Apple II Bits

I am not an artist — at least, not in the sense of having skill at design, drawing, or painting. I can write elegantly, exhibit comic timing in a British farce, even sing a tune or two. But being able to draw something that is immediately recognizable is a skill I have not yet acquired.

I thus have difficulty expressing myself on the Wii U. Nintendo’s latest video game system combines traditional and tablet gaming by using a controller that features a touch screen. Gamers can use the included stylus to draw black-and-white art that is then shared with other denizens of the "Miiverse". Nintendo must approve every drawing, ensuring a family-friendly art exhibit.

I’ve compiled slideshows of hundreds of amazing sketches that baffle me in their complexity; I am astounded at how much these players can do given so little. But until recently, none of the artwork that impressed me was meant just for me.

That was until Wii U inhabitant OverNiven sent me this message:

As stunning as the art is that I’ve seen on the Wii U, none has made me happier than this confident expression: an old friend who hasn’t been in KansasFest in years, if not decades, will finally return.

See you at KansasFest 2013!

My New Year’s resolution?

Done.

After six years as an editor at Computerworld magazine, I’ve given my notice. It’s time to try something new.

Although I’m looking forward to new opportunities, I’m also reflective of all I’ve accomplished here since my first day on February 5, 2007. I was not hired as a features writer yet nonetheless managed to produce more than three dozen stories. Many of my articles were influenced by my experiences in the Apple II community, such as “CompuServe, Prodigy et al.: What Web 2.0 can learn from Online 1.0” (I was the APPUSER Forum’s Member of the Month [MOTM] — October 1992, I think) and “Ben Heckendorn takes a mad-scientist approach to game console design” (which also became Juiced.GS‘s December 2008 cover story). Even more articles were directly about the Apple II itself, including “Sold on eBay: New-in-box Apple II, never opened” (Juiced.GS‘s March 2008’s cover story), interviews with Apple II users who are experts in their field, and coverage of KansasFest every year from 2007 through 2012.

Computerworld also put me in touch with several folks who became KansasFest keynote speakers: when I liveblogged from KansasFest 2007, Lane Roathe left a comment to the effect of, “That event is still going on??” Using my administrative rights, I pulled the contact info from his comment and got in touch. A year later, he was our keynote speaker — an attendance he repeated in 2012, putting him back in touch with his id Software co-founder, John Romero.

The effect of these connections is long-lasting, and for as long as Computerworld maintains a persistent online archive, those stories will remain — and possibly grow, as the invitation to freelance has been extended. So though I’m not concerned about the state of this body of work, I am nonetheless saddened as I clean out my cubicle to realize the Apple II’s presence is not long for this office.

My cubicle has sported an Apple IIGS since December 2008, when I came into the office over Christmas break to set it up for the first time in 11 years. Seven months later, Computerworld moved to a new office building, and the IIGS came with me. It then started making annual appearances in various media. It first showed up in this 2010 photo gallery:

It then served as a backdrop to this YouTube video commemorating Steve Jobs:

Finally, it showed up on the summer 2012 cover of Juiced.GS:

My Apple II hasn’t seen a ton of use in its days at Computerworld, but the tasks it performed were essential. With ADTPro, it saved my brother’s college papers, my friend’s childhood memories, and the source code of PublishIt! It was the occasional lunchtime diversion as I would boot up Lode Runner, Oregon Trail, or Microzine. And it was a talking point for any new employee, whose eyes would widen slightly at the sight of such an ancient computer — yet not as ancient still as its host, with Computerworld having been founded in 1967.

Given my employer’s history, it’s no surprise that I’m not the only Apple II alumnus in the building: Computerworld all-star reporter Gregg Keizer is formerly of Softdisk, and CIO.com executive editor Dan Muse was editor-in-chief of inCider/A+, which employed many folk who are still with IDG, Computerworld‘s publisher. But I’ve not seen any of these esteemed colleagues, all authorities in modern enterprise IT, cling to their old tech and bridge it into their modern careers. After my Apple II, the next oldest computer I’ve seen here is a 2006-era Mac mini.

