronika, komputery i systemy sterowania w PRL" 978-83-8098-094-5)

>In 1984, "Informatyka" magazine, involved in the dissemination of these machines, reported on the adventures of Mr. Przemysław, who received in April [...] a package from his brother in Toronto, containing the VIC-20 microcomputer, power supply, cassette recorder, a set of cassettes for television games and English language manual and connecting cables. The Customs Office in Gdynia refused to issue an import license, stating that it could issue [...] only if the computer was necessary for the citizen's professional or scientific work

It slowly got better in second half of the 80s. COCOM relaxed import sanctions in 1984 on low end 8bit gaming machines:

"New Media Behind the Iron Curtain: Cultural History of Video, Microcomputers and Satellite Television in Communist Poland" https://research.utu.fi/converis/getfile?id=51338894&portal=...

>The breakthrough in the domestication of computers in Poland took place in the mid-1980s, most likely between 1984 and 1986. In the global context, this might have been relatively late, but in the context of the Eastern bloc it seems that Poland was within the norm. There are two main reasons behind this chronology: one international, one local. Firstly, on an international level, the embargo on 8-bit technology was relaxed in 1984. Computers had been at the heart of the CoCom debate since the mid-1970s, but – as Mastanduno reports – it was not until July 1984 that the embargo on the most popular 8-bit microcomputers was removed, even though at the same time new restrictions were introduced regarding various telecommunications software and solutions.

In 1985 you could finally legally buy 8bit Atari in Pewex - chain of special shops established to siphon western currency out of the black market.

>Secondly, on a local level, as Kluska reports, in the autumn of 1984, the “[Polish] customs office ceased to make it difficult for citizens to import microcomputer equipment.”

[aguaviva]

Was there no opposition to Russian occupation in Serbia?

Not really, because it didn't last for any length of time.

[sourcepluck]

Thanks for pointing that out! The Guardian is gone to the dogs, since many years now.

[sourcepluck]

I presume downvotes are coming because it turns out that the person I responded to was overstating their case somewhat. I was quick to presume the Guardian was being sloppy again, and that seems to have not been the case here. Fair enough.