- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

OT: Youtube & AI at work in video selection?
by Neil Cherry 27 Nov '23

27 Nov '23

(I've also posted this to the CDL list but they are not CC'd here). I've been poking around Youtube entertaining myself with various videos. But while poking around I've been noticing a few trends. The first is the blatant AI made videos. Most are the rather poorly made videos with a very monotone & robotic voice. Some are more noticeable at higher speeds. I tend to watch the videos at 2x speed otherwise I get bored. But much more disturbing is a second trend of what appears to be AI selected videos to a collection of unrelated material. Such as various scientific videos on a doll making feed (weird). Today I started seeing a much more disturbing trend of AI fakes being combined with an unrelated feed. Has anyone else noticed this? BTW, Youtube's AI doesn't seem to work very well as it keeps giving me videos I've already told it I've watched or not interested in. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry kd2zrq(a)linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies KD2ZRQ

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VCF-MA Steering Committee Nominees
by Jeff Salzman 24 Nov '23

24 Nov '23

Greetings everyone, The nominations for the upcoming VCF-MA Steering Committee openings are closed. The following people, in no particular order, have been nominated and have accepted their nominations: Thomas Gilinsky Dave McGuire Marcus Mera Ian Litchfield Dave Shevitt Each of the candidates should have their Position Statements made available on the VCF website by the time voting begins on November 26. As members of this mailing list (who have registered for membership on or before October 27, 2023) you will be eligible to vote for the two Steering Committee openings. We ask that you take the time to read all of the candidate's position statements when provided and make informed decisions on who you would want to represent members of the committee who helps guide the nature, purpose, and activity of the Vintage Computer Federation - Mid Atlantic chapter. On behalf of the current Steering Committee members, good luck to the current Steering Committee candidates. Polls will open on November 26, 2023 with instructions on how you can cast your vote(s). Thank you, Jeff Salzman Chairman VCF-MA Steering Committee

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A Burroughs something on Facebook marketplace
by Joseph Giliberti 23 Nov '23

23 Nov '23

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/6869726749748191/?mibextid=dXMIcH

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VCF Steering Committee Nominations (coming to a close)
by Jeff Salzman 23 Nov '23

23 Nov '23

Time is counting down to the end of the nomination period for the VCF Steering Committee. If you wish to nominate someone, please email the nomination by 11:59PM Pacific Time (2:59M Eastern Time) by emailing the nomination to any of the current Steering Committee members listed below. The nominee will be able to accept the nomination after the cutoff time/date as long as the nomination comes in before the deadline. So far, the following people have been nominated and have accepted the nomination: Thomas Gilinsky Dave McGuire Marcus Mera Ian Litchfield For those who have accepted nominations already, please prepare your Position Statement as soon as possible for the voting period. Thank you, Jeff Salzman Chairman VCF-MA Steering Committee Please email your nominations to any of the following Steering Committee members: Alexander Jacocks - alex.jacocks(a)vcfed.org Dave McGuire - dave.mcguire(a)vcfed.org Douglas Crawford - douglas.crawford(a)vcfed.org Jason Perkins - jason.perkins(a)vcfed.org Jeff Salzman - jeff.salzman(a)vcfed.org.

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Internet in 9010
by Martin A. Flynn 23 Nov '23

23 Nov '23

Swapped out the core switch this morning, can see the 9010 Cameras remotely so service was restored. Will need to Rebooot the edge switch in the 9010 attic, that can wait until after the holiday.

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Please fill out Festivus Survey
by Jeffrey Brace 22 Nov '23

22 Nov '23

We've gotten some responses, everyone please fill out when you can: https://bit.ly/vcfEoY2023pre I will be finalizing the plans very soon and your feedback would be appreciated! Thanks! Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Festivus 2023 Mini-Swap Meet signup
by Gregg Levine 22 Nov '23

22 Nov '23

Hello! Palm Pilots. Both the original design and all in color. Strange. There's a velociraptor wandering around wearing a fur coat over his fuzzy down one all over the campus. ----- Gregg C Levine gregg.drwho8(a)gmail.com "This signature fought the Time Wars, time and again." On Sun, Nov 19, 2023 at 8:17 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > So I plan on signing up for the swap meet and attending Festivus. > But my question is, > what are people looking for out there? > I know this is a very broad question, but if I have it, I’ll bring it, if it’s for sale, just ask. > > Mike R. > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Nov 18, 2023, at 2:34 PM, Jeffrey Brace via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > This is the link for the Festivus Swap Meet Signup > > <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C0e0YwN-p_gl5i249rRBx9LYmyZMce3AqeC…> > > > > Thanks! > > > > Jeff Brace > > VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President > > Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner > > VCF Mid-Atlantic Event Manager > > Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity > > https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> > > jeffrey(a)vcfed.org >

