Computing Updates: Summer 2013

The following is a list of user-facing changes to URY's Computing systems over the 2013 Summer break. For Computing technical details, please refer to Ceedox.

Website

• A refreshed website (with lots of changes under the hood).
• The return of a comments section in the URY Player.
• A completely re-vamped Get Involved page with team descriptions and officer photos.
• The return of news and speech pages (syndicating their respective blogspot blogs).
• Tracklists available for Shows.
• More intelligent webcam selection.

Members' Web Services

• Replaced the majority of Members' Internal functionality with MyURY, including main menu.
• New Banner management system replaces Django SiteAdmin. It is now trivial to manage banners and scheduling on the website.
• New Podcast management system replaces Django SiteAdmin. It is now trivial for any member to upload a Podcast. Original Podcast data is now stored and archived for prosperity.
• New Officer page with photos and more prominent vacant positions.
• Members' can now add 'bio' sections to their Profiles. These will soon also appear on the main Website.
• New walkthrough system for applying for Shows and Seasons makes the process more understandable and guides you as you go.
• Pay online at yusu.org? We now pick this up and update your membership data automatically.
• Finished replacement of the NIPSWeb service with MyURY Show Planner.
• Fixed issues with Daylight Savings causing the Scheduler and Demo systems to get confused.
• Replaced iTones service with MyURY Campus Playout Manager.
• Improved automation of PPL report generation.

Campus Jukebox

• Added new magic playlists based on URY's library and playout data to increase the size of the Jukebox's repertoire whilst maintaining a consistent sound.
• Added a hard-restriction on the playing of a song within 6 hours of it being played (requests excepted).
• Tuned the weight balances of the playlists and what a "weight" means.

Under-the-hood Notes

• The URY Membership Year now starts 7 weeks before the start of term, which means that we can start accepting payments and new members the week A Level results are released.
• The mailing list system has been completely replaced in the background. There should be no user impact, but if you seem to be getting less or more emails, please let us know. We've also released guidance documentation on how URY's email service should be used.
• Improved Legume reporting.
• New background checks are in place on the Central Music Library. Track metadata has been automatically scanned and verified or manually reviewed. Library data is now more reliable, including:
  • Track and Artist
  • Album record labels
  • Clean or Explicit