If the rising prices on eBay CoCos and peripherals are any indication, there’s more interest than ever in the platform (all of them, really). I hope you acquired or received some new hardware or software for your system recently. If not, as they say, “there’s still time”.
Since we’ve moved meetings to the second Thursday of the month, it’s time again for our monthly meeting. This month, we’ll be continuing our discussion about the club setting aside funds to procure items of significance for preservation or archival. If you have any questions or comments, join us and share.
I don’t want to steal our CoCoFEST! coordinator’s thunder, but we’ve added some more tables to accommodate the demand. If you have yet to secure one, don’t wait until it’s too late!
Please join us this Thursday. We will open the call a bit early at 7:00PM to chat and address any Zoom connections issues folks might have.
At the height of the pandemic, Glenside found it would not be possible to hold our annual CoCoFEST event. We were not alone, with every classic computing event canceled in 2020, with some cancelled yet again in 2021. I know I was disappointed, and I suspect most were. Folks come to our event for many reasons, some for the platform itself while others for the friendships. That year, we all had to be content with virtual visits with friends.
Many GCCC members also view or participate in a weekly video video cast called “The CoCo Nation” (then named CoCoTALK!) and they felt an event of some type should still happen. So, they quickly arranged an unofficial Virtual CoCoFEST! around the time we had originally planned for the actual event. You can view it here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2PgbMjWkDM). Though it was not an officially sanctioned event, I think it helped many who were disappointed a physical event could not be held.
Time marches on, and, even though we had to delay our 2021 fest until later in the year, GCCC restarted our face-to-face events. We held the belated 29th event in November 2021, and will host the 32nd on May 4 and 5 2024. I hope we will see you at CoCoFEST! in Carol Stream, IL!
As someone who works remotely and spends a large portion of their week on virtual teleconferences via Zoom and Microsoft Teams, I empathize with folks who don’t want to spend another second on camera. That said, as someone who presented in a number of virtual 2020 and 2021 events, including the virtual CoCoFEST!, I found value in virtually presenting:
As we all found in 2020, it’s not always possible to travel to a physical location. Even though Glenside has returned to physical events, some folks are either too far away, don’t have the means, or physically cannot travel to an event. If they are just an attendee, streams of the show floor and the presentations may suffice, but if they want to present, we’ll miss that opportunity.
To address the above issue, some would suggest a virtual presentation at CoCoFEST!. It’s entirely possible, and I believe we’ve done it a few times. However, we feel it best to give preference to in-person presentations, and we often have enough of those to fully fill our speaker schedule.
And, speaking of our presentation schedule, there are limitations. By the time you factor in starting the show at a reasonable hour, Saturday and Sunday lunch, our Saturday auction, Saturday dinner, and our need to be out of the venue by 5PM Sunday, there are a limited number of half-hour and hour presentation slots available. Once they are claimed, we’re full.
There are some projects that don’t lend themselves well to travel. Do you have your CoCo 3 running your home entertainment system? That’s awesome, but probably not all that portable. Is your MC-10 handling data entry for a home weather system? Maybe that Alice is living a second life handling NC plots for your plasma cutter. Sure, one could take videos or pictures and create a presentation for our flagship event, but there’s nothing cooler than seeing a CoCo or MC-10/Alice in action
Some folks need a bit of a “push” after the holidays to resume their project work towards a CoCoFEST! completion. Demonstrating your efforts in January/February while your creation may just be a bunch of breadboards or not yet plug-n-play as a way to motivate you through the home stretch or even to whet CoCoFEST! attendees’ appetites a few months prior to the show can be a compelling argument.
Maybe you’re not sure about your ability to present in front of an audience, or maybe you feel your project or demonstration is not as important as others and you don’t hog a spot. I doubt either is true, but maybe a virtual presentation is an easier and safer lift.
For these reasons, I’ve long thought a virtual event in January/February would be a great addition to the yearly event lineup. Thus, Glenside and The CoCo Nation have partnered to hold the 2024 Virtual Fest on February 24/25, 2024. As The CoCo Nation has much more expertise holding video events, they’ll be handling much of the logistics. Mark Overholser (cocotech@thecoconation.com) is accepting presentation requests, and the event will be streamed on The CoCo Nation and the GCCC Youtube and Facebook channels.
For those wondering, GCCC is still holding our in-person event in May, and we’ll stream as much content as we can (last year, we had some Internet bandwidth issues, but we’re working to address those for 2024). This virtual event does not replace our normal yearly one, but I do hope we can drive some virtual value for the Tandy Color Computer community. If you have something you think is of interest, please send a note to Mark, even if you’re unsure if it’s “worthy” or a presentation slot. In fact, I’d go so far to say that this is an ideal time for those smaller and/or simpler presentations. Are you a young enthusiast just getting into the community? Take some time to present on your entrance, or how you’re getting along on finding information about the platform. Do you want to test the waters prior to the May event? This is your chance! There are a host of reasons to take advantage of this virtual event, and I hope folks take us up on the offer.
