Computer Committee Meeting 20180411

Time, location

20180411 20:30:00(CST) Dallas Makerspace and Discord

YouTube Live Link

Video has not been schedule for this meeting.

Prior minutes

https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Vintage_Computer_Committee_Meeting_20180307#Minutes

Minutes

Dallas Makerspace Vintage Computer Committee Meeting notes ; April 11, 2018

In attendance: (## attendees)

Meeting started ##:##PM
Meeting adjourned at approximately HH:MM


***Prior Minutes***

  - Prior minutes passed

Reports

Financial Statement

The Current available funds in the VCC budget is currently at $410.32 in committee savings and $0.00 from external sources such as patreon and teespring.

We are well within reaching distance of the $500 for the museum roll over.

Programs

Volunteer Opportunities

* Volunteer Opportunities are available to help sort and digitize the collection which is currently stored offsite in secured storage.
* The main website is still in disarray and needs updates. Pull requests to clean up the site will be accepted.
* Community Outreach and PR
* Article Submittions
* One on One education time

Interactive Computer Museum report

We are opening up the next generation design of the museum to the membership and setting a dead line of 60 days to select the best option and build out the new layout of the museum.

STEM Pilot Program report

Our outreach program has slowed with the current developments at the makerspace. However this has not impacted our drive to deliver STEM education via Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Network Engineering. To achieve this we have committed to building out a series of instructional videos, articles, and a set of project kits:

* VCC Community Grid-10 - POC of the Community Grid Kit is under way. This kit will include a small microcontroller that is powered via POE, includes 802.11x authentication, RAID 0+1 support, and rack mounts via DIN50045 standard rails to build a self hosted compute cloud for IoT and general grid computing.

* VCC TX-01 - A new project kit has been designed and in the works for a POC. This kit will teach the basics of IR data communications, TTL, and RS232 protocols  with future iterations of the kit including pluggable modules for audio, storage, turning complete data processing, and serial display.

* VCC RX-01 - A public community wifi mesh network that one can drop in place for network access. This kit will teach the basics of wireless data communications from 802.11 to WMAX and is configured to join the VCC Community Grid out of the box.

Interactive digital museum and XM Core BBS

The main website has been in disrepair for sometime. Initial discovery of project requirments as been underway and we are actively seeking a external developer that can fully commit to deliver a Progessive Web Application that we can use as a teaching tool and generate membership for the committee.

Community Grid

An initial public beta release has been opened up within the space. This has allowed users on premises to use a portal to manage both serverless functions, containers, images, networks, and cloud storage.

Community Grid

SIG Report

CryptoSig

 - A meeting is needing to be scheduled and a class on basics of crypto should go on the calendar as well.

Code Slingers

 - With the Software Development committee fitting part of the role this SIG we'll have to re-evaluate the goals for our SIG.

Agenda Items

Consent Agenda

All items discussed as new business

- *Dedicated Programming Resources*: Should VCC spend upwards to $9600 in the goal of hiring a dedicated freelance developer to build out our PWA and other systems that we are working on? - *PR Budget*: We have a larger need to reach for our PR and outreach which need to be discussed. Should VCC set a budget goal of $10000 to launch a PR campaign for the committee and resulting projects? This budget would include:

    i. Print media design and publishing
   ii. Social Media marketing
  iii. Search Engine marketing
 iiii. Social Event funding

Discussion

  1) VCC Instructor Pool: Institute an official pool of Instructors that is available on call for one-on-one training sessions and regularly teach a class of choice one a month with the end goal of having at lease three classes a month.
  2) Should VCC send an official to Nation of Makers: The chair of VCC has recently received a invite to the NOMCON. As a committee we have an opportunity to reach out to a larger audience about DMS, VCC, and the programs/projects that we have available. There is an option to present as a speaker or do a booth. As a committee is this an opportunity we wish to follow up on and what would that look like for the committee if/when we attend?
  3) Digital Magazine: Should the committee commit to launching an digital magazine to release via Google Play store, web, and Kindle publishing? This magazine will take on the same goal as the initial youtube channel while presenting in the same format as 2600 in where it is member driven content and VCC would only function as editorial and publishing. Promotions will target demographics of students and pre-retired IT professionals initially then seek further audence where available. Each run will follow on a Bi-Monthly release cycle and would require the creation of a new SIG under VCC guidance. Topics can range from STEM, Computer Science, IT, to simple "hacks" and reviews of products such as mechanical keyboards, BBS's or public game servers.
  4) Quarterly Membership Drive: We need to discuss and plan the upcoming LAN and demoparty plus schedule time to preform outreach to the metroplex as a whole.
  5) Civic Hacking: Any opportunities that we can join in?
  6) Corporate Sponsorship: Our committee has been structured as a "community radio" for some time now and has suffered for it. Should the committee seek out active corporate sponsorship that would support not only the committee but also the makerspace as a whole?
  7) Pearson View Partnership: Our partnership with Pearson view has gone underutilized and we are needing to come up with promotional campaigns and class schedules to gartner regular use and income for the committee. Proposed governance would fall under the VCC Instructor pools and have oversight by both vice chair and chair of the committee. Our current model of having a student teach one honorarium class while 1) would cover only part of the fees and 2) meet our goals of having at lease three classes for the committee does not cover addition available funds. The requirements would need to be raised to at lease two committed and successful honorarium classes before votuces could be issued. Further outreach can be preformed outside of education centers but also via public civic works such as libraries and labor education centers.
  8) Additional Space: Would the committee benefit from the new expansion? At current our committee is limited in classes we can teach to just those that are available in the classrooms. Granted that the makerspace builds outwards into the 102 office or moves into a new space. Should we look into growing as well? The proposed change here would to allocate space about the size of digital media or purple classroom as dedicated committee space which we can hold classes and build out the requirements to hold Pearson Vue certificate Exams on site. The current space for the museum should not grow to more than seating spaces and the rest of the space would be primarily teaching space.
  9) Code Challenges Criteria: Selecting criteria for Q2-2018's code challenges and prizes.
  0) Dinner

Proposed classes/meetings

* Docker Certification: A course on getting certified on Docker technology. Potentially could be a requirement class for the Community Grid access and VCC instructors program.
  

Proposed Special Interest Groups

* A Wide Area Networking SIG has been discussed on talk and would focus on discussion of Wireless communication technology and development of a public "Mesh Wifi" network.