News

Now that KansasFest registration is officially open, it's time to put out the first call for sessions!

Sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm for the Apple II is the bread and butter of KansasFest. Sessions generally take place during the morning and afternoons, typically run 30 to 60 minutes in length, and can touch on most any topic related to the Apple II family. But we need YOU to sign up to present a session. Just fill out the session proposal form to sign up today.

Past sessions have covered hardware, software, game demonstrations, and tutorials; integration of the Apple II with other devices; emulators; programming; history; interesting hacks; or any subject that would be of interest to Apple II users.

A few sessions that are already scheduled for this year include a workshop to build your own Apple II MP3 expansion card, how to hook up your Apple II to a home network for sharing files, a technical look at Apple III operating system and add-ons, and behind the scenes at the new Open Apple podcast.

Or do you have a topic you would like to see presented, even if you aren't the one to do it?  Email us your idea.

If you've never done a session and would like ideas for topics or formats, check out our archive of past presentations. Any questions? Contact us!

In a few days, all KansasFest alumni will be receiving a registration packet in the mail. Included are the event's postal registration form, for those who want to pay by check, as well as our annual flyer. The flyer is an attractive, single-page poster that features the KansasFest 2011 logo and a picture of Martin Haye creating his HackFest 2010-winning program, capturing the spirit and creativity of the event. The flyer is meant to be printed and shared, which is why you'll also see it in Juiced.GS and at VCF East 7.0.

The best publicity for the event is word of mouth, so please feel free to participate in the flyer's distribution! Hang it up in your office, plaster it across your campus, and mail it to all your friends, ensuring KansasFest 2011 will be the biggest and best yet!

KANSAS CITY, MO — March 30, 2011 — KansasFest, the 22nd annual convention dedicated to the Apple II computer, is now open for registration. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 19, 2011, through Sunday, July 24, for six days and five nights of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and camaraderie.

The week kicks off with keynote speaker Bob Bishop, co-founder of Apple's R&D lab alongside Steve Wozniak and creator of many popular Apple II programs and articles. Several sessions and workshops are scheduled throughout the rest of the week, including but not limited to:

• Ivan Drucker's tutorial for putting your Apple II on a LAN
• Build your own Apple II MP3 expansion card workshop with Vince Briel
• A look at the Apple III's technical aspects and modern accessories, by Mike Maginnis
• A live-action text adventure, hosted by Ken Gagne
• A behind-the-scenes look at the Open Apple podcast
• The latest on Apple's iOS mobile devices by Rob Walch of the Today in iPhone podcast
• A vendor fair that includes an exhibit hall for attendees to show off and play with new or unusual hardware and software
• HackFest, an annual programming challenge open to coders of all skill levels

What the schedule can't predict is the variety of surprises that are a hallmark of KansasFest. Recent years have seen the debut of a new, boxed Apple II game; the reclassification of Resource Central's catalog; a "lunch and learn" session on Apple IIc disassembly; and many other announcements and demonstrations. Attendees are encouraged to share their knowledge by presenting their own hardware and software sessions, especially of the Apple II but also including Macintosh, Windows, Linux, iOS, and others.

Register before June 1 to guarantee a price of $365 for a double room or $435 for a single, which includes admission to all sessions as well as most meals. Official KansasFest shirts and Vince Briel's MP3 workshop are extra and optional and must be ordered by May 31; registration for staying on-site closes July 10. Veterans of the event are invited to bring a first-time attendee; if each indicates the other's name on the registration form, both will receive a $25 referral rebate at the event. To register, please visit the official Web site at http://www.kansasfest.org/

KansasFest sponsor 16 Sector invites any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends to attend the world's only annual Apple II conference. For photos, schedules, presentations from past year's events, and inquiries, please visit the event's Web site.

CONTACT:
Email: http://www.kansasfest.org/contact/
Register: http://www.kansasfest.org/register/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kansasfest
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=192182347486252

A popular accessory at each year's KansasFest is the t-shirt. These attractive and durable Gildan tops feature the KansasFest logo and colorfully display your pride in your retrocomputing hobby.

When registering for KansasFest 2011, you too can order a limited-edition shirt representing this year's event. Here's a preview of what will be waiting for you when you check into Rockhurst:

KansasFest 2011 shirt proof

Photo courtesy Sarah Shepherd.

Ewen Wannop on Google Street View.

