November 2018 - vcf-midatlantic

Gobble, gobble!
by Evan Koblentz 23 Nov '18

23 Nov '18

This year, especially with Dan gone, I'm thankful for good friends. Mostly we are all here because as kids we didn't fit in anywhere else. :) You folks rock! Looking forward to Festivus. Evan Koblentz Executive Director, Vintage Computer Federation evan(a)vcfed.org / (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org @vcfederation

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Museum report
by Evan Koblentz 21 Nov '18

21 Nov '18

I was at the museum from about 10am - 4pm today (had to leave early). Someone came at 10:30 to give us a couple of Tandy 1000 systems. That was our only visitor, so I gave him the extra-thorough tour. I spent most of the afternoon sorting books in the warehouse. Cleared one entire shelving unit. I'll send a separate email with a books subject line. ________________________________ Evan Koblentz, executive director Vintage Computer Federation a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit evan(a)vcfed.org (646) 546-9999 www.vcfed.org facebook.com/vcfederation twitter.com/vcfederation instagram.com/vcfederation

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] birthday
by Jeffrey Brace 21 Nov '18

21 Nov '18

Yeah, I got alerts too reminding me. I too was glad that I got to see him before he passed and was able to give him some happiness. I gotta dig up some photos of Dan for the ceremony at Festivus that Evan is preparing. On Wed, Nov 21, 2018 at 9:21 AM Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Got a Facebook alert while driving just now that today is Dan’s birthday > as yet another reminder. > > So glad I got to see him before he passed. > Tony -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President Vintage Computer Federation

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OT: Modern keyboard question
by Herb Johnson 21 Nov '18

21 Nov '18

>> I'm thinking about getting a new keyboard for my modern PC. > >> I want to use squishy keycaps such as these: > >> https://www.massdrop.com/buy/silica-gel-keycap-set > >> It says they're Cherry MX compatible. > >> Oddly enough, I know something about this subject. Turns out a lot of old keyboards used now-prized keyswitches from ALPS. People buy old Apple or SGI keyboards for the feel of the keyswitches, and strip them out to make USB keyboards. For touch typists and certain personality types - or for gamers who want quick and sure action - these things matter. I sell keyswitches, all the time. But I bought a couple of used Razer BlackWidow Ultimate keyboards, for modern use. I'm using one now, 2014 year. Depending on year, they either use Cherry keyswitches (various flavors) or a Chinese knockoff. Some models are backlit, some in variable colors. Razer is/was a big name in gaming keyboards; there's copies of their keyboards too, they even copy themselves. Now keycaps, that's another matter. There's interest in those too. Evan, you might have to get keycaps separate from the keyboard, I dunno about that gel-cap stuff. Seems to be a thing. I can't "log in" into "massdrop", I guess their "not-kewl detector" figured out I was over 60 and blocked me. So Mark Whittington's response seems plausible to me. Reading the razer Web site may be informative, or sites that describe their variations. I contribute content over at: https://deskthority.net/wiki/Main_Page They work hard on this stuff. - Herb "click-clack" Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info

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birthday
by Dave McGuire 21 Nov '18

21 Nov '18

Today would've been Dan Roganti's 56th birthday, FYI. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA

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Tomorrow
by Evan Koblentz 20 Nov '18

20 Nov '18

Is anyone off tomorrow? I'd like to put in a full day of warehouse work.

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Sales/giveaways at Festivus
by Evan Koblentz 20 Nov '18

20 Nov '18

Everyone, Several people asked Jeff B. and I about the policy for selling/giving away stuff at Festivus. It's pretty simple. - Make sure you ask/tell Jeff B. ahead of time. We will endeavor to have as many tables as possible, but it's not fair if you show up with a carload of stuff and complain about lack of space. :) - Unlike at VCF East, the "on topic" rules at Festivus is VERY loose. Bring whatever you want if it's cool and/or nerdy. - One strict rule: come get any items of yours that aren't taken by Sunday afternoon. VCF and InfoAge do NOT want your crap :) nor do we want to be responsible for throwing it away. Thanks for understanding. - Your friendly Festivus management

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Kids / guests @ Festivus
by Evan Koblentz 20 Nov '18

20 Nov '18

Everyone, A few people inquired privately about guests/kids at Festivus, so we (Jeff B. and I) decided to send a list-wide message with the answer. Bring anyone who fits in: your kids, spouse, significant other, and retro/tech-minded friends. (Keep in mind that everyone will be charged the same $10/person event fee. I pay it too.) Also PLEASE put everyone's name on the sign-up form at least a few days ahead of time. Please don't surprise us with three extra people, even if they're people we already know: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CYLtFeyBlKwX7h2ohfXz421hFQjZTPPAkdV… With kids, use your judgment, ex.: kids who need supervising probably should not be there late Saturday night when we are all drinking and such. It's cool to bring your good friend who works in an IT department (etc.) or anyone who is into vintage computers. We don't recommend bringing people who do not share such interests. Thanks for understanding. Direct any questions to Jeff B. or yours truly.

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Curious about production environment
by m simons 20 Nov '18

20 Nov '18

Greetings, I'm back after a while away. I was reading the VCF site and saw the stuff about the production environment (the rack with modern computing equipment which I assume is hosting the website, etc.). I'm curious about this. Was it discussed on-list, or anywhere else publicly accessible? I'd like to read about it. I tried searching the archive but didn't see it. --MS

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] how about a lovely vintage printer for that computer :-)
by systems_glitch 19 Nov '18

19 Nov '18

I've got two of these, one in case the other breaks (hah! yeah, right). Excellent printers. As Dave said, you can still get ribbons for most of these things. I bought two 6-pack boxes of Nu-Kote ribbons for my old TTX daisy wheel printer a year or so ago, probably a lifetime supply unless I start running some sort of business form on them. Along those lines, I'm still running an old HP LaserJet 4 as my main printer here, I've tried to replace it 3 or 4 times, and all of its would-be replacements have died. I finally had Ian go through it, apparently all of the roller assemblies and everything are not only available, but pretty cheap! > I bought 100 new MMJ connectors Surprisingly, a bunch of telecom providers still have these in stock. Until recently, Vnetek (the folks that, eventually, ended up with DEC's small networks stuff) still carried the 100-pack under the original DEC part number. I threw some in on the last order from Vnetek, apparently that was the last of their MMJ connectors. Thanks, Jonathan On Mon, Nov 19, 2018 at 12:15 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I sent a reply I'm interested > > Mike Rosen > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Nov 19, 2018, at 8:22 AM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > If no one else wants it, then I will take it! I’m sure there is support > for > > it for Commodore 64 ;) At the very least GEOS should support. > > > > On Sun, Nov 18, 2018 at 7:14 PM Jeffrey Jonas via vcf-midatlantic < > > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > >> I have some things that need adoption, > >> starting with a lovely Panasonic KX-P1124 > >> > >> 24 pin dot matrix printer. > >> Come on, upgrade from that 9 pin printer already! > >> > > -- > > ========================================= > > Jeff Brace > > Vice President > > Vintage Computer Federation > >

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