VCFed 2020 T-shirts – Last Call!

VCF events are done for the year, the world is still a mess, and our supply of t-shirts is dwindling! If you were thinking about getting one of these beautiful shirts, now is the time!

Two great colors to chose from, and the back sums up 2020 perfectly! (Green is shown; amber shirts have an amber back as well. Bonus points if you know where the caterpillar comes from.  Hint: it is not from Centipede!)

Your cost for this masterpiece? Just $20 + shipping, and all profits go to support VCFed. The shirts are made for us by A Nova Print in Portland, OR.  Men’s and Women’s sizes are available, but some sizes have already sold out.

More information can be found at https://vcfed.org/t-shirts/

VCF East and VCF Berlin are this weekend!

This weekend enjoy two different VCF events!

VCF East (our flagship event!) will take place on Saturday and Sunday between 9:00AM and 6:00PM Eastern Daylight Time. This year it is a virtual event – in addition to streaming the event some exhibitors will be on site at the InfoAge Science Center in Wall, NJ. The theme for the event this year is the 6502 microprocessor, remembering Chuck Peddle and celebrating the 45th anniversary of its creation. Be sure to check out our schedule page with info on how to watch the show.

Also plan on enjoying VCF Berlin, taking place on Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 10:00AM and 8:00PM Central European Summer Time. Enjoy virtual exhibits, talks and workshops and a special exhibit on “Collecting Computers as a Hobby.” (VCF Berlin is run by a different group of great people and we are happy to see VCF goodness there!)

VCF PNW 2020 has been cancelled

The short story: VCF PNW 2020 has been cancelled

The longer story:

King County health officials are asking event organizers to consider postponing events where large groups of people will be present.  As a result, Living Computers:Museum+Labs has closed and will remain closed until further notice.

I’d like to thank everybody for their effort and support.

Update (March 11th, 2020)

Given the uncertain nature of the health crisis we are not going to try to reschedule VCF PNW this year. The situation does not look like it will get better in the next few weeks and later in the year we conflict with other events. Thanks for your support and understanding and stay safe.

-Mike

VCF PNW 2020: Exhibitors needed

What: Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest 2020
When: Saturday March 21st and Sunday March 22nd
Where: Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle, Washington.
Web site: https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw

Why … So you can share your favorite old computers and projects in person with like-minded others for two full days at a great venue. This is one of the many ways we celebrate computing history while reaching out to a larger audience, and hopefully inspiring others.

As of this writing we have seven exhibitors, three speakers, and a handful of volunteers signed up. We are looking for 20 to 25 exhibitors in total, another speaker or two, and a few more volunteers. While returning exhibits are welcome, we want to encourage first-timers to step up and try it out. (It is fun and rewarding!)

If you know that you can bring an exhibit please look at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration and then fill in the registration form. (Potential volunteers and speakers – send me an email instead, as there is no form.) If you are “on the fence” or just have questions please send me an email and I will get things sorted out for you. The registration deadline is January 31st but if you know you can commit now it will make project planning easier.

A description of the event can be found at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw. General information for exhibitors including links to pictures from last year, a link to the registration form, and a FAQ can be found at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration. Feel free to email me with questions.

Thanks,
Mike
michael@vcfed.org

Remembering Chuck Peddle

Chuck Peddle, a pioneer in the personal computing industry passed away on December 15th.

Chuck was on the team at Motorola who worked on the 6800 microprocessor. Based on his experience and belief that a lower cost alternative was needed, Chuck and several engineers left Motorola to create the 6502 microprocessor at MOS technology. When released in 1975 the 6502 was far less expensive than competing processors; the low price point enabled products such as the Atari 2600, the Apple ][, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, the BBC Micro, and many others. It was an important part of the home computer revolution.

Chuck gave the keynote speech (via Skype) at VCF East 4.0 (in 2007) for Commodore’s 30th Anniversary. Dave Haynie, Bil Herd, Jeri Ellsworth and other Commodore fans were in attendance. Here is the YouTube video of his keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBnmJhEOdC8&t=854s

Chuck will be missed and remembered for his immense contributions to the early home computer revolution.

Chuck, thanks for all of the opcodes!

The MOS MCS6501 chip which was pin compatible to the Motorola 6800. Chuck Peddle created it to irk Motorola his former employer. An “in your face to Motorola.” Motorola sued and MOS stopped making it, but this forced Motorola to reduce the price of the 6800 because of competition with the 6502.

Help support VCFed the easy way!

Are you going to do any shopping at Amazon.com? If so, then keep reading …

Amazon has a program called Amazon Smile that allows you to specify a charity to receive a 0.5% cut of all of your eligible purchases. The program doesn’t affect the prices that you see on Amazon, so it is free to you.

Head over to smile.amazon.com and select “Vintage Computer Federation Inc” in Eatontown, New Jersey. Then do your shopping at smile.amazon.com. If you forget and you start at amazon.com you can switch to smile.amazon.com and continue – your shopping cart will be preserved across the two sites.

Thanks in advance for helping us pay the bills and keep things running!

(Vintage Computer Federation is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.)

Announcing VCF PNW 2020

The Vintage Computer Federation is pleased to announce Vintage Computer
Festival Pacific Northwest 2020! We will be at Living
Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle Washington on Saturday March 21st and
Sunday March 22nd, 2020.

To make this happen we are looking for exhibitors, speakers and
volunteers. Last year we had 28 exhibits and 6 presentations. We had a
great time, we broke the museum attendance record (again), and we are
looking to have a good time again in March.

If you are thinking of traveling from outside of the region there is plenty
to do in Seattle while you are here. Local attractions include the
Connections Museum, the Pacific Science Center, MoPOP, the Boeing factory
tour, Mr. Rainier, etc. Victoria, British Columbia is also a short
distance away. See a more complete list at https://goo.gl/3emMWH.

Details about VCF PNW 2020 can be found at https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw. The
exhibitor registration instructions can be found at
https://vcfed.org/vcf-pnw/exhibitor-registration. I’m happy to answer
questions by email too.

Regards,
Mike
michael@vcfed.org