Sorry for the late post. KFest sleep deprivation has kicked in.After breakfast, we started the morning off by watching an episode of “The Computer Chronicles” that featured the “new” Apple //c Plus and Apple IIGS computers (ROM 03, I assume).

We watched nostalgically (and not without a little irony) as Stewart Cheifet and Gary Kildall interviewed the Apple representatives. Cheifet pointed out what was obvious to everyone else at the time; Apple’s lack of support for the Apple II was being felt in the community. And, the rest as they say, is history. You can download the video we watched here. Apple II Forever!

Then we watched a G4 episode of “Icons” featuring the success story of the Apple II. The program showed the early years how Apple Computer started, and how despite Apple’s neglect (and sometimes hostility) the Apple II continued to sell in ever increasing numbers.

Mac OS X is a cool operating system. It wasn’t surprising that someone out there was going to try running it on x86 hardware. Enter PearPC, a PowerPC emulator for x86. Austin Phelps demonstrated PearPC in action by booting OS X and sharing his experiences with it. Austin said it took 3 days to install OS X on his 2.4GHz Pentium 4 laptop. It works, but it’s slow going. No word on how Apple’s recent announcement of their processor change to x86 may effect the PearPC project.

After lunch, Kirk Mitchell proposed the creation of an Apple II Hall of Fame. After a productive session of Q&A, suggestions and brainstorming, a plan was developed. Kirk will be forming a committee soon and more news will be forthcoming.

Next up, Greg Nelson demonstrated his GatorBox setup. The GatorBox is an Applenet router and Localtalk/Ethernet bridge device. It’s handy for sharing data and network peripherals with your GS and lesser capable computers like Macs and PCs.

By the way, Greg’s Mother is turning 90 and we wish her a Happy Birthday from all the KFesters.

Ryan Suenaga then gave a presentation on Marinetti programming in the ORCA/Pascal environment. Ryan has been very active lately, programming handy little apps for the GS. Thanks Ryan, you officially don’t suck.

Supper came and went. After it had cooled off, some of us went out on the soccer field for a contest to see who could hurl diskettes and CD’s the farthest. No eyes, spleens or innocent furry woodland creatures were hurt during this excercise but I don’t know for sure who won either.

UPDATE: Ed Eastman is the Winner, and Iron KFester. Tony Diaz gets honorable mention for being the only participant to whomp another competitor. That’s OK, Austin didn’t need his spleen anyway.

Sheppy joined us virtually for awhile via iChat cam. It was good to see him, and we also got to see Sophie, his new baby girl.

Several of us stayed in tonight to enjoy a movie, which happened to be “The Incredibles”. It was also an opportunity to enjoy another KFest tradition, the mass consumption of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and milk. It does a body good you know. ;)

Wish you were here!.

Michael J. Mahon has released version 2.0 of NadaNet, the software that drives the AppleCrate parallel-processing system built using Apple IIe computers. The new version improves data transmission rates by 11%, fixes a bus contention problem in the packet receive function, and changes the AppleCrate boot ROM to let the machines obtain logical IDs in an order determined by the physical wiring between them. Also, documentation, object, and source downloads are now available for CrateSynth..

The first volume of The Definitive GS+ is now available for purchase through Syndicomm’s online store. The CD contains the first six issues of GS+, along with the disks that came along with them, in multiple formats. It sells for US $25; KFest attendees can get it this week for $20..

Hans Franke has announced the BastelCard, a prototyping board for people that want to design and build their own cards for Apple II computers. The BastelCard lets you create your own circuits, but is also available with on-board support logic and flash storage for ROM-resident driver software. The BastelCard is due in mid-August, starting at around $65.The card’s specifications include:

• High quality, industry-standard manufacturing — gold plated slot contacts, high quality silk-screening.
• Flash storage (1 MB of non-volatile storage, 256 blocks with 256 bytes each at /IOSEL).
• Configuration functions (enable/disable flash, enable/disable configuration block, enable/disable where-I’m-stuck, status LEDs).
• Support logic (chip select decoding, IRQ daisy chain, where-I’m-stuck logic).
• Daughterboard (add-on modules, buffer logic).
• Support software.
• Huge prototype area.
• Sample designs included (adding a ROM disk, user RAM, floating-point co-processor, ethernet module).

All schematics and source code are included.

There will be three versions of the card:

• Bare board with no flash.
• 1 MB of flash.
• High-quality PC104 connectors.

Due to the high quality of the design, it could even be used for small production run designs..

