VCF Gazette
Volume 2, Issue 2
A Newsletter for the Vintage Computer Festival
February 27, 2004
After an unduly long interval, here's the latest news from the Vintage
Computer Festival...
Vintage Computer Festival 6.0 Wrap-Up
VCF 6.0 Exhibit Awards
VCF 6.0 Retro-Code Video Game Programming Challenge Wrap-Up
Vintage Computer Festival East 2.0
Vintage Computer Festival Europa 5.0
Vintage Computer Marketplace Hits Milestone
VCF Organization Party
VCF Producer Sellam Ismail on TechTV's Screen Savers March 17
Just a quick note to point out the beginning of our VCF organization
parties, with the first being held on Saturday, March 6. Read on for
more information. Also, please check out our new donation page on the
VCF website. The VCF is running low on funds to produce future events
so any help you might be able to give right now in the form of a cash
contribution would be greatly appreciated and rewarded with goodies.
For more information, see:
http://www.vintage.org/donate.php
Vintage Computer Festival 6.0 Wrap-Up
-------------------------------------
VCF 6.0 was a phenomenal success! Thanks to the help of the Computer
History Museum (the sponsors of the event for a second year in a row)
we were able to achieve our goal of 500 attendees...and then some!
Actual attendance was almost 550, beating our peak attendance record
of about 450 at VCF 4.0 in 2000.
VCF 6.0 featured more speakers than at any previous event, with 19
speakers in 12 conferences across 2 tracks over 2 days. We had 28
exhibitors displaying nearly 70 computers, from micros to minis to
mainframes, plus rare prototypes, early PDAs, video game systems, and
more.
VCF 6.0 also featured the Retro-Code Video Game Programming Challenge.
Three teams had three hours to write a video game from scratch. The
teams worked on three computers pre-arranged by the VCF: an Apple //e,
an Atari 800, and a Commodore 64. Each team turned in fantastic
efforts. More on this below.
Throughout the VCF weekend, the Computer History Museum held tours of
its Visible Storage exhibits which allowed VCF visitors to experience
a "walk through computer history".
The highlight of VCF 6.0 was the Xerox Alto panel featuring Xerox Palo
Alto Research Center alumni John Ellenby, Dave Robson, Peter Deutsch,
and Charles Simonyi. The panel was moderated by Bruce Damer of the
DigiBarn. Each panelist took their turn recounting their personal
histories at PARC during the 1970s when the Alto was being developed.
After the session, everyone in attendance was invited to join the
panelists in wishing the Alto a happy 30th anniversary. A yummy cake
bearing a photo of the Alto was served up.
We've put together a photo gallery of VCF 6.0 here:
http://www.vintage.org/gallery.php?grouptag=VCF60
And Bruce Damer has a fantastic VCF 6.0 overview on the DigiBarn
website, including audio and video of the Alto panel and festivities:
http://www.digibarn.com/history/03-10-VCF6/index.html
Overall, VCF 6.0 was probably the best VCF event of all time. We'll
be back again later this year to try to top it. I hope to see you
there!
Of course, the VCF could not have been the success it was without the
terrific help of the Computer History Museum and their tremendous
bunch of volunteers that turned out to help in the shadows. I thank
each of the following people who volunteered their time either
conducting tours of the Visible Storage area for VCF attendees or
handling various VCF tasks:
Remi Arnaud Dave Babcock Lee Courtney
Bob Fraley Bill Goldberg Eli Goldberg
John Green Tom Halfhill Peter Hamm
Peter Jennings Tracy King Gail Lampert
David Laws Frank Lemmon Jim Manley
Julie Neff Randy Neff Dan Orsen
Ray Peck Rafael Skodlar Randy Sloan
Wolfgang Schaechter Tony Sumpter Fred Ware
Texx Woodworth Warren Yogi
Thanks also to Liza Loop and friends for helping with the setup on
Friday, and everyone else who helped out that day (I just can't
remember you all but thanks all the same).
Special thanks to Alex Bochannek for once again doing a splendid job
organizing the VCF Exhibits and heading up the judging team, and equal
thanks to Lee Felsenstein and Dag Spicer for continuing their
tradition as the stalwart VCF Exhibition judges. Also thanks to Stan
Sieler for filling in as an alternate judge.
