SussexDigital

Nov 17, 2009: FlashBrighton: Flash, Perl & iPhone MashUp at The Werks

2009-11-11T09:58:04Z

His uniform immaculately pressed, Paulo Fierro entered the debriefing room, holding his officer's cap tightly across his chest. The room was large, oak lined, and mostly empty except for an line of military portraits, a US flag draped in the corner, and a imposing wooden desk, behind which sat his commanding officer, General Jack Ryan. He saluted the General crisply. 'Sir!'

Ryan looked up distractedly. 'At ease Fierro' he said, putting down his fountain pen and leaning backwards. 'Tell me what you've got.'

Fierro took a few steps forward. 'Sir, at first we thought the device was Russian but it seemed to be Norwegian made. "Bysykkel": a bicycle app. Not commercial Sir, looks like government issue. Users sign up and are then sent a "Bysykkelkortet" through the post, a kind of card that we still haven't figured out the purpose of. We reversed engineered the device and ran some tests in Flash & Perl, which resulted in an iPhone app we launched on the Norwegian iPhone store. The CIA boys had a team promoting the crap out of it on social networks, to smoke them out. It seems to have worked sir, it was blasted out of the sky by "Clear Channel" just recently.'

'Clear Channel?' Ryan raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

'Yes Sir. Clear Channel may have helped with the initial development. They are a Norwegian advertising agency but we figure that's just a front. Our men in Oslo haven't been able to penetrate them yet. `Suspect they're tring to bring about a military coup. We're working on that. Sir.'

General Ryan stood up and walked around the desk. 'Fierro, I want to see everything you've got so far: the Flash & Perl tests, the iPhone app, plus everything you have on Bysykkel and Clear Channel. Debriefing nineteen hundred hours, at The Werks in Hove, Tuesday November 17th. Understood?'

Fierro saluted. 'Sir, yes Sir!' He turned neatly and marched out, closing the doors quietly behind him.

Dec 2, 2009: £5 App Meet at Hectors House

2009-11-04T10:13:56Z

A meet-up for programmers, web developers and designers to discuss and showcase their "£5 apps" - lightweight software created by one or two people who take a simple idea and run with it.

The discussion will range from technical (what tools/languages were used during development) to business (building communities, spreading the word, costs and rewards).

This years Christmas special £5app will be held at Hector's House and has a music theme (much like the gaming theme of last year's Christmas special (http://fivepoundapp.com/meetup/14/) ).

We've got quite a busy line-up, so we expect everything to run for a bit longer than usual:

* Seb Lee-Delisle (http://sebleedelisle.com/) – "My life as a wannabe rock star at the birth of the internet music boom"
* Toby Cole (http://www.55th.co.uk/) – "Zero to Theremin in 20 days" – How BuildBrighton built a feature rich, ultrasonic, laser etched MIDI controller in under three weeks
* Tom Hume (http://tomhume.org/) – "You're all an orchestra, get over it" – Bluetooth devices will interact with the audience to create changing ambient music, created by Future Platforms for a Hack Day
* Jim Purbrick (http://jimpurbrick.com/) – A short talk on the Mrmr/LiveAPI guitar mounted iPhone Ableton live interface by the head of Second Life Europe (and later a demo with 100Robots)
* 100Robots (http://www.myspace.com/onehundredrobots) – Jim and Max Williams (http://webcrisps.wordpress.com/) play live and loud for us

Seb has the main talk:

"Before Seb Lee-Delisle was peddling his digital creations, he had an entirely different life. He spent most of his 20s setting up Solar Records and promoting his band Stargirl (later Laine). Investing over £50,000 of their own money, they released their own CDs, made it onto the radio and TV, played in front of 30,000 people, recorded at George Martin’s Air Studios and had full page spreads in the nationals."

"They were at the forefront internet music boom of the late 90s. The future was looking rosy for this group of dynamic 20-somethings. So come and find out what it was like, how the hell they got the £50K, and why their plans didn’t quite reach fruition…"

Beer – several of us who are doing well this year will put up some bar-money (Alan of SensibleDevelopment (http://www.sensibledevelopment.com/) and Ian's ProCasts (http://procasts.co.uk/) so far, several more to come, get in contact if you want to share the love). We may also get mulled wine if we're lucky.

Food – maybe nibbles. Hopefully either cake or cookies too.

Nov 10, 2009: FlashBrighton: Making a Flash game in 10 days at The Werks

2009-11-03T13:54:42Z

The hobbit Tim Baggins stared into the deep, dark wood, and curled his toes nervously. Dusty cobwebs hung from the twisted boughs and not a single shaft of sunlight penetrated into the gloom. The air hung thick and motionless like treacle. 'We're not going in there... are we?' He turned and looked up at the dwarf king Owen, son of Thráin. The Wizard Domdolf interrupted them.

