VCF Gazette
Volume 1, Issue 3
A Newsletter for the Vintage Computer Festival
October 1, 2002
Hello Vintage Computer Fans! The VCF Gazette is back again with more
news about the Vintage Computer Festival.
In this issue:
VCF 5.0 Venue Change
VCF 5.0 General Information
VCF 5.0 Special Events
VCF Open House Update
Latest Additions to the VCF Archives
VCF 5.0 Venue Change
--------------------
The VCF is pleased to announce that this year's Vintage Computer
Festival is being sponsored by the Computer History Museum. This
sponsorship has enabled the VCF to be held at the Moffett Training &
Conference Center at the Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View,
California.
The move has several advantages, including tighter integration with
the tours to the Computer History Museum's Visible Storage exhibit
area. Tours of the Air & Space Museum will also be available.
The Computer History Museum has always shown support for the VCF in
the past by exhibiting terrific artifacts from their collection in
the VCF Exhibit. We greatly appreciate this new level of commitment
to and support of the Vintage Computer Festival!
VCF 5.0 General Information
---------------------------
Vintage Computer Festival 5.0 is scheduled for October 26th and 27th.
Doors open at 9:00AM each day, with talks beginning at 10:00AM and
running until 2:00PM. The Exhibit and Marketplace is open from 2:00PM
until 6:00PM each day.
The admission to VCF 5.0 is $10 per person per day for full access to
Speakers, the Exhibition and the Marketplace, or $4 per person per day
for Exhibition and Marketplace access only. Kids 17 and under are
admitted free of charge, and parking is free.
VCF 5.0 is being held at the Moffett Training & Conference Center at
Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View, California. Check the
VCF 5.0 website for more details and directions.
LODGING
The VCF has reserved a room block at the County Inn in Mountain View,
California, which is a short drive or walk to Moffett Field. The room
rate is $69 per night for single or double occupany. Reservation
information as well as information on other area hotels can be found
on the VCF 5.0 Lodging page:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/lodging.php
EXHIBITORS
If you wanted to an exhibit a computer from your collection, there is
still time to register. To register as an exhibitor, please go to:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/exhibit.php
VENDORS
The VCF still has vendor booths available. The VCF Marketplace is the
best place to sell your old computer items to a targeted market. You
may also sell items on consignment and leave the hassle to us. For
more information on the VCF Marketplace and consignment sales, please
visit:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/vendor.php
VCF 5.0 BBS
The VCF has just launched a bulletin board system on the VCF 5.0
website to enable attendees to communicate with each other before the
event to arrange trades, form carpools, and discuss the VCF in
general. The BBS can be accessed here:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/bbs.php
FOREIGN NATIONALS
Foreign nationals can disregard previous announcements about the
requirement to register in advance in order to be allowed access to
Moffett Federal Airfield. The confusion with the entry procedures
was caused by a miscommunication.
Foreign nationals will be allowed onto the base just as any United
States citizen, but as is required for all persons entering the base,
valid identification must be presented at the main gate.
We sincerely apologize for the confusion.
SPONSORS
The Vintage Computer Festival gratefully thanks its sponsors, the
Computer History Museum and the Alameda County Computer Resource
Center.
Computer History Museum
http://www.computerhistory.org
Alameda County Computer Resource Center
http://www.accrc.org
VCF 5.0 Special Events
----------------------
We are adding new features to the VCF this year to increase attendee
participation. Along with the Nerd Trivia Challenge, the popular quiz
game that tests your computer history knowledge, the VCF will feature
the Retro-Code vintage computer coding challenge in which attendees
will write games on old home computers within a limited time period at
the VCF.
Information on the Nerd Trivia Challenge can be found here:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/ntc.php
Information about the Retro-Code challenge is here:
http://www.vintage.org/2002/main/retrocode.php
COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM TOURS
Tours of the Computer History Museum will be running throughout the
exhibition hours of the VCF. Those that have not yet had the
opportunity to visit the Computer History Museum's Visible Storage
exhibits will certainly want to take advantage of this. For more
information about the Computer History Museum, please visit their
website at:
http://www.computerhistory.org/
DIGIBARN EXCURSION
The DigiBarn is a computer museum in a country setting (literally
housed in a barn in the Santa Cruz Mountains). Bruce Damer, the
curator of the DigiBarn, will be heading the excursion. A caravan
will leave the VCF at approximately 2:30pm on Sunday and return before
the close of VCF 5.0. More information about the DigiBarn can be
found on their website:
http://www.digibarn.com/
APL BAY AREA USERS' GROUP MEETING
The VCF is hosting a meeting of the APL Bay Area Users' Group (The
Northern California SIGAPL of the ACM) at VCF 5.0 in conjunction with
the lecture that will be given by Zbigniew Stachniak. Zbigniew will
be discussing an early portable personal computer, the MCM/70, which
ran APL. The meeting will take place at 3:00pm on Saturday, October
26, in the speaker hall. For more information on the APL BAUG, visit
their website:
http://www.acm.org/sigapl
Stay tuned for more VCF event updates!
VCF Open House Update
---------------------
The first VCF Open House is still in the works. We had promised to
have the VCF Archives ready for display by now but progress has been
slower than hoped. Still, progress is being made.
Most of the material needed to build out the floor has been acquired.
Construction on the floor will begin in October. Once it's complete,
artifacts will be selected and exhibits will be assembled throughout
the Fall, with an anticipated museum opening sometime in late November
or early December.
Again, the VCF would like to thank the Alameda County Computer
Resource Center for generously providing space for the VCF to store
our archives.
The Alameda County Computer Resource Center is the largest non-profit
computer recycling operation on the west coast of the United States.
You may visit them on the web at:
http://www.accrc.org/
Better yet, visit them in person and volunteer your time to help put
computers into the hands of deserving kids, schools and organizations
world-wide. Volunteering details can be found the ACCRC website.
Latest Additions to the VCF Archives
------------------------------------
The VCF has continued to acquire new (or rather "old") artifacts
since our last update.
One of the most exciting is our acquisition of a Digital Computer
Controls D-116 minicomputer. The DCC D-116 is roughly a clone of the
Data General Nova 830.
We have also acquired a Linus WriteTop. The Linus WriteTop was the
first pen-based computer, manufactured in 1986. The computer did not
meet with much success, mainly because the hand-writing recognition
was not perfect (but then, it still isn't 16 years later ;)
That wraps it up for this issue of the VCF Gazette! Until next time...
Best regards,
Sellam Ismail
Producer
Vintage Computer Festival
http://www.vintage.org/
The Vintage Computer Festival is a celebration of computers and their
history. The VCF Gazette goes out to anyone who subscribed to the VCF
mailing list, and is intended to keep those interested in the VCF
informed of the latest VCF events and happenings. The VCF Gazette is
guaranteed to be published in a somewhat irregular manner, though we
will try to maintain a quarterly schedule.
If you would like to be removed from the VCF mailing list, and
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;)
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Wed Oct 02 2002 - 20:07:14 BST