Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 2023- Joyful Chaos!
Рет қаралды 21,286
Күн бұрынI went to VCF Midwest 18 (@VCFMW)! It was a ton of fun, I finally got to meet a ton of great friends in real life, and I saw some of my favorite computers up close and personal.
Everything from Commodore computers like the Vic-20, Commodore 64, Amiga, and the PET, to Tandy CoCos (one of which I might be interested in acquiring), to vintage Apple/Macintosh stuff like I had in school, to the MS-DOS stuff I grew up on, and even Altairs and PDP machines- this was really my happy place.
There's sadly a limit on the amount of cards KZfaq lets me put in a video. So, here's a bunch of tags and locations mentioned throughout (special thanks to these folks for being awesome!):
- @Mac84: vintage Mac videos and streams
- @ActionRetro: totally normal computer shenanigans
- adwaterandstir.com/: Altair clone kits!
- @CanadianRetroThings: might have convinced me to buy a CoCo 3
- www.superphonerecordings.com/: best band website I've ever seen
- @TaylorAmyShow: don't panic and go subscribe to them
- @TiltFive: the good kind of AR that brings you and your friends together
- @jeriellsworth: legend
- @sloopymalibu: vintage repairs and commentary and fun
- @adriansdigitalbasement: noted repair enthusiast and lab tech cosplayer
- @RetroTechChris: retro know-how and friend to all
- @NybblesandBytes: did not get a chance to interview her, but her channel is awesome!
Lastly, this video is not sponsored by anyone other than you. Members get behind the scenes info and a fun community.
🖖 Support the channel: / veronicaexplains
☕ ...or via Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/VeronicaExplains
👕 ...or buy a shirt from my website: vkc.sh/merch
Chapters:
0:00 Why am I in my car?
1:15 The layout of VCF Midwest
2:34 Stuff to do!
3:11 KZfaqr panel
4:48 The gear!
8:07 The hauls!
9:31 The people!
#VCFMW #vintagecomputers #retrogaming
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
OK, I really wish KZfaq let me put a thousand cards in the video. Anyway, here's everyone I mentioned/featured/connected with during the video. :) - @Mac84 : vintage Mac videos and streams - @ActionRetro : totally normal computer shenanigans - adwaterandstir.com/: Altair clone kits! - @CanadianRetroThings : might have convinced me to buy a CoCo 3 - www.superphonerecordings.com/: best band website I've ever seen - @TaylorAmyShow : don't panic and go subscribe to them - @TiltFive : the good kind of AR that brings you and your friends together - @jeriellsworth : legend - @sloopymalibu : vintage repairs and commentary and fun - @adriansdigitalbasement : noted repair enthusiast and lab tech cosplayer - @RetroTechChris : retro know-how and friend to all - @NybblesandBytes : did not get a chance to interview her, but her channel is awesome!
@krisdjames 8 ай бұрын
Man this channel is the coolest. From the 90s educational programming esthetics to the useful Linux tips to the retro fanatics. Creativity in its purest form, beautiful.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for the kind words!
@terminallyonline5296 3 ай бұрын
"For some reason you're blurry." "That's just me naturally" lmao
@chrisdavis3055 6 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing the experience, and thanks for stopping by my booth! This was my first VCFMW and it was amazing. I've been to a couple other VCFs in California and Atlanta, and while those were fun, they were a bit more sedate and cerebral. VCFMW is more like a crazy fun exciting party swapfest. It reminds me of the Hamfests of old. I will definitely be back next year.
@arthurdent8086 8 ай бұрын
I recognized you there! Was my first time, too ... ended up missing the you tuber forum because the room was just too full, so I have been waiting to catch the recording ... wow, the convention brought back all the excitement of learning about computers in my youth!! Thanks for what you do!
@sloopymalibu 8 ай бұрын
Great video! And I even saw people I know! It was great meeting you also!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
I might try for an Octandy surprise!
