Events Archive: Fall 2015

WiCS and CSC watch War Games!

| 7:30 PM EST | MC Comfy

WiCS and CSC are watching War Games in the Comfy lounge.

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WiCS and CSC are watching War Games in the Comfy lounge.

War Games is this movie where these kids phone a computer and then the computer wants to nuke things. Cold war stuff. Nowadays computers won't let you do that, you have to SSH in instead.

We're bringing food. Gluten-free, vegetarian options available. Sandwiches, drinks, and popcorn!

Everyone welcome! Stop by!

An Introduction to Google's FOAM Framework

| 5:00 AM EST | MC 4063

An introduction to Google's FOAM framework, an open-source modeling framework written in Javascript, by Google's Kevin Greer.

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FOAM is an open-source modeling framework written in Javascript. With FOAM, you can create Domain Specific Languages (DSLs), which are high-level models that can be interpreted or compiled to different languages or environments (Java/Android, Swift/iOS, and JS/Web). Currently, it supports DSLs for entities/classes, parsers, animations, database queries, interactive documents, and, most importantly, new DSLs.

FOAM supports building text, HTML, and graphical views for DSLs using a small Model View Controller (MVC) library, which is itself modeled with FOAM. This library can also be used by modeled Javascript applications.

FOAM increases developer productivity by allowing them to express solutions at a higher, more succinct level. The MVC library also increases application performance through its efficient data-binding, caching, and query-optimization mechanisms.

Learn more at http://foamdev.com

You can get in contact with Kevin Greer on twitter, @kgrgreer.

'Static Analysis and Program Optimization Using Dataflow Analysis'

| 6:00 PM EST | MC 4041

An introduction to some basic issues with optimization of imperative programs, by Sean Harrap

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An introduction to some basic issues with optimization of imperative programs by Sean Harrap, beginning with traditional methods such as tree traversals.

This will be followed by a more powerful solution to these problems, providing an overview of its mathematical foundations, and then describing how it can be used to express optimizations simply and elegantly.

Some familiarity with the second year CS core (CS245, CS241, MATH239) will be assumed.

'Git 101'

| 7:00 AM EST | MC 4020

Learn how to use Git properly in an exciting talk by Charlie Wang!

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git init, git add, git commit, git 'er done!

In Git 101, Charlie Wang will convince you to use Git for your projects and show you a high level overview of how to use it properly.

This talk is recommended for CS 246 students.

Come for the tutorial, stay for the bad jokes.

Cory Doctorow - The War on General Purpose Computing

| 7:00 PM EDT | ML Theatre of the Arts

Between walled gardens, surveillance agencies, and political opponents, no matter who's winning the war on general purpose computing you're losing. The Computer Science Club will be hosting Cory Doctorow's talk in the Theatre of the Arts on October 16.

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No Matter Who's Winning the War on General Purpose Computing, You're Losing

If cyberwar were a hockey game, it'd be the end of the first period and the score would be tied 500-500. All offense, no defense.

Meanwhile, a horrible convergence has occurred as everyone from car manufacturers to insulin pump makers have adopted the inkjet printer business model, insisting that only their authorized partners can make consumables, software and replacement parts -- with the side-effect of making it a felony to report showstopper, potentially fatal bugs in technology that we live and die by.

And then there's the FBI and the UK's David Cameron, who've joined in with the NSA and GCHQ in insisting that everyone must be vulnerable to Chinese spies and identity thieves and pervert voyeurs so that the spy agencies will always be able to spy on everyone and everything, everywhere.

It's been fifteen years since the copyright wars kicked off, and we're still treating the Internet as a glorified video-on-demand service -- when we're not treating it as a more perfect pornography distribution system, or a jihadi recruitment tool.

It's all of those -- and more. Because it's the nervous system of the 21st century. We've got to stop treating it like a political football.

Cory Doctorow will be talking on Friday October 16, 7pm in the Theatre of the Arts. Admission is free, and the talk will be open to the public. Doors open at 6:30pm. Headsets will be provided for the hard of hearing, email Patrick at pj2melan@uwaterloo.ca . The theatre is wheelchair accessible.

The following books written by Cory will be sold at the event:

  • Little Brother
  • Homeland
  • For the Win
  • Makers
  • Pirate Cinema
  • Information Doesn't want to be free
  • In Real Life

Starting an VN Indie Game Company as a UW Student

| 5:30 PM EDT | MC 4061

Come out to a talk by Alfe Clemencio!Many people want to make games as signified by all the game development schools that are appearing everywhere. But how would you do it as a UW student? This talk shares the experiences of how making Sakura River Interactive was founded without any Angel/VC investment.

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Come out to a talk by Alfe Clemencio!

Many people want to make games as signified by all the game development schools that are appearing everywhere. But how would you do it as a UW student? This talk shares the experiences of how making Sakura River Interactive was founded without any Angel/VC investment.

