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VCF East 2022 Wrap-up
by Jeffrey Brace 26 Apr '22

26 Apr '22

Hello everyone, VCF East 2022 was a great success! Initial reports indicate that financially we recouped our large expenses this year. Everyone that I ran into seemed very pleased with all aspects of the show and thanked me for all my hardwork and dedication for making this show great. The talks were diverse and top notch, the consignment was very profitable and great treasures to be found, the food on site was appreciated, the exhibits were incredibly exciting, lots of cool VCF Swag to be bought and the comradery was fun. I want to thank everyone who volunteered and helped me with the planning, setup and breakdown of the show. I spent countless hours planning for this show over the weeks and months before the show. Despite the huge amount of time and dedication that I put into this show by myself, I would not be able to make this show happen without the volunteers. The quality of the show has been improved due to the volunteers such as the Sea Cadets and all the individuals who made my job easier and improved the quality of the show overall. For me, this is a part time job in the months leading up to this show and a full time job the week before the show. I want to thank Bill and Rick who helped me plan for hours every week ahead of the show. Bill is my right hand man who helps set up the signs, docenting at the museum and with anything that I need, before, during and after the show. Rick helped with the planning and the survey as well as setup, docent duty and breakdown after the show. The Sea Cadets were incredibly helpful with crowd management and helping in all areas of the show. I want to thank Alex for organizing the volunteers and running the consignment. They brought consignment up to a new level with a Point of Sale System, setting up storage carts for a less crowded room, labeling for items, spreadsheet inventory and many other tweaks. Thanks to Corey for running the front desk, helping with setup and breakdown of it. I felt relaxed to know that he would have everything running there smoothly. Jason was great in setting up the tables, managing the exhibitors and for making the campus map as well as Lawson for making the exhibitor map. Ethan O and crew for bringing the A/V to an even higher level of professionalism. They were so good last year, but were even better this year! Thanks to Adam and Tony for setup and teaching and all the instructors for doing the Apple 2 classroom. It was very successful. Glitch had another incredible workshop and adjusted nicely due to lack of kits by making it an S-100 repair workshop. Chris L for helping where I needed at the front gate, breakdown, etc. Chris F for being the speaker coordinator and all the other people who helped with the day before, during and after the show. I was very glad to be able to go home "early" on Sunday by 10PM due to help with breakdown. I'm usually there until 2AM and come back Monday for several hours to clean up. Thanks to all the great speakers for such diverse, interesting and enjoyable talks. Thanks especially to Bil Herd for wrangling 12 Commodore speakers together in one spot. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many of them in one spot. Thanks to all the Commodorians who came. You will never see this happen again. Thanks to Burger Becky for such incredible talks. Thanks to Kathy Kleiman for a fun interactive talk. Thanks to Stephen Edwards for moderating the technical talks with the Commodore folks. Thanks to all the in-person and virtual speakers who had diverse and fun talks. All the steamed talks were made private so that we have a chance to clean up the videos and release them as separate talks. We need some time to edit and process them before releasing them. Our next year's show will be April 14, 15 and 16, 2023 back at InfoAge. There will be two themes for this show. The first is: Computing in Education. The second theme will be announced shortly. I hope to see everyone again next year for an incredibly fantastic show! Jeff Brace Showrunner for Vintage Computer Festival East

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The Commodore panels were off the hook.
by Christian Liendo 26 Apr '22

26 Apr '22

I'm sorry for singling out those panels. For me, those Commodore panels were amazing. They were something we wish we had when Commodore was around and had to wait 40 years. I don't know how to properly thank Bil Herd in getting all those people there. But that was a historical moment that I predict people will be talking about for a while. I have a lot of good Vintage Computer Fest Stories and this will go with them, I got to learn a lot of great trivia and met a lot of good people. Also it was great to see all the people I know.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Green Modem/Phone in consignment
by Jeff S 25 Apr '22

