X-Git-Url: http://git.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/?p=mspang%2Fwww.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=events.xml;h=f09b0088ae0ca30b7400a8f2ca08f16d17b59eb5;hp=91383ae2bb95020e1ad30f2961f12bca995c54d2;hb=297bd9828964c687d39ce998db991eefb34cb9d6;hpb=dc16a95cf421dcf034d06a80aa07ad60176bb35b diff --git a/events.xml b/events.xml index 91383ae..f09b008 100755 --- a/events.xml +++ b/events.xml @@ -938,52 +938,137 @@ lent to you for the duration of this class.

- - A talk on graphics drivers by Filip Spacek, KGI developer - No abstract available yet. + + A talk by Filip Spacek, KGI developer + + Linux has proven itself as a reliable operating system but arguably, + it still lacks in support of high performance graphics + acceleration. This talk will describe basic components of a PC video + card and the design and limitations the current Linux display driver + architecture. Finally a an overview of a new architecture, the Kernel + Graphics Interface (KGI), will be given. KGI attempts to solve the + shortcomings of the current design, and provide a lightweight and + portable interface to the display subsystem. + - No abstract available yet. - Abusing template metaprogramming in C++ for fun and profit No abstract available yet. - - - No abstract available yet. - - - - - No abstract available yet. - - - + Bring over your computer and we'll help you install Linux - No abstract available yet. + +

The CSC, the KW-Linux User Group, and the UW Debian Interest Group + are jointly hosting a GNU/Linux InstallFest. GNU/Linux is a + powerful, free operating system for your computer. It is mostly + written by talented volunteers who like to share their efforts + and help each other.

+ +

Perhaps you have are you interested in installing GNU/Linux. + If so, bring your computer, monitor and keyboard; and we will + help you install GNU/Linux on your machine. You can also find + knowledgable people who can answer your questions about + GNU/Linux.

+ +
+ +

Frequently Asked Questions

+ +

Q: What is GNU/Linux?
+A: GNU/Linux is a free operating system for your computer. It is mostly + written by talented volunteers who like to share their efforts. +

+ +

Q: Free?
+A: GNU/Linux is available for zero-cost. As well, it allows you such + freedom to share it with your friends, or to modify the software to + your own needs and share that with your friends. It's very friendly. +

+ +

Q: What is an InstallFest?
+A: An InstallFest is a meeting where volunteers help people install + GNU/Linux on their computers. It's also a place to meet users, and + talk to them about running GNU/Linux. +

+ +

Q: What kind of computer do I need to use GNU/Linux?
+A: Almost any recent computer will do. If you have an old machine + kicking around, you can install GNU/Linux on it as well. If it is + at least 5 years old, it should be good enough. +

+ +

Q: Can I have Windows and GNU/Linux on the same computer?
+A: If you can run Windows now, and you have an extra gigabyte (GB) of + disk space to spare; then it should be possible. +

+ +

Q: What should I bring if I want to install GNU/Linux?
+A: You will want to bring:

+
    +
  1. Computer
    2. +
  2. Monitor and monitor cable
    3. +
  3. Power cords
    4. +
  4. Keyboard and mouse
    5. +
+ + - A talk by Simon Law No abstract available yet. - - A talk by Jim Morrison - No abstract available yet. + + A talk by Michael McCool of the Computer Graphics Lab. + +

+Modern graphics accelerators, or "GPUs", have embedded high-performance +programmable components in the form of vertex and fragment shading units. +Recently, these units have evolved from 8-bit computations to floating-point, +and other operations provide array gather, scatter, and summation. +These capabilities make GPUs akin to array processors of the +past, but with a difference: every PC now has one! I am interested +in finding the best way to exploit this computational capacity for not +only graphics but for general-purpose computation. +

+Current APIs permit specification of the programs for GPUs +using an assembly-language level interface. Compilers for high-level +shading languages are available, such as NVIDIA's Cg, and OpenGL 2.0 and +DirectX will also include standardized shading languages. This talk will +review these. However, compilers for these languages read in an external +string specification, which can be inconvenient. +

+However, it is possible, using standard C++, to define a high-level +shading language directly in the API. Such a language can be nearly +indistinguishable from a special-purpose programming language, yet +permits more direct interaction with the specification of textures +(arrays) and parameters, simplifies implementation, and enables +on-the-fly generation, manipulation, and specialization of shader programs. +A shading language built into the API also permits the lifting of +C++ host language type, modularity, and scoping constructs into the shading +language without any additional implementation effort. Such an +embedded language could be used to program other embedded processors +(such as DSP chips in sound cards) or even to generate machine language +on the fly for the host CPU. +

