Subject: Impressions about KANSASFEST From: buggie@ben03.unm.edu (stephen e buggie) Date: Thu, Jul 02, 1998 11P7rogr EDT Message-id: <6ng7o2$19ss$1@lynx.unm.edu> I attended K-Fest '96, two years ago. I cant attend it this year because the dates conflict with summer school teaching. This article, KANSASFEST PILGRIMAGE, appeared in II ALIVE in Fall 1996 or Spring 1997. I recommend that EVERY Apple II devotee should make this pilgrimage at least once! Steve Buggie buggie@unm.edu HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH II ALIVE magazine Page 1 of 9 Submitted: August 1996 KANSASFEST PILGRIMAGE ===================== by Stephen Buggie We've all heard about the importance of the Hadj ---- a religious pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca which devout Muslims must fulfill at least once. Every Muslim knows about it, life is unfulfilled without it, its planning becomes an obsession, considerable expense is required, and one's life is changed thereafter. For Apple II loyalists, KansasFest (KFest) resembles the Hadj in many ways. KFest has been publicized for years to the Apple II community via magazines, newsletters, and internet discussion groups. I'd planned to attend, but each year have rationalized not going --- got to buy more hardware, got to work, don't have enough time, dates are wrong, etc. This year, too, was inconvenient for me because our older son will start college in the fall. But with Joe Kohn's prodding, I decided to attend; no further delays! OVERVIEW KFest is like an intensive and extended users' group meeting, spread over all hours of a four day session. The eight-page program stated that the conference is oriented toward Apple II, Mac, and Newton, although the emphasis overwhelmingly was on Apple II. The Newton (electronic notepad), if present, was well hidden. Most KFesters focus exclusively on the IIgs ---- 8-bit Apples such as the IIc, IIe, or II+ were rarely mentioned. The conference extended from Wednesday through Saturday, with many attenders remaining through Sunday morning. Organizers were Cindy Adams, Steve Gozdziewski, and Tim Kellers, who are active in the Apple II GENIE group. About 90 KFesters occupied two floors of a dorm at Avila College, a small campus placed in an upscale residential area of southwestern Kansas City MO. Roughly 70% had attended Kfest previously while about 30% were newcomers, like me. Spacious dorm rooms were shared, two to a room. Ordinarily, I'd be reluctant to share a room with a stranger, but Kfest is special --- our shared dedication to the Apple II was so pervasive that strangers bonded with each other, even at first meeting. Avila cafeteria meals were okay, but not outstanding --- Kansas City's renowned steaks were sorely missed. FORMAL SESSIONS Formal sessions, most lasting 90 minutes, were held throughout each day. Sessions spanned the range of computing: hardware, software, new products, etc. KFesters are knowledgeable about the computer and comments were sophisticated --- absent were the mindless remarks often heard from novices at local users' group meetings. As is customary at academic conferences, one was never forced to attend sessions that were outside one's range of interests. Two or three sessions ran concurrently --- participants chose which to attend. Tough choices had to be made among alternative sessions. Large plenary sessions were held on Friday and Saturday mornings to demonstrate the latest Mac products and to give participants the chance to buy and sell Apple II software, hardware, or literature. Vendors typically were authors of products they sold. INFORMAL ACTIVITIES Informal sessions went on throughout the day and night --- at meals, in hallways, and especially in the dorm rooms. About half the attenders --- mostly those who arrived by car --- brought computers and related accessories. (I brought five of my IBM-to-IIgs power supplies). KFest etiquette allowed one to wander the hallways, peering into rooms, barging in to see and discuss the software being displayed. No one seemed to mind. Many IIgs systems on display were absolutely loaded with prestige equipment and software. During boot-ups, init icons totally filled some IIgs splash screens! APPLE II CELEBRITIES: PRESENT AND ABSENT KFest attracts the leaders of our "Apple II universe." Notable celebrities who were present included: Joe Kohn (SHAREWARE SOLUTIONS publisher), Steve Disbrow (GS+ publisher), Mike Westerfield (ORCA author), Tony Diaz (Alltech technical guru), Max Jones (JUICED.GS publisher), Bill Heineman (games programmer), and others. I'd been told in advance that Apple II inventor Steve Wozniak would not attend this year, but held out hopes that he would. Hyperstudio developer Roger Wagner could not attend, but despite his absence he arranged free pizzas for KFest night owls as he'd done in earlier years. ORIGINS AND TRADITIONS It all began seven years ago when Tom Weishaar (manager of Resource Central, a now-defunct periodical and mail order supplier) organized KFest as a grassroots national meeting of Apple II enthusiasts --- programmers, hardware hackers, and other serious users. Previously, AppleFest, a large commercially-oriented annual exhibition, had been organized by Apple and other large commercial vendors. But as the '80s progressed, Applefest evolved into a Macintosh showcase event with the Apple II being elbowed to the sidelines. Kansas City was chosen as KFest's annual site because of its proximity to Overland Park KS, organizer Weishaar's hometown. Its convenient midwestern regional location minimizes participants' average travel distance. KFest is in its seventh year, and traditions are maintained. The Avila College site has a sentimental appeal for KFest repeaters. Avila College will be the site again --- at least through 1997. The "roast" --- a good-natured verbal bashing of a KFest regular --- follows the Friday night banquet. Another tradition is chronic sleepiness --- you're out of form if you are fully rested! All-night conversation and computing is the KFest norm. HARDWARE SESSIONS Nearly half the presentations were on hardware-related topics --- mainly on customizing and repairs. Topics included: repairing the IIgs keyboard, soldering techniques, customizing the ZIP-GS accelerator, repairing the IIgs RGB monitor, robotics, hacking the Disk II drive, and others. The monitor repair session was most impressive: Five or six dead monitors were brought to the hardware-hacking room, and expert solder-slingers Doug Pendleton and Dave Ciotti restored each to life by replacing specific faulty components. Users were cautioned about monitor hacking because dangerous high voltages lurk near the picture tube and particular circuits. The monitor session was illuminating because technicians routinely will not let users watch while repairs are done. Tony Diaz (Alltech Electronics) showed a legendary computer --- the "Mark Twain" prototype of an advanced IIgs. It featured an internal hard drive, extra RAM, and an internal 3.5" drive. This computer was never released, but several prototypes survived. He also showed other hardware gems, such as a double-decker Unidisk 3.5 --- two drives towerized in a single case. Also shown was the Amdek 400K 3" floppy, which preceded the 3.5" floppy but which failed to gain popularity. SOFTWARE SESSIONS Many attenders are programmers, so software was highlighted. Multiple presentations were given on the IIgs toolbox, Appleworks ultramacros, Applesoft basic, Spectrum, desktop interfaces, Netscape (graphical web browser), Wolfenstein 3-D, publishing, diagnostics, hypercard, etc. The premier software presentation was given by Cindy Adams and David Kerwood, who served as beta-testers for Gus, a software IIgs emulator for the Mac Power-PC. (The software will not run on earlier Macs). Gus is merely a 3.5" disk, which when loaded into the power-PC, turns the Mac into a IIgs! The demos, as well as the distributed docs, were really impressive. Gus's finder performed just like a IIgs. This demo provoked much discussion --- some felt that Gus provides a viable pathway to IIgs portability, because compact Power-PC laptops are already available. Others expressed serious concern that Gus will hasten the demise of the IIgs by luring users to a different platform. SOCIAL EVENTS There were plenty of opportunities to meet new friends --- while living in the dorm, sharing meals, and having informal discussions. During evenings, some played "bite the bag" in the dorm lobbies. Following the banquet dinner on Friday night, Joe Kohn (editor of SHAREWARE SOLUTIONS II newsletter) was publicly "roasted" by his friends, who each spoke a few minutes about Joe's shortcomings and eccentricities. The roast differed from internet "flaming" because of its friendly good-natured tone. Joe Kohn, more than any other, is admired by KFest attenders --- he is the leader of our computing world. EARLY PLANNING TO ATTEND KANSASFEST '97 KFest will be held in July 1997, again at Avila College. For many readers, the high cost ($375 for late registrants; price includes food and dorm room, travel costs are extra) discourages attendance. But costs can be minimized by careful advance planning. First, preregister early! A $50 "early bird" discount is given to attenders who mail their fees prior to a late-March deadline date. Second, during the winter, propose to make a presentation --- speakers are given a partial reduction (typically $50) of the conference fee. Third, schedule your vacation dates so that you can attend the entire KFest meeting, beginning on Wednesday. Costs seem more reasonable if the entire four-day conference is attended. Fourth, if arriving by plane, arrange with others to share rides from/to the airport, located 46 miles from the Avila College site. Plan to stay at the college dorm. No motels were seen within walking distance of the campus. If you stay elsewhere, conference costs are discounted only by $100 but you will miss out on informal dorm room computing as well as mealtime conversation. If arriving by car, bring at least one computing system to set up in your dorm room; an extra system (even a IIc or IIe) could be lent temporarily to others during the conference. Rooms have phone jacks for possible internet activity, local Kansas City phone numbers for Genie and SprintNet are given in the eight page KFest program. OVERALL REFLECTIONS KansasFest was a very satisfying experience. Much was learned which would be difficult to gain solely from print or from internet postings. Demos were seen of new products, hardware hacking techniques, creative software applications, etc. Face-to-face meetings with Apple celebrities and loyalists were great --- one is reminded that there are real people behind the internet signatures! Expert advice was quickly had through conversations with experts; the exchange of internet messages seems slow, by comparison. Emotionally, it was uplifting to meet others who share our devotion to our Apple II platform. At the beginning of this article , KFest was compared to the Islamic Hadj. But that metaphor is faulty, because once the pilgrimage has been made, the devout Muslim feels no compulsion to repeat the sacred journey. KFest is different --- having attended once stirs one's interest and resolve to return again next year and thereafter! FOOTNOTE To register for KansasFest '97, write to: Tim Kellers, Kellers' Auto Electric, P.O. Box 391, Brielle, NJ 08730 (phone: 908-775-0371; e-mail: kellers@genie.com). To contact the author, write to: Stephen Buggie, Univ. of New Mexico-Gallup, 200 College Rd., Gallup, NM 87301 (buggie@unm.edu).