@sandrodellisanti1139 8 ай бұрын
wonderful Video, thank you very much for this 🙂 my first computer was a Commodore vc20 in 1986, in late 1989 i own an Amiga 500 and in 1993 my Amiga 1200, great times back then..many greetings from Brunswick in Germany and please stay safe.
@AddieDirectsTV 8 ай бұрын
2:54 I had our engineers at the station teach me! And OMG LAN party!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It was so much fun!
@costasspartan1894 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, much appreciated Veronica for the V.C.F. Panel footage and your channel itself.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad the footage turned out to be helpful!
@michaelstoliker971 8 ай бұрын
Hey! Thanks so much for videoing the VCF panel. Much appreciated.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
I'm glad I could help!
@martykong3592 8 ай бұрын
:) WOW! Veronica, you have outdone yourself with this one!!! I am SO HAPPY to catch it, and YES I can relate to SO MUCH of it!! I Started as maintenance person on old telephone SxS equipment as shown, learned to build a Clone TRS 80 / Z80 because I couldn't affor one, Commode 64's , grew up some to support AIX Machines after PDP's and ALL... JUS AhhhMAZING stroll down memory lane! I wish they had things like this on left coast :( ALL the BEST and Cheers from an old Geek with 2 Geeky Daughters !!! :)
@fractalMD 7 ай бұрын
There is VCF West :)
@martykong3592 7 ай бұрын
Thanks MUCH! Take care!@@fractalMD
@1BitFeverDreams 8 ай бұрын
Kudos on making an extremely palatable video of the event and I'm certain you had to fight your way to condense it to the final duration of the video by filtering so much footage. I'm so glad of your presence in the community and I appreciate your great work.
@esra_erimez 8 ай бұрын
My dad laughed at 1:56 He remembers when that was new. And, connecting AS/400s to RS/6000s to convert data as programs were being converted to C
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It's a legend!
@esaedvik 5 ай бұрын
Still have customers on those...
@dadecoza 8 ай бұрын
This morning I watched the KZfaqrs panel on the VCFMW channel, and if I understand correctly that was thanks to you for saving the day with your recording of the event! Thanks!
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
That was 10000% the day saved by Veronica.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thank you! Yes, I sent Jim some footage which turns out to have been useful. I'm only sorry I hadn't had a lot of practice with the gimbal until that point!
@IBM_Museum 8 ай бұрын
And Thank You for providing an ability for the VCFMW KZfaq panel to be viewed - I met many of the panelists (and participated myself) at VCF Southwest.
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
Fellow panelist!
@oliverw.douglas285 6 ай бұрын
It was a crazy fun time at VCFMW18. I enjoyed meeting you, as well as our conversations. I ended up selling my Sony Mavica camera at the show to another gentleman, who in-turn used it to document his experience at the show. Next year I'll bring extra floppy disks for you! I think you summed up the experience very well. Met a wide variety of people, it was an incredible experience. I look forward to next year. :)
@ForgottenMachines 3 ай бұрын
4:59 thanks for the Forgotten Machines table shot! Your videos are awesome, thank you!
@CanadianRetroThings 8 ай бұрын
Great video, it was awesome meeting you and thanks for the shout out!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for convincing me of the joy of the CoCo!
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
Ken!
@RetroTechChris 8 ай бұрын
So much fun hanging out with you there! See you next year!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It really was a blast!
@Brian-qv1ir 8 ай бұрын
I really identified with that person's comment that she got into "retro computers" when they were just called computers. Still rocking my overclocked x486 for Doom, Quake etc.
