The Mactoberfest Meetup classic Macintosh celebration is only one week away!
What is this?
Mactoberfest Meetup is a free social event for classic Macintosh computer collectors in the San Francisco area, and their Apple II friends. Attendees are bringing their computer collections to display, and we’ll also have a flea market, a freebies table, a workshop area, and a Tetris Max high score competition. It’ll be a fun day poking at old computer hardware and revisiting the days of Hypercard, desk accessories, and flying toasters! We’re expecting about 40 collection displays and 100 people total.
Where and when is the meetup?
Saturday October 14, 11:00am to 5:00pm, in Belmont California. RSVP here for the address.
Where can I park?
There’s parking for 65 cars in the lot at the venue. Overflow street parking is available nearby. Attendees who aren’t bringing any equipment are asked to park on the street, and leave the parking lot spaces for people with heavy computers to unload.
What equipment should I bring?
One or more pieces of classic 1980s and 1990s Macintosh gear, or Lisa / Apple II computers, Newtons, eMate, QuickTake cameras, Macintosh clones, printers, routers, software media, documentation, books, souvenirs…
How should I prepare my equipment?
Bring your own extension cords and power strips. Label everything with your name. Plan defensively for equipment safety: you are assuming the risk of accidental spills, damage, loss, etc.
What software should I run on the computer?
Please avoid having computers idling at the Finder desktop. Load the computer with your favorite classic game, content creation software, screen savers, demos, or anything else that others might enjoy experimenting with.
How will the equipment be displayed?
We’ll have several rooms furnished with chairs and 72 x 30 inch banquet tables. Everyone will have at least half a table to display their equipment, with extra space available for people with larger collections.
How will the flea market work?
We expect to have several dozen people bringing classic computer gear to sell. For-sale items may be located at the display tables or in the designated for-sale area of the building. Please tag your for-sale items with your price and your name / phone number, so interested buyers can text/call you if you’re not standing next to the items all day. You can use this template for sales tags.
What’s the Freebies Table?
It’s a dedicated area for donating extra items you no longer need, for other people to take. Disk drives, mice, keyboards, cables, floppy disks, peripheral cards, books, whole computers… If you see something you want here, take it!
What’s the Workshop Station?
It’s an area stocked with tools for troubleshooting and repairing computers, or building project kits. Expect to find soldering irons, tools, a multimeter, and maybe an oscilloscope or logic analyzer.
What are the project kits?
BMOW is donating ATX to Macintosh 10-pin power supply adapter kits that can be assembled with easy soldering. Donations of other DIY kits and electronic or mechanical projects are appreciated.
What’s the plan for LAN games?
Bring your LocalTalk PhoneNet cables if you have them. We’ll organize teams for network play of Bolo and other classic Mac network games.
How will the Tetris Max high score competition work?
At least two dedicated Tetris Max stations will be running all day. The best score achieved by the afternoon deadline will win a complete Macintosh Performa 460 computer system. You must be present at the time of the contest’s end to win. See the complete rules for details.
What else can I bring besides classic computer gear?
Please bring your tools and parts for the Workshop Station: multimeters and test equipment, irons, grips, mats, screwdrivers, tweezers, pliers, cutters, spare parts, etc.
Will food be provided?
No, there won’t be food vendors or catering at the meetup location. There’s a shopping mall nearby with a grocery store and restaurants.
Really, no food?
Please consider bringing snacks or drinks to share; this is a free event and we all participate in making it a success. Good options might be fruit/vegetables, granola bars, mini sandwiches, crackers and chips, and canned or bottled drinks. Avoid open beverage containers or foods that are messy and have higher risk of spills into keyboards. The venue has utensils and plates if needed. Any plasticware must be compostable or recyclable, no disposable plastic is permitted.
How else can I help?
If you have time, stick around after the meetup to help tidy up and put things away. Thank you!
How can I share Mactoberfest photos?
Please take lots of photos! Send them to mactoberfest@bigmessowires.com and we’ll create a post-meetup album so everybody else can see what they missed.
E-WASTE NOTE: Everything you bring to Mactoberfest must be taken home with you at the end of the day, unless it’s sold or positively claimed at the Freebies table. Don’t abandon any equipment or parts at the meetup site. Don’t put e-waste into the building’s trash cans or dumpster. Thanks for your understanding.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I’m looking forward to seeing you all soon!