25 Apr '22

Didn't Connor buy that at a discount in the last hour or two? On Mon, Apr 25, 2022, 1:29 PM Jeffrey Golas via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Does anyone know if the green modem/RCA phone pair that were on the first > table sold at all? (AlexJ would prob know but I dont have his contact info) > > Jeff

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Show
by Jeffrey Brace 25 Apr '22

25 Apr '22

On Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 6:34 PM Bob Aviles via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Hi All, > I enjoy the show today, I got a couple of things mostly software and one > joystick. I ready like the talk about Commodore to Atari ST it was a lot of > fun!Anyway can not wait until next year. > Bobby Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Planning for next year! > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Green Modem/Phone in consignment
by Jeffrey Golas 25 Apr '22

25 Apr '22

Does anyone know if the green modem/RCA phone pair that were on the first table sold at all? (AlexJ would prob know but I dont have his contact info) Jeff

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KSUs from free pile
by Jason Perkins 24 Apr '22

24 Apr '22

Whoever took the phone system / KSUs from the free pile... you left the phones. Without them the system won't work. Please grab them, they're in the free pile. Also, a friend was interested the blue / green TIE KSU. The TalkTo is higher quality, think you'd be happy with just one? Thanks, -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085 Sent from my iPhone

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Sunday afternoon: from the Sarnoff Collection: Vinyl Videos Opening Reception and Zoom/In-Person Informal Discussion
by Jeffrey Jonas 24 Apr '22

24 Apr '22

For folks not enjoying VCF-East in person, on channel 2 is a webcast from the RCA Sarnoff Museum: https://davidsarnoff.tcnj.edu/2022/04/18/vinyl-videos-opening-reception-and… The Sarnoff Collection Vinyl Videos Opening Reception and Zoom/In-Person Informal Discussion April 24, 2022: Reception 1pm; Zoom/In-Person Informal Discussion 2-3:30pm Vinyl Videos: The Rise and Fall of the RCA Videodisc on view through November \xe2\x80\x94 examines the creation, introduction, and fate of an innovative RCA commercial product line. On Sunday April 24, to mark the opening of the exhibit, the Sarnoff welcomes campus and community friends to a public reception (1pm) followed by a live/Zoom conversation (2-3:30pm) among Videodisc project leaders and scholars and historians of science, technology. and innovation. Presented live and via Zoom No reservations necessary To attend via Zoom: https://tcnj.zoom.us/j/92539097242?pwd=VDUxeTBDYXJYT2xidmIyTlRjbFlmUT09 Participants include Dr. Margaret Graham, author, The Business of Research: RCA and The Videodisc; Dr. Benjamin Gross, author, The TVs of Tomorrow: How RCA\xe2\x80\x99s Flat-Screen Dreams Led to the First LCDs; Dr. John A. van Raalte, lead RCA Videodisc researcher; Brian Wallace, curator, Sarnoff Collection. Flori Pierri, assistant curator at the MIT Museum, will moderate the conversation. Vinyl Videos: The Rise and Fall of the RCA Videodisc The RCA Videodisc system \xe2\x80\x93 along with the story of its creation, introduction, and impact on the RCA corporation \xe2\x80\x93 embodies the curious power and fragility of corporate innovation. This exhibit uses objects, images, and documents from the Sarnoff archives along with first-hand and scholarly accounts of this product\xe2\x80\x99s development and demise to examine the complex relationships between basic research, business decision-making, and product development and marketing. For much of the 20th century, RCA defined and dominated the fields of communication, information, and entertainment. RCA created products and provided the capital needed to manufacture and market those products and the highly-desirable content that drove sales of those products: record players and a vast catalog of music; radio and its multitude of broadcast programs; black and white and then color television and that medium\xe2\x80\x99s broad range of programs. Implicit in this success was the need to combine the next innovation with the next market niche and continue the cycle. In 1964, company executives decided to focus on the pursuit of a commercially viable video playback. 1972, RCA announced that a product named Videodisc would be on the market the following year. However, that year and then several more years passed, as difficulties crept into the development process. Some problems were research-based or technical. Some were rooted in a poor understanding of the home user: early designs failed to account for damage from fingerprints, dust, and scratches. Other problems are best characterized as poor leadership followed by sub-optimal responses: some executives ignored the greater status afforded to researchers at the more theoretical end of the spectrum (and to managers in the greater New York/Princeton area as opposed to in Indiana and elsewhere in the mid-West). Research and test work continued through the mid and late 1970s. Variations to disc materials and design and in the approach to needle/cartridge materials, a plastic sleeve totally enclosing the disc, and simplified and smaller player design all contributed to a new line of devices and programs set to drive a new mutually-reinforcing category of sales that built on, rather than cannibalized, the market for televisions. The Videodisc system was introduced in March 1981, promoted heavily for two years, sold poorly, and pulled from the market in 1984. RCA itself was sold to rival General Electric in 1987 in a deal that cost shareholders, workers, and pensioners billions in today\xe2\x80\x99s dollars. What went wrong? VHS videotape, introduced a crucial few months before Videodisc, offered a hard-to-define physical convenience, a lower sale price, and the availability of a rapidly increasing number of titles at a growing number of retail stores. As well, videotape allowed consumers to record programming to be played back at their convenience (a behavior unanticipated by RCA marketing research) \xe2\x80\x93 and it initiated a boom in renting, not selling, of content (another behavior RCA failed to envision). RCA, at this key moment, was also struggling to adapt to an increasingly global business environment, grappling with its own capital and labor issues, and only slowly \xe2\x80\x93 too slowly, as it turned out \xe2\x80\x93 coming to terms with the impact its acquisition and subsequent sale of large corporate units unrelated to its core industries had on the long-term health of the organization. This program is made possible in part by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission through funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission and the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] enjoyed the show today
by Jeffrey Brace 23 Apr '22

