Friday, Jul. 30th 2010
KansasFest 2010 is less than a week behind us, with some attendees still slowly making their way home. Those that have arrived are reporting more motivation and inspiration than ever for Apple II projects. Whether they're dusting off old computers, continuing their HackFest projects, or submitting their ideas for publication, KansasFest alumni find the experience is one that recharges its participants and lingers until they reunite in Kansas City a year later.
It's no surprise that KansasFest was a huge success. The event drew more than three dozen attendees, including Resource Central alumni Dennis Doms and Tom Vanderpool; former Beagle Bros president Mark Simonsen; numerous alumni, including Jeff Blakeney, our one international representative, returning to KansasFest for the first time since 2002; four returning first-timers from KansasFest 2009; and seven attendees who experienced their first KansasFest in 2010. There were also sessions presented remotely by absent alumni Eric Shepherd, Ryan Suenaga, and Steve Weyhrich, and even one by Wayne Arthurton, who promises that 2011 will be his first KansasFest!
Many of these sessions and others are available in the KansasFest file archive, with other media also available for those catching up on the event. Live reports were posted by Kirk Mitchell to comp.sys.apple2, while Andy Molloy, Mike Maginnis, and Sean Fahey reported for A2Central.com. First-time attendee Eric Rucker has written about his experience on his blog, while Ken Gagne is slowly uploading video recordings of the week's events.
Look for further updates on this site as well as everyone slowly recovers from a week of sleepless nights that will last a lifetime!
Wednesday, Jul. 21st 2010
All KFest 2010 attendees are invited to participate in HackFest, which began at 7:00 AM today and ends at 10:00 AM on Saturday.
HackFest is a programming contest in which entrants compete to create the coolest Apple II program in the limited time of KansasFest. Programs need not be complete to be considered cool! View the complete HackFest rules for more details.
Prizes include, but are not limited to:
The judges, who this year consist of Sean Fahey, Ivan Drucker, and Ken Gagne, will review the entries on Saturday, with public demonstrations and awards at 4 PM.
Our thanks to Eric Shepherd for creating this tradition!
Monday, Jul. 19th 2010
KansasFest begins tomorrow! While the attendees will be busy giving and attending presentations and enjoying each other's company, chances are some will find time to offer online reports through which other members of the Apple II community can experience the event vicariously. Here's an outline of the variety of official and unofficial news outlets through which you can learn more about the week's activities:
Have something specific that you'd like to see? Drop us a line!
Sunday, Jul. 18th 2010
KansasFest starts this week, bringing with it dozens of sessions, presentations, movies, meals, and opportunities to meet and greet your fellow Apple II users. The entire schedule of all these events is now available online. You can browse the events chronologically (dates and times are in red) or subscribe to them in your personal calendar, such as iCal, for automatic updates.
The simplest way to subscribe to the schedule is to click here and let your calendar program, such as iCal, automatically detect the schedule. Here are some alternatives:
- With Google Calendar, find the "Other calendars" section and click "Add by URL." Then, type or paste http://www.kansasfest.org/?ec3_ical. You can also click that link in your Web browser to download an .ics file that you can import into Google.
- With Apple iCal on OSX 10.6, select the "Calendar" -> "Subscribe" option in iCal. Then enter http://www.kansasfest.org/?ec3_ical
- On the iPhone or iPad (iOS 4), start the "Settings" app then select "Mail, Contacts, Calendars." Select "Add Account", select "Other", and then select "Add Subscribed Calendar". Finally, type or paste "www.kansasfest.org/?ec3_ical" for the "Server".
- In Thunderbird's Lightning add-on, select the "Events and Tasks" -> "Calendar" menu option. Right-click on the "Calendar" list pane. Choose "New Calendar," select "On the Network," and click "Continue." Finally, select "iCalendar" and enter "webcal://www.kansasfest.org/?ec3_ical" for the location.
Inevitably, some last-minute changes will occur as sessions are added or moved around. This online calendar will be updated throughout the week, and all the above approaches will automatically update your calendar program as well.
A hardcopy version of this schedule is distributed when you arrive at KansasFest, but the current state of technology does not allow us to offer similarly dynamic updates in that format. However, you can get a sneak peek at this welcome packet by downloading the session schedule PDF from our file archive.
See you soon!
Monday, Jul. 12th 2010
Each KansasFest attendee goes home with more than they brought. The memories and friendships made at KansasFest last a lifetime, and the lessons and experiences learned from fellow Apple II enthusiasts, both within and without the structured sessions, lead to even more enjoyment of our favorite platform.
