compsoc-announce May 2006

compsoc-announce@lists.ox.compsoc.net

2 participants
6 discussions

Week 6
by Will Thompson 28 May '06

28 May '06

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

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Week 5
by Will Thompson 25 May '06

25 May '06

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

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Week 4
by Will Thompson 17 May '06

17 May '06

'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

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CompSoc: Week 3
by Michael Howe 09 May '06

09 May '06

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.

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Week 2: tonight's talk's venue
by Will Thompson 04 May '06

04 May '06

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

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Week 2
by Will Thompson 01 May '06

01 May '06

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

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compsoc-announce May 2006