top of page
Purchase of admission into the festival includes access to all presentations
2025 SPEAKERS
Got a great retro story? Be a Speaker! Sign Up Here
Confirmed Speakers will be listed below when we are closer to the festival.
In the meantime, enjoy watching prior speakers here.
From BackBit to Neo Geo
Evie Salomon | BackBit
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 6:00:00 PM UTC
As an engineer, I believe that learning is best accomplished by taking on big tasks. Last year at the inaugural VCF SoCal, I spoke about my BackBit Cartridge, a device that emulates 8-bit ROMs for a slew of vintage machines from the 1980s. Well, over the past year I’ve been hammering away at a cartridge that emulates 80-bits of ROM for the Neo Geo arcade system from the 1990s. See how the complexity increases when the bit count goes up by a factor of ten, the BOM count gets into the hundreds, and FPGAs get added to the mix.
Introduction to MiniDisc and the MiniDisc Experience
Gunner5 | MDCon
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 7:00:00 PM UTC
Please join Gunner5, the organizer and founder of MDCon for their presentation on MiniDisc’s technology, history, and the current state of the format. We are learning and advancing the capabilities of MiniDisc at a rapid pace.
Floppy Disks Forever: Surprising Survival Stories from the Last Man Standing
Tom Persky | FloppyDisk.com
Hosted by: Sean Haas | Advent of Computing
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 8:00:00 PM UTC
Tom Persky, founder of Floppydisk.com and self-proclaimed "last man standing in the floppy disk business," will explore the enduring relevance of this iconic storage medium in industries ranging from aviation and healthcare to embroidery and hobbyist projects. Drawing from his decades of experience, Persky will discuss how his company has sustained operations by recycling, stocking, and selling rare floppy disk formats to meet the unique needs of industrial and creative users. Attendees will gain insight into the fascinating afterlife of floppy disks and the unexpected ways they continue to support critical and niche applications today.
BASIC - The First 10 Years...
Cory Smith | gotBASIC.com
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 9:00:00 PM UTC
Before the personal computer revolution, before the introduction of the Altair... BASIC was already making great strides in democratizing computing; this conversation will be diving into the birth of BASIC and the first 10 years before Bill Gates changed the world.
SC4020 Reborn: Recreating Early Computer Animations
Sean Haas | Advent of Computing
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 10:00:00 PM UTC
The SC4020 -- a computer controlled microfilm projector -- was used to create the first computer-generated animations. That early animation tool chain has been lost to time, until recently! Follow along my journey of discovery as I emulate, simulate, and rebuild some of these ancient animation tools. Along the way we will see how primitive machines could be pushed and prodded into creating truly amazing images.
FujiNet Demonstration and Project Update
Brian Cox | FutureVision Research
Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 11:00:00 PM UTC
With a name inspired by the Atari logo, FujiNet devices bring vintage computers into the modern world by emulating essential peripherals such as disk drives, printers, modems, and more—all while providing seamless internet access.
In this presentation, Brian will dive into the innovative features of FujiNet devices, showcase their capabilities, and share exciting updates about the project's latest developments and future direction.
Retro Streamer Panel
Moderator: Steve Diederich | The VintNerd
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 12:00:00 AM UTC
Always an audience favorite at any Vintage Computer Festival, we'll have some fun discussions with a panel of retro YouTubers & Podcasters:
→ David from Usagi Electric - youtube.com/@UsagiElectric
→ Jeri from Tilt Five - tiltfive.com
→ Sean from Advent of Computing - adventofcomputing.libsyn.com
→ Evie from Evie's Revue - youtube.com/@EviesRevue
→ Alex from That Electronics Fool - youtube.com/@ThatElectronicsFool
→ Jeff & Steve from Into The Vertical Blank - youtube.com/@IntoTheVerticalBlank
Hosted by Steve from The VintNerd - youtube.com/@thevintnerd
VCF SoCal Retro Game Show - AFTER Exhibit Hall Closes
Moderator: Cory Smith | gotBASIC.com
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 2:15:00 AM UTC
Back this year is the VCF SoCal Retro Game Show ...with a couple twists. First: This will be AFTER the Exhibit Hall closes for the day on Saturday, so that exhibitors & vendors can join in on the fun, too. Second: Audience participation! With a mobile phone / internet connected device, the audience will be able to access a free website and join in the fun of answering game show questions.