‘Tim, we have come to recover the Dwarves' sacred letters, stolen from their witch Zepherine’s spell book by the evil witch Ylwa who lives on the far side of the forest’ he said, leaning on his staff and furrowing his brow. ‘It is ten days march through and there is no other route.'

'You are our guide, hobbit, you must lead the way.’ boomed Owen and crossed his arms across his breastplate. ‘We must spend the next 10 days undercover making a mighty Flash game. With your woolly-footed design skills, my developmental battle-axe and Domdolf's digital powers we can create a really good game in just 10 days, thus defeating the evil Ywla and returning the prestige to the Dwarves that Middle Earth owes us.’

Tim feared that Owen was about to start moaning about the bloody Elves again, so quickly cut in. ‘Are there, you know… goblins in the wood?’'

‘Forgetful hobbit!’ bellowed Domdolf. ‘Seven great goblins live in the wood. Ywla conjured them with her sorcery, creating them from the very letters in Zepherine’s book. We must create a series of word puzzles that will transform the goblins back into letters.‘

Tim turned back and peered into the gloom, scratching his head of curly hair like Brian May. Could they really write a really good Flash adventure game in just 10 days? What lay hidden in the forest? He swallowed hard, knowing he had to be as resolute as Owen and Domdolf.

'Crikey! Well, OK, let's give it a bash then, eh?' he wheezed. 'If we make it through OK, what say we meet down the hobbit hole at The Werks on Tues 10th November at 7pm for a jolly good chat about it, over tea and cakes?'

He straightened his knife in his leather belt and stepped tentively into the wood, swiftly followed by the other two.

Nov 23, 2009: National Freelancers Day at The Eagle

2009-11-03T11:23:35Z

The Professional Contractors Group (PCG) have nominated 23rd November as
National Freelancers Day and there will be events happening all over the
country to support and celebrate freelancers and contractors.

Crunch.co.uk/Freelance Advisor, Contractor Mortgages Made Easy and the
Farm are getting together to help the PCG put on the Brighton event. As
Brighton and Hove have the highest per capita number of freelancers in
the country, our night will of course be the best ;-)

It'll start at 7.30pm on Monday 23rd November in the Eagle pub. There
will be a few talks, a long networking session with plenty of beer and
lots of interesting people to meet. This is going out to PCG members as
well as our normal lists so there should be a load of new people to meet
on the night who don't usually come out to Brighton's new media groups.

If you're a freelancer, contractor, or interested in becoming one,
please come along. It'll be a great night.

Nov 20, 2009: Full Frontal JavaScript Conference at Duke of York's Picturehouse

2009-04-20T21:42:47Z

A one day JavaScript conference held in Brighton, UK whose essence is to discuss JavaScript "with nothing concealed or held back".

The conference is being held at one of the world's first cinemas, which first opened in 1910.

Speakers include: Christian Heilmann, Peter-Paul Koch, Stuart Langridge, Simon Willison and more.

After party details to be confirmed - follow @fullfrontalconf for the latest updates.

Nov 3, 2009: FlashBrighton: AS3Bots II at The Werks

2009-10-28T14:59:32Z

Joe Chung strapped the dermatrodes across his forehead and clicked in the countdown. 3, 2, 1... The digital perfections of the Matrix swiftly replaced the grimy bedsit. He keyed some familiar coords and the scene shifted quickly to a large, flat circular space, skinned in cybersteel: the Robot Wars arena, his old fight-to-the-death ring for AS3bots made for his FlashBrighton partners.

Bennett's broken bot still lay wrecked in the centre of the space. The arena was a place where the bots could react to their surroundings and smash each other up, and Bennett's was an aggressive bot that had pounded itself to pieces in it's blind hunt for Willis' pacific bot, a gutless thing that just sat at the side. Willis had ultimately won that fight but Chung was here to ensure that cowardly shit wasn't gonna happen again. He downloaded a fix into the arena that would allow players to skin & change the size of their bot, which would affect their speed and strength.

Clearing the ring, he switched a msg pkg across the Matrix to the old combatants 'Robot Wars is back' it began. 'Playaz: bring ur laptop & fav AS3 editor. Bot skinnin reqs Flash CS3+. Best skinz r circular & top-down. Make them b4 if u want. More instructs 2 follow @ FlashBrighton.org. Sesh will b split in 2: 1st codin/skinnin bots, 2nd fight. Winna will take coco-based stimulant.'

Chung looked around the old arena, the simsmell of cyberdiesel & blood reg'ed on his display. His pupils dilated, briefly flaring the place bright red.

