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58042061 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WatchGuard | WatchGuard | WatchGuard, formally known as WatchGuard Technologies, Inc is a Seattle, Washington-based network security vendor. Its products are designed to protect computer networks from outside threats such as malware and ransomware.
The company was founded in 1996.
History
WatchGuard was founded in 1996 as Seattle Software Labs, Inc. Its first product was a network firewall called the WatchGuard Security Management System, which included the WatchGuard Firebox "firewall in a box" security appliance, along with configuration and administration software.
In 1997, the company changed its name to WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
In July 1999, the company went public on NASDAQ.
In October 2006, the company was acquired for $151 million by private equity firms Francisco Partners and Vector Capital, and Bruce Coleman was brought on as interim CEO.
In August, 2007, Joe Wang became the company's permanent CEO, replacing Coleman.
In May 2014, CEO Wang stepped down and was replaced by interim CEO Michael Kohlsdorf, an operating partner with Francisco Partners.
In April 2015, Kohlsdorf was succeeded as CEO by Prakash Panjwani. It was announced that both Panjwani and Kohlsdorf were joining WatchGuard's board.
In June 2016, the company acquired HawkEye G threat-detection and response technology from Hexis Cyber Solutions, now Sensage, part of KEYW Holding Corp. In October, the company launched the WatchGuard Wi-Fi Cloud, to extend its network security to Wi-Fi networks.
In August 2017, WatchGuard acquired Datablink, a provider of multi-factor authentication software used to secure laptops, servers and other devices.
In January 2018, the company acquired Percipient Networks, a domain name system service provider.
In July 2018, the company announced an application called AuthPoint, designed to provide multi-factor authentication security for businesses.
In March 2020, WatchGuard announced an agreement to acquire Madrid-based Panda Security, a provider of network endpoint security. The deal was completed in June.
Products
The company develops security products and services for businesses. There are four product groups: Network Security, Endpoint Security, Secure Wi-Fi and Multi-Factor Authentication.
The Network Security devices are categorized as Unified Threat Management (UTM), whereby a single device provides multiple security features. The devices include WatchGuard Dimension, a network discovery tool that allows administrators to identify devices on the network, including mobile devices; and WatchGuard cloud, giving the devices access to online threat intelligence.
The Endpoint Security offering includes products and services that provide advanced endpoint security, endpoint antivirus, security operations, and DNS level protection and content filtering.
The Secure Wi-Fi product line consists of secure indoor and outdoor Wave 1 and Wave 2 802.11ac Wi-Fi hardware, security subscription services and WatchGuard's Wi-Fi Cloud, a management platform used to control the devices.
The Multi-Factor Authentication group includes the company's AuthPoint application, a multi-factor authentication management and reporting tool which prevents unauthorized users from accessing sensitive cloud applications, VPNs and networks.
The company also issues a quarterly security report based on feed data from WatchGuard UTM appliances installed at customer sites. The report highlights the type and frequency of malicious attacks occurring on computer networks.
References
External links
Official website
Computer security companies
Companies based in Seattle
American companies established in 1996
Networking hardware companies
Networking companies of the United States
Privately held companies based in Washington (state) |
43216765 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudder%20%28software%29 | Rudder (software) | Rudder is an open source audit and configuration management utility to help automate system configuration across large IT infrastructures. Rudder relies on a lightweight local agent installed on each managed machine.
Rudder is produced by Normation, founded in 2010. Its server-side web interface is written in Scala and its local agent is written in C, and are published as free software under the GNU General Public License 3.0.
Features
Host inventory
Feature-complete Web interface
Standardized, reusable policies
Custom Policy editor
Central reporting and historic information for policy applied to hosts
Grouping based on search queries run against inventory
Automatic updating of such groups (dynamic groups)
Dynamic generation of per-host policies (lessens risk of data leaks from shared policy)
Change Request / Validation
REST API
Git backend
History
Rudder was created by the founding team of Normation and first released as free software in October 2011.
Rudder 3.0 was released in February 2015.
Platform support
The following operating systems are supported as a Root server:
Debian Linux 9 and 10
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS and 20.04 LTS
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) / CentOS 7 and 8
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 12 et 15
The following operating systems are supported for Rudder Nodes and packages are available for these platforms:
Debian Linux 5 to 10
Ubuntu 10.04 LTS to 20.04 LTS
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) / CentOS 3 to 8
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 to 15
IBM AIX 5 to 7
Slackware 14
Microsoft Windows Server 2008R2 or higher
See also
CFEngine
Ansible (software)
Bcfg2
Chef (software)
Puppet (software)
Salt (software)
Comparison of open source configuration management software
DevOps
Otter (software)
References
External links
Official website
Github account
Rudder Documentation
Configuration management
Virtualization-related software for Linux
Software using the GNU AGPL license
Linux configuration utilities
Linux package management-related software
Unix package management-related software
Remote administration software
Software distribution
Free software programmed in Scala |
965842 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CA%20Gen | CA Gen | CA Gen is a Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) application development environment marketed by CA Technologies. Gen was previously known as IEF (Information Engineering Facility), Composer by IEF, Composer, COOL:Gen, Advantage:Gen and AllFusion Gen.
The toolset originally supported the information technology engineering methodology developed by Clive Finkelstein, James Martin and others in the early 1980s. Early versions supported IBM's DB2 database, 3270 'block mode' screens and generated COBOL code.
In the intervening years the toolset has been expanded to support additional development techniques such as component-based development; creation of client/server and web applications and generation of C, Java and C#. In addition, other platforms are now supported such as many variants of *ix-like Operating Systems (AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Linux) as well as Windows.
Its range of supported database technologies have widened to include ORACLE, Microsoft SQL Server, ODBC, JDBC as well as the original DB2.
The toolset is fully integrated - objects identified during analysis carry forward into design without redefinition. All information is stored in a repository (central encyclopedia). The encyclopedia allows for large team development - controlling access so that multiple developers may not change the same object simultaneously.
Overview
It was initially produced by Texas Instruments, with input from James Martin and his consultancy firm James Martin Associates, and was based on the Information Engineering Methodology (IEM). The first version was launched in 1987.
IEF (Information Engineering Facility) became popular among large government departments and public utilities. It initially supported a CICS/COBOL/DB2 target environment. However, it now supports a wider range of relational databases and operating systems. IEF was intended to shield the developer from the complexities of building complete multi-tier cross-platform applications.
In 1995, Texas Instruments decided to change their marketing focus for the product. Part of this change included a new name - "Composer".
By 1996, IEF had become a popular tool. However, it was criticized by some IT professionals for being too restrictive, as well as for having a high per-workstation cost ($15K USD). But it is claimed that IEF reduces development time and costs by removing complexity and allowing rapid development of large scale enterprise transaction processing systems.
In 1997, Composer had another change of branding, Texas Instruments sold the Texas Instruments Software division, including the Composer rights, to Sterling Software. Sterling software changed the well known name "Information Engineering Facility" to "COOL:Gen". COOL was an acronym for "Common Object Oriented Language" - despite the fact that there was little object orientation in the product.
In 2000, Sterling Software was acquired by Computer Associates (now CA). CA has rebranded the product three times to date and the product is still used widely today. Under CA, recent releases of the tool added support for the CA-Datacom DBMS, the Linux operating system, C# code generation and ASP.NET web clients. The current version is known as CA Gen - version 8 being released in May 2010, with support for customised web services, and more of the toolset being based around the Eclipse framework.
There are a variety of "add-on" tools available for CA Gen, including Project Phoenix from Jumar - a collection of software tools and services focused on the modernisation and re-platforming of existing/legacy CA Gen applications to new environments, GuardIEn - a Configuration Management and Developer Productivity Suite, QAT Wizard, an interview style wizard that takes advantage of the meta model in Gen, products for multi-platform application reporting and XML/SOAP enabling of Gen applications., and developer productivity tools such as Access Gen, APMConnect, QA Console and Upgrade Console from Response Systems
Recently CA GEN has released its latest version 8.6.
References
External links
CA Gen official site
Capgemini REGENERATE offering - Support, Update, Migrate
CA Gen EDGE - sponsored by the EDGE User Group
QAT Global - CA Gen Services and Training Provider (USA)
Deloitte Consulting - CA Gen Product and Service Provider
IET - CA Gen Product and Services Provider (UK)
Jumar Solutions - CA Gen Product and Services Provider (UK)
Response Systems - CA Gen Product and Services Provider (UK)
Facet Consulting - CA Gen Services Provider (Australia)
Canam Software Labs, Inc. - CA Gen Product and Service Provider (Canada)
Computer-aided software engineering tools
Data management
CA Technologies
Fourth-generation programming languages
Edited by: Sambit Mishra |
1161746 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciphertext%20stealing | Ciphertext stealing | In cryptography, ciphertext stealing (CTS) is a general method of using a block cipher mode of operation that allows for processing of messages that are not evenly divisible into blocks without resulting in any expansion of the ciphertext, at the cost of slightly increased complexity.
General characteristics
Ciphertext stealing is a technique for encrypting plaintext using a block cipher, without padding the message to a multiple of the block size, so the ciphertext is the same size as the plaintext.
It does this by altering processing of the last two blocks of the message. The processing of all but the last two blocks is unchanged, but a portion of the second-last block's ciphertext is "stolen" to pad the last plaintext block. The padded final block is then encrypted as usual.
The final ciphertext, for the last two blocks, consists of the partial penultimate block (with the "stolen" portion omitted) plus the full final block, which are the same size as the original plaintext.
Decryption requires decrypting the final block first, then restoring the stolen ciphertext to the penultimate block, which can
then be decrypted as usual.
In principle any block-oriented block cipher mode of operation can be used, but stream-cipher-like modes can already be applied to messages of arbitrary length without padding, so they do not benefit from this technique. The common modes of operation that are coupled with ciphertext stealing are Electronic Codebook (ECB) and Cipher Block Chaining (CBC).
Ciphertext stealing for ECB mode requires the plaintext to be longer than one block. A possible workaround is to use a stream cipher-like block cipher mode of operation when the plaintext length is one block or less, such as the CTR, CFB or OFB modes.
Ciphertext stealing for CBC mode doesn't necessarily require the plaintext to be longer than one block. In the case where the plaintext is one block long or less, the Initialization vector (IV) can act as the prior block of ciphertext. In this case a modified IV must be sent to the receiver. This may not be possible in situations where the IV can not be freely chosen by the sender when the ciphertext is sent (e.g., when the IV is a derived or pre-established value), and in this case ciphertext stealing for CBC mode can only occur in plaintexts longer than one block.
To implement CTS encryption or decryption for data of unknown length, the implementation must delay processing (and buffer) the two most recent blocks of data, so that they can be properly processed at the end of the data stream.
Ciphertext format
There are several different ways to arrange the ciphertext for transmission. The ciphertext bits are the same in all cases, just transmitted in a different order, so the choice has no security implications; it is purely one of implementation convenience.
The numbering here is taken from Dworkin, who describes them all. The third is the most popular, and described by Daemen and Schneier; Meyer describes a related, but incompatible scheme (with respect to bit ordering and key use).
CS1
Arguably the most obvious way to arrange the ciphertext is to transmit the truncated penultimate block, followed by the full final block. This is not convenient for the receiver for two reasons:
The receiver must decrypt the final block first in any case, and
This results in the final block not being aligned on a natural boundary, complicating hardware implementations.
This does have the advantage that, if the final plaintext block happens to be a multiple of the block size, the ciphertext is identical to that of the original mode of operation without ciphertext stealing.
CS2
It is often more convenient to swap the final two ciphertext blocks, so the ciphertext ends with the full final block, followed by the truncated penultimate block. This results in naturally aligned ciphertext blocks.
In order to maintain compatibility with the non-stealing modes, option CS2 performs this swap only if the amount of stolen ciphertext is non-zero, i.e. the original message was not a multiple of the block size.
This maintains natural alignment, and compatibility with the non-stealing modes, but requires treating the cases of aligned and unaligned message size differently.
CS3
The most popular alternative swaps the final two ciphertext blocks unconditionally. This is the ordering used in the descriptions below.
Ciphertext stealing mode description
In order to encrypt or decrypt data, use the standard block cipher mode of operation on all but the last two blocks of data.
The following steps describe how to handle the last two blocks of the plaintext, called Pn−1 and Pn, where the length of Pn−1 equals the block size of the cipher in bits, B; the length of the last block, Pn, is M bits; and K is the key that is in use. M can range from 1 to B, inclusive, so Pn could possibly be a complete block. The CBC mode description also makes use of the ciphertext block just previous to the blocks concerned, Cn−2, which may in fact be the IV if the plaintext fits within two blocks.
For this description, the following functions and operators are used:
Head (data, a): returns the first a bits of the 'data' string.
Tail (data, a): returns the last a bits of the 'data' string.
Encrypt (K, data): use the underlying block cipher in encrypt mode on the 'data' string using the key K.
Decrypt (K, data): use the underlying block cipher in decrypt mode on the 'data' string using the key K.
XOR: Bitwise Exclusive-OR. Equivalent to bitwise addition without use of a carry bit.
||: Concatenation operator. Combine the strings on either side of the operator.
0a: a string of a 0 bits.
ECB ciphertext stealing
Ciphertext stealing in ECB mode introduces an inter-block dependency within the last two blocks, resulting in altered error propagation behavior for the last two blocks.
ECB encryption steps (see figure)
En−1 = Encrypt (K, Pn−1). Encrypt Pn−1 to create En−1. This is equivalent to the behavior of standard ECB mode.
Cn = Head (En−1, M). Select the first M bits of En−1 to create Cn. The final ciphertext block, Cn, is composed of the leading M bits of the second-to-last ciphertext block. In all cases, the last two blocks are sent in a different order than the corresponding plaintext blocks.
Dn = Pn || Tail (En−1, B−M). Pad Pn with the low order bits from En−1.
Cn−1 = Encrypt (K, Dn). Encrypt Dn to create Cn−1. For the first M bits, this is equivalent to what would happen in ECB mode (other than the ciphertext ordering). For the last B−M bits, this is the second time that these data have been encrypted under this key (It was already encrypted in the production of En−1 in step 2).
ECB decryption steps
Dn = Decrypt (K, Cn−1). Decrypt Cn−1 to create Dn. This undoes step 4 of the encryption process.
En−1 = Cn || Tail (Dn, B−M). Pad Cn with the extracted ciphertext in the tail end of Dn (placed there in step 3 of the ECB encryption process).
Pn = Head (Dn, M). Select the first M bits of Dn to create Pn. As described in step 3 of the ECB encryption process, the first M bits of Dn contain Pn. We queue this last (possibly partial) block for eventual output.
Pn−1 = Decrypt (K, En−1). Decrypt En−1 to create Pn−1. This reverses encryption step 1.
ECB ciphertext stealing error propagation
A bit error in the transmission of Cn−1 would result in the block-wide corruption of both Pn−1 and Pn.
A bit error in the transmission of Cn would result in the block-wide corruption of Pn−1. This is a significant change from ECB's error propagation behavior.
CBC ciphertext stealing
In CBC, there is already interaction between processing of different adjacent blocks, so CTS has less conceptual impact in this mode. Error propagation is affected.
CBC encryption steps
Xn−1 = Pn−1 XOR Cn−2. Exclusive-OR Pn−1 with the previous ciphertext block, Cn−2, to create Xn−1. This is equivalent to the behavior of standard CBC mode.
En−1 = Encrypt (K, Xn−1). Encrypt Xn−1 to create En−1. This is equivalent to the behavior of standard CBC mode.
Cn = Head (En−1, M). Select the first M bits of En−1 to create Cn. The final ciphertext block, Cn, is composed of the leading M bits of the second-to-last ciphertext block. In all cases, the last two blocks are sent in a different order than the corresponding plaintext blocks.
P = Pn || 0B−M. Pad Pn with zeros at the end to create P of length B. The zero padding in this step is important for step 5.
Dn = En−1 XOR P. Exclusive-OR En−1 with P to create Dn. For the first M bits of the block, this is equivalent to CBC mode; the first M bits of the previous block's ciphertext, En−1,are XORed with the M bits of plaintext of the last plaintext block. The zero padding of P in step 4 was important, because it makes the XOR operation's effect on the last B−M bits equivalent to copying the last B−M bits of En−1 to the end of Dn. These are the same bits that were stripped off of En−1 in step 3 when Cn was created.
Cn−1 = Encrypt (K, Dn). Encrypt Dn to create Cn−1. For the first M bits, this is equivalent to what would happen in CBC mode (other than the ciphertext ordering). For the last B−M bits, this is the second time that these data have been encrypted under this key (It was already encrypted in the production of En−1 in step 2).
CBC decryption steps
Dn = Decrypt (K, Cn−1). Decrypt Cn−1 to create Dn. This undoes step 6 of the encryption process.
C = Cn || 0B−M. Pad Cn with zeros at the end to create a block C of length B. We are padding Cn with zeros to help in step 3.
Xn = Dn XOR C. Exclusive-OR Dn with C to create Xn. Looking at the first M bits, this step has the result of XORing Cn (the first M bits of the encryption process' En−1) with the (now decrypted) Pn XOR Head (En−1, M) (see steps 4-5 of the encryption process). In other words, we have CBC decrypted the first M bits of Pn. Looking at the last B−M bits, this recovers the last B−M bits of En−1.
Pn = Head (Xn, M). Select the first M bits of Xn to create Pn. As described in step 3, the first M bits of Xn contain Pn. We queue this last (possibly partial) block for eventual output.
En−1 = Cn || Tail (Xn, B−M). Append the tail (B−M) bits of Xn to Cn to create En−1. As described in step 3, En−1 is composed of all of Cn (which is M bits long) appended with the last B−M bits of Xn. We reassemble En−1 (which is the same En−1 seen in the encryption process) for processing in step 6.
Xn−1 = Decrypt (K, En−1). Decrypt En−1 to create Xn−1. This reverses encryption step 2. Xn−1 is the same as in the encryption process.
Pn−1 = Xn−1 XOR Cn−2. Exclusive-OR Xn−1 with the previous ciphertext block, Cn−2, to create Pn−1. Finally, we reverse the XOR step from step 1 of the encryption process.
CBC implementation notes
For CBC ciphertext stealing, there is a clever (but opaque) method of implementing the described ciphertext stealing process using a standard CBC interface. Using this method imposes a performance penalty in the decryption stage of one extra block decryption operation over what would be necessary using a dedicated implementation.
CBC ciphertext stealing encryption using a standard CBC interface
Pad the last partial plaintext block with 0.
Encrypt the whole padded plaintext using the standard CBC mode.
Swap the last two ciphertext blocks.
Truncate the ciphertext to the length of the original plaintext.
CBC ciphertext stealing decryption using a standard CBC interface
Dn = Decrypt (K, Cn−1). Decrypt the second-to-last ciphertext block using ECB mode.
Cn = Cn || Tail (Dn, B−M). Pad the ciphertext to the nearest multiple of the block size using the last B−M bits of block cipher decryption of the second-to-last ciphertext block.
Swap the last two ciphertext blocks.
Decrypt the (modified) ciphertext using the standard CBC mode.
Truncate the plaintext to the length of the original ciphertext.
CBC ciphertext stealing error propagation
A bit error in the transmission of Cn−1 would result in the block-wide corruption of both Pn−1 and Pn.
A bit error in the transmission of Cn would result in a corresponding bit error in Pn, and in the block-wide corruption of Pn−1.
References
Cryptographic algorithms |
3806928 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnix | Finnix | Finnix is a Debian-based Live CD operating system, developed by Ryan Finnie and intended for system administrators for tasks such as filesystem recovery, network monitoring and OS installation. Finnix is a relatively small distribution, with an ISO download size of approximately 100 MiB, and is available for the x86 and PowerPC architectures, and paravirtualized (User Mode Linux and Xen) systems. Finnix can be run off a bootable CD, a USB flash drive, a hard drive, or network boot (PXE).
History
Finnix development first began in 1999, making it one of the oldest distributions released with the intent of being run completely from a bootable CD (the other Live CD around at the time was the Linuxcare Bootable Business Card CD, first released in 1999). Finnix 0.01 was based on Red Hat Linux 6.0, and was created to help with administration and recovery of other Linux workstations around Finnie's office. The first public release of Finnix was 0.03, and was released in early 2000, based on an updated Red Hat Linux 6.1. Despite its 300 MiB ISO size and requirement of 32 MiB RAM (which, given RAM prices and lack of high-speed Internet proliferation at the time, was prohibitive for many), Finnix enjoyed moderate success, with over 10,000 downloads. After version 0.03, development ceased, and Finnix was left unmaintained until 2005.
On 23 October 2005, Finnix 86.0 was released. Earlier unreleased versions (84, and 85.0 through 85.3) were "Knoppix remasters", with support for Linux LVM and dm-crypt being the main reason for creation. However, 86.0 was a departure from Knoppix, and was derived directly from the Debian "testing" tree.
Usage
Finnix is released as a small bootable CD ISO. A user can download the ISO, burn the image to CD, and boot into a text mode Linux environment. Finnix requires at least 32 MiB RAM to run properly, but can use more if present. Most hardware devices are detected and dealt with automatically, such as hard drives, network cards and USB devices. A user can modify files nearly anywhere on the running CD via a union mount filesystem (UnionFS or AUFS, depending on the Finnix release), stacking a read-write filesystem (in this case, a dynamic ramdisk) on top of a read-only filesystem (the CD media). Any changes made during the Finnix session are transparently written to RAM and discarded upon shutdown. In addition, Finnix uses SquashFS to keep distribution size low.
Finnix can be run completely within RAM, provided the system has at least 192 MiB RAM available. If a "toram" option is passed to Finnix, most of the contents of the CD are copied to a RAM disk, and the CD is ejected, freeing the CD-ROM drive for other purposes. Finnix can also be placed on a bootable USB thumb drive, or installed permanently on a hard drive (though still functioning as if it were a LiveCD).
Finnix is available for several processor architectures. The primary architecture is x86, with an additional x86-64 kernel included. PowerPC support is available with most releases as a separate CD, released concurrently with its x86 counterpart. In addition, Finnix is aware of both the User Mode Linux and Xen virtualization systems. UML and Xen Virtual private server providers such as Linode can provide Finnix as a recovery/maintenance distribution to their customers.
Versions
New versions of Finnix are released every 3 months on average, with updated software from the Debian "testing" tree, along with new Finnix-specific functionality. Versions 86.0 through 93.0 used a major/minor versioning scheme, with major releases usually including major functionality changes, and minor releases including minor fixes and Debian updates to bring Finnix's packages up to date with Debian's "testing" tree. Beginning with version 100, releases are numbered as a simple incrementing integer. Development builds are named after cities and towns in Wisconsin.
References
External links
2000 software
Debian-based distributions
X86-64 Linux distributions
PowerPC operating systems
Operating system distributions bootable from read-only media
Light-weight Linux distributions
LiveDistro
Live USB
Linux distributions |
2191130 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward%20secrecy | Forward secrecy | In cryptography, forward secrecy (FS), also known as perfect forward secrecy (PFS), is a feature of specific key agreement protocols that gives assurances that session keys will not be compromised even if long-term secrets used in the session key exchange are compromised. For HTTPS, the long-term secret is typically the private key of the server. Forward secrecy protects past sessions against future compromises of keys or passwords. By generating a unique session key for every session a user initiates, the compromise of a single session key will not affect any data other than that exchanged in the specific session protected by that particular key. This by itself is not sufficient for forward secrecy which additionally requires that a long-term secret compromise does not affect the security of past session keys.
Forward secrecy protects data on the transport layer of a network that uses common Transport Layer Security protocols, including OpenSSL, when its long-term secret keys are compromised, as with the Heartbleed security bug. If forward secrecy is used, encrypted communications and sessions recorded in the past cannot be retrieved and decrypted should long-term secret keys or passwords be compromised in the future, even if the adversary actively interfered, for example via a man-in-the-middle attack.
The value of forward secrecy is that it protects past communication. This reduces the motivation for attackers to compromise keys. For instance, if an attacker learns a long-term key, but the compromise is detected and the long-term key is revoked and updated, relatively little information is leaked in a forward secure system.
The value of forward secrecy depends on the assumed capabilities of an adversary. Forward secrecy has value if an adversary is assumed to be able to obtain secret keys from a device (read access) but is either detected or unable to modify the way session keys are generated in the device (full compromise). In some cases an adversary who can read long-term keys from a device may also be able to modify the functioning of the session key generator, as in the backdoored Dual Elliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator. If an adversary can make the random number generator predictable, then past traffic will be protected but all future traffic will be compromised.
The value of forward secrecy is limited not only by the assumption that an adversary will attack a server by only stealing keys and not modifying the random number generator used by the server but it is also limited by the assumption that the adversary will only passively collect traffic on the communications link and not be active using a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack. Forward secrecy typically uses an ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key exchange to prevent reading past traffic. The ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key exchange is often signed by the server using a static signing key. If an adversary can steal (or obtain through a court order) this static (long term) signing key, the adversary can masquerade as the server to the client and as the client to the server and implement a classic Man-in-the-Middle attack.
History
The term "perfect forward secrecy" was coined by C. G. Günther in 1990 and further discussed by Whitfield Diffie, Paul van Oorschot, and Michael James Wiener in 1992 where it was used to describe a property of the Station-to-Station protocol.
Forward secrecy has also been used to describe the analogous property of password-authenticated key agreement protocols where the long-term secret is a (shared) password.
In 2000 the IEEE first ratified IEEE 1363, which establishes the related one-party and two-party forward secrecy properties of various standard key agreement schemes.
Definition
An encryption system has the property of forward secrecy if plain-text (decrypted) inspection of the data exchange that occurs during key agreement phase of session initiation does not reveal the key that was used to encrypt the remainder of the session.
Example
The following is a hypothetical example of a simple instant messaging protocol that employs forward secrecy:
Alice and Bob each generate a pair of long-term, asymmetric public and private keys, then verify public-key fingerprints in person or over an already-authenticated channel. Verification establishes with confidence that the claimed owner of a public key is the actual owner.
Alice and Bob use a key exchange algorithm such as Diffie–Hellman, to securely agree on an ephemeral session key. They use the keys from step 1 only to authenticate one another during this process.
Alice sends Bob a message, encrypting it with a symmetric cipher using the session key negotiated in step 2.
Bob decrypts Alice's message using the key negotiated in step 2.
The process repeats for each new message sent, starting from step 2 (and switching Alice and Bob's roles as sender/receiver as appropriate). Step 1 is never repeated.
Forward secrecy (achieved by generating new session keys for each message) ensures that past communications cannot be decrypted if one of the keys generated in an iteration of step 2 is compromised, since such a key is only used to encrypt a single message. Forward secrecy also ensures that past communications cannot be decrypted if the long-term private keys from step 1 are compromised. However, masquerading as Alice or Bob would be possible going forward if this occurred, possibly compromising all future messages.
Attacks
Forward secrecy is designed to prevent the compromise of a long-term secret key from affecting the confidentiality of past conversations. However, forward secrecy cannot defend against a successful cryptanalysis of the underlying ciphers being used, since a cryptanalysis consists of finding a way to decrypt an encrypted message without the key, and forward secrecy only protects keys, not the ciphers themselves. A patient attacker can capture a conversation whose confidentiality is protected through the use of public-key cryptography and wait until the underlying cipher is broken (e.g. large quantum computers could be created which allow the discrete logarithm problem to be computed quickly). This would allow the recovery of old plaintexts even in a system employing forward secrecy.
Weak perfect forward secrecy
Weak perfect forward secrecy (Wpfs) is the weaker property whereby when agents' long-term keys are compromised, the secrecy of previously established session-keys is guaranteed, but only for sessions in which the adversary did not actively interfere. This new notion, and the distinction between this and forward secrecy was introduced by Hugo Krawczyk in 2005.
This weaker definition implicitly requires that full (perfect) forward secrecy maintains the secrecy of previously established session keys even in sessions where the adversary did actively interfere, or attempted to act as a man in the middle.
Protocols
Forward secrecy is present in several major protocol implementations, such as SSH and as an optional feature in IPsec (RFC 2412). Off-the-Record Messaging, a cryptography protocol and library for many instant messaging clients, as well as OMEMO which provides additional features such as multi-user functionality in such clients, both provide forward secrecy as well as deniable encryption.
In Transport Layer Security (TLS), cipher suites based on Diffie–Hellman key exchange (DHE-RSA, DHE-DSA) and elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman key exchange (ECDHE-RSA, ECDHE-ECDSA) are available. In theory, TLS can choose appropriate ciphers since SSLv3, but in everyday practice many implementations have refused to offer forward secrecy or only provide it with very low encryption grade. TLS 1.3 leaves ephemeral Diffie–Hellman (finite field and elliptic curve variants) as the only remaining key exchange mechanism, in order to ensure forward secrecy.
OpenSSL supports forward secrecy using elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman since version 1.0, with a computational overhead of approximately 15% for the initial handshake.
The Signal Protocol uses the Double Ratchet Algorithm to provide forward secrecy. Puncturable encryption scheme, introduced by Green and Miers in 2015, makes use of Hierarchical identity-based encryption and Attribute-based encryption to provide forward secrecy without requiring pre-keys, unlike the Signal Protocol which is vulnerable to pre-key exhaustion attacks.
On the other hand, among popular protocols currently in use, WPA does not support forward secrecy.
Use
Forward secrecy is seen as an important security feature by several large Internet information providers. Since late 2011, Google provided forward secrecy with TLS by default to users of its Gmail service, Google Docs service, and encrypted search services. Since November 2013, Twitter provided forward secrecy with TLS to its users. Wikis hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation have all provided forward secrecy to users since July 2014 and are requiring the use of forward secrecy since August 2018.
Facebook reported as part of an investigation into email encryption that, as of May 2014, 74% of hosts that support STARTTLS also provide forward secrecy. TLS 1.3, published in August 2018, dropped support for ciphers without forward secrecy. , 96.6% of web servers surveyed support some form of forward secrecy, and 52.1% will use forward secrecy with most browsers.
At WWDC 2016, Apple announced that all iOS apps would need to use App Transport Security (ATS), a feature which enforces the use of HTTPS transmission. Specifically, ATS requires the use of an encryption cipher that provides forward secrecy. ATS became mandatory for apps on January 1, 2017.
The Signal messaging application employs forward secrecy in its protocol, notably differentiating it from messaging protocols based on PGP.
See also
Forward anonymity
Diffie–Hellman key exchange
Elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman
References
External links
IETF, H. Orman. The OAKLEY Key Determination Protocol
Forward-secure-survey An overview
Perfect Forward Secrecy can block the NSA from secure web pages, but no one uses it Computerworld June 21, 2013
SSL: Intercepted today, decrypted tomorrow Netcraft June 25, 2013
Deploying Forward Secrecy SSL Labs June 25, 2013
SSL Labs test for web browsers
SSL Labs test for web servers
Key management
Public-key cryptography
Transport Layer Security |
816732 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xilinx | Xilinx | Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company was known for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and creating the first fabless manufacturing model.
Xilinx was co-founded by Ross Freeman, Bernard Vonderschmitt, and James V Barnett II in 1984 and the company went public on the NASDAQ in 1989. AMD announced its acquisition of Xilinx in October 2020 and the deal was completed on February 14, 2022 through an all-stock transaction worth an estimated $50 billion.
Company overview
Xilinx was founded in Silicon Valley in 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, USA, with additional offices in Longmont, USA; Dublin, Ireland; Singapore; Hyderabad, India; Beijing, China; Shanghai, China; Brisbane, Australia and Tokyo, Japan.
According to Bill Carter, former CTO and current fellow at Xilinx, the choice of the name Xilinx refers to the chemical symbol for silicon Si. The 'X's at each end represent programmable logic blocks. The "linx" represents programmable links that connect the logic blocks together.
Xilinx sells a broad range of FPGAs, complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), design tools, intellectual property and reference designs. Xilinx customers represent just over half of the entire programmable logic market, at 51%. Altera (now Intel) is Xilinx's strongest competitor with 34% of the market. Other key players in this market are Actel (now Microsemi), and Lattice Semiconductor.
History
Early history
Ross Freeman, Bernard Vonderschmitt, and James V Barnett II—all former employees of Zilog, an integrated circuit and solid-state device manufacturer—co-founded Xilinx in 1984 with headquarters in San Jose, USA.
While working for Zilog, Freeman wanted to create chips that acted like a blank tape, allowing users to program the technology themselves. "The concept required lots of transistors and, at that time, transistors were considered extremely precious—people thought that Ross's idea was pretty far out", said Xilinx Fellow Bill Carter, hired in 1984 to design ICs as Xilinx's eighth employee.
It was at the time more profitable to manufacture generic circuits in massive volumes than specialized circuits for specific markets. FPGA promised to make specialized circuits profitable.
Freeman could not convince Zilog to invest in FPGAs to chase a market then estimated at $100 million, so he and Barnett left to team up with Vonderschmitt, a former colleague. Together, they raised $4.5 million in venture funding to design the first commercially viable FPGA. They incorporated the company in 1984 and began selling its first product by 1985.
By late 1987, the company had raised more than $18 million in venture capital (equivalent to $ million in ) and was making nearly $14 million a year.
Expansion
From 1988 to 1990, the company's revenue grew each year, from $30 million to $100 million. During this time, Monolithic Memories Inc. (MMI), the company which had been providing funding to Xilinx, was purchased by AMD. As a result, Xilinx dissolved the deal with MMI and went public on the NASDAQ in 1989. The company also moved to a plant in San Jose, California, to handle increasingly large orders from HP, Apple Inc., IBM and Sun Microsystems.
Other FPGA makers emerged in the mid-1990s. By 1995, the company reached $550 million in revenue. Over the years, Xilinx expanded operations to India, Asia and Europe.
Xilinx's sales rose to $2.53 billion by the end of its fiscal year 2018. Moshe Gavrielov – an EDA and ASIC industry veteran who was appointed president and CEO in early 2008 – introduced targeted design platforms that combine FPGAs with software, IP cores, boards and kits to address focused target applications. These targeted design platforms are an alternative to costly application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and application-specific standard products (ASSPs).
On January 4, 2018, Victor Peng, the company's COO, replaced Gavrielov as CEO.
Recent history
In 2011, the company introduced the Virtex-7 2000T, the first product based on 2.5D stacked silicon (based on silicon interposer technology) to deliver larger FPGAs than could be built using standard monolithic silicon. Xilinx then adapted the technology to combine formerly separate components in a single chip, first combining an FPGA with transceivers based on heterogeneous process technology to boost bandwidth capacity while using less power.
According to former Xilinx CEO Moshe Gavrielov, the addition of a heterogeneous communications device, combined with the introduction of new software tools and the Zynq-7000 line of 28 nm SoC devices that combine an ARM core with an FPGA, are part of shifting its position from a programmable logic device supplier to one delivering “all things programmable”.
In addition to Zynq-7000, Xilinx product lines include the Virtex, Kintex and Artix series, each including configurations and models optimized for different applications. In April 2012, the company introduced the Vivado Design Suite - a next-generation SoC-strength design environment for advanced electronic system designs. In May, 2014, the company shipped the first of the next generation FPGAs: the 20 nm UltraScale.
In September 2017, Amazon.com and Xilinx started a campaign for FPGA adoption. This campaign enables AWS Marketplace's Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) with associated Amazon FPGA Instances created by partners. The two companies released software development tools to simplify the creation of FPGA technology. The tools create and manage the machine images created and sold by partners.
In July 2018, Xilinx acquired DeepPhi Technology, a Chinese machine learning startup founded in 2016. In October 2018, the Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ FPGAs and NGCodec's H.265 video encoder were used in a cloud-based video coding service using the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). The combination enables video streaming with the same visual quality as that using GPUs, but at 35%-45% lower bitrate.
In November 2018, the company's Zynq UltraScale+ family of multiprocessor system-on-chips was certified to Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 HFT1 of the IEC 61508 specification. With this certification, developers are able to use the MPSoC platform in AI-based safety- applications of up to SIL 3, in industrial 4.0 platforms of automotive, aerospace, and AI systems. In January 2019, ZF Friedrichshafen AG (ZF) worked with Xilinx's Zynq to power its ProAI automotive control unit, which is used to enable automated driving applications. Xilinx's platform overlooks the aggregation, pre-processing, and distribution of real-time data, and accelerates the AI processing of the unit.
In November 2018, Xilinx migrated its defense-grade XQ UltraScale+ products to TSMC's 16 nm FinFET Process. The products included the industry's first Defense-grade heterogeneous multi-processor SoC devices, and encompassed the XQ Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoCs and RFSoCs as well as XQ UltraScale+ Kintex and Virtex FPGAs. That same month the company expanded its Alveo data center accelerator cards portfolio with the Alveo U280. The initial Alveo line included the U200 and U250, which featured 16 nm UltraScale+ Virtex FPGAs and DDR4 SDRAM. Those two cards were launched in October 2018 at the Xilinx Developer Forum. At the Forum, Victor Peng, CEO of semiconductor design at Xilinx, and AMD CTO Mark Papermaster, used eight Alveo U250 cards and two AMD Epyc 7551 server CPUs to set a new world record for inference throughput at 30,000 images per second.
Also in November 2018, Xilinx announced that Dell EMC was the first server vendor to qualify its Alveo U200 accelerator card, used to accelerate key HPC and other workloads with select Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. The U280 included support for high-bandwidth memory (HBM2) and high-performance server interconnect. In August 2019, Xilinx launched the Alveo U50, a low profile adaptable accelerator with PCIe Gen4 support. The U55C accelerator card was launched in November 2021, designed for HPCC and big data workloads by incorporating the RoCE v2-based clustering solution, allowing for FPGA-based HPCC clustering to be integrated into existing data center infrastructures.
In January 2019 K&L Gates, a law firm representing Xilinx sent a DMCA cease and desist letter to an EE YouTuber claiming trademark infringement for featuring the Xilinx logo next to Altera's in an educational video. Xilinx refused to reply until a video outlining the legal threat was published, after which they sent an apology e-mail.
In January 2019, Baidu announced that its new edge acceleration computing product, EdgeBoard, was powered by Xilinx. Edgeboard is a part of the Baidu Brain AI Hardware Platform Initiative, which encompasses Baidu's open computing services, and hardware and software products for its edge AI applications. Edgeboard is based on the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, which uses real-time processors together with programmable logic. The Xilinx-based Edgeboard can be used to develop products like smart-video security surveillance solutions, advanced-driver-assistance systems, and next-generation robots.
In February 2019, the company announced two new generations of its Zynq UltraScale+ RF system on chip (RFSoC) portfolio. The device covers the entire sub-6 GHz spectrum, which is necessary for 5G, and the updates included: an extended millimeter wave interface, up to 20% power reduction in the RF data converter subsystem compared to the base portfolio, and support of 5G New Radio. The second generation release covered up to 5 GHz, while the third went up to 6 GHz. As of February, the portfolio was the only adaptable radio platform single chip that had been designed to address the industry's 5G network needs. The second announcement revealed that Xilinx and Samsung Electronics performed the world's first 5G New Radio (NR) commercial deployment in South Korea. The two companies developed and deployed 5G Massive Multiple-input, Multiple-output (m-MIMO) and millimeter wave (mmWave) products using Xilinx's UltraScale+ platform. The capabilities are essential for 5G commercialization. The companies also announced collaboration on Xilinx's Versal adaptable compute acceleration platform (ACAP) products that will deliver 5G services. In February 2019, Xilinx introduced a HDMI 2.1 IP subsystem core, which enabled the company's devices to transmit, receive, and process up to 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels) UHD video in media players, cameras, monitors, LED walls, projectors, and kernel-based virtual machines.
In April 2019, Xilinx entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Solarflare Communications, Inc. Xilinx became a strategic investor in Solarflare in 2017. The companies have been collaborating since then on advanced networking technology, and in March 2019 demonstrated their first joint solution: a single-chip FPGA-based 100G NIC. The acquisition enables Xilinx to combine its FPGA, MPSoC and ACAP solutions with Solarflare's NIC technology. In August 2019, Xilinx announced that the company would be adding the world's largest FPGA - the Virtex Ultrascale+ VU19P, to the 16 nm Virtex Ultrascale+ family. The VU19P contains 35 billion transistors.
In June 2019, Xilinx announced that it was shipping its first Versal chips. Using ACAP, the chips’ hardware and software can be programmed to run almost any kind of AI software. On October 1, 2019, Xilinx announced the launch of Vitis, a unified software platform that helps developers take advantage of hardware adaptability.
In 2019, Xilinx exceeded $3 billion in annual revenues for the first time, announcing revenues of $3.06 billion, up 24% from the prior fiscal year. Revenues were $828 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, up 4% from the prior quarter and up 30% year over year. Xilinx's Communications sector represented 41% of the revenue; the industrial, aerospace, and defense sectors represented 27%; the Data Center and Test, Measurement & Emulation (TME) sectors accounted for 18%; and the automotive, broadcast, and consumer markets contributed 14%.
In August 2020, Subaru announced the use of one of Xilinx's chips as processing power for camera images in its driver-assistance system. In September 2020, Xilinx announced its new chipset, the T1 Telco Accelerator card, that can be used for units running on an open RAN 5G network.
On October 27, 2020, American chip making company AMD reached an agreement to acquire Xilinx in a stock-swap deal, valuing the company at $35 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2021. Their stockholders approved acquisition on April 7, 2021. The deal had completed on February 14, 2022.
In December 2020, Xilinx announced they were acquiring the assets of Falcon Computing Systems to enhance the Vitis platform.
In April 2021, Xilinx announced a collaboration with Mavenir to boost cell phone tower capacity for open 5G networks. That same month, the company unveiled the Kria portfolio, a line of small form factor system-on-modules (SOMs) that come with a pre-built software stack to simplify development. In June, Xilinx announced it was acquiring German software developer Silexica, for an undisclosed amount.
Technology
Xilinx designs and develops programmable logic products, including integrated circuits (ICs), software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as intellectual property (IP) cores, design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. Xilinx sells both FPGAs and CPLDs for electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets such as communications, industrial, consumer, automotive and data processing.
Xilinx's FPGAs have been used for the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) at the CERN European laboratory on the French-Swiss border to map and disentangle the trajectories of thousands of subatomic particles. Xilinx has also engaged in a partnership with the United States Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate to develop FPGAs to withstand the damaging effects of radiation in space, which are 1,000 times less sensitive to space radiation than the commercial equivalent, for deployment in new satellites. Xilinx FPGAs can run a regular embedded OS (such as Linux or vxWorks) and can implement processor peripherals in programmable logic. The Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-4, Virtex-5, and Virtex-6 FPGA families, which include up to two embedded IBM PowerPC cores, are targeted to the needs of system-on-chip (SoC) designers.
Xilinx's IP cores include IP for simple functions (BCD encoders, counters, etc.), for domain specific cores (digital signal processing, FFT and FIR cores) to complex systems (multi-gigabit networking cores, the MicroBlaze soft microprocessor and the compact Picoblaze microcontroller). Xilinx also creates custom cores for a fee.
The main design toolkit Xilinx provides engineers is the Vivado Design Suite, an integrated design environment (IDE) with a system-to-IC level tools built on a shared scalable data model and a common debug environment. Vivado includes electronic system level (ESL) design tools for synthesizing and verifying C-based algorithmic IP; standards based packaging of both algorithmic and RTL IP for reuse; standards based IP stitching and systems integration of all types of system building blocks; and the verification of blocks and systems. A free version WebPACK Edition of Vivado provides designers with a limited version of the design environment.
Xilinx's Embedded Developer's Kit (EDK) supports the embedded PowerPC 405 and 440 cores (in Virtex-II Pro and some Virtex-4 and -5 chips) and the Microblaze core. Xilinx's System Generator for DSP implements DSP designs on Xilinx FPGAs. A freeware version of its EDA software called ISE WebPACK is used with some of its non-high-performance chips. Xilinx is the only (as of 2007) FPGA vendor to distribute a native Linux freeware synthesis toolchain.
Xilinx announced the architecture for a new ARM Cortex-A9-based platform for embedded systems designers, that combines the software programmability of an embedded processor with the hardware flexibility of an FPGA. The new architecture abstracts much of the hardware burden away from the embedded software developers' point of view, giving them an unprecedented level of control in the development process. With this platform, software developers can leverage their existing system code based on ARM technology and utilize vast off-the-shelf open-source and commercially available software component libraries. Because the system boots an OS at reset, software development can get under way quickly within familiar development and debug environments using tools such as ARM's RealView development suite and related third-party tools, Eclipse-based IDEs, GNU, the Xilinx Software Development Kit and others. In early 2011, Xilinx began shipping the Zynq-7000 SoC platform immerses ARM multi-cores, programmable logic fabric, DSP data paths, memories and I/O functions in a dense and configurable mesh of interconnect. The platform targets embedded designers working on market applications that require multi-functionality and real-time responsiveness, such as automotive driver assistance, intelligent video surveillance, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, and next-generation wireless.
Following the introduction of its 28 nm 7-series FPGAs, Xilinx revealed that several of the highest-density parts in those FPGA product lines will be constructed using multiple dies in one package, employing technology developed for 3D construction and stacked-die assemblies. The company's stacked silicon interconnect (SSI) technology stacks several (three or four) active FPGA dies side by side on a silicon interposer – a single piece of silicon that carries passive interconnect. The individual FPGA dies are conventional, and are flip-chip mounted by microbumps on to the interposer. The interposer provides direct interconnect between the FPGA dies, with no need for transceiver technologies such as high-speed SERDES. In October 2011, Xilinx shipped the first FPGA to use the new technology, the Virtex-7 2000T FPGA, which includes 6.8 billion transistors and 20 million ASIC gates. The following spring, Xilinx used 3D technology to ship the Virtex-7 HT, the industry's first heterogeneous FPGAs, which combine high bandwidth FPGAs with a maximum of sixteen 28 Gbit/s and seventy-two 13.1 Gbit/s transceivers to reduce power and size requirements for key Nx100G and 400G line card applications and functions.
In January 2011, Xilinx acquired design tool firm AutoESL Design Technologies and added System C high-level design for its 6- and 7-series FPGA families. The addition of AutoESL tools extended the design community for FPGAs to designers more accustomed to designing at a higher level of abstraction using C, C++ and System C.
In April 2012, Xilinx introduced a revised version of its toolset for programmable systems, called Vivado Design Suite. This IP and system-centric design software supports newer high capacity devices, and speeds the design of programmable logic and I/O. Vivado provides faster integration and implementation for programmable systems into devices with 3D stacked silicon interconnect technology, ARM processing systems, analog mixed signal (AMS), and many semiconductor intellectual property (IP) cores.
In July 2019, Xilinx acquired NGCodec, developers of FPGA accelerated video encoders for video streaming, cloud gaming and cloud mixed reality services. NGCodec video encoders include support for H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP9 and AV1, with planned future support for H.266/VVC and AV2.
In May 2020, Xilinx installed its first Adaptive Compute Cluster (XACC) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The XACCs provide infrastructure and funding to support research in adaptive compute acceleration for high performance computing (HPC). The clusters include high-end servers, Xilinx Alveo accelerator cards, and high speed networking. Three other XACCs will be installed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UUC); and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Family lines of products
Before 2010, Xilinx offered two main FPGA families: the high-performance Virtex series and the high-volume Spartan series, with a cheaper EasyPath option for ramping to volume production. The company also provides two CPLD lines: the CoolRunner and the 9500 series. Each model series has been released in multiple generations since its launch. With the introduction of its 28 nm FPGAs in June 2010, Xilinx replaced the high-volume Spartan family with the Kintex family and the low-cost Artix family.
Xilinx's newer FPGA products use a High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process, which reduces static power consumption while increasing logic capacity. In 28 nm devices, static power accounts for much and sometimes most of the total power dissipation. Virtex-6 and Spartan-6 FPGA families are said to consume 50 percent less power, and have up to twice the logic capacity compared to the previous generation of Xilinx FPGAs.
In June 2010, Xilinx introduced the Xilinx 7 series: the Virtex-7, Kintex-7, and Artix-7 families, promising improvements in system power, performance, capacity, and price. These new FPGA families are manufactured using TSMC's 28 nm HKMG process. The 28 nm series 7 devices feature a 50 percent power reduction compared to the company's 40 nm devices and offer capacity of up to 2 million logic cells. Less than one year after announcing the 7 series 28 nm FPGAs, Xilinx shipped the world's first 28 nm FPGA device, the Kintex-7. In March 2011, Xilinx introduced the Zynq-7000 family, which integrates a complete ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor-based system on a 28 nm FPGA for system architects and embedded software developers. In May 2017, Xilinx expanded the 7 Series with the production of the Spartan-7 family.
In Dec, 2013, Xilinx introduced the UltraScale series: Virtex UltraScale and Kintex UltraScale families. These new FPGA families are manufactured by TSMC in its 20 nm planar process. At the same time it announced an UltraScale SoC architecture, called Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, in TSMC 16 nm FinFET process.
In March 2021, Xilinx announced a new cost-optimized portfolio with Artix and Zynq UltraScale+ devices, fabricated on TSMC's 16 nm process.
Virtex family
The Virtex series of FPGAs have integrated features that include FIFO and ECC logic, DSP blocks, PCI-Express controllers, Ethernet MAC blocks, and high-speed transceivers. In addition to FPGA logic, the Virtex series includes embedded fixed function hardware for commonly used functions such as multipliers, memories, serial transceivers and microprocessor cores. These capabilities are used in applications such as wired and wireless infrastructure equipment, advanced medical equipment, test and measurement, and defense systems.
The Virtex 7 family, is based on a 28 nm design and is reported to deliver a two-fold system performance improvement at 50 percent lower power compared to previous generation Virtex-6 devices. In addition, Virtex-7 doubles the memory bandwidth compared to previous generation Virtex FPGAs with 1866 Mbit/s memory interfacing performance and over two million logic cells.
In 2011, Xilinx began shipping sample quantities of the Virtex-7 2000T "3D FPGA", which combines four smaller FPGAs into a single package by placing them on a special silicon interconnection pad (called an interposer) to deliver 6.8 billion transistors in a single large chip. The interposer provides 10,000 data pathways between the individual FPGAs – roughly 10 to 100 times more than would usually be available on a board – to create a single FPGA. In 2012, using the same 3D technology, Xilinx introduced initial shipments of their Virtex-7 H580T FPGA, a heterogeneous device, so called because it comprises two FPGA dies and one 8-channel 28Gbit/s transceiver die in the same package.
The Virtex-6 family is built on a 40 nm process for compute-intensive electronic systems, and the company claims it consumes 15 percent less power and has 15 percent improved performance over competing 40 nm FPGAs.
The Virtex-5 LX and the LXT are intended for logic-intensive applications, and the Virtex-5 SXT is for DSP applications. With the Virtex-5, Xilinx changed the logic fabric from four-input LUTs to six-input LUTs. With the increasing complexity of combinational logic functions required by SoC designs, the percentage of combinational paths requiring multiple four-input LUTs had become a performance and routing bottleneck. The six-input LUT represented a tradeoff between better handling of increasingly complex combinational functions, at the expense of a reduction in the absolute number of LUTs per device. The Virtex-5 series is a 65 nm design fabricated in 1.0 V, triple-oxide process technology.
Legacy Virtex devices (Virtex, Virtex-II, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex 4) are still available, but are not recommended for use in new designs.
Kintex
The Kintex-7 family is the first Xilinx mid-range FPGA family that the company claims delivers Virtex-6 family performance at less than half the price while consuming 50 percent less power. The Kintex family includes high-performance 12.5 Gbit/s or lower-cost optimized 6.5 Gbit/s serial connectivity, memory, and logic performance required for applications such as high volume 10G optical wired communication equipment, and provides a balance of signal processing performance, power consumption and cost to support the deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks.
In August 2018, SK Telecom deployed Xilinx Kintex UltraScale FPGAs as their artificial intelligence accelerators at their data centers in South Korea. The FPGAs run SKT's automatic speech-recognition application to accelerate Nugu, SKT's voice-activated assistant.
In July, 2020 Xilinx made the latest addition to their Kintex family, 'KU19P FPGA' which delivers more logic fabric and embedded memory
Artix
The Artix-7 family delivers 50 percent lower power and 35 percent lower cost compared to the Spartan-6 family and is based on the unified Virtex-series architecture. The Artix family is designed to address the small form factor and low-power performance requirements of battery-powered portable ultrasound equipment, commercial digital camera lens control, and military avionics and communications equipment. With the introduction of the Spartan-7 family in 2017, which lack high-bandwidth transceivers, the Artix-7's was clarified as being the "transceiver optimized" member.
Zynq
The Zynq-7000 family of SoCs addresses high-end embedded-system applications, such as video surveillance, automotive-driver assistance, next-generation wireless, and factory automation.
Zynq-7000 integrate a complete ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore-processor-based 28 nm system. The Zynq architecture differs from previous marriages of programmable logic and embedded processors by moving from an FPGA-centric platform to a processor-centric model. For software developers, Zynq-7000 appear the same as a standard, fully featured ARM processor-based system-on-chip (SOC), booting immediately at power-up and capable of running a variety of operating systems independently of the programmable logic. In 2013, Xilinx introduced the Zynq-7100, which integrates digital signal processing (DSP) to meet emerging programmable systems integration requirements of wireless, broadcast, medical and military applications.
The new Zynq-7000 product family posed a key challenge for system designers, because Xilinx ISE design software had not been developed to handle the capacity and complexity of designing with an FPGA with an ARM core. Xilinx's new Vivado Design Suite addressed this issue, because the software was developed for higher capacity FPGAs, and it included high level synthesis (HLS) functionality that allows engineers to compile the co-processors from a C-based description.
The AXIOM, the world's first digital cinema camera that is open source hardware, contains a Zynq-7000.
Spartan family
The Spartan series targets low cost, high-volume applications with a low-power footprint e.g. displays, set-top boxes, wireless routers and other applications.
The Spartan-6 family is built on a 45 nm, 9-metal layer, dual-oxide process technology. The Spartan-6 was marketed in 2009 as a low-cost option for automotive, wireless communications, flat-panel display and video surveillance applications.
The Spartan-7 family, built on the same 28 nm process used in the other 7-Series FPGAs, was announced in 2015, and became available in 2017. Unlike the Artix-7 family and the "LXT" members of the Spartan-6 family, the Spartan-7 FPGAs lack high-bandwidth transceivers.
EasyPath
Because EasyPath devices are identical to the FPGAs that customers are already using, the parts can be produced faster and more reliably from the time they are ordered compared to similar competing programs.
Versal
Versal is Xilinx's next generation 7 nm architecture that targets heterogeneous computing needs in datacenter acceleration applications, in artificial intelligence acceleration at the edge, Internet of Things (IoT) applications and embedded computing
The Everest program focuses on the Versal Adaptive Compute Acceleration Platform (ACAP), a product category combining the flexibility of traditional FPGAs with a collection of heterogeneous compute engines and memories. It is an adaptive and integrated multi-core heterogeneous compute platform configurable at the hardware level. Xilinx's goal was to reduce the barriers to adoption of FPGAs for accelerated compute-intensive datacenter workloads. Toward this end they have introduced this novel, complex, diverse and wildly adaptable accelerator-fabric ecosystem.
An ACAP die contains:
a new generation of FPGA fabric with distributed memory and hardware-programmable DSP blocks;
a traditional multicore ARM SoC;
a variety of other specialized coprocessors and AI accelerators.
The processing elements are interconnected through a flexible network on a chip (NoC).
An ACAP is suitable for a wide range of applications in the fields of big data and machine learning (ML), including video transcoding, database query, data compression, search, AI inferencing, machine vision, computer vision, autonomous vehicles, genomics, computational storage and network acceleration. The breadth and depth of heterogeneous integration is consistent with DARPA's "Third Wave" of AI. It also heralds the coming era of dark silicon, where heterogeneous resources are tailored to suit any purpose, but few real world applications can harness the many disparate resources at the same time.
On April 15, 2020, it was announced that Xilinx had won a significant deal to supply its Versal chips to Samsung Electronics for 5G networking equipment. In July 2021, Xilinx debuted the Versal HBM, which combines the network interface of the platform with HBM2e memory to alleviate data bottlenecking.
Recognition
Xilinx joined the Fortune ranks of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in 2001 as No. 14, rose to No. 6 in 2002 and rose again to No. 4 in 2003.
In December 2008, the Global Semiconductor Alliance named Xilinx the Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company with $500 million to $10 billion in annual sales.
See also
AI accelerator
High speed serial link
List of Xilinx FPGAs
References
External links
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1897437 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%20Hitchhiker%27s%20Guide%20to%20the%20Galaxy%20Primary%20and%20Secondary%20Phases | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Primary and Secondary Phases | The terms Primary Phase and Secondary Phase describe the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, first broadcast in 1978. These were the first incarnations of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy franchise. Both were written by Douglas Adams and consist of six episodes each.
The series followed the aimless wanderings of Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect and his book, the eponymous Guide. It introduced unfamiliar music, mind stretching concepts and the newest science mixed together with out of context parodies, unfeasibly rude names, "semantic and philosophical jokes", compressed prose and "groundbreaking deployment of sound effects and voice techniques". By the time the sixth episode was broadcast, the show had a cult following. A Christmas special would follow, many repeats and a second series. The two original series were followed by three more in 2004 and 2005 and a final, sixth series in 2018.
The following article is a list of episodes from the Primary and Secondary Phases. For information on its production, see The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The Primary Phase
The first radio series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March and April 1978. It was split into episodes, known as "Fits" (an archaic term for a section of a poem revived by Lewis Carroll for The Hunting of the Snark). The original series comprised Fit the First to Fit the Sixth. Fits the Fifth and Sixth were co-written by John Lloyd; subsequent versions of the story omit most of Lloyd's material.
The success of the series encouraged Adams to adapt it into a novel, which was based on the first four Fits and released in the second week of October 1979. A slightly contracted double LP re-recording of the first four Fits was released in the same year, followed by a single LP featuring a revised version of Fits the Fifth and Sixth and the second book, both in 1980.
Fit the First
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 8 March 1978 10:30pm
Cast
The Book (narrator): Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Prosser and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz (Vogon Captain): Bill Wallis
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton: Jo Kendall
The Barman: David Gooderson
As the episode opens Arthur Dent is attempting to prevent the local council, represented by Mr Prosser, from bulldozing his house to make way for a bypass. Dent's friend, Ford Prefect arrives and takes him to the pub. At the pub, Ford explains that he is not from Guildford after all, but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and that the world is about to end.
Meanwhile, Lady Cynthia Fitzmelton, a character unique to the radio series, has arrived at the site of Arthur Dent's house. She makes a speech about progress, and the future for the village of Cottington, and insults the residents in the process. She begins the construction of the bypass, and the demolition of Arthur Dent's house, by smashing a bottle of "very splendid and worthwhile" champagne against a yellow bulldozer. Ford and Arthur hear this, and Arthur races back to the former site of his house, Ford chasing after him after first buying some peanuts.
Shortly after Arthur and Ford return to the ruins of Arthur's house, a fleet of Vogon Constructor Ships arrives in the sky, and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz broadcasts an announcement that they are to demolish the Earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Panic ensues. Ford uses his "electronic thumb" to hitch a lift onto one of the ships, taking Arthur with him, just moments before the Earth is destroyed.
On board the Vogon Constructor Ship, Ford explains that he was a field researcher for the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and had been stuck on the Earth for several more years than he originally expected. The two are soon captured by the Vogons, who take an unfriendly view of hitchhikers.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger, after the Vogon Captain tortures them by reading them some poetry, with them due to be thrown into space afterwards.
Music:
"Journey of the Sorcerer" from One of These Nights by The Eagles; Lontano by György Ligeti; A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley; Volumina by György Ligeti.
Fit the Second
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 15 March 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz: Bill Wallis
Vogon Guard: David Tate
Eddie the Computer: David Tate
Trillian: Susan Sheridan
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Marvin the Paranoid Android and Gag Halfrunt: Stephen Moore
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
After the initial narration, the episode opens with a recap of the cliffhanger with the Vogon captain demanding what Ford and Arthur thought of his poem. They attempt to flatter him to avoid execution, but he decides to throw them off the ship anyway. Whilst being escorted to the airlock, Ford attempts to persuade the Vogon guard to give up his job, but fails.
The pair are thrown into space. Improbably, they are rescued after 29 seconds, by a starship. After some more improbable events they discover they have been picked up by the Starship Heart of Gold, which has been stolen by Ford's semi-cousin, and President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox. The Heart of Gold works on a basis of infinite improbability, allowing its drive to do anything for which the improbability factor is known.
Also on the Heart of Gold are Trillian (Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur met at a party in Islington, before she left the party (and the planet) to go with Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Marvin, a depressed android. The episode ends with a post-credit announcement from Eddie the Shipboard Computer that the ship is moving into orbit around the legendary planet of Magrathea.
Notes: First appearance of Marvin the Paranoid Android, Trillian, Eddie the computer, Gag Halfrunt, and Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Music: "Wind on Water" from Evening Star by Fripp and Eno; A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley; Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band by Terry Riley; Cachuaca by Patrick Moraz.
Fit the Third
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 March 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Eddie the Computer: David Tate
Trillian: Susan Sheridan
Recorded voice and Slartibartfast: Richard Vernon
Sperm Whale (uncredited) and Marvin the Paranoid Android: Stephen Moore
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode begins with a narration describing the significance of Magrathea, a planet that long long ago manufactured custom-designed planets for rich businessmen. Due to its immense success, Magrathea became the richest planet in the galaxy and the galactic economy collapsed. Ford and Zaphod argue about the accuracy of this legend, Ford believing that it is nonsense, Zaphod believing he has found the long-lost planet.
As the ship orbits the planet, it triggers an automated recorded message, from the Commercial Council of Magrathea, that notes that Magrathea is currently closed for business, and to leave. A follow-up message announces that nuclear missiles will be launched against the ship.
The missiles are detected, and the crew struggle to get the Heart of Gold to escape the missiles. Disaster is averted when Arthur activates the Infinite Improbability Drive and the missiles are turned into a bowl of petunias and a very surprised-looking sperm whale. Trillian notes that her white mice (that she had taken with her from the Earth) have escaped.
The ship lands, and Ford, Arthur, Zaphod, Trillian and Marvin go onto the surface. (The episode, as released on CD, is edited here to avoid possible musical copyright concerns. ) They split up, and Zaphod, Trillian and Ford explore a tunnel, noting that they seem to be following the mice, whilst Arthur and Marvin are left on the surface as lookout. Eventually, Slartibartfast comes to meet Arthur, and takes him into the interior of the planet, leaving Marvin behind. Inside Magrathea, he shows Arthur a planet that they are working on at the moment. Arthur recognises it as the Earth. Slartibartfast explains that the original Earth had been destroyed five minutes too early, and they are constructing a replacement. The original Earth had apparently been commissioned by some mice in order to find the "Ultimate Question".
Notes: First appearance of Slartibartfast. A reference by Arthur to Pink Floyd being played by Marvin is often cut out of this episode.
Music: Kotakomben from Einsteig by Gruppe Between; Space Theme from Go by Go; Continuum (Ligeti) by György Ligeti; Oxygène by Jean Michel Jarre; That's Entertainment; Shine On You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd*; Rock and Roll Music by The Beatles*; Wind On Water from Evening Star by Fripp and Eno; Over Fire Island from Another Green World by Brian Eno* denotes music from the portion of the episode removed from CD releases.
Fit the Fourth
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29 March 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Slartibartfast: Richard Vernon
Deep Thought and Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Trillian: Susan Sheridan
First Computer Programmer/Bang Bang/Magrathean PA Voice: Ray Hassett
Second Computer Programmer: Jeremy SR Browne
Cheerleader and Majikthise: Jonathan Adams
Vroomfondel and Shooty: James Broadbent
Frankie Mouse: Peter Hawkins
Benjy Mouse: David Tate
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh (introductory announcement only)
Announcer (uncredited): Brian Perkins (closing announcement only)
The episode begins with a recap of the events of the series so far, before moving to a conversation where Slartibartfast explains that mice are really "the protrusions into our dimension of vast hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings", and that they commissioned the Earth to be built. He plays Arthur some recordings explaining the historical events. This race of pan-dimensional beings had constructed a great computer, called Deep Thought, to answer the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. It did, after seven and a half million years, have the answer to the Ultimate Question, a rather disappointing 42. Deep Thought explains that this is only disappointing because they never really understood what the Question was. They ask the computer if he can find out what the Ultimate Question is. Deep Thought cannot, but promises to design a computer that can, and names it, "Earth".
Slartibartfast explains that this computer was built by the Magratheans, and that the Vogons came and destroyed it five minutes before it was due to complete its run. The mice summon Arthur and Slartibartfast to a meeting room, where they have discussed a proposal with Zaphod, Ford and Trillian. The mice believe that as last-generation products of the computer matrix, Arthur and Trillian should be in an ideal position to find out the Question, and offer to make them "extremely rich" if they can do so. (In later versions this would be replaced with the mice wishing to extract Arthur's brain). The negotiations are interrupted by the arrival of a Galactic Police ship, pursuing Zaphod for his theft of the Heart of Gold.
The Police confront Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod, and shoot at them, whilst explaining that they find violence upsetting. After a particularly long volley of fire, the computer bank they are hiding behind explodes, and the episode ends.
Music: A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley; Moon City from In Search of Ancient Gods by Absolute Elsewhere; Mikrophonie I by Stockhausen.
Fit the Fifth
Written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 5 April 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Trillian: Susan Sheridan
Garkbit/The Great Prophet Zarquon: Anthony Sharp
Compere (Max Quordlepleen): Roy Hudd
Marvin the Paranoid Android: Stephen Moore
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode begins where previous episode ended, with the computer bank exploding. Arthur, Ford, Trillian and Zaphod wake up in a strange place, and assume it must be the afterlife. It becomes apparent however that in fact it is Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which is located in the far future at the moment that the universe ends. They dine, but are interrupted by a telephone call from Marvin. A waiter explains that the Restaurant was in fact constructed in the ruins of Magrathea. Meanwhile, Marvin has been waiting on the surface of the planet. After he whines somewhat, the four go down to the car park (where Marvin has been parking cars), and meet up with Marvin. Ford and Zaphod are transfixed by the spaceships in the carpark, and discover a totally black, totally frictionless ship. Stuck without the Heart of Gold, they decide to steal it, with Marvin's help.
When on the ship, they discover that it is out of control, and since the interior is also totally black none of the controls are legible. They debate what the Question is, and Marvin reveals that he can read it in Arthur's brainwave patterns. Before he can reveal what it is, they are interrupted by the control panels lighting up suddenly and the ship coming out of hyperspace. They realise they are outside of the galaxy, and part of an intergalactic battle fleet.
Music: Melodien by György Ligeti; The Engulfed Cathedral from Snowflakes are Dancing by Isao Tomita; A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley; Wind on Water from Evening Star by Fripp and Eno.
Fit the Sixth
Written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12 April 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Trillian: Susan Sheridan
"B" Ark Captain and Caveman: David Jason
Number One and Management Consultant: Jonathan Cecil
Haggunenon Underfleet Commander/Number Two/Hairdresser: Aubrey Woods
Marketing Girl: Beth Porter
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode opens with the main characters on the black ship. Soon, they receive a transmission from the second-in-command of the battle fleet, who makes a report to Zaphod, believing him to be the Admiral. This is considered confusing as Zaphod was just presumed to be the Admiral, despite bearing no resemblance to the second-in-command, who looked like a leopard.
Shortly afterward, they receive another transmission, this time with Trillian in the chair. The second-in-command, who now looks like a shoebox, assumes that Trillian is the Admiral.
They look up the name "Haggunenon", spoken by the second-in-command, in the Guide, and discover that they are a race of xenophobic shape-shifters. They realise that the Admiral is in fact on the ship, but had shapeshifted. It becomes a "carbon copy" of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. The group split up, Arthur and Ford taking one escape capsule and Zaphod and Trillian attempting to take another.
Arthur notices that the other escape capsule isn't escaping, and presses a button in his escape capsule that ends up teleporting him and Ford to a strange spaceship. Meanwhile, Zaphod, Trillian and Marvin are all eaten by the copy of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal, with Marvin's leg coming off in the process, and Zaphod's second head is revealed to know French (via an ad-lib by Mark Wing-Davey). This is the last appearance of the character of Trillian until the Tertiary Phase.
The spaceship to which Ford and Arthur have teleported, marked as "Golgafrincham Ark Fleet, Ship B" is filled with bodies, such as frozen telephone sanitisers, hairdressers, and advertising account executives. Whilst inspecting the bodies, they are captured by Number Two, the third-in-command of the ship, who takes them to the bridge.
Here, they meet the Captain (who is taking a bath in a large bathtub in the bridge, and has been for several years). He reluctantly grants permission to Number Two to interrogate Arthur and Ford, and asks him to find out what they want to drink.
Conversing with the Captain, they discover that the bodies are not, as they believed, dead, but frozen. They are intending to colonise another planet, because their original planet was "doomed". The "A Ark" was supposed to contain leaders, the "C Ark" to contain workers, and the "B Ark" to contain middle-men. It becomes apparent that the stories of impending doom were nonsense, and the A Ark and C Ark were never launched.
The story resumes some months later, with a meeting of the Colonisation Committee. Reports to the Committee include an update on the development of the wheel (it is unclear what colour it should be), and a documentary about the native cave-men of the planet, who have started to die out since the arrival of the Golgafrinchams.
Ford explains that they had done some research on the planet, and that it will last only two million years (but not why - because it is the pre-history of the Earth, and is thus due to be destroyed by the Vogons in two million years time).
Arthur attempts to teach the cave-men Scrabble, in order to try to stop the Golgafrinchams supplanting them. The cave-man spells out "FORTY TWO" on the scrabble board, and Ford and Arthur realise that the program must have gone wrong because of the arrival of the Golgafrinchams. They decide to use the same technique (of choosing scrabble letters) randomly to find out what the question in Arthur's brainwave patterns is, although it might be wrong anyway.
The question in his brain is revealed as "WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU MULTIPLY SIX BY NINE". The episode ends as they decide to rejoin the Golgafrincham colony, and lament the inevitable eventual destruction of the Earth.
The regular ending music is replaced with "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.
Music: Oxygène by Jean Michel Jarre; Volumina by György Ligeti; Volkstanz from Einsteig by Gruppe Between.
The Secondary Phase
What became "Fit the Seventh" actually started as a "Christmas Special" episode, and an early draft included a reference to the holiday, though the episode, as transmitted, does not. Five further episodes, to complete the second series (later retitled "The Secondary Phase") were commissioned in May 1979. These final five episodes (the last on radio until 2004) were 'stripped,' or broadcast on each of five days in a single week in January 1980.
Trillian is entirely missing from this series. Her fate is addressed in Fit the Seventh, that she had effected an escape but had then been forcibly married to the President of the Algolian chapter of the Galactic Rotary Club. The character returns in The Tertiary Phase, where she dismisses most of the events of the Secondary Phase as having been one of Zaphod's "psychotic episodes."
Fit the Seventh
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 December 1978
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect/Frogstar Robot/Air Traffic Controller: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Marvin the Paranoid Android and Gag Halfrunt: Stephen Moore
Arcturan Number One: Bill Paterson
Arcturan Captain/Radio Voice/Receptionist/Lift: David Tate
Roosta: Alan Ford
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode opens in the Hitchhiker's offices on Ursa Minor Beta, with a receptionist claiming that Zarniwoop, the editor of the guide, is too busy to take a call because he is both in his office, and on an intergalactic cruise.
It then moves to the bridge of a megafreighter that is due to land on Ursa Minor Beta. A crewmember denounces the Hitchhiker's Guide for being soft, and notes that he has heard they have created a whole artificial universe. Zaphod Beeblebrox is a hitch-hiker on the freighter, and as he listens to the radio, he hears a report that he has died, by being eaten by a Haggunenon. The manner of his escape is left unclear.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Ford are stuck in Earth's pre-history, drunk. As they discuss their predicament, they notice a spaceship half-appearing in front of them. They celebrate their rescue, and it vanishes. Eventually they deduce that this is a time paradox, and they need to figure out how to signal the ship in the future so they can be rescued. Following this is the Guide's entry on the subject of towels, making its first appearance.
On the ship, Zaphod explains to the crewmember that he is going to Ursa Minor Beta to find out what he's doing. He received a message from himself the previous night, telling him to see Zarniwoop in order to learn something to his disadvantage. Zaphod then explains how he escaped - the Haggunenon turned into an escape capsule before it got the chance to eat him.
Zaphod arrives at the Hitchhiker's offices, and demands to see Zarniwoop, but is given the same excuses as before. After revealing his identity, he is directed to Zarniwoop's office, and meets up with Marvin, who had also survived and coincidentally arrived at the same place. After Marvin persuades the lift to take them upwards, the building starts to shake, due to it being bombed.
Zaphod is met by Roosta, who blames the bombing on Zaphod failing to conceal his presence on the planet adequately. A Frogstar Robot class D soon arrives to come and get Zaphod. Zaphod orders Marvin to stop it (which he does, by tricking it into destroying the floor it is standing on), whilst Zaphod and Roosta escape into the pocket universe in Zarniwoop's office.
From the perspective of the three later radio series, all of the subsequent events of the Secondary Phase occur only in Zarniwoop's artificial universe, and not in the 'real' universe. They are later dismissed by Trillian as "psychotic episodes."
Eventually, the Frogstar Robots decide to take the entire building back to the Frogstar.
Fit the Eighth
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 21 January 1980
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Roosta: Alan Ford
Frogstar Prisoner Relations Officer/Eddie the Computer: David Tate
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Gargravarr: Valentine Dyall
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode opens with Zaphod and Roosta in the Guide building, which is being towed to the Frogstar, "the most totally evil place in the Galaxy". Roosta explains that they are going to feed Zaphod to the "Total Perspective Vortex", which no one has ever survived. A Frogstar Prisoner Relations Officer teleports in, to taunt Zaphod.
Meanwhile, in Earth's past, Ford and Arthur are still dealing with the rescue ship that has half-appeared in front of them. Rather stuck for how to signal it, they wave a towel at it, and surprisingly, the spaceship appears to notice this and lands rather catastrophically, trapping them under a boulder, and sending the towel into a lava flow.
They appear to be stuck, so they ask The Guide what to do if one is stuck under a rock, with no hope of rescue. The guide has an entry that begins, 'Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far...'
However, it becomes apparent that the boulder they are under is actually the ship, the Heart of Gold, and Zaphod Beeblebrox comes out of it, rather the worse for wear. He explains that he has been put in the Total Perspective Vortex, and survived. After this, he celebrated and is hungover from a week's celebration. He explains that the towel had been fossilised, and when the Earth was blown up two million years later, the Improbability Drive picked it up.
The story then continues in flashback, picking up with Zaphod and Roosta on the Guide building. They attempt to escape with a "body debit" (teleport) card, but are foiled by the Relations Officer. He then tricks Zaphod into signing a consent form for entering the Vortex, and is then teleported to the service. He meets Gargravarr, a disembodied voice, the guardian of the Vortex. He is then placed in it, and exposed to its action, which is to place the user into Total Perspective by showing, with unfiltered perception, themselves in relation to the universe, for a moment. Zaphod survives, much to the astonishment of Gargravarr. He reports that it showed him that he is a "really great guy".
Fit the Ninth
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 January 1980
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect/Ventilation System: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Vogon Captain: Bill Wallis
Marvin the Paranoid Android/Vogon Guard/Gag Halfrunt: Stephen Moore
Eddie the Computer/Vogon Guard/Vogon Computer: David Tate
Nutrimat Machine: Leueen Willoughby
Zaphod Beeblebrox IV: Richard Goolden
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
One of the singing robots (uncredited): Geoffrey Perkins
Another of the singing robots (uncredited): Paddy Kingsland
The episode opens with Ford and Arthur discussing Zaphod's sanity on board the Heart of Gold. Ford also starts correcting Arthur's grammar, forcing Arthur to refer to Earth in the past tense, as it had been demolished in Fit the First. Ford then begins to question the reason given for the demolition, stating "that was all done away with centuries ago. No one demolishes planets anymore." Ford has noticed another fleet of Vogon ships following the Heart of Gold at a distance of five light years for half an hour. He then calls for Marvin to bring Zaphod to the bridge.
Meanwhile, Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz confirms the identity of the ship and its occupants, then proceeds to wipe out half his crew in a fit of rage. After this massacre, he contacts Gag Halfrunt. Halfrunt is revealed not only to be Jeltz's psychiatrist (as well as Zaphod's), but also the psychiatrist who originally hired Jeltz to destroy first the Earth, then any survivors. Jeltz is asked to hold off on his final destruction of the Heart of Gold until Halfrunt can make an arrangement for fees still owed by Zaphod.
Halfrunt contacts Zaphod, who has since arrived on the Heart of Gold's bridge, but refuses to see the Vogon threat as anything more than a delusion of grandeur. Zaphod destroys the Heart of Gold's radio, then attempts to get the ship's computer to engage the Infinite Improbability Drive in order to get the Heart of Gold away from the Vogons. The computer states that this is not possible, as all its circuits have become busy with another task, and insists that the result will be something they can all "Share and Enjoy."
The Guide explains that "Share and Enjoy" is the motto of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Complaints Division. A song, sung by the company's robots, with voices a flattened fifth out of tune, is heard. Another product of SCC that never works, the Nutrimat, is introduced, as Arthur is attempting to get it to dispense tea. Arthur eventually converses with the Nutrimat, the floor and the ventilation system, trying to convince them that he wants tea, when Eddie the ship's computer is finally brought in, to work out "why the human prefers boiled leaves to everything we have to offer him...."
This is then revealed to be the problem preventing the computer from evading the Vogons. Zaphod decides to contact his great-grandfather, Zaphod Beeblebrox IV, through a seance. More background behind Zaphod's actual job and a conspiracy to discover the real ruler of the universe is revealed. As the episode ends, Eddie has been restored to normal function, and engages the IID, getting the ship out of firing range of the Vogons in the nick of time.
Fit the Tenth
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 23 January 1980
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Eddie the Computer: David Tate
Marvin the Paranoid Android: Stephen Moore
Bird One: Ronald Baddiley
Bird Two and Footwarrior: John Baddeley
The Wise Old Bird: John Le Mesurier
Lintilla: Rula Lenska
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode opens with more background material on Arthur Dent, specifically how the "remarkably unremarkable" human from Earth had an effect on the war between the G'Gugvunts and Vl'Hurgs, and will now have further significance on the planet Brontitall, where the Heart of Gold has just arrived. Zaphod and Ford discuss their arrival in a cave with Eddie the computer, noting the cold. Eddie calculates after they, and Arthur and Marvin, have departed the ship, that they are thirteen miles above ground level, despite there not being any mountains on the planet.
The four begin to explore the cave. Shortly, Arthur falls out of the cave mouth. Zaphod nearly falls as well, but catches the lip of the cave mouth, then discovers for himself that they are "miles up in the air." Ford talks to Zaphod while the latter dangles.
Meanwhile, Arthur has managed to fall onto a large passing bird. The bird reveals that the "cave" is actually a mile long marble sculpture of a plastic cup, hanging in the sky, part of a larger statue. The bird flies Arthur to the main statue, which is known as "Arthur Dent Throwing the Nutrimatic Cup." Arthur then reveals himself to be the very person that the statue is modeled after, and the bird flies into the statue's right ear, where the rest of his kind live. Arthur meets them, and their leader, the Wise Old Bird, and learns a few things about the past of Brontitall. For example, the statue was built in Arthur's honour after his argument with the Nutrimat Machine inspired them to rid themselves of the "blight of the robots". There is one thing the birds refuse to speak of, however, and the Wise Old Bird tells Arthur, "if you want to know, you will have to descend to the ground...."
The Guide mentions how little is still considered to be unspeakable in the galaxy, except for the rudest word in existence: "Belgium". Zaphod uses this word to finally convince Ford to attempt a rescue, still dangling from the lip of the mile-long cup. The attempt fails, and both of them fall out of the cup, and onto another passing bird.
On the surface, Arthur encounters a Footwarrior, who has declared the planet of Brontitall to be the property of the Dolmansaxlil Galactic Shoe Corporation. Fleeing the Footwarrior, Arthur takes refuge in a trench with an archaeologist named Lintilla, who tells Arthur that she's on Brontitall to discover why the Footwarriors are all limping due to blisters, as the episode ends.
Fit the Eleventh
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 January 1980
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Lintilla (and two clones): Rula Lenska
Ford Prefect: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Bird and Footwarrior: John Baddeley
Hig Hurtenflurst: Marc Smith
Film Commentator and Computeach: David Tate
Pupil and Marvin the Paranoid Android: Stephen Moore
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
After a brief recap, the episode opens with a conversation between Lintilla and Arthur. Lintilla mentions that she's an archaeologist, stranded on Brontitall, as her spaceship was disabled. She activates her crisis inducer, and leads Arthur through a set of tunnels. While they're running, the narrator describes the state of medical science in the universe, with artificially induced injuries.
Meanwhile, Zaphod and Ford have landed on the back of one of the birds from the previous episode, and eventually convince it to reach the ground by wrapping Ford's towel around its eyes. But because the bird had to reach the ground, it and its fellow birds are upset, and start attacking Zaphod and Ford on the surface. A loud noise occurs, which causes the narrator to explain its lack of immediate context.
Arthur emerges from a tunnel behind Lintilla, who had overcompensated for her artificially induced crisis. Lintilla introduces Arthur to two of her "sisters" (actually clones), and they begin discussing the noise, finally establishing a context for it. Lintilla finally admits that there are 578,000,000,000 clones of herself in the universe. The narrator explains how this happened, and what is being done about it. Lintilla takes Arthur to the shaft suddenly created after the mysterious loud noise, and they finally confirm what the three Lintillas had been looking for: "An entire archaeological layer of compressed shoes." After making this confirmation, they are captured by Hig Hurtenflurst, who only happens to be a Dolmansaxlil Shoe Corporation executive.
The narrator finally describes what made the noise and created the shaft that gave the Lintillas their breakthrough. It's none other than Marvin, who himself finally fell out of the cup that the Heart of Gold is parked in. He's lying at the bottom of a mile deep shaft, and goes "zootlewurdle." Meanwhile, Hig has decided to take Lintilla and Arthur back to his office.
Hig explains the background of what happened to Brontitall - they fell victim to a Dolmansaxlil Shoe Shop Intensifier Ray, forcing them to construct nothing but shoe shops, and selling nothing but badly made shoes. Arthur learns that Earth was to be one of the next targets, spared from this by being demolished by the Vogons. The film being shown to Arthur and Lintilla explaining the Shoe Shop Intensifier Ray is suddenly interrupted, as is power to the office, when Marvin decides to rescue Arthur and Lintilla, and her two clones.
The narrator then explains that the Shoe Shop Intensifier Ray was unnecessary, that a "Shoe Event Horizon" would have occurred on that planet, and many other worlds, as part of their natural economic histories. A lesson from the future is heard, explaining this principle. Lintilla, Arthur and Marvin continue their escape, while Ford and Zaphod finally arrive at a large, very old building, and enter it to take shelter from the still angry bird people.
They discover that the building is a spaceport, and find abandoned ships left inside it. One such ship is still connected to supply lines, and still has power. Zaphod makes himself a stethoscope (for both heads), and holds it to the hull of this ship. He's stunned by what he hears inside, and here the episode ends.
Fit the Twelfth
Broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25 January 1980
Cast
The Book: Peter Jones
Arthur Dent: Simon Jones
Ford Prefect and Varntvar The Priest: Geoffrey McGivern
Zaphod Beeblebrox: Mark Wing-Davey
Lintillas and Android Stewardess: Rula Lenska
The Allitnils: David Tate
Poodoo: Ken Campbell
Autopilot and Zarniwoop: Jonathan Pryce
Marvin the Paranoid Android and The Man in the Shack: Stephen Moore
Announcer (uncredited): John Marsh
The episode begins with a reprise of the action from Fit the Eleventh: Ford and Zaphod have discovered a derelict spaceport, including one ship, still intact, with its supply lines still connected, and still having power. Zaphod creates a stethoscope for both heads out of some pieces of tubing, and is shocked at what he hears inside. Ford asks to listen, and finally, everyone gets to hear an android stewardess making an announcement about their delayed space flight. Zaphod calculates that the ship is in fact over 900 years late. Ford and Zaphod agree to find their way into the ship to investigate further.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Lintilla finally find Lintilla's two clones on Brontitall, but they, along with Marvin, are discovered by the Footwarriors as power is restored. Arthur agrees to run down the corridor while the others lay down cover fire with "a gun of some sort", then Arthur will have them throw the gun to him, so that he can lay down cover fire while they run to meet him. As Arthur completes the first part of this task, he's met by a man named Poodoo, a priest named Varntvar, and three men named Allitnil. During this confusion, Arthur manages to get Lintilla to throw the gun down the corridor, and starts firing to cover their run to join him. While Arthur does this, Poodoo is explaining how keen he is to introduce the Allitnils to the Lintillas, for a quiet social evening, and "a priest [is] on hand in case anybody wants to get married at all. Just to round off the evening." Arthur questions his sanity.
The Lintillas finally join Arthur, and Poodoo seizes his opportunity to introduce the Allitnils to them. They are immediately overwhelmingly attracted to each other, but are warned off from kissing each other until married. The priest is then called upon to perform three weddings. As the weddings conclude and the men kiss their brides, two of the three pairs disappear in "a puff of unsmoke" as Arthur discovers that the marriage certificates are actually cloning machine company "Agreements to Cease to Be" and cries out, stopping the final couple from kissing.
At this point, we go back to Ford and Zaphod entering the very late space ship, just as the passengers are being woken from suspended animation for coffee and biscuits. Ford and Zaphod flee the scene, eventually arriving on the flight deck, where they are continually ordered by the autopilot to return to their seats. The autopilot argues with them over the statistical likelihood of another civilisation delivering the lemon soaked paper napkins required by the spaceship before it can depart, and Ford and Zaphod flee again, this time to the First Class compartment. Here, a man introduces himself to Zaphod as Zarniwoop, whom Zaphod had been seeking since Fit the Seventh.
The action returns to Arthur, the remaining Lintilla, and Marvin. We learn that Arthur had killed the last Allitnil, the anti-clone, and Marvin tied up Poodoo and Varntvar, leaving them forced to listen to a cassette tape of Marvin's autobiography. As they finally exit the Dolmansaxlil building, they set out for the same spaceport that Ford and Zaphod are in, but then discover that the suspended cup is heading towards the surface, with the Heart of Gold still inside.
Meanwhile, Zarniwoop has offered Ford and Zaphod some drinks, and attempts to explain the whole situation to them. Zarniwoop starts by explaining that they had been in an artificially created universe within his office, then explains that he and Zaphod had co-conspired to discover who was really ruling the galaxy, as it was obvious it wasn't the President. Zaphod succeeds in his task, bringing the Heart of Gold - its improbability drive being necessary to reach the realm of the real ruler of the galaxy - to Zarniwoop's hiding place. Zarniwoop begins "dismantling" the artificial universe, and causes the cup to head to the surface outside.
After the narrator describes who might be ruling the universe, we hear the voice of an old man attempting to feed his cat a bit of fish. This old man seems to have his own unique perspective on things, but had noticed a white ship approaching. This ship, the Heart of Gold, discharges four of its passengers: Ford, Zaphod, Arthur and Zarniwoop, who approach the old man's shack. They attempt to question him about the decisions he makes about the galaxy, but he gives everything a vague answer. He does however reveal that he may have given his assent to the men who regularly seek his advice, thus giving Zaphod permission, under the pressure of the galaxy's psychiatrists, to destroy Earth before the Ultimate Question was revealed, thus securing their jobs. Arthur leaves angrily. Zarniwoop attempts further questions, but is eventually brushed off, and it's discovered that Arthur has made away with the Heart of Gold, with Lintilla and Marvin aboard. This leaves Ford, Zaphod and Zarniwoop stranded on the "Old Man in the Shack"'s planet, and here the episode ends - though open-ended with a spoken possibility of another series.
Casting in both series
As the first episode was originally commissioned as a pilot, much of the casting was done by Adams and Simon Brett, his original radio producer. Brett departed the BBC after the pilot episode was recorded, and so casting suggestions and decisions were made by Adams and Geoffrey Perkins for the remainder of both series. Perkins, using Brett's original notes, remarks that three or four people were auditioned for the part of the narrator, in search of a "Peter Jones-y sort of voice" before Peter Jones himself was actually contacted. Perkins also describes the casting of Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Jo Kendall, Bill Wallis and many others throughout the book containing the original radio series scripts.
Adams's own notes on the casting of Peter Jones ("who can we get to do a Peter Jonesey voice?"), Stephen Moore ("Stephen would find the character immediately and would make it really excellent"), Mark Wing-Davey ("He played a guy [in The Glittering Prizes] who took advantage of people and was very trendy"), David Tate ("He was one of the backbones of the series. We had him there every week"), Richard Vernon ("He's so funny. He carved himself a niche playing all sort of grandfatherly types"), Susan Sheridan ("Susan never found anything major to do with the role, but that wasn't her fault, it was my fault") and Roy Hudd ("To this day he still claims he doesn't know what it was all about") can be found in Neil Gaiman's book Don't Panic: The Official Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion.
Airdates
The programme was aired on BBC Radio 4, on the following dates:
1978 First–Sixth: 8 March – 12 April; repeated 23 April – 28 May; and 1 November – 6 December; Seventh: 24 December; repeated 26 December
1979 Seventh: 8 April; First–Sixth: 1 July – 5 August; Seventh: 24 December
1980 Eighth–Twelfth: 21–25 January; repeated 24 February – 23 March
1981 Ninth: 7 January; First–Twelfth: 7 April – 12 June
1983 First–Twelfth: 27 March – 12 June, plus Seventh: 5 April
1984 Seventh–Twelfth: 24–29 December
US airdates
In 1980 a few American radio stations had broadcast the series (and a hardback was released in October), and the programme was finally broadcast in stereo by US National Public Radio in March 1981, prior to the first US book's paperback release in October of the same year. The episodes aired on NPR were not the complete episodes heard in the UK—they were edited down from their original 29+ minute running time to 25–26 minutes.
Notes
References
The Guide to Twenty Years' Hitchhiking Radio 4 programme, broadcast 5 March 1998.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy UK DVD release, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at "Fit the Ninth." BBC Video, catalogue number BBCDVD 1092.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Collector's Edition'' 8-CD set, containing the original 12 radio episodes from 1978 and 1980, as well as an untransmitted interview with Ian Johnstone and the twentieth anniversary programme. .
External links
Original Series webpage at BBC Online
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series) |
17135201 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre%20Dame%E2%80%93USC%20football%20rivalry | Notre Dame–USC football rivalry | The Notre Dame–USC football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California, customarily played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day when the game is in Los Angeles or on the second or third Saturday of October when the game is in South Bend, Indiana.
The rivalry began in 1926 and is considered one of the fiercest in college football. The rivalry game has been played every year from 1926 to the present, with the exception of 1943–1945 when the game was cancelled during World War II and in 2020 when the Pac-12 Conference cancelled all non-conference games in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic therefore interrupted a streak of 73 consecutive years in which the game had been played. The 2021 matchup marked the first time in series history that two consecutive games between the rivals were played in South Bend, although the games were not played in consecutive years.
Notre Dame and USC have been among most successful programs in college football, with the schools having won a combined 39 national championships and 14 Heisman Trophies through the 2021 season. Moreover, both schools have fielded a high number of Consensus All-Americans (102 for Notre Dame—the most in college football—and 82 for USC), College Football Hall of Famers (46 from Notre Dame and 43 from USC), and Pro Football Hall of Famers (13 from each). The rivals account for the highest numbers of players selected in the NFL Draft of any school; Notre Dame has had 546 players taken, and USC has had 530. No rivalry in college football accounts for as many combined honors.
The teams play for the Jeweled Shillelagh, a trophy that goes home with the winning team each year. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 48–36–5 and also leads 33–29–3 since the introduction of the trophy. Despite many close games, the series has seen dominant runs by both sides: USC went 12–2–2 from 1967 through 1982, Notre Dame went undefeated (11–0–1) from 1983 through 1995, and USC went undefeated (8–0) from 2002 through 2009. However, while Notre Dame and USC have defeated the other in landmark games enabling one of them to move on to a national title, the two teams have also played spoiler to each other several times:
Notre Dame – #1 undefeated Notre Dame beat #2 undefeated USC in the Coliseum en route to the national title in 1988. The Irish also spoiled Trojan title campaigns by giving them their first loss in the last game of the season in 1947 and 1952, as well as handing them a first loss in 1927, 1973 and 1995. They also tied #1 ranked USC in 1968, 21–21, knocking them down to #2 behind Ohio State (who then beat USC in a 1 vs. 2 matchup in the Rose Bowl). The Irish tied the Trojans again in 1969, 14–14, the only blemish in USC's 10–0–1 season.
USC – Spoiled legitimate Irish title hopes in 1938, 1964, 1970, 1980, and tied them in 1948 (after Michigan already had been voted #1 by the AP Poll). Each game came in the final week of the season. USC also spoiled Irish campaigns in 1931 and 1971.
Although the game is played in Los Angeles in even numbered years, it is not part of Fox's Pac-12 Conference football package. Instead, the game, like most of Notre Dame's away games, is broadcast on ABC through ESPN on ABC. In odd-numbered years, when the game is played in South Bend, it is broadcast on NBC as part of its coverage of Notre Dame's home schedule.
Series history
Origins
Conversation between wives
The origin of the series is quite often recounted as a "conversation between wives" of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne and USC athletic director Gywnn Wilson. In fact, many sports writers often cite this popular story as the main reason the two schools decided to play one another. As the story goes, the rivalry began with USC looking for a national rival. USC dispatched Wilson and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Notre Dame was playing Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day. On that day (Nebraska 17, Notre Dame 0) Knute Rockne resisted the idea of a home-and-home series with USC because of the travel involved, but Mrs. Wilson was able to persuade Mrs. Rockne that a trip every two years to sunny Southern California was better than one to snowy, hostile Nebraska. Mrs. Rockne spoke to her husband and on December 4, 1926, USC became an annual fixture on Notre Dame's schedule.
