A Multi-Cloud Solution using Azure & AWS Windsor-Essex .Net Developers
Tuesday, June 6: 7:00 PM
While some cloud users are evaluating AWS vs. Azure, many enterprises are planning to use both cloud providers to avoid vendor lock-in and latency while creating redundancy. The session will cover:
1) AWS vs. Azure differences for compute, networking, storage and pricing.
2) Recent and coming enhancements for AWS Lambda and Azure Functions.
3) Multi-cloud environments can be complex so let’s discuss the best practices for cloud deployments when using both AWS and Azure. Facebook / Meetup
Smart Garden Workshop: Soil Sensors & the Internet of Things Saturday, June 10: 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Take your indoor garden to the next step with this all-levels workshop. Learn to create a device that will tell you when your plants are thirsty by turning on a light, sending a text, or tweeting! At the end, you will have a full, functional Particle Photon kit to take home. Register Now!
Summer Jam: The Great Canadian Game Jam Sunday, June 11: 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Less than 30 days left to submit your project to The Great Canadian Game Jam! In the 150 days leading up to Canada Day on July 1, game developers across the country have been busy making games to show off their Canadian pride!
Join us for our final local meetup before the deadline, share a free pizza supper to keep up our energy, discuss how to add final touch-ups and take a peek at projects our developers have in store! All while E3, the biggest game conference of the year, occurs live online! Facebook / Meetup
Industrial Automation Group: PLC Design Patterns Monday, June 12: 7:00 PM
Programmable logic controllers are far from open source, and programming them can seem like an arcane art, but there are certain algorithms and patterns we use over and over. This month at Hackforge’s Industrial Automation Club, we’ll share and learn tricks of the trade. Everyone from beginner to expert is welcome. Facebook / Meetup
Open Coding Night Wednesday, June 14: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Have a project you’re working on? Need to bounce ideas off other programmers? Want to try out a tutorial for new programming language? From beginners to pros, Open Coding Night is designated time for you to hone your craft.
Bring your laptop and get coding! Facebook / Meetup
Artist Talk: Neighbourhood FREE SPACE Residency Thursday, June 15: 7:00 PM
Hackforge is pleased to partner with Arts Council Windsor & Region (ACWR) for their latest neighbourhood FREE SPACE – Self Directed Residency. Alex Beriault (Toronto), Béla Varga (Windsor), and Laura Horne Gaul (Kingsville) will be giving a talk at Hackforge about their work. Hackforge is hosting Beriault and Varga for the June FREE SPACE – Self Directed Residency. Facebook / Meetup
Board Game Night Friday, June 16: 7:00 – 10:00 PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 7-10PM. This event is free and open to everyone. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started. Facebook / Meetup
Border City Data: Crash Test Data Dummies Monday, June 19: 7:00 PM
You wouldn’t test a car’s safety features using a real person – they might get hurt. So, why don’t we do the same thing for software test environments?
Is protecting your test environments as if they were production environments a pain? Do you want more flexibility in who gets access to your test environments? Does developer access to sensitive data keep you and your auditors up at night? This talk is for you! Come an learn the fundamentals of changing test data so that it’s no longer sensitive but still useful for tests. Facebook / Meetup
Repair The World: Field Trip to Green Sun Rising Solar
RESCHEDULED Tuesday, July 4: 7:00 PM at Green Sun Rising Solar
This month, we will venturing out into the world for a field trip!
We’re going to visit Green Sun Rising Solar for a tour of their space. “Green Sun Rising Inc. is a Windsor Ontario based company focusing on developing and supplying solar systems, both solar PV for clean electricity, and solar thermal for clean heat energy. ”
Repair the World is a monthly meet-up of those who want to learn more about the technologies and policies we can employ in Windsor-Essex to lead us towards a carbon-neutral future and to help our community cope with the effects of global warming. Facebook / Meetup
Project Management Group: Project Scope and Requirements Docs Wednesday, June 21: 7:00 PM
In a real work environment, each requirements definition is written slightly differently. As a group are we able to define what works well in each of them to come up with a list of best practices for writing good requirements definitions (e.g. how to write a good requirement, what to avoid, sections to include in the document, etc.). We are looking for examples of well-written scope documents and requirements definition documents, so bring your own and talk about your experiences. Come and share your experience, provide new ideas and learn from others! Facebook / Meetup
3D Print Club: 3D Sculpting Saturday, June 24: 1:00 PM
Join the 3D Printing Club for this afternoon event all about 3D sculpting! Facebook / Meetup
Fireworks Night Drop-In Monday, June 26: 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Before heading down to the fireworks, drop by Hackforge for tech demos and kids activities! This interactive event is great for all ages. More details to come. Facebook / Meetup
Book Club: Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older Tuesday, June 27: 7:00 PM
Join us this month for a casual discussion on Malka Ann Older’s 2016 sci-fi thriller, Infomacracy. The Verge says, “It’s an intense and intriguing thriller about how technology and the flow of information can help sway public opinion and policy across the planet.” More Info Here Facebook / Meetup
Software Guild Apache & Nginx at Scale: A Comparison Wednesday, June 28: 7:00 PM
