Panels
The Ultimate Tandy Panel
Panel Members Scheduled to Appear
Paul Schreiber
Paul worked as both a co-op technician (1977) and as Senior Project Engineer (1980-84, 1988-93). Among the many projects he worked on were modems, the Model II/III graphics cards, and the VIS/Sensation multimedia PCs.
John Prickett
Update: John is not able to attend due to health reasons, however his material will be presented.
John was a Senior Project Engineer from 1982 - 1993. He worked on many computers and ASICs, including the CoCo 2, CoCo3, and the Model 1000 family.
Rick Thompson
Rick worked as a Senior Project Engineer from 1980-1993. He was the lead designer on many of the business computers, such as the Model II, the Model 3000 family, and the Model 4000 family.
Jerry Heep
Jerry was the longest-serving Tandy R&D employee, working as a Senior Project Engineer from 1975-2012. Among his 37 year tenure, he designed everything from Project Green Thumb (precursor to CoCo 1), firmware for modems and infrared remotes, and automated the Tandy Center lights using a proprietary network.
Steve Mosher
Steve had a dual career at Tandy. Initially he was the first and only RFI/EMI/Design engineer from 1979-1991, and then joining the Tandy Law Dept from 1991-1997 where he managed patent applications and patent infringement claims against Tandy.
Kathy Paur
Kathy worked at A&A International covering computer products and peripherals from 1976 to 1993
YouTube / Streamers Panel
Panel Members Scheduled to Appear
Moderated by Bil Herd
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David Murray (The 8-Bit Guy)
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Sean Malseed (Action Retro)
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David Lovett (Usagi Electric)
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June Tate-Gans (Nybbles and Bytes)
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Taylor and Amy (Taylor and Amy Show)
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Jeri Ellsworth (Jeri Ellsworth)
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David Beem (IBM Museum)
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Individual speakers
Jennell Jaquays
Jennell Jaquays pioneered pre-made RPG scenarios in her 1976 fanzine The Dungeoneer and is still known for her D&D adventures Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia.
At Coleco, she assembled one of the first video game art and design studios to make ColecoVision games. She has worn the hats of designer, editor, artist, and team leader for many game companies, including TSR, Inc., (Dungeons & Dragons), id Software (Quake 2 and Quake 3), Microsoft (Age of Empires and Halo Wars), CCP, Olde Sküül Entertainment, Inc., and Fifth Wall Games & Miniatures.
She co-founded The SMU Guildhall in Dallas, a master degree program in video game development and was a 2017 inductee into the Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame.
Presentation: Coleco, from the Trenches
An informal talk about the game development of ColecoVision and ADAM games and the people who made them happen from the former director of Game Design at Coleco.
Vince Briel
For 14 years Vince ran Briel Computers, a company that designed and sold retro computer kits.
Classroom Session: PockeTerm II Workshop *SOLD OUT*
Workshop to build the PockeTerm II a VT100 compatible terminal. Purchase of kit required, $50.
Bo Zimmerman
Bo Zimmerman is a Texas-based software developer, and both a user and collector of Commodore products. He has managed the web and Commodore files site "zimmers.net" since 1997, and runs the Central Texas Commodore Users Group out of Round Rock. He is the author of the Zelch BBS software, numerous GEOS applications and utilities, and the Zimodem wifi modem firmware.
Presentation: Beyond the BBS: WiFi for Old Computers
A review of the state of wifi serial modem technology for BBS-ing, and an exploration of what else is now possible.
Boisy Pitre
Boisy Gene Pitre is a computer scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, author, speaker, professional software developer, musician, computer historian, and retro-computing hobbyist. He has worked in the software industry since 1992, focusing on embedded, real-time and mobile computing.
His retro-computing interests lie primarily in the home computers of the 1980's, notably the Tandy Color Computer (aka CoCo). Along with Bill Loguidice, Boisy co-authored the book ''CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer'' (2013), published by Taylor & Francis.
Presentation: The Colorful History of the CoCo
The history of the Tandy Color Computer which was made by Tandy Corporation and sold through Radio Shack stores.
Thomas Cherryhomes
Presentation: FujiNet: Future Directions
The latest developments and roadmap of FujiNet and how the project has evolved over time.
