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| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 10:00 AM | MAIN | VT100 Deep Dive | Richard Thomson |
The VT100 was not just a dumb terminal; it was a tightly engineered computer with its own CPU, firmware, video system, keyboard protocol, expansion bus, and bag of tricks. This talk takes the VT100 apart from the inside out, showing how DEC built the terminal that became the template for decades of text-mode computing. We will look at the hardware, the firmware, the video timing, the keyboard, the NVRAM setup system, smooth scrolling, double-width and double-height characters, escape sequences, and other details that made the VT100 feel almost magical in 1978. For Commodore 64 fans, think of this as a deep dive into another 8-bit machine, except this one conquered minicomputers, Unix rooms, BBSes, and terminal emulators instead of the living room. Along the way, we will connect the VT100's design choices to things familiar from home computers: memory maps, ROM routines, raster timing, character cells, serial I/O, and firmware hacks. By the end, you will understand why the VT100 became a standard, why it was stranger than it looks, and why a "terminal" can be just as interesting as the computer it talks to.
Richard Thomson is a vintage computing researcher, collector, and speaker focused on the machines that made interactive computing visible: terminals, graphics systems, workstations, and the software that drove them. He works at NVIDIA on GPU raytracing, but his spare time is spent preserving older display technology through the Computer Graphics Museum in Salt Lake City, the Terminals Wiki, and the Manx online documentation database.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 10:30 AM | SECOND | The History of Seequa Computer and the Anatomy of the Chameleon | Matthew Jones & Daniel Balsom |
The Seequa Computer Corporation was a Maryland-based IBM PC-Compatible manufacturer that truly showed how to get an IBM PC for only $1995. They also showed you how to get a CP/M machine for only $1995. The trick? They're the same computer. Although Seequa went head to head with IBM and lost out, they didn't exactly lose the way everyone else did.
This presentation will focus on the brief history and products from Seequa, along with a technical dive into their flagship product, the Chameleon: Who was capable of switching between an 8088 and Z80 thanks to some slick engineering and custom PAL chips. We will explore how the Chameleon's lost schematics were painstakingly reconstructed, and what cool and unexpected features were discovered along the way.
Matthew Jones, also known as McJonesTech online, is a vintage computer preservationist who works on the archival and preservation of the history of computers. Matthew has been reassembling the history of the Seequa Computer Corporation since 2024, and has been recently working on the long term preservation of the Chameleon's hardware alongside Daniel Balsom.
Daniel Balsom - otherwise known as GloriousCow - is a retro-computer enthusiast, emulator author and reverse-engineer. They fell in love with the Seequa Chameleon after seeing it at VCF Midwest 19, and is now back, schematics in hand, to talk about what makes this system weird and wonderful.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 10:45 AM | WORKSHOP | The Journey: First Intel 4004 CPU to First Digital Phone to AI - It’s About Humans | GeorgeW |
George’s career spans 35 years across 7 industries, 2 startups to large enterprise firms National Semiconductor, Motorola, Allstate and State of Illinois implementing new first-time technologies and industry firsts… the common thread and appreciation between innovation and execution still revolves around humans, cultures and leadership styles. Please join in an engaging 2-way dialogue and storytelling around career planning, bumps along the way, and being resilient and flexible in these difficult economic and uncertain times. While computer science degrees, software development, data, cybersecurity and AI has had a prominent uprise let’s not always forget a critical component of success — humans, critical thinking and grit!
George is a business technology leader with over 30 years’ experience in startup, mid-sized and Fortune 500 firms. As the Chief Marketing Officer at PTP, George is responsible for strategic growth, client relationships and new business development. George was also a former CIO and COO with industry experiences in 7 different verticals.
