From the europlus zone blog:

I’m very happy to announce the date for the next WOzFest: WOzFest SWEET16 will be held on Saturday 25 July 2020, starting at midday Sydney time (UTC+10:00).

The theme for WOzFest SWEET16 is “Community” – having supportive communities is important at the best of times, but especially so at the moment. The camaraderie involved in events like WOzFest certainly help me feel lucky in these trying times. So come and join my community for a few hours, no matter where you are in the world.

As per WOzFest COLOR=15, WOzFest SWEET16 will be streamed on Twitch via WOzFest TV for the whole duration. I’ll be aiming to do some productive work to stream, and will have some Skype calls as well.

With the timing, WOzFest SWEET16 is going to be wedged in between the two days of KansasFest 2020. For me, Day 1 of KansasFest 2020 will run from midnight Friday night to 07:00 Saturday – I’ll then try and grab a few hours sleep/rest (unless there are unofficial events on to snag my attention), get finalised for WOzFest, then run 10 hours of that through to 22:00. Day 2 of KansasFest starts at midnight Saturday night and runs to 07:00 Sunday – I think I’ll be a wreck on Sunday when everything’s done.

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

KansasFest 2020, the 32^nd annual Apple II convention, is open for registration. Users, programmers, hobbyists, and retrocomputing enthusiasts are invited to gather virtually from Friday, July 24, through Saturday, July 25, for two days and one night of sessions, demos, announcements, contests, and camaraderie.

They will make the best of the virtual arrangement and return to Kansas City in 2021. They’ve rescheduled the keynote speaker, Robert Woodhead, to next year.

Registration is only $20 to participate in all talks and activities. You will also receive a commemorative pin (postage included). Official KansasFest shirts are extra and optional. To register, please visit the official registration form.

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

Session proposals are now being accepted. See the call for sessions announcement for more information and to make your submission.

As has been outlined on previous messages about this, the KansasFest board has been deliberating on what to do about this year’s annual gathering. Initially it was hoped that the world and national situation would be sufficiently improved by July that we could proceed as usual. However, it has become clear that the economic disruption and potential health risks make gathering in Kansas City this year no longer viable.

Rather than completely canceling this year’s event, the Board has decided to move in the same direction as many others have done, and that is to have a gathering via group meeting software, a sort of “Virtual KansasFest”.

We plan to hold this online event Friday and Saturday, July 24-25, 2020, for about six hours each day (with breaks included as usual). Since this is an abbreviated event, speaker times will also be abbreviated, each running from 15 to 30 minutes (session announcement to follow separately).

The registration cost for Virtual KansasFest 2020 will be $20 per person. This will guarantee a login spot to attend all talks and participate in online activities, as well as a commemorative 2020 KFest pin which will be mailed separately (postage paid). This will also include a discount coupon for an optional T-shirt, to be ordered separately. Session recordings will be available free of charge (as usual) on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

We have been in communication with our previously announced keynote speaker, Robert Woodhead of Wizardry fame, and have decided to postpone his keynote until KFest 2021, when we expect we will be back to our usual meeting together in Kansas City at Rockhurst.

Further information will be provided in the near future, and we expect to open registration on April 30th. Put it on your calendar, and plan to meet online with us in July!

For More Information: http://www.kansasfest.org

From the europlus zone blog:

Wow, what a month! When I announced WOzFest COLOR=15 I was looking forward to another fun get-together of fellow Apple ][ enthusiasts, and I’d already started planning to stream the day for those who couldn’t make it.

Now, communities around the world are in lockdown (Australia is heading down that path) and people’s lives are being turned upside down.

By mid-last week, I decided to go stream-only for WOzFest COLOR=15. While a difficult personal decision, it’s nothing compared to what some people are experiencing.

I love hosting WOzFest and I love having enthusiasts here at WOzFest HQ – but for the next short(?) while, we all have to pull our head in.

I still need help, though – while I won’t have physical attendees, I’d like to do Skypes during the day. If you’re tinkering, if you have something to share or say, if you’re releasing a new product, if you’re lonely, whatever – let me know what time suits between 01:00-11:00 UTC 4 April 2020 and I’ll try and schedule you in. Let’s go around the world, let’s go around Australia, let’s show this stupid virus it won’t dampen our enthusiasm for the Apple ][!