'Jack in Tues Nov 3rd, 7pm GMT @ The Werks & no actin like bad losers on yahoo chess'.

Chung clicked the msg out and jacked out of the Matrix. The bedsit roughly phased back in. He hid the dermatrodes behind the air-con grill and pulled his console out to prepare.

sussexdigital: RT @joshr: Heading out to #tuttleBrighton #coworking upstairs at cafe
delice http://ping.fm/5mNRA

2009-10-23T08:46:09Z

sussexdigital: RT @joshr: Heading out to #tuttleBrighton #coworking upstairs at cafe delice http://ping.fm/5mNRA

sussexdigital: RT @rem: Received all the abstracts for the talks at. Shaping up
nicely! 1 month to go: http://full-frontal.org I'll post them online
too.

2009-10-22T18:57:02Z

sussexdigital: RT @rem: Received all the abstracts for the talks at. Shaping up nicely! 1 month to go: http://full-frontal.org I'll post them online too.

sussexdigital: Moving from the group to the page :) http://bit.ly/tqEiU

2009-10-22T18:33:04Z

sussexdigital: Moving from the group to the page :) http://bit.ly/tqEiU

sussexdigital: likemind brighton (monthly creative industries network) is on tmrw. bring with you something for the winter http://bit.ly/15pRrC

2009-10-15T08:58:20Z

sussexdigital: likemind brighton (monthly creative industries network) is on tmrw. bring with you something for the winter http://bit.ly/15pRrC

Nov 25, 2009: Skillswap Goes Wayfinding at Lighthouse

2009-10-23T13:56:59Z

Talk 1
Legible London: When is a wayfinding system the answer to a city's economic future?
Patricia Brown & Kasper de Graaf

This talk will focus on the capital's nascent wayfinding system, looking at the strategic rationale for a unified tool to support walking in the capital and an update on the development of the system so far. Read more about the Legible London project.

Talk 2
The future of wayfinding
Cennydd Bowles

We've got pretty good at helping people find their way through today's digital world. Information architecture, taking cues from physical architecture, has built a toolkit of wayfinding aids including menus, breadcrumbs, signage. But things are about to get a lot more interesting.

The boundaries between the abstract digital world and the real physical world are becoming blurred. GPS has made the A-Z map redundant. RFID chips will soon enable a world of "spimes", where our environment can tell us all about itself and how we should interact with it. Geolocation offers an immersive augmented reality where data combines with space in revolutionary ways. Our landmarks are now both physical and digital. One day, a church spire; the next, a WiFi cloud. Our old wayfinding methods will soon be as outdated as the sextant.

Even now, people are beginning to use new technology to annotate and enrich their surroundings. Location-driven technology is most powerful in the hands of local users, and it is our responsibility as designers to ensure that these systems are accessible, collaborative and safe.

Given this quantum leap, we need new approaches to wayfinding, information scent and navigation. This session will explore how we can we use information architecture to shape the chaos. How can we design systems for both the digital and physical world that allow users to orientate themselves, understand the choices available, and feel at home?

Participants will take away a new understanding of the exciting challenges ahead of us, including the role of mobile devices, the ubiquitous information age, and the privacy implications of our new location-critical lives.

How do I get a ticket?
Registration will be open from 11am on Wednesday 4th November via Eventbrite and thanks to Madgex will be absolutely free.

In the meantime, feel free to register your interest here on Upcoming and follow Skillswap on Twitter.

Oct 23, 2009: Tuttle Club - Coworking for startups at Cafe Delice

2009-10-21T11:51:44Z

weekly coworking session for people running or working in local startups, cafe style.

a time and a place for getting some work done, and to meet other people working on their ideas.

we’re a small but very welcoming group, with varying levels of experience, and are all at different stages in the lives of our projects.

bring your laptop and some change for coffee :)

to read more about coworking in general, check out this blog:
http://blog.coworking.info/

spotting us: look for the group of people surrounding laptops

Nov 12, 2009: Pecha Kucha Night, Brighton #3 at Lighthouse

2009-10-21T07:39:58Z

"Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each - giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show."

Door sales only.

Nov 16, 2009: Create Brighton: Inaugural Drink and Get Together at The Victory

2009-10-19T11:24:11Z

Create Brighton is just an idea at the moment. I think that it should be a place online for Brighton's creative community to get together to share work, get feedback from peers, showcase homegrown talent to the wider world and be a central point to find other, related activities that are happening locally and beyond.

You should come along to the upstairs bar at the Victory on Monday, November 16th to have a chat over a pint of whatever you fancy. You can tell me what you'd like to get out of Create Brighton. It won't be even vaguely formal though I may try and force a name badge on you as I have an abysmal memory for names and faces.