So my departure from Computerworld invokes not only the usual regret when bidding adieu to such wonderful co-workers, many of whom have become friends for life. It also means the end of the Apple II’s official relationship with a storied institution. I’ve been invited to freelance for this and other IDG publications, but though some of my Apple II stories were occasionally the top-read stories in their months of publication, in general, I doubt the free pitches of computer nostalgia that the editors were happy to entertain from a passionate in-house writer will warrant tapping their limited freelance budget.

So yeah: I’m wistful. Nostalgic. Melancholy. The Apple II will come with me to my new workplace. But that will be a smaller team, in a less social environment, with stricter network regulations and fewer media opportunities. It won’t be the same. Nothing ever is. But it’s time to move on.

I’ve been cleaning out my cubicle for the past week. I thought it would be an appropriate bookend to this blog post to share a photo of my cubicle, sans Apple II. But that’s not how I want to remember this small space that, for a few years, was a corporate gateway to the retrocomputing community.

The Apple II will be the last thing I pack up. That’s when the heart has gone out from the building.

The Apple II is a part of me. When it goes, I go.

The annual Apple II convention known as KansasFest has been a highlight of my year ever since I began attending in 1998. That enthusiasm must’ve been noticeable, as in 2001, I was asked to serve as roast emcee. I was nervous about performing in front of such an esteemed crowd, so I asked Ryan Suenaga and Eric Shepherd how I should respond to the invitation. Ryan’s response: "Yes." His simple, straightforward answer bespoke of a calm confidence in my ability to rise to this task. Emboldened, I accepted.

It was with a similar confidence in April 2002 that KansasFest’s then-committee chair Steve Gozdziewski added me to the planning committee. I say "added" instead of "invited" because there was no discussion beforehand; one day, I simply received an email from list manager Devin Reade asking at what email address I would like to receive committee emails. I expressed my surprise to Steve, who replied: "Oops! Seems I’ve done this backwards – I should have talked to you first:( As you’ve learned, we’d like to add you to the KFest-Admin list. It’s the ‘penalty’ you pay for all you do for KFest:)"

Once added, I introduced myself to the rest of the committee, concluding: "I’m not quite sure what I’m doing on this list, but it will probably become apparent over time." Again, Steve replied: "As of now, there are no vacancies on the Committee or I’d be proposing a more drastic ‘penalty’ for your involvement! However, there IS general agreement that you should be part of the KFest planning this year. Some of this goes on in the background via the Admin list and we’ve got more things to consider this year than last. Hope you’ll join and add what you can to make KFest the best it can be!"

That I was brought onto the committee with no particular charge had long-ranging effects. It meant that I could freely contribute wherever I saw the need, benefitting the community with whatever skills and interests I had. Over the next several years, I did just that, surviving three committee chairs, two sponsors, and a gradual replacement of nearly every existing committee member. (Only recently was it pointed out to me that their successors were all ones I nominated, which I suppose makes me Nick Fury to the KansasFest Avengers.)

Over time, my responsibilities grew from writing press releases to wrangling keynote speakers to running the Web site (I had quietly registered KansasFest.org as a backup in the event of KFest.org going down — which it eventually did). When we switched the site to WordPress using a design provided by one of my old high school buddies, I also became the group’s historian, building and maintaining an extensive multimedia database. That led to 2010, when I added the role of videographer, recording and publishing every KanasFest session. It seemed there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

I was heartened by the synergy I was able to bring to KansasFest. As editor of Juiced.GS, I edited an interview with Apple R&D co-founder Bob Bishop; the staff member responsible for that interview later helped put the committee in touch with Mr. Bishop, resulting in the 2011 keynote speech. And as an editor at Computerworld, I’ve encountered many storied IT professionals, such as Jason Scott, Lane Roathe, and Randy Wigginton, who I also was able to help shepherd to Kansas City.

Although I enjoyed the freedom my lack of charter provided, it also meant there was no limit to my responsibilities. Over time, I found myself doing more than I was capable of — and, more important, more than I enjoyed. The breaking point came at the KansasFest 2012 committee meeting when I realized the event had become more work than play. If this trend continued, I would end up not wanting to attend KansasFest ever again. And that would be my loss, if no one else’s. Something had to change.

