VCF West Home Page – EXHIBITORS FAQ – EXHIBIT REGISTRATION
VCF West 2025 Exhibit registration is CLOSED! We have filled the space.
If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact us.
Registered Exhibits:
The Aero Aesthetic: Windows’ Nature Era (1999-2007) – XodiumLabs – Exhibit 1
This exhibit will explore the Microsoft Windows’ transition to the nature aesthetic that many know and cherish to this very day. Take to the skies with Windows 98, crest the grassy hills of Windows XP, and end in the glassy aesthetic of Windows Vista. With a selection of era-appropriate games ready for your enjoyment.
Silicon Graphics Presenter Presentation – Nicholas Bustamante – Exhibit 2
Featuring an early Silicon Graphics Inc. LCD that was built for overhead projectors and connected to several machines. This specific example is the most common, paired with the unmistakable colorful travel bag.
Retro Ricing – RevisionY2K – Exhibit 3
Witness the computing equivalent of the tuner car culture, where old and new are slammed together and forced to get along. Insane upgrades that don’t make sense, ludicrous projects that cost way more than they are worth, and hilariously-over complicated solutions in search of a problem that will never exist. You won’t be inspired, you may not even be surprised, but you will almost certainly be entertained. The loving and faithful restorations of classic machines are not to be found here; instead the unloved and undesirable is chopped, slammed, blinged out, and made completely pretentious and ostentatious.
Elfin Forest – Steve Toner – Exhibit 4
PDP-11 Qbus boards and backplanes are readily available and affordable. Original DEC enclosures, however, are much harder to find, tend to be expensive and difficult to ship. This exhibit will display several working PDP-11 systems with non-DEC enclosures and power supplies in the hopes of inspiring others to put their fab/maker skills to work and build their own systems.
Windows Across the Ages – Zachary C – Exhibit 5
This exhibit is to demo past Windows versions, with Windows 3.1, 95, 7 and 8.1 being shown on respective computers from each era. The computers will be networked together and will run programs from their respective eras.
Keith’s Mac Hacks – Keith Kaisershot – Exhibit 7
Featuring Classic Macs with cool hacks.
British Computers, Acorn and Control Universal – Steve Crozier – Exhibit 8
The Acorn computers of the 1980s are well known in home, education and for leading to ARM, but there were also industrial control and robotics applications. Here we showcase every reach of Acorn and its spin-offs.
It’s compatible? Bet – Chris Satterfield – Exhibit 9
“They might not think it be compatible like it is, but it do.” Featuring various seemingly incompatible compatible systems.
Folding PDA keyboards and Bluetooth mods for them – Xinming Chen – Exhibit 10
PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) were once popular in the early 2000s, and there were many innovative folding keyboard designs that came with them. Get your hands on dozens of folding keyboards, from the well-known Palm Portable Keyboards, to less-known but equally brilliant HP G750 and Stowaway keyboards. Some of them come with working PDAs to try. I have also designed several Bluetooth mods for these keyboards, so you can see how these old engineering marvels can remain useful to modern devices.
Mystery House by Roberta Williams – Marcus Mera – Exhibit 11
Retrospective on the history of the game add its success leading to the creation of Sierra Online
TRS-80 Model I Replica and Accessories – RetroStack – Exhibit 12
Step back into the early days of personal computing with this faithful replica of the TRS-80 Model I. This exhibit showcases a fully replicated Model I system, including the keyboard unit, Expansion Interface, original-style LCD monitor, and classic Archer speaker. From the bulky, space-age design to the satisfying click of the keys, every detail has been recreated to capture the spirit of one of the first mass-market home computers.
Bay Area Tandy Assembly – Exhibit 13
Celebrate the legacy of Tandy computing with a showcase of classic TRS-80 systems enhanced by modern innovation. This exhibit features Tandy machines connected to the TRS-IO++, a powerful extension board that adds SD card storage, Wi-Fi connectivity, and more to vintage TRS systems. Thanks to its online integration, the TRS-IO++ can even download and run classic games directly from retro software archives—blending nostalgic charm with today’s convenience.