Another tale
While the "wives story" remains the classic explanation for starting the series, college football historian Murray Sperber, who in researching his book on the early days of Notre Dame football, Shake Down the Thunder, uncovered a different explanation for the creation of the series that somewhat contradicts the story. Sperber documents that the series was created primarily for financial and political reasons, and that Rockne's resistance to the series is misstated. During the 1920s, many college institutions, including the Big Ten (then called the Western Conference), sought to combat the commercialism that was steadily increasing in college athletics. Part of the concern over commercialism stemmed from the large money payouts teams would receive by traveling long distances to play in bowl games.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame had difficulty scheduling local Western Conference opponents because of a ban placed on member schools from playing them. The Irish were initially forced to seek out opponents nationally to fill its schedule, often traveling far away to do so. After the Irish started winning landmark games against elite teams, such as Georgia Tech and Army, the team started to grow in popularity and could command more money for games it scheduled. Notre Dame garnered interest from the Rose Bowl Committee to have Notre Dame come and play a Pacific Coast Conference (now Pac-12) opponent for the 1924 football season. Coach Rockne and the Notre Dame administration realized how lucrative an annual trip to Los Angeles would be for the football program. Notre Dame's West Coast alumni began lobbying Rockne to bring the team to the Rose Bowl as a season finale every year. The Rose Bowl Committee favored this arrangement (at the time there was no tie in with the Big Ten); however, the Pacific Coast Conference had reservations. Specifically, two members schools, Stanford and California refused to play Notre Dame "on account of [Notre Dame's] low scholastic standards." Since Notre Dame was a Catholic school, its academics were considered inferior at the time. USC's coach, Gus Henderson reached out to Rockne through correspondence stating that "USC would welcome the chance to play Notre Dame New Year's Day in Pasadena." While Rockne favored playing USC, Stanford, which won the Pacific Coast Conference title, had first choice and eventually realized that playing Notre Dame would be lucrative, and the two played in the 1925 Rose Bowl.
The series between Notre Dame and USC was created because of the still-existing desire for Notre Dame to travel to Los Angeles to please its alums and earn a large payout, as well as the still-standing invitation to play them from Coach Henderson. While the creation of the series was contradictory to Notre Dame's efforts to follow the Big Ten in combating commercialism (the Big Ten had a 26-year Bowl ban, which Notre Dame followed even longer), Rockne and other administrators justified the game since it was created as a home-and-home series, only to be played in Los Angeles every other year. The creation of the series was also likely influenced by the hiring of Howard Jones, who knew Rockne from coaching against him at Iowa. To the priests who ran Notre Dame, playing USC in Los Angeles every other year was preferable to making further trips to the Rose Bowl game. Notre Dame would not play in another bowl game until the 1970 Cotton Bowl.
Knute Rockne–Howard Jones connection
Another factor in the creation of the series is the connection between both schools' coaches, Knute Rockne and Howard Jones. Following Notre Dame's 1924 championship season, Rockne was approached by USC to take over its football program. Rockne would often entertain such advances and let the news slip out to the Notre Dame administration in order to get a raise and bolster his position internally and nationally. While Rockne ultimately turned down the offer, he recommended that USC look at his friend Howard Jones, whom he knew from taking his Notre Dame teams to play Iowa. Barry LeBrock, author of The Trojan Ten, also confirms that Rockne lent the Trojans a helping hand in recommending that they consider hiring Iowa's coach Howard Jones, after USC fired "Gloomy Gus" Henderson. The creation of the series was likely influenced by their friendship, and by Jones' desire to take USC to Notre Dame's elite level.
The early years: 1926–1940s
Notre Dame and USC played their first game in 1926, a 13–12 win for the Irish. Rockne was quoted as saying it was the greatest game he ever saw. The following year, Notre Dame and USC would play a memorable game at Soldier Field in Chicago, a slim 7–6 Irish victory. An estimated 120,000 people were in attendance, a crowd that is considered to be one of the largest attended games in NCAA history. USC's first win in the series also came during the same year they won their first national title in 1928. From 1928 to 1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the national title five straight years, with USC winning in 1928, 1931, and 1932, and Notre Dame winning in 1929 and 1930. During this period, there was some talk of canceling the series due to the long amount of travel time it took by train from South Bend to Los Angeles. Rockne argued for the series against the Notre Dame faculty board and its chair, Father Michael Mulcaire, countering that "he saw the day coming when most college teams will be going by air exclusively."
Notable Games:
1929 – Notre Dame 13, USC 12 This game played at Soldier field has the second largest verified attendance in the history of NCAA football at 112,912.
1930 – Notre Dame 27, USC 0 Notre Dame won its second consecutive national championship (and third overall) and 19th straight game in what turned out to be the last regular season game under coach Knute Rockne.
1931 – USC 16, Notre Dame 14 More than 300,000 fans welcomed the Trojans home from this thrilling victory in South Bend — a victory clinched by what sportswriter Maxwell Stiles called "Johnny Baker's 10 little toes and three BIG points." After trailing 14–0, USC won the game with a Johnny Baker 33-yard field goal with one minute remaining. The win snapped Notre Dame's 26-game unbeaten string and was the Trojans' first win in South Bend. Called "the biggest upset since Mrs. O'Leary's cow knocked over that lantern" by El Rodeo, USC's student yearbook, it clinched USC's second national title. Sports historians cite this come-from-behind victory with Jones as coach that prompted the school from the West to catapult into the same elite circle with ND.
1932 – USC 13, Notre Dame 0 USC shut out Notre Dame on its way to a second consecutive consensus national title, matching Notre Dame's feat in 1929 and 1930.
1940s–1950s
The 1940s were good for the Irish, which earned national titles in 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1949. Meanwhile, USC was fielding competitive teams, but none that achieved national championship status. Still, this era provided some memorable games, with USC playing spoiler to the Irish in 1948.
Notable Games:
1938 – USC 13, Notre Dame 0 Played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Notre Dame was undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation. USC was ranked 8th with a 7–2 record. Notre Dame fell to a #5 ranking the following week, but were still named national champions by the Dickinson System.
1947 – Notre Dame 38, USC 7 104,953 were on hand, the highest attendance for a football game in the Coliseum, to see 7–0–1 Rose Bowl-bound USC lose to 8–0 Notre Dame 38–7. Notre Dame was awarded the AP National Championship. USC would lose to Michigan 49–0 in the Rose Bowl, leading Michigan to also claim a national championship.
1948 – USC 14, Notre Dame 14 The Irish were undefeated and untied riding a 21-game winning streak, before this game on December 2.
1950 – USC 9, Notre Dame 7 USC's 300th victory in a dismal 4–4–1 season for the Irish, their worst under coach Frank Leahy.
1954 – Notre Dame 23, USC 17 Notre Dame quarterback Ralph Guglielmi throws a 72 pass to Jim Morse with 5:52 remaining for the win.
1959 – Notre Dame 16, USC 6 This was the last game played between the two teams in South Bend in November. Athletic Director Jess Hill proposed moving USC's games at Notre Dame Stadium to October, while continuing to play the Coliseum games in late November, to which Notre Dame agreed.
1960s–1982
The 1960s–1982 period is considered by most fans to be the golden age of the rivalry, as Notre Dame and USC combined to win eight national titles. Notre Dame won national titles in the 1966, 1973, and 1977 seasons; USC won titles in 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, and 1978. USC also played spoiler to Notre Dame in the 1964 season, costing them a chance at the national title. The rivalry was equally intense between USC coach John McKay and Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian.
Notable Games:
1960 – Notre Dame 17, USC 0 Notre Dame was 1–8 coming into this game, having lost eight straight games, a school record that still stands. The Trojans, under rookie coach John McKay, finished 4–6.
1961 – Notre Dame 30, USC 0 The Irish improved to 3–0 for the season in notching their fifth straight win against the Trojans in dominating fashion in the first meeting between the two rivals played in October. USC ended up with zero net rushing yards as their quarterbacks were sacked repeatedly. It was the largest margin of victory for a Joe Kuharich-coached Notre Dame team and in the process, Kuharich became the only Irish coach to date to post back-to-back shutouts over USC.
1962 – USC 25, Notre Dame 0 USC was undefeated and ranked #1 in the nation while Notre Dame was 5–4, having won four straight. The Trojans would be voted national champions after this game and would go on to outlast Wisconsin in a wild Rose Bowl victory, while Irish coach Joe Kuharich would resign the following spring.
1963 – Notre Dame 17, USC 14 Ken Ivan's fourth-quarter field goal proved to be the difference as the Irish avoided an 0–3 start by knocking off the defending national champions. Notre Dame won only one more game all season long, a 27–12 victory over UCLA the following week, and finished a dismal 2–7 under interim head coach Hugh Devore.
1964 – USC 20, Notre Dame 17 Notre Dame was ranked #1, undefeated and an 11-point favorite going into the game at USC's Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame's first-year head coach, was in the midst of a huge Irish turnaround at 9–0, after ND went 2–7 the previous year. USC was unranked and was 6–3 on the season. Star quarterback and eventual Heisman winner John Huarte directed the Irish to a 17–0 lead at halftime. That lead would evaporate, however, as the Trojans, aided at least twice on critical plays late in the game by highly questionable officiating, took a 20–17 lead on a fourth-down pass from Trojan quarterback Craig Fertig to wide receiver Rod Sherman with 1:35 remaining. The first dubious call came as Notre Dame scored a touchdown in the second half on a one-yard dive by Joe Kantor. But an official called holding on tackle Bob Meeker and the score was nullified. Video clearly shows that Meeker actually lunged forward into the end zone and fell onto the ground, holding nothing except turf. Nevertheless, that error kept the Irish from extending their lead. The unequivocally game changing call came on USC's last touchdown drive when Fertig was hit and either threw or fumbled the ball backwards and it was recovered by ND. Inexplicably the officials ruled that this was an incomplete pass, despite it being "thrown" in the direction of no eligible receiver. Notre Dame put together a last-minute drive, and with six seconds left, Huarte threw a pass to receiver Jack Snow that was broken up in the end zone. The Irish's hopes of a national title were stolen; the Trojans' bid for the Rose Bowl berth also fell short despite the upset. Notre Dame fell to number 3 in the ranking the following week, but were still awarded the MacArthur Bowl.
1965 – Notre Dame 28, USC 7 USC came into this game undefeated while the Irish were 3–1. Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett was held to 43 yards rushing as the Irish avenged their 20–17 loss the previous season. Fullback Larry Conjar scored all four Irish touchdowns and rushed for 116 yards. It was Ara Parseghian's only win against the Trojans to not come during a national title year for the Irish.
1966 – Notre Dame 51, USC 0 Undefeated Notre Dame, following its controversial 10–10 tie with Michigan State, routed the Trojans, 51–0, earning Notre Dame the number one ranking. Backup quarterback Coley O'Brien, who came off the bench the previous week after Terry Hanratty was injured, made the most of his only collegiate start, completing 21 of 31 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Tom Schoen and Dave Martin each returned interceptions for touchdowns. It was and still stands as the worst defeat in Trojan history and until 2009 it was one of only two times the Trojans had given up 50 points in a game. (USC lost to Cal 52–30 in 1991) Supposedly McKay vowed never to lose to Notre Dame again after that game, although he denied ever making such a statement. He did, however, say the Trojans would never lose again by a score of 51–0.
1967 – USC 24, Notre Dame 7 Coming off the previous year's worst lost in its history, the Trojans came into the game ranked number 1 in the polls, although Notre Dame was a heavy favorite. The win marked USC's first win in South Bend since 1939, behind the running of tailback O. J. Simpson, the junior college transfer from San Francisco. Simpson rushed for 160 yards on 38 carries and scored all three USC touchdowns after Notre Dame led at halftime, 7–0. The victory solidified USC's place at the top of the final rankings.
1968 – Notre Dame 21, USC 21 USC came into the game undefeated and ranked number 1 in the nation behind the running of eventual Heisman Trophy winner O. J. Simpson, while the Irish were 7–2. The game was one of the most widely viewed in college football history with a 22.9 rating, surpassing even the 1966 Notre Dame match-up with Michigan State. Joe Theismann started at quarterback in place of the injured Terry Hanratty, and on the second play of the game, he threw an interception that Sandy Durko returned for a touchdown and a quick 7–0 lead for the Trojans. But Theismann didn't let that bother him and by halftime had staked the Irish to a 21–7 lead, the third touchdown coming on a halfback-to-quarterback option pass by Coley O'Brien. The Trojans scored twice in the second half to tie the score and after two unsuccessful field goal attempts by Notre Dame, the game ended in a tie. Simpson was held to 55 net rushing yards, his lowest output of the season. The Irish finished with a fifth-place ranking with a 7–2–1 record, while the Trojans would lose to the eventual national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. It marked the last season of self-imposed bowl abstinence for Notre Dame.
1969 – USC 14, Notre Dame 14 For the second straight year, the Irish tied the Trojans. Notre Dame came into this game at 3–1, having lost to Purdue and their quarterback, Mike Phipps, while USC was undefeated. After a scoreless first half, the Irish scored first, but the Trojans took a 14–7 lead in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame tied it after blocking a USC punt deep in their own territory. As was the case a year earlier, the Irish missed a field goal late in the game that would have put them ahead. USC would finish 10–0–1 with a Rose Bowl win over Michigan while Notre Dame would make its first bowl appearance in 45 years, losing to eventual national champion Texas in the Cotton Bown in a 21–17 thriller.
1970 – USC 38, Notre Dame 28 Notre Dame was 9–0 and ranked #2 behind Texas, whom they would face in a rematch in the Cotton Bowl Classic, while USC was 5–4–1. In one of the most remarkable performances in college football history, Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Theismann set a still-standing single game school record with 526 passing yards – in a losing effort. The fact that the game was played in a torrential downpour made Theismann's feat that much more amazing. Down 24–14 at the half, two fumbles, one in their own end zone, proved costly for the Irish, as the Trojans extended their lead to 38–14. Notre Dame came back to within ten early in the fourth quarter, but would not get any closer. They would go on to end Texas's 30-game winning streak with a 24–11 victory in the Cotton Bowl.
1972 – USC 45, Notre Dame 23 USC was 10–0 and ranked #1, fielding what was arguably their best squad in school history while the Irish were 8–1 and Orange Bowl-bound. Trojan tailback Anthony Davis did the most damage, scoring six touchdowns including two kickoff returns that went the distance. The Trojans went on to rout Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and to claim the national championship while Notre Dame would suffer its worst defeat under coach Ara Parseghian against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 40–6.
1973 – Notre Dame 23, USC 14 Notre Dame was 5–0. while the Trojans were 5–0–1. Anthony Davis was a marked man all day, managing only 55 yards rushing. Eric Penick's 85-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter was the key play of the game. Notre Dame's defense set the tone on the first play of the game when Trojan quarterback Pat Haden attempted a swing pass to Lynn Swann, who was hit so hard by freshman Luther Bradley that his helmet flew off. Bradley's interception late in the game sealed the victory, only the third for Ara Parseghian against the Trojans. The Irish would proceed to run the table and stake their claim to the national championship after a thrilling 24–23 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
1974 – USC 55, Notre Dame 24 "The Comeback" In one of the most notable comebacks in college football history, the 1974 Trojans erased a 24-point deficit to beat defending national champion Notre Dame, 55–24, in the Coliseum. Many football historians cite this game as one of USC's 10 greatest games. The Irish jumped out to a 24–0 lead, but with 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Anthony Davis scored on a 7-yard pass from Pat Haden. At the start of second half, Davis took the opening kickoff and raced 102 yards for a score, opening the floodgates as USC rallied for 35 points in the third quarter. Davis scored 2 more touchdowns that quarter, and Haden threw two TD passes to J. K. McKay, the head coach's son. In the fourth quarter, Haden connected with Shelton Diggs for a touchdown and Charles Phillips returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown. Adding to the shock of the comeback was the fact that USC scored 55 points in under 17 minutes. After the game, the Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, the then-president of Notre Dame, said to Trojan coach John McKay, "That wasn't very nice." McKay, an Irish Catholic known for his quick wit, replied (referring to Parseghian's faith), "That's what you get for hiring a Presbyterian!" A few weeks later, Ara Parseghian announced his resignation, and the Irish gave him a fitting farewell present with an emotional 13–11 win over Alabama and Bear Bryant in the Orange Bowl.
1975 – USC 24, Notre Dame 17 Notre Dame came into this game at 5–1, losing only to Michigan State, while USC was 6–0 and ranked third in the country. Joe Montana made his first start at quarterback for Notre Dame, having engineered two fourth-quarter comeback victories in as many weeks against North Carolina and Air Force. Al Hunter's 52-yard touchdown run gave the Irish an early lead. The extra point was missed, and the lead stayed at 6–0. After USC subsequently took a 7–6 lead, Notre Dame blocked a punt and returned it for an apparent touchdown, but the play was nullified by a penalty. Undaunted, the Irish blocked the punt a second time and also returned it for a touchdown. The play stood, and after a successful two-point conversion, the Irish were back in front, 14–7. They took a 17–14 lead into the fourth quarter, but USC would score ten unanswered points to put it away. Following the game Trojans coach John McKay announced he would jump to the NFL expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following season. The Trojans would lose their last four regular season games en route to an 8–4 campaign while the Irish would finish 8–3 with no bowl game.
1977 – Notre Dame 49, USC 19 "The Green Jersey Game" Dan Devine entered his third year as the Irish head coach, while coach John Robinson was in his second year at USC following the departure of John McKay to the NFL. Notre Dame sat at 4–1, with an upset loss coming to unranked Ole Miss in the second game of the season. Patience was running thin with Irish fans who considered Devine's consecutive 8–3 and 9–3 seasons as lackluster compared to what they were accustomed to with coach Ara Parseghian. The loss to Ole Miss only served to fuel the fire. Devine needed a win against the 5–1 Trojans, whose only blemish was a 1-point loss to Alabama. Little did anyone know that Devine had something special in mind for the game. During Pregame warmups, the Irish players wore their traditional navy blue jerseys. Following their warmups, they went into the locker room and found co-captains Terry Eurick and Willie Fry clad in emerald green jerseys. A similar green jersey sat in each player's locker. The players quickly returned to the field, followed by a Trojan Horse, containing students dressed as Notre Dame players, but wearing blue jerseys, being dragged by students wearing togas. The sight of the team wearing green sent the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium into a frenzy that would carry on through the entire game. Quarterback Joe Montana led the Irish offense to a quick 7–0 lead, but the USC linebacker Mario Celloto tied the score on a five-yard fumble return. After several missed field goals, Montana led the offense on a quarterback sneak, and directed the Irish to 28 unanswered points, including two touchdown passes to All-American tight end Ken MacAfee. Ted Burgmeier proved to be an unsung hero. In the second quarter alone, the senior defensive back intercepted a Rob Hertel pass that would have been a sure Trojan touchdown, executed a fake field goal to perfection and turned a botched snap on a point after touchdown into a successful two-point conversion when he lofted a pass to halfback Tom Domin, who made a spectacular catch as he was falling down across the sideline, yet still managed to keep both feet in bounds. While the game was quite sloppy, with both teams combining for 10 turnovers, USC could not find the end zone until the 4th quarter. Notre Dame went on to win the game and wore the green jerseys all the way to a victory over Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic and captured the National Championship.
1978 – USC 27, Notre Dame 25 Notre Dame came into the game with an 8–2 record, having won eight straight after dropping their first two games and was headed to the Cotton Bowl Classic. For three quarters, USC moved the ball at will and was overwhelming the Irish. Trailing 24–6, Irish quarterback Joe Montana found his touch in the fourth quarter and led a spectacular comeback which saw Notre Dame take a 25–24 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Notre Dame went for two after the go ahead touchdown but was stopped; this would prove critical. In the ensuing series, Notre Dame recovered an apparent fumble by Trojan quarterback Paul McDonald, but it was ruled an incomplete pass. Given new life, the Trojans moved into field goal range, and with four seconds left, Frank Jordan drilled the game winner for a 27–25 win. USC would go on to beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and share the national title with Alabama (who they beat 24–14 early in the season in Birmingham). Montana would work his magic one last time in the 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic.
1979 – USC 42, Notre Dame 23 Notre Dame was 4–1, while USC came into this game at 5–0–1. Both teams would accumulate over 500 yards of total offense apiece as the Trojans pulled away in the second half after being tied 7–7 after 30 minutes. Heisman Trophy winner Charles White accounted for 261 rushing yards on 44 carries.
1980 – USC 20, Notre Dame 3 Notre Dame entered this game at 9–0–1 and headed for a matchup against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and a shot at a national championship. They came out flat and sputtered offensively all afternoon. Trojan tailback Marcus Allen didn't play because of an eye injury. This was the final regular season game for Irish coach Dan Devine, who announced in August that he would be leaving Notre Dame at season's end. Notre Dame would subsequently lose to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and finish 9–2–1.
1982 – USC 17, Notre Dame 13 The Trojans pulled this one out in the closing seconds in what was Trojan coach John Robinson's last game in his first stint with the team; he had stated that he wanted his players to, "win one for the fat guy." Michael Harper appeared to have fumbled before crossing the goal line and despite the fact that Notre Dame recovered the ball, the touchdown stood. Notre Dame finished 6–4–1 for the season, losing their last three games, while the Trojans, on probation and not going to a bowl, wound up 8–3.
1983–95 – Notre Dame's "Decade of Dominance"
From 1983 to 1993, Notre Dame entered an unprecedented run of success in the series, beating USC 11 straight times. Including a 1994 tie, USC did not beat Notre Dame until 1996, going 13 years without a win. Despite the one-sided nature of the series during this time period, the rivalry still produced several memorable games, including the series' first and only #1 vs #2 matchup to date.
Notable Games:
1983 – Notre Dame 27, USC 6 Notre Dame began an undefeated streak against USC which did not end until 1996. Coach Gerry Faust pulled out all the stops in an effort to halt a five-game slide for the Irish in the series. As in the 1977 "green jersey" game, when Coach Dan Devine had the Irish warm up in traditional blue, then come out of the tunnel in Irish Green jerseys, Faust did the same in this game.
1985 – Notre Dame 37, USC 3 Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust had his team switch to green jerseys during halftime with the Irish leading, 24–0.
1986 – Notre Dame 38, USC 37 Trailing 37–20 in the fourth quarter, the Irish staged a furious rally to win the game on John Carney's 19-yard field goal as time expired in Lou Holtz's first season as head coach. More officiating controversy as USC appeared to have a first down on a 4th and 1 play deep in Notre Dame territory while leading 37–27. But the officials did not award forward progress, and then hastily flagged USC QB Rodney Peete for unsportsmanlike conduct when he threw his arms up in disgust at where the ball was marked. It wasn't enough to prevent a losing season, as Notre Dame finished 5–6, but this game marked a turning point in the program, laying the cornerstone for the team's 1988 national championship. It was also a breakout game for future Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Brown.
1987 – Notre Dame 26, USC 15 Notre Dame entered this game at 4–1 while USC was 4–2. After the Trojans scored a quick touchdown on their first possession, the Irish unleashed an overpowering running attack that would net 351 rushing yards. USC would not score again until the closing seconds.
1988 – Notre Dame 27, USC 10 – #1 vs #2
For the first time in this storied series, both teams entered the game undefeated and ranked number one and two respectively. In a controversial move, coach Lou Holtz took his 10–0 Irish squad to L.A. without stars Ricky Watters and Tony Brooks, whom he suspended for disciplinary reasons. The USC Trojans were also undefeated under head coach Larry Smith and standout quarterback Rodney Peete. The Irish came into the game as underdogs, but the spectacular play of defensive end Frank Stams and cornerback Stan Smagala aided the Irish offense, led by Tony Rice, in capturing another Irish victory. Notre Dame went on to capture the National Championship that year, beating West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl. The sellout crowd of 93,829 was the largest in this rivalry since 1955.
1989 – Notre Dame 28, USC 24 Notre Dame was ranked #1 with an 18-game winning streak. The game was marred by a brawl in the tunnel before the start of the contest. Once it began, it was a thriller. USC quarterback Todd Marinovich completed 33 of 55 passes and staked the Trojans to a 17–7 halftime lead. The Irish fought back in the second half with Tony Rice scoring the winning TD on a keeper, then Notre Dame's defense held off one last Trojan thrust.
1995 – Notre Dame 38, USC 10 USC came into the game, played in October, undefeated and ranked #5, while Notre Dame was ranked #17. Riding a six-game win streak with dominating wins over #25 Arizona and conference opponent Arizona State, it was USC's best start to their football season since 1988. The Irish, however, had other ideas, and the defense held USC to 10 points, including a spectacular forced fumble on the goal line by Irish linebacker Kinnon Tatum. USC went on to lose the game but would finish at 9–2–1 with a Rose Bowl title, while Notre Dame finished 9–3. It would be Holtz's last victory against USC, as USC would finally end its woes against the Irish the following year.
1996–2001
For a six-year period, USC and Notre Dame went .500 against each other, with Southern California winning the first three games and Notre Dame winning the last three. The 2001 Notre Dame victory was also their last until their 2010 defeat of the Trojans.
Notable games:
1996 – USC 27, Notre Dame 20 After 11 straight years of losses and 13 straight years without beating Notre Dame, the Trojans finally defeated the Irish. USC was struggling at 5–6 after a wild double-overtime loss to UCLA the previous week. while Notre Dame was standing tall with an 8–2 record. and a New Year's Day bowl bid in the works. The Trojans managed to stay in the game despite playing without starting quarterback Brad Otton for large portions of the game due to injury. When Notre Dame scored a touchdown to go ahead 20–12 (with the PAT pending) in the fourth quarter, things looked bleak for USC. But Irish kicker Jim Sanson missed the extra point and the margin stayed at eight. The Trojans responded with an eight-play, 67-yard drive culminating in Delon Washington's 15-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining. Washington also ran in the two-point conversion and the score was tied at 20. Neither team could score before the end of regulation and overtime ensued. On USC's first drive, Otton passed to Rodney Sermons for a five-yard touchdown pass and the Trojans went ahead for the first time, 27–20. Jubilation erupted in the Coliseum when Mark Cusano batted down Ron Powlus' fourth-down pass for a Trojan victory. It was Lou Holtz's last game as coach of the Irish and his first loss to the Trojans. It was also the first overtime game in the series. Holtz compiled a 9–1–1 record against USC.
1998 – USC 10, Notre Dame 0 USC came into this matchup at 7–4 under first-year coach Paul Hackett while Notre Dame was 9–1 and hoping to secure a major bowl bid with a victory. Their chances were dealt a severe blow the previous week when quarterback Jarious Jackson suffered a knee injury on the last play of the game against LSU, sidelining him for the USC game. Without Jackson, the Irish offense was powerless, suffering their first shutout in this series since 1962. They had to settle for the Gator Bowl, losing to Georgia Tech.
This was the first game in the rivalry not attended by USC "superfan" Giles Pellerin, who had died the previous week during the USC–UCLA game. He had attended every USC game, home and away, since 1925.
1999 – Notre Dame 25, USC 24 In an otherwise dismal season by the Irish, Notre Dame overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Trojans 25–24 at Notre Dame stadium. The game winner came in one of many lucky breaks, with tight end Jabari Halloway recovering a Jarious Jackson fumble in the end zone with 2:40 remaining on the game clock. The Irish also had the wind at their backs in both the third and fourth quarters, helping the Irish kickers with field position and field goal attempts. It marked the first time since 1996 that Notre Dame beat USC.
2000 – Notre Dame 38, USC 21 The Irish secured their first BCS bowl berth in history by knocking off the Trojans.
2001 – Notre Dame 27, USC 16 After an 0–3 start, the first in school history, Bob Davie's squad managed a win against USC in South Bend. It was the last win the Irish recorded against USC until 2010. Until 2009, the Irish were the only team to have beaten a Pete-Carroll-coached Trojan squad by more than seven points.
2002–09 – USC's Dominance
From 2002 – 2009, USC defeated Notre Dame eight straight times, in some games winning in a lopsided fashion unprecedented in the series. Despite the one-sided nature of this stretch, the series still produced a classic game in 2005.
Notable Games:
2002 – USC 44, Notre Dame 13
This game reestablished USC on a national level after a decade-long absence from the elite ranks. The Trojans had not played in such a high-stakes game since the 1988 No. 1 vs. No. 2 loss to the Irish. The victory for the Trojans helped them clinch their first-ever BCS bowl berth and established Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer as a Heisman Trophy candidate, which he eventually won. The game culminated USC's most successful season since 1979. A capacity crowd and a national television audience saw USC quarterback Carson Palmer throw for 425 yards and four touchdowns—then Notre Dame opponent records. Palmer led the Trojan offense to 610 total yards, the most yards ever against the Irish. Notre Dame briefly took a 13–10 lead, but Palmer led the Trojans on a 75-yard drive in just over a minute culminating in a pass that sailed over the outstretched hands of two Irish defenders and into the waiting arms of Mike Williams for a 19-yard touchdown. The Trojans sprinted into the locker room with a 17–13 halftime lead and never looked back. USC's 44 points were the most against the Irish by a USC team since Troy's 55–24 victory in 1974.
2005 – USC 34, Notre Dame 31 "The Bush Push"
After beating the Irish by 31 points each of the past three years, the Trojans came into South Bend to meet Notre Dame and first-year head coach Charlie Weis. The Irish players entered the stadium before the game wearing green jerseys, and put the crowd into a frenzy. A close game throughout, the Irish took the lead with two minutes left on a Brady Quinn touchdown run. The Trojans stormed back after a 4th and 9 pass by Matt Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett that brought the ball inside the ND 15-yard line. As Leinart scrambled and tried to dive into the end zone, he was hit hard short of the goal line, and the ball was knocked out of bounds with seven seconds to go. However, the clock continued to count down, and after it hit zero, the Irish fans began to storm the field. There was no replay in this game, at the request of coach Pete Carroll, but after huddling, the officials spotted the ball on the one-yard line and put seven seconds back on the clock. On the next play, instead of spiking the ball and kicking a field goal to secure a tie that would have resulted in overtime, the Trojan offense surprised the Irish by running the ball. Trojan running back Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone. Although this was against the rules at that time, the referees awarded USC the winning touchdown. Weis said he would hope his running back would make a play like that in a similar situation. The Trojans went on to lost to the Texas Longhorns in the BCS Championship Game.
In 2010, USC was sanctioned by the NCAA for displaying a lack of institutional control for its football, men's basketball and women's tennis programs. As a result, all USC football victories from December 2004 through the 2005 season were vacated, including this classic game. These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers, including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization."
2007 – USC 38, Notre Dame 0
This was the largest margin of victory the Trojans have put forth on the Irish. It was also their first shutout against them since 1998. USC came into this game 5–1, while Notre Dame came in 1–6. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis announced during that summer that his team would wear throwback green jerseys for the matchup, signifying the 30-year anniversary of the Irish beating the Trojans in their green jerseys in 1977, when Weis was a senior at Notre Dame. Because of John David Booty's injured finger, USC backup quarterback Mark Sanchez, was the starter. In his second game as a starter, Sanchez managed to complete 21 of 38 passes with a combined total of 235 yards and 4 touchdown passes. This was the Trojans' 6th consecutive victory over the Irish as well. In the process, they became only the third team to accomplish this feat (Michigan and Michigan State share the record with eight straight wins in non consecutive years).
2010–Present
After eight straight victories by USC, the 2010s were a period of relative dominance by Notre Dame, as the Irish won 7 out of 10 games after Pete Carroll left USC to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. While USC had four different coaches during the 2010s, Brian Kelly was the Irish's head coach for the entire decade.
Notable Games:
2010 – Notre Dame 20, USC 16
For the first time since 1941, both teams faced each other with first-year head coaches – who had never met and did not know each other. With the Irish coming off of two stellar performances against #14 Utah and Army (27–3 at Yankee Stadium), Notre Dame was riding high, while USC was one week removed from one of their most one-sided defeats in the last decade, a 36–7 loss to the Oregon State Beavers and would be starting fifth-year senior and backup QB Mitch Mustain for the first time due to an injury to starter Matt Barkley. Three key touchdown drives all taking place in the last three minutes of either half and a dropped pass by Ronald Johnson with a little over a minute remaining in the game led the Irish to their first victory over USC since 2001. They would go on to defeat Miami in the Sun Bowl and finish 8–5 under new coach Brian Kelly.
2011 – USC 31, Notre Dame 17
USC defeated Notre Dame on the road for an unprecedented fifth straight win in South Bend. It was the first night game played in South Bend in 21 years. The turning point came in the third quarter. Down, 17–10, Notre Dame drove all the way to the USC 1-yard-line and were poised to tie the score when a fumbled snap from center was returned the other way for a touchdown by USC's Jawanza Starling to make it 24–10. For the game, Notre Dame debuted a shiny gold helmet. Nearly 50 recruits attended the game.
2012 – Notre Dame 22, USC 13
Going into the game, the teams found themselves in an unforeseen reversal of preseason expectations. Notre Dame was ranked #1 in the AP poll after being unranked in that poll to start the season, while USC entered the game unranked after starting the season as the preseason #1 team. With a balanced offensive attack and several late goal-line stands on defense, Notre Dame won the game 22–13. The Irish held on to their #1 BCS ranking and propelled themselves to the BCS Championship Game in Miami. With more than 16 million viewers, it was the most-watched regular-season college football game on ABC since 2006 and the most-viewed ABC Saturday night game ever. Notre Dame vacated this win in 2016 after "the NCAA determined that a Notre Dame trainer committed academic misconduct for two football players and provided six other players with extra benefits;" the NCAA identified one player who was ineligible for every game in the 2012 season, and another player who was ineligible for every game in the 2013 season.
2014 – USC 49, Notre Dame 14
Both teams were ranked in the preseason, with USC at #15 in both the AP and Coaches Polls while Notre Dame was #17 in both polls. Going into the game, both teams were unranked with identical 7–4 records. With a 49–14 victory, USC scored its highest points in the series in 40 years (#6 USC's 55–24 victory over #5 Notre Dame in 1974) and the highest score by either team in the series in 37 years (#11 Notre Dame's 49–19 victory over #5 USC in 1977). USC Quarterback Cody Kessler threw six touchdown passes, the first time in Notre Dame history that any team had ever made six touchdown passes against the Irish.
2018 – Notre Dame 24, USC 17
The Fighting Irish flew into Los Angeles for this Thanksgiving-weekend game undefeated and ranked #3 in the country. The Trojans were 5–6, and still had a chance at a bowl game bid. The underdog Trojan hosts gave their Fighting Irish guests a scare in the early going by taking a 10–0 lead. However, Notre Dame got the offense going late in the second quarter, and quarterback Ian Book led his team to 24 unanswered points. He completed 22 of 39 passes for 352 yards. The Trojans' true freshman quarterback JT Daniels completed 7 out of 10 passes in a late drive which culminated in a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Vaughns with 48 seconds left. But, the subsequent onside kick failed and Notre Dame ran the clock out to complete an undefeated regular season.
Trophy: Jeweled Shillelagh
The Jeweled Shillelagh (shi-LAY-lee) is the trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Notre Dame–USC football rivalry game. The shillelagh, an Irish club, is made of oak or blackthorn saplings from Ireland. On the end of the club is engraved the following: From the Emerald Isle. The trophy was introduced in 1952 to commemorate the first game in the series played on December 4, 1926. The trophy was donated by the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Los Angeles, stating that "this shillelagh will serve to symbolize in part the high tradition, the keen rivalry, and above all the sincere respect which these two great universities have for each other."
For each victory, a respective jeweled ornament is added to the foot-long club. For each USC victory, a ruby-adorned Trojan head is added, marked with the year and game score; for each Notre Dame victory, a similarly detailed emerald-studded shamrock is added. For tie games, a combined Trojan head/shamrock medallion is used (in 1996 NCAA changed the rules to allow for overtime and thus no more ties are possible). Although the shillelagh was introduced in 1952, the medallions go back to the start of the series in 1926. In 1996, after USC defeated Notre Dame for the first time in 14 years, Notre Dame did not turn over the shillelagh, stating that it had run out of space for the Trojan heads and shamrocks after the 1989 game. The original shillelagh was retired in a 1995 ceremony and is now permanently displayed at Notre Dame. Instead, Jim Gillis, former head of the Notre Dame Club of Los Angeles, commissioned a second shillelagh, longer than the original and handcrafted from a blackthorn in County Leitrim with gold and jeweled medallions made by Images Jewelers of Elkhart, Indiana.
Game results
In popular culture
When Michael Corleone visits Miami in The Godfather Part II, Hyman Roth is listening to the 1958 Notre Dame vs. USC game.
The security guard in the movie Die Hard is watching a football game between Notre Dame and USC. However, the film takes place on Christmas Eve, a day on which the two teams have never met.
An episode of American Gladiators featured a competition between star USC players Anthony Davis and Charles White and Notre Dame stars Allen Pinkett and Vagas Ferguson.
In an episode on the third season of The Sopranos, Tony Soprano has a flashback to his childhood where Notre Dame vs. USC is playing on TV. The Notre Dame Victory March is played in this scene.
A 2008 episode of Family Feud featured competition between the two schools.
The November 22, 2017 episode of The Price Is Right featured competition between the two schools.
See also
List of NCAA college football rivalry games
Notes
References
College football rivalries in the United States
USC
USC Trojans football |
20173240 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnuspeech | Gnuspeech | Gnuspeech is an extensible text-to-speech computer software package that produces artificial speech output based on real-time articulatory speech synthesis by rules. That is, it converts text strings into phonetic descriptions, aided by a pronouncing dictionary, letter-to-sound rules, and rhythm and intonation models; transforms the phonetic descriptions into parameters for a low-level articulatory speech synthesizer; uses these to drive an articulatory model of the human vocal tract producing an output suitable for the normal sound output devices used by various computer operating systems; and does this at the same or faster rate than the speech is spoken for adult speech.
Design
The synthesizer is a tube resonance, or waveguide, model that models the behavior of the real vocal tract directly, and reasonably accurately, unlike formant synthesizers that indirectly model the speech spectrum. The control problem is solved by using René Carré's Distinctive Region Model which relates changes in the radii of eight longitudinal divisions of the vocal tract to corresponding changes in the three frequency formants in the speech spectrum that convey much of the information of speech. The regions are, in turn, based on work by the Stockholm Speech Technology Laboratory of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) on "formant sensitivity analysis" - that is, how formant frequencies are affected by small changes in the radius of the vocal tract at various places along its length.
History
Gnuspeech was originally commercial software produced by the now-defunct Trillium Sound Research for the NeXT computer as various grades of "TextToSpeech" kit. Trillium Sound Research was a technology transfer spin-off company formed at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, based on long-standing research in the computer science department on computer-human interaction using speech, where papers and manuals relevant to the system are maintained. The initial version in 1992 used a formant-based speech synthesiser. When NeXT ceased manufacturing hardware, the synthesizer software was completely re-written and also ported to NSFIP (NextStep For Intel Processors) using the waveguide approach to acoustic tube modeling based on the research at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, especially the Music Kit. The synthesis approach is explained in more detail in a paper presented to the American Voice I/O Society in 1995. The system used the onboard 56001 Digital Signal Processor (DSP) on the NeXT computer and a Turtle Beach add-on board with the same DSP on the NSFIP version to run the waveguide (also known as the tube model). Speed limitations meant that the shortest vocal tract length that could be used for speech in real time (that is, generated at the same or faster rate than it was "spoken") was around 15 centimeters, because the sample rate for the waveguide computations increases with decreasing vocal tract length. Faster processor speeds are progressively removing this restriction, an important advance for producing children's speech in real time.
Since NeXTSTEP is discontinued and NeXT computers are rare, one option for executing the original code is the use of
virtual machines. The Previous emulator, for example, can emulate the DSP in NeXT computers,
which can be used by the Trillium software.
Trillium ceased trading in the late 1990s and the Gnuspeech project was first entered into the GNU Savannah repository under the terms of the GNU General Public License in 2002, as an official GNU software.
Due to its free and open source license, which allows customization of the code,
Gnuspeech has been utilized in academic research.
References
External links
Gnuspeech on GNU Savannah
Overview of the Gnuspeech system
Cross-platform free software
Free speech synthesis software |
2294506 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeCAD%20Software | GeCAD Software | GECAD Software was a Romanian Computer Aided Design (CAD) software development company established in 1992 by Radu Georgescu. Over time, GECAD's focus shifted from CAD software to security-related software, mainly antivirus software. Its most prominent product, Reliable Antivirus, or RAV, was first developed in 1994. In 2003, after amassing over 10 million users in 60 countries worldwide, the technology was acquired by Microsoft. In 2004, GECAD Software reshaped its entire business and became GECAD Group.
Now, GECAD Group invests in companies with high growth potential with the ability to innovate and deliver new ideas and products in their markets. Investment is focused primarily on software and hi-tech companies, including security software, cloud technologies, eCommerce, cryptocurrencies and payment methods. In 2005, the GECAD Group investing in founding the Avangate eCommerce payments platform.
GECAD Group permanently invests in new businesses.
References
External links
Official website
Information technology companies of Romania
Companies based in Bucharest
Microsoft acquisitions
Software companies of Romania |
24806506 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows%208 | Windows 8 | Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. The product was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and generally to retail on October 26, 2012. Windows 8 was made available for download via MSDN and TechNet. Windows 8 is the first version of Windows to support the ARM architecture, under the Windows RT branding. Microsoft released Windows 8.1 in October 2013, addressing some aspects of Windows 8 that were criticized by reviewers and early adopters and incorporated additional improvements to various aspects of the operating system. Windows 8 was ultimately succeeded by Windows 10 in July 2015. Support for IE10 on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard ended on January 31, 2020. Market share had fallen to 1.06% by October 2020.
Windows 8 introduced major changes to the operating system's platform and user interface intended to improve its user experience on tablets, where Windows was now competing with mobile operating systems, including Android and iOS. In particular, these changes included a touch-optimized Windows shell based on Microsoft's Metro design language and the Start screen, a new platform for developing apps with an emphasis on touchscreen input, integration with online services, and Windows Store, an online distribution for downloading and purchasing new software, and a new keyboard shortcut for screenshots. Many of these features were adopted from Windows Phone. Windows 8 added support for USB 3.0, Advanced Format hard drives, near field communications, and cloud computing. Additional security features were introduced, such as built-in antivirus software, integration with Microsoft SmartScreen phishing filtering service and support for UEFI Secure Boot on supported devices.
Windows 8 was released to a mixed critical reception. Although reaction towards its performance improvements, security enhancements, and improved support for touchscreen devices was positive, the new user interface of the operating system was widely criticized for being potentially confusing and difficult to learn, especially when used with a keyboard and mouse instead of a touchscreen. Despite these shortcomings, 60 million Windows 8 licenses were sold through January 2013, a number that included both upgrades and sales to OEMs for new PCs.
In August 2019, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, , that potentially affects older unpatched Microsoft Windows versions via the program's Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote code execution, may now include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows versions (i.e., Windows 7 and all recent versions). In addition, experts reported a Microsoft security vulnerability, , based on legacy code involving ctfmon.exe that affects all Windows versions from the older Windows XP version to the most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw is currently available.
Development history
Early development
Windows 8 development started before Windows 7 had shipped in 2009. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, it was announced that the next version of Windows would add support for ARM system-on-chips alongside the existing x86 processors produced by vendors, especially AMD and Intel. Windows division president Steven Sinofsky demonstrated an early build of the port on prototype devices, while Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the company's goal for Windows to be "everywhere on every kind of device without compromise." Details also began to surface about a new application framework for Windows 8 codenamed "Jupiter", which would be used to make "immersive" applications using XAML (similarly to Windows Phone and Silverlight) that could be distributed via a new packaging system and a rumored application store.
The earliest build of Windows 8 is build 7700, compiled in January 2010. The build was identical to Windows 7 except for the wallpaper being different - the same one from the Beta and Release Candidate. In addition, there were references to Windows 8 in this build.
In late 2010, an optional 3D desktop user interface for high-end systems named "Wind" was rumored.
Two milestone releases of Windows 8 and one of Windows Server 2012 leaked to the general public. Milestone 1, Build 7850, was leaked on April 12, 2011. It was the first build where the text of a window was written centered instead of aligned to the left. It was also probably the first appearance of the Metro-style font, and its wallpaper had the text shhh. let's not leak our hard work. However, its detailed build number reveals that the build was created on September 22, 2010. The leaked copy was Enterprise edition, with other editions leaking later. In 2020, it was discovered that Metro existed in this build, after enabling the 'Redpill'. The start screen was very primitive, being a white screen with gray tiles. The charms bar was also included, but was unusable. The OS still reads as "Windows 7". Milestone 2, Build 7955, was leaked on April 25, 2011. The traditional Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) was replaced by a new black screen, although it was later reverted to a different blue color. This build introduced a new ribbon in Windows Explorer. The "Windows 7" logo was temporarily replaced with text displaying "Microsoft Confidential". Both builds 7850 and 7955 leaked alongside Windows Server 2012 build 7959. On June 17, 2011, build 7989 64-bit edition was leaked. It introduced a new boot screen featuring the same Betta fish as the default Windows 7 Beta wallpaper, which was later replaced, and the circling dots as featured in the final (although the final version comes with smaller circling dots throbber). It also had the text Welcome below them, although this was scrapped.
The boot screen was not new to this build though - it came from build 7973, a slightly earlier build. It is worth mentioning that most of these leaks "hid" the main Metro UI features that were to come in tweak known as Redlock in order to prevent relevant leaks. A patch named Redpill was necessary to reveal the new Metro UI as well as the redesigned Start Screen, Lock Screen and apps. Several applications have tried to replicate this patch as closely as possible, although one called Redlock is the most accurate, supporting the enabling of builds' Metro UI from 7850-8056. It also worked on the Developer Preview.
This build also leaked in the x86 architecture as a debug build, with the setup having a slight change - the theme was now Windows Basic in setup, rather than Classic.
Build 8008 was the first build to remove the User Tile. A new wallpaper was introduced and Metro was updated to be more like the final version of Windows 8.
On June 1, 2011, Microsoft unveiled Windows 8's new user interface, as well as additional features at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California.
The "Building Windows 8" blog launched on August 15, 2011, featuring details surrounding Windows 8's features and its development process.
Previews
As Windows 8 transitioned away from being in the Milestone phase of development, the Developer Preview was beginning to take shape.
Build 8032 changed the branding to Windows Developer Preview and was the last build to use Windows 7 branding anywhere.
Build 8056 introduced several changes to the interface and small stability improvements. Metro was updated to be more like the Metro in Developer Preview (although it was still different) and a new wallpaper was introduced.
Microsoft unveiled more Windows 8 features and improvements on the first day of the Build conference on September 13, 2011. Microsoft released the first public beta build of Windows 8, Windows Developer Preview (build 8102) at the event. A Samsung tablet running the build was also distributed to conference attendees.
The build was released for download later that day in standard 32-bit and 64-bit variants, plus a special 64-bit variant which included SDKs and developer tools (Visual Studio Express and Expression Blend) for developing Metro-style apps. The Windows Store was announced during the presentation, but was not available in this build. According to Microsoft, there were about 535,000 downloads of the developer preview within the first 12 hours of its release. Originally set to expire on March 11, 2012, in February 2012 the Developer Preview's expiry date was changed to January 15, 2013.
The next step was the Consumer Preview, sometimes called Windows 8 Beta in the builds before it.
Build 8118 is the earliest leaked post-Developer Preview build. This build disables Redpill, and Metro can be manually enabled through the editing of system files.
Build 8128 removed Redpill, and Metro was enabled by default with no way to disable it (although build 8102 is being distributed by Microsoft with Redpill already applied and can be disabled with a registry key).
Build 8176 featured new branding - Windows 8 Beta. The Consumer Preview wallpapers have now been added, and the setup color has been changed to be the same as the final Consumer Preview.
Build 8195 is largely the same as 8176, although it removes the Start Button from the taskbar. While the start button could be removed in early Milestone 2 (and this persisted through Windows 8 development) with a registry key, this build disabled it by default with no way to turn it back on. The branding is now identical to the Consumer Preview.
On February 17, 2012, Microsoft unveiled a new logo to be adopted for Windows 8. Designed by Pentagram partner Paula Scher, the Windows logo was changed to resemble a set of four window panes. Additionally, the entire logo is now rendered in a single solid color.
On February 29, 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the beta version of Windows 8, build 8250. Alongside other changes, the build brought over the big change from build 8195: removing the Start button from the taskbar for the first time in a public build since its debut on Windows 95; according to Windows manager Chaitanya Sareen, the Start button was removed to reflect their view that on Windows 8, the desktop was an "app" itself, and not the primary interface of the operating system. Windows president Steven Sinofsky said more than 100,000 changes had been made since the developer version went public. The day after its release, Windows 8 Consumer Preview had been downloaded over one million times. Like the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview expired on January 15, 2013.
Development on the third and final preview of Windows 8, the Release Preview, began shortly after Consumer Preview (note: build 8277 was compiled on February 8, 2012, before 8250). Build 8330 was a build in between the Consumer and Release Previews. This build includes a new default wallpaper and several changes, such as the new logo replacing the old one and appearing in the About Windows dialog box.
Many other builds may exist or were released until Japan's Developers Day conference when Steven Sinofsky announced that Windows 8 Release Preview (build 8400) would be released during the first week of June. On May 28, 2012, Windows 8 Release Preview (Standard Simplified Chinese x64 edition, not China-specific variant, build 8400) was leaked online on various Chinese and BitTorrent websites. On May 31, 2012, Windows 8 Release Preview was released to the public by Microsoft. Major items in the Release Preview included the addition of Sports, Travel, and News apps, along with an integrated variant of Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer. Like the Developer Preview and the Consumer Preview, the release preview expired on January 15, 2013.
Release
With the Release Preview of Windows 8 finished, Microsoft began work on the final release.
Build 8423 is the last leaked build to contain Aero. It was dropped in build 8432 and seen for two builds after 8423.
Build 8438 removed Desktop Gadgets. It was identical to 8432, which removed Aero. This build and the x86 variant of build 8330 were built in the interestingly named 'fbl_ie_longhorn' branch.
Build 8888 was leaked in December 2014, and was identical to the RTM with the exception of the timebomb and missing apps.
On August 1, 2012, Windows 8 (build 9200) was released to manufacturing with the build number 6.2.9200.16384. Microsoft planned to hold a launch event on October 25, 2012 and release Windows 8 for general availability on the next day. However, only a day after its release to manufacturing, a copy of the final version of Windows 8 Enterprise N (a variant for European markets which lacks bundled media players to comply with an antitrust ruling) leaked online, followed by leaks of the final versions of Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise a few days later. On August 15, 2012, Windows 8 was made available to download for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Windows 8 was made available to Software Assurance customers on August 16, 2012. Windows 8 was made available for students with a DreamSpark Premium subscription on August 22, 2012, earlier than advertised. Windows 8 became generally available for download to all MSDN and TechNet customers on August 15 and for retail purchase on October 26, 2012.
Relatively few changes were made from the Release Preview to the final version; these included updated versions of its pre-loaded apps, the renaming of Windows Explorer to File Explorer, the replacement of the Aero Glass theme from Windows Vista and 7 with a new flat and solid-color theme as seen in build 8432, and the addition of new background options for the Start screen, lock screen, and desktop. Prior to its general availability on October 26, 2012, updates were released for some of Windows 8's bundled apps, and a "General Availability Cumulative Update" (which included fixes to improve performance, compatibility, and battery life) was released on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Microsoft indicated that due to improvements to its testing infrastructure, general improvements of this nature are to be released more frequently through Windows Update instead of being relegated to OEMs and service packs only.
Microsoft began an advertising campaign centered around Windows 8 and its Surface tablet in October 2012, starting with its first television advertisement premiering on October 14, 2012. Microsoft's advertising budget of US$1.5–1.8 billion was significantly larger than the US$200 million campaign used to promote Windows 95. As part of its campaign, Microsoft set up 34 pop-up stores inside malls to showcase the Surface product line, provided training for retail employees in partnership with Intel, and collaborated with the electronics store chain Best Buy to design expanded spaces to showcase devices. In an effort to make retail displays of Windows 8 devices more "personal", Microsoft also developed a character known in English-speaking markets as "Allison Brown", whose fictional profile (including personal photos, contacts, and emails) is also featured on demonstration units of Windows 8 devices. All Windows 7 PCs plan to offer a new Windows 8 upgrade on December 31, 2012, and Microsoft upgraded it as a product of currently supported Windows 7 PCs in January 2013 via Windows Update.
In May 2013, Microsoft launched a new television campaign for Windows 8 illustrating the capabilities and pricing of Windows 8 tablets in comparison to the iPad, which featured the voice of Siri remarking on the iPad's limitations in a parody of Apple's "Get a Mac" advertisements. On June 12, 2013 during game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals, Microsoft premiered the first ad in its "Windows Everywhere" campaign, which promoted Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the company's suite of online services as an interconnected platform.
New and changed features
New features and functionality in Windows 8 include a faster startup through UEFI integration and the new "Hybrid Boot" mode (which hibernates the Windows kernel on shutdown to speed up the subsequent boot), a new lock screen with a clock and notifications, and the ability for enterprise users to create live USB variants of Windows (known as Windows To Go). Windows 8 also adds native support for USB 3.0 devices, which allow for faster data transfers and improved power management with compatible devices, and hard disk 4KB Advanced Format support, as well as support for near field communication to facilitate sharing and communication between devices.
Windows Explorer, which has been renamed File Explorer, now includes a ribbon in place of the command bar. File operation dialog boxes have been updated to provide more detailed statistics, the ability to pause file transfers, and improvements in the ability to manage conflicts when copying files. A new "File History" function allows incremental revisions of files to be backed up to and restored from a secondary storage device, while Storage Spaces allows users to combine different sized hard disks into virtual drives and specify mirroring, parity, or no redundancy on a folder-by-folder basis. For easier management of files and folders, Windows 8 introduces the ability to move selected files or folders via drag and drop from a parent folder into a subfolder listed within the breadcrumb hierarchy of the address bar in File Explorer.
Task Manager has been redesigned, including a new processes tab with the option to display fewer or more details of running applications and background processes, a heat map using different colors indicating the level of resource usage, network and disk counters, grouping by process type (e.g. applications, background processes and Windows processes), friendly names for processes and a new option which allows users to search the web to find information about obscure processes. Additionally, the Blue Screen of Death has been updated with a simpler and modern design with less technical information displayed.
Safety and security
New security features in Windows 8 include two new authentication methods tailored towards touchscreens (PINs and picture passwords), the addition of antivirus capabilities to Windows Defender (bringing it in parity with Microsoft Security Essentials). SmartScreen filtering integrated into Windows, Family Safety offers Parental controls, which allows parents to monitor and manage their children's activities on a device with activity reports and safety controls. Windows 8 also provides integrated system recovery through the new "Refresh" and "Reset" functions, including system recovery from USB drive. Windows 8's first security patches would be released on November 13, 2012; it would contain three fixes deemed "critical" by the company.
Windows 8 supports a feature of the UEFI specification known as "Secure boot", which uses a public-key infrastructure to verify the integrity of the operating system and prevent unauthorized programs such as bootkits from infecting the device's boot process. Some pre-built devices may be described as "certified" by Microsoft; these must have secure boot enabled by default, and provide ways for users to disable or re-configure the feature. ARM-based Windows RT devices must have secure boot permanently enabled.
Online services and functionality
Windows 8 provides heavier integration with online services from Microsoft and others. A user can now log into Windows with a Microsoft account, which can be used to access services and synchronize applications and settings between devices. Windows 8 also ships with a client app for Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service, which also allows apps to save files directly to SkyDrive. A SkyDrive client for the desktop and File Explorer is not included in Windows 8, and must be downloaded separately. Bundled multimedia apps are provided under the Xbox brand, including Xbox Music, Xbox Video, and the Xbox SmartGlass companion for use with an Xbox 360 console. Games can integrate into an Xbox Live hub app, which also allows users to view their profile and Gamerscore. Other bundled apps provide the ability to link Flickr and Facebook. Due to Facebook Connect service changes, Facebook support is disabled in all bundled apps effective June 8, 2015.
Internet Explorer 10 is included as both a desktop program and a touch-optimized app, and includes increased support for HTML5, CSS3, and hardware acceleration. The Internet Explorer app does not support plugins or ActiveX components, but includes a variant of Adobe Flash Player that is optimized for touch and low power usage. Initially, Adobe Flash would only work on sites included on a "Compatibility View" whitelist; however, after feedback from users and additional compatibility tests, an update in March 2013 changed this behavior to use a smaller blacklist of sites with known compatibility issues instead, allowing Flash to be used on most sites by default. The desktop variant does not contain these limitations.
Windows 8 also incorporates improved support for mobile broadband; the operating system can now detect the insertion of a SIM card and automatically configure connection settings (including APNs and carrier branding), and reduce its Internet usage to conserve bandwidth on metered networks. Windows 8 also adds an integrated airplane mode setting to globally disable all wireless connectivity as well. Carriers can also offer account management systems through Windows Store apps, which can be automatically installed as a part of the connection process and offer usage statistics on their respective tile.
Windows Store apps
Windows 8 introduces a new style of application, Windows Store apps. According to Microsoft developer Jensen Harris, these apps are to be optimized for touchscreen environments and are more specialized than current desktop applications. Apps can run either in a full-screen mode or be snapped to the side of a screen. Apps can provide toast notifications on screen or animate their tiles on the Start screen with dynamic content. Apps can use "contracts"; a collection of hooks to provide common functionality that can integrate with other apps, including search and sharing. Apps can also provide integration with other services; for example, the People app can connect to a variety of different social networks and services (such as Facebook, Skype, and People service), while the Photos app can aggregate photos from services such as Facebook and Flickr.
Windows Store apps run within a new set of APIs known as Windows Runtime, which supports programming languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic .NET, C#, along with HTML5 and JavaScript. If written in some "high-level" languages, apps written for Windows Runtime can be compatible with both Intel and ARM variants of Windows, otherwise they are not binary code compatible. Components may be compiled as Windows Runtime Components, permitting consumption by all compatible languages. To ensure stability and security, apps run within a sandboxed environment, and require permissions to access certain functionality, such as accessing the Internet or a camera.
Retail variants of Windows 8 are only able to install these apps through Windows Store — a namesake distribution platform that offers both apps, and listings for desktop programs certified for comparability with Windows 8. A method to sideload apps from outside Windows Store is available to devices running Windows 8 Enterprise and joined to a domain; Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT devices that are not part of a domain can also sideload apps, but only after special product keys are obtained through volume licensing.
The term "Immersive app" had been used internally by Microsoft developers to refer to the apps prior to the first official presentation of Windows 8, after which they were referred to as "Metro-style apps" in reference to the Metro design language. The term was phased out in August 2012; a Microsoft spokesperson denied rumors that the change was related to a potential trademark issue, and stated that "Metro" was only a codename that would be replaced prior to Windows 8's release. Following these reports, the terms "Modern UI-style apps", "Windows 8-style apps" and "Windows Store apps" began to be used by various Microsoft documents and material to refer to the new apps. In an interview on September 12, 2012, Soma Somasegar (vice president of Microsoft's development software division) confirmed that "Windows Store apps" would be the official term for the apps. An MSDN page explaining the Metro design language uses the term "Modern design" to refer to the language as a whole.
Web browsers
Exceptions to the restrictions faced by Windows Store apps are given to web browsers. The user's default browser can distribute a Metro-style web browser in the same package as the desktop variant, which has access to functionality unavailable to other apps, such as being able to permanently run in the background, use multiple background processes, and use Windows API code instead of WinRT (allowing for code to be re-used with the desktop variant, while still taking advantage of features available to Windows Store apps, such as charms). Microsoft advertises this exception privilege "New experience enabled" (formerly "Metro-style enabled").
The developers of both Chrome and Firefox committed to developing Metro-style variants of their browsers; while Chrome's "Windows 8 mode" (discontinued on Chrome version 49) uses a full-screen version of the existing desktop interface, Firefox's variant (which was first made available on the "Aurora" release channel in September 2013) uses a touch-optimized interface inspired by the Android variant of Firefox. In October 2013, Chrome's app was changed to mimic the desktop environment used by Chrome OS. Development of the Firefox app for Windows 8 has since been cancelled, citing a lack of user adoption for the beta versions.
Interface and desktop
Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's user interface, many of which are aimed at improving its experience on tablet computers and other touchscreen devices. The new user interface is based on Microsoft's Metro design language and uses a Start screen similar to that of Windows Phone 7 as the primary means of launching applications. The Start screen displays a customizable array of tiles linking to various apps and desktop programs, some of which can display constantly updated information and content through "live tiles". As a form of multi-tasking, apps can be snapped to the side of a screen. Alongside the traditional Control Panel, a new simplified and touch-optimized settings app known as "PC Settings" is used for basic configuration and user settings. It does not include many of the advanced options still accessible from the normal Control Panel.
A vertical toolbar known as the charms (accessed by swiping from the right edge of a touchscreen, swiping from the right edge of a touchpad, or pointing the cursor at hotspots in the right corners of a screen) provides access to system and app-related functions, such as search, sharing, device management, settings, and a Start button. The traditional desktop environment for running desktop applications is accessed via a tile on the Start screen. The Start button on the taskbar from previous versions of Windows has been converted into a hotspot (or "hot corner") in the lower-left corner of the screen, which displays a large tooltip displaying a thumbnail of the Start screen. However, Windows 8.1 added the start button back to the taskbar after many complaints, but removed the preview thumbnail. Swiping from the left edge of a touchscreen or clicking in the top-left corner of the screen allows one to switch between apps and Desktop. Pointing the cursor in the top-left corner of the screen and moving down reveals a thumbnail list of active apps. Aside from the removal of the Start button and the replacement of the Aero Glass theme with a flatter and solid-colored design, the desktop interface on Windows 8 is similar to that of Windows 7.
Removed features
Several notable features were removed in Windows 8; support for playing DVD-Video was removed from Windows Media Player due to the cost of licensing the necessary decoders (especially for devices which do not include optical disc drives at all) and the prevalence of online streaming services. For the same reasons, Windows Media Center is not included by default on Windows 8, but Windows Media Center and DVD playback support could be purchased in the "Pro Pack" (which upgrades the system to Windows 8 Pro) or "Media Center Pack" add-on for Windows 8 Pro. As with prior versions, third-party DVD player software can still be used to enable DVD playback.
Backup and Restore, the backup component of Windows, was deprecated. It still shipped with Windows 8 and continues to work on preset schedules, but it was pushed to the background and can only be accessed through a Control Panel applet called "Windows 7 File Recovery". Shadow Copy, a component of Windows Explorer that once saved previous versions of changed files, no longer protects local files and folders. It can only access previous versions of shared files stored on a Windows Server computer. The subsystem on which these components worked, however, is still available for other software to use.
Hardware requirements
PCs
The minimum system requirements for Windows 8 are slightly higher than those of Windows 7. The CPU must support the Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX bit, and SSE2. Windows Store apps require a screen resolution of 1024×768 or higher to run; a resolution of 1366×768 or higher is required to use the snap functionality. To receive certification, Microsoft requires candidate x86 systems to resume from standby in 2 seconds or less.
Microsoft's Connected Standby specification, which hardware vendors may optionally comply with, sets new power consumption requirements that extend above the above minimum specifications. Included in this standard are a number of security-specific requirements designed to improve physical security, notably against Cold Boot Attacks.
32-bit SKUs of Windows 8 only support a maximum of 4 GB of RAM. 64-bit SKUs, however support more: Windows 8 x64 supports 128 GB while Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise x64 support 512 GB.
In January 2016, Microsoft announced that it would no longer support Windows 8.1 or 7 on devices using Intel's Skylake CPU family effective July 17, 2018, and that all future CPU microarchitectures, as well as Skylake systems after this date, would only be supported on Windows 10. After the deadline, only critical security updates were to be released for users on these platforms. After this new policy faced criticism from users and enterprise customers, Microsoft partially retracted the change and stated that both operating systems would remain supported on Skylake hardware through the end of their Extended support lifecycle. Windows 8.1 remains officially unsupported on all newer CPU families, and neither AMD or Intel will provide official chipset drivers for Windows operating systems other than Windows 10. However, on August 2016, Microsoft again extended the Skylake support policy until the end of support for Windows 7 and 8.1 (2020 and 2023, respectively).
Tablets and convertibles
Microsoft released minimum hardware requirements for tablet and laplet devices to be "certified" for Windows 8 and defined a convertible form factor as a standalone device that combines the PC, display, and rechargeable power source with a mechanically attached keyboard and pointing device in a single chassis. A convertible can be transformed into a tablet where the attached input devices are hidden or removed leaving the display as the only input mechanism. On March 12, 2013, Microsoft amended its certification requirements to only require that screens on tablets have a minimum resolution of 1024×768 (down from the previous 1366×768). The amended requirement is intended to allow "greater design flexibility" for future products.
Updated certification requirements were implemented to coincide with Windows 8.1. As of 2014, all certified devices with integrated displays must contain a 720p webcam and higher quality speakers and microphones, while all certified devices that support Wi-Fi must support Bluetooth as well. As of 2015, all certified devices must contain Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chips.
Editions
Windows 8 is available in three different editions, of which the lowest edition, branded simply as Windows 8, and Windows 8 Pro, were sold at retail in most countries, and as pre-loaded software on new computers. Each edition of Windows 8 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it, and add additional features oriented towards their market segments. For example, Pro added BitLocker, Hyper-V, the ability to join a domain, and the ability to install Windows Media Center as a paid add-on. Users of Windows 8 can purchase a "Pro Pack" license that upgrades their system to Windows 8 Pro through Add features to Windows. This license also includes Windows Media Center. Windows 8 Enterprise contains additional features aimed towards business environments, and is only available through volume licensing. A port of Windows 8 for ARM architecture, Windows RT, is marketed as an edition of Windows 8, but was only included as pre-loaded software on devices specifically developed for it.
Windows 8 was distributed as a retail box product on DVD, and through a digital download that could be converted into DVD or USB install media. As part of a launch promotion, Microsoft offered Windows 8 Pro upgrades at a discounted price of US$39.99 online, or $69.99 for retail box from its launch until January 31, 2013; afterward the Windows 8 price has been $119.99 and the Pro price $199.99. Those who purchased new PCs pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 could digitally purchase a Windows 8 Pro upgrade for US$14.99. Several PC manufacturers offered rebates and refunds on Windows 8 upgrades obtained through the promotion on select models, such as Hewlett-Packard (in the U.S. and Canada on select models), and Acer (in Europe on selected Ultrabook models). During these promotions, the Windows Media Center add-on for Windows 8 Pro was also offered for free.
Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 was distributed at retail in "Upgrade" licenses only, which require an existing version of Windows to install. The "full version software" SKU, which was more expensive but could be installed on computers without an eligible OS or none at all, was discontinued. In lieu of full version, a specialized "System Builder" SKU was introduced. The "System Builder" SKU replaced the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) SKU, which was only allowed to be used on PCs meant for resale but added a "Personal Use License" exemption that officially allowed its purchase and personal use by users on homebuilt computers.
Retail distribution of Windows 8 has since been discontinued in favor of Windows 8.1. Unlike 8, 8.1 is available as "full version software" at both retail and online for download that does not require a previous version of Windows in order to be installed. Pricing for these new copies remain identical. With the retail release returning to full version software for Windows 8.1, the "Personal Use License" exemption was removed from the OEM SKU, meaning that end users building their own PCs for personal use must use the full retail variant in order to satisfy the Windows 8.1 licensing requirements. Windows 8.1 with Bing is a special OEM-specific SKU of Windows 8.1 subsidized by Microsoft's Bing search engine.
Software compatibility
The three desktop editions of Windows 8 support 32-bit and 64-bit architectures; retail copies of Windows 8 include install DVDs for both architectures, while the online installer automatically installs the variant corresponding with the architecture of the system's existing Windows installation. The 32-bit variant runs on CPUs compatible with x86 architecture 3rd generation (known as IA-32) or newer, and can run 32-bit and 16-bit applications, although 16-bit support must be enabled first. (16-bit applications are developed for CPUs compatible with x86 2nd generation, first conceived in 1978. Microsoft started moving away from this architecture after Windows 95.)
The 64-bit variant runs on CPUs compatible with x86 8th generation (known as x86-64, or x64) or newer, and can run 32-bit and 64-bit programs. 32-bit programs and operating system are restricted to supporting only of memory while 64-bit systems can theoretically support of memory. 64-bit operating systems require a different set of device drivers than those of 32-bit operating systems.
Windows RT, the only edition of Windows 8 for systems with ARM processors, only supports applications included with the system (such as a special variant of Office 2013), supplied through Windows Update, or Windows Store apps, to ensure that the system only runs applications that are optimized for the architecture. Windows RT does not support running IA-32 or x64 applications. Windows Store apps can either support both the x86 and ARM architectures, or compiled to support a specific architecture.
Reception
Pre-release
Following the unveiling of Windows 8, Microsoft faced criticism (particularly from free software supporters) for mandating that devices receiving its optional certification for Windows 8 have secure boot enabled by default using a key provided by Microsoft. Concerns were raised that secure boot could prevent or hinder the use of alternate operating systems such as Linux. In a post discussing secure boot on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft developer Tony Mangefeste indicated that vendors would provide means to customize secure boot, stating that "At the end of the day, the customer is in control of their PC. Microsoft's philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves." Microsoft's certification guidelines for Windows 8 ultimately revealed that vendors would be required to provide means for users to re-configure or disable secure boot in their device's UEFI firmware. It also revealed that ARM devices (Windows RT) would be required to have secure boot permanently enabled, with no way for users to disable it. However, Tom Warren of The Verge noted that other vendors have implemented similar hardware restrictions on their own ARM-based tablet and smartphone products (including those running Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform), but still argued that Microsoft should "keep a consistent approach across ARM and x86, though, not least because of the number of users who'd love to run Android alongside Windows 8 on their future tablets." No mandate is made regarding the installation of third-party certificates that would enable running alternative programs.
Several notable video game developers criticized Microsoft for making its Windows Store a closed platform subject to its own regulations, as it conflicted with their view of the PC as an open platform. Markus "Notch" Persson (creator of the indie game Minecraft), Gabe Newell (co-founder of Valve and developer of software distribution platform Steam), and Rob Pardo from Activision Blizzard voiced concern about the closed nature of the Windows Store. However, Tom Warren of The Verge stated that Microsoft's addition of the Store was simply responding to the success of both Apple and Google in pursuing the "curated application store approach."
Critical reception
Reviews of the various editions of Windows 8 were mixed to negative. Tom Warren of The Verge said that although Windows 8's emphasis on touch computing was significant and risked alienating desktop users, he felt that Windows 8 tablets "[make] an iPad feel immediately out of date" due to the capabilities of the operating system's hybrid model and increased focus on cloud services. David Pierce of The Verge described Windows 8 as "the first desktop operating system that understands what a computer is supposed to do in 2012" and praised Microsoft's "no compromise" approach and the operating system's emphasis on Internet connectivity and cloud services. Pierce also considered the Start Screen to be a "brilliant innovation for desktop computers" when compared with "folder-littered desktops on every other OS" because it allows users to interact with dynamic information. In contrast, an ExtremeTech article said it was Microsoft "flailing" and a review in PC Magazine condemned the Metro-style user interface. Some of the included apps in Windows 8 were considered to be basic and lacking in functionality, but the Xbox apps were praised for their promotion of a multi-platform entertainment experience. Other improvements and features (such as File History, Storage Spaces, and the updated Task Manager) were also regarded as positive changes. Peter Bright of Ars Technica wrote that while its user interface changes may overshadow them, Windows 8's improved performance, updated file manager, new storage functionality, expanded security features, and updated Task Manager were still positive improvements for the operating system. Bright also said that Windows 8's duality towards tablets and traditional PCs was an "extremely ambitious" aspect of the platform as well, but criticized Microsoft for emulating Apple's model of a closed distribution platform when implementing the Windows Store.
The interface of Windows 8 has been the subject of negative reaction. Bright wrote that its system of hot corners and edge swiping "wasn't very obvious" due to the lack of instructions provided by the operating system on the functions accessed through the user interface, even by the video tutorial added on the RTM release (which only instructed users to point at corners of the screen or swipe from its sides). Despite this "stumbling block", Bright said that Windows 8's interface worked well in some places, but began to feel incoherent when switching between the "Metro" and desktop environments, sometimes through inconsistent means. Tom Warren of The Verge wrote that the new interface was "as stunning as it is surprising", contributing to an "incredibly personal" experience once it is customized by the user, but had a steep learning curve, and was awkward to use with a keyboard and mouse. He noted that while forcing all users to use the new touch-oriented interface was a risky move for Microsoft as a whole, it was necessary in order to push development of apps for the Windows Store. Others, such as Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet, considered the interface to be "clumsy and impractical" due to its inconsistent design (going as far as considering it "two operating systems unceremoniously bolted together"), and concluded that "Windows 8 wasn't born out of a need or demand; it was born out of a desire on Microsoft's part to exert its will on the PC industry and decide to shape it in a direction—touch and tablets – that allows it to compete against, and remain relevant in the face of Apple's iPad."
In 2013, Frank X. Shaw, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said that while many of the negative reviews were extreme, it was a "good thing" that Microsoft was "listening to feedback and improving a product".
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reported a decline in Microsoft's customer satisfaction, the lowest it has been since Windows Vista.
Market share and sales
Microsoft says that 4 million users upgraded to Windows 8 over the weekend after its release, which CNET says was well below Microsoft's internal projections and was described inside the company as disappointing.
On November 27, 2012, Microsoft announced that it had sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in the first month, surpassing the pace of Windows 7.
However, according to research firm NPD, sales of devices running Windows in the United States had declined 21 percent compared to the same time period in 2011. As the holiday shopping season wrapped up, Windows 8 sales continued to lag, even as Apple reported brisk sales. The market research firm IDC reported an overall drop in PC sales for the quarter, and said the drop may have been partly due to consumer reluctance to embrace the new features of the OS and poor support from OEM for these features. This capped the first year of declining PC sales to the Asia Pacific region, as consumers bought more mobile devices than Windows PCs.
Windows 8 surpassed Windows Vista in market share with a 5.1% usage rate according to numbers posted in July 2013 by Net Applications, with usage on a steady upward trajectory. However, intake of Windows 8 still lagged behind that of Windows Vista and Windows 7 at the same point in their release cycles. Windows 8's tablet market share also grew steadily, with 7.4% of tablets running Windows in Q1 2013 according to Strategy Analytics, up from nothing just a year before. However, this was still well below Android and iOS, which posted 43.4% and 48.2% market share respectively, although both operating systems had been on the market much longer than Windows 8. Strategy Analytics also noted "a shortage of top tier apps" for Windows tablets despite Microsoft strategy of paying developers to create apps for the operating system (in addition to for Windows Phone).
In March 2013, Microsoft also amended its certification requirements to allow tablets to use the 1024×768 resolution as a minimum; this change is expected to allow the production of certified Windows 8 tablets in smaller form factors—a market which is currently dominated by Android-based tablets. Despite the reaction of industry experts, Microsoft reported that they had sold 100 million licenses in the first six months. This matched sales of Windows 7 over a similar period. This statistic includes shipments to channel warehouses which now need to be sold in order to make way for new shipments.
In January 2014, Hewlett-Packard began a promotion for desktops running Windows 7, saying that it was "back by popular demand". Outside sources have suggested that this might be because HP or its customers thought the Windows 8 platform would be more appropriate for mobile computing than desktop computing, or that they were looking to attract customers forced to switch from XP who wanted a more familiar interface.
In February 2014, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft would be lowering the price of Windows 8 licenses by 70% for devices that retail under US$250; alongside the announcement that an update to the operating system would allow OEMs to produce devices with as little as 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage, critics felt that these changes would help Windows compete against Linux-based devices in the low-end market, particularly those running Chrome OS. Microsoft had similarly cut the price of Windows XP licenses to compete against the early waves of Linux-based netbooks. Reports also indicated that Microsoft was planning to offer cheaper Windows 8 licenses to OEMs in exchange for setting Internet Explorer's default search engine to Bing. Some media outlets falsely reported that the SKU associated with this plan, "Windows 8.1 with Bing", was a variant which would be a free or low-cost variant of Windows 8 for consumers using older versions of Windows. On April 2, 2014, Microsoft ultimately announced that it would be removing license fees entirely for devices with screens smaller than 9 inches, and officially confirmed the rumored "Windows 8.1 with Bing" OEM SKU on May 23, 2014.
On the information gathered by Net Applications, adoption rate in March 2015 for Windows 8.1 was at 10.55%, while the original Windows 8 was at 3.52%.
Chinese government ban
In May 2014, the Government of China banned the internal purchase of Windows 8-based products under government contracts requiring "energy-efficient" devices. The Xinhua News Agency claimed that Windows 8 was being banned in protest of Microsoft's support lifecycle policy and the end of support for Windows XP (which, as of January 2014, had a market share of 49% in China), as the government "obviously cannot ignore the risks of running an OS without guaranteed technical support." However, Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had also previously warned that Windows 8 could allegedly expose users to surveillance by the United States government due to its heavy use of Internet-based services.
In June 2014, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast a news story further characterizing Windows 8 as a threat to national security. The story featured an interview with Ni Guangnan, who stated that operating systems could aggregate "sensitive user information" that could be used to "understand the conditions and activities of our national economy and society", and alleged that per documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the U.S. government had worked with Microsoft to retrieve encrypted information. Yang Min, a computer scientist at Fudan University, also stated that "the security features of Windows 8 are basically to the benefit of Microsoft, allowing them control of the users' data, and that poses a big challenge to the national strategy for information security." Microsoft denied the claims in a number of posts on the Chinese social network Sina Weibo, which stated that the company had never "assisted any government in an attack of another government or clients" or provided client data to the U.S. government, never "provided any government the authority to directly visit" or placed any backdoors in its products and services, and that it had never concealed government requests for client data.
Windows 8.1
A feature update to Windows 8 known as Windows 8.1 was officially announced by Microsoft on May 14, 2013. Following a presentation devoted to it at Build 2013, a public beta version of the upgrade was released on June 26, 2013. Windows 8.1 was released to OEM hardware partners on August 27, 2013, and released publicly as a free upgrade through Windows Store on October 17, 2013. Volume license customers and subscribers to MSDN Plus and TechNet Plus were initially unable to obtain the RTM version upon its release; a spokesperson said the policy was changed to allow Microsoft to work with OEMs "to ensure a quality experience at general availability." However, after criticism, Microsoft reversed its decision and released the RTM build on MSDN and TechNet on September 9, 2013.
Windows 8.1 addressed a number of criticisms faced by Windows 8 upon its release, with additional customization options for the Start screen, the restoration of a visible Start button on the desktop, the ability to snap up to four apps on a single display, and the ability to boot to the desktop instead of the Start screen. Windows 8's stock apps were also updated, a new Bing-based unified search system was added, SkyDrive was given deeper integration with the operating system, and a number of new stock apps, along with a tutorial, were added. Windows 8.1 also added support for 3D printing, Miracast media streaming, NFC printing, and Wi-Fi Direct.
Microsoft marketed Windows 8.1 as an "update" rather than as a "service pack", as it had done with such revisions on previous versions of Windows. Nonetheless, Microsoft's support lifecycle policy treats Windows 8.1 similarly to previous Windows service packs: upgrading to 8.1 has been required to maintain access to mainstream support and updates after January 12, 2016. Although Windows 8 RTM is unsupported, Microsoft released an emergency security patch in May 2017 for Windows 8 RTM, as well as other unsupported versions of Windows (including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003), to address a vulnerability that was being leveraged by the WannaCry ransomware attack. Updates to apps published on Windows Store after July 1, 2019 will not be available to Windows 8 RTM users.
Retail and OEM installations of Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT can be upgraded through Windows Store free of charge. However, volume license customers, TechNet or MSDN subscribers and users of Windows 8 Enterprise must acquire a standalone installation media for 8.1 and install through the traditional Windows setup process, either as an in-place upgrade or clean install. This requires an 8.1 specific product key.
See also
List of operating systems
Features new to Windows 8
References
Further reading
—Analysis of Windows 8 downgrade rights
2012 software
IA-32 operating systems
Tablet operating systems
8
X86-64 operating systems |
53394728 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SystemSpecs | SystemSpecs | SystemSpecs is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
History
SystemSpecs was founded in 1991 by John Obaro. It was then more like a business to business company selling software to organisations. SystemSpecs started as a 5-man partner agent and Value added reseller for SunSystems, an accounting package developed by Systems Union, UK, (now Infor).
The indigenous company developed HumanManager, a payroll Human Resource Management and goal management software package. This was developed with object-oriented COBOL. Media reports indicates that it enjoyed wide market acceptability with over 200 organizations across Africa as at 2004. TheSOFTtribe of Ghana signed a partnership deal with SystemSpecs in 2006 to provide 'HumanManager' for the Ghanaian market. The agreement authorized TheSOFTtribe to become Ghanaian partner of SystemSpecs for marketing, deployment and professional support of HumanManager. HumanManager went on to become "well established within the sub-regional ICT market." HumanManager was described by the Nigerian media as "Nigerian's most successful software yet" when SystemSpecs launched HumanManager 4.0 in December 2002. The solution passed "a world class automated Quality Assurance test" in 2004.
Infor FMS SunSystems and Infor PM are other SystemSpecs products. SystemSpecs recorded another major breakthrough in software development with the creation of the financial remittance software called Remita.
The Treasury Single Account Controversy
A Nigerian senator, Dino Melaye had claimed that the appointment of Remita, which he erroneously described as "an e-collection agent", was a violation of section 162 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution. He claimed that the constitution only recognised a banking institution to be the collector of government funds, and that Remita was not a bank. The senator said the one per cent commission charged by SystemSpecs for all revenues collected on behalf of the government from the various ministries, departments and agencies must be returned to the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He estimated the amount of commission collected by SystemSpecs to be twenty-five billion naira.
In a letter titled “Commencement of Federal Government independent revenue collection under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative” addressed to the press, the Central Bank of Nigeria refuted the senator's claims, describing them as "misleading". Nonetheless, SystemSpecs, as a "business decision" speedily obeyed CBN's directive that all the revenues made so far be returned pending the issue would be resolved. The Nigerian Senate consequently ordered its committee on finance and public accounts to "commence an investigation into the use of Remita since the inception of the TSA policy.
Founder and Managing Director of SystemSpecs, developers of the Remita application, John Obaro, refuted claims that company pocketed 25 billion Naira. Obaro explained that the one per cent commission was negotiated prior to the signing of the contract; and the one per cent commission was shared by SystemSpecs, participating commercial banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria in the ratio of 50:40:10 respectively. PremiumTimes, an online news platform, released a report titled 'Full details of TSA: Dino Melaye misled Nigerian Senate on N25 billion claim' which cited holes in the senator's claims and allegations.
The Joint Senate investigative committee also absolved SystemSpecs of any wrongdoing as “the committee could not ascertain the deduction/collection of twenty-five billion Naira (N25 billion) by SystemSpecs as 1% fee charged for the use of its Remita platform within the period under investigation.” .
References
Companies based in Lagos
Software companies of Nigeria
Electronic funds transfer
Payment service providers
Online payments
Nigerian brands |
35039652 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moti%20Yung | Moti Yung | Mordechai M. "Moti" Yung is a cryptographer and computer scientist known for his work on cryptovirology and kleptography.
Career
Yung earned his PhD from Columbia University in 1988 under the supervision of Zvi Galil. In the past, he worked at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, CertCo, RSA Laboratories, and Google. In 2016, Yung moved from Google to Snap Inc. Yung is currently a research scientist at Google.
Yung is an adjunct senior research faculty member at Columbia University, and has co-advised PhD students including Gödel Prize winner Matthew K. Franklin, Jonathan Katz, and Aggelos Kiayias.
Research
Yung research covers primarily the area of cryptography and its applications to information security and data privacy. He has worked on defining and implementing malicious (offensive) cryptography: cryptovirology and kleptography, and on various other foundational and applied fields of cryptographic research, including: user and entity electronic authentication,
information-theoretic security, secure multi-party computation, threshold cryptosystems,
and zero-knowledge proofs,
Cryptovirology
In 1996, Adam L. Young and Yung coined the term cryptovirology to denote the use of cryptography as an attack weapon via computer viruses and other malware in contrast to its traditional protective role. In particular, they described the first instances of ransomware using public-key cryptography.
Kleptography
In 1996, Adam L. Young and Yung introduced the notion of kleptography to show how cryptography could be used to attack host cryptosystems where the malicious resulting system with the embedded cryptologic tool in it resists reverse-engineering and cannot be detected by interacting with the host cryptosystem, as an argument against cryptographic systems and devices given by an external body as "black boxes" as was the Clipper chip and the Capstone program.
After the 2013 Snowden affair, the NIST was believed to have mounted the first kleptographic attack against the American Federal Information Processing Standard detailing the Dual EC DRBG, essentially exploiting the repeated discrete logarithm based "kleptogram" introduced by Young and Yung.
Awards
In 2010 he was the annual Distinguished Lecturer of the International Association for Cryptologic Research at Eurocrypt.
In 2013 he became a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery.
In 2014 he received the ESORICS (European Symposium on Research in Computer Security) Outstanding Research Award.
In 2014 he became a fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research.
In 2014 he received the ACM's SIGSAC Outstanding Innovation Award.
In 2015 he became an IEEE fellow.
In 2017 Yung became a fellow of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science.
In 2018 Yung received the W. Wallace McDowell Award by the IEEE Computer Society.
In 2020 Yung received the Public Key Cryptography Conference's Test of Time Award for his 1998 paper on the security of ElGamal Encryption.
In 2020 Yung received the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy's Test of Time Award for his 1996 paper on Cryptovirology.
In 2021 Yung received the Women of the ENIAC Computer Pioneer Award
Selected publications
1989: Universal one-way hash functions and their cryptographic applications (with M. Naor; ACM’s STOC).
1990: Public-key cryptosystems provably secure against chosen ciphertext attacks (with M. Naor; ACM’s STOC).
1991: How to withstand mobile virus attack (with Ostrovsky; ACM’s PODC).
1992: Multi-Receiver/Multi-Sender Network Security: Efficient Authenticated Multicast/Feedback (with Desmedt and Frankel; IEEE's INFOCOM 1992)
1999: Non-Interactive CryptoComputing For NC1 (with Sander and Young; IEEE's FOCS 1999).
2000: Unforgeable Encryption and Chosen Ciphertext Secure Modes of Operation (with Katz; Fast Software Encryption (FSE)).
2004: Malicious Cryptography: Exposing Cryptovirology (with A. Young; Wiley 2004: A book).
2009: Efficient and secure authenticated key exchange using weak passwords (with Katz and Ostrovsky; JACM 57(1)).
2009: A unified framework for the analysis of side-channel key recovery attacks (with Standaert and Malkin; Eurocrypt).
2017: Generic Semantic Security against a Kleptographic Adversary (with A. Russell, Q. Tang, and H-S Zhou; ACM's CCS)
References
External links
Home page at Columbia University
DBLP Publication Page
Google Scholar Page
Research Gate
Cryptovirology Labs website
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Modern cryptographers
Columbia University alumni
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Fellow Members of the IEEE
International Association for Cryptologic Research fellows
Google employees
IBM employees
IBM Research computer scientists
People associated with computer security
Computer security academics
Theoretical computer scientists |
43785340 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novabackup | Novabackup | NovaBACKUP, developed by NovaStor is data protection software that enables SMB users to backup and recover mission critical data across a hybrid of physical and virtual machines. NovaBACKUP is designed to work on Microsoft Windows operating systems, offering local and online file backups and disaster recovery image backups.
Overview
File formats
NovaBACKUP uses a proprietary file format which uses an NBD file extension and is backwards compatible, meaning backups from older versions of NovaBACKUP (after version 8) can be restored with the latest version of the software. For version 7 and 8, the backups can still be restored, but the file extensions need to be updated to .NBD to do so.
Editions
Multiple NovaBACKUP editions are available. Versions built for SMB users support backups for PCs, laptops and Servers, including support for Exchange/SQL and virtual machines. Most NovaBACKUP software includes NovaCare premium support, with email/phone-in technical support and maintenance upgrades.
Partnerships
NovaStor has partnered with Buffalo offering NovaBACKUP software included with the LinkStation family of consumer NAS solutions and TeraStation family of business-class NAS solutions.
History
Release change log for NovaBACKUP starting at version 13.0. Current NovaBACKUP release log
References
Further reading
External links
NovaStor Official Website
Data Recovery Software
Data protection
Data recovery software
Backup software |
40447995 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9CTorrent | ΜTorrent | μTorrent, or uTorrent (see pronunciation) is a proprietary adware BitTorrent client owned and developed by Rainberry, Inc. with over 150 million users. It is the most widely used BitTorrent client outside China; globally only behind Xunlei. The "μ" (Greek letter "mu") in its name comes from the SI prefix "micro-", referring to the program's small memory footprint: the program was designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients such as Vuze or BitComet. μTorrent became controversial in 2015 when many users unknowingly accepted a default option during installation which also installed a cryptocurrency miner. The miner was removed in later versions, but had already done irreversible damage to μTorrent's reputation.
The program has been in active development since its first release in 2005. Although originally developed by Ludvig Strigeus, since December 7, 2006, the code is owned and maintained by BitTorrent, Inc. The code has also been employed by BitTorrent, Inc. as the basis for version 6.0 and above of the BitTorrent client, a re-branded version of μTorrent. All versions are written in C++.
History
Early development
Out of general discontent with bloatware, Serge Paquet suggested to Ludvig Strigeus that he should make a smaller and more efficient BitTorrent client. Strigeus began to conceptualize the plans for the program's development, which, at the time, did not include making the client feature-rich. After initially working on it for about a month during the last quarter of 2004 (the first build is dated October 17, 2004), mostly during his free time before and after work, Strigeus ceased coding μTorrent for a year. He resumed work on September 15, 2005, and three days later, the first public release (version 1.1 beta) was made available as free software, and began generating feedback.
PeerFactor SARL
On March 4, 2006, PeerFactor SARL announced the signing of a six-month contract with Strigeus for the development of "new content distribution applications on the Web." PeerFactor SARL is a relatively new company formed by former employees of PeerFactor, which was a subsidiary of the French anti-piracy organization Retspan.
Ludde stated that his coding for PeerFactor SARL was to use his expertise at optimization of the BitTorrent protocol to create a .dll which PeerFactor SARL intended to use as part of a distribution platform for files in a corporate setting. At the time there was some speculation that μTorrent may have been modified to spy on users on Peerfactor's behalf, however to date (even following μTorrent's acquisition by BitTorrent, Inc.) no evidence has been produced to support these allegations.
Ownership change
On December 7, 2006, μTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc.
On September 18, 2007, BitTorrent 6.0 was released. Although previous versions of the BitTorrent client had been open source software, with version 6 it became proprietary.
In April 2017, BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen announced that the next version of μTorrent would be web browser based. This μTorrent version allows users to stream torrents from the default web browser, similar to a regular streaming site.
Features
Features present in μTorrent include:
Magnet Links (URIs), added in version 1.8, released on August 9, 2008.
Teredo tunneling / IPv6 support
Micro Transport Protocol (µTP) preliminary support as of 1.8.2 with full-support added in 2.0
UPnP support for all versions of Windows, without needing Windows XP's UPnP framework
Protocol encryption (PE)
Peer exchange (PEX) with other BitTorrent clients:
libtorrent and clients based on it like Deluge or qBittorrent have full μTorrent PEX support
Transmission and clients based on libTransmission have full μTorrent PEX support
KTorrent has full μTorrent PEX support as of 2.1 RC1
Vuze, formerly Azureus, has full support as of version 3.0.4.3
RSS ("broadcatching")
"Trackerless" BitTorrent support using DHT, compatible with the original BitTorrent client and BitComet
User configurable intelligent disk caching system
Full proxy server support
HTTPS tracker support
Configurable bandwidth scheduler
Localized for 67 languages.
Initial seeding of torrents
Customizable search bar & user interface design.
Configuration settings and temporary files are stored in a single directory, allowing portable use
WebUI: A plugin currently in beta testing that allows μTorrent running on one computer to be controlled from another computer, either across the internet or on a LAN, using a Web browser
A new web user interface, codenamed Falcon, is in development. It supports encrypted sessions and the ability of going through firewalls without port forwarding, while being more complete and easier to start using than its predecessor.
Embedded Tracker: a simple tracker designed for seeding torrents, lacking a web interface or list of hosted torrents. It is not designed for secure or large-scale application.
Quick-resumes interrupted transfers
Versions of μTorrent up to 1.8.5 build 17091 can use as little as 14 MB of RAM running on a 486 processor on Windows 95.
Two "easter egg" hidden features in the About subsection of Help: clicking the μTorrent logo plays a Deep Note-like sound effect, and typing the letter "t" starts a Tetris-like game called μTris, which in 2008 was selected as #1 of the "Top 10 Software Easter Eggs" by LifeHacker.
The ability to use encryption of all traffic to bypass torrent blocking on the network.
Size
μTorrent is shipped as a single stand-alone compressed executable file, installed at first run. Recent versions have included the ability to install themselves on first run. Small executable size is achieved by avoiding the use of many libraries, notably the C++ standard library and stream facilities, and creating substitutes written specifically for the program. The executable is then compressed to roughly half of its compiled and linked size using UPX.
Operating system support
μTorrent is available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Android. A μTorrent Server is also available for Linux.
The first test version for macOS, running on Mac OS X Leopard, was released on 27 November 2008.
On September 2, 2010, the native Linux version of μTorrent Server was released. Firon, an administrator of the μTorrent community forum, said that they had been working on this project for a few months prior to the release as it was the most requested feature for some time. This release is intended for users who are seeking a fast command-line interface based BitTorrent client with a remote web-based management. They also mentioned that a full featured client with a GUI is a work in progress. He also said:
Currently μTorrent supports Windows XP or newer and Mac OS X Leopard or newer.
Revenue
In early versions, Strigeus had built in a web redirection via nanotorrent for search queries entered through the search bar that displayed advertisements in a frame on the web browser. Some users thought this suspicious because tracking could be implemented by recording the IP addresses of those downloading/receiving the advertisements, and the search functionality could easily be used to track user queries through whichever web-interface the client is going through to execute the search. After a short trial period, the advertising was disabled, mitigating possible concerns.
A later version of the software has, instead of ads, a "search all sites" feature, which is a keyword-based search bar that delivers listings of torrent files at different trackers. A frame at the top displays advertisements (server-side) in the browser when the search function is used. In version 1.5, no ads are present in the program itself.
As of build 463, a redirect bypass feature became available in the Advanced options.
As of version 1.8.2, the μTorrent installer gives the user the option to download and install the Ask.com toolbar. This is done on the first run of the program and the user may explicitly opt out of this feature by deselecting it. The developers stated the addition was needed for funds to continue development. In late 2010, this was replaced with the Conduit Engine.