Readers of this blog suggested back in March that KansasFest has perhaps the narrowest appeal to the Apple II community, given the limited accessibility a physical event offers over, say, a magazine like Juiced.GS or a podcast such as Open Apple. I’m not sure such a comparison takes into account the utter irreplaceability of KansasFest: there are other podcasts and other printed and online news outlets, but there is no other Apple II convention. It is absolutely essential for the health and growth of the community that this event continue.

But, although KansasFest, Open Apple, and Juiced.GS are all team efforts, I feel I am more easily replaced at KansasFest. Substituting my efforts on the other productions is possible but would result in a noticeable change in the tenor of the final product. KansasFest, I suspect, would be business as usual without me.

And so change has occurred. After helping produce eleven annual Apple II conferences over the course of exactly a third of my life, today marks my last full day on the KansasFest planning committee. I do this not so I can better focus on other contributions to the Apple II community; doing so would result in the same burnout I’ve already experienced. Instead I seek more work-life balance and the freedom to pursue other interests. For example, next semester I’ll be teaching an undergraduate course in electronic publishing. I’ll be happier grading my students’ papers knowing that my time needn’t be divided publishing the backlog of KansasFest multimedia. Such videos have a proven track record for attracting newcomers to the event, and I hope the committee will continue to invest in that outlet. But my job will be to invest in my students.

I’m not completely freeing myself of commitment to KansasFest, as there are still two tasks I owe to both the event and myself: to attend KansasFest, and to enjoy doing so. I will always provide the event with the presence and financial commitment of at least one attendee, and I will forever be the event’s evangelist to ensure I share the good company of my fellow Apple II enthusiasts.

Next year is shaping up to be a fantastic one for KansasFest. Already the event has a major keynote speaker in Randy Wigginton, Apple employee #6. And Dagen Brock even created a self-running demo to commemorate 2013 being the 25th annual KansasFest — a milestone we recognized only once Steve Weyhrich rewrote the event’s Wikipedia page. I can’t wait to see all these friends old and new and re-experience what it means to be a part of, and not apart from, the community.

As a non-organizer, I am again eligible to be in the running to be the event’s first registrant. You’d have to beat me off with a stick to keep me from going!

A little game that’s been making the rounds this month is FTL: Faster Than Light, released on September 14 for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is first game to have sought Kickstarter funding and be released after Double Fine Adventure broke the dam on indie game funding. Like Tim Schafer, FTL developers Subset Games got much more than they asked for: their goal was $10,000, and they got $200,000.

Some of the media is describing FTL as a roguelike — that is, a game like Rogue, a fantasy role-playing game that was ported to the Apple IIGS. (Don Worth‘s Beneath Apple Manor for the Apple II has also been described as a roguelike, even though its release predates Rogue by two years.) A roguelike is "characterized by level randomization, permanent death, and turn-based movement", though the outer space setting and spaceship interface of FTL has prompted its developers to call it a "roguelike-like".

Gamer and KansasFest alumnus Wayne Arthurton decided to plot a retro course for his FTL spaceship by christening it after the premier Apple II convention and manning it with fellow geeks. The virgin flight of the Kansasian was last week, with more adventures to follow:

Like Wayne, I too have named characters after Apple II users. Andy, Wayne, and I are all gamers on the Xbox 360, where we sometimes play Worms 2: Armageddon. Annelids named Sheppy and Antoine have taken a few bazooka missiles to the face in their day.

Another opportunity to connect KFesters with gaming may come at KansasFest 2013, where it’s been proposed we play Artemis, a starship simulator modeled after Star Trek. Artemis networks several Windows terminals as bridge stations such as helm, communications, and weapons. Here’s a sample of a game with a six-person bridge crew:

Who knows in what other actual or virtual gaming environments we KFesters may encounter each other?

UPDATE: Artemis is coming to iOS and will be cross-platform compatible with the PC original. That should make a KansasFest session much easier to arrange. Thanks for the heads-up, Sean Fahey!

The crux of KansasFest are the daytime sessions that educate attendees on a variety of important topics. At KansasFests 2010 & 2011, I filled gaps in the schedule with "Know Your Meme", a session that introduced the audience to pop culture phenomena that have appeared and spread throughout the Internet. The 2010 session featured such wonders as "Double Rainbow" and "Old Spice Guy", whereas 2011 presented a more coherent narrative that deftly wove together Keyboard Cat, Nyan Cat, and "Can’t Hug Every Cat" into one (in)coherent package.