Technically, Wednesday is the first official day of KFest, but then, KFest (KansasFest) is actually held in Missouri. We won’t go into that or other charming KFest peculiarities just now…Morning seemed to arrive a lot earlier for some of us than others, but nonetheless a good sized group of happy KFesters made it out to the Rockhurst Pub for breakfast.

The thought on everyone’s mind was likely what could we expect for breakfast. Experienced KFesters can tell you stories of past cafeteria meals – some good, some bad and some that were just mean. Institutional food can vary from “school lunch” to “airline food”, ie. is it edible, or will you regret eating it later.

I’m happy to report that the Rockhurst Food Services did really well. Not only was the food tasty, but there was variety as well. Pancakes, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, muffins and cereal. Something for everyone. Getting out bed seems easier now.

After breakfast, it was back to dorms for socializing and late arrival check-in. It’s also the official beginning of Hackfest!

Around noon, Kirk Mitchell, Master of the KFest Kookout and his sidekick Ryan Suenaga delivered another fine round of hamburgers, hotdogs and vegetarian eats for lunch. Thanks guys!

Our first sesssion of the day, Dave Miller presented “The Little Blue Linux Box”, an informative technical discusssion on how inexpensive, Linux-based LinkSys routers can be “hacked” to add functions and services to make them more versatile.

Up next, Ryan Suenaga announced his new freeware program “ClickIP”, a SideClick application that will display the active IP address.

Ryan then announced “Definitive GS+, Volume One” on CD. Long time Apple II users will recall that GS+ was Steve Disbrow’s highly acclaimed GS-only magazine and disk publication that’s been out of print for several years.

Definitive GS+, V1 is the complete collection of the first 6 issues of GS+ in PDF format, with accompanying diskettes in several different image formats. The disc will be available at the KFest Vendor Fair. $20 for KFest attendees, and later through Syndicomm’s online store for $25 plus shipping and handling.

Dinner at the Rockhurst Cafeteria didn’t disappoint. More good food. I think we may be getting spoiled.

Ray Merlin gave an engaging and entertaining keynote to kick off this year’s KFest. We heard about his formative years and experiences in the ASA, and later how he became involved with computers like the Apple II. If you ever have a chance to listen to one of Ray’s stories, don’t pass it up. Naturally, it’s the stories he CAN’T tell, but only hint at that are the best.

And now… it’s back to the dorms to work on Hackfest projects, get in some Internet time and visit with each other. It’s going to be another late night, but that’s OK because, we’re having fun.

By the way, tonight is Pizza Night, courtesy of Juiced.GS and Syndicomm. Thank you Sheppy and Ryan!

…and to everyone else out there,

Wish you were here..

Ryan Suenaga, Editor-in-Chief of Juiced.GS magazine, announced the availability of Volume One of The Definitive GS+, a CD-ROM collection of the software and searchable PDF reproductions of the paper contents of the first volume of GS+ Magazine. To be available for $25 through the Syndicomm Online Store; $20 to KansasFest 2005 attendees..

Today marks the beginning of KFest 2005 at our new venue, Rockhurst University in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.The day began with rainy weather, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of our attendees. Everyone seems excited to be here, greeting friends, acquaintances and new people with a smile and a hearty handshake.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, the rain had stopped and getting into the dorms began in earnest. We’re moving in, setting up our computers and getting a feel for our new surroundings. So far, all the feedback has been very positive.

The dorm rooms are just a little smaller than Avila’s but the beds are more comfortable. We also have access to TV rooms, ice machines — it’s a nice campus. The real test though begins on Wednesday, when we sample the offerings of the cafeteria.

This evening we made our annual trek to Sweet Tomatoes and then it was out to shop and stock up on pop, goodies and forgotten essentials, then rush back to the dorms to hang out with everyone. Tonight will be a late night, as we geek out with the Apple II.

Yeah, this is KFest. Wish you were here..

Michael Hackett has released his popular Splat! debugger as freeware. He hasn’t gotten a web site for it created yet, but you can download the software free of charge. Michael is looking into possibly releasing the code as open source, as well..

KansasFest 2005 starts tomorrow, and so does our coverage. Our Apple II Deals editor Sean Fahey will be reporting from Kansas City, keeping us posted on all the exciting goings-on at Rockhurst University, the new center of the Apple II world. Be sure to keep an eye on A2Central.com for the latest news!.

Jeff Fink has released a patch to fix a bug in Silvern Castle 8.3. You can download the patch free of charge here at a2central.com..