When a few thousand vintage computer freaks and their grandchildren congregate for a few days, enlightenment ensues. The past merges with the present and the future.

This weekend, the annual Vintage Computer Festival returns to the Computer History Museum. Over two days, historians will give tours and talks. People will sell a vast array of stuff on consignment. There will be panel sessions, parties and plenty of insider stories, with both nerds and newbies arriving en masse. Specific events will celebrate landmark anniversaries—from the Homebrew Computer Club in 1975 to the original Commodore Amiga launch in 1985.

These guys are not messing around. One previous festival featured more than ten different original Apple 1 machines, or pieces of machines, all on display.

“We had to hire a

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