Z80 machines, MIDI music, and speech synthesis – LambdaMikel – Exhibit 14
Experience a TRS-80 Model III playing MIDI Music over the MIDI/80 extension card, an original DECtalk DTC01 speech synthesizer, as well as Talker/80, a DECtalk-based speech synthesizer for the TRS-80.
Also on display is the Amstrad CPC 464 Portable, the World’s First & Only fully upgraded and portable Amstrad CPC 464!
There will also be an MPF-1 Microprofessor with PicoRAM 6116 on display. PicoRAM 6116 emulates the 6116 SRAM chip, and memory dumps can be loaded from and saved to SD card.
My expansion cards and projects have been covered by Hackster and Hackaday.
Core64 + 6502 + Neon Pixels – Andy Geppert – Exhibit 15
Enjoy a hands-on exhibit with Core Memory, a 6502, and Neon Pixels. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the 6502 with vintage 1975 technology blended together in a new way. Learn all about Core Memory and its place in the computer history timeline. Try your hand making some MIDI music with Core64 as a MIDI grid controller – a new add-on this year!
Project IVY – Katarina Melki – Exhibit 16
Project IVY is back showcasing some wonderful portable machines, including the IBM ThinkPad 701C with its folding keyboard, the tiny Japan-exclusive IBM Palm Top PC 110, and the famous Atari Portfolio. New for this year will also be an IBM ThinkPad 730T tablet PC and a GRiD Compass II. Plus an assortment of other interesting portables.
All machines are fully functional and visitors are welcome to go hands on with all of them. So stop on by to see and experience all these wonderful machines.
Xerox Daybreak: A Glimpse at a Future that Didn’t Take Hold – Jason Perkins – Exhibit 17
In the early 1980s Xerox designed and shipped an office automation system years ahead of its time. This demo will show GloalView running on Xerox 6085 Daybreak computers, and in emulation on Windows 3.11 on a 486. Ethernet will provide connectivity for filing, email, and printing.
Lisp Machines – Josh Dersch – Exhibit 18
Come check out Lisp Machines from Symbolics, LMI, Texas Instruments, and Xerox and see the computing experience you’ve been missing in your modern world of heretical, non-Lisp programming languages!
The Compact Macintosh Garden – Steve Brunwasser – Exhibit 19
A showcase of the original line of Apple Macintosh computers from its debut in 1984. Celebrate 41 years of the Mac and take a look at where it all began. Experience running software off floppy disks, and play classic video games in all their black and white glory.
Genesis DOES! Vintage 90s store display – Segasonicfan – Exhibit 20
A celebration of all things 90’s Sega, with Virtual Boy too!
A display of boxed Sega consoles and accessories, including some rare imported treats and consoles for play! Featuring Segasonicfan Designs Retro PCB add-ons!
Acorn Computers and RISC OS – David Glover-Aoki – Exhibit 21
Demonstrating historical British Acorn computers from the original BBC Micro series through to ARM-powered Acorn Archimedes
The Ami Memory System – A First Generation Pocket Translator – Narylis – Exhibit 22
The Ami Memory System, a pocket translator released in 1979 was one of the first generation of pocket translators that used replaceable software modules for language translation and other tools. Find out what made these systems tick and how they fit in the world of handheld computing as it began to expand beyond the electronic calculator. The exhibit includes several working examples covering the breadth of software modules released for the system.
HP3000s: The Forgotten HPs – Madeline Autumn-Rose – Exhibit 23
A PA-RISC HP3000 machine running MPE/iX. The OS not everyone knows about for the less-common HP machines that share a lot with the HP-UX PA-RISC machines.
Monochrome Monster – Seth Marinello – Exhibit 24
Pushing multiple monitors on a vintage mac to the limit, this exhibit will display a collection of large Desktop Publishing screens driven by a single Quadra.
