Trenton Computer Festival

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The Trenton Computer Festival (also called TCF), founded in 1976, is the oldest personal computer show in the world.[1][2] It is considered to be the first major fair for personal computer hobbyists.[3][4]

It was founded 1976 at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) by and with the assistance of the (ACGNJ).[5][6] The initial event drew a crowd of approximately 1,500, and featured lectures, vendor tables, and an outdoor computer market, all aimed at the amateur computer hobbyist.[7]

By 1992, it had moved to the Mercer County Community College,[8] and by 1999 it had moved to the in Edison, New Jersey.[9] Attendance peaked at approximately 30,000 attendees per weekend around 1988, but by 2003, was down to approximately 10,000 attendees across the entire weekend.[10] In 2005, TCF returned to The College of New Jersey to celebrate its 30th anniversary.[11] In 2015, the event marked its 40th anniversary.[2] In 2020, the festival was cancelled as a result of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey.[12] The 2021 event was held virtually.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Soll, David F. "TCF Professional Conference". princetonacm.acm.org. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  2. ^ a b "Trenton Computer Festival in its 40th year". The Signal. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  3. ^ Pitre, Boisy G.; Loguidice, Bill (2013-12-10). CoCo: The Colorful History of Tandy's Underdog Computer. CRC Press. p. 10. ISBN 9781466592476.
  4. ^ Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2014-02-24). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. CRC Press. ISBN 9781135006501.
  5. ^ Gewirtz, David. "Trenton Computer Festival, the early days of computing, and me | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  6. ^ "Trenton Computer Festival - Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia". www.pcmag.com. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  7. ^ Rensberger, Boyce (1976-05-04). "Low-Cost Computers Beginning to Move Into the Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  8. ^ CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal. CQ Publishing. 1992.
  9. ^ Amateur Radio. CQ Publishing. 1999.
  10. ^ Bendheim, Anne (4 May 2003). "Gaggle of computer geeks flocks to high-tech festival". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. 19. Retrieved 2019-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "TCF". www.tcnj.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  12. ^ @TCFfestival (March 14, 2020). "Breaking News: We regret to announce that TCF2020 has been cancelled due to COVID-19 outbreak in accordance with TCNJ guidelines" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Hastings, Sara. "Trenton Computer Festival Goes Virtual". Community News. Retrieved 2021-07-05.

External links[]

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