Super special thanks to Roger Sinasohn for providing all the yummy
treats and beverages, and especially for helping me out in a pinch
on so many occasions. On that note, business owners might want to
check out the services Roger provides at TechSynthesis:
http://www.techsynthesis.com/
Extra special thanks to Bruce Damer and Galen Brandt for organizing
the Xerox Alto panel and birthday bash.
Of course, thanks to all the Speakers, Exhibitors and Vendors who
helped to make the VCF what it is.
I would like to extend a warm thanks in particular to Pam Cleveland
and Jennifer Cheng, who coordinate CHM events, and Mike Walton, who
handles all the technical concerns, plus all the CHM staff. They were
fantastic!
And finally, a heartfelt thanks to John Toole and Dag Spicer, truly
friends of the Vintage Computer Festival.
VCF 6.0 Exhibit Awards
----------------------
We can proclaim with much confidence that this year's exhibit at the
Vintage Computer Festival was the best ever. Dozens of vintage
computer enthusiasts from all over converged in the Hahn Auditorium of
the Computer History Museum to put on some amazing displays. The bar
has certainly been raised for future exhibits.
Exhibits are graded by our panel of judges, which comprises head judge
Alex Bochannek, Computer History Museum Curator of Exhibits Dag
Spicer, and legendary computer industry maven Lee Felsenstein. The
judges then tabulate their results and assign 1st, 2nd and 3rd place
ribbons in each of five general award classes, and additional Special
Award ribbons in each of 11 special categories. Finally, the People's
Choice Award is a special ribbon given to the exhibit that garners the
most votes from VCF attendees.
Class Awards
First, Second and Third Place ribbons are awarded in each of five
classes that represent major areas of effort in computer collecting
and preservation. Judging is based on a set of criteria including:
appearance, condition, originality, authenticity, completeness, and
functionality. Additional judging takes into account the breadth of
the exhibit by assessing the inclusion of documentation and software.
Herewith, we are proud to present the winners of this year's Vintage
Computer Festival Exhibition:
Class A: Homebrew, Kit or Educational Computer - Any Vintage
1st Place: Bryan Blackburn - Mark-8
2nd Place: Erik Klein - Altair 8800
3rd Place: Larry Pezzolo - Altair 680
Class B: Manufactured Personal Computer - Pre-1981
1st Place: Bryan Blackburn - the digital group
2nd Place: Erik Klein - Commodore PET
3rd Place: Erik Klein - TRS-80 Model 1
Class C: Manufactured Personal Computer - Post-1981
1st Place: Cameron Kaiser - Tomy Tutor/Tomy Pyuuta
2nd Place: Wayne Smith - IBM System/23
3rd Place: Jordan Ruderman - Apple Lisa
Class D: Mini-computer or Larger System - Any Vintage
1st Place: Stephen Jones - AT&T 3B2/500
2nd Place: Jim Battle - Wang 2200
3rd Place: Pavl Zachary - DEC PDP 11/70
Class E: Open
1st Place: Vince Briel - "Replica I" Apple-1 Replica
2nd Place: Tim Lindner - Modern Intellivision
3rd Place: Jordan Ruderman - Apple eMate 300
Special Awards
Special Awards are given to exhibits based on various practical and
esthetic criteria. These accolades are meant to award exhibits that
advance the state of computer collecting and preservation.
Herewith, we are proud to present the Special Award recipients:
Best Presentation: Research
Larry Anderson - Commodore 8-bit Breadboxes
Best Presentation: Completeness
Cameron Kaiser - Tomy Tutor/Tomy Pyuuta
Best Presentation: Display
Bryan Blackburn - Mark-8
Best Presentation: Creative Integration with Contemporary Technology
Bill Borsari - Amiga 4000
Best Preservation: Original Condition
Cameron Kaiser - Tomy Tutor/Tomy Pyuuta
Best Preservation: Restoration
Bryan Blackburn - Mark-8
Best Preservation: Recreation
Vince Briel - "Replica I" Apple-1 Replica
Best Preservation: Simulation
Jim Battle - Wang 2200 Emulator
Best Preservation: Obscurity
Chuck McManis - DEC PDP-5
Best of Show
The Best of Show award determines, based on all previous judging and
awards, which exhibit deserves to be singled out for special
recognition.
