Hi,
So this week we have a talk and the TGM. Further down your screen you
can read about a summer programming contest and an internship/job
advertisement. Get that mouse wheel spinning!
Windows Vista
=============
Dennis Sciama Lecture Theatre, Denys Wilkinson Building
Wednesday 31st May
20:15
Steven Audis from Microsoft UK will speak about Windows Vista, the
highly successful XP's successor. He will give a demonstration of
some of the most exciting technology (such as Avalon, WinFX and the
new security features). If you're a Windows fan who wants to know
what's in store, a Windows sufferer looking for things to get
better, or a Windows evader wondering what you're missing, come
along and find out what Vista will be capable of.
Termly General Meeting
======================
Denys Wilkinson Building
Friday 2nd June
20:15
Come along and tell the committee what you thought of this term,
what events you'd like next term, and other general business about
the running of Compsoc. Afterwards, we're breaking with the curry
tradition and seeking SOSSIDGES at The Big Bang[0] on Walton Street.
[0] http://thebigbangoxford.co.uk/
In both cases, it'd be great if you could aim to arrive between 8.00 and
8.10, because someone has to be there to let you in. If you think you
might be late, drop me an email to get my mobile number, because if you
get there after quarter past and can't phone me no-one will be at the
door and you _won't_ _get_ _in_! :-)
In other news, the inimitable Graham Lee mentioned the Solaris 10
University Challenge Contest[1], run by Sun Microsystems. Basically,
you build something awesome on top of Solaris 10 (or indeed _into_
Solaris 10) and get a chance to win a ridiculous sum of money for
yourself and for the university. They have a handy list of project
ideas[2] to give you an idea of what they have in mind. It looks like
it'd be fun, even if you have no previous experience with Solaris, and
would definitely be a learning experience. Go for it!
[1] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/contest/univ_challenge.jsp
[2] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/contest/univ_challenge_proj_idea.jsp?=1
Finally, Stephen White, ex-Compsoc SAC, sent us the following job
advertisement for DecisionSoft[3], who have a long connection with
Compsoc. If you're a Java programmer looking either for a summer
internship or full-time employment in Oxford, have a read and send your
CV to them.
We are a small software company based in central Oxford, developing
cutting-edge XML systems in a young, relaxed environment. We're
looking for quick learners with good communication skills and
experience with one or more of the following technologies:
* J2EE/Spring/Hibernate
* J2SE/Swing
* Eclipse/SWT
* Ant/Maven/Cruise Control/Python
* XML/XSLT/CSS/General web-dev experience is a bonus.
Successful candidates will have a passion for all things
technology-related and will have pursued their interest in
programming significantly beyond the requirements of their degree;
in particular, they will have a good grasp of practical OO
techniques (preferably in Java). Elite table football skills
optional.
Potential candidates should send a brief CV and the date when they
expect to be available to cv(a)decisionsoft.com.
DecisionSoft is full of great people, so fire off your CV!
[3] http://www.decisionsoft.com/
Right, that's it for now. Hope those of you who do that strange thing
where you sit in boxes floating in wet stuff were triumphant, and got
less wet than the treasurer (whose crew decided he needed to be thrown
in),
wjt
Greetings,
No CompSoc events this week; there is, however, a BCS event tonight:
AGM followed by "The Semantic Web: too smart for its own good?"
Date: Thursday 25 May 2006
Time: 19:30 (Cheese and Wine buffet from 19:00)
Location: ComLab
After the business of the Annual General Meeting, preceded as usual
by a light cheese and wine buffet, Dan Zambonini will talk about the
Semantic web.
The Semantic Web is the natural next evolutionary step of the Web.
By adding computer digestible semantics and logic to the currently
available information, we can create software that helps us work
more efficiently and discover new patterns and relationships.
The enabling technologies have been around for some time - XML, RDF
and OWL - together with the software to process and analyse this
exciting new information. So why isn't the Semantic Web a reality
today? Will we see the Semantic Web in our lifetimes? And, most
importantly, what are the technical and non-technical issues holding
it back? This talk will attempt to answer these questions, to
discover if the Semantic Web will be relegated to the Betamax and
MiniDisc of history - great technologies with little impact.
I shamelessly lifted all of that from the BCS web site[0], which has
more information should you want more information.
