[vcf-midatlantic] Hello everyone!

[Jeffrey Brace]

Welcome Ben! Glad to have you on board!

On Fri, Jan 19, 2024 at 2:40 PM Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:

> I was having problems with my first subscription to this list so hopefully
> re-subscribing has fixed that!  I figured it was as good a time as any to
> introduce myself to the list too since I didn't do that before.
>
> I'm fairly new to the retro/vintage computer scene but I've been around
> computers for over 40 years now starting with the lowly Commodore VIC-20.
> I'm sure my story matches many of your stories on here in one way or
> another.  In high school I was selected to be the SysOp for their brand new
> BBS part of a network of K-12 grade schools & as a node on good ole'
> FidoNet!  I've progressed my career through general IT work to web
> development in the early 2000's to Linux system administration work &
> finally to Kubernetes administration today.  It all started with something
> along the lines of '10 PRINT "HELLO"' though!
>
> I stumbled across an Apple //e in excellent condition at an antique store a
> few years ago now for a decent price so I snatched it up.  I never had any
> Apple gear growing up but we had them in school so the nostalgia was still
> strong.  Of course one thing led to another as I tried to collect more of
> the computers of my past & now I've got a tiny collection including that
> original Apple //e.  I don't aim to be a serious collector but I would like
> to collect some specimens that were somehow connected to my past.  Current
> collection contains:
>
> - Apple //e
> - Apple ][+
> - Commodore 64C
> - Macintosh SE
> - Macintosh Performa 475
> - NABU (not in my history but I didn't dare miss out on the fun!)
>
> Things I'd still love to find:
>
> - Commodore 128
> - Amiga 500 (or better - C128 & Amiga 500 were 2 of the options to replace
> the C64 when I was a kid)
> - Early IBM compatible (XT - 386 - I got an Epson Apex 100 after my C64 &
> would love another!)
> - Sun Sparcstation 20 (or better, I had a small collection of Sparcs at one
> point & sadly got rid of them)
> - 8-bit Atari of some sort (See FujiNet below!)
>
> I've latched onto a couple really cool retro-hardware projects now that
> have been a TON of fun to be part of.  FujiNet (see, I need an Atari!) and
> PiSCSI/BlueSCSI.  I'm slowly learning my way around a soldering iron, logic
> analyzer, low-level code & microcontrollers but have a LONG way to go.  I
> can't say enough good things about the folks at the FujiNet project & the
> enormous education they've given me letting me hang out with them!
>
> Anyhow, that's me.  I'm going to get more involved in helping out at
> InfoAge & some other venues to inject myself into the community.  I love
> this stuff & can't wait to learn more.  Hopefully I'll see some of you
> around & get to know you all a bit better!
>
> --
> Ben Krein
>