Above all, I hope the community enjoys this attempt to create something of value for the platform. I know it won’t appeal to everyone, but one size does not fit all, and this may be the best way to reach another part of the community.
I hope to see your on February 24 and February 25!
Jim Brain, 2023-24 Glenside Color Computer Club President
Based on feedback, Salvador Garcia has updated his design (twice). First is replacing 32st” with “32nd” and putting some background on some of the text to make it stand out:
Current latest design moved the crawl off the jet to make it easier to read:
Thanks Salvador for the updates. Do *YOU* have an idea for a design? If so, please send it to myself (president@glensideccc.com) or our CoCoFEST! coordinator, Grant Leighty (cocofest@glensideccc.com).
Ron Delvaux provided another T-shirt option to consider
Here it is mocked up on a T-shirt:
Again, on behalf of GCCC, thanks for this option to consider. If anyone else has a creative touch, please reach out to myself (president@glensideccc.com) or our CoCoFEST! coordinator, Grant Leighty (cocofest@glensideccc.com).
Given that this year the fest falls on May 4, Star Wars themed graphics are appropriate to consider. Salvador Garcia has generously shared one fest design option and provided an update.
Salvador provided an update, noting (correctly) that the CoCo units on the fighters were small and hard to recognize.
On behalf of the club, I appreciate Salvador’s creativity. If you have comments, please share, as I know Salvador is interested in feedback. I’m also eager to see if there are other options we should consider. If you have an idea, please send it to myself (president@glensideccc.com) or our CoCoFEST! coordinator, Grant Leighty (cocofest@glensideccc.com).
I hope everyone had a very CoCo-riffic holiday season and is excited for what this new year has in store. I can’t wait to see what new games, utilities, releases of NitrOS9, videos, podcasts, blog postings, and hardware comes our way this year!
I know it seems like I am sending this note out late (again… about this month’s meeting, but I’m actually early. In December, attendees voted to move the meeting to the second Thursday of the month, which is January 11, to hopefully avoid some conflicts. I hope this new date allows each of you more flexibility to join.
With the new year, we’re ramping up planning for the May 4/5 2024 CoCoFEST! Our fearless coordinator, Grant Leighty has negotiated our space in the Carol Stream Holiday Inn and will be shortly sending details about registration and speakers. As always, we invite suggestions on how best to support all those who physically or virtually attend, exhibit, and/or present. For those attending virtually and those considering streaming from the show, we know Internet bandwidth was lacking last year and we will be addressing that for 2024.
Please join us this Thursday. We will open the call a bit early at 7:00PM to chat and address any Zoom connections issues folks might have.
With the season in full swing, treat yourself to that long awaited CoCo hardware upgrade or software title. If nothing else, think of the looks on your family’s faces when you open a vintage Tandy Color Computer 1 box wrapped (carefully, so as to not mess up the original packaging) and under the tree.
Please join us for our December meeting and ring out the year 2023, a great CoCo year! We’ll be considering the results of the meeting date/time poll (please cast your vote if you have not already), but otherwise have a light agenda. I hope we can take some time during or after the meeting for members to take a few moments and point their cameras to their current CoCo setup (big or small, real or virtual).
Please join us this Thursday. Since we have a belated board meeting that will be held immediately prior to our business meeting, we will be opening the call just a bit before 7:30PM.
The temperature is falling, but if you’re not into the colder weather, turn that frown upside down! Instead of turning up the heat in your home, just turn on your CoCo! That heavy transformer and linear power supply will keep your room nice and toasty. Play a game, run some OS9, or just stare at the green, your CoCo will keep you warm and keen.
Please join us for our November meeting and show your thanks for the platform and for GCCC (and CoCoFEST!) Also, another thanks to our 2022-23 officers who were nominated unopposed for another year and will be officially instituted at our meeting.
Please join us this Thursday. We will open the call a bit early at a new time: 7:00PM.
Don’t let the spooky technical details of your CoCo keep you from enjoying it this Halloween season. There’s plenty of tricks still yet to explore on the platform, and finding them will be a treat!
As we bid “SepTANDY” a fond farewell, I’d like to thank those who attended our September Glenside Outing in West Dundee last month. Please join us at the October meeting and let us know how it went and what we should consider for 2024! Also, another thanks to our 2022-23 officers who were nominated unopposed for another year and will be officially instituted at our meeting.
Please join us this Thursday. We will open the call a bit early at a new time: 7:00PM.
Fellow CoCoFEST!-ers in or around the Chicago area will be once again congregating in the area on September 9-10 for the Vintage Computer Festival – Midwest, one of the larger VCF Fests in the US. If you’re near (or even if not), consider stopping out and seeing all the exhibits! From the looks of the table reservations, CoCo is well represented.
Before the VCF-MW party starts, though, consider joining our September meeting this Thursday. It’s once again time to nominate officers for the 2023-24 term. The positions are not overly strenuous, and we’re always looking for new leadership skills.
Please join us this Thursday. We will open the call a bit early at a new time: 7:00PM.