The silence may have led you to believe that it was all over. Oh no... The 10th Vintage Computer Festival is a GO! Bigger, bolder, nerdier than ever, a wonderful way to tack on our second digit, VCFMW10 will be held August 29-30 at the Holiday Inn Chicago-Elk Grove Village. A remarkable convergence of amenities and price have come together in this spot. Among the features: - A single 4550 sqft banquet hall - at long last, VCFMW and ECCC shall truly be one! - First-floor facilities - no more elevator rides or Level of Discharge! - 11'x12' loading doors that open direct to the parking lot - you could drive a truck right into the ballroom, but don't! - A separate room for talks, videos, quiet time, etc - like we're a real conference or something! - No (known) conflicts with holidays, wives' birthdays or other local events! - The quaint, vaguely Blade Runner-esque surroundings of industrial parks, truck depots and factories - just the way we like it! - An on-site restaurant, pool, exercise room, outdoor firepit/smoking area, shuttle buses to/from the airport and Woodfield mall, close proximity to fast-food and the two greatest Chicago eateries, Portillo's and Lou Malnati's! (Seriously, those two alone are reason enough to attend.) I have updated the http://vcfmw.org web page and FAQ with most of the information we have so far. Please give them a read before posting questions. Hotel room rates will be slightly higher than last year's $79 at the Fairfield Inn; I am still negotiating the block rate. Due to the restaurant being on-site, there will be no continental breakfast. Sorry :( Now the hard sell: all of this geek-luxury does not come without a price. Some of you know that the deal we had at the Heron Point was extraordinary and unheard-of in the event hosting business. Since the HP no longer rents to the public, we were faced with the choice of resting on our successful nine-year record or figuring out a way for the show to go on. And go on it shall...with your help. Without getting into specifics, the cost of putting on VCFMW has more than doubled - and we are getting a bargain if our comparison shopping is to be trusted. Donation links have been set up on the main VCFMW page for PayPal and GoFundMe sites. Please use the GFM only if you do not have a PayPal account, as GFM charges us a fee. If you'd prefer to donate in person, contact me directly. I will get you a receipt (sorry, we're not a 501.3c yet, so it won't be tax-free.) The main site features our non-patented Donate-o-Meter which will (more-or-less) track our progress. We have a lot of time to reach our goal as payment is not due until the day of the show. Extra money raised will be either spent on bonus features for the show (more space, pizza bar, etc.) or put into a fund for next year. We will engange with the community as much as possible before making any decsion regarding extra funds. There will be much to do between now and August - a new floor plan to design, tables to allocate, speakers to recruit. But our first big task is one where everyone can help: let's get the word out! Many of you are on forums that I am not, so spread the news: the show will go on! -j