Kevin Phillipson and Michael Rywalt
Kevin Phillipson has a BSEE and a MSEE from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing a PhD from UF. Michael Rywalt has a BSCS and a BSSE from Florida Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing a MSEE from UF. The Turbo9 is the basis of their research.
Presentation: The Turbo9 is a compact high performance microprocessor IP that executes the Motorola 6809 instruction set. It is a modern implementation using a pipelined micro-architecture to give performance matching or exceeding modern RISC microprocessors while being smaller and more compact.
Raymond Jett
Raymond started in the hobby back in 7th grade. Being the prototypical teen nerd, he spent too many hours at his local Radio Shack stores answering questions about parts while hanging out and shopping. For the past 17 years, he has run Arcadecomponents.com where he fixes arcade game and vintage computer logic boards, sells components online, and offers repair advice for folks doing their own work.
Tech Seminar: Digital Logic Basics - Saturday 9AM
Digital logic chips are the basic building blocks of your vintage computer. In this session we'll look at the simple AND, OR, NAND, NOR, NOT, Buffers, and Exclusive-OR gates then jump into flip flops, decoders, and more.
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Tech Seminar: Computer Circuit Basics - Saturday 1PM
In this session we'll explore the circuits that make up the foundation of your vintage computers: Clock, reset, address decoding, RAM/ROM access, dynamic RAM access, and more.
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Presentation: Computer Reset - Preserving a Lifetime - Sunday 11AM
You may have heard about Computer Reset, a massive office and warehouse packed with computer gear going back to the '70s. In this session we'll talk about the history behind it and the liquidation effort to get everything into the hands of collectors.
Noelle Yingling
Noelle Yingling is the daughter of Computer Reset founder Richard Byron. Once he fell ill and could no longer run the business she was tasked with handling the liquidation of a vast used computer business in Dallas, Texas.
Without any knowledge of what any of the equipment was or how to handle what was in the building she was put in contact with a team of retro computer lovers. Noelle worked diligently alongside the volunteers to make sure that her fathers wishes for his collection were fulfilled and that the equipment was preserved for future generations.
Presentation: Computer Reset - Preserving a Lifetime - Sunday 11AM
You may have heard about Computer Reset, a massive office and warehouse packed with computer gear going back to the '70s. In this session we'll talk about the history behind it and the liquidation effort to get everything into the hands of collectors.
James Choate
James has been exploring computers and their applications since 1974 starting with a PDP-8.
He was a founding member of Discovery Hall, the first hands-on science museum in Austin, TX, built exhibits and managed the computer group, and was a founding member in the first Linux user group in Texas, The Central Texas Linux User Group (CT-LUG, c1994).
He also helped start the Austin Perl Mongers, and the Austin chapter of LOPSA. Wrote an article on Plan 9 for SysAdmin magazine in 2004. Was a member of the Cypherpunks mailing list, and initiated the CDR or distributed list architecture starting in 1997. His current primary interest is in Citizen Science using hands-on and Socratic methods.
Presentation: Soviet Personal Computing: Elektronika BK - Friday 6PM
Steve Lewis
Steve Lewis holds a Masters in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida. He is a Senior Software Engineer for Lockheed Martin with over 20 years experience in the aerospace defense industry, primarily supporting Advanced Product Development (ADP). Steve has had a passion for vintage computing ever since first finding an abandoned Commodore PET in a dumpster in 1988.
Presentation: Exploring IBM 5100 P.A.L.M. - Sunday 12:00PM Noon
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This presentation is a look into the history of SCAMP, IBM 5100, IBM 5110 and some recent insights about the system. This includes some Q&A with those directly involved with the IBM 5100 development, and those who continued to support the IBM 5100 system throughout the 1980s. Followed by a deep dive into what PALM is and how it relates to prior IBM mainframe systems, and a summary of other recent IBM 5100-series related developments (such as the 2022 Christmas Star contest, VEMU5110, and AS PALM).