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
That's Taylor! 😃
@arxaaron 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for this joy filled video !!! Brings back great memories of my many years traveling to Amiga Conventions around the country, or attending the half a dozen Vidoe Toaster Flyer conferences that 3rd party devs held in the 90's (including the 1998 Barnstormers event that I organized in Atlanta). Was nice to see that you got to hang out with Jeri Ellsworth at the MWVCF -- one of my favorite humans and my most admired tech genius from those Amiga Con days -- last saw her at the Amiga 30th Anniversary Celebration in San Jose, where I was the sole "vendor", releasing my menagerie of systems, software, gadgets and peripherals to the wild for another generation of vintage computer fans to enjoy. Go Tilt Five!! 🙂
@RacerX- 8 ай бұрын
Such goodness here. Thanks for sharing, it really helps those of us that live in another part if the USA that couldn't make it. I hope to attend one of these events eventually. Thanks for your excellent channel and infectious retro spirit.
@Wythaneye 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for giving Adwater & Stir so much attention in this video. His Altairduino kits are well known in the international retro community. I keep telling mself I'm giing to buy one, but then remember that it will just end up on the massive projects pile. No matter, very nice video! Thanks for sharing!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
That's great to know! This was the first I'd heard of his kits but I'm very excited to build this one.
@chabis 8 ай бұрын
Just sent in my entry for the Vintage Computer Festival Zürich (Switzerland) 2023 in November. Small, but next-door to where I live.
@JamiesHackShack 8 ай бұрын
Great video! That gimbal is the business! Again, props for saving the yt'er panel! 👍🏻 That Altair kit is fun. Blinkenlights++
@ByteDelight 8 ай бұрын
Couldn't we all live on one island, all of us vintage retro lovers? I mean, me and my retrocomputer business (dreamjob) are located in The Netherlands. Buit I really want to get to VCF Midwest once (or more often)! Really great to see lots of people I know and communicated with - Clint, Taylor and Amy, and lots of others, awesome! - though online only thusfar. I promise: once I got my ByteDelight backlog sorted out, and find some time, I will travel a lot! Thanks Veronica! Ben
@fractalMD 7 ай бұрын
Ben you totally should!
@chrisdigitalartist 8 ай бұрын
This is so fun finding more computer related channels and retro computing. I really appreciate people uploading videos of this festival. As far as I know, I don't have anything like this in my area. It would be so fun to connect with more people about this stuff. My favorite computing era is the mid-late 90s. New Subscriber!
@nicozica Ай бұрын
Like an episode of The Office.. Your videos are very enjoyable to watch Veronica. Very interesting stuff in that festival!! I spotted the case of my first PC at 2:10 🤧 Cheers from Buenos Aires my friend😃
@Tom-n5tti 8 ай бұрын
COOL VIDEO --- i still have my TRS80 COCO 3 So wild seeing all the OG computer nerds 😁 in one place!!
@CubicleNate 7 ай бұрын
Oh, man, did I love this! What a fantastic montage that brought such an incredible smile to my face. Thank you!
@TDGalea 8 ай бұрын
My god I'm not jealous at all. Being UK based, things like this are so rare. The closest we ever had, to my knowledge, was "Arcade Vaults" who took up a store in Cardiff at one point, but had to disband it after COVID took a dump on their visitor figures. They're still up for events as far as I know, but it's been a while.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
That's too bad that this sort of thing is rare. I'm privileged to be close enough to be able to drive to this event!
@diamonddave45 8 ай бұрын
One of the things I'd like to see more at these festivals are computer bulletin board systems (BBS). I know someone who currently runs one was there with a table and had some BBSes running, but I'd like to see more of that. BBSes played a very important role in early computing.
@Wandering_Horse 8 ай бұрын
How much fun! Reminds me of early Linux meetups I used to attend and that one time I went to Linux Fest in San Fran back in the early 2000's! I grew up with all that vintage 80's stuff, that looks like so much fun.
@geekwithsocialskills 8 ай бұрын
Awesome video Veronica! Thank you for taking the time to capture the show. I'll bet dollars to donuts that VCF will be asking you to be on the YT creators panel next year 🙂
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
They have got to! Maybe we can muster up also a whole women in tech panel.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
I've been asked to, so hopefully if the timing works out I'll be there next year!
