CommVEx 2005 (C= Vegas Expo)

[Lonewolf10]

Hi all,

FYI:




This was originally posted at the 'acug0447' yahoo! group by Robert Bernardo of the Fresno Commodore User Group:


It's Vegas, baby!  The Commodore Vegas Expo 2005, a.k.a. CommVEx, is coming to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 30-31 this year.  Thanks to the efforts of Mac Meconis and Al Jackson of the Clark County Commodore Computer Club of Las Vegas, a venue has been secured at the Nevada Power Company (hey, plenty of power for our Commodores) at 6226 W. Sahara Avenue and just a few miles to the west of the famous Las Vegas Strip.


The hours of CommVEx are:


Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday, 12 noon to 9 p.m.


A Hotel has been selected for people to stay at during the event, at a discount. We are also gathering excellent raffle prizes for the show.


To quote Bruce Thomas of the Commodore Users of Edmonton,

"We are going to be looking for people with interesting Commodore software, hardware, and activities to put on demos.

"We are going to be looking for volunteers to help set things up, man the ticket/registration table, pick people up at the airport/hotels, etc.. So, if you want to be part of something really great, if you want to attend the first big Commodore EXPO in the Western United States in this millenium, if you want to demo your latest Commodore-related invention, if you have Commodore-related products for sale and would like to set up a table with your wares, please get in touch with Robert Bernardo or myself and let us know what level of participation you would like to have."

The event can only get better and will only be as good as the participants make it. Go to the CommVEx website at...


http://members.shaw.ca/commvex05


...for information or e-mail...

CommVEx05(at)shaw.ca

... if you have questions.

"Drive in, take the bus, or fly in... CommVEx awaits you"



Some of the people already confirmed to be attending:

Jeri Ellsworth, CommodoreOne and C64 DTV designer
Todd Elliott, GEOS programmer
Cameron Kaiser, HyperLink programmer
Earl Williams, editor of the Infinite Loop newsletter


The following groups have also confirmed they wil be attending:

Southern Nevada Amiga Group,
Commodore Users of Edmonton,  
Fresno Commodore User Group
Clark County Commodore Computer Club.




Regards,
Lonewolf10


PS. I thought this was the best place to start this thread as it is an announcement. If you (Wayne) think its best placed elsewhere then I apologise.

[Lonewolf10]

Oh, before anyone asks, Amiga's are welcome too


I first heard about this back in January. I dig out the rest of the info regarding prizes for the raffle and the Hotel details in the next few days.


Regards,
Lonewolf10

[Lonewolf10]

I found some of the info faster than expected



As posted at the "ACUG0447" yahoo! group.

FYI:



Well, after a few false starts and what seems like an eternity I am very pleased to announce that we have finally got the CommVEx Official Hotel selected. All of the details are listed below and will be posted shortly on the CommVEx web site ( http://members.shaw.ca/CommVEx05  ) when it gets a much needed update.

CommVEx 2005, the Commodore Vegas EXPO to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 30 and 31, 2005, will have activities at the Nevada Power Company building at 6226 W. Sahara Avenue in the room that is used by Las Vegas's own Clark County Commodore Computer Club (The 5C'S) for their regular meetings.

We are very pleased to have the Golden Palm Casino Hotel as our Official Hotel for guests coming to Las Vegas to attend CommVEx. The Golden Palm Casino Hotel is located at 3111 W. Tropicana Avenue in Las Vegas. They offer Free Parking for guests, shuttle service from McCarran International Airport if you are flying in, an outdoor pool and jacuzzi in which to relax at the end of the day, 24 hour restaurant, lounge and casino if you are so inclined and plenty of other features to make your stay in Las Vegas an enjoyable one.

If you want to check out the Golden Palm Casino Hotel please visit their website at:

http://www.goldenpalmlv.com


The Golden Palm Casino Hotel has given us a block of rooms and a Group Booking rate that is better than what I have found online. Rooms for up
to 2 people are $50 for Friday night, $50 for Saturday night and $34 for Sunday night if you want to stay over. Monday to Thursday night stays are also $34.
There is a $10 per person charge for more than 2 people in a room. All rates subject to 9% sales tax. You have your choice of Smoking or non-smoking and can request a room with 2 Queen beds or 1 King size bed at the time you book your room.