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IMAC G3 Problem
by Herbert Johnson 21 Nov '23

21 Nov '23

I was gonna post " Davey will find better discussion, in a iMac repair email group.". Sure enough, Davey is in the vcfed.org "early PowerPC Macs" forum, photo and all, with details. Davey focused on the flyback. But it might be useful, to focus on the horiz output transistor. Be sure it matches *brand* as well as part-number. Exact replacement horizontal transistors on CRTs is often necessary - it's an analog circuit that is sensitive that way. But it's odd to see action as described. This may be a more classic "TV" problem, like that transistor. I'll post some details in the PowerPC list. Jeff Brace: > > You will need to provide a link to the picture because attachments don't > .. If you are local, then I suggest that you bring it to our next repair workshop > > On Sat, Nov 18, 2023 at 3:33 PM Daveyk021 wrote: >> >> Are there any iMac G3 experts in the group? >> >> >> I replaced the [iMac G3] >> flyback and horz output to get this iMac to come on. The unblanking has >> vertical strips in it, missing video. This one had worked almost perfectly >> until the first time I turned it off (it was having display size jittering, >> and some flashing, so I assume the flyback was failing). >> If I changed the OS resolution down to 800x600, >> the blank vertical lines are still there... So it kind of looks like a >> really weird unblanking issue. I cannot find schematics for this thing >> anywhere. -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey USA https://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net

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Huge Museum Status Update 2023
by Douglas Crawford 21 Nov '23