So, via Skype or Twitch chat, I’m looking forward to talking to some of you on 4 April and sharing some of the work I’ll be doing on the day. If I can I’ll try and draw up a schedule – for example, I wanted to do an Applesaucing session and discuss usage tips, etc.

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

Volume 25, Issue 1 (March 2020) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features an inside look at Vince Weaver’s demakes of modern games onto the 8-bit Apple II; Jay Graham’s roundup of Z80 hardware and software; Ivan Drucker’s tutorial for relocatable machine language; a review of the book Cult of Mac, Second Edition; the debut of the Scantastix archival project; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s fourth quarterly issue of 2020, its twenty-fifth year in print. Subscriptions for 2020 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

From the europlus zone blog:

WOzFest COLOR=15 will mark a new era for WOzFest with the launch of WOzFest TV – that’s right, I aim to stream all future WOzFests via Twitch. I felt, with the celebration of the Apple ][‘s support for colour graphics (usually touted via connecting to the family TV), it was time to take the streaming plunge.

I’ll be incorporating any Skype calls, webcams from around WOzFest HQ, windows from tasks like Applesauce fluxing, and anything else that seems appropriate. For example, with the holding of QFest 15 to coincide with WOzFest COLOR=15, I’m planning on having a full-time Skype connection between the two ’Fests.

The Twitch URL is activated – I’ll announce on Twitter when I’m doing testing streams for layouts, etc., and the official Go Live will be at the start of WOzFest COLOR=15 on 4 April 2020 at 12:00 (UTC+11:00) – come and check it out and have a chat with us!

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 COLOR=15 – Saturday 4 April 2020, starting around midday Sydney time (UTC+11:00).

The theme for WOzFest COLOR=15 is the Apple ][’s support for colour graphics via colour monitors and TVs. I’ve got a surprise lined up for WOzFest COLOR=15, but all I can say for now is…stay tuned!

I will also be continuing to work on software 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.

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

KansasFest 2020, the 32^nd annual Apple II convention, is scheduled for July 21–26 in Kansas City, Missouri. Robert Woodhead of Sir-Tech Software, well-known as the co-creator of the Wizardry series of computer role-playing games, will join us as the keynote speaker.

At an early age, Robert Woodhead, aka Trebor the Mad Overlord, was consumed by two passions; computer programming and not having to have a real job. He first achieved this by writing computer games for Sir-Tech Software, most notoriously co-authoring the first four Wizardry CRPGs, first for the Apple ][, and later for other, lesser computers. In 1989, deciding that this wasn’t nerdy enough, he co-founded the oldest surviving anime releasing company, AnimEigo. Other things he’s done include: writing one of the first MMO bots, building a 2-time National Champion Combat Robot, serving 4 terms on the EVE Online Council of Stellar Management, and not being “liquidated” by his wife. Yet.

KansasFest is an annual convention offering Apple II users and retrocomputing enthusiasts the opportunity to engage in beginner and technical sessions, programming contests, exhibition halls, and camaraderie. KansasFest was originally hosted by Resource Central and has been brought to you by the KFest committee since 1995. Any and all Apple II users, fans, and friends are invited to attend this year’s event. Registration details will be announced on the KansasFest Web site, and registration will open on March 31. For photos, videos, and presentations from past KansasFests, please visit the event’s official Website.

Volume 24, Issue 4 (December 2019) of Juiced.GS, the longest-running Apple II publication in print, has now shipped.

This issue features profiles of women in gaming; an interview with Dave Vernier of Vernier Software & Technology; a smackdown of 16-bit BASICs; a look at lasers powered by the Apple II; and much, much more!

This is Juiced.GS‘s fourth quarterly issue of 2019, its twenty-fourth year in print. Subscriptions for 2020 are available for $20 each for United States customers, $25 for readers in Canada and Mexico, and $28 for international customers.

From the europlus zone blog:

I’m very happy to announce the date for the next WOzFest, WOzFest 14.25045 MHz – Saturday 23 November 2019, starting around midday Sydney time (UTC+11:00).

The theme for WOzFest 14.25045 MHz is the Apple ][ europlus, my favourite Apple ][! More generally, international Apple ][s (including the j-plus, which I have just secured a sample of) and clones will be the sub-theme – changing the PSU voltage and crystal frequency to allow (monochrome) PAL output is just the start of what Apple and international clone manufacturers did to get their machines suited to international markets.

I will also be continuing to work on software 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.

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