The Computer Society is for people who are interested in computers and computer software. Some areas we are particularly interested in are:
Education and Outreach
We run weekly meetups, sometimes on a computer-related topic, and sometimes just a chat over a beverage! We also run tech-related talks periodically. Past speakers have come from such organisations as Google, Microsoft, Havok, AIB, Daft.ie, xkcd, and FreeBSD.
From time to time, we've run a conference known as Skycon. At the last Skycon in October 2012, the keynote speakers were Mark Shuttleworth of Canonical (Ubuntu) and Randall Munroe of XKCD.
We run tutorials through the year across a range of computing topics. Some of these will be aimed at introducing members to our computing cluster (see below!). Others will venture further into the weird and wonderful in the world of computing.
There are computer/networking societies in some of the other universities in the country. We come together under the banner of Intersocs. Some of the society's events for the year will involve meeting up with the other socs for social and tech events. There's also an Intersocs IRC server.
At the heart of the society is the computing cluster affectionately known as Skynet. The society grew from a project by a few students in 1992 to build a Linux server in their bedroom in Plassey village so the cluster has a special place in our hearts to this day.
What started as a single 486 PC is now a cluster of enterprise level servers running Ubuntu. Machine names include Skynet, Gir, Calculon and Caro - all machines are named after artifical intelligences from film and tv.
All members of the society are entitled an account on the cluster and can use its services. The cluster is operated and maintained by an administration team that is drawn from the general membership of the society. Training is provided for members who wish to become admins.
Many of our former admins have found the experience gained on Skynet invaluable in their professional life. Indeed many have gotten work based on the admin experience they gained on Skynet.
Services provided on Skynet include:
e-mail
Web Hosting
IRC
Online Storage
Skynet is also the platform on which the UL Wolves site runs and the Computer Society plays a significant role in supporting the C&S Signup Event each year. Look out for us there in Week 1.
