Tag: Technology
051: Code First: Girls with Amali de Alwis and Lizzie Cullen Davison
In this special episode of Octal FM we’re joined by two guests to talk about alternative approaches to getting into the technology industry and software development. Specifically, we discuss what the organisation Code First: Girls is doing to increase the number of women in tech.
- Code First: Girls is a not for profit social enterprise. Since 2013 they’ve delivered £4.2 million worth of free education to young women across the UK. Their purpose is to increase the number of women in tech.
- Amali de Alwis is CEO of Code First: Girls. You can find her on Twitter at @amali_d.
- Lizzie Cullen Davison is a full-stack developer at Pixie Labs and a volunteer Code First: Girls instructor. You can find her on Twitter at @emc_dav.
FYI Jalada also works at Pixie Labs.
Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
049: Patronise me
In this episode we discuss how (typically niche) video content creators are adapting to the thirst for consuming their (high quality) content, but have traditionally found it harder to earn money to do it. How is this affecting the consumer, the creator, and the platform?
Further reading:
- YouTube: Mid-year Update on Our Five Creator Priorities for 2018
- Social impact of YouTube
- NYTimes: How the Internet Is Saving Culture, Not Killing It
- Wired: YouTube’s Latest Shake-Up Is Bigger Than Just Ads
Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
046: Hello, computer
This episode takes more of a ‘resource’ form, as we share some tips & tricks for getting started building a PC for gaming. We cut through some of the aspects that we think are unimportant, and share some shortcuts for saving time and money.
There’s a lot of resources out there on the Internet, but we like:
- Scan – for buying components (and pre-builds) in the UK
- Toms Hardware – for reviews
- bit-tech.net – for reviews, especially peripherals and modifications
- Hexus – for their partnership with Scan (easy to find reviews)
- Anandtech – for their deep-dives into new product ranges
- The Wirecutter – for their ‘just buy this one’ approach to components and peripherals. Look under ‘Electronics’.
045: Generally available AI
In this episode of Octal FM we dive in to the state of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. We’ll explain what it is, what it isn’t, and why it seems to be such a big thing right now.
There’s lots of reading material out there if you want to learn more.
Some intro articles
- Bluffer’s guide to AI terminology
- Wired: What is Artificial Intelligence?
- So you think you know what is Artificial Intelligence?
Opinion pieces
- “Artificial Intelligence is whatever computers can’t do yet”
- The Great AI Paradox
- The Seven Deadly Sins of AI Predictions
Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
034: Unity Whispering
In this episode of Octal FM we’re joined by Louise Swift, a software developer & fellow nerd who recently worked on a project using the Unity game engine.
- Louise works for No Mayo Digital
- Follow Louise on the interwebs:
Intro & outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
033: MMOs in Disguise
In this episode we discuss the emerging trend of adding massively multiplayer features to games that otherwise might be single player. Is this something we want to see more? Or is it just a way of extracting more ‘value’ from gamers?
- GTA 5 has sold-in over 85 million copies
- Frontier Games Hosts Massive Space Battles on AWS
- AWS re:Invent 2015 presentation from Frontier Games on their architecture
- Digital Trends: “Everyone is going to start playing MMOs again, whether they realize it or not”
Intro & outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
031: HCI and UX with Elizabeth Chesters
In this episode we are joined by Elizabeth Chesters, a user experience consultant, human-computer interaction student, and software developer. We ask her about her job, what HCI is, and what’s in store in the future for how we interact with our devices.
- The Man Who Lied to His Laptop, by Clifford Nass
- City Uni Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design
Follow El:
Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
030: An act of God
In this episode we’re joined by our friend Tom, aka @x5315. Tom co-created Twitterfall with Jalada back in 2009.
To follow up from Episode 25 where Jalada talked about building Twitterfall, Tom is here to tell us the story from his point of view, and what he’s up to now.
The whiteboard of features in Tom’s university dorm room:
Intro/outro music: JACKS – Runaway Fashion
Auto-generated transcription follows. Continue reading
025: Building Twitterfall
In 2009 Jalada spent 2 hours building a website that would ultimately end up shaping his entire career. In this episode of Octal FM we tell you the story of that website.
what's the site that shows a live stream of tweets flowing down the page?
— Kevin Rose ⛩ (@kevinrose) January 25, 2009
that's it, http://twitterfall.com/ , thx @jalada (dev), how can I add search.twitter syntax, like near:"san francisco" within:15mi ?
— Kevin Rose ⛩ (@kevinrose) January 25, 2009
- Twitterfall on Wikipedia
- Twitterfall co-founder Tom Brearley on Twitter
- Twitterfall makes it onto Telegraph newsroom screens
- Twitterfall: a Google for the Twitterverse
- Coverage from the Guardian about The Telegraph’s embedded Twitterfall
- Coverage in our university newspaper
- Fox’s Fringe Twitter-Feed Overlay: Clever or a Mistake?
- ITV taps into social media for FA Cup Final
- Penny Arcade comic about Vinepeek
- Where Jalada works now
- Anecdote.fm, podcast from Jack Dearlove