Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 2024 Recap

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 2024 is in the Review Mirror.  I was happy to be there for my third in-person visit, and my second time as an exhibitor.  This year I had a busy summer, so I wanted to show a display that was easier to setup with no large projects required in order to prepare a hands on exhibit.  So I decided on the topic of "Laptop Evolution: 1988 to 1999".  I prepared 8 laptops to bring down and show off, but because of demo gremlins, I ended up with 6 working computers, then when the Mac Portable's HDD died, I was down to 5 computers on the demo table.

This year for the first time some of my family members expressed interest in tagging along for the roadtrip to Chicago and this made the event more fun for me.  One of my daughters is selling Retro-Computer themed art made out of e-waste.  She almost sold out at the show, but a few items are left on her etsy shop here...
Burbots

Here is what the booth setup looked like...

From left to right on the top of the table; my daughters art, then my interactive display.  Down below on the floor I setup computers that I'd repaired and that were for sale.  I only brought home 3 of the 9 computers I brought to sell, so I was quite happy with that result.

So far the only coverage I've seen online of the event that showed my booth was this video from Chris DeHut.  Chris is absolutely right about the screens, I wanted folks to experience how great the keyboards where and how poor the screens were.  Everyone knows about Moore's law and those of us who are old enough remember when our computers were doubling in speed every time we replaced them but there were a few cool things about the old hardware, including the amazing keyboards and the creative form factors that we used to have before all laptops started looking the same.

I unloaded about 8 parts machines or project machines onto the Free Pile.  This year the Free Pile was a happening place and I don't think anything that I put out there sat for more than a few hours.  The only thing I got off the free pile was a diskette holder for 5 1/4" disks, but since one of my goals for the event was to come home with less material than I left with, I was OK with that.

The only complete "new to me" computer that I brought home was a Sun Ultra 5 machine that I had been offered by a generous donor who is downsizing their collection.  I'm very happy to have this machine and it comes with a special surprise, but I will save that for a future bLog article.

As always, the highlight of the festival is the conversations.  I had many conversations with people I already knew from here in Minnesota or from YouTube but I also met many interesting people, some of who walked into the show because they were in the hotel for a different conference.  I heard many interesting stories from people about their experiences with computers and that is really what makes the show so much fun.  Here's a few of the stickers and cards that I collected, my daughter had an even larger collection...

The new show venue was excellent.  It was so much less stressful not having to worry about the power situation and having space for people to stand and talk and also move around instead of being crapped into tight aisles.  This also helps with the interactive exhibits because people don't feel like they had to move on immediately if they don't want too.  The hotel rooms were a bit more expensive, but I feel that the venue was so much nicer that it was a small price to pay and I would be happy if the organizers could get us back into the same venue next year.

Thanks so much too the organizers of the VCF Midwest event, your efforts are very much appreciated!  This event remains the highlight of the year for me in the retro computing hobby, and the people and ideas that I see at the show will inspire projects and conversations that will continue throughout the year.