Note: some of the links referenced are broken at present...under construction and all that. Parallax Inc. and Dr. Dobb's Journal proudly present... The Vintage Computer Festival 3.0 October 2nd & 3rd Santa Clara Convention Center Santa Clara, California www.vintage.org For the third year in a row, the Vintage Computer Festival is back to thrill and amaze you with the history of one of the greatest inventions in all of mankind, the computer! This year: * More great speakers! * More great exhibits! * More great vendors with Cool Stuff to sell! * More fun games and contests, including the Nerd Trivia Challenge! * Tour The Computer Museum History Center! * And of course, FREE STUFF!! In short, plenty of stuff to indulge all your SENSES: HEAR the speakers! SEE vintage computers! TOUCH them too! SMELL their electronics! But please don't TASTE them! "The mission of the Vintage Computer Festival is to promote the preservation of 'obsolete' computers by allowing attendees to experience the people, stories and technologies that embody the remarkable tale of the computer revolution." Register Early and $AVE! Register by June 30 and pay only $15 per person (or $20 per person by September 15). That includes access to the entire event all weekend, including the speakers, the exhibit and the flea market. Kids 17 and under are admitted free, and as always, parking is free too! To pre-register, send a check or money order to: Vintage Computer Festival 4275 Rosewood Drive #29-161 Pleasanton, California 94588 Or visit the VCF website for more information and a handy registration form ready to print (http://www.vintage.org/vcf/register.htm). The Speakers Horst Zuse Horst, the eldest son of early digital computer pioneer Konrad Zuse, will be giving a lecture on his late father's machines and will focus on the computer businesses that Konrad later founded to market his ideas. Jon Titus Who can forget one of the earliest of kit microcomputers, the Mark-8? Jon designed the Mark-8 around Intel's 8008 microprocessor and wrote a construction article which appeared in the July 1974 issue of Radio Electronics. Todd Fischer Todd bought the assets of IMSAI after their bankruptcy and continued to manufacture and sell IMSAI products under the Fischer-Frietas Corporation. Todd consulted with MGM for the movie _War Games_ and, as a treat, will be bringing along for show and tell the actual IMSAI 8080 computer that co-starred in the film. Stan Veit Stan is an early chronicler of the microcomputer revolution, and also a participant. Stan started one of America's first computer stores in New York, and in the process forged relationships with some of today's revered pioneers, including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, whom he shared a booth with at the first West Coast Computer Faire where the Apple ][ was debuted to the world. Jim Willing Our admired and beloved VCF Celebrity, Jim will wax philosophic on various themes of stupendous relevance. Eugene Kim Eugene is a writer for Dr. Dobb's Journal (a VCF sponsor!) and will be giving a lecture on the history of free software, a very relevant topic considering the free-software movement is in full force in today's computing arena as evidenced by the escalating adoption of GNU/Linux. Curt Vendel Curt is the founder of the Atari Historical Society (check out his great website at http://www.atari-history.com) and has amassed an amazing collection of Atari artifacts and company history, including some one-of-a-kind Atari prototypes. Curt will be bringing along some of these prototypes for show and tell. Roger Sinasohn Roger is an avid collector of early portable computers and will be giving a talk on the history of the Kyocera 85, a.k.a. the Tandy Model 100, a.k.a. the Olivetti M10, a.k.a. the NEC PC-8201A. Doug Salot Doug's research has uncovered what he believes to be the first "personal computer". Forget the Apple ][, the Altair or even the Alto. Doug's pick as first PC goes all the way back to the 1950's. Designed by Edmund Berkeley, an unsung hero of computer history, Doug intends to win Berkeley the prominance and praise that he feels is much deserved by this virtually unknown computer visionary. Plus! Workshops by Parallax on their amazing little BASIC Stamp. Get a preview of this cool little device by visiting their website at http://www.parallaxinc.com. More speakers to be announced soon! Check the VCF website for updates. The Vintage Computer Faire and Exhibition This year, the Vintage Computer Festival exhibit will feature the exhibits of individual collectors, all vying to win first, second or third place in eleven categories, plus the coveted "Best of Show" award. The winner of the "Best of Show" ribbon will also win fabulous prizes. This year, we want YOU to exhibit the pride of your collection. What better way to demonstrate your enthusiasm for your hobby than to be an exhibitor at the Vintage Computer Festival. Exhibitor information can be found on the Vintage Computer Festival website (http://www.vintage.org/vcf/exhibit.htm). The Vintage Computer Flea Market Every year the best deals on vintage computer items can be found at the Vintage Computer Flea Market. Here are only a few of the amazing items sold at last year's flea market: * Apple 1 (no, we're NOT kidding!) * SWTPc 6800 * A rare computer by "the digital group" * Morrow Decision 1 (S-100) * California Computer Systems (S-100) * Apple Lisa 2 * And much, much more!! If you've got old computer stuff that you'd like to sell, there's no better place than the Vintage Computer Flea Market at the Vintage Computer Festival. Please visit our website for rates and regulations (http://www.vintage.org/vcf/vendor.htm). The Nerd Trivia Challenge! Hey trivia fans! Think you got what it takes to survive the Nerd Trivia Challenge? If you qualify, you'll be pitted against two other players in a battle to determine who is the undisputed master of computer history trivia. Answer the most questions correctly and you could walk away with $50 in cash plus some other nifty prizes. Lightweights need not apply, this contest is geared towards the serious computer history enthusiast. For contest rules please visit http://www.vintage.org/vcf/ntc.htm. Tour The Computer Museum History Center! The Computer Museum History Center boasts the largest collection of historic computer artifacts in the world. Their collection includes rare, one-of-a-kind computers and artifacts that date back to the early part of the century and beyond. A tour of the History Center's "Visible Storage" warehouse will be organized on Sunday, October 3. Tickets are limited and so advanced registration is recommended. FYI: The History Center is on the move, and is thrilled to announce plans to build a permanent museum to be dedicated by 2007. You can help the History Center achieve its goal by becoming a member. Information about becoming a member of the History Center can be found at http://www.computer-history.org. Meet Fellow Computer Collectors! The VCF is the premier gathering for collectors of vintage computers. What better way to enjoy your hobby than by meeting other like-minded individuals to share stories and information about your computer collection. Register now! http://www.vintage.org/vcf/register.htm Visit our Sponsors! Without our sponsors, the Vintage Computer Festival could not be a reality. It is our wonderful sponsors that enabled us to bring you the Vintage Computer Festival year after year. Demonstrate your appreciation by visiting them on the web: Parallax, Inc. http://www.parallaxinc.com Parallax manufactures the BASIC Stamp, a versatile microcontroller with a built-in BASIC language that is suitable for most any electronics and computer hobbyist project. Dr. Dobb's Journal http://www.ddj.com Dr. Dobb's Journal is the oldest continually running microcomputer journal, in existence since 1975. It features monthly articles and columns geared towards the computer programming professional. EOF Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Don't rub the lamp if you don't want the genie to come out. Coming this October 2-3: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0! See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details! [Last web site update: 05/25/99]