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
@VeronicaExplains Fingers crossed for us all! I got lucky and wasn't working VCFMW weekend 2023. And I work 50% of all weekends so it is literally a coin toss.
@Silent700 8 ай бұрын
Thank you Veronica for this energetic tour of our show. It's the only way us organizers get to see it anymore! So many exhibits I didn't even know were there. Next year, I'll shake every hand (or maybe a fist bump considering how this year went ;)
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It was such a blast, and you all deserve so much credit for getting it all done. Can't wait for next year!
@byteshiftmusic 8 ай бұрын
This is the first truly entertaining video I've seen of the event. I even had a cameo! You've really captured the spirit of the event here. Kudos!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Aha! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed my recollection of it!
@francoisp3625 8 ай бұрын
0:12 I guess You ll find that cool ; all the retro fest I went to it was- very cool :)
@lonewolf31337 8 ай бұрын
So cool. I was all set to go and couldnt at the last minute. Thanks for the video its great. sorry I missed it.
@inranglhood60 8 ай бұрын
It was fun meeting you at vcfmw 2023. Keep up the awesome content!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thank you! It was so much fun, wasn't it?
@terryleach5108 8 ай бұрын
So awesome! My first computer was a Heathkit H-89 (CPM). Guys I went to school with worked at MITS (I live in Albuquerque) and my best friend worked in the Chemestry Dept at UNM and could program a PDP-11 without pulling a reference card from his pocket. Wow! This video brings back so very many memories! Today's computers are better in every way but don't have the soul of old iron!
@Hey-Yaz 4 ай бұрын
This was amazing. I took a left turn down memory lane with this video. Thanks
@tekdragon 8 ай бұрын
Oh man, this video hit me right in the feelz. Such a beautifully communal experience! The annual CoCoFest is also held in Chicago and thats always been a bucket list thing I wanted to experience! Thanks for making this video :) #Team6809 :-P
@Silent700 8 ай бұрын
Cocofest and VCFMW are friends! And believe it or not, they're growing, too. Who knew there was such love for the 6809 out there? We recommend attending both shows :)
@litebkt 7 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing this. I started my engineering career in 1978 and recognispze just about all that old gear.
@oliverw.douglas285 4 ай бұрын
I hope VCFMW in 2024 is as spectacular as 2023. It was a blast!
@derekchristenson5711 2 ай бұрын
Wow, this looks like a lot of fun to see in-person! Very cool.
@Draconicrose 8 ай бұрын
This is really cool and amazing stuff! I'm glad there are enthusiasts out there who take it upon themselves to keep and preserve these pieces of computing history. As exemplified at 4:03, the companies who make them sure won't.
@2009numan 8 ай бұрын
saw a lot of my favourite vintage computer hosts in this video I think my favourite is Adrian from Adrians digital basement
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Adrian is great!
@LeftoverBeefcake 8 ай бұрын
Your Bop-It skills are truly second to none. :) This show truly looks like heaven for us vintage tech enthusiasts... wow!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thanks! It was a ton of fun. I only wish it was a day longer or twice as large of a venue!
@Charleshawn66 3 ай бұрын
GREAT video! TY for the retro content! I love your 6502 shirt!
@MikeWood 8 ай бұрын
AS/400? PDP11? Now that's awesome. That looked like a pretty big event. I haven't seen anything like that locally.
@trevorford8332 8 ай бұрын
It's my happy place, love computer fair.
@proteque 8 ай бұрын
thanx for showing! looks like a great vintage festival!
@toddrlyons 6 ай бұрын
I loved the selfies with other tech KZfaqrs. In my mind, you are mutual fans with people like Adrian Black (the way I'm a fan of all of you) so it was lovely to see so many of them featured.
@more.power. 8 ай бұрын
Thank you m6y first visit to your Channel. Cheers
@youreale 7 ай бұрын
Ok, you sold me... this channel is a GEM!