George has a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a MS in Engineering Management from National Technological University. In addition to his work with PTP, George also serves on the board of InfraGard Chicago and volunteers for various non-profits including Project Vision Chicago Board, I.C.Stars fundraising committee, Northeastern Illinois University Advisory Board and was a past SIM Chicago Board member.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 11:00 AM | MAIN | Hurricanes Suck: When a Computer Collection Experiences Disaster | Clint Basinger |
My home was hit and half-destroyed by Hurricane Helene in 2024, and this included my vintage computer collection room. I plan to go over the details of the night it happened (including video footage and photos,) the recovery process for both the collection and my own sanity, and the things I've learned and want to share about how to deal with a vintage computer collection when disaster strikes. Discussing all manner of things I'd do differently if I could go back and also things I plan to do differently in the future.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 11:30 AM | SECOND | Genera for the Initiated | phf (philippe fominykh) |
History of Lisp Machines through a deep dive into Symbolics Genera. An interactive presentation of Lisp Machine functionality, networking, tooling, and lore. Includes forbidden material.
Common Lisp consultant and a Lisp Machine enthusiast
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 11:45 AM | WORKSHOP | Creating a new action game for the Apple II | Jav |
A presentation and story on how the Sean’s Garage Giveaway game was created.
Long time retro enthusiast, UX and graphic designer
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 12:00 PM | MAIN | How to trip over yourself moving and opening a tech museum | Brendan |
It takes a "special" kind of person to run a museum about what makes them "special". But when there's a will, there's a way, so let's spend an hour unpacking that, shall we?
Once upon a time, long ago, but not far from here, Brendan's kindergarten teacher told his mother that he was going to be "different". That's really all you need to know...
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 12:30 PM | SECOND | Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net: A Retro Internet for Retro Computers | Cursed Silicon |
Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net is a service designed to allow users with computers from the 80's/90's/00's to connect their old computers together in a way that mimics "the old internet"
Unlike existing services such as Protoweb or FrogFind. The network is specifically designed to allow individual users to connect their devices to the network to run old software and services interactively. Setting up services such as old websites, game servers and other software from the era.
Hi, I'm Cursed Silicon! (or Shaun) I run a small YouTube channel and also talk about old computers on Mastodon. Feel free to say hello if you see me anywhere!
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 1:30 PM | MAIN | 6th Annual YouTuber Discussion Panel | YouTuber Panel |
Rumors of our YouTuber Discussion Panel's demise have been greatly exxagerated! Come join returning friends and some new faces for a roundtable discussion panel about the trials and tribulations of making vintage tech content for YouTube.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 4:00 PM | MAIN | THE FABULOUS VCF MIDWEST FUNDRAISER AUCTION | silent700 |
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 7:45 PM | WORKSHOP | Loading… Please Wait: Bringing COMPUTE!'s Gazette Back After 30 Years | Edwin J. Nagle |
In July 2025, COMPUTE!'s Gazette returned to print after a 30-year absence — and this is the story of how it happened. Edwin "James" Nagle, owner of the COMPUTE! trademark and Publisher of the revived magazine, takes attendees behind the scenes of Year One: from acquiring a beloved brand and securing the historical copyrights to the original 1979–1994 COMPUTE! and COMPUTE!'s Gazette archive, to building an editorial team and producing ten plus issues and growing covering the retro scene. The talk covers the business realities of publishing a niche print magazine in 2025, the editorial philosophy of honoring the original run while serving today's retro community, and what the copyright acquisition means for preserving and extending this chapter of computing history. Expect a candid look at the challenges and surprises of Year One — and what's coming next.
Edwin "James" Nagle is the Editor and Publisher of COMPUTE!'s Gazette Magazine and CEO of RETRO!, a vintage computing and retro gaming retail store in Lakeline Mall in Austin, Texas. He holds the COMPUTE! trademark and operates COMPUTE! Publications, Inc., which relaunched the iconic magazine in July 2025 after a three-decade hiatus. A central focus of his work has been the acquisition and recordation of the historical copyrights to the original COMPUTE! and COMPUTE!'s Gazette archive spanning 1979–1994 — an effort to ensure this foundational era of personal computing history is properly preserved and documented. A lifelong retro computing enthusiast, Edwin is passionate about connecting the golden age of personal computing with the thriving community that keeps it alive today.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 8:00 PM | MAIN | The "Ugliest" Apple Macintosh of ALL TIME??? | Ron's Computer Videos |
Ron from Ron's Computer Videos and Steve from Mac84 discuss the ugliest Macintosh computers of all time AND with the help of the audience will determine once and for all the worst Macintosh that Apple ever produced!
Ron is the host of Ron's Computer Videos on YouTube. Steve is the host of Mac84 on YouTube.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 8:30 PM | SECOND | A (Brief) History of Berkeley Systems | Savvy Sage |
A presentation on a (brief) history of Berkeley Systems, a California-based software company that is best known for After Dark and You Don't Know Jack. Here Savvy Sage will be covering the company's origins in accessibility, their first big hit with After Dark, their major entry into the gaming market with You Don't Know Jack, their online gaming service Bezerk, and what happened to them afterwards.
Hi! I'm Savvy Sage, where I unleash the uncommon side of history. I run a YouTube channel where I make retrospectives and documentaries, and I also offer creative services for content creators through my website, SavvySage.net.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 8:45 PM | WORKSHOP | Porting Super Star Trek to the Commodore 64 with Claude Code. | Joseph Granneman |
There are a lot of Super Star Trek clones out for the Commodore 64. It remains one of my all time favorites but usually at my Linux terminal using the 1978 C version. How difficult would it be for Claude to convert the original Unix C code to 6502 assembly? Is it even possible? After a ton of tokens and Claude using the C64U through an API, we have a custom, complete version of this old classic. AI can be controversial, but using it to enable the development of new programs for retro computers breaths new life into these timeless computer systems.
Joe Granneman is the President and Principal Consultant for the cyber security firm, Illumination Consulting, LTD. He works in offensive operations, incident response, forensics, and strategic security consulting. He has been an advid technology enthusiast since the time of the VIC-20 and working in technology ever since. He is always attached to a keyboard. This talk is not affiliated in any with Illumination Consulting and represents his personal thoughts and opinions.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 9:30 PM | MAIN | CONCERT: Superphone Live; in Chicago | Bea Thurman |
Concert! A new backing video, fresh setlist with new tracks, cooler gimmicks!
Bea Thurman is a new wave musician from Columbus Ohio, delivering fresh synthpop right between the ears
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 9:00 AM | SUNDAY OPEN |
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 10:00 AM | MAIN | The ENIAC in Context | Brian L. Stuart |
This year is the 80th anniversay of the unveiling of the ENIAC. This machine marked a seminal point in the history of computing, coming at a time that coincided with the birth of the field of Computer Science. In this presentation, we consider the development of the ENIAC. We examine its characteristics and how it influenced the machines that followed. Understanding the place of the ENIAC in the larger scope of computer history provides us with a more complete understanding of our field.
Brian L. Stuart is a professor of Computer Science at Drexel University. Having studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the University of Notre Dame, and Purdue University, his primary research focus for the past ten years has been the design and programming of the ENIAC.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 10:15 AM | SECOND | Z80 Renaissance: ROMWBW and the Revival of Retro Computing | Jefferey Wilson |
Join Jeff Wilson for an exploration of ROMWBW, the powerful software ecosystem created by Wayne Warthen that is driving a vibrant revival of Z80-based retro computing. This presentation, developed in collaboration with Wayne Warthen, introduces ROMWBW as a flexible "micro hypervisor" that supports a variety of OS images without switching media. Attendees will learn about its browser-based support, wide range of hardare platforms such as the RC2014 Homebrew Kits and the S100Computers.com Z180 CPUs and Z80 FPGA Boards, and how to build it into new hardware platforms. This talk covers the rich set of included operating systems - including DRI’s CP/M 2.2/3.0, CDOS, and RDOS; Z-System variants such as ZSDOS, NZ-DOS, ZPM3, and Z3PLUS; QPM, p-System, FreeRTOS, and FUZIX, along with an extensive library of bundled software such as programming tools (Z80ASM, Turbo Pascal, Forth, Cowgol), C compilers (Aztec-C, HI-TECH C), Microsoft compilers (BASIC, Fortran, COBOL), WordStar, and classic games including Colossal Cave and Zork. Discussions on practical resources, GitHub repositories, support forums, and live Q&A will equip enthusiasts to explore, extend, and enjoy the ROMWBW ecosystem. Whether you’re restoring vintage S-100 systems or building with modern kits like the RC2014, this session showcases how ROMWBW is keeping the Z80 era alive and thriving.
