My VCF adventures! VCF Southeast and VCF West 2023!
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- I finally made it out to my first VCF event! It was so good, I had to attend my second one a week later! The first event was VCF Southeast in Atlanta, and the second was VCF West in Mountain View California! I met some amazing people and saw some amazing things! Although my ability to haul items was limited, I still ended up with a decent amount of loot purchased from both events! If you've never attended a VCF event, I cannot recommend it highly enough!
Here's some links for more info:
VCF: vcfed.org/
Pittsburgh Classic Mac Lab:
/ @pittsburghclassicmaclab
www.scottbaret....
/ @thetechknight
BackBit: www.backbit.io/
The Computer History Museum: computerhistor...
I could watch Mike all day, so cute and top quality tech stuff to listen to. I think he's my dream husband.
It was amazing to meet you in person too! I was supposed to be at VCF West as well but sadly human malware took me out as soon as I got home from Atlanta. 😢 West looked super fun!
Since I'm always flying when I go to VCF, I don't even look at the consignment area to avoid the risk of suddenly having to ship stuff home! LOLOL. You resisted well even if you did cave a little bit.
VCF West would have been exponentially more awesome with you in attendance. I'm glad you're feeling better! I'm going to try my very best to make it to VCF Midwest.
I'm going to have a MUCH bigger problem with the consignment area at Midwest, since by all accounts it's the largest one. I plan to fly there. Though on second thought... It is only a 15-hour drive LOL.
I'm still surprised I didn't get any bugs when I was shoulder-to-shoulder at VCF East this year. (I was the guy who showed up with the Apple VOC and Amiga 4000 to get recapped).
Your happiness makes me happy. I am glad to see a new video of yours. Keep up the good work my friend!
CuriousMarc works with the Computer History Museum. He and his team were responsible for restoring several exhibits there including the IBM punch card system.
Great channel to check out.
I'm so glad you had a wonderful time and that shot with Adrian was awesome.
Love his channel! I’ve been watching for years. Time to re-watch all of his videos on the 1401 with a new perspective! Marc has my dream- job. 😂
Thanks!
Hey Cutie, the joy in your voice is truly beautiful. I should look up and see if they have these kind of events here in Calgary. I’d probably leave with a filly loaded Pentium III system for my retro games. Thanks for sharing!
Adrian was slyly checking your biceps to see if they're real or Photoshopped. 😀
🤣🤣🤣
Your channel is so much better than your subscriber count, thanks for all the hard work!
We missed you Mike! Glad you had a lot of fun! I've been watching all your videos while you were away and this is honestly my favorite RUclips channel right now. Been busy myself as I've restored my old Compaq Armada 1510 and Compaq Deskpro EN the last 2 weeks! And have been working on my 486dx4 100 Olivetti laptop and socket 478 P4 right now! Can't wait till the next upload!
Thanks! Oh that’s awesome. Did you own those systems since they were new or did you acquire them more recently?
@@miketech1024 I've had these systems for a while. The 486 Olivetto (Echos 48 Color) was the first laptop I ever had as a kid and was a hand me down from my dads work. The Armada 1510 was a gift for christmas some years after it was released and was actually my first laptop with a sound card AND a CD-ROM drive. Imagine I could play so many games on the go (if it weren't for the DSTN screen lol)! The Deskpro EN P3 1GHz was a system I've used from around 14 to 18 so it feels like I've had it for ages. It has a special place in my heart so I loved to see it in the video you did about. (Never even know there was a solonoid in those cases! But its to lock the case, I found out after looking it up seeing it in the video.)
To limit myself somewhat I've set the goal to only re-create all the systems I've actually had in my life. We're built in the same year and I personally started out with an old (even then) PS2 model 55 which I sadly don't have anymore. So I still have a lot to collect!
@@mjaerkens Ah we're on the same path then! I'm also trying to re-acquire all of my childhood machines. I have an absolute laundry-list of systems I'm trying to own again! Unfortunately, they also happen to be some of the most sought-after systems...
