KansasFest, the 26th annual convention dedicated to the Apple II computer, is now open for registration. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 22, through Sunday, July 27, for six days and five nights of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and camaraderie.

The week kicks off with keynote speaker Margot Comstock, co-founder and editor of the much-loved Softalk magazine.  Comstock will be available immediately afterward for a Q&A and autograph session.

Attendees are encouraged to share their knowledge by presenting their own hardware and software sessions, especially of the Apple II but including Macintosh, Windows, Linux, iOS, and others. All KansasFest sessions are presented by the attendees, who are known for unscheduled events and debuts, too. Whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look at new software, preorder opportunities for new hardware, a live-action text adventure, a podcast recording session, Structris tournaments, or an athletic round of Bite the Bag, there are experiences to be had and memories made at KansasFest that aren’t possible except in the company of surprising, brilliant, diehard Apple II fans.

Register before June 1 to guarantee a price of $385 for a double room or $455 for a single, which includes admission to all sessions as well as most meals. Official KansasFest shirts are extra and optional and must be ordered by July 1; registration for staying on-site closes July 8. To register, please visit the official Web site at http://www.kansasfest.org/.

KansasFest sponsor 16 Sector invites any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends to attend the world’s only annual Apple II conference. For photos, videos, schedules, and presentations from past year’s events, to sign up for the email list and for inquiries, please visit the event’s Web site.

Eric “Sheppy” Shepherd has released Sweet16 3.0.3. The key changes in this release are a new About box—the first portion of Sweet16 to be rewritten as Cocoa code—and the following two key bug fixes:

• Fixed a memory leak in full-screen mode that would fairly quickly eat up a lot of free memory the longer you stayed in full-screen mode.
• The internal tools used to implement the ability to drag files in and out of the emulator were not built correctly to support Intel Core Duo processors. These are the earliest processors supported by Sweet16, and were not working with this feature. Now they are.

There are a few other changes as well, so be sure to review the release notes.

Sheppy says he’s especially excited about the new About box, because it’s the first step on the road to gradually converting Sweet16 into a modern Cocoa application, which will make it easier to develop and maintain in the future. He hopes to tackle the Disks window next.

It’s cute AND functional. For only $50 and shipping, you can have your own in traditional Apple beige or Bell and Howell black. It comes with a sheet of 6 adhesive ‘floppy’ stickers to put on your SD cards.

Volume 19, Issue 1 (March 2014) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has been mailed to all subscribers. This issue features an interview with Al Lowe of Leisure Suit Larry; reviews of Option8′s RetroConnector joystick adapters; a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Brian Picchi’s Retro Fever game; musings on why the Mac’s recent 30th anniversary matters to the Apple II; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s first quarterly issue of 2014. Subscriptions are available at $19 for United States customers, $24 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $27 for international customers, with several free sample issues available as PDFs.

Get the scoop here.

While it’s certainly not essential, a stereo card can add ‘flavor’ to your Apple IIGS experience. It’s also important to consider carefully which stereo card you use (if you can even find one), because reliability and sound fidelity can vary from brand to brand. That’s why we’re happy to see ‘Drew’ Webber is producing a second round of his high quality TDX ][ stereo cards. They’re reasonably priced, and offer GREAT stereo sound output from your Apple IIGS. I expect the estimated run of 25 to 50 boards to sell briskly, so get on the waiting list NOW or you might miss out.

This month on Open Apple, the Apple II community’s only monthly podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Evan Koblentz, producer of Vintage Computer Festival East. VCF East 9.1 is happening this spring, and Evan has an inside look at the event’s founding, growth, and lineup. Margot Comstock has been announced as the keynote speaker of KansasFest 2014, prompting us to reflect on the history of Softalk magazine. The Apple2pi card is now shipping, and it reminds us of other small devices that left a big impression, like the Replica-1 and even the Apple Newton PDA — which still has an active user group! Finally, Steve Jobs is appearing in all kinds of icons, from e-waste portraits to unlickable postage stamps. When will Woz get the recognition he deserves?

Find the show at the Open Apple Web site or in the iTunes and Zune podcast directories.

Koichi Nishida has Apple //c users on Facebook excited about the VGA adapter he is designing. Since the extremely limited run of Gregory Estrade’s Guimauve 2000, the Apple IIc has been without a viable VGA adapter option.

Thank you Koichi — we will be following your progress with enthusiasm!

The day is finally here! Ultimate Apple2 reopens today with exciting new products and carrying old favorites from ReactiveMicro and James Littlejohn. Available NOW: the Apple2Pi 4.4 for $59.99. Also available, A2Pi Accessory Pack for beginners or anyone wanting to get started with their A2Pi quickly.

You’ll also find previously sold out and hard to find products are now back in stock: LittlePower GS, 32K cache card and high-speed GAL kits for Transwarp GS, the cloned EDD4+ card and MicroDrives!