Next week, we begin our on-site coverage of KansasFest. I know a lot of our readers wish they could be there in person but couldn’t make it. So, A2Central will try to keep you vicariously involved with daily write-ups and information on new developments. This year, we’ve borrowed Mike Maginnis and Andy Molloy from Juiced.GS to help us cover the event and keep the posts timely (unlike last year). Thanks, guys — I very much appreciate the assistance!

For breaking news and info, you’ll want to follow the KansasFest blog via RSS or email. You can also read Kirk Mitchell’s updates on Twitter and follow the #kfest hashtag on Twitter to get the news as it’s happening. Kirk will also be posting his own daily reports via newsgroup comp.sys.apple2 on Usenet. Don’t have Usenet access? Try Google Groups.

Join the discussion on the official KansasFest mailing list!

We’ll also be chatting on A2Central’s IRC channel at: irc.a2central.com #a2c.chat on port 6667 — join us!

-=THANKS=- to Ken Gagne for his assistance in corralling the links for this post. Check out his Apple II blog, it’s one of our recommended reads.

KANSAS CITY, MO — July 24, 2009 — Juiced.GS, the last remaining print publication dedicated to the Apple II computer, announced today that it would continue publication for a fifteenth volume.

“When Max Jones founded this magazine in 1996, the Apple II line had already been discontinued for three years,” notes current editor-in-chief Ken Gagne. “Nobody imagined it would still be printed into a third decade — but come 2010, we’ll have four more quarterly issues.”

Juiced.GS was founded to provide focused coverage of the Apple IIGS, the only 16-bit model of the Apple II personal computer that Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs originally created in 1977. As other magazines have ceased publication or moved to online-only formats, Juiced.GS has expanded to encompass all models of the Apple II.

Each issue of Juiced.GS brings a variety of news, reviews, how-tos, and interviews that look at the past, present, and future of the Apple II and its community. Recent features have included interviews with Bob Bishop, who, with Steve Wozniak, comprised Apple Computer Inc.’s original R&D department; and 8 Bit Weapon, a modern-day "chiptune" band that performs live music using retrocomputers such as the Apple II. Other features have detailed how to build your own Apple-1, reviews of the CompactFlash for Apple (CFFA) and MicroDrive/Turbo interface cards, a tutorial for programming with TCP/IP, and a gamer’s guide to interactive fiction.

“I am just delighted with [Juiced.GS] — each issue just has a ton of content,” said Carrington Vanston in an episode of 1 MHz, an Apple II podcast. “It’s exciting just to get an Apple II publication in [this day and age].”

To commemorate Juiced.GS‘s fifteenth volume, publisher Gamebits has created a 2010 wall calendar that features pictures of Apple II hardware, software, and people seen in past issues of Juiced.GS, but now in full color. The calendar also marks significant dates in the Apple II’s life, such as the founding of Apple Computer Inc., the release of AppleWorks 1.0, the first broadcast of an Apple II-specific podcast, and the dates for KansasFest 2010.

Subscriptions to Juiced.GS, which is available in hardcopy only, cost $19 for U.S. customers and $26 for international. The Juiced.GS calendar costs $16, which includes shipping anywhere in the world. These products as well as free sample issues can be found on Juiced.GS‘s newly redesigned Web site, http://juiced.gs/