Input from Ronja Trischler, Patrizia Breil, Fabian Pittroff, Tereza Havlíková and Mace Ojala
The keyboard is disgusting, the folder called "Important" is abandoned, and there are too many notifications from email. The list goes on: fingerprints on the screen, faded stickers, cookies from random websites, apps outdated, project folders in disrepair, desktop is a pile of mess, PDFs are lying around everywhere, the trashbin is full, files belong to somebody else, settings are still on default, and even backups are not running. Does that sounds familiar? Your computer is in need of care. Repair, maintenance and care of basic things are generally underappreciated and neglected – there always seems to be something "more important" to do, for "more imporant" reasons, for benefit of "more important" people. Fields such as science and technology studies, media studies, as well as the long traditions of feminisms and engineering have conceptualized and theorized this reproductive, restorative and essential work. Within dominant systems of innovation, extraction and confusion, care is always long-term, relational, and even radical. This is your sign! The Computer Care Day is an informal, communal, hands-on workshop dedicated to doing and discussing basic care of one digital item we all depend on, the computer.
