So, you're a high school student who's interested in computers, right? You know you want to study them, but every counselor you talk to just tells you the same thing, "go into computer science!" 5 minutes of research online and you realize that no, computer science isn't right for you, you want to build and run servers, or sanitize databases, or work as a security analyst, or whatever! In an hour, we're gonna go over a bunch of different majors and possible careers for computer hobbyists like you, so maybe now you can do your own research instead of letting your counselor or someone else tell you that CS is the only way to go.

You may not realize it, but 99% of things you do on your computer require an Internet connection. Computer networking is an extremely advanced field with countless different uses, protocols, and experimental research making things faster and more reliable. To save time, I'm gonna summarize basic networking with three short topics: -How Websites Work: When you click a link, what happens in the seconds between that click and when the next page is displayed on your screen? It's not as simple as it sounds, and often it involves a hundred (or even thousand)-mile journey happening in the blink of an eye. -Home Networks: So you probably know about the big Internet, the World Wide Web, right? Did you know that in most of your homes/apartments/wherever, you have a mini "internet" that functions all on its own? Let's look into the setup of a normal home network, and I'll even explain how to host your very own LAN party! -Run Your Own Server: Websites, games, databases, etc. All are hosted on servers. Maybe you're interested in hosting a Minecraft server for your friends, or a database server for a cool app you're working on. Well, turns out you've gotta know some fancy networking so you and your friends can actually connect to these from anywhere. Let's get into all that!

Wi-fi? More like WHY-fi, amirite??? Ever wonder exactly how your computer is actually able to get out to the Internet without a wire plugged in? Or, more likely, ever get ridiculously frustrated when you can't seem to stay connected no matter what laptop/phone you're using, how close you are to the wireless router, or how many times you restart the dang thing? In this class, we'll delve right down into the nitty-gritty of just how your devices can communicate wirelessly, and talk a lot about why it's pretty much miraculous that it ever works at all!

Ever thought about building your own computer? Maybe the possibility of potentially saving HUGE gobs of cash is enticing, perhaps the prospect of playing Skyrim on MAXIMUM settings may lure you in, or maybe you’re just a hobbyist who’s curious about how to build a desktop computer. In this class, we’ll go over the process of picking out the right parts for your specific needs, what those parts actually do in your computer, how to survive the interminable wait for your parts to arrive (curse you, Newegg 3-day shipping!), how to actually put the parts together once they DO arrive, and we’ll also go over some questions like “which operating system do I use” and “why is this actually way easier than I thought it would be.” If you’ve ever considered building a desktop computer so you don’t have to deal with the painful process of owning a Dell or HP, or maybe just want to learn a thing or two about computers, this is definitely the class for you!

So, you're a high school student who's interested in computers, right? You know you want to study them, but every counselor you talk to just tells you the same thing, "go into computer science!" 5 minutes of research online and you realize that no, computer science isn't right for you, you want to build and run servers, or sanitize databases, or work as a security analyst, or whatever! In an hour, we're gonna go over a bunch of different majors and possible careers for computer hobbyists like you, so maybe now you can do your own research instead of letting your counselor or someone else tell you that CS is the only way to go.

You may not realize it, but 99% of things you do on your computer require an Internet connection. Computer networking is an extremely advanced field with countless different uses, protocols, and experimental research making things faster and more reliable. To save time, I'm gonna summarize basic networking with three short topics: -How Websites Work: When you click a link, what happens in the seconds between that click and when the next page is displayed on your screen? It's not as simple as it sounds, and often it involves a hundred (or even thousand)-mile journey happening in the blink of an eye. Also, I promise I'll briefly address why Splash registration always seems to hang. ;) -Home Networks: So you probably know about the big Internet, the World Wide Web, right? Did you know that in most of your homes/apartments/wherever, you have a mini "internet" that functions all on its own? Let's look into the setup of a normal home network, and I'll even explain how to host your very own LAN party! -Run Your Own Game Server: Ever feel like hosting your own Minecraft server, just so you can be the evil game admin for once? Maybe host a TF2 server and go crazy with mods. The sky's the limit! We'll go over just what a game server is, how to run your own, and even how to set it up so people across the world can join!

Us techies are awesome. We can write our own operating system, build robots from junk, fix a computer just by looking at it, you name it - we can do it. But, is that enough to get a job or start a business? In short, probably not. In long... come to this class. We'll have a (mostly) informal chat about how to be successful, and what important skills you may not have considered.

Ever thought about building your own computer? Maybe the possibility of potentially saving HUGE gobs of cash is enticing, perhaps the prospect of playing Skyrim on MAXIMUM settings may lure you in, or maybe you’re just a hobbyist who’s curious about how to build a desktop computer. In this class, we’ll go over the process of picking out the right parts for your specific needs, what those parts actually do in your computer, how to survive the interminable wait for your parts to arrive (curse you, Newegg 3-day shipping!), how to actually put the parts together once they DO arrive, and we’ll also go over some questions like “which operating system do I use” and “why is this actually way easier than I thought it would be.” If you’ve ever considered building a desktop computer so you don’t have to deal with the painful process of owning a Dell or HP, or maybe just want to learn a thing or two about computers, this is definitely the class for you!

You may not realize it, but 99% of things you do on your computer require an Internet connection. Computer networking is an extremely advanced field with countless different uses, protocols, and experimental research making things faster and more reliable. To save time, I'm gonna summarize basic networking with three short topics: -How Websites Work: When you click a link, what happens in the seconds between that click and when the next page is displayed on your screen? It's not as simple as it sounds, and often it involves a hundred (or even thousand)-mile journey happening in the blink of an eye. Also, I promise I'll briefly address why Splash registration always seems to hang. ;) -Home Networks: So you probably know about the big Internet, the World Wide Web, right? Did you know that in most of your homes/apartments/wherever, you have a mini "internet" that functions all on its own? Let's look into the setup of a normal home network, and I'll even explain how to host your very own LAN party! -Run Your Own Game Server: Ever feel like hosting your own Minecraft server, just so you can be the evil game admin for once? Maybe host a TF2 server and go crazy with mods. The sky's the limit! We'll go over just what a game server is, how to run your own, and even how to set it up so people across the world can join!

So, you're a high school student who's interested in computers, right? You know you want to study them, but every counselor you talk to just tells you the same thing, "go into computer science!" 5 minutes of research online and you realize that no, computer science isn't right for you, you want to build and run servers, or sanitize databases, or work as a security analyst, or whatever! In an hour, we're gonna go over a bunch of different majors and possible careers for computer hobbyists like you, so maybe now you can do your own research instead of letting your counselor or someone else tell you that CS is the only way to go.

Ever thought about building your own computer? Maybe the possibility of potentially saving HUGE gobs of cash is enticing, perhaps the prospect of playing Skyrim on MAXIMUM settings may lure you in, or maybe you’re just a hobbyist who’s curious about how to build a desktop computer. In this class, we’ll go over the process of picking out the right parts for your specific needs, what those parts actually do in your computer, how to survive the interminable wait for your parts to arrive (curse you, Newegg 3-day shipping!), how to actually put the parts together once they DO arrive, and we’ll also go over some questions like “which operating system do I use” and “why is this actually way easier than I thought it would be.” If you’ve ever considered building a desktop computer so you don’t have to deal with the painful process of owning a Dell or HP, or maybe just want to learn a thing or two about computers, this is definitely the class for you!

Ever thought about building your own computer? Maybe the possibility of potentially saving HUGE gobs of cash is enticing, perhaps the prospect of playing Crysis or Metro 2044 on MAXIMUM settings may lure you in, or hey, maybe you're just a hobbyist who's curious about how to build a desktop computer. In this class, we'll go over the process of picking out the right parts for your specific needs, what those parts actually do in your computer, how to survive the interminable wait for your parts to arrive (curse you, Newegg 3-day shipping!), how to actually put the parts together once they DO arrive, and we'll also go over some questions like "which operating system do I use" and "why is this actually way easier than I thought it would be." If you've ever considered building a desktop computer so you don't have to deal with the painful process of owning a Dell or HP, or maybe just want to learn a thing or two about computers, this is definitely the class for you!

Are you a Guitar Hero? Like, for reals? Or are you just SO CLOSE to beating Raining Blood on expert, when suddenly, your blue button stops working during that LAST trill? You are not alone. In fact, did you know that one in every three Guitar Hero Les Paul wireless controllers has the same fundamental problem? In this class, we'll be opening up some Guitar Hero controllers, learning how to fix some common problems, and possibly covering the basics of further modding. If you have a controller,broken or otherwise, feel free to bring it! It's no fun when everyone's sitting over the same controller! If it's an Xbox360 controller, we can *probably* test it, too!