Lots of fun and interesting things happening this year at VCF East.   
      
   There three groups of microcomputers exhibitors (5 people per each group)   
   competing to celebrate the 40th anniversy of the appliance computers of 1977   
   (TRS-80, Apple II, Commodore PET). I know the Commodore group will have many   
   different types of    
   machines, both rare and common. Their goal is to present every Commodore   
   computer that was made since 1977. There will be some quite rare ones. In fact   
   a few of *the* rarest ones. I hope to see lots of you there. The follow are   
   some more interesting    
   details.    
      
    VCF East XII keynotes: Enigma Machine, C++ inventor Bjarne Stroustrup, 40th   
   anniversary of appliance computers   
   C++ inventor Bjarne Stroustrup, Ph.D., Enigma machine expert Tom Perera,   
   Ph.D., and a panel discussion by computer historian Bill Degnan on the 40th   
   anniversary of appliance computers featuring the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001,   
   and TRS-80 Model 1 will be    
   the keynote sessions for Vintage Computer Festival East XII, March 31-April 2,   
   in Wall, New Jersey.   
      
   The event is produced by Vintage Computer Federation (www.vcfed.org), a   
   national user group devoted to enabling hobbyists and spreading awareness of   
   computer history. The Federation is a 501(c)3 non-profit.   
      
   Stroustrup, who developed the C++ programming language at Bell Labs starting   
   in 1978, will discuss "The Origins and further Evolution of C++" on Saturday   
   morning, April 1. He is currently a visiting professor of computer science at   
   Columbia University    
   and a managing director in the technology division at Morgan Stanley. His talk   
   is sure to be an excellent follow-up to C language author and pioneer Brian   
   Kernighan, who spoke at VCF East X in 2015.   
      
   Perera's company, EnigmaMuseum.com, is in the business of hunting for,   
   researching, restoring, and selling Enigma machines and related items. His   
   talk, "Inside the Enigma: The history, technology and deciphering of an early   
   laptop computer and the real    
   story of the Imitation Game" will be presented Friday, March 31 after lunch.   
   The World War II German Enigma was arguably an original form of laptop   
   computer. This talk will explain the history and technology of the Enigma and   
   link it to the movie "   
   Imitation Game" which tells the story of the cracking of the German Navy   
   Enigma code and the extraordinary contributions of mathematician Alan Turing   
   to this endeavor. In order to keep the audience interested and involved, the   
   movie has allowed some    
   inaccuracies and omissions in the history and technology and in the masterful   
   portrayal of the eccentric mathematician Alan Turing by Benedict Cumberbatch.   
   This talk will trace the actual story of the Enigma and the cracking of the   
   Enigma Code and    
   attempt to fill in some of the Enigmatic aspects of Alan Turing's personality.   
   Perera will also give a more technical demonstration of how the machines work   
   and a real-time disassembly of an Enigma in a separate session that day. He   
   will give further    
   demonstrations and will offer for sale his Enigmas, Enigma simulators, other   
   historic cipher machines, books, Enigma Library CD-ROM, and related items on   
   Saturday and Sunday. Perera was formerly a professor of neuroscience at   
   Columbia University, Barnard    
   College, and Montclair State University.   
      
   Degnan is a co-founder of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of Vintage Computer   
   Federation, a professional programmer and web developer, and formerly taught   
   computer history at the University of Delaware. At his panel, "1977: The year   
   of the appliance computer"    
   you'll learn about the launch of the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and Radio   
   Shack TRS-80 Model 1. Bill will guide the discussion to explore how the   
   appliance computer facilitated the expansion of computers as an appliance into   
   small businesses, schools,    
   and the home. Panelists will be separated into three groups each representing   
   the Apple, Commodore, and Tandy/Radio Shack perspective. The panel will   
   respond to questions and share their knowledge and personal experiences. The   
   discussion will continue    
   from 1977 through the milestones of 1980s 8-bit appliance and home computing.   
      
   All three sessions will be 90 minutes which includes audience Q&A. Further   
   details will be shared as the event nears.   
      
   If you want even your news even more frequent and granular, then you've got   
   options! Read our blog at vcfed.org, join the discussion forum, like us at   
   facebook.com/vcfederation, and follow us through twitter.com/vcfederation.   
      
   Please consider donating to Vintage Computer Federation for the holidays!   
   Contributions are tax-deductible. It's a great cause to help us enable   
   hobbyists and spread awareness of computer history.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3)