Jeff Wilson is a 70s and 80s Vintage Computing Enthusiast who specializes in S-100 Presevevation, Development, and FPGA work to keep vintage systems and software running. Visit him at the S100Projects Table to see a 7-user CompuPro 816 running a multiuser Pacman clone (PakuPaku) where you can also play as a Ghost.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 10:30 AM | WORKSHOP | CAD like it's 2001 - Using Unigraphics on a UNIX Workstation | Xav101 |
Take a look back at CAD software in use on high-end UNIX workstations. This presentation provides a brief history of the Unigraphics CAD software and its role in engineering and manufacturing. We will provide a live demonstration and walkthrough of the capabilities and workflows that made Unigraphics an industry standard. We'll cover creating and editing basic curves and parametric sketches, building and modifying feature-based solid models, as well as more advanced functions like surface modeling, large assembly management, and drafting capabilities.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 11:00 AM | MAIN | GameBoy Camera Funtography | Ken Fager |
The GameBoy Camera introduced many 90's kids to the wonders of digital photography. Limited to four shades the postage stamp sized photos had a big impact on the technology we all carry around in our pocket today. This presentation will introduce people to the camera cartridge, printer, Mad Catz Camera Link (running a Win 95/98 live demo), EF and C mount telephoto adapters, and other hardware mods that make the GameBoy Camera a great camera for modern use. There will also be an SNES with a Super GameBoy broadcasting live to a Zoom meeting. Several demo units will be on hand allowing people to obtain digital copies of any photos they take (original and embiggened).
Ken Fager has been shooting with a GameBoy Camera since 1998.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 11:15 AM | SECOND | Tiny BASIC: The People's Language for the People's Computer | Eric Floehr |
When the Altair 8800 arrived in January 1975 with nothing but front-panel switches to program it, the People's Computer Company newsletter responded within two months with "Build Your Own BASIC," and that September Dennis Allison's "Design Notes for Tiny BASIC" set out a minimal, education-first BASIC and asked readers to build it and mail their implementations back. So many versions came back that a new journal, Dr. Dobb's, was started just to print them all, and its first issue mailed the same week as Bill Gates's "Open Letter to Hobbyists." Tom Pittman sold his Tiny BASIC for $5 when Microsoft was charging $150 for Altair BASIC, and Li-Chen Wang marked his with "@COPYLEFT: ALL WRONGS RESERVED," a seminal moment in the birth of the open source movement. The center of this talk is Allison's design: most of Tiny BASIC was written not in assembly but in a tiny purpose-built virtual machine (the "IL"), so one interpreter could run on the 8080, the 6800, and the 6502. I went through the original 1976 IL instruction by instruction and counted its opcodes, and the talk presents that analysis, plus the tricks, like keyword crunching, that made 2 or 3 KB enough for a working language. Wang's public-domain listing became the seed of commercial BASICs: the TRS-80's Level I BASIC began as Wang's code with "about 60 percent of it" torn out, and the Bally Astrocade's BASIC manual credits him by name. Even the chip makers sold it, with RCA offering a Tiny BASIC ROM board for its COSMAC VIP and National Semiconductor building NIBL, its own Tiny BASIC, for the SC/MP. The talk ends with a period game running on an interpreter I'm building from scratch, in ARM assembly, on a $10 board, the same "every step runs" way PCC taught in 1975. ARM and BASIC are also intertwined, as the first reference model of the ARM processor was written in BASIC. Tiny BASIC is a complete programming language that one person can understand top to bottom, and no BASIC or assembly experience is needed to follow along.
