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OT: Why New Jersey Has No Major City
by Herbert Johnson 10 Jan '26

10 Jan '26

I've lived near Trenton for decades but was not born in NJ. So I see the state as an outsider. I appreciated the video. The second half of the video was about "boroughitis", that I figured out by experience, I didn't realize it was driven by policy. But the first half about the (pre)colonial history was new to me and very informative, made sense. I knew previously, that Ben Franklin referred to New Jersey as "a barrel with two corks at either end", being opposite Phila and NYC. And I also knew before, the geography, more than in the video. The state is split north-south by "hills" and rocky lands north, clay and sand and forest soils to the south. I know in particular, the economic value of the southern farms, clays for pottery, sand for glass - a lot of economic value a century or two ago. Trenton was a world pottery center, from vases down to sinks and toilets. Also pine for construction. Even the Pinelands had "bog iron", washed down from the north into the clays. Not in the video, is the fact that ridges run across the north half of the state, from southwest to northeast. They are the ancient foothills and worn-down Appalachian Mountains (mined for coal and iron, other minerals). Rivers and roads run in those directions. They are physical obstacles to north-south commerce, until powered vehicles and asphalt highways were created, except for the Delaware. The Delaware River cuts through these ridges, from northwest to south east in the north half, as the video called out. In the south half, the Delaware bends to the southwest. Roads in either half follow in parallel, or perpendicular-to, the river. Thus there's no "cardinal directions" in the the state - you can't drive "north", you drive roughly parallel or perpendicular to the Delaware. Thus a compass is useless for travel in most of New Jersey. The video called out greater Newark as a single sprawling metropolitan area of millions, bigger than Chicago - that was a surprise. regards Herb Johnson -- 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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OT: Why New Jersey Has No Major City
by Jeffrey Brace 10 Jan '26

10 Jan '26

*"If you go by pop culture alone, you might think the entire state of New Jersey is just one long turnpike exit—a grey, industrial corridor connecting New York City to... well, anywhere else. It’s the butt of every joke about the state. But if you actually look at the map, and I mean really look at the physical reality of the land, you’ll realize that New Jersey isn’t just a paved-over parking lot. It is actually a geographic marvel that, by all rights, shouldn't exist as a single political entity."* This video talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzohouMgODo&t=36s Enjoy! Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President

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MARCH Workshop this weekend
by Jeff Salzman 10 Jan '26

10 Jan '26

For those arriving at InfoAge for the MARCH Workshop event this weekend, you can open the door to the 9010-D building simply by pulling on the door handle. Even though the door has a code lock, the door is not locked. It's just closed for climate control inside. Jeff Salzman

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Site-wide wireless for VCF East?
by Neil Cherry 10 Jan '26

10 Jan '26

I think this is getting way off track and posting blame isn't going to change the network. I take exception with the understanding of what it takes to build a network. I've built very large networks (Corp 50 type networks). I haven't built exhibition networks. Those are two different things. This network is not designed to handle an expo center network, especially on a campus env. Remember this network was built with volunteers and a lot (if not all) was donated. Not a cheap thing, expecially with 10G fiber between the building. If someone wished to cough up the dollars and volunteers to build an expo network, please step up. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry(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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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Site-wide wireless for VCF East?
by Ian Litchfield 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

Forgive any brashness here, but “taking away” the network due to complaints of it being over loaded seems excessive and unwarranted. There are ways to implement network segregation, quotas, QoS, etc. and setup temporary networks for exhibitors or attendees. That being said, shame on those that vindicated IA, which provided a free service and experienced a moment of congestion. Of course 1500 people all going through one pipe is going to be slow. If you go to any major event there are quality and service disruptions.. -Ian L. On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 17:03 Martin A Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On 1/9/2026 2:38 PM, Dan FitzGerald wrote: > > I am designing my exhibit for VCF East, and would like to know if we > > are going to have site-wide public wifi for the event. Whether we do > > or not will affect what kinds of things I do with my exibit; > > specifically, if I am going to allow for attendees for remote access > > to my personal mainframe system, and whether or not I will attempt any > > cross-site demos of the OfficeVision/VM (PROFS) mail program. > > > > Do you think that this will be possible? > > Dan, > > After InfoAge and myself getting thoroughly beat up for Wi-Fi issues at > a previous VCFe, the decision was made to no longer provide "public" > Wi-Fi at InfoAge. > > InfoAge does provide staff Wi-Fi in the areas that were equipped by the > volunteers from CDL, VCF, and the RTM, however it is definitely not > site-wide. > > Martin Flynn > > >