[0] http://www.oxon.bcs.org/program2005-6.htm#May
Also, I have a job advert from Jacari, a student-run charity providing
volunteer home teachers for children who do not speak English as a first
language and are therefore disadvantaged at school.
JOB DESCRIPTION: COMPUTING OFFICER
As the Jacari Computing Officer, you will have a wide variety of
different responsibilities. On the IT side of things, you will need
to manage the database, back-up Jacari's data on a weekly basis,
manage the mailing lists, and update the website. The website is an
exciting project to undertake, which allows you a large degree of
artistic freedom and innovation, and has great scope for
improvement. As well as these tasks, you will be required to liaise
with outside organisations such as OUCS and 1&1.co.uk, who together
host our website. Your other responsibilities are less related to
computing: manning the office for one hour a week, attending
committee meetings, and helping out at socials. This is a fun and
important role on the committee, with plenty of opportunities to get
involved in many different aspects of Jacari.
The computer officer is essential to the success of Jacari and we
are currently looking for someone to fill this role in the committee
of 2006/2007. If you are interested in applying, please email
Jacari[1]. For more information about Jacari, please visit our
website[2] or email our current computing officer Katie Oliver[3].
[1] jacari(a)herald.ox.ac.uk
[2] http://www.jacari.org/
[3] computing(a)jacari.org.uk
Also, someone fixed the leaks in the clouds!
wjt
'lo,
This week's talk concerns the horrible plague that scars our minds and
unbalances children around the world on a daily basis, and should be
banned at once: video games!
The video games industry: design, development, future
=====================================================
Date: Thursday 18th May, 20.30
Venue: TBA
Speaker: Patrick O'Luanaigh
Author of Game Design Complete and former head of external
development at Codemasters, Patrick O'Luanaigh is now Design
Director at SCi/Eidos. He'll be speaking to us about the video
games industry; in particular, game design, how new games are
created (such as the latest Tomb Raider installment) and some
possible future trends in the industry. He'll also touch upon the
best ways to get into the industry as a graduate.
I'll let you know tomorrow at the latest where the talk will be. Also,
if we're really lucky Patrick might be able to show us footage from
games still in development. \o/
wjt
Hi all,
This week, we have Stuart Langridge coming to talk to us about aspects
of "Web 2.0". It should be of interest to anyone who's interested in
the web and what can be done with it.
Stuart, web developer, LugRadio presenter and author of DHTML Utopia,
will discuss the resurgence of JavaScript and how AJAX is allowing
developers to create a new breed of cross-platform, rich Internet
applications.
The talk will be this (3rd Week) Thursday at 8.30pm in the Dennis Sciama
Lecture Theatre, in Physics' Denys Wilkinson Building. The committee
will be eating with Stuart before his talk, and we'd like to invite you
to come along. If you're interested, please email
committee(a)ox.compsoc.net, and we'll tell you the vital details you'll
need to track us down (don't worry, we're a friendly bunch).
Enjoy 3rd week,
Michael
--
Simon: Great. Another exciting adventure in sitting.
Hi,
The venue for tonight's talk will be Worcester College, Seminar Room A.
When you get to Worcester, walk through the lodge, then along the
right-hand side of the quad to staircase 5, which is the penultimate
staircase. Turn into the staircase and immediately right again, and
Seminar Room A is directly ahead of you.
If you have trouble finding it, just ask in the lodge. Also, I'll be
loitering in the lodge before the talk begins. A reminder of the talk
itself:
The briefest of introductions to Active Directory and Group Policy Objects
==========================================================================
James Holwell (Exeter)
Thursday 4th May, 20.00
Worcester College, Seminar Room A
Active Directory is often given as an example of a Windows tool
effectively unmatched in the Unix world in terms of comprehensiveness
and ease of use. James, a maths undergrad who moonlights as a part-time
sysadmin for a small business, will give us a swift tour of what it's
capable of.
May the fourth be with you, and so on. Don't forget to vote,
wjt
Hi,
This week we've got a talk which echoes last term's sysadmin crash
course.
The briefest of introductions to Active Directory and Group Policy Objects
==========================================================================
James Holwell (Exeter)
Thursday 4th May, 20.00
Venue TBA
Active Directory is often given as an example of a Windows tool
effectively unmatched in the Unix world in terms of comprehensiveness
and ease of use. James, a maths undergrad who moonlights as a part-time
sysadmin for a small business, will give us a swift tour of what it's
capable of.
Happy mailman day,
wjt
