Author: Tom Nardi / Source: Hackaday
I was fortunate enough to visit the Trenton Computer Festival last weekend. The show struck a very interesting mix of new and old, commercial and educational. Attendees were writing programs in BASIC on an Apple I (courtesy of the Vintage Computer Federation) not more than five feet from where students were demonstrating their FIRST robot.
The one-day event featured over fifty demonstrations, talks, and workshops on topics ranging from a crash course in lock picking to the latest advancements in quantum computing. In the vendor room you could buy a refurbished laptop while just down the hall talks were being given on heady topics such as using neural networks and genetic algorithms for day trading on the stock market.
Recent years have seen a widening of the content presented, but TCF’s longevity means there is a distinct “vintage” vibe to the show and the culture surrounding it. Many of the attendees, and even some of the presenters, can proudly say they’ve been attending since the very first show in 1976.
There was simply too much going on to see everything. At any given time, there were eleven talks happening simultaneously, and that doesn’t include the demonstrations and workshops which ran all day. I documented as many highlights from this year’s TCF as I could for those who haven’t had a chance to visit what might be the most low-key, and certainly oldest, celebration of computing technology on the planet. Join me after the break for the whirlwind tour.
Vendor Area a Flea Market at Heart
Affectionately referred to as the “Flea Market” in the TCF schedule, the vendor area is a hold-over from the days when the festival was one of the few places in the country you could purchase a computer. As computing became mainstream there was less and less demand for such a venue, and accordingly the vendors that bring their wares to TCF have changed quite a bit over the years.
Today you’ll still find a few professional vendors selling things like laptops, 3D printers, and of course Raspberry Pis. But the majority of those selling at TCF are simply individuals looking to offload some of their own personal collection of electronics, gadgets, and anything else that managed to work its way into their possession. It’s here that the “Flea Market” really earns its name, as more people have come to dig through boxes of assorted electronics components and bits of unidentifiable gadgetry than buy a new laptop.
While the vendor area was a flurry of activity, the consensus among those with a few TCF’s under their belt is that there seems to be fewer tables each year. There was still a considerable buffet of weird and wonderful hardware at the show, but the impact of eBay and Craigslist can’t be denied.
TCF: The Next Generation
Earlier in the month I had the opportunity to…
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