Exciting Year for Tech in 2010

We’ve got a lot of stuff to look forward to in 2010! Apples iSlate (or iGuide?!), Chrome for Mac, Google Chrome OS, potentially a new iPhone to mention just a few. I shall endeavour to blog about these things as and when they happen.

For now, i must state that my new years resolution will be 1920 x 1080 and that i shall attempt to update this blog a little more frequently!! University has kind of been taking over (as it probably should) for the last few months, and it looks set to continue this way when i get back to Bournemouth on the 10th! I have a presentation to make 9am on the 11th, so its straight back into it!

Amidst all of this, i have become rather hooked on the xbox 360 i bought a couple of months back! Its incredible, before this I was playing games on a 4/5 year old PC. The difference is incomparable… I now have a Wireless N adaptor for the xbox, just need to get me a gold subscription and i’m away!

Right now, i’m off to work on a uni assignment! Attempting to get sequential playback working in C++ using a class that has no feedback method! Fun times!

End of the year...

Well that's it, My first year at university is over! It's gone unbelievably quickly, I mean everyone says when you go, "Make the most of your first year, it'll be over before you know it" and, if you're anything like me, at the time you were just sat there thinking 'I wish it was over right now!'. But honestly, its been a really fantastic year. I've met new people, and actually been able to study what I want for once, instead of having all the government based education shoved in your face!

If there's one thing I haven't totally enjoyed here it's the student halls. Don't get me wrong, i've got great flatmates and i'd probably say one of the happiest flats in Purbeck and it was easy to make friends when I got here. For anyone considering halls for university next year, i will say this: No matter where you get, whether you tick quiet or loud, big or small, there will be noise! Nearly every night, from about 10 until 3-4 in the morning. It's just something you have to get used to!

Now, onto the course. This year, my course has seen record dropout rates, upwards of 50% and I'm pretty sure some people will not be coming back next year. The reason for this, I think, is that my course was advertised totally wrong. It was marketed as a music technology course, which it certainly isn't! How many music technicians do you know that program in C++, are able to tell you (in detail) about the inner workings of a computer, create flash and video based animations, and can recite the OSI and TCP/IP network models (and what they do) off by heart! No, my course is definitely not a music technology course. What it is, is a low level computer science course specialising in aspects of music technology! But the thing is, it turns out that it's the perfect course for me!

I really do think that this course is a great course, but the high drop out show that some people obviously are not happy with it. I really do think that the university should look at this course again, and redefine it! Anyway, moving onto exams...

I had three this year, one earlier in the year on the fundamentals of sound and two more recently; Audio and Video principles, and Media Devices Networks and Architectures. On the whole i feel they went reasonably well, there was one or two small questions on each paper that i wasn't 100% about but I think  hope that I managed to answer the main questions in enough detail to get a good mark. I'll let you know when I receive my final grades sometime in June/July how I got on!

Anyway, that's about it as far as my first year at university goes. Check back over the summer for lots more tech related posts, and hopefully a review of my Dell mini 10 netbook (when I get one!)

Back in Billingshurst...

Well I'm home, back in good old sussex. Another term at university has flown by, it was pretty hectic towards the end of the term. Lots of assignments were due in, you may have seen my promo video on this blog a while back. I fully intend to post all of my practical work on this blog after its been handed in. You may remember a while ago i talked about an interactive flash program i'm building to teach users the basics of digital photography. Well i had initially planned for this to be online by now, but the deadline has been moved forward untill after easter, so this should be online in about a month.

I've just handed in my software programming assignment. The breif: to create an audio & video sequencer in C++ within a command line prompt. The end product was fairly basic, as can only be expected from a command line prompt peice of software. The secondary part of this assignment was a report on where you think the program could be improved, needless to say i mentioned a GUI and alternative methods of building the thing entirely, as C++ really isn't the best code to be using IMHO.

About a week ago, i got marks back from my computer architecture assignment, our task was to describe and illustrate how a sound card works. For those who are interested this involved talking in depth about everything from PCM (Pulse code modulation) to the connectors used to input audio on the card. I was extremely pleased with my mark, i got 98% in the end for that assignment which puts me in very good stead for the exam next term (which promises to be challenging!)