Eric Floehr's first computer came from a hobby store in 1978, when he was nine: an Ohio Scientific Challenger IIP hooked to a little closed-circuit TV monitor and a cassette tape player. He learned BASIC by typing in a game called Planet-X Lander, and never really stopped. He went on to run a BBS on a Commodore 64, get a computer science degree, and build a career in programming (his dad worked at CompuServe, so computing runs in the family). He founded the Central Ohio Python Users Group and ForecastWatch, and previously ran the PyOhio conference. Today he makes videos as the People's Computer Club, a YouTube channel reviving the spirit of the 1970s People's Computer Company: understanding computers by building them from the fundamentals up. He is writing BASIC From Scratch, a book that builds a full BASIC interpreter in ARM assembly, one runnable step at a time, starting from the Tiny BASIC tradition this talk covers.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 11:30 AM | WORKSHOP | Applesoft's Loaded Dice: The Truth About Randomness on the Apple II, Then and Now | Jeff Robison |
This is a talk meant to explain the history of, problem with, and solution for Applesoft BASIC's broken RND() function. Not merely another workaround, I am proposing a new ROM patch and options for hardware entropy mitigate the need for most RND() workarounds published since 1984. I have attempted to make the content accessible for newcomers and seasoned users alike. I believe this is the best way forward to ensure newcomers to the platform have a seamless experience without needing to understand random number theory, the Apple II's memory layout, or assembly.
Jeff Robison is a Wisconsin native and cybersecurity professional. Outside of work he restores vintage computer hardware and has been collecting microcomputers for twenty years. He currently lives in Tennessee with his wife Chass, two dogs Boomer and Joey, and cat Sophie. This is his first VCFMW talk submission.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 12:00 PM | MAIN | The Origin of Chuck E. Cheese, and the Computer that Made it Possible. | Frank Palazzolo & Evan Allen |
Nolan Bushnell had the idea to bring Disney-style animatronics to the masses. In order to do this, the "Cyberamic Control Center" was developed specifically to control lifelike robots in hundreds of Chuck E. Cheese restaurants across the nation. Powered by the ubiquitous 6502, and developed by the same engineering talent that gave Atari it's industry-leading games, this computer outlived the company it was created for, and it has only recently reached it's end of life.
With the help of fans, archivists, museums, and collectors, we have put together a fairly complete history of this computer, including it's evolution from 1977 to the present day. With more than our fair share of luck, we have also managed to obtain and restore one to full functionality. This required decoding tapes, disassembling roms, and fabricating parts where the originals were difficult to obtain.
Frank Palazzolo is an Electrical Engineer and Software Developer, with a long history of open-source software contributions and emulator development. When he was in high school, he worked at a Chuck E. Cheese and interacted directly with the "Cyberamic Control Center". Evan Allen is an Electrical Engineer who focuses on reverse engineering and recreating rare or otherwise hard to find hardware. His focus has been on board design but he is branching out into 3D modeling as well.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 12:15 PM | SECOND | The Dan ][ Controller: Designing Open Source Hardware for the Next 50 Years of Vintage Computing | Dan Marks |
Microcomputers are starting their sixth decade, now well past the time of their manufacture and even their replacement parts are becoming scarce. In the meantime, electronics has become ever cheaper, more powerful, shorter-lived, and disposable. How can one keep vintage machines alive and running for the next 50 years so future generations can enjoy the age of microcomputers? I describe the design of two peripheral cards, one for the Apple II (the Dan II Controller) and one for the ISA bus, that interface SD cards as mass storage as well as provide ethernet connectivity. These cards use highly common, available components, rather than specialized FPGAs and microcontrollers which likely will become unavailable in a decade or two. These components include HCT-series CMOS logic, interchangeable EPROM/EEPROM/FLASH memory ICs, the ubiquitous 82C55A, and the Arduino-popularized ATMEGA328P. Open Source Hardware can become obsolete if its components disappear, and so longevity needs to be considered if a design may need to be implemented in decades by those with resources currently unknown. I describe some principles I apply to create open source hardware that is resistant to part obsolescence.
