Alain Kornhauser

The world’s oldest and largest personal computer show will once again take place this spring at the College of New Jersey.

Trenton Computer Festival www.tcf-nj.org) begins with the IT Professional Conference on Friday, April 24, at 8:30 a.m. (Cost: $135) and continues with talks, forums, workshops, and a flea market on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26.

Show hours on Saturday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The flea market opens at 9 a.m. both days and will be a rain or shine event. Indoor exhibits will be held in the Student Recreation Center and speaker sessions will be held in campus classrooms and in the Brower Student Center.

A two-day TCF admission pass is $12 if purchased in advance at the TCF website, $15 at the door. Sunday only, $10 at the door.

The conference is designed to provide attendees with insight and information pertinent to their jobs, and to keep them informed of emerging technologies that could affect their work. It also encourages networking.

This year’s festival will focus on digital innovation, as well as “The Car of Tomorrow.” This year’s keynote speaker, Alain Kornhauser, CEO of ALK Technologies on Herrontown Road, will speak on the “Robotic Car of the Future,” a truly autonomous highway vehicle that can drive itself, on April 25 at 2:30 p.m. Last year Kornhauser led a team from Princeton University that competed in two DARPA Challenges and that is now designing vehicles of the future (U.S. 1, November 19, 2008).

One of their cars will be on display in the exhibit hall.

Visitors on April 25 can meet some of the people who are turning out New Jersey’s innovative digital technology, including Microsoft’s Peter Laudati on Windows 7. Saturday also is the annual robot contest, featuring the IEEE Region 1 micromouse competition, as well as robot navigation contests and a robot parade. Bring your robot to TCF and get in free. See website for details.

April 26 is Apple/Mac Day, featuring Apple’s Dave Marra on MacOS X (Leopard, ILIFE 9 and IWORK 9). Sunday also features “What You Need to Know About the Digital TV Change Over.” There also will be a full day of education-oriented talks centered on ways to attract students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The festival will feature more than 100 talks, workshops, tutorials, demos, and events.

Many of the speakers and special presentations on the main exhibition floor will involve visitors in hands-on activities. National exhibitors will demonstrate their most recent products. Personal computing/electronics fans will find plenty of bargains on new and used hardware and software.

Check the TCF webpage for information and a list of TCF Special “Incredible Deals” offered by TCF vendors exclusively at the festival in both the main exhibit hall and outdoor flea market.

TCF was started in 1976 by Sol Libes, founder of the Amateur Computer Group of New Jersey, and Allen Katz, professor of Electrical/Computer Engineering at TCNJ, making it the first ever computer festival. Local and international fans anticipate this event, and the festival provides funds for TCNJ’s School of Engineering Scholarship Program.