Screening: "Before The Macintosh: The Apple Lisa"
A David Greelish film
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 4:00:00 PM UTC
Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa is a compelling and interesting documentary film that explores the history of the technology, people, stories and industry influence of this lesser-known personal computer.
Tips for Diagnosis, Repair, and Modification of Vintage Computers
Jason Moore | Atari Projects
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 6:00:00 PM UTC
One of the most frustrating aspects of the vintage computer hobby is discovering a computer in your collection that won’t boot or that has video display problems. Sometimes, the problem can be tracked down to a single component such as a failed capacitor or a failed memory, logic, processor, or video chip. We will provide some tips for diagnosing what the problem is and review some best practices for repair. This will include use of an oscilloscope as well as soldering and desoldering. Finally, we will provide some examples of fun and useful modifications of vintage computers that can increase memory, improve video quality, or add options for modern storage solutions. The ability to diagnose and repair failures is becoming more important as computers such as the Apple II and Atari 800 approach 50 years old.
Me and My Big Ideas
Lee Felsenstein | FelsenSigns
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 7:00:00 PM UTC
Legendary engineer Lee Felsenstein will present his new book “Me and My Big Ideas”. Known for many things, including designing the Osborne-1 & being an original member of the Homebrew Computer Club, he will talk about his history developing social media and its possible future direction.
The Accidental Gamer, How I stumbled into the game industry during the TRS-80/Apple II/Atari 800 era.
William Volk | One Tap Trivia
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 8:00:00 PM UTC
Long-time game designer/producer and former Activision VP William Volk will take you on a fascinating journey back to the early days of the gaming industry - beginning his career at Avalon Hill. He'll unveil the challenges and triumphs of creating groundbreaking games for iconic platforms like the TRS-80, Commodore PET, Apple II, CoCo, Atari 800, The original PC, and the 128kb Mac. Discover how the limits of these early systems resulted in a focus on game design that paved the way for my success in the industry. Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear behind-the-scenes stories from a true industry pioneer!
But When Are You Going to Get a REAL JOB?
Bill Fisher | Quicksilver Software, Blue Sky Rangers Intellivision Programmers
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 9:00:00 PM UTC
William Fisher has spent over four decades avoiding 'getting a real job'. Starting in 1981 with Mattel Electronics/Intellivision, he wrote three console games and gave video games a voice (literally) with the IntelliVoice. As founder of Quicksilver Software, Inc., Bill crafted iconic games like Castles and Star Trek: Starfleet Command, all while dabbling in AI, cloud tech, and simulation—because apparently just making great games wasn’t enough. These days, when he’s not building robots as CTO of Beyond Imagination, Inc., he’s busy helping students learn game-making skills via his annual IEEE GameSIG competition events.
Bill will explain why game development is one of the most challenging of all possible programming careers, and how it has led him into working on a wide range of technology efforts from CD-ROM drivers to an iPad-based restaurant to an FDA-approved breast cancer surgery device — each based on his ability to make complicated tech easy to use and accessible to everyone.
QBasic... Third Time's the Charm
Cory Smith | gotBASIC.com
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 10:00:00 PM UTC
There have been a couple attempts at resurrecting QBasic "for the modern age" and these projects have done OK in their own right; but they've also diverged pretty significantly from their original mission. Community QBasic is a new open-source project that strives to not only address the desire to have a "true" replacement to QBasic, by the BASIC community using BASIC and remaining BASIC.
Reviving Retro Panel: Restoring and Emulating Vintage Software
Moderator: Sean Haas | Advent of Computing
Panel: Southern Amis, Usagi Electric, & Jim Trageser, Former Executive Director Computer Museum of America
Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 11:00:00 PM UTC
Join a lively panel discussion on the art and science of restoring and emulating vintage computer software, where experts will share insights into preserving the functionality and legacy of classic systems. Learn how restoration techniques breathe new life into original hardware, while emulation makes timeless software accessible on modern devices.
Please Note: The lists, dates, and times of Exhibitors, Vendors, Speakers, and Other Activities can change depending on the different participant's own personal situations, festival changes, and other circumstances.
bottom of page