Toolbars
In late 2010, some controversy arose with a release of μTorrent which included adware in the form of the Conduit Engine, which installed a toolbar, and made homepage and default search engine changes to a user's web browser. A number of users reported that the installation was made without the user's consent. There were some complaints that the adware software was difficult to remove.
In 2011, μTorrent bundled the Bing Toolbar.
Paid version
On July 15, 2011, BitTorrent announced that they would offer a paid version of μTorrent called "μTorrent Plus". This new version would offer extra features, such as integrated file conversion, anti-virus and a built in media player. On 6 October 2011, the Pre-alpha of μTorrent Plus was released to an invitation only community. As of December 2011, μTorrentPlus 3.1 was available for $24.95; as of December 2014, the Plus version was available as a $19.95 yearly subscription.
Ads and malware
In August 2012, BitTorrent announced the addition of advertising in the free version of µTorrent which could be individually dismissed by users. Due to response from users, a few days later, the company stated that ads could be optionally turned off. A user-created tool known as "Pimp My µTorrent" was also created to simplify the process of disabling ads in the Windows version. Starting with µTorrent version 3.2.2, the software also contains in-content advertisements described as "Featured Torrent". As with ads, it is possible to disable this content.
In March 2015, it was alleged that μTorrent had automatically installed a program known as Epic Scale: a program classified as "riskware" by some security programs, which mines the cryptocurrency Litecoin in the background for BitTorrent, Inc. (allegedly giving a portion to charity), utilizing CPU and GPU power. A μTorrent developer disputed the claim that it was automatically installed, and claimed that as with all other "partner" programs bundled with the software, users could decline the installation. On 28 March, Epic Scale was permanently removed from the installation and as a software bundle partner.
Russian and Ukrainian users of μTorrent are being tricked into installing Yandex Browser and other Yandex-produced software.
Pronunciation
An admin on the μTorrent forums wrote in 2005, "I don't really know how it's pronounced... ...I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", while stating they were not sure, they also mentioned the correct pronunciations for "μTorrent" "microtorrent", "mytorrent" (as "my" is the Swedish pronunciation of the Greek letter μ) and "mutorrent". In Greece, where the software is widely
used, it is called 'me torrent', since the letter μ of the Greek Alphabet is pronounced [mi] in modern Greek.
The symbol μ is the lowercase Greek letter mu, which stands for the SI prefix "micro-". It refers to the program's originally small footprint.
Contributors
Original development was performed by Ludvig Strigeus ("ludde", from Sweden), the creator of μTorrent. Serge Paquet ("vurlix", from Canada) acted as release coordinator, and had intended to work on Linux and macOS ports. He maintained the μTorrent website and forum up until the end of 2005, but is no longer affiliated with μTorrent.
Since its purchase in 2006, development has been performed by various employees of Bittorrent Inc. Strigeus is no longer affiliated.
Reception
μTorrent has been praised for its small size and minimal computer resources used, which set it apart from other clients. PC Magazine stated that it "packs an outstanding array of features" in 2006 and listed it in their 2008 "Best free 157 software tools". It was also in PC World's "101 Fantastic freebies". The website TorrentFreak.com said it was the most feature rich BitTorrent client available, later summarizing a 2009 University of California, Riverside study which concluded that "μTorrent Download Speeds Beat Vuze By 16%" on average and "on 10% of [the 30 most used] ISPs, μTorrent users were downloading 30% faster than Vuze users". About.com said it was the best BitTorrent client available, citing its small size and "minimal impact to the rest of your computer's speed." Wired.com said its "memory footprint is also ridiculously small". PC & Tech Authority magazine (Australia) gave it 6 stars (out of 6). Lifehacker.com rated it the best BitTorrent client available (Windows) in 2008, 2011 (Windows and Mac) and a follow-up user poll rated it the most popular torrent client in 2015. CNET.com gave it 5 stars (of 5) saying it features "light and quick downloading".
In November 2009, 52 million users were reported to be using the application, and in late 2011, 132 million.
According to a study by Arbor Networks, the 2008 adoption of IPv6 by μTorrent caused a 15-fold increase in IPv6 traffic across the Internet over a ten-month period.
See also
Comparison of BitTorrent clients
References
External links
uTorrent: A Beginner's Guide to BitTorrent Downloading by Jared M
p2pnet uTorrent interview by Alex H
Can great software live in 130 kilobytes? by George Ou
Glasnost test BitTorrent traffic shaping (Max Planck Institute for Software Systems)
Android (operating system) software
BitTorrent clients
2005 software
C++ software
Cross-platform software
Freemium
Adware
MacOS file sharing software
Windows file sharing software
Portable software
Proprietary freeware for Linux
BitTorrent clients for Linux
Internet properties established in 2005 |
13399147 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myarc%20Disk%20Operating%20System | Myarc Disk Operating System | MDOS (short for Myarc Disk Operating System) is an operating system commercialized by Myarc. It was designed and implemented specifically for the Geneve 9640 by Paul Charlton. MDOS was designed to fully emulate the TI-99/4A computer while providing an advanced (for its time) virtual memory operating environment with full support for mouse, GUI, and complex mathematical applications.
In 1993, Beery Miller the publisher of 9640 News, organized a group of Geneve 9640 owners and was able to purchase all rights to the source code for MDOS, Advanced Basic, the PSYSTEM runtime module, and the GPL Interpreter from Myarc and Paul Charlton.
Over the years, MDOS has been updated by individuals including T. Tesch, Clint Pulley, Alan Beard, John Johnson, James Schroeder, Mike Maksimik, James Uzzell, Tony Knerr, Beery Miller, and others. Support adding SCSI, IDE, and larger ramdisks were added in the earlier years from the buyout. In late 2020 and early 2021 with the release of the TIPI for the TI-99/4A, the Geneve was interfaced with the TIPI and a Raspberry Pi providing TCP socket access and nearly unlimited high speed hard-drive like file access.
A small but active base of users still exist on www.Atariage.com as of 2021 where T. Tesch, Beery Miller, and others provide support.
MDOS was written specifically for the TMS9995 16-bit CPU and the Yamaha V9938 video display processor.
All source code for the Geneve 9640 is in the public domain.
External links
Myarc Geneve 9640 Family Computer
Myarc Geneve 9640 Software
9640News Software
Geneve 9640 - a close look at the system board and sales flyer
Geneve 9640 at the Home Computer Museum
Geneve items @ Richard Bell's Company
Photo of Geneve 9640 booting - HD-based vertical PEB system belonging to Gregory McGill
Photo of Geneve showing swan image - from Mainbyte
1988 Dallas TI Fair - mixed Geneve 9640 and TI-99/4A photos
Geneve 9640 - at old-computers.com
Heatwave BBS - Telnet BBS operating on a Myarc Geneve 9640 under MDOS.
Texas Instruments TI-99/4A
Products introduced in 1987
Proprietary operating systems
Disk operating systems |
413740 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear%20training | Ear training | Ear training or aural skills is a music theory study in which musicians learn to identify pitches, intervals, melody, chords, rhythms, solfeges, and other basic elements of music, solely by hearing. The application of this skill is analogous to taking dictation in written/spoken language. As a process, ear training is in essence the inverse of sight-reading, the latter being analogous to reading a written text aloud without prior opportunity to review the material. Ear training is typically a component of formal musical training and is a fundamental, essential skill required in music schools.
Functional pitch recognition
Functional pitch recognition involves identifying the function or role of a single pitch in the context of an established tonic. Once a tonic has been established, each subsequent pitch may be classified without direct reference to accompanying pitches. For example, once the tonic G has been established, listeners may recognize that the pitch D plays the role of the dominant in the key of G. No reference to any other pitch is required to establish this fact.
Many musicians use functional pitch recognition in order to identify, understand, and appreciate the roles and meanings of pitches within a key. To this end, scale-degree numbers or movable-do solmization (do, re, mi, etc.) can be quite helpful. Using such systems, pitches with identical functions (the key note or tonic, for example) are associated with identical labels (1 or do, for example).
Functional pitch recognition is not the same as fixed-do solfège, e.g. do, re, mi, etc. Functional pitch recognition emphasizes the role of a pitch with respect to the tonic, while fixed-do solfège symbols are labels for absolute pitch values (do=C, re=D, etc., in any key). In the fixed-do system (used in the conservatories of the Romance language nations, e.g. Paris, Madrid, Rome, as well as the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute in the USA), solfège symbols do not describe the role of pitches relative to a tonic, but rather actual pitches. In the movable-do system, there happens to be a correspondence between the solfège symbol and a pitch's role. However, there is no requirement that musicians associate the solfège symbols with the scale degrees. In fact, musicians may utilize the movable-do system to label pitches while mentally tracking intervals to determine the sequence of solfège symbols.
Functional pitch recognition has several strengths. Since a large body of music is tonal, the technique is widely applicable. Since reference pitches are not required, music may be broken up by complex and difficult to analyze pitch clusters, for example, a percussion sequence, and pitch analysis may resume immediately once an easier to identify pitch is played, for example, by a trumpet—no need to keep track of the last note of the previous line or solo nor any need to keep track of a series of intervals going back all the way to the start of a piece. Since the function of pitch classes is a key element, the problem of compound intervals with interval recognition is not an issue—whether the notes in a melody are played within a single octave or over many octaves is irrelevant.
Functional pitch recognition has some weaknesses. Music with no tonic or ambiguous tonality does not provide the frame of reference necessary for this type of analysis. When dealing with key changes, a student must know how to account for pitch function recognition after the key changes: retain the original tonic or change the frame of reference to the new tonic. This last aspect in particular, requires an ongoing real-time (even anticipatory) analysis of the music that is complicated by modulations and is the chief detriment to the movable-do system.
Interval recognition
Interval recognition is also a useful skill for musicians: in order to determine the notes in a melody, a musician must have some ability to recognize intervals. Some music teachers teach their students relative pitch by having them associate each possible interval with the first two notes of a popular song. However, others have shown that such familiar-melody associations are quite limited in scope, applicable only to the specific scale-degrees found in each melody.
In addition, there are various systems (including solfeggio, sargam, and numerical sight-singing) that assign specific syllables to different notes of the scale. Among other things, this makes it easier to hear how intervals sound in different contexts, such as starting on different notes of the same scale.
Chord recognition
Complementary to recognizing the melody of a song is hearing the harmonic structures that support it. Musicians often practice hearing different types of chords and their inversions out of context, just to hear the characteristic sound of the chord. They also learn chord progressions to hear how chords relate to one another in the context of a piece of music.
Microtonal chord and interval recognition
The process is similar to twelve-tone ear training, but with many more intervals to distinguish. Aspects of microtonal ear training are covered in Harmonic Experience, by W. A. Mathieu, with sight-singing exercises, such as singing over a drone, to learn to recognize just intonation intervals. There are also software projects underway or completed geared to ear training or to assist in microtonal performance.
Gro Shetelig at The Norwegian Academy of Music is working on the development of a Microtonal Ear Training method for singers and has developed the software Micropalette, a tool for listening to microtonal tones, chords and intervals. Aaron Hunt at Hi Pi instruments has developed Xentone, another tool for microtonal ear training. Furthermore, Reel Ear Web Apps have released a Melodic Microtone Ear Training App based on call and response dictations.
Rhythm recognition
One way musicians practise rhythms is by breaking them up into smaller, more easily identifiable sub-patterns. For example, one might start by learning the sound of all the combinations of four eighth notes and eighth rests, and then proceed to string different four-note patterns together.
Another way to practise rhythms is by muscle memory, or teaching rhythm to different muscles in the body. One may start by tapping a rhythm with the hands and feet individually, or singing a rhythm on a syllable (e.g. "ta"). Later stages may combine keeping time with the hand, foot, or voice and simultaneously tapping out the rhythm, and beating out multiple overlapping rhythms.
A metronome may be used to assist in maintaining accurate tempo.
Timbre recognition
Each type of musical instrument has a characteristic sound quality that is largely independent of pitch or loudness. Some instruments have more than one timbre, e.g. the sound of a plucked violin is different from the sound of a bowed violin. Some instruments employ multiple manual or embouchure techniques to achieve the same pitch through a variety of timbres. If these timbres are essential to the melody or function, as in shakuhachi music, then pitch training alone will not be enough to fully recognize the music. Learning to identify and differentiate various timbres is an important musical skill that can be acquired and improved by training.
Transcription
Music teachers often recommend transcribing recorded music as a way to practise all of the above, including recognizing rhythm, melody and harmony. The teacher may also perform ('dictate') short compositions, with the pupil listening and transcribing them on to paper.
Modern training methods
For accurate identification and reproduction of musical intervals, scales, chords, rhythms, and other audible parameters a great deal of practice is often necessary. Exercises involving identification often require a knowledgeable partner to play the passages in question and to assess the answers given. Specialised music theory software can remove the need for a partner, customise the training to the user's needs and accurately track progress. Conservatories and university music departments often license commercial software for their students, such as Meludia, EarMaster, Auralia, and MacGAMUT, so that they can track and manage student scores on a computer network. A variety of free software also exists, either as browser-based applications or as downloadable executables. For example, free and open source software under the GPL, such as GNU Solfege, often provides many features comparable with those of popular proprietary products. Most ear-training software is MIDI-based, permitting the user to customise the instruments used and even to receive input from MIDI-compatible devices such as electronic keyboards. Interactive ear-training applications are also available for smartphones.
See also
Electronic tuner
Learning music by ear
Musical aptitude
Tonal memory
Tone deafness
References
Further reading
External links
Understanding Any Piece of Music by Ear Teaches you how to feel both the tonality and the tonal center of any piece of music, with exercises to try yourself.
E-MusicMaestro Aural Test Training A graded programme of aural training that teaches as well as tests.
Ear Training Online Comprehensive survey of ear training software - open source, commercial, free, and online courses
Music education
Singing |
689584 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BusyBox | BusyBox | BusyBox is a software suite that provides several Unix utilities in a single executable file. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android, and FreeBSD, although many of the tools it provides are designed to work with interfaces provided by the Linux kernel. It was specifically created for embedded operating systems with very limited resources. The authors dubbed it "The Swiss Army knife of Embedded Linux", as the single executable replaces basic functions of more than 300 common commands. It is released as free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 2.
History
Origins
Originally written by Bruce Perens in 1995 and declared complete for his intended usage in 1996, BusyBox initially aimed to put a complete bootable system on a single floppy disk that would serve both as a rescue disk and as an installer for the Debian distribution. Since that time, it has been extended to become the de facto standard core user space toolset for embedded Linux devices and Linux distribution installers. Since each Linux executable requires several kilobytes of overhead, having the BusyBox program combine over two hundred programs together often saves substantial disk space and system memory.
BusyBox was maintained by Enrique Zanardi and focused on the needs of the Debian boot-floppies installer system until early 1998, when Dave Cinege took it over for the Linux Router Project (LRP). Cinege made several additions, created a modularized build environment, and shifted BusyBox's focus into general high-level embedded systems. As LRP development slowed down in 1999, Erik Andersen, then of Lineo, Inc., took over the project and became the official maintainer between December 1999 and March 2006. During this time the Linux embedded marketplace exploded in growth, and BusyBox matured greatly, expanding both its user base and functionality. Rob Landley became the maintainer in 2005 until late 2006, then Denys Vlasenko took over as the current maintainer.
GPLv2/GPLv3 controversies
In September 2006, after heavy discussions and controversies between project maintainer Rob Landley and Bruce Perens, the BusyBox project decided against adopting the GNU Public License Version 3 (GPLv3); the BusyBox license was clarified as being GPL-2.0-only.
Since October 2006, Denys Vlasenko has taken over maintainership of BusyBox from Rob Landley, who has started Toybox, also as a result of the license controversies.
GPL lawsuits
In late 2007, BusyBox also came to prominence for actively prosecuting violations of the terms of its license (the GPL) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
What was claimed to be the first US lawsuit over a GPL violation concerned use of BusyBox in an embedded device. The lawsuit, case 07-CV-8205 was filed on September 20, 2007 by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) on behalf of Andersen and Landley against Monsoon Multimedia Inc., after BusyBox code was discovered in a firmware upgrade and attempts to contact the company had apparently failed. The case was settled with release of the Monsoon version of the source and payment of an undisclosed amount of money to Andersen and Landley.
On November 21, 2007, the SFLC brought two similar lawsuits on behalf of Andersen and Landley against two more companies, Xterasys (case 07-CV-10455) and High-Gain Antennas (case 07-CV-10456). The Xterasys case was settled on December 17 for release of source code used and an undisclosed payment, and the High-Gain Antennas case on March 6, 2008 for active license compliance and an undisclosed payment. On December 7, 2007, a case was brought against Verizon Communications over its distribution of firmware for Actiontec routers; this case was settled March 17, 2008 on condition of license compliance, appointment of an officer to oversee future compliance with free software licenses, and payment of an undisclosed sum. Further suits were brought on June 9, 2008 against Bell Microproducts (case 08-CV-5270) and SuperMicro (case 08-CV-5269), the Super Micro case being settled on July 23, 2008. BusyBox and Bell Microproducts also settled out of court on October 17.
On December 14, 2009, a new lawsuit was filed naming fourteen defendants including Best Buy, JVC, Samsung and others.
In February 2010 Samsung released its LN52A650 TV firmware under GPLv2, which was used later as a reference by the SamyGO community project.
On about August 3, 2010, BusyBox won from Westinghouse a default judgement of triple damages of $90,000 and lawyers' costs and fees of $47,865, and possession of "presumably a lot of high-def TVs" as infringing equipment in the lawsuit Software Freedom Conservancy v. Best Buy, et al., the GPL infringement case noted in the paragraph above.
No other developers, including original author Bruce Perens and maintainer Dave Cinege, were represented in these actions or party to the settlements. On December 15, 2009, Perens released a statement expressing his unhappiness with some aspects of the legal situation, and in particular alleged that the current BusyBox developers "appear to have removed some of the copyright statements of other BusyBox developers, and appear to have altered license statements".
Features
BusyBox can be customized to provide a subset of over two hundred utilities. It can provide most of the utilities specified in the Single Unix Specification (SUS) plus many others that a user would expect to see on a Linux system. BusyBox uses the Almquist shell, also known as A Shell, ash and sh. An alternative for customization is the smaller 'hush' shell. "Msh" and "lash" used to be available.
As it is a complete bootstrap system, it will further replace the init daemon and udev (or the latter-day systemd) using itself to be called as init on startup and mdev at hotplug time.
The BusyBox website provides a full list of the utilities implemented.
Single binary
Typical computer programs have a separate binary (executable) file for each application. BusyBox is a single binary, which is a conglomerate of many applications, each of which can be accessed by calling the single BusyBox binary with various names (supported by having a symbolic link or hard link for each different name) in a specific manner with appropriate arguments.
BusyBox benefits from the single binary approach, as it reduces the overhead introduced by the executable file format (typically ELF), and it allows code to be shared between multiple applications without requiring a library. This technique is similar to what is provided by the crunchgen command in FreeBSD, the difference being that BusyBox provides simplified versions of the utilities (for example, an ls command without file sorting ability), while a crunchgen generated sum of all the utilities would offer the fully functional versions.
Sharing of the common code, along with routines written with size-optimization in mind, can make a BusyBox system use much less storage space than a system built with the corresponding full versions of the utilities replaced by BusyBox. Research that compared GNU, BusyBox, asmutils and Perl implementations of the standard Unix commands showed that in some situations BusyBox may perform faster than other implementations, but not always.
Commands
The official BusyBox documentation lists an overview of the available commands and their command-line options. List of BusyBox commands
ash
awk
cat — Print content of one or more files to stdout.
chmod — Change file modes
cp — Copy
date — Display system date/time
dd — Copy a file with converting and formatting
df — Print filesystem usage statistics
dmesg
echo — Display a specified line of text.
egrep
fgrep
getty
grep — Search for PATTERN in each FILE or standard input.
gunzip — Compressed file expansion.
gzip — File compression.
httpd — HTTP server daemon
init
kill — Send a signal to a process.
ln — Create a link named LINK_NAME or DIRECTORY to the specified TARGET.
login — Begin a new session on the system
ls — List of files or folders
mdev — akin to udev
mkdir — Create a folder
more — View FILE or standard input one screen-full at a time
mount — Mount file systems
mv — move file
nc — networking Swiss army knife.
netstat — Display networking information.
ntpc
ntpsync
nvram
pidof — List PIDs of all processes with names that match NAMEs
ping — Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST packets to network hosts
ps — Report process status
pwd — Print working directory
realpath
rm — Erase file
rmdir — Remove directory
rpm2cpio
rstats — Copyright of BusyBox
rtcwake
runlevel
run-parts
runsv
runsvdir
rx
script
sed — Text stream editor
setkeycodes
setlogcons
setsid
setuidgid
sh
sha1sum — Compute and check SHA-1 message digest
sha256sum — Compute and check SHA-512 message digest
sleep — Suspend program execution for a specified time
start-stop-daemon
stat
strings
stty — Change and print terminal line settings
su — Execute commands with privileges of another user account
sulogin
sum — Checksum and count blocks in a file
sv
svlogd
swapoff
swapon
switch root
sync — Write all buffered file system blocks to disk
sysctl
syslogd
tac — Concatenate and print files in reverse line order
tail — Output last of file
tar
taskset
tcpsvd
tee — Send output to multiple files
telnet
telnetd
test
tftp
tftpd
time
timeout — Run a command with a time limit
top
touch — Update the last-modified date on the given FILE[s]
tr — Translate or delete characters
traceroute
true
tty
ttysize
udhcpc — Small DHCP client
udhcpd
udpsvd
umount — Unmount file systems
uname — Display system information
uncompress
unexpand
uniq
unix2dos
unlzma
unlzop
unzip
uptime — Tell how long the system has been running.
usleep — Pause for N [microseconds]
vconfig — VLAN (802.1q) configuration program
vi — (visual) Edit FILE
vlock — Virtual Console lock program
volname — Return volume name
watch — Execute a program periodically
watchdog — Software watchdog daemon
wc — Word, line, and byte or character count
wget
which — Shows the full path of (shell) commands
who — Display who is on the system
whoami — Print effective userid
xargs — Construct argument lists and invoke utility
yes — to print a string repetitively
zcat — Uncompress to stdout
zcip
Examples
Programs included in BusyBox can be run simply by adding their name as an argument to the BusyBox executable:
/bin/busybox ls
More commonly, the desired command names are linked (using hard or symbolic links) to the BusyBox executable; BusyBox reads argv[0] to find the name by which it is called, and runs the appropriate command, for example just
/bin/ls
after /bin/ls is linked to /bin/busybox. This works because the first argument passed to a program is the name used for the program call, in this case the argument would be "/bin/ls". BusyBox would see that its "name" is "ls" and act like the "ls" program.
Appliances and reception
BusyBox is used by several operating systems running on embedded systems and is an essential component of distributions such as OpenWrt, OpenEmbedded (including the Yocto Project) and Buildroot. The Sharp Zaurus utilizes BusyBox extensively for ordinary Unix-like tasks performed on the system's shell.
BusyBox is also an essential component of VMware ESXi, and Alpine Linux, both of which are not embedded distributions.
It is necessary for several root applications on Android and is also preinstalled with some "1 Tap Root" solutions such as Kingo Root.
Controversy over Toybox
Toybox was started early 2006 under the GPL-2.0-only license by former BusyBox maintainer Rob Landley as a result of the controversies around GPLv3/GPLv2 discussions. At the end of 2011 it was relicensed under the BSD-2-Clause license after the project went dormant. In March 2013, it was relicensed again under the 0BSD license. On January 11, 2012, Tim Bird, a Sony employee, suggested creating an alternative to BusyBox which would not be under the GNU General Public License. He suggested it be based on the dormant Toybox. In January 2012 the proposal of creating a BSD licensed alternative to the GPL licensed BusyBox project drew harsh criticism from Matthew Garrett for taking away the only relevant tool for copyright enforcement of the Software Freedom Conservancy group. The starter of BusyBox based lawsuits, Rob Landley, responded that this was intentional as he came to the conclusion that the lawsuits resulted not in the hoped for positive outcomes and he wanted to stop them "in whatever way I see fit".
See also
GNU Core Utilities
util-linux, iproute2, ethtool
sbase and ubase intended to form a base system similar to busybox but much smaller. MIT license
9base port of various original Plan 9 tools for Unix. MIT license
The Heirloom Toolchest is a collection of standard Unix utilities derived from original Unix material
Linux on embedded systems
Linux for mobile devices
References
Further reading
External links
Command shells
Embedded Linux
Free computer programming tools
Free software programmed in C
Unix software |
15794657 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy%20of%20Ohio | Economy of Ohio | The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 21st largest global economy behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Argentina according to the 2017 International Monetary Fund GDP estimates. The state had a GDP of $656.19 billion in 3rd quarter of 2017, up from $517.1 billion in 2012, and up from $501.3 billion in 2011, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2013, Ohio was ranked in the top ten states for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was edged out only by Texas and Nebraska for the 2013 Governor's Cup award from the magazine, based on business growth and economic development.
Ohio is commonly noted as the Nation's Industrial Capital, dating to its roots in the Rust Belt and Ohio's present-day intelligence and scientific dominance. Ohio was one of four states in the U.S. to have areas make the Intelligent Community Forum's list of global Smart 21 Communities for 2014, with Columbus, Ohio receiving the honors. Ohio has six of the top 146 public school national universities in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2020 rankings. The state was ranked No. 8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools, while overall, in 2010 the state's schools were ranked No. 5 in the country by Education Week. However, by 2016 the state's high school rankings had slipped to #11 according to U.S. News and World Report, and #22 overall in quality by Education Week in 2017. It was second only to Texas in having the most U.S. cities in the top 30 best places for new college graduates, according to BusinessWeek in 2010. The year ending July 2011 saw the state ranked fourth in the nation in job creation behind Texas, California, and New York. By 2016 the state wasn't in the top 10 for job growth, but between 2017 and 2018 the state saw an increase in job creation of 44,600.
After California and Texas, Ohio is the third largest U.S. manufacturing state, with total output in 2017 approaching $108 billion. Home to more than 12,000 manufacturers, 12.6% of the Ohio work force is dedicated to manufacturing.
Ohio is considered a center of science and industry, with museums dedicated to such in Columbus, COSI, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, the Imagination Station in Toledo, and the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton. The state includes many historically strong industries, such as banking and insurance, which accounts for 8% of the gross state product, motor vehicle manufacturing, research and development, and steel production, accounting for 14-17% of the nation's raw output. More traditional industries include agriculture, employing one out of seven Ohioans, and new and developing sectors include bioscience, green, information, and food processing industries. Ohio is the biggest manufacturer of plastics and rubber in the country, has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and ranked fourth in the country for green economic growth through 2007.
The state is recognized internationally as the "Fuel Cell Corridor", while Toledo is recognized as a national solar center, Cleveland a regenerative medicine research hub, Dayton an aerospace and defense hub, Columbus a technological research and development hub, and Cincinnati a mercantile hub.
Wal-Mart is the largest private sector employer in Ohio with approximately 50,500 employees in 2017. The largest Ohio employer with headquarters in Ohio is the Cleveland Clinic, with approximately 49,050 employees and headquarters in Cleveland. The largest employer at a single location in Ohio is Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. 70% of the nation's electrometallurgical ferroalloy manufacturing employees are located in Ohio.
Overview
The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 25th-largest global economy behind Sweden and ahead of Nigeria according to the 2013 World Bank projections, and the 24th-largest global economy behind Sweden and ahead of Norway according to the 2013 International Monetary Fund projections. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state had a projected GDP of $526.1 billion in 2013, up from $517.1 billion in 2012, and up from $501.3 billion in 2011.
A 2014 report by the Quantitative Economics and Statistics Practices (QUEST) of Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council On State Taxation (COST), ranks Ohio third in the nation for friendliest tax environment. The study, entitled "Competitiveness of state and local business taxes on new investment," provides a state-by-state comparison of tax liabilities. The Top 5 states ranked with the lowest effective tax rate on new investment are: (1) Maine (3.0%), (2) Oregon (3.8%), (3) Ohio (4.4%), (4) Wisconsin (4.5%), and (5) Illinois (4.6%). In 2013, Ohio was ranked in the Top 10 among states with the best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was edged out by Texas and Nebraska for the 2013 Governor's Cup award from the magazine, based on business growth and economic development. Ohio was ranked No. 11 by the council for best friendly-policy states according to their Small Business Survival Index 2009. The Directorship's Boardroom Guide ranked the state #13 overall for best business climate and #7 for best litigation climate. Forbes ranked it #8 for best regulatory environment in 2009. Ohio was also ranked No. 8 by the U.S. News and World Report in 2008 for best high schools. Overall, the state's schools were ranked No. 5 in the nation in 2010. However, by 2016 the state's high school rankings had slipped to #11 according to U.S. News and World Report, and #22 overall in quality by Education Week in 2017. The year ending July 2011 saw the state being ranked fourth in the nation in job creation behind Texas, California, and New York. By 2016, the state wasn't ranked within the top 10 for job growth, and between 2015 and 2016, the state saw a decrease in job creation of 38,800. Since February 2010, the state was 2.5% below the national average.
Ohio's private sector consists of 921,000 employers, which hire at least 50.4% of the state's non-farm private workforce. The state has a developing technology sector, and it is home to over 28,000 employers employing roughly 820,000 people; its rate of technology operations is 14% higher than the US average. Between 2006 and 2014, Ohio's employment is expected to grow by 290,700 jobs, or approximately 5.0%. Personal income grew an average of 3.1% in 2008. About 659,900 people are employed in the state's manufacturing sector. Major manufacturing employers in the state include AK Steel, Timken, and Honda. In 2007, foreign-based companies employed 229,500 of Ohio's citizens, led by Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Switzerland.
Ohio's exports constituted 3.2% of total U.S. exports in 2009, with top destinations being Canada at $14.2 billion, followed by Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Greece, Brazil, Japan, Germany, France, and Australia. In 2009, the state was ranked as the nation's seventh-largest exporter with $34.1 billion. About 092 companies exported in 2009, with transportation equipment accounting for $9.9 billion, machinery $4.9 billion, chemicals $4.4 billion, and computer and electronics products $2.4 billion.
, Ohio was ranked No. 5 in the nation for Fortune 500 companies with 27, including Cardinal Health (#16), Marathon Petroleum (#22), Kroger (#23), Procter & Gamble (#50), Nationwide Insurance (#74), Progressive Insurance (#86), Sherwin-Williams (#180), Goodyear Tire and Rubber (#216), L Brands (#248), Fifth Third Bank (#325), Dana (#367) and Owens Corning (#431).
Major employers
The following is a list of the top ten employers with headquarters in Ohio, .
The following is a list of the top Ohioan employers not headquartered in Ohio, .
Industries
Aerospace and defense
Dayton is designated as the state's aerospace hub due to its high concentration of aerospace and aviation technology. In 2009, Governor Ted Strickland designated Dayton as Ohio's aerospace innovation hub, the first such technology hub in the state. Aircraft engine manufacturing accounts for nearly 75% of Ohio's aerospace and defense industry workforce.
The aerospace and defense industry employs 16,000 Ohioans. Employment has been increasing after 2003, despite an overall decrease in employment since the industry's peak at 37,000 employees in 1990. In 2005, Ohio ranked fifth among US states in the production of aerospace products and parts, and eighth in the number of aerospace industry workers. Recently the states' employees have ranked No. 1 in value produced per worker. Ohioan workers in the aerospace industry made an annual average salary of $75,765 in 2005, compared to $48,208 in for workers in the manufacturing sector generally. Nearly 75% of the state's aerospace and defense employees work in the aircraft engine manufacturing sub-sector; only Connecticut has larger aircraft engine workforce.
Notable aerospace and defense companies in Ohio include GE Aviation, Timken, Goodrich Corporation, GE Honda Aero Engines, CFM International, and Aircraft Braking Systems. France-based CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc., which develops systems for aerospace fluid control, has a commercial unit located in the state. Boeing's Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center in Heath is a venture amongst five of the top 10 U.S. defense contractors, including Atlantic Inertial Systems, Honeywell, Kearfott, Northrop-Grumman, L3 Communications, and Raytheon, which is also the headquarters of the Air Force Metrology and Calibration Program Office. RTI International Metals's location in Niles produces titanium used in every France-based Airbus aircraft. RTI was originally headquartered in Niles before moving to Pittsburgh in the 21st century, while Airbus has invested $4.3 billion in the state. Makino's Titanium Research and Development Center is located in Mason. Nextant Aerospace has manufacturing facilities at the Cuyahoga County Airport.
Defense systems play a smaller role in the industry. Ohio corporations were awarded around $5.5 billion of United States Department of Defense procurements. Notable defense contractors include Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Lockheed Martin in Akron, which won a contract to develop a space-ship in 2003 and produces the vertical launch ASROC missile, and Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group in Fairfield. United Kingdom-based BAE Systems has a large facility in West Chester producing armored vehicles, armor kits, and ballistic glass.
The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, in cooperation with General Dynamics, assembles armored combat vehicles, including the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and M1A2 Abrams tank. Columbus-based Zyvex Performance Materials develops the Piranha Unmanned Surface Vessel. Gravitational Energy Corporation, located in Cuyahoga Falls, proliferates Gravity Assisted Power (GAP) machines in cooperation with DriPowder, LLC to the military.
The United States Department of Defense currently maintains a large Supply Center in Whitehall, a suburb of Columbus.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, located in Dayton, and partially named for the Wright Brothers from Ohio who are credited with inventing the airplane, employs 27,400 residents. The Air Force estimates that Wright-Patterson's annual economic impact on the Dayton region is $5.1 billion.
Bioscience
In 2008, Ohio was ranked No. 1 in the Midwest and 4th in the nation for biotech industry strength by Business Facilities magazine. As of 2008, there were over 1,100 biotech related firms operating in the state, employing 1.4 million residents overall in direct or indirect related fields, including healthcare, with $2.5 billion in investment in 2007. Ohio had three city-regions in the top 30 biotech locations in the country, with Cleveland-Akron ranked No. 20, Columbus #22, and Cincinnati #28.
The overall economic impact of the bioscience industry in Ohio, including healthcare, amounted to $148.2 billion in 2007, representing 15.7% of Ohio's economic output. Half of the biotech industry is located in northeast Ohio, with 574 firms, while central and southern Ohio are home to around 200 each. 635 companies are FDA-certified to manufacture medical devices. Biotech research and development employs directly 12,415 residents, while agricultural bioscience contributed the largest economic impact, at $10.7 billion. Medical device manufacturers employ 9,757 residents.
Healthcare
Major hospital employers include the Cleveland Clinic Health System with 41,400 employees, Catholic Healthcare Partners in Cincinnati with 28,200, University Hospitals of Cleveland with 21,800, OhioHealth in Columbus with 15,300, ProMedica in Toledo with 14,500, and Premier Health Partners in Dayton with 14,000. Welltower, an S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, is a major healthcare real estate firm.
In 2011, Dayton was ranked the #3 city in the United States for "excellence in health care". The ranking is from HealthGrade's list of America's Top 50 Cities for Hospital Care. Other Ohio cities listed include Cincinnati at #6 and Cleveland at #16. Also in 2011, the cities of Cincinnati and Dayton were ranked No. 1 and #4 in the nation for emergency room care. Then in 2013, HealthGrades ranked the Dayton region number one in the nation for the lowest hospital mortality rate.
Ohio medical facilities include the Cleveland Clinic, which has locations throughout the world. In 2009, U.S. News and World Report ranked the clinic as the fourth best hospital in the country, and the #1 heart center in the country for the 15th year in a row. The Ohio State University Medical Center was ranked No. 21. Overall, the magazine ranked 16 Ohio hospitals among the best hospitals in the nation, making the state #3 in the country in total. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ranked No. 6 in the nation for pediatric hospitals, and overall, four children's hospitals in Ohio ranked among the best.
Apart from U.S. News and World Report, in 2010, HealthGrades ranked nine Ohio hospitals in the top 50 in the United States and 27 of Ohio's hospitals as Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence, with the majority of these hospitals in the Cleveland and Dayton areas. They also ranked 37 Ohio hospitals in the 5% of the country for emergency care service.
Child magazine ranked Cincinnati Children's #4, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus #6, including #1 for emergency care, and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland #9. University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland was named in the top 15 for major teaching hospitals, while Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights ranked in the top 16 for minor teaching hospitals. Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights was ranked in the top 15 for large community hospitals, and Mercy Hospital Clermont in Batavia Union Hospital in Dover Sycamore Medical Center in Miamisburg and Wooster Community Hospital in Wooster ranked in the top 16 for medium-sized community hospitals.
In 2009, Thomson-Reuters named the Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, and Grandview Medical Center in Dayton to their top 30 list of teaching hospitals with cardiovascular programs.
Pharmacies
Ohio is home to pharmacy chains including Discount Drug Mart in Medina, and previously Phar-Mor, which was headquartered in Youngstown, and Revco, which was headquartered in Twinsburg.
Education
Ohio's medical colleges are sixth in the nation in terms of economic impact, resulting in 425,000 direct or indirect positions and $37.2 billion.
The University System of Ohio is the nation's largest comprehensive public system of higher education. Member universities include the University of Cincinnati, which has a $3+ billion annual economic impact and is the largest employer in Cincinnati, Kent State University, which contributes a $1.9 billion economic impact in Northeast Ohio, and the University of Toledo, which contributes a $1.1 billion economic impact in Northwest Ohio.
Agriculture
Ohio's agricultural industries represent $124 billion of the state's economic output, employing one in eight Ohioans directly or indirectly. Ohio's agricultural market exports many different products. Ohio ranks 1st in the production of Swiss cheese out of all 50 states, 3rd in egg production, 6th in soybeans, 8th in hogs, and 9th in corn for grain. The agriculture and food processing and eatery industries are heavily intertwined in Ohio. For example, Ohio being the 3rd largest producer of tomatoes in the United States, in turn has the world's largest ketchup processing plant in Fremont.
The number of farms in Ohio stood at 75,462 as of 2018.
Horticulture and floriculture
Ohio is a producer of horticulture products, from greenhouse and nursery plants to bulbs. The state is a producer of white ash trees for landscaping, totalling 25,000 annually. California, Florida, Texas, Michigan, and Ohio accounted for 42% of the nation's production of bedding plants in 2002. Oberer's Flowers, headquartered in Dayton, is the nation's fifth-largest florist, while Aris Horticulture, headquartered in Barberton, is active in research and breeding. Lake County Nursery offers over 1,000 varieties of plants and California-based Monrovia Nursery Company operates nurseries in Springfield.
Energy
The energy sector of Ohio is composed of thousands of companies and cities representing the oil, natural gas, coal, solar, wind energy, fuel cell, biofuel, geothermal, hydroelectric, and other related industries. Ohio is second nationally in solar energy industry manufacturing as Toledo is considered a national solar hub, nicknamed "Solar Valley." In 2018, First Solar announced a new $400 million photovoltaic panel manufacturing facility in suburban Toledo, generating 500 jobs and producing up to 1.8 gigawatts of solar generating capacity annually.
Oil and natural gas accounts for $3.1 billion annually in sales while ethanol generates $750 million. The state is recognized internationally as the "Fuel Cell Corridor", and Hamilton is poised to become the biggest municipal provider of renewable energy in the Midwest, and one of the largest in the country, with over 70%. In 2008, the state led the country in alternative energy manufacturing according to Site Selection Magazine, while the natural gas industry has experienced growth due to the Great Shale Gas Rush.
Several notable energy companies are headquartered in the state, including American Electric Power, Columbia Gas of Ohio, DPL Inc., Marathon Petroleum Company, American Municipal Power, Inc., Cliffs Natural Resources, Murray Energy, FirstEnergy, Oxford Resource Partners LP, AB Resources, American Hydrogen Corporation, and IGS Energy. Rolls-Royce North America's Energy Systems Inc., a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Rolls-Royce plc, is headquartered in Mt. Vernon, specializing in gas compression, power generation, and pipeline technologies. Ultra Premium Oilfield Services and V&M Star Steel operate steel production facilities in the state, which cater to energy exploration.
Ohio consumed 160.176 TWh of electricity in 2005, fourth among U.S. states, and has a storied history in the sector, including the first offshore oil drilling platform in the world, and a modern, renewable energy economy along with the traditional nuclear, oil, coal, and gas industries.
Research and development
Ohio is a major research and development center, home to many institutions. In 2008, institutions and companies in the state won 10 R&D 100 Awards, given annually to the top 100 innovations recognized by R&D Magazine, finishing second behind California. Ohio State University is among the country's top public research institutions at #7. Ohio is ranked in the top eight for states conducting clinical trials, including conducting the most clinical trials per capita.
In 2006, the state had a high-tech payroll of $9.8 billion, with 155,174 high-tech employees at 10,756 high tech locations. In 2005, industry in Ohio spent $5.9 billion on research and development, with colleges spending $1.5 billion, but by 2009, $8.2 billion in R&D contracts were identified, ranking 13th nationally. Ohio receives around $2.7 billion annually in federal R&D funds, ranking #9.
Insurance
Ohio is a major center for insurance corporations, ranking 6th out of all 50 states in the insurance industry, based on overall employment, and Ohio ranks 4th in casualty insurance out of all 50 states. As far as gross state product, from the period of 1990–1999 Ohio insurance contribution to Ohio's gross state product grew about 161% from $2.6 billion to $6.8 billion, despite population growth from 1990 to 2000 of only about 4.67%, from 10,847,115 to 11,353,140. Ohio's insurance employment is expected to grow continuously at a rate of 9.8%. Ohio is home to the 3rd most claim examiners in the United States, out of all 50 states.
Five Fortune 500 companies are Ohio-based insurance companies. These companies are:
Nationwide Insurance, in Columbus
Progressive Corporation, in Mayfield
American Financial Group, in Cincinnati
Cincinnati Financial, in Cincinnati
Ohio Casualty, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, in Fairfield.
Financial services
Ohio is home to three commercial banks that rank among the largest commercial banks in the United States as measured by asset size. Up until 2008, Ohio had four banks among the Top 25, however the acquisition of Cleveland-based National City Corp. by Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services eliminated the fourth.
KeyBank, headquartered in the Key Tower in Cleveland, is the 27th largest bank in the US.
Fifth Third Bank, the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank N.A. headquartered in Cincinnati. Currently second to PNC in market share in the state, and tops among Ohio-based banks in the state, it is the 26th largest bank in the US.
Huntington Bancshares, the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank headquartered in the Huntington Center in Columbus, is the 38th largest bank in the US.
Wright-Patt Credit Union, headquartered in Dayton, is the largest credit union in Ohio with 23 member centers, $4.3 billion in assets, and serves over 375,000 member-owners.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is located in the state. Other notable institutions headquartered in the state include First Federal Bank of the Midwest, Liberty Savings Bank, and Park National Bank.
Germany-based BMW operates a financial subsidiary in Dublin.
Automobile manufacturing
Ohio-native Charles Kettering invented the self-starter for the automobile, an advancement which contributed to the mainstreaming of the transport.
The current state of the motor vehicle industry in Ohio is mixed and dotted. In 2002, the Ohio motor vehicle industry produced about $16 billion of items. This is about 14% of the automobile production of the United States, and Ohio outputs every state in production of motor vehicles except for Michigan. These $16 billion account for approximately 4.1% of Ohio's gross state product; however, the motor vehicle industry only accounts for 1.1% of the United States' output. In 2003, Ohio was able to produce about 1,885,000 motor vehicles, accounting for 15.6% of the United States' production, and, again, more than any state except for Michigan, in which 928,000 of these were automobiles.
The Ohio Department of Development estimates that there are 555 motor vehicle production establishments in Ohio, and that by employing around 138,000 people, Ohio motor vehicle production employees account for 12.7% of the United States' motor vehicle production employees. Despite sharp losses since 1999, the motor vehicle production industry was able to recover in 2001, producing a net gain of 148,000 vehicles. General Motors produced the highest number of motor vehicles in Ohio, with 36.5% of the production of motor vehicles in Ohio, followed closely by Honda with 35.9%. Other major motor vehicle producers in Ohio include DaimlerChrysler (with 17.5% of production) and Ford (with 10.5% of production). However, despite the growth listed above, employment statistics and outlooks are much more grim.
In 2004, the number of people employed in the motor vehicle assembly industry in Ohio was reported to be around 31,000, down from about 40,000 throughout the 1990s, while in the motor vehicle parts production industry in Ohio, in December 1997, employment stood at approximately 122,000 employees; however, that number dropped by about 26% to 90,000 employees by 2004. Despite the growth facts above, the loss of employment is more likely to directly affect Ohio's economy. The Ohio Bureau of Labor Market Information estimates that there will be 3,300 less assembly employees and 2,400 less parts manufacturing employees in 2012 than 2002. Major firms operating in the state include Ford, Honda, and General Motors. Some major motor vehicle assembly production plants in the state include the Toledo Complex, Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant, Ohio Assembly, and Toledo North Assembly. France-based Faurecia Group operates a division in Toledo.
In June 2010, auto parts manufacturer Sanoh America, located in Streetsboro, announced a $3.5 million, expansion of their North American headquarters, while Austria-based automotive part manufacturer Miba announced $30 million in new investments at production sites around the state. In September of that year, the new R&D facility of Amtex, Inc., a subsidiary of Japan-based Hayashi Telempu Co. based in Lebanon, became operational in Plymouth.
Iron and steel
Ohio is considered the historical center of steel production in the U.S. The state produces annually around 14.5 million tons, with a $7.2 billion state economic impact The largest steel foundry in North America is located in Columbus, Columbus Castings. It was formerly part of Buckeye Steel Castings, which traces its root back to the 19th century.
Ohio produces between 14% and 17% of the United States' raw steel. The sector of objects made from purchased steel in Ohio ranks 2nd out of all 50 states, and 3rd in the sector of iron, steel, and ferroalloys.
Seventy percent of the United States' electrometallurgical ferroalloy manufacturing employees are located in Ohio. The entire industry as a whole, although not as concentrated as the electrometallurgical ferroalloy manufacturing sector, employs 34,000 paid workers at 234 individual workplaces. Ohio's 234 workplaces make up 9.5% of the United States industry's workplaces, and the 34,000 paid workers make up 13.6% of the United States industry's workers. Of these workers and workplaces, the sector of iron, steel, and ferroalloys make up the largest sector in Ohio's industry, with 17,000 paid workers in 73 workplaces.
However, despite Ohio's large presence in the iron and steel market, employment rates have declined in Ohio, generally attributed to weakening national economy. Between 1998 and 2005, the number of Ohio iron and steel industry workers decreased from 52,700 to 34,000. The Ohio Department of Development predicts the decreases will continue in coming years. The average annual salary for iron and steel industry workers in Ohio was $59,686, compared the national industry average of $53,352.
There are three Fortune 1000 iron and steel manufacturers with world headquarters in Ohio: AK Steel, located in Westchester, Timken Company, located in Canton, and Worthington Industries, located in Columbus. Other notable companies include Russia-based Severstal, which has facilities located in Warren and Steubenville, Luxembourg-based Mittal Steel USA, which has facilities in Columbus and Cleveland, United States Steel Corporation in Lorain, Cliffs Natural Resources in Cleveland, and Republic Engineered Products, North America's largest supplier of specialty bar quality steel, located in Canton. V&M Star Steel, a subsidiary of France-based Vallourec, broke ground on a $650 million production facility in Youngstown in June 2010.
In August 2010 Arizona-based International Technical Coatings announced plans to construct a , $15 million production facility in Columbus, while Pro-Tec, a joint venture between U. S. Steel and Japan-based Kobe Steel headquartered in Leipsic, announced in September 2010 a $290 million, expansion of existing facilities.
In April 2018, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. broke ground on a $700 million hot-briquetted iron production facility in Toledo, Ohio. When complete in 2020, the plant will process nearly 2.5 million tons per year of iron ore for use in the domestic steel industry.
Rubber and plastics
One of Ohio's historically strong industries is the rubber and plastics industry. Ohio ranks 1st of all 50 states in rubber and plastics production, producing around $17.4 billion of rubber and plastics shipments annually. Seven Fortune 1000 rubber and/or plastics corporations are located in Ohio:
Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Akron
Parker Hannifin, Cleveland
Owens-Illinois, Perrysburg, Ohio
Owens Corning, Toledo
Cooper Tire & Rubber, Findlay
PolyOne, Avon Lake
A. Schulman, Akron
Ohio ranks 1st in the gross state product of the rubber and plastics industry of any state. For the 5-year period of 2000–2004, inflation-adjusted production increased around 10%. In addition, in this period, the US rubber and plastics industry only grew 6%.
Ohio exported around $1.3 billion worth of rubber and plastics shipments in 2006. Rubber and plastics exports make up for 7.3% of total sales. Canada is the largest importer of Ohio's $1.3 billion worth of exports, accounting for 46% of this amount. The Census Bureau expects that an addition $1.1 billion worth of material is indirectly exported, through the means of other goods that are made from rubbers and plastics, including motor vehicles and machinery.
However, despite increased production, employment has been decreasing in Ohio's rubber and plastic industry. In 2000, Ohio employed around 92,000 rubber and plastics industry workers. By 2006, those rates have declined by about 26% to about 69,000 workers. The Ohio Bureau of Labor Market Information predicts that, from 2004 to 2014, there will be 11,200 less workers in Ohio's industry. They also predict that plastics employment in Ohio will decrease by 13.7%, and that rubber products employment will decrease by 20.7%. The industry currently employs about 73,000 Ohio workers, and employs about 12.3% of the United States' rubber employees, and 7.8% of the United States' plastics employees.
In October 2010, Sweden-based Hexpol AB announced the acquisition of Solon-based Excel Polymers for $215 million.
In August 2011, China-based A3T L.L.C broke ground on their North American headquarters in Akron and signed an R&D agreement with the University of Akron.
Other manufacturing
History
In 1837, William Procter and James Gamble founded a candle and soapmaking business in Cincinnati called Procter & Gamble. In the 1880s, the company introduced the product Ivory, a bar of soap. Eventually they began manufacturing Crisco, and sponsored radio dramas, which led to the name "soap operas". Today Procter & Gamble is the 8th largest company in the world by market capitalization fully diversified in household products, and has 135,000 employees worldwide, with manufacturing operations located throughout the state, and their headquarters still in Cincinnati.
In 1866, Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams founded Sherwin-Williams, a general building supplies company, in Cleveland. Their first factory was opened on the Cuyahoga River in 1873, and today the company has four manufacturing and distribution facilities in Ohio, located in Columbus, Cincinnati, Grove City, and Bedford Heights, and numerous locations throughout the country and world, with their world headquarters maintained in Cleveland. The company employs 3,394 residents alone just in the Cleveland-area.
In 1879, James Ritty, a saloon owner, invented a mechanical cash register, paving way for its production through the National Cash Register Company, based in Dayton. The company prospered through the 21st century, producing automated teller machines, barcode scanners, and other related products, employing thousands. It was eventually relocated to Georgia in 2009.
In 1886 Ohio-native Charles Martin Hall helped pioneer the Hall–Héroult process, which made aluminum inexpensive to produce. He sold his share in 1888 to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, known today as Alcoa. Alcoa has operations in the state, including facilities in Cleveland which manufacture aluminum wheels for Automobili Lamborghini.
Between 1902 and 1911 the Marion Steam Shovel Company, whose founders were Edward Huber, George W. King and Henry Barnhardt, shipped 112 then state-of-the-art power shovels to Panama to dig the Panama Canal. A successor firm also built the crawler-transporters that were used by NASA in the 1960s and 1970s to transport Saturn V rockets to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral to send men into space and to the Moon.
In 1907, a janitor named James Spangler working for the Hoover family invented the first electronically portable vacuum cleaner. Production of the device began at a factory in New Berlin (later renamed North Canton), and today the company is known as The Hoover Company, with its headquarters still located in North Canton.
In 1918, the Parker Appliance Company was founded in Cleveland, later becoming the Parker Hannifin Corporation. They manufacture motion and control technologies, with locations throughout Ohio, the country, and the world. Their headquarters is maintained in Cleveland, employing 2,201 residents in the local area.
Present
Overall, Ohio is home to 21,250 manufacturing operations. Cincinnati is ranked No. 6, Cleveland #10, and Columbus #19 respectively in the nation for manufacturing jobs. Ohio leads the nation in general-purpose machinery production and is #2 in metalworking machinery production. In 2004, Ohio was third in the nation for major industrial operations, and second in the nation for total manufacturing payroll. Ohio was third in the nation in manufacturing GDP in 2008, but has lost 106,629 manufacturing jobs and over 1,000 manufacturers since 2007.
Crown Equipment Corporation, headquartered in New Bremen, employs 8,300 residents in the state and is the 7th largest manufacturer of heavy-duty equipment in the world. They recently unveiled 20 new fork-lift models employing fuel cell technology, bringing that total product-specific inventory to 29 models. Ametek Technical and Industrial Products is headquartered in Kent and a manufacturer of industrial products with sales of $950 million in 2009. Headquartered in Toledo, Libbey, Inc. is the leading producer of glass tableware products in the Western Hemisphere.
Miamisburg-based NewPage Corporation is the largest producer of coated paper in North America, with sales of $3.1 billion. Verantis Corporation, headquartered in Middleburg Heights, is an environmental engineering company.
Germany-based ThyssenKrupp has several operations in the state, including AIN Plastics in Columbus, Ken-Mac Metals in Cleveland, Copper and Brass sales divisions in Toledo, Cleveland, and Dayton, a ThyssenKrupp Industrial Services division in Toledo, and a ThyssenKrupp Bilstein of America sales division in Hamilton. ThyssenKrupp Krause is located in Cleveland, Vertical System Elevators in Cincinnati as well as other ThyssenKrupp Elevator divisions in Cincinnati, Westerville, Northwood, and Broadview Heights, and Rotek Incorporated is located in Aurora, which underwent an $82 million facility expansion in 2008.
United Kingdom-based Mondi Group has facilities in Lancaster. Brush Wellman is headquartered Mayfield Heights and is a supplier of alloy, precious metals, electronic, and engineered material systems and products, with a major facility in Elmore. Liebert is a manufacturer of environmental, power, and monitoring systems located in Columbus.
Headquartered in Cleveland and founded in 1932, MTD Products employs 6,800 residents in the state and is a major manufacturer of heavy duty lawn equipment. Advanced Drainage Systems headquartered in Hilliard employs 3,900 residents and specializes in manufacturing industrial components and equipment. Aleris International, headquartered in Beachwood, employs 8,500 residents and is one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum and zinc, manufacturing alloy sheet metal. Park-Ohio, Inc., located in Cleveland, operates in 16 countries with over 3,000 employees. Mallory Marine is a manufacturer of aquatic travel components and located in Cleveland. Cincinnati-based Michelman, Inc. is involved in developing water-based barrier and functional coating.
Newark-based The Longaberger Company is a manufacturer of home and lifestyle products, and Brooklyn is home to the American Greetings Corporation, the world's largest publicly traded greeting card manufacturer.
Sweden-based Trelleborg AB recently announced they were moving their Wheel Systems Americas headquarters from Hartville to Fairlawn. Westlake-based Nordson Corporation is a manufacturer of precision equipment. Parma-based GrafTech International Limited is a manufacturer of carbon and graphite products with facilities on four continents.
ESCORT is a manufacturer of radar detection devices and navigational services headquartered in West Chester.
New Jersey-based Hartz Mountain Corporation, a pets-product manufacturer, announced an expansion of their existing operations in the state in 2010. Little Tikes is a toy manufacturer headquartered in Hudson.
In August 2010, Switzerland-based WICOR announced plans for a manufacturing operation in Urbana, while in September of that year Italian-owned Eurostampa North America announced plans for the construction of a new $7.2 million, facility in the Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati, which broke ground later month and will also serve as their headquarters.
GE Lighting is headquartered in Cleveland, with manufacturing operations in the state, including Bucyrus, which was awarded $60 million for expansion in September 2010 for the manufacturing of energy-efficient light bulbs. In October 2010, West Virginia-based Simonton Windows announced it was moving its headquarters to Columbus. Deceuninck North America, a subsidiary of Belgium-based Deceuninck NV, is headquartered in Monroe and operates one of the largest vinyl window extruders in North America.
Australia-based Blastmaster announced in September 2010 plans to locate their North American headquarters in the Columbus area. In October 2010, California-based Avery Dennison opened their Customer Innovation Center in Miamisburg to showcase their RFID technology.
Chemicals
Hexion Specialty Chemicals is headquartered in Columbus and is a manufacturer of resins and coatings.
Lubrizol Corporation is a provider of specialty chemicals headquartered in Wickliffe and a Fortune 500 company. Kentucky-based Ashland Performance Materials is located in Dublin. Columbus is home to the world's largest clearinghouse of chemicals data, CAS, or Chemical Abstracts.
Robotics and lasers
In June 2010, Yaskawa America announced the construction of their new North American headquarters in Dayton, a facility, which broke ground in August. KC Robotics, located in Fairfield, is a major distributor of robots, including Yaskawa's Motoman.
Robotics Research, located in Cincinnati, is a developer of robotic technology. FANUC Robotics America, Inc. has a regional headquarters located in Mason. Other companies include YAC Robot Systems in Hamilton, Bellevue Manufacturing Company in Bellevue, Panasonic Robotics in Hilliard, Ohio(shares office with INS Robotics) and Adept Technology, which has an office in Cincinnati.
Lockheed Martin in Akron manufacturers laser-enhanced sniper systems for the Department of Defense. AT&F Steel in Cleveland operates the largest Hybrid Laser Arc Welding facility in the United States. Elyria-based RIDGID, a division of Missouri-based Emerson, manufacturers hand-held laser devices.
Nanotechnology
Kent State University was one of the inventors of the modern liquid crystal display at their Liquid Crystal Institute.
Through 2005, Ohio was ranked in the top ten for states with the best environment for nanotechnology development. The Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices at the Ohio State University was awarded $22.5 million from the Third Frontier around the start of the 21st century with a goal of returning $78 million in research and commercialization. The University of Dayton Research Institute was also awarded investments from the state. Other major research institutes include the Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at the University of Cincinnati. The University of Toledo is home to professor Abdul-Majeed Azad, a world-renowned nanotechnologist who won a Nano50 Award from NASA in 2007 for developing a method of converting steel mill waste into nanoscale iron particles, and is also a recent recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award.
Nanotek Instruments, a Dayton area company, is a nanomaterial research and development company focused on bringing nanotechnology into consumer applications. Founded in 1997, Nanotek Instruments currently holds some of the oldest intellectual property on the "wonder material" graphene. Nanotek's current research focuses on using the properties of graphene in energy storage applications such as Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors. Their research on graphene based supercapacitors was selected as one of the top five nanotechnologies of 2010.
In 2007, Nanotek Instruments spun off Angstron Materials for the purpose of mass-producing graphene materials. Angstron Materials, also located in Dayton, is currently the world's largest producer of nano graphene platelets. Angstron's graphene platelets are being used in multiple research areas including energy storage, thermal management, nanocomposites, transparent conducting films, sensor, and lithium ion batteries.
Other Ohio companies involved in nanotechnology development include MesoCoat, the winner of three R&D 100 awards; SRICO in Columbus; Cleveland Clinic; Zyvex Performance Materials (developers of the Piranha Unmanned Surface Vessel); PowderMet, a research and development operation; General Electric, NanoFilm, Procter & Gamble, Battelle Memorial Institute, NanoSperse, First Solar, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, and Midwest Optoelectronics, among others.
Logistics
The Columbus/Dayton corridor is considered one of two "centroids" in America's logistics sector. This is evident in the Dayton region, in part, with the expansion of a distribution center by Caterpillar Inc. and a major Payless ShoeSource distribution center. Transportation and warehousing employs 183,000 Ohioans, amounting to a $12 billion industry, or 3.6% of the GSP. Since 2003, Ohio has added 21,500 logistics jobs.
Ohio has the 8th largest highway system, and 4th largest interstate system in the country. Ohio's trucking industry ranks 4th in the nation with a total economic output of $5.2 billion. The state ranks third in the country in total value of inbound and outbound shipments at $907 billion, and first in value of outbound shipments at $244 billion.
Ohio has the fourth largest rail system, and is ranked third in total economic output at $1.3 billion.
Major employers include BAX Global, now part of Germany-based DB Schenker; Total Quality Logistics, UPS, FedEx, Roadway Express, CSX Corp, Pacer International, and ABX Air. Parsec Inc., based in Cincinnati, controls 45% of the nation's intermodal transportation business. The logistics headquarters of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Services North America is located in Northwood.
Wooster-based TechniGraphics is a provider of imagery and geospatial services to the U.S. intelligence community.
In 2009, CSX began the construction of a $175 million intermodal facility in North Baltimore, employing OCR technology from the Saudi Arabia-based Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company. As part of their "National Gateway" project, it is a rival to Norfolk Southern's "Heartland Corridor" project. Norfolk Southern operates a large intermodal facility in Columbus as part of their "Heartland Corridor," which the company recently constructed.
Cleveland Ships in October 2010 announced a bid to take over Northrop Grumman's shipbuilding operations, and later that month Canada-based Great Lakes Feeder Lines announced the Port of Cleveland was a target for its U.S. international container service headquarters, the first on the Great Lakes.
Food processing
Ohio's food processing industry produces $23.5 billion in food shipments annually and is #5 nationally. The frozen food industry is the largest sub-industry, surpassing even the state of California by $700 million in frozen food shipments, in which Ohio ships $2.4 billion of frozen food shipments annually. Ohio also ranks 1st out of every state in the United States in frozen food shipments and Ohio's frozen food industry accounts for 20.7% of the United States' frozen food processing.
Several of the world's largest food operating plants are operated in Ohio: the world's largest yogurt processing plant is operated by France-based Groupe Danone in Auglaize County, which announced an $88 million expansion of its facilities in 2011; Campbell's operates the world's largest soup processing plant in Napoleon, Heinz operates the world's single largest ketchup processing plant in Fremont, and General Mills operates the world's largest frozen pizza processing plant in Wellston. Nestle maintains a major presence in Solon employing over 2,000 people in a variety of corporate, technical, and production capacities supporting the local manufacture of Hot Pockets, Lean Pockets, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine, Buitoni, Nestlé Toll House, Libby's pumpkin and Carnation milk.
Major food processing companies in Ohio include Kroger (Cincinnati), T. Marzetti Company (Columbus), The J.M. Smucker Co. (Orrville), The Iams Company (Cincinnati), Shearer's Foods (Massillon), Sunny Delight Beverages (Cincinnati), and Givaudan (Cincinnati). The Boston Beer Company and Jim Beam Brands has operations in Cincinnati. Mane SA, a $1.2 billion processor of flavors and fragrances headquartered in France, maintains their US headquarters and major manufacturing presence in Milford. Wyandot Snacks, based in Marion, and Rudolph Foods of Lima, are major family-owned players in the snack space. Pierre's Ice Cream, headquartered in Cleveland, recently underwent an $8 million, facility expansion of their operations.
Other food processing sub-industries that Ohio is prominent in include pet food (8.4% of the nation's pet food, ranking in 2nd), ketchup and dressings (7.6% of the nation's ketchup and dressing production, ranking 2nd), cookies and crackers (9.9% of the nation's production, ranking 4th), and soft drinks (6.2% of the nation's production, ranking 4th). The county with the most food processing facilities is Hamilton County, followed by Franklin County and Stark County.
Alpine Cheese in Winesburg is the only manufacturer in the Western hemisphere of Norwegian Jarlsberg cheese. In October 2010, Coca-Cola announced a $120 million expansion of their existing facilities in Columbus.
Eateries
Major eateries headquartered in Ohio include Bob Evans Restaurants and White Castle (Columbus) and Wendy's (Dublin). Buffalo Wild Wings was founded in Columbus in 1982. Toledo-based Marco's Pizza has recently grown into a national chain. The first Arby's was located in Boardman. Charley's Grilled Subs is headquartered in Columbus. Perkins Restaurant and Bakery was founded in Cincinnati. TravelCenters of America, which is the second-largest truck stop chain in the country, is headquartered in Westlake. It is also Fortune 500 company.
Wineries and fine dining
Through 2008, the state was home to 124 wineries, up from 75 in 1999, producing 4108 employment positions. The industry generated $458 million in revenues and $124 million in wages. 2.2 million visitors toured Ohio's wineries during that year, while the state ranked No. 11 nationally in production and #9 in grape production. Notables include Lake Erie Wineries, Debonne Vineyards, and Ferrante Winery and Ristorante.
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants is headquartered in Columbus.
Information
Ohio-native Thomas Edison helped contribute to the modern communications world through many of his inventions, including his stock ticker, Kinetoscope, phonograph, and his contributions to the telegraph. Ohio resident Granville Woods invented the telegraph, which he sold to the American Bell Telephone Company.
Ohio is in the 1st quintile in the information industry, in terms of establishments for the information industry. In 2002, Ohio had reached 4,143 establishments, which are 3% of the United States' information establishments. Information establishments include printing and publishing establishments, broadcasting establishments, and telecommunications establishments. The Ohio Supercomputer Center is one of the largest supercomputer facilities in the country.
As of 2002, there were approximately 106,754 workers in Ohio working in the information industry. The total industry ranks 8th out of all 50 states in the number of establishments, and 9th in the number of paid workers, which was 106,754 in 2002.
A prime sector in Ohio's information industry is the broadcasting sector. The broadcasting sector ranks 9th out of all 50 states in the number of establishments, which is 1,954, 11th in number of paid workers, and 11th to its contribution to Ohio's gross state product, which is $6.6 billion.
Telecommunications, data, and information technology
In the second half of 2010, telecommunications companies announced $540 million in investments and projects in the state, to result in over 20,000 new employment positions.
Major telecommunication employers with headquarters in the state include Cincinnati Bell, Ohio Bell, a subsidiary of AT&T in Cleveland; Ohio Telecom in Port Clinton, RACO Industries in Blue Ash, First Communications in Akron, and Horizon Telcom, Inc. in Chillicothe. Companies with operations in the state include L-3 Communications, Time Warner, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, SBA Networks, Collabera Inc., Cavalier Telephone, Waveland Communications, Embarq, Open Range Communications, Russell Cellular, and Windstream Communications. Frontier Communications in 2010 announced $150 million in investment in the state to upgrade systems and high-speed internet services.
Although since overshadowed by Silicon Valley, Ohio played a major role in the development of the American information technology sector during the 1960s. Dayton was the birthplace of LexisNexis, the first successful computer-assisted legal research service. The Ohio Computer Library Center transformed into the Online Computer Library Center as it expanded to serve libraries around the world; today, it goes by the name OCLC and is still based in Dublin.
Today, Miamisburg-based Teradata is the world's largest data warehousing and enterprise analytics company, and Richfield-based OEConnection is the world's largest online automotive parts exchange, or OPSX. One Call Now, headquartered in Troy, is the nation's largest information notification service and part of INC Magazine's fastest-growing companies list three years in a row, while OneCommand, headquartered in Mason, is an integrated and automated, personalized communications firm.
Hyland Software is located in Cleveland and employs 1100+. India-based Tata Group operates an information center in Reno, while a software consultancy subsidiary Tata Consultancy Services located in Milford recently won a Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Investing in People Award. Virginia-based Computer Sciences Corporation has operations in Dayton, and Zethus Software is located in Youngstown.
Convergys Corporation, the largest holder of outsourced SAP licenses in the world, is headquartered in Cincinnati. Dublin-based Glomark-Governan is active in Enterprise Value Creation systems. QC Software is headquartered in Cincinnati and a provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems. Hilliard-based Redemtech, a division of Micro Center, is involved in technology change management. Veeam Software is located in Dublin, and TOA Technologies is active in cloud computing-based mobile workforce management and based in Ohio's "Silicon Suburb" of Beachwood.
In July 2010, AT&T announced the construction of a $120 million data center in Akron, their 9th facility dedicated to such for the eastern seaboard of the United States, which was followed by the announcement in August of the construction of a $20 million Involta data facility, also in Akron, which will be constructed to meet LEED certification.
In October 2010, South Korea-based Nautilus Hyosung, an ATM manufacturer, began operating their global software headquarters in Miamisburg. In December 2010, France-based Alcatel-Lucent announced a $20.2 million project to move existing operations in Columbus to a new facility in the city, followed by New Jersey-based Zycus, a software company, which announced in January 2011 it was opening offices in the state.
Diebold, the world's third largest ATM manufacturer, announced in 2011 it would construct a new $100 million headquarters in the Akron/Canton area.
Publishing
A main sector of the industry is the publishing sector. It ranks 9th out of all states in the number of establishments, which is 1,015, 10th in the number of employees, and 13th in its contribution to the gross state product. McGraw-Hill operates a division in Columbus, Brown Publishing Company distributes over 70 publications throughout the state, and was recently sold to Ohio Community Media; American Legal Publishing Corporation, headquartered in Cincinnati, codifies ordinances for 1,800 cities and counties, and Knight-Ridder has its roots in Akron, although now headquartered in California.
Block Communications, located in Toledo, owns major newspapers such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, as well as numerous television stations and networks from Idaho to Illinois. The E.W. Scripps Company, headquartered in Cincinnati, is a major American media company with newspapers from Florida, Texas, to California, and owns television stations located in markets from Baltimore to Phoenix.
Legal
Ohio is home to some major legal firms, including Jones Day and Squire Patton Boggs, headquartered in Cleveland. The state is also home to some of the United States' largest firms, including Baker Hostetler in Cleveland, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, Frost Brown Todd, and Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease in Columbus.
Retail
Ohio is home to major retailers such as Macy's, Luxottica, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Limited Brands, Victoria's Secret, Pink (Victoria's Secret), Bath & Body Works, Express, Big Lots, Inc., Value City, Tween Brands, Lane Bryant and DSW. Lululemon Athletica, Gap, Inc, Eddie Bauer and JCPenney also have major distribution centers in Columbus.
Tourism
In 2009 voters approved a ballot initiative allowing the construction of four new casinos in the state. Thirty months later Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, developed by Rock Gaming LLC and Caesars Entertainment Corporation, became Ohio's first casino, when it opened on May 14, 2012. Hollywood Toledo, developed and operated by Penn National Gaming, opened 2 weeks later on May 29 followed by Hollywood Columbus, which opened on October 8, 2012. Horseshoe Cincinnati is expected to be the state's fourth and final full-service casino when it opens on March 4, 2013.
Ohio has two of the largest amusement parks in North America: Cedar Point in Sandusky and Kings Island in Mason. Other major attractions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland; the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton; the Bass Islands near Sandusky; the National Museum of the United States Air Force, the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum located in Dayton; The Wilds, one of the world's largest conservation centers located in Cumberland; the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; Lake Erie; and the annual Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus. Other notable attractions include the Toledo Museum of Art, the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial in Niles, the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont County, the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, the 125 historic covered bridges located throughout the state and the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County.
Toledo has been home to the National Museum of the Great Lakes since 2014. Docked at the museum, on the right bank of the Maumee River, is the Col. James M. Schoonmaker, a 617 ft. long museum ship that was once the largest freighter on the Great Lakes.
Notable hospitality venues include the Ritz-Carlton and InterContinental Suites in Cleveland, Westin's The Great Southern Hotel and the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, and The Cincinnatian Hotel in Cincinnati.
Film
The motion picture industry has had a steady presence in the state for decades. Production companies include Hemlock Films, Tri-C, Access Video, Creative Technology, Second Story Productions, and Shadetree Films in the Cleveland area; Media Magic Productions, which includes an Emmy-winning producer, and Classic Worldwide Productions in the Toledo area; BCB Productions, Mills James, one of the nation's largest independent production companies, I'AMedia, Arginate Studios, Media Source, and Ascension 7 Films in the Columbus area; and Bright Light Productions, J. Cage Productions, and Panoptic Media in the southwestern Ohio area. Studios and sound stages include RISE Studios and CSI Production Concepts in Cincinnati, Cleveland Audio Visual, and Gaiam Inc. in West Chester.
Since the Ohio Film Tax Credit was signed in July 2009, twelve projects have received approval with a combined budget of $76.4 million through spring 2011. The legislation makes eligible projects over $300,000 in production costs to receive up to 25% reimbursement up to $5 million and 35% for locally employing. The legislation resulted in 9 movies filmed or planned in northeast Ohio alone in 2010, resulting $9.46 million in wages for 3700 local employees, with an economic impact of $24.3 million for local businesses. In 2010 expenditures on film in the state were estimated to total over $31 million, filming in locations that include Akron and Cincinnati also. In 2011, Marvel Studios announced it would be filming portions of "The Avengers" in the Cleveland area, the largest film production in state history.
Other films that went into production in 2011 included "Boot Tracks" starring Stephen Dorff, "Confession" starring Danny Glover and Melissa Leo, "The Yank" starring Fred Willard, and the film adaptation of "I, Alex Cross". The video game Galaxy Command is also slated for production. These productions will contribute to a further $17.1 million economic impact on the state.
Academy Award-winning films with production occurring in Ohio have included Terms of Endearment, The Silence of the Lambs, The Deer Hunter, Rain Man, and Traffic. Other notable films include Air Force One, Men in Black, Shawshank Redemption, The Rainmaker, The Soloist, Eight Men Out, Tango and Cash, Major League, Spider-Man 3, A Christmas Story, and Happy Gilmore.
Oil and natural gas
Ohio is in the early stages of the development and exploration of the Utica-Point Pleasant deposits in Ohio with more than 1,000 wells drilled. The hydraulic fracturing process enables energy companies to tap into shale deposits to extract oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and condensate.
Ohio is home to four major oil refineries, with two located in Oregon and one each in Lima and Canton. These facilities represented nearly 600,000 barrels per day of refining capacity .
Personal income
Ohio had an estimated $575 billion in total personal income in 2018. The mean household income for the top 5% in the state is $296,000.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018, the mean wage for Ohioans was $48,220. The highest paid professionals in the state were concentrated in the medical fields. Anesthesiologists, with average mean wage of $285,000, were the highest paid, followed by surgeons at $267,680, obstetricians and gynecologists at $255,560, orthodontists at $228,420, general internists at $219,910, and all other physicians at $212,160. Average mean wage for other selected professionals include chief executive officers at $201,100, computer and information research scientists at $135,510, financial managers at $135,610, postsecondary health specialty teachers at $130,280, human resource managers at $123,680, industrial production managers at $109,190, nurse practitioners at $101,970, and police officers at $61,040.
The state of Ohio's residents in 2017 had an overall $45,615 per capita personal income, up from $36,360 in 2010. Ohio's per capita income is 29th in the US and is 91% of the national average.
Housing
According to the United States Census Bureau, there are an estimated 5,045,356 houses in Ohio, of which 4,499,506, or about 89.2% are estimated to be occupied; this is 0.8% above the national average rate of occupation. Houses with a mortgage are estimated to cost owners about $1,216 per month, which is $186 below the national average. The United States Census Bureau also estimates that 3,150,239 houses are owner-occupied, or about 70%, which is 2.7% above the national average, and that an estimated 1,349,267 houses are renter-occupied. The median house value is $135,200, which is a significant $50,000 below the national average. Also, there are an estimated 545,850 unoccupied houses. The highest number of houses in Ohio were built from 1940 to 1959 (1,175,325 houses), and that 3,058,721 houses are in some way dependent on utility gas.
In late 2009, the average home value in Cleveland was $139,900, Cincinnati $149,900, and Columbus $164,900. Clear Capital's Home Data Index in July 2009 showed that Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati led the nation in home value increases, up 19.6, 15.6 and 12.9 percent. The top five counties through November 2006 for average listing price were Geauga County at $388,822, Ottawa County at $314,786, Union County at $306,872, Warren County at $267,236, and Hamilton County at $237,965.
Some historians suggest Ohio is the birthplace of public housing, having submitted the first application for such to the Public Works Administration in 1933. The state was also the first to establish a local public housing authority. Ernest J. Bohn, a Romanian immigrant to Cleveland, is credited as a pioneer in public housing.
Taxation
A new report by the Quantitative Economics and Statistics Practices (QUEST) of Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council On State Taxation (COST), ranks Ohio as third in the nation for friendliest tax environment. The study, "Competitiveness of state and local business taxes on new investment," provides a state-by-state comparison of tax liabilities. The top five states ranked with the lowest effective tax rate on new investment are: (1) Maine (3.0%); (2) Oregon (3.8%); (3) Ohio (4.4%); (4) Wisconsin (4.5%); and (5) Illinois (4.6%).
According to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Ohio's top personal income tax rate ranks #25 . The rate has been steadily declining since the 2005 tax reform, dropping from $11,506.20 + 7.5% of excess over $200,000 in 2004 to $8,671.63 + 5.421% of excess over $208,500 in 2013. Ohio has replaced its corporate income tax with a gross receipts tax called the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT). Businesses with annual taxable gross receipts of more than $150,000 are subject to an annual minimum CAT of $150. Businesses with annual taxable gross receipts in excess of $1 million are subject to the annual minimum CAT of $150 plus apply a CAT effective rate of .26% on receipts above $1 million on a quarterly basis (with a $250,000 quarterly exclusion). Ohio is #24 in average property taxes at 3.016% of personal income, but the taxes vary by city and district. The state is #19 in overall average percentage of income used for sales, excise, and gross receipt taxes at 2.927%.
Below are the simple personal income tax rates for Ohio:
See also
Great Lakes Megalopolis
References
External links
United States Census Bureau
Ohio Department of Development
Economy of the Northeastern United States |
63789757 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSA%20Certified | PSA Certified | PSA Certified is a security certification scheme for Internet of Things (IoT) hardware, software and devices. It was created by seven stakeholder companies as part of a global partnership. The security scheme was created by Arm Holdings, Brightsight, CAICT, Prove & Run, Riscure, TrustCB and UL.
Arm Holdings first brought forward the Platform Security Architecture (PSA) specifications in 2017 to outline common standards for IoT security, with PSA Certified assurance scheme launching two years later in 2019.
History
In 2017, Arm Holdings created Platform Security Architecture (PSA), a standard for IoT security. The standard builds trust between Internet of Things services and devices. It was built to include an array of specifications such as threat models, security analyses, hardware and firmware architecture specifications, and an open-source firmware reference implementation. It aimed to become an industry-wide security component, with built-in security functions for both software and device manufacturers.
PSA has since evolved to become PSA Certified, a four-stage framework which can be used by IoT designers for security practices. The framework included different levels of trust, with each level contains a different level of assessment, with progressively increasing security assurances.
In 2018, the first IoT threat models and PSA documents were published.
The certification of PSA Certified launched at Embedded World in 2019, where Level 1 Certification was presented to chip vendors. A draft of Level 2 protection was presented at the same time.
Six of the seven founding stakeholders created the PSA Certified specifications, which are now make up the PSA Joint Stakeholders Agreement. The stakeholders are Arm Holdings, Brightsight, CAICT, Prove & Run, Riscure and UL. TrustCB became the seventh PSA Certified JSA member, acting as an independent Certification Body for the scheme. Out of the six other founding members, four are security test laboratories, which includes Brightsight, CAICT, Riscure and UL.
The first PSA Certified Level 2 certificates were issued to chip vendors in February 2020.
The first PSA Certified Level 3 certificate was issue in March 2021.
Certification
The PSA Joint Stakeholders Agreement outlines how members can create a worldwide standard for IoT security that enables the electronic industry to have an easy to understand security scheme. The security certification scheme documents enable a security-by-design approach to a diverse set of IoT products. The scheme starts with a security assessment of the chip and its Root of Trust (RoT) and then builds outwards to the system software and device application code. PSA Certified specifications are implementation and architecture agnostic so can be applied to any chip, software or device.
PSA Certified aims to removes industry fragmentation for IoT product manufacturers and developers in a number of ways. The world's leading IoT chip vendors are delivering system-on-chips built with a PSA Root of Trust (PSA-RoT) providing a new widely available security component with built-in security functions that software platforms and original device manufacturers (OEMs) can make use of.
Functional API certification
A high-level set of APIs are provided by the PSA-RoT to abstract the trusted hardware and firmware used by different chip vendors. These APIs include:
PSA Cryptography API
PSA Attestation API
PSA Storage API
Open source API test suites are available to check compliance for PSA Functional API Certification. An open-source implementation of the PSA Root of Trust APIs is provided by the TrustedFirmware.org project.
Level 1
The first level of security certification for PSA Certified is Level 1, aimed at chip vendors, software platforms and device manufacturers. The certification consists of questions, document review and an interview by one of the certification labs. The completed answers are accompanied with explanatory notes, checked by the certification lab. According to the PSA Certified website, language and mappings align with other important IoT requirements, such as standards and laws. These include NISTIR 8259, ETSI 303 645 and SB-327.
Level 2
The mid-level security certification involves testing by a security lab, focusing on source code review and the PSA Root of Trust (PSA-RoT), over the course of a month to attain the level 2 certification. This process focuses on carefully defined attack methods and utilizes a set evaluation methodology. It also ensures hardware must support PSA-RoT functions and is therefore aimed at chip vendors.
According to Forbes, they believed Level 2 was likely to become the most common level for consumer IoT applications.
Level 3
The final level extends the criteria of Level 2 to include protection against various physical attacks and side-channel attacks.
Industry adoption
Since the launch of the standard, it has been adopted by a number of chip manufacturers and system software providers.
References
Internet of things companies
Internet security |
29530868 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer%20Stream | Acer Stream | The Acer Stream is a smartphone manufactured by Acer Inc. and powered by the Android 2.1 operating system. It has 3.7” AMOLED capacitive multi-touchscreen. It was announced at Computex 2010.
Hardware
The smartphone is shipped with the Android 2.1 "Eclair" operating system. It features a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with WVGA resolution, 5-megapixel camera capable with automatic geotagging supported by the integrated Assisted GPS antenna and digital compass.
The device is upgradable and powered by a Qualm Snapdragon 1 gigahertz processor and 512 megabytes random access memory. It also has 512 megabytes of read-only memory alongside its 2 gigabytes internal memory backed up with a microSD card slot capable of offering up to 32 gigabytes of expandable storage memory with 8 gigabytes included respectively.
Acer Stream support 720p video streaming via miniHDMI port and Dolby Mobile.
Software
The Acer Stream runs the Android operating system and integrated third party applications such as Facebook and Twitter social networks, and photo and video sharing abilities through Flickr and YouTube respectively. Other applications available include full HTML browser abilities for the Web, Google Search, Maps and Mail respectively, and a document viewer which opens Microsoft Office and PDF documents.
Acer Spinlet
"Acer spinlet" is a pre-installed application to browse and listen to songs for free that can be instantly played back on the handset or shared with social networks such as Facebook or Twitter.
Acer urFooz
"Acer urFooz" is a pre-installed application to create a virtual lookalike to post on social networks
Software updates
The Android 2.2 (FroYo) update was released.
See also
List of Android devices
Galaxy Nexus
References
External links
Spinlet page
Official Acer Stream features video
Stream
Android (operating system) devices
Mobile phones introduced in 2010 |
6735994 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asius%20%28mythology%29 | Asius (mythology) | In Greek mythology, Asius (, Asios) refers to two people who fought during the Trojan War:
Asius, son of Hyrtacus, was the leader of the Trojan allies that hailed from, on, or near the Dardanelles. He was a son of Hyrtacus and Arisbe, the latter being first wife of King Priam and daughter of Merops. Asius led the contingent from a cluster of towns on both sides of the Hellespont, including Arisbe, Percote, Abydos and Sestus. This last town was the only one to lie on the European (northern) side of the Dardanelles; the rest were situated on the Asian (southern) side. Asius himself lived in the town of Arisbe, by the river Selleis. Asius had two brothers, named Nisus and Hippocoon, according to Virgil. All three men fought at Troy as allies of King Priam. During the assault on the Achaean wall, Asius was the only soldier not to listen to Hector and Polydamas, and did not dismount from his chariot. Asius was killed by the Cretan king Idomeneus during the assault.
Asius, a Phrygian leader and son of King Dymas, and brother of Queen Hecuba of Troy. Asius, son of Dymas, belonged to a tribe of Phrygians who lived by the River Sangarius. He had two sons, Adamas and Phaenops. In the Iliad, Apollo is said to have taken Asius's shape to encourage Hector to fight Patroclus. This Asius does not die in the narrative of the Iliad, but Dictys Cretensis says he was killed by Ajax.
Asius, son of Imbrasus and companion of Aeneas in Italy.
Notes
References
Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. . Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneid. Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Publius Vergilius Maro, Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Trojans
Kings in Greek mythology
Characters in the Aeneid
Characters in the Iliad
Characters in Greek mythology |
22456841 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujitsu%20Technology%20Solutions | Fujitsu Technology Solutions | Fujitsu Technology Solutions is a European information technology vendor with a presence in markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, as well as India. A subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, FTS was founded in 2009 after Fujitsu bought out Siemens' 50% share of Fujitsu Siemens Computers.
The company is focused on serving large, medium, and small-sized companies. Fujitsu Technology Solutions offers IT products and services, for data centers, managed infrastructure and infrastructure as a service.
Products and services
Fujitsu Technology Solutions provides a broad range of information and communications technology based products, services and solutions.
Current
Fujitsu Technology Solutions' current products and services include:
Media Center
ESPRIMO Q
Notebooks
CELSIUS
LIFEBOOK
Desktop PC
ESPRIMO
Workstation
CELSIUS
Tablet PC
STYLISTIC
Convertible PC
LIFEBOOK T
Industry Standard Servers
PRIMERGY
PRIMERGY BladeFrame
Mission critical IA-64 servers
PRIMEQUEST
UNIX system based servers
SPARC Enterprise Servers
PRIMEPOWER 250, 450, 900, 1500, 2500
Storage
ETERNUS
S/390-compatible Mainframes
S- series, SX- series
Flat panel displays
Operating systems
SINIX: Unix variant, later renamed Reliant UNIX, available for RISC and S/390-compatible platforms
BS2000: EBCDIC-based operating system for SPARC, x86 and S/390-compatible systems
VM2000: EBCDIC-based hypervisor for S/390-compatible platform, capable of running multiple BS2000 and SINIX virtual machines
Discontinued
Fujitsu Technology Solutions' discontinued products and services include:
Media Center
ACTIVY
Notebooks
AMILO
AMILO PRO
ESPRIMO Mobile
Liteline
Mobile
SCENIC Mobile
Desktop PC
SCALEO
SCENIC
AMILO DESKTOP
Handheld
Pocket LOOX
Flat panel displays:
Myrica
Liquid crystal display televisions
Plasma display televisions
SCALEOVIEW
Liquid crystal display computer monitors
SCENICVIEW
Liquid crystal display computer monitors
Product Compliance Laboratory
Fujitsu Technology Solutions operates a product compliance laboratory which is used in house and by third parties.
See also
List of computer system manufacturers
List of Fujitsu products
References
External links
Fujitsu Technology Solutions website
Fujitsu global website
Computer hardware companies of Germany
Fujitsu subsidiaries |
13708591 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/119th%20Command%20and%20Control%20Squadron | 119th Command and Control Squadron | The United States Air Force's 119th Command and Control Squadron (119 CACS) is a space control unit located at McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee. The unit augments the operations of USSTRATCOM on a continuous basis.
Mission
The 119th Command and Control Squadron was one of the first Air National Guard units to become a part of the United States Space Command (later United States Strategic Command). Its mission is augmentation for USSTRATCOM's global operations center (GOC) which coordinates and directs the use of the Department of Defense’s military space forces.
The 119 CACS provides support to Headquarters USSTRATCOM via three primary Command and Control mission areas: Global Operations, Homeland Defense Operations, and Natural Disaster Events.
History
The 119 CACS was originally activated as 119th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron in 1950. Since its inception, the 119 ACS had always operated tactical (mobile) radar systems, but was slated to lose its mission and association with Air Combat Command. This provided a fortuitous opportunity for the unit to be associated with USSPACECOM as a direct supporting unit. In the mid-1990s, USSPACECOM commander Gen Howard Estes III directed the command to expand the role of guard and reserve forces in operations from two percent to 20 percent.
Previous designations
119th Command and Control Squadron (16 August 2002 – present)
119th Air Control Squadron on (16 June 1992 – 16 August 2002)
119th Tactical Control Squadron (1 September 1965 – 16 June 1992)
119th Aircraft Warning & Control Flight (1 December 1953 – 1 September 1965)
119th Aircraft Warning & Control Squadron (21 March 1949 – 1 December 1953)
Commanders
Col Vince Franklin (2012 – present)
Lt Col David Evans (2008–2012)
Lt Col Luttrell Gus Schettler (2003–2008)
Lt Col John F. White (1995–2003)
Lt Col Clyde Huskey(??-??)
Lt Col Nick Hanson(1987–1993)
Lt Col Fred Bonney (1974–1987)
Lt Col James W. Manley (1972–1974)
Lt Col Arthur P. Wright (1964–1972)
Maj Oscar L. Williams Jr. (1952–1953)
Col John R. Douglas (1950–1964)
Bases stationed
McGhee Tyson ANGB, Tennessee(16 August 2002 – present)
Alcoa ANGS, Tennessee (1 September 1965 – 16 August 2002)
Otis Air Force Base (18 January 1952 – 1 September 1965)
Knoxville National Guard Armory, Tennessee(6 October 1950 – 18 January 1952)
Decorations
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
2 October 2007 – 1 October 2008
1 January 2006 – 1 October 2007
1 January 2000 – 31 December 2001
1 January 1996 – 31 December 1997
1 January 1995 – 31 December 1995
1 January 1990 – 31 December 1991
1 January 1986 – 31 December 1987
1 January 1984 – 31 December 1985
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
1 January 1999 – 3 September 2002
8 April 1991 – 27 October 1991
National Guard Meritorious Service Awards × 2
Air Guard Outstanding Mission Support Squadron Awards × 2
References
External links
119th Command and Control Squadron Homepage
Tennessee Air National Guard: 119th CACS
Squadrons of the United States Air National Guard
Military units and formations in Tennessee
Command and Control 0119 |
18498925 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMKO-1 | IMKO-1 | The IMKO-1 ( (ИМКО-1), , Individual micro computer) was the first Bulgarian personal computer, built in 1979 in Pravetz, Bulgaria. It was the first in the Pravetz series 8 range of computers. As the other computers in the series, it is an Apple II clone.
Overview
The development of the first Bulgarian microcomputer started back in 1979 at the Institute for technical cybernetics and robotics. The first working samples were manufactured in 1980. The abbreviation IMKO stands for "Individual Micro Computer". This model is an analogue of the Apple II Plus and only about 50 units were manufactured for testing purposes.
Start of production: 1980.
End of production: 1982.
Processor: 6502, 1 MHz.
Memory (RAM): 48KB (with the possibility to extend to 64KB).
Memory (ROM): 12KB.
Disk drives: No disk drives available, only a cassette player port.
Operating system: None.
Screen resolution: Text mode 40x24 (columns/rows), graphics mode 280x192 pixels - 6 colours,
280x160 pixels + 4 text rows, 40x40 pixels + 4 text rows, 40x48 pixels in 16 colours.
Variations: None.
Notes: Manufactured as an experimental model at the Institute for cybernetics and robotics
at the Bulgarian Academy of Science. It was well accepted due to its low price for its time as well
as due to its universal features and ease of use. It was first presented to the foreign audience in
1981 at the symposium on robotics in England as part of the demonstration of a robot arm (ROBKO-01).At that time the robots in Japan and the USA were controlled by minicomputers, not microcomputers like IMKO-1 and this demonstration was a real success as the whole system cost tens of times less than the Japanese or American analogues. As all computers of the Pravetz series this model has hardware Cyrillic support, but because the keyboard was using 7 bits for transmitting the character codes the Cyrillic letters were overlapping the lower case Latin letters and it was only possible to type with upper case Latin or Cyrillic letters.
Ports/slots: Cassette player port, 8 expansion slots. The zero slot was used for attaching extra
memory up to the 64KB limit.
Manufacturer: ITCR - Sofia.
Price: N/A (never sold).
External links
http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/easteurope_bu.html
Personal computers
Apple II clones |
11789309 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM%20NetVista | IBM NetVista | NetVista is an umbrella name for a variety of products manufactured by IBM.
Software suite
The Software Suite was introduced in April 1996 as a client–server software suite, with the server software running on OS/2, and the client software on Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Meant to provide Internet access to K-12 users, it included such things as a web browser, nanny software and other internet utilities, including a TCP/IP stack.
Starting with version 1.1, the server side was also supported on Windows NT. The software suite was withdrawn without replacement in January 2000.
Products:
NetVista V1.0
NetVista V1.1
NetVista V2.0
Network station
In April 2000, the IBM Network Station product line was renamed to IBM NetVista, as were the associated software tools. The NetVista computers were thin client systems. The line was withdrawn in April 2002 with no replacement.
Hardware products:
NetVista N2200 (Cyrix MediaGX at 233 MHz, 32-288 MB RAM, CompactFlash, Ethernet, USB 1.1, VGA, Audio I/O)
NetVista N2200e
NetVista N2200l
NetVista N2200w
NetVista N2800
NetVista N2800e
NetVista N70
Software products:
NetVista Thin Client Manager V2R1
Kiosk
Hardware products:
NetVista Kiosk Model 120
NetVista Kiosk Model 150
Appliance
This appliance is meant to allow internet access on a TV. It was not sold directly to end-users, but offered as an OEM product to internet providers.
Hardware products:
NetVista Internet Appliance i30
Personal computer
The IBM NetVista personal computer was the follow-on to the IBM PC Series. It was announced in May 2000, and withdrawn in May 2004. It was replaced by the IBM ThinkCentre (now Lenovo ThinkCentre since 2005). Initially offered in the typical white/beige cases of the 1990s the NetVista was sold in black later on.
Products:
A Series
IBM NetVista A10
IBM NetVista A20 (Pentium III)
IBM NetVista A20i (Pentium III)
IBM NetVista A21 (Celeron)
IBM NetVista A21i (Pentium III)
IBM NetVista A22 (Celeron)
IBM NetVista A22p (Pentium 4)
IBM NetVista A30 (Pentium 4)
IBM NetVista A30p (Pentium 4)
IBM NetVista A40 (Pentium III)
IBM NetVista A40i (AMD Athlon)
IBM NetVista A40p (Pentium III)
IBM NetVista A60 (Pentium 4)
IBM NetVista A60i (Pentium 4)
M Series (Manageability)
IBM NetVista M41
IBM NetVista M42
S Series
IBM NetVista S40
IBM NetVista S40p
IBM NetVista S42
X Series(all-in-one)
IBM NetVista X40
IBM NetVista X40i
IBM NetVista X41 - designed by Richard Sapper
See also
IBM PC Series
IBM Aptiva
IBM/Lenovo ThinkCentre
References
External links
NetVista Personal Systems Reference Guide
NetVista
NetVista
NetVista
Computer-related introductions in 2000 |
49250015 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software%20durability | Software durability | In software engineering, software durability means the solution ability of serviceability of software and to meet user's needs for a relatively long time. Software durability is important for user's satisfaction. For a software security to be durable, it must allow an organization to adjust the software to business needs that are constantly evolving, often in impulsive ways.