Scott Miller with Twin Galaxies arcade founder Walter Day.

Shirts are available starting at a mere $15. Be sure to order yours!

Every year, the KansasFest logo is updated to represent the event to our attendees and the retrocomputing community at large, encapsulating key information about the convention into a single image. The logo has had a variety of designers over the years, with the last five enjoying the creativity and continuity of Chris Lackey at Cold Spring Design.

Building on Chris's themes but bringing the design closer to the community, KansasFest committee member Peter Neubauer has crafted this most excellent logo for 2011:



Sporting the colorful rainbow of the classic Apple logo, the above image also reflects a change from our usual attempt to name all the platforms used and supported by KansasFest attendees. Whereas in the past we've tried to include Macintosh, Newton, and other operating systems, this year we're taking the all-inclusive approach of focusing on what brings us together in the first place: APPLE II FOREVER.

Expect to see this logo on our flyers, handouts, shirts, and more!

At KansasFest 2010, attendees had the honor of meeting Dennis Doms and Tom Vanderpool, two Resource Central employees. It was they who founded the event that has become known as KansasFest. When Resource Central closed their doors, it was a group of volunteers who ensured that the annual tradition of gathering Apple II users in Kansas City continued.

Over the years, those volunteers have included a variety of businesses and organizations who have literally insured KansasFest would continue by putting up the money to cover up-front expenses. Paul Parkhurst of Parkhurst Micro Products and Tim Kellers of Kellers Auto Electric carried the torch before passing it to Jerry Cline of InTrec Software in 1997, who has sponsored the event for more than a decade.

The KansasFest committee would like to thank Jerry for the years of support he has lent us, starting with when he stepped in at a moment's notice to allow the event to continue and then helped it grow to what it has become today. With InTrec's flagship product, ProTERM, now reclassified as freeware, it is time to again transition KansasFest's sponsorship to a business active in today's Apple II community.

Starting this year, KansasFest is sponsored by 16 Sector, headed by Tony Diaz.

Once again, thank you to Jerry Cline for his years of service, which came when they were needed to keep KansasFest moving forward.  Here's to many more decades of happy reunions and new friends!

In 2007, KansasFest had the pleasure of hosting David Szetela as the keynote speaker. Mr. Szetela, currently owner and CEO of Clix Marketing, served as the founding editor of the esteemed Nibble Magazine when the Apple publication debuted in 1980. After leaving Nibble, Mr. Szetela spent more than six years working at Apple Computer Inc., giving him an inside perspective on the producers of the world's most famous personal computer.

Two brief videos from Mr. Szetela's keynote speech have recently been unearthed and published. In the first, Mr. Szetela discusses the departmental politics at Apple Computer Inc. during the Apple II's twilight; in the second, he acknowledges the impact and legacy of individuals such as John Sculley and Mike Harvey.Our thanks to Mr. Szetela for taking the time to share this history of the Apple II!

In 1995, KansasFest was only six years old. Started by Resource Central, the event had transitioned to a volunteer-run committee to continue providing Apple II users with the opportunity to meet and share their expertise and colorful personalities in a week-long celebration of the community.

The highlights of that early KansasFest were captured in a two-hour video, formerly available as a commercial product and now published online, courtesy Steve Disbrow, president of EGO Systems.

This montage of highlights from KansasFest 1995 is a tour de force of one of the earliest conventions to celebrate the Apple II personal computer. Features include the keynote address by Roger Wagner; the party game Bite the Bag (time index 11:52); sessions by Tony Diaz and Mike Westerfield (46:12); the roast of Steve Disbrow (47:41); and a cavalcade of cameos (1:51:19) by Margaret Anderson, Joe Wankerl, Jack Kells, Greg Nelson, Nate Trost, Scott Johnson, Ephraim Wall, Susan McGregor, Bruce Milyko, John Stankowski, Lunatic E'Sex, Tim Gjenvick, Joyce Sullivan, Cindy Adams, Richard Bennett, Andrew Roughan, Tim Kellers, Carl Knoblock, Sarah Phillips, Eric Shepherd, Ryan Suenaga, Paul Zaleski, Doug Pendleton, Gina Saikin, Mark Cline, and Joe Kohn.

This video was produced by Steve Disbrow of EGO Systems. It has been digitized by Ken Gagne and Eric Shepherd and is published here with permission of the original copyright holder, who previously also published videos of KansasFest 1992.