futuRETRO 2026 - A Look Back at the Retro Computing Community's Weekend

The two-day event took place on Saturday and Sunday, August 1–2, 2026, at the THA Campus and attracted numerous participants. The program combined traditional presentations, live demonstrations, and exhibition booths that reflected the diversity of retro computing hardware and its community.
09/04/2026
Das futuRETRO-Team 2026 und Gäste
Das futuRETRO-Team und Gäste; Von links die Gäste: Thorsten Wülker, Udo Johnsen, Tim Illes und Petro Tyschtenko; Von rechts das futuRETRO-Team: Mario Löser, Thorsten Schöler, Werner Brennecke, Michael Spindler und Herwig Solf

On Saturday, Michael Spindler kicked off the lecture series and explained how Amiga-Unix was intended to make the Amiga platform accessible to new user groups and what opportunities this offered for professional applications. Philip Zembrod then continued with his presentation “cc64—a Small-C compiler that runs on the C64 and related systems,” demonstrating how the Forth programming language facilitates compact compiler development. Harald Aichinger presented “The Tyranny of Numbers” and showed how microchip technology was driving the democratization of computer technology. Martin Krohn presented a Minimal-68030 single-board computer running Linux, with a focus on minimalism and the glue logic between the few integrated circuits used. Dirk Kahnert demonstrated data archaeological investigations live on the K8915 terminal, underscoring the complexity of such detailed analyses. The evening was highlighted by Petro Tyschtschenko, who shared his personal story—as a witness to the Commodore/Amiga era—in a very emotional way, making it the highlight of the day.

Between the presentations, visitors and participants were able to view and try out retro hardware, peripherals, and devices from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s at the numerous exhibition booths. The program concluded on Saturday with a group dinner and lively conversations.

The second day was marked by in-depth discussions and exchanges at the user tables.

futuRETRO 2026 remains a significant event for the retro community, combining technical innovations with personal history and keeping the past alive. More information about the event series can always be found at https://futuretro.org/.

Thorsten Schöler/THA