Durability of software depends on four characteristics mainly; i.e. software trustworthiness, Human Trust for Serviceability, software dependability and software usability.
References
software engineering |
39424062 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipediocracy | Wikipediocracy | Wikipediocracy is a website for discussion and criticism of Wikipedia. Its members have brought information about Wikipedia's controversies to the attention of the media. The site was founded in March 2012 by users of Wikipedia Review, another site critical of Wikipedia.
The site is "known for digging up dirt on Wikipedia's top brass", wrote reporter Kevin Morris in the Daily Dot. Novelist Amanda Filipacchi wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the site "intelligently discusses and entertainingly lambastes Wikipedia’s problematic practices".
Website user activism
Wikipediocracy contributors have investigated problems, conflicts, and controversies associated with Wikipedia, some being reported by mainstream media. The site's stated mission is "to shine the light of scrutiny into the dark crevices of Wikipedia" and related projects. In a doctoral thesis, Heather Ford, a specialist in Internet policy and law, commented on Wikipediocracy's role, saying, "As Wikipedia's authority grows, and more groups feel disenfranchised by its processes, the growth of watchdog groups like Wikipediocracy who act as translators of Wikipedia's complex structures, rules and norms for mainstream media and who begin to give voice to those who feel that they have been excluded from Wikipedia's representational structures will continue."
Revenge editing
In 2013, Wikipediocracy members contacted Salon.com reporter Andrew Leonard to alert him about the "Qworty fiasco". Wikipedia user Qworty had attracted attention for his provocative comments in a debate on Wikipedia's treatment of female writers. It emerged that many of his past contributions affected the site's treatment of, and targeted rivals of, writer Robert Clark Young. This background information led to Leonard's challenging Young in an article "Revenge, Ego, and the Corruption of Wikipedia", which identified Young as Qworty. Just before the publication of Leonard's article, Qworty had been banned from editing Wikipedia biographies of living persons due to this behavior.
Discussion of governments
Wikipediocracy contributors' criticisms of Wikipedia have been discussed in news stories covering Jimmy Wales's relationship with the government of Kazakhstan, the Gibraltarpedia controversy, and an anonymous edit made from a U.S. Senate IP address that labelled whistle-blower Edward Snowden a "traitor".
In May 2014, The Telegraph, working with Wikipediocracy, uncovered evidence identifying the civil servant who had allegedly vandalized the Wikipedia articles on the Hillsborough disaster and Anfield.
Wikimedia Foundation
A Wikipediocracy blog post reported in 2013 that Wikipedia was being vandalized from IP addresses assigned to the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Responding to the allegations, WMF spokesman Jay Walsh stated that the IP addresses belonged to WMF servers and were not used by the WMF offices. He stated that the addresses were assigned to some edits by IPs due to a misconfiguration, which was corrected.
Other issues
A Wikipediocracy forum discussion identified the Wikipedia account responsible for a hoax article Wikipedia administrators had recently deleted. The "Bicholim conflict" article described a fictitious 1640–41 Indian civil war. It was awarded Wikipedia's "Good article" status in 2007, and retained it until late 2012, when a Wikipedian checked the article's cited sources and found that none of them appeared to exist.
A September 2013 story resulting from a Wikipediocracy tip-off concerned commercial plastic surgeons editing Wikipedia's plastic surgery articles to promote their services. Concerns with violations of conflict of interest guidelines and the provision of misinformation in the relevant articles had also been raised by Wikipediocracy members on Wikipedia itself.
In February 2015, Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee banned a user after finding he had edited to promote the Indian Institute of Planning and Management and added negative material to the article on another university. The user's edits had been noted in Wikipediocracy in December 2013.
In late 2020, Wikipediocracy raised issues about the accuracy of the Wikipedia page of Nicholas Alahverdian. A Wikipediocracy blog team member said that multiple Wikipedia accounts created by Alahverdian edited his Wikipedia page, and that one of these accounts had tried to remove Alahverdian's image, replacing it with an image of another person. A notice was added to Wikipedia that acknowledged that the "truthfulness of this article has been questioned". In January 2021, The Providence Journal reported that American authorities in July 2020 investigated whether Alahverdian had really died in February 2020 as reported in the media. Alahverdian was subsequently found alive in Scotland.
See also
List of Wikipedia controversies
References
External links
A Compendium of Wikipedia Criticism: summary post explaining the site's objections to Wikipedia practices
"The Dark Side of Wikipedia," Full Measure with Sharyl Attkinson, April 17, 2016. (Includes video.)
History of Wikipedia
Internet properties established in 2012
Internet forums
Blogs
Critics of Wikipedia
Web 2.0 |
40626844 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagicPlot | MagicPlot | MagicPlot is a technical plotting, curve fitting and data analysis application. It provides a wide usage of the graphical user interface for data exploration as well as various statistical analysis tools, peak fitting options, raster or vector formats of publishable plots.
MagicPlot is a commercial software. The limited functional trial version is also available.
References
External links
2008 software
Data analysis software
Plotting software
Regression and curve fitting software
Java (programming language) software |
22182660 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadula | Hadula | Hadula is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae.
Species
Hadula agrotiformis (Hampson, 1896)
Hadula anthracina (Hacker, 1996)
Hadula arenaria (Hampson, 1905)
Hadula armata (Staudinger, 1888)
Hadula atlantis (Schwingenschuss, 1955)
Hadula baksana Schintlmeister & Poltawski, 1986
Hadula basilewskyi (Berio, 1972)
Hadula bergeri (Berio, 1972)
Hadula brassicina (Draudt, 1934)
Hadula chiklika (Moore, 1878)
Hadula chimaera (Rothschild, 1920)
Hadula colletti (Sparre-Schneider, 1876)
Hadula crotchi (Grote, 1880)
Hadula deserticola (Hampson, 1905)
Hadula dianthi (Tauscher, 1809)
Hadula engedina Hacker, 1998
Hadula eremistis (Püngeler, 1904)
Hadula eversmanni (Staudinger, 1900)
Hadula explicata (Sukhareva, 1976)
Hadula furca (Eversmann, 1852)
Hadula furcula (Staudinger, 1889)
Hadula gandhara Hacker, 1998
Hadula gigantea (Rebel, 1909)
Hadula gobideserti (Varga, 1973)
Hadula gredosi (Laever, 1977)
Hadula halodeserti Varga, 1973
Hadula halolimna (Gyulai & Varga, 1998)
Hadula hampsoni Hacker, 1998
Hadula hoplites (Staudinger, 1901)
Hadula hreblayi Hacker, 1998
Hadula imperspicua Hacker, 1998
Hadula inexpecta (Yoshimoto, 1995)
Hadula insolita Staudinger, 1889
Hadula insperata Gyulai & Hacker, 1998
Hadula isoloma (Püngeler, 1904)
Hadula latemarginata (Wiltshire, 1976)
Hadula melanopa – Broad-Bordered White Underwing (Thunberg, 1791)
Hadula mendax (Staudinger, 1879)
Hadula mendica (Staudinger, 1895)
Hadula militzae (Kozhantschikov, 1947)
Hadula nekrasovi Gyulai & Varga, 1998
Hadula nigrolunata (Packard, 1867) (mostly placed in the genus Anarta)
Hadula nupponenorum Hacker & Fibiger, 2002
Hadula ochrea (Warren, 1909)
Hadula odontites (Boisduval, 1829)
Hadula orbona Bang-Haas, 1912
Hadula osmana Hacker, 1998
Hadula parvula Hacker, 1998
Hadula perdentata (Hampson, 1894)
Hadula ptochica (Püngeler, 1900)
Hadula pugnax (Hübner, [1824])
Hadula quercii (Berio, 1941)
Hadula sabulorum (Alphéraky, 1882)
Hadula schawyra (Bang-Haas, 1927)
Hadula schneideri (Staudinger, 1900)
Hadula sodae (Boisduval, 1829)
Hadula stigmosa (Christoph, 1887)
Hadula trifolii – The Nutmeg (Hufnagel, 1766)
Hadula triphaenopsis (Oberthür, 1893)
Hadula ultramontana Gyulai & Hacker, 1998
Hadula vaciva (Püngeler, 1906)
Hadula vargai (Hreblay & Ronkay, 1998)
Hadula vassilinini (O. Bang-Haas, 1927)
Former species
Hadula alta is now Anarta alta (Barnes & Benjamin, 1942)
Hadula castrae is now Anarta castrae (Barnes & McDunnough, 1912)
Hadula chartaria is now Anarta chartaria (Grote, 1873)
Hadula chunka (Smith, 1910) is now a synonym of Anarta crotchii (Grote, 1880)
Hadula farnhami is now Anarta farnhami (Grote, 1873)
Hadula fulgora is now Anarta fulgora (Barnes & McDunnough, 1918)
Hadula hamata is now Anarta hamata (McDunnough, 1930)
Hadula mutata is now Anarta mutata (Dod, 1913)
Hadula oaklandiae is now Anarta oaklandiae (McDunnough, 1937)
Hadula obesula is now Anarta obesula (Smith, 1904)
Hadula oregonica is now Anarta oregonica (Grote, 1881)
Hadula projecta is now Anarta projecta (McDunnough, 1938)
Hadula subalbida is now Anarta subalbida (Barnes & Benjamin, 1924)
References
Hadula at funet.fi
Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database
Hadenini |
58795352 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret%20Burnett | Margaret Burnett | Margaret M. Burnett (born 1949) is a computer scientist specializing in work at the intersection of human computer interaction and software engineering, and known for her pioneering work in visual programming languages, end-user software engineering, and gender-inclusive software. She is a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Oregon State University,, a member of the CHI Academy, and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery.
Education and career
Burnett was born in 1949, and is originally from Springfield, Illinois.
She studied at Miami University of Ohio from 1967 to 1970, brought there in part by their newly established program in computer science but eventually majoring in mathematics. After graduating, she became a software engineer for Procter & Gamble, the first women hired in a management position at their Ivorydale factory and research center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
She left soon after, following her husband to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she started her own business, and then to Lawrence, Kansas.
In Kansas, she became a student again at the University of Kansas (KU). She earned a master's degree there in 1981, began working as an independent consultant, then started a small consulting business with William Bulgren, a professor at KU, and eventually returned to KU for a Ph.D. in 1987. Her dissertation, Abstraction in the Demand-Driven, Temporal-Assignment, Visual Language Model, concerned visual programming languages and was supervised by Allen L. Ambler.
On completing her doctorate, she became a Computer Science faculty member at Michigan Technological University. In 1993, she moved to Oregon State University's Computer Science Department. She and Cherri M. Pancake (hired the same year), were the first two women to be hired as tenure-track Computer Science faculty at Oregon State.
Activism
As a graduate student at the University of Kansas, Burnett founded a group for the professional women of Lawrence, Kansas to network for each other, the Lawrence Women's Network, which is still active.
In the early 2000s she began developing methods for software engineers to check how gender-inclusive their software is, and she has given keynote addresses in software engineering concerning issues of gender-inclusivity for software and software engineers.
Recognition
In 2016, Burnett became a Distinguished Professor at Oregon State University, and was named to the CHI Academy.
She was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 2017 "for contributions to end-user software engineering, understanding gender biases in software, and broadening participation in computing".
References
External links
Home page
1949 births
Living people
People from Springfield, Illinois
American computer scientists
American women computer scientists
Miami University alumni
University of Kansas alumni
Michigan Technological University faculty
Oregon State University faculty
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Engineers from Illinois
American women academics
21st-century American women |
9369367 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggybacking%20%28Internet%20access%29 | Piggybacking (Internet access) | Piggybacking on Internet access is the practice of establishing a wireless Internet connection by using another subscriber's wireless Internet access service without the subscriber's explicit permission or knowledge. It is a legally and ethically controversial practice, with laws that vary by jurisdiction around the world. While completely outlawed or regulated in some places, it is permitted in others.
A customer of a business providing hotspot service, such as a hotel or café, is generally not considered to be piggybacking, though non-customers or those outside the premises who are simply in reach may be. Many such locations provide wireless Internet access as a free or paid-for courtesy to their patrons or simply to draw people to the area. Others near the premises may be able to gain access.
Piggybacking is distinct from wardriving, which involves only the logging or mapping of the existence of access points.
Background
Piggybacking has become a widespread practice in the 21st century due to the advent of wireless Internet connections and Wireless access points. Computer users who either do not have their own connections or who are outside the range of their own might find someone else's by wardriving or luck and use that one.
However, those residing near a hotspot or another residence with the service have been found to have the ability to piggyback off such connections without patronizing these businesses, which has led to more controversy. While some may be in reach from their own home or nearby, others may be able to do so from the parking lot of such an establishment, from another business that generally tolerates the user's presence, or from the public domain. Others, especially those living in apartments or town houses, may find themselves able to use a neighbour's connection.
Wi-Fi hotspots, unsecured and secured, have been recorded to some degree with GPS-coordinates. Some sites host searchable databases or maps of the locations of user-submitted access points. The activity of finding and mapping locations has also been crowdsourced by many smartphone apps.
Long range antennas can be hooked up to laptop computers with an external antenna jack - these allow a user to pick up a signal from as far as several kilometers away. Since unsecured wireless signals can be found readily in most urban areas, laptop owners may find free or open connections almost anywhere. While 2.4 and 5 GHz antennas are commercially available and easily purchased from many online vendors, they are also relatively easy to make. Laptops and tablets that lack external antenna jacks can rely on external Wi-Fi network cards - many requiring only USB, which the laptop can itself easily provide from its own battery.
Reasons
There are many reasons why Internet users desire to piggyback on other's networks.
For some, the cost of Internet service is a factor. Many computer owners who cannot afford a monthly subscription to an Internet service, who only use it occasionally, or who otherwise wish to save money and avoid paying, will routinely piggyback from a neighbour or a nearby business, or visit a location providing this service without being a paying customer. If the business is large and frequented by many people, this may go largely unnoticed.
Yet other piggybackers are regular subscribers to their own service, but are away from home when they wish to gain Internet access and do not have their own connection available at all or at an agreeable cost.
Often, a user will access a network completely by accident, as the network access points and computer's wireless cards and software are designed to connect easily by default. This is common when away from home or when the user's own network is not behaving correctly. Such users are often unaware that they are piggybacking, and the subscriber has not noticed. Regardless, piggybacking is difficult to detect unless the user can be viewed by others using a computer under suspicious circumstances.
Less often, it is used as a means of hiding illegal activities, such as downloading child pornography or engaging in identity theft. This is one main reason for controversy.
Network owners leave their networks unsecured for a variety of reasons. They may desire to share their Internet access with their neighbours or the general public or may be intimidated by the knowledge and effort required to secure their network while making it available to their own laptops. Some wireless networking devices may not support the latest security mechanisms, and users must therefore leave their network unsecured. For example, the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite can only access wireless routers using the discredited WEP standard, however, the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS both support WPA encryption. Given the rarity of such cases where hosts have been held liable for the activities of piggybackers, they may be unaware or unconcerned about the risks they incur by not securing their network, or of a need for an option to protect their network.
Some jurisdictions have laws requiring residential subscribers to secure their networks (e.g., in France "négligence caractérisée" in HADOPI). Even where not required by law, landlords might request that tenants secure their networks as a condition of their lease.
Legality
Views
Views on the ethics of piggybacking vary widely. Many support the practice, stating it is harmless, and that it benefits the piggybacker at no expense to others, while others criticize it with terms like "leeching", "mooching", or "freeloading". A variety of analogies are made in public discussions to relate the practice to more familiar situations. Advocates compare the practice to:
Sitting behind another passenger on a train, and reading their newspaper over their shoulder.
Enjoying the music a neighbour is playing in their backyard.
Using a drinking fountain.
Sitting in a chair put in a public place.
Reading from the light of a porch light or streetlamp.
Accepting an invitation to a party, since unprotected wireless routers can be interpreted as being open to use.
Borrowing a cup of sugar
Opponents to piggybacking compare the practice to:
Entering a home just because the door is unlocked
Hanging on the outside of a bus to obtain a free ride.
Connecting one's own wire to a neighbour's house to obtain free cable TV service when the neighbour is a subscriber.
The piggybacker is using the connection paid for by another without sharing the cost. This is especially commonplace in an apartment building where many residents live within the normal range of a single wireless connection. Some residents are able to gain free Internet access while others pay. Many ISPs charge monthly rates, however, so there is no difference in cost to the network owner.
Excessive piggybacking may slow the host's connection, with the host typically unaware of the reason for the reduction of speed. This is more of a problem where a large number of persons are engaging in this practice, such as in an apartment or near a business.
Piggybackers may engage in illegal activity such as identity theft or child pornography without much of a trail to their own identity, leaving network owners subject to investigation for crimes of which they are unaware. While persons engaging in piggybacking are generally honest citizens, a smaller number are breaking the law in this manner, avoiding identification by investigators. This in particular has led to some anti-piggybacking laws.
Some access points, when using factory default settings, are configured to provide wireless access to all who request it. Some commentators argue that those who set up access points without enabling security measures are offering their connection to the community. Many people intentionally leave their networks open to allow neighbours casual access, with some joining wireless community networks to share bandwidth freely. It has largely become good etiquette to leave access points open for others to use, just as someone expects to find open access points while on the road.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, ethicist for the New York Times, recommends notifying network owners if they are identifiable, but says there is nothing inherently wrong with accessing an open network and using the connection. "The responsibility for deciding whether others should be able to tap into a given access belongs squarely on the shoulders of those setting up the original connection."
Similarly, Randy Cohen, author of The Ethicist column for The New York Times Magazine and National Public Radio, says that one should attempt to contact the owner of a regularly used network, and offer to contribute to the cost. But he points out that network owners can easily password protect their networks, and quotes attorney Mike Godwin, concluding that open networks likely represent indifference on the part of the network owner, and accessing them is morally acceptable, if not abused.
Policy analyst Timothy B. Lee (not to be confused with Tim Berners-Lee) writes in the International Herald Tribune that the ubiquity of open wireless points is something to celebrate. He says that borrowing a neighbour's Wi-Fi is like sharing a cup of sugar, and leaving a network open is just being a good neighbour.
Techdirt blogger Mike Masnick responded to an article in Time Magazine, expressing his disagreement with why a man was arrested for piggybacking a cafe's wireless medium. The man was charged with breaking Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which states and includes anyone who: "intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access." The "Time's" writer himself is not sure what that title really means or how it applies to contemporary society, being that the code was established regarding computers and their networks during the Cold War era.
In the technical legality of the matter, Masnick believes the code was not broken because the access point owner did not secure their device specifically for authorized users, therefore the device was implicitly placed into a status of "authorized". Lev Grossman, with Time Magazine, is on the side of most specialist and consumers, who believe the fault, if there is any, is mostly with the network's host or owner.
An analogy commonly used in this arena of debate equates wireless signal piggybacking with entering a house with an open door. Both are supposed to be equatable but the analogy is tricky, as it does not take into account unique differences regarding the two items in reference, ultimately leaving the analogy flawed.
The key to the flaw in the analogy is that with an unprotected access point the default status is for all users to be authorized. An access point is an active device which initiates the announcement of its services and if setup securely allows or denies authorization by its visitors.
A house door on the other hand has physical attributes that distinguish access to the house as authorized or unauthorized by its owner. Even with an open house door, it is plain to know if you have been invited to that house by its owner and if entrance will be authorized or denied. A house owner's door is passive but has an owner who knows the risks of leaving their door open and house unprotected in the absence of their gate keeping presence. Equally, wireless access point owners should be aware that security risks exist when they leave their network unprotected. In this scenario, the owner has made a decision, which is to allow their gatekeeper or access point to authorize all who attempt to connect because the gatekeeper was not told whom not to let in.
Prevention
Laws do not have the physical ability to prevent such action from occurring, and piggybacking may be practiced with negligible detection.
The owner of any wireless connection has the ability to block access from outsiders by engaging wireless LAN security measures. Not all owners do so, and some security measures are more effective than others. As with physical security, choice is a matter of trade-offs involving the value of what is being protected, the probability of its being taken, and the cost of protection. An operator merely concerned with the possibility of ignorant strangers leeching Internet access may be less willing to pay a high cost in money and convenience than one who is protecting valuable secrets from experienced and studious thieves. More security-conscious network operators may choose from a variety of security measures to limit access to their wireless network, including:
Hobbyists, computer professionals and others can apply Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) to many access points without cumbersome setup, but it offers little in the way of practical security against similarly studious piggybackers. It is cryptographically very weak, so an access key can easily be cracked. Its use is often discouraged in favor of other more robust security measures, but many users feel that any security is better than none or are unaware of any other. In practice, this may simply mean that nearby non-WEP networks are more accessible targets. WEP is sometimes known to slow down network traffic in the sense that the WEP implementation causes extra packets to be transmitted across the network. Some claim that "Wired Equivalent Privacy" is a misnomer, but it generally fits because wired networks are not particularly secure either.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), as well as WPA2 and EAP are more secure than WEP. As of May 2013, 44.3 percent of all wireless networks surveyed by WiGLE use WPA or WPA2.
MAC address authentication in combination with discretionary DHCP server settings allow a user to set up an "allowed MAC address" list. Under this type of security, the access point will only give an IP Address to computers whose MAC address is on the list. Thus, the network administrator would obtain the valid MAC addresses from each of the potential clients in their network. Disadvantages to this method include the additional setup. This method does not prevent eavesdropping traffic sent over the air (there is no encryption involved). Methods to defeat this type of security include MAC address spoofing, detailed on the MAC address page, whereby network traffic is observed, valid MACs are collected, and then used to obtain DHCP leases. It is also often possible to configure IP for a computer manually, ignoring DHCP, if sufficient information about the network is known (perhaps from observed network traffic).
IP security (IPsec) can be used to encrypt traffic between network nodes, reducing or eliminating the amount of plain text information transmitted over the air. This security method addresses privacy concerns of wireless users, as it becomes much more difficult to observe their wireless activity. Difficulty of setting up IPsec is related to the brand of access point being used. Some access points may not offer IPsec at all, while others may require firmware updates before IPsec options are available. Methods to defeat this type of security are computationally intensive to the extent that they are infeasible using readily-available hardware, or they rely on social engineering to obtain information (keys, etc.) about the IPsec installation.
VPN options such as tunnel-mode IPSec or OpenVPN can be difficult to set up, but often provide the most flexible, extendable security, and as such are recommended for larger networks with many users.
Wireless intrusion detection systems can be used to detect the presence of rogue access points which expose a network to security breaches. Such systems are particularly of interest to large organizations with many employees.
Flash a 3rd party firmware such as OpenWrt, Tomato or DD-WRT with support for RADIUS.
Honeypot (computing) involves setting up a computer on a network just to see who comes along and does something on the open access point.
Disabling SSID broadcasts has been recommended in the past as a security measure, although it only hides networks superficially. MAC addresses of routers are still broadcast, and can be detected using special means. But worse, a device that once connected to a hidden SSID will continuously transmit probe requests for this SSID and is vulnerable to the Evil Twin attack. Therefore, SSID hiding can no longer be considered a security measure.
Alternatives
There are several alternatives to piggybacking. Internet access is available on many data plans for smartphones and PDAs. Although it may have browsing limitations compared with Internet access from traditional Internet service providers for desktop or laptop computers, the Internet can be accessed anywhere there is an adequately strong data signal. Some mobile phone service providers offer mobile Internet service to other devices via a data connection from the mobile phone. Also known as tethering, one can interface to their phone either wirelessly using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or wired via cable allowing access to the Internet anywhere there is a cell network signal.
Many jurisdictions have been experimenting with statewide, province-wide, county-wide or municipal wireless network access. On September 20, 2005, Google WiFi was announced as a municipal wireless mesh network in Mountain View, California. Baltimore County, Maryland provides free Wi-Fi access at government offices, libraries, and county facilities. This service was first provided in May 2007 in the central business district of the county seat, Towson, and gradually expanded throughout the remainder of the county. When the service was expanded to more public areas in 2014, Baltimore's acting chief technology officer, L. Jerome Mullen, remarked, "Projects like this are just the beginning of the opportunities that remain as we strengthen and expand the City's fiber optic network. We are building digital city infrastructure, and the possibilities are endless." In New York City, the Department of Parks and Recreation provides free Wi-Fi in parks across the city. BAI Communications was contracted by municipal public transportation authorities to install free Wi-Fi in underground subway stations in Toronto, Canada and in all 279 Manhattan, Queens, and Bronx underground subway stations in New York City. On January 8, 2013, Google and the Chelsea Improvement Company, a local public advocacy group, announced that they would install free Wi-Fi in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea. New York Senator Chuck Schumer said at the press conference, "It's not very expensive at all—just a smidgeon of what Sandy cost. The mayor and I said maybe we could get this done for all of New York. We look forward to the day when all of New York has free Wi-Fi." On November 17, 2014, the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, announced LinkNYC, an infrastructure project to create a free, encrypted, gigabit wireless network to cover New York City by replacing the city's payphones with Wi-Fi hotspots and web browser kiosks where free phone calls could also be made. These pilot programs may result in similar services being launched and interconnected nationwide.
Free Internet access hotspots have also been opened by a wide range of organisations. Companies sell hardware and network management services to establish hotspots. Other hotspot-based efforts have been launched with the intention of providing global, low-cost or free Internet access. Fon is a wireless router vendor which allows owners of its routers to share Internet access with other owners of Fon routers. Users who do not own a Fon router can also connect at a small price. Guifi.net is a free, open, international telecommunications community network organized and expanded by individuals, companies and administrations. On November 27, 2012, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a coalition of nine other groups launched OpenWireless.org, an Internet activism project which seeks to increase Internet access by encouraging individuals and organisations to configure their wireless routers to offer a separate public wireless guest network or to open their network completely.
See also
Evil twin phishing
Exposed terminal problem
Fixed Wireless Data
Hidden terminal problem
IEEE 802.11
Legality of piggybacking
Local area network
Wardriving
Wireless network
References
External links
Local area networks
Wireless networking
Wireless access points |
27786679 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lit%C3%A9ra | Litéra | Litéra was an American software corporation headquartered in McLeansville, North Carolina. They created and license productivity and risk management software. In December 2009, Litéra acquired Softwise Inc. in its biggest acquisition to date. The company acquired CitationWare LLC in 2011. In 2013, Litéra acquired AxxiTRIALS clinical-trials portal from web technology specialist Axxiem Web Solutions.
Products
Litéra sold documentation automation platforms, server-based document metadata cleaner, PDF editor and binders, Table of Authorities generators, email encryption software, and multiple collaboration platforms.
References
2001 establishments in the United States
Software companies based in North Carolina
Companies established in 2001
Software companies of the United States
2001 establishments in North Carolina
Software companies established in 2001 |
5023355 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian%20Henderson-Sellers | Brian Henderson-Sellers | Brian Henderson-Sellers (born January 1951) is an English computer scientist residing in Sydney, Australia, and Professor of Information Systems at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also Director of the Centre for Object Technology and Applications at University of Technology Sydney.
Biography
Henderson-Sellers has received a BSc and A.R.C.S. in Mathematics from the Imperial College London in 1972, a MSc from the Reading University in 1973, and a PhD from Leicester University in 1976.
From 1976 to 1983 he was a lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Salford in England and from 1983 at the department of mathematics. In 1988 he emigrated to Australia and became associate professor in the school of Information Systems at the University of New South Wales. In 1990, he founded the Object-Oriented Special Interest Group of the Australian Computer Society. He is co-founder and leader of the international OPEN Consortium. Currently he is professor of Information Systems at the University of Technology Sydney. He is also Director of the Centre for Object Technology and Applications at University of Technology Sydney.
He is also editor of the International Journal of Agent-Oriented Software Engineering and on the editorial board of the Journal of Object Technology and Software and Systems Modelling and was for many years the Regional Editor of Object-Oriented Systems, a member of the editorial board of Object Magazine/Component Strategies and Object Expert. And he is associate editor of the Enterprise Modelling and Information Systems Architectures journal.<ref>[http://www.wi-inf.uni-duisburg-essen.de/MobisPortal/documents/Flyer.pdf Enterprise Modelling and Information Systems Architectures: An International Journal] . Retrieved 26 May 2009.</ref> Also he is a frequent, invited speaker at international OT conferences.
In July 2001 Henderson-Sellers was awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of London for his research contributions in object-oriented methodologies.
Work
His research interests are object-oriented analysis and design, object-oriented metrics, agent-oriented methodologies, and the migration of organizations to object technology.
Object-oriented Process, Environment and Notation
Object-oriented Process, Environment and Notation (OPEN) is a third-generation, public domain, fully object-oriented methodology and process. It encapsulates business issues, quality issues, modelling issues and reuse issues within its end-to-end lifecycle support for software development using the object-oriented paradigm. OPEN provides flexibility. Its metamodel-based framework can be tailored to individual domains or projects taking into account personal skills, organizational culture and requirements peculiar to each industry domain".
Publications
Henderson-Sellers is author of numerous papers including thirty-one books and is well known for his work in object-oriented and agent-oriented software development methodologies and situational method engineering (MOSES, COMMA and OPEN) and in OO metrics. A selection:
1992. Book of object-oriented knowledge : object-oriented analysis, design, and implementation : a new approach to software engineering.
1994. Booktwo of object-oriented knowledge : the working object : object-oriented software engineering : methods and management. With J.M. Edwards.
1996. Object-oriented metrics : measures of complexity 1997. OPEN process specification. With Ian Graham and Houman Younessi.
1998. OPEN Modeling Language (OML) reference manual. With Donald Firesmith, Ian Graham, foreword by Meilir Page-Jones.
1998. Object-oriented metamethods. With A. Bulthuis.
1998. OPEN toolbox of techniques. With Anthony Simons and Houman Younessi.
2000. Open modeling with UML. With Bhuvan Unhelkar.
2005. Agent-oriented methodologies. With Paolo Giorgini (ed)
2008. Metamodelling for software engineering. With César González-Pérez.
2008. Situational method engineering : fundamentals and experiences. Edited with Jolita Raylte and Sjaak Brinkkemper. New York : Springer, 2008.
2012. On the Mathematics of Modelling, Metamodelling, Ontologies and Modelling Languages'', Springer, 2012.
References
External links
Home Page of Brian Henderson-Sellers
Object-oriented Process, Environment and Notation Homepage
1950 births
Living people
Alumni of Imperial College London
Alumni of the University of Leicester
Alumni of the University of Reading
Academics of the University of Salford
University of Technology Sydney faculty
Australian computer scientists
Enterprise modelling experts
Information systems researchers
People from Sydney
University of New South Wales faculty |
294901 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IIT%20Kharagpur | IIT Kharagpur | Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public technical university established by the government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance. In 2019 it was awarded the status of Institute of Eminence by the Government of India.
The institute was initially established to train engineers after India attained independence in 1947. However, over the years, the institute's academic capabilities diversified with offerings in management, law, architecture, humanities, etc. IIT Kharagpur has an campus and has about 22,000 residents.
History
Foundation
In 1946, a committee by Sir Jogendra Singh, Member of Viceroy's executive council, to consider the creation of higher technical institutions "for post-World War II industrial development of India". This was followed by the creation of a 22-member committee headed by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar. In its interim report, the Sarkar Committee recommended the establishment of higher technical institutions in India, along the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and consulting from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign along with affiliated secondary institutions. The report urged that work should start with the speedy establishment of major institutions in the four-quarters of the country with the ones in the east and the west to be set up immediately.
On the grounds that West Bengal had the highest concentration of industries at the time, Bidhan Chandra Roy, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, persuaded Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first prime minister) to establish the first institute in West Bengal. The first Indian Institute of Technology was thus established in May 1950 as the Eastern Higher Technical Institute. It was located in Esplanade East, Calcutta, and in September 1950 shifted to its permanent campus at Hijli, Kharagpur 120 kilometres south-west of Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta). Hijli had been used as a detention camp during the period of British rule in India, where Indian independence activists were imprisoned.
IIT Kharagpur is the 4th oldest technical institute in the West Bengal state after Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur (established as B.E. College in 1856), Jadavpur University (established as Bengal technical institute in 1906) and Rajabazar Science College (established as Calcutta University campus for Science and Technology in 1914). When the first session started in August 1951, there were 224 students and 42 teachers in the ten departments of the institute. The classrooms, laboratories and the administrative office were housed in the historic building of the Hijli Detention Camp (now known as Shaheed Bhawan), where political revolutionaries were imprisoned during the period of British colonial rule. The office building had served as the headquarters of the Bomber Command of the U.S. 20th Air Force during World War II.
Early developments
The name "Indian Institute of Technology" was adopted before the formal inauguration of the institute on 18 August 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. On 18 May 1956 a Bill (Bill no 36 of 1956) was introduced in Lok Sabha to declare the institution known as the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur to be an institution of national importance and to provide for its incorporation and matters connected therewith. The motto of the institute, योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् is taken from the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 50 and it has been translated by Sri Aurobindo as "Yoga is skill in works". On 15 September 1956, Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act, 195 of Parliament received the assent of the President. Prime Minister Nehru, in the first convocation address of IIT Kharagpur said:
The Shaheed Bhawan was converted to a museum in 1990.
The Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex was incorporated as another academic complex of the institute with Takshashila starting operation in 2002, Vikramshila in 2003 and Nalanda in 2012.
Earlier the Hijli Detention camp building, now named as Hijli Saheed Bhavan, where the Nehru Museum of Science & Technology is located is an imposing building, bearing resemblance to the Byzantine style of architecture.
Campus
IIT Kharagpur is located west of Kolkata. The campus is located five kilometres away from Kharagpur Railway Station in West Midnapore district. The layout of the present campus and the design of the buildings were carried out by a group of engineers and architects under the guidance of Werner M. Moser, a Swiss architect. The campus is residence to about 22,000 inhabitants. In 2015, IIT Kharagpur had about 605 faculty members, 1,933 employees and approximately 10,010 students living on the campus. The campus has a total of of roadways. The Institute plans to go Green by 2020.
The 22 student hostels are located on either side of Scholars Avenue, which extends from the institute gate to the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. The three earliest halls—Patel, Azad, and Nehru—together constitute the PAN loop or Old Campus, which is located just next to Scholar's Avenue. There are ten hostels for undergraduate male students (MMM, LBS, RP, RK, MS, LLR, HJB, Patel, Azad and Nehru) and two for undergraduate female students (SN/IG and MT). There are a few post-graduate students' hostels including four for women(RLB, Gokhle, Nivedita and SAM) and hostels for research scholars (BCR, VS, BRH and JCB) and a separate hostel for scholars from the armed forces. The Jnan Ghosh stadium and Tata Sports Complex host large-scale sports competitions. The Tagore Open Air Theatre has a capacity of 6,000 people, and is used to host cultural programs. The Science and Technology Entrepreneurs' Park (STEP) provides infrastructure facilities to alumni who want to become entrepreneurs but lack infrastructure to start their own corporation.
In addition to the main campus at Kharagpur, the institute has an extension centre at Kolkata to provide venues for continuing education programmes, distance learning courses, and guesthouse accommodation. The institute plans to expand the Kolkata extension centre at Rajarhat, and use it to offer full-time undergraduate and postgraduate courses from the 2008 session onwards. The Rajarhat campus will house 2,500 students, and will eventually expand to . The institute's plan for a similar branch campus of in Bhubaneswar was scrapped following rejection by the Union Human Resource and Development ministry.
The Ministry of human resource development on 5 September 2019 awarded ''Institute of Eminence(IoE)'' status to IIT Kharagpur along with four public institution in India, which will enable to get full autonomy and special incentives.
Academic buildings
IIT Kharagpur has 19 academic departments, eight multi-disciplinary centres/schools, and 13 schools of excellence in addition to more than 25 central research and development units. Apart from the main building in the central academic complex, the Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex also has common academic facilities. In the S. R. Complex, the Takshashila building houses the G. S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication, the School of Information Technology and the Computer and Informatics Centre; and has facilities for conducting lecture classes as well. Vikramshila is another academic building in the S. R. Complex, having four lecture halls, several seminar rooms, and Kalidas Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of 850.
The School of Medical Science and Technology is housed in the basement of the Vikramshila building.
The institute main building houses most of the administrative offices, the lecture halls, and two auditoriums on either side. The signage at the front displays the message," Dedicated to the service of the nation." The tower of the main building has a steel tank with 10,000 imperial gallons of water capacity for emergency supply needs. The Netaji Auditorium in the main building is used for official functions and events, and doubles as a cinema theatre on weekend nights, showing films to the IIT community at subsidised rates.
IIT Kharagpur's first library was located in a small room of the institute's Old Building (Shaheed Bhawan). At the time of its opening in 1951, the library had a collection of 2,500 books. Now located in the main building of the institute, the Central Library is one of the largest of its type. Its collection includes over 350,000 books and documents, and it subscribes to more than 1,600 printed and online journals and conference proceedings.
The library has six halls and a section exclusively for SC and ST students. The library's collection consists of books, reports, conference proceedings, back volumes of periodicals, standards, theses, micro-forms, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and audio-visual material. The library's transaction service is automated and online searches are possible through an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The Electronic Library section has a collection of databases, video lectures and miscellaneous other resources.
The Nehru Museum of Science and Technology has over a hundred indoor exhibits that include technical models collected from institutions across India. The park outside the museum contains 14 open-air demonstrations and outdoor exhibits, including a hunter plane and a steam engine. The museum has an archive room, showing documents relating to the history of the institute and West Midnapore district. The Rural Museum, located in the Rural Development Centre of the institute, has a collection of exhibits in local culture.
Civic amenities
The institute campus has six guest houses, a civic hospital, four nationalised banks, four schools(Hijli High School; Kendriya Vidyalaya; D.A.V Model School; St. Agnes Branch School), a railway reservation counter and a police station. The campus has a water pumping station, electrical sub-station, telephone exchange, a market, six restaurants, and a garbage disposal section for the daily needs of the residents. Construction is going on for another guest house and a convention centre having a capacity of 2,000. The institute draws its supply of water from wells near the Kosai river (located 112 kilometres away from institute) by harnessing sub-surface water. Three deep wells near the institute supplement the supply from the river. The water is supplied by a pipeline to 12 tanks in the campus with a total capacity of 2,800,000 litres (615,000 imperial gallons). However students in 2009 had shown dissatisfaction with the level of amenities, especially the civic hospital, forcing the director to resign.
IIT Kharagpur is located just outside the town of Kharagpur, in the Hijli village. The civic amenities provided to the campus of IIT Kharagpur make it nearly self-sufficient with regards to the basic needs of the residents. As Kharagpur is a small town, there is limited direct interaction between the campus community and the town. There is also little opportunity for the employment of family members of the faculty. Unlike some other IITs (such as IIT Bombay), IIT Kharagpur does not restrict outsiders' entry into the campus. IIT Kharagpur provides much of its benefits to the local community through the Rural Development Centre (RDC) located in the campus. Established in 1975, the RDC helps the local community by developing customised technologies. The RDC also co-ordinates the National Service Scheme (NSS) programs in IIT Kharagpur, with the members of NSS taking part in weekly community service activities such as sanitation, road construction, teaching and building educational models.
In 2005, IIT Kharagpur started construction of a boundary wall for the security of the campus, which is now complete.
Mild restrictions apply to entry of outside vehicles. The boundary wall was opposed by the local community as it would hinder their access to amenities provided by the institute. Campus residents have also been denied direct access to the adjoining
Hijli railway station as a result of this wall. The local community opposed the construction of a flyover from the railway station to the campus formerly, under the pretext that it would lead to substantial losses of opportunity for the shops along the roads. After the flyover construction had been completed and became operational, things ensued in a manner as the local community had anticipated, but the flyover has resulted in more convenience for transport. The construction of the 1052.69 m long flyover was approved by the Indian Railways and West Bengal state government. It's called Hijli Road overbridge, and was constructed for estimated cost of .
Halls of residence
IIT Kharagpur provides on-campus residential facilities to its students, research scholars, faculty members and many of its staff. The students live in hostels (referred to as halls) throughout their stay in the IIT.
Hostel rooms are wired for internet, for which students pay a compulsory charge. Most of the rooms in the older halls of residences are designed to accommodate one student, but an increase in the number of incoming undergraduate students has led to shared rooms in the first two years. The new rooms of Lal Bahadur Shastri Hall & new blocks of few other hall of residence accommodate three students in one room. The oldest Halls of Residence are located in the PAN Loop, named after the Patel, Azad, and Nehru Halls.
The halls of IIT Kharagpur are:
Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall
Azad Hall
Bidhan Chandra Roy Hall
B R Ambedkar Hall
Gokhale Hall
Homi Jehangir Bhabha Hall
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Hall
Lala Lajpat Rai Hall
Lal Bahadur Shashtri Hall
Madan Mohan Malviya Hall
Meghnad Saha Hall
Mother Teresa Hall
Nehru Hall
Patel Hall
Radhakrishnan Hall
Rajendra Prasad Hall
Rani Laxmibai Hall
Sarojini Naidu / Indira Gandhi Hall
Sister Nivedita Hall
Vikram Sarabhai Residential complex
Vikram Sarabhai Residential complex 2
Vidyasagar Hall
Zakir Hussain Hall
Undergraduate students choose between National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and National Sports Organisation (NSO) for their first two years of study. IIT Kharagpur has common sports grounds for cricket, football, hockey, one court for volleyball, two for lawn tennis, four indoor badminton court, tracks for athletics; and swimming pools for aquatic events. Most of the hostels have their own sports grounds. The institute used to organise Shaurya, an annual inter-collegiate sports and games meet during October which was discontinued in 2012.
Organisation and administration
Governance
IIT Kharagpur shares a common Visitor (a position held by the president of India) and the IIT Council with other IITs. The rest of IIT Kharagpur's organisational structure is distinct from that of the other IITs. The Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur is under the IIT Council, and has 13 members that include representatives of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, in addition to other members appointed by the IIT Council and the institute's senate. Under the Board of Governors is the institute director, who serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the IIT. He is aided by the deputy director. Under the director and the deputy director are the deans, heads of departments, registrar, president of the students' council, and chairman of the Hall Management Committee. The registrar is the chief administrative officer and oversees day-to-day operations. He is the custodian of records, funds, and other properties of the institute. Under the charge of the heads of departments (HOD) are the faculty (full-time professors as well as those of associate and assistant status). The wardens of hostels are placed under the chairman of the hall management committee in the organisation.
IIT Kharagpur receives comparatively more funding than other engineering colleges in India. While the total government funding to most other engineering colleges is around 100–200 million ($2–4.5 million) per year, IIT Kharagpur gets nearly per year. Other sources of funds include student fees and research funding by industry-sponsored projects. IIT Kharagpur provide scholarships to all MTech students and research scholars to encourage them to pursue higher studies. The cost borne by undergraduate students, including boarding and mess expenses, is around per annum. 35% of undergraduate students are given additional financial support based on personal need and economic background, with their annual expenses being nearly .
The academic policies of IIT Kharagpur are decided by its senate. It consists of all professors of the institute, and administrative and student representatives. The senate controls and approves the curriculum, courses, examinations and results, and appoints committees to look into specific academic matters. The teaching, training and research activities of the institute are periodically reviewed by the senate to maintain educational standards. The Director of IIT Kharagpur is the ex officio chairman of the Institute Senate.
Departments
Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural & Food Engineering
Architecture & Regional Planning
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering
Geology & Geophysics
Humanities & Social Sciences
Industrial & Systems Engineering
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Mining Engineering
Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture
Physics
Centres
Rubber Technology
Steel Technology Centre
Reliability Engineering
Cryogenic Engineering
Materials Science
Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences
Rural Development Centre
Advanced Technology Development Centre
Centre for Educational Technology
Rekhi Centre for Science of Happiness
Deysarkar Centre Excellence in Petroleum Engineering
AI Centre of Excellence
Schools
School of Medical Science and Technology
School of Bioscience
School of Energy Science
School of Environmental Science and Engineering
G S Sanyal School of Telecommunications
Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship
Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management
Medical Science & Technology
School of Water Resources
Vinod Gupta School of Management
Academics
Admission to most undergraduate and postgraduate courses in IIT Kharagpur is granted through written entrance examinations. Admissions to M.S.(by Research) and PhD programmes are based on written tests followed by personal interviews.
Admission to undergraduate programmes in all IITs was tied to the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE). Candidates who qualify for admission through IIT-JEE used to apply for admission in four-year BTech (Bachelor of Technology), five-year BArch degree, five-year Dual Degree (Integrated Bachelor of Technology and Master of Technology) and five-year integrated MSc (Master of Sciences) courses at IIT Kharagpur. Starting from 2013, admission was done on the basis of two exams; JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. Students who qualified for JEE Mains got the opportunity to appear for JEE Advance and scores of this exams are considered for the admission into IITs. The admissions to postgraduate programmes (MTech) are made primarily through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Other postgraduate entrance exams include Joint Admission to MSc (JAM) for MSc, and Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs for management studies.
15% of the seats are reserved for students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes (ST). As of 2008, 27% separate reservation exists for the Other Backward Classes.
IIT Kharagpur is a member of LAOTSE, a network of universities in Europe and Asia exchanging students and senior scholars.
Undergraduate education
IIT Kharagpur offers degrees as part of its undergraduate programmes. They include Bachelor of Technology (BTech.Hons), Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) and the 5-year integrated Master of Science. The BTech degree is the most common undergraduate degree in IIT Kharagpur in terms of student enrolment. It is based on a four-year programme with eight semesters. The first year of the BTech curriculum has common courses from various departments. At the end of the first year, an option to change departments is given to students on the basis of their performance in the first two semesters. Like other IITs which evaluate their students on the basis of others' performance IIT Kharagpur also uses relative grading.
From the second year onwards, the students take courses offered by their departments that are known as depth courses. In addition to these, the students take inter-disciplinary courses known as breadth courses. Separate courses from the humanities and social sciences (HSS) department, and management and information technology are also required. At the end of the third year for the BTech and fourth year for the dual degree, students undertake industrial training for a minimum period of eight working weeks as part of the undergraduate curriculum. In the final year of their studies, most of the students are offered jobs in industries and other organisations through the Training and Placement section of the institute commonly known as Career Development Centre or CDC. Some students opt out of this facility in favour of higher studies or by applying to recruiting organisations directly. In addition to the major degree as part of the undergraduate education, students can take courses from other departments, and by demonstrating knowledge of a discipline based on objectives set by the department, earn a minor in that department. To stay up-to-date with the latest academic and industry standards, IIT Kharagpur revamps its academic curriculum periodically. In August 2017, an Undergraduate Council(UG Council) was constituted by the institute under the Dean of Undergraduate Studies(Dean UGS) as its chairman and with one student representative from each department to be elected/nominated for an annual term, to assist in the process of curriculum update, assimilate student feedback on different academic policies, and forward suggestions and proposals to the institute senate.
Postgraduate and doctoral education
IIT Kharagpur offers postgraduate programmes including Master of Technology (MTech), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Sciences (MSc). Some specialised post graduate programmes offered by IIT Kharagpur include Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM), Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), Master in Medical Science and Technology (MMST), Master of City Planning (MCP), LL.B in Intellectual Property Law (LL.B Honors in IP Law), and Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation and Management (PGDMOM). The institute offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) as part of its doctoral education programme. The doctoral scholars are given a topic by the professor, or work on the consultancy projects sponsored by industry. The duration of the programme is usually unspecified and depends on the discipline. PhD scholars submit a dissertation as well as conduct an oral defence of their thesis. Teaching assistantships (TA) and research assistantships (RA) are provided based on the scholar's academic profile. IIT Kharagpur offers an M.S. (by research) programme; the MTech and M.S. being similar to the US universities' non-thesis (course-based) and thesis (research-based) master programmes respectively.
IIT Kharagpur (along with other IITs) offers Dual Degree programs that integrate undergraduate and postgraduate studies in selected pairs of branches and specialisations. Most of the Dual Degree programs involve specialisation in the major field of education of the student. For a dual degree involving an MBA from Vinod Gupta School of Management, the selection is made on the basis of an aptitude test of students across all engineering streams. The Dual Degree program spans five years as against six years in conventional BTech (four years) followed by an MTech or MBA (two years).
IIT Kharagpur has a management school (Vinod Gupta School of Management), an entrepreneurship school (Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship) and a law school (Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law) on its premises. The Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law has been opened in collaboration with George Washington University. Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law is the only law school in IIT System of the country.
The School of Medical Science and Technology at IIT Kharagpur is the first and also the "only" of its kind in the country where M.B.B.S. graduates are trained in art and science of medical research with aim to provide a platform for interdisciplinary teaching and research in the field of medical science and technology. IIT Kharagpur will invest around for its 400-bed super speciality hospital in the campus which will impart undergraduate medical course to students. The institute is expected to start the course in 2017 which will be recognised by Medical Council of India (MCI).
IIT Kharagpur also offers a unique, tri-institute programme, Post Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA), in association with IIM Calcutta and ISI Kolkata, which is ranked 14th globally as per QS World University Ranking 2019.
In 2021, IIT Kharagpur and The University of Manchester entered into strategic partnership and launched a dual award PhD programme.
Continuing education
The institute offers the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) for qualified engineers and scientists to learn technologies and developments in their academic disciplines. As part of CEP, the institute offers formal degree programmes (MTech and PhD) and an Early Faculty Induction Programme (EFIP) under the Quality Improvement Programme (QIP), short-term courses supported by the All India Council for Technical Education, self-financed short-term courses supported by course fees, and certificate courses conducted as distance education. In addition to conducting educational courses, the CEP develops model curricula for engineering education. As of 2006, the CEP has facilitated publication of 103 course curriculum books. The CEP administers SIMAP (Small Industries Management Assistant Programme) and STUP (Skill-cum-Technology Upgradation Programme) on behalf of IIT Kharagpur; the institute being a corpus institute of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).
Sponsored research
The institute received 171 research revenue worth —and 130 consultancy projects in the 2005–06 session. The institute transferred 15 technologies to industry during the same session. The institute has filed 125 patents and 25 of them have been granted. This does not include patents obtained by individual professors or students. During the same session, the value of the international projects was , and the revenue from transferred technologies was about . The institute earned from research projects in the 2005–06 session. Major sponsors for research include the Indian Ordnance Factories, Indian National Science Academy, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Microsoft Corporation, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India) and Indian Space Research Organisation. IIT Kharagpur has had a cell known as the SRIC (Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy) cell since 1982. It handles sponsored research projects and industrial consultancy assignments, and has the infrastructure to simultaneously administer 600 R&D projects.
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research has entered into a collaboration with IIT Kharagpur to carry out research for the design and development of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs). This is a major development that will boost the second stage of India's nuclear power programme.
Grading system
IIT Kharagpur follows the credit-based system of performance evaluation, with proportional weighting of courses based on their importance. The total marks (usually out of 100) form the basis of grades, with a grade value (out of 10) assigned to a range of marks. For each semester, the students are graded by taking a weighted average from all the courses with their respective credit points. Each semester's evaluation is done independently with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) reflecting the average performance across semesters.
Rankings
Internationally, IIT Kharagpur was ranked 281 in the QS World University Rankings of 2020, 56 in Asia in 2020 and 23 among BRICS nations in 2019. It was ranked 401–500 in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2020, 59 in the Emerging Economies University Rankings of 2020 and 32 in Asia in 2020.
In India, IIT Kharagpur ranked 3rd among government engineering colleges by India Today in 2020, 4th among engineering colleges by Outlook India in 2019 and fifth among engineering colleges by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2020, which also ranked it fifth overall.
The architecture department was ranked first among all architecture colleges in India by NIRF in 2020, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law was ranked fourth among law schools and Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSoM) was ranked fifth among management schools. VGSoM was also ranked 22 by Business Todays "India's best B-schools 2019".
Placements at IIT Kharagpur
The international placements began in 2006. Two foreign companies, oil giants Schlumberger and Halliburton, visited IIT Kharagpur that year and offered annual salaries to the tune of $80,000. The reason for late international placements was that earlier the IIT, it had to abandon its policy.
The top domestic compensation in 2008 came in at per annum. In the 2011 batch, Goldman Sachs recruited 10 students on a package of per annum.
Barclays Capital recruited 11 students with a compensation package of per annum in December 2009. The highest salary offered till now is per annum by social networking site Facebook in an off-shore recruitment (of which employee stock ownership plans [ESOPs] were offered valued at 10 million) in December 2010. The 2010 batch of BTech students saw 94% placements while the remaining preferred IIMs or entrepreneurship. Deutsche Bank recruited 9 students on a package of per annum. For the 2012 batch, Facebook has made the highest offer $150,000 to four students. For the 2013 batch, three students have been offered salaries of per year while eight others have got offers of from Google, Facebook and Microsoft. For the 2014 batch, the highest package offered to a student stands at around from Google.
Student life
General Championship
The students of IIT Kharagpur compete among themselves in various events held under the purview of open-IIT and inter-hall events, and the results of the latter contribute to the points that determine the winner of General Championship. The four categories in which General Championships are decided are Sports, Social and cultural activities, Technology, and Hall affairs. The women's hostel together participate as a single team in all events with the exception of sports, where women's team do not participate at inter-hall level. IIT Kharagpur participates in the Inter IIT Sports Meet, held annually in one of the IITs by policy of rotation.
The students choose their representatives by elections held under the control of the Technology Students' Gymkhana. A fortnightly newsletter called The Scholar's Avenue, named after the avenue common to the student halls, is published by an independent student body. A Hindi monthly newsletter, Awaaz, is published by another independent student body. Individual halls organise "Hall day" — an annual event that involves lighting and decoration of the organising hall, with a social gathering of students from all halls—during March. The event is also used by the halls to popularise their candidates for student body elections.
Disciplinary Committee
Students who violate the code of conduct of the institute have to defend themselves in front of the Hall Disciplinary Committee (HDC), which investigates the case and prescribes punishment if necessary. Students may appeal against the punishment to the Appellate-cum-Liaison Committee known as Inter Hall Disciplinary Committee (IHDC). The IHDC submits its recommendations to the Senate, which finalises the punishment. Extreme cases of indiscipline are referred directly to the IHDC. The IHDC is empowered to give punishments to students for acts of indiscretion committed anywhere in India. IIT Kharagpur has strict provisions dealing with physical and mental harassment of junior students (ragging). Students found harassing their juniors are suspended from the institute, without going through the Disciplinary Committee.
Cultural Festivals
IIT Kharagpur has festivals like Spring Fest, Kshitij. Spring Fest, the annual socio-cultural fest of IIT Kharagpur is the largest student managed socio-cultural fest of Asia. It is held in January. Spring Fest includes cultural competitions in addition to stage shows (known as Star-nights) by singers and performers such as Sunidhi Chauhan, Farhan Akhtar, Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal–Shekhar, K.K., Pritam, Kailash Kher, Shaan, Breathe, Led Zepplica etc. The magnitude of Spring Fest is huge and attracts participation from more than 150 colleges across India. IIT Kharagpur organises a techno-management festival known as Kshitij. It is the biggest techno-management festival of Asia with a total budget of more than 15 million and a total prize money worth . An annual techno-management festival organised in January or February, it receives participation from foreign universities as well. Events include technical workshops, seminars, and competitions. To keep students updated with mordern technology and address their curosity the institute collaborates with other institutes to organise conferences and seminars.
Robotix, the annual robotics competition held by IIT Kharagpur, is organised during Kshitij. IIT Kharagpur organises an annual inter-collegiate sports and games meet known as Shaurya. It is held in the autumn semester in October. Events include cricket, hockey, volleyball, basketball, badminton, table tennis, lawn tennis and aquatics. Workshops for archery, boxing and handball are held.
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering organises Bitwise IIT Kharagpur, an online programming contest annually in February. Programming and algorithmic challenges are given in a span of 12 hours. In Bitwise 2011, 5000 teams participated from 80 countries. Bitwise 2012 was held on 12 February 2012.
In January the Entrepreneurship Cell organises a Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which consists of guest lectures, workshops, a start-up camp and other events relating to entrepreneurship and starting up.
There are also other department festivals like Esperanza (organised by department of Electronics and electrical communication engineering) Prithvi (organised by department of geology)
A petroleum-themed technical fest 'Petrofiesta' is organised in the month of November by the Society of Petroleum Engineers IIT Kharagpur Chapter. This is a one of a kind fest which provides a platform for students from all over the country to compete and share their ideas and knowledge in the field of petroleum industry.
Student organisations
Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV) Research Group, IIT Kharagpur
Team AGV is a robotics research group in IIT Kharagpur. Sponsored by SRIC, IIT Kharagpur as part of Centre for Excellence in Robotics, it has been at the forefront of robotics research in the campus. The aim of the group is to build a successful Self-driving car for Indian roads. The team has tasted success in International competitions like Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition, placing 2nd in 2018 and 6th in 2013. The team is also a top-13 participant of the Mahindra Rise Prize SDC challenge. The group performs cutting-edge research in field of robot design, robot control, computer vision, Simultaneous localization and mapping, AI and Motion planning. The group is headed by Prof. Debashish Chakravarty.
A group spin-off startup, SF-bay area based Auro Robotics (now acquired by RideCell) is at the forefront of Self Driving Car research around the world.
Kharagpur Robosoccer Students' Group (KRSSG)
Kharagpur Robosoccer Students' Group, abbreviated to KRSSG, is one of IIT Kharagpur's first endeavours in robotics research. It is a research group sponsored by SRIC as part of Centre for Excellence in Robotics. The aim of the research group is to make autonomous soccer playing robots and participate in international competitions like RoboCup and Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA) Roboworld Cup. Students from all departments and years have been part of this including undergraduates and post-graduates. The principal investigator for the project is Prof. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay alongside Prof. A.K. Deb, Prof. D.K. Pratihar and Prof. Sudeshna Sarkar.
KRSSG participated in FIRA 2013 Malaysia, FIRA 2014 Beijing, China and FIRA 2015 Daejeon, South Korea, winning the bronze medal. Recently it also participated in the 3D Humanoid Simulation League 2016 held in Leipzig, Germany, winning 7th position.
Team KART (Kharagpur Automobile Racing Team)
Kharagpur Automobile Racing Team, better known as "Team KART" is a group of students who like to explore the practical side of automotive engineering. The team designs and builds formula student prototype race-cars and represents IIT Kharagpur at Formula Student UK & Formula Bharat. It was founded in 2008 and has made seven cars since—KX-1, K-1, K-2, K-2.2, K-3, K-4 & K-5. K-2 secured a rank of 67th out of 120 teams worldwide at Formula Student UK 2013. Several design oversights in K2 were fixed in K-2.2 by a new chassis and intake-exhaust system. The team participated in FDC 2015 and passed technical scrutiny and took part in dynamic events securing the first runners up position in Business Presentation and Cost Report, 2nd in Business Plan Presentation & 2nd in Cost and Manufacturing Report. With a new 3D printed intake in the K-3, the change in performance was significant. With K-4 the team participated in Formula Bharat 2019 and had it dyno tuned in Bangalore for better performance. The car K-5 saw a lot of improvement in the electronics subsystem design which included data acquisition system and a driver interface. The team participated in Formula Bharat 2020 with K-5 and brought great accolades to the institute by ranking 2nd in Business Plan Presentation, 6th in Engineering Design and 10th overall. K-5 was also the first car of the team to participate in all the dynamic events. The designing for the next car K-6 is ongoing.
Gopali Youth Welfare Society
Gopali Youth Welfare Society is a government registered NGO run by students of IIT Kharagpur with the help of professors of IIT Kharagpur and local members of Gopali village.
The main initiative of GYWS is an English Medium School, Jagriti Vidya Mandir. Quality education is provided absolutely free of cost to underprivileged children. The school is located in Tangasole village, Salua outside the IIT Kharagpur campus. There are about 200 students enrolled in the school from Nursery to Class V. Books, Uniform and transportation is provided to the kids. .
Entrepreneurship Cell
Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) is a student's organisation, functioning under STEP (Science and Technology Entrepreneurs' Park), from within the institute, with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship among students throughout India. It provides mentoring and support to start-up companies and helps them with financing, through Venture Capitalists and incubation, through STEP and SRIC, IIT Kharagpur.
It conducts two major events, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit(GES), which is a three-day event, held in January at the institute, and the Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive (EAD), a 20-day event, consisting of guest lectures in 20 cities across India. Knowledge Camp is conducted annually for the benefit of students within IIT-KGP, while the Innovation Platform and Fund-a-KGPian programs continue throughout the year, to recognise and support innovative ideas among students of IIT-KGP, besides workshops and guest lectures throughout the year.
Professors Sunil Handa, Padma Shri Anil K. Gupta, Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Vinod Dham, Arjun Malhotra, Rajat Sharma and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw are some of the speakers who have delivered lectures within and outside IIT-KGP.
E-Cell has been instrumental in the establishment of Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship. The E-Cell has played a key role in the Deferred Placement Programme (DPP), whereby, a student can opt for placement a year after the completion of his/her course, in case they are involved in a start-up company. This is the first time such a programme is being offered at the undergraduate level in India.
Space Technology Student Society
Space Technology Student Society (spAts) is a student initiative that functions as the official student body of Kalpana Chawla Space Technology Cell (KCSTC), the contact point of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at IIT Kharagpur. It is responsible for organising the annual Space themed-festival the "National Students' Space Challenge (NSSC)". NSSC is the country's first and the largest astronomy and space science themed fest. After its conception in 2011, it has grown exponentially to witness over 2000 participants in 2018. spAts has been constantly instrumental in organizing space-themed talks, sky gazing sessions, lectures, discussions and presentations within IIT Kharagpur. The group publishes a bi-semester newsletter, 'The Moonwalk', on latest ventures in space technology and various astronomy related articles.
Megalith – The Annual Civil Engineering Tech-Fest
Megalith is the annual technical fest of the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur held under the aegis of the Civil Engineering Society, IIT Kharagpur and the patronage of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), IIT Kharagpur chapter.
Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society
Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society (TFPS) is the students' interest club of IIT Kharagpur which aims to provide a platform to students interested in filmmaking and photography to work together and pursue their interests. The society also organises special screenings of acclaimed independent films and workshops, inviting industry professionals.
Biswapati Sarkar of TVF fame is one of the founding members of the society. Alumni of the society have gone on to produce critically acclaimed documentaries and films such as The Unreserved. and pursuing careers in Filmmaking, Media and Advertising.
Alumni
Alumni-institute interaction is maintained through the Alumni Network under the aegis of the Dean of Alumni Affairs and International Relations, his office staff and student representatives. It also helps in conducting the annual alumni meets.
Notable alumni
Srikumar Banerjee, Former Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Mani Lal Bhaumik, Indian-born American physicist
Soumen Chakrabarti, Professor, Dept of Computer Science and Engg., IIT Bombay. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.
Partha Pratim Chakraborty, Former Director, IIT Kharagpur. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.
Mihir Kanti Chaudhuri, Vice Chancellor of Tezpur University, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director IIT Bombay, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.
Rono Dutta, CEO IndiGo Airlines & Former CEO of United Airlines
Vinod Gupta, Founder and Former Chairman and CEO of Infogroup
Ajit Jain, VC of Berkshire Hathaway.
Raj Kamal Jha, Chief Editor — The Indian Express, and Writer
Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi
Ashok Khemka, Indian Administrative Service officer famed for exposing corruption, Computer Scientist.
Pradeep K. Khosla, 8th Chancellor of University of California, San Diego
S. Rao Kosaraju, developed Kosaraju's algorithm, which finds the strongly connected components of a directed graph
Arup Kumar Raychaudhuri, condensed matter physicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Arunabh Kumar, CEO and co-founder of The Viral Fever
Jitendra Kumar Actor, co-founder of The Viral Fever
Narendra Kumar, Physicist, Padma Shri Recipient
Satya Prasad Majumder, 14th VC Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Arjun Malhotra, co-founder of HCL Technologies
Kumarendra Mallick, Geophysicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Sankar Kumar Nath, Geophysicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Janardan Ganpatrao Negi, Theoretical Geophysicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Gyanendra Nath Pande, Emeritus Professor, Swansea University
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
Surendra Prasad, Communications Engineer, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Jaikumar Radhakrishnan, Former Dean, TIFR Bombay. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee.
K. Radhakrishnan, chairman, ISRO, India (2009–2014)
Biswa Kalyan Rath, Stand-up Comedian
Basanta Kumar Sahu, Mathematical Geologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
Arun Sarin, Former CEO of Vodafone
Biswapati Sarkar, co-founder of The Viral Fever
Kiran Seth, Founder of SPIC MACAY
Duvvuri Subbarao, 22nd Governor of Reserve Bank of India
Sabu Thomas, VC Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala
Alumni initiatives
The Vinod Gupta School of Management (VGSOM) and Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law were established with donated funds from Vinod Gupta (founder, Infogroup) along with support from the government of India. VGSOM started in 1993 with a batch of 30 students. Other centres built by funding from alumni include the G.S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication and VLSI-CAD laboratory. The IIT Foundation, started by Vinod Gupta in 1992, is the alumni association of the institute with chapters in cities in India and abroad. Subrata Gupta is the Director of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. The alumni association publishes the quarterly newsletter KGPian for the alumni. The institute also publishes a monthly e-newsletter titled KGP Konnexion for alumni. IIT Kharagpur has a dean for alumni affairs to manage liaisons with alumni. The US-based alumni of IIT Kharagpur have started the Vision 2020 fundraiser, to provide infrastructure (like labs and equipment) and attract and retain faculty and students. The objective of Vision 2020 is to raise a $200 million endowment fund by the year 2020 for technology education, research and innovation related growth of the institute. On 20 April 2013 ex-graduates from IIT Kharagpur formed a group Kharagpur-in-Mumbai group and held a meeting in Bandra, Mumbai to chalk out "the easiest and pragmatic ways" on how they can given back to society.
References
Further reading
External links
Educational institutions established in 1951
Engineering colleges in West Bengal
Kharagpur
Universities and colleges in Paschim Medinipur district
Kharagpur
1951 establishments in West Bengal |
46015 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion%20Organiser | Psion Organiser | Psion Organiser was the brand name of a range of pocket computers developed by the British company Psion in the 1980s. The Organiser I (launched in 1984) and Organiser II (launched in 1986) had a characteristic hard plastic sliding cover protecting a 6×6 keypad instead of a computer keyboard, with letters arranged alphabetically.
The Organiser II competed with the Filofax and can be considered the first usable electronic organizer or personal digital assistant (PDA) in that it combined an electronic diary and searchable address database in a small, portable device.
Production of consumer hand-held devices by Psion has now ceased; the company, after corporate changes, now concentrates on hardware and software for industrial and commercial data-collection applications.
On an episode of The Gadget Show, first aired 30 March 2009, the Psion was pitted against the BlackBerry for a place on the show's Hall of Fame. Whilst the Psion was highly praised as a device that pioneered portable computing, host Jon Bentley ultimately gave the accolade to the BlackBerry.
As of autumn 2017 several software features and hardware devices are still being developed and are available including a JavaScript Emulator, Parallel Interface, USB Commslink, 32 kilobyte (kB) and 256 kB RAMpaks, and 512 kB FlashPak.
Organiser I
Launched in 1984, the Psion Organiser was the "world's first practical pocket computer". Based on an 8-bit Hitachi 6301-family processor, running at 0.9 MHz, with 4 kB of read-only memory (ROM) and 2 kB of static RAM and has a one-row monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. The size with the case closed is 142 × 78 × 29.3 mm, and the mass is 225 grams.
A Byte reviewer described the Organiser's software as a "clever design ... for fast and foolproof use". He approved of the consistent user interface across applications and reported that without documentation he was able to learn how to do everything except program in 15 minutes. The machine provided a simple flat-file database, calculator and clock, and had no operating system (OS). The Organiser I supported removable storage write once read many (write-once) devices, which used erasable programmable read-only memory EPROM storage. The device can host two of these, named Datapaks (stylized as DATAPAK, or simply PAK), to which it can write data, but which must be removed from the device and erased by exposure to ultraviolet light before they can be re-used. As Psion had patented the use of EPROMS as a storage device, it was impossible for other device makers to copy this unusual approach to mobile storage.
Software supplied on Datapak included a crude programming language named POPL, in which end-users could write their own programs. Software Datapaks titled Science, Maths and Finance contained the POPL programming language editor, interpreter and runtime system and extended the built-in calculator by adding named functions. These Datapaks also contained different sets of application software written in the POPL language.
A far more sophisticated programming tool was later made available with the implementation of the Forth language, but was available to registered professional developers rather than end users. The Psion Forth Development System for the Organiser I was a powerful set of IBM PC-based cross-development tools for producing Forth application software, including a Forth compiler. The Forth system on the Organiser I had a compiler to intermediate code, interpreter and runtime, and had several unusual design features one being that it could interpret – that is, read and execute – Forth intermediate code directly in place on a Datapak, rather than needing to copy it into precious RAM first, despite the Datapaks not being execute-in-place memory-mapped.
Software developed by Psion as part of the Organiser I project, and application software after its launch, was written in 6301 assembly language, in POPL, and in other custom-designed languages. Assembly language development at Psion was carried out using cross-development tools, including a cross assembler and linker, all of which ran on a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX.
Application developers writing in 6301 assembly struggled with the small amount of RAM (2 kB) and the lack of an operating system. Another difficulty for developers was with the performance limits of the earliest Datapaks, which used a serial-access internal architecture, instead of random access. Retrieving, for example, byte 2000 from a Datapak meant issuing successive hardware commands to either step from the current read position one address place at time until position 2000 was reached or, in the worst case, resetting the read position to zero and then issuing a step-forward command 2000 times.
The Hitachi 6301 processor is an enhanced development based on the Motorola 6801 implemented in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS), with several extra instructions, various hardware system on a chip (SoC) facilities on-chip, power management and support for a sleep state. The particular variant chosen also had 4 kB of masked ROM on-chip, so an external ROM was unneeded on the board.
Having fully static RAM and a processor which clock could be frozen without losing state meant very long battery life, measured in weeks or even months. Minimal power use was aided by the processor being frozen whenever there was no work to do, plus a deeper sleep mode, which turned off the display.
The machine lacked a full independently battery-backed, date-time real-time hardware clock, instead it had a simple hardware counter. While the machine was sleeping, the counter counted 1,024 seconds and then woke the machine very briefly, so that software could add 1,024 seconds to a record of the time held in RAM. This meant that when sleeping the machine woke very fleetingly every 17 minutes 4 seconds.
The original 1984 price was £99 GBP or $199 CAD and included one Datapak and one software Datapak, the Utility pack. This latter adds scientific and trigonometric functions to the otherwise basic calculator routines.
Organiser II
In 1986, the successful Organiser II introduced many hardware improvements, a better keyboard and display, a much larger ROM and either 8 kB (CM Model), 16 or 32 kB (XP Model), 32 or 64 kB (later LZ Model) of battery-backed RAM, and featured a capable newly designed single-tasking operating system. The first Organiser II models featured a two-line display. The new model supported several different types of improved Datapaks, containing either EPROM or battery-backed RAM storage, each storing between 8 kB and 128 kB of data. Later electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) flashpaks, and random-access memory (RAM) RAMpaks, were added to the range, able to store up to 256 kB on each extension slot.
The machine had far more application functionality, including many built-in application programs, an easy-to-use database, a diary, and an alarm clock, and featured end-user programmability in the form of the successful then-named Organiser Programming Language (OPL), a BASIC-like language, which was compiled to intermediate code, in contrast to the interpreters, which were commonly available for other consumer computers of the time. More advanced users could edit the system machine-code routines, either by direct machine code or by calls from OPL, could manipulate the built-in address database, and create their own.
The Organiser II was widely used for commercial applications in companies such as Marks & Spencer, where it was used on the shop floor, with their branding instead of Psion's and with only limited keys visible to the end user. It was also used in the world's first large-scale application of mobile technology in government, where over 3,000 were used for benefit calculations by the Employment Services department of the UK government. It proved popular with surveyors who interfaced it with electronic theodolites, which proved to be the precursor to the now popular total station.
The Organiser II also had an external device slot, into which various plug-in modules could be fitted, including a device that provided an RS-232 port (named CommsLink), thus enabling it to communicate with other devices or computers. This top slot also supported various other hardware additions, such as telephone dialers, a speech synthesiser, barcode reader, and a dedicated thermal printer. This latter was used by several banks as a counter-top exchange-rate calculator for some years. As it was easy to get hardware specifications, many bespoke devices were developed by small companies such as analog-to-digital converters (A/D) and even an interface to the full range of Mitutoyo measuring equipment, allowing it to be used in quality control for various car manufacturers. Later models in the Organiser II range offered other hardware improvements, with 4-line displays, and also models were introduced with 32, 64 and 96 kB RAM.
Post production enthusiasts and developments
In the autumn of 1996, when Psion PLC had moved their focus away from the Organiser II onto the newer clamshell series devices (below) and had almost ceased support for the Organiser II, Dave Woolnough created the Psion Organiser II Homepage to fill the gap, stating "Considering that more than 500,000 series II Organisers were produced, there must be many people still using this wonderful machine". The original Org2.com no longer exists. In the summer of 1997, Jaap Scherphuis joined the site as software specialist and soon became fully responsible for maintaining the web pages on a day-to-day basis. Dave wrote about Scherphuis "A Remarkable Psion Programmer". The Psion 2 archive had a large proportion of programmes written by Scherphuis, many written in machine code. In the spring of 2002 Boris Cornet took over as site maintainer/editor. Later that year Cornet replaced the chat (bulletin board) with the now defunct Psion Organiser II Forum. When Cornet died in 2012, the administrative duties for the forum were taken over by a power user mikesan who ran it until the spring of 2020 when he developed a terminal illness and the site became inaccessible. In January 2021 Olivier Gossuin launched a new Organisr II User Forum.
Another legacy that Cornet left Organiser II users is Psi2Win, the Windows PC comms link server. This Windows-friendly server was developed using Scherphuis' reverse-engineered comms link protocol. In the winter of 2013, Scherphuis created his web site with the aim "to be an archive of Psion Organiser II information and software that might otherwise be abandoned and lost". Hardware developments have continued with Olivier Gossuin, a Belgian enthusiast who has created a microUSB CommsLink, 256 kB RAMPak, 512 kB FlashPak, and microUSB Power Supply. These, with other Organiser II hardware and software, are still available from the West Yorkshire Psion Store. Massimo Cellin created the Psion Facebook group in the autumn of 2015, servicing all the Psion products including the Organiser II. Members of the Facebook group include the former editor of IPSO FACTO, the 1980s and 1990s newsletters of the International Psion Pocket Computers User Group, copies of which are still available from Scherphuis' archive.
Table of models
* Maximum size of Datapak supported
** LA model still carried the XP label on its casing
In addition to the above, many other industrial, one-off and special edition models were released, including a special edition with transparent housing. Some of these models have radically different keyboard layouts.
Subsequent hand-held devices
The name "Organiser" was not used for later Psion handhelds, such as the SIxteen-Bit Organiser (SIBO) family Psion MC400 laptop, the Psion Series 3 and the 32-bit Psion Series 5 machines, which were of a clamshell design with a QWERTY keyboard. As to hardware architecture and operating system, these had no links to the earlier Organiser range, other than the end-user programming language, which shared a great deal of structure with OPL.
The SIBO family, and the improved version of the OPL language (with window and focus controls), was replaced in 1997 by a new ARM architecture-based operating system EPOC32 written in C++; the latter was later sold as the Symbian operating system, which until 2010 was the most widely used OS in smartphones, being in 2011 displaced by Google's Android OS. This change was more significant than appeared at the time. The consumer-grade high-level programming language still shares features with OPL, but the developer toolkits were from then on focused on programmers familiar with C and only the Symbian operating system remains.
The first similar device made in the USA did not appear until 1985 and was manufactured by Validec.
See also
Psion Series 7
References
External links
Psion PLC at The Centre for Computing History
Psion Organiser History - website by Steve Litchfield
A detailed history of Psion around the time of the Series 5 at The Register
Psion - the operational division of Psion PLC. [only the Psion name is preserved; no longer has any information related to the Psion Organiser II or any other Psion PDA]
Psion devices
Computer-related introductions in 1984
Personal information managers
de:Psion#Psion Organiser |
1997263 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster%20recovery%20and%20business%20continuity%20auditing | Disaster recovery and business continuity auditing | Given organizations' increasing dependency on information technology to run their operations, Business continuity planning covers the entire organization, and Disaster recovery focuses on IT.
Auditing of documents covering an organization's business continuity and disaster recovery plans provides a third-party validation to stakeholders that the documentation is complete and does not contain material misrepresentations.
Lack of completeness can result in overlooking secondary effects, such as when vastly increased work-at-home overloads incoming recovery site telecommunications capacity, and the bi-weekly payroll that was not critical within the first 48 hours is now causing perceived problems in ever recovering, complicated by governmental and possibly union reaction.
Overview
Often used together, the terms Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery are very different. Business Continuity refers to the ability of a business to continue critical functions and business processes after the occurrence of a disaster, whereas Disaster Recovery refers specifically to the Information Technology (IT) and data-centric functions of the business, and is a subset of Business
Continuity.
Metrics
The primary objective is to protect the organization in the event that all or part of its operations and/or computer services are rendered partially or completely unusable.
Minimizing downtime and data loss during disaster recovery is measured in terms of two concepts:
Recovery Time Objective (RTO), time until a system is completely up and running
Recovery Point Objective (RPO), a measure of the ability to recover files by specifying a point in time restore of the backup copy.
The auditor's role
An auditor examines and assesses
the procedures stated in the BCP and DR plan are actually consistent with real practice
a specific individual within the organization, who may be referred to as the disaster recovery officer, the disaster recovery liaison, the DR coordinator, or some other similar title, has the technical skills, training, experience, and abilities to analyze the capabilities of the team members to complete assigned tasks
more than one individual is trained and capable of doing a particular function during the Disaster Recovery exercise. Tests and inquiries of personnel can help achieve this objective.
Documentation
To maximize their effectiveness, disaster recovery plans are most effective when updated frequently, and should:
be an integral part of all business analysis processes,
be revisited at every major corporate acquisition, at every new product launch and at every new system development milestone.
Adequate records need to be retained by the organization. The auditor examines records, billings, and contracts to verify that records are being kept. One such record is a current list of the organization's hardware and software vendors. Such list is made and periodically updated to reflect changing business practice. Copies of it are stored on and off site and are made available or accessible to those who require them. An auditor tests the procedures used to meet this objective and determine their effectiveness.
Disaster recovery plan
A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is a documented process or set of procedures to
execute an organization's disaster recovery processes and recover and protect a business IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster. It is "a comprehensive statement of consistent actions to be taken before, during and after a disaster". The disaster could be natural, environmental or man-made. Man-made disasters could be intentional (for example, an act of a terrorist) or unintentional (that is, accidental, such as the breakage of a man-made dam).
Types of plans
Although there is no one-size-fits-all plan, there are three basic strategies:
prevention, including proper backups, having surge protectors and generators
detection, a byproduct of routine inspections, which may discover new (potential) threats
correction
The latter may include securing proper insurance policies, and holding a "lessons learned" brainstorming session.
Relationship to the Business Continuity Plan
Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity. Where DRP encompasses the policies, tools and procedures to enable recovery of data following a catastrophic event, business continuity planning (BCP) involves keeping all aspects of a business functioning regardless of potential disruptive events. As such, a business continuity plan is a comprehensive organizational strategy that includes the DRP as well as threat prevention, detection, recovery, and resumption of operations should a data breach or other disaster event occur. Therefore, BCP consists of five component plans:
Business Resumption Plan
Occupant Emergency Plan
Continuity of Operations Plan
Incident Management Plan
Disaster Recovery Plan
The first three components (Business Resumption, Occupant Emergency, and Continuity of Operations Plans) do not deal with the IT infrastructure. The Incident Management Plan (IMP) does deal with the IT infrastructure, but since it establishes structure and procedures to address cyber attacks against an organization’s IT systems, it generally does not represent an agent for activating the Disaster Recovery Plan, leaving The Disaster Recovery Plan as the only BCP component of interest to IT.
Benefits
Like every insurance plan, there are benefits that can be obtained from proper planning, including:
Minimizing risk of delays
Guaranteeing the reliability of standby systems
Providing a standard for testing the plan
Minimizing decision-making during a disaster
Reducing potential legal liabilities
Lowering unnecessarily stressful work environment
Planning and testing methodology
According to Geoffrey H. Wold of the Disaster Recovery Journal, the entire process involved in developing a Disaster Recovery Plan consists of 10 steps:
Performing a risk assessment: The planning committee prepares a risk analysis and a business impact analysis (BIA) that includes a range of possible disasters. Each functional area of the organization is analyzed to determine potential consequences. Traditionally, fire has posed the greatest threat. A thorough plan provides for "worst case" situations, such as destruction of the main building.
Establishing priorities for processing and operations: Critical needs of each department are evaluated and prioritized. Written agreements for alternatives selected are prepared, with details specifying duration, termination conditions, system testing, cost, any special security procedures, procedure for the notification of system changes, hours of operation, the specific hardware and other equipment required for processing, personnel requirements, definition of the circumstances constituting an emergency, process to negotiate service extensions, guarantee of compatibility, availability, non-mainframe resource requirements, priorities, and other contractual issues.
Collecting data: This includes various lists (employee backup position listing, critical telephone numbers list, master call list, master vendor list, notification checklist), inventories (communications equipment, documentation, office equipment, forms, insurance policies, workgroup and data center computer hardware, microcomputer hardware and software, office supply, off-site storage location equipment, telephones, etc.), distribution register, software and data files backup/retention schedules, temporary location specifications, any other such lists, materials, inventories, and documentation. Pre-formatted forms are often used to facilitate the data gathering process.
Organizing and documenting a written plan
Developing testing criteria and procedures: reasons for testing include
Determining the feasibility and compatibility of backup facilities and procedures.
Identifying areas in the plan that need modification.
Providing training to the team managers and team members.
Demonstrating the ability of the organization to recover.
Providing motivation for maintaining and updating the disaster recovery plan.
Testing the plan: An initial "dry run" of the plan is performed by conducting a structured walk-through test. An actual test-run must be performed. Problems are corrected.
Initial testing can be plan is done in sections and after normal business hours to minimize disruptions.
Subsequent tests occur during normal business hours.
Types of tests include: checklist tests, simulation tests, parallel tests, and full interruption tests.
Caveats/controversies
Due to high cost, various plans are not without critics. Dell has identified five "common mistakes" organizations often make related to BCP/DR planning:
Lack of buy-in: When executive management sees DR planning as "just another fake earthquake drill" or CEOs fail to make DR planning and preparation a priority
Incomplete RTOs and RPOs: Failure to include each and every important business process or a block of data. Ripples can extend a disaster's impact. Payroll may not initially be mission-critical, but left alone for several days, it can become more important than any of your initial problems.
Systems myopia: A third point of failure involves focusing only on DR without considering the larger business continuity needs. Corporate office space lost to a disaster can result in an instant pool of teleworkers which, in turn, can overload a company's VPN overnight, overwork the IT support staff at the blink of an eye and cause serious bottlenecks and monopolies with the dial-in PBX system.
Lax security: When there is a disaster, an organization's data and business processes become vulnerable. As such, security can be more important than the raw speed involved in a disaster recovery plan's RTO. The most critical consideration then becomes securing the new data pipelines: from new VPNs to the connection from offsite backup services.
In disasters, planning for post-mortem forensics
Locking down or remotely wiping lost handheld devices
Decisions and strategies
Site designation: hot site vs. cold site. A hot site is fully equipped to resume operations while a cold site does not have that capability. A warm site has the capability to resume some, but not all operations.
A cost-benefit analysis is needed.
Occasional tests and trials verify the viability and effectiveness of the plan. An auditor looks into the probability that operations of the organization can be sustained at the level that is assumed in the plan, and the ability of the entity to actually establish operations at the site.
The auditor can verify this through paper and paperless documentation and actual physical observation. The security of the storage site is also confirmed.
Data backup: An audit of backup processes determines if (a) they are effective, and (b) if they are actually being implemented by the involved personnel.
The disaster recovery plan also includes information on how best to recover any data that has not been copied. Controls and protections are put in place to ensure that data is not damaged, altered, or destroyed during this process.
Drills: Practice drills conducted periodically to determine how effective the plan is and to determine what changes may be necessary. The auditor’s primary concern here is verifying that these drills are being conducted properly and that problems uncovered during these drills are addressed.
Backup of key personnel - including periodic training and cross-training.
Other considerations
Insurance issues
The auditor determines the adequacy of the company's insurance coverage (particularly property and casualty insurance) through a review of the company's insurance policies and other research. Among the items that the auditor needs to verify are: the scope of the policy (including any stated exclusions), that the amount of coverage is sufficient to cover the organization’s needs, and that the policy is current and in force. The auditor also ascertains, through a review of the ratings assigned by independent rating agencies, that the insurance company or companies providing the coverage have the financial viability to cover the losses in the event of a disaster.
Effective DR plans take into account the extent of a company's responsibilities to other entities and its ability to fulfill those commitments despite a major disaster. A good DR audit will include a review of existing MOA and contracts to ensure that the organization's legal liability for lack of performance in the event of disaster or any other unusual circumstance is minimized. Agreements pertaining to establishing support and assisting with recovery for the entity are also outlined. Techniques used for evaluating this area include an examination of the reasonableness of the plan, a determination of whether or not the plan takes all factors into account, and a verification of the contracts and agreements reasonableness through documentation and outside research.
Communication issues
The auditor must verify that planning ensures that both management and the recovery team have effective communication hardware, contact information for both internal communication and external issues, such as business partners and key customers.
Audit techniques include
testing of procedures, interviewing employees, making comparison against the plans of other company and against industry standards,
examining company manuals and other written procedures.
direct observation that emergency telephone numbers are listed and easily accessible in the event of a disaster.
Emergency procedures
Procedures to sustain staff during a round-the clock disaster recovery effort are included in any good disaster recovery plan. Procedures for the stocking of food and water, capabilities of administering CPR/first aid, and dealing with family emergencies are clearly written and tested. This can generally be accomplished by the company through good training programs and a clear definition of job responsibilities. A review of the readiness capacity of a plan often includes tasks such as inquires of personnel, direct physical observation, and examination of training records and any certifications.
Environmental issues
The auditor must review procedures that take into account the possibility of power failures or other situations that are of a non-IT nature.
Flashlights and candles may be needed.
Safety procedures in case of gas leaks, fires or other such phenomena
See also
Backup rotation scheme
Information technology audit
Comparison of backup software
Comparison of online backup services
Vulnerability (computing)
References
Data management
Backup
IT risk management
Planning |
3774511 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott%20Ware | Scott Ware | Scott Ware (born May 5, 1983) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Southern California.
Ware was also a member of the Indianapolis Colts and Sacramento Mountain Lions.
College career
Ware went to Santa Rosa Junior College, graduated from the University of Southern California, and played safety for the 2004-05 USC Trojans.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
Ware was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2006. He was released on August 26.
Indianapolis Colts
Ware was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad on December 14, 2006. He was waived on December 26. The Colts signed Ware to a reserve/future contract on January 9, 2007. He was waived on September 1.
References
External links
USC Trojans bio
Just Sports Stats
1983 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Santa Rosa, California
USC Trojans football players
Philadelphia Eagles players
Indianapolis Colts players
Sacramento Mountain Lions players |
183270 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%20Sculley | John Sculley | John Sculley III (born April 6, 1939) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993. In May 1987, Sculley was named Silicon Valley's top-paid executive, with an annual salary of US$10.2 million.
Sales at Apple increased from $800 million to $8 billion under Sculley's management, although many attribute his success to Sculley joining the company just when Steve Jobs' visions and Steve Wozniak's creations had become highly lucrative. His stint at Apple remains controversial due to his departure from co-founder Steve Jobs's sales structure, particularly regarding Sculley's decision to compete with IBM in selling computers to the same types of customers. Others say that the "two clashed over management styles and priorities, Jobs focusing on future innovation and Sculley more on current product lines and profitability". But Sculley ultimately was forced to step down as Apple CEO because he was opposed to licensing Macintosh software and was talking to Goldman Sachs about splitting Apple into two companies. When Sculley left in May 1993, Apple had $2 billion in cash and $200 million in debt.
Sculley is recognized as an expert in marketing, in part because of his early successes at PepsiCo, notably his introduction of the Pepsi Challenge, which allowed the company to gain market share from primary rival Coca-Cola. He used similar marketing strategies throughout the 1980s and 1990s at Apple to mass-market Macintosh personal computers, and today he continues to speak and write about disruptive marketing strategies.
Sculley is currently invested in and involved with a number of high-tech start-up companies, including 3CInteractive, Zeta Global, Inflexion Point, Mobeam, OpenPeak, x10 Credit, Pivot Acquisition Corp., nextSource and WorldMate. He is currently Chairman of the PeopleTicker and SkillsVillage.
Jeff Daniels portrayed Sculley in the film Steve Jobs, Matthew Modine portrayed him in the 2013 film Jobs, and Allan Royal portrayed him in the 1999 TNT film Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Early life
Sculley was born in New York City, the son of Margaret Blackburn (Smith), a horticulturist, and John Sculley, Jr., a Wall Street lawyer. Sculley and his brothers spent much of their childhood in Bermuda before moving back to New York. He attended high school at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts.
Sculley received a bachelor's degree in Architectural Design from Brown University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Career
Sculley began work at Marschalk Co. in New York City in 1963.
1967–82: Pepsi-Cola
Sculley joined the Pepsi-Cola division of PepsiCo in 1967 as a trainee, where he participated in a six-month training program at a bottling plant in Pittsburgh. In 1970, at the age of 30, Sculley became the company's youngest marketing vice-president.
Sculley initiated one of the company's first consumer-research studies, an extended in-home product test in which 350 families participated. As a result of the research, Pepsi decided to launch new, larger, and more varied packages of their soft drinks, including the two-liter bottle Sculley worked with DuPont to develop. In 1970, Pepsi set out to dethrone Coca-Cola as the market leader of the industry, in what eventually became known as the Cola Wars. Pepsi began spending more on marketing and advertising, typically paying between US$200,000 and $300,000 for each television spot, while most companies spent between $15,000 and $75,000. With the Pepsi Generation campaign, Pepsi aimed to overturn Coca-Cola's classic marketing.
In 1974, Sculley became president of PepsiCo's International Food Operations division, shortly after he visited a failing potato-chip factory in Paris. PepsiCo's food division was their only money-losing division, with revenues of US$83 million and losses of $156.5 million. To make the food division profitable, Sculley improved product quality, enhanced accounts, and established financial controls. Within three years, the food division was making US$300 million in revenues and $40 million in profit.
Sculley was best known at Pepsi for the Pepsi Challenge, an advertising campaign he started in 1975 to compete against Coca-Cola to gain market share, using heavily advertised taste tests. It claimed based on Sculley's own research that Pepsi-Cola tasted better than Coca-Cola. The Pepsi Challenge included a series of television advertisements that first aired in the early 1970s, featuring lifelong Coca-Cola drinkers participating in blind taste tests. Pepsi's soft drink was always chosen as the preferred product by the participant; however, these tests have been criticized as being biased. The Pepsi Challenge was mostly targeted at the Texas market, where Pepsi had a significantly lower market share at the time. The campaign was successful, significantly increasing Pepsi's market share in that state. At the time the Pepsi Challenge was started, Sculley was senior vice-president of United States sales and marketing operations at Pepsi. Sculley himself took the taste test and picked Coke instead of Pepsi.
In 1977, Sculley was named Pepsi's youngest-ever president. Although commonly called the CEO of Pepsi, this was never the case. At the time of his departure, Don Kendall was CEO of Pepsi.
1983–93: Apple Computer, Inc.
Apple lured Sculley away from Pepsi in order to apply his marketing skills to the personal computer market. Steve Jobs successfully sealed the deal after he made his legendary pitch to Sculley: "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?" Apple's president, Mike Markkula, wanted to retire and believed that Jobs, who wished to be the company's president, lacked the discipline and temperament needed to run Apple on a daily basis. Sculley, with his solid business background and considerable recent success, would give Apple an image of greater reliability and stability. When Sculley started at Apple, he got a $1-million signing bonus, $1 million in annual pay and options on 350,000 shares of Apple. From the time they first met in 1982 until 1985, Jobs and Sculley had what both acknowledged as an amazing partnership. Sculley used his marketing experience to help keep the aging Apple II generating much-needed cash and helped Jobs launch the Mac with the most admired consumer marketing campaign of its time. Once Jobs took over the Macintosh project from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and early Apple employee Jef Raskin, he became the executive product manager and made all the product decisions.
The Lisa computer, an innovative model designed by a team initially led by Jobs, became available in January 1983, and had disastrous sales. When Jobs's Macintosh, the first of a new series of models with a pioneering black-and-white graphical user interface, was shipped to stores in January 1984, Sculley raised the initial price to $2,495 from the originally planned $1,995, allocating the additional money to hypothetically higher profit margins and to expensive advertising campaigns. Macintosh sold well, and received excellent reviews, but it did not eliminate the IBM PC. Some of the privileges of Jobs's elite development groups were trimmed, and projects were subject to stricter review for usefulness, marketability, feasibility, and reasonable cost.
At the peak of the Macintosh success, Apple made an attempt to move unsold inventory of Lisa computers by renaming it to "Macintosh XL" and positioning it as a top-of-the-line pro Macintosh model. At this point, a power struggle between Jobs and Sculley was becoming obvious. Jobs became "non-linear": he kept meetings running past midnight, sent out lengthy faxes, then called new meetings at 7:00 am. Sculley had little control over the Macintosh division where Jobs was the general manager. The Apple board of directors instructed Sculley to "contain" Jobs and limit his ability to launch expensive forays into untested products. Rather than submit to Sculley's direction, Jobs attempted to oust him from his leadership role at Apple. Sculley found out about Jobs's plans and called a board meeting at which Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and removed Jobs from his managerial duties. Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT Inc. the same year. Sculley said in 2015 that Jobs never forgave him and their friendship was never repaired.