@ShinGoukiSan 8 ай бұрын
My father and I built an IMSAI 8080 when I was 5 and then in the 3rd grade I got an Atari 1200XL. I love stuff like this!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
That's so cool!
@ShinGoukiSan 8 ай бұрын
@@VeronicaExplains thanks, love your channel
@derekr54 8 ай бұрын
Great video Veronica,thanks.
@stopthink9000 8 ай бұрын
This looks like a BLAST!!! Sorry I missed it but glad to experience it second hand. Maybe I'll go next year!
@AddieDirectsTV 8 ай бұрын
10:19 I so want to go to this at some point.
@ronm6585 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing.
@user-mc7fy8jt6f 8 ай бұрын
Thanks Veronica! Your videos always puts smile on my face.
@patrickdeunhouwer5926 8 ай бұрын
Best video I have seen about the festival up to now :)
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
Just SO good
@TastyBusiness 8 ай бұрын
Lol, I see myself way in the background at 10:30.
@ashwoodedward4708 8 ай бұрын
Just AWESOME
@wingflanagan 8 ай бұрын
Suh-WEEET! If my wife would let me, our house would look like that venue...I mean, when I was a kid, I wanted to build HAL!
@cubenux 8 ай бұрын
Loved it V!!
@JoePCool14 8 ай бұрын
Cool recap of the event! It was my first time attending and I barely got to scratch the surface of what was there. I did get to attend the KZfaqrs' panel (thank you for your footage, I was sat right behind you in the second row!). Super cool, hopefully I'll know more and get to come back for next year's event too.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It was a ton of fun! I only wish the event was longer!
@bountoj 8 ай бұрын
Love it! So wholesome to see everyone enjoying their passion. Thank you Veronica for the videos and showcase of the event. : )
@DV-ml4fm 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing the computer retro tour Veronica. I bet some of these retro companies can run a 32 bit linux os.😊
@ChopeZzz 8 ай бұрын
What an enjoyment being in such place with all those people! Amazing, thank you for the video
@crumplezone1 7 ай бұрын
Rally enjoyed the video, you are a natural Veronica :)
@christopheroliver148 5 ай бұрын
"...when they were just called computers." Gotta steal that for my own use.
@tolkienfan1972 8 ай бұрын
I saw the AS/400... I worked on those for years. Mostly in a weird language called RPG/400. And the occasional fun hackery
@brandonconstant7226 8 ай бұрын
Great coverage of the event! I gotta make it out there next year.
@NuAngelGames 5 ай бұрын
Transcriptions that name the panel speakers? Fantastic touch, Veronica. Well done!
@theindependentlinuxuser 8 ай бұрын
Nice to see a change of background scenery for a certain video and a relief from the hustle of Linux drama.
@dastafford 7 ай бұрын
The best hobbyists seem to all be in the Midwest ;-)
@UpLateGeek 8 ай бұрын
Can't wait to see your Altair 8800 build! I've been wanting to buy an IMSAI 8080 kit (the one designed by fellow countryman The High Nibble) for a while, but I haven't been able to justify the price. Looks like that Altair kit is a little cheaper, buuuuuuut maybe I'll wait to see how you go with it. Plus it lets me put off spending money on something that's not actual retro computers/parts or parts for projects that I've actually already started. Anyway, looks like VCFMW was a lot of fun, so thanks for taking us on your trip!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
I think it's going to be the inaugural project when the basement is complete and I can leave my soldering station up for more than a few hours at a time!
@UpLateGeek 8 ай бұрын
@@VeronicaExplains Having a permanent soldering station setup would be awesome! I miss going down to the workshop at work and spending an afternoon soldering. (Although perhaps that's just because nobody knew where I was and couldn't bother me.) But being able to just pop down to resolder a broken connector was so convenient. I've been planning on building a workbench on wheels to put in place of my broken second fridge once I get it removed. It won't be a permanent soldering station, since I'm also planning to buy an ultrasonic cleaner, but it should be a massive improvement over just my desk.