@@miketech1024 It seems we are! At least you seem to remember which systems you've had. To me everything before my p1 233mmx is a bit hazy as I remember having a lot of different pentium 1 systems at the time. Some with and without MMX. It really doesn't help most systems were obscure pre-builts from local (Dutch) resellers. So those were never really available in big quantities, let alone see them in the wild now 30 years later. I will tell you, seeing the videos and actively doing retro stuff is jogging those memories!
Recently found your channel and defintiely has become on of my favorites! If I'm not mistaken you're family too 🏳🌈. It would be cool to go to one of these events. I don't really have anyone to go with but I'd like to meet some like minded tech people. I think I'll check out the next east coast event they have.
Excellent as usual Mike. I’m sure many of us would be interested in seeing more footage of the fairs if you have any. Both my partner and I not only enjoy the content but your enthusiasm and interest (and the cuteness, sorry couldn’t resist)! You’ll have to take a van with you next time?!
Your excitement is adorable and genuine. Keep doing all the things that make you happy. Thank you for sharing!
Your excitement is contagious Mike !! Thanks for sharing your visits - fantastic stuff :)
It's really great to hear and see your enthusiasm for vintage computing come through here. There are many vintage computing festivals throughout the year, hopefully we'll cross paths in the future.
Mac LC’s yeah! I bought two of them when they were new. I also had a DuoDock and 2300c brand new when I worked at Apple. The CHM bldg. used to be the HQ of Silicon Graphics.
Wow I didn’t know that about the CHM building. That’s so cool!
Wish I could visit VCF some day.
I missed the episode. I'm making up for it now. I thought you were still resting. Regards. Przegapilem odcinek . Teraz nadrabiam . Myślałem że jeszcze wypoczywasz Pozdrawiam . 🤭😱🤝👋
Math Blaster on an original LC was the shit, though my 5th grade classroom's LC had the only copy of Oregon Trail in the school.
Ok, I have to ask: Is Adrian tall, or are you not? Nice picture either way!
7:02 AT&T UNIX PCs! Cool!
MikeTech, Since I last watched you changed the thumbnail on your video, and there's a Data General Dasher terminal and one or two NOVAS right by your left elbow...but I don't see this picture in the video anywhere. Where can I see this in high resolution? We love Data General at Forgotten Machines!
4:28 I literally shouted “no way!” out loud. What a find
So glad I found those. Huge thanks to @THEtechknight for bringing those to my attention!
Looking forward to the future uploads! Just found this channel recently and have been enjoying it.
I had a 701CS about 20 years ago...
You were like a kid in a candy store!. :-D Like others said, it's good of you to share your enthusiasm.
I had a Toshiba T5200 386/33mhz in high school that was around the size and mass of that mitsubishi. I never took it to school, by then it was far too old to really be useful in such a context, and it needed to be plugged in to run. I did use it for homework though sometimes because it was a portable computer I could take to other family members' houses and still type something up. Also had some games on it like Jill of the Jungle.
Glad you had a great trip!
Squeee'd when I saw the old macs that I used in elementary school with Oregon trail and number munchers. Awesome convention and that museum looks fantastic.
I wish we had events like these in eastern Canada
Great video! I have 3 retro laptops in my collection!
Dell Inspiron 600m from 2003 Running Windows XP SP2 with the original OEM install for it!
Toshiba Satelite A135-S2386 from 2006 Running Windows Vista Home Basic with the original OEM install for it!
HP Compaq 6730b from 2008 Running Windows 7 Ultimate without the original OEM install for it, as it originally came for Windows Vista Business!
It looks so cool and so much fun. I jealous... wish I was there. Great video, thank you
One day I want to attend VCF Southeast. It looks amazing. Wouldn't have expected Adrian to come this far down. I'm geeking out over this video, can only imagine how crazy the larger conventions are.
2:57 hah I see a happy child :)
3:43 it's a-me, Mario!
6:07 my life is complete now.
