[Coco] Glenside Updates

[RETRO Innovations]

For those not on Facebook:

Since lots of things are happening right now, I wanted to provide some 
quick updates for members to keep everyone in the loop:

  *
    As many may be aware, Steve Bjork, who has hosted the Glenside web
    site for some time, is winding down his hosting function in 2020. As
    such, I have worked with Steve to transfer the glensideccc.com
    domain name to a domain name registrar under a club login, so the
    club can maintain the domain name going forward. We appreciate
    Steve's assistance in the past, but I think this change will create
    more autonomy for the club.
  *
    As per the November meeting business, the club agreed to secure a
    hosting provider for the web site. We have chosen Wordpress as the
    technology, and DigitalOceans as the hosting provider. The
    interesting news here is that we actually are renting an entire
    virtual server on the Internet, not just a virtual web site. This
    presents some additional options, like running an Glenside-sponsored
    Internet BBS on the server, or running some specialized
    CoCo-affiliated Internet service (maybe a Drivewire print server
    that will PDF your printout to you via email, probably not, but you
    get the idea). Right now, we're focused on just getting the web site
    moved, but I'm happy to hear ideas.
  *
    Behind the scenes, Eric Canales, 2019-20 Glenside President, has
    been working on a revamped web site look and feel, using Wordpress.
    As I write this, there are a few issue's he's still fixing, but feel
    free to look at http://dev.glensideccc.com
    <http://dev.glensideccc.com/?fbclid=IwAR0kkV2eOyTEqvjvP6FLx54HGTnxaGotoxB-T0mVI_cdb-s99V2E1_J2odc>
    for a sneak peek. Congrats to Eric for putting in the hours on this
    redesign. I know some will like it, some will hate it, and some will
    "meh" it. That's fine. But, for those who want the old site to just
    be moved over, please understand that is not possible. I asked Steve
    Bjork on the point, and the existing site uses a custom layout
    engine and CMS backend, which we do not own nor can we get. So,
    we'll have to make this transition. If something is especially
    egregious, please let folks know and we'll work to address it. Given
    the timelines, we will most likely begin that transition this week.
    So, I'd ask folks to please help us ensure that all of the key
    things you use from http://www.glensideccc.com
    <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.glensideccc.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR06W-VUyzK-wjrN5syBf6TJnQuBcUdcRL2AtBAjiXTBpAQj4-QddeOclOI&h=AT2X9BuzmOKGm9oNb9daNNXKPlrFCBt4n7nYA_SJrCYX2ZcnTueAtNzfe44ztap1kpZxIuWJObUMSXTr9XnJMH1UH4Ejg_0I6wrX7aBEAKPQIeYW8VzYjR6ZMbRElcyqspzK&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1muYXAbC9lCIxvQSd7mM8d8hea6PFcNQjF5tAtLriQi1gsI3TuHAjqLNfzWolDhN1xd_fdG-4H-JyV-aFrpx1UAcPyFAfi8fosoOMucGXZyckHpXHp7YUe-MZfcNCzCjf5y73ky4kyEim6fRdlqVm2gTKakiVUqB4LzEM_v_BjmAkxugZkGo8MJpXFiOv7KwNohwR1h4bx>
    are somewhere in the new site. We have and will continue to take
    archival snapshots of the old site until we switch, but the switch
    is coming quickly.
  *
    Also at the November meeting, the club agreed to host a virtual
    MeetUp on December 20. It's a virtual video event, low key, end of
    year celebration, and I'm open to theme ideas (maybe the entrance
    fee is to tell us about the beverage you're bringing to the
    discussion, or you have to show off at least 1 CoCo/MC10/Dragon
    related hardware or software item 🙂. I was out of pocket last week,
    so I am running a bit behind on scheduling the time and topic, so
    watch for a second note on this in the coming days. I'd love to see
    as many folks as we can engaged for a few hours that Sunday
    (probably early evening, but I'm open to ideas on best times as
    well). Above all, no prep, so no need to get anything ready (well,
    except for a beverage to talk about).
  *
    Terry Steege has been hard at work lining up speakers for the 2021
    CoCoFEST! He has 8 confirmations and 1 maybe at this point.
    Obviously, it;s a bit early to give out too many details, as I
    realize folks' schedules change, but we currently have some folks
    like Boise Pitre (The CoCo Collector:
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPHWedt4QRj8FuCLOx1-Xg
    <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel%2FUCfPHWedt4QRj8FuCLOx1-Xg%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1FMolEGfsPgUNiKovwEAfH31OzkUPF9t0-2xf9s1OVcsbpj1DHZa0i9XQ&h=AT01fJW-GywS4a5MRNsXpPTTod3U0aeAj_Z5yT4UQ5UG4g9HsED95tiqG4FqbE60WBSndidqoXNW4Q6JEzRdysn2GNOhD6qoSgWAduUXkWg4Lv_Q_Kr2-Up33Z59gPGgLb1Z&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1muYXAbC9lCIxvQSd7mM8d8hea6PFcNQjF5tAtLriQi1gsI3TuHAjqLNfzWolDhN1xd_fdG-4H-JyV-aFrpx1UAcPyFAfi8fosoOMucGXZyckHpXHp7YUe-MZfcNCzCjf5y73ky4kyEim6fRdlqVm2gTKakiVUqB4LzEM_v_BjmAkxugZkGo8MJpXFiOv7KwNohwR1h4bx>)
    scheduled to be with us physically, but also some folks folks, like
    Nick Marentes (Gunstar, Rally-SG, and Pipes:
    https://nickmarentes.com/ProjectArchive/
    <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnickmarentes.com%2FProjectArchive%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3fpThdArszF4zsG51SUMrZ4kcu4aAyYmqEXjwn6YBBj5SSIxXRJlROwu4&h=AT1qBlKie6G1N985nSAV9xOA8DiRdzrcw86I9QR3CSH4kg8dG1V0h0khvlmVBLcT4e7fXQ7iOq0ckYNBfvd97f00okyflPgjrj9eb3Xhl2LH1td_LDOHd1sO4k9hs1oRnn-6&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1muYXAbC9lCIxvQSd7mM8d8hea6PFcNQjF5tAtLriQi1gsI3TuHAjqLNfzWolDhN1xd_fdG-4H-JyV-aFrpx1UAcPyFAfi8fosoOMucGXZyckHpXHp7YUe-MZfcNCzCjf5y73ky4kyEim6fRdlqVm2gTKakiVUqB4LzEM_v_BjmAkxugZkGo8MJpXFiOv7KwNohwR1h4bx>)
    planning to visit with us virtually from Australia. Terry continues
    to solicit ideas for speakers, and he has been reaching out to Tandy
    resources who might provide some historical perspective on the Color
    Computer development and manufacture. As you can expect, those
    requests take a long time to germinate, so stay tuned.
  *
    For those worrying about CoCoFEST! 2021, I can say with pretty good
    confidence we will enjoy a physical event in 2021. I have worked
    with the venue to secure an alternate backup date later in the year
    if circumstances look doubtful for an April event. But, things seems
    to moving in the direction we want at this time, so I see no reason
    to prematurely move the date. Still, if we have to delay, we have
    another option to lean on, and the venue are to call me if some
    other date options materialize.

Enjoy your preparation for the Season and I hope everyone will join us 
on the 20th for a celebration of the platform in these interesting times.

-- 
RETRO Innovations, Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems
www.go4retro.com
store.go4retro.com