If Microsoft sponsored a renaissance festival, what would it be like? Send in your description and we'll publish the best ones.

PC COMPATIBLE RENNIES
by John-Paul, ATF Staff Writer

In 1981 I learned how to program a computer using the Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. BASIC, as it was called, was a wonderful thing.

PRINT "HELLO WORLD"
HELLO WORLD

It is amazing how far computers have evolved in twenty years.

My first computer had 3584 bytes of useable memory. By contrast, this single web page is over 95,000 bytes of text and images. Even my second computer in 1982 only had 65,535 bytes of usable memory. It took many years of evolution before a home computer had enough memory to hold as much content as one simple web page.

Back in the 1980s you could tell alot about someone by what type of computer they had. There was no standard computer platform. People had choices more than just deciding which brand of PC and what video card to buy. But, virtually all computer owners were indeed nerds of some sort. They had to be. You had to know how to program to do anything with a computer and you couldn't learn to program without spending alot of time at the computer. There was no CompUSA or Best Buy full of commercial software. There was no public Internet filled with download sites. It was a time that evolved much like how things must have evolved during the renaissance era.

Apple ][ computer owners were usually the spoiled rich kids since most parents could not afford to spend almost $2000 on a home computer. Apples were in every school that had computers, it seemed, so they represented wisdom and money.

Commodore 64 owners were the first modern pirates. This low cost computer, available nationwide at "regular" stores like K-Mart, let almost anyone own a computer. Audio went thorough a similar evolution years earlier when the only recording equipment people had was the more expensive reel to reel machines. In general, music copying didn't become widespread until the cassette came out making it both cheap and easy to acquire the tools to dub music. Commodores were in every teenagers bedroom, it seemed, so they represented the rebels.

Atari computer users were a different bunch altogether, fitting somewhere in between the Apple and Commodore crowd. For some reason, Atari 8-bit computers were used extensively by businesses as souped up cash registers, or so it seemed, so they represented the merchants.

The TRS-80s (including my favorite, the "CoCo"), the Kaypros, the CP/M machines, the Sinclairs and many, many more machines all attracted people based on certain things they had, whether it be games or spreadsheets.

In 1981 the original IBM Personal Computer (later known just as the "PC") arrived. It took years for the PC to gain credibility outside of the business world. In fact, it is unlikely the machine ever would have caught on if it were not for other companies starting to make "rip-off" machines that could run the same software for less money.

But I digress. As time evolved some truly spectacular computers came into existence. The Apple Macintosh introduced the world to the mouse and proved there was more to a computer than just text. The Atari ST made a big splash in the music industry. The Commodore Amiga had stunning sound and graphics unlike anything that followed it for years. The IBM PC slowly evolved as well using extra hardware to eventually do most of what the other machines could do.

The PC was soon the king of the computer world not because it was better but because it was (in general) cheaper and more flexible. The Apple Macintosh also survived by attracting a very different audience. An audience that "thinks different" according to today's Apple marketing.

How do rennies fit into this, you may ask? Over the past few years I have found that virtually all rennies have computers and are online. Virtually all rennies also run IBM PC compatible computers, which strikes me as quite odd.

A rennie is typically someone with more creativity and personality than your average Joe on the street. Rennies tend to not mind dressing up in tights or a bodice. Rennies don't mind acting silly. Rennies tend to not follow the norm of everyday life. A rennie is a Mac user even if they don't realize it.

Now, before I get tons of hate mail from the PC audience out there, let me explain that I have found one reason a rennie might prefer a PC. A rather disturbingly large percentage of the PC market is due to games. Some people find it completely reasonable to spend $1000 or more on a computer that will end up acting primarily as a glorified Nintendo. Since there are so many fantasy based role playing adventures available only for PCs, it would at least make sense for these types of rennies to own a PC.

But for the rest... Why not a Mac? For years I owned PCs because everyone else had them. Macs were too expensive and didn't run any software. Everyone knows that. This turned out to be a myth. There will always be cheap PC clones, but high end name brand PCs cost about the same as a Mac. Did you know my Mac runs not only Macintosh software but Windows software as well thanks to an emulator? It may run it slower than a true PC, but it certainly runs it faster than the true PC I owned just a few years ago. I smirk knowing I can actually run more software than a PC.

Ignoring this, Macintosh represents creativity. The world of desktop publishing was formed on the Mac. Artists and musicians flocked to it, and remained there until the PC market finally caught up. Today, desktop video editing is a reality thanks to the iMacs. Some PCs have it too, but I have yet to see anything as elegant and simple as iMovie. Using an iMac and an inexpensive Sony digital camcorder I have edited together some neat festival videos.

So why does someone who goes out of there way to buy expensive garb, fancy swords and a custom made leather mug return home only to sit down in front of a generic white PC? Wouldn't a slick ruby red iMac look great? Doesn't Apple's new (expensive) Cube just scream "I'm not like everyone else"? Many people think so, but it doesn't seem that most rennies realize it. Yet, I still can't see thinking that rennies want to be "like everyone else" and "conform". Can you?

I realized I got interested in Macs around the same time I started getting interested in renaissance festivals. After trying to explain what a ren faire is to someone, they seem less surprised to find out later that I also use a Mac.

Maybe some people can see this after all.

Next Time: Why Linux and rogues go hand in hand.

Help keep us online. Book your travel here, or patronize some of these folke:

1. Des Moines Ren Faire (IA)
2. Iowa Ren Festival (IA)
3. Iowa-Minnesota Pirate Fest (IA)
4. Greater Quad Cities Ren Faire (IL)
5. Midlands Pirate Festival (NE)
6. Nebraska Ren Faire (NE)
7. Ren Faire at Sleepy Hollow (IA)

1. thescotsdragon.com
2. threegryphons.com

1. danzamystique.com
2. gypsycomedyshow.com
3. mydragonstories
4. phoenixswords.atthefaire.com
5. piratecomedyshow.com
6. queenbea.atthefaire.com
7. revelers.atthefaire.com
8. wenchville.com

1. anothercrappypodcast.com
2. atthefaire.com
3. crocolyle.atthefaire.com
4. perin.atthefaire.com
5. renbanner.net
6. renreporter.com
7. sirclisto.com

Host your site with ATF and be listed here! $50/year (and the publicity is free!)

Permanent festivals in our area: Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Bristol Renaissance Faire, Des Moines Renaissance Faire and Minnesota Renaissance Festival.
Other ATF sites: DisneyFans.com DMHauntedHouses.com