Daniel Marks is a vintage computing enthusiast who started with the TI 99 4A and Apple ][ as a youth. He has dozens of his own open source hardware projects on his github www.github.com/profdc9 . His day job involves RF and optical engineering, but he designs vintage computer peripheral cards, amateur radio equipment, stereo equipment, acoustics, Tesla coils, and other fun stuff, and shares the projects publicly to be studied as working examples. He has also created gigapixel cameras for DARPA, laser-scanning microscopes for biophotonics, and checkpoint security scanners. He received his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Electrical Engineering.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 12:30 PM | WORKSHOP | The Last Great CP/M Portable: Rescuing a Zorba from Obscurity | Jeff Mocker |
In the early 1980s, the portable computer market was rapidly evolving, with systems like the Osborne 1 and Kaypro defining the CP/M era before the IBM PC standard changed everything. One lesser-known machine from this period was the Zorba, a feature-rich CP/M portable that arrived near the end of the 8-bit business computer era.
This presentation follows the journey of restoring and preserving a Zorba portable computer, including the history of the system, how it compared to its competitors, and why it disappeared despite its impressive design. We will explore the restoration process, troubleshooting challenges, hardware repairs, floppy disk preservation, and bringing a nearly forgotten machine back to life.
Along the way, we will look at what made CP/M systems important, why many excellent computers were left behind during the transition to IBM compatibility, and what these machines can teach us about a pivotal moment in personal computing history.
The goal of this presentation is not just to showcase a restored computer, but to celebrate the preservation of the forgotten systems and stories that shaped the evolution of personal computing.
Jeff Mocker is the founder of Retro Ranger, where he focuses on restoring, repairing, and preserving vintage computers and classic technology. His work spans a wide range of systems including Commodore, Amiga, Apple, IBM PC compatibles, Atari, Tandy, and other historically significant platforms from the early personal computing era.
Through Retro Ranger, Jeff documents restorations, repairs, upgrades, and preservation projects with a focus on keeping original hardware alive while making these systems accessible for future generations of enthusiasts. His projects combine electronics repair, historical research, and a passion for exploring the stories behind the machines that shaped personal computing.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 1:00 PM | MAIN | Early Mac Game Development | John Calhoun |
What is the Macintosh Toolbox? What is Quickdraw? How did you write games for the Macintosh Mac in the 1980’s before the web, when documentation was scarce?
I was able to somehow navigate that landscape and knock out a number of sprite-based games. I’ll show you exactly how games were written then—show you how to write games like it’s the 80’s again.
We’ll talk resources, sample code, game shells, C, emulators, ResEdit… And perhaps I can show you a few almost-ran games from 30 years ago that were never completed. Q&A as time permits.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 1:15 PM | SECOND | Rendering QR Codes in PETSCII | Ethan Dicks |
PETSCII character graphics have been used for 80x50 "low res" graph plotting going back to the early days of the PET, but they are adaptable to a totally modern use: QR Codes. Come see how to generate loadable QR code screens with Open Source for display on the PET, the VIC-20, the Commodore 64 and more.
