The Attraction of Hundreds to Interact with Decades-Old Computers.
Our visit to the Vintage Computer Festival.
Andru Marino has been an audio and video content creator at The Verge since 2015, where he has worked on programs like The Vergecast, Decoder with Nilay Patel, and Why’d You Push That Button, in addition to producing a variety of videos for the site.
Every year, during a weekend in April, the InfoAge Science and History Museums, located in Wall Township, New Jersey, host the Vintage Computer Festival East. This event attracts hundreds of visitors to an old military base to explore a wide range of vintage hardware, which is not only on display but also in operation. Jeffrey Brace, the festival organizer, comments on the hands-on experience the museum offers: “One of the things about our museum is that it’s interactive. If you go to the Smithsonian, everything is behind glass. You can’t touch it.”
During the festival, I had the opportunity to play Oregon Trail on an Apple IIe, operate a refurbished Heathkit H-89, experiment with various 90s painting applications, and try out nearly every type of mechanical keyboard available on vintage computers. Both the permanent museum and the festival exhibition halls were filled with computers dating back to the 1960s all the way to the more modern Macs. However, the real appeal of the event lies in the interaction with creators, enthusiasts, and educators who share their collections of vintage electronics and the various projects they have developed to keep them operational.
I spoke with several individuals who were managing their own GSM base stations, manufacturing ink cartridges through 3D printing, upgrading old hardware with modern keyboards, or simply showcasing their minidisc collections. Even though this was my fourth time attending the event, I continue to learn something new each year or play with computers I have never seen before. On this occasion, I was able to document my visit to the festival for The Verge, so if you feel a bit out of the loop, you can check out our video coverage of the event.