Thanks to an invite from Kieran today, I have just started looking into the world of Google Wave – the real-time collaboration and communication application from Google. It is still in beta form and as such does not have all the features you would expect from the full commercial product. It is missing a lot of the customisation options that Google tends to include with its offerings.
Having only used Wave for a about an hour, I really can see some great potential in what it can do. I think this application will totally change the way that A-Soc and maybe the AHS can do business and conduct meetings, increasing participation and allowing a far more flexible approach to committee meetings in particular. Combining video and voice conferencing with the ability to attach documents, links and other bits to each thread in real-time is soemthing that I think will be of great benefit.
Of course, I do not have that many contacts to share with at the moment to test out a lot of the features and to see if this kind of application is something I would use on a regular basis. Potential is one thing, actually using it daily is another. I am a signed up user of Google Docs, Spotify, Last.fm etc and barely use them (witht he exception of last.fm when on the train).
If you want an invite to join me on Google Wave then contact me with your email and how collaborating with me would be useful to us both. If you are already on Wave and want me to add you to my contacts, again contact me with your details.
I hope to let you all know how using Wave fares as I am really quite excited about it.
With my August overtime I went out and bought the first part of my planned AV setup at home. I decided to start with the TV and plumped in the end for the LG (model 32LG2100) pictured below.
I also splashed out on a new wireless keyboard with which to control my linux media centre. I am a massive fan of linux as an OS for media centre PCs and currently run Ubuntu. After spending a day or two configuring all the codecs, permissions and general set up I have barely had to touch anything beyond the GUI except when trying to go wireless. I have never had any success getting any peripheral to operate wirelessly on Ubuntu. This includes WiFi cards, keyboards, mice and bluetooth. I always run into compatibility issues or it simply doesn’t work as required. You can imagine my surprise then when the KeySonic keyboard (picture below) worked out the box as intended. The only issue arising was dus to some local interference but fiddling with my WiFI channels fixed that in a flash.
Next on the list is a DVD/Bluray player and the PS3 is still edging it over an Xbox/dedicated blurayer combo at the moment. Will keep you updated.
Some of you may recognise the tagline I used for my heading for this post… that’s right, it can be seen on some of the O2 advertising from a few months ago.
They now own my services! Yep, I now work for O2 part-time in their technical support department for the newly launched O2 Home Broadband. I am currently in training, which should last for another 6 weeks but it seems like a decent enough job. I am only first line support at the moment, basically a phone monkey, but hopefully some vacancies will open up in second line support soon enough. It is a good place top work in all honetsy, relaxed dress code, good perks and a good bunch of people.
Now, the reason I had to go out and get a job. I have a new house! We signed for it last week and move in around the 23rd June, just after Chris and I get back from the Secular COnference in Edinburgh. It is a really nice house with plenty of room, which is a bugger for wiring it up with networking cable. At the moment it is looking like a good couple of hundred metres!
I will upload some pics of the new house just as soon as I get them off my phone.
Congratulations to all the Computing lot too, they all graduated!
The first day back to school or work, or in my case university, after a holiday or time-off is always an experience, Today was no different. My first day back to uni after the Christmas vacation went relatively smoothly. Three lectures (well two down one to go) soread out over eight hours, always a nightmare, and a theme throughout this semester’s timetable. I have few consecutive lectures which means that I am stuck in uni all day every day!
Started a new course in philosophy of religion and resumed courses in programming and economics. Same old same old mainly. Philosophy of religion looks like it might be interesting but I think I might get annoyed with the rather large Christian contingent that makes up my tutor group!
Got some feedback on my CR11 mock today, which looks promising. Got an ok 2:1, not as high as I had hoped but pretty good seeing as I struggled with one of the large questions on the paper. Marks for the coursework will be out soon too. It is always exciting to get marks back, unless you know you have done badly!
Well I am nearing the end of my Fresher’s week as part of the Department of Joint Honours Science. I think i will classify the week as a success. I have met some new people, i have attended all the appropriate lectures, labs and meetings and am now all set for the start proper of my new degree programme. I am particularly looking forward to my computing modules as I feel that these will be the testing yet enjoyable challenge that I require to thrive. I am enjoying getting into linux and exploring all the nooks and crannies within it. The induction programme being run by the SoC has been helpful if somewhat tedious as it focussed on writing a quick HTML file and learning some of the basics of the command line terminal – something I consider myself a fairly confident user of. I am by no means an expert – Kieran will shoot me down for saying anything remotely like that, but I can manage, run, create and delete files and directories etc and write fairly strict html as long as it’s not too flashy. It is the programming side of the course that I am most apprehensive about, but I feel that the challenge is something I need. Roll on Java!
CompSoc and A-Soc Fresher events are getting into full swing and I am really starting to get my teeth into the roles. I am looking forward to the next few weeks despite the fact that the workload is daunting to say the least.
The new semester at university starts in less than two weeks. Well, it’s two weeks until Fresher’s Week begins anyway. Usually that wouldn’t be too significant as it is many years since I was a fresher, but this year I am helping A-Soc recruit new members at the Fresher’s Fair and generally make sure that A-Soc is a massive success this year whilst I am secretary. This means a lot of work! The past few weeks have basically seen me sat at my computer sending emails left, right and centre to sort out events, book speakers and generally make sure everything is set up for the new year. I have also been busy beavering away on speeches and presentations for the first few meetings of A-Soc seeing as we have a lot of debates planned. I am going to take this opportunity to plug A-Soc, so if you are in the Leeds area and are a student (or even if you are not) then get in touch with us at Atheist Society. Membership is £5 for the year and that gets you voting rights, access to our library of books and DVDs as well as a regular newsletter and invitations to all our events. Check out the website for listings.
New semester means new course for me. Having successfully changed from a MEng in Materials Science and Engineering to a Joint Honours BSc in Computing and Management I am really looking forward to getting my studies back on track. I could write a whole essay on the reasons behind that decision, but I think I will save it for a blog post sometime in the future. New semester also means new job. I somehow have to pay for my course and living expenses and at the moment there are a few options out there. Firstly, I have recently had some good news from McDonald’s which means that I can return there if I so wish, there is also a possibility of an opening with William Hill (the bookies) which looks like a good opportunity – mainly beacuse it is better pay and nicer hours!
All of this means that I am going to have less spare time to spend with friends and what’s more, I will probably end up seeing Liz a lot less than is ideal. Compounding this is the fact that Liz has applied for a new job (interview on Wednesday) which means she will be working full time hours and therefore be free a lot less. Normally, I would say that this sucks but I think our relationship is at the stage where we can understand and accept the commitments we both have and work our relationship around them. I am really looking forward to the next few months, they are probably going to decide the next few years of my life!