Apache, which accounts for 1/3 of all web servers on the internet, is robust and popular web server software that’s been the defacto standard for almost 20 years. Unfortunately, it often can’t stand up to the kinds of punishment modern web traffic throws at it. Find out how Apache fails at scale, and how Nginx fills the gap. Facebook / Meetup
Board Game Night Wednesday, April 5: 7:00 – 10:00 PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 7-10PM. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started. Bring your favourite game (that can be played in less than four hours)! Facebook Event
3D Printer Show and Tell Saturday, April 8: 1:00 PM
Are you interested in building a 3D printer? Please join us for an informal and beginner friendly meet and greet. Attendees will share photos and stories about 3D printers that they have built, want to build or are currently building. Feel free to bring your own photos and stories! We look forward to planning future events for 3D printer builders and want to gauge interest. Facebook Event
Open Coding Night Monday, April 10: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Have a project you’re working on? Need to bounce ideas off other programmers? Want to try out a tutorial for new programming language? From beginners to pros, Open Coding Night is designated time for you to hone your craft. Bring your laptop and get coding! Facebook Events
FastFingers Commodore 64 Demo
Wednesday, April 12: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Dan Laskowski demonstrates his 1984 lead synth software/ hardware for the C64 and Mattel Intellivision Piano Keyboard 27 years later! It is called Fastfingers. Facebook Event
Repair the World! Climate Change & Technology Tuesday, April 18: 7:00 PM
Repair the World is a monthly meet-up of those who want to learn more about the technologies and policies we can employ in Windsor-Essex to lead us towards a carbon-neutral future and to help our community cope with the effects of global warming. For our first meeting we are going to use Bret Victor’s What can a technologist do about climate change as our starting point. Facebook Event
Project Management MeetUp Wednesday, April 19: 7:00PM RESCHEDULED TO MAY
This group is for all professionals from any industry, and business owners to come together and exchange ideas and good practices in Project Management, Agile Product Development and Process Improvement, in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Topic TBA Facebook Event
Intro to Javascript Saturday, April 22: 1:00 – 3:00 PM $15 General / $10 Student / FREE for Hackforge Members
Want to learn to code? JavaScript is a practical, easy to learn language.
This two hour class will show you the basics of JavaScript and get you writing some code.
Bring your laptop and let’s get coding! This class is designed for beginners. All proceeds from this event go to support Hackforge’s community programming and physical space. Sign up here!
The Great Canadian Game Project April Meetup Sunday, April 23: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
The game jam is on from February 1 to July 1! Participants have 150 days to conceive and create a game that is proudly Canadian!
Drop by the monthly meetup to discuss your ideas, ask questions, watch tutorials from mentors to help you get started, find existing projects to join, see progress of other developers and more!
More information to be updated at http://canada150game.ca/ Facebook Event
Border City Data: Using City of Windsor Open Data Monday, April 24: 7:00PM
Border City Data welcomes Bob Price, Technical Support Analyst at City of Windsor to talk about the City of Windsor’s open data. We will then give a talk about the practical uses for businesses and not-for-profits. Beginner friendly! Facebook
Book Club: Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash (1992) Tuesday, April 25: 7:00 PM
When a virulent computer virus (or is it a drug? or a religion?) called Snow Crash gets loose and somehow starts infecting humans, Hiro teams up with a sassy skateboard messenger to save both the real world and cyberspace.
Join us for a casual conversation on Neal Stephenson’s 1992 cyberpunk classic ‘Snow Crash’. Facebook Event
Software Guild Wednesday, April 26: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Add some new tools to your testing toolbelt with this beginner friendly introduction to behavior driven development and the Gherkin scripting language. This talk provides an overview of how BDD connects user goals to human readable test scenarios. It also demonstrates how BDD can simplify test maintainance effort when requirements change frequently. The examples will feature C# and .Net but the concepts can be applied to any language.
This talk will be followed by Lightening Talks. Got something to share? Bring along a short (5 mins or less) talk and sign up. Facebook Event
At 7:00 pm on March 13, 2017, Windsor Hackforge will hold it’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 255 Ouellette Avenue, Windsor, Ontario.
At this meeting, all members deemed to be in good standing by the Managing Director as of March 1st, 2017 are eligible to vote in the election of Directors and Volunteer Representatives.
Intents to stand as a Director or Volunteer Representative must be submitted to the Returning Officer for this election: President of the Board of Directors, Doug Sartori. Intents must be filed via electronic mail to the Board of Directors email address: directors@hackf.org. Intents should include a covering letter to the Nomination Committee. Please include a preferred contact method, in case the Committee needs further information.
The Nomination Committee will carefully consider all intents filed and prepare a ballot for voting by members at the AGM.
There are four open Director positions and five Volunteer Representative positions up for election.
If insufficient intents are filed by the deadline, or if the Nomination Committee’s choices do not fill the ballot, nominations will be taken from the floor at the AGM.