8:22 that brings back memories of someone "let's playing" Tomb Raider 2 on a dance mat. Hilarity did indeed ensue.
9:05 this is so cool!
You and I appreciate vintage shopping! :-)
3:55 working the camera AND carrying the Leading Edge monitor? That's a dedicated production assistant! 😀
He is a treasure!
@@miketech1024 hope you pay him well! 🕺🏻😜
Man, I'm kicking myself so hard for not getting to speak to either you or Adrian at Southeast. I was the one with the Half-Life exhibit, and believe it or not the one who put those two MFM drives on consignment. Bit of a long story behind them, but most interesting is they should be completely NOS. They're from a larger lot, and the only ones that had the tape cut. Brought them as I thought they'd be easiest to inspect the contents before buying.
Also funnily enough, I have the exact same Mitsubishi portable that you picked up at West. Very, very lovely machine, plus it's amusing to have a computer made by Mitsubishi of all people
Oh cool, I loved that exhibit! Wish I had gotten decent footage of it. Good to know the MFM drives are NOS! I had a suspicion they were because of how mint they both are. Thanks for bringing them! I’m very curious what else you have! 😁 Do you plan to attend VCF next year?
Great video! I was at VCFSE, but spent more of my time playing pinball even though I was with people from the Computer Museum of America. If you had a Mitsubishi MP 286L in 2nd grade, you must be older than me or that notebook was a few years old at the time.
Thanks! I was using the Mitsubishi system around 1995, so it was pretty much obsolete by ‘90s standards. I was still quite happy to have it.
Oh cool, vcf west was my first vcf this year too. I ran the Via C3 gaming exhibit
That exhibit was cool! I've been very curious about platforms like those. There's a surprising number of peripherals available in the PC104 form factor. I've had it in the back of my head for a long time to try and build a hand-held 486 for gaming using these!
Welcome back!!! I am so glad you had such great time at VCF! Wow I remember those computers from Southwark school. I have fond memories of dying on the Oregon Trail lol. Yes I do remember that system you carried back and fourth to school in 3rd or 4th grade!! I would love to see the computer museum. Looks like you had an awesome time. I’m so glad you got to experience it. Somehow I knew you’d end up bringing back a few systems. I missed your video last Friday but it was well worth it for you to have such a great experience!!! It must feel satisfyingly weird to be recognized at this event. I can’t wait for the videos about the computers you brought back.
Great trips! Wish I could have gone....retro computer heaven!
7:30 someday I'd like to learn who this seller is...certainly items of interest to Forgotten Machines!
You need to do a separate video on lugging a 20 pound “laptop” the school every day when you were eight. We need photos.
"Federation" is like Star Trek?
The only disappointment for you would be that these events don't go long enough, you were in retro tech heaven!
I started watching re-runs of "Lost in Space" in 1978, I started liking the Robot B-9 Robot and the on-ship computers!
I started with computers in 1983, via a technical community college sattlelite center, via a local high school, with an IBM 360. Very large, loud dot matrix printer, under plastic. My mom bought me a TI 99 4A that Christmas, and learned BASIC on both systems!
LOL, how in earth that black "Commodore" finished in that place?? It was imported from Argentina!
Any system like the David Lightman's system? "War Games"
There are NO VCFs in the UK and this REALLY ticks me off.... where are us brits supposed to go to nerd out and talk tech?!
I'm very curious about this as well. There must be something similar somewhere in Europe. The UK is the second-largest source of my channel views by percentage, so the interest is definitely there. I sure would love to see what kind of treasures show up at an overseas event like this!
@@miketech1024 well the centre for computing history had an event back in 2023, there was a VCF Birmingham which flopped I think, so they never did another in the UK ... Also Neil from Retro Mancave also has his part to play!
That luggable :) my first was a Sharp PC-4521. Had a fancy 20mb HDD, I wrote so much simplistic BASIC programs on it. Wish I still had it, some day I will be reunited with one.
I wonder if Apple would have had the same success in education without MECC. I am lucky to have had their software in my school growing up in the 90s.