Motorola 6800 Exorciser Development Systems Menagerie – Stanley Ruppert – Exhibit 25
Featuring the history and demonstrations of Motorola 6800 development kits, development systems, and micromodules produced from 1975 to 1979. Highlighting utility and first person experiences across various settings and functions including hobbyist, academic, engineering training, and R&D laboratory experiments. Includes original documentation, timelines, working 6800D1, 6800D2, 6802D3, 6802D5, and Micro Chroma 68 systems as well as unbuilt kits/PCBs and modified Exorciser bus based systems.
The S-100 Bus from the Start to Now – Jay Cotton – Exhibit 26
An exhibit featuring the IMSAI 8080 and the ATX S-100 chassis.
Jeff’s Vintage Electronics (Vendor) – Exhibit 27
Vendor sales of S-100 boards, replica chassis’s, Apple ][ items, vintage ICs, cables & other vintage computers parts.
AMD/ATI Merger and the Core wars of the 2000s – LilChillbil Tech – Exhibit 28
This exhibit presents a comprehensive showcase of AMD/ATI’s GPU evolution from 2005 to 2015, featuring working systems as well as a chronological lineup of single-GPU ATI/AMD graphics cards from 2005 to 2015 and a display of the AMD FX-9590 motherboard, representing AMD’s high-performance CPU offerings during the period.
MEGA65 – Dan Sanderson – Exhibit 29
The MEGA65 is a modern recreation of the unreleased Commodore 65, an FPGA-based personal computer with a deep connection to its Commodore heritage that you can own today. Dan Sanderson is a member of the MEGA65 team, maintainer of the KERNAL ROM and documentation, and the author of Dan’s MEGA65 Digest, a monthly newsletter. https://mega65.org/
Lovable Luggables – Eric Odland – Exhibit 30
A small collection of 3-4 old Toshiba luggables, including T1200, T5100, and Satellite 460CDX, running various versions of Linux and MS-DOS.
SymbOS: The Greatest 8-Bit OS You’ve Never Heard of – Daniel Gaskell – Exhibit 31
In development for 20 years, SymbOS is a modern multitasking, Windows 95-like graphical OS for numerous Z80-based computers that remains almost unknown outside of the European demoscene. Try SymbOS on rarely-seen machines, including an Amstrad CPC 464 (Britain) and a National FS-4700 MSX2 (Japan) – completely different 1980s architectures, now able to run the same software thanks to SymbOS. Run modern games and apps, multitask vintage CP/M software, print ASCII art banners, and more. (symbos.org)
The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment – Terian Koscik – Exhibit 34
A selection of playable vintage video game consoles and historical documents from the MADE museum (https://www.themade.org/) located in downtown Oakland, California. The purpose of the exhibit is to raise awareness of the museum, which is a non-profit offering classes, events, and playable exhibits about vintage video games.
Sun 3 Life – Dan Moisa – Exhibit 35
Celebrating the Sun Microsystems 3 series with originals and modern replicas.
Remembering the National Semiconductor 32000 – Steve/Jones – Exhibit 36
Let’s celebrate the 40th anniversary of that amazing computer! No no, not that one – the Tektronix 6130 Unix workstation, based on the National Semiconductor NS32000! The NS32k was an early 32-bit microprocessor that “coulda been a contendah” before Motorola and Intel dominated that niche. We will have a running system or two, some designs using the NS32k, and some of the history around it.
HomebrewCPU: 21 Years of Magic-1 – Bill Buzbee – Exhibit 37
Magic-1 is a homebrew minicomputer built from roughly 200 74-Series TTL devices using wire-wrap construction. Its first public showing was 20 years ago at VCF 8 (where it took “Best of Show”) and it’s been in continuous operation since then. Magic-1 returns to VCF this year with a special companion – a card-compatible Magic-1 clone constructed using printed circuit boards.
C64i – the C64 Improved – Francis Bernier – Exhibit 38
An exhibit featuring a new motherboard for the C64.
