1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the last meeting
3. Matters arising
4. Chairman's Report
5. Treasurer's Report
6. Election of Officers and Committee
7. AOB.
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Pandaboard
After the formal part of evening we will be able to take a look at a Pandaboard, a dual core ARM Cortex-A9 system with 1GB RAM which is very similar to the single core Beagleboard in terms of architecture and almost identical to the dual-core ARM and graphics found in the iPad2 and equivalent Android tablets.
Gareth had hoped to show this running the latest development release of Ubuntu at the ARM Linux evening a couple of months ago but sadly couldn't arrange access to the board in time.
Tonight we will be able to see the board in action running the final beta release of Ubuntu 12.04 for ARM at full 1920 x 1080p resolution. As an added bonus we may well try and get the latest development release of RISCOS 5.19 running and show you the fastest RISC OS system available to date.
Our last meeting saw the return of the slideshow evening to our agenda. First introduced when we were able to purchase our LCD projector these evenings have always proved enjoyable as we have such a wide variety of interests and travels.
Gareth began the evening with images and videos shot on his trip down through France in a Citroen 2CV last July taken on his Pentax Kx Digital SLR. The journey began with a ferry from Southampton to Caen in Normandy and a drive down to Cholet in the northern Loire. Here the 2CV was star of the show for a friend's wedding transporting the bride and groom to the ceremony and reception.
Over the following week in the Loire visits were made to Saumur to sample and purchase sparkling wines and also to dine underground in Troglodyte caves now used as rather unique restaurants.
From here Gareth and the 2CV ventured (slowly) down to Carcassonne via Bordeaux before returning North over the stunning Millau viaduct and also taking in a partial lap of the Le Mans racing circuit which was an interesting prospect in a 2CV.
The final few days were spent on a campsite in Normandy exploring the landing beaches and towns such as Honfleur before loading the poor car to the gunnels with wine and cider and taking the ferry back to Portsmouth.
Next was Michael with some photos he took at Colchester Zoo on a recent visit having not been previously for about 10 years since he went as a child. He presented using a preview release of Windows 8 with the new tile based interface although that should really be a topic for a future evening.
Using his SLR he took some very impressive pictures of a range of animals, Monkeys, Orangutans, Tigers, Zebras, Giraffes, Hippos and more in a mixture of outdoor habitats and some through the fencing and bars.
Peter and Anne both commented on the quality of Colchester Zoo and how it has improved considerably over the years into quite an attraction while also running various breeding programs.
Anne, Frank's wife brought along some pictures of Frank used at their Golden Wedding Anniversary and also of their holiday. They were in quite a random order but featured images of Frank with both his cats and grandchildren over a number of years and then also on their cruise on the ship Discovery both relaxing and more formally at dinner.
There were a number of lovely pictures of Dubrovnik and Croatia, Pisa, Rome, Venice and St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge, Messina, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Cartagena and more including the Monasteries near Kalamata in Greece perched high on top of rocks.
Anne also had some video clips one of a tidal organ, a modern concrete construction where the water flowing underneath made eerie sounds almost like Whale song as the tides flowed in and out.
The second disk Anne brought along was a guessing game for the club - what is it?? This was 50 pictures of random electronics, gadgets and cables she has found sorting Frank's study and needs to know what they are, and if they are any use to anyone. We managed to identify some keyboard and mouse PS2 to USB converters, headphones, telephone cables, hard disks and numerous dongles and ROMs etc. for RISCOS machines. But we need everyone's help to assist Anne so please have a look at the gallery at the following URL:
http://web.moon127.net/frank-collection/
If you would be interested in any items, or could just identify what they are for Anne then please email iceni@woolridge.org.uk
Finally Peter had some photos of a holiday he and his wife Sheila along with his Sister-in-law took to Ibiza in October to Santa Eulalia on the east of the island staying in a hotel right on the harbour and sea wall with lots of yachts and boats.
They took a road "train" tour round the area with quite a local character driving commenting on the air conditioned (open air) carriages and using all sorts of props. The train drove round the town and then about 10 miles out into the countryside visiting a small farm to sample Sangria before returning.
The hotel hosted lots of quizzes and silly games and also French Boules to occupy the guests.
During the stay there was a major thunderstorm with lightning and Peter managed to get pictures and a video of the storm in full force.
All in all a very enjoyable evening and a welcome return of the slideshow evening, perhaps we can run this again later in the year after our next batch of holidays - Gareth.
Please make every effort to attend the AGM and support the club through these necessary proceedings to allow us to continue operating. For a club our size this formality once a year does not take long and the Committee welcomes your input into the future direction of the club and most importantly our programme of events.
Following the AGM we will have a Pandaboard present developed to support ARM Linux and Android development for smartphones and tablets. Like the single core Beagleboard before it this developer board is now capable of running RISC OS, and while it is not yet as stable as the port to Beagle it is already showing promise and is definitely usable with 1920 x 1200 graphics, Gigabit networking and USB all running (with a few caveats).
| 2012 | ||
| 18 April | AGM + extras | All |
| 16 May | TBA |
Meetings are now on the Third Wednesday of the month unless otherwise stated.
Our meetings are held at the Bourne Vale Social Club, Halifax Road, Ipswich IP2 8RE , for a map and other details please see the website. http://icenicomputerclub.users.btopenworld.com
The first visit is free and subsequent visits for non - members is £2·50. The membership fee is £20 due from the AGM date in April, but may be reduced for those joining late in the year.
Continuing our publicity for EAUG events, there is now a full list of meetings up to the end of the year on their website.
http://www.eaug.org.uk/mtg.htm
Meetings are at the Great Baddow Village Hall, on the second Tuesday of the month
opening at 7:30 p.m. for a start at 7:45 - 8:00 p.m.
For directions see below (note the new web addresses)
http://www.eaug.org.uk or 'phone one of the contacts on http://www.eaug.org.uk/ppl.htm
Tea/coffee/biscuits usually available.
Visitors pay 2.00 GBP for the evening, which is deductible from the normal joining subscription if you decide to join at a later date.
See the Membership page of the website for more information:
They have now moved to the St. Andrew's Computer Club at Britannia Road, Ipswich.
They have a full programme on the parish website (http://www.ourstandrews.co.uk), We may be able to make new contact with them to arrange something in common.
"ICENI does not have any Insurance cover for computers or other equipment so please be advised that you bring machines to the club at your own risk."
However many household insurance policies will include cover away from home often with no increase in premium. (Ed.)
If anyone would like a copy of the CD of our old newsletters this could be arranged.
I am open to suggestions on what people would like to have included in the website.
Our website URL is
http://icenicomputerclub.users.btopenworld.com as a virtual domain,
it can also be reached using http://www.btinternet.com/~icenicomputerclub
Email to: iceni@woolridge.org.uk