A friend of mine who works in UCD was trying to use the RTE Player on her laptop this week. (Yes, it was work related :o ) She had mixed results!
She could view the RTE Player web page, and any of the video content, using her wired connection in one building. However, she could only view the RTE Player web page, but not any of the video content, using her wireless connection in another building. The video panel would time out after playing the advertisement. That was annoying!
I did a quick search on the Internet, and the only related information that I could find was New RTE player also blocked?. However, this thread seems to be full of inaccuracies, as I normally find on Boards.ie :( In particular, the following statement appears to be incorrect:
The new RTE Player opens a direct connection to the RTE Server on tcp port 1935
fmsv1.rte.ie:1935
I can view the RTE Player video content perfectly from my current location, and I know that I am not allowed to access TCP Port 1935. I also am behind a proxy server, so that cannot be the cause either. My friend was able to access fmsv1.rte.ie, so obviously the site is not blocked.
However, I still do not know what is causing the problem :|
Tags: RTE, UCD
Earlier this year Science Foundation Ireland announced the creation of five new Strategic Research Clusters with an investment of 23.9€ million. (I should have written about these at the time, but better late than never :)
Two of these projects are of interest to me (because they are ICT related):
- Clique is analysing data graphs and networks. This project is based in UCD.
- FAME is investigating end-to-end communications over heterogeneous networks. This project is based in TSSG.
For more details about this announcement see Tánaiste announces establishment of 5 New Science Foundation Ireland Strategic Research Clusters, and for the complete set of Strategic Research Clusters projects see Strategic Research Clusters.
Tags: Science Foundation Ireland, TSSG, UCD
There was a story in one of the Irish national newspapers earlier this week claiming that UCD was having difficulty filling up to 33 computing research positions. The full story is Wanted: 33 smart people for top posts, and the positions are described in Vacancies.
I thought that this was very surprising when I read it initially, but after further investigation I think that it is understandable.
Firstly, 23 of these 33 positions are for PhD studentships. The successful candidates will receive a tax-free salary of 18,500€. I do not think that this level of remuneration will attract anybody of the right calibre who is already working in industry. Most likely, it will only appeal to graduates.
The other issue that I see with these positions is that they are based on formal methods. I know that this area is significant within the computer science world, but I do not think that industry has much interest in this area. Therefore, it is less likely that the successful candidates will learn significant transferable skills.
Tags: UCD
I read earlier in the week that TCD and UCD are going to merge their research capabilities. These are the two largest universities in Ireland. You can read more about this proposed merger in UCD, Trinity announce Innovation Academy and Universities hope merger will create 30,000 jobs.
I think that this is a great move, because the Irish Universities have seen each other as their main competition for too long. In a globalised economy, they need to work together to outperform other international universities. In other words, I think that there needs to be some rationalisation and concentration within the Irish fourth level education system. Ireland can either have several mediocre universities, or one or two world class universities.
However, I am slightly sceptical that significantly increasing the numbers of PhD students is going to be beneficial to the economy. Creating PhD students to improve some national statistic will not be of any benefit unless there is a real need and demand for people with PhDs.
Perhaps it would be equally beneficial, or even more beneficial, to focus on reducing the cost base in Ireland!
I also think that there will need to be some radical changes within the universities. For example, I think that the distinction between an academic career and an industry career needs to be removed. Perhaps it would be a good idea to stipulate that all new academic recruits must have several years of industrial experience. In reality, I do not think that this idea would be popular!
Tags: Ireland, TCD, UCD
Many years ago I did some functional programming in Haskell. I was using it mainly to solve cryptographic problems, and it was very suitable for this. I really enjoyed it, and I think that I was good at it (even if I am praising myself)! However, I never spent any more time with functional programming.
I have an ex-colleague (and friend) who is still very interested in functional programming. I think that someday this ex-colleague will manage to find a reason to start using it in work :o This ex-colleague recently brought an article about functional programming to my attention. The article is It’s Time to Get Good at Functional Programming, and it provides a very brief, but good, introduction to functional programming. It also describes several functional programming languages that make good starting points to learn more.
The main thrust of this article is that functional programming will become increasingly important as chip manufacturers increase performance by adding more cores to processor chips rather than increasing their speeds.
Actually, after reading that article I feel that I would enjoy reviving my functional programming skills :)
Update
I came across Why Haskell will take over the world by a UCD lecturer.
Tags: Haskell, UCD
UCD students will soon be able to enjoy an improved YouTube experience, thanks to the fact that its Internet connection is being upgraded from 1Gbps to 10Gbps :)
OK, I am joking when I write that the purpose of this increased bandwidth is to improve the YouTube experience :P
I wonder how much of this increased bandwidth is needed to keep pace with users’ requirements. I also wonder what sort of new and exciting projects can be undertaken to utilise this increased bandwidth.
For more details about this see UCD gains super-fast connectivity via HEAnet.
Tags: UCD, YouTube
Science Foundation Ireland is an organisation that is tasked by the Irish Government to invest 1.4€ billion in fourth level research in the areas of science, technology, and innovation. (Chris Horn noticed that it is unfortunate that Science Foundation Ireland’s remit excludes Engineering in Accident and Emergency Beds ? Or….)
I am familiar with some of the Science Foundation Ireland projects that are currently being funded in the Irish Universities, so I will briefly mention them here for my own record. I am listing these projects because I either know some of the people involved in them, or they are of interest to me. (I am certainly not suggesting that they are the best in any way!)
There are two Strategic Research Clusters (SRCs) that are of interest to me:
- ITOBO is investigating the creation of new types of buildings that make greater use of information and communication technology. For a long time I have felt that current buildings are really just large, but dumb, devices that contain many simple but totally independent systems. So I think that there is a lot of potential here to create really smart buildings simply by linking these systems and giving them some intelligence. This project is based in UCC.
- StratAG is investigating methods for measuring and processing spatial information. It is based in NUI Maynooth.
For the complete set of Strategic Research Clusters projects see Strategic Research Clusters.
There are three Centres for Science, Engineering & Technology (CSETs) that are of interest to me:
- Clarity is investigating techniques for sensing data in the real world, and then combining this data with existing digital information. This project is based in both DCU and UCD.
- CTVR is investigating both low-level and high-level issues that are relevant to the next generation of telecommunications networks. It is based in TCD.
- Lero is investigating techniques for developing dependable software. It is based in UL.
For the complete set of Centres for Science, Engineering & Technology projects see Centres for Science, Engineering & Technology.
Tags: Chris Horn, Clarity, CTVR, DCU, Ireland, ITOBO, Lero, NUIM, Science Foundation Ireland, StratAG, TCD, UCC, UCD, UL
I have just read the press release on the ChangingWorlds website that announces that it will be acquired by Amdocs for $60 million in cash! That is very nice, and the current owners must be delighted! Congratulations are in order!
As far as I recall, ChangingWorlds started as a UCD campus company, and they received substantial support from Enterprise Ireland.
It really is great to see that it is not all doom and gloom in the current economic downturn!
Tags: Amdocs, Campus Company, ChangingWorlds, Enterprise Ireland, UCD
