We used to actually own our computers

Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 2025 was overwhelming (in a good way).

I'll tell you my favorite experiences and interactions with the vintage tech community in this video.

Some of the projects and products mentioned in this video:

- VCF Midwest: https://www.vcfmw.org
- yyzkevin PCMCIA Pico card: https://www.yyzkevin.ca/pico-pcmcia/
- Open Source CRT analog board: https://github.com/tdaede/td-crt
- Meshtastic 64 on C64: https://64jim64.blogspot.com/2025/09/meshtastic-64-meshtastic-radio-for.html
- Juicy Crumb Systems: https://juicycrumb.com
- Mac84 Video on Personics View Control System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41jCujsrHVg

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2nd Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GeerlingEngineering
3rd Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Level2Jeff

Contents:

00:00 - Old computers, new tricks in Chicago
00:54 - Nostalgia for old Macs
02:00 - The free pile, and Jeff is easily distracted
02:47 - Open source CRT analog board replacement
03:41 - An unexpected meeting at RCV's booth
04:21 - Cursed input devices
05:07 - Meshtastic on a C64
05:54 - My timing sense tingled
06:57 - Side quest - BlueSCSI disk rescue
08:20 - Relay computers, 70 lb HDDs, and ESMs
09:38 - Preventing e-waste, and analog DRM
10:42 - The anti-AI