VCF Gazette Volume 3 Issue 1

VCF Gazette Volume 3, Issue 1 A Newsletter for the Vintage Computer Festival May 12, 2005 Wow! The VCF Gazette marks a milestone as it rolls in to its 3rd year. And boy are we late. Later than usual. Very late. In fact, I'm positive we're later than we've ever been. But my we're busy here at VCF central. Busier than usual. Very busy. In fact, I'm positive we're busier than we've ever been. So there you have it. Anyway, on with the news! In This Issue: VCF 7.0 Wrap Up VCF 7.0 Exhibit Awards and Photo Gallery VCF Midwest "Lite" VCF Inaugurates Long-Term Data Archiving Standard: FutureKeep New VCF Website Features VCF 7.0 Wrap Up --------------- The 7th annual Vintage Computer Festival was held on November 6-7 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. It's pretty much cliche at this point to say it was the best event yet, but it really was! Just ask the 450+ people who attended. The main feature of the VCF this last time around was the Maze War Retrospective hosted by Bruce Damer of the DigiBarn. The authors of Maze War, which is the original "first person shooter" videogame, discussed the development of the game in the early 1970s. The Maze War server was ported to the PC by Ken Harrenstien and a Maze War network of three PCs plus an Imlac PDS-1D (heroically provided by Tom Uban) was installed at the VCF, allowing attendees to experience the original thrill of Maze War. The DigiBarn has created a terrific web page on the DigiBarn website to commemorate this event: http://www.digibarn.com/history/04-VCF7-MazeWar/index.html VCF 7.0 also featured the debut screening of BBS: The Documentary, a multi-part documentary series by Jason Scott of textfiles.com fame. This documentary traces the history of the computer bulletin board system, or BBS, from its origins through to its decline brought on by the rise of the modern Internet. BBS: The Documentary is now available for order and is highly recommended by the VCF: http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/ The exhibits at VCF 7.0 continued their evolution towards ever more elaborate displays, with great skill and creativity being demonstrated by the exhibitors. The next section contains more information about the exhibits and a link to the VCF 7.0 Photo Gallery. We're now looking forward to VCF 8.0 to be held November 5-6. See you there! VCF 7.0 Exhibit Awards and Photo Gallery ---------------------------------------- The VCF 7.0 Exhibition featured another stunning set of exhibits. The creativity of the exhibitors and their dedication to producing displays that brilliantly showcase their prized computers while presenting historical and educational background is simply amazing. For all the hard work that it takes to produce the VCF, the exhibits alone make it worth the effort. And so, we are pleased to present the results of the exhibit awards. 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. Note that the exhibit categories were re-worked for VCF 7.0 to reflect the evolution in subject matter and presentations that has occured over the past few years. The classes and class winners of each class respectively are as follows: Class A: Microcomputer 1st Place: Bryan Blackburn - Digital Group Computers 2nd Place: Erik Klein - Altair 30th Anniversary 3rd Place: Cameron Kaiser - Secret Weapons of Commodore Live! Class B: Mini, Multi-User, or Larger Computer 1st Place: Pavl Zachary - PDP 11/40 Running Ancient Unix 2nd Place: Bob Fowler - Alpha Microsystems AM-1000 3rd Place: Stephen Jones - SDF Public Access Unix System Class C: PDA, Handheld Computer, or Calculator 1st Place: Fritz Schneider - Curta Calculator 2nd Place: Boris Debic - Handheld Math 3rd Place: Hans Franke - Calculators of Mass Destruction Class D: Home-brew, Kit, or Educational Computer 1st Place: Michael Holley - SWTPC TV Typewriter 2nd Place: Wayne Smith - Tiger Learning Computer 3rd Place: Larry Pezzolo - OSI Superboard Class E: Re-creation, Emulation, or Contemporary Enhancement 1st Place: Tim Robinson - Differential Analyzer 2nd Place: Tim Robbinson - Computing by Steam 3rd Place: Eric Rothfus - Semi-Virtual Diskette Class F: Open/Other 1st Place: Wayne Smith - Bandai Pippin 2nd Place: Michael Holley - Southwest Technical Products Corp. 3rd Place: Larry Anderson - Commodore Gold Special Awards Special Awards are given to exhibits based on various practical and esthetic criteria. These accolades are intended to award exhibits that advance the state of computer collecting and preservation. Best Presentation: Research Bryan Blackburn - Digital Group Computers Best Presentation: Completeness Erik Klein - Altair 30th Anniversary Best Presentation: Display Bryan Blackburn - Digital Group Computers Best Presentation: Originality Pavl Zachary - PDP 11/40 Running Ancient Unix Best Preservation: Restoration Bryan Blackburn - Digital Group Computers Best Preservation: Obscurity Wayne Smith - Bandai Pippin Best Technology: Analog Tim Robinson - Differential Analyzer Best Technology: Non-Electronic Tim Robinson - Computing by Steam Best of Show The Best of Show award determines, based on the best overall score achieved, which exhibit deserves to be singled out for extra special recognition. The VCF 7.0 Best of Show award went to Bryan Blackburn for his Digital Group Computers. Bryan walked away once again with 5 separate awards this year, matching his performance from last year. 