Now for a tip for anyone who is going to uni soon, be aware that you WILL spend money on text books. My course isn't particularly theory based, although we do cover some theories, however i have spent near to £120 on 3 text books! For anyone doing the music & audio technology course at Bournemouth University i can highly reccomend these books:

- Sound and recording : An introduction - Rumsey, McCormick
- Fundimentals of Multimedia - Ze-Nian Li
- Data Commuications & Networking -Forouzan

All of these books are on the reading list for my course, along with many more. But I have found these three books to cover everything i needed for the first year of this course. We will see how they fare next year!

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just yesterday I was being dropped off in Bournemouth, living in a strange place with people i'd never met before. Now it's been almost 7 months, and I'm at the end of my second term at University. People told me to enjoy my first year because it will go so quickly, at the time I thought it couldn't go quick enough. Now I'm shocked at how little time i have left in my first year. Basically i've finished lectures for the year now, it's all about revision for my exams.

I have two exams, one on 'Audio and Video principles', and another on 'Media Devices, Architectures, and Networks' Both two hours long. Then we have a creative project week, not sure what that involves yet, I hope we get a week to do whatever we want!

Other news, i have just started writing for upcoming tech blog Techrant, check it out here. I'll be writing about Apple news and started my first post on the iPhone 3.0 software thats just been announced.

Anyway, right now I'm off to the studios to get some recording done! My next blog will probably be from home!

Assignments and home time...

Well, I got my marks back for my software programming assignment. I got 76% which is a first, so far my uni work is looking good. Only trouble is, our lectures are all rounding up in the next few weeks for the year! As in, when we come back next term, all I will have to do is revision for two exams. I've defiantly learnt a lot of stuff this year and i look forward to having the time to use some of it, and read up further on certain points.

We have a fair amount of assignments on the go at the moment. Another software programming, a 2 minute promotional video, and 2 more which we are yet to receive! I am keeping on top of things though, which is one of the reasons I'm sitting here writing this blog whilst everyone else rushes to finish the software programming assignment.

Moving away from uni, its been quite a stressful time recently with lots of other things on my mind. Still, I have now got my house for next year sorted, contract signed and deposit paid. We are living in a 3 bedroom flat in a large house that's been split into several flats. If you are interested in where it is, then just click the link below...

http://tinyurl.com/cz3x8j

I'm off home soon for a weekend which should be nice. I'm looking forward to some proper home cooked food again, and of course mums pancakes (even if they are a few days late!). A long train journey on the way back though. National Rail tells me it will be about 3 hours! Still I have my iPod so I'll be fine!

Anyway, its almost 2pm now and I haven't eaten any lunch so I'm going to go grab something to eat, then head over to my lecture at 4!

Update on Uni Life...

I love this photo, it was taken when Emma came down to Bournemouth for a weekend two weeks ago. We really had a fantastic time, walking around the park and having fish and chips down on the beach! (Yes, it really was quite cold). I'm going up to Winchester this weekend for the Christmas Ball with Emma, and i'm really looking forward to it!

University in general has been great this term. I have made loads of friends, both on my course and through my halls of residence. The work started off pretty easy, but has gotten quite serious in the last few weeks. I've just about finished off my Business assignment, in which we have to create a business concept and present the idea, both in writing and via a presentation (I'm doing mine next wednesday).

I have also got a part time job, working in the student call center for the Annual Fund. It's not the most exciting job in the world, but it's only until christmas, and it's provided an enjoyable stream of income this term! (Although I'm still due my tax rebate!)

So, how would i say i am coping with living... Well, I'm evidently still here so i must be doing something right! My cooking skills have improved vastly since coming to Uni, i have progressed from frozen pizzas to lasagna and have learned the ways of pasta! (A students best friend). Washing... Well my clothes have certainly been abused since i got here. Numerous food stains have occurred, and to be honest, the washing machines here are useless! Clothes are all looking forward to a proper 'Mum' wash when i get home.

Home, only a week and a bit away now! I'm looking forward to getting home, seeing everyone again. The traditional trip to the bells after school concerts has been missed! I also have my A-level certificate presentation on the 17th, so much pubbage will be had after that! Of course, then christmas is almost upon us, and that means only one thing... Skiing! I'm really excited this year about taking Emma and introducing her the wonders of the slopes!

But for now, i am going to raid the cupboards for some sort of food before getting on with some more work!