Besides the tradition of this session, I’ve also emceed KansasFest’s annual Friday night banquet, which historically has been a roast but lately has evolved to provide a variety of entertainment. The memeification of KansasFest began in 2009 with the presentation of LOLgeeks:

This year, we again united our memes and banquet. The hit of the evening came from Steve Weyhrich, who was celebrating his first KansasFest as a member of the event’s steering committee. Steve presented a montage of opening sequences for CSI: KFest, with Steve in the role of Horatio Caine:

My own contributions were "Strutting Leo Comes to KansasFest" and an iPhoto-inspired take on "Totally Looks Like":

It’s the beard.

But the centerpiece was supposed to be a spoof of the (in)famous song "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen:

This video has been remixed using footage of many individuals — everyone from Barack Obama to Lt. Commander Data. So I spent the week at KansasFest shooting other attendees and splicing their clips together. The result hasn’t been published online because it wasn’t as impressive as I’d hoped, which I blame on my shooting and editing skills.

But again, Steve has saved the day, finding some nugget of value in my efforts. He recently came across this Carly Rae Jepsen–Apple II mash-up — which, for some reason, did not want to post this on his own site! I instead offer it here:

Ah, Oregon Trail — is there anything it can’t do?

On Saturday, July 21, I gave a presentation at KansasFest 2012 about Kickstarter. I reviewed what the crowdfunding site is and how it works before presenting and analyzing examples of various campaigns. After reviewing successful projects (Double Fine, Leisure Suit Larry, Diaspora, TikTok, Pebble) and some unsuccessful or poorly designed ones (Rolling High, What’s Where in the Apple, MULE), I identified three qualities that lend themselves to meeting one’s crowdfunding goal: the fame, reputation, or track record of the artist (Jason Scott, Penny Arcade, Andrew Plotkin); a convincing pitch video (Huck Finn, Nataly Dawn) that doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive to produce; and attractive rewards (Pebble; Joulies).

Due to both the previous session and my own running long, after we watched Kickstarter pitch videos and dissected their strengths and weaknesses, I didn’t have as much time as I’d like for my presentation’s interactive component: brainstorming Apple II projects to launch on Kickstarter. I started by asking the audience what products we’d like to see that would require a financial investment, then who in the community has the reputation to attract a funding audience, followed by what the reward levels for such a Kickstarter campaign would be. As with all brainstorming sessions, I wrote down every idea regardless of feasibility. We then conducted an informal poll to narrow the choices to those bolded in the below table.

Note that the first two columns do not line up with each other or the other two columns, but the third and fourth columns line up with each other. Also, some reward levels (access to contributor-only blog) include the previous rewards, whereas others (two USB keyboard adapters) do not.

Of all the bolded projects, we deemed the USB adapter the most affordable and thus the most likely to be funded. The proposed adapter would not only work with keyboards, joysticks, and mice, but it would adapt them to multiple platforms: Apple II, Commodore 64, and more. As the Battle Chess Kickstarter campaign demonstrated, limiting your product to only one audience (in that case, Windows) diminishes your chances of getting funded: more potential customers equals more money, as evidenced by the success of many old franchises that are being revived for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

A wide audience requires a creator with exposure and recognition beyond the Apple II community, for which reason I nominate Vince Briel. The inventory of Briel Computers, from the Replica 1 to the Micro-KIM to the ALTAIR 8800micro, appeal to retrocomputing hobbyists of many ages and interests, and Briel’s track record as a businessman, from shipping products to offering customer support, is unparalleled. Briel has the reputation that could get a Kickstarter project funded.

Briel was in the audience for this brainstorming session but did not actually drive this proposal. But if he were to accept it, I would be first in line to give him my money.

For more advice on how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign, check out Nelson De Witt’s A Kickstarter’s Guide free e-book and Tyler York’s "How to succeed on Kickstarter" blog post.

UPDATE (Oct 21, 2015):: Courtesy Kay Savetz, here is a video of my KansasFest session.