“Seeing the early equipment at VCF is an amazing experience… It touches on all the hopes and dreams of the time and the many efforts to achieve what others thought would never happen. It brings back memories of a revolution in the making… The people you meet at the VCF are amazing.” — Steve Wozniak, co-founder, Apple
“I enjoyed seeing all the old machines [at the Vintage Computer Festival] that launched an industry and the people that keep the stories alive along with the hardware and software. It was a pleasure seeing many of my old friends and swapping stories about the old days. Seeing these machine reminded me of how many solutions were created for new problems.” — Al Alcorn, designer of Pong and the Atari VCS/2600
“In 35 years the personal computer grew from nothing into the most important device shaping everyday life. It should be part of everyone’s education to see how it grew and to learn from the people who grew it in ways they wanted to see it grow. VCF is the place to be where not only the equipment can be seen and tried out but, perhaps more importantly, where the people who rose to the challenge offered by these machines can be met and heard from.” — Lee Felsenstein, moderator of the Homebrew Computer Club, and Osborne/Processor Technology engineer
“As a speaker at the first September 1998 VCF, I have been delighted to see it grow and flourish. The Vintage Computer Festival is an important institution for computing history simply by getting everyone together for collecting, sharing, and trading all form of bits. Having a forum, gathering, and market for old stuff a.k.a. vintage computers and the software that made them live is an essential way to preserve and expand the history of computing — for some of us, the greatest invention.” — Gordon Bell, top DEC engineer and co-founder of the Computer History Museum
“What a joy to see older computers at VCF East and to meet the people who lovingly repair, rebuild, and maintain them! Anyone interested in how we came to have mobile phones, tablets, and the Internet will enjoy the VCF experience. Take the opportunity to learn about the history of computing and the people who make that history. Exhibitors make old hardware and software interesting and fun for VCF visitors. You’ll have many opportunities to see older computers run and to bargain with collections who have items for sale or trade. Want to know how core memories worked in 60s and 70s minicomputers? Someone at VCF will know. They might even have an old core memory board for sale.” — Jon Titus, creator of the Mark-8 Minicomputer and co-author of Bugbooks
“During my involvement in the computer industry, little did I think that personal computers would be considered antiques and people would be collecting them just as I collected radios. I am proud to say that some of these computers are Franklins, the company that I started… The enthusiasm at the VCF East festival for antique computers is heart-warming and overwhelming.” — Joel Shusterman, founder/president, Franklin Computer
“Recent years have seen the passing of some of the most influential people in our industry: Jack Tramiel, Steve Jobs, Dennis Ritchie to name but a few. As these giants recede into the past we are challenged with preserving our digital heritage in the form of the visions that these pioneers shared with the world. I strongly recommend that everyone, especially families and the younger folk who will be inheriting this wealth of technology, take a trip to the Vintage Computer Festival and experience just a bit of the founding of our technologic age.” — Bil Herd, creator of the Commodore 128
“Vintage Computer Festival East celebrates the hard work and vision of all the volunteers who have made the InfoAge Science Center – now a National Historic Landmark — a place where one can learn from the past to live for the future. Oh, and it’s great fun too!” — Dave Ahl, founder/editor, Creative Computing magazine
“The Vintage Computer Festival is an old-time computer-fest, like we enjoyed back in 1976. The computers are the same, the excitement and fun are the same, and some of the participants are the same. (You can sometimes tell who by the color of their beards.) Younger participants are enjoying meeting some of the early pioneers and seeing the vintage computers running early software. — John Dilks, founder, PC’76 Atlantic City Conference
“I’ve always been a history buff. I finds VCF’s window to the past a truly fascinating experience, and recommend that anyone interested in the early days of computing attend.” — Al Katz, co-founder, Trenton Computer Festival
“For anyone interested in the very early days of personal computer history it is a unique treasure. The VCF East conference is a unique event for anyone interested in computer history.” — Sol Libes, founder of the Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey; co-founder Trenton Computer Festival; and editor/publisher of Microsystems magazine
“The role of events like VCF in the ecosystem of retro-technology enthusiasts can’t be overstated. They are gathering places for enthusiasts, each with a different desire in their interactions. There is value in both strict preservation and direct access to retro-technology, and understanding how they can interact, to further both long-term preservation and interactive recovery of the context of use. Such collaborations can only help to illuminate the history of computers for everyone.” — Chris Garcia, curator, Computer History Museum
“The IEEE History Center is the unit of IEEE (the world’s largest technical association) charged with encouraging the preservation and promotion of the history of engineering and technology. We have always found it useful to work with the collector communities in the various technical fields of interest of IEEE, which range from power equipment to radios to computers. In the computer realm, the Vintage Computer Federation, through their Vintage Computer Festivals, their website, and their other activities, have done an incredible job of preserving computers and the information about them, and supplying forums for the exchange of both equipment and ideas. The field of the history of computing has been greatly enriched by their presence.” — Dr. Michael Geselowitz, Senior Director, IEEE History Center at Stevens Institute of Technology