The VCF 6.0 Best of Show award went to Bryan Blackburn for his Mark-8
exhibit. Congratulations, Bryan!
People's Choice Award
Finally, the People's Choice Award taps into the pulse of the VCF
crowd. Attendees are encouraged to submit a ballot naming their
favorite exhibit of the show. The exhibit that attracted the most
votes this year was Pavl Zachary's DEC PDP 11/70.
Pavl (pronounced "Paul" but just spelled with a 'v' because what the
hell) spent hours putting together an exhibit worthy of the most high
brow trade shows. Pavl created a DEC backdrop that stood at least
7 feet tall and spanned 20 feet. Each letter of the "digital" logo
was hand crafted and meticulously placed, creating a display that was
right out of the heyday of the DEC we once knew and loved.
Pavl's effort will surely be difficult to rival at future VCF events.
I would like to congratulate ALL VCF exhibitors this year for helping
to make it the best VCF exhibition yet!
To see pictures of the VCF exhibitors and their machines, check out
the VCF 6.0 photo gallery:
http://www.vintage.org/gallery.php?grouptag=VCF60
VCF 6.0 Retro-Code Video Game Programming Challenge
---------------------------------------------------
The Retro-Code Video Game Programming Challenge is a fairly new
feature of the VCF. We attempted it at VCF 5.0 with mixed results,
but we managed to pull it off this year and had a lot of fun!
The goal of the Challenge is to program a video game from scratch on
a vintage computer within 3 hours. The computer platforms, provided
by the VCF, were an Apple //e, an Atari 800, and a Commodore 64.
Three teams chosen from volunteers were assembled and the coding
began! (In the end we couldn't get an Atari team so we ended up with
two separate Apple teams).
Team Apple A, comprised of Hans Franke and Eric Smith working in
tandem, designed a nice maze-based role playing game. In the
beginning of the game, a player rolled virtual dice (portrayed on the
screen using the Apple's low resolution graphics capabilities) to
determine their game character's attributes. A maze was then randomly
generated and it was the player's goal to traverse the maze, gathering
treasure and riches along the way while meeting all manner of evil and
strange creatures that would have to be defended against.
Team Commodore, comprised of Larry Anderson, developed a fantastic
effort that put the player at the helm of a shopping cart in a thrift
store where vintage computers were flying off the shelves and the
player was required to collect as many of these computers in their
shopping cart as possible. If too many computers fell to the ground
and were destroyed, the player was banished from the thrift store!
Larry's game employed the Commodore 64's built-in graphics sprites
to render the shopping cart and vintage computers.
Team Apple B was comprised of Lawrence Wilkinson who developed a nice
implementation of the strategy game Hex. Larry utilized the Apple
//e's high resolution graphics screen to render the Hex playing field
(in 3D no less!) and used the joystick for player piece movement. He
even gave the computer a simple intelligence to allow for human vs.
computer play.
When the three hour programming period was up, the teams were required
to put their keyboards down and the judging commenced. Each team was
required to demo their game to the assembled crowd, after which a hand
vote was taken from the amassed spectators and a winner was chosen.
Larry Anderson took 1st Place, followed by Hans Franke and Eric Smith,
with Lawrence Wilkinson bringing up the rear.
It was a really fun event and we're planning to expand it for VCF 7.0.
Got an idea for a game? Can you write it, from scratch, in only three
hours? Then come to VCF 7.0 and show your stuff! More information to
come so stay tuned.
Vintage Computer Festival East 2.0
----------------------------------
VCF East 2.0 is still in the planning stages, and much progress is
being made. We had hoped to hold the event sometime in April of this
year, but due to several unforeseen circumstances we've decided to
move the event back to sometime in June or July. We're almost ready
to announce exact dates and a location (near Boston, Massachusetts),
but first we need to dot some t's and cross some i's so stay tuned for
further updates.
So far, confirmed speakers are:
o Bob Supnik, creator of the wonderful Computer History Simulation
Project featuring SIMH, a universal computer simulation engine
with support for dozens of vintage computer models from the DEC
PDP-1 to the PDP-15 and more
o Jon Titus, creator of the legendary Mark-8, one of the earliest
microcomputer kits, featured in the July 1974 issue of Radio
Electronics
Have you got any suggestions or recommendations for speakers? By all
means, please do contact us and let us know. We are planning to have
a full line-up of speakers at VCF East 2.0.