+ No abstract available yet. - A talk by Simon Law No abstract available yet. - + A talk by Dan Brovkovich, Mathsoc's Computing Director + No abstract available yet. + + + + Carlos O'Donnell talks about "the last of the legacy processors to fall before the barbarian horde" + +

This whirlwind talk is aimed at providing an overview of the +GNU/Linux port for the HP PARISC processor. The talk will focus on +the "intricacies" of the processor, and in particular the +implementations of the Linux kernel and GNU Libc. After the talk +you should be acutely aware of how little code needs to be written +to support a new architecture! Carlos has been working on the port +for two years, and enjoying the fruits of his labour on a 46-node +PARISC cluster.

+ +
+

+Carlos is currently in his 5th year of study at the University +of Western Ontario. This is his last year in a concurrent +Computer Engineering and Computer Science degree. His research +interest range from distributed and parallel systems to low +level optimized hardware design. He likes playing guitar and +just bought a Cort NTL-20, jumbo body, solid spurce top with +a mahogany back. Carlos hacks on the PARISC Linux kernel, GNU libc, +GNU Debugger, GNU Binutils and various Debian packages. +

+ + + + + + + Marcus Brinkmann, a GNU Hurd developer, talks about the Hurd server interfaces, at the heart of a GNU/Hurd system + +

The Hurd server interfaces are at the heart of the Hurd system. They + define the remote procedure calls (RPCs) that are used by the servers, the + GNU C library and the utility programs to communicate with the Hurd system + and to implement the POSIX personality of the Hurd as well as other + features.

+ +

This talk is a walk through the Hurd RPCs, and will give an overview of how + they are used to implement the system. Individual RPCs will be used to + illustrate important or exciting features of the Hurd system in general, + and it will be shown how those features are accessible to the user at the + command line, too.

+ +
+ +

Marcus Brinkmann is a math student at the Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum in + Germany. He is one of maintainers of the GNU Hurd project and the + initiator of the Debian GNU/Hurd binary distribution. He designed and + implemented the console subsystem of the Hurd, wrote the FAT filesystem + server, and fixed a lot of bugs, thus increasing the stability and + usability of the system.

+ + + + + + Neal Walfield, a GNU Hurd developer, talks about a possible Virtual Memory Management subsystem for the GNU Hurd + +

Virtual memory management is one of the cornerstones of multiuser +operating systems. Most systems available today place all of the +policy in a monolithic virtual memory manager, VMM, isolated from the +rest of the system. Although secure and lightweight, users have no +way to communicate their anticipated memory needs and usage to the +system pager. As a result, the VMM can only implement a global paging +policy (typically, an approximation of LRU) which may be good on +average but is best for nobody.

+ +

With the port of Hurd to the L4 microkernel, this situation is being +readdressed. Due to its more distributed nature, a centralized +resource manager is not only more difficult to implement efficiently +but also contrary to the philosophy of the rest of the system. We are +currently exploring a model whereby each program is fully self-paged +and all compete for memory from a physical memory server. This talk +will first discuss how paging currently works in Mach and other +systems. An argument for an external paging policy will then be +presented followed by the requirements of such a design and the design +itself.

+ +
+ +

Neal Walfield, a GNU Hurd developer, is from the University of Massachusetts +Lowell. Neal spent the summer of 2002 at University of Karlsruhe working +on porting the GNU Hurd to L4.

+ + + + + A talk by Simon Law - No abstract available yet. + +

The Debian Project produces a "Universal Operating System" that is +comprised entirely of Free Software. This talk focuses on using Debian +GNU/Linux in an enterprise environment. This includes:

+
    +
  • Where Debian can be deployed
    • +
  • Strategic advantages of Debian
    • +
  • Ways for business to give back to Debian
    • +
+ + + + + A talk by James A. Morrison + +

+ Do you ever wonder what java is doing while you wait? Have you ever used +Modula-3? Do you wonder how lazily you can Mark and Sweep? Would you like to +know how to Stop-and-Copy? +

+ Come out to this talk and learn these things and more. No prior knowledge of +Garbage Collection or memory management is needed. +

+ +