Meeting.2006.01.21

Posted by Maieve Sat, 21 Jan 2006 21:10:00 GMT

Without further ado, here are the main points discussed in the meeting:
  • Image recognition through neural networks and artificial intelligence, the topic of Hisham's Master's project.
  • Content-based image recognition in Longhorn, Microsoft's to-be-released-in-a-hundred-years-from-now operating system.
  • Some socializing amongst the members. I also must say that it was very cold that day.
  • A discussion on high-performance computing. Examples are: Cluster Knoppix, Rox, MPI.
  • Multi-threaded vs. parallel programming.
  • A problem with Apache: It basically doesn't display files worth 2 Gigs of storage. Moreover, these kinds of files are not completely downloaded.
  • Again, the issue of having a forum came up. And again, the majority agreed that it's pointless. We do have a mailing list.
  • MD5 and battle against file sizes and backup recoveries.
  • SHA1, a new way of hashing. (Note: SHAI is not a new kind of mind-altering substances)
  • A discussion on BSD, its history, the BSD way of doing things, the licensing, and Hisham's experience with it.
  • The Debian System, a book highly recommended by Bassam.
  • Examples on famous BSD machines: Yahoo!, Amazon, Wallnut Creek, and several credit card companies.
  • Embedded systems.
  • A mention of the machine that has ten years of uptime. Wow.

Until next time!