I’m not super enthusiastic about retro hardware, I just find it fascinating to see tech that was brand new when I was a kid/teenager again, now when it’s old and out of date. Your videos are enjoyable because of your enthusiasm and dry sense of humor. They’re a good way to relax and unwind during my downtime. Your enthusiasm was very apparent in this video and fun to watch. I’d like to come to one of the VCF events someday, especially seeing the old Macs and Apple IIs.
Any Dunkin' nearby? I love the hot pumpkin spice coffee, and the iced version is great, too!
Greetings from Argentina, that Commodore was assembled here and it was a very common computer to find (i work in IT), they normally came with Gigabyte motherboards. How the f...ended up there?
I love old IBM thinkpads with Windows CE
This sounds like a awesome time. Although I no longer have any. I am huge sun micro-system fan.
Just someone about Solaris.
Shit. I wish I met you at VCF west this year! Next year I plan on having a booth. I ended up buying the Gateway 486/33 desktop that was for sale there. It works nicely and would be featured at the event next year if I decide to go through with it. Cheers!
ever play ThinkQuick or Ecosaurus (maybe it was called Eco the dinosaur) games in grade school?
my fav game back then was Cross Country Canada. I represented my school at a computer fair by playing this game and explaining it to others, mostly teachers : )
Did you see any of the finest micro computers made during that period which would be made by Heathkit and Heath/Zenith?
Those AT&T Unix PC's at 7m4sec are amazing. I'd have bought them both on the spot had I seen them.
Yes! A new video! I recently found your channel and now I have binge-watched everything! I have learned so much about retro tech from you! I love your enthusiasm and love for computers so much! Thanks to you I checked one of the old towers in my collection, an old AT system, and I found one of those evil Varta batteries! Unfortunately it has popped but I learned from you how to neutralize the electrolyte! I am not yet skilled enough to fix it, but at least the damage is not too severe! Anyways, I hope to see many more videos from you! Your channel is popping off for a reason! Cheers!
Thanks! If the battery electrolyte did not damage the traces too deeply, the motherboard might still be ok. If there are any socketed chips nearby, try removing them and applying DeoxIT to the socket(s).
@@miketech1024 Thanks for the advice! Will do! Luckily I have your videos as a point of reference! I cannot wait for the motherboard repair video! Cheers!
shit i'm in atlanta and i didn't even know about this event - i will have to check it out sometime this year. i'm looking for a PS/1 286 like the one i had as a kid in the mid 90s - they never seem to pop up on ebay/fb
5:00 WOW, what an awesome Pentium upgrade kit. *chefs kiss*
after recognizing you at vcf southeast from constantly seeing your videos in my recommendations i finally went back and started watching them and they have been very enjoyable.
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them! 🙂
@Mike Tech, I wondered where you were! I didn't see any new vids. Keep on fixing em!
"Southern Fried"! Where is the nearest Chick Fil-A?!
I’d say more modern kids should learn on those old machines. No chrome? Good!
If/when the Living Computer Museum reopens in Seattle, that's even cooler than the CHM in Mountain View. It was put together by Paul Allen and every computer you can touch and interact with. Sadly it's been closed since the pandemic while the estate of Allen figures out what to do with it, but it's a great place as well. I hope to get down to a VCF West one of these years!
Another cheer for Living Computers. Such a great place. Crossing my fingers it opens again soon. A great place to welcome Mike to the PNW.
Ohh the fabled Living Computer Museum! If they ever do re-open, I hope they're ready for me to move in!
Hate to burst your bubble, but LCM is gone, it will never reopen, the employees have found other jobs and the collection has been pretty much liquidated.
Lol u should of cancelled your flight and got a uhaul. Big Baller Mike hahaha
Looks like you had fun and it does look like a blast.
Is that a Burroughs in the thumbnail? Edit: the blue thing!
Those LC's took me back! I've got to get out from under a rock one of these days and actually go to one of these events!
