Cupertino Library - Tales From The Orchard - March 15th
Tales From The Orchard: How Innovators From Apple, NeXT & General Magic Changed the World
Embark on an interactive journey through the history of Apple and several notable spin-off companies, with a special focus on their most intriguing and overlooked products that directly influence the tech we use today. Following the presentation, you are invited to get hands-on with functional vintage computers, including classic Apple Il and Macintosh systems, an early NeXT Cube, an ultra-rare BeBox, General Magic devices, and more. It’s truly an exceptional experience!
The Retro Roadshow had the honor of presenting and exhibiting Tales From The Orchard among gigantic redwoods at the Cupertino Library on Saturday, March 15th. We had approximately 100 attendees between 2:00 - 5:00 PM!
After the event, Huxley, Rhyal, and I were feeling pretty peckish and flew over to Starbird Chicken. While enjoying our dinner, we talked about how our very first Tales From The Orchard presentation went.
We were so excited to have a few former and current Apple employees in attendance! We met Sonja and Mike who both had long careers at IBM and Apple respectively. Mike worked on the LaserWriter printer, a landmark product at the time - true “desktop publishing!”
Also exciting was meeting Adam Tow who appears in the documentary Love Notes To Newton. Huxley and I both took a photo with him, while holding our handhelds (in the carousel of pics above). We had such a lovely time chatting with Adam and his wife!
I met Tiffany and Josiah from Minneapolis. Tiffany told me she “LOVED” our event! At first, she wasn’t sure that this event would be for her - maybe it wouldn’t be interesting, but it was all interesting. “The presentation was joyful - it was so joyful!” I thought that was really nice feedback, especially given how many research and design hours Huxley put into it. While Tiffany and I continued our conversation, her husband Josiah was giddy with excitement fawning over seeing so many of the artifacts in real life. He was a great promoter of our exhibits for sure!
Oh, side note here: so during the presentation, we place cloths on all of the artifacts at the beginning of the event, remove them as it wraps up, and then power on all the artifacts. I completely forgot that when a Mac is powered on it plays its iconic sound effect. So when I pressed the power button, heads turned around in unison and looked at me hahaha!
And it’s so true, right?!? That sound has become embedded in our brains! For me, it evokes such warm and fuzzy memories. Back in my TV days I was an Avid video editor. In the mornings when I’d go into my ice cold edit bay to power up my machine - a Power Mac 9500, if I recall correctly - and when that startup sound came through the speakers… it felt like wearing a really snuggly sweater that’s not itchy and nicely knitted, while drinking a creamy spiced chai.
Something that really warmed Huxley’s heart happened during the presentation. When the Flower Power iMac appeared on screen people started clapping and it totally caught him off guard. He wasn’t sure if people would even recognize it. The funny thing about this was that as we were doing a final test on the artifacts the night before the big show, the Blueberry iMac decided it didn’t want to cooperate. Luckily, we had the Flower Power iMac as a back-up. We hadn’t planned on bringing it, however, it ended up being a better swap out.
And it truly was! That iMac brought out a lot of nostalgia for a lot of attendees like Jason and Nick. Both Jason and Nick used to work at a children’s museum in their youth. While Nick waited to get picked up after work, he’d play games on the iMac like Map Blasters and Nanosaur. Jason said he used iMovie on an iMac to edit skateboarding videos, which eventually led him to his career as a professional videographer.
Rhyal chimed in and said he really enjoyed that he didn't need to ask anyone to place their drink bottles on the floor. He even struck up a conversation with someone about gaming! He had fun talking to an attendee about something he knew about haha!
Janaya and Erica came up to me before they left and said how much fun the Retro Roadshow event was and how much they learned. They especially enjoyed being around so many classic computers and seeing them in one place. We love it when young people make connections to the classics!
A co-worker of Huxley’s named Tyler came to the event and was beyond excited to see a BeBox in-person. He shared with me that he never thought he’d actually get to see one let alone get hands-on with the real thing. I wish I could remember the reason why the BeBox was so special to him, but his heartfelt happiness left a lasting impression!
As our family of three wrapped up our meal and prepared for the long drive back to the East Bay, Huxley shared with us his conversation with Matt, our library liaison. They both had read the Walter Isaacson bio of Steve Jobs and thought it was okay. Matt kind of knew the gist of the story, but felt there was so much more in Huxley’s presentation that he didn’t get from that book. What Huxley wrote for the presentation was what Matt wanted. Wow, what a powerful compliment!
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Thank you to everyone who made some time to chat with us! We really loved hearing your stories, partaking in your nostalgia, and creating a community. So, don’t let it be your last Retro Roadshow event - follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or on our Events Page on this website. Thank you to all who experienced this Retro Roadshow event!
In the month of March, the Santa Clara County Library District hosted The Retro Roadshow for three contracted events at their Cupertino, Morgan Hill, and Milpitas libraries. Special thanks to Cheryl Lee (Library Services Manager), Bryant Bao (Community Librarian - Cupertino), Karen Dixon (Adult and Teen Supervising Librarian - Cupertino), the support staff and librarians who helped hold the elevator and watched over our vehicles while we loaded our gear, and A+ on-site liaison Matthew Lorenzo. Thank you SCCLD for a spectacular spring!