Re: KansasFest 2002

[a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

Jeff Jungblut <jeff@nospam.soapzone.com> wrote:

>In article supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) wrote:
>> kfest-help@spamfree.kfest.org wrote:
>> 
>> >KansasFest 2002, the most important Apple II event of the year, is 
>> >marching on, but we need everyone to be there to have it be a great 
>> >one.  Sign up now and save yourself $70.  We promise not to charge 
>> >you until May 15.
>> >
>> >For more details, go to http://www.kfest.org/
>> 
>> My God, I'm surprised this thing is still going on.
>
>Me too...for the past several years, hasn't it just been a couple dozen 
>A2 geeks who gather annually to reminisce about the good old days (15-20 
>years ago) and kvetch about what could have been?

    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.

    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.

>I mean, what's NEW?  The overpriced (IMHO) ethernet card and Spectrum 
>apps have been out for more than a year, but even if they were NEW, is 
>that really enough to build a conference around?

    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.

>Seems to me that what used to be a professional A2 developers conference 
>in the late 1980s (I'm likening it to a small WWDC) has turned into an 
>A2 geek family reunion of sorts.

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

Mitchell Spector
a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca