Event List 2008

A selection of previous events

On 03 April 2007 Alan Shepherd (A Shepherd Associates) led a discussion on "Quantum Cryptography". The original synopsis was as follows:

Classical cryptographic systems all have weaknesses that can be attacked by software running on powerful computers. Systems that were considered secure 20 years ago can now be routinely broken - much sooner than their inventors anticipated - and there are concerns that today's systems could equally be broken at some time in the future as a result of advances in mathematics, computation or both. Moreover, there is active research world-wide aimed at developing a quantum computer, which, once realised, would be capable of breaking many existing codes. Quantum Cryptography uses intrinsic physical phenomena implemented in hardware to provide inherently secure communications, and, it is claimed, has the potential to offer the only known antidote to quantum computers.

Alan will briefly examine the theory behind these assertions, give an indication of current practice, and provide some pointers for the future.

JSW says the meeting "was very enjoyable and everyone found it interesting."

The slides from the show are available in Acrobat .pdf format here.

In January 2007 there was a sizeable turnout for the FLINT Christmas Dinner at the RAC Club in Pall Mall.

On 11 Oct 2006 there was a FLINT social at the Salisbuery on St Martin's Lane. No news from that one either...

On 07 Mar 2005 Martin Langham, a principal of Bloor Research, led a discussion on "The Collaboration Explosion". A summary by JSW follows...

An informative and enjoyable evening. About ten members attended and there were almost as many apologies for absence with cast iron excuses.

Martin Langham gave an introductory presentation on the subject, which has been close to the hearts of Flint members for a good many years.

It seems that the availability of useful affordable technology to support remote team-working has eventually arrived. It's no longer just the big companies playing with toys like video-conferencing. Everyone can join in: small companies and individuals.

Martin discussed the various options for supporting collaboration that are now being rolled out by suppliers and of course introduced the new vocabulary: Shared work space, process management, knowledge worker productivity, etc.

A lively discussion ensued as usual, followed by adjournment to a nearby restaurant.

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Richard Cowan's summary (with minor edits by me) of Peter Golden's presentation on Web Services in February 2004 can be found here.

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Slides from the discussion on groupware/collaborative working, led by Roger Tagg in Summer 2003. Warning! - some of these files are quite large because of the images in the presentation:

• PowerPoint 2000(and later) format is here
• Web pages generated from PowerPoint can be viewed here
• The OpenOffice 1 format is here
• Web pages generated from OpenOffice 1 are here
  

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Some rather rudimentary slides from the October 2002 discussion on "The Open Source Alternative", led by Peter Jamieson, can be viewed. There are several versions:

• PowerPoint 2000/97/95 format is here
• Web pages generated from PowerPoint can be viewed here
• The OpenOffice 1 format is here
• Web pages generated from OpenOffice 1 are here
  

(frames-enabled browser required) here or downloaded in PowerPoint format from here.

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Slides from the September 2000 presentation on "XML", led by Peter Jamieson, can be viewed (frames-enabled browser required) here or downloaded in PowerPoint format from here.

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The May 2000 meeting on "Internet Futures" certainly stimulated some interesting debate, especially on the subject of how people would access and use services on the Internet. The late Colin Tugwell's slides can still be found here.

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Slides from the January 2000 presentation on "Customer Relationship Management", led by the late Colin Tugwell, can still be found here. 

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Slides from the October 1999 presentation on "Selling to Government", led by Mike Dulieu, can be viewed (frames-enabled browser required) here or downloaded in PowerPoint format from here.