Salutations, Comrades,

Week 3 already? As the weeks trundle on, we have ever more CompSoc events to bring to you!

First, on Monday, we have the second of our competitive programming bootcamps this term! Join us from 7:30-9:30pm in the Undergraduate Social Area to train ahead of next week's contest.

This Wednesday, we have an event for anyone drowning in their work — a study session! Join us from 12pm at Common Ground for our Problem Sheet and Panic.

We continue our set of student talks this Thursday with a talk on the topic of context-free languages! Join us from 5pm for a fascinating talk, followed with our ever-present pizza.

We mark this Saturday with another double billing! From 5:30-6:30pm, we'll hold the second session in our Learn to Code series at Jesus College. Afterwards, we'll be in the Department from 6pm for our mini hackathon, featuring high-value prizes!

Finally, a note for next week — we're now opening sign-ups for our ice skating event next Tuesday! If you're interested, make sure to sign up now, as spaces are limited. Details are below.

— Declan, CompSoc Secretary

Fun Computing Fact: Most modern desktop computers now have hard disks (or SSDs!) formatted with the GUID Partition Table (GPT) scheme, whereby partitions of the disk are set out in a table stored on the disk with types given by globally unique identifiers (GUIDs). While most computers booting from GPT disks use EFI firmware and an EFI boot partition, as is required by Microsoft Windows, some operating systems (including most Linux distributions) allow for legacy BIOS booting with GPT disks.

On these older systems, the partition table will include a BIOS boot partition, which replaces the space after the Master Boot Record typically used to store bootloader code. This partition features an easter egg, being marked with the GUID 21686148-6449-6E6F-744E-656564454649. When written as part of a partition table entry, this gives the text 'Hah!IdontNeedEFI' in ASCII!

Still not a member? How?! Membership only costs £1 for LIFE, with tons of benefits - discounts on merch and tickets, free food at all socials, our exclusive Discord server and more - so it's definitely worth signing up!

or, go to https://ox.compsoc.net/product/lifetime-membership/

Want to put your work on ice and get up to something a little more fun? Let your stresses glide away next Tuesday with our ice skating social! We'll be headed down to Oxford Ice Rink with the Invariants from 8:30-10pm for some late night ice skating hijinks! Spaces are limited, so make sure to sign up now if you're interested — we'll send out confirmation emails at the end of this week to everyone who's got a space.

When: 8:30-10pm, Tuesday 4th November

Where: Oxford Ice Rink Oxpens Rd, Oxford OX1 1RX

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/MqTyb1FyheJCezSW8

Reeling from last week's competitive programming contest? Don't worry, we've got just the antidote! Join us this Monday for our second bootcamp session of the term. We'll be in the Undergraduate Social Area from 7:30-9:30pm as usual to hone our skills and prepare for next week's contest.

When: 7:30-9:30pm, Monday 27th October

Where: Undergraduate Social Area, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/iYxx5Nc1a

If you're lost in a world of piling up problem sheets, we have an event just for you! This Wednesday, we'll be having our first study social of the year! Come along to Common Ground from 12-1:30pm, when we'll be meeting up to stare in horror together at the horrifying problems unleashed upon us over hot drinks.

When: 12-1:30pm, Wednesday 29th October

Where: Common Ground Cafe 37-38 Little Clarendon St, Oxford OX1 2HF

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/7ff9OfAn2

This week, we have the second in our varied array of student talks! On Thursday, we'll be playing host to a promising talk on context-free languages. We'll be in the Department's Lecture Theatre A from 5-6pm as usual for a fascinating talk, followed by some relaxation with our traditional pizza.

When: 5-6pm, Thursday 30th October

Where: Lecture Theatre A, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/3zdIzfJLk

This Saturday, we're continuing our delve into the world of coding! We'll be holding the second session in this term's Learn to Code series for beginners this week. If you're a complete novice or want to brush up on some know-how, join us as we continue to go through the basics of Python. We'll be at Jesus College from 5:30-6:30pm — come along!

When: 5:30-6:30pm, Saturday 1st November

Where: Digital Hub, Jesus College Turl St, Oxford OX1 3DW

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/9sJ0WIH4S

This week, we have something new for CompSoc! Join us on Saturday, when we'll be holding an all-new bespoke hackathon sponsored by Citadel. Kicking off at 6pmwith an introduction in Lecture Theatre A, we'll be going all the way through to Sunday, aided by some classic CompSoc pizza! Submissions will close at midday on Sunday, and we'll award prizes a few hours later, including Amazon vouchers provided by TPP!

From 7pm, we'll also be enjoying the traditions of a classic Saturday Social in the Undergraduate Social Area. Whether you're interested in competing for big rewards or just want to snatch some pizza and vote on the CompSoc Continuation™, make sure to come along!

When: 6pm, Saturday 1st November

Where: Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/59RtisL0n

A job opportunity from our sponsors at TPP:

No coding experience required. 

We’re looking for bright and geeky graduates to join our Software Developer team. No experience is required, and many of our successful applicants have never programmed before. If you think logically and enjoy problem solving, then you have the potential to become a great developer.

A career at TPP will challenge you every day. In your first few weeks you will be solving real-world problems as you help to develop software used by healthcare professionals and patients across the world.

You’ll be part of an agile development team, working on one of the largest real-time databases in the world. You’ll work on a wide variety of projects, ranging from AI assisting clinicians with early diagnosis of cancer to an iOS app helping patients manage their diabetes.

To apply, please visit: https://tpp-careers.com/roles/graduate-software-developer/

A message from our sponsors at Perplexity:

Students get free Perplexity Pro and exclusive student features like flashcards and quizzes when you verify your student status. Sign up at perplexity.ai/students

Make sure to join OxWoCS (Oxford Women in CS), a society we're working closely with, if you identify as a woman or woman-adjacent person in CS! They have a host of wonderful events on, including talks, panels and socials. Computer Science is unfortunately a subject with one of the biggest gender gaps in Oxford and worldwide, and addressing this is at the core of OxWoCS.

or, contact us at committee@ox.compsoc.net

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