I just returned home from my voyage to Munich for the VCF 1.0e and I am happy to report that it went rather well, in fact as well as expected. A little over 100 people came through over the course of the weekend. There were some great exhibits, including a complete VAX 11/850 setup and running, an Atari 1450XLD (only a few of these exist), some rare East German microcomputers, and even an Inca Quipu! We somehow managed to execute the Nerd Trivia Challenge despite numerous technical challenges. Our own Philip Belben took 2nd place. Congratulations, Phil! After the event was over, Hans, Philip and myself went on a three day whirlwind tour around Germany. Three days couped up in a car with a wacky Bavarian is more torture than anyone should ever be subjected to, but Philip and I managed to make it through the ordeal without too many psychological scars (I enter long term counseling tomorrow). Of course you may get slightly differing opinions from Philip but pay him no mind ;) Somehow we didn't find time to visit the Deutches Museum in Munich to see the Siemens 2002 (worlds first transistorized computer) but we did make it to the Technik Museum in Berlin and saw many fine Zuse machines, including a replica of the Z1 and a Z23, along with some other special purpose machines. It was a fantastic exhibit. I got digital photos of the machines and will be posting them to the VCF website shortly (I'll announce when they are up). We then made it over to the Heinz Nixdorf Museum in Paderborn and I must say I am impressed! What an excellent place. They had excellent exhibits starting with humankind's earliest attempts at writing and counting and worked up through various stages of technological innovation to the computers. There were all sorts of excellent machines on exhibit but we weren't allowed to take any photos :( The place was crawling with spooks ready to give you a sound drubbing if even the thought of taking a picture crossed your mind. Always the rebel I did manage to snap a picture of one of the exhibits anyway. Nyah. Anyway, highly recommended. We bought some good books, including an autobiography of Konrad Zuse which I had the pleasure of reading on the long flight back. What an amazing story! We also scored some prints of Zuse's, one of which was even signed by him when he visited the museum before he passed away. I spent the last two days in Oxford, England, where I delivered two talks on computer collecting. I was able to meet our own John Honiball there as well as pick up several good books from a used book store. I didn't have time to search for any old computers but I did make contact with a Physics professor there at Oxford who has in his own collection several of the DEC machines the university has discarded over the years, including a PDP-8 (i.e. "straight 8"). He said he knows of some DEC machines (an 11/23 was specifically mentioned) that are to be discarded soon so if anyone has any interested in making contact with him (I'm sure he'll be a continued source of good stuff) then contact me privately and I'll pass on his contact information. I also managed to find some neat-o stuff in Munich at a flea market we went to before the VCF. I got an Atari 520ST+ (only because I don't have a '+' model), a Sharp PC-1500 with expansion chassis and case, and a Siemens teletext terminal that was used in Germany throughout the 80s (similar to the French Minitel or the English Prestel systems). Now that VCF 1.0e is a part of history, I will start ramping up production for VCF 4.0. My interest in producing an East Coast USA event is also growing, and I will be contacting those who have offered assistance in the coming weeks to determine if a summertime event would be feasible. As well, if there is anyone in the New England region who would like to assist then please contact me privately. Thanks to everyone who helped with VCF 1.0e, and of course extra- special thanks go to Hans Franke for making it a reality. I also thank him for teaching me some particularly juicy German. As my reportoire of languages grows I will soon be able to insult and offend people the world over! Pictures of VCF 1.0e will be posted to the VCF website soon. Stay tuned for details. We'll see you all at the next VCF! Sellam International Man of Intrigue and Danger ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looking for a six in a pile of nines... VCF Europe: April 29th & 30th, Munich, Germany VCF Los Angeles: Summer 2000 (*TENTATIVE*) VCF East: Planning in Progress See http://www.vintage.org for details!