[kwlug-announce] Meeting Monday: Syncthing, Blockchain (Oct 2019)

[Paul Nijjar]

Synchains. Blockthings. Who can keep all the terminology synchronized,
without double-spending our attention? It can all be a little cryptic,
but fortunately this month's meeting features overviews of
technologies that sometimes feel like magic. If you have things to
sync or chains to block, this meeting is for you.

Last month Sandeep Johri showed us how he set up his home network.
This month he will demonstrate how he keeps his data synchronized
across devices. Syncthing is a peer to peer distributed
synchronization system that aims to work across devices, be safe,
secure, and easy for end users to set up and use. Sandeep will show us
what it is and how he makes use of it in his network. This will be the
beginner-friendly talk of the evening. 

Blockchains are distributed, tamper-resistant databases useful for
storing ledgers. Or maybe they are the future of money? Or maybe they
are a trendy bubble? I don't know, but maybe Gheorghe Curelet-Balan
does? In addition to being KW's unofficial tech videographer he has
been following Bitcoins and blockchains, and will give us an overview
of the fundamental concepts behind them: distributed ledgers,
transactions, mining, proof of work, incentives, governance and more. 

Speaking of blocked things, we are looking for some beginner-friendly
presentations. Do you have something to share that would be
appropriate for people just getting started with Linux? Come to KWLUG
and speak about them. We are a friendly audience, and can schedule you
from November onwards. Contact me (paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca) if you are
interested. 

You are probably tired of me plugging the Watcamp calendar and
newsletter, so why don't I hype up the competition this month? Alex
Kinsella produces a newsletter called TL;WR. In addition to tech
events, Alex promotes a selection of entertainment and community
events in the region. Get it at https://www.alexkinsella.com/tlwr/ .

The LibreOffice group is up and running. It will have its first
independent meeting this Wednesday, October 9, at Conrad Grebel
University. If you are interested in LibreOffice (or would like to
promote its broader use in the community) then Marc would love it if
you attended:
https://www.parentreprise.com/index.php?module=news&type=user&func=display&sid=33

That's all I have, except for the meeting location: 

TriOS College
110 King St E
(in Market Square)
Kitchener

See https://kwlug.org/trios-college for maps and directions. Try to
get there on time so you can get in the doors, or bring a mobile
communications device so that you can call/text the number at the
door. 

- Paul
-- 
Get tech event listings: https://off-topic.kwlug.org/watcamp
Blog: http://pnijjar.freeshell.org