Kevin Williams
Kevin's father was in school for electronics when he was very young and would leave breadboards with all his school projects on the dining room table. Kevin was mesmerized. His father later got a Commodore Vic-20 and Kevin was addicted! For many years, Kevin worked on small electronics projects, code and took everything apart that he had the tools to do so. At 15, he began building clone PCs and running ArcNet networks for small companies. Got his MCSE certification at 21 and worked for Microsoft for 17 years. During that time, he met the woman of my dreams, Sara, and they had two children Wes and Edison. After leaving Microsoft, Sara and Kevin started their own business and in late 2017, they made TexElec.com official to serve the vintage computer community. They've met a lot of great people and have been involved in a lot of great projects! It's been over 5 years now and they look forward to what the future holds!
Presentation: Commander X16 Discussion - Sunday 1:00PM
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Join Kevin and The 8-Bit Guy as they discuss the history leading up to the current stage of the Commander X16 and the future of the project.
William Tooker
Will is a systems architect (that knows just enough to be dangerous) who's had a lifelong obsession with the Macintosh... and now the Lisa. He has developed open-source versions of Lisa hardware, such as the CPU and RAM cards and a replacement PSU, and has been working on designing low-cost Mac/Lisa peripheral adapters for some of the less-common hardware out there.
Presentation: Looking Back (and Forward) on the Lisa - Saturday 6:00PM
Alex Anderson-McLeod
Alex is a sophomore in electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina who has an intense interest in the Apple Lisa computer. He enjoys collecting, repairing, and writing software for Lisas and has reverse-engineered and created open-source replicas of several of the Lisa's boards. He also created a low-cost Arduino-based hard drive emulator and tester for the Lisa called the ArduinoFile and has plans for many more Lisa-related devices in the works.
Presentation: Looking Back (and Forward) on the Lisa - Saturday 6:00PM
Dr. Anne Balsamo
Dr. Anne Balsamo is the Director of the Media Archeology Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Art, Humanities, and Technology. Her research, exhibit design, and art works examine the cultural implications of emerging technologies. In 1998, she joined the research staff at Xerox PARC where she was a member of the Research in Experimental Documents (RED) Group — a research-design team that explored possible long-range cultural impacts of Xerox technologies. Her book, Designing Culture: The Technological Imagination at Work, discusses the work of the RED group and her theory of cultural innovation.
Presentation: The Art of Computing: The Merging of Technology & Culture - Saturday 5:00PM
Don Gilman
Don Gilman has been an IT professional and entrepreneur since 1983. His IT interests are project management, software engineering, and process improvement. His business start-ups have been IT related, with three being computer game companies. His credentials includes: a Project Management Professional Certification (PMP), Professional Scrum Master (PSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) an ITIL Foundations Certification, and he holds a license as a Professional Engineer (PE) in Software Engineering. Don has been active in various local, state and national organizations. Don has twelve computer game credits and is an author on a dozen energy efficiency papers. His first book chapter was published by MIT Press in 2016, “Computer Harpoon”, in the book “Zones of Control” He has made presentations and regional and national conferences in the energy, project management and entertainment domains. He has been married to a Cello teacher since 1989 and they have produced two hard core science fiction and fantasy lovers. Don’s favorite quote is, "Life is not a dress rehearsal” Don's hobbies include brewing, cycling, running, building scale models, board gaming, and reading.
Presentation: Developing Orbiter, PT-109, Sub Battle Simulator, and Harpoon - Friday 5:00PM
Stacy Devino
Stacy is a multifaceted, international keynote speaker noted for her work in diversity advocacy, tech democracy, and "real-talk" personal or technical development. What people don't know is that she has been restoring vintage electronics since she was in middle school and is a collector of retro computers, consoles, pinball, and arcade machines! Stacy uses a mixture of restoration and hacking to add new capabilities to old hardware, put code into places it was never meant to run, and build new parts to keep everything working. Her work has been featured on sites like Wired, Gizmodo, and Geek.com in addition to being mentioned directly in published books.
Presentation: Make it Work - Sunday 11:00AM
​Retro is just a nicer word for "Old" and as much as we might love our vintage hardware, it wasn't meant to last more than a few years. How can we diagnose some of the most common, simple problems holding back our hardware from working "right" or working at all! Just like now, companies were trying to find every way they could to bring their products cheaper. This resulted in static-y audio, chipset hiccups, fuzziness on the monitor, and color that couldn't be fixed. Often, those things too can be addressed for pennies! Join me for the vintage hacker kit of what to do where and how to fix loads of issues and keep your systems running for a few more decades. ;)