From the europlus zone blog:

From our Northern Apple ][ Compadres comes the following announcement:

I am very happy to announce QFest 12, to be held in Brisbane on Saturday 27 April 2019, concurrent with WOzFest 12:00 and GORF, starting around midday Brisbane time (UTC+10:00).

As with previous QFests, there will be projects to work on, and an Applesauce on hand. We will enjoy video hook-ups with our Apple II brothers and sisters at other events around Australia. All food and drink will be provided.

Steven Kazoullis

Further details on the announcement post, and updates will be posted under the europlus zone’s WOzFest tag.

From the europlus zone blog:

I’m very happy to announce the date for the next WOzFest, WOzFest 12:00 – Saturday 27 April 2019, starting around midday Sydney time (UTC+10:00).

The primary theme for WOzFest 12:00 is “time” – encompassing, among other things, time-related hardware and software, the ravages of time and what we might (or might not) do about them, and strategies for finding time to have fun with our retrocomputers.

Something new this WOzFest is a theme-related hardware project for attendees – it’ll be a treat to have the first WOzFest-branded product for attendees to work on, and the first product release at a WOzFest for some time. It’s an international collaboration which spans the timezones, and all I can say about the release of this particular product is: it’s about time!

For several reasons, there’ll be a secondary theme this time, and one not unrelated to prior WOzFests – preservation with the Applesauce. Applesauce is John Morris’ phenomenal USB interface for Apple ][ disk drives which takes Apple ][ software preservation to new heights by capturing magnetic flux-level images of disks. My interest in such devices goes back a way.

I’m still to organise any Skype calls but I am hoping we’ll be able to organise some sort of video hookup to GORF – The Great Oz Retro-Technology Festival – being held in Melbourne 24-28 April 2019 and organised by frequent WOzFest attendees Melody and April. There’ll definitely be another video hookup, which I hope to share details of shortly.

Further details on the announcement post, and updates will be posted under the europlus zone’s WOzFest tag.

The Great Oz Retro-Fest, (GORF) is a multi-day event celebrating the personal computing platforms of the 1970s, 80s and 90s including the Apple, Microbee, Commodore, Atari, Sinclair and other 8- and 16-bit computer lines. GORF is being produced by Teaching Electronics and Computing History (TECH) Inc. which is an Australian not-for-profit association.

GORF is happening from April 24th-28th 2019 at Urban Camp in Melbourne, Australia. Similar to KansasFest there is bunk-style accommodation provided on-site and participants are encouraged to live-in for the duration of the event.

Keynote speakers include Owen Hill, an original employee of Microbee Systems; Ewan Wordsworth Director of Microbee Technology Pty Ltd; as well as retro-technology researcher Dr. Melanie Swalwell from the Play It Again project.

Participants are also encouraged to give sessions, so the format will be very similar to the well known KansasFest and OzKFest events.

The cost of the event will be AU$360 (~USD$260) which includes 4 nights bunk style accommodation and most meals. Day passes will also be available.
Registrations are not yet open, but keep the dates free and plan your holidays and airfares now.

The GORF organizing committee includes Melody Ayres-Griffiths, the editor of Paleotronic Magazine, and past participant at Kansasfest and OzKFest events.

While in Melbourne, visit the Play-It-Again exhibition of a playable history of Australasian games at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

About TECH Inc
Teaching Electronics and Computing History (TECH) Inc. is an Australian not-for-profit association incorporated in the state of Victoria. The purposes of the association are to promote awareness and understanding of the fundamentals and history of electronics-based technologies such as computers through various means, including the creation of software, print and web-based materials, the holding of events and exhibitions, acquisition of items of historical significance for restoration and display, and any other activities as deemed appropriate by its members.

Volume 23, Issue 4 (December 2018) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features a review of John Keoni-Morris’ Applesauce floppy disk controller; five visitors’ perspectives on the Living Computers: Museum + Labs; a tutorial for using Arduino with the Apple II; Kevin Savetz’s adventure in reviving a laserdisc game for the Apple II; news of of the discovery of MIT Logo’s source code; reviews of The Bard’s Tale Trilogy remastered and All About Applesoft: Enhanced Edition—and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s fourth quarterly issue of 2018, its twenty-third year in print. Subscriptions for 2019 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

Sophistication & Simplicity, Dr. Steve Weyhrich's definitive history of the Apple II, is now available from Juiced.GS publisher Gamebits for the new low price of $20.

First published in 2013 by Variant Press, Sophistication & Simplicity: The Life and Times of the Apple II Computer is an updated and revised history of Steve Wozniak and Steve Job's most famous personal computer. The book's 47 chapters are updated and revised from Weyhrich's online history of the Apple II, which he has maintained since 1991. The book includes an entirely new chapter about KansasFest, the annual Apple II convention that has kept the community alive for over 30 years. Hundreds of black-and-white photos and an extensive index contribute to making Weyhrich's book an exhaustive history of the Apple II.

"Print publications from Nibble to Computist have long told the story of the Apple II," said Weyhrich. "Collaborating with Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II magazine, to share the printed history of the Apple II was a natural match."

Each hardcover edition of Sophistication & Simplicity comes signed by the author. Customers also receive a PDF featuring Juiced.GS's interviews with the author in May 2003 and March 2013, as well as the magazine's review of his book in March 2014. As part of our Black Friday–Cyber Monday 2018 sale, you also get one free PDF of your choice from the Juiced.GS Concentrate line!

All this for $20 plus shipping — such a deal! Quantities are limited, so order yours today to receive it in time for the holidays!

Volume 23, Issue 3 (Sep 2018) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features coverage of two events: KansasFest 2018 and the Fourth Annual Oregon Trail Game 5K; reviews of two books: Tome of Copy Protection and A History of Video Games in 64 Objects; how to program for Applied Engineering’s Phasor sound card; a behind-the-scenes look at HackFest winning entry Rush; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s third quarterly issue of 2018, its twenty-third year in print. Subscriptions for 2019 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

This month on Open Apple, we bring you the traditional big group podcast that we record every year at KansasFest. Tune in for a casual chat with your favorite retro podcasters, and get a behind-the-scenes peek at what makes KansasFest special.

The excellent Apple VHS Archive YouTube channel continues to unearth analog video gold. The latest update is a nine and a half minute company internal video featuring, among others, a beardless(!) Woz – by then an “Apple Fellow” – talking up the benefits and general warm fuzzies of hardware and software patents.

Watching Apple patent attorney Bob Martin literally smashing unlicensed Apple II clones on the floor at about the 4:00 minute-mark is not to be missed!

From Antoine Vignau’s post at comp.sys.apple2 on August 17:

Graffidisk is a new kind of software for the Apple II. Its limit is your imagination: enter text or draw a GR picture on your Apple II and let Graffidisk tag your 5.25″ floppy disks. See the results of your piece of art with John Morris’ Applesauce. Share with your friends!

You can check it out here.

British technology news and opinion website The Register reports that another Apple-1 is about to hit the auction block. Says The Reg:

This Apple-1 was acquired from Adam Schoolsky, a friend of Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, for $3,500 in 1994 by David Larson, a former professor at Virginia Tech.

Gets your wallets out and take out that second mortgage now, as bidding begins on September 25. Read RR Auction’s listing here.

Image Source: The Register