Apple-1 computer AI and Soviet Computers – Mike Khitrykh – Exhibit 39
A demo of an SJSU Computer Engineering students’ Apple-1 computer projects, including AI, Bulletin Board Service, mp3 player, etc. and a display of 1980’s Soviet computers.
Steve Jobs and the Apple Revolution – Bobby Eaton – Exhibit 40
Exhibiting artifacts from Apple and Computer History.
COBRA1 – The 8-bit Computer from Poland – Steve Surowinski – Exhibit 41
Cobra-1 was an 8-bit computer designed for consumer market and used also in selected commercial applications. Created by Polish engineer Andrzej Sirko and built around the Z80 CPU using readily available TTL components, it was intended to fill a gap in the Polish computer market by making home computer ownership more affordable.
The exhibit presents an original Cobra 1 computer as well as its new version from 2023.
Applying a Modern CPU to a 1980s Operation System – An adventure in retro-computing – Chris Brock – Exhibit 42
I will share my adventure of designing and building eZ80-based hardware to support running MP/M for 6 users, and a major-rewrite of MP/M source code to exploit new instructions and addressing modes and many new features that resulted in greatly increased system performance beyond anything possible in the 1980s.
Rare and Not So Rare Micros – David Henderson – Exhibit 43
Rare and not so Rare Micros: A hands-on presentation of several micros from the 70s and 80s.
The not so rare: Apple IIe featuring Oregon Trail; Sinclair ZX Spectrum with various games (complete with color clash).
The rare: Alice 90, a red rhomboid French micro; Microbee 32, designed and built in Australia; Hektor III, part of a UK home study course for electronics; Galaksia micro clone, a home-brew Serbian exercise in minimalism and evasion of import restrictions.
Friends of the Palo Alto Library – Exhibit 44
Books and software from the 80s and 90s to decorate your vintage desktop.
The Intel 8080/8080A: 50 Years and counting – Francis Bauer – Exhibit 45
The Intel 8080/8080A 8-bit microprocessor played a large role in starting the microcomputer industry. Many of the early systems were based on the Intel 8080/8080A microprocessor. This exhibit features 8080/8080A based systems like the Processor Technology Sol-20 Terminal Computer and a number of 8080/8080A trainers and diagnostic products.
Tube Time’s First Computer – Tube Time – Exhibit 46
This is an exact replica of my original Amiga 1000 setup from the late ’80s.
Bitfixer’s bits and bytes – Michael Hill – Exhibit 47
Treasures from my vintage computer collection with some modern enhancements!
Allen Bradley PLC 5 – Jordan Hayes – Exhibit 48
One of the first mass production PLCs produced for industrial operations.
Sun2, Sun3, 10BASE5 and 10BASE2 Hardware – Robert Harker – Exhibit 49
On display are early Sun2/120 and Sun3/160 workstations, a Sun2/150 server and early Ethernet 10BASE5 and 10BASE2 hardware. These are Motorola MC68000 CPU based Multibus and VME bus based designs. Circuit boards and computers will also be on display.
IBM OS/2 – Warpstock – Exhibit 50
Demonstrating IBM OS/2 and ArcaOS
The Dragon and the Lisa – Xiang Luó – Exhibit 51
Just a small Apple Lisa setup, nothing else to see here.
Project Monterey – Antoni Sawicki – Exhibit 52
Demonstrating IBM AIX on an Intel Itanium.
J-PC ZONE – Duncan Mac Dougall – Exhibit 53
Japan had its own world of personal computers that did not reach Western shores. This exhibit will represent many running examples of these impressive platforms that most of the West missed. We will be demonstrating at least one playable example of the following systems: X6800, PC-98, MSX2+, PC-88, FM-TOWNS, NEW FOR 2025: PC-6001 mkII
Complete ATARI XL Line of Computers – Kevin Lund – Exhibit 54
The San Leandro Computer Club presents the complete ATARI XL line of Personal Home Computers. From the small 600XL to the best of what could have been, the 1450XLD!
