The Cold War For Information Technology with former Director of Iskra Delta Janez Skrubej

Interdependence - A podcast by Holly Herndon, Mat Dryhurst

 In conjunction with this years Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts titled "Iskra Delta "curated by Tjaša Pogačar we interviewed Janez Skrubej, the author of "The Cold War For Information Technology: the Inside Story". Inside indeed, as Janez was the former CEO of Iskra Delta, a major contender on the world stage for not only personal computers, but also large scale networked IT systems. Based within Tito’s Yugoslavia it was caught in the crosshairs in the cold war, working between the US, Soviet Union, China, and India, with each corresponding intelligence agency pushing their own agenda. Janez was the managing director during this time, and was personally paid visits by the presidents of the Soviet Union, China and India, as well as the CIA and KGB. Ultimately the conflicting interests overpowered the small IT company and it closed, leaving Europe without a major contender in the global IT race. It’s a treat to speak to Janez about this extraordinary situation, and to imagine an alternative history where Iskra Delta might have had a fighting chance.Read The Cold War for Information Technology: The Inside Story: https://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-Information-Technology-Inside-ebook/dp/B00C1NWL2EFollow Janez Skrubej updates: http://sbpra.com/janezskrubej/We cannot wait to see this film! http://senca-studio.si/en/portfolio/sparks-in-time/Check out the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic arts, with contributions by Other Internet, John Akomfrah, Simon Denny, Josh Citarella, us and more!: https://34.bienale.si/en/