23 Apr '22

On Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 7:20 PM Sentrytv via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > I enjoyed the show today as well, > many more interesting things for me to see. > I was really impressed with the enigma machine and several other things as > well . > I like Eric’s display he had with sound, voice > and music with several different computers. > Kids really love that one. > > Had a really good conversation with a person from the Amiga display, I > just don’t remember his name. > > I missed the Apple Workshop unfortunately. > > I picked up several items from consignment and sold some items too which > I’m happy about. > > Met a few people that I didn’t know previously and some of the usual > people. > I believe it was a very good show. > > Mike R. Glad to hear that you could make it and enjoyed it! > > > > > > > > > Hi All, > I enjoy the show today, I got a couple of things mostly software and one > joystick. I ready like the talk about Commodore to Atari ST it was a lot of > fun!Anyway can not wait until next year. > Bobby > > Sent from: > My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > > > On Apr 23, 2022, at 6:34 PM, Bob Aviles via vcf-midatlantic < > vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > > > > > -- ========================================= Jeff Brace VCF National Board Member Chairman & Vice President Vintage Computer Festival East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation is a 501c3 charity https://vcfed.org/ <http://www.vcfed.org/> jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: enjoyed the show today
by Sentrytv 23 Apr '22

23 Apr '22

I enjoyed the show today as well, many more interesting things for me to see. I was really impressed with the enigma machine and several other things as well . I like Eric’s display he had with sound, voice and music with several different computers. Kids really love that one. Had a really good conversation with a person from the Amiga display, I just don’t remember his name. I missed the Apple Workshop unfortunately. I picked up several items from consignment and sold some items too which I’m happy about. Met a few people that I didn’t know previously and some of the usual people. I believe it was a very good show. Mike R. Hi All, I enjoy the show today, I got a couple of things mostly software and one joystick. I ready like the talk about Commodore to Atari ST it was a lot of fun!Anyway can not wait until next year. Bobby Sent from: My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device. > On Apr 23, 2022, at 6:34 PM, Bob Aviles via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > >

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Show
by Bob Aviles 23 Apr '22

23 Apr '22

Hi All, I enjoy the show today, I got a couple of things mostly software and one joystick. I ready like the talk about Commodore to Atari ST it was a lot of fun!Anyway can not wait until next year. Bobby

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