The meeting agenda, and any other required materials, will be distributed to members at least 48 hours prior to the AGM.
Hackforge and the University of Windsor Computer Science Department would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2017 Windsor Hackathon. Twelve teams competed throughout the weekend Hackathon.
WINNERS:
EPICentre’s Most Commercial Potential Award Team GeoRisk (AMF Challenge)
Atilla Saadat
Best Overall: TransitAR (City of Windsor API Challenge)
Moaaz Elsayed
Colin Matthews
Zach Shaver
Atilla Saadat
Most Creative: Team GoBot (Open Data Windsor Essex Challenge)
Clovis Nogueira
Yadwinder Singh
Judges’ Favourite & Bike Windsor Essex’s Pick: Team BRAV-O (Bike Windsor Essex)
vikneshwaran seetharaman
V N Bharadwaja T
Rumana Hakeem
Areeba Kamal
Best Use of Data Team Mighty Pythons:
Javeriya Khan
Atish Lewate
Emile Papillon
Baseer Haider
Take On Challenges from the Community and Industry with Teamwork and Creative Coding.
The University of Windsor’s Computer Science Department and Windsor Hackforge are teaming up for Winter Hackathon. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from the University, this weekend hackathon will test skills with creative challenges using data from the community and industry.
Awards will be given for Best Overall Project, Best Community Project, Most Creative Team, Best Use of Open Data, and more.
Friday, January 27 @ Engineering Building – University of Windsor (Room 1100)
o 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Registration and welcomes
o 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM: Opening ceremony, Talks, Announcement of Challenges
o 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Dinner, Networking, and Team build-up
o 7:00 PM: Hackathon begins, teams start working together and picking challenges. Continue at Essex Bldg. Computer Science Rooms Registration is open for the community to attend the launch
Saturday, January 28 @ Essex Bldg – Computer Science Rooms
o 9:00 AM – 12:00AM: Hackathon continues!
Lunch and snacks provided.
The Winter Hackathon is supported by EPICentre, WEtech Alliance, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.
Board Game Night Tuesday, January 10: 6:00 – 9:00PM
Join us for a night of board games and card games from 6-10PM. This event is free and open to everyone. If you’re new to board games, we encourage you to come by as we will have trusty Hackforgers there to help get you started.
We’ll have a games like Smash Up, Small World, The Resistance, and more. Bring your favourite game (that can be played in less than four hours)! Facebook Event
Member Day: Two New Rooms!
Saturday, January 14: 1:00PM
Hackforge Members are invited to join us for a tour of our two new rooms! Check out the renovated basement and let’s talk about a better workshop and classroom space, plus plans for 2017.
Facebook Event
Open Coding Night Wednesday, January 18: 7:00PM
Working on a project? Need to bounce ideas off other programmers? Bring your laptop and get coding! Great event for beginners as well. Tutorials will be available and the event is facilitated a real life computer programmer. Facebook Event
Border City Data Monday, January 23: 7:00PM
Border City Data is a new interest group focused on data and databases. Our initial meeting will focus on a practical introduction to SQL. The Structured Query Language is one of the most common ways that users interact with databases, and it’s an essential skill for all kinds of professionals who work with data. Facebook Event
Software Guild Wednesday, January 25: 7:00 – 9:00PM
Nerd-o-meter: Beginner/Intermediate
Through the magic of Space Cats and Pizza, we’ll be set on a marvellous journey exploring Javascript’s this keyword. We’ll be learning how to bend it to our every will, all the while avoiding its radioactive pitfalls. Space-cadets of all ranks are welcome to come aboard! Even the most experienced space surfer might pick up a few new cheesy curds of knowledge. We’ll be boarding soon, so don’t delay! Come join us on this epic journey through the space-time of this.
Also!
Looking to get your business or idea off the ground? Sara Alhasan from Ontario Centres of Excellence will be giving a short talk about their entrepreneurship programs, what they offer, and how to apply. Facebook Event
Winter Hackathon Open to University of Windsor Undergraduate and Graduate students Friday, January 27 to 29 2016
The University of Windsor’s Computer Science Department and Windsor Hackforge are teaming up for Winter Hackathon. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from the University, this weekend hackathon will test skills with creative challenges using data from the community and industry. More Details Here / Facebook Event Register NOW as a participant, volunteer, or mentor
Order of the Indie Game Developers: Great Canadian Game Jam Brainstorm Monday, January 30: 7:00PM
A Game Jam is a group of people planning, designing, and creating one or more games. January’s meetup, we will be giving an introduction to Game Jams and host a brainstorming session to what one spread across 2017 would look like. We’re inviting video game developers, artists, writers, and fans to join in the process. Facebook Event
Book Club: Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem (2006) Tuesday, January 31: 7:00PM
Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel The Three Body Problem was a smash hit bestseller in China, and has finally been translated into English by Ken Liu. It’s a mind-bending tale of politics, aliens and gaming. Join us for a discussion of this Hugo Award winning novel. Facebook Event Amazon | Chapters
**NB: Due to the holidays,Windsor-Essex .NET Developers will not be meeting in January**