We will show you all the in-between models, as well. With the workhorse 800XL, the classic 1200XL, and its look alike the 1400XL, and its upgrade, the 1450XL. All six models in one place, possibly for the first time ever! There will be some accessories, games, books, and manuals for you to review and have fun with. Please join us for some Atari Greatness!
Click & Power: Modern Designs for Vintage Macs – TT Design – Exhibit 55
Exhibiting some vintage Macintosh computers from the late 80s and early 90s alongside some sound gear and new hardware that I designed to help revive or enhance them.
Computer History in Pens – Ilya Gelfenbeyn – Exhibit 56
I’ll exhibit my collection of about 300 pens that were given to early computer companies employees (Fairchild, Next, Commodore, etc.). See the collection here – https://www.pinterest.com/historyinpens/computer-and-tech-pens/
Music is the Medium: Multimedia Music and Home Computers in the Late 20th Century – Mia Brandenburg – Exhibit 57
Any new technology begets art. This exhibit focuses on bands and musical artists who created multimedia experiences for home computers, from locking groove encoded programs to enhanced CD-ROMs and other CD based software. Avant-garde and alternative artists will be featured, as will some more mainstream musicians.
Recovering the Essence of the Whirlwind Computer – Guy Fedorkow – Exhibit 58
Demonstration of Whirlwind software on a custom model
Rabbit Hole Computing – Alex Perez – Exhibit 59
Exhibiting ZuluSCSI and ZuluIDE Computer storage emulation products.
Macs From Most Interesting Places – Jeffrey Luan – Exhibit 60
Exhibiting a collection of Macintosh computers which originally came from a selection of Bay Area corporations and organizations and have the asset tags still on them. Additional display items include a selection of vintage prototype/development Macintosh units.
Osborne Vixen Prototypes – LittleSlip – Exhibit 61
The Osborne Vixen. The mysterious CPM machine with far too short of a Wikipedia page. There are three complete units and one disassembled example to explore as well as internal Osborne meeting minutes.
Olson S100 System Demo – California Engineer – Exhibit 62
A display demonstrating a working CP/M Olson S-100 Byt-8 system with SA400 floppy drives. A rare early home computer.
Recollections at the Interim Computer Museum – Stephen Jones (https://icm.museum) – Exhibit 63
Recollect the past or experience it for the first time with remote access to 26 vintage hardware, hybrid restorations and simulated systems all running at the ICM in Tukwila, Washington. Use your typing skills at historic command line based operating systems and programming languages from the 1960s-1990s presented on a PiDP-10 running the MIT AI Lab’s Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS).
The Atari ST at 40 – Philip Louie – Exhibit 64
“Power Without the Price” was the motto that defined the Atari ST line of personal computers. Released in 1985, it offered a powerful 16/32-bit personal computer with graphics, sound, and a graphical user interface at an unheard of low price. This exhibit will feature the line of released Atari 16/32-bit computers from the original Atari 520ST to the last computer Atari ever released, the Atari Falcon030.
Magwest – Exhibit 65
MAGWest is an annual three-day event with live music, non-stop arcades and gaming, tabletop and LAN, pool parties, live music jamming, cosplay and so much more! Join us this year August 8-10th at the San Jose DoubleTree.
CDC 160a – System Source Computer Museum (Sponsor) – Exhibit 66
Exhibiting the Control Data Systems (CDC) 160a designed by Seymore Cray.
We Have Xerox At Home – Thomas Daede – Exhibit 67
Want to scan a cat picture in 1984? Your cheapest option was the Thunderscan – for a mere $200 (~$600 today) you could replace your printer ribbon with a special accessory to convert it to a scanner! Try scanning pictures or your own drawings, edit them in Photoshop, then switch back to print mode to create a hard copy.
MDCon (Sponsor) – Exhibit 68
MDCon is dedicated to preserving and promoting MiniDisc technology through engaging, in-person gatherings around the world.