- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The good old days of user groups.
by RETRO Innovations 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

On 8/24/2020 8:33 PM, Alexander Pierson via vcf-midatlantic wrote: > The article mentioned TPUG, the Toronto PET Users Group. These days, they exist in part as a Discord group (however, I'm sure someone like Leif Bloomquist can speak to the nature of their current existence better). I think that's pretty cool. They still have regular meetings as well. > > The bulk of my interaction these days with vintage computer enthusiasts is done on that platform (though the VCFed Discord is rather... quiet). The youth of the hobby have found a home there, either on smaller manufacturer-specific servers, or larger generalist servers with plenty of cross-pollination between minis, micros, homebrews, etc. of a variety of makes and models. The SNR varies between servers of course, which can be jarring. What better to approximate the message bases of BBS systems :-) I remember logging into some back in the day and finding nice technical treasures message after message. Then, another BBS with local events were a hotbed of name calling and childish put downs. Ah, BBSes :-) And, if you *REALLY* want that traditional experience, some of the Telnet BBS systems are pretty active. jim -- RETRO Innovations, Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems www.go4retro.com store.go4retro.com

4 4

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The good old days of user groups.
by Ethan O'Toole 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

For me growing up a lot of the groups were centered around BBS systems which I suppose followed specific platforms. 30 years later some of my best friends are still from the BBS systems back then. - Ethan

10 15

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The good old days of user groups.
by Tony Bogan 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

I can neither confirm nor deny any activities involving telephone lines, computers, BBS or AE lines. PS. check out the Sider 10 meg drive for some great warez, and the T-File directory has new trashing techniques and Black and Red Box how-to filez as well!!

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The good old days of user groups.
by Ethan O'Toole 25 Aug '20

25 Aug '20

[NON-Text Body part not included] One potential issue with the discord space is that the knowledge isn't captured for easy search outside that platform in the way that forums do. - Ethan

1 0

CRX2020 - Commodore Retro eXPO this weekend
by Andrew Diller 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

I'm posting this because it looks interesting, I'm not involved with it (it's this weekend): ------------------- https://www.crxevent.com/news.htm August 28-30, 2020 - HOSTED VIRTUALLY Due to world events we have opted to make this a FREE event, hosted virtually. -----------------------

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Atari XE game system (David K)
by David K 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

For what it is worth here is what I heard from someone off-list: "The OS ROM chip is notorious for going bad in the XEGS. Star Raiders has a flag that bypasses a lot of the OS startup routines and jumps right to the game code, so it is more likely to "try" to work on a failing system. The OS ROM can be directly replaced with an appropriately programmed 27256 type EPROM, but your existing one is most probably soldered directly to the motherboard so will take some effort and care to cleanly desolder it, replace with a socket and EPROM."

2 1

PC Jr In Original Box (not working)
by Alexander Jacocks 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

All, There’s a PC Jr in its original boxes, near me: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/sys/d/damascus-pcjr-computer/718288… If anyone is interested, let me know, and I’d be happy to pick it up for you, if you work out a deal with the seller. The price is “best offer.” Thanks! - Alex

1 0

Re: [vcf-midatlantic] The good old days of user groups.
by Bill Degnan 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

Kennett Classic has an article on the Wilmington, DE PC user group archive https://www.kennettclassic.com/wilmington-de-pc-professional-users-group-pc… and an exhibit about the user groups of the Sinclair TS1000 https://www.kennettclassic.com/the-special-interest-group-sig/ VCFed is not a user group in the traditional sense like these, but with the Internet, forums and such, a user group 2.0 Bill On Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 8:01 PM madodel via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic(a)lists.vcfed.org> wrote: > Sadly she doesn't mention today's groups like VCF. I will send Esther an > email about you guys keeping the torch burning. > > > > https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/08/the-golden-age-of-co… > > > The Golden Age of computer user groups > > > Long before subreddits, computer enthusiasts used to get > together—in-person! > > ESTHER SCHINDLER-8/19/2020, 7:45 AM > >

3 2

The good old days of user groups.
by madodel 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

Sadly she doesn't mention today's groups like VCF. I will send Esther an email about you guys keeping the torch burning. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/08/the-golden-age-of-co… The Golden Age of computer user groups Long before subreddits, computer enthusiasts used to get together—in-person! ESTHER SCHINDLER-8/19/2020, 7:45 AM

1 0

FTGH: AT&T M14K cables
by Mike Loewen 23 Aug '20

23 Aug '20

I believe this might be a V.35 cable for a DSU: http://q7.neurotica.com/0822201707_HDR.jpg http://q7.neurotica.com/0822202116_HDR.jpg http://q7.neurotica.com/0822202115_HDR.jpg I have two of them. Just pay for the postage. Mike Loewen mloewen(a)cpumagic.scol.pa.us Old Technology http://q7.neurotica.com/Oldtech/

1 0