This would also be a good time to visit the VCF East 2.0 web page and
sign up as an exhibitor:
http://www.vintage.org/2004/east/exhibit.php
And we've still got plenty of room for vendors:
http://www.vintage.org/2004/east/vendor.php
VCF East 2.0 updates will be forthcoming throughout the following
weeks so be on the lookout for further announcements.
Vintage Computer Festival Europa 5.0
------------------------------------
Hans Franke is proud to bring you version 5.0 of the Vintage Computer
Festival Europa. Hans has been working hard to make this year's event
the best yet.
The theme for VCF Europa 5.0 is User Interfaces. Exhibits and talks
will focus on the human computer interface from keypunch machines to
the mouse.
For more information, please visit the VCF Europa website:
http://www.vcfe.org/
Vintage Computer Marketplace: Phase Two
---------------------------------------
The Vintage Computer Marketplace registered its 500th user sometime in
December, which was a significant milestone. Since then, new users
have continued to register and the current registered user count is
nearing 700.
We're hard at work to roll out the next release of the Marketplace
software, which will add more features and options. We'll also begin
to roll out our premium features which will allow you to more
efficiently and effectively find those odd old computer bits you've
been seeking for a while, and help you sell or trade items in your own
collection.
With these new features in place, we'll also be rolling out the next
phase of our marketing campaign. The beta test phase is effectively
over and has demonstrated that the software can handle the load of
thousands of listings, so we'll be embarking on a program over the
course of the next couple months to get more and more people to use
the VCM to buy, sell and trade their vintage computing items instead
of other services. We'll be putting into place several different
types of incentives to make it the preferred marketplace on the web
for vintage computers. It has been and will remain more profitable to
use the VCM to sell than with other services, and for buyers we've got
much better deals with much more friendly tools and a support staff
that actually addresses complaints, suggestions and issues.
A separate Vintage Computer Marketplace update will be coming out soon
to notify you of the initiation of the new phase. In the meantime,
check out the site if you haven't visited in a while and see the great
items that are currently listed:
http://marketplace.vintage.org
VCF Organization Party
----------------------
The VCF will begin holding volunteer weekend organizations parties to
accelerate the organization and cataloguing of the Vintage Computer
Festival Archives.
We'll be working towards getting the VCF Archives ready for the long
promised Open House. We've got shelving to assemble, documents to
sort, artifacts to box, books to catalog, machines to schlep, etc.
The goal is to have the Archives ready to host an after-school
computer and electronics lab for the local community before school
lets out into summer recess. At that time, we also plan to begin
hosting monthly computer collector meetings for vintage computer
collectors in the Silicon Valley to gather and share experiences and
information and trade computers (we'll have more on this in the next
Gazette).
Volunteers will be rewarded with free passes to the VCF, VCF T-shirts,
and other goodies. Your contribution to this effort will be much
appreciated and will help to finally make the VCF Archives fully
organized and therefore more accessible to the vintage computer
community.
The first volunteer party will be March 6. We'll be starting at
10:00am and going until at least 5:00pm, at which point the party
begins. We'll have music, food, and fun baby! If you're interested
in being part of the shindig, please RSVP by Friday, March 5, via
e-mail to Sellam Ismail at <sellam_at_vintage.org>.
The VCF headquarters is located in Livermore, California, so obviously
only those local to the Silicon Valley area will be able to
participate, but we won't stop anyone from flying in to lend a helping
hand :)
VCF Producer Sellam Ismail on TechTV's Screen Savers March 17
-------------------------------------------------------------
The VCF's Sellam Ismail will be appearing on TechTV's "The Screen
Savers" program on March 17th. Sellam will be bringing along old
computer media for show and tell. This will be Sellam's third
appearance on The Screen Savers.
Check your local listings for air times.
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
therefore not receive any more issues of the VCF Gazette, visit the
following web page:
http://www.vintage.org/remove.php
;)
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Sat Feb 28 2004 - 18:24:51 GMT