Topic
How To Build a Smart Boombox
Speaker
Michael MacIsaac
When
Monday, 7:30 PM
Where
In cyberspace. To obtain the URL for this video conference, you must register to attend through the Meetup.com announcement. Meetup.com/ACM-Poughkeepsie. Once you've done so, you'll be able to access the Zoom link on Meetup's page after 6:00 PM the night of this event.
More Information
This program is free and open to the public. Because our meeting is virtual, we will not hold our normal dinner beforehand at the Palace Diner.
For further information, go to Pok.ACM.org (QR code below):
RSVP to ACM Poughkeepsie at

About the Topic
This presentation will describe how to create an open source “smart boombox” that can play music by voice command. Open source also includes hardware. There will be discussion on woodworking, CNC machines, electronics, sound theory, Systems on Chip, GNU/Linux, distros, desktops, free and open-source media players, voice assistants, and other software. All the hardware and a small software package created by the speaker are free and open. The presentation will conclude with commentary on how ChatGPT might change the nature of personal voice assistants.
About the Speaker
After high school, Mike did a tour in the Marine Corps as a radio repairman, then got a Comp. Sci. degree at Northeastern in Boston. He worked at IBM in Kingston and Poughkeepsie mainly on mainframes. When Linux came to z/VM in 2000, Mike says, “I haven't looked back”. Mike's main hobby is woodworking, so the smart boombox marries his passions: wood, electronics, and computers.
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