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 Tim Robinson's Differential Analyzer, a functional differential analyzer modeled after designs by early computing pioneer Vannevar Bush and built entirely out of Meccano parts. I would like to thank and congratulate all VCF 7.0 exhibitors for contributing to yet another excellent exhibition. We've put together a photo gallery of the exhibits to showcase the talents and creativity of the VCF exhibitors: http://www.vintage.org/gallery.php?grouptag=VCF70 We're already looking forward to this year's exhibits. You might want to consider joining in the fun! VCF Midwest "Lite" ------------------ The VCF is introducing the new concept of the VCF "Lite" event. VCF Lite events feature all of the elements of a traditional VCF event (including speakers, exhibitors and vendors) but the event is held on a single day instead of across two days. VCF Midwest 1.0 will be held on Saturday, July 30th at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Doors will open at 9:30am, with speakers beginning at 10:00am and exhibits starting at 12:00pm. The event ends at 5:00pm. Admission is $5 per person. Exhibitors and vendors are wanted, so if you want to show off part of your collection or want to sell some of it, register now at the VCF Midwest website at: http://www.vintage.org/2005/midwest/ Additional VCF Midwest 1.0 information will be posted to the VCF Midwest website in the coming weeks, so get yourself onto the VCF mailing list to be informed of updates as they are announced. You can add yourself to the VCF mailing list here: http://www.vintage.org/maillist.php A separate announcement for VCF Midwest 1.0 with more information about the event will be distributed in the coming days so be on the look-out for that. If you'd like to organize a VCF Lite in your area, please contact Sellam Ismail at <sellam at vintage.org>. VCF Inaugurates Long-Term Data Archiving Standard: FutureKeep ------------------------------------------------------------- The VCF has lauched a project to create a file format standard for imaging and archiving software from virtually any data media ever devised, from punched cards to DVD-ROM and beyond. In a nutshell, the intent of the standard is to allow for software stored on any type of media to be digitally imaged in a manner that would allow the original media to be reconstructed from the image at which time it might be necessary to do so. The main purpose of this standard is to provide a universally recognized standard for preserving software. Media such as floppy disks and magnetic tape has a limited lifetime. The physical medium will fail over time resulting in data loss. While more durable, software stored on paper-based media such as punched cards and paper tape is also at risk. Even ROM chips are not forever: the bits contained within the silicon will dissipate over time, leaving behind an empty shell. In the absence of a durable, long-term (as in aeons), failure-proof digital storage medium, steps must be taken now to preserve the existing base of software and to ensure it will be available for the benefit of future generations. This standard is being designed to provide a uniform methodology for storing imaged media to facilitate the storage and maintenance of large archives of software. Other uses of the standard will be to provide a singular uniform file format for computer emulators to use as virtual storage devices. The design of the format is still in its initial stages, so if you're interested in being part of this historic development, you can join the committee responsible for devising the standard. Draft outline notes for the standard are available on the project website: http://www.futurekeep.org A mailing list has been created to provide a forum for discussing the development of the standard. For instructions on how to join the mailing list, e-mail project coordinator Sellam Ismail at <sellam at vintage.org>. New VCF Website Features ------------------------ The VCF is always striving to add useful features to the VCF website. The latest enhancements include a computer history reference library index, a photo gallery, a VCF Gazette browsing library, and an RSS feed. The VCF Library is a new feature which lists hundreds of computer history resources available on books, video and computer media. The list is organized into relevant categories and each entry includes a link to where that resource can be purchased on the web. Most link to Amazon product listings, and any purchase made through links from the VCF Library earns a commission for the VCF, so it's a great way to support the Vintage Computer Festival! The list is constantly being added to as new resources are identified, and we appreciate suggestions for additional resources to add. The library is available on the VCF website at: http://www.vintage.org/library.php The VCF Gazette now has its own page featuring a link to the current issue as well as links providing easy access to all past issues. The VCF Gazette home page is here: http://www.vintage.org/gazette.php The VCF periodically produces photo galleries of VCF events or items and activities the VCF is involved with. All the VCF photo galleries can now be viewed from one convenient location by jumping to the Photo Gallery index: http://www.vintage.org/gallery.php We've also installed an RSS News feed. RSS is a mechanism based on XML used for sharing and syndicating news or stories from sites that generate content. The VCF's RSS feed allows VCF fans to syndicate our news. The VCF RSS feed is provided at: http://www.vintage.org/rss.php Our first RSS subscriber is Kevin Savetz's Retro Roundup page, which aggregates classic computer and retro video game news from around the web: http://www.retroroundup.com/ Look for more excellent features to be added to the VCF Website in the near-term future. 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/ This issue of the VCF Gazette can be found online at: http://www.vintage.org/content.php?id=g31 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 P[RE|ER]SE[R]VE[RE] ;)