After Jobs left, Sculley was named president and the company experienced a turnaround in 1986; one journalist wrote "since Sculley joined the company … many things have changed", and that his "strategy has worked". Wozniak credited the Macintosh's initial success to Sculley, saying that he "worked to build a Macintosh market when the Apple II went away". Apple introduced a faster microprocessor and renamed "The Macintosh Office" to "Desktop Publishing." Under the direction of Sculley, who had learned several painful lessons after introducing the bulky Macintosh Portable in 1989, Apple introduced the PowerBook in 1991. The same year, Apple introduced System 7, a major upgrade to the operating system, which added color to the interface and introduced new networking capabilities. It remained the architectural basis for Mac OS until 2001, when the classic Mac OS was replaced by Mac OS X. The success of the PowerBook and other products brought increasing revenue. For some time, it appeared that Apple could do no wrong, introducing fresh new products and generating increasing profits in the process. The magazine MacAddict named the period between 1989 and 1991 as the "first golden age" of the Macintosh. Under the leadership of Sculley, Apple's sales multiplied from $982 million in 1983 to $7.9 billion in 1993.
Microsoft threatened to discontinue Microsoft Office for the Macintosh if Apple did not license parts of the Macintosh graphical user interface to use in the Windows operating system. Under pressure, Sculley agreed, a decision which later affected the Apple v. Microsoft lawsuit. About that time, Sculley coined the term personal digital assistant (PDA) referring to the Apple Newton, one of the world's first PDAs.
In 1987, Sculley made several predictions in a Playboy interview. He predicted that the Soviet Union would land a man on Mars within the next 20 years and claimed that optical storage media such as the CD-ROM would revolutionize the use of personal computers. Some of his ideas for the Knowledge Navigator were eventually fulfilled by the Internet and the World Wide Web during the 1990s and others by Apple itself with the introduction of Siri.
On December 5, 1992, Sculley, as Chairman, CEO, and CTO of Apple Computer, Inc., gave a seminal speech regarding the future of the Internet, titled "The Dawn of a $3.5 Trillion Communications Mega-Industry: Information Access, Processing and Distribution in a Digital World." This was the keynote address to a packed house at the Harvard Business School's Burden Auditorium, as part of the inaugural student-run Harvard/MIT Communications 2000 Symposium (now known as the Harvard Business School Tech Club's annual Cyberposium).
In the early 1990s, Sculley led Apple to port its operating system to run on a new microprocessor, the PowerPC. Sculley later acknowledged such an act was his greatest mistake, indicating that he should instead have targeted the dominant Intel architecture. After a bad first quarter in 1993, amid a personal-computer price war and internal tension over the company's direction, Apple's board forced Sculley out. He resigned on October 15, 1993 and was replaced by German-born Michael Spindler, who had been Chief Operating Officer. Spindler was ousted three years later.
1993–present: tech investment
After leaving Apple on October 23, 1993, Sculley became chairman and chief executive officer at Spectrum Information Technologies, a New York-based company that held key computer patents for wireless data transmission. Only four months later he resigned from the company and filed a lawsuit against Spectrum president Peter Caserta, seeking more than $10 million in damages. Sculley alleged that he was misled when he was hired at Spectrum by not being told of SEC inquiries and "aggressive revenue recognition accounting" for license fees.
Sculley has been a founding investor in MetroPCS (formerly General Wireless) and helped guide the company's brand marketing; MetroPCS became a multibillion-dollar public company on the New York Stock Exchange until its acquisition by T-Mobile in 2013. He built NFO Research from $25 million to $550 million in revenue, and sold it to IPG for $850 million. He helped launch and advised Hotwire.com, Intralinks (which was co-founded by his brother Arthur), and InPhonic, Buy.com, and PeoplePC—each of which became billion dollar market cap public companies in the 1990s.
In 1997, Sculley became the chairman of Live Picture, a California-based company, to oversee its push into high-quality, low-bandwidth imaging over the Internet. US$22M in venture capital was provided for the company. Sculley later left the company, but remained an investor. In 1999, Live Picture filed for federal bankruptcy protection as part of a plan to be acquired by MGI Software.
In 1997, Sculley co-founded PopTech with Bob Metcalfe and several other dignitaries from the technology industry. In 1998, he joined the board of directors of BuyComp LLC (now Buy.com), an Internet-only computer store. Two years later, he partnered with Dennis M. Lynch to launch Signature21, providing marketing services to small to medium-sized businesses. In 2001, Sculley and Lynch transitioned the company into a learning program for rising entrepreneurs. Months later, Lynch left the company, while Sculley continued to consult and work with small businesses, including InPhonic, whose board of directors he later joined. InPhonic was an online retailer of cell phones and wireless plans. Sculley's early leadership helped steer InPhonic towards its successful IPO in 2004. Sculley served as the vice chairman of the InPhonic board of directors. InPhonic filed for bankruptcy in 2007.
In 2002, Sculley endorsed and invested in the Wine Clip, a wine accessory product, which claims to accelerate the aeration of wine by exposure to magnets. A year later he helped in the founding of Verified Person Inc., an online pre-employment screening company. As of 2012, he serves on the board of directors. In 2004, Sculley joined the board of directors at OpenPeak, a maker of software for wireless consumer electronics, digital media, computers, and home systems. In the same year, Sculley became a venture partner at Rho Ventures. In March 2006, Sculley was named Chairman of IdenTrust (formerly Digital Signature Trust Company) a San Francisco-based firm focusing on verifying identity and boosting financial security.
Before speaking at the Silicon Valley 4.0 conference, Sculley was interviewed by CNET in October 2003, where he explained the mistakes he made at Apple concerning the Apple Newton and HyperCard. Sculley had cancelled Apple's first hand-held mobile tablet PenMac led by Paul Mercer with applications by Samir Arora and instead signed an agreement to work with Sharp Electronics on the Newton technology. Also in 2003, Sculley was interviewed by the BBC for the television documentary The World's Most Powerful episode Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates, discussing his time at Apple during the 1980s as CEO. In 2010, he was interviewed for Cult of Mac on the topics of Steve Jobs and design.
In 2007, Sculley co-founded the data company Zeta Global with business partner David A. Steinberg, and in January 2014 the data analytics firm XL Marketing, rebranded and incorporated its resources into Zeta Interactive, re-launching it as a Big Data-Driven Marketing firm. On January 30, 2014, Sculley was a panelist at a forum organized by Zeta, which featured ad executives, marketers and NFL executive to discuss the changes in the way companies market and reach consumers since Sculley's time at Apple in 1984 when the computer company featured what became one of the first iconic Super Bowl ads—the 1984 commercial. In October 2016, Zeta Interactive was again rebranded as Zeta Global.
In 2014, Sculley co-founded Obi Mobiles, a smartphone brand aimed at the emerging markets. The company was renamed Obi Worldphone. In September 2017, Sculley distanced himself from Obi Worldphone and told that his name was used for PR only. He has also been working in the health care industry, focusing on RxAdvance, a cloud-based platform that helps pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and insurers manage chronically ill patients living at home.
Other
Sculley went political in the early 1990s on behalf of Republican Tom Campbell, who in 1992 was running in the California Republican primary to be the party candidate for a United States Senate seat. Sculley hosted a fundraiser for Campbell at his ranch in Woodside. Sculley had become acquainted with Hillary Clinton, serving with her on a national education council. When Bill Clinton ran for president, Sculley supported him. Sculley sat next to Hillary Clinton during the President's first State of the Union address in January 1993.
Personal life
Sculley married Ruth, stepdaughter of PepsiCo president Donald Kendall in 1960, with whom he had two children. The couple divorced in 1965. In 1978, he married Carol Lee Adams, ex-wife of a former PepsiCo vice president, ultimately divorcing in 2011. In 2015, Adams filed a lawsuit alleging that Sculley did not disclose over $25 million in assets during their divorce proceedings. A spokesman for Sculley denied the allegations.
In 2013, Sculley married Diane Gibbs Poli, vice president and design coordinator for Wittman Building Corporation, and they live in Palm Beach, Florida.
In 2016, while visiting Japan, Sculley saw Steve Jobs’ autograph in a sushi restaurant, and broke down in tears. The owner said “He told me that since they were retired from the frontlines of business, they could have enjoyed sushi at Steve’s favorite restaurant and had a good time together, but he has passed away and now he’s in heaven.”
References
Further reading
Owen W. Linzmayer, Apple Confidential 2.0, pages 153–68, (January 1, 2004)
External links
PBS.org – John Sculley Biography
Rho Ventures – John Sculley Venture Partner Biography
2001 Interview with InPhonic vice chairman John Sculley by Wireless Business & Technology
John Sculley's official public speaking site, with videos of speeches including technology, reinvention of health care
Obi Worldphone website
1939 births
Apple Inc. executives
Brown University alumni
Living people
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni
Amateur radio people
Silicon Valley people
PepsiCo people
Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
Directors of Apple Inc.
People from Woodside, California
American investors |
42301094 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrazyTalk | CrazyTalk | CrazyTalk is Reallusion's brand name for its 2D animation software. The product series includes CrazyTalk, a 2D facial animation software tool, and CrazyTalk Animator, a face and body 2D animation suite.
CrazyTalk, the 2D facial animation software, is a real-time, 2D animation and rendering software that enables users to make 2D animated cartoons. It is a facial animation tool that uses voice and text to vividly animate facial images. It has an auto motion engine which allows animators to use the intensity of their voice to drive their animations in real-time. As of January 2016, the CrazyTalk software is in version 8.
CrazyTalk is developed and marketed by Reallusion, a company that has a software and digital content development base in California and Taiwan, with offices and training centres in the U.S., Germany and Japan.
Although it is still available to purchase CrazyTalk 8 is a legacy product so there will be no further updates or releases (Note that a statement to this effect appears in the Google search results for the official website, but confusingly does not appear to be on the official website).
History
When Reallusion began as a company back in 1993, it first started developing full motion capture systems for real-time applications. During the first stages of development the company originally ran into issues on how tocompany Kodak, at a New York show. Kodak immediately took a liking into the software and chose to work with it in several marketing campaigns. From then on CrazyTalk was born.
Applications
Besides being used as a facial 2D cartoon and avatar creation tool. CrazyTalk is also a platform for app game development. Other applications include using CrazyTalk as a 2D training and marketing resource for education, industry and business. CrazyTalk also enables users to export projects to iOS devices and directly publish them to social web sites like Facebook, Twitter, or use embedded codes to fit interactive talking avatars into html web designs.
Network studios have been known to use CrazyTalk and CrazyTalk Animator in their daily production due to short delivery deadlines. Renowned TV Shows like Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! use both CrazyTalk and CrazyTalk Animator 2D applications.
Features
Character Creation - Face Photo Fitting, Head & Hair Mesh, 3D Face Profile, Custom Eyes & Teeth, Mask & Background.
Auto Motion - Auto Lip-sync from Text or Audio, Audio-driven Movement, Instant Animation & Mood Scenarios.
Smart Animation - Face Puppeteering, Avatar Personality, Muscle-based Control, Motion Clip & Layering, Timeline Editing.
Render & Output - Upload Avatars to iDevices, Popular Image & Video Format Output, Superimpose Avatars for Video Editing.
Content
By default CrazyTalk comes with a collection of usable, template-based content and projects that allow animators to begin animating upon installation. Content includes characters, props, animations, auto motion templates, audio scripts, special effects and demo projects which can be further customized for specific needs.
Additionally, users can choose to purchase new content from the Reallusion Content Store, which hosts a large collection of official Reallusion content for iClone, CrazyTalk, CrazyTalk Animator, FaceFilter and 3DXChange. The Content Store also hosts content packs from 3rd party developers such as Daz 3D, 3D Total Materials, 3D Universe, Dexsoft, Quantum Theory Ent. and others.
Another source for CrazyTalk content is the Reallusion Marketplace which provides a worldwide platform for independent content developers to promote, trade and sell content with CrazyTalk users from around the world. The currency in the Marketplace is known as DA (Direct Access) points which can be used to purchase content packs or redeemed for real cash. Currently, 100 DA Points are equivalent to USD 1.
References
External links
Animation software
Windows graphics-related software
MacOS graphics software |
27710383 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University%20of%20Southern%20California%20athletics%20scandal | University of Southern California athletics scandal | In the University of Southern California athletics scandal, the University of Southern California (USC) was investigated and punished for NCAA rules violations in the Trojan football, men's basketball and women's tennis programs.
The sanctions were announced on June 10, 2010, and affected the USC football program from 2010 to 2012. Sanctions for the football team included postseason bans (2 years), scholarship losses (3 years), vacating old games (including a BCS Championship game), and disassociating with Reggie Bush. Separately, Bush returned his Heisman Trophy. USC head coach Pete Carroll also left USC shortly before sanctions were announced.
Background
Probes by both USC and the NCAA found that football star Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, and basketball star O. J. Mayo had effectively forfeited their amateur status (in Mayo's case, before he ever played a game for USC) by accepting gifts from agents. In addition, the women's tennis team was cited in the report for unauthorized phone calls made by a former player. As a result of the ongoing investigation, which progressed well into the 2010–11 seasons for both USC and Reggie Bush's New Orleans Saints, Bush voluntarily gave up his 2005 Heisman Trophy, which the Heisman Trust decided to leave vacant.
Punishment
As a result of sanctions issued by both USC and the NCAA, the Trojan athletic program received some of the harshest penalties ever meted out to a Division 1 program. The football team was forced to vacate the final two wins of its 2004 national championship season, as well as all of its wins in 2005. It was also banned from bowl games in both 2010 and 2011 and was docked 30 scholarships over three years. The basketball team gave up all of its wins from the 2007-08 season and sat out postseason play in 2010. The NCAA accepted USC's earlier elimination of its women's tennis wins between November 2006 and May 2009 and did not sanction the team further.
Shortly after the NCAA handed out its penalties, the Football Writers Association of America announced it would no longer recognize the Trojans as its 2004 national champion. In June 2011, the Bowl Championship Series stripped the Trojans of the 2004 BCS title, though the Associated Press still recognizes the Trojans as its national champions for 2004.
Bush is the first person in the Heisman Trophy's history to give his trophy back to the Heisman Trust, and the 2005 season is the only one in the award's history for which there is no winner.
Criticism of sanctions
These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers, including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization."
Miller also suggested that the sanctions had more to do with objections to the football culture at USC than its alleged noncompliance with NCAA rules:
During a flight delay last year, I was cornered at an airport by an administrator from a major program outside the Pac-12. He made fun of me as a "USC fanboy" because of my rants against the NCAA ruling against the Trojans. But we started talking. Turned out he agreed with just about all my points. (He just didn't like USC.)
He told me, after some small talk and off-the-record, that "everybody" thought USC got screwed. He said that he thought the NCAA was trying to scare everyone with the ruling, but subsequent major violations cases put it in a pickle.
Then he told me that USC was punished for its "USC-ness," that while many teams had closed down access — to media, to fans, etc. — USC under Pete Carroll was completely open, and that was widely resented. There was a widespread belief the national media fawned on USC because of this. Further, more than a few schools thought that the presence of big-time celebrities, such as Snoop Dogg and Will Ferrell, at practices and at games constituted an unfair recruiting advantage for the Trojans.
It wasn't against the rules, but everyone hated it. This, as he assessed his own smell test, was a subtext of the so-called atmosphere of noncompliance that the NCAA referred to — an atmosphere that oddly yielded very few instances of noncompliance around the football program even after a four-year NCAA investigation.
In February 2014, in a talk on the campus of USC, former coach and recent Super Bowl winner Pete Carroll said about the sanctions, "I thought (the NCAA's investigation into USC) was dealt with poorly and very irrationally and done with way too much emotion instead of facts. I sat in the meetings. I listened to the people talk. I listened to the venom that they had for our program... They tried to make it out like it was something else. They made a terrible error."
Comparison with later scandals
Further criticism of the sanctions came during later NCAA's investigations into other programs such as the University of Miami and University of Oregon for recruiting violations, all of which led to substantially more lenient punishments than USC's for arguably greater offenses. This has led many people to think that the NCAA's sanctions of USC were intended to make an example out of the school to other programs that the NCAA hasn't followed through on with other college programs.
Most notable of these scandals was that against Miami, because of the involvement of Paul Dee. Dee was the Committee on Infractions chairman for USC's NCAA investigation. It was Dee who announced the USC penalties and closed with the reminder that "high-profile athletes demand high-profile compliance." Accusations later came out that, while Dee was athletic director there, Miami had also been the center of major improper benefits, specifically that of university booster Nevin Shapiro from 2002 until 2010. Writers noted the hypocrisy of Miami's more lenient punishment (loss of nine scholarships and three years) compared to USC's, despite Miami committing more serious infractions through university employees over a longer time. One writer stated: "it seems only fair [Dee] should spend a day at USC's Heritage Hall wearing a sandwich board with the word "Hypocrite."
In 2014, USC's sanctions once again became a talking point because of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Sanctions against Penn State, which included a four-year bowl ban and forty lost scholarships, were significantly reduced after two years. USC petitioned the NCAA for similar leniency but was denied, the NCAA finding the situations to be distinguishable. This incident led to more outcry over the inconsistency of punishment by the NCAA, and its seeming bias against USC.
Todd McNair lawsuit against the NCAA
Todd McNair, a running backs assistant coach at USC, sued the NCAA in June 2011, claiming that the NCAA's investigation was one-sided and his future earnings were impaired by its report on the scandal that led to sanctions against USC. The NCAA determined McNair lied about knowing about some of the gifts to Bush's family.
On November 21, 2012, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Frederick Shaller ruled that the NCAA was "malicious" in its investigation of McNair. In his ruling, the Judge stated that e-mails between an investigative committee member, an NCAA worker, and a person who works in the agency's appeals division "tend to show ill will or hatred" toward McNair. In an e-mail, one staffer called McNair "a lying morally bankrupt criminal, in my view, and a hypocrite of the highest order." Judge Shaller said he would unseal the entire inquiry into McNair in December. "I understand [why] the NCAA wants to keep this quiet," the Judge said. "But I'm not going to seal the record... I know you guys are going to appeal it but from my part.. There's no reason to seal it. I think the public has a right to know."
However, on 19 December 2012, the NCAA requested and was granted a stay of Judge Shaller's order to unseal the files, much of which contain e-mails from NCAA staff personnel and committee members to one another. As a result of the stay, files regarding the NCAA's investigation into USC remained sealed until the California Appellate Court ruled on the NCAA's appeal.
In February 2015, the California appellate court ruled that the NCAA cannot seal the estimated 400 pages of material regarding McNair's defamation lawsuit. The NCAA may petition the appellate court for a rehearing as well as take the matter to the California Supreme Court.
In July 2021, McNair and the NCAA settled the lawsuit through mediation. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
References
2006 Pacific-10 Conference football season
2008–09 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball season
Academic scandals
College basketball controversies in the United States
College football controversies
NCAA sanctions
Scandal
USC Trojans football
USC Trojans men's basketball |
46377537 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GreatFire | GreatFire | GreatFire (GreatFire.org) is a non-profit organization that monitors the status of websites censored by the Great Firewall of China and helps Chinese Internet users circumvent the censorship and blockage of websites in China. The website also hosts a testing system that allowed visitors to test in real time the accessibility of a website from various locations within China. The organization's stated mission was to "bring transparency to the Great Firewall of China."
GreatFire has worked with BBC to make the Chinese-language BBC website available to users in China, despite it being blocked by the Great Firewall, by using a method known as collateral freedom that mirrored content on widely used content delivery networks, such as Amazon CloudFront and CloudFlare, so that it would be too economically costly for censors to block. The organization has since set up similar mirror sites for other blocked websites, such as Google and the New York Times, with a directory of links hosted on GitHub.
For security reasons, the members of the organization remain anonymous and do not know much about each other to prevent the whole project from coming down in the event one would be caught by the Chinese government.
GreatFire has been targeted with distributed denial-of-service attacks that attempt to take down the website by overloading its servers with traffic. In April 2015 it was targeted by a Chinese attack tool named Great Cannon that redirected massive amounts of Internet traffic to servers used by GreatFire.
A sister site, FreeWeibo, monitors and makes available content from leading Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo that has been censored and deleted by Chinese authorities under the Great Firewall.
In 2015, the Associated Press reported that GreatFire receives funding from a variety of sources, including the Open Technology Fund (OTF), a United States government-backed program at Radio Free Asia. The Open Technology Fund says on its website that it gave Greatfire.org a $114,000 grant in 2014. On its website, the organization identifies GreatFire as an "OTF-supported" initiative.
See also
OONI
Turkey Blocks
References
External links
Internet censorship in China
Human rights in China
Internet in China
Online nonprofit organizations
Internet-related activism |
35632981 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus%20Choir | Magnus Choir | Magnus Choir is a commercial, proprietary music software synthesizer, for the Microsoft Windows and macOS operating systems, written by Daniel Laiseca and developed by Syntheway Virtual Musical Instruments. The first version was released in 2005.
Overview
This software can be used to create natural and synthetic choirs, vocal textures, choral pads and sustained vowels. It may work as a VST, VST3 or Audio Unit plugin within digital audio workstation software such as FL Studio, Cubase, Logic Pro or GarageBand. Magnus Choir also is compatible with FreeVST allowing Linux users to use native Microsoft Windows VST plugins by using parts of the Wine compatibility layer.
Preset Sounds
Features 54 built-in preset sounds including a variety of choirs such as male and female mixed in classic SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) structure: women sing Soprano and Alto, while men sing Tenor and Bass. Additionally includes choir pads, spatial voices, ambient, cinematic and soundscapes.
Modulation Control
Magnus Choir includes modulation control with parameters which may be modulated such as Low-frequency oscillator, ADSR envelope generator, Filter and reverb effect emulation.
See also
Virtual Studio Technology
Audio Units
Synthesizer
Software synthesizer
Digital audio workstation
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
References
External links
Magnus Choir overview
Linux VST Compatibility: FST, Jack, Wine - Linux requirements by Paul Davis.
Syntheway Magnus Choir VST plug-in hosted on FST 1.8 by Dave Phillips (Linux Journal Contributing Editor).
VST3 for Virtual Studio Technology - VST3, New Standard for Virtual Studio Technology.
Cnet (CBS Interactive) Magnus Choir at Cnet (CBS Interactive)
Simtel Directory Magnus Choir at Simtel Digital River
Music software plugin architectures
Software synthesizers
Keyboard software synthesizers
Windows multimedia software
MacOS multimedia software |
61459038 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo%20Shakarian | Paulo Shakarian | Paulo Shakarian is the CEO and co-founder of Cyber Reconnaissance, Inc., (CYR3CON), assistant professor at Arizona State University and an author of several books. His work on cyber threat intelligence and artificial intelligence has been featured in Forbes, the New Yorker, Slate, the Economist, Business Insider, TechCrunch, CNN and BBC.
Career
Shakarian was a major in the U.S Army serving from 2002 to 2014, undertaking two combat tours in Iraq and earning a Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal for valor. While in the army he was trained in Information Assurance and completed a bachelor's degree in computer science at the U.S. Military Academy. In 2007 he served as a military fellow at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Upon leaving the army he went on to study a master's degree in computer science at the University of Maryland in 2009, and later a Ph.D. in 2011. His research focus was cyber security, social network analysis and machine learning.
After obtaining a Ph.D. he taught at the U.S Military Academy, West Point, as an assistant professor from 2011 to 2014. In 2014 he took a position as an assistant professor at Arizona State University.
Since 2011 Shakarian has authored six books on subjects relating to his academic career.
In 2017, while maintaining his academic position he co-founded Cyber Reconnaissance, Inc., (CYR3CON), a business specializes in combining artificial intelligence with information mined from malicious hacker communities to avoid cyber-attacks.
Notable works
Books
Introduction to Cyber-Warfare: A Multidisciplinary Approach.
Diffusion in Social Networks (SpringerBriefs in Computer Science).
Darkweb Cyber Threat Intelligence Mining.
Artificial Intelligence Tools for Cyber Attribution (SpringerBriefs in Computer Science).
Cyber Warfare: Building the Scientific Foundation (Advances in Information Security).
Geospatial Abduction: Principles and Practice.
References
External links
Research Gate Profile
Google Scholar Citations
Computer Science Bibliography
Academic Profile, Arizona State University
CYR3CON website
American chief executives
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people) |
1895117 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido%2C%20Queen%20of%20Carthage%20%28play%29 | Dido, Queen of Carthage (play) | Dido, Queen of Carthage (full title: The Tragedie of Dido Queene of Carthage) is a short play written by the English playwright Christopher Marlowe, with possible contributions by Thomas Nashe. It was probably written between 1587 and 1593, and was first published in 1594. The story focuses on the classical figure of Dido, the Queen of Carthage. It tells an intense dramatic tale of Dido and her fanatical love for Aeneas (induced by Cupid), Aeneas' betrayal of her and her eventual suicide on his departure for Italy. The playwrights relied on Books 1, 2, and 4 of Virgil's Aeneid as primary source.
Characters
Dido – Queen of Carthage
Aeneas – a Trojan royal hero, son of Anchises and the goddess Venus
Ascanius – son of Aeneas
Iarbas – King of Gaetulia who is in love with Dido
Achates – friend of Aeneas
Ilioneus – Greek Slave
Cloanthus
Sergestus – Commander of the Five armies
Anna – Dido's sister
Jupiter
Ganymede
Cupid
Mercury
Venus
Juno
A Lord
A Nurse – Dido's widowed elderly nurse
other Trojans and Carthaginians
servants and attendants
Source
Dido is based on books 1, 2 and 4 of The Aeneid, but the author makes several deviations from this material. Pigman draws attention to how imitators 'exploit... the historical distance between a text and its model', leading to 'crucial departures from, sometimes criticisms of, the model'. Stump suggests that these changes in Dido, Queen of Carthage make a mockery of Aeneas. They notably include:
Dido steals Aeneas's oars, preventing him from leaving.
Aeneas dresses like a beggar, and is unrecognisable when he first arrives.
Aeneas reacts violently to recollections of Troy, and is mad with grief over its loss.
Aeneas is forced to beg Iarbus for help to space.
Anna and Iarbus commit suicide.
Plot
Jupiter is fondling Ganymede, who says that Jupiter's wife Juno has been mistreating him because of her jealousy. Venus enters, and complains that Jupiter is neglecting her son Aeneas, who has left Troy with survivors of the defeated city. Aeneas was on his way to Italy, but is now lost in a storm. Jupiter tells her not to worry; he will quiet the storm. Venus travels to Libya, where she disguises herself as a mortal and meets Aeneas, who has arrived, lost, on the coast. He and a few followers have become separated from their comrades. He recognises her, but she denies her identity. She helps him meet up with Illioneus, Sergestus and Cloanthes, other surviving Trojans who have already received generous hospitality from the local ruler Dido, Queen of Carthage. Dido meets Aeneas and promises to supply his ships. She asks him to give her the true story of the fall of Troy, which he does in detail, describing the death of Priam, the loss of his own wife and his escape with his son Ascanius and other survivors.
Dido's suitor, Iarbas, presses her to agree to marry him. She seems to favour him, but Venus has other plans. She disguises Cupid as Aeneas's son Ascanius, so that he can get close to Dido and touch her with his arrow. He does so; Dido immediately falls in love with Aeneas and rejects Iarbas out of hand, to his horror and confusion. Dido's sister Anna, who is in love with Iarbas, encourages Dido to pursue Aeneas. Dido and Aeneas meet at a cave, where Dido declares her love. They enter the cave to make love. Iarbas swears he will get revenge. Venus and Juno appear, arguing over Aeneas. Venus believes that Juno wants to harm her son, but Juno denies it, saying she has important plans for him.
Aeneas's followers say they must leave Libya, to fulfil their destiny in Italy. Aeneas seems to agree, and prepares to depart. Dido sends Anna to find out what is happening. She brings Aeneas back, who denies he intended to leave. Dido forgives him, but as a precaution removes all the sails and tackle from his ships. She also places Ascanius in the custody of the Nurse, believing that Aeneas will not leave without him. However, "Ascanius" is really the disguised Cupid. Dido says that Aeneas will be king of Carthage and anyone who objects will be executed. Aeneas agrees and plans to build a new city to rival Troy and strike back at the Greeks.
Mercury appears with the real Ascanius (a.k.a. Cupid) and informs Aeneas that his destiny is in Italy and that he must leave on the orders of Jupiter. Aeneas reluctantly accepts the divine command. Iarbas sees the opportunity to be rid of his rival and agrees to supply Aeneas with the missing tackle. Aeneas tells Dido he must leave. She pleads with him to ignore Jupiter's command, but he refuses to do so. He departs, leaving Dido in despair. The Nurse says that "Ascanius" has disappeared. Dido orders her to be imprisoned. She tells Iarbas and Anna that she intends to make a funeral pyre on which she will burn everything that reminds her of Aeneas. After cursing Aeneas' progeny, she throws herself into the fire. Iarbas, horrified, kills himself too. Anna, seeing Iarbas dead, kills herself.
Publication
The play was first published in 1594, a year after Marlowe's untimely death in Deptford, by the widow Orwin for the bookseller Thomas Woodcock, in Paul's Churchyard. The title page attributes the play to Marlowe and Nashe, and also states that the play was acted by the Children of the Chapel. That company of boy actors stopped regular dramatic performance in 1584, but appears to have engaged in at least sporadic performances in the late 1580s and early 1590s, so that scholars give a range of 1587–93 for the first performance of Dido.
Authorship
The nineteenth-century scholar Frederick Gard Fleay attempted to delineate the collaborators' respective shares in the text, and assigned to Nashe these portions – Act I, scene i (second part, after line 122); Act III, scenes i, ii, and iv; Act IV, scenes i, ii, and v; — and the rest to Marlowe. However, subsequent critics have not concurred in this assessment, most notably the investigations of Knutowski, R.B. McKerrow, and Tucker Brooke found very little that they felt could be credited to Nashe. While Frederick S. Boas admitted a few details had parallels in Nashe's published works and some words or meanings are found in Nashe's works but not otherwise used by Marlowe, "the scenes in which these passages and phrases appear have, as a whole, the stamp of Marlowe." Some critics have virtually ignored the participation of Nashe — yet the presence of a collaborator may help to explain the play's divergences from Marlowe's standard dramaturgy. No other play by Marlowe has such a strong female lead character, and in no other "is heteroerotic passion the centripetal force of the drama's momentum." However, more recent studies conducted independently by Darren Freebury-Jones and Marcus Dahl, and Ruth Lunney and Hugh Craig, have failed to uncover evidence for Nashe's participation.
Adaptations
The 18th-century English composer Stephen Storace wrote an opera titled Dido, Queen of Carthage (1794) — alleged, by his sister Anna (Nancy) Storace, for whom the title role was written, to have been his greatest work – which largely set Marlowe's play to music. It was also the only one of Storace's works to have been completely sung throughout, with no spoken dialogue. However, the work was never published, as Storace's impresario Richard Brinsley Sheridan wished to retain control over productions of it. A single copy was kept at the Drury Lane Theatre, to prevent pirated versions appearing elsewhere – and the opera is presumed to have been lost in the 1809 Drury Lane Theatre fire, since nothing of it has survived.
An adaptation of the play was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 30 May 1993, the 400th anniversary of Marlowe's death, along with The Massacre at Paris, directed by Alan Drury and Michael Earley and featuring Sally Dexter as Dido, Timothy Walker as Aeneas, Jeremy Blake as Iarbas, Ben Thomas as Achates, Teresa Gallagher as Anna/Juno and Andrew Wincott as Cupid.
Notes
References
Chambers, E. K. The Elizabethan Stage. 4 Volumes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923.
Cheney, Patrick Gerard, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Christopher Marlowe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Logan, Terence P., and Denzell S. Smith, eds. The Predecessors of Shakespeare: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1973.
External links
Dido Queen of Carthage
Marlowe Society overview of Dido Queen of Carthage
1580s plays
1590s plays
Plays by Christopher Marlowe
Plays by Thomas Nashe
English Renaissance plays
Plays based on classical literature
Works based on the Aeneid
Works by Thomas Nashe
Cultural depictions of Dido
Tragedy plays
Plays adapted into operas
Plays based on classical mythology |
4340206 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%20H.%20Goble | George H. Goble | George H. Goble is a staff member at the Purdue University Engineering Computer Network and a 1996 Ig Nobel Prize winner.
Goble is commonly known as "ghg" since he has used that as a login id, and signature in digital communications, since the 1970s. He received his BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University.
In 1981, he wired together the backplanes of two DEC VAX-11/780's and made the first multi-CPU Unix computer, preceding DEC's dual processor VAX-11/782. The operating system was based on the 4.2 BSD kernel, and the modifications thus eventually made it into the 4.3 BSD Unix release. At the beginning of the 4.3 BSD user manuals, Bill Joy wrote a special note of thanks to GHG for being courageous enough to put the multi-CPU kernel into a production environment before anyone else did. (However, the frequent crashes for a while inspired the writing of many humorous text files by the Purdue University Electrical Engineering student body, such as "The VAX had a Blowout", to be sung to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down). The development of the Dual-CPU Unix system was the subject of Goble's Master's thesis.
Around this time, Goble also developed a networking protocol for Unix, referred to as pnet, which was used at Purdue at the time before being displaced by TCP/IP. Pnet allowed remote logins, and remote execution of commands, among other capabilities.
In the late 1980s, Goble started experimenting with refrigerants, due to increased danger and lower thermodynamic efficiency of the recently introduced R-134a compared to the older R-12 which was being phased out due to concerns about damage to the ozone layer, and the incompatibility of R-134a with the lubricating oil and other materials used in systems built for R-12. In 1987, he converted the beverage refrigerators in the Eta Kappa Nu lounge in the basement of the Purdue Electrical Engineering building to using a refrigerant of his own devising. This refrigerant is now recognized as R-406A by ASHRAE and is available commercially under the trade name AutoFrost. He later developed another refrigerant which is compatible with R134A lubricants, but which is superior in thermodynamic efficiency and lower system internal pressures called GHG-X8.
In 1996, Goble was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for preparing a barbecue for cooking in less than 5 seconds by the use of a smoldering cigarette, charcoal and LOX (liquid oxygen). This act attracted the attention of the West Lafayette, Indiana fire department, which warned him to never let them catch him in the possession of LOX near a barbecue fire ever again.
Goble is also noted for driving a vehicle with the Indiana license plate UNIX, and now also GHG-1.
External links
George Goble's page at Purdue
George Goble's Homepage (The extended homepage no longer works as of 9/18/2009)
Autofrost, Goble's refrigerant company
The 1995 Dave Barry humor column which gave GHG the attention of the Ig Nobel committee
Interview and photographs of ignition
YouTube video of George Goble lighting a grill in 3 seconds with liquid oxygen
American inventors
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from West Lafayette, Indiana
American scientists |
10135405 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAI%20Basic%20Four | MAI Basic Four | MAI Basic Four (sometimes written as Basic/Four Corporation or Basic 4) refers to a variety of Business Basic, the computers that ran it, and the company that sold them (its name at various times given as MAI Systems, MAI Basic Four Inc., and MAI Basic Four Information Systems).
Basic/Four Corporation was created as a subsidiary of Management Assistance, Inc. in Irvine, California. Basic/Four sold small business minicomputers that were assembled from Microdata Corporation CPUs.
MAI Basic Four Business Basic was one of the first commercially available business BASIC interpreters, in the 1970s. MAI Basic Four (the company) originally sold minicomputers but later offered superminicomputers and microcomputers. The computers ran an operating system with the BASIC interpreter integrated. The BASIC interpreter was written in TREE-META.
In 1985, Wall Street financier Bennett S. LeBow purchased the company after it had experienced significant operating financial losses.
In 1988, LeBow used the company as a platform for an unsuccessful attempted hostile takeover of much larger Prime Computer.
The company released accounting software for third-party microcomputers in the mid 1980s. In 1988, it released its own 80286-based workstation.
The Basic4 system was utilized by many small banks and credit unions.
In 1990, the company changed its name to MAI Systems Corp. and changed its business to be a system integrator instead of a combined hardware and software manufacturer, reselling third-party computers but installing their own customer-specific software system.
MAI Systems Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Softbrands Inc. in 2006.
See also
MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.
References
External links
History of MAI
M.A.I. S10 Basic Four microcomputer system description
Pictures and descriptions of a few different Basic Four computers
BASIC interpreters
Defunct computer companies of the United States |
53339439 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism%20of%20Dropbox | Criticism of Dropbox | Criticism of Dropbox, an American company specializing in cloud storage and file synchronization and their flagship service of the same name, centers around various forms of security and privacy controversies. Issues include a June 2011 authentication problem that let accounts be accessed for several hours without passwords; a July 2011 privacy policy update with language suggesting Dropbox had ownership of users' data; concerns about Dropbox employee access to users' information; July 2012 email spam with reoccurrence in February 2013; leaked government documents in June 2013 with information that Dropbox was being considered for inclusion in the National Security Agency's PRISM surveillance program; a July 2014 comment from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden criticizing Dropbox's encryption; the leak of 68 million account passwords on the Internet in August 2016; and a January 2017 accidental data restoration incident where years-old supposedly deleted files reappeared in users' accounts.
April 2011 user authentication file information
Dropbox has been criticized by the independent security researcher Derek Newton, who wrote in April 2011 that Dropbox stored user authentication information in a file on the computer that was "completely portable and is not tied to the system in any way". In explaining the issue, Newton wrote: "This means that if you gain access to a person's config.db file (or just the host_id), you gain complete access to the person's Dropbox until such time that the person removes the host from the list of linked devices via the Dropbox web interface." He updated his post in October 2011 to write that "Dropbox has release version 1.2.48 that utilizes an encrypted local database and reportedly puts in place security enhancements to prevent theft of the machine credentials." A report from The Next Web featured a comment from Dropbox, in which they disagreed with Newton that the topic was a security flaw, explaining that "The researcher is claiming that an attacker would be able to gain access to a user's Dropbox account if they are able to get physical access to the user's computer. In reality, at the point an attacker has physical access to a computer, the security battle is already lost. [...] this 'flaw' exists with any service that uses cookies for authentication (practically every web service)."
May 2011 data deduplication and employee access
In May 2011, a complaint was filed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission alleging Dropbox misled users about the privacy and security of their files. At the heart of the complaint was the policy of data deduplication, where the system checks if a file has been uploaded before by any other user, and links to the existing copy if so; and the policy of using a single AES-256 key for every file on the system so Dropbox can (and does, for deduplication) look at encrypted files stored on the system, with the consequence that any intruder who gets the key (as well as potential Dropbox employees) could decrypt any file if they had access to Dropbox's backend storage infrastructure. In a response on its blog, Dropbox wrote that "Like most major online services, we have a small number of employees who must be able to access user data when legally required to do so. But that's the exception, not the rule. We have strict policy and technical access controls that prohibit employee access except in these rare circumstances. In addition, we employ a number of physical and electronic security measures to protect user information from unauthorized access." In response to the FTC complaint, Dropbox spokeswoman Julie Supan told InformationWeek that "We believe this complaint is without merit, and raises issues that were addressed in our blog post on April 21."
June 2011 account access without password
On June 20, 2011, TechCrunch reported that all Dropbox accounts could be accessed without password for four hours. In a blog post, co-founder Arash Ferdowsi wrote that "Yesterday we made a code update at 1:54pm Pacific time that introduced a bug affecting our authentication mechanism. We discovered this at 5:41pm and a fix was live at 5:46pm. A very small number of users (much less than 1 percent) logged in during that period, some of whom could have logged into an account without the correct password. As a precaution, we ended all logged in sessions." He wrote that a "thorough investigation" was being conducted, and that "This should never have happened. We are scrutinizing our controls and we will be implementing additional safeguards to prevent this from happening again." Julianne Pepitone, writing for CNNMoney, wrote that "It's the security nightmare scenario: A website stuffed with sensitive documents leaves all of its customer data unprotected and exposed", and featured a comment from Dave Aitel, president and CEO of security firm Immunity Inc., saying "Any trust in the cloud is too much trust in the cloud -- it's as simple as that. [...] It's pretty much the standard among security professionals that you should put on the cloud only what you would be willing to give away."
July 2011 Privacy Policy update
In July 2011, Dropbox updated its Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Security Overview agreements. The new Privacy Policy sparked criticism, as noted by Christopher White in a Neowin post, in which he wrote that "They attempted to reduce some of the tedious legalese in order to make it easier for normal people to understand. It appears that they have succeeded in that mission and in the process have taken ownership of every file that uses their service". Citing a paragraph in the updated Privacy Policy that Dropbox needed user permission to "use, copy, distribute, prepare derivative works (such as translations or format conversions) of, perform, or publicly display" user's data, White wrote that "This broad terminology is frightening for end users because it clearly lets Dropbox take a person’s work, whether it is photographs, works of fiction, or scientific research, and gives the company the right to do whatever they want with no recourse from the original owner". After users expressed concerns about the change, Dropbox once again updated its policy, adding "This license is solely to enable us to technically administer, display, and operate the Services." White concluded by writing that "While this is a step in the right direction, it still makes no sense as to why a product that is used to move files from one computer to another needs the ability to "prepare derivative works of" anyone's files."
July 2012 email spam and February 2013 reoccurrence
In July 2012, Dropbox hired "outside experts" to figure out why some users were receiving e-mail spam from Dropbox. In a post on its blog, Dropbox employee Aditya Agarwal wrote that "usernames and passwords recently stolen from other websites were used to sign in to a small number of Dropbox accounts. We've contacted these users and have helped them protect their accounts." However, Agarwal also noted that "A stolen password was also used to access an employee Dropbox account containing a project document with user email addresses. We believe this improper access is what led to the spam. We're sorry about this, and have put additional controls in place to help make sure it doesn't happen again." One of the additional controls implemented was the introduction of two-factor authentication. In February 2013, users reported additional spam, with the company stating that "At this time, we have not seen anything to suggest this is a new issue", and blamed the earlier e-mail spam issue from the past July.
June 2013 PRISM program
In June 2013, The Guardian and The Washington Post publicized confidential documents suggesting Dropbox was being considered for inclusion in the National Security Agency's classified PRISM program of Internet surveillance.
January 2014 outage
On January 11, 2014, Dropbox experienced an outage. A hacker group called The 1775 Sec posted on Twitter that it had compromised Dropbox's site "in honor of Internet activist and computer programmer Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide a year ago". However, Dropbox itself posted on Twitter that "Dropbox site is back up! Claims of leaked user info are a hoax. The outage was caused during internal maintenance. Thanks for your patience!" In a blog post detailing the issue, Dropbox's Akhil Gupta wrote that "On Friday at 5:30 PM PT, we had a planned maintenance scheduled to upgrade the OS on some of our machines. During this process, the upgrade script checks to make sure there is no active data on the machine before installing the new OS. A subtle bug in the script caused the command to reinstall a small number of active machines. Unfortunately, some master-replica pairs were impacted which resulted in the site going down." Gupta also noted that "Your files were never at risk during the outage".
April 2014 Condoleezza Rice appointment to board of directors
In April 2014, Dropbox announced that Condoleezza Rice would be joining their board of directors, prompting criticism from some users who were concerned about her appointment due to her history as United States Secretary of State and revelations of "widespread wiretapping on US citizens during her time in office". RiceHadleyGates, a consultancy firm consisting of Rice, former US national security adviser Stephen Hadley, and former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, had previously advised Dropbox.
May 2014 disabled shared links
In May 2014, Dropbox temporarily disabled shared links. In a blog post, the company detailed a web vulnerability scenario where sharing documents containing hyperlinks would cause the original shared Dropbox link to become accessible to the website owner if a user clicked on the hyperlink found in the document. Some types of shared links remained disabled over the next few weeks until Dropbox eventually made changes to the functionality.
July 2014 Snowden comment
In a July 2014 interview, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden called Dropbox "hostile to privacy" because its encryption model enables the company to surrender user data to government agencies, and recommended using the competing service SpiderOak instead. In response, a Dropbox spokeswoman stated that "Safeguarding our users' information is a top priority at Dropbox. We've made a commitment in our privacy policy to resist broad government requests, and are fighting to change laws so that fundamental privacy protections are in place for users around the world".
October 2014 account compromise hoax
In October 2014, an anonymous user on Pastebin claimed to have compromised "almost seven million" Dropbox usernames and passwords, gradually posting the info. However, in a blog post, Dropbox stated "Recent news articles claiming that Dropbox was hacked aren't true. Your stuff is safe. The usernames and passwords referenced in these articles were stolen from unrelated services, not Dropbox. [...] A subsequent list of usernames and passwords has been posted online. We've checked and these are not associated with Dropbox accounts."
December 2014 and on, Dropbox share links force upgrade to paid data plan
A long string (750+ comments) of commentaries on Dropbox' own support forum was begun in December 2014, when dropbox introduced 1 TB data storage plans. The string title, "Can we have plans that are smaller than 1 TB?", has a long line of Dropbox users voice concerns that they are not able to grow their plan from the 2 GB free plan by other increments than 1 TB. 2020 the minimum paid data storage account is 2 TB making the incremental increase from the free account to the minimum paid plan 2 TB, and comments requesting smaller plans are still coming in.
In the string more experienced commentators explain that the prize for the minimum 2 TB data plan does not reflect the amount of data storage, but rather the sum of data handling services offered. This prompts criticism from users having been on Dropbox for so long that migrating to another cloud service is made virtually impossible by a large number of outbound shared files via Dropbox links from their Dropbox folder, one of the initial services offered, thus tying users down to either the free 2 GB account or the paid minimum 2 TB plan, if they want to maintain public access to their files from Dropbox links already shared on the internet.
August 2016 password leak
In August 2016, email addresses and passwords for 68 million Dropbox accounts were published online, with the information originating from the 2012 email spam issue. Independent security researcher Troy Hunt checked the database against his data leak website, and verified the data by discovering that both the accounts belonging to him and his wife had been disclosed. Hunt commented that "There is no doubt whatsoever that the data breach contains legitimate Dropbox passwords, you simply can't fabricate this sort of thing". In a blog post, Dropbox stated: "The list of email addresses with hashed and salted passwords is real, however we have no indication that Dropbox user accounts have been improperly accessed. We're very sorry this happened and would like to clear up what's going on." The company outlined details that the information was "likely obtained in 2012", with the company first hearing about the list two weeks earlier, at which time they immediately started an investigation. "We then emailed all users we believed were affected and completed a password reset for anyone who hadn't updated their password since mid-2012. This reset ensures that even if these passwords are cracked, they can't be used to access Dropbox accounts."
January 2017 accidental data restoration
In January 2017, Dropbox restored years-old supposedly deleted files and folders in user accounts. In one example, a user reported that folders from 2011 and 2012 returned. In explaining the issue, a Dropbox employee wrote on its forum that "A bug was preventing some files and folders from being fully deleted off our servers, even after users had deleted them from their Dropbox accounts. While fixing the bug, we inadvertently restored the impacted files and folders to those users' accounts. This was our mistake; it wasn't due to a third party and you weren't hacked. Typically, we permanently remove files and folders from our servers within 60 days of a user deleting them. However, the deleted files and folders impacted by this bug had metadata inconsistencies. So we quarantined and excluded them from the permanent deletion process until the metadata could be fixed".
July 2018 anonymized data analysis
In July 2018, researchers at Northwestern University published an article in Harvard Business Review on the analysis of the habits of tens of thousands of scientists using anonymized data provided by Dropbox. The data used was over the period from May 2015 to May 2017 from all scientists using the platform across 1000 universities. Personal names attached to the data was removed by Dropbox, but according to Casey Fiesler, researcher at Colorado University, the folder titles and file structures that were provided could be used to identify individuals. Dropbox, later in a blog post, said that the reverse identification of the data was impossible. The data was provided without the express consent of the 16 thousand people whose information was accessed.
February 2021 allegations by former employees of gender discrimination
In February 2020, a document containing interviews with 16 current and former Dropbox employees claimed to be victims of gender discrimination was obtained by VentureBeat. The subjects of the report alleged discrimination point to examples such as "changing standards for promotions, unequal compensation, being set back in their careers after maternity leave, and experiencing retribution when they take their cases to HR". The report also detailed instances of alleged harassment and demotion after employees filed a complaint with Dropbox HR or returned to work following maternity leave.
References
Dropbox |
50757527 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magne%20J%C3%B8rgensen | Magne Jørgensen | Magne Jørgensen (born 10 October 1964) is a Norwegian scientist and software engineer in the field of scientific computing. Jørgensen is Chief Research Scientist at Simula Research Laboratory and is involved in the Research Group for Programming and Software Engineering as Professor at the Department for Informatics at the University of Oslo.
Career
Jørgensen received his Master of Science in Economy and Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1988. In 1994 he received his Ph.D. degree in Software Engineering from the University of Oslo, Norway, based on a thesis on “Empirical studies of software maintenance”. Jørgensen worked as a senior scientist at Telenor Research and Development from 1989 until 1998, when he moved shortly to Storebrand. In 1999 he became Associate Professor in Software Engineering at the Department for Informatics at the University of Oslo, and in 2002 he was appointed full professorship. He has been at Simula Research Laboratory as a Chief Research Scientist and member of the software engineering research group since 2001.
Research
Jørgensen's fields of research include management of software projects, software development methods, judgment and decision-making in software development, and empirical methods for software engineering. The primary focus of Jørgensen's research is estimation of ICT projects.
Together with Tore Dybå and Barbara Kitchenham, he has launched a method for systematic review of empiric experiences in the development of ICT projects, called Evidence-based software engineering. In 2014 Jørgensen, together with Dybå and Kitchenham, received the ACM Sigsoft award for the most influential paper in the last ten years for the initial paper on evidence-based software engineering.
Research impact and authorship
Jørgensen was ranked as the “top scholar”, i.e. the most productive researcher, in system and software engineering for the periods 2001–2005, 2002–2006, 2003-2007 and 2004–2008. The rankings, published in Journal of Systems and Software, is based on number of publications published in the top system and software engineering journal and includes about 4000 researchers.
Since 2004, Jørgensen has been writing a monthly column in the Norwegian magazine Computerworld, transferring research results to software professionals.
Jørgensen is a member of the editorial board of Journal of Systems and Software and Evidence-based Information Systems. Previously he was on the editorial board of Software Quality Journal.
Jørgensen was assessed by Computerworld Norway to be one of the fifty most influential professionals within ICT in Norway in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Together with Scienta, Jørgensen compiled a report on successes and failures in public ICT projects. Since 2016 Jørgensen has been Member of the Norwegian Digitization Council.
Selected works
Kitchenham, Barbara A., Tore Dybå, and Magne Jørgensen. "Evidence-based software engineering." Proceedings of the 26th international conference on software engineering. IEEE Computer Society, 2004.
Dybå, Tore, Barbara A. Kitchenham, and Magne Jørgensen. "Evidence-based software engineering for practitioners." IEEE Software 22.1 (2005): 58–65.
Jørgensen, Magne, and Martin Shepperd. "A systematic review of software development cost estimation studies." Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on 33.1 (2007): 33–53.
Moløkken, Kjetil, and Magne Jørgensen. "A review of software surveys on software effort estimation." Empirical Software Engineering, 2003. ISESE 2003. Proceedings. 2003 International Symposium on. IEEE, 2003.
References
External links
Cristin
Simula Research Laboratory
Norwegian computer scientists
University of Oslo alumni
University of Oslo faculty
1964 births
Living people |
18862338 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet%20Poker | Planet Poker | Planet Poker was the first real-money cardroom for playing online poker, opening in 1998.
History
The pioneer
Without an existing model to follow, Planet Poker founder Randy Blumer was entering uncharted territory. During the initial launch and testing phases in late 1997, Planet Poker started to build a customer base, placing advertisements in Card Player magazine. By the time the first real money table opened, a handful of customers were ready to play.
On 1 January 1998, after several months of planning and preparation, Planet Poker dealt a $3–$6 game of Texas hold 'em poker. As days turned to weeks, the small group of customers began to grow and the poker games started to run longer. Sometime in February 1998, a game continued through the night with enough players rotating in and out the game that it carried all the way through to the next evening. It was one of the major milestones in the history of online poker.
By the early summer of 1998, Planet Poker had amassed a following, and games regularly ran around the clock. Game selection was increased to meet the demand of the steady stream of new players. For the remainder of 1998, Planet Poker continued to grow, but as with any rapidly growing business, new challenges emerged. Credit card payments were accepted to allow customers an easy means of getting money into and out of the game. However, by far the largest challenges were technical in nature, and problems often required days to fully resolve. The Internet itself was in its infancy and was often plagued by geographic outages and poor connections. Nearly all the players were using dial-up Internet access.
Technical problems were further compounded by the growing demand for more features and enhancements. The site lacked many of the necessary playing features, and the backend capability did not adequately manage the cardroom. Planet Poker assembled an in-house team to address the backend issues, but the playing features were more of a challenge.
Implementation of new playing features required changes to the core game software and Planet had to rely on the third-party supplier to make them. Recognizing the importance of getting these features in place, agreements were renegotiated with the supplier that provided the software provider with generous payments to implement needed changes. However, the software supplier had mixed business interests, and the pace of developing the changes was less than required to keep pace with the evolving online poker industry. Maintaining a relationship with the software supplier soon became a time consuming effort that diverted resources from other aspects of the business.
Competition arrives
Then in 1999, without advance notice, a new cardroom called Paradise Poker emerged. Coincidentally, in the week that Paradise Poker launched, Planet Poker was plagued with technical problems that led to several days of downtime. By the time Planet Poker recovered, Paradise had established a foothold, and the online poker industry got its first taste of competition.
Almost overnight, Paradise Poker attained instant success, and its customer base soon surpassed Planet’s, despite Planet’s growth continuing at a record pace. In a few short months, the number of concurrent players at peak times grew from 400 at Planet to 1500 at Planet and Paradise combined, with Paradise emerging as the clear industry leader with superior features and improved stability.
Planet staff recognized that it would take time to catch up to Paradise Poker on the technical front. Planet focused on providing the highest level of integrity and security for their customers. Mike Caro was engaged as one of the most respected, recognized names in poker to guide and represent Planet Poker’s operation. The "mad genius of poker" provided instant credibility to Planet Poker and the online poker industry as a whole. Roy Cooke also joined the Planet team, as the cardroom manager.
By early 2000, the capability gap between Planet Poker and Paradise Poker was continuing to widen. A new company, Acekicker.com Holdings Inc., was formed to develop software for Planet Poker. Based on Planet’s operational experience, a set of requirements was formulated that would allow Planet to re-capture the number one position in the industry. AceKicker’s initial efforts were plagued by issues with an offshore software developer, and the development of the software was delayed. By the time the issues were resolved and the development was moved to Canada, there were several new well-funded entrants in the online poker industry, and Planet was chasing a moving target. Most of Planet’s financial resources were diverted to software development. Planet now lacked the funding and expertise to compete with the industry giants in marketing. Planet would not launch its new system until 2004 and by this time, Party Poker dominated the industry, with a handful of rivals clustered near second place.
From 2002 onward, Planet Poker remained a steady fixture as the industry evolved. Many new poker rooms came and went. There was continuing explosive growth in the number of online poker players, but while Planet still retained a loyal customer base, it could never seem to increase its critical mass to a point where it could compete with the larger sites. Planet Poker would peak at around 1200 players, while other cardrooms were setting new daily records that would eventually exceed 100,000. Planet Poker continued on as a small cardroom, with its friendly atmosphere as the primary attraction.
Legislation
In September 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the U.S. changed the legal landscape for the industry. By the time the act was passed, Planet Poker had registered over three quarters of a million customers.
In response to the UIGEA, however, Planet Poker suspended real money operations in March 2007. Planet Poker previously operated as a free play (subscription based) poker site through 2007-2017.
Ceasing Operations
Planet Poker ceased operations in 2017.
References
External links
Official site
Defunct poker companies |
11814754 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond%20Paul%20Henry | Desmond Paul Henry | Desmond Paul Henry (1921–2004) was a Manchester University Lecturer and Reader in Philosophy (1949–82). He was one of the first British artists to experiment with machine-generated visual effects at the time of the emerging global computer art movement of the 1960s (The Cambridge Encyclopaedia 1990 p. 289; Levy 2006 pp. 178–180). During this period, Henry constructed a succession of three electro-mechanical drawing machines from modified bombsight analogue computers which were employed in World War II bombers to calculate the accurate release of bombs onto their targets (O'Hanrahan 2005). Henry's machine-generated effects resemble complex versions of the abstract, curvilinear graphics which accompany Microsoft's Windows Media Player. Henry's machine-generated effects may therefore also be said to represent early examples of computer graphics: "the making of line drawings with the aid of computers and drawing machines" (Franke 1971, p. 41).
During the 1970s Henry focused on developing his Cameraless Photography experiments. He went on to make a fourth and a fifth drawing machine in 1984 and 2002 respectively. These later machines however, were based on a mechanical pendulum design and not bombsight computers (O'Hanrahan 2005).
Artistic career
It was thanks to artist L. S. Lowry, working in collaboration with the then director of Salford Art Gallery, A. Frape, that Henry's artistic career was launched in 1961 when he beat a thousand contestants to win a local art competition at Salford Art Gallery, entitled "London Opportunity." The picture that won Henry this prize was one based on his own photo-chemical technique, and not a machine drawing. The prize for winning this competition was a one-man exhibition show in London at the Reid Gallery. Lowry knew how crucial such a London show could be in bringing an artist to public attention. As one of the competition judges, Lowry visited Henry's home in Burford Drive, Manchester, to view his range of artistic work. (O'Hanrahan 2005). Here it was Lowry first saw Henry's Drawing Machine 1 in action. This led to Henry having "the world's first ever one-man machine show" (Henry) at Salford Art Gallery in July 1962. Lowry insisted Henry also include some machine drawings alongside his photo-chemical ones, in the London exhibition of August 1962 called "Ideographs" (O'Hanrahan 2005). This London exhibition was his prize for winning the "London Opportunity" competition.
It was this London exhibition of machine-produced effects which led to Henry and his first drawing machine being included in the first ever programme in the BBC's North at Six series and to his being approached by the American magazine Life (O'Hanrahan 2005). Henry and his first drawing machine were to be featured in this magazine, but the article was scrapped following the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. The generally positive response his pictures received reflects the zeitgeist of technological optimism of the 1960s (O'Hanrahan 2005). The Guardian of 17/9/62 described the images produced by this first machine as being "quite out of this world" and "almost impossible to produce by human hand".
Henry's machine-generated effects went on to be exhibited at various venues during the 1960s, the most major being Cybernetic Serendipity (1968) held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (I.C.A) in London. This represented one of the most significant art and technology exhibitions of the decade (Goodman 1987). In this exhibition Drawing Machine 2 itself was included as an interactive exhibit. "Cybernetic Serendipity" then went on to tour the United States, where exhibition venues included the Corcoran Gallery in Washington and San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts (O'Hanrahan 2005).
This second machine returned from its tour of the United States in 1972 in a complete state of disrepair (O'Hanrahan 2005). Such technical failures were not unusual in electric and motor-driven exhibition items (Rosenburg 1972). More recently, frequent mechanical and/or electronic computer breakdowns contributed to the decision to close Artworks, (The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester, U.K) in March 2003 after only three years in operation as a permanent, technology-based, interactive exhibition (O'Hanrahan 2005).
Inspiration: the bombsight computer
The main component of each Henry drawing machine was the bombsight computer. These mechanical analogue computers represented some of the most important technological advancements of World War II. However, by the 1960s they already represented "old" technology when compared to the more modern digital computers then available (O'Hanrahan 2005).
The mechanical analogue bombsight computer was employed in World War II bomber aircraft to determine the exact moment bombs were to be released to hit their target. The bombardier entered information on air and wind speed, wind direction, altitude, angle of drift and bomb weight into the computer which then calculated the bomb release point, using a complex arrangement of gyros, motors, gears linked to a separate telescope (Jacobs 1996).
It was in 1952 that Henry purchased his very first Sperry bombsight computer, in mint condition, from an army surplus warehouse in Shude Hill, Manchester. This purchase was inspired by Henry's lifelong passion for all things mechanical, which had been further fuelled by seven years serving as a technical clerk with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during World War II (O'Hanrahan 2005). Henry so marvelled at the mechanical inner workings of this bombsight computer in motion, that nine years later he decided to capture its "peerless parabolas" (as Henry termed its inner workings), on paper. He then modified the bombsight to create the first drawing machine of 1961. This first machine was "cannibalised" (Henry) to create a second one in the autumn of 1962. A third machine was constructed in 1967 (O'Hanrahan 2005). These machines created complex, abstract, asymmetrical, curvilinear images, which were either left untouched as completed drawings or embellished by the artist's hand in response to the suggestive machine-generated effects. None of Henry's machines now remains in operational order (O'Hanrahan 2005).
The drawing machines
Each Henry drawing machine was based around an analogue bombsight computer in combination with other components which Henry happened to have acquired for his home-based workshop in Whalley Range, Manchester (O'Hanrahan 2005). Each machine took up to six weeks to construct and each drawing from between two hours to two days to complete. The drawing machines relied upon an external electric power source to operate either one or two servo motors which powered the synchronisation of suspended drawing implement(s) acting upon either a stationary or moving drawing table (O'Hanrahan 2005). With the first drawing machine Henry employed biros as the mark-making implement; however with the machines that followed he preferred to use Indian ink in technical tube pens, since these effects, in contrast to biro ink, do not risk fading upon prolonged exposure to sunlight (O'Hanrahan 2005).
How the drawing machines operated
Henry's drawing machines were quite unlike the conventional computers of the 1960s since they could not be pre-programmed nor store information (O'Hanrahan 2005). His machines relied instead, as did those of artist Jean Tinguely, upon a "mechanics of chance" (Pontus Hulten in Peiry 1997, p. 237). That is to say, they relied upon the chance relationship in the arrangement of each machine's mechanical components, the slightest alteration to which, (for example, a loosened screw), could dramatically impinge on the final result. In the words of Henry, he let each machine "do its own thing" in accordance with its sui generis mechanical features, with often surprising and unpredictable results. The imprecise way Henry's machines were both constructed and operated ensured that their effects could not be mass-produced and would be infinitely varied (O'Hanrahan 2005).
Such imprecise tools as Henry's machines, have been judged by some to enhance artistic creativity as opposed to modern computer imaging software which leaves no scope for artistic intuition (Smith 1997). Nor could Henry's machines have been accused of preventing the artist from exercising aesthetic choice. They were truly interactive, like modern computer graphic manipulation software. With a Henry drawing machine, the artist had general overall control and was free to exercise personal and artistic intuition at any given moment of his choosing during the drawing production process (O'Hanrahan, 2005).
Both these elements of chance and interaction were in contrast to most other computer artists or graphic designers of the period, for whom the first stage in producing a digital computer graphic was to conceive the end product. The next stage was one where, "mathematical formulae or geometric pattern manipulations (were) found to represent the desired lines. These were then programmed into a computer language, punched onto cards, and read into the computer" (Sumner 1968 p. 11).
Machine-generated effects
In 2001 Henry's machine-generated work was discussed in terms of the use made, since earliest times, of a range of tools for producing similar abstract, visual effects (O'Hanrahan 2001). Once Henry himself had beheld the visual effects produced by his first machine, he then strove to find possible precursors such as the organic forms described in natural form mathematics. (D'Arcy-Thompson 1917; Cook 1914). Henry also compared his machine-generated effects to those produced using earlier scientific and mathematical instruments such as: Suardi's Geometric Pen of 1750 (Adams 1813), Pendulum Harmonographs (Goold et al., 1909) and the Geometric Lathe as used in ornamental and bank-note engraving (Holtzapffel 1973 [1894]).
His inclusion in 1968 in "Cybernetic Serendipity" enabled him to further contrast his machine-generated effects with similar though less complex and varied ones produced using a variety of tools. These included effects displayed on a visual display screen using a cathode-ray oscilloscope (Ben F. Laposky in Cybernetic Serendipity 1968) and those produced using a mechanical plotter linked to either a digital (Lloyd Sumner in Cybernetic Serendipity 1968) or analogue computer (Maughan S. Mason in Cybernetic Serendipity 1968). However Henry's drawing machines, in contrast to other precision mark-making instruments like the lathe and mechanical plotter, relied heavily upon the element of chance both in their construction and function (O'Hanrahan 2005). This random characteristic ensured the unrepeatable quality of his machine-generated effects.
Fractal mathematics
Henry's introduction in 2001 to the aesthetic application of fractal mathematics (Briggs 1994[1992]) provided Henry with the necessary terms of reference for describing the chance-based operational aspects of his machines. Fractal mathematics could also help describe the aesthetic appreciation of his machine-generated effects or "mechanical fractals" (Henry 2002) as he came to term them (O'Hanrahan 2005).
Fractal systems are produced by a dynamic, non-linear system of interdependent and interacting elements; in Henry's case, this is represented by the mechanisms and motions of the drawing machine itself (O'Hanrahan 2005). In a fractal system, as in each Henry drawing machine, very small changes or adjustments to initial influences can have far-reaching effects.
Fractal images appeal to our intuitive aesthetic appreciation of order and chaos combined. Each Henry machine-produced drawing bears all the hallmarks of a fractal image since they embody regularity and repetition coupled with abrupt changes and discontinuities (Briggs 1994[1992]). In other words, they exhibit self-similarity (similar details on different scales) and simultaneous order and chaos. These images also resemble fractal "strange attractors", since groups of curves present in the machine-generated effects tend to form clusters creating suggestive patterns (Briggs 1994[1992]).
Fractal patterns, similar to Henry's machine-generated effects, have been found to exist when plotting volcanic tremors, weather systems, the ECG of heart beats and the electroencephalographic data of brain activity (Briggs 1994[1992]).
Henry found in fractals a means of both classifying his artistic activity and describing the aesthetic appreciation of his visual effects. Among the many artists who have previously employed what are now recognised as fractal images, are: "Vincent van Gogh's dense swirls of energy around objects; the recursive geometries of Maritus Escher; the drip-paint, tangled abstractions of Jackson Pollock" (Briggs 1994[1992] p. 166).
Art and technology
Some would argue that scientific and technological advances have always influenced art in terms of its inspiration, tools and visual effects. In the words of Douglas Davis: "Art can no more reject either technology or science than it can the world itself" (Davis 1973, introduction). In his writings Henry himself often expressed his lifelong enthusiasm for fruitful collaborations between art and technology (Henry: 1962, 1964, 1969, 1972). Indeed his first expression of such collaboration in 1962, preceded by five years the establishment of EAT (Experiments in Art and Technology, USA) in 1967.
During the First Machine Age, prior to World War II, enthusiasm for technological advances was expressed by the Machine Aesthetic which heralded the Modern Movement (Banham 1960). Affiliated art movements of this time which shared aspects of the Machine Aesthetic included: Purism in France, Futurism in Italy (both of which celebrated the glories of modern machines and the excitement of speed), Suprematism, Productivism in Russia, Constructivism, Precisionism in North America and kinetic sculpture (Meecham and Sheldon 2000).
By the 1960s, in the Second Machine Age, technology provided not only the inspiration for art production but above all its tools (Popper 1993), as reflected by the Art and Technology movement in the United States. Adherents to this movement employed only the very latest available computer equipment. In this early phase of computer art, programmers became artists and artists became programmers to experiment with the computer's creative possibilities (Darley, 1990). Since Henry worked in comparative artistic and scientific isolation, he did not have access to the latest technological innovations, in contrast to those working, for example, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (O'Hanrahan 2005).
By the 1970s, the earlier enthusiasm for technology witnessed in the 60s gave way to the post-modern loss of faith in technology as its destructive effects, both in war and on the environment, became more apparent (Lucie-Smith 1980). Goodman (1987) suggests that it is since 1978 that a second generation of computer artists may be recognised; a generation which no longer needs to be electronically knowledgeable or adept because the "software does it for them" (Goodman 1987, p. 47). This is in contrast to Henry who had to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to manipulate and modify the components of the bombsight computers in order to construct and operate the drawing machines (O'Hanrahan 2005).
During the 1980s, the application in computers of the microchip (developed by 1972) increased the affordability of a home computer and led to the development of interactive computer graphics programmes like Sketchpad and various Paintbox systems (Darley 1991). During this period, computer art gave way almost completely to computer graphics as the computer's imaging capabilities became exploited both industrially and commercially and moved into entertainment related spheres, e.g.: Pixar, Lucas Films. (Goodman 1987) The computer once again became, for some, an undisputed artistic tool in its own right (Goodman 1987).
This renewed enthusiasm in the computer's artistic possibilities has been further reflected by the emergence towards the end of the twentieth century of various forms of cyber, virtual, or digital art, examples of which include algorithmic art and fractal art. By the twenty-first century, digitally produced and/or manipulated images came to be exhibited in galleries as veritable works of art in their own right (O'Hanrahan 2005).
Legacy
Henry's drawing machines of the 1960s represent a remarkable innovation in the field of art and technology for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the bombsight analogue computer provided not only the inspiration but also the main tool for producing highly original visual effects (O'Hanrahan 2005). Secondly, his machines' reliance on a mechanics of chance, as opposed to pre-determined computer programmes, ensured the unrepeatable and unique quality of his infinitely varied machine-generated effects or "Machine Pollocks" as Henry called them. (O'Hanrahan 2005). Thirdly, the spontaneous, interactive potential of his drawing machines' modus operandi pre-empted by some twenty years this particular aspect of later computer graphic manipulation software (O'Hanrahan 2005). As a result, The drawing machines and their visual effects represent pioneering precursors to the Digital Art produced by today's computer software.
Finally, Henry was never artistically inspired by the graphic potential of the modern digital computer (O'Hanrahan 2005). He much preferred the direct interaction afforded by the clearly visible interconnecting mechanical components of the earlier analogue computer and as a consequence of his drawing machines also. This was in stark contrast to the invisible and indirect workings of the later digital computer: "the mechanical analogue computer, was a work of art in itself, involving a most beautiful arrangement of gears, belts, cams differentials and so on- it still retained in its working a visual attractiveness which has now vanished in the modern electronic counterpart; … I enjoyed seeing the machine work…". (Henry, 1972)
In view of these considerations, Henry's 1960's electro-mechanical drawing machines may be said to not only reflect the early experimental phase of Computer Art and computer graphics but to also provide an important artistic and technological link between two distinct ages of the twentieth century: the earlier Mechanical/Industrial Age and the later Electronic/Digital Age (O'Hanrahan 2005).
See also
Interactive art
L.S. Lowry
Fractal art
References
Adams, George (1813), Geometrical and Graphical Essays, W & S. Jones, London. (Courtesy of the Science Museum Library, London).
Banham, Reyner (1996 [1960]), Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, Architectural Press, Oxford.
Briggs, John (1994[1992]), Fractals: the Patterns of Chaos, Thames and Hudson, London.
Cambridge Encyclopaedia (1990), Crystal, D. (ed.), "Computer Art" by David Manning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 289.
Cook, Theodore (1979[1914]), The Curves of Life: An account of spiral formations and their application to the growth in nature, science and art, Dover, New York.
Cybernetic Serendipity,[exh.cat] (1968). Reichardt, Jasia (ed.), Studio International, Special Issue, London.
Darley, Andy (1990), "From Abstraction to Simulation" in Philip Hayward (ed.)(1994[1990]) Culture, Technology and Creativity in the Late Twentieth Century, John Libbey & Company. London, pp. 39–64.
Darley, Andy (1991), 'Big Screen, Little Screen' in Ten-8:vol.2, no.2: Digital Dialogues, (ed. Bishton), pp. 80–84.
Davis, Douglas (1973) Art and The Future, Praeger, New York.
Franke, H.W (1971), Computer graphics, Computer Art, Phaedon, Oxford, p. 41.
Goodman, Cynthia (1987), Digital Visions: Computers and Art, Abrams, New York.
Goold, J., Benham, C.E., Kerr, R., Wilberforce, L.R., (1909), Harmonic Vibrations, Newton & Co., London.
Henry, D.P. (1962), A New Project for Art. Unpublished article submitted to Today 04/03/62.
Henry, D.P. (1964), "Art and Technology", in Bulletin of the Philosophy of Science Group, Newman Association, No. 53.
Henry, D.P (1969), "The End or the Beginning?" in Solem (Manchester Students' Union Magazine) pp. 25–27.
Henry, D.P (1972), Computer graphics: a case study. (lecture given to Aberdeen University art students).
Holtzapffel, John Jacob (1973[1894]), The Principles and Practice of Ornamental or Complex Turning, Dover, New York.
Jacobs, Peter (1996), The Lancaster Story, Silverdale Books, Leicester.
Levy, David (2006) Robots Unlimited-Life in a Virtual Age, A.K.Peters, Wellesley, USA, pp. 178–180.
Lucie-Smith, Edward (1980), Art in the Seventies, Phaedon, Oxford.
Meecham, Pam and Sheldon, Julie (2000), Modern Art: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, London.
O’Hanrahan, Elaine (2001)(interview) Intercultural Drawing Practice: the Art School Response In Jagjit Chuhan, (ed.) (2001), Responses: Intercultural Drawing Practice, Cornerhouse Publications, Manchester, pp.: 40–47.
O’Hanrahan, Elaine (2005), Drawing Machines: The machine produced drawings of Dr. D. P. Henry in relation to conceptual and technological developments in machine-generated art (UK 1960–1968). Unpublished MPhil. Thesis. John Moores University, Liverpool.
Peiry, Lucienne (1997), Art Brut- The Origins of Outsider Art, Flammarion, Paris.
Popper, Frank (1993), Art of the Electronic Age, Thames and Hudson, London.
Rosenberg, Harold (1972), The De-definition of Art, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Smith, Brian Reffin (1997), Post-modem Art, or: Virtual Reality as Trojan Donkey, or: horsetail tartan literature groin art in Stuart Mealing (ed.) (1997) Computers and Art, Intellect Books, Bristol, pp. 97–117.
Sumner, Lloyd (1968), Computer Art and Human Response, Paul B. Victorius, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Thompson, D'Arcy Wentworth (1961[1917]), On Growth and Form, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
External links
Artist's Website http://www.desmondhenry.com/
Desmond Paul Henry: How World War II Changed One Man's Life for the Better
Works held by the Victoria and Albert Museum
1921 births
2004 deaths
British digital artists
Fractal artists
Analog computers
Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester
Mathematical artists
20th-century British philosophers |
46361050 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple%20Photos | Apple Photos | Photos is a photo management and editing application developed by Apple. It was released as a bundled app in iOS 8 on September 17, 2014—replacing the Camera Roll—and released as a bundled app to OS X Yosemite users in the 10.10.3 update on April 8, 2015. It was released for tvOS 10 on September 13, 2016.
History
In June 2014, Apple announced its plan to discontinue the applications iPhoto and Aperture, to be replaced by a new application, Photos, at some point in 2015. Photos was included with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, released as a free update to users on April 8, 2015.
On September 13, 2016, the app was later included in tvOS 10.
Features
Photos is intended to be less complex than its professional predecessor, Aperture. Through version 4.0 (released with macOS 10.14 Mojave) the Photos app organized photos by "moment", as determined using combination of the time and location metadata attached to the photo. Starting in version 5.0 (released in 2019 with macOS 10.15 Catalina), photos can instead be browsed by year, month, or day.
Editing
Photos includes robust editing functions that are utilized with simple controls, such as a one-click auto-enhance button.
iCloud Photo Library
iCloud Photo Library is heavily integrated into the program, keeping photos and videos in sync with various Apple devices designated by the user (such as Macs, iPhones, and iPads), including edits and album structures. Storage starts at a complimentary 5 GB and can be bought in a number of tiers up to 2 TB. While iCloud integration is still optional, it is much more central to Photos as compared to iPhoto.
Professional printing
Like its predecessors, Photos initially included a number of options for professional printing of photos, which could then optionally be turned into books or calendars and mailed to an address. With Photos, Apple added new types of prints, including square sizes and the ability to print panoramas. In July 2018, Apple announced, via a pop-up message in Photos, that they would be discontinuing these services, adding that users should submit any final orders by September 30, 2018.
Sharing
iCloud Photo Sharing allows sharing photos with others. Others can view, like or comment existing shared photos or contribute new photos to the shared album. Other ways of sharing includes e-mail, social platform that integrates through iOS Extensions, or Apple's peer-to-peer AirDrop technology.
Criticism
Critics noted the loss of functionality in Photos as compared to its predecessors. For example, images could no longer be ordered as Events but were either automatically ordered chronologically into Moments or had to be put into albums. The latter did not allow for automatic sorting and it was necessary to configure Smart albums with customized user-defined rules to do so. Customers who had been using the Aperture application, abandoned by Apple on the release of Photos, were particularly angry about loss of professional-standard functionality. Apple customers who upgraded to OS X10.11 El Capitan, which was launched in 2015, found that if they had not first obtained the most recent version of iPhoto before ugrading, they were locked out of the application without warning. Since iPhoto had been removed from the Mac App Store, they had no alternative but to use Photos.
See also
Google Photos
darktable
gThumb
References
External links
Image organizers
Photo software
Raster graphics editors
Apple Inc. software
MacOS graphics software
IOS software
WatchOS software
TvOS software
2014 software
2015 software
IOS
IOS-based software made by Apple Inc. |
28839983 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%20identity%20card | German identity card | The German Identity Card (, ) is issued to German citizens by local registration offices in Germany and diplomatic missions abroad, while they are produced at the Bundesdruckerei in Berlin.
Obligation of identification
According to the German law of obligation of identification, it is compulsory for everyone in Germany age 16 or older to possess either an identity card or a passport. While police officers and some other government officials have a right to demand to see one of these documents, the law does not stipulate that one is obliged to submit the document at that very moment.
As everyone in Germany must possess an ID card or a passport, acceptance of other official documents (like driving licences) as proof of identity is not guaranteed, especially for old driving licences with less security. Driving licences issued before 2013 are not replaced in Germany, so the same document is kept.
German citizens travelling inside Europe (except Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and United Kingdom) or to Egypt, Georgia, Montserrat (max.14 days), Turkey, and on organized tours to Tunisia can use their ID card, which is a machine-readable travel document, instead of a passport.
Just like German passports, German identity cards are valid for ten years (six years if the holder is under 24 on the date of issue).
The ID card currently costs 37€ (€22.80 if the holder is under 24 on the date of issue).
History
In 1938, the Nazis obliged men of military age and Jews (who had a 'J' marked on their card) to carry identity cards. Shortly after the start of World War II, this was extended to apply to all citizens over the age of 15.
In 1951, both the West German and the East German authorities began issuing booklet identity cards in the ID-2 format.
In West Germany an improved identity card was developed in the 1980s and issued from April 1987 on. The card consisted of a single laminated sheet of paper with a machine-readable zone. To prevent counterfeiting, it contained watermarks, , microprinting, fluorescent dyes, and multi-colour fluorescent fibres. In addition, the holder's name was laser engraved into the plastic film and the holder's picture was printed on the document, so it could not be removed and replaced by a different one (unlike the older ID cards, where the picture was just glued to the document).
When East Germany joined West Germany on 3 October 1990, the West German identity card was introduced in the former East German territory; unexpired East German identity cards could still be used until 31 December 1995.
In November 2001, the so-called feature was added – a number of holographic security elements, including a three-dimensional German Eagle, a holographic copy of the holder's picture (the so-called Holographic Shadow Picture), a holographic copy of the machine-readable zone, holographic microprinting, and kinematic elements.
The current ID-1 type has been issued since November 2010. It contains an RFID chip similar to that in biometric passports. The chip stores the information given on the ID card (like name or date of birth), the holder's picture (which, unlike the picture on older ID cards, has to be a biometric one), and, if the holder wishes so, also his/her fingerprints. In addition, the new ID card can be used for online authentication (such as for age verification or for e-government applications). An electronic signature, provided by a private company, can also be stored on the chip.
Physical appearance
The current ID card is an ID-1 (credit card size) plastic card with an embedded RFID chip. It is covered with multi-colour guillochés and appears green-brown from a distance. All the information on it (except for nationality and colour of eyes) is given in German, English, and French.
Front side
The front side shows the German Eagle and the words " / FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY / " and " / IDENTITY CARD / ". It contains the following information:
Photo of ID card holder (biometric photo)
Document number (9 alphanumeric digits)
Access number for RFID chip (6 decimal digits)
Surname
Doctorate (only if holder holds this degree)
Birthname (only if differing from current surname)
Given name(s)
Date of birth (dd.mm.yyyy)
Nationality ()
Place of birth (Only the city/town of birth, no country)
Date of expiry (dd.mm.yyyy)
Signature of holder
Rear side
The rear side shows the Brandenburg Gate. It contains the following information:
Colour of eyes
Height in cm
Date of issue (dd.mm.yy)
Issuing authority
Residence (postal code, town, street, house number)
Religious name or Pseudonym (only if holder has one)
Machine-readable zone
Machine-readable zone
The MRZ is structured according to the ICAO standard for machine-readable ID cards:
First line
Second line
Third line
Empty spaces are represented by "<".
Different spellings of the same name within the same document
German names: German names containing umlauts (, , ) and/or are spelled in the correct way in the non-machine-readable zone of the ID card, but with , , and/or in the machine-readable zone, e.g. becomes , becomes , and becomes .
The transcription mentioned above is generally used for aircraft tickets etc., but sometimes (like in US visas) also simple vowels are used (, ), so passport, visa, and aircraft ticket may display different spellings of the same name.
The three possible spelling variants of the same name (e.g. ) in different documents sometimes lead to confusion, and the use of two different spellings within the same document may give persons unfamiliar with German orthography the impression that the document is a forgery.
Non-German names: In some names of naturalised citizens, some special letters that are not available may always be replaced by simple letters, also in the non-machine-readable zone. The "," which prints the German passports, uses the font LA8 Passport, which includes a Latin subset of the Unicode characters (ISO 10646), so that letters such as and can be displayed at least in the non-machine-readable ID card zone. In the machine-readable zone, special characters are either replaced by simple characters (e.g., becomes ) or transcribed according to the ICAO rules (e.g., becomes , becomes , etc.).
Names originally written in a non-Latin writing system may pose another problem if there are various internationally recognised transcription standards.
For example, the Russian surname is transcribed
"" in German,
"Gorbachev" in English (also ICAO standard),
"" in French,
"" in Spanish,
"" in Polish, and so on.
German identity documents use the in Germany officially registered name in Latin letters, normally based on transcription into German.
German naming law accepts umlauts and/or in family names as a reason for an official name change (even just the change of the spelling, e.g. from to or from to is regarded as a name change).
Chip
Newer ID cards contain an ISO 18000-3 and ISO 14443 compatible 13.56 MHz RFID chip that uses the ISO 7816 protocols. The chip stores the information given on the ID card (like name or date of birth), the holder's picture and, if the holder wishes so, also his/her fingerprints. In addition, the new ID card can be used for online authentication (e.g. for age verification or for e-government applications). An electronic signature, provided by a private company, can also be stored on the chip. According to EU rules cards issued after 2021 need to have fingerprints stored in the chip.
The document number, the photo, and the fingerprints can be read only by law enforcement agencies and some other authorities. All ID card
agencies have been supplied with reading devices that have been certified by the German
Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Agency staff can use these modules to display
all of the personal data stored on the chip, including the digital passport photo and, where
applicable, the stored fingerprints.
To use the online authentication function, the holder needs a six-digit decimal PIN. If the holder types in the wrong PIN, he has to type in the six-digit decimal access code given on the ID card to prove he/she really possesses the ID card. If the wrong PIN is used three times, a PUK must be used to unlock the chip.
The data on the chip are protected by Basic Access Control and Extended Access Control.
Security features
The identity card contains the following security features:
multicoloured
microprinting:
fluorescent elements which luminesce in various colors under UV light:
UV overprint:
eagles and (in macroprinting): red-orange
(in microprinting): yellow
: turquoise
randomly distributed fluorescent fibres: red, yellow, turquoise
tactile features:
access number for RFID chip and date of expire are tactile
surface embossing: map of Germany and microlettering
security thread: colour changes when viewed under different angles; is personalized: NNNNNNNNNN<<SURNAME<<GIVEN<NAMES<<<<<<<<<< (NNNNNNNNNN is the document number including a check digit; a total of 42 digits can be found on the thread))
changeable laser image: shows either the date of expire or the holder's portrait depending on angle
color-changing ink: the colour of the text changes from black to green to blue
2D and 3D holographic security elements:
colour-changing holograms: colour changes depending on angle (violet-blue-turquoise-green-yellow-orange-red)
holographic portrait: holographic reproduction of the holder's picture
four eagles at the left side of the holographic portrait: change their colour under a different angle than the portrait itself
document number: NNNNNNNNN, 9 digits
holder's name: SURNAME<<GIVEN<NAMES<<<<<<<<<<, 30 digits
green kinematic structures above the conventional picture:
eagle: bright eagle on dark hexagon changes to dark eagle on bright hexagon to letter in hexagon when document is tilted
hexagon: moves across the picture when document is tilted
stars: change their size when document is tilted
letter : moves across the picture and turns into a star
text on the left side of the picture; visible only under a certain angle
macrolettering:
microlettering:
machine-verifiable structure: a red spot which can be checked by machines
3D eagle: a red-gold eagle visible only under a certain angle
East German Identity Card
Identity cards in East Germany came in the form of paper booklets in a blue plastic cover, much like modern day passports. On the outside, the Emblem of the German Democratic Republic as well as the words "" ("German Democratic Republic") are embossed. Inside the cover page there is a notice to the bearer:
Bürger der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
Dieser Ausweis ist Ihr wichtigstes Dokument
Sie haben deshalb:
1. diesen Personalausweis stets bei sich zu tragen, sorgfältig zu behandeln, vor Verlust zu schützen und auf Verlangen der Volkspolizei vorzuzeigen bzw. auszuhändigen;
2. keine eigenmächtigen Eintragungen im Ausweis vorzunehmen, diesen nicht als Pfand oder zur Benutzung anderen Personen zu überlassen bzw. von anderen Personen entgegenzunehmen;
3. jeden Wohnungswechsel innerhalb von drei Tagen bei der zuständigen VP-Dienststelle zu melden;
4. jeden Verlust dieses Ausweises unverzüglich bei der nächsten VP-Dienststelle anzuzeigen.
Which translates to:
Citizen of the German Democratic Republic
This identity card is your most important document
Therefore you must:
1. carry this identity card with you at all times, handle it with care, protect it from loss, and show or hand it to the on demand;
2. not make any entries into this identity card, give it to another person as a pawn or to be used, or accept it as such;
3. notify the responsible office of any change of residence within three days;
4. immediately report any loss of this identity card to the nearest VP office.
See also
German passport
German residence permit (identity document for non-EU citizens living in Germany)
(identity document used in Nazi Germany)
National identity cards in the European Union
References
External links
General information about the new German ID card on personalausweisportal.de (German)
General information about the new German ID card on bundesdruckerei.de (English)
Security features of the new German ID card on bundesdruckerei.de (English)
Security features of the 1987–2001 ID card on PRADO (English)
Security features of the 2001–2010 ID card on PRADO (English)
Security features of the current ID card on PRADO (English)
Germany
Identity documents of Germany
Privacy in Germany |
12917 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great%20Internet%20Mersenne%20Prime%20Search | Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search | The Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) is a collaborative project of volunteers who use freely available software to search for Mersenne prime numbers.
GIMPS was founded in 1996 by George Woltman, who also wrote the Prime95 client and its Linux port MPrime. Scott Kurowski wrote the back end PrimeNet server to demonstrate distributed computing software by Entropia, a company he founded in 1997. GIMPS is registered as Mersenne Research, Inc. with Kurowski as Executive Vice President and board director. GIMPS is said to be one of the first large scale distributed computing projects over the Internet for research purposes.
, the project has found a total of seventeen Mersenne primes, fifteen of which were the largest known prime number at their respective times of discovery. The largest known prime is 282,589,933 − 1 (or M82,589,933 for short) and was discovered on December 7, 2018, by Patrick Laroche. On December 4, 2020, the project passed a major milestone after all exponents below 100 million were checked at least once.
The project relies primarily on the Lucas–Lehmer primality test as it is an algorithm that is both specialized for testing Mersenne primes and particularly efficient on binary computer architectures. There is also a trial division phase, used to rapidly eliminate many Mersenne numbers with small factors. Pollard's p − 1 algorithm is also used to search for smooth factors. In 2017, GIMPS adopted the Fermat primality test as an alternative option for primality testing. In September 2020, GIMPS has started using PRP proofs, which together with the very reliable error-check, devised by Robert Gerbicz, provide a complete confidence in the correctness of the test result, and thus eliminating the need for double checks.
History
The project began in early January 1996, with a program that ran on i386 computers.
The name for the project was coined by Luke Welsh, one of its earlier searchers and the co-discoverer of the 29th Mersenne prime.
Within a few months, several dozen people had joined, and over a thousand by the end of the first year.
Joel Armengaud, a participant, discovered the primality of M1,398,269 on November 13, 1996.
Status
, GIMPS has a sustained average aggregate throughput of approximately 1.21 PetaFLOPS (or PFLOPS). In November 2012, GIMPS maintained 95 TFLOPS, theoretically earning the GIMPS virtual computer a rank of 330 among the TOP500 most powerful known computer systems in the world. The preceding place was then held by an 'HP Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c G7' of Hewlett-Packard. As of July 2021 TOP500 results, the current GIMPS numbers would no longer make the list.
Previously, this was approximately 50 TFLOPS in early 2010, 30 TFLOPS in mid-2008, 20 TFLOPS in mid-2006, and 14 TFLOPS in early 2004.
Software license
Although the GIMPS software's source code is publicly available, technically it is not free software, since it has a restriction that users must abide by the project's distribution terms.
Specifically, if the software is used to discover a prime number with at least 100,000,000 decimal digits, the user will only win $50,000 of the $150,000 prize offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Third-party programs for testing Mersenne numbers, such as Mlucas and Glucas (for non-x86 systems), do not have this restriction.
GIMPS also "reserves the right to change this EULA without notice and with reasonable retroactive effect."
Primes found
All Mersenne primes are of the form , where p is a prime number itself. The smallest Mersenne prime in this table is
The first column is the rank of the Mersenne prime in the (ordered) sequence of all Mersenne primes; GIMPS has found all known Mersenne primes beginning with the 35th.
, 59,593,393 is the largest exponent below which all other prime exponents have been checked twice, so it is not verified whether any undiscovered Mersenne primes exist between the 48th (M57885161) and the 51st (M82589933) on this chart; the ranking is therefore provisional. Furthermore, 107,148,487 is the largest exponent below which all other prime exponents have been tested at least once, so all Mersenne numbers below the 51st (M82589933) have been tested.
The number M82589933 has 24,862,048 decimal digits. To help visualize the size of this number, if it were to be saved to disk, the resulting text file would be nearly 25 megabytes long (most books in plain text format clock in under two megabytes). A standard word processor layout (50 lines per page, 75 digits per line) would require 6,629 pages to display it. If one were to print it out using standard printer paper, single-sided, it would require approximately 14 reams of paper.
Whenever a possible prime is reported to the server, it is verified first (by one or more independent tests on different machines) before being announced. The importance of this was illustrated in 2003, when a false positive was reported to the server as being a Mersenne prime but verification failed.
The official "discovery date" of a prime is the date that a human first noticed the result for the prime, which may differ from the date that the result was first reported to the server. For example, M74207281 was reported to the server on September 17, 2015, but the report was overlooked until January 7, 2016.
See also
Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
List of distributed computing projects
PrimeGrid
References
External links
GIMPS visualization
GIMPS Forum
Distributed prime searches
Internet properties established in 1996
1996 establishments in the United States
Social information processing
Mersenne primes
Mathematics websites |
6069037 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma%20Governor%27s%20Cabinet | Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet | The Cabinet of the governor of Oklahoma is a body of the most senior appointed officials of the executive branch of the government of Oklahoma. Originally an informal meeting between the governor of Oklahoma and various government officials, the Governor's Cabinet has evolved into an important information link between the governor and the various agencies, boards and commissions that operate within state government.
Cabinet officers are appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the Oklahoma Senate. Once confirmed, all members of the Cabinet receive the title "Secretary" and serve at the pleasure of the governor. The Cabinet is responsible for advising the governor on the operations and policies of the State government.
The current Cabinet is serving under Governor Kevin Stitt.
History
When Governor of Oklahoma David Boren first took office, Oklahoma possessed no form of Cabinet system. Taking the example of other states, Governor Boren began holding semi-official and semi-regular meetings with various heads of state agencies whenever necessary. Under Boren’s successor, George Nigh, following the recommendation of the Nigh Commission, Oklahoma adopted an official Cabinet system with the enactment of the Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 which created an overlay of cabinet secretaries. However, the act did not transfer the statutory and constitutional powers delegated to the agencies, boards and commissions over to the cabinet secretaries. Some citizens argue that it should have but others say that 12-15 people should not replace the hundreds of agencies, boards and commissions within the tradition of active participatory democracy form of governance.
In 2009, the Oklahoma Legislature amended the Executive Branch Reform Act to mandate the establishment of the Secretary of Information Technology.
Cabinet Areas
The Executive Branch Reform Act first called for the creating of a Cabinet with no more than fifteen "cabinet areas" which were to consist of the various state agencies, committees, and boards with similar administrative objectives. These cabinet areas would not be agencies of the State and thus could not exercise the executive power of the State. They would only exist to better serve the Governor in crafting policy and information gathering. The original law mandated only one cabinet area: one containing the Department of Veteran Affairs. The law has since been amended to mandate the creation of Information Technology cabinet area. After that, the law allowed the Governor to create the other fourteen cabinet areas at his discretion until the Oklahoma Legislature formally created the cabinet areas. The heads of these executive cabinet area would be given the title of "Secretary" followed by the name of their cabinet area (or a shortened title thereof).
The Governor, within 45 days of taking office, is allowed to create his own cabinet, with anywhere from no less than 10 but no more than 15 "cabinet areas". The Governor is allowed to create any cabinet area he desires and to place whichever agencies, bureaus, and commissions he wants under those cabinet areas. For example, under Governor Frank Keating, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce each belonged to separate cabinet areas, while under Governor Brad Henry the Secretary of Commerce and Tourism was the cabinet secretary for both departments. Alternatively, under Governor Keating, the Secretary of Health and Human Services oversaw the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services while Governor Henry split the posts into a separate Secretary of Health to oversee the Health Department and a separate Secretary of Human Services to oversee the Human Services Department. Under the administration of Kevin Stitt, the Health Department and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services are grouped under the same cabinet secretary.
Regardless of the number of cabinet areas and their functions, at least one must be the Secretary of Veteran Affairs and must be charged with providing for Oklahoma's veterans and one must be the Secretary of Information Technology and must be charged with overseeing state use of information technology and telecommunications.
Following the Oklahoma Supreme Court case of Keating v. Edmondson in 2001, it was deemed illegal for a Governor to change the cabinet areas and their functions past the 45-day deadline unilaterally. In order to change a cabinet area after the first 45 days in office, the Governor must seek approval from the Oklahoma Legislature via legislation.
Cabinet Secretaries
Appointment
All Cabinet Secretaries are appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Oklahoma Senate. Potential appointees for Secretary positions may be appointed to serve as members of the Office of the Governor or may be selected from among the agency heads within the Secretary's cabinet area. If the Senate is not in session when the Governor nominates an individual, then the Cabinet Secretary serves on an unconfirmed basis until the next session of the Senate. Each Cabinet Secretary is appointed for a four-year term but may be removed at any time by the Governor. The only exception to this rule is Oklahoma Secretary of State, who serves a fixed four-year term.
Cabinet Secretary positions are semi-formal and are not legally classified as "officers of the State". As such, Cabinet Secretaries are allowed to hold another office within the State government. Examples of this include Matt Pinnell’s service as Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma and Secretary of Tourism and Branding under Governor Kevin Stitt since 2019, and previously Scott Meacham, who served as both the Secretary of Finance and Revenue and the State Treasurer of Oklahoma under Governor Brad Henry from 2005 to 2011.
Powers and Duties
Regardless of cabinet area, all Cabinet Secretaries are responsible for advising the Governor of any policy changes or problems within their area, advising the entities they represent of any policy changes or problems as directed by the Governor, and for coordinating information gathering as requested by the Legislature.
Cabinet Secretaries do not possess the power to direct or control any agency they represent outside of their ability to gather information. They have no authority to direct or control any agency within their Cabinet Area except their own direct staff. They also do not have the authority to hire or fire personnel in their Cabinet Area except those on their own direct staff. The component agencies are directed and controlled by their respective department heads. The Cabinet Secretaries may only direct a component agency when previously authorized by the Governor through executive order or if a Secretary serves concurrently as the head of that agency.
Each Cabinet Secretary is subject to the direction and control of the Governor. All agencies assigned to each Cabinet Secretary exercise their powers and duties in accordance with the general policy established by the Cabinet Secretary acting on behalf of the Governor. Each Cabinet Secretary has the power to resolve administrative, jurisdictional, operational, program, or policy conflicts between agencies or officials assigned to them, oversees and directs the formulation of program budgets for their assigned agencies, is responsible for holding their assigned agency heads accountable for their actions, and directs the development of goals, objectives, policies and plans for their assigned agencies.
Cabinet Positions
Current cabinet members
The current Cabinet, as of July 2021, serving under Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt is as follows:
Historic composition
See also
Government of Oklahoma
Cabinet of the United States
List of Oklahoma state agencies
Notes
External links
Executive Order 2011-06 establishing the current Cabinet system
Cabinet
United States state cabinets |
1013505 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox%20%28database%29 | Paradox (database) | Paradox is a relational database management system currently published by Corel Corporation.
It was originally released for MS-DOS by Ansa Software, and then updated by Borland after it bought the company. In mid 1991 Borland began the process to acquire Ashton-Tate and its competing
dBase product line; A Windows version was planned for release by Borland in 1992, but was delayed until January 1993, by which time Microsoft's Access for Windows was available. It was last updated in 2009.
Paradox for DOS
Paradox for DOS was a relational database management system originally written by Richard Schwartz and Robert Shostak, and released by their Belmont, California-based company Ansa Software in 1985.
The New York Times described it as "among the first of an emerging generation of software making extensive use of artificial intelligence techniques," and noted that Paradox could read the competing Ashton Tate's dBase files.
In September 1987, Borland purchased Ansa Software, including their Paradox/DOS 2.0 software. Notable classic versions were 3.5 and 4.5. Versions up to 3.5 were evolutions from 1.0. Version 4.0 and 4.5 were retooled in the Borland C++ windowing toolkit and used a different extended memory access scheme.
Paradox/DOS was a successful DOS-based database of the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, dBase and its xBase clones (Foxpro, Clipper) dominated the market. Other notable competitors were Clarion, DataEase, R:Base, and DataFlex.
The features that distinguished Paradox/DOS were:
An enhanced design and implementation of visual Query by Example that was supported by an AI engine for heuristic, dynamic query optimization.
Effective use of conventional, extended, and expanded memory – caching data tables and particularly indexes, which caused Paradox to execute tasks very quickly in contrast to the explicit skills required for xBase performance optimisation.
An innovative programming language, the Paradox Application Language (PAL), that was readable, powerful, and could be recorded from keyboard actions (rather like Lotus 1-2-3 macro recording).
Lotus-like text menus and windows, which was the native interface (in contrast to dBase, which had a command-line interface with menus layered on top).
Particularly in Paradox 1.0 and 2.0, the user and programming manuals won readability awards – they were copiously illustrated, well laid out, and explanations were written in common English.
There are a few MSDOS emulators, among which are https://dbdos.com/ (a paid-for product) and https://www.vdos.info/ (which has a freeware option), both of which provide the ability to run Paradox for DOS applications (such as Paradox 4.5 for DOS) on Windows Vista and above 64-bit operating systems.
Paradox for Windows
Paradox for Windows is distinctly different from Paradox for DOS, and was produced by a different team of programmers. Paradox for Windows applications are programmed in a different programming language called ObjectPAL. Although key features of the DOS product, the QBE and the database engine, were ports keeping the DOS code, there was a major break in compatibility from PAL to ObjectPAL and in the shift to a GUI design metaphor for Forms and Reports. The ObjectPAL changes were controversial but forced since PAL was based on keystroke recording actions that had no equivalent in Windows. An object-based language based on ideas from Hypercard was used in place of keystroke recording. The Forms and Reports designers used device-independent scaling including ability to work in zoomed mode for detailed layout. The mouse right-click was used for access to Forms and Reports properties, inspired by the Xerox Alto and Smalltalk, in a way now almost universal to Windows programs. The ObjectPAL was (like Hypercard) associated with the visual objects - also revealed by right click. Property inspection and layout tools could be "pinned up" to stay on screen, an idea borrowed from the NeXT and now fairly widely adopted in Windows.
For approximately the first year of development the object-oriented code was written in C aided by macros, until Turbo C++ was available, at which point the remaining parts of the code were written in C++. The product manager up until shipping version 1.0 was Joe Duncan. The development and QA team totaled about 30 people.
Both Paradox for Windows and Quattro Pro for Windows, a closely related project, started development under beta versions of Windows 3.0, in the spring of 1990. Paradox/Windows ended up delayed about a year beyond its original plan, shipping in early 1993. The reasons were many, but not entirely surprising for a major rewrite, in an OO language with new tools, shifting to a GUI paradigm, on what was essentially a first version operating system. Still it was a big problem for the company and Microsoft managed to ship Access a couple of months ahead of Paradox for Windows, a major marketing win for Microsoft.
In 1990, Borland also started work on an internal dBASE clone for both DOS and Windows, written in assembler, which was planned to ship in 1992. By early 1992 it became clear that Ashton-Tate was in difficulties on developing Windows versions of their products and so Borland switched plans, instead acquiring the company and anointing their internal project as the official successor. Part of the Ashton-Tate acquisition was the InterBase rdbms and it was decided that Paradox/W should be able to work with InterBase as well as the Paradox engine, and this led to the creation of an IDAPI engine based around InterBase.
The acquisition also shifted focus. Paradox had historically competed against dBASE in some markets, and Paradox/W originally was designed to improve the competitive position in the developer-oriented market. After dBASE was acquired, this was no longer desirable, and emphasis shifted toward an ease-of-use market. However the product could not be changed to match the emphasis (this occurred in later releases) at that late stage, making the product somewhat overly complex for the entry level market.
Microsoft's first desktop database program, Microsoft Access, did a good job of addressing that same market, and got there first when it debuted at COMDEX November 1992. In response to Borland's acquisition of Ashton-Tate, Microsoft acquired FoxPro and incorporated its Rushmore technology into the Access Jet Engine to significantly improve its performance.
Microsoft Access offered many features that were easier for end users and developers to implement, including a more intuitive query interface using Windows links between fields rather than the Paradox text tagging of fields in QBE, and the Access Basic programming language which was more similar to PAL than ObjectPAL. Access and Paradox significantly differed in the way they presented results from queries. Access showed records before a query was completed and without the overhead of creating an output table. Paradox showed the results only after all the records were retrieved and an ANSWER table created. This performance difference was significant for large datasets and negatively impacted Paradox/W.
Taking a cue from Borland's low price Quattro Pro spreadsheet debut against Microsoft Excel,
Microsoft Access debuted with a $99 price. This undercut the traditional DBMS prices of Paradox DOS, Paradox Windows, and dBase of around $799, which negatively impacted Borland more than any other firm.
The Borland management team, with its 85% market share of the desktop database market, severely underestimated the threat of Microsoft and Microsoft Access. Still, Paradox/W sold well for a while. Meanwhile, Borland was going through some serious problems caused by the Ashton-Tate acquisition. Many product lines were discontinued, corporate reorganization and consolidation was painful, and, even worse, the internal dBASE project at the center of the acquisition rationale was eventually canceled for technical reasons, leaving Borland with a collapse in revenues and a serious need to develop the missing dBASE for Windows in a hurry. Borland lost the strength to fight the multiple marketing battles it needed for its range of products. Paradox was minimally marketed to the developers since the company decided it would hold out for a replacement of dBASE, which eventually came out in 1994, too late for the company.
To make matters worse, while the dBASE for DOS clone (FoxBase) copied dBASE closely, the Windows version of this product was developed without an existing dBASE for Windows model. One of dBASE for DOS's strengths was multi-vendor support, and this was lost in the various Windows xBase products. Borland's Visual dBASE for Windows couldn't run Microsoft's Foxbase for Windows programs and vice versa. Faced with a fragmented market and the need to rewrite programs to take advantage of Windows, there was little incentive for xBase users to stay loyal to the brand they'd used for DOS.
In 1995, Microsoft bundled Access into their Microsoft Office Professional Suite with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This effectively killed the end-user desktop database market for standalone products.
Despite solid follow-on versions with improvements to usability for entry-level users, Paradox faded from the market. It was included in the sale of Borland products to WordPerfect, which were in turn resold as WordPerfect got into financial products, and, at the time of writing, Paradox for Windows, WordPerfect, and Quattro Pro for Windows are all owned by Corel and sold as part of their office suite. dBASE for Windows came out too late to be a significant player in the Windows market: most dBASE programmers by then had migrated to Microsoft FoxBASE, a very similar database tool. Borland itself retained the InterBase/IDAPI server and focused efforts on its Delphi tools, which over the years gave it an influential but small part of the data-oriented developer market.
Corel Paradox
Corel acquired certain rights to develop and market Paradox in the mid-1990s and released Corel Paradox 8 in 1997. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) began putting out information
about Corel Paradox version 8 in 1998.
Paradox was also bundled in the professional version of Corel's WordPerfect Office suite. Subsequent releases included Office Professional Edition versions 9, 10, 11, 12, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, X8, X9, and 2020. However, it has not been updated since 2009 with the Paradox Hot Fix 1 for X4. All later releases carry same version of 11.0.0.676.
Users
There is a strong Paradox user base, mainly centered on the Paradox Community and its associated newsgroups.
Although there are many fans of ObjectPAL, the programming language for Paradox/Windows, PAL/DOS scripts could not easily be migrated; the object and event models were completely different, forcing developers using PAL to completely rewrite their database applications.
Notes
References
Notes
External links
Java library to read Paradox databases
Paradox JDBC driver
Paradox Community
Paradox ObjectPAL code snippets
pxlib: Library to read and write Paradox databases
pxtools: convert a Paradox-database into a SQL-database
Watching the Death of Paradox and Rise of Microsoft Access
A DOS VM (paradox4dos.com) for running Paradox for DOS on Windows(R) 64-bit machines
Paradox DB file viewer
Borland software
Corel software
Desktop database application development tools
DOS software
Proprietary database management systems
Windows database-related software
1985 software |
7778528 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mxwendler | Mxwendler | MXWendler is a software system created by the German company device+context.
The software is intended to create live visuals, commonly used in clubs, music festivals, theatres, facade projections and arts events.
The software renders live video using common graphics hardware instead of using the CPU. The company's website claims this makes the software 'very fast'. Another aspect is the "generative aspect"' of the software: it has a built-in feedback loop which allows it to generate new videostreams by using the feedback characteristics as proposed by VJs like mxzehn instead of solely relying on triggered prepared footage clips.
See also
Video performance artist
External links
company homepage
mxzehn
Multimedia software |
12829655 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert%20Hugh%20Thompson | Herbert Hugh Thompson | Dr. Herbert Hugh Thompson is a computer security expert, an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Columbia University, and the Chief Technology Officer of Symantec. He is also the Program Chairman of RSA Conference the world's largest information security conference with over 25,000 attendees annually. Thompson is the co-author of a book on human achievement titled The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success published by Penguin in 2013 and has co-authored three books on information security including, How to Break Software Security: Effective Techniques for Security Testing published by Addison-Wesley, and The Software Vulnerability Guide published by Charles River 2005. He is perhaps best known for his role in exposing electronic voting machine vulnerabilities as part of the HBO Documentary Hacking Democracy. He was named one of the "Top 5 Most Influential Thinkers in IT Security" by SC Magazine and has been referred to by the Financial Times as "One of the world’s foremost cryptology and internet security experts."
Career
Thompson began his career as a research intern for Microsoft Corporation while working on his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at the Florida Institute of Technology, where he completed his degree in 2002. He then went on to co-found Security Innovation Inc., an application security company and worked as their Chief Security Strategist. In 2007 he started another technology security company called People Security and also began teaching a course on "Software Security and Exploitation" at Columbia University that focused on methods to circumvent security mechanisms in software. Thompson hosted a show that was sponsored by AT&T. He has written several books and over 100 peer reviewed papers on Computer Security and Hacking. Thompson has delivered keynotes at every RSA Conference since 2007. He has been interviewed by top news organizations including BBC News, Bloomberg Television, CNN, Fox News, The New York Times and the Associated Press. He is also a contributor to the New York Times, Scientific American and IEEE Security & Privacy magazine.
Thompson was Senior Vice President at security infrastructure company Blue Coat Systems., and was named CTO of Symantec after the acquisition of Blue Coat in August 2016.
Electronic Voting Security
In 2006, Thompson participated in four hack tests for the nonprofit election watchdog group Black Box Voting. Two of his tests involved altering election results reports on the Diebold GEMS central tally machines. Thompson also collaborated with Harri Hursti in the Black Box Voting projects in Leon County, Florida and Emery County, Utah. Thompson's GEMS central tabulator hack was achieved by inserting a Visual Basic script onto the GEMS server machine at election headquarters. Both the Visual Basic script hack by Thompson and the memory card hack by Hursti Hack can be seen in HBO's "Hacking Democracy" where Hursti and Thompson hacked into Diebold Election Systems's voting machines and central tabulator system in Leon County, Florida proving its vulnerability.
Education
Thompson completed his bachelors, masters and Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the Florida Institute of Technology.
Books
Sullivan, Bob, and Hugh Thompson. Getting Unstuck: Break Free of the Plateau Effect. Penguin, 2014.()
Sullivan, Bob, and Hugh Thompson. The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success. Penguin, 2013. ()
Thompson, Herbert H., and Scott G. Chase. The Software Vulnerability Guide. Charles River Media, 2005. ()
Thompson, Herbert H., and Spyros Nomikos. The Mezonic Agenda: Hacking the Presidency. Syngress Pub., 2004. ()
Thompson, Herbert H., and J. A. Whittaker. How to Break Software Security. Addison Wesley, 2003. ()
Thompson, Herbert H. "A Bayesian model of sequential test allocation for software reliability estimation." Ph.D. Dissertation, 2002 ()
References
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Florida Institute of Technology alumni
American computer specialists
Computer security academics
Bahamian emigrants to the United States
Florida Institute of Technology faculty
Columbia University faculty
People from Nassau, Bahamas |
273704 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron%20Yary | Ron Yary | Anthony Ronald Yary (born July 16, 1946) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. Yary gave credit for his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction to his former coaches, John Ashton (high school) John McKay (college) and Bud Grant (professional). He also praised his position coaches Marv Goux, Dave Levy, John Michaels and Jerry Burns.
Early years
Yary attended Bellflower High School in Los Angeles County, California and then spent one season at Cerritos College in 1964. In October 2001, the school named the football field Ron Yary Stadium. While attending Bellflower High School, Yary starred in football, baseball, and basketball.
College career
Anthony Ronald Yary was born in Chicago and attended Cerritos College in the fall semester of 1964. He then in the spring semester of (1965) transferred to the University of Southern California, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. As a sophomore in 1965, Yary was voted the Pac-8 defensive lineman of the year and All-West Coast for his play at defensive tackle. As a junior, he was moved to the offensive line where he was a consensus All-American as a junior in 1966 and a unanimous All-American choice in 1967, his senior year. He was the 1967 winner of both the Outland Trophy and the Knute Rockne Award, awards that annually go to the nation's top collegiate lineman. Yary was the first USC Trojan to win the Outland. In Yary's senior year of 1967 the Trojans won the NCAA football national championship under Coach John McKay. During Yary's three seasons, the Trojans compiled a 24-7-1 record. In 1987 Yary was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 30, 2012 representing USC.
Professional career
Yary was the first overall pick of the 1968 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, who had traded Fran Tarkenton to the New York Giants for that selection, becoming the first offensive lineman ever to be selected first overall. He played from 1968 to 1981 with the Minnesota Vikings, and 1982 with the Los Angeles Rams. During Yary's tenure with the Vikings, the team won 11 division titles. During that period, Minnesota won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC titles in 1973, 1974 and 1976, and played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX and XI where Yary was one of 11 Players to have played in all four games for the Vikings. Yary was named All-Pro 6 consecutive seasons (1971–76) and 2nd Team All-Pro in 1970 and 1977 and was an All-NFC choice from 1970 through 1977. He played in seven consecutive Pro Bowls, and was a major force in a Minnesota team that was highly successful throughout the 1970s. In addition to his All-pro honors, Yary was voted the NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year three times (1973–75) by the NFLPA and was named the NFL Outstanding Blocker of the Year by the 1,000 yard Club for 1975.
Yary won the starting right tackle job (military duty forced him to miss first three games) on the Vikings offensive line in his second season and remained as a fixture at that spot throughout his Minnesota tenure. He was voted to the 1970s All-Decade First Team after the 1979 season.
Yary was also durable and played in spite of injuries. He missed only two games due to injuries—both coming in 1980 with a broken ankle—in 14 years in Minnesota. Later that same year, he continued to play in spite of a broken foot. He was inducted to the Vikings Ring of Honor in 2000. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. He was the last offensive lineman to ever be drafted first overall until Orlando Pace was selected by Rams in 1997.
Personal life
Yary is married to his wife Jamie and has two sons, Jack (born 2001) and Grant (born 2005) and a daughter, Kinley (born c. 2010). Yary resides in Murrieta, California, and once co-owned a sports photography business with his brother Wayne, who bought Ron out in 2001. https://www.yaryphoto.com . His son Jack is a tight end for Murrieta Valley High School, and was committed to play at University of Washington before dropping out of the program because of his drug addiction.
References
External links
1946 births
Living people
American football offensive tackles
Cerritos Falcons football players
Los Angeles Rams players
Minnesota Vikings players
USC Trojans football players
All-American college football players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
National Conference Pro Bowl players
National Football League first overall draft picks
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
People from Bellflower, California
Players of American football from Chicago
Players of American football from California |
35571972 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary%20Jane%20Irwin | Mary Jane Irwin | Mary Jane Irwin is an Emerita Evan Pugh Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. She has been on the faculty at Penn State since 1977. She is an international expert in computer architecture. Her research and teaching interests include computer architecture, embedded and mobile computing systems design, power and reliability aware design, and emerging technologies in computing systems.
Irwin was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for contributions to VLSI architecture and automated design.
Biography
Education
Mary Jane Irwin received her B.S. in Mathematics from Memphis State University in 1971, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois in 1975 and 1977, respectively. Her dissertation research on the topic of computer arithmetic was supervised by Dr. James Robertson.
Career
Mary Jane Irwin joined the faculty of the Pennsylvania State University as an assistant professor in 1977. She was promoted to the rank of full professor in 1989. She retired in 2017.
Irwin has worked in the area of application-specific
architectures, including the design, implementation, and field-testing of three different board level designs---the Arithmetic Cube, the MGAP and SPARTA. With her student
Robert M. Owens they developed a suite of architecture, logic and circuit design
tools including ARTIST, PERFLEX, LOGICIAN, and DECOMPOSER.
In late 1993, Irwin worked in the area of resource constrained systems design including embedded systems that have limited battery life and limited memory space and sensor network systems that have extremely limited resources. With colleagues she developed an architectural level power simulator, SimplePower.
Irwin's recent work is in mixed technology circuits.
On October 1, 2019 the IEEE CEDA and ESD Alliance announced that Mary Jane Irwin will receive the 2019 Phil Kaufman Award, the EDA Industry's highest honor. She will be the first woman to receive the award.
Service to the Computing Community
Irwin has extensive service to the Computer Science research community. She is a member of the Board on Army Science and Technology, of ACM's Fellows Selection Committee, of Microsoft Research's External Research Advisory Board, and of NAE's Committee on Membership (Chair for the Class of 2012). Previously she served as a founding co-Editor-in-Chief of ACM's Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems and as Editor-in-Chief of ACM's Transactions on the Design Automation of Electronic Systems, as an elected member of the CRA's Board of Directors, of the IEEE Computer Society's Board of Governors, of ACM's Council, and as Vice President of ACM. She was also a long-time board member of CRA-W, the CRA's Committee on the Status of Women, where she is now a member emerita.
Personal life
Mary Jane Irwin was married in July 1966. She and her husband of 55 years have one son, John, who is also a computer scientist, and two grandchildren, Kai and Milo.
Honors and awards
2021 The CRA A. Nico Habermann Award
Irwin received an Honorary Doctorate from Chalmers University, Sweden.
2019 Phil Kaufman Award of the Electronic System Design Alliance and the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation
2012 ASP-DAC Ten-Year Retrospective Most Influential Paper Award
2010 The ACM Athena Lecturer Award, ACM, having been separately nominated by both the Computer Architecture and the Design Automation research communities.
2009 inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences AAAS
2007 Anita Borg Technical Leadership Award
2006 Computing Research Association (CRA) Distinguished Service Award
2005 ACM Distinguished Service Award
2004 Marie R. Pistilli Women in Electronic Design Automation Award
2003 IEEE/CAS VLSI Transactions Best Paper of the Year Award
2003 inducted into the NAE
1996 ACM Fellow
1994 IEEE Fellow
References
External links
Home Page
University of Memphis alumni
University of Illinois alumni
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Pennsylvania State University faculty
American women computer scientists
American computer scientists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Fellow Members of the IEEE
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Electronic engineering award winners
American women academics |
6526451 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy%20Game | Galaxy Game | Galaxy Game is a space combat arcade game developed in 1971 during the early era of video games. Galaxy Game is an expanded version of the 1962 Spacewar!, potentially the first video game to spread to multiple computer installations. It features two spaceships, "the needle" and "the wedge", engaged in a dogfight while maneuvering in the gravity well of a star. Both ships are controlled by human players.
Created by Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck, the initial prototype cost to build. It consisted of a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 minicomputer attached by a cable to a wooden console with a monitor, controls, and seats. It charged players 10 cents per game or 25 cents for three, and drew crowds "ten-deep". This was one of the first coin-operated video games; the prototype was installed in November 1971 at the Tresidder student union building at Stanford University, only a few months after a similar display of a prototype of Computer Space, making it the second known video game to charge money to play.
The pair built a second prototype, replacing the first in Tresidder in June 1972. It featured the capability to play multiple games simultaneously on four monitors, though due to space restrictions only two consoles with monitors were actually installed. These consoles had a blue fiberglass casing, and the PDP-11 was housed inside one of the consoles. By the time of its installation, the pair had spent on the project, but were unable to make the game commercially viable.
The second prototype remained in the student union building until 1979, when the display processor became faulty. It was restored and placed in the Stanford computer science department in 1997, then moved to the Computer History Museum in 2000, where it remains .
Background
At the beginning of the 1970s, video games existed almost entirely as novelties passed around by programmers and technicians with access to computers, primarily at research institutions and large companies. One of these games was Spacewar!, created in 1962 for the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-1 minicomputer by Steve Russell and others in the programming community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two-player game has the players engage in a dogfight between two spaceships, set against the backdrop of a starfield, with a central star exerting gravitational force upon the ships. The game was copied to several of the early minicomputer installations in American academic institutions after its initial release, making it potentially the first video game to be available outside a single research institute. Spacewar was extremely popular in the small programming community in the 1960s and was widely recreated on other minicomputer and mainframe computers of the time, later migrating to early microcomputer systems. Early computer scientist Alan Kay noted in 1972 that "the game of Spacewar blossoms spontaneously wherever there is a graphics display connected to a computer," and contributor Martin Graetz recalled in 1981 that as the game initially spread it could be found on "just about any research computer that had a programmable CRT". Although the game was widespread for the era, it was still very limited in its direct reach: the PDP-1 was priced at and only 55 were ever sold, most without a monitor, which prohibited the original Spacewar or any game of the time from reaching beyond a narrow, academic audience. The original developers of Spacewar considered ways to monetize the game, but saw no options given the high price of the computer it ran on.
In 1966, Stanford University student Bill Pitts, who had a hobby of exploring the steam tunnels and buildings of the campus, broke into a building he found out to be the location of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Project, which held a DEC PDP-6 time-sharing computer system with 20 Teletype consoles connected to it. Fascinated by the computer and having taken several introductory computer classes, Pitts convinced the head of the project, Lester Earnest, to let him use the computer after hours. Soon, Pitts had ceased going to classes, instead spending his nights in the computer lab interacting with the graduate and postgraduate students and playing Spacewar on the PDP-6. Pitts often played against Hugh Tuck, a student at California Polytechnic State University who was a friend from high school. During one Spacewar session that took place, depending on the source, between 1966 and 1969, Tuck remarked that a coin-operated version of the game would be very successful. Such a device was still unfeasible due to the cost of computers, and the pair did not pursue the project. In 1971, however, Pitts, who by then had graduated and was working at Lockheed as a PDP-10 programmer, learned of the 1970 DEC PDP-11, which was sold for around US$14,000. While this was still too high for a commercially viable product, as most electronic games in arcades cost around US$1,000 at the time, Tuck and Pitts felt it was low enough to build a prototype to determine interest and optimal per-game pricing.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Galaxy Game, like Spacewar!, involves two monochrome spaceships called "the needle" and "the wedge" (though their appearances have been modified for the coin-op version) each controlled by a player, attempting to shoot each other while maneuvering on a two-dimensional plane in the gravity well of a star, set against the backdrop of a starfield. The ships fire torpedoes, which are not affected by the gravitational pull of the star. The ships have a limited number of torpedoes and a limited supply of fuel, which is used when the player fires his thrusters. Torpedoes are fired one at a time, and there is a cooldown period between launches. The ships follow Newtonian physics, remaining in motion even when the player is not accelerating, though the ships can rotate at a constant rate without inertia.
Each player controls one of the ships and must attempt to shoot down the other ship while avoiding a collision with the star. Flying near the star can provide a gravity assist to the player at the risk of misjudging the trajectory and falling into the star. If a ship moves past one edge of the screen, it reappears on the other side in a wraparound effect. A hyperspace feature, or "panic button", can be used as a last-ditch means to evade enemy torpedoes by moving the player's ship to another location on the screen after disappearing for a few seconds, but the reentry from hyperspace occurs at a random location, and there is an increasing probability of the ship exploding with each use. Player controls include clockwise and counterclockwise rotation, forward thrust, firing torpedoes, and hyperspace. Galaxy Game features, as improvements over the original, optional modifications to the game to have faster ships, faster torpedoes, to remove the star and its gravitational field or reverse the gravity to push away from the star, and to remove the wraparound effect. The movement of the ships was controlled with a joystick, while the torpedoes, hyperspace, and game options are controlled via a panel of buttons.
Development
After deciding to begin work on a coin-operated version of Spacewar, the pair, with assistance from Tuck's family, bought a PDP-11 and started working on a prototype. They spent a total of to build a single arcade machine for two players, like the original Spacewar, deciding to price the game at ten cents per play or 25 cents for three games, with the winner of a match given a free game. They used a PDP-11/20 version of the PDP-11 (14,000), a Hewlett-Packard 1300A Electrostatic Display (3,000), and spent the remainder on the coin acceptors, joysticks, wiring, and casing. Pitts build the computer hardware and handled the programming, while Tuck, a mechanical engineer, designed the enclosing cabinet. The display adapter for the monitor was built by Ted Panofsky, the coin acceptors were sourced from jukebox manufacturer Rowe International, and the joysticks found at a military surplus store as remainders from B-52 bomber controls. The code for the game was based on a version of Spacewar running on a PDP-10 in the Stanford artificial intelligence lab, but modified with additional features.
Pitts and Tuck renamed their product from Spacewar to Galaxy Game due to anti-war sentiment and founded a company called Mini-Computer Applications in June 1971 to operate the game as it neared completion. The development of the prototype machine took around three and a half months. By August, they were well into development and had gotten permission to place the machine at the Tresidder student union building at Stanford as a test site. It was then that they received a call from Nolan Bushnell, who had heard of their project and wanted to show them his similar project he was working on.
Bushnell had also played Spacewar during the 1960s and wanted to make an arcade game version of it, but had gone in a different technological direction. He and Ted Dabney had initially started with a US$4,000 Data General Nova computer which they thought would be powerful enough to run multiple simultaneous games of Spacewar; when it turned out to not be, they had started investigating replacing the computer hardware with custom-built parts. They had soon discovered that while a general-purpose computer cheap enough for an arcade game would not be powerful enough to run enough games of Spacewar to be profitable, a computer purpose-built for solely running one game could be made for as low as US$100. By August 1971 when Bushnell called Tuck and Pitts, he and Dabney had already displayed a prototype of their Computer Space game in a bar near Stanford and had found a commercial manufacturer for the game in Nutting Associates. They were curious about what Tuck and Pitts had done to make a commercially competitive version of the game, but were relieved, though also somewhat disappointed, to find that they had not solved that problem yet.
Tuck and Pitts, on the other hand, while impressed with Bushnell's hardware were not impressed with the game itself. They felt that Computer Space, a single-player game without the central gravity well of the original game, was a pale imitation of Spacewar, while their own Galaxy Game was a superior adaptation of the game. In November 1971, the Galaxy Game prototype debuted. The veneered walnut console, complete with seats for players, was located on the second floor of the building and connected to the PDP-11 in the attic by a 100-foot cable. It was very successful; Pitts later said that the machine attracted crowds of people "ten-deep" watching the players. They briefly attached a second monitor hanging above the console so that the watchers could more easily see the game. The low prices meant that they did not come close to making back the price of the PDP-11, but they were excited by the game's reception and had not intended the prototype to be profitable. As the initial Galaxy Game prototype was displayed to the public a few months after the first Computer Space prototype, it is believed to be the second video game to charge money to play.
As a result of the reception to Galaxy Game, Pitts and Tuck started work on an expanded prototype. For the second machine, they built a full blue fiberglass casing for the consoles, improved the quality of the joysticks with the help of a machine shop, and modified the computer with a newer display processor to support up to four games at once on different monitors—either multiple simultaneous separate games or up to four players playing the same game on two screens. They also placed the PDP-11 inside one of the consoles rather than in a separate location. While the original plan had been to work on driving down the development costs after the initial prototype, the popularity of the game convinced the pair to instead focus on making a better machine that could run multiple games to recoup the upfront investment. The new version was installed in a cafe in the student union building in June 1972, though with only two monitors due to space restrictions. The original Galaxy Game prototype was displayed at several locations around the area, but was not as successful as it had been at the student union building. By the time the second prototype was completed the pair had spent US$65,000 on the project and had no feasible way of making up the cost with the machine or commercial prospects for a wider release. Pitts later explained that he and Tuck had been focused on the engineering and technical challenges of producing a faithful coin-operated Spacewar game and paid little attention to the business side of the project; he felt that Computer Space had been more commercially successful because Bushnell had focused more on the business side of his idea than the technical.
Legacy
The second Galaxy Game prototype remained on display in the Tresidder building until May 1979, when it was removed due to the display processor becoming unreliable. Throughout its time on display, it remained popular, with "ten to twenty people gathered around the machines most Friday and Saturday nights when school was in session." Pitts later claimed that by the time the machine was removed, it had managed to make back the original investment. After its removal, the machine was dismantled, with the computer parts stored in an office and the casing outdoors. The unit was restored in 1997 with a recreated display processor and put on display for several years in the computer science department at Stanford with two consoles attached for free use by students. Due to issues with space and maintenance, in 2000 it was moved into the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, in the displayed storage section. In August 2010, the museum loaned the console to Google to be placed at their headquarters campus at the request of Pitts—who wanted the game to be played as well as displayed—due to a discussion with senior vice president Jonathan Rosenberg, who had been hired as a 13 year old by Tuck and Pitts in the mid-1970s to keep the machine cleaned. It has since returned to the museum as a playable exhibit.
Notes
References
External links
Pictures of the 1997 Galaxy Game display at Stanford University
1971 video games
Arcade video games
Mainframe games
Multiplayer video games
Space combat simulators
Video games developed in the United States |
23445673 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasystems | Pegasystems | Pegasystems Inc. is an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1983, Pegasystems develops software for customer relationship management (CRM), robotic process automation (RPA), and business process management (BPM). The company has been publicly traded since 1996 as PEGA (NASDAQ). The company's core product is the Pega Platform, which is part of its Pega Infinity suite of applications for customer engagement and robotic process automation.
History
Early history
Alan Trefler founded Pegasystems in 1983 at the age of 27, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Prior to founding the company, in the early 1980s Trefler had developed computer systems that could play chess. During the company's early years it focused on providing case management, namely for companies such as American Express. Trefler recollects that when he started Pegasystems, he wanted to create software for business people, how business-people wanted things to work. An article in Computerworld traces business rules engine to the early 1990s and to products from Pegasystems, Fair Isaac Corp and ILOG. As a private company, Pegasystems was "bootstrapped" initially, but did not take on outside investors. The company went public in 1996 with initial and secondary public offerings, and began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol PEGA. Raising several millions in funding in the process, going public freed the company from needing to pursue venture capital investments. Pegasystems entered a period of financial trouble in the late 1990s, following a dispute with its accountants, Ernst & Young. After restating their earnings, Pegasystems faced an investigation by the SEC, which was dropped in 2002.
Acquisitions
In March 2010, Pegasystems acquired the enterprise software company Chordiant for around $161.5 million. The acquisition gave Pegasystems access to new markets such as online training, telecommunications and healthcare, with Pegasystems integrating Chordiant and its customer relationship management (CRM) technology into its existing operations. Pega Cloud was introduced using Amazon Web Services in 2012, and in October 2013, Pegasystems acquired the mobile application developer Antenna Software for $27.7 million. Located in New Jersey, Antenna also had bases in Kraków and Bangalore.
Recent history
Pegasystems hired a cloud technology proponent to develop its cloud technology strategy in 2014. Over the following year, Pegasystems invested in network operations in North America and India to support its cloud services. In May 2014, Pegasystems acquired the Bangalore-based MeshLabs, a text mining and analytics software startup. The Times of India reported that Pegasystems would integrate MeshLabs's text analytics software to "gather unstructured social media data and decode it into actionable business insights for its clients." The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Pegasystems acquired Firefly in June 2014, a co-browsing tool funded by First Round Capital. The startup from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the company's first move into the cobrowsing market. By the summer of 2014, Pegasystems remained headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with 2,700 employees. By July 2014 the company was worth around US$1 billion.
By early 2015, Pegasystems remained a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq, with 3,000 employees, 30 offices, and "more than half a billion dollars in revenue." As of February 2015, the company had active partnerships with IT outsourcing companies such as Hexaware, NIIT Incessant Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Accenture and Cognizant. By September of that year, companies who had built teams of Pegasystems specialists included Virtusa (engineering and solution delivery partner since 2001), Accenture, Ernst & Young and Cognizant. Between 2005 and 2015, Pegasystems had average sales growth of 21% per year. There was a steady rise in the company's share price in 2015, with higher than expected revenues from the year prior. In January 2016, it was reported that Pegasystems planned on raising its number of employees significantly, and the company announced the acquisition of OpenSpan Inc. in April 2016. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, OpenSpan specialized in robotic process automation and workforce analytics software.
In 2016, Pegasystems announced training and certification on the Pega 7 platform for educators and students. Since 2006, the company has held an annual users' conference, PegaWorld. Clients Google, Aflac, and Anthem promoted Pega software at the 2018 PegaWorld conference.
Products and services
Pegasystems develops and supports software for customer engagement and operations. In particular, Pegasystems specializes in software for business process management (BPM) and customer relationship management (CRM), and is seen as offering more bespoke technology than competitors such as Oracle Corporation or SAP ERP. The company's core software product is the Pega Platform, part of its Pega Infinity suite of applications for customer engagement and digital process automation, which are designed to connect customer interfaces with back-end process automation. Pegasystems states its applications are certified to work on Google Cloud and other public cloud platforms, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Pivotal’s Cloud Foundry. Various Kubernetes environments are supported. In 2018 Pega announced platform additions that used artificial intelligence for marketing campaigns, customer interfaces, and robotic automation, as well as a Blockchain kit for Ethereum.
As of late 2013, Pegasystem’s core software, PegaRULES Process Commander (PRPC), was related to BPM. Pegasystems Inc. in March 2016 announced the Pega Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) application. The company added artificial intelligence into its customer service software to allow interactions to occur on multiple communication channels at once. The company’s low-code development platform was highlighted in a 2018 Wall Street Journal article, with Pegasystems’ chief technology officer explaining that the software allowed developers to "drag and drop [ready-made software components] to configure applications,” minimizing development time.
In April 2020, Pegasystems Inc. announced an application for financial institutions to manage emergency loan applications from small businesses seeking COVID-19 financial relief.
Clients and projects
Pegasystems specializes in the following industries: financial services, insurance, life sciences, healthcare, government, manufacturing, high tech, communications and media, energy, and utilities. While core areas have traditionally included banking and financial sectors, more recent areas include manufacturing, life sciences and healthcare. As of 2013, other clients included "largely Fortune 500 companies" such as ING, Lloyds Banking Group, BAA, and the state of Maine, which commissioned Pegasystems to create a BPM system to cut administrative costs. By July 2014, PayPal, Cisco Systems, and Philips were using Pegasystems’ CRM software, and BNY Mellon announced they would be integrating Pega into its operation.
Musical sponsorship
Since March 2020, Pegasystems sponsored the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys.
See also
Advanced case management
Comparison of Business Process Modeling Notation tools
SAML-based products and services
References
External links
American companies established in 1983
Software companies established in 1983
1983 establishments in Massachusetts
Companies based in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Software companies based in Massachusetts
CRM software companies
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
1996 initial public offerings
Software companies of the United States |
84524 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meges | Meges | In Greek mythology, Mégês Phyleïdês (Ancient Greek: Μέγης Φυλεΐδης) was the commander of Epeans and/or Dulichians during the Trojan War.
Family
Meges was the son of Phyleus and his mother's name is variously given as either Eustyoche, Ctimene, Timandra, Hagnete, or Ctesimache.
Mythology
Meges was one of the suitors of Helen, and commanded the armies of the Echinadians and the Dulichians during the Trojan War, having summoned forty or sixty ships; he also led a contingent of Epeans who had once migrated to Dulichium together with his father.
Meges was credited with killing a number of opponents, including Pedaeus (a son of Antenor), Croesmus, Amphiclus, Itymoneus, Agelaus, Eurymenes, and Deiopites. Dolops attempted to strike him with a spear but the corselet Meges was wearing, a gift for his father from Euphetes of Ephyra, saved his life. Meges helped Odysseus to collect gifts for Achilles. He was one of the men to enter the Trojan Horse.
According to Dictys Cretensis, Meges fell at Troy. Pausanias mentions a painting of him wounded in the arm by a Trojan, Admetes the son of Augeas. Tzetzes relates that Meges, along with Prothous and a number of others, perished at Euboea.
Notes
References
Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
Dictys Cretensis, from The Trojan War. The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Euripides, The Plays of Euripides, translated by E. P. Coleridge. Volume II. London. George Bell and Sons. 1891. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Euripides, Euripidis Fabulae. vol. 3. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. . Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy translated by Way. A. S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 19. London: William Heinemann, 1913. Online version at theio.com
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy. Arthur S. Way. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Tzetzes, John, Allegories of the Iliad translated by Goldwyn, Adam J. and Kokkini, Dimitra. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2015.
Family of Calyce
Achaean Leaders
Ancient Acarnanians
Characters in the Iliad
Characters in Greek mythology |
1616185 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic%20lab%20notebook | Electronic lab notebook | An electronic lab notebook (also known as electronic laboratory notebook, or ELN) is a computer program designed to replace paper laboratory notebooks. Lab notebooks in general are used by scientists, engineers, and technicians to document research, experiments, and procedures performed in a laboratory. A lab notebook is often maintained to be a legal document and may be used in a court of law as evidence. Similar to an inventor's notebook, the lab notebook is also often referred to in patent prosecution and intellectual property litigation.
Electronic lab notebooks offer many benefits to the user as well as organizations; they are easier to search upon, simplify data copying and backups, and support collaboration amongst many users.
ELNs can have fine-grained access controls, and can be more secure than their paper counterparts. They also allow the direct incorporation of data from instruments, replacing the practice of printing out data to be stapled into a paper notebook.
Types
ELNs can be divided into two categories:
"Specific ELNs" contain features designed to work with specific applications, scientific instrumentation or data types.
"Cross-disciplinary ELNs" or "Generic ELNs" are designed to support access to all data and information that needs to be recorded in a lab notebook.
Solutions range from specialized programs designed from the ground up for use as an ELN, to modifications or direct use of more general programs. Examples of using more general software include using OpenWetWare, a MediaWiki install (running the same software that Wikipedia uses), as an ELN, or the use of general note taking software such as OneNote as an ELN.
ELN's come in many different forms. They can be standalone programs, use a client-server model, or be entirely web-based. Some use a lab-notebook approach, others resemble a blog.
A good many variations on the "ELN" acronym have appeared. Differences between systems with different names are often subtle, with considerable functional overlap between them. Examples include "ERN" (Electronic Research Notebook), "ERMS" (Electronic Resource (or Research or Records) Management System (or Software) and SDMS (Scientific Data (or Document) Management System (or Software). Ultimately, these types of systems all strive to do the same thing: Capture, record, centralize and protect scientific data in a way that is highly searchable, historically accurate, and legally stringent, and which also promotes secure collaboration, greater efficiency, reduced mistakes and lowered total research costs.
Objectives
A good electronic laboratory notebook should offer a secure environment to protect the integrity of both data and process, whilst also affording the flexibility to adopt new processes or changes to existing processes without recourse to further software development. The package architecture should be a modular design, so as to offer the benefit of minimizing validation costs of any subsequent changes that you may wish to make in the future as your needs change.
A good electronic laboratory notebook should be an "out of the box" solution that, as standard, has fully configurable forms to comply with the requirements of regulated analytical groups through to a sophisticated ELN for inclusion of structures, spectra, chromatograms, pictures, text, etc. where a preconfigured form is less appropriate. All data within the system may be stored in a database (e.g. MySQL, MS-SQL, Oracle) and be fully searchable. The system should enable data to be collected, stored and retrieved through any combination of forms or ELN that best meets the requirements of the user.
The application should enable secure forms to be generated that accept laboratory data input via PCs and/or laptops / palmtops, and should be directly linked to electronic devices such as laboratory balances, pH meters, etc. Networked or wireless communications should be accommodated for by the package which will allow data to be interrogated, tabulated, checked, approved, stored and archived to comply with the latest regulatory guidance and legislation. A system should also include a scheduling option for routine procedures such as equipment qualification and study related timelines. It should include configurable qualification requirements to automatically verify that instruments have been cleaned and calibrated within a specified time period, that reagents have been quality-checked and have not expired, and that workers are trained and authorized to use the equipment and perform the procedures.
Regulatory and legal aspects
The laboratory accreditation criteria found in the ISO 17025 standard needs to be considered for the protection and computer backup of electronic records. These criteria can be found specifically in clause 4.13.1.4 of the standard.
Electronic lab notebooks used for development or research in regulated industries, such as medical devices or pharmaceuticals, are expected to comply with FDA regulations related to software validation. The purpose of the regulations is to ensure the integrity of the entries in terms of time, authorship, and content. Unlike ELNs for patent protection, FDA is not concerned with patent interference proceedings, but is concerned with avoidance of falsification. Typical provisions related to software validation are included in the medical device regulations at 21 CFR 820 (et seq.) and Title 21 CFR Part 11. Essentially, the requirements are that the software has been designed and implemented to be suitable for its intended purposes. Evidence to show that this is the case is often provided by a Software Requirements Specification (SRS) setting forth the intended uses and the needs that the ELN will meet; one or more testing protocols that, when followed, demonstrate that the ELN meets the requirements of the specification and that the requirements are satisfied under worst-case conditions. Security, audit trails, prevention of unauthorized changes without substantial collusion of otherwise independent personnel (i.e., those having no interest in the content of the ELN such as independent quality unit personnel) and similar tests are fundamental. Finally, one or more reports demonstrating the results of the testing in accordance with the predefined protocols are required prior to release of the ELN software for use. If the reports show that the software failed to satisfy any of the SRS requirements, then corrective and preventive action ("CAPA") must be undertaken and documented. Such CAPA may extend to minor software revisions, or changes in architecture or major revisions. CAPA activities need to be documented as well.
Aside from the requirements to follow such steps for regulated industry, such an approach is generally a good practice in terms of development and release of any software to assure its quality and fitness for use. There are standards related to software development and testing that can be applied (see ref.).
List of electronic laboratory notebook software packages
List of ELN software packages
See also
List of ELN software packages
Data management
Laboratory informatics
Scientific management
Jupyter
References
Further reading
Research
Science software
Scientific documents
Notebooks
Electronic documents
Data management
Content management systems
Data management software |
22305194 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny%20Core%20Linux | Tiny Core Linux | Tiny Core Linux (TCL) is a minimal Linux kernel based operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. It was developed by Robert Shingledecker, who was previously the lead developer of Damn Small Linux. The distribution is notable for its small size (11 to 16 MB) and minimalism; additional functions are provided by extensions. Tiny Core Linux is free and open-source software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2.
Types
Tiny Core (16 MB) is the recommended option for new users who have a wired network connection. It includes the base Core system and a dynamic FLTK/FLWM graphical user interface.
Core (11 MB) (also known as "Micro Core Linux") is a smaller variant of Tiny Core without a graphical desktop, though additional extensions can be added to create a system with a graphical desktop environment.
dCore (12 MB) is a core made from Debian or Ubuntu compatible files that uses import and the SCE package format, a self-contained package format for the Tiny Core distribution since 5.x series.
CorePure64 is a notable port of "Core" to the x86_64 architecture.
Core Plus (106 MB) is "an installation image and not the distribution". It is composed of Tiny Core with additional functionality, most notably wireless support and non-US keyboard support.
piCore is the Raspberry Pi port of "Core".
System requirements
Minimal configuration:
Tiny Core needs at least 46 MB of RAM in order to run, and (micro) Core requires at least 28 MB of RAM. The minimum CPU is an i486DX.
Recommended configuration:
A Pentium II CPU and 128 MB of RAM are recommended for Tiny Core.
Design philosophy
The developers describe TCL as "a nomadic ultra small graphical desktop operating system capable of booting from cdrom, pendrive, or frugally from a hard drive." As of version 2.8.1, the core is designed to run primarily in RAM but with three distinct modes of operation:
"Cloud" or Internet mode — A "testdrive" mode using a built-in appbrowser GUI to explore extensions from an online application extension repository loaded into RAM only for the current session.
TCE/Install — A mode for Tiny Core Extensions downloaded and run from a storage partition but kept as symbolic links in RAM.
TCE/CopyFS — A mode which installs applications onto a Linux partition like a more typical Linux installation.
Release history
See also
Comparison of Linux live distributions
Lightweight Linux distribution
List of Linux distributions that run from RAM
Telikin
References
External links
.
Currently (October, 2020) defunct, but there exists a mirror (see also: post in the TinyCore forum).
Lightweight Unix-like systems
Light-weight Linux distributions
Operating system distributions bootable from read-only media
Linux distributions without systemd
Runs from RAM Linux distributions
Linux distributions |
50265069 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic%20attack | Electromagnetic attack | In cryptography, electromagnetic attacks are side-channel attacks performed by measuring the electromagnetic radiation emitted from a device and performing signal analysis on it. These attacks are a more specific type of what is sometimes referred to as Van Eck phreaking, with the intention to capture encryption keys. Electromagnetic attacks are typically non-invasive and passive, meaning that these attacks are able to be performed by observing the normal functioning of the target device without causing physical damage. However, an attacker may get a better signal with less noise by depackaging the chip and collecting the signal closer to the source. These attacks are successful against cryptographic implementations that perform different operations based on the data currently being processed, such as the square-and-multiply implementation of RSA. Different operations emit different amounts of radiation and an electromagnetic trace of encryption may show the exact operations being performed, allowing an attacker to retrieve full or partial private keys.
Like many other side-channel attacks, electromagnetic attacks are dependent on the specific implementation of the cryptographic protocol and not on the algorithm itself. Electromagnetic attacks are often done in conjunction with other side-channel attacks, like power analysis attacks.
Background
All electronic devices emit electromagnetic radiation. Because every wire that carries current creates a magnetic field, electronic devices create some small magnetic fields when in use. These magnetic fields can unintentionally reveal information about the operation of a device if not properly designed. Because all electronic devices are affected by this phenomenon, the term ‘device’ can refer to anything from a desktop computer, to mobile phone, to a smart card.
Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic waves are a type of wave that originate from charged particles, are characterized by varying wavelength and are categorized along the electromagnetic spectrum. Any device that uses electricity will emit electromagnetic radiation due to the magnetic field created by charged particles moving along a medium. For example, radio waves are emitted by electricity moving along a radio transmitter, or even from a satellite.
In the case of electromagnetic side-channel attacks, attackers are often looking at electromagnetic radiation emitted by computing devices, which are made up of circuits. Electronic circuits consist of semiconducting materials upon which billions of transistors are placed. When a computer performs computations, such as encryption, electricity running through the transistors create a magnetic field and electromagnetic waves are emitted.
Electromagnetic waves can be captured using an induction coil and an analog to digital converter can then sample the waves at a given clock rate and convert the trace to a digital signal to be further processed by computer.
The electronic device performing the computations is synced with a clock that is running at frequencies on the order of mega-hertz (MHz) to giga-hertz (GHz). However, due to hardware pipelining, and complexity of some instructions, some operations take multiple clock cycles to complete. Therefore, it is not always necessary to sample the signal at such a high clock rate. It is often possible to get information on all or most of the operations while sampling on the order of kilo-hertz (kHz). Different devices leak information at different frequencies. For example, Intel's Atom processor will leak keys during RSA and AES encryption at frequencies between 50 MHz and 85 MHz. Android version 4.4's Bouncy Castle library implementation of ECDSA is vulnerable to key extraction side channel attacks around the 50 kHz range.
Signal processing
Every operation performed by a computer emits electromagnetic radiation and different operations emit radiation at different frequencies. In electromagnetic side-channel attacks, an attacker is only interested in a few frequencies at which encryption is occurring. Signal processing is responsible for isolating these frequencies from the vast multitude of extraneous radiation and noise. To isolate certain frequencies, a bandpass filter, which blocks frequencies outside of a given range, must be applied to the electromagnetic trace. Sometimes, the attacker does not know which frequencies encryption is performed at. In this case, the trace can be represented as a spectrogram, which can help determine which frequencies are most prevalent at different points of execution. Depending on the device being attacked and the level of noise, several filters may need to be applied.
Attack methods
Electromagnetic attacks can be broadly separated into simple electromagnetic analysis (SEMA) attacks and differential electromagnetic analysis (DEMA) attacks.
Simple electromagnetic analysis
In simple electromagnetic analysis (SEMA) attacks, the attacker deduces the key directly by observing the trace. It is very effective against asymmetric cryptography implementations. Typically, only a few traces are needed, though the attacker needs to have a strong understanding of the cryptographic device and of the implementation of the cryptographic algorithm. An implementation vulnerable to SEMA attacks will perform a different operation depending on whether the bit of the key is 0 or 1, which will use different amounts of power and/or different chip components. This method is prevalent in many different types of side-channel attacks, in particular, power analysis attacks. Thus, the attacker can observe the entire computation of encryption and can deduce the key.
For example, a common attack on asymmetric RSA relies on the fact that the encryption steps rely on the value of the key bits. Every bit is processed with a square operation and then a multiplication operation if and only if the bit is equal to 1. An attacker with a clear trace can deduce the key simply by observing where the multiplication operations are performed.
Differential electromagnetic analysis
In some cases, simple electromagnetic analysis is not possible or does not provide enough information. Differential electromagnetic analysis (DEMA) attacks are more complex, but are effective against symmetric cryptography implementation, against which SEMA attacks are not. Additionally unlike SEMA, DEMA attacks do not require much knowledge about the device being attacked.
Known attacks
While the fact that circuits that emit high-frequency signals may leak secret information was known since 1982 by the NSA, it was classified until 2000, which was right around the time that the first electromagnetic attack against encryption was shown by researchers. Since then, many more complex attacks have been introduced.
Devices
Smart cards
Smart cards, often colloquially referred to as “chip cards", were designed to provide a more secure financial transaction than a traditional credit card. They contain simple embedded integrated circuits designed to perform cryptographic functions. They connect directly to a card reader which provides the power necessary to perform an encrypted financial transaction. Many side-channel attacks have been shown to be effective against smart cards because they obtain their power supply and clock directly from the card reader. By tampering with a card reader, it is simple to collect traces and perform side-channel attacks. Other works, however, have also shown that smart cards are vulnerable to electromagnetic attacks.
FPGAs
A field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) have been commonly used to implement cryptographic primitives in hardware to increase speed. These hardware implementations are just as vulnerable as other software based primitives. In 2005, an implementation of elliptic curve encryption was shown vulnerable to both SEMA and DEMA attacks. The ARIA block cipher is a common primitive implemented with FPGAs that has been shown to leak keys.
Personal computers
In contrast to smart cards, which are simple devices performing a single function, personal computers are doing many things at once. Thus, it is much more difficult to perform electromagnetic side-channel attacks against them, due to high levels of noise and fast clock rates. Despite these issues, researchers in 2015 and 2016 showed attacks against a laptop using a near-field magnetic probe. The resulting signal, observed for only a few seconds, was filtered, amplified, and digitized for offline key extraction. Most attacks require expensive, lab-grade equipment, and require the attacker to be extremely close to the victim computer. However, some researchers were able to show attacks using cheaper hardware and from distances of up to half a meter. These attacks, however, required the collection of more traces than the more expensive attacks.
Smartphones
Smartphones are of particular interest for electromagnetic side-channel attacks. Since the advent of mobile phone payment systems such as Apple Pay, e-commerce systems have become increasingly commonplace. Likewise, the amount of research dedicated to mobile phone security side channel attacks has also increased. Currently most attacks are proofs of concept that use expensive lab-grade signal processing equipment. One of these attacks demonstrated that a commercial radio receiver could detect mobile phone leakage up to three meters away.
However, attacks using low-end consumer grade equipment have also shown successful. By using an external USB sound card and an induction coil salvaged from a wireless charging pad, researchers were able to extract a user's signing key in Android's OpenSSL and Apple's CommonCrypto implementations of ECDSA.
Examples of vulnerable encryption schemes
Widely used theoretical encryption schemes are mathematically secure, yet this type of security does not consider their physical implementations, and thus, do not necessarily protect against side-channel attacks. Therefore, the vulnerability lies in the code itself, and it is the specific implementation that is shown to be insecure. Luckily, many of the vulnerabilities shown have since been patched. Vulnerable implementations include, but are definitely not limited to, the following:
Libgcrypt – cryptographic library of GnuPG, implementation of ECDH public-key encryption algorithm (since patched)
GnuPG implementation of 4096-bit RSA (since patched)
GnuPG implementation of 3072-bit ElGamal (since patched)
GMP implementation of 1024-bit RSA
OpenSSL implementation of 1024-bit RSA
Feasibility
The attacks described thus far have mainly focused on the use of induction to detect unintended radiation. However, the use of far-field communication technologies like that of AM radios can also be used for side-channel attacks, although no key extraction methods for far-field signal analysis have been demonstrated. Therefore, a rough characterization of potential adversaries using this attack range from highly educated individuals to low to medium funded cartels. The following demonstrates a few possible scenarios:
Mobile payment systems
Point of sale systems that accept payment from mobile phones or smart cards are vulnerable. Induction coils can be hidden on these systems to record financial transactions from smart cards or mobile phone payments. With keys extracted, a malicious attacker could forge his own card or make fraudulent charges with the private key. Belgarric et al. propose a scenario where mobile payments are performed with bitcoin transactions. Since the Android implementation of the bitcoin client uses ECDSA, the signing key can be extracted at the point of sale. These types of attacks are only slightly more complex than magnetic card stripe skimmers currently used on traditional magnetic strip cards.
Wireless charging pads
Many public venues such as Starbucks locations are already offering free public wireless charging pads. It was previously shown that the same coils used in wireless charging can be used for detection of unintended radiation. Therefore, these charging pads pose a potential hazard. Malicious charging pads might attempt to extract keys in addition to charging a user’s phone. When coupled with packet sniffing capabilities of public Wi-Fi networks, the keys extracted could be used to perform man-in-the-middle attacks on users. If far-field attacks are discovered, an attacker only needs to point his antenna at a victim to perform these attacks; the victim need not be actively charging their phone on one of these public pads.
Countermeasures
Several countermeasures against electromagnetic attacks have been proposed, though there is no one perfect solution. Many of the following countermeasures will make electromagnetic attacks harder, not impossible.
Physical countermeasures
One of the most effective ways to prevent electromagnetic attacks is to make it difficult for an attacker to collect an electromagnetic signal at the physical level. Broadly, the hardware designer could design the encryption hardware to reduce signal strength or to protect the chip. Circuit and wire shielding, such as a Faraday cage, are effective in reducing the signal, as well as filtering the signal or introducing extraneous noise to mask the signal. Additionally, most electromagnetic attacks require attacking equipment to be very close to the target, so distance is an effective countermeasure. Circuit designers can also use certain glues or design components in order to make it difficult or impossible to depackage the chip without destroying it.
Recently, white-box modeling was utilized to develop a low-overhead generic circuit-level countermeasure against both electromagnetic as well as power side-channel attacks. To minimize the effects of the higher-level metal layers in an IC acting as more efficient antennas, the idea is to embed the crypto core with a signature suppression circuit, routed locally within the lower-level metal layers, leading towards both power and electromagnetic side-channel attack immunity.
Implementation countermeasures
As many electromagnetic attacks, especially SEMA attacks, rely on asymmetric implementations of cryptographic algorithms, an effective countermeasure is to ensure that a given operation performed at a given step of the algorithm gives no information on the value of that bit. Randomization of the order of bit encryption, process interrupts, and clock cycle randomization, are all effective ways to make attacks more difficult.
Usage in the government
The classified National Security Agency program TEMPEST focuses on both the spying on systems by observing electromagnetic radiation and the securing of equipment to protect against such attacks.
The Federal Communications Commission outlines the rules regulating the unintended emissions of electronic devices in Part 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations Title 47. The FCC does not provide a certification that devices do not produce excess emissions, but instead relies on a self-verification procedure.
References
Side-channel attacks |
38666401 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RekenTest | RekenTest | RekenTest is educational software to practice, analyze and test mental calculation skills in arithmetic operations such as addition and subtraction, the multiplication tables, decimals, money problems, percentages and fractions.
Features
Session
In a session the software offers arithmetic problems one by one. The following types are supported:
Task
The software has many settings to specify the exact problems the user will get and how a session looks like. A task encapsulates all these settings and can be assigned to the session in one of the following ways:
Show wizard
Select from list of tasks
Use a predefined task.
Problem sources
The software can create arithmetic problems in one or more of the following ways:
The software generates problems (using task settings)
The user defines custom problems
The software generates remedial problems (for practice with a difficult problem).
Report
After each session a printable report is created.
Network
A client- and server-version of the software is available to use the software with multiple computers in a network (usually in a school). A purchased license is required to use this feature.
Languages
Supported languages are: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. The software can be translated into another language by adding a new language file.
License
Mozilla Public License v2.0
System requirements
Windows 2000 or later
A display with 800x600 pixels and high color (16-bit)
8 MB free harddisk space
64 MB RAM memory
Version history
Version 4.4, released in July 2016
Version 4.3, released in May 2015
Version 4.2, released in September 2013
Version 4.1, released in April 2012
Version 4.0.2, released in May 2011
Version 4.0.1.1, released in November 2010
Version 4.0.1, released in August 2010
Version 3.0.5.1, released in March 2010
Version 3.0.5, released in February 2010
Version 3.0.4, released in September 2008
Version 3.0.3, released in March 2007
Version 3.0.2, released in September 2006
Version 3.0.1, released in July 2006
Version 3, released in June 2006.
References
External links
Official website RekenTest
Source code
Free software
Educational software
Software for teachers
Pascal (programming language) software |
4917651 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udorn%20Royal%20Thai%20Air%20Force%20Base | Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base | Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base (Udorn RTAFB) is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) base, the home of 23rd Wing Air Command. It is in the city of Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand and is the main airport serving the city and province.
The RTAF 231 Squadron "Hunter" is assigned to Udorn, equipped with the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet-A.
History
Establishment
Udorn RTAFB was established in the 1950s.
The civil war inside Laos and fears of it spreading into Thailand led the Thai government to allow the United States to use covertly five Thai bases beginning in 1961 for the air defense of Thailand and to fly reconnaissance flights over Laos. Udorn was one of those bases.
Under Thailand's "gentleman's agreement" with the US, RTAF bases used by the US Air Force (USAF) were considered RTAF bases and were commanded by Thai officers. Thai air police controlled access to the bases, along with USAF Security Police, who assisted them in base defense using sentry dogs, observation towers, and machine gun emplacements.
The USAF forces at Udorn were under the command of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) Thirteenth Air Force. Udorn was the site of TACAN station Channel 31 and was referenced by that identifier in voice communications during air missions
The APO for Udorn was APO San Francisco 96237.
Air America
Udorn RTAFB was the Asian headquarters for Air America (), a US passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which provided essential resources for the war in Laos and elsewhere. Its predecessor, Civil Air Transport (CAT), started operations from Udorn on 11 September 1955 with the arrival of three C-46s delivering food and emergency aid into Indochina. By the end of September, CAT had flown more than 200 missions to 25 reception areas, delivering 1,000 tons of emergency food. Conducted smoothly and efficiently, this airdrop relief operation marked the beginning of CAT's and, later, Air America's support of US assistance programs in Laos.
Air America's roles supportive of covert and overt situations related to hostilities in Southeast Asia and elsewhere worldwide provided buffers and solutions to problems the United States faced in various locations. Operations were focused in Laos as part of the "secret war" the United States carried out against the Pathet Lao forces operating in the country. Udorn RTAFB also served as the site of "Headquarters 333", the Thai organization in charge of their forces in Laos.
Air America continued operations from Udorn into Laos until 3 June 1974.
US Marine Corps use during the Laotian Crisis
In 1961 the 300-man Marine Air Base Squadron Sixteen was deployed to Udorn to maintain helicopters supporting Royal Lao Army forces in Laos.
Following the defeat of Royal Lao Army in the Battle of Luang Namtha in early May 1962 by People's Army of Vietnam and Pathet Lao forces, it appeared that a communist invasion of northern Thailand was imminent and on 15 May the Kennedy Administration ordered US combat forces into Thailand to deter any attack. On 18 May VMA-332 equipped with 20 A-4 Skyhawks deployed to Udorn from Naval Air Station Cubi Point in the Philippines and HMM-261 helicopters flew into the base. On 19 May detachments of Marine Air Control Squadrons 1 and 4 and Marine Air Base Squadron 12 were also flown into the base. On 19 May the command group of the 3rd Marine expeditionary brigade and the Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines began flying in from Bangkok and then moved north to the town of Nong Khai. The Marines conducted field training exercises with the Royal Thai Army and civic action with Thai civilians while Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Ten which arrived in late May established a base camp and repaired public buildings. In late June HMM-162 replaced HMM-261.
On 29 June 1962 with the situation in Laos stabilizing and international negotiations underway, the Kennedy Administration ordered all US combat forces to begin withdrawing from Thailand. On 1 July, VMA-322 departed Udorn for Cubi Point while HMM-162 flew to Bangkok and transports flew out the 3/9 Marines. By 6 July, fewer than 1000 Marines remained at Udorn. The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed on 23 July 1962 and the remaining Marines began to withdraw with all combat units withdrawn from Udorn by 31 July.
USAF use during the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War the base was a front-line USAF facility from 1964 through 1976.
USAF advisory use (1964–1966)
The first USAF unit assigned to Udorn was a communications detachment from the 1st Mobile Communications Group, based at Clark Air Base, Philippines, in the summer of 1964. The first permanent USAF unit assigned at Udorn RTAFB was the 333d Air Base Squadron in October 1964. Prior to the formation of the squadron, support personnel were provided by temporary duty personnel from the 35th Tactical Group at Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base. The 333d ABS came under the command and control of the 13th Air Force.
On 18 July 1965, the 333rd Air Base Squadron was re-designated the 6232nd Combat Support Group (CSG). This unit also came under the command and control of 13th Air Force and the 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing, a provisional wing at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. In July 1965, the 6234th TFW was the only tactical wing in Thailand.
The formation of the 6232d at Udorn was brought about because of expanding USAF programs, an increase in assigned personnel, and increased base support requirements. The majority of personnel at Udorn, prior to the formation of the group, were Temporary duty assignment (TDY). Shortly before the group was activated, a gradual input of permanent party personnel was made to replace those on TDY. On 15 November 1965, the 6232nd CSG was given the responsibility of reporting directly to the Deputy Commander 2nd Air Division, 13th Air Force, rather than directly to the 13th Air Force commander. The 6232nd CSG was re-designated the 630th Combat Support Group on 8 April 1966, with a reporting responsibility to the Deputy Commander, 7th Air Force/13th Air Force (7/13AF), headquartered at Udorn.
Squadrons known to have been deployed to Udorn were the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, based at Naha AB, Okinawa with the 39th Air Division(1 November 1965 – 15 August 1966), equipped with RF-101 Voodoos and the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, also based at Naha AB (25 February 1966 – 25 July 1966), equipped with the F-4C Phantom II.
432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
On 18 September 1966, the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW) was activated and the 630th CSG was placed under the new wing and re-designated the 432nd CSG. It performed combat tactical reconnaissance and added tactical fighter operations in October 1967, initially using fighters to provide combat air patrol and cover for unarmed reconnaissance planes, but later to fly strike missions. Wing fighter units destroyed many enemy aircraft: 36 confirmed aerial victories between 17 December 1967 and 8 January 1973. It also used AC-47D Spooky gunships to provide air defense of friendly Laotian outposts from June 1969 – June 1970. It ceased combat in Vietnam in January, in Laos in February, and in Cambodia in August 1973. The wing remained in Southeast Asia to perform reconnaissance and routine training to retain combat proficiency, changing designations from reconnaissance to fighter in November 1974. The wing supported Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of US personnel from Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 12 April 1975, and Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of US and South Vietnamese personnel from Saigon on 29 April 1975. From 13 to 15 May 1975, the wing played a major role in locating the SS Mayaguez and in the military operations associated with the recovery of that US commercial vessel and its crew from the Cambodians. The wing was relieved of all operational commitments on 30 November and inactivated at Udorn RTAFB on 23 December 1975.
The 432nd TRW was the most diversified unit of its size in the USAF.
Squadrons of the 432nd TRW were:
Tactical reconnaissance squadrons
20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (18 September 1966 – 1 November 1967) (RF-101C)Replaced by: 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (28 October 1967 – 30 June 1975) (RF-4C)
11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (25 October 1966 – 10 November 1970) (RF-4C)
These three squadrons accounted for more than 80% of all reconnaissance activity over North Vietnam.
Tactical Fighter Squadrons
In addition to reconnaissance the 432d also had a tactical fighter squadron component as follows:
435th Tactical Fighter Squadron (5 June - 23 July 1966) (F-104C)
13th Tactical Fighter Squadron (21 October 1967 – 30 June 1975) (F-4C/D)
555th Tactical Fighter Squadron (28 May 1968 – 5 July 1974) (F-4D)
Special Operations Squadrons
7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron (31 October 1968 – 30 April 1972) (C-130)
4th Special Operations Squadron (29 October 1972 – 23 December 1975, NOTE: These dates are inconsistent with the 29 December 1970 inactivation listed below in section on Udorn draw down) (3 AC-47D, 4 C-47, 1 AC-119G)
By 1967 or earlier, USAF weather modification flights were originating from a special operations group at Udorn. No more than four C‐130s, and usually only two, were assigned to the restricted section of the base. Their mission was to create rainfall over North Vietnam, Laos, and South Vietnam to hamper enemy logistics and tactical initiative.
Beginning in late 1970, Udorn was drawn down as part of the overall US withdrawal from the Vietnam War:
On 5 November 1970, the 11th TRS was deployed to Shaw AFB, South Carolina, ending a tour of service with the 432nd TRW.
On 29 December 1970 the 4th Special Operations Squadron was inactivated, with its aircraft being transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force.
On 15 April 1972 the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron with its C-130s was transferred to Korat RTAFB.
1972 augmentation
In 1972, tactical fighter strength was augmented at Udorn by deployed Tactical Air Command continental US-based squadrons in response to the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive. During Operation Linebacker, between May and October 1972, the 432nd TRW had seven F-4 squadrons assigned or attached, making it the largest wing in the USAF. Units deployed to Udorn were:
523d Tactical Fighter Squadron (9 April 1972 – 25 October 1972) (F-4D)
58th Tactical Fighter Squadron (9 May 1972 – 14 October 1972) (F-4E)
308th Tactical Fighter Squadron (9 May 1972 – 29 July 1972) (F-4E)Replaced by: 307th Tactical Fighter Squadron (29 July 1972 – 28 October 1972) (F-4E)
Det 1, 414th Fighter Weapons Squadron (June 1972 – late 1972) (F-4D)
421st Tactical Fighter Squadron (31 October 1972 – 23 December 1975) (F-4E)(Transferred from 366th TFW, Takhli RTAFB, Thailand)
With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 27 January 1973, most of the F-4 squadrons that participated in the 1972 campaigns returned to their home stations and the numbers of USAF personnel and aircraft at Udorn were reduced.
The 421st TFS transferred to 388th TFW, Hill AFB, Utah on 23 December 1975.
The 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron was reassigned to the 55th TFW at Luke AFB, Arizona in July 1974.
By 1975, relations between Washington and Bangkok had deteriorated. The Royal Thai Government wanted the USAF out of Thailand by the end of the year. Palace Lightning was the plan under which the USAF would withdraw its aircraft and personnel from Thailand.
The 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron was inactivated in June 1975.
The 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was inactivated in June 1975.
The 423d TRW was inactivated on 23 December 1975 and the last USAF personnel departed Udorn in January 1976. Udorn RTAFB was turned over to Thai authorities. It is now operated by the Royal Thai Air Force with aircraft from the 2nd Air Division being based there.
Sapper attacks
26 July 1968: A team of 25 or more personnel equipped with automatic weapons attacked Udorn RTAFB, causing severe damage to a USAF C-141 and an F-4D, and killing one Thai security guard and the C-141 crew chief
3 October 1972: A group of seven guerillas attempted an attack, with three killed and one captured. One Thai security guard was killed.
Black site
The BBC has reported that the base was the location of a CIA black site, known to insiders as "Detention Site Green", used to interrogate Abu Zubaydah, a 31-year-old Saudi-born Palestinian, believed to be one of Osama Bin Laden's top lieutenants. In December 2014 the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) published an executive summary of a secret 6,000-page report on CIA techniques. The report alleges that at least eight Thai senior officials knew of the secret site. The site was closed in December 2002. Thailand has denied the existence of the site while the US government has neither confirmed or denied its existence.
Earlier reports alleged that a Voice of America relay station in the Ban Dung District of Udon Thani Province was the CIA black site. Another report pointed to Ramasun Station as a possible black site.
Accidents and incidents
On 10 April 1970 at 14:00 a battle-damaged USAF RF-4C returning from a reconnaissance mission over Laos crash-landed at the base, destroying nine officers' quarters buildings, one officer' quarters trailer and a radio building and killing nine personnel on the ground.
See also
United States Air Force in Thailand
United States Pacific Air Forces
Seventh Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
Black site
References
Bibliography
Endicott, Judy G. (1999) Active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF active flying, space, and missile squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. CD-ROM.
Glasser, Jeffrey D. (1998). The Secret Vietnam War: The United States Air Force in Thailand, 1961–1975. McFarland & Company. .
Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. .
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present
The Royal Thai Air Force (English Pages)
Royal Thai Air Force – Overview
Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Royal Thai Air Force bases
Closed facilities of the United States Air Force in Thailand
1955 establishments in Thailand
Military airbases established in 1955 |
7522024 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM%20System/360%20Model%2067 | IBM System/360 Model 67 | The IBM System/360 Model 67 (S/360-67) was an important IBM mainframe model in the late 1960s. Unlike the rest of the S/360 series, it included features to facilitate time-sharing applications, notably a Dynamic Address Translation unit, the "DAT box", to support virtual memory, 32-bit addressing and the 2846 Channel Controller to allow sharing channels between processors. The S/360-67 was otherwise compatible with the rest of the S/360 series.
Origins
The S/360-67 was intended to satisfy the needs of key time-sharing customers, notably MIT (where Project MAC had become a notorious IBM sales failure), the University of Michigan, General Motors, Bell Labs, Princeton University, the Carnegie Institute of Technology (later Carnegie Mellon University), and the Naval Postgraduate School.
In the mid-1960s a number of organizations were interested in offering interactive computing services using time-sharing. At that time the work that computers could perform was limited by their lack of real memory storage capacity. When IBM introduced its System/360 family of computers in the mid-1960s, it did not provide a solution for this limitation and within IBM there were conflicting views about the importance of time-sharing and the need to support it.
A paper titled Program and Addressing Structure in a Time-Sharing Environment by Bruce Arden, Bernard Galler, Frank Westervelt (all associate directors at the University of Michigan's academic Computing Center), and Tom O'Brian building upon some basic ideas developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was published in January 1966. The paper outlined a virtual memory architecture using dynamic address translation (DAT) that could be used to implement time-sharing.
After a year of negotiations and design studies, IBM agreed to make a one-of-a-kind version of its S/360-65 mainframe computer for the University of Michigan. The S/360-65M would include dynamic address translation (DAT) features that would support virtual memory and allow support for time-sharing. Initially IBM decided not to supply a time-sharing operating system for the new machine.
As other organizations heard about the project they were intrigued by the time-sharing idea and expressed interest in ordering the modified IBM S/360 series machines. With this demonstrated interest IBM changed the computer's model number to S/360-67 and made it a supported product. When IBM realized there was a market for time-sharing, it agreed to develop a new time-sharing operating system called IBM Time Sharing System (TSS/360) for delivery at roughly the same time as the first model S/360-67.
The first S/360-67 was shipped in May 1966. The S/360-67 was withdrawn on March 15, 1977.
Before the announcement of the Model 67, IBM had announced models 64 and 66, DAT versions of its 60 and 62 models, but they were almost immediately replaced by the 67 at the same time that the 60 and 62 were replaced by the 65.
Announcement
IBM announced the S/360-67 in its August 16, 1965 "blue letters" (a standard mechanism used by IBM to make product announcements). IBM stated that:
"Special bid restrictions have been removed from the System/360 Model 67" (i.e., it was now generally available)
It included "multiprocessor configurations, with a high degree of system availability", with up to four processing units [while configurations with up to four processors were announced, only one and two processors configurations were actually built]
It had "its own powerful operating system...[the] Time Sharing System monitor (TSS)" offering "virtually instantaneous access to and response from the computer" to "take advantage of the unique capabilities of a multiprocessor system"
It offered "dynamic relocation of problem programs using the dynamic address translation facilities of the 2067 Processing Unit, permitting response, within seconds, to many simultaneous users"
Virtual memory
The S/360-67 design added a component for implementing virtual memory, the "DAT box" (Dynamic Address Translation box). DAT on the 360/67 was based on the architecture outlined in a 1966 JACM paper by Arden, Galler, Westervelt, and O'Brien and included both segment and page tables. The Model 67's virtual memory support was very similar to the virtual memory support that eventually became standard on the entire System/370 line.
The S/360-67 provided a 24- or 32-bit address space – unlike the strictly 24-bit address space of other S/360 and early S/370 systems, and the 31-bit address space of S/370-XA available on later S/370s. The S/360-67 virtual address space was divided into pages (of 4096 bytes) grouped into segments (of 1 million bytes); pages were dynamically mapped onto the processor's real memory. These S/360-67 features plus reference and change bits as part of the storage key enabled operating systems to implement demand paging: referencing a page that was not in memory caused a page fault, which in turn could be intercepted and processed by an operating system interrupt handler.
The S/360-67's virtual memory system was capable of meeting three distinct goals:
Large address space. It mapped physical memory onto a larger pool of virtual memory, which could be dynamically swapped in and out of real memory as needed from random-access storage (typically: disk or drum storage).
Isolated OS components. It made it possible to remove most of the operating system's memory footprint from the user's environment, thereby increasing the memory available for application use, and reducing the risk of applications intruding into or corrupting operating system data and programs.
Multiple address spaces. By implementing multiple virtual address spaces, each for a different user, each user could potentially have a private virtual machine.
The first goal removed (for decades, at least) a crushing limitation of earlier machines: running out of physical storage. The second enabled substantial improvements in security and reliability. The third enabled the implementation of true virtual machines. Contemporary documents make it clear that full hardware virtualization and virtual machines were not original design goals for the S/360-67.
Features
The S/360-67 included the following extensions in addition to the standard and optional features available on all S/360 systems:
Dynamic Address Translation (DAT) with support for 24 or 32-bit virtual addresses using segment and page tables (up to 16 segments each containing up to 256 4096 byte pages)
Extended PSW Mode that enables additional interrupt masking and additional control registers
High Resolution Interval Timer with a resolution of approximately 13 microseconds
Reference and change bits as part of storage protection keys
Extended Direct Control allowing the processors in a duplex configuration to present an external interrupt to the other processor
Partitioning of the processors, processor storage, and I/O channels in a duplex configuration into two separate subsystems
Floating Addressing to allow processor storage in a partitioned duplex configuration to be assigned consecutive real memory addresses
An IBM 2846 Channel Controller that allows both processors in a duplex configuration to access all of the I/O channels and that allows I/O interrupts to be presented to either processor independent of what processor initiated the I/O operation
Simplex configurations can include 7 I/O channels, while duplex configurations can include 14 I/O channels
Three new supervisor-state instructions: Load Multiple Control (LMC), Store Multiple Control (SMC), Load Real Address (LRA)
Two new problem-state instructions: Branch and Store Register (BASR), and Branch and Store (BAS)
Two new program interruptions: Segment translation exception (16) and page translation exception (17)
The S/360-67 operated with a basic internal cycle time of 200 nanoseconds and a basic 750 nanosecond magnetic core storage cycle, the same as the S/360-65. The 200 ns cycle time put the S/360-67 in the middle of the S/360 line, between the Model 30 at the low end and the Model 195 at the high end. From 1 to 8 bytes (8 data bits and 1 parity bit per byte) could be read or written to processor storage in a single cycle. A 60-bit parallel adder facilitated handling of long fractions in floating-point operations. An 8-bit serial adder enabled simultaneous execution of floating point exponent arithmetic, and also handled decimal arithmetic and variable field length (VFL) instructions.
New components
Four new components were part of the S/360-67:
2067 Processing Unit Models 1 and 2,
2365 Processor Storage Model 12,
2846 Channel Controller, and
2167 Configuration Unit.
These components, together with the 2365 Processor Storage Model 2, 2860 Selector Channel, 2870 Multiplexer Channel, and other System/360 control units and devices were available for use with the S/360-67.
Note that while Carnegie Tech had a 360/67 with an IBM 2361 LCS, that option was not listed in the price book and may not have worked in a duplex configuration.
Basic configurations
Three basic configurations were available for the IBM System/360 model 67:
Simplex—one IBM 2067-1 processor, two to four IBM 2365-2 Processor Storage components (512K to 1M bytes), up to seven data channels, and other peripherals. This system was called the IBM System/360 model 67-1.
Half-duplex—one IBM 2067-2 processor, two to four IBM 2365-12 Processor Storage components (512K to 1M bytes), one IBM 2167 Configuration Unit, one or two IBM 2846 Channel Controllers, up to fourteen data channels, and other peripherals.
Duplex—two IBM 2067-2 processors, three to eight IBM 2365-12 Processor Storage components (768K to 2M bytes), one IBM 2167 Configuration Unit, one or two IBM 2846 Channel Controllers, up to fourteen data channels, and other peripherals.
A half-duplex system could be upgraded in the field to a duplex system by adding one IBM 2067-2 processor and the third IBM 2365-12 Processor Storage, unless the half-duplex system already had three or more. The half-duplex and duplex configurations were called the IBM System/360 model 67-2.
Operating systems
When the S/360-67 was announced in August 1965, IBM also announced TSS/360, a time-sharing operating system project that was canceled in 1971 (having also been canceled in 1968, but reprieved in 1969). IBM subsequently modified TSS/360 and offered the TSS/370 PRPQ for three releases before cancelling it.
IBM's failure to deliver TSS/360 as promised opened the door for others to develop operating systems that would use the unique features of the S/360-67
MTS, the Michigan Terminal System, was the time-sharing operating system developed at the University of Michigan and first used on the Model 67 in January 1967. Virtual memory support was added to MTS in October 1967. Multi-processor support for a duplex S/360-67 was added in October 1968.
CP/CMS was the first virtual machine operating system. Developed at IBM's Cambridge Scientific Center (CSC) near MIT. CP/CMS was essentially an unsupported research system, built away from IBM's mainstream product organizations, with active involvement of outside researchers. Over time it evolved into a fully supported IBM operating system (VM/370 and today's z/VM).
VP/CSS, based upon CP/CMS, was developed by National CSS to provide commercial time-sharing services.
Legacy
The S/360-67 had an important legacy. After the failure of TSS/360, IBM was surprised by the blossoming of a time-sharing community on the S/360-67 platform (CP/CMS, MTS, MUSIC). A large number of commercial, academic, and service bureau sites installed the system. By taking advantage of IBM's lukewarm support for time-sharing, and by sharing information and resources (including source code modifications), they built and supported a generation of time-sharing centers.
The unique features of the S/360-67 were initially not carried into IBM's next product series, the System/370, although the 370/145 had an associative memory that appeared more useful for paging than for its ostensible purpose. This was largely fallout from a bitter and highly visible political battle within IBM over the merits of time-sharing versus batch processing. Initially at least, time-sharing lost.
However, IBM faced increasing customer demand for time-sharing and virtual memory capabilities. IBM also could not ignore the large number of S/360-67 time-sharing installations – including the new industry of time-sharing vendors, such as National CSS and Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), that were quickly achieving commercial success.
In 1972, IBM added virtual memory features to the S/370 series, a move seen by many as a vindication of work done on the S/360-67 project. The survival and success of IBM's VM family, and of virtualization technology in general, also owe much to the S/360-67.
In 2010, in the technical description of its latest mainframe, the z196, IBM stated that its software virtualization started with the System/360 model 67.
References
E.W. Pugh, L.R. Johnson, and John H. Palmer, IBM's 360 and early 370 systems, MIT Press, Cambridge MA and London, , includes extensive (819 pp.) treatment of IBM's offerings during this period
Melinda Varian, VM and the VM community, past present, and future, SHARE 89 Sessions 9059-9061, 1997
S360
func67
External links
A. Padegs, "System/360 and Beyond", IBM Journal of Research & Development, vol. 25 no. 5, pp. 377-390, September 1981
IBM System/360 System Summary, thirteenth edition, January 1974, IBM publication GA22-6810-12, pages 6–13 to 6-15 describe the model 67
IBM System/360 Model 67 Reference Data (Blue card)
Several photos of a dual processor IBM 360/67 at the University of Michigan's academic Computing Center in the late 1960s or early 1970s are included in Dave Mills' article describing the Michigan Terminal System (MTS)
Pictures of an IBM S/360-67 at Newcastle (UK) University
TSS/360 Concepts and Facilities
Time-sharing in the IBM System/360 model 67
System 360 Model 67
Computing platforms
Time-sharing
Computer-related introductions in 1968
VM (operating system) |
4103072 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CollabNet | CollabNet | CollabNet VersionOne is a software firm headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States. CollabNet VersionOne products and services belong to the industry categories of value stream management, devops, agile management, application lifecycle management (ALM), and enterprise version control. These products are used by companies and government organizations to reduce the time it takes to create and release software.
About
The company was founded to improve the methods of software creation and delivery. Today devops is extending to the application of value stream management practices.
This is a business-to-business software company. The company's customers are global enterprises and government organizations that use the products to apply a cohesive approach to software development and management throughout application development life-cycles.
The company's customers are in diverse industries such as finance, healthcare, government, high-tech, and others in 100 countries. CollabNet VersionOne partners are composed of other technology providers that enable certain product capabilities and extend the coverage of products, as well sales and delivery partners. The company also teams with #YesWeCode, a Dream Corps initiative designed to bring free technology training and industry connections to 100,000 young people in communities of color and increase local talent for the technology industry.
The company also offers training and education in its categories, from Scrum certifications and Agile training to value stream management. Many trainings and certifications are open to the public, requiring no experience with the company's products. It is widely understood in the software industry that Scrum and Agile are foundational for modern software development teams.
History
The company was originally founded as CollabNet in 1999 by Tim O’Reilly, Brian Behlendorf, and Bill Portelli, who also served as the company's chief executive officer. The founding mission was to create software that helps organizations manage and improve software development processes and make them more efficient while producing higher quality software. Vector Capital became a major investor of the company in 2014.
In May 2015, Flint Brenton became president and chief executive officer with Portelli remaining on the board of directors. The company remains privately owned.
CollabNet merged with VersionOne in 2017, becoming CollabNet VersionOne, and began expanding its enterprise value stream management endeavors.
TPG Capital acquired CollabNet VersionOne from Vector Capital, announcing investments in the company up to $500 million over the next years.
Previous additions include the 2010 acquisition of Danube Technologies, a company specializing in Agile/Scrum management software tools (including ScrumWorks Pro) and consulting and training services for organizations implementing Agile. CollabNet also acquired Codesion in 2010. Codesion specialized in cloud development.
The company has historically focused on innovating on its own and through partnerships, from early ALM, to solutions for government use, to the cloud, to DevOps and Value Stream Management.
In January 2020, CollabNet VersionOne (CollabNet) and XebiaLabs announced that the two companies had merged. In April of that year, Arxan joined, the merger of the three companies being known by the name Digital.ai.
Products
The company offers several products for agile management, devops, value stream management, application lifecycle management (ALM), and enterprise version control. The company's major products include VersionOne, Continuum, TeamForge, TeamForge SCM, and VS.
See also
Agile software development
DevOps Toolchain
Value Stream Mapping
Continuous delivery
Continuous Integration
Scrum (software development)
References
External links
Value Stream Management Tools Forrester
Collaborative software
Software companies established in 1999
Free software companies
Software companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
Companies based in Fulton County, Georgia
Software companies of the United States
1999 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) |
5475353 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975%20spring%20offensive | 1975 spring offensive | The 1975 spring offensive (), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 () was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vietnam War that led to the capitulation of South Vietnam. After the initial success capturing Phước Long Province, the North Vietnamese leadership increased the scope of the People's Army of Vietnam's (PAVN) offensive and captured and held the key Central Highlands city of Buôn Ma Thuột between 10 and 18 March. These operations were intended to be preparatory to launching a general offensive in 1976.
Following the attack on Buôn Ma Thuôt, the Republic of Vietnam realized they were no longer able to defend the entire country and ordered a strategic withdrawal from the Central Highlands. The retreat from the Central Highlands, however, was a debacle as civilian refugees fled under fire with soldiers, mostly along a single highway reaching from the highlands to the coast. This situation was exacerbated by confusing orders, lack of command and control, and a well-led and aggressive enemy, which led to the utter rout and destruction of the bulk of South Vietnamese forces in the Central Highlands. A similar collapse occurred in the northern provinces.
Surprised by the rapidity of the ARVN collapse, North Vietnam transferred the bulk of its northern forces more than to the south in order to capture the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in time to celebrate their late President Ho Chi Minh's birthday and end the war. South Vietnamese forces regrouped around the capital and defended the key transportation hubs at Phan Rang and Xuân Lộc, but a loss of political and military will to continue the fight became ever more manifest. Under political pressure, South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned on 21 April, in hopes that a new leader that was more amenable to the North Vietnamese could reopen negotiations with them. It was, however, too late. Southwest of Saigon IV Corps, meanwhile, remained relatively stable with its forces aggressively preventing VC units from taking over any provincial capitals. With PAVN spearheads already entering Saigon, the South Vietnamese government, then under the leadership of Dương Văn Minh, capitulated on 30 April 1975.
Preliminaries
Strategies
The signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973 did not end the fighting in South Vietnam since both sides violated the cease-fire and attempted to gain control of as much territory as possible. Occupation meant population control in any future negotiations or reunification effort. The fighting that erupted was not small in scale. The three-phase North Vietnamese "Land-grabbing-and population nibbling" campaign, for example, included four division-sized attacks to seize strategically advantageous positions. The International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), established by a protocol of the Paris agreement, had been assigned the task of monitoring the implementation of the cease-fire. The principles of consultation and unanimity among the members, however, doomed any effort to control the situation or to stop cease-fire violations, and the ICCS ceased to function in any meaningful way within a few months of its establishment.
At the end of 1973, there was serious debate among the Hanoi leadership over future military policy as the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam convened to assess the progress of its efforts in the south. General Văn Tiến Dũng, PAVN chief of staff, and Defence Minister Võ Nguyên Giáp strongly urged the resumption of conventional military operations, warning that increasing passivity would affect the morale of the army. Premier Phạm Văn Đồng, however, feared resuming operations would drain vital resources needed for reconstruction in the north.
The final result of this debate was Resolution 21, which called for "strategic raids" on South Vietnamese forces in order to regain territory lost to the ARVN since the conclusion of the Peace Accords and to test the reaction of both the South Vietnamese military and the American government. The first blows of the new policy were delivered between March and November 1974, when the communists attacked ARVN forces in Quảng Đức Province and at Biên Hòa. Hanoi's leaders watched closely and anxiously as strikes by American B-52 Stratofortress bombers failed to materialize. During these operations, however, PAVN retook the military initiative, gaining experience in combined arms operations, depleting ARVN forces, causing them to expend large quantities of ammunition, and gaining avenues of approach and jump-off points for any new offensive.
South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu had made his position on the cease-fire agreement quite public by proclaiming the "Four Nos": no negotiations with the communists; no communist political activities south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); no coalition government; and no surrender of territory to the North Vietnamese or Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) – policies which all but abrogated the Paris Accords. Thiệu still believed the promise made by President Richard Nixon to reintroduce American air power to the conflict if any serious violations of the agreement took place. It was also assumed that U.S. financial and military aid would continue to be forthcoming at previous levels.
On 1 July 1973, however, the U.S. Congress passed the Case–Church Amendment, legislation that all but prohibited any direct or indirect U.S. combat activities over or in Laos, Cambodia, and both Vietnams. On 7 November the legislative branch overrode Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act. During 1972–1973, South Vietnam had received $2.2 billion in U.S. assistance. In 1973–1974, that figure was slashed to $965 million, a more than 50 percent reduction. Nixon's growing political difficulties (especially the Watergate scandal) and the increasing antagonism between the legislative and executive branches over Vietnam policies, did little to dampen South Vietnamese expectations. Some among the Saigon leadership were more realistic in their appraisal. According to Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) General Dong Van Khuyen: "Our leaders continued to believe in U.S. air intervention even after the U.S. Congress had expressly forbidden it ... They deluded themselves." The shock of reduced aid was compounded on 9 August, when Richard Nixon, the guarantor of South Vietnamese independence, was forced to resign from office. In October 1973, the Arab oil embargo began, and the resulting oil shock of 1973–74 caused a massive bout of inflation that largely destroyed the South Vietnamese economy with a spokesman for Thiệu admitting in a TV interview that the government was being "overwhelmed" by the inflation. One consequence of the inflation was the South Vietnamese government had increasing difficulty in paying its soldiers.
Taking advantage of North Vietnam's period of recuperation in 1974, President Thiệu stretched his forces thin by launching offensives that retook most of the territory captured by PAVN forces during the land grab of 1973 and 15 percent of the total land area controlled by the PAVN at the time of the cease-fire. In April, Thiệu launched the Svay Rieng Campaign against PAVN strongholds in eastern Cambodia. This proved to be the last major offensive operation launched by the ARVN. While these operations succeeded, the cost in terms of manpower and resources was high. By the end of the year the military experienced shortages as a result of decreased American aid, while communist forces continued gaining strength.
By the end of October the North Vietnamese Politburo decided on its strategy for 1975 and 1976. In what became known as Resolution of 1975, the party leadership reported that the war reached its "final stage". The army was to consolidate its gains, eliminate South Vietnamese border outposts and secure its logistical corridor, and continue its force build-up in the south. During 1976 the final general offensive would begin. The following month, PAVN field commanders and their political officers were called to Hanoi to assess the new strategy. It was first decided that an attack in the Central Highlands would have the greatest chance of success, but this concept was challenged by Lieutenant General Trần Văn Trà, COSVN's military commander. His staff already drew a plan for a direct attack against Saigon, and Trà quickly proposed that his forces launch a "test" attack in Phước Long Province to see how well the ARVN would fight and if the U.S. would react. Trà's plan offered the potential for great gain at low risk. First Party Secretary Lê Duẩn approved the plan, but warned Trà that failure would not be acceptable, telling him "Go ahead and attack...[But] you must be sure of victory."