The talk will start off with inspiration drawn of Co-op Japan, to it's beginnings at Velocity. Then a reflection of how various game development and business skills was obtained in the unexpected ways at UW will follow. How the application of probabilities, theory of computation, physical/psychological attraction theories was used in the development of the company's first game. Finally how various Computer Science theories helped evaluate feasibility of several potential incoming business deals.

From Sakura River interactive

'Why Am I Studying This?'

| 7:30 PM EDT | MC 4040

Big-O, the Halting Problem, Finite State Machines, and more are concepts that get even more interesting in the real world. Come and hear Tom Rathborne talk about how theory hits reality (often with a bang!) at Booking.com.

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  • Data Structures
  • Finite State Machines
  • big-O
  • Queuing theory
  • Race conditions
  • Compilers
  • The Halting Problem
  • etc.

These things get even more interesting in the real world. Come and hear Tom Rathborne talk about how theory hits reality (often with a bang!) at Booking.com, the biggest not-a-technology-company on the Internet.

Food and drinks will be provided!

Back to Back Talks: Culture Turnaround and Software Defined Networks

| 5:00 PM EDT | DC 1304

Back to back talks from John Stix and Francisco Dominguez on turning a company's culture around and on Software Defined Networks!

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Back to back talks from John Stix and Francisco Dominguez on turning a company's culture around and on Software Defined Networks!

John Stix will be talking about how he turned around the corporate culture at Fibernetics Corporation.

Francisco Dominguez will be talking about Software Defined Networks, which for example can turn multiple flakey internet connections into one reliable one.

The speakers are:

  • John Stix - President, Fibernetics
  • Francisco Dominguez - CTO, Fibernetics

Food and drinks will be provided!

CSC and WiCS Career Panel

| 4:30 PM EDT | EIT 3142

The CSC is joining WiCS to host a career panel! Come hear from Waterloo alumni as they speak about their time at Waterloo, experience with coop, and life beyond the university. Please register at http://bit.ly/1OyJP6D

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The CSC is joining WiCS to host a career panel! Come hear from Waterloo alumni as they speak about their time at Waterloo, experience with coop, and life beyond the university. A great chance to network and seek advice!

The panelists are:

  • Joanne Mckinley - Software Engineer, Google
  • Carol Kilner - COO, BanaLogic Corporation
  • Harshal Jethwa - Consultant, Infusion
  • Dan Collens - CTO, Big Roads

Food and drinks will be provided! Please register here

Results of Fall 2015 Elections

| 9:00 PM EDT | MC 3001

The Computer Science Club has elected its executive for the term, and a new Office Manager and System Administrator have been appointed.See inside for results.

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The Computer Science Club has elected its executive for the term, and a new Office Manager and System Administrator have been appointed. The quorum for elections had been reached, and voting members of the CSC voted for their President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary from among many qualified candidates. The new elected executive then proceeded to appoint a System Administrator (who became part of the executive ex officio) and an Office Manager. The appointment of a Librarian was delayed because no suitable and willing candidate was found.

The results of the elections are:

  • Simone Hu - President
  • Theo Belaire - Vice President
  • Jordan Upiter - Treasurer
  • Daniel Marin - Secretary
  • Jordan Pryde - System Administrator
  • Office Manager - Ilia Chtcherbakov

Fall 2015 Elections

| 7:00 PM EDT | MC 3001

The Computer Science Club will be holding elections for the Fall 2015 term on Tuesday, September 22nd in MC Comfy (MC 3001) at 19:00. During the meeting, the president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary will be elected, the sysadmin will be ratified, and the librarian and office manager will be appointed.See inside for nominations.

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The Computer Science Club will be holding elections for the Fall 2015 term on Tuesday, September 22nd in MC Comfy (MC 3001) at 19:00. During the meeting, the president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary will be elected, the sysadmin will be ratified, and the librarian and office manager will be appointed.

If you'd like to run for any of these positions or nominate someone, you can write your name on the board in the CSC office (MC 3036/3037) or send me (Charlie) an email at cro@csclub.uwaterloo.ca. You can also deposit nominations in the CSC mailbox in MathSoc or present them to me in person. Nominations will close at 18:00 on Monday, September 21st. All members are welcome to run! First-years are especially encouraged to run for secretary, office manager, and librarian, but they are not limited to those positions.

Google Cardboard

| 6:00 PM EDT | MC 2065

Come for a talk from Rob Suderman on Cardboard, Google's recent exploration in affordable, cereal box based Virtual Reality.

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Come for a talk from Rob Suderman on Cardboard, Google's recent exploration in affordable, cereal box based Virtual Reality.

Learn about the tools available to make your own application, some of the pitfalls to avoid, and an overview of rendering virtual reality content with some tips and tricks on high performance rendering. The talk will contain content for everyone interested!