Ethan Dicks got his start on a 4K PET at the public library and began his career with the soon-to-be-released Commodore 64 before branching out to minicomputers and more.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 1:30 PM | WORKSHOP | How I Learned to Love the Clamshell. | Eric Hanchar |
I propose to do a talk on the (in)famous Dell clamshell desktops. Part history, part explanation (why they came to be and why am I the idiot that somehow came to be the collector of them) part defense and part why they should have a place in the community as a collectors system (and as an excellent entry point into the hobby.)
I am Regret_The_Van, I have been active in the retro computer community since 2018 when I acquired my first retro system, a Gateway 2000 machine from 1993. I attended my first VCFMW in 2019 and exhibited for the first time in 2023.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 1:45 PM | SECOND | Making DOS Games Sing Again: SoftMPU, Open Source and the Roland MT-32 | Ben Tayler |
Roland’s MT‑32 brought near orchestral sound to late 1980s DOS games, but many titles depended on an intelligent‑mode MPU‑401 interface that only Roland’s original hardware provided. As consumer sound cards dropped that feature, MT‑32 music became inaccessible and genuine MPU‑401 units grew rare and expensive. SoftMPU is a small DOS TSR I wrote to emulate that missing interface through V86 port trapping in memory managers like EMM386 and QEMM, restoring MT‑32 support on real vintage PCs.
The project began by adapting DOSBox’s MPU‑401 emulation into a standalone TSR built around interrupt handling and careful MIDI timing. Its development has been shaped by open‑source collaboration and extensive compatibility testing on the VOGONS forum, and it has helped spark a small ecosystem of modern retro‑MIDI hardware including the Dreamblaster S2P, mt32‑pi, BulkyMIDI‑32 and HardMPU, all of which rely on SoftMPU to keep classic game music playable.
The talk includes a live audio demonstration comparing PC speaker, AdLib and MT‑32 output to show exactly what SoftMPU enables, highlighting the dramatic difference the MT‑32 brings to DOS game music and the role SoftMPU plays in making that experience possible on vintage hardware today.
Ben Tayler is the creator of SoftMPU, an open-source MPU-401 intelligent-mode emulator for DOS that has become a standard tool in the vintage PC gaming community. A games programmer by profession, he has been involved in the vintage computing scene for over a decade, with a focus on DOS-era audio hardware and MIDI. SoftMPU has been downloaded thousands of times, is discussed extensively on YouTube and various forums, and has spawned a wider ecosystem of compatible hardware and software projects.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 2:00 PM | MAIN | De-MiSTifying FPGAs - Using them for emulation, restoration and modernization of vintage systems | Tony McDowell |
FPGAs are beginning to come into their own in the hobby market. Many people are familiar with their use in emulation projects like MiSTer but think they are too complication to use in their own projects. In this talk, I will cover emulation as well as other scenarios that include using FPGAs for replacing unavailable parts in restoration, modernization / consolidation, and enhancement. Additionally, I will present simple logic circuits in HDL code and cover the basic workflow. The primary focus of the talk is to lower the barrier-of-entry for FPGA-curious people.
Tony McDowell is a veteran of the FPGA industry, having worked for Xilinx (later aquired by AMD), the founder of the FPGA industry, and Rapid Silicon, a short-lived open-source centric FPGA startup. His expertise extends from RTL development and deployment to embedded software design.
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 2:15 PM | SECOND | Getting into Vintage Computers on a Budget | LowSpecActionSquad |
A lot of folks, especially younger ones, tend to watch the wonderful videos creators in our community put out there, and get inspired to join this amazing hobby we have. Unfortunately, they often get discouraged when they go to google and try to by popular vintage pieces and parts, only to find skyrocketing prices on popular auction websites. As someone who specializes in vintage computers on a budget, I wanted to chime in with my two cents, and hopefully provide folks some avenues to try when getting into the hobby!
My name is Matt, I run the YouTube channel LowSpecActionSquad, and I enjoy bringing e-waste back to life!
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 3:00 PM | PACK UP TALK HALLS |
| Time | Track/Room | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 4:00 PM | SHOW CLOSE |