Re: KansasFest 2002

[CUTjblakeney@sympatico.ca (Jeff Blakeney)]

On Tue, 21 May 2002 00:48:36 GMT, a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca
(Mitchell Spector) wrote:

>    About 50 people on average attend each year (that number includes family
>members of attendees) though it seems to continually shrink. It may have
>stabilized at that number though if they can keep holding it each year.

If memory serves me, you are correct that it has stabilized to around
40-50 people over the past several years.

>    I noticed interest has been shifting more to the Macintosh and software
>emulators (mostly for Macs) in the last several years. There's still interest
>in real Apple II's but I found that starting to get overshadowed.

In the past three years I can only recall one totally Mac specific
session and that was on ProTERM Mac.  There are session about
emulators but that is to be expected these days.

>    Last year, for the first time I can remember, not a single new software
>or hardware product was announced. Usually there's at least an update
>to existing software announced at KFest, though I don't even think that
>happened last year. I was a disappointed to see that, even if the IIgs 
>hasn't been my main platform for the past 5 years.

Checking out A2Central.com's news archive for July 2001, I see that
the "Esprit de Apple Corps" two CD set of multimedia files for the
Apple II was released.  Thomas Compter released his version of the
game "Hammurabi".  Juiced.GS released "Friends II" CD.  There was also
reclassifications and some commercial stuff made available again.
With some of the news that some commercial stuff was being made
available again, there was also announcements that some had been or
could be updated to new versions.

I lost my copies of the webcam videos when my hard drive died a couple
months ago so I can't remember if anything else was announced.

Admittedly, it was a slower year but that happens from time to time.

>    After Resource Central went under, the last real developers conference
>was held during the summer of 1994 under the name "ICONference".
>
>    Individual people and smaller companies resurrected it the following year
>(and kept it going ever since) but with each passing year it's become less
>of a developers conference and more and more an informal get-together.
>I suppose these days calling it a reunion would fit. Nothing wrong with that,
>and I still wouldn't mind attending myself one of these days, though I can't
>afford or justify the cost. 
>
>    I've always been for the idea of holding it in a major city, use a single
>hotel and conference center and with a modest entrance fee of around 
>$10-$25. I doubt things will change though, keeping it at Avila seems 
>too strong a tradition to break now.

Kansas City is about as major a city you are going to get that is
located in the center of heavily populated North America.  Personally
I like KFest's prices.  Holding it in a conference center, they would
have to charge more than $10-$25 (unless they charged that per day)
and I would need to find some place to stay on my own and buy my own
meals.

The worst case scenario for this year's prices is $385 for a single
room.  This works out to $77 per day and includes Tuesday night
through Saturday night accomodations plus most meals and the
conference entrance fee.  You don't need to drive anywhere once you
get there (except for the evening meal on Saturday), you get high
speed access to the internet and you are in the same place as a bunch
of other Apple II fanatics.

You could possibly match the price by doing it in a convention center
like you mentioned above but you would end up paying the $10-$25
entrace fee (probably per day like I said above), about $30 per day
for a cheesy hotel room and $15-$30 per day for meals.  You would
probably end up having to drive back and forth between your hotel and
the conference center (which also means bringing your own car, renting
a car or taking taxis, the latter two being an added expense), you
most likely wouldn't get high speed access to the internet at that
hotel room price and you most likely wouldn't be in the same hotel as
a bunch of other Apple II fanatics.

All things considered, I think Avila is a great choice and the price
is good.  Besides, you can make it even cheaper for yourself by
sharing a room with someone, which is lots of fun, and/or by
registering early.  Unfortunately it is now too late to get the early
registration rates but you can still share a room.

>Incidentally, if you want to see what
>goes on, watch for live web-cam broadcasts in late July. It's almost like
>being there...

Well, having attended KFest 1999 and 2000 and then only being able to
participate in 2001 by watching the webcam and chatting with attendees
in one of Syndicomm's A2 chat rooms, I have to say it is nothing like
actually being there.  The sessions are just a small part of KFest.
Wandering the halls and seeing what other people brought, watching
other people program, talking to other people face to face about Apple
II related issues and getting to know the people who's names you see
online is a huge part of it.  When they say that you don't get much
sleep at KFest, they mean it because there is so much to pack into
those few days.

At present, I know I have the time off from work to go this year so
I'm going to be there even if I'm still now sure how I'm going to pay
for it.  :-)

-- 
 Jeff Blakeney - Dean of the Apple II University in the
                 Apple II Community on Syndicomm.com
 CUT the obvious from my address if you want to e-mail me