bsherman@pro-exchange.UUCP (Bob Sherman) (09/29/87)
72+ HOURS OF EXTASY I have alway wondered what it would be like to be the "kid in the toy store", well, I have just spent the past 3 days finding out. My toy store was Applefest, and for more than 3 days there I was, surrounded at every turn by that beautiful multi-colored Apple that I've grown to love and worship. My dream began early Thursday evening when I was handed an Apple disk labeled "Apple II GS System Disk 3.1" and another labled "Icon Editor for the GS Finder",along with a stack of printed documentation by none other than the person that wrote most of the routines on the disks as he proudly sat at his GS with the new finder on the screen. A couple of steps further and there was the author of the all new GS Basic proudly showing me a screen listing of a program he was running, with his Apple employee tag hanging from his belt. Next it was a very youthful man asking me "can I answer any questions for you about the GS Toolbox routines?" A glance at his Apple badge revealed that he was the "Toolbox Developement Manager", and on it went for the next hour or so. Then, large doors swung open and we entered a large ballroom and sat down for a banquet dinner hosted by, and paid for by a man sitting at the front table in an open collared shirt and a navy blue sweater over it, A look at his name tag sent a chill up and down my back, it read "John Scully, President". As my legs turned to rubber, I realized this did not mean "User Group President", this was the "President" of my dream toy shop, and I was invited to be his guest for the evening, and he was buying ME dinner. WOW! This must be a dream, because Applefest dosen't begin until tomorrow, but please don't awaken me now because I am having too much fun. As I look around the table I am seated at, I see Kent Fillmore, the President of International Apple Core, Michael A. Fischer, Author of many Apple "how to" books, my son Roby discussing the 65816 chip with him, and the Pinpoint software team, among others. A glance around at other tables reveals Bill Basham, David Eyes, Gary B. Little (author of Point to Point, Binary II and many others), Tom Weishaar (publisher of Open-Apple), Roger Wagner wearing a stylish hat, and just about every other name you can think of from Apple Legend-land. Between courses, the room suddenly filled with "Apple II Forever" music and a movie appeared on a screen, opening with a scene of Woz and Steve Jobs in some cluttered garage, and so it went. As the evening drew to a close, the screen showed an animated hires graphic of a heart, and a song that said "The Apple II Heartbeat is Louder and Stronger Than Ever". The next morning Applefest opened, four floors of the Civic Center filled with Apple events, booths, meetings, and a museum of Apple from 1977 to 1987 including the sketches and photographs of the Apple IIX and how it evolved to be the GS. Wait a minute! What's this?? Is Lotus 1-2-3 running on an Apple or has someone dared to sneak one of those "blue" machines into my toy store. No, it's the new card that puts an MS-DOS machine (we shall not mention brand names ) into your Apple. After the show ended it's first day, it was again time to party, so off to the Galleria we went, to attend a disco party hosted by Apple. After entering, I found out one of the things Apple must use it's Cray for. SHRIMP, the LARGEST I have ever seen in my life. 2 or 3 of them must have weighed a pound, I don't think they grow that large, so they must have been designed on the Cray. "Come on", they announced on the sound system,"it's all you can eat. So eat, drink, and be merry, it's all on Apple". Then the dance floor opened, and the music began with "Apple II Forever" followed by songs by request. I left around midnight, and the party was still picking up speed. Not bad, I thought as my taxi headed towards my hotel, two nights so far in San Francisco, and two nights that Apple has bought my dinner. It seemed odd to see Bert Kersey of Beagle Bros. fame walking through the hotel lobby without his Beagle, almost like buying Smith Brothers cough drops with only one brother on the box. The second day opened with a keynote address by none other than the "Wizard of Woz" himself, speaking for almost an hour, and then standing in the halls for another hour or so answering all who had questions, and signing autographs for those that wanted them. That evening it was party time again, with InCider magazine hosting food and drink on the top floor (about 60 ) of the Bank of America building with ceiling high windows offering a spectacular view of the sun setting over the city of San Francisco. It is now the day after Applefest, and as we cruise at 36,000 feet over Lake Tahoe on our way back to Miami and the real world, my 72 + hours in extasy has ended but the memories will last for a long time, as I hope the newfound friendships will. But wait a moment, it's official, next year there will be not one, but two Applefests, the first taking place in May 1988 in Boston. Until then, I have left my heart in San Francisco. THE ABOVE IS REPRINTED FROM MIAMI'S BIG APPLE - 305-948-8000 UUCP: [ ihnp4 nosc ] !crash!pnet01!pro-sol!pro-carolina!pro-exchange!bsherman ARPA: crash!pnet01!pro-sol!pro-carolina!pro-exchange!bsherman@nosc.mil INET: pro-carolina!pro-exchange!bsherman@pro-sol.cts.com