I hope to see you there!

Oct 20, 2009: Free iPhone Talks + Networking at The Skiff

2009-10-19T13:24:04Z

We now have a Google Group, signup to get notified of all future events: http://groups.google.com/group/brighton-iphone-creators/

Speakers:

- Aral Balkan: "On blobs, barcodes, and books: or what I learned while creating my first iPhone app"

- Nik Fletcher: TBA

- Networking/drinking in the Fountainhead afterwards

This is the meet-up for anyone with an interest in iPhone development. If you have ideas for apps, or you want to start coding for your iphone, or just want to meet other like-minded folks over beers then come along.

Bring friends. Bring iPhones. If you've got anything you've made yourself, definitely bring it along!

NB: attendance is open to all, but we have limited places - please RSVP by clicking the "i'm coming" link in the upcoming.com page

Nov 11, 2009: An Introduction to Filemaker Pro at Lewes Werks

2009-10-19T13:28:11Z

Is your business organised?
Do you need a simple bespoke database?
Do you want to maintain it yourself?
Do you run your business from a Mac?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it’s time you learnt about FileMaker. Join use for a casual evening, while we take a look under the hood.

When: Wednesday 11th November 2009, 7 – 9pm @ Lewes Werks

How much? We are asking for contributions to cover the cost of the space. £0.01 – £10. Lewes Pounds accepted

sussexdigital: Tonight there's a freelancers networking meet in the Florist pub from 8pm til closing. Map http://icnhz.com/floristpub www.brightonfarm.com

2009-10-14T15:05:21Z

sussexdigital: Tonight there's a freelancers networking meet in the Florist pub from 8pm til closing. Map http://icnhz.com/floristpub www.brightonfarm.com

Oct 20, 2009: FlashBrighton: Cocomo Live Coding at The Werks

2009-10-14T10:31:58Z

this event has been cancelled due to richard willis being away in suffolk for the week.

Oct 28, 2009: Farm - Web freelancers networking at The Florist pub

2009-10-13T12:10:24Z

Meeting for freelancers and small business people working in web design, development and related industries.

Come along for a chat over a beer about work you've got, work you want, client frustrations or the latest technology.

Generally 15-25 people attend over the evening. To help find us look out for the technical book on the table (normally a white and black O'Reilly book with a polar bear on the cover.)

Nov 11, 2009: Farm - Web freelancers networking at The Florist pub

2009-10-13T14:15:58Z

SussexDigital

Nov 17, 2009: FlashBrighton: Flash, Perl & iPhone MashUp at The Werks

Dec 2, 2009: £5 App Meet at Hectors House

Nov 10, 2009: FlashBrighton: Making a Flash game in 10 days at The Werks

Nov 23, 2009: National Freelancers Day at The Eagle

Nov 20, 2009: Full Frontal JavaScript Conference at Duke of York's Picturehouse

Nov 3, 2009: FlashBrighton: AS3Bots II at The Werks

sussexdigital: RT @joshr: Heading out to #tuttleBrighton #coworking upstairs at cafedelice http://ping.fm/5mNRA

sussexdigital: RT @rem: Received all the abstracts for the talks at. Shaping upnicely! 1 month to go: http://full-frontal.org I'll post them onlinetoo.

sussexdigital: Moving from the group to the page :) http://bit.ly/tqEiU

sussexdigital: likemind brighton (monthly creative industries network) is on tmrw. bring with you something for the winter http://bit.ly/15pRrC

Nov 25, 2009: Skillswap Goes Wayfinding at Lighthouse

Oct 23, 2009: Tuttle Club - Coworking for startups at Cafe Delice

Nov 12, 2009: Pecha Kucha Night, Brighton #3 at Lighthouse

Nov 16, 2009: Create Brighton: Inaugural Drink and Get Together at The Victory

Oct 20, 2009: Free iPhone Talks + Networking at The Skiff

Nov 11, 2009: An Introduction to Filemaker Pro at Lewes Werks

sussexdigital: Tonight there's a freelancers networking meet in the Florist pub from 8pm til closing. Map http://icnhz.com/floristpub www.brightonfarm.com

Oct 20, 2009: FlashBrighton: Cocomo Live Coding at The Werks

Oct 28, 2009: Farm - Web freelancers networking at The Florist pub

Nov 11, 2009: Farm - Web freelancers networking at The Florist pub

sussexdigital: RT @joshr: Heading out to #tuttleBrighton #coworking upstairs at cafe
delice http://ping.fm/5mNRA

sussexdigital: RT @rem: Received all the abstracts for the talks at. Shaping up
nicely! 1 month to go: http://full-frontal.org I'll post them online
too.