Hello There, Valued Customer,

Feeling down from Fifth Week blues? May I interest you in the word of our saviour, CompSoc? This week, we bring a swathe of new events for your delectation!

Today, we're back down in the trusty Undergraduate Social Area for our penultimate competitive programming advanced bootcamp! Pop along from 7:30-9:30pm if you want to improve your contest skills.

On Thursday, we'll be joined from 5pm in the Department by a sponsor, incident.io, for a talk on working at a startup! If you're interested in attending, you can sign up here.

Friday sees the return of a much-loved event... our cocktail making night! We'll be joined by the Physics Society at the Alchemist again from 7:30pmfor a night of mixing and drinking. You can sign up here — please only sign up if you can make it.

We close off the week with a triple header on Saturday. First, we'll pop down to the Undergraduate Social Area from 5-7pm to partake in a CTF contest. Shortly after, we'll be in Seminar Room 051 from 5:30-6:30pm for a Learn to Code session all about static site generator Eleventy. We'll close off the evening back in the UGSA from 7pm with a good ol' Saturday Social, complete with pizza and snacks.

Finally, we'll be holding our Annual General Meeting on Saturday of Seventh Week (7^th March). If you're interested in running for CompSoc's Committee, check out our election guide and register your interest. It really is great fun. We're also open to motions — if you'd like to submit a motion, pop over to our Discord server and make a post in our motions channel. That's all, folks!

— Declan, CompSoc Secretary

Fun Computing Fact: The recent resurgence of Windows on ARM has shaken up Windows' reputation as a specifically-x86 operating system. Windows hasn't always been so tightly wedded to x86, however — did you know that the early versions of Windows NT, the foundation for modern Windows, actually supported up to four different architectures? Windows NT 3.5 through 4 supported the x86, Alpha, MIPS and PowerPC architectures. On these platforms, 16-bit x86 programs could be run under the Windows on Windows (WoW) translation layer.

Unfortunately, however, a lack of support for 32-bit x86 applications and other factors limited the utility of the various Windows NT ports, and all three non-x86 platforms lost support in Windows 2000. Aside from a brief flirtation with Intel's Itanium, Windows would remain x86-dominated until Windows RT's support for ARM32. The Alpha port wasn't entirely in vain, however — it was used to aid development of 64-bit Windows before mainstream 64-bit platforms existed.

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/

Unsurprisingly, it's Monday again, and you know what that means — competitive programming, of course! This week, we're headed down to the Undergraduate Social Area from 7:30-9:30pm for this term's penultimate advanced bootcamp session. If you'd like to get better at contests, make sure to pop along and learn something new! Nutrition will also, of course, be provided.

When: 7:30-9:30pm, Monday 16^th February

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/6JkRtPP0V

This week, we'll be playing host to a talk by one of our sponsors! On Thursday, we'll be joined by our friends at incident.io from 6-8pm to give a talk on the experience of working at a startup. If you're interested, make sure to sign up now, as spaces are limited! Details are below.

Want to found a start-up? Work at one first!

Description
We’re heading to the University of Oxford, hosted by the Computer Science Society, to give a look at what it’s really like to work at a fast-moving startup. This is a behind-the-scenes look at how companies actually get built- the pace, the trade-offs, and the opportunities you don’t get in more traditional roles. We’ll be diving into what it’s really like to build, ship, and scale at a Series B startup: the wins, the challenges, and everything in between.

About incident.io
incident.io is the single place you turn to when things go wrong - backed by a $62M Series B and trusted by 1,000+ companies like OpenAI, Lovable, ElevenLabs, and Netflix. We help engineering teams respond to and learn from incidents, minimise downtime, and focus on solving the problems that matter.

When: 6-8pm, Thursday 19^th February

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

Sign up here: https://luma.com/yjqi91oi

Back by popular demand this term, we present our cocktail making night! This Friday, we'll be joined by the Physics Society for the return of a beloved event. We'll be down at the Alchemist from 7:30pm to mix and imbibe new concoctions. Spaces are limited, so sign up here! Please make sure you only sign up if you can attend — we don't want people missing out!

When: 7:30-9:30pm, Friday 20^th February

Where: The Alchemist, Westgate Shopping Centre Bonn Square, Oxford OX1 1TR

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVv3-3YQiPEoEzLyCF600Tcc9fqmavB58wEkns3BqqWW9_5w/viewform

What better way is there to kick off Saturday at CompSoc than a cybersecurity contest? If capture-the-flags are your thing, join our CTF officers down in the Undergraduate Social Area from 5-7pm to work on a contest. The contest we're taking part in will be announced in our Discord server.

When: 5-7pm, Saturday 21^st February

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/4h54qQ7xz

Want to make a website? No? Too bad — it's time to learn how to make one! This Saturday, we'll descend to Seminar Room 051 for a specialised Learn to Code session on static site generator Eleventy. If you're looking to promote yourself or advertise something with a fancy new site, join us from 5:30-6:30pm to learn all about making sites with Eleventy.

When: 5:30-6:30pm, Saturday 21^st February

Where: Seminar Room 051, Department of Computer Science 7 Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QG

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/44wZ6SAHT

After presentations and hackathons, let's settle down with something a little more traditional: a standard Saturday Social! Join us this Saturday down in the Undergraduate Social Area as we kick back and relax in usual CompSoc style. We'll be hanging around from 7pm with food and snacks as usual. If you're stressed out from a week of work, there's no better way to relax!

When: 7pm, Saturday 21^st February

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

Click 'Going' here: https://fb.me/e/74jSKI0sd

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.

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

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