@maillouski 8 ай бұрын
My setup at 10:57 yay!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Thanks for doing it! It was super fun.
@timothy8428 8 ай бұрын
One day the computers we are using today will be as retro as the ones in this video, so take good care of them.
@capnrob97 8 ай бұрын
Nice! I just ordered that Altair 8800 due to your video. Never knew it existed.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Fantastic! Hope it's a fun project for you!
@fredmckinney8933 4 ай бұрын
FUN FACT! The first TV game show to use computer-generated displays was Tic Tac Dough, which, after a nearly 20-year absence, returned to TV in 1978 with a computer-generated board. All of the monitors on the board for the individual boxes were centrally controlled by an Altair 8800.
@MrBobaFett 8 ай бұрын
Oh man, I am so sad I didn't know about this weeks ago! I will so be there next year.
@lexington476 8 ай бұрын
I recognize some of that stuff in the video from when I was a kid. Maybe playing with that old stuff as a kid is what made me an IT professional to this day 😎.
@ralfr.5974 8 ай бұрын
I love this old stuff🤩 Nice Video👍🏻
@DeadCat-42 4 ай бұрын
Just found your channel! fantastic!
@ShinGoukiSan 8 ай бұрын
I had a Mavica back in the day!!!
@CathrineMacNiel 8 ай бұрын
This looks sooo fun and awesome, especially your Mavica Selfies!!
@JamesJones-zt2yx 8 ай бұрын
Wow, a PDP-8! Anyone else out there use FOCAL, which was heavily inspired by JOSS?
@cdl0 8 ай бұрын
Yes, I did, back in the early 1970's.
@Angeboun 8 ай бұрын
Awesome Veronica! I was there and got to meet you very cool. I so wanted to buy 1 one of everything they were selling there LOL
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It was so much fun!
@austinterrell5420 8 ай бұрын
When you said "vintage for the current generation" I was half expecting you to show a table off with a Macbook Pro 2016 to make us feel like withered crones.
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
Not quite old enough, yet, but I did wither a bit when I saw my MiniDV cam being referred to as "vintage" (but, I mean, I bought it anyway).
@francoisp3625 8 ай бұрын
there are some few nice and cool stuff there :)
@WW-jt2sq 8 ай бұрын
Was really nice meeting you and chatting the one evening!
@VeronicaExplains 8 ай бұрын
It was such a fun event!
@AddieDirectsTV 8 ай бұрын
0:06 wait. You’re in your car?! OMG! lol. /s
@JohnLamontanaro Ай бұрын
love this channel
@esaedvik 5 ай бұрын
Eyy, a friend of mine carried a Mavica around an our LANs and demoparty tours in the late 90s. Literally just ran into one on a local Craigslist and was thinking of copping it...
@bobbybologna3029 8 ай бұрын
Awesome, you rock!
@tomporrata4359 Ай бұрын
Well done!
@8bitsinthebasement 8 ай бұрын
Not much like that where I'm at so, that settles it, I'm selling up and moving to the US. Just gotta find a way to break it to the wife and kids ;) Man, that looked like so much fun.
@fractalMD 7 ай бұрын
One of us!
@fredmckinney8933 4 ай бұрын
Chicago is about a 7 or 8 hour or so drive from me in the Ozarks. But this would be lots of fun to go to.
@ActionRetro 8 ай бұрын
Woohoo!
@fractalMD 8 ай бұрын
Sean!
Veronica Explains
Рет қаралды 13 М.
This Does Not Compute
Рет қаралды 128 М.
Fun Effects
Рет қаралды 8 МЛН
RIHAN ARMY YT
Рет қаралды 12 МЛН
Alisher Beisebai
Рет қаралды 724 М.