Still looking forward for VCF to make it down to Florida.
Thanks, Mike Tech! I enjoyed these videos!
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD
Correct.
6:45 wowww I never saw a butterfly keyboard
i was just at the computer history museum a week ago
Awesome video as usual, good to see a different type of video too.
i saw they also sold robot vacuum cleaners too
I am more interested in the exterior "eye candy"!
Carmen Sandiego, great series of game. 👑
Very nice souvenirs from your trip(s). Typing out punch cards all day everyday for our University running an IBM 370 was my foot in the door in the tek world. Wow that was so long ago.
I did find those machines fascinating previously, but seeing one in action REALLY drove it home! How awesome it must be to have the privilege of tinkering with hardware like that! I'm gonna need a bigger house...
The Oregon Trail is still active!
I'm loving your channel more and more Mike !
yay new video ❤
Pencil in a trip to VCF East next year. Bil Herd and Dave Haynie have appeared in the past. While its a bit of a drive, VCF does swap meets twice a year too.
I definitely plan to do VCF East next year!
I was beginning to suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
Apply a cold compress and take 13 minutes of VCF awesomeness.
very nice place love to visit one day
Atlanta, the "Peach" City!
Glad to hear you had a blast at both of your VCF events. Now you need to come to VCF East April 5-7 2024 at InfoAge in Wall NJ, Info Age is on the campus of the former Army Base Camp Evans, and before that, it was home to American Marconi (Howard Armstrong demonstrated the Regenerative Receiver to David Sarnoff in a building on that campus). If you think its tiring being a spectator, try being an exhibitor, especially one with "Big Iron" :)
11:00 DAT I/O DOH
BEAUTIFUL
Any Tandy or TI 99 4A's?
specific use case systems are awesome, so much fun and practical.
"WE HAVE TO GO BACK"
I went to my first VCF this year as well - VCF East. It was a great time, and I got to see so many cool and rare computer systems that I'd love to own some day. The consignment area is dangerous for sure :) I got there a little too late and missed out on several really cool things, but did bring home a Dimension 4700 in great shape. It's odd that those are actually desirable now. I couldn't throw them out fast enough when I was working at a computer shop in 2013.
Very nice score! I visited the computer museum when I was in SF a few years back, awesome place. Highly recommended. Can't wait for your next video.
I myself had one of those IBM Aptiva ( 3:53 ) ...It was the first real PC I had the chance to purchase, as this kind of hardware was extremely expensive back then, here in my country .... Anyway, it brings me so good memories 😄🤓
Charles Babbage!
I saw you running around at VCF West but was too shy to chat you up. I did so with Curious Marc just earlier in the day and oh boy, was I unaware how awkward I become when starstruck. /o\ Maybe another time!
Great video, I agree with everyone else that your joy is clearly audible in your voice. :D I also dreaded going through TSA with hand luggage full of ISA cards and other assorted components, but they didn't question me either. I guess they see much weirder stuff at SFO all the time. ;)
I know the feeling! I was quite nervous when I met Adrian. Fortunately that faded fast because he is so friendly and welcoming, we became friends instantly! I very much enjoyed meeting so many viewers of the channel. I’ve never been great at initiating conversations so all of the people come over to chat was a great way to bring me out of my shell. It was a lot of fun talking to so many people with the same interests. I hope we have a chance to meet at a future event!
@@miketech1024 thanks for the reply! Now I regret not saying hi all the more. 😅 Too bad Adrian couldn't make it to California, I'd have really liked seeing him talk at the excellent panel as well. :)
Thanks for all the videos of you digging through your hoard! They're incredibly entertaining, especially due to the tight and to-the-point editing. Well done! :)
i flew a couple months back with several boxes filled with 3.5 disks. several people had never seen them before. then i pulled out the box of 5.25
"Who 3D-printed all these save icons?" 🤣
@@miketech1024 right!
A very interesting episode. I watch twice. Thanks Mike.
Those Seagates tho! Such memories. Pumped that you got new ones in box!