In order to get these rates (and you can stay for every night or only one night if you want - it is up to you) you must phone the toll free number, 800-300-7389, and ask for Helene in the Sales Office at Extension 703.
She will be out of the office from April 25 til May 10. After May 10 she will return your call if you leave a message. When you call to reserve your room (you need a Credit Card to guarantee your room) use the 4-letter reservation code "comm" to get in on the group rate.

Rooms must be booked by July 15 to get in on this rate. The sooner you book your room the sooner you can feel safe knowing you have a good, affordable place to stay in Las Vegas with a bunch of other Commodore enthusiasts.
The availability of rooms after July 15 at these rates can't be guaranteed so figure out who your rooming buddy (or buddies) will be and book early.

We hope that having this information at this point in time will make it easier for each of you to plan to come to Las Vegas to attend CommVEx and get in on all of the great Commodore related activities and socializing that will occur at this event. Never mind all of the great demos and prize draws that will be held.

As mentioned, keep checking the CommVEx 2005 web site ( http://members.shaw.ca/commvex05  ) for all of the latest details.

enGEOy!



Regards,
Lonewolf10

[Lonewolf10]

Confirmed to be attending:

 Jeri Ellsworth, CommodoreOne and C64 DTV designer
 Todd Elliott, GEOS programmer
 Cameron Kaiser, HyperLink programmer
 Earl Williams, editor of the Infinite Loop newsletter
 Dick Estel, editor of the GEOS Fonts Compendium
 Paul Panks, C= adventure programmer and book writer
 Steve Dubois, leader of the Manteca Order of Retro-Gamers


Rolf Miller, writer of C= articles, has confirmed his attendance at the July 30-31 Commodore Vegas Expo.  



More news soon.... only 2 weeks to go!


Regards,
Lonewolf10

[Lonewolf10]

More info on CommVEx 2005, with just over a week to go!

Regards,
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk@yahoo.co.uk


Bruce Thomas (co-organizer of ComVEx 2005) wrote:

I am very happy to announce two more big additions to the Commodore Vegas EXPO ( CommVEx - http://members.shaw.ca/CommVEx05/ ) which is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 30 and 31, 2005.

Dave Ross, of the SouthWest Regional Association of Programmers ( SWRAP - http://www.swrap.org/ ) group in Chicago, has notified us of his intentions to attend the show and do a presentation relating to "keeping up on the latest Commodore developments".
Dave is one of the organizers of the SWRAP Fall EXPOs held in Chicago so is a seasoned veteran of Commodore EXPOs and will surely add immensely to the flavor and success of CommVEx.

Another well-known and well-respected member of the Commodore community is Al Anger. Al's handiwork at customizing Commodore computers was immortalized in Issue #10 of CMD's Commodore World magazine ( http://cmdrkey.com/cbm/cworld/back/issue10.html ).
Al has donated an Amiga 500 system to be added to our pool of raffle prizes. The A-500 boasts 2 MB of RAM, an external Roctek Hard Drive and a Color Monitor. The system will also include manuals, user guides and a bunch of software. Al has not done any customizing on this system but it will surely make a lucky ticket holder very happy.

All raffle tickets are US$10 each or 3 tickets for US$25. All tickets will be eligible for our Grand Prize Golden C-128 System created by Michael Hunter (former owner of 8-Bit Designs). All profits from raffle ticket sales will go back into the Commodore Community as well as future EXPOs.

If your group wants to hold an EXPO in your area (say Florida or California or Massachusetts) we would like to help so that as many people as possible have the chance to attend a local EXPO and enjoy the Commodore atmosphere that these events are famous for.

Check the CommVEx web site ( http://members.shaw.ca/CommVEx05/ ) for all of the latest details on who is attending, the demos that are planned and all of the great raffle prizes.


Bruce Thomas
CommVEx Organizing Committee

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10




Hello C= and Ami friends,

Just a few days before the July 30-31 Commodore Vegas Expo (CommVEx).
I will be leaving for Las Vegas on Wednesday in order to get things ready for the show.  So many things to remember... name tags, refreshments, equipment, raffle prizes, transportation for attendees, etc..  
For those attendees who need to contact me, I will be at the Nevada Palace Hotel & Casino, 5255 Boulder Highway, (tentatively) room 119, phone 800 634-6283 or 702 458-8810.  If you wish to get in touch with a Clark County Commodore Computer Club member, contact me, and I can give the phone numbers of president Al Jackson and/or C128 librarian Larry Lathrop.  Feel free to call me at the above number.

As CommVEx gets nearer, my activities will increase exponentially.
If I'm not around the hotel room, leave a message.
Though the official CommVEx hotel, the Golden Palm Hotel, advertises a
free shuttle from the airport, its hours may not coincide with your arrival.  Give me a call if you need a ride from/to the airport.

Right now, transportation between the Golden Palm and our Nevada Power meeting site is still being decided.  If many attendees have cars, we can carpool it, i.e., we'll have a parade of vehicles going to the show.  Otherwise, we will rent a 15-passenger van (appropriately decorated in a Commodore motif!)

For those who want activities other than Commodore/Amiga (o.k, who would those be?!), then Las Vegas offers plenty of entertainment.  Go to

http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/vegasweek/vegasweek.html

 for a good central site in which to find information.

Finally, just a word to the wise.  Las Vegas at this time of year is excruciatingly hot.  Think somewhere between 110 and 119 degrees F.. Humidity is variable, but usually clouds come up from Mexico... "monsoon" weather.  So, not only will it be hot, it may be sticky.

According to Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld in the article, "How to Beat the Heat" in last Sunday's Parade Magazine, those who are at risk from hyperthermia are:

 - Infants and children up to 4 years of age.
 - Men and women over 65 who have a problem with their hearts, kidneys, or lungs.
 - Individuals who are overweight.
 - Anyone taking medications that interfere with their ability to perspire.
 - Anyone who overworks or exercises too much in the heat.
 - People who are dehydrated or have poor circulation...

Your hot weather safety tips are:

 - Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
 - Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15...
 - Wear a wide-brimmed hat.
 - Use air-conditioning.
 - Avoid hot foods, and keep your meals light.
 - If you're exercising, drink 2 to 4 glasses of water per hour.
 - Don't leave children or pets in your car for even a few minutes.


If you overheat:

 - Stop what you are doing and go someplace cool.
 - Drink fluids -- water, fruit juice, or a sports drink.  Whatever you drink should not be ice cold...

If you have medication, don't forget to bring it.  At the Monastery Party 2005 in Opava, the Czech Republic, one attendee didn't bring his epilepsy medicine and collapsed the first morning of the party.  Finding family contact information was difficult.  An emergency ambulance had to be called.

Be prepared.  Be safe.

Looking forward to meeting all of you at CommVEx,



Robert Bernardo

Fresno Commodore User Group:
                                       
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                           
 
The Other Group of Amigoids:
                               
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10



Message from Bruce Thomas:


Well, hopefully we will have a decent internet connection and live video feeds of the proceedings at CommVEx ( http://members.shaw.ca/commvex05/ ) will be viewable by those who can't attend in person.

We are planning on having 2 options available.
 
1. Earl Williams has setup a Web Cam. This can be found by going to:

http://webcamnow.com/ewwilliams

selecting the "view webcams" link at the top of the page, waiting for the Java applet to load, under the "please select" drop box choose "friends and family". If Earl is up and running you should see his name in the list of "Live Webcams". Click on "ewwilliams" and the video should become visible in the right side window.
If you want to use the CHAT features enter a nickname where it prompts near the bottom of the window, press "join" and then you can participate in any chatting that is going on. Unfortunately, the CHAT feature is not private so it may get confusing if there are many web cams online and many people chatting.


2. If you have a Windows PC and have the Free Internet Telephony program SKYPE ( http://www.skype.com/ ) installed look for user "commvex05" and send your contact info. If I am online during the day I will invite anyone who is also online to join a session. The video part is available by installing the add-on program vSkpye ( http://www.vskype.com/ ). You don't have to have a camera to be a participant in a video call. Other people just won't see you but you will be able to see others in the call.

All I know for sure at the moment is that we are to have a dialup connection out of the meeting room. There has been talk that there may be high speed internet available in which case the video links should work a lot better.

Barring functioning video links there are also plans to be online in IRC. Just point your computers to  server:

irc.eskimo.com

and then  join #c64friends  on Saturday, July 30, and Sunday, July 31.

Alternatively, go to:

http://www.geocities.com/c64friends

and click on CHAT .  Then you can be virtually with us at the Expo!  :-)

The Expo runs on Saturday from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m Pacific Time (18:00-05:00 GMT) and on Sunday from 12 noon - 9 p.m. Pacific Time (20:00-05:00 GMT).



Bruce Thomas

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10


Message from Bruce Thomas:

Are you coming to CommVEx on July 30 and 31 in Las Vegas?

( http://members.shaw.ca/commvex05 )


If you are, you'll have a chance to see, and possibly play, the wickedest new game for the SuperCPU equipped Commodore.

Metal Dust ( http://www.protovision-online.de/ ) has arrived and will be running at CommVEx.

At the moment, our plan is to use the game Oil's Well (have a couple cartridge copies) as the game to be played in our Video Game Competition (with some awesome prizes), but if CommVEx attendees feel they would  rather try their hand for the top score in Metal Dust at CommVEx we may just revamp the Game Competition.

CommVEx is pleased to add the North American EXPO Debut of Metal Dust to its schedule of events.

Come and join the fun!


Bruce Thomas

[Lonewolf10]

Dear members,

Pictures from CommVEx 2005 are now online ready for your viewing pleasure. See below for more info.


Regards,
Lonewolf10



So today I finally had time to get my pictures sorted out and put them up on the CommVEx web site ( http://members.shaw.ca/commvex05 ).

Maybe not so surprisingly but I seemed to be quite busy with organizing and selling raffle tickets and talking with people and never had the time to take as many pictures as I would have liked to. Hopefully other pictures will start showing up on sites soon too.

Bruce Thomas

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10



At the Commodore Vegas Expo (CommVEx), former CBM engineers Bil Herd and Dave Haynie were not able to attend the show.  In their place, they sent a special video presentation in celebration of the C128's 20th anniversary. Not only did they talk about the C128 but they also showed some rare prototypes, including the Commodore LCD!  The original DVD-R is now available for download in .mpg format. Go to

Bo Zimmerman's site - ftp://ftp.zimmers.net/pub/pics/billndave.mpg

or

James Crook's site - http://www.cbm264.com/homeserver.html

                Truly,
                Robert Bernardo
                Fresno Commodore User Group
                http://videocam.net.au/fcug

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10


 --- rbernardo@iglou.com wrote:
 -----Original Message-----
 From: Randy Thelen
 Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 00:52:37 -0700
 Subject: July 2005 Commodore Shows Gallery
 
 Folks --
 
 Robert Bernardo was the first to take advantage of my server.

 I've just completed posting his pictures from the Commodore Vegas Expo and from the AmiWest Show in Sacramento.  Come take a look at:

http://madscientistroom.org/gallery/Commodore-Shows

 If you have any problems, let me know.  There are all kinds of things I can tinker with to make the gallery work well.

 Also, if you have any additional text you'd like to associate with any of the pictures, I'd be happy to update them.

 -- Randy

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10
http://www.geocities.com/aliensrcooluk

--- Robert Bernardo wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:13:56 -0500
From: Dave Ross

On Sat, 2005-08-13 at 10:51 -0600, Bruce Thomas
wrote:
 
> Maybe not so surprisingly but I seemed to be quite
> busy with organizing and selling raffle tickets and
> talking with people and never had the time to take
> as many pictures as I would have liked to.
> Hopefully other pictures will start showing up on
> sites soon too.
>


Funny you should say that.  I spent this morning putting mine up at:

http://www.csixty4.com/gallery/CommVex05



- Dave Ross

[Lonewolf10]

FYI (especially for anyone connected with/to MaiLink)

Happy New Year,
Lonewolf10


 --- rbernardo@iglou.com wrote:

A Rebuttal to "CommVEx was a BUST!"
 
by Robert Bernardo, co-organizer of the Commodore
Vegas Expo


A few weeks ago I was informed by Larry Lathrop, C128 librarian of the Clark County Commodore Computer Club (Las Vegas), that Dale Sidebottom had written a review of the Commodore Vegas Expo (CommVEx) which was held on July 30-31.  According to the information that Larry provided, this review was published in the September Commodore MaiLink, a newsletter that goes to hundreds of C= users.  To my surprise, Dale had given CommVEx an unfavorable review!  I was not a part of the MaiLink, and all of this was news to me.  Larry promised to send me a hardcopy of the review.

I now have the CommVEx review in-hand, and below is my point-by-point rebuttal.  For those who are a part of MaiLink, please forward this rebuttal to those MaiLink editors who have my permission to publish this in their newsletter.

Let's begin.  Dale wrote --

> With sincere apologies to Robert Bernardo and Bruce Thomas who
> valiantly worked to organize this puppy from hundreds of
> miles away, the first Commodore Las Vegas Expo (usually known as
> CommVEx) was a disappointment.

This was the first negative that I had heard.  From all the other CommVEx attendees I'd heard nothing but posiive comments.

> Due to financial constraints, it was decided to hold it where the 5C's
> (Clark County Commodore Computer Club) of Las Vegas usually meet.

Not only due to financial constraints but also 5C's president Al Jackson offered the use of the room afer a deal for a venue in North Las Vegas fell through and 2 other hotels had provided room packages that had too many constraints/limitations.  Wanting to have a venue locked down by December 31 or so, I accepted Al's offer, and 5C's member Mac Meconis was the go-between who kept in constant contact with the public relations director of the room.

> They meet in a free meeting room located at the Nevada Power Station.

Well, having it at the power station would have been very far out of town; the public meeting room was at the adminstrative office building of Nevada Power.

> Unfortunately, the 5C's didn't have a single member who had ever
> attended an Expo.  They didn't know what to expect from us, or if we
> 'wild' expositioners might do something to endanger their status with
> the Nevada Power Company.

5C's member Paul Armstrong had attended the Las Vegas Classic Gaming Expo 2002 when the Fresno Commodore User Group had a table there.  In fact, he helped out quite a bit at our table.  My thanks to Paul for being the only vendor at CommVEx.

> I personally believe that future expos in Las Vegas will never reach
> their full potential without better support from the 'locals.'
> Hopefully, with one CommVEx under their belts, the 5C'ers have
> disovered that we're just good people who love to interface and
> network with like-minded Commodore 'crazies.'

Bruce Thomas counted 55 CommVEx attendees; I counted 52 attendees.  Out of that number, 16 of those attendees came from the 5C's club (from the club's total of 25 members).  Having CommVEx would have been difficult or impossible without the efforts of Al Jackson, Mac Meconis, and one of my right-hand men, Larry Lathrop.  Also Mark Richey, Ron Gratreaks, and others from the Southern Nevada Amiga Group were in attendance and had displays.  In other words, the support was there.

> That said, the locals (5C'ers) were wonderful to us, gracious as could
> be, and I truly appreciated their hospitality during the Expo.  Las
> Vegas is important to our future, because it is the only place my wife
> will agree to go with me to attend a Commodore Expo.  So I hope future
> expos there will be more successful and draw ever larger crowds!  Viva
> Las Vegas!

To conclude, I'd like to go over the title, "ComVEx was a BUST!"  From an analysis of the Dale's review, it seems that his only criterion for measuring the success of the show was the involvement of the 5C's members. As mentioned above, the 5C's was involved; they did show their support.

However, the success of the show cannot be only measured by local club involvement.  Success must also be measured by other factors, like attendance numbers, quality and/or number of presentations, and that non-concrete factor, comradery.  Concerning the attendance and compared to numbers from the LUCKI Commodore Expo, the SWRAP Chicago Commodore Expo, and even the Commodore Show Netherlands, CommVEx was a success.  Thanks to everyone who came from Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky, and Alberta, Canada.  Concerning the quality/number of presentations, we had presentations from Dave Ross, Cameron Kaiser, Dave Holz, myself, Bruce Thomas, Bilgem Cakir, Larry Anderson, Rolf Miller, Lawrence Hiler, and Jason Scott, the topics covering Net blogging, gaming, CMD hard drive-hacking, the PAL (European) scene/demos, new C= hardware, PC-to-C= file transfers, running a C= software business in the 1980's, and the BBS scene. (If I am forgetting anyone or any demo subject, my apologies.)  Concerning comradery, CommVEx was overflowing with it.  Such friendliness!  Such understanding!  Such a relaxed group!  Based on these criteria, CommVEx was *not* a bust.

[Lonewolf10]

Another year, and CommVEx is back!

Unfortunately, I forgot to post some of the previous emails regarding CommVEx 2 here, but I will post all the future ones, starting with this all-important one for booking your place at the Plaza Hotel

This is a month or two old (again I'm sorry), but I will get to the recent ones i a few days

 
  --- Robert Bernardo wrote:
 On Sun, 5 Feb 2006 I wrote:
 
> The July 29-30 Commodore Vegas Expo v2 is months away, but it's never
> too early to plan!  The Plaza Hotel, this year's venue for CommVEx, is
> offering CommVEx attendees discounted rooms.  A block of 10 rooms have
> been set aside for CommVEx.  The rates are $61 per night Friday and
> Saturday, and $31 for Sunday night (all prices not including room tax).
> To reserve your room, call the Plaza Hotel at 1 800 634-6575 and mention
> that you are attending the event, CommVEx, in order to get the
> discount.  If the rooms are not booked by at least one month in advance
> of CommVEx, then they are released back into the "market".  The Plaza
> Hotel has very nice, comfortable rooms.
>
>   http://www.plazahotelcasino.com
>  
>  [snip]
>  
> More details on the hotel and on airport transportation to come later.
>
> Rolf Miller wrote:
>
> My wife attempted to make reservations at the Plaza Hotel, but those
> folks couldn't find anything regarding CommVEx.
>


All should be cleared up now.  As Dee from the Plaza Hotel told me on the phone, "It was crazy last week," but now the Plaza is ready to accept reservations from CommVExers.
 
A few more details on the hotel reservations. The above pricing is for single or double occupancy. $10 per extra person per night, maximum of 4 people per room.  Hotel occupancy tax is 11%.  Check-in time is 3 p.m.; check-out time is 12 p.m.. Reservations are to be confirmed through individual call-in prior to *June 28, 2006*, by calling the Central Reservations Department at 1 800 634-6575 ext. 2345 and saying that you are reserving under the group name, CommVEx.  After June 28, any rooms remaining unsold will be released back to the hotel, and the group rate may not be available.  

Note: Saturday arrivals are not accepted unless approved by the Director of Sales or Central Reservations Manager.
(If you think you'll be arriving on Saturday, tell me, and I'll try to work out something with the Plaza.)

There will be a $50 refundable deposit required should you wish to bill phone calls, food, etc., to your rooms.  This deposit will be used toward any unpaid incidental charges.

                               Sincerely,
                               Robert Bernardo
                               Fresno Commodore User Group
                               http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                               The Other Group of Amigoids
                               http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/

[Lonewolf10]

FYI:

Regards,
Lonewolf10


 --- Robert Bernardo wrote:

Check out the CommVEx v2 webpage at


http://commvex.petscii.com  


Thanks to Jeff Ledger for the design and for hosting it.  Look for future updates to the page.  Just 145 [at the time of writing the email. Now it's just under 60 - ADB] days to the big event!
 
                 Commodore Vegas Expo July 29-30,
                 Robert Bernardo
                 Fresno Commodore User Group
                 http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                 The Other Group of Amigoids
                 http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/