21 Nov '23

The Mid-Atlantic campus has been kicking butt for the last year. My main concern is the museum, which has been pivoting into a computing history learning experience in order to hopefully become much more of "thing" on the east coast, appealing to both tech interested & STEM audiences as well as laymen. Here are a set of photos of a recent early morning high school student visit with docent Thomas Gilinksy demonstrating the PDP-8. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MWbqQhDESH5vS0Z_ZMsbLMLenO5bsUL7?us… Note the poster of Olsen behind the PDP-8, part of a continuing to effort to honor company founders of the equipment we have and tell a bit the founder's and company's history. In the background of photo 2 and 3 you can see the partially completed exhibits of the PC add-in cards angled towards the viewer. We are now routinely doing paper tape loads and demo programs thanks to David Gesswein's dedicated attention to the straight-8 and Rick Lewis's excellent PDP-8 instruction document. We had 45 high school students come through in three groups of 15 early Wed AM with Thomas, Bill I, and myself as docents. Though we only had 1/2 hour with each group, we packed a lot in and they were very very attentive. One student, suitably impressed, came right back with his brother and brother's girlfriend on Saturday. Other things we have going on for visitors to see and do include an expanding suit of software and activities add recently - The Entrance Exhibit is now able to illustrate what logic gates are, how they are used, and how they are made from any given technology from the 40s to the 70s - relays, tubes, transistors, ICs to Microprocessors. and how memory evolved from the 40's to the 70s physical delay lines to magnetics to solid state charge devices. - Also at the entrance of the museum, Thomas's is developing a mechanical calculator exhibit as an introduction to the reason why the ENIAC was necessary. It has become a big hit and really attracts due to the unique tactile and immediate sound, feel and feedback. - A third row has a very nice Intel Moore's law exhibit with not only the processors, but also the accompanying typical memory stick formats and math coprocessors for the era when these were separate products. - Atari ST - Bart has provided 7 programs and some innovative new signage - The Amiga has classic demos including BOING! and ROTOCITY as well as some great game titles. - Mac - Several games and the classic applications, including an floppy drive emulator to have more software available. - TI 99, which used to be relative to the hard to use exhibit "top shelf" was expanded upon by Bart with a text to speach activity and has now been moved to a bottom shelf. - Bart also supplied a Tandy 1000 complete with Deskmate as part of our "GUI user interface" example options, which is also a great DOS game player which is interesting to note bested out the IBM PC Jr. - A beutiful GRiD 1520 now occupies a top shelf sporting an intersting corporate computer example. It has an intact vintage Colgate mobile computing installation. This machine is a great example of the early design type that started the flip up screen format for laptops. - Apple II runs authentic Oregon Trail in color and is a big big hit. A must have that we didn't have until this year. - TRS-80 tape load and programming example, - Osborne - an example of a useful too programmed in BASIC that would have been typical of the day- decimal to binary converter - Newly restored TRS-80 Model III from the warehouse by yours truly - fully working 2 disk drive system that auto boots into the BASIC program that generated a number of screens for the enterprise on Star Trek: The Motion Picture and also the "Big Five" games, and Dancing Demon- an early example of user-definable behavior, foreshadowing things like Pinball Construction set and SIM CITY type software. This also has a functional RS-232 board ready for some communications. - Apple II runs authentic - Apple I - Woz's BASIC and demonstrating what about the Apple I probably stood out making a few investors interested in helping them get to the Apple II. Newly added Kaypro 10, with a fully loaded HD thanks to restoration by Dave Gesswein. - Silicon Graphics machine by Thomas that runs many demos including Jurassic Park items. - Several primers on BASIC, on a single laminated card, that step interested visitors through the joy of programming- One generic that can be used on many different computers, and one specific to the C64. - Many machines have a default demo instituted that the machines are set to run when the museum opens with a card that tells what the computer is running and why it is significant. - Scelbi and S-100 demos will be functional early in the new year. - The IBM PC boots into a typical batch processing menu system with a number of software titles ready to go. - We are also capturing video testimonies of visitors who had interesting careers or were involved at Camp Evans. Future: - We are now anticipating that the top racks will be the home of an exhibit of portable computers. - Plans for machine language activities on "trainers" - Assembly language activities & vintage art, music and productivity tool activities on several C64 computers set up for the purpose. - An BBS system and demonstrations of different computers using a BBS along with a specific museum tour about computer and peripheral communications innovations over the decades. - Creation of a new Mid-Atlantic Vintage Computer USERS group along the lines of user groups of old meeting monthly. - An exhibit demonstration and lecture open house quarterly. And, as the saying goes, much, much more. IF YOU READ THIS FAR, you are probably quite interested in all this. If you have artifacts that you would like to donate to embellish computing history as we are doing- now that you know it is all happening in earnest as per our mission statement (see below) OR if you might considering being a docent in this exciting operation... ... contact me offline. -- Douglas Crawford VCF Mid-Atlantic Museum Mgr InfoAge Science & History Museums 2201 Marconi Road Wall, NJ 07719 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Mission and Vision of the Vintage Computer Federation Museum in Wall, NJ A Computer History Learning Center MISSION To honor and propagate the history of computer innovation by preserving and exhibiting artifacts in a uniquely hands-on experience for the education of the public, edification of our membership, and inspiration of a new generation of thinkers, dreamers, and visionaries. VISION Develop a growing museum and knowledgeable docent staff. Rescue, preserve, and restore artifacts. Create interesting, educational, functional, and interactive exhibits. Establish educational tours, demonstrations, talks, and hands-on learning opportunities around the multi-faceted technological evolutions in computer subjects. These include hardware, operating systems, programming languages, applications/software, user interfaces, communications and networking, and gaming. Instill an appreciation of the evolution of technology by connecting tech of the past to tech of today. Illuminate our artifacts with information about the people, events, culture, and trivia in computer history. Inspire youth to continue the quest; help them realize that they are the future and give them a vision for that future. Provide avenues for them to get started learning electronics and programming. Cultivate a community of vintage technology enthusiasts by engaging them with the VCF in its mission, and provide opportunities to get involved. Grow the museum by promoting far and wide its value and educational experience. Increase attendance and revenue to InfoAge, encourage the increase in donations to the VCF. Establish that we are worthy of being the beneficiaries of significant, notable, or important artifact donations and monetary support, in particular from industry and influential entities. ASPIRATIONS To be regarded as a premier computer history learning center and museum To be regarded as a must-see destination for all levels of interest, from those casually intrigued with computer history to students studying technology to technology industry veterans to vintage computer hobbyists To embody these goals both in our current museum even more so in our future expanded museum

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IMAC G3 Problem
by Daveyk021 20 Nov '23

20 Nov '23

Hello, Are there any iMac G3 experts in the group? I have never seen a CRT/TV do this before (I used to work in TV repair, but that was in the late 70s through 1983, so I am a tad rusty. I replaced the flyback and horz output to get this iMac to come on. The unblanking has vertical strips in it, missing video. This one had worked almost perfectly until the first time I turned it off (it was having display size jittering, and some flashing, so I assume the flyback was failing). I doubt the CRT got damaged while sitting on the floor of my storage room for a week or so. I have no idea if this could be the video out of the computer board or the display board. I checked all display board caps before replacing the flyback and horz output. If I changed the OS resolution down to 800x600, the blank vertical lines are still there. Could be a yoke, but the mouse passes through the blank line, like they still there. If I move a window, the window doesn't jump across the lines. So it kind of looks like a really weird unblanking issue. I cannot find schematics for this thing anywhere. [image: image.png]

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