Past Workshops & Events

How to be a ZX Spectrum Chiptunes Rockstar

Chiptunes are pieces of music created for lo-fi sound chips using simple waveforms - the sort of thing you might know from 1980s video games. Matt Westcott takes chiptunes created on his Sinclair ZX Spectrum and trusty keytar, and turns them into rockstar performances at the likes of EMFcamp and CCC: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZ_M83dB7E>. In this workshop, he will demonstrate the tools of his trade, and the creative challenges of making music on limited hardware, by attempting to create a chiptune cover version of a pop song chosen by the audience, in one hour.

Our lovely member Jenny has been seeking to revive the Oxford Raspberry Jam scene, and the new space is the perfect place to try it. There should be a fair few outside enthusiasts coming to this one in addition to our own people, and projects will be show-and-told on the projector screen at the front of the main room. So come one, come all, grab a drink and see what zany things people have cooked up this time! We're hoping that this will become a regular event, to coincide with Wednesday microcontroller nights.

Projects suggested so far include: Laser-cutting cogs and carrying arms to build the adding mechanism of the Analytical Engine; Building a card reader; Using a card reader to make other things happen – a music box, bells, whistles, puppets, or automata; A new robot version of the “calculus of the nervous system”, or 3D printing of some or all of the real neuronal network of a nematode worm; A music machine.

Often described as "the founding father of nanotechnology", Eric Drexler introduced the concept in his 1981 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which established fundamental principles of molecular engineering and outlined development paths to advanced nanotechnologies. His doctoral thesis at MIT has been the basis for the book Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation (1992). This talk was organized by the Oxford Transhumanism and Emerging Technologies student society, and is being hosted jointly by the Oxford Uni 3D Printing Society, with whom we are partnering around 3D printing, and us.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17faO5wq0rpBXEE63fIpT_wOazihE3WijWMtckUwkPCI/edit?usp=sharing

The Oxford Times sent a photographer to this event after we advertised it on Daily Info, and a photo of one of the two people running it made the front page of the Oxford Times.

If you'd like to come along, please bring a computer if you can, ideas and/or pictures you'd like to use. Pictures are best in 24-bit bitmap format if possible, with a maximum 60 pixel height. In theory though, any picture can be used, so long as it fits in 60px height and/or you're ok with resolution not being great.

Here is some of Tim's previous work:

http://www.tjstephens.com/blog/2013/07/14/light-painting/ http://www.tjstephens.com/blog/2014/02/03/light-painting-2/

And here is some of Hugh's previous laser and light work, though no light strip stuff:

http://www.hughpryor.co.uk/

This will be everyday CSS from a journeyman CSS author and geek-of-all-web-trades. Slides at http://tinyurl.com/css-primer.

Charlie has been involved with the WikiHouse platform since 2012, when they began to discuss how to parametrize the kit in order to automate as many of the processes as possible, and the talk will include a live demo of the software on our TV.

He will also talk about OSA projects that are starting up or ongoing in the Oxford area, how to get involved with them, and how skills in web dev, engineering, and/or interest in housing social justice could be put to good use in these projects if you want to help.

Resources here.

We're going to have a second microcontroller night at the hackspace tomorrow. If you are working on any microcontroller projects or are interested in doing so then come along. I'll try to arrange to have some development boards (probably arduinos or mbeds) and some components available if anyone new to microcontrollers wants to try using them.

- Demonstration and instruction in more complex network vulnerabilities

- Understanding buffer/stack overflow and integer overflow

- Protection of programs with licenses and serial numbers

It is more necessary to have a Linux computer and ethernet port for this one. Network knowledge and good programming skills are necessary. To do the exercises, you need to have some experience of Assembly, but to simply follow, programming experience in any language is enough.

Emphasis is on increasing awareness of security. This is a hands-on workshop with exercises, so please bring a laptop with Linux (and an ethernet port) on it if possible. Knowledge of programming will help, but is not necessary for part 1.

In our last travel hacking session, we covered a lot of the basics, investigated some simple ways to get started, and shared lots of resources. This time we'll start with a recap for anyone who's new, get our trainee travel hackers to share what worked well and what they hit problems with, rate some of the resources, and plan out next steps for people.

As a reminder, we're not looking at how to hitchike around Europe on under $5/day, but more about how to have a 4-5* experience without the normal cost! Topics covered included loyalty programs, credit card signups and spending points, hotel discounts, ways to fly nice airlines for budget prices, tricks for UK and European train travel, cashback, making the most of disruptions, and importantly how to work out which things are for you and which aren't! Oh, and where your towel is...

There is a good chance that this set of workshops will culminate in a (pressure free!) group project of some kind, possibly for the space.

Wondering about how to stay for free in a nice 4* hotel, how to get a night in a 5* place for under the cost of a 2*, how to fly business class for less than the normal cost of economy, how to profit from disruptions, how to get invited into airport lounges, and how to turn your credit card into a ticket for a pacific island vacation? If so, then this is the night for you!

Come along to learn the basics, to learn how to pick what's a good fit for you given your travel patterns and risk profile, and discuss the best resources to learn going forward...