March 28, 2025

VCF SoCal 2025

In February, the Paul Gray PC Museum returned to VCF SoCal for the second annual event! This year, we focused our exhibition on representations of computing on film, using models from our collection that have appeared in iconic movies and TV shows to take a look at what popular media has to say about perceptions of computing past and present. If you didn’t have the opportunity to see it in person, you can check out photos of our table below!

Here’s a photo of our exhibit table, manned by our Assistant Director, Sophie Lin!

Our first section took at look at computers that featured prominently in romantic comedies, spy movies, and science fiction to see what genre can tell us about how particular models were perceived in their heyday. More photos and exhibit labels are below!

We had our iMac G4 and iBook G3 playing a highlight reel of each computer’s appearances in early 2000s movies, showing off the splash these machines (and the iMac G3) made in pop culture at the time.

Our GRiD Compass and some shots of the Compass line demonstrating its science fiction appeal with the Compass II’s appearance in Aliens (1986).

The ThinkPad 701C and its roles in some of the biggest spy movies of the mid-1990s.

Our second section took a look at how we represent the past of computing on screen today, featuring the Commodore Amiga 1000 and its role in Netflix’s Stranger Things, as well as the Osborne 1. The Osborne’s designer, Lee Felsenstein, was at the festival as a speaker, and we got to chat with him when he came to take a look at our display!

Amiga and Osborne — Our Amiga 1000 and Osborne 1, as well as some shots from 1980s nostalgia media that featured these particular models.

Here’s a look at the exhibit labels for the Amiga 1000 and the Osborne 1!

Throughout the weekend we had a lot of great conversations, made new connections with vintage computer enthusiasts, and had opportunities to learn! Our first Executive Director, Kiera Peacock, flew in to help man the table, and Sophie and I got to take some time to learn soldering basics by assembling some VCF SoCal LED badges. I also chatted about the museum with Joanna Nelius for Laptop Mag during the festival – you can find the article here!

If you’d like to take a look at our exhibit from the 2024 festival, you can find photos in last year’s blog post!