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Site-wide wireless for VCF East?
by Patrick Finnegan 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

It's unfortunate that VCFed can't find a way to provide this for the attendees at the show, even if it's not provided by infoage. There are good options for Wireless and Satellite network uplinks, so you're not even limited to what connectivity the site has to it. Actually, considering that IA is a non profit more or less educational entity, it should look at joining Eduroam... Even hospitals and museums have joined into that. Patrick Finnegan On Fri, Jan 9, 2026, 17:03 Martin A Flynn via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > On 1/9/2026 2:38 PM, Dan FitzGerald wrote: > > I am designing my exhibit for VCF East, and would like to know if we > > are going to have site-wide public wifi for the event. Whether we do > > or not will affect what kinds of things I do with my exibit; > > specifically, if I am going to allow for attendees for remote access > > to my personal mainframe system, and whether or not I will attempt any > > cross-site demos of the OfficeVision/VM (PROFS) mail program. > > > > Do you think that this will be possible? > > Dan, > > After InfoAge and myself getting thoroughly beat up for Wi-Fi issues at > a previous VCFe, the decision was made to no longer provide "public" > Wi-Fi at InfoAge. > > InfoAge does provide staff Wi-Fi in the areas that were equipped by the > volunteers from CDL, VCF, and the RTM, however it is definitely not > site-wide. > > Martin Flynn > > >

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Site-wide wireless for VCF East?
by Dan FitzGerald 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

I am designing my exhibit for VCF East, and would like to know if we are going to have site-wide public wifi for the event. Whether we do or not will affect what kinds of things I do with my exibit; specifically, if I am going to allow for attendees for remote access to my personal mainframe system, and whether or not I will attempt any cross-site demos of the OfficeVision/VM (PROFS) mail program. Do you think that this will be possible? -- Regards, Dan FitzGerald Classical Computing Laboratory at IBM Poughkeepse http://www.vm.ibm.com/devpages/DFITZGER Danbury-Area Retrocomputing Enthusiasts (D.A.R.E.) HNET: EVIEVM(DFITZGER)

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] OT I have some CRESTRON equipment that I am willing to get rid of
by August Culbert 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

Hi Mike, I'm interested in the Crestron equipment. I have an old copy of the software I can use to program them. I will be at the workshop on Saturday. Thanks! -August On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 2:57 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I will be at the workshop this Saturday up until about 4 PM > If anybody is interested in some old CRESTRON equipment > Including touch panels, processors and accessories please let me know > immediately. > I will have to put these in a container so I can bring them with me if > there is any interest > No picking and choosing winner has to take all. > > Mike Rosen > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. >

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OT: Electronics Auction in Jackson tomorrow
by Joseph Giliberti 09 Jan '26

09 Jan '26

I know this is off topic, but I know there's a lot of people here who might be interested. Tomorrow morning there's a vintage electronics auction being held in Jackson. It might be an opportunity to pick something up to play with at the workshop. https://share.google/Lew1ckOcU9Bck8lJ6 Regards, Joe Giliberti

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] MARCH Workshop - Jan 10-11, 2026
by Jeffrey Brace 08 Jan '26

08 Jan '26

Hello Mike, Yes. There are a lot of items that need to be worked on. I'm not sure which you feel most comfortable with: NeXT Cube (I'm not sure the problem. Ask Doug Crawford) New Games for Commodore PET onto SD Card SGI monitor Mac Plus needs files put back on floppy. There are too many others on our Trello list. Consult with Doug Crawford or me when you arrive. Thanks! Jeff On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 9:24 AM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Jeff does the group ( warehouse) have anything they need worked on? (small > items of course!) > > Mike Rosen > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Jan 6, 2026, at 7:17 AM, Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > Coming up in just a few days, the first MARCH Workshop of 2026. > > > > Signup sheet is here: > > > > > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wZfxlcyORhpSiPJso0Qc-MMWypN_m6muR7O… > > > > General Workshop details can be found here: > > > > Repair Workshops @ InfoAge – Vintage Computer Federation > > <https://vcfed.org/repair-workshops-at-infoage/> > > > > Note that the new location on the InfoAge campus for the Workshops is in > > Building 9010D, and details on that building location are on the Workshop > > details page above. > > > > See you there! > > > > Jeff Salzman > > VCF-MidAtlantic Steering Committee > > MARCH Workshop Manager > >

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