Opposing forces
ARVN
After the signing of the Paris Accords, the South Vietnamese government fielded the fourth largest military force in the world as a result of the American Enhance and Enhance Plus programs. The nation received new combat and transport aircraft, armored vehicles, helicopters, artillery pieces, and other equipment worth $753 million. The arms shipments were welcomed by Saigon, but the lack of sufficient training and dependence on the U.S. for spare parts, fuel, and ammunition caused maintenance and logistical problems. South Vietnamese forces certainly outnumbered combined PAVN/Viet Cong (VC) forces in the south with approximately one and one-half million troops in uniform. But almost 482,000 of this number belonged to either the Regional or Popular Forces, organizations of mixed reliability. Even the lesser number was misleading. Only about 200,000 of the remaining total served as regulars in the combat arms. The rest were in the administrative and logistical "tail" required to support them (of course, a large proportion of the active PAVN and VC forces were likewise engaged, on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, anti-aircraft networks, administration, etc., as is true of any modern army).
The ARVN always had problems keeping men in the ranks, but during 1973–75, the problem reached epidemic proportions. During 1974, for example, only 65 percent of authorized manpower was present for duty at any time. The nation's officer corps still suffered from the promotion and retention of generals due to their political loyalties, not their professional abilities. Corruption and incompetence among officers was endemic, with some "raising it almost to an art form."
Severe cutbacks in U.S. aid directly affected military performance. Artillery batteries previously allocated 100 rounds per day were reduced to firing only four daily. Each ARVN soldier was restricted to only 85 bullets per month. Because of fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts, sorties by South Vietnamese helicopter and cargo aircraft shrank by 50 to 70 percent. Due to President Thiệu's "no surrender of territory" command, the army was stretched to the limit defending terrain along a 600-mile frontier. Even the nation's strategic reserve, the Airborne and Marine Divisions, were occupied in static defensive roles. The ARVN, schooled by the Americans in rapid mobility and application of massive firepower, were losing the ability to deliver either. The military situation was exacerbated by the collapse of the South Vietnamese economy and a massive influx of refugees into the cities.
During the same period, the North Vietnamese were recovering from losses incurred during the Easter Offensive of 1972 by replacing personnel and modernizing their equipment with a new influx of Soviet and Chinese military aid. During 1973, North Vietnam received 2.8 million metric tons of goods (worth $330 million) from communist-bloc countries, a 50 percent increase over the previous year. In 1974 that total increased to 3.5 million metric tons ($400 million) (according to CIA), while the South's aid was slashed to only $965 million per year, down from $2.2 billion. As a result, the number of artillery tubes within South Vietnam increased to 430, including new 122 mm and 130 mm guns, while armored forces were estimated to have increased to 655 tanks and armored personnel carriers, including the new Soviet-built BTR-60.
PAVN
By the end of 1974, the North Vietnamese General Staff had created two army corps headquarters, matching South Vietnam's command and control structure in the I and II Corps Tactical Zones. Most independent PAVN infantry regiments in the south were also combined into divisional structures. A U.S. Defense Attaché Office (DAO) (established in 1973 to replace MACV, the 50 officers and men of the DAO coordinated all military assistance to South Vietnam) report concluded that the PAVN had increased their strategic reserve from two divisions to seven, making 70,000 additional troops available to augment the 200,000 combat and 100,000 support troops already in South Vietnam.
The PAVN high command also recognized the need for improvements to their logistical network to facilitate the transport of sufficient supplies of food, weapons, and ammunition necessary for continuous large-scale operations. By 1973 the 559th Transportation Group, which controlled the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeastern Laos, was ordered to expand east of the Trường Sơn Mountains and directly into South Vietnam. The new logistical route, Corridor 613, ran inside South Vietnam from the DMZ to all the way to Lộc Ninh. Besides creating the new extension, the 559th upgraded its entire network, constructing all-weather, hard-surfaced roads to accommodate the modern mechanized army that had been rebuilt since the Paris Accords. The work required two years to complete, but the time required for the transport of personnel from North Vietnam to the southernmost seat of battle was reduced from four months to three weeks.
One of the most threatening features of the new North Vietnamese build-up was the air defense network that was established within South Vietnam, which by 1975 consisted of twenty-two regiments equipped with radar-controlled gun systems and formidable SA-2 Guideline and shoulder-launched SA-7 Grail anti-aircraft missiles. Such systems posed a major deterrent to the RVNAF, since its aircraft were not equipped to deal with such threats. As a result, RVNAF aerial interdiction of the communist logistical build-up became almost impossible and reconnaissance flights were held to a minimum. This lack of active intelligence collection made estimation of North Vietnamese strength and intentions much more difficult.
However, deficiencies of the PAVN's armored and heavy artillery forces, essential for attacks on heavily fortified ARVN regimental and divisional base camps, weighed heavily on the minds of the General Staff planners who drew up the plan presented to the Politburo in October 1974. Much attention was focused on the role ARVN's ammunition shortages played in the collapse of South Vietnam, but it is not known if the PAVN suffered similar shortages. Soviet and Chinese military aid, especially in the category of "offensive weapon" (armor and artillery), declined significantly since the Paris Accords. Also, much of PAVN's armor and artillery was in poor condition, and spare parts were in short supply. Most PAVN artillery units, especially in the South, were still equipped only with light mortar, recoilless gun, or single-tube rocket launchers. In the COSVN area of operations, consisting of the southern half of the country, seven infantry divisions (the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th) and one corps headquarters (4th Corps) were supported by only five battalions of field artillery, two of which were equipped with captured US-made weapons for which there was little ammunition, and three understrength armored battalions. The PAVN's 2nd Corps, with three artillery regiments belonging to its three infantry divisions, a corps artillery brigade, a tank brigade, and a separate armored battalion, could field a grand total of only 89 tanks and armored personnel carrier and 87 towed artillery pieces when it set off to attack Saigon in April 1975.
Both the ARVN and PAVN's tanks and heavy artillery (field artillery and mortars 85mm or larger in caliber) suffered severe ammunition shortages. PAVN General Văn Tiến Dũng wrote that, compared to 1973, the 1974 ARVN's "firepower had decreased by nearly 60 percent because of bomb and ammunition shortages. Its mobility was also reduced by half due to lack of aircraft, vehicles, and fuel... The reduction of U.S. aid made it impossible for the puppet troops to carry out their combat plans and build up their forces." Reduction in firepower continued throughout the next year as the ARVN attempted to conserve ammunition. In the heavy fighting of July 1974 through March 1975, the ARVN expended an average of 18,267 tons of ammunition per month, compared to 66,500 tons per month in 1972, a more than 72% reduction. On the other side, PAVN's entire stock of heavy artillery and tank ammunition in 1974, including all ammunition held by combat units at forward warehouses, and in the PAVN's strategic reserves, totaled just 100,000 rounds. The ammunition problem was so serious that the PAVN artillery command had to replace the larger weapons in a number of units with obsolete 76.2mm and 57mm artillery pieces drawn out of storage for which there still was adequate ammunition. Consequently, the offensive would rely partly on captured ARVN stocks.
Many historians maintain that given the massive reductions in US military aid to South Vietnam after 1973, any major PAVN offensive was bound to succeed. However, the ARVN's soldiers were hardened veterans, and South Vietnam maintained vast stockpiles of ammunition and equipment (as demonstrated by the massive quantities of war materiel captured by the PAVN when the war ended). The final collapse of the ARVN may well have been inevitable, but the end would have been much bloodier and much longer in coming had the PAVN chosen a more direct, conventional plan of attack. In fact, the most damaging blow of the entire PAVN campaign may have been the crushing psychological blow their skillful and unexpected strategy dealt to the mind of the ARVN's commander-in-chief.
First steps
Phước Long
Phước Long was the northernmost provincial capital in III Corps, approximately northeast of Saigon. At the end of December 1974, the North Vietnamese CT-7 and 3rd Divisions, an independent infantry regiment, and armored, anti-aircraft, and heavy artillery support moved out of Cambodia to attack. The province was defended by five Regional Force battalions, 48 Popular Force platoons and four territorial artillery sections. From his headquarters at Biên Hòa, Lieutenant General Dư Quốc Đống, the III Corps commander, augmented this force by sending in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division, two artillery sections, and three reconnaissance companies. The battle for the province began on 13 December when PAVN forces began to isolate Phước Long City's overland communications and eliminating static outposts. They then began to bombard Phước Long accurately with heavy artillery and launched a concerted armor/infantry ground attack on the 27th.
Any counterattack or relief effort contemplated by the South Vietnamese was doomed by the thousands of refugees that took to the roads in order to escape the fighting. Desertion among ARVN units became common, as soldiers began disappearing from the ranks in search of family members. This pattern was to become too common as the offensive continued, not just among the territorial forces, but among the regular troops.
On 2 January an emergency meeting was held at the Independence Palace in Saigon between President Thiệu, the Joint General Staff, and General Đống. At the meeting, Đống presented a plan for the relief of Phước Long that would have utilized either an infantry division or the Airborne Division. The plan was turned down for three reasons: first, there were simply no reserve forces of sufficient size available anywhere in the country for the task; second, with all overland routes in enemy hands, all movements and logistics would have to depend entirely on airlift, a capability that no longer existed; and third, despite advantageous defensive positions, the forces at Phước Long could not hold off two PAVN divisions long enough for any relief effort to succeed. The decision was then reached. Phước Long City and province would be surrendered to PAVN forces as a matter of expediency, since it was considered to be strategically less important than Tây Ninh, Pleiku, or Huế – economically, politically, and demographically.
The fighting around Phước Long continued until 6 January 1975, after which the town became the first provincial capital permanently seized by PAVN. Of the more than 5,400 ARVN troops originally committed to the battle, only 850 returned to government lines. The PAVN captured 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. More important for the North Vietnamese was the apparent total indifference with which the U.S. regarded this loss. The psychological blow for the government and people of South Vietnam was severe. According to the chief of the ARVN General Staff, General Cao Văn Viên, "Almost gone was the hope that the United States would forcibly punish the North Vietnamese for their brazen violations of the cease-fire agreement ... What more encouragement could the communists have asked for?"
Word of the fall of Phước Long reached the North Vietnamese Politburo in the midst of its Twenty-third Plenum, and the body immediately ordered the General Staff to develop a follow-up plan. The Politburo's assessment that the United States would not re-intervene in the war was proven correct, the weakness of the ARVN's defenses had been exposed, and, just as important, a solution to their most critical ammunition shortage – targeting and capturing ARVN artillery stocks – was found. Lê Duẩn declared that "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage so great as we have now." The first target chosen was Duc Lap Camp, a border outpost in II Corp's Darlac Province. Once again, Trần Văn Trà's influence drove some members to propose a bolder plan: attack Buôn Ma Thuột, the provincial capital. This time, Lê Duẩn was reluctant to agree, that is until Lê Đức Thọ threw his weight behind the more radical strategy. General Dũng was ordered south to take direct command of the new offensive, which had been named Campaign 275.
Campaign 275 (Central Highland campaign)
General Dũng already worked out a plan for taking Buôn Ma Thuột. Called the "blossoming lotus", the objective was to avoid outlying South Vietnamese positions and strike at the primary target first, "like a flower bud slowly opening its petals." The plan for the 75,000–80,000 PAVN troops participating in the campaign was first to isolate Buôn Ma Thuột by cutting Highways 14, 19 and 21, precluding any South Vietnamese reinforcement. The 320th Division was then to neutralize outposts to the north and seize the Phuong Duc Airfield. The mission of the 10th Division was to then conduct the main attack on the city along Route 14.
Commanding his forces from Pleiku, Major General Phạm Văn Phú, the III Corps commander, was given adequate warnings of the impending North Vietnamese attacks, but they were not given serious consideration. Phú was deceived by an elaborate North Vietnamese communications charade and his belief that PAVN movements toward Buôn Ma Thuột were diversionary operations designed to distract him from the true objective, Pleiku. The defense of Buôn Ma Thuột, therefore, was entrusted to a single Ranger group and Popular and Regional Force units (approximately 4,000 men). They were augmented at the beginning of March by 53rd Regiment of the 23rd Division.
The battle for Buôn Ma Thuột began on 10 March 1975. Preceded by an intense artillery bombardment, the 10th Division quickly pushed into the city and seized the ammunition depot. That evening the 316th Division entered the battle for the city center. On the 13th, the ARVN 44th Regiment, 23rd Division and a battalion of the 21st Ranger Group were helilifted to Phuoc An, east of Buôn Ma Thuột, to form a relief force for the beleaguered city. The column, advancing into the path of thousands of refugees and military dependents fleeing the highlands, soon encountered the 10th Division. The South Vietnamese attack disintegrated and the force then retreated, joining the civilian exodus.
On 18 March the PAVN had taken Phuoc An, eliminating any hope of reaching Buôn Ma Thuột. Darlac Province in its entirety then fell under North Vietnamese control. ARVN forces began to rapidly shift positions in an attempt to keep the PAVN from quickly pushing eastward to the coastal lowlands. In the final analysis, the blame for the fall of the highlands lies with General Phú, who refused to act on sound intelligence and when he realized his error, it was too late to get reinforcements to the scene.
Realising the weakened state of his army, President Thiệu sent a delegation to Washington in early March to request an increase in economic and military aid. U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Graham Martin, who believed additional aid would help the defense of the Republic, also made a trip to Washington to present the case to President Gerald R. Ford. The U.S. Congress, increasingly reluctant to divert money from economic recovery into what was seen as a lost cause, slashed a proposed $1.45 billion military aid package for 1975 to $700 million. The Ford administration, from the president on down, however, continued to encourage Thiệu in what the historian Arnold Isaacs called "the pipe dream that Congress would restore the funds it cut."
Reassessments
President Thiệu felt increased pressure. He became, in the words of one of his closest advisors, "suspicious...secretive...and ever watchful for a coup d'état against him." His increasing isolation began denying him "the services of competent people, adequate staff work, consultation, and coordination." Thiệu's military decisions were followed faithfully by his officer corps, who generally agreed with General Viên, that "Thiệu made all the decisions how the war should be conducted."
By 11 March, the day after Buôn Ma Thuột was attacked, Thiệu came to the conclusion there was no longer any hope of receiving a $300 million supplemental aid package he requested from the U.S. government. On that basis he called a meeting attended by Lieutenant General Đăng Văn Quang and General Viên. After reviewing the military situation, Thiệu pulled out a small-scale map of South Vietnam and discussed the possible redeployment of the armed forces to "hold and defend only those populous and flourishing areas which were most important."
Thiệu then sketched in on the map the areas which he considered most important – all of the III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. He also pointed out the areas currently under PAVN/VC control which would have to be retaken. The key to the location of these operations were concentrations of natural resources – rice, rubber, industry, etc. Those areas that were to be held also included coastal areas where oil had been discovered on the continental shelf. These areas were to become, in Thiệu's words: "Our untouchable heartland, the irreducible national stronghold." As to the future of the I and II Corps Zones, he drew a series of phase lines on the map indicating that South Vietnamese forces should hold what they could, but that they could redeploy southward as circumstances dictated. Thiệu declared this new strategy as "Light at the top, heavy on the bottom."
The critical decision for the Saigon government was made two days later at Cam Ranh Bay during a meeting between Thiệu and General Phu. Thiệu decided that Pleiku and Kon Tum were to be abandoned and that the forces defending them would be redeployed to retake demographically more important Ban Mê Thuột. Phu informed the president that the only route possible for the redeployment, given PAVN blocking actions, was little-used Interprovincial Route 7B, a neglected, narrow, rough-surfaced track (actually a logging road) with several downed bridges along its course.
Meanwhile, General Dũng advised Hanoi that he was turning his forces to capture Kon Tum and Pleiku. In Hanoi, Lê Duẩn was pressuring the General Staff to take advantage of the foothold they gained in the highlands. Two months remained before the monsoon season, when military operations would be forestalled. Further strategic gains appeared possible in light of Saigon's apparent weakness and the level of the U.S. response.
ARVN collapse in the northern provinces
Debacle in the Central Highlands
General Phu then faced the monumental task of moving a corps-sized column of troops, equipment, and vehicles over a largely unknown road some through the mountains and jungles of the highlands to Nha Trang for the attempted counterattack. The force would consist of one battalion of the 44th ARVN Regiment, five Ranger groups, the 21st Tank Squadron, two 155 mm artillery battalions, one 175 mm battalion and Popular and Regional Force units. Also in train would be the men and equipment of the 20th Combat Engineer Group and the 231st Direct Support Group.
Phu's excessive preoccupation with secrecy, however, doomed the effort from the beginning. Operational planning was limited only to a few trusted subordinates who had either contributed to or knew about it. Staff work was non-existent. The chief of staff of II Corps, for example, admitted that he was completely in the dark about the planned abandonment of Pleiku and Kon Tum. Command of the convoy itself was handed over to the commander of the II Corps Rangers.
During the first two days of the move (16 and 17 March) the effort went well, until, at Hau Bon, the column of refugees from the abandoned cities and the military convoys collided and became stuck. Making matters worse was that combat engineers had to complete a pontoon bridge across the Đà Rằng River. That night VC forces began to intercept and stall the mass of over 200,000 troops and refugees that was soon to be dubbed the "convoy of tears." Initially caught by surprise by the South Vietnamese withdrawal, General Dũng ordered his 320th Division to strike the flank of the column while coastal forces raced to halt its forward progress. The 968th Division was ordered to force its way through Pleiku and strike the tail of the retreat.
The following day the column only proceeded before it encountered a significant PAVN roadblock. From that point onward the exodus kept moving forward only by fighting its way ahead. "They hit us with everything" said Ranger Private Nguyen Van Sau, describing an unrelenting shower of artillery shells, mortar rounds and rockets that flew from the jungle into the stream of refugees. Upon reaching the Đà Rằng River, only 20 kilometers from Tuy Hòa, a pontoon bridge had to be helilifted to the column. By 22 March the bridge was completed, but the advance became more hazardous due to numerous PAVN units moving into blocking positions. During the entire movement, the RVNAF provided minimal support due to bad weather. On 27 March the final roadblock was overcome and, at 21:00, the first vehicles of the column entered Tuy Hòa. "How many people in the original column survived the tragic journey, no one knew exactly." It was estimated by the ARVN that only 20,000 of the 60,000 troops that had started out from Pleiku finally reached the coast. Of the estimated 180,000 civilians that fled the highlands with the column, only about 60,000 got through. Those who failed to break through were either taken prisoner or killed by PAVN forces.
The retreat from the Central Highlands became a rout of strategic proportions. At least "75 percent of II Corps combat strength, including the 23rd Infantry Division, as well as Ranger, armor, artillery, engineer and signal units were tragically expended within ten days." The planned operation to retake Buôn Ma Thuột never materialized simply because II Corps no longer possessed any means to attempt it. Buoyed by their easy triumph, the PAVN 10th, 316th and 320th Divisions began to move toward the coast. The only thing stand before them was the ARVN 22nd Division, tasked with defending the mountain passes to the coast. However, by late March, these PAVN units would make it into Huế and Da Nang.
On 30 March the 22nd Division was ordered to proceed to the coast at Qui Nhơn for evacuation. North Vietnamese forces attacked them there from the north and two of the division's regiments had to fight their way through to the beaches for pick-up. At 02:00 on 1 April, what was left of the division was extracted by sea. Two regimental colonels, after being ordered to evacuate, refused to leave, preferring suicide rather than retreat or surrender. The division's third regiment, the 47th, ran into an ambush at Phu Cat and suffered heavy casualties, losing about half of its troops. When it later regrouped at Vũng Tàu, the 22nd numbered only slightly over 2,000 men, its commander also having chosen suicide over surrender.
Huế–Da Nang Campaign
The situation for the South Vietnamese in the I Corps Tactical Zone regained some stability after the defeat of a three-division PAVN push during late 1974. By early the following year, I Corps fielded three infantry divisions (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd), the elite Airborne and Marine Divisions, four Ranger Groups and the 1st Armored Brigade. The northern provinces were under the command of one of South Vietnam's finest and most aggressive generals, Ngô Quang Trưởng. Until mid-March, the PAVN had limited their offensive operations to attempts to cut Highway 1, the main north–south line of communication, between Huế and Da Nang and between Da Nang and Chu Lai. To confront the South Vietnamese, PAVN Brigadier General Lê Trọng Tấn had amassed a force of five divisions and nine independent infantry regiments, three sapper regiments, three armored regiments, twelve anti-aircraft and eight artillery regiments.
At a meeting in Saigon on 13 March President Thiệu was briefed on the military situation by Trưởng and the new III Corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Toàn. Thiệu then laid out his plan for national consolidation. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces to hold the Da Nang area. Trưởng was shocked to discover, however, that the Airborne Division was to be removed to III Corps (unknown to Trưởng at the time, the Marine Division was also already slated for redeployment with both units then forming a new national reserve).
General Trưởng was recalled to Saigon on 19 March to brief Thiệu on his withdrawal plan. The general developed two contingency plans: The first was predicated on government control of Highway 1, which would be utilized for two simultaneous withdrawals from Huế and Chu Lai to Da Nang; The second course presupposed PAVN interdiction of the highway and called for a withdrawal into three enclaves: Huế, Da Nang, and Chu Lai. This was to be only an interim measure, however, since the forces that withdrew to Huế and Chu Lai would then be sea-lifted to Da Nang by the Republic of Vietnam Navy. The president then stunned the general by announcing he misinterpreted his previous orders: Huế was not to be abandoned. Making matters worse, Trưởng discovered that his force was to be reduced by the removal of the Marine Division.
By the time of the second meeting it was obvious that the second plan was the only possible recourse, since any phased withdrawal along Highway 1 had become impossible. This was due to increasing PAVN pressure that the ARVN was barely containing and the enormous and uncontrolled flow of refugees along the highway. Trưởng then requested permission for a withdrawal of his forces into the three enclaves as planned and for the retention of the Marines. Thiệu's reply ordered him to "hold onto any territory he could with whatever forces he now had, including the Marine Division."
Trưởng returned to Da Nang the same day and was greeted by bad news. The PAVN had begun an all-out offensive in I Corps and already breached Trưởng's northern defense line at the Thạch Hãn River. President Thiệu made a nationwide radio broadcast that afternoon proclaiming that Huế would be held "at all costs." That evening Trưởng ordered a retreat to a new defense line at the My Chanh River, thereby ceding all of Quảng Trị Province to the PAVN. He was confident that his forces could hold Huế, but he was then astounded by a late afternoon message from the president that now ordered "that because of inability to simultaneously defend all three enclaves, the I Corps commander was free...to redeploy his forces for the defense of Da Nang only." Regardless of the president's reassurances, the people of Quảng Trị and Huế began to leave their homes by the tens of thousands, joining an ever-growing exodus toward Da Nang.
Meanwhile, the PAVN offensive was slowly rolling over ARVN opposition north and south of Da Nang. General Dong's plan called for attacks on the area from the west, north, and south that would drive South Vietnamese forces into Da Nang, where they could be destroyed. The highway between Huế and Da Nang was cut at Phú Lộc after severe fighting on 22 March. South of Da Nang, the ARVN 2nd Division barely managed to contain a PAVN drive toward Tam Kỳ and the coastal plain. On the morning of 24 March, however, the 711th Division, backed by armored elements, seized Tam Kỳ, driving the population north toward Da Nang by the thousands. PAVN forces then cut Highway 1 between Quảng Ngãi and Chu Lai, a move to which the 2nd Division was too battered to respond. With Corps approval, South Vietnamese troops from Quảng Ngãi fought their way northward, but only a few managed to reach Chu Lai. In a single day the situation in I Corps had deteriorated beyond control.
With the withdrawal to the three enclaves completed, Trưởng issued the following orders: the 1st Division and other units in the Huế area were to withdraw overland toward Da Nang while the Marine elements were to be retrieved by ship from Huế; the 2nd Division, its dependents, and the remains of the Quảng Ngãi sector forces were to withdrawn by sea to Re Island, offshore from Chu Lai.
During 26 March, command and control collapsed and discipline in the 1st Division eroded after its commander told his men "We've been betrayed ... It is now sauve qui peut (every man for himself) ... See you in Da Nang." The overland march, pummelled by artillery the entire way, degenerated into chaos as it moved toward Da Nang. No sooner had the remains of the force reached the city than soldiers began to melt away, searching for their dependents. On the coast near Huế, only one regiment of the 1st Division, about 600 Marines and 7,700 civilians were picked up by naval vessels.
From the north, two PAVN divisions, along with armor and artillery elements, enveloped the western flank of Da Nang. To the south, two more divisions closed in and brought the center of the city into artillery range. Da Nang then collapsed into anarchy and chaos. "Hunger, looting, and crimes were widespread. Traffic was impossible...the mass stranded in the city was estimated at approximately one and one-half million." At noon on 28 March, with a coherent defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to commit himself to a clear-cut decision. When his communications with Saigon were cut, and on his own initiative, Trưởng ordered a naval withdrawal that was to begin the following morning, 29 March.
Thousands of soldiers and civilians rushed for the sea, where hundreds drowned trying to reach the ships that could not dock due to the low tide. Thousands more died under the continuous PAVN artillery barrage. Of the ARVN's four infantry divisions, four Ranger groups, armored brigade, air division and thousands of territorial, support, and staff personnel, only around 16,000 were evacuated as the PAVN swept in on 29 March. Of the almost two million civilians that packed Da Nang at the end of March, a little more than 50,000 were evacuated during the sea lift. Left behind were 70,000 ARVN troops taken prisoner by northern forces. Also abandoned were 33 undamaged RVNAF A-37 jet fighters at Da Nang Air Base and nearly 60 more aircraft at Phu Cat Air Base. During the fall of Da Nang no pitched battles had been fought and few of the ARVN troops stationed in and around the city had even raised their rifles in its defense. In quick succession the few remaining centers of resistance along the coastline "fell like a row of porcelain vases sliding off a shelf": Quảng Ngãi on 24 March; Qui Nhơn and Nha Trang on 1 April; and Cam Ranh Bay on 3 April.
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
Xuân Lộc
By 25 March the North Vietnamese Politburo no longer felt it was necessary to wait until 1976 for the initiation of its final offensive against Saigon. General Dũng was ordered to abandon the long-standing doctrine of meticulous planning and methodical preparation of the battlefield in order that the "puppet regime" could be crushed and the war ended. The only obstacle to that goal was moving his northern forces (the reserve divisions in North Vietnam would have to move ) south in order to participate in the attack on the capital Saigon. In one of the most complex logistical feats of the war, he proceeded to do just that.
On 7 April Lê Đức Thọ arrived at Dũng's headquarters near Loc Ninh to oversee the final battles as the Politburo's representative. Dũng and his staff had basically adapted Tra's original plan and prepared a three-pronged attack that would be led by the 4th Corps, which would seize the vital highway intersection at Xuân Lộc, the capital of Long Khánh Province and "the gateway to Saigon." The capture of the crossroads would open the way to Biên Hòa (where 60 percent of South Vietnam's remaining ammunition was stockpiled) and Saigon's strategic eastern approaches. This effort was placed under the command of General Lê Trọng Tấn, the "conqueror of Da Nang." To divert Saigon's attention and prevent the reinforcement of Xuân Lộc, the recently activated 223rd Tactical Group would cut off Route 4, severing Saigon from the Mekong Delta. Simultaneously, the 3rd Corps would conduct another diversionary operation around Tây Ninh.
To support the effort, other PAVN elements would close on the city from the west and south. Since no code name had been applied to the new offensive, Dũng suggested that it be named the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. The Politburo concurred on 14 April. Lê Đức Thọ then passed on a message from Tôn Đức Thắng, president of North Vietnam to General Dũng: "You must win. Otherwise, do not return."
The defense of Xuân Lộc had been entrusted to the 18th Division, reinforced by the 8th Regiment of the 5th Division, the 3rd Armored Brigade, two Ranger and two artillery battalions and the 81st Airborne Ranger Group. The week-long fighting that erupted on 8 April raged in and around Xuân Lộc and became the most significant engagement of the entire offensive. The initial attack was conducted by the PAVN 341st and 3rd Divisions, which attacked headlong into the town, a tactic widely used before, hoping to quickly rout the defender. However, they had to call off the attack after meeting 2 weeks of heavy resistance and effective fire support which cost them dearly. The attackers were then reinforced by the 7th Division.
After the interdiction of an ARVN armored task force sent to the relief of the town along Route 1, the 1st Airborne Brigade was helilifted into the outskirts of the town. The South Vietnamese committed 25,000 troops to the battle, almost one-third of the remainder of their reserve forces. For the first time since the onset of the North Vietnamese offensive, the RVNAF consistently provided effective close air support to the defenders. Even General Dũng was impressed by "the stubbornness of the enemy" in what became a "meat grinder."
On 14 April General Dũng received new instructions from Hanoi. "We must be in Saigon to celebrate Ho Chi Minh's birthday." That deadline, 19 May, was only one month away. At that point, Dũng decided to bypass the defenders at Xuân Lộc and commenced the shelling of Biên Hòa Air Base, effectively ending air support. The PAVN also shifted their original target, instead of charging straight at the town, they instead attacked and destroyed the outposts around Xuân Lộc, cutting off the 18th Division from their reinforcements. Threatened with encirclement, the 18th Division managed to conduct a retreat to the south along Route 2. After more than three weeks of intense fighting, the 18th Division alone suffered 30 percent casualties (around 4000 soldiers) while dealing over 5,000 North Vietnamese casualties and destroying 37 tanks and vehicles. However, their defences made no differences to the outcome of the war, as the 18th disintegrated shortly after in the fighting around Biên Hòa. With all of Long Khánh Province under PAVN control, General Dũng was free to completely encircle Saigon with his forces.
Saigon and Mekong Delta
Even after the loss of Da Nang, "the worst single disaster in the history of South Vietnam", the Ford administration continued to disbelieve that the Saigon regime was failing. On 10 April President Ford went to Congress to request a $722 million supplemental military aid package for South Vietnam plus $250 million in economic and refugee aid. Congress was not impressed, believing that the administration might simply be stalling the evacuation of remaining U.S. personnel and civilians in order to force the aid bill through. On 17 April the discussion was ended. There would be no more funds for Saigon.
The ARVN III Corps commander, General Toan, organized five centers of resistance for the defense of the city. These fronts were so connected as to form an arc enveloping the area west, north, and east of the capital. The Cu Chi front, to the northwest, was defended by the 25th Division; the Bình Dương front, to the north, was the responsibility of the 5th Division; the Biên Hòa front, to the northeast, was defended by the 18th Division; the Vũng Tàu and Route 15 front, to the southeast, was held by the 1st Airborne Brigade and one battalion of the 3rd Division; and the Long An front, for which the Capital Military District Command was responsible, was defended by elements of the re-formed 22nd Division. South Vietnamese defensive forces around Saigon totaled approximately 60,000 troops.
On 17 April the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge and the US did nothing for their former ally. On 21 April 1975, Thiệu, under intense political pressure, resigned as president when his closest domestic allies began losing confidence over his handling of the war. In his televised farewell speech, Thiệu admitted, for the first time, having ordered the evacuation of the Central Highlands and the north that led to debacle. He then stated that it was the inevitable course of action in the situation – but also insisted it was the generals who failed him. He went on to excoriate the U.S., attacking "our great ally...the leader of the free world ... The United States has not respected its promises" he declared "It is inhumane. It is not trustworthy. It is irresponsible. Immediately following the speech, the presidency was handed over to Vice President Trần Văn Hương.
At his new forward command post at Ben Cat, General Dũng prepared plans for the final battle. He encircled Saigon with four PAVN corps and the hastily assembled 232nd Tactical Force, a total of 19 divisions plus supporting artillery and armored units, approximately 130,000 men. His plan was to avoid intensive street fighting within the city itself by first tying down outlying South Vietnamese forces in their defensive positions and then launching five spearheads through them into the city, each of which had a specific target: the Independence Palace, the Joint General Staff headquarters, the National Police headquarters, Tan Son Nhut Air Base and the Special Capital Zone headquarters. The attacks on the periphery began on 26 April and the main attack on the city center began the following day.
After Thiệu's resignation, the South Vietnamese military situation increasingly declined. On the 26th, the PAVN launched an all-out attack to take Biên Hòa and the sprawling logistical complex at Long Binh from the south and southeast. Three days later, the port city of Vũng Tàu was under assault and the pressure against the Cu Chi front was intense.
The same disorganization, loss of control, and anarchy that befell I and II Corps now took place in Saigon, where martial law was imposed to control the chaos and lawlessness. Although contemplation of a communist victory by that time had created severe shock in many parts of South Vietnamese society, most did little or nothing to forestall it. A repeat of the Massacre at Huế, albeit on a much larger scale, was promoted by the government as a propaganda ploy since the beginning of the offensive in an effort to unify the population, but it provoked only an overreaction and caused almost complete paralysis when the time came to defend the city.
As the main attack developed on the 27th, the South Vietnamese General Assembly handed over the presidency to General Dương Văn Minh, who was sworn in the following day. It was widely assumed that Minh, who had no history of aggressive action against the communists, would be able to establish a cease-fire and re-open negotiations. Such hope was unrealistic. Their opponent, for the first time since the First Indochina War, held the upper hand on the battlefield and victory was within reach, regardless of any political changes in Saigon. They would not be denied victory, the only thing for which they had striven for over 30 years.
The inauguration of Minh served as a signal to South Vietnamese officers who "would make no compromise with the communists", and were responsible for the torture and imprisonment of many VC agents and their sympathizers. They began to pack up and try to find a way out of the country. The aerial evacuation of U.S. personnel and civilians had commenced on 1 April from Tan Son Nhut. At 10:51 on 29 April Operation Frequent Wind, the U.S. helicopter evacuation of military and embassy personnel, U.S. civilians, and South Vietnamese citizens thought to be at risk of communist reprisal was put into implementation as the city descended into pandemonium.
On 28 April PAVN forces fought their way into the outskirts of the city. At the Newport Bridge (), about from the city center, ARVN soldiers battled with PAVN troops attempting to control the span, cutting the city's last overland connection to the south and gaining immediate access to downtown Saigon. Later that afternoon, as President Minh finished his acceptance speech, a formation of four A-37s, captured from RVNAF, bombed Tan Son Nhut Air Base. As Biên Hòa was falling, General Toan fled to Saigon, informing the government that most of the top ARVN leadership resigned themselves to defeat.
Despite the increased disintegration of the ARVN, the PAVN faced heavy resistance, even counterattack attempts to push them out. The outskirts and downtown of the city become battlefields, where PAVN/VC fought against a rag-tag formation of ARVN soldiers who made their way into Saigon, but couldn't be evacuated. These men, betrayed by their commanders, either stripped off their uniforms and hid, or made suicidal assault at the enemy, hoping for a quick death. Those units tasked with capturing key structures found themselves at the receiving end of a more disciplined force commanded by officers denied their evacuation. These men would take advantage of the equipment left over by their escaped comrades and set a perimeter around the city. However, despite all efforts, a loose combination of troops either wanting to flee or wanting to kill as many communists as possible before their deaths, mostly leaderless and cut off from supplies, could not hope to stand against a disciplined army with artillery and armored support.
At 4:58 a.m on 30 April, U.S. Ambassador Martin boarded a helicopter and departed from the US Embassy, Saigon on one of the last American evacuation flights. At 07:53 the last U.S. Marines were lifted from the roof of the U.S. Embassy. At 10:24 am. President Minh ordered all South Vietnamese forces to cease fighting. Later Minh would be escorted to a radio station, from which he declared the unconditional surrender of his government. Around noon, a PAVN tank, number 390, crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace. A crewman from the 843, which rammed into the side gate and got stuck, jumped out, ran up the steps, carrying the flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government. A Western reporter on the scene asked the soldier his name and the man replied, "Nguyễn Văn Thiệu."
The total number of South Vietnamese evacuated by the U.S. or self-evacuated and ending up in the custody of the United States for processing as refugees to enter the United States totaled 138,869.
In the Mekong Delta, where South Vietnamese military forces still appeared intact and aggressive, IV Corps deputy commander Brigadier General Lê Văn Hưng planned to build a "secret section", to use the delta's agricultural wealth to form a resistance. Lê Văn Hưng created a secret campaign "Operation Linking Hands" to send the remaining ARVN soldiers and officers to hidden jungle locations and military bases places in Mekong Delta to form a prolonged counteroffensive against the PAVN/VC hoping for another ceasefire in early summer 1975 and keeping parts of the Mekong Delta as South Vietnam. Weeks before the Fall of Saigon, most of the provincial capitals in IV Corps were stable defended by aggressive ARVN military defenses. However, VC units began to engage ARVN forces and succeeded in isolating IV Corps from Saigon which put an end to the "secret section" plan. When President Minh announced the surrender of South Vietnam, IV Corps started to disintegrate. Both Lê Văn Hưng and IV Corps commander Nguyễn Khoa Nam disagreed with the surrender order. At 8 pm, VC units captured some regional districts in Mekong Delta. Although Lê Văn Hưng and a number of ARVN soldiers planned to continue to battle against VC units in Can Tho, many residents of Can Tho opposed continued resistance believing the VC would start shelling Can Tho causing numerous casualties in the city. Lê Văn Hưng agreed to stand down the defense of Can Tho due to the poor options for escape or prolonged defense. Around 8 P.M, Lê Văn Hưng told his remaining soldiers that he did not want to endure a siege similar to what he had experienced at An Lộc in 1972, he later committed suicide and the defense of Can Tho was finished. IV Corps was dissolved shortly after the death of Lê Văn Hưng. On the same day, Brigadier General Trần Văn Hai committed suicide in Dong Tam Base Camp.
Both ARVN generals in the Mekong Delta, Le Van Hung and Nguyen Khoa Nam, committed suicide after the surrender. On the early morning of 1 May 1975, Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam committed suicide at his IV Corps headquarters in Can Tho after hearing of Lê Văn Hưng's suicide.
Conclusion
By 3 May 1975, North Vietnamese forces controlled all of South Vietnam, just 55 days after opening their attack on Buôn Ma Thuột.
Since the end of the war, there has been much historical recrimination and discussion as to how and why such a lopsided victory had occurred. Four main lines of thought have remained particularly viable, all of which possess some validity, but all are also open to argument.
The first argument is that the Paris Peace Accords that ended the direct American participation in the war was seriously flawed, because it permitted the North Vietnamese to maintain their forces within territorial South Vietnam after the signing of the agreement, thereby dooming the ceasefire.
The second argument is that the refusal of the United States government to take promised military action in the face of North Vietnamese violations of the ceasefire was key to the defeat. Adherents to this claim believed that South Vietnam could have been saved by another U.S. bombing campaign. The conflict between the executive and legislative branches of the American government, already severe before Operation Linebacker II in 1972, was only more exasperating during 1975, when a new campaign would probably only have provoked even more Congressional outrage.
The third cause of the defeat was that the U.S. Congress simply wrote off and abandoned the Saigon government. Material shortages were indeed severe, and might explain, for example, why the Central Highlands had to be abandoned, but they do not explain the flight of senior South Vietnamese generals that led to complete collapse. Historian Arnold Isaacs, who was on the scene in South Vietnam at the time, believed that "The psychological damage of the aid cuts was almost certainly greater than the real ... Even with the full amounts requested by the executive, South Vietnam could not have done more than preserve the battlefield deadlock for another year, after which the whole exhausting debate would need to be replayed yet again – and in a presidential election year."
Other plausible reasons for the rapidity of the defeat were the American policy of Vietnamization as a prescription for defeat. The rapid and accelerating withdrawal of U.S. forces that had begun in 1969 caught the South Vietnamese unprepared. The withdrawals were simply conducted faster than the South Vietnamese could or would improve. General Hinh believed that Vietnamization did not "provide the ARVN with enough time ... While the troop increases could be achieved rapidly, it was almost impossible to improve the quality and technical capabilities ...within the span of a few years. For seven years, the American military moulded South Vietnamese forces into a facsimile of itself, but ended up with a system that had all the liabilities of American military technology and few of its assets.
The South Vietnamese military had greater problems than a reduction in American aid. President Thiệu was a disaster as commander-in-chief. During the two years before the offensive (when aid cuts were already occurring), neither he nor the General Staff made adjustments in strategy, doctrine, organization, or training to compensate for the inevitability of further aid reductions. Thiệu also deprived local commanders of any strategic or tactical flexibility in decision-making, which flowed downward from the presidential palace and those decisions contributed to the defeat. Added to these problems were the long-standing corruption and incompetence within the officer corps. Early defeats during the final campaign were compounded not by a lack of will or ability on the part of the enlisted men, but by the cowardice and failing morale of the officers. According to Isaacs, "The army did not collapse in its foxholes or for lack of supplies. It disintegrated when its senior officers...deserted it."
Key to the defeat of South Vietnam was the ability of the officers and men of the PAVN. The highly motivated and newly modernized PAVN was, for the first time, freed from the restraints of previous combat doctrine. What began as a conservative strategy, devised in Hanoi, was outrun by its local successes. Battlefield commanders were then given a new flexibility, which increased the tempo of operations and allowed them to quickly apply concentrated power at strategic points. These combat successes were made possible due to improved all-arms tactical coordination, modern communications, and increased transport and logistical capability. The result was that North Vietnamese commanders achieved the ultimate goal of military leadership, the quick application of massive force leading to the defeat of the enemy at little cost in manpower. During the entire campaign, the North Vietnamese suffered few casualties. According to General Dũng: "The numbers killed and wounded was very small in proportion to the victories won, and the expenditure in terms of weapons and ammunition was negligible.
During the offensive the PAVN captured vast quantities of equipment with a value exceeding $5 billion in 1975 dollars, including: 550 tanks (250 M48 Patton, 300 M41s), 1,300 artillery pieces, 42,000 trucks, 12,000 mortars, nearly 2 million infantry weapons (including 791,000 M16 rifles, 63,000 M72 LAWs and 47,000 M79 grenade launchers), 48,000 radios, 130,000 tons of ammunition, 940 ships and 877 aircraft and helicopters (including 73 F-5s, 113 A-37s, 36 A-1s, 40 C-119s, 36 AC-47s, 430 UH-1s and 36 CH-47s).
References
Notes
Sources
Published government documents
Cao Văn Viên, General, The Final Collapse. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1983.
Dong Van Khuyen, General, The RVNAF. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1979.
Le Gro, Colonel William E. From Cease-Fire to Capitulation. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1981.
Momyer, General William W. The Vietnamese Air Force, 1951–1975: An Analysis of its Role in Combat. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1975.
Nguyen Duy Hinh, Major General, Vietnamization and the Cease-Fire. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1980.
Tobin, Thomas G., Arthur E. Laehr, and John F. Hilgenberg, Last Flight from Saigon. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1979.
Tran Van Tra, Vietnam: History of the Bulwark B2 Theater, vol. 5, Concluding the 30-Year War. Ho Chi Minh City: Van Nghe Publishing, 1982. On-line edition
Van Tien Dung, Our Great Spring Victory: An Account of the Liberation of South Vietnam. Trans. by John Spragens, Jr. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977.
Secondary sources
Dawson, Alan, 55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977.
Dougan, Clark, Edward Doyle, Samuel Lipsman., Thomas Maitland, Stephen Weiss, et al. The False Peace. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1983.
Dougan, Clark, David Fulghum, et al. The Fall of the South. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985.
Goodman, Allen E. The Lost Peace: America's Search for a Negotiated Settlement of the Vietnam War. Stanford CA: Hoover Institute Press, 1978.
Hosmer, Stephen T., Konrad Kellen, and Brian M. Jenkins, The Fall of South Vietnam: Statements by Vietnamese Civilian Leaders. Sant Monica CA: RAND Corporation, 1978.
Isaacs, Arnold R. Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983.
Joes, Anthony J. The War for South Vietnam, 1954–1975. New York: Praeger, 1989.
Kinnard, Douglas, The War Managers. Wayne NJ: Avery Publishing Group, 1985.
Kolko, Gabriel, Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience. New York: Pantheon, 1985.
Leepson Marced. with Helen Hannaford, Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Olsen, James S. and Randy Roberts, Where the Last Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945–1990. New York: St. Martin's 1991.
Prados, John, The Blood Road:The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Snepp, Frank, Decent Interval: An Insider's Account of Saigon's Indecent End Told by the CIA's Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam. New York: Random House, 1977.
Willbanks, James H. Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War. Lawrence KS: University of Kansas Press, 2004.
External links
The Fall of Saigon
The Bitter End
Land Grab 1973
The Communists Tighten the Noose
Preparing to Deal for Peace
Next, The Struggle for Saigon
CBS News report of World Airways evacuation flight from Da Nang
1974 in Vietnam
1975 in Vietnam
Campaigns of the Vietnam War
Military campaigns involving Vietnam
Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1974
Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1975 |
31270349 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%20Skube | Bob Skube | Robert Jacob Skube (born October 8, 1957 in Northridge, California) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned seven seasons, two of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Milwaukee Brewers (1982–83). Skube has also served as a manager and coach in minor league baseball. During his MLB career, he compiled a .250 batting average with seven hits, one double, one triples, and nine runs batted in (RBIs) in 16 games played. Defensively in the majors, Skube played five games in center field, four games in right field, three games as a designated hitter, and one game at first base.
Skube attended Simi Valley High School, and the University of Southern California before turning professional. During the 1979 Major League Baseball draft, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Skube in the 13 round. He made his professional debut that season in the minor leagues with the Class-A Stockton Ports and the Class-A Burlington Bees. Over his minor league career, Skube batted .276 with 634 hits, 140 doubles, 24 triples, and 80 home runs.
In 2005, Skube began his coaching career with the Class-A Bakersfield Blaze of the California League. During the next season, he was made manager of the Arizona League Rangers of the rookie-level Arizona League. Since then, Skube has served as the hitting coach for the Class-A Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League (2007), the rookie-level Arizona League Padres of the Arizona League (2008–09), and the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League (2010). Skube currently serves as the Triple-A Tucson Padres hitting coach.
Early life
Skube was born on October 8, 1957 in Northridge, California. He attended Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California. In 1975, while attending Simi Valley High, he was drafted in the fifth round of that year's Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Atlanta Braves, but did not sign. Skube then enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC). In 1978, as a member of the USC Trojans baseball team, he was drafted in the 18 round of that year's MLB draft, but did not sign. Later that year, he was a member of the United States collegiate national baseball team, which played the Japanese collegiate national baseball team in Tokyo. In 1979, Skube was named the USC Trojans baseball "most improved player". That year, he was drafted in the 13 round of the MLB draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Playing career
Skube made his professional baseball career debut in 1979 with the Class-A Burlington Bees in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league organization. In 54 games that season with the Bees, he batted .294 with 26 runs scored, 57 hits, 14 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 45 runs batted in (RBIs), and 16 stolen bases. Defensively with Burlington, Skube played 43 games in the outfield, and four games at first base, committing eight combined errors. Late in the season, Skube was assigned to the Class-A Stockton Ports of the California League. In one regular season game, he got one hit in five at-bats. He also played with the Ports during the playoffs.
In 1980, Skube spent the entire season with the Class-A Stockton Ports. He batted .291 with 132 hits, 26 doubles, seven triples, and 19 home runs in 135 games played. He was fourth in the league in doubles, tied for fifth in home runs, and was seventh in triples. In the field, he played outfield and first base. After the season, Skube won the Eddie Mulligan Award, which is bestowed to the top rookie in the California League. During the 1981 season, Skube was promoted to the Double-A level. He spent the entire year with the El Paso Diablos of the Texas League. In 114 games played, he batted .284 with 89 runs scored, 113 hits, 23 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, and 59 RBIs. Skube played all of his 114 games with the Diablos in the outfield, committing nine errors, and 170 putouts. At the end of the season, the Milwaukee Brewers purchased Skube's contract, adding him to their 40-man roster.
In February 1982, Skube was re-signed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He attended spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982, and was said to be the leading candidate for the back-up outfielder position on the major league roster. However, Skube started the regular season in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians of the Pacific Coast League. In late-August, there were rumors that the Brewers had traded Skube to the Houston Astros in a deal for Don Sutton. However, the Brewers later sent Frank DiPino, and Mike Madden to the Astros to complete the deal. On the season, he batted .279 with 55 runs scored, 121 hits, 26 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases in 130 games played with the Canadians. On September 7, the Brewers called-up Skube to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut against the New York Yankees on September 17, pinch-hitting for designated hitter Roy Howell in the eighth inning. In one at-bat, he got a hit, the first of his major league career. In the major leagues that season, Skube got two hits in three at-bats. Defensively, he played one game in center field. He was also the designated hitter in one contest.
Skube started the 1983 season with the Milwaukee Brewers in the majors. He made his season debut on April 10, against the Kansas City Royals, getting no hits, one run scored, and one RBI in two at-bats. In June, Skube was optioned to the minor leagues. Skube's last game of the year in the majors came on May 28, against the Seattle Mariners. It would later prove to be the last game of his MLB career. On the season with the Brewers, he played in 12 games, batting .200 with two runs scored, five hits, one double, one triple, and nine RBIs. Defensively, Skube played four games in center field, four games in right field, and one game at first base. He was also the designated hitter for two games. After the demotion, Skube threatened to quit baseball. However, he eventually accepted the assignment. In the minors, he played with the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians of the Pacific Coast League. His season ended after just 40 games, as he needed surgery on both of his knees. In those games with Vancouver, Skube batted .209 with 15 runs scored, 27 hits, three triples, three home runs, and eight RBIs. In the field, he played 34 games in the outfield, and one game at first base; committing one combined error. In October 1983, the Brewers outrighted Skube to the minor leagues, dropping him from their 40-man roster.
During spring training in 1984, Skube was assigned to minor league camp. Skube commented that during the off-season, he had trained harder than ever before, and hoped to make the major league roster. However, he started the season at the Double-A level, with the El Paso Diablos. With El Paso, he batted .312 with 63 hits, 17 doubles, two triples, and six home runs in 56 games played. In late-June, Skube was promoted to the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians, where in 61 games he batted .267 with 56 hits, 13 doubles, four triples, and nine home runs. Between the two teams, Skube played first base and the outfield. The final season of Skube's pro-baseball playing career came in 1985. At the start of the season, he was assigned to Triple-A Vancouver. In 89 games played, he batted .232 with 64 hits, 18 doubles, three triples, and three home runs.
Coaching career
In 2003, Skube was involved in a baseball camp for the Milwaukee Brewers, which included former players Ken Sanders, Moose Haas, Rob Deer, Del Crandall, Bill Schroeder, Dale Sveum, and Lou Klimchock. In 2005, Skube was hired as the hitting coach for the Class-A Bakersfield Blaze of the California League. That season, the Blaze, who were a Texas Rangers affiliate, went 68–72. Skube was hired as the manager of the rookie-level Arizona League Rangers in 2006. At the helm, Skube led the Rangers to a 19–37 record. In 2007, Skube was hired as the hitting coach for the Class-A Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League. The Wizards, who affiliated with the MLB San Diego Padres, had a 55–84 record that season. Skube returned as a coach in the Padres organization in 2008, getting a position with the rookie-level Arizona League Padres. The Arizona League Padres had a 33–23 record that season. Skube returned as the hitting coach for the rookie-level Padres in 2009. The Padres had a 28–28 record that season. He was hired as the hitting coach for the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League in 2010. Currently, Skube is the hitting coach for the Triple-A Tucson Padres of the Pacific Coast League.
References
External links
, or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
1957 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball coaches from California
Baseball players from California
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21950 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber%20Pakhtunkhwa | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; ), often abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern region of the country, along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.
It was previously known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) until 2010, when its name was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, and is known colloquially by various other names. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest Pakistani province in terms of both its population and its economy, though it is geographically the smallest of Pakistan's four provinces. Within Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shares a border with the Islamabad Capital Territory, Punjab, Balochistan, and the Pakistani-administered territories of Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It is home to 17.9 percent of Pakistan's total population, with the majority of the province's inhabitants being ethnic Pashtuns and Hindko-speakers.
The province is the site of the ancient region of Gandhara, including the ruins of its capital, Pushkalavati, located near modern-day Charsadda. Once a stronghold of Buddhism, the history of the region was characterized by frequent invasions by various empires due to its geographical proximity to the Khyber Pass.
On 2 March 2017, the Government of Pakistan considered a proposal to merge the adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and to repeal the Frontier Crimes Regulation, a set of British Raj-era special laws that was inherited by Pakistan to govern the tribal areas following the partition of India in 1947. However, some political parties opposed the merger, and called for the tribal areas to instead become a separate province entirely. On 24 May 2018, the National Assembly of Pakistan voted in favour of an amendment to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa subsequently approved the bill on 28 May 2018, which would merge FATA and PATA with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was signed in on 31 May by the erstwhile President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain, officially completing the process of the historic administrative merger.
Etymology
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa means the "Khyber side of the land of the Pashtuns, where the word Pakhtunkhwa means "Land of the Pashtuns", while according to some scholars, it refers to "Pashtun culture and society".
When the British established it as a province, they called it "North West Frontier Province" (abbreviated as NWFP) due to its relative location being in north west of their Indian Empire. After the creation of Pakistan, Pakistan continued with this name but a Pashtun nationalist party, Awami National Party demanded that the province name be changed to "Pakhtunkhwa". Their logic behind that demand was that Punjabi people, Sindhi people and Baloch people have their provinces named after their ethnicities but that is not the case for Pashtun people.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) was against that name since it was too similar to Bacha Khan's demand of a separate nation of Pashtunistan. PML-N wanted to name the province something other than which does not carry Pashtun identity in it as they argued that there were other minor ethnicities living in the province especially Hindkowans who spoke Hindko, thus the word Khyber was introduced with the name because it is the name of a major pass which connects Pakistan to Afghanistan.
History
Early history
During the period of Indus Valley Civilization (3300 BCE – 1300 BCE) the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Khyber Pass, through Hindu Kush provided a route to other neighboring regions and was used by merchants on trade excursions. From 1500 BCE, Indo-Iranian peoples started to enter in the region (of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwestern India) after having passed Khyber Pass.
The Gandharan civilization, which reached its zenith between the sixth and first centuries BCE, and which features prominently in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata, had one of its cores over the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Vedic texts refer to the area as the province of Pushkalavati. The area was once known to be a great center of learning.
Persian and Greek Invasions
At around 516 BCE., Darius Hystaspes sent Scylax, a Greek seaman from Karyanda, to explore the course of the Indus river. Darius Hystaspes subsequently subdued the peoples dwelling west of the Indus Valley and north of Kabul. Gandhara was incorporated into the Persian Empire as one of its far easternmost satrapy system of government. The satrapy of Gandhara is recorded to have sent troops for Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BCE.
In the spring of 327 BCE, Alexander the Great crossed the Indian Caucasus (Hindu Kush) and advanced to Nicaea, where Omphis, king of Taxila and other chiefs joined him. Alexander then dispatched part of his force through the valley of the Kabul River, while he himself advanced into modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur and Swat regions with his troops. Having defeated the Aspasians, from whom he took 40,000 prisoners and 230,000 oxen, Alexander crossed the Gouraios (Panjkora River) and entered into the territory of the Assakenoi – also in modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Alexander then made Embolima (thought to be the region of Amb in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) his base. The ancient region of Peukelaotis (modern Hashtnagar, north-west of Peshawar) submitted to the Greek invasion, leading to Nicanor, a Macedonian, being appointed satrap of the country west of the Indus, which includes the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pre-Islamic era
After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Porus obtained possession of the region but was murdered by Eudemus in 317 BCE. Eudemus then left the region, and with his departure, Macedonian power collapsed. Sandrocottus (Chandragupta), the founder of the Mauryan dynasty, then declared himself master of the province. His grandson, Ashoka, made Buddhism the dominant religion in ancient Gandhara.
After Ashoka's death the Mauryan empire collapse, just as in the west the Seleucid power was rising. The Greek princes of neighboring Bactria (in modern Afghanistan) took advantage of the power vacuum to declare their independence. The Bactrian kingdoms were then attacked from the west by the Parthians and from the north (about 139 BCE) by the Sakas, a Central Asian tribe. Local Greek rulers still exercised a feeble and precarious power along the borderland, but the last vestige of Greek dominion was extinguished by the arrival of the Yueh-chi.
The Yueh-Chi were a race of nomads that were themselves forced southwards out of Central Asia by the nomadic Xiongnu people. The Kushan clan of the Yuek Chi seized vast swathes of territory under the rule of Kujula Kadphises. His successors, Vima Takto and Vima Kadphises, conquered the north-western portion of the Indian subcontinent. Vima Kadphises was then succeeded by his son, the legendary Buddhist king Kanishka, who himself was succeeded by Huvishka, and Vasudeva I.
Early Islamic Invasions
After the Saffarids had left in Kabul, the Hindu Shahis had once again been placed into power. The restored Hindu Shahi kingdom was founded by the Brahmin minister Kallar in 843 CE. Kallar had moved the capital into Udabandhapura in modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Kabul. Trade had flourished and many gems, textiles, perfumes, and other goods had been exported West. Coins minted by the Shahis have been found all over the Indian subcontinent. The Shahis had built Hindu temples with many idols, all of which were later looted by invaders. The ruins of these temples can be found at Nandana, Malot, Siv Ganga, and Ketas, as well as across the west bank of the Indus river.
At its height, King Jayapala, the rule of the Shahi kingdom had extended to Kabul from the West, Bajaur to the North, Multan to the South, and the present-day India-Pakistan border to the East. Jayapala saw a danger from the rise to power of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of Ghazni both in the reign of Sebuktigin and in that of his son Mahmud. This had initiated the Muslim Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles. Sebuktigin, however, defeated him and forced Jayapala to pay an indemnity. Eventually, Jayapala refused payment and took to war once more. The Shahis were decisively defeated by Mahmud of Ghazni after the defeat of Jayapala at the Battle of Peshawar on 27 November 1001. Over time, Mahmud of Ghazni had pushed further into the subcontinent, as far as east as modern-day Agra. During his campaigns, many Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries had been looted and destroyed, as well as many people being converted to Islam.
Following the collapse of Ghaznavid rule, local Pashtuns of the Delhi Sultanate controlled the region.
Several Turkic and Pashtun dynasties ruled from Delhi, having shifted their capital from Lahore to Delhi. Several Muslim dynasties ruled modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the Delhi Sultanate period: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451–1526).
Yusufzai Pashtun tribes from the Kabul and Jalalabad valleys began migrating to the Valley of Peshawar beginning in the 15th century, and displaced the Swatis of the Bhittani confederation (a predominant Pashtun tribe of Hazara div) and Dilazak Pashtun tribes across the Indus River to Hazara Division.
Mughal
Mughal suzerainty over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was partially established after Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire, invaded the region in 1505 CE via the Khyber Pass. The Mughal Empire noted the importance of the region as a weak point in their empire's defenses, and determined to hold Peshawar and Kabul at all cost against any threats from the Uzbek Shaybanids.
He was forced to retreat westwards to Kabul but returned to defeat the Lodis in July 1526, when he captured Peshawar from Daulat Khan Lodi, though the region was never considered to be fully subjugated to the Mughals.
Under the reign of Babar's son, Humayun, a direct Mughal rule was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun Emperor, Sher Shah Suri, who began construction of the famous Grand Trunk Road – which links Kabul, Afghanistan with Chittagong, Bangladesh over 2000 miles to the east. Later, local rulers once again pledged loyalty to the Mughal emperor.
Yusufzai tribes rose against Mughals during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions in Peshawar and Attock. Afridi tribes resisted Aurangzeb rule during the Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the Khyber Pass in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. Following another massacre in the winter of 1673, Mughal armies led by Emperor Aurangzeb himself regained control of the entire area in 1674, and enticed tribal leaders with various awards in order to end the rebellion.
Referred to as the "Father of Pashto Literature" and hailing from the city of Akora Khattak, the warrior-poet Khushal Khan Khattak actively participated in the revolt against the Mughals and became renowned for his poems that celebrated the rebellious Pashtun warriors.
Afsharid
On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid armies during the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under Nader Shah.
Durrani Afghans
The area fell subsequently under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Afghan Durrani Empire, following a grand nine-day long assembly of leaders, known as the loya jirga. In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah in order to save his capital from Afghan attack. In short order, the powerful army brought under its control the Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen, and other tribes of northern Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah invaded the remnants of the Mughal Empire a third time, and then a fourth, consolidating control over the Kashmir and Punjab regions, with Lahore being governed by Afghans. In 1757, he captured Delhi and sacked Mathura, but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. Leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan.
Their rule was interrupted by a brief invasion of the Hindu Marathas, who ruled over the region following the 1758 Battle of Peshawar for eleven months till early 1759 when the Durrani rule was re-established.
Under the reign of Timur Shah, the Mughal practice of using Kabul as a summer capital and Peshawar as a winter capital was reintroduced, Peshawar's Bala Hissar Fort served as the residence of Durrani kings during their winter stay in Peshawar.
Mahmud Shah Durrani became king, and quickly sought to seize Peshawar from his half-brother, Shah Shujah Durrani. Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. In 1809, the British sent an emissary to the court of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the British and Afghans. Mahmud Shah allied himself with the Barakzai Pashtuns, and amassed an army in 1809, and captured Peshawar from his half-brother, Shah Shujah, establishing Mahmud Shah's second reign, which lasted under 1818.
Sikh
Ranjit Singh invaded Peshawar in 1818 and captured it from the Afghan Empire. The Sikh Empire based in Lahore did not immediately secure direct control of the Peshawar region, but rather paid nominal tribute to Jehandad Khan of Khattak, who was nominated by Ranjit Singh to be ruler of the region.
After Ranjit Singh's departure from the region, Khattak's rule was undermined and power seized by Yar Muhammad Khan. In 1823, Ranjit Singh returned to capture Peshawar, and was met by the armies of Azim Khan at Nowshera. Following the Sikh victory at the Battle of Nowshera, Ranjit Singh re-captured Peshawar. Rather than re-appointing Jehandad Khan of Khattak, Ranjit Singh selected Yar Muhammad Khan to once again rule the region.
The Sikh Empire annexed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region following advances from the armies of Hari Singh Nalwa. An 1835 attempt by Dost Muhammad Khan to re-occupy Peshawar failed when his army declined to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. Dost Muhammad Khan's son, Mohammad Akbar Khan engaged with Sikh forces the Battle of Jamrud of 1837, and failed to recapture it.
During Sikh rule, an Italian named Paolo Avitabile was appointed an administrator of Peshawar, and is remembered for having unleashed a reign of fear there. The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikhs, who also rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of Peshawar.
British Raj
British East India Company defeated the Sikhs during the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, and incorporated small parts of the region into the Province of Punjab. While Peshawar was the site of a small revolt against British during the Mutiny of 1857, local Pashtun tribes throughout the region generally remained neutral or supportive of the British as they detested the Sikhs, in contrast to other parts of British India which rose up in revolt against the British. However, British control of parts of the region was routinely challenged by Wazir tribesmen in Waziristan and other Pashtun tribes, who resisted any foreign occupation until Pakistan was created. By the late 19th century, the official boundaries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region still had not been defined as the region was still claimed by the Kingdom of Afghanistan. It was only in 1893 The British demarcated the boundary with Afghanistan under a treaty agreed to by the Afghan king, Abdur Rahman Khan, following the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Several princely states within the boundaries of the region were allowed to maintain their autonomy under the terms of maintaining friendly ties with the British. As the British war effort during World War One demanded the reallocation of resources from British India to the European war fronts, some tribesmen from Afghanistan crossed the Durand Line in 1917 to attack British posts in an attempt to gain territory and weaken the legitimacy of the border. The validity of the Durand Line, however, was re-affirmed in 1919 by the Afghan government with the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi, which ended the Third Anglo-Afghan War – a war in which Waziri tribesmen allied themselves with the forces of Afghanistan's King Amanullah in their resistance to British rule. The Wazirs and other tribes, taking advantage of instability on the frontier, continued to resist British occupation until 1920 – even after Afghanistan had signed a peace treaty with the British.
British campaigns to subdue tribesmen along the Durand Line, as well as three Anglo-Afghan wars, made travel between Afghanistan and the densely populated heartlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa increasingly difficult. The two regions were largely isolated from one another from the start of the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 until the start of World War II in 1939 when conflict along the Afghan frontier largely dissipated. Concurrently, the British continued their large public works projects in the region, and extended the Great Indian Peninsula Railway into the region, which connected the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region to the plains of India to the east. Other projects, such as the Attock Bridge, Islamia College University, Khyber Railway, and establishment of cantonments in Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, and Nowshera further cemented British rule in the region. In 1901, the British carved out the northwest portions of Punjab Province to create the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), which was renamed "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" in 2010.
During this period, North-West Frontier Province was a "scene of repeated outrages on Hindus." During the independence period there was a Congress-led ministry in the province, which was led by secular Pashtun leaders, including Bacha Khan, who preferred joining India instead of Pakistan. The secular Pashtun leadership was also of the view that if joining India was not an option then they should espouse the cause of an independent ethnic Pashtun state rather than Pakistan. The secular stance of Bacha Khan had driven a wedge between the ulama of the otherwise pro-Congress (and pro-Indian unity) Jamiat Ulema Hind (JUH) and Bacha Khan's Khudai Khidmatgars. The directives of the ulama in the province began to take on communal tones. The ulama saw the Hindus in the province as a 'threat' to Muslims. Accusations of molesting Muslim women were levelled at Hindu shopkeepers in Nowshera, a town where anti-Hindu sermons were delivered by maulvis.
Tensions also rose in 1936 over the abduction of a Hindu girl in Bannu. British Indian court ruled against the marriage of a Hindu-converted Muslim girl at Bannu, after the girl's family filed a case of abduction and forced conversion. The ruling was based on the fact that the girl was a minor and was asked to make her decision of conversion and marriage after she reaches the age of majority, till then she was asked to live with a third party. The verdict enraged the Muslims - especially the Pashtun tribesmen. The Dawar Maliks and mullahs left the Tochi far the Khaisora Valley to the south to rouse the Torikhel Wazir. The enraged tribesmen mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong and battled the Bannu Brigade, with heavy casualties on both sides. Widespread lawlessness erupted as tribesmen blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. The British retaliated by sending two columns converging in the Khaisora river valley. They suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by destroying the houses of the ringleaders, including that of Haji Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi). However, the pyrrhic nature of the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Wazirs to be a manifestation of the power of Mirzali Khan. He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity, as the British noticed with dismay, among various sections of Tori Khel Wazirs, the Mahsud and the Bettani. He cemented his position as a religious leader by declaring a Jihad against the British. This move also helped rally support from Pashtun tribesmen across the border.
Such controversies stirred up anti-Hindu sentiments amongst the province's Muslim population. By 1947 the majority of the ulama in the province began supporting the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan.
Bannu Resolution
In June 1947, Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi), Bacha Khan, and other Khudai Khidmatgars declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new state of Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, as their departure from the region required regions under their control to choose either to join India or Pakistan, with no third option.
By 1947 Pashtun nationalists were advocating for a united India, and no prominent voices advocated for a union with Afghanistan.
1947 NWFP referendum
Immediately prior to 1947 Partition of India, the British held a referendum in the NWFP to allow voters to choose between joining India or Pakistan. The polling began on 6 July 1947 and the referendum results were made public on 20 July 1947. According to the official results, there were 572,798 registered voters, out of which 289,244 (99.02%) votes were cast in favor of Pakistan, while 2,874 (0.98%) were cast in favor of India. The Muslim League declared the results as valid since over half of all eligible voters backed the merger with Pakistan.
The then Chief Minister Dr. Khan Sahib, along with his brother Bacha Khan and the Khudai Khidmatgars, boycotted the referendum, citing that it did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan.
Their appeal for boycott had an effect, as according to an estimate, the total turnout for the referendum was 15% lower than the total turnout in the 1946 elections, although over half of all eligible voters backed merger with Pakistan.
Bacha Khan pledged allegiance to the new state of Pakistan in 1947, and thereafter abandoned his goals of an independent Pashtunistan and a united India in favor of supporting increased autonomy for the NWFP within Pakistan. He was subsequently arrested several times for his opposition to the strong centralized rule. He later claimed that "Pashtunistan was never a reality". The idea of Pashtunistan never helped Pashtuns and it only caused suffering for them. He further claimed that the "successive governments of Afghanistan only exploited the idea for their own political goals".
After the creation of Pakistan
After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Afghanistan was the sole member of the United Nations to vote against Pakistan's accession to the UN because of Kabul's claim to the Pashtun territories on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line.
Afghanistan's Loya Jirga of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid, which led to border tensions with Pakistan, and decades of mistrust between the two states. Afghan governments have also periodically refused to recognize Pakistan's inheritance of British treaties regarding the region. As had been agreed to by the Afghan government following the Second Anglo-Afghan War and after the treaty ending Third Anglo-Afghan War, no option was available to cede the territory to the Afghans, even though Afghanistan continued to claim the entire region as it was part of the Durrani Empire prior the conquest of the region by the Sikhs in 1818.
In 1950, Afghan-backed separatists in the Waziristan region declared the independence of Pashtunistan as an independent nation o dr the entirety of the NWFP. A Pashtun tribal jirga, held in Razmak, Waziristan, appointed Mirzali Khan as the President of the National Assembly for Pashtunistan. His popularity among the people of Waziristan declined over the years. He died a natural death in 1960 in Gurwek, Waziristan.
The growing participation of Pashtuns in the Pakistani government, however, resulted in the erosion of the support for the secessionist Pashtunistan movement by the end of the 1960s.
All the princely states within the boundaries of the NWFP were allowed to maintain certain autonomy following independence in 1947, but In 1969, the autonomous princely states of Swat, Dir, Chitral, and Amb were fully merged into the province.
For travelers, the area remained relatively peaceful in the 1960s and '70s. It was the usual route on the Hippie trail overland from Europe to India, with buses running from Kabul to Peshawar. While waiting to cross at the border visitors were however cautioned not to stray from the main road.
As a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, over five million Afghan refugees poured into Pakistan, mostly choosing to reside in the NWFP (, nearly 3 million remained). The North-West Frontier Province became a base for the Afghan resistance fighters and the Deobandi ulama of the province played a significant role in the Afghan 'jihad', with Madrasa Haqqaniyya becoming a prominent organizational and networking base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters. The province remained heavily influenced by events in Afghanistan thereafter. The 1989–1992 Civil war in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of Soviet forces led to the rise of the Afghan Taliban, which had emerged in the border region between Afghanistan, Balochistan, and FATA as a formidable political force.
In 2010, the province was renamed "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa." Protests arose among the local Hindkowan, Chitrali, Kohistani, and Kalash populations over the name change, as they began to demand their own provinces. The Hindkowans, Kohistanis, and Chitralis are the last remains of ancient Gandhari people and they jointly protested for the preservation of their culture. Seven people were killed and 100 injured in protests on 11April 2011.
The Awami National Party sought to rename the province "Pakhtunkhwa", which translates to "Land of Pashtuns" in the Pashto language. The name change was largely opposed by non-Pashtuns, and by political parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-N, who draw much of their support from non-Pashtun regions of the province, and by the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition.
War and militancy
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been a site of militancy and terrorism that started after the attacks of 11 September 2001, and intensified when the Pakistani Taliban began an attempt to seize power in Pakistan starting in 2004. Armed conflict began in 2004, when tensions, rooted in the Pakistan Army's search for al-Qaeda fighters in Pakistan's mountainous Waziristan area (in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas), escalated into armed insurgency.
Fighting is ongoing between the Pakistani Army and armed militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundallah, Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI), Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), al-Qaeda, and elements of organized crime have led to the deaths of over 50,000 Pakistanis since the country joined the U.S-led War on Terror, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being the site of most of the conflict.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also the main theater for Pakistan's Zarb-e-Azb operation – a broad military campaign against militants located in the province, and neighboring FATA. By 2014, casualty rates in the country as a whole dropped by 40% as compared to 2011–2013, with even greater drops noted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, despite the province being the site of a large massacre of schoolchildren by terrorists in December 2014.
Geography
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sits primarily on the Iranian plateau and comprises the junction where the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains on the Eurasian plate give way to the Indus-watered hills approaching South Asia. This situation has led to seismic activity in the past. The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote Abbottabad is a major crossing point over the Jhelum River in the east.
Geographically the province could be divided into two zones: the northern zone extending from the ranges of the Hindu Kush to the borders of the Peshawar basin and the southern zone extending from Peshawar to the Derajat basin.
The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers with the exception of the Peshawar basin, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall.
The southern zone is arid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scanty rainfall. The Sheikh Badin Hills, a spur of clay and sandstone hills that stretch east from the Sulaiman Mountains to the Indus River, separates Dera Ismail Khan District from the Marwat plains of the Lakki Marwat. The highest peak in the range is the limestone Sheikh Badin Mountain, which is protected by the Sheikh Badin National Park. Near the Indus River, the terminus of the Sheikh Badin Hills is a spur of limestone hills known as the Kafir Kot hills, where the ancient Hindu complex of Kafir Kot is located.
The major rivers that criss-cross the province are Kabul, Swat, Chitral, Kunar, Siran, Panjkora, Bara, Kurram, Dor, Haroo, Gomal, and Zhob.
Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty have enormous potential for tourism.
Climate
The climate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa varies immensely for a region of its size, encompassing most of the many climate types found in Pakistan. The province stretching southwards from the Baroghil Pass in the Hindu Kush covers almost six degrees of latitude; it is mainly a mountainous region. Dera Ismail Khan is one of the hottest places in South Asia while in the mountains to the north the weather is mild in the summer and intensely cold in the winter. The air is generally very dry; consequently, the daily and annual range of temperature is quite large.
Rainfall also varies widely. Although large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are typically dry, the province also contains the wettest parts of Pakistan in its eastern fringe especially in monsoon season from mid-June to mid-September.
Chitral District
Chitral District, due to its location, is completely sheltered from the monsoon that controls the weather in eastern Pakistan, owing to its relatively westerly location and the shielding effect of the Nanga Parbat massif. In many ways, Chitral District has more in common regarding climate with Central Asia than South Asia. The winters are generally cold even in the valleys, and heavy snow during the winter blocks passes and isolates the region. In the valleys, however, summers can be hotter than on the windward side of the mountains due to lower cloud cover: Chitral can reach frequently during this period. However, the humidity is extremely low during these hot spells and, as a result, the summer climate is less torrid than in the rest of the Indian subcontinent.
Most precipitation falls as thunderstorms or snow during winter and spring, so that the climate at the lowest elevations is classed as Mediterranean (Csa), continental Mediterranean (Dsa) or semi-arid (BSk). Summers are extremely dry in the north of Chitral district and receive only a little rain in the south around Drosh.
At elevations above , as much as a third of the snow which feeds the large Karakoram and Hindukush glaciers comes from the monsoon since these elevations are too high to be shielded from its moisture.
Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
On the southern flanks of Nanga Parbat and in Upper and Lower Dir Districts, rainfall is much heavier than further north because moist winds from the Arabian Sea are able to penetrate the region. When they collide with the mountain slopes, winter depressions provide heavy precipitation. The monsoon, although short, is generally powerful. As a result, the southern slopes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the wettest part of Pakistan. Annual rainfall ranges from around in the most sheltered areas to as much as in parts of Abbottabad and Mansehra Districts.
This region's climate is classed at lower elevations as humid subtropical (Cfa in the west; Cwa in the east); whilst at higher elevations with a southerly aspect, it becomes classed as humid continental (Dfb). However, accurate data for altitudes above are practically nonexistent here, in Chitral, or in the south of the province.
The seasonality of rainfall in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shows very marked gradients from east to west. At Dir, March remains the wettest month due to frequent frontal cloud bands, whereas in Hazara more than half the rainfall comes from the monsoon. This creates a unique situation characterized by a bimodal rainfall regime, which extends into the southern part of the province described below.
Since cold air from the Siberian High loses its chilling capacity upon crossing the vast Karakoram and Himalaya ranges, winters in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are somewhat milder than in Chitral. Snow remains very frequent at high altitudes but rarely lasts long on the ground in the major towns and agricultural valleys. Outside of winter, temperatures in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not so hot as in Chitral.
Significantly higher humidity when the monsoon is active means that heat discomfort can be greater. However, even during the most humid periods the high altitudes typically allow for some relief from the heat overnight.
Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
As one moves further away from the foothills of the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges, the climate changes from the humid subtropical climate of the foothills to the typically arid climate of Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab. As in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the seasonality of precipitation shows a very sharp gradient from west to east, but the whole region very rarely receives significant monsoon rainfall. Even at high elevations, annual rainfall is less than and in some places as little as .
Temperatures in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are extremely hot: Dera Ismail Khan in the southernmost district of the province is known as one of the hottest places in the world with temperatures known to have reached . In the cooler months, nights can be cold and frosts remain frequent; snow is very rare, and daytime temperatures remain comfortably warm with abundant sunshine.
National parks
There are about 29 National Parks in Pakistan and 7 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Demographics
The current province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a population of 35.5 million at the time of the 2017 Census of Pakistan. Over 83% of the population lived in rural areas.
The largest ethnic group are the Pashtuns, who historically have been living in the areas for centuries. Around 1.5 million Afghan refugees also remain in the province, the majority of whom are Pashtuns followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, Gujjar and other smaller groups. Despite having lived in the province for over two decades, they are registered as citizens of Afghanistan.
The Pashtuns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observe tribal code of conduct called Pashtunwali which has four high value components called nang (honor), badal (revenge), melmastiya (hospitality) and nanawata (rights to refuge).
Language
Urdu, being the national and official language, serves as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications, and sometimes Pashto and Urdu are the second and third languages among communities that speak other ethnic languages.
The most widely spoken language is Pashto, native to 78.89% of the population and spoken throughout the province. Other languages with significant numbers of speakers include Hindko (9.87%) and Saraiki (3.21%). Hindko is spoken in the southern part of Hazara division in the northeast, and a Hindko dialect was once the predominant language of the Peshawar Valley before Pashtun settlement in the area. Saraiki-speakers are found in Dera Ismail Khan district in the far south of the province. Languages that the census recorded as 'Other' were 5.19% of the population, overwhelmingly Dardic languages spoken in the mountainous northeast of the province including Chitral, Kohistan and the upper parts of Manshera, Dir and Swat valleys. The most prominent of these are Khowar, spoken in Chitral, and Kohistani, spoken in the Kohistan region. In 2011 the provincial government approved in principle the introduction of Pashto, Saraiki, Hindko, Khowar and Kohistani as compulsory subjects for schools in the areas where they are spoken.
Religion
The overwhelming majority of the residents of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows and professes the Sunni Islam while the small number of Shias of Islam are found among the Isma'ilis in the Chitral district. The tribe of Kalasha in southern Chitral still retain an ancient form of Hinduism mixed with Animism, a faith once dominant in the mountainous upper northeast of the district. There are very small numbers of residents who are the adherents of Roman Catholicism denomination of Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, mainly living in Peshawar and other urban centres.
Government and politics
Political leanings and the Legislative branch
The Provincial Assembly is a unicameral legislature, which consists of 145 members elected to serve for a constitutionally bounded term of five years. Historically, the province perceived to be a stronghold of the Awami National Party (ANP); a pro-Russian, by procommunist, left-wing and nationalist party. Since the 1970s, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also enjoyed considerable support in the province due to its socialist agenda. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thought to be another leftist region of the country after Sindh.
After the nationwide general elections held in 2002, a plurality voting swing in the province elected one of Pakistan's only religiously-based provincial governments led by the ultra-conservative Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) during the administration of President Pervez Musharraf. The American involvement in neighboring Afghanistan contributed towards the electoral victory of the Islamic coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JeI) whose social policies made the province a ground-swell of anti-Americanism. The electoral victory of MMA was also in context of guided democracy in the Musharraff administration that barred the mainstream political parties, the leftist Pakistan Peoples Party and the centre-right Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)), whose chairmen and presidents having been barred from participation in the elections.
Policy enforcement of a range of social restrictions, though the implementation of strict Shariah was introduced by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government the law was never fully enacted due to objections of the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa backed by the Musharraff administration. Restrictions on public musical performances were introduced, as well as a ban prohibiting music to be played in public places as part of the "Prohibition of Dancing and Music Bill, 2005" – which led to the creation of a thriving underground music scene in Peshawar. The Islamist government also attempted to enforce compulsory hijab on women, and wished to enforce gender segregation in the province's educational institutions. The coalition further tried to prohibit male doctors from performing ultrasounds on women, and tried to close the province's cinemas. In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the "Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005," leading to the removal of all public advertisements that featured women.
At the height of Taliban insurgency in Pakistan, the religious coalition lost its grip in the general elections held in 2008, and the religious coalition was swept out of power by the leftist Awami National Party which also witnessed the resignation of President Musharraf in 2008. The ANP government eventually led the initiatives to repeal the major Islamist's social programs, with the backing of the federal government led by PPP in Islamabad. Public disapproval of ANP's leftist program integrated in civil administration with the sounded allegations of corruption as well as popular opposition against religious program promoted by the MMA swiftly shifted the province's leniency away from the left in 2012. In 2013, the provincial politics shifted towards populism and nationalism when the PTI, led by Imran Khan, was able to form the minority government in coalition with the JeI; the province now serves as the stronghold of the PTI and is perceived as one of the more right wing areas of the country. After the 2018 election, PTI increased their seat share and formed a majority government.
In non-Pashtun areas, such as Abbottabad, and Hazara Division, the PML(N), the centre-right party, enjoys considerable public support over economical and public policy issues and has a substantial vote bank.
Executive Branch
The executive branch of the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa is led by the Chief Minister elected by popular vote in the Provincial assembly while the Governor, a ceremonial figure representing the federal government in Islamabad, is appointed from the necessary advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the President of Pakistan.
The provincial cabinet is then appointed by the Chief Minister who takes the Oath of office from the Governor. In matters of civil administration, the Chief Secretary assists the Chief Minister on executing its right to ensure the writ of the government and the constitution.
Judicial Branch
The Peshawar High Court is the province's highest court of law whose judges are appointed by the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council in Islamabad, interpreting the laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
Administrative divisions and districts
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is divided into seven Divisions – Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Hazara, Kohat, Malakand, Mardan, and Peshawar. Each division is split up into anywhere between two and nine districts, and there are 35 districts in the entire province. Below you can find a list showing each district ordered by alphabetical order. A full list showing different characteristics of each district, such as their population, area, and a map showing their location can be found at the main article.
Abbottabad District
Bajaur District
Bannu District
Batagram District
Buner District
Charsadda District
Dera Ismail Khan District
Hangu District
Haripur District
Karak District
Khyber District
Kohat District
Kolai-Palas District
Kurram District
Lakki Marwat District
Lower Chitral District
Lower Dir District
Lower Kohistan District
Malakand District
Mansehra District
Mardan District
Mohmand District
North Waziristan District
Nowshera District
Orakzai District
Peshawar District
Shangla District
South Waziristan District
Swabi District
Swat District
Tank District
Tor Ghar District
Upper Chitral District
Upper Dir District
Upper Kohistan District
Major cities
Peshawar is the capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The city is the most populous and comprises more than one-eighth of the province's population and Bannu NA35 is the largest NA Seat of the province.
Economy
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the third largest provincial economy in Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's share of Pakistan's GDP has historically comprised 10.5%, although the province accounts for 11.9% of Pakistan's total population. The part of the economy that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominates is forestry, where its share has historically ranged from a low of 34.9% to a high of 81%, giving an average of 61.56%. Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 10% of Pakistan's GDP, 20% of Pakistan's mining output and, since 1972, it has seen its economy grow in size by 3.6 times.
Agriculture remains important and the main cash crops include wheat, maize, tobacco (in Swabi), rice, sugar beets, as well as fruits are grown in the province.
Some manufacturing and high-tech investments in Peshawar have helped improve job prospects for many locals, while trade in the province involves nearly every product. The bazaars in the province are renowned throughout Pakistan. Unemployment has been reduced due to the establishment of industrial zones.
Workshops throughout the province support the manufacture of small arms and weapons. The province accounts for at least 78% of the marble production in Pakistan.
Infrastructure
The Sharmai Hydropower Project is a proposed power generation project located in the Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Panjkora River with an installed capacity of 150MW. The project feasibility study was carried out by Japanese consulting company Nippon Koei.
Social issues
The Awami National Party sought to rename the province "Pakhtunkhwa", which translates to "Land of Pakhtuns" in the Pashto language. This was opposed by some of the non-Pashtuns, and especially by parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). The PML-N derives its support in the province from primarily non-Pashtun Hazara regions.
In 2010 the announcement that the province would have a new name led to a wave of protests in the Hazara region. On 15 April 2010 Pakistan's senate officially named the province "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" with 80 senators in favour and 12 opposed. The MMA, who until the elections of 2008 had a majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, had proposed "Afghania" as a compromise name.
After the 2008 general election, the Awami National Party formed a coalition provincial government with the Pakistan Peoples Party. The Awami National Party has its strongholds in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, particularly in the Peshawar valley, while Karachi in Sindh has one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world—around 7 million by some estimates. In the 2008 election, the ANP won two Sindh assembly seats in Karachi. The Awami National Parbeen instrumental in fighting the Taliban. In the 2013 general election Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won a majority in the provincial assembly and has now formed their government in coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.
Non-government organisations
The following is a list of some of the major NGOs working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa:
Al-Khidmat Foundation
Aurat Foundation
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre
Sarhad Rural Support Programme
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and
Frontier Education Foundation
Folk music and culture
Pashto folk music is popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has a rich tradition going back hundreds of years. The main instruments are the rubab, mangey and harmonium. Khowar folk music is popular in Chitral and northern Swat. The tunes of Khowar music are very different from those of Pashto, and the main instrument is the Chitrali sitar. A form of band music composed of clarinets (Surnai) and drums is popular in Chitral. It is played at polo matches and dances. The same form of band music is played in the neighbouring Northern Areas.
Education
Sources:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has traditionally had a very low literacy rate, although this is changing in recent times. As of the 2017 census, the literacy rate for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including FATA) is 51.66%. In rural areas, the literacy rate is 48.44% of the population while in urban areas it is 66.86%. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a huge gap in literacy rate between sexes - for men it is 66.67% while the female literacy rate is 34.58%, just over half the male literacy rate. This gap is particularly prominent in the overwhelmingly-Pashto rural areas, where traditional gender norms have generally limited education of women.
This is a chart of the education market of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimated by the government in 1998.
Public Medical colleges
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province has 9 government medical colleges
Khyber Medical University, Peshawar
Bannu Medical College, Bannu
Khyber Girls Medical College, Peshawar
Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad
Bacha Khan Medical College, Mardan
Gajju Khan Medical College Swabi
Gomal Medical College, D.I.Khan
Nowshera Medical College, Nowshera
Saidu Medical College Swat
Engineering Universities
CECOS University of Information Technology and Emerging Science, Peshawar
National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad- College of Aeronautical Engineering, Risalpur Campus
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad (Abbottabad Campus)
City University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
Gandhara Institute of Science & Technology, PGS Engineering College (University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar)
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi-Swabi
Iqra University Peshawar (Formerly Iqra University, Karachi (Peshawar Campus)
National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad- Military College of Engineering, Risalpur Campus
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Islamabad (Peshawar Campus)
University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Main Campus)
University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar (Mardan Campus)
University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Bannu Campus)
University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Abbottabad Campus)
University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Kohat Campus)
Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
Abasyn University, Peshawar
University of Science and Technology, Bannu
Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan
Major educational establishments
Cadet College Razmak, North Waziristan District.
Abbottabad Public School, Abbottabad
Akram Khan Durrani College, Bannu
University of Science and Technology Bannu, Bannu
Cadet College Kohat, Kohat
Edwardes College, Peshawar
Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan
Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan
Islamia College University, Peshawar
University of Agriculture, Peshawar
University of Malakand, Chakdara
University of Peshawar, Peshawar
Peshawar model Degree College Peshawar
Frontier Scouts Cadet College Warsak Peshawar
Sports
Cricket is the main sport played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has produced world-class sportsmen like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Khushdil Shah, Fakhar Zaman and Umar Gul. Besides producing cricket players, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the honour of being the birthplace of many world-class squash players, including greats like Hashim Khan, Qamar Zaman, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.
Tourism
See also
List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population
List of cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
List of hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa clothing
Provincial Highways of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
North-West Frontier Province
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Notes
References
External links
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tourism corporation
2005 Kashmir earthquake
Durand line
Pashto-speaking countries and territories
Provinces of Pakistan
States and territories established in 1970 |
594 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo | Apollo | Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The national divinity of the Greeks, Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more. One of the most important and complex of the Greek gods, he is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Seen as the most beautiful god and the ideal of the kouros (ephebe, or a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo is considered to be the most Greek of all the gods. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu.
As the patron deity of Delphi (Apollo Pythios), Apollo is an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Apollo is the god who affords help and wards off evil; various epithets call him the "averter of evil". Delphic Apollo is the patron of seafarers, foreigners and the protector of fugitives and refugees.
Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius. Apollo delivered people from epidemics, yet he is also a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague with his arrows. The invention of archery itself is credited to Apollo and his sister Artemis. Apollo is usually described as carrying a golden bow and a quiver of silver arrows. Apollo's capacity to make youths grow is one of the best attested facets of his panhellenic cult persona. As the protector of young (kourotrophos), Apollo is concerned with the health and education of children. He presided over their passage into adulthood. Long hair, which was the prerogative of boys, was cut at the coming of age (ephebeia) and dedicated to Apollo.
Apollo is an important pastoral deity, and was the patron of herdsmen and shepherds. Protection of herds, flocks and crops from diseases, pests and predators were his primary duties. On the other hand, Apollo also encouraged founding new towns and establishment of civil constitution. He is associated with dominion over colonists. He was the giver of laws, and his oracles were consulted before setting laws in a city.
As the god of mousike, Apollo presides over all music, songs, dance and poetry. He is the inventor of string-music, and the frequent companion of the Muses, functioning as their chorus leader in celebrations. The lyre is a common attribute of Apollo. In Hellenistic times, especially during the 5th century BCE, as Apollo Helios he became identified among Greeks with Helios, the personification of the sun. In Latin texts, however, there was no conflation of Apollo with Sol among the classical Latin poets until 1st century CE. Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 5th century CE.
Etymology
Apollo (Attic, Ionic, and Homeric Greek: , Apollōn ( ); Doric: , Apellōn; Arcadocypriot: , Apeilōn; Aeolic: , Aploun; )
The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B (Mycenean Greek) texts, although there is a possible attestation in the lacunose form ]pe-rjo-[ (Linear B: ]-[) on the KN E 842 tablet, though it has also been suggested that the name might actually read "Hyperion" ([u]-pe-rjo-[ne]).
The etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling ( in Classical Attic) had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era, but the Doric form, Apellon (), is more archaic, as it is derived from an earlier . It probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios (), and the offerings apellaia () at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai (). According to some scholars, the words are derived from the Doric word apella (), which originally meant "wall," "fence for animals" and later "assembly within the limits of the square." Apella () is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia (). R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai and suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *Apalyun.
Several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb (apollymi), "to destroy". Plato in Cratylus connects the name with (apolysis), "redemption", with (apolousis), "purification", and with ([h]aploun), "simple", in particular in reference to the Thessalian form of the name, , and finally with (aeiballon), "ever-shooting". Hesychius connects the name Apollo with the Doric (apella), which means "assembly", so that Apollo would be the god of political life, and he also gives the explanation (sekos), "fold", in which case Apollo would be the god of flocks and herds. In the ancient Macedonian language (pella) means "stone," and some toponyms may be derived from this word: (Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia) and (Pellēnē/Pellene).
A number of non-Greek etymologies have been suggested for the name, The Hittite form Apaliunas (d) is attested in the Manapa-Tarhunta letter. The Hittite testimony reflects an early form , which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot with Doric . The name of the Lydian god Qλdãns /kʷʎðãns/ may reflect an earlier /kʷalyán-/ before palatalization, syncope, and the pre-Lydian sound change *y > d. Note the labiovelar in place of the labial /p/ found in pre-Doric Ἀπέλjων and Hittite Apaliunas.
A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo "The One of Entrapment", perhaps in the sense of "Hunter".
Greco-Roman epithets
Apollo's chief epithet was Phoebus ( ; , Phoibos ), literally "bright". It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollo's role as the god of light. Like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a great number of appellations in Greek myth, only a few occur in Latin literature.
Sun
Aegletes ( ; Αἰγλήτης, Aiglētēs), from , "light of the sun"
Helius ( ; , Helios), literally "sun"
Lyceus ( ; , Lykeios, from Proto-Greek *), "light". The meaning of the epithet "Lyceus" later became associated with Apollo's mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia () and who was identified with the wolf ().
Phanaeus ( ; , Phanaios), literally "giving or bringing light"
Phoebus ( ; , Phoibos), literally "bright", his most commonly used epithet by both the Greeks and Romans
Sol (Roman) (), "sun" in Latin
Wolf
Lycegenes ( ; , Lukēgenēs), literally "born of a wolf" or "born of Lycia"
Lycoctonus ( ; , Lykoktonos), from , "wolf", and , "to kill"
Origin and birth
Apollo's birthplace was Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos.
Cynthius ( ; , Kunthios), literally "Cynthian"
Cynthogenes ( ; , Kynthogenēs), literally "born of Cynthus"
Delius ( ; Δήλιος, Delios), literally "Delian"
Didymaeus ( ; , Didymaios) from δίδυμος, "twin", as the twin of Artemis
Place of worship
Delphi and Actium were his primary places of worship.
Acraephius ( ; , Akraiphios, literally "Acraephian") or Acraephiaeus ( ; , Akraiphiaios), "Acraephian", from the Boeotian town of Acraephia (), reputedly founded by his son Acraepheus.
Actiacus ( ; , Aktiakos), literally "Actian", after Actium ()
Delphinius ( ; , Delphinios), literally "Delphic", after Delphi (Δελφοί). An etiology in the Homeric Hymns associated this with dolphins.
Epactaeus, meaning "god worshipped on the coast", in Samos.
Pythius ( ; , Puthios, from Πυθώ, Pythō), from the region around Delphi
Smintheus ( ; , Smintheus), "Sminthian"—that is, "of the town of Sminthos or Sminthe" near the Troad town of Hamaxitus
Napaian Apollo (Ἀπόλλων Ναπαῖος), from the city of Nape at the island of Lesbos
Healing and disease
Acesius ( ; , Akesios), from , "healing". Acesius was the epithet of Apollo worshipped in Elis, where he had a temple in the agora.