But what about more tangible mementos? How about some fantastic swag?
Increase your Apple II's storage capacity for free by winning this card!
When you pack for KansasFest, leave room in your luggage, as every person at KansasFest has the opportunity to go home with prizes that will make you a true Apple II power user. Among this year's selection are hardware, software, and magazines that you won't find at any other computer convention:
How does one win such fabulous prizes? There are several ways:
- Enter the HackFest. This programming contest challenges you to create a cool Apple II program in a limited amount of time. Your entry doesn't need to be practical or even complete to win!
- In honor of Roger Wagner, attendees (men and women!) are invited to "Tie One On" and wear outrageous or ugly ties to the Friday night formal banquet. The person with the best (or worst!) tie will be decided by a member of the planning committee.
- Attendees staying on-site in Rockhurst University dorm rooms may decorate the door to their room. Posters, signs, knick-knacks, and other accessories are all fair play, as long as they can be safely removed at the end of the conference. The best door sign may prove worthy of a prize!
- Show up! Just for being at KansasFest, we guarantee you'll go home with more than you expected.
Other potential prize venues include playing games such as GShisen or Bite the Bag. These prizes are in addition to whatever gear you haul from Sean's garage or buy at the vendor fair. Our thanks to all community members and vendors who have contributed to this year's offerings. So come enjoy the people, activities, and prizes of KansasFest!
Tuesday, Jul. 6th 2010
Your rides, powered by the Apple II community.
KansasFest starts two weeks from today! With no official sessions on the Tuesday schedule, the first day of the event is your opportunity to arrive, unpack, unwind, and meet-and-greet with your fellow Apple II enthusiasts.
In the spirit of the community, KansasFest attendees often share rides between the airport and Rockhurst University, coordinated by Carl Knoblock. If you need or can offer a ride, please fill out the Peikop Endropov travel form. We'll match your availability with other travellers to get everyone where they need to go. It's an excellent opportunity to extend the duration of KansasFest by putting you in each other's company ASAP!
Note that this is a volunteer-run service. Contributions to your driver to offset gas and car rental costs are not expected but are appreciated.
If you're driving from farther away, such as Chicago or Denver, consider looking for a carpool buddy on the KansasFest email discussion list.
Tuesday, Jun. 8th 2010
The KansasFest Early Bird registration rate expired on June 1st, but for those who have not yet signed up to attend this event, there's an additional incentive: Anyone who registers before July 14th at the currently advertised rates gets a free 2010 subscription to Juiced.GS, the last remaining Apple II publication still in print. Such a deal! No need to jump through hurdles or apply discount codes; just register per usual, either online or off, and your first two issues will be waiting for you in Kansas City. (Offer not valid to current subscribers.)
If you've already registered for KansasFest and are not a Juiced.GS subscriber, the magazine's publisher, Gamebits, will be taking orders at the event's vendor fair.
Wednesday, May. 26th 2010
The KansasFest 2010 session lineup, first posted last month, has grown to include several more presentations, courtesy several volunteers willing to offer their insights and expertise to KansasFest attendees:
- Stavros Karatsoridis will describe how to set up an Apple II to act as a "dumb terminal" for the Terminal application in Mac OS X.
- Ivan Drucker will debut his original programming utility: Slammer, which allows machine language to be inserted into a standard Applesoft program with practically no performance, dependency, or stability issues.
- Sometime this summer, KansasFest 2009 keynote speaker Jason Scott will be releasing GET LAMP, his two-disc documentary of text adventures. A special one-hour cut of this film, made exclusively for convention audiences, will be screened at KansasFest.
- Eric Shepherd, who in 2008 gave a presentation on iPhone programming, will this year introduce us to iPad programming. More than just "a giant iPhone", the iPad is a unique development environment, and Sheppy will review the differences between writing apps for the two devices.
- Ken Gagne of quarterly magazine Juiced.GS will make several announcements about the past, present, and future of the world's longest-running Apple II publication.
Formal sessions are an integral element of the KansasFest experience, offering Apple fans new ways and environments in which to use their favorite machines. The other half of the equation is the camaraderie offered by attendees and presenters: nothing recharges a retrocomputing enthusiast's batteries as fast as the energy of fellow hobbyists. With less than a week until the Early Bird registration deadline, you should sign up today to enjoy the sessions and friendships that are a hallmark of KansasFest!
