When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created the Apple II computer in a garage in 1977, they set off the computer revolution. Thirty years after the machine's release, it's still in use by hard-core fans who continue to find ways to apply classic technology to modern applications. They gather every July for KansasFest, an annual convention that celebrates the Apple II and offers its loyal users the opportunity to trade, demonstrate and innovate.
Computerworld editor Ken Gagne, a retro-computing enthusiast and member of the KansasFest planning committee, snapped these photos at this year's event, which began July 22nd in Kansas City, Mo., and ends July 27th.
This upgrade to Michael J. Mahon's original AppleCrate uses the motherboards of seventeen Apple IIe computers to create one powerful parallel processing machine. In 1983 — the year the Apple IIe was first released — such a rig would have cost $22,066.