Acestor ( ; , Akestōr), literally "healer"
Culicarius (Roman) ( ), from Latin culicārius, "of midges"
Iatrus ( ; , Iātros), literally "physician"
Medicus (Roman) ( ), "physician" in Latin. A temple was dedicated to Apollo Medicus at Rome, probably next to the temple of Bellona.
Paean ( ; , Paiān), physician, healer
Parnopius ( ; , Parnopios), from , "locust"
Founder and protector
Agyieus ( ; , Aguīeus), from , "street", for his role in protecting roads and homes
Alexicacus ( ; , Alexikakos), literally "warding off evil"
Apotropaeus ( ; , Apotropaios), from , "to avert"
Archegetes ( ; , Arkhēgetēs), literally "founder"
Averruncus (Roman) ( ; from Latin āverruncare), "to avert"
Clarius ( ; , Klārios), from Doric , "allotted lot"
Epicurius ( ; , Epikourios), from , "to aid"
Genetor ( ; , Genetōr), literally "ancestor"
Nomius ( ; , Nomios), literally "pastoral"
Nymphegetes ( ; , Numphēgetēs), from , "Nymph", and , "leader", for his role as a protector of shepherds and pastoral life
Patroos from , "related to one's father," for his role as father of Ion and founder of the Ionians, as worshipped at the Temple of Apollo Patroos in Athens
Sauroctunos, “lizard killer”, possibly a reference to his killing of Python
Prophecy and truth
Coelispex (Roman) ( ), from Latin coelum, "sky", and specere "to look at"
Iatromantis ( ; , Iātromantis,) from , "physician", and , "prophet", referring to his role as a god both of healing and of prophecy
Leschenorius ( ; , Leskhēnorios), from , "converser"
Loxias ( ; , Loxias), from , "to say", historically associated with , "ambiguous"
Manticus ( ; , Mantikos), literally "prophetic"
Proopsios (), meaning "foreseer" or "first seen"
Music and arts
Musagetes ( ; Doric , Mousāgetās), from , "Muse", and "leader"
Musegetes ( ; , Mousēgetēs), as the preceding
Archery
Aphetor ( ; , Aphētōr), from , "to let loose"
Aphetorus ( ; , Aphētoros), as the preceding
Arcitenens (Roman) ( ), literally "bow-carrying"
Argyrotoxus ( ; , Argyrotoxos), literally "with silver bow"
Clytotoxus ( ; , Klytótoxos), "he who is famous for his bow", the renowned archer.
Hecaërgus ( ; , Hekaergos), literally "far-shooting"
Hecebolus ( ; , Hekēbolos), "far-shooting"
Ismenius ( ; , Ismēnios), literally "of Ismenus", after Ismenus, the son of Amphion and Niobe, whom he struck with an arrow
Amazons
Amazonius (), Pausanias at the Description of Greece writes that near Pyrrhichus there was a sanctuary of Apollo, called Amazonius () with image of the god said to have been dedicated by the Amazons.
Celtic epithets and cult titles
Apollo was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire. In the traditionally Celtic lands, he was most often seen as a healing and sun god. He was often equated with Celtic gods of similar character.
Apollo Atepomarus ("the great horseman" or "possessing a great horse"). Apollo was worshipped at Mauvières (Indre). Horses were, in the Celtic world, closely linked to the sun.
Apollo Belenus ("bright" or "brilliant"). This epithet was given to Apollo in parts of Gaul, Northern Italy and Noricum (part of modern Austria). Apollo Belenus was a healing and sun god.
Apollo Cunomaglus ("hound lord"). A title given to Apollo at a shrine at Nettleton Shrub, Wiltshire. May have been a god of healing. Cunomaglus himself may originally have been an independent healing god.
Apollo Grannus. Grannus was a healing spring god, later equated with Apollo.
Apollo Maponus. A god known from inscriptions in Britain. This may be a local fusion of Apollo and Maponus.
Apollo Moritasgus ("masses of sea water"). An epithet for Apollo at Alesia, where he was worshipped as god of healing and, possibly, of physicians.
Apollo Vindonnus ("clear light"). Apollo Vindonnus had a temple at Essarois, near Châtillon-sur-Seine in present-day Burgundy. He was a god of healing, especially of the eyes.
Apollo Virotutis ("benefactor of mankind"). Apollo Virotutis was worshipped, among other places, at Fins d'Annecy (Haute-Savoie) and at Jublains (Maine-et-Loire).
Origins
The cult centers of Apollo in Greece, Delphi and Delos, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos sanctuary was primarily dedicated to Artemis, Apollo's twin sister. At Delphi, Apollo was venerated as the slayer of the monstrous serpent Python. For the Greeks, Apollo was the most Greek of all the gods, and through the centuries he acquired different functions. In Archaic Greece he was the prophet, the oracular god who in older times was connected with "healing". In Classical Greece he was the god of light and of music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil. Walter Burkert discerned three components in the prehistory of Apollo worship, which he termed "a Dorian-northwest Greek component, a Cretan-Minoan component, and a Syro-Hittite component."
Healer and god-protector from evil
In classical times, his major function in popular religion was to keep away evil, and he was therefore called "apotropaios" (, "averting evil") and "alexikakos" ( "keeping off ill"; from v. + n. ). Apollo also had many epithets relating to his function as a healer. Some commonly-used examples are "paion" ( literally "healer" or "helper") "epikourios" (, "succouring"), "oulios" (, "healer, baleful") and "loimios" (, "of the plague"). In later writers, the word, "paion", usually spelled "Paean", becomes a mere epithet of Apollo in his capacity as a god of healing.
Apollo in his aspect of "healer" has a connection to the primitive god Paean (), who did not have a cult of his own. Paean serves as the healer of the gods in the Iliad, and seems to have originated in a pre-Greek religion. It is suggested, though unconfirmed, that he is connected to the Mycenaean figure pa-ja-wo-ne (Linear B: ). Paean was the personification of holy songs sung by "seer-doctors" (), which were supposed to cure disease.
Homer illustrated Paeon the god and the song both of apotropaic thanksgiving or triumph. Such songs were originally addressed to Apollo and afterwards to other gods: to Dionysus, to Apollo Helios, to Apollo's son Asclepius the healer. About the 4th century BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to implore protection against disease and misfortune or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become recognized as the god of music. Apollo's role as the slayer of the Python led to his association with battle and victory; hence it became the Roman custom for a paean to be sung by an army on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and also after a victory had been won.
In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the Vedic god of disease Rudra. He sends a plague () to the Achaeans. Knowing that Apollo can prevent a recurrence of the plague he sent, they purify themselves in a ritual and offer him a large sacrifice of cows, called a hecatomb.
Dorian origin
The Homeric Hymn to Apollo depicts Apollo as an intruder from the north. The connection with the northern-dwelling Dorians and their initiation festival apellai is reinforced by the month Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars. The family-festival was dedicated to Apollo (Doric: ). Apellaios is the month of these rites, and Apellon is the "megistos kouros" (the great Kouros). However it can explain only the Doric type of the name, which is connected with the Ancient Macedonian word "pella" (Pella), stone. Stones played an important part in the cult of the god, especially in the oracular shrine of Delphi (Omphalos).
Minoan origin
George Huxley regarded the identification of Apollo with the Minoan deity Paiawon, worshipped in Crete, to have originated at Delphi. In the Homeric Hymn, Apollo appeared as a dolphin and carried Cretan priests to Delphi, where they evidently transferred their religious practices. Apollo Delphinios or Delphidios was a sea-god especially worshipped in Crete and in the islands. Apollo's sister Artemis, who was the Greek goddess of hunting, is identified with Britomartis (Diktynna), the Minoan "Mistress of the animals". In her earliest depictions she was accompanied by the "Master of the animals", a bow-wielding god of hunting whose name has been lost; aspects of this figure may have been absorbed into the more popular Apollo.
Anatolian origin
A non-Greek origin of Apollo has long been assumed in scholarship. The name of Apollo's mother Leto has Lydian origin, and she was worshipped on the coasts of Asia Minor. The inspiration oracular cult was probably introduced into Greece from Anatolia, which is the origin of Sibyl, and where some of the oldest oracular shrines originated. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old Assyro-Babylonian texts. These rituals were spread into the empire of the Hittites, and from there into Greece.
Homer pictures Apollo on the side of the Trojans, fighting against the Achaeans, during the Trojan War. He is pictured as a terrible god, less trusted by the Greeks than other gods. The god seems to be related to Appaliunas, a tutelary god of Wilusa (Troy) in Asia Minor, but the word is not complete. The stones found in front of the gates of Homeric Troy were the symbols of Apollo. A western Anatolian origin may also be bolstered by references to the parallel worship of Artimus (Artemis) and Qλdãns, whose name may be cognate with the Hittite and Doric forms, in surviving Lydian texts. However, recent scholars have cast doubt on the identification of Qλdãns with Apollo.
The Greeks gave to him the name agyieus as the protector god of public places and houses who wards off evil and his symbol was a tapered stone or column. However, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the full moon, all the feasts of Apollo were celebrated at the seventh day of the month, and the emphasis given to that day (sibutu) indicates a Babylonian origin.
The Late Bronze Age (from 1700 to 1200 BCE) Hittite and Hurrian Aplu was a god of plague, invoked during plague years. Here we have an apotropaic situation, where a god originally bringing the plague was invoked to end it. Aplu, meaning the son of, was a title given to the god Nergal, who was linked to the Babylonian god of the sun Shamash. Homer interprets Apollo as a terrible god () who brings death and disease with his arrows, but who can also heal, possessing a magic art that separates him from the other Greek gods. In Iliad, his priest prays to Apollo Smintheus, the mouse god who retains an older agricultural function as the protector from field rats. All these functions, including the function of the healer-god Paean, who seems to have Mycenean origin, are fused in the cult of Apollo.
Proto-Indo-European
The Vedic Rudra has some similar functions with Apollo. The terrible god is called "the archer" and the bow is also an attribute of Shiva. Rudra could bring diseases with his arrows, but he was able to free people of them and his alternative Shiva is a healer physician god. However the Indo-European component of Apollo does not explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult.
Oracular cult
Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had widespread influence: Delos and Delphi. In cult practice, Delian Apollo and Pythian Apollo (the Apollo of Delphi) were so distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality. Lycia was sacred to the god, for this Apollo was also called Lycian. Apollo's cult was already fully established when written sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek world as an oracular deity in the archaic period, and the frequency of theophoric names such as Apollodorus or Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity. Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and 3rd century CE, those at Didyma and Claros pronounced the so-called "theological oracles", in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of an all-encompassing, highest deity. "In the 3rd century, Apollo fell silent. Julian the Apostate (359–361) tried to revive the Delphic oracle, but failed."
Oracular shrines
Apollo had a famous oracle in Delphi, and other notable ones in Claros and Didyma. His oracular shrine in Abae in Phocis, where he bore the toponymic epithet Abaeus (, Apollon Abaios), was important enough to be consulted by Croesus.
His oracular shrines include:
Abae in Phocis.
Bassae in the Peloponnese.
At Clarus, on the west coast of Asia Minor; as at Delphi a holy spring which gave off a pneuma, from which the priests drank.
In Corinth, the Oracle of Corinth came from the town of Tenea, from prisoners supposedly taken in the Trojan War.
At Khyrse, in Troad, the temple was built for Apollo Smintheus.
In Delos, there was an oracle to the Delian Apollo, during summer. The Hieron (Sanctuary) of Apollo adjacent to the Sacred Lake, was the place where the god was said to have been born.
In Delphi, the Pythia became filled with the pneuma of Apollo, said to come from a spring inside the Adyton.
In Didyma, an oracle on the coast of Anatolia, south west of Lydian (Luwian) Sardis, in which priests from the lineage of the Branchidae received inspiration by drinking from a healing spring located in the temple. Was believed to have been founded by Branchus, son or lover of Apollo.
In Hierapolis Bambyce, Syria (modern Manbij), according to the treatise De Dea Syria, the sanctuary of the Syrian Goddess contained a robed and bearded image of Apollo. Divination was based on spontaneous movements of this image.
At Patara, in Lycia, there was a seasonal winter oracle of Apollo, said to have been the place where the god went from Delos. As at Delphi the oracle at Patara was a woman.
In Segesta in Sicily.
Oracles were also given by sons of Apollo.
In Oropus, north of Athens, the oracle Amphiaraus, was said to be the son of Apollo; Oropus also had a sacred spring.
in Labadea, east of Delphi, Trophonius, another son of Apollo, killed his brother and fled to the cave where he was also afterwards consulted as an oracle.
Temples of Apollo
Many temples were dedicated to Apollo in Greece and the Greek colonies. They show the spread of the cult of Apollo and the evolution of the Greek architecture, which was mostly based on the rightness of form and on mathematical relations. Some of the earliest temples, especially in Crete, do not belong to any Greek order. It seems that the first peripteral temples were rectangular wooden structures. The different wooden elements were considered divine, and their forms were preserved in the marble or stone elements of the temples of Doric order. The Greeks used standard types because they believed that the world of objects was a series of typical forms which could be represented in several instances. The temples should be canonic, and the architects were trying to achieve this esthetic perfection. From the earliest times there were certain rules strictly observed in rectangular peripteral and prostyle buildings. The first buildings were built narrowly in order to hold the roof, and when the dimensions changed some mathematical relations became necessary in order to keep the original forms. This probably influenced the theory of numbers of Pythagoras, who believed that behind the appearance of things there was the permanent principle of mathematics.
The Doric order dominated during the 6th and the 5th century BC but there was a mathematical problem regarding the position of the triglyphs, which couldn't be solved without changing the original forms. The order was almost abandoned for the Ionic order, but the Ionic capital also posed an insoluble problem at the corner of a temple. Both orders were abandoned for the Corinthian order gradually during the Hellenistic age and under Rome.
The most important temples are:
Greek temples
Thebes, Greece: The oldest temple probably dedicated to Apollo Ismenius was built in the 9th century B.C. It seems that it was a curvilinear building. The Doric temple was built in the early 7th century B.C., but only some small parts have been found A festival called Daphnephoria was celebrated every ninth year in honour of Apollo Ismenius (or Galaxius). The people held laurel branches (daphnai), and at the head of the procession walked a youth (chosen priest of Apollo), who was called "daphnephoros".
Eretria: According to the Homeric hymn to Apollo, the god arrived to the plain, seeking for a location to establish its oracle. The first temple of Apollo Daphnephoros, "Apollo, laurel-bearer", or "carrying off Daphne", is dated to 800 B.C. The temple was curvilinear hecatombedon (a hundred feet). In a smaller building were kept the bases of the laurel branches which were used for the first building. Another temple probably peripteral was built in the 7th century B.C., with an inner row of wooden columns over its Geometric predecessor. It was rebuilt peripteral around 510 B.C., with the stylobate measuring 21,00 x 43,00 m. The number of pteron column was 6 x 14.
Dreros (Crete). The temple of Apollo Delphinios dates from the 7th century B.C., or probably from the middle of the 8th century B.C. According to the legend, Apollo appeared as a dolphin, and carried Cretan priests to the port of Delphi. The dimensions of the plan are 10,70 x 24,00 m and the building was not peripteral. It contains column-bases of the Minoan type, which may be considered as the predecessors of the Doric columns.
Gortyn (Crete). A temple of Pythian Apollo, was built in the 7th century B.C. The plan measured 19,00 x 16,70 m and it was not peripteral. The walls were solid, made from limestone, and there was single door on the east side.
Thermon (West Greece): The Doric temple of Apollo Thermios, was built in the middle of the 7th century B.C. It was built on an older curvilinear building dating perhaps from the 10th century B.C., on which a peristyle was added. The temple was narrow, and the number of pteron columns (probably wooden) was 5 x 15. There was a single row of inner columns. It measures 12.13 x 38.23 m at the stylobate, which was made from stones.
Corinth: A Doric temple was built in the 6th century B.C. The temple's stylobate measures 21.36 x 53.30 m, and the number of pteron columns was 6 x 15. There was a double row of inner columns. The style is similar with the Temple of Alcmeonidae at Delphi. The Corinthians were considered to be the inventors of the Doric order.
Napes (Lesbos): An Aeolic temple probably of Apollo Napaios was built in the 7th century B.C. Some special capitals with floral ornament have been found, which are called Aeolic, and it seems that they were borrowed from the East.
Cyrene, Libya: The oldest Doric temple of Apollo was built in c. 600 B.C. The number of pteron columns was 6 x 11, and it measures 16.75 x 30.05 m at the stylobate. There was a double row of sixteen inner columns on stylobates. The capitals were made from stone.
Naukratis: An Ionic temple was built in the early 6th century B.C. Only some fragments have been found and the earlier, made from limestone, are identified among the oldest of the Ionic order.
Syracuse, Sicily: A Doric temple was built at the beginning of the 6th century B.C. The temple's stylobate measures 21.47 x 55.36 m and the number of pteron columns was 6 x 17. It was the first temple in Greek west built completely out of stone. A second row of columns were added, obtaining the effect of an inner porch.
Selinus (Sicily):The Doric Temple C dates from 550 B.C., and it was probably dedicated to Apollo. The temple's stylobate measures 10.48 x 41.63 m and the number of pteron columns was 6 x 17. There was portico with a second row of columns, which is also attested for the temple at Syracuse.
Delphi: The first temple dedicated to Apollo, was built in the 7th century B.C. According to the legend, it was wooden made of laurel branches. The "Temple of Alcmeonidae" was built in c. 513 B.C. and it is the oldest Doric temple with significant marble elements. The temple's stylobate measures 21.65 x 58.00 m, and the number of pteron columns as 6 x 15. A fest similar with Apollo's fest at Thebes, Greece was celebrated every nine years. A boy was sent to the temple, who walked on the sacred road and returned carrying a laurel branch (dopnephoros). The maidens participated with joyful songs.
Chios: An Ionic temple of Apollo Phanaios was built at the end of the 6th century B.C. Only some small parts have been found and the capitals had floral ornament.
Abae (Phocis). The temple was destroyed by the Persians in the invasion of Xerxes in 480 B.C., and later by the Boeotians. It was rebuilt by Hadrian. The oracle was in use from early Mycenaean times to the Roman period, and shows the continuity of Mycenaean and Classical Greek religion.
Bassae (Peloponnesus):A temple dedicated to Apollo Epikourios ("Apollo the helper"), was built in 430 B.C. and it was designed by Iktinos.It combined Doric and Ionic elements, and the earliest use of column with a Corinthian capital in the middle. The temple is of a relatively modest size, with the stylobate measuring 14.5 x 38.3 metres containing a Doric peristyle of 6 x 15 columns. The roof left a central space open to admit light and air.
Delos: A temple probably dedicated to Apollo and not peripteral, was built in the late 7th century B.C., with a plan measuring 10,00 x 15,60 m. The Doric Great temple of Apollo, was built in c. 475 B.C. The temple's stylobate measures 13.72 x 29.78 m, and the number of pteron columns as 6 x 13. Marble was extensively used.
Ambracia: A Doric peripteral temple dedicated to Apollo Pythios Sotir was built in 500 B.C., and It is lying at the centre of the Greek city Arta. Only some parts have been found, and it seems that the temple was built on earlier sanctuaries dedicated to Apollo. The temple measures 20,75 x 44,00 m at the stylobate. The foundation which supported the statue of the god, still exists.
Didyma (near Miletus): The gigantic Ionic temple of Apollo Didymaios started around 540 B.C. The construction ceased and then it was restarted in 330 B.C. The temple is dipteral, with an outer row of 10 x 21 columns, and it measures 28.90 x 80.75 m at the stylobate.
Clarus (near ancient Colophon): According to the legend, the famous seer Calchas, on his return from Troy, came to Clarus. He challenged the seer Mopsus, and died when he lost. The Doric temple of Apollo Clarius was probably built in the 3rd century B.C., and it was peripteral with 6 x 11 columns. It was reconstructed at the end of the Hellenistic period, and later from the emperor Hadrian but Pausanias claims that it was still incomplete in the 2nd century B.C.
Hamaxitus (Troad): In Iliad, Chryses the priest of Apollo, addresses the god with the epithet Smintheus (Lord of Mice), related with the god's ancient role as bringer of the disease (plague). Recent excavations indicate that the Hellenistic temple of Apollo Smintheus was constructed at 150–125 B.C., but the symbol of the mouse god was used on coinage probably from the 4th century B.C. The temple measures 40,00 x 23,00 m at the stylobate, and the number of pteron columns was 8 x 14.
Pythion (), this was the name of a shrine of Apollo at Athens near the Ilisos river. It was created by Peisistratos, and tripods placed there by those who had won in the cyclic chorus at the Thargelia.
Setae (Lydia): The temple of Apollo Aksyros located in the city.
Apollonia Pontica: There were two temples of Apollo Healer in the city. One from the Late Archaic period and the other from the Early Classical period.
Ikaros island in the Persian Gulf (modern Failaka Island): There was a temple of Apollo on the island.
Etruscan and Roman temples
Veii (Etruria): The temple of Apollo was built in the late 6th century B.C. and it indicates the spread of Apollo's culture (Aplu) in Etruria. There was a prostyle porch, which is called Tuscan, and a triple cella 18,50 m wide.
Falerii Veteres (Etruria): A temple of Apollo was built probably in the 4th-3rd century B.C. Parts of a teraccotta capital, and a teraccotta base have been found. It seems that the Etruscan columns were derived from the archaic Doric. A cult of Apollo Soranus is attested by one inscription found near Falerii.
Pompeii (Italy): The cult of Apollo was widespread in the region of Campania since the 6th century B.C. The temple was built in 120 B.V, but its beginnings lie in the 6th century B.C. It was reconstructed after an earthquake in A.D. 63. It demonstrates a mixing of styles which formed the basis of Roman architecture. The columns in front of the cella formed a Tuscan prostyle porch, and the cella is situated unusually far back. The peripteral colonnade of 48 Ionic columns was placed in such a way that the emphasis was given to the front side.
Rome: The temple of Apollo Sosianus and the temple of Apollo Medicus. The first temple building dates to 431 B.C., and was dedicated to Apollo Medicus (the doctor), after a plague of 433 B.C. It was rebuilt by Gaius Sosius, probably in 34 B.C. Only three columns with Corinthian capitals exist today. It seems that the cult of Apollo had existed in this area since at least to the mid-5th century B.C.
Rome:The temple of Apollo Palatinus was located on the Palatine hill within the sacred boundary of the city. It was dedicated by Augustus on 28 B.C. The façade of the original temple was Ionic and it was constructed from solid blocks of marble. Many famous statues by Greek masters were on display in and around the temple, including a marble statue of the god at the entrance and a statue of Apollo in the cella.
Melite (modern Mdina, Malta): A Temple of Apollo was built in the city in the 2nd century A.D. Its remains were discovered in the 18th century, and many of its architectural fragments were dispersed among private collections or reworked into new sculptures. Parts of the temple's podium were rediscovered in 2002.
Mythology
Apollo appears often in the myths, plays and hymns. As Zeus' favorite son, Apollo had direct access to the mind of Zeus and was willing to reveal this knowledge to humans. A divinity beyond human comprehension, he appears both as a beneficial and a wrathful god.
Birth
Apollo was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Leto, his previous wife or one of his mistresses. Growing up, Apollo was nursed by the nymphs Korythalia and Aletheia, the personification of truth.
When Zeus' wife Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant, she banned Leto from giving birth on terra firma. Leto sought shelter in many lands, only to be rejected by them. Finally, the voice of unborn Apollo informed his mother about a floating island named Delos that had once been Asteria, Leto's own sister. Since it was neither a mainland nor an island, Leto was readily welcomed there and gave birth to her children under a palm tree. All the goddesses except Hera were present to witness the event. It is also stated that Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods tricked Hera into letting her go by offering her a necklace of amber 9 yards (8.2 m) long.
When Apollo was born, clutching a golden sword, everything on Delos turned into gold and the island was filled with ambrosial fragrance. Swans circled the island seven times and the nymphs sang in delight. He was washed clean by the goddesses who then covered him in white garment and fastened golden bands around him. Since Leto was unable to feed him, Themis, the goddess of divine law, fed him with nectar, or ambrosia. Upon tasting the divine food, Apollo broke free of the bands fastened onto him and declared that he would be the master of lyre and archery, and interpret the will of Zeus to humankind. Zeus, who had calmed Hera by then, came and adorned his son with a golden headband.
Apollo's birth fixed the floating Delos to the earth. Leto promised that her son would be always favorable towards the Delians. According to some, Apollo secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean after some time. This island became sacred to Apollo and was one of the major cult centres of the god.
Apollo was born on the seventh day (, hebdomagenes) of the month Thargelion—according to Delian tradition—or of the month Bysios—according to Delphian tradition. The seventh and twentieth, the days of the new and full moon, were ever afterwards held sacred to him. Mythographers agree that Artemis was born first and subsequently assisted with the birth of Apollo or was born on the island of Ortygia then helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo.
Hyperborea
Hyperborea, the mystical land of eternal spring, venerated Apollo above all the gods. The Hyperboreans always sang and danced in his honor and hosted Pythian games. There, a vast forest of beautiful trees was called "the garden of Apollo". Apollo spent the winter months among the Hyperboreans. His absence from the world caused coldness and this was marked as his annual death. No prophecies were issued during this time. He returned to the world during the beginning of the spring. The Theophania festival was held in Delphi to celebrate his return.
It is said that Leto came to Delos from Hyperborea accompanied by a pack of wolves. Henceforth, Hyperborea became Apollo's winter home and wolves became sacred to him. His intimate connection to wolves is evident from his epithet Lyceus, meaning wolf-like. But Apollo was also the wolf-slayer in his role as the god who protected flocks from predators. The Hyperborean worship of Apollo bears the strongest marks of Apollo being worshipped as the sun god. Shamanistic elements in Apollo's cult are often liked to his Hyperborean origin, and he is likewise speculated to have originated as a solar shaman. Shamans like Abaris and Aristeas were also the followers of Apollo, who hailed from Hyperborea.
In myths, the tears of amber Apollo shed when his son Asclepius died became the waters of the river Eridanos, which surrounded Hyperborea. Apollo also buried in Hyperborea the arrow which he had used to kill the Cyclopes. He later gave this arrow to Abaris.
Childhood and youth
As a child, Apollo is said to have built a foundation and an altar on Delos using the horns of the goats that his sister Artemis hunted. Since he learnt the art of building when young, he later came to be known as Archegetes, the founder (of towns) and god who guided men to build new cities. From his father Zeus, Apollo had also received a golden chariot drawn by swans.
In his early years when Apollo spent his time herding cows, he was reared by Thriae, the bee nymphs, who trained him and enhanced his prophetic skills. Apollo is also said to have invented the lyre, and along with Artemis, the art of archery. He then taught to the humans the art of healing and archery. Phoebe, his grandmother, gave the oracular shrine of Delphi to Apollo as a birthday gift. Themis inspired him to be the oracular voice of Delphi thereon.
Python
Python, a chthonic serpent-dragon, was a child of Gaia and the guardian of the Delphic Oracle, whose death was foretold by Apollo when he was still in Leto's womb. Python was the nurse of the giant Typhon. In most of the traditions, Apollo was still a child when he killed Python.
Python was sent by Hera to hunt the pregnant Leto to death, and had assaulted her. To avenge the trouble given to his mother, Apollo went in search of Python and killed it in the sacred cave at Delphi with the bow and arrows that he had received from Hephaestus. The Delphian nymphs who were present encouraged Apollo during the battle with the cry "Hie Paean". After Apollo was victorious, they also brought him gifts and gave the Corycian cave to him. According to Homer, Apollo had encountered and killed the Python when he was looking for a place to establish his shrine.
According to another version, when Leto was in Delphi, Python had attacked her. Apollo defended his mother and killed Python. Euripides in his Iphigenia in Aulis gives an account of his fight with Python and the event's aftermath.
You killed him, o Phoebus, while still a baby, still leaping in the arms of your dear mother, and you entered the holy shrine, and sat on the golden tripod, on your truthful throne distributing prophecies from the gods to mortals.
A detailed account of Apollo's conflict with Gaia and Zeus' intervention on behalf of his young son is also given.
But when Apollo came and sent Themis, the child of Earth, away from the holy oracle of Pytho, Earth gave birth to dream visions of the night; and they told to the cities of men the present, and what will happen in the future, through dark beds of sleep on the ground; and so Earth took the office of prophecy away from Phoebus, in envy, because of her daughter. The lord made his swift way to Olympus and wound his baby hands around Zeus, asking him to take the wrath of the earth goddess from the Pythian home. Zeus smiled, that the child so quickly came to ask for worship that pays in gold. He shook his locks of hair, put an end to the night voices, and took away from mortals the truth that appears in darkness, and gave the privilege back again to Loxias.
Apollo also demanded that all other methods of divination be made inferior to his, a wish that Zeus granted him readily. Because of this, Athena, who had been practicing divination by throwing pebbles, cast her pebbles away in displeasure.
However, Apollo had committed a blood murder and had to be purified. Because Python was a child of Gaia, Gaia wanted Apollo to be banished to Tartarus as a punishment. Zeus didn't agree and instead exiled his son from Olympus, and instructed him to get purified. Apollo had to serve as a slave for nine years. After the servitude was over, as per his father's order, he travelled to the Vale of Tempe to bath in waters of Peneus. There Zeus himself performed purificatory rites on Apollo. Purified, Apollo was escorted by his half sister Athena to Delphi where the oracular shrine was finally handed over to him by Gaia. According to a variation, Apollo had also travelled to Crete, where Carmanor purified him. Apollo later established the Pythian games to appropriate Gaia. Henceforth, Apollo became the god who cleansed himself from the sin of murder and, made men aware of their guilt and purified them.
Soon after, Zeus instructed Apollo to go to Delphi and establish his law. But Apollo, disobeying his father, went to the land of Hyperborea and stayed there for a year. He returned only after the Delphians sang hymns to him and pleaded him to come back. Zeus, pleased with his son's integrity, gave Apollo the seat next to him on his right side. He also gave to Apollo various gifts, like a golden tripod, a golden bow and arrows, a golden chariot and the city of Delphi.
Soon after his return, Apollo needed to recruit people to Delphi. So, when he spotted a ship sailing from Crete, he sprang aboard in the form of a dolphin. The crew was awed into submission and followed a course that led the ship to Delphi. There Apollo revealed himself as a god. Initiating them to his service, he instructed them to keep righteousness in their hearts. The Pythia was Apollo's high priestess and his mouthpiece through whom he gave prophecies. Pythia is arguably the constant favorite of Apollo among the mortals.
Tityos
Hera once again sent another giant, Tityos to rape Leto. This time Apollo shot him with his arrows and attacked him with his golden sword. According to other version, Artemis also aided him in protecting their mother by attacking Tityos with her arrows. After the battle Zeus finally relented his aid and hurled Tityos down to Tartarus. There, he was pegged to the rock floor, covering an area of , where a pair of vultures feasted daily on his liver.
Admetus
Admetus was the king of Pherae, who was known for his hospitality. When Apollo was exiled from Olympus for killing Python, he served as a herdsman under Admetus, who was then young and unmarried. Apollo is said to have shared a romantic relationship with Admetus during his stay. After completing his years of servitude, Apollo went back to Olympus as a god.
Because Admetus had treated Apollo well, the god conferred great benefits on him in return. Apollo's mere presence is said to have made the cattle give birth to twins. Apollo helped Admetus win the hand of Alcestis, the daughter of King Pelias, by taming a lion and a boar to draw Admetus' chariot. He was present during their wedding to give his blessings. When Admetus angered the goddess Artemis by forgetting to give her the due offerings, Apollo came to the rescue and calmed his sister. When Apollo learnt of Admetus' untimely death, he convinced or tricked the Fates into letting Admetus live past his time.
According to another version, or perhaps some years later, when Zeus struck down Apollo's son Asclepius with a lightning bolt for resurrecting the dead, Apollo in revenge killed the Cyclopes, who had fashioned the bolt for Zeus. Apollo would have been banished to Tartarus for this, but his mother Leto intervened, and reminding Zeus of their old love, pleaded him not to kill their son. Zeus obliged and sentenced Apollo to one year of hard labor once again under Admetus.
The love between Apollo and Admetus was a favored topic of Roman poets like Ovid and Servius.
Niobe
The fate of Niobe was prophesied by Apollo while he was still in Leto's womb. Niobe was the queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion. She displayed hubris when she boasted that she was superior to Leto because she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven male and seven female, while Leto had only two. She further mocked Apollo's effeminate appearance and Artemis' manly appearance. Leto, insulted by this, told her children to punish Niobe. Accordingly, Apollo killed Niobe's sons, and Artemis her daughters. According to some versions of the myth, among the Niobids, Chloris and her brother Amyclas were not killed because they prayed to Leto. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Apollo after swearing revenge.
A devastated Niobe fled to Mount Sipylos in Asia Minor and turned into stone as she wept. Her tears formed the river Achelous. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone and so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves entombed them.
When Chloris married and had children, Apollo granted her son Nestor the years he had taken away from the Niobids. Hence, Nestor was able to live for 3 generations.
Building the walls of Troy
Once Apollo and Poseidon served under the Trojan king Laomedon in accordance to Zeus' words. Apollodorus states that the gods willingly went to the king disguised as humans in order to check his hubris. Apollo guarded the cattle of Laomedon in the valleys of mount Ida, while Poseidon built the walls of Troy. Other versions make both Apollo and Poseidon the builders of the wall. In Ovid's account, Apollo completes his task by playing his tunes on his lyre.
In Pindar's odes, the gods took a mortal named Aeacus as their assistant. When the work was completed, three snakes rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Apollo immediately prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his son Telamon joined Heracles when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse that lead to the downfall of Troy).
However, the king not only refused to give the gods the wages he had promised, but also threatened to bind their feet and hands, and sell them as slaves. Angered by the unpaid labour and the insults, Apollo infected the city with a pestilence and Posedion sent the sea monster Cetus. To deliver the city from it, Laomedon had to sacrifice his daughter Hesione (who would later be saved by Heracles).
During his stay in Troy, Apollo had a lover named Ourea, who was a nymph and daughter of Poseidon. Together they had a son named Ileus, whom Apollo loved dearly.
Trojan War
Apollo sided with the Trojans during the Trojan War waged by the Greeks against the Trojans.
During the war, the Greek king Agamemnon captured Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and refused to return her. Angered by this, Apollo shot arrows infected with the plague into the Greek encampment. He demanded that they return the girl, and the Achaeans (Greeks) complied, indirectly causing the anger of Achilles, which is the theme of the Iliad.
Receiving the aegis from Zeus, Apollo entered the battlefield as per his father's command, causing great terror to the enemy with his war cry. He pushed the Greeks back and destroyed many of the soldiers. He is described as "the rouser of armies" because he rallied the Trojan army when they were falling apart.
When Zeus allowed the other gods to get involved in the war, Apollo was provoked by Poseidon to a duel. However, Apollo declined to fight him, saying that he wouldn't fight his uncle for the sake of mortals.
When the Greek hero Diomedes injured the Trojan hero Aeneas, Aphrodite tried to rescue him, but Diomedes injured her as well. Apollo then enveloped Aeneas in a cloud to protect him. He repelled the attacks Diomedes made on him and gave the hero a stern warning to abstain himself from attacking a god. Aeneas was then taken to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy, where he was healed.
After the death of Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, Apollo rescued the corpse from the battlefield as per his father's wish and cleaned it. He then gave it to Sleep (Hypnos) and Death (Thanatos). Apollo had also once convinced Athena to stop the war for that day, so that the warriors can relieve themselves for a while.
The Trojan hero Hector (who, according to some, was the god's own son by Hecuba) was favored by Apollo. When he got severely injured, Apollo healed him and encouraged him to take up his arms. During a duel with Achilles, when Hector was about to lose, Apollo hid Hector in a cloud of mist to save him. When the Greek warrior Patroclus tried to get into the fort of Troy, he was stopped by Apollo. Encouraging Hector to attack Patroclus, Apollo stripped the armour of the Greek warrior and broke his weapons. Patroclus was eventually killed by Hector. At last, after Hector's fated death, Apollo protected his corpse from Achilles' attempt to mutilate it by creating a magical cloud over the corpse.
Apollo held a grudge against Achilles throughout the war because Achilles had murdered his son Tenes before the war began and brutally assassinated his son Troilus in his own temple. Not only did Apollo save Hector from Achilles, he also tricked Achilles by disguising himself as a Trojan warrior and driving him away from the gates. He foiled Achilles' attempt to mutilate Hector's dead body.
Finally, Apollo caused Achilles' death by guiding an arrow shot by Paris into Achilles' heel. In some versions, Apollo himself killed Achilles by taking the disguise of Paris.
Apollo helped many Trojan warriors, including Agenor, Polydamas, Glaucus in the battlefield. Though he greatly favored the Trojans, Apollo was bound to follow the orders of Zeus and served his father loyally during the war.
Heracles
After Heracles (then named Alcides) was struck with madness and killed his family, he sought to purify himself and consulted the oracle of Apollo. Apollo, through the Pythia, commanded him to serve king Eurystheus for twelve years and complete the ten tasks the king would give him. Only then would Alcides be absolved of his sin. Apollo also renamed him as Heracles.
To complete his third task, Heracles had to capture the Ceryneian Hind, a hind sacred to Artemis, and bring back it alive. After chasing the hind for one year, the animal eventually got tired, and when it tried crossing the river Ladon, Heracles captured it. While he was taking it back, he was confronted by Apollo and Artemis, who were angered at Heracles for this act. However, Heracles soothed the goddess and explained his situation to her. After much pleading, Artemis permitted him to take the hind and told him to return it later.
After he was freed from his servitude to Eurystheus, Heracles fell in conflict with Iphytus, a prince of Oechalia, and murdered him. Soon after, he contracted a terrible disease. He consulted the oracle of Apollo once again, in hope of ridding himself of the disease. The Pythia, however, denied to give any prophesy. In anger, Heracles snatched the sacred tripod and started walking away, intending to start his own oracle. However, Apollo did not tolerate this and stopped Heracles; a duel ensued between them. Artemis rushed to support Apollo, while Athena supported Heracles. Soon, Zeus threw his thunderbolt between the fighting brothers and separated them. He reprimanded Heracles for this act of violation and asked Apollo to give a solution to Heracles. Apollo then ordered the hero to serve under Omphale, queen of Lydia for one year in order to purify himself.
Periphas
Periphas was an Attican king and a priest of Apollo. He was noble, just and rich. He did all his duties justly. Because of this people were very fond of him and started honouring him to the same extent as Zeus. At one point, they worshipped Periphas in place of Zeus and set up shrines and temples for him. This annoyed Zeus, who decided to annihilate the entire family of Periphas. But because he was a just king and a good devotee, Apollo intervened and requested his father to spare Periphas. Zeus considered Apollo's words and agreed to let him live. But he metamorphosed Periphas into an eagle and made the eagle the king of birds. When Periphas' wife requested Zeus to let her stay with her husband, Zeus turned her into a vulture and fulfilled her wish.
Plato's concept of soulmates
A long time ago, there were three kinds of human beings: male, descended from the sun; female, descended from the earth; and androgynous, descended from the moon. Each human being was completely round, with four arms and fours legs, two identical faces on opposite sides of a head with four ears, and all else to match. They were powerful and unruly. Otis and Ephialtes even dared to scale Mount Olympus.
To check their insolence, Zeus devised a plan to humble them and improve their manners instead of completely destroying them. He cut them all in two and asked Apollo to make necessary repairs, giving humans the individual shape they still have now. Apollo turned their heads and necks around towards their wounds, he pulled together their skin at the abdomen, and sewed the skin together at the middle of it. This is what we call navel today. He smoothened the wrinkles and shaped the chest. But he made sure to leave a few wrinkles on the abdomen and around the navel so that they might be reminded of their punishment.
"As he [Zeus] cut them one after another, he bade Apollo give the face and the half of the neck a turn... Apollo was also bidden to heal their wounds and compose their forms. So Apollo gave a turn to the face and pulled the skin from the sides all over that which in our language is called the belly, like the purses which draw in, and he made one mouth at the centre [of the belly] which he fastened in a knot (the same which is called the navel); he also moulded the breast and took out most of the wrinkles, much as a shoemaker might smooth leather upon a last; he left a few wrinkles, however, in the region of the belly and navel, as a memorial of the primeval state.
Nurturer of the young
Apollo Kourotrophos is the god who nurtures and protects children and the young, especially boys. He oversees their education and their passage into adulthood. Education is said to have originated from Apollo and the Muses. Many myths have him train his children. It was a custom for boys to cut and dedicate their long hair to Apollo after reaching adulthood.
Chiron, the abandoned centaur, was fostered by Apollo, who instructed him in medicine, prophecy, archery and more. Chiron would later become a great teacher himself.
Asclepius in his childhood gained much knowledge pertaining to medicinal arts by his father. However, he was later entrusted to Chiron for further education.
Anius, Apollo's son by Rhoeo, was abandoned by his mother soon after his birth. Apollo brought him up and educated him in mantic arts. Anius later became the priest of Apollo and the king of Delos.
Iamus was the son of Apollo and Evadne. When Evadne went into labour, Apollo sent the Moirai to assist his lover. After the child was born, Apollo sent snakes to feed the child some honey. When Iamus reached the age of education, Apollo took him to Olympia and taught him many arts, including the ability to understand and explain the languages of birds.
Idmon was educated by Apollo to be a seer. Even though he foresaw his death that would happen in his journey with the Argonauts, he embraced his destiny and died a brave death. To commemorate his son's bravery, Apollo commanded Boeotians to build a town around the tomb of the hero, and to honor him.
Apollo adopted Carnus, the abandoned son of Zeus and Europa. He reared the child with the help of his mother Leto and educated him to be a seer.
When his son Melaneus reached the age of marriage, Apollo asked the princess Stratonice to be his son's bride and carried her away from her home when she agreed.
Apollo saved a shepherd boy (name unknown) from death in a large deep cave, by the means of vultures. To thank him, the shepherd built Apollo a temple under the name Vulturius.
God of music
Immediately after his birth, Apollo demanded a lyre and invented the paean, thus becoming the god of music. As the divine singer, he is the patron of poets, singers and musicians. The invention of string music is attributed to him. Plato said that the innate ability of humans to take delight in music, rhythm and harmony is the gift of Apollo and the Muses. According to Socrates, ancient Greeks believed that Apollo is the god who directs the harmony and makes all things move together, both for the gods and the humans. For this reason, he was called Homopolon before the Homo was replaced by A. Apollo's harmonious music delivered people from their pain, and hence, like Dionysus, he is also called the liberator. The swans, which were considered to be the most musical among the birds, were believed to be the "singers of Apollo". They are Apollo's sacred birds and acted as his vehicle during his travel to Hyperborea. Aelian says that when the singers would sing hymns to Apollo, the swans would join the chant in unison.
Among the Pythagoreans, the study of mathematics and music were connected to the worship of Apollo, their principal deity. Their belief was that the music purifies the soul, just as medicine purifies the body. They also believed that music was delegated to the same mathematical laws of harmony as the mechanics of the cosmos, evolving into an idea known as the music of the spheres.
Apollo appears as the companion of the Muses, and as Musagetes ("leader of Muses") he leads them in dance. They spend their time on Parnassus, which is one of their sacred places. Apollo is also the lover of the Muses and by them he became the father of famous musicians like Orpheus and Linus.
Apollo is often found delighting the immortal gods with his songs and music on the lyre. In his role as the god of banquets, he was always present to play music in weddings of the gods, like the marriage of Eros and Psyche, Peleus and Thetis. He is a frequent guest of the Bacchanalia, and many ancient ceramics depict him being at ease amidst the maenads and satyrs. Apollo also participated in musical contests when challenged by others. He was the victor in all those contests, but he tended to punish his opponents severely for their hubris.
Apollo's lyre
The invention of lyre is attributed either to Hermes or to Apollo himself. Distinctions have been made that Hermes invented lyre made of tortoise shell, whereas the lyre Apollo invented was a regular lyre.
Myths tell that the infant Hermes stole a number of Apollo's cows and took them to a cave in the woods near Pylos, covering their tracks. In the cave, he found a tortoise and killed it, then removed the insides. He used one of the cow's intestines and the tortoise shell and made his lyre.
Upon discovering the theft, Apollo confronted Hermes and asked him to return his cattle. When Hermes acted innocent, Apollo took the matter to Zeus. Zeus, having seen the events, sided with Apollo, and ordered Hermes to return the cattle. Hermes then began to play music on the lyre he had invented. Apollo fell in love with the instrument and offered to exchange the cattle for the lyre. Hence, Apollo then became the master of the lyre.
According to other versions, Apollo had invented the lyre himself, whose strings he tore in repenting of the excess punishment he had given to Marsyas. Hermes' lyre, therefore, would be a reinvention.
Contest with Pan
Once Pan had the audacity to compare his music with that of Apollo and to challenge the god of music to a contest. The mountain-god Tmolus was chosen to umpire. Pan blew on his pipes, and with his rustic melody gave great satisfaction to himself and his faithful follower, Midas, who happened to be present. Then, Apollo struck the strings of his lyre. It was so beautiful that Tmolus at once awarded the victory to Apollo, and everyone was pleased with the judgement. Only Midas dissented and questioned the justice of the award. Apollo did not want to suffer such a depraved pair of ears any longer, and caused them to become the ears of a donkey.
Contest with Marsyas
Marsyas was a satyr who was punished by Apollo for his hubris. He had found an aulos on the ground, tossed away after being invented by Athena because it made her cheeks puffy. Athena had also placed a curse upon the instrument, that whoever would pick it up would be severely punished. When Marsyas played the flute, everyone became frenzied with joy. This led Marsyas to think that he was better than Apollo, and he challenged the god to a musical contest. The contest was judged by the Muses, or the nymphs of Nysa. Athena was also present to witness the contest.
Marsyas taunted Apollo for "wearing his hair long, for having a fair face and smooth body, for his skill in so many arts". He also further said,
'His [Apollo] hair is smooth and made into tufts and curls that fall about his brow and hang before his face. His body is fair from head to foot, his limbs shine bright, his tongue gives oracles, and he is equally eloquent in prose or verse, propose which you will. What of his robes so fine in texture, so soft to the touch, aglow with purple? What of his lyre that flashes gold, gleams white with ivory, and shimmers with rainbow gems? What of his song, so cunning and so sweet? Nay, all these allurements suit with naught save luxury. To virtue they bring shame alone!'
The Muses and Athena sniggered at this comment. The contestants agreed to take turns displaying their skills and the rule was that the victor could "do whatever he wanted" to the loser.
According to one account, after the first round, they both were deemed equal by the Nysiads. But in the next round, Apollo decided to play on his lyre and add his melodious voice to his performance. Marsyas argued against this, saying that Apollo would have an advantage and accused Apollo of cheating. But Apollo replied that since Marsyas played the flute, which needed air blown from the throat, it was similar to singing, and that either they both should get an equal chance to combine their skills or none of them should use their mouths at all. The nymphs decided that Apollo's argument was just. Apollo then played his lyre and sang at the same time, mesmerising the audience. Marsyas could not do this. Apollo was declared the winner and, angered with Marsyas' haughtiness and his accusations, decided to flay the satyr.
According to another account, Marsyas played his flute out of tune at one point and accepted his defeat. Out of shame, he assigned to himself the punishment of being skinned for a wine sack. Another variation is that Apollo played his instrument upside down. Marsyas could not do this with his instrument. So the Muses who were the judges declared Apollo the winner. Apollo hung Marsyas from a tree to flay him.
Apollo flayed the limbs of Marsyas alive in a cave near Celaenae in Phrygia for his hubris to challenge a god. He then gave the rest of his body for proper burial and nailed Marsyas' flayed skin to a nearby pine-tree as a lesson to the others. Marsyas' blood turned into the river Marsyas. But Apollo soon repented and being distressed at what he had done, he tore the strings of his lyre and threw it away. The lyre was later discovered by the Muses and Apollo's sons Linus and Orpheus. The Muses fixed the middle string, Linus the string struck with the forefinger, and Orpheus the lowest string and the one next to it. They took it back to Apollo, but the god, who had decided to stay away from music for a while, laid away both the lyre and the pipes at Delphi and joined Cybele in her wanderings to as far as Hyperborea.
Contest with Cinyras
Cinyras was a ruler of Cyprus, who was a friend of Agamemnon. Cinyras promised to assist Agamemnon in the Trojan war, but did not keep his promise. Agamemnon cursed Cinyras. He invoked Apollo and asked the god to avenge the broken promise. Apollo then had a lyre-playing contest with Cinyras, and defeated him. Either Cinyras committed suicide when he lost, or was killed by Apollo.
Patron of sailors
Apollo functions as the patron and protector of sailors, one of the duties he shares with Poseidon. In the myths, he is seen helping heroes who pray to him for safe journey.
When Apollo spotted a ship of Cretan sailors that was caught in a storm, he quickly assumed the shape of a dolphin and guided their ship safely to Delphi.
When the Argonauts faced a terrible storm, Jason prayed to his patron, Apollo, to help them. Apollo used his bow and golden arrow to shed light upon an island, where the Argonauts soon took shelter. This island was renamed "Anaphe", which means "He revealed it".
Apollo helped the Greek hero Diomedes, to escape from a great tempest during his journey homeward. As a token of gratitude, Diomedes built a temple in honor of Apollo under the epithet Epibaterius ("the embarker").
During the Trojan War, Odysseus came to the Trojan camp to return Chriseis, the daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses, and brought many offerings to Apollo. Pleased with this, Apollo sent gentle breezes that helped Odysseus return safely to the Greek camp.
Arion was a poet who was kidnapped by some sailors for the rich prizes he possessed. Arion requested them to let him sing for the last time, to which the sailors consented. Arion began singing a song in praise of Apollo, seeking the god's help. Consequently, numerous dolphins surrounded the ship and when Arion jumped into the water, the dolphins carried him away safely.
Wars
Titanomachy
Once Hera, out of spite, aroused the Titans to war against Zeus and take away his throne. Accordingly, when the Titans tried to climb Mount Olympus, Zeus with the help of Apollo, Artemis and Athena, defeated them and cast them into tartarus.
Trojan War
Apollo played a pivotal role in the entire Trojan War. He sided with the Trojans, and sent a terrible plague to the Greek camp, which indirectly led to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon. He killed the Greek heroes Patroclus, Achilles, and numerous Greek soldiers. He also helped many Trojan heroes, the most important one being Hector. After the end of the war, Apollo and Poseidon together cleaned the remains of the city and the camps.
Telegony war
A war broke out between the Brygoi and the Thesprotians, who had the support of Odysseus. The gods Athena and Ares came to the battlefield and took sides. Athena helped the hero Odysseus while Ares fought alongside of the Brygoi. When Odysseus lost, Athena and Ares came into a direct duel. To stop the battling gods and the terror created by their battle, Apollo intervened and stopped the duel between them .
Indian war
When Zeus suggested that Dionysus defeat the Indians in order to earn a place among the gods, Dionysus declared war against the Indians and travelled to India along with his army of Bacchantes and satyrs. Among the warriors was Aristaeus, Apollo's son. Apollo armed his son with his own hands and gave him a bow and arrows and fitted a strong shield to his arm. After Zeus urged Apollo to join the war, he went to the battlefield. Seeing several of his nymphs and Aristaeus drowning in a river, he took them to safety and healed them. He taught Aristaeus more useful healing arts and sent him back to help the army of Dionysus.
Theban war
During the war between the sons of Oedipus, Apollo favored Amphiaraus, a seer and one of the leaders in the war. Though saddened that the seer was fated to be doomed in the war, Apollo made Amphiaraus' last hours glorious by "lighting his shield and his helm with starry gleam". When Hypseus tried to kill the hero by a spear, Apollo directed the spear towards the charioteer of Amphiaraus instead. Then Apollo himself replaced the charioteer and took the reins in his hands. He deflected many spears and arrows away them. He also killed many of the enemy warriors like Melaneus, Antiphus, Aetion, Polites and Lampus. At last when the moment of departure came, Apollo expressed his grief with tears in his eyes and bid farewell to Amphiaraus, who was soon engulfed by the Earth.
Slaying of giants
Apollo killed the giants Python and Tityos, who had assaulted his mother Leto.
Gigantomachy
During the gigantomachy, Apollo and Heracles blinded the giant Ephialtes by shooting him in his eyes, Apollo shooting his left and Heracles his right. He also killed Porphyrion, the king of giants, using his bow and arrows.
Aloadae
The Aloadae, namely Otis and Ephialtes, were twin giants who decided to wage war upon the gods. They attempted to storm Mt. Olympus by piling up mountains, and threatened to fill the sea with mountains and inundate dry land. They even dared to seek the hand of Hera and Artemis in marriage. Angered by this, Apollo killed them by shooting them with arrows. According to another tale, Apollo killed them by sending a deer between them; as they tried to kill it with their javelins, they accidentally stabbed each other and died.
Phorbas
Phorbas was a savage giant king of Phlegyas who was described as having swine like features. He wished to plunder Delphi for its wealth. He seized the roads to Delphi and started harassing the pilgrims. He captured the old people and children and sent them to his army to hold them for ransom. And he challenged the young and sturdy men to a match of boxing, only to cut their heads off when they would get defeated by him. He hung the chopped off heads to an oak tree. Finally, Apollo came to put an end to this cruelty. He entered a boxing contest with Phorbas and killed him with a single blow.
Other stories
In the first Olympic games, Apollo defeated Ares and became the victor in wrestling. He outran Hermes in the race and won first place.
Apollo divides months into summer and winter. He rides on the back of a swan to the land of the Hyperboreans during the winter months, and the absence of warmth in winters is due to his departure. During his absence, Delphi was under the care of Dionysus, and no prophecies were given during winters.
Molpadia and Parthenos
Molpadia and Parthenos were the sisters of Rhoeo, a former lover of Apollo. One day, they were put in charge of watching their father's ancestral wine jar but they fell asleep while performing this duty. While they were asleep, the wine jar was broken by the swines their family kept. When the sisters woke up and saw what had happened, they threw themselves off a cliff in fear of their father's wrath. Apollo, who was passing by, caught them and carried them to two different cities in Chersonesus, Molpadia to Castabus and Parthenos to Bubastus. He turned them into goddesses and they both received divine honors. Molpadia's name was changed to Hemithea upon her deification.
Prometheus
Prometheus was the titan who was punished by Zeus for stealing fire. He was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle was sent to eat Prometheus' liver, which would then grow back overnight to be eaten again the next day. Seeing his plight, Apollo pleaded Zeus to release the kind Titan, while Artemis and Leto stood behind him with tears in their eyes. Zeus, moved by Apollo's words and the tears of the goddesses, finally sent Heracles to free Prometheus.
The rock of Leukas
Leukatas was believed to be a white colored rock jutting out from the island of Leukas into the sea. It was present in the sanctuary of Apollo Leukates. A leap from this rock was believed to have put an end to the longings of love.
Once, Aphrodite fell deeply in love with Adonis, a young man of great beauty who was later accidentally killed by a boar. Heartbroken, Aphrodite wandered looking for the rock of Leukas. When she reached the sanctuary of Apollo in Argos, she confided in him her love and sorrow. Apollo then brought her to the rock of Leukas and asked her to throw herself from the top of the rock. She did so and was freed from her love. When she sought for the reason behind this, Apollo told her that Zeus, before taking another lover, would sit on this rock to free himself from his love to Hera.
Another tale relates that a man named Nireus, who fell in love with the cult statue of Athena, came to the rock and jumped in order relieve himself. After jumping, he fell into the net of a fisherman in which, when he was pulled out, he found a box filled with gold. He fought with the fisherman and took the gold, but Apollo appeared to him in the night in a dream and warned him not to appropriate gold which belonged to others.
It was an ancestral custom among the Leukadians to fling a criminal from this rock every year at the sacrifice performed in honor of Apollo for the sake of averting evil. However, a number of men would be stationed all around below rock to catch the criminal and take him out of the borders in order to exile him from the island. This was the same rock from which, according to a legend, Sappho took her suicidal leap.
Female lovers
Love affairs ascribed to Apollo are a late development in Greek mythology. Their vivid anecdotal qualities have made some of them favorites of painters since the Renaissance, the result being that they stand out more prominently in the modern imagination.
Daphne was a nymph who scorned Apollo's advances and ran away from him. When Apollo chased her in order to persuade her, she changed herself into a laurel tree. According to other versions, she cried for help during the chase, and Gaia helped her by taking her in and placing a laurel tree in her place. According to Roman poet Ovid, the chase was brought about by Cupid, who hit Apollo with golden arrow of love and Daphne with leaden arrow of hatred. The myth explains the origin of the laurel and connection of Apollo with the laurel and its leaves, which his priestess employed at Delphi. The leaves became the symbol of victory and laurel wreaths were given to the victors of the Pythian games.
Apollo is said to have been the lover of all nine Muses, and not being able to choose one of them, decided to remain unwed. He fathered the Corybantes by the Muse Thalia, Orpheus by Calliope, Linus of Thrace by Calliope or Urania and Hymenaios (Hymen) by one of the Muses.
Cyrene was a Thessalian princess whom Apollo loved. In her honor, he built the city Cyrene and made her its ruler. She was later granted longevity by Apollo who turned her into a nymph. The couple had two sons, Aristaeus, and Idmon.
Evadne was a nymph daughter of Poseidon and a lover of Apollo. She bore him a son, Iamos. During the time of the childbirth, Apollo sent Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth to assist her.
Rhoeo, a princess of the island of Naxos was loved by Apollo. Out of affection for her, Apollo turned her sisters into goddesses. On the island Delos she bore Apollo a son named Anius. Not wanting to have the child, she entrusted the infant to Apollo and left. Apollo raised and educated the child on his own.
Ourea, a daughter of Poseidon, fell in love with Apollo when he and Poseidon were serving the Trojan king Laomedon. They both united on the day the walls of Troy were built. She bore to Apollo a son, whom Apollo named Ileus, after the city of his birth, Ilion (Troy). Ileus was very dear to Apollo.
Thero, daughter of Phylas, a maiden as beautiful as the moonbeams, was loved by the radiant Apollo, and she loved him in return. By their union, she became mother of Chaeron, who was famed as "the tamer of horses". He later built the city Chaeronea.
Hyrie or Thyrie was the mother of Cycnus. Apollo turned both the mother and son into swans when they jumped into a lake and tried to kill themselves.
Hecuba was the wife of King Priam of Troy, and Apollo had a son with her named Troilus. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive. He was ambushed and killed by Achilleus, and Apollo avenged his death by killing Achilles. After the sack of Troy, Hecuba was taken to Lycia by Apollo.
Coronis was daughter of Phlegyas, King of the Lapiths. While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus and slept with him. When Apollo found out about her infidelity through his prophetic powers, he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby by cutting open Koronis' belly and gave it to the centaur Chiron to raise.
Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, was impregnated by Apollo in the form of a snake. She gave birth to a son named Amphissus.
In Euripides' play Ion, Apollo fathered Ion by Creusa, wife of Xuthus. He used his powers to conceal her pregnancy from her father. Later, when Creusa left Ion to die in the wild, Apollo asked Hermes to save the child and bring him to the oracle at Delphi, where he was raised by a priestess.
Male lovers
Hyacinth (or Hyacinthus), a beautiful and athletic Spartan prince, was one of Apollo's favourite lovers. The pair was practicing throwing the discus when a discus thrown by Apollo was blown off course by the jealous Zephyrus and struck Hyacinthus in the head, killing him instantly. Apollo is said to be filled with grief. Out of Hyacinthus' blood, Apollo created a flower named after him as a memorial to his death, and his tears stained the flower petals with the interjection , meaning alas. He was later resurrected and taken to heaven. The festival Hyacinthia was a national celebration of Sparta, which commemorated the death and rebirth of Hyacinthus.
Another male lover was Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus was so saddened by its death that he asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo granted the request by turning him into the Cypress named after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.
Admetus, the king of Pherae, was also Apollo's lover. During his exile, which lasted either for one year or nine years, Apollo served Admetus as a herdsman. The romantic nature of their relationship was first described by Callimachus of Alexandria, who wrote that Apollo was "fired with love" for Admetus. Plutarch lists Admetus as one of Apollo's lovers and says that Apollo served Admetus because he doted upon him. Latin poet Ovid in his Ars Amatoria said that even though he was a god, Apollo forsook his pride and stayed in as a servant for the sake of Admetus. Tibullus desrcibes Apollo's love to the king as servitium amoris (slavery of love) and asserts that Apollo became his servant not by force but by choice. He would also make cheese and serve it to Admetus. His domestic actions caused embarrassment to his family.
When Admetus wanted to marry princess Alcestis, Apollo provided a chariot pulled by a lion and a boar he had tamed. This satisfied Alcestis' father and he let Admetus marry his daughter. Further, Apollo saved the king from Artemis' wrath and also convinced the Moirai to postpone Admetus' death once.
Branchus, a shepherd, one day came across Apollo in the woods. Captivated by the god's beauty, he kissed Apollo. Apollo requited his affections and wanting to reward him, bestowed prophetic skills on him. His descendants, the Branchides, were an influential clan of prophets.
Other male lovers of Apollo include:
Adonis, who is said to have been the lover of both Apollo and Aphrodite. He behaved as a man with Aphrodite and as a woman with Apollo.
Atymnius, otherwise known as a beloved of Sarpedon
Boreas, the god of North winds
Helenus, the son of Priam and a Trojan Prince, was a lover of Apollo and received from him an ivory bow with which he later wounded Achilles in the hand.
Hippolytus of Sicyon (not the same as Hippolytus, the son of Theseus)
Hymenaios, the son of Magnes
Iapis, to whom Apollo taught the art of healing
Phorbas, the dragon slayer (probably the son of Triopas)
Children
Apollo sired many children, from mortal women and nymphs as well as the goddesses. His children grew up to be physicians, musicians, poets, seers or archers. Many of his sons founded new cities and became kings. They were all usually very beautiful.
Asclepius is the most famous son of Apollo. His skills as a physician surpassed that of Apollo's. Zeus killed him for bringing back the dead, but upon Apollo's request, he was resurrected as a god.
Aristaeus was placed under the care of Chiron after his birth. He became the god of beekeeping, cheese making, animal husbandry and more. He was ultimately given immortality for the benefits he bestowed upon the humanity. The Corybantes were spear-clashing, dancing demigods.
The sons of Apollo who participated in the Trojan War include the Trojan princes Hector and Troilus, as well as Tenes, the king of Tenedos, all three of whom were killed by Achilles over the course of the war.
Apollo's children who became musicians and bards include Orpheus, Linus, Ialemus, Hymenaeus, Philammon, Eumolpus and Eleuther. Apollo fathered 3 daughters, Apollonis, Borysthenis and Cephisso, who formed a group of minor Muses, the "Musa Apollonides". They were nicknamed Nete, Mese and Hypate after the highest, middle and lowest strings of his lyre. Phemonoe was a seer and a poetess who was the inventor of Hexameter.
Apis, Idmon, Iamus, Tenerus, Mopsus, Galeus, Telmessus and others were gifted seers. Anius, Pythaeus and Ismenus lived as high priests. Most of them were trained by Apollo himself.
Arabus, Delphos, Dryops, Miletos, Tenes, Epidaurus, Ceos, Lycoras, Syrus, Pisus, Marathus, Megarus, Patarus, Acraepheus, Cicon, Chaeron and many other sons of Apollo, under the guidance of his words, founded eponymous cities.
He also had a son named Chrysorrhoas who was a mechanic artist. His other daughters include Eurynome, Chariclo wife of Chiron, Eurydice the wife of Orpheus, Eriopis, famous for her beautiful hair, Melite the heroine, Pamphile the silk weaver, Parthenos, and by some accounts, Phoebe, Hilyra and Scylla. Apollo turned Parthenos into a constellation after her early death.
Additionally, Apollo fostered and educated Chiron, the centaur who later became the greatest teacher and educated many demigods, including Apollo's sons. Apollo also fostered Carnus, the son of Zeus and Europa.
Failed love attempts
Marpessa was kidnapped by Idas but was loved by Apollo as well. Zeus made her choose between them, and she chose Idas on the grounds that Apollo, being immortal, would tire of her when she grew old.
Sinope, a nymph, was approached by the amorous Apollo. She made him promise that he would grant to her whatever she would ask for, and then cleverly asked him to let her stay a virgin. Apollo kept his promise and went back.
Bolina was admired by Apollo but she refused him and jumped into the sea. To avoid her death, Apollo turned her into a nymph and let her go.
Castalia was a nymph whom Apollo loved. She fled from him and dove into the spring at Delphi, at the base of Mt. Parnassos, which was then named after her. Water from this spring was sacred; it was used to clean the Delphian temples and inspire the priestesses.
Cassandra, was a daughter of Hecuba and Priam. Apollo wished to court her. Cassandra promised to return his love on one condition - he should give her the power to see the future. Apollo fulfilled her wish, but she went back on her word and rejected him soon after. Angered that she broke her promise, Apollo cursed her that even though she would see the future, no one would ever believe her prophecies.
Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, rejected both Apollo's and Poseidon's marriage proposals and swore that she would always stay unmarried.
Female counterparts
Artemis
Artemis as the sister of Apollo, is thea apollousa, that is, she as a female divinity represented the same idea that Apollo did as a male divinity. In the pre-Hellenic period, their relationship was described as the one between husband and wife, and there seems to have been a tradition which actually described Artemis as the wife of Apollo. However, this relationship was never sexual but spiritual, which is why they both are seen being unmarried in the Hellenic period.
Artemis, like her brother, is armed with a bow and arrows. She is the cause of sudden deaths of women. She also is the protector of the young, especially girls. Though she has nothing to do with oracles, music or poetry, she sometimes led the female chorus on Olympus while Apollo sang. The laurel (daphne) was sacred to both. Artemis Daphnaia had her temple among the Lacedemonians, at a place called Hypsoi.
Apollo Daphnephoros had a temple in Eretria, a "place where the citizens are to take the oaths". In later times when Apollo was regarded as identical with the sun or Helios, Artemis was naturally regarded as Selene or the moon.
Hecate
Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and magic, is the chthonic counterpart of Apollo. They both are cousins, since their mothers - Leto and Asteria - are sisters. One of Apollo's epithets, Hecatos, is the masculine form of Hecate, and both the names mean "working from afar". While Apollo presided over the prophetic powers and magic of light and heaven, Hecate presided over the prophetic powers and magic of night and chthonian darkness. If Hecate is the "gate-keeper", Apollo Agyieus is the "door-keeper". Hecate is the goddess of crossroads and Apollo is the god and protector of streets.
The oldest evidence found for Hecate's worship is at Apollo's temple in Miletos. There, Hecate was taken to be Apollo's sister counterpart in the absence of Artemis. Hecate's lunar nature makes her the goddess of the waning moon and contrasts and complements, at the same time, Apollo's solar nature.
Athena
As a deity of knowledge and great power, Apollo was seen being the male counterpart of Athena. Being Zeus' favorite children, they were given more powers and duties. Apollo and Athena often took up the role as protectors of cities, and were patrons of some of the important cities. Athena was the principle goddess of Athens, Apollo was the principle god of Sparta.
As patrons of arts, Apollo and Athena were companions of the Muses, the former a much more frequent companion than the latter. Apollo was sometimes called the son of Athena and Hephaestus.
In the Trojan war, as Zeus' executive, Apollo is seen holding the aegis like Athena usually does. Apollo's decisions were usually approved by his sister Athena, and they both worked to establish the law and order set forth by Zeus.
Apollo in the Oresteia
In Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, Clytemnestra kills her husband, King Agamemnon because he had sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia to proceed forward with the Trojan war. Apollo gives an order through the Oracle at Delphi that Agamemnon's son, Orestes, is to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, her lover. Orestes and Pylades carry out the revenge, and consequently Orestes is pursued by the Erinyes or Furies (female personifications of vengeance).
Apollo and the Furies argue about whether the matricide was justified; Apollo holds that the bond of marriage is sacred and Orestes was avenging his father, whereas the Erinyes say that the bond of blood between mother and son is more meaningful than the bond of marriage. They invade his temple, and he drives them away. He says that the matter should be brought before Athena. Apollo promises to protect Orestes, as Orestes has become Apollo's supplicant. Apollo advocates Orestes at the trial, and ultimately Athena rules in favor of Apollo.
Roman Apollo
The Roman worship of Apollo was adopted from the Greeks. As a quintessentially Greek god, Apollo had no direct Roman equivalent, although later Roman poets often referred to him as Phoebus. There was a tradition that the Delphic oracle was consulted as early as the period of the kings of Rome during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus.
On the occasion of a pestilence in the 430s BCE, Apollo's first temple at Rome was established in the Flaminian fields, replacing an older cult site there known as the "Apollinare". During the Second Punic War in 212 BCE, the Ludi Apollinares ("Apollonian Games") were instituted in his honor, on the instructions of a prophecy attributed to one Marcius. In the time of Augustus, who considered himself under the special protection of Apollo and was even said to be his son, his worship developed and he became one of the chief gods of Rome.
After the battle of Actium, which was fought near a sanctuary of Apollo, Augustus enlarged Apollo's temple, dedicated a portion of the spoils to him, and instituted quinquennial games in his honour. He also erected a new temple to the god on the Palatine hill. Sacrifices and prayers on the Palatine to Apollo and Diana formed the culmination of the Secular Games, held in 17 BCE to celebrate the dawn of a new era.
Festivals
The chief Apollonian festival was the Pythian Games held every four years at Delphi and was one of the four great Panhellenic Games. Also of major importance was the Delia held every four years on Delos.
Athenian annual festivals included the Boedromia, Metageitnia, Pyanepsia, and Thargelia.
Spartan annual festivals were the Carneia and the Hyacinthia.
Thebes every nine years held the Daphnephoria.
Attributes and symbols
Apollo's most common attributes were the bow and arrow. Other attributes of his included the kithara (an advanced version of the common lyre), the plectrum and the sword. Another common emblem was the sacrificial tripod, representing his prophetic powers. The Pythian Games were held in Apollo's honor every four years at Delphi. The bay laurel plant was used in expiatory sacrifices and in making the crown of victory at these games.
The palm tree was also sacred to Apollo because he had been born under one in Delos. Animals sacred to Apollo included wolves, dolphins, roe deer, swans, cicadas (symbolizing music and song), ravens, hawks, crows (Apollo had hawks and crows as his messengers), snakes (referencing Apollo's function as the god of prophecy), mice and griffins, mythical eagle–lion hybrids of Eastern origin.
Homer and Porphyry wrote that Apollo had a hawk as his messenger. In many myths Apollo is transformed into a hawk. In addition, Claudius Aelianus wrote that in Ancient Egypt people believed that hawks were sacred to the god and that according to the ministers of Apollo in Egypt there were certain men called "hawk-keepers" (ἱερακοβοσκοί) who fed and tended the hawks belonging to the god. Eusebius wrote that the second appearance of the moon is held sacred in the city of Apollo in Egypt and that the city's symbol is a man with a hawklike face (Horus). Claudius Aelianus wrote that Egyptians called Apollo Horus in their own language.
As god of colonization, Apollo gave oracular guidance on colonies, especially during the height of colonization, 750–550 BCE. According to Greek tradition, he helped Cretan or Arcadian colonists found the city of Troy. However, this story may reflect a cultural influence which had the reverse direction: Hittite cuneiform texts mention an Asia Minor god called Appaliunas or Apalunas in connection with the city of Wilusa attested in Hittite inscriptions, which is now generally regarded as being identical with the Greek Ilion by most scholars. In this interpretation, Apollo's title of Lykegenes can simply be read as "born in Lycia", which effectively severs the god's supposed link with wolves (possibly a folk etymology).
In literary contexts, Apollo represents harmony, order, and reason—characteristics contrasted with those of Dionysus, god of wine, who represents ecstasy and disorder. The contrast between the roles of these gods is reflected in the adjectives Apollonian and Dionysian. However, the Greeks thought of the two qualities as complementary: the two gods are brothers, and when Apollo at winter left for Hyperborea, he would leave the Delphic oracle to Dionysus. This contrast appears to be shown on the two sides of the Borghese Vase.
Apollo is often associated with the Golden Mean. This is the Greek ideal of moderation and a virtue that opposes gluttony.
Apollo in the arts
Apollo is a common theme in Greek and Roman art and also in the art of the Renaissance. The earliest Greek word for a statue is "delight" (, agalma), and the sculptors tried to create forms which would inspire such guiding vision. Greek art puts into Apollo the highest degree of power and beauty that can be imagined. The sculptors derived this from observations on human beings, but they also embodied in concrete form, issues beyond the reach of ordinary thought.
The naked bodies of the statues are associated with the cult of the body that was essentially a religious activity. The muscular frames and limbs combined with slim waists indicate the Greek desire for health, and the physical capacity which was necessary in the hard Greek environment. The statues of Apollo embody beauty, balance and inspire awe before the beauty of the world.
Archaic sculpture
Numerous free-standing statues of male youths from Archaic Greece exist, and were once thought to be representations of Apollo, though later discoveries indicated that many represented mortals. In 1895, V. I. Leonardos proposed the term kouros ("male youth") to refer to those from Keratea; this usage was later expanded by Henri Lechat in 1904 to cover all statues of this format.
The earliest examples of life-sized statues of Apollo may be two figures from the Ionic sanctuary on the island of Delos. Such statues were found across the Greek speaking world, the preponderance of these were found at the sanctuaries of Apollo with more than one hundred from the sanctuary of Apollo Ptoios, Boeotia alone. Significantly more rare are the life-sized bronze statues. One of the few originals which survived into the present day—so rare that its discovery in 1959 was described as "a miracle" by Ernst Homann-Wedeking—is the masterpiece bronze, Piraeus Apollo. It was found in Piraeus, a port city close to Athens, and is believed to have come from north-eastern Peloponnesus. It is the only surviving large-scale Peloponnesian statue.
Classical sculpture
The famous Apollo of Mantua and its variants are early forms of the Apollo Citharoedus statue type, in which the god holds the cithara, a sophisticated seven-stringed variant of the lyre, in his left arm. While none of the Greek originals have survived, several Roman copies from approximately the late 1st or early 2nd century exist.
Other notable forms are the Apollo Citharoedus and the Apollo Barberini.
Hellenistic Greece-Rome
Apollo as a handsome beardless young man, is often depicted with a cithara (as Apollo Citharoedus) or bow in his hand, or reclining on a tree (the Apollo Lykeios and Apollo Sauroctonos types). The Apollo Belvedere is a marble sculpture that was rediscovered in the late 15th century; for centuries it epitomized the ideals of Classical Antiquity for Europeans, from the Renaissance through the 19th century. The marble is a Hellenistic or Roman copy of a bronze original by the Greek sculptor Leochares, made between 350 and 325 BCE.
The life-size so-called "Adonis" found in 1780 on the site of a villa suburbana near the Via Labicana in the Roman suburb of Centocelle is identified as an Apollo by modern scholars. In the late 2nd century CE floor mosaic from El Djem, Roman Thysdrus, he is identifiable as Apollo Helios by his effulgent halo, though now even a god's divine nakedness is concealed by his cloak, a mark of increasing conventions of modesty in the later Empire.
Another haloed Apollo in mosaic, from Hadrumentum, is in the museum at Sousse. The conventions of this representation, head tilted, lips slightly parted, large-eyed, curling hair cut in locks grazing the neck, were developed in the 3rd century BCE to depict Alexander the Great. Some time after this mosaic was executed, the earliest depictions of Christ would also be beardless and haloed.
Modern reception
Apollo often appears in modern and popular culture due to his status as the god of music, dance and poetry.
Postclassical art and literature
Dance and music
Apollo has featured in dance and music in modern culture. Percy Bysshe Shelley composed a "Hymn of Apollo" (1820), and the god's instruction of the Muses formed the subject of Igor Stravinsky's Apollon musagète (1927–1928). In 1978, the Canadian band Rush released an album with songs "Apollo: Bringer of Wisdom"/"Dionysus: Bringer of Love".
Books
Apollo been portrayed in modern literature, such as when Charles Handy, in Gods of Management (1978) uses Greek gods as a metaphor to portray various types of organizational culture. Apollo represents a 'role' culture where order, reason, and bureaucracy prevail. In 2016, author Rick Riordan published the first book in the Trials of Apollo series, publishing four other books in the series in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Film
Apollo has been depicted in modern films—for instance, by Keith David in the 1997 animated feature film Hercules, by Luke Evans in the 2010 action film Clash of the Titans, and by Dimitri Lekkos in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.
Video games
Apollo has appeared in many modern video games. Apollo appears as a minor character in Santa Monica Studio's 2010 action-adventure game God of War III with his bow being used by Peirithous. He also appears in the 2014 Hi-Rez Studios Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game Smite as a playable character.
Psychology and philosophy
In philosophical discussion of the arts, a distinction is sometimes made between the Apollonian and Dionysian impulses where the former is concerned with imposing intellectual order and the latter with chaotic creativity. Friedrich Nietzsche argued that a fusion of the two was most desirable. Psychologist Carl Jung's Apollo archetype represents what he saw as the disposition in people to over-intellectualise and maintain emotional distance.
Spaceflight
In spaceflight, the 1960s and 1970s NASA program for orbiting and landing astronauts on the Moon was named after Apollo, by NASA manager Abe Silverstein: "Apollo riding his chariot across the Sun was appropriate to the grand scale of the proposed program."
Genealogy
See also
Family tree of the Greek gods
Dryad
Epirus
Phoebus (disambiguation)
Sibylline oracles
Tegyra
Temple of Apollo (disambiguation)
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
Apollo at the Greek Mythology Link, by Carlos Parada
The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database: ca 1650 images of Apollo
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Characters in the Odyssey
Characters in the Argonautica |
36587997 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience%20API | Experience API | The Experience API (xAPI) is an e-learning software specification that allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other in a manner that records and tracks all types of learning experiences. Learning experiences are recorded in a Learning Record Store (LRS). LRSs can exist within traditional learning management systems (LMSs) or on their own.
Summary
The Experience API (Tin Can API) is meant to succeed SCORM, the Sharable Content Object Reference Model, which has been the de facto e-learning standard for packaging e-learning content. There are several drawbacks to SCORM. The new Experience API allows trainers to deploy several new capabilities that were not supported with SCORM, such as:
Taking e-learning outside of the web browser
E-learning in native mobile applications
More control over learning content
Solid security using OAuth
Platform transition; e.g. start e-learning on a mobile device, finish it on a computer
The ability to track games and simulations
The ability to track real-world performance
Team-based e-learning
Tracking learning plans and goals
The Experience API (Tin Can API) is an open source API. It is a Representational state transfer web service that uses JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) for its data format. The web service allows software clients to read and write experiential data in the form of “statement” objects. In their simplest form, statements are in the form of “I did this”, or more generally “actor verb object”. More complex statement forms can be used. There is also a built-in query API to help filter recorded statements, and a state API that allows for a sort of “scratch space” for consuming applications.
History
In 2008, it was determined that the interoperability standards were too limited for SCORM. LETSI appears to request community ideas, as a result of this SCORM 2.0 comes out.
In 2011 Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), the United States Department of Defense-sponsored stewards of SCORM, recognized the need for a newer and more capable software specification than the original SCORM specification, which was then more than ten years old. To address the need, ADL issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) asking for assistance in improving SCORM, and the BAA was awarded to Rustici Software, a Nashville-based software company experienced with SCORM.
Rustici Software conducted numerous interviews with the e-learning community to determine where to make improvements and then developed the research version of the Experience API specification. This process was called Project Tin Can. The moniker "Tin Can API" was derived from Project Tin Can, and is still used interchangeably with the name "Experience API".
The Experience API was developed by a community working group and released as version 1.0 in April 2013. There are currently over 160 adopters (19 January 2016).
Current Status
The current version of the specification is 1.0.3. Released early October 2016. There are no plans for any minor updates to the specification.
Previous versions include: 1.0.2., 1.0.1.,
1.0.0.
version 0.8 (official output of the BAA) and version 0.9 (research version specification)
0.95 (second research version specification).
References
External links
ADL's official website
Rustici Software's website
Ideaon Website
Application programming interfaces |
35000894 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UserVoice | UserVoice | UserVoice is a San Francisco based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that develops customer engagement tools.
History
UserVoice began in 2006, when programmer Richard White realized he needed a more efficient way to monitor feedback from software users. He created an online forum for users to provide ideas about a project he was designing. White asked users to vote, instead of using programmers, a method inspired by Joel Spolsky, who advocated giving programmers a finite number of votes to prioritize software development. White, together with Lance Ivy and Marcus Nelson, launched UserVoice in February 2008. An early adopter was Stack Overflow, run by Spolsky. UserVoice had 13 employees and 4,000 clients, with 23 million users participating by 2011.
Slack, Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, zendesk, Jira, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Dynamics, Zapier, Fivetran, Stitch and Amazon Redshift are among the adopters of UserVoice's platform.
Products
UserVoice Feedback collects and prioritizes suggestions from customers as they list ideas and vote on them. This voting can occur through the SmartVote comparison testing feature. In addition to the original website-style product, iPhone and Facebook apps are available to allow developers to collect feedback for mobile apps.
UserVoice HelpDesk is a support tool for tracking and responding to customer issues. Customers can thank the support person who responds to their ticket by giving them "kudos." The system employs gamification techniques to motivate support teams to provide high quality service. Help teams work within a system that displays each person's kudos in real-time. UserVoice HelpDesk also directs customers to relevant answers as they type questions.
See also
Get Satisfaction
Issue tracking system
References
External links
Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Software companies established in 2008
Automation software
Help desk software
2008 establishments in California |
49724628 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pristine%20Sources | Pristine Sources | Pristine Sources is a software management concept coined by the developers of the short-lived Bogus Linux distribution and popularized by Marc Ewing, co-founder of Red Hat Inc, after he adopted it and RPM Package Manager as a development philosophy for Red Hat Linux. It was the concept that enabled Red Hat to build Linux distributions faster and more reliably than had been possible previously. Briefly, the problem with building an operating system out of the myriad pieces of open source (or free software) components available from teams across the Internet was that there were many of these components and they all upgraded on different schedules at different times. Ewing's insight was to recognize that he could not take responsibility for these components. He and Erik Troan, wanted to build a software package management system, RPM, that allowed the team at Red Hat to avoid changing any of the source code of the software components they needed to use to build their Red Hat Linux operating system.
It is best summed up by Ewing's explanation in a mid-1990s Red Hat manual:
"The Philosophy Behind RPM"
References
External links
https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/3/html/System_Administration_Guide/ch-rpm.html
https://docs.fedoraproject.org/ro/Fedora_Draft_Documentation/0.1/html/RPM_Guide/ch01s02s08.html
Programming principles |
55795273 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local%20Computer%20Networks%20Conference | Local Computer Networks Conference | The Local Computer Networks Conference (LCN) is an annual international academic conference organized by the IEEE Computer Society. The first LCN was held in 1976, with the full name of "Conference on Experiments in New Approaches to Local Computer Networking". The second meeting in 1977 was called the "Conference on 'A Second Look at Local Computer Networking'" before it changed its name to "Third Conference on Local Computer Networks" in 1978. After that the conference was simply called LCN. The IEEE Technical Committee on Computer Communications sponsored the LCN since 1979.
LCN has grown to be a premier conference on theoretical and practical aspects of computer networking and is ranked as an A conference according to the CORE Rankings Portal in 2017.
History of the Conference
Historical Events
The conference celebrated its 40th anniversary 2015 in Clearwater Beach, Florida where Robert Metcalfe (founder of 3COM and co-inventor of the Ethernet network technology) gave the keynote speech and held a panel with Harvey Freeman (President of the IEEE Communications Society 2017,), Howard Salmen, and Peter Martini (Director of Institute Fraunhofer FKIE).
References
Telecommunication conferences
IEEE conferences
Computer networking conferences |
4821140 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan%20University%20of%20Science%20and%20Technology | Jordan University of Science and Technology | The Jordan University of Science and Technology ( Jami'at Al-Ulum wa Al-Tiknolojia Al-Urdunia), often abbreviated JUST, is a comprehensive, state-supported university located on the outskirts of Irbid, at Ar Ramtha in northern Jordan. The University comprises twelve faculties that offer a spectrum of undergraduate and higher study programs, in addition to King Abdullah University Hospital which is a tertiary teaching hospital affiliated with JUST and located within its campus.
History
Having its roots at Yarmouk University in Irbid, a royal decree was issued in 1986 to establish JUST, which emerged as an independent university on September 1, 1986. JUST detached five faculties from Yarmouk University to form its academic nucleus. These faculties were: Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Nursing and Faculty of Engineering. Consecutively added to these faculties were the Faculty of Science and Arts, Faculty of Medical Applied Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, and the Faculty of Agriculture.
Started with 110 faculty members, JUST in 2018 hosted 985 academic faculty members, of which 249 were full professors. A total of 2,300 students enrolled in 1986, but as of the academic year 2017/2018, 22634 undergraduate and 2213 postgraduate students were enrolled at the university, representing 51 nationalities. The university granted 5177 Bachelor and Master Degrees in the academic year 2017/2018, with a total of over 77,000 graduates since establishment.
University Presidents
Prof. Kamel Ajlouni (1986–1995)
Prof. Saad Hijazi (1995–2003)
Prof. Wajih Owais (2003–2010)
Prof. Abdullah Al-Malkawi (2010–2014)
Prof. Mahmoud Alsheyab (2015–2016)
Prof. Omar Al-Jarrah (2016–2017)
Prof. Saeb Khresat (2017– 2021)
Prof. Khalid El-Salem (2021-date)
Campus
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The university campus is located in Ar Ramtha, 70 km north of Amman, the capital, and 20 km east of Irbid, the second largest Metropolis in Jordan. It covers an area of approximately 11,000 dunums (11 km2), constructed according to modern architectural designs suitable to the nature of its faculties. The main campus is surrounded by a green cover of 5,000 dunums. In addition to academic buildings and the JUST Library, the campus includes the university farm, 12 auditoriums, a concert hall, fine arts galleries and museums, as well as comprising athletic facilities including a 7000-seat soccer stadium, a multipurpose indoor arena, a swimming pool, a squash court, and a gym.
The university campus is divided into two sections. The Medical Faculties Complex is located at the northern part of the university and comprises the faculties of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Applied Medical Sciences, Pharmacy and Science and Arts. The Engineering Faculties Complex is located at the southern part of the university and includes the faculties of Agriculture, Computer and Information Technology, Engineering, Architecture and Design and Veterinary Medicine. Buses shuttle students from one complex to the other.
There are two libraries in JUST, one in the Engineering Faculties Complex and the other is in the Medical Faculties Complex. While both libraries give the students an appropriate and suitable place for reading and studying, the two-floor library at the Medical Faculties Complex is relatively larger, also contains 115,000 books, and 45,000 volumes of back issues of periodicals, which makes it the main library at the university. At the present time, a third library is being constructed in the area between the Engineering Faculties Complex and the Medical Faculties Complex which is larger in size than both existing libraries and is set to become the largest library in the Middle East.
Aside from the employees and guests restaurants, there are also three restaurants for students; one in each main campus, and one located near the soccer stadium.
Every department has a computer laboratory for the students to use. There are also two open labs one in each campus. Moreover, six additional labs are available for the graduate and undergraduate computer science students and students who are taking related courses at the PH building located at the Medicine Faculties Building. The campus is covered by a secure wireless internet connection (WLAN).
King Abdullah University Hospital
Named after the first king of modern Jordan, Abdullah I bin al-Hussein, the King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) is the largest hospital in northern Jordan, serving approximately one million inhabitants of the Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash, and Mafraq governorates. It is also the teaching hospital affiliated with Jordan University of Science and Technology, located within the campus adjacent to the university's Medical Faculties Complex. The hospital is staffed with full-time physicians and surgeons who are faculty members of the JUST Faculty of Medicine, in addition to many others from the Ministry of Health, and the Royal Medical Services (RMS). The overall area of various hospital buildings is 95583m², in addition to a double story car park of 9000m² area. The hospital has a bed capacity of 683 which can be increased to 800 beds in an emergency situation.
Structurally, the hospital is composed of a 15-storey high-rise building, in which all hospital beds are located, and a 3-story low-rise buildings in which patient clinics, diagnostic and other services are located. The hospital is connected to various health science faculties via the ground floor of the low-rise building. The hospital includes the departments of General Surgery, Special Surgery, Emergency Department, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Internal Medicine and Dermatology, Cardiac Center, Diagnostic X-Ray, Pathology and Laboratory, Endoscopy Unit, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Physiology Function Test, Neuroscience, Nursing and Information System Department.
Academics
Jordan University of Science and Technology is home to twelve faculties. The medium of teaching at the university; lectures, exams, and tuition, are primarily in English language, with Arabic being used mainly to facilitate student understanding as the greater majority of students are of Arab background.
Medical Faculties Complex
A group of building in the northern part of the university comprising the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Applied Medical Sciences, and Science and Arts.
Medicine
The JUST Faculty of Medicine, the second medical school in Jordan, was established in Yarmouk University at the northern city of Irbid in 1984; the faculty then branched out into Jordan University of Science and Technology in 1986. The faculty is closely associated with King Abdullah University Hospital, the teaching hospital where postgraduate students undergo their residencies.
As the faculty's main teaching hospital, KAUH provide students with the opportunity to attend lectures, tutorials, clinics, ward rounds, and surgeries. Medical students graduating from JUST are widely renowned for their achievements in the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), gaining postgraduate positions in well-known global institutions. Furthermore, the Faculty of Medicine has been an active participant in medical research and has hosted numerous international events and conferences, with focus on subjects in relation to myocardial protection and research, pediatrics, anesthesia, and internal medicine. As of September 2011, the faculty will be hosting the Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (FRC Path) Part 1 written exams in all Pathology specialties, which will enable Jordanian and Arab Pathologists to sit the exam outside the UK.
Nature of the Medical Program
The Faculty of Medicine awards the Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) after completion of six years comprising three years of medical sciences and three clinical years. Students are admitted to medicine based solely on their grade point average in their high school national general exam (Tawjihi); there are neither entrance interviews nor psychometric exams. The cutoff average used for admissions into medicine is the highest among all the other disciplines offered by universities. For example, the cutoff average used over the past five years has been: 94.9 (2005), 96.3 (2006), 97 (2007), 96.8 (2008), and 97.7 (2009). Although in the minority, the faculty of medicine accepts students from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Malaysia, and other countries. Tuition is significantly higher for the foreign students. Initially, the faculty at JUST accepted 50 students into the program, but that number has grown to more than 200 in recent years.
During the first year and a half of their program, students are taught basic science in a traditional format. In an integrated
module fashion, the next year and half is devoted to studying nine body systems: cardiovascular, respiratory, hematopoietic, digestive, endocrine, musculoskeletal, neuroscience 1 and 2, and reproductive and urinary. Towards the end of the third year students begin direct contact with patients in hospital settings. The last three years are spent in supervised inpatient and outpatient settings to develop their diagnostic and treatment competencies; the clinical years begin fully at the beginning of year 4 where students rotate through various areas of general clinical medicine. Year 5 continues this pattern focusing more on specialized areas of medicine and surgery. In total, students are required to complete 257 hours of classes divided among compulsory and elective courses. After completion of their 6th year, students are required to complete internship (imtiaz), which is a one-year term in general practice for which they are not compensated for.
Evaluations are based primarily on written exams (marks are based on two midterms and one end of term exam) and percentage grades appear on transcripts. Practical exams are solely based on an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) type of standardized exams. In the final year, the school of medicine invites external examiners (from the United States, Britain, among others) to participate in student evaluations and to benefit from the experience of others.
Residency
Students looking to specialize can apply for residency programs after completion of imtiaz (internship). Most residency programs are four years in length, but notable exceptions include neurosurgery (6 years), general surgery (5 years), orthopedic surgery (5 years), and urology (5 years). Residency programs are divided into two broad groups: major and minor specialties. Major programs include internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, while the rest are considered minor. This division reflects the number of available seats and thus the competitiveness of each specialty. Faculty of Medicine
Dentistry
The Faculty of Dentistry at Jordan University of Science and Technology was founded by a royal decree on 16 September 1983 and the first group of students was admitted in the academic year 1984/1985. The faculty offers facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate training and is developing programs for all professionals in dentistry who wish to continue their education and obtain further qualifications. Faculty of Dentistry
Pharmacy
The Faculty of Pharmacy, the first in Jordan, was established as a department of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Yarmouk University by a royal decree in 1979. The rapid growth and development of the department led to the transformation of the department into an independent faculty on September 19, 1983. Three years later -in September 1986– the Faculty of Pharmacy became affiliated with JUST. Faculty of Pharmacy
Nursing
The Faculty of Nursing was established in 1983 with only 2 faculty members and 23 students. It currently consists of 23 PhD, and 22 Masters prepared faculty members (Adult, Maternal Child, Community & Midwifery) placed in the four departments of the faculty; this body is supported by 27 MSN or BSN qualified clinical trainers. Faculty of Nursing
Applied Medical Sciences
The Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences was established in 2000, and was housed in several makeshift facilities. It was created to educate allied health professionals to fill crucial shortages in the health care needs of the people in Jordan. The faculty has since become a dynamic and vital member of the university health team. The faculty also has a number of sponsored students who are pursuing graduate studies leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in various majors at well-known universities in the US, UK, and Australia. Upon graduation, they will join the faculty. Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences
Science and Arts
The Faculty of Science and Arts was established by a decree from the Council of Higher Education on January 26, 1987. It commenced its duties as of September 1, 1987. The faculty, one of the oldest and largest at the university, holds seven departments and a program of forensic science, offers both bachelor's and master's degrees and gives students the chance to choose from a plethora of disciplines that employ several pedagogical approaches involving classroom instruction, independent research, student-as-teacher approach, and internships or practical experience. Faculty of Science and Arts
Engineering Faculties Complex
A group of buildings in the southern part of the university comprising the faculties of Engineering, Agriculture, Information Technology, Architecture and Design, Veterinary Medicine, and Graduate Studies.
Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering is the largest faculty in the university, with its 61 research and teaching labs. It comprises the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering power and mechatronics, and Nuclear Engineering. The Faculty takes part and is accredited by the United States Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of (ABET).
Agriculture
The Faculty of Agriculture was established by a royal decree on October 2, 1985. Study began at the faculty in 1989/1990 with 71 students, to grow into over 1100 students in the academic year 2006/2007, including 100 graduate students. The faculty began with only nine faculty members upon its establishment. Currently, the number has increased into 48 faculty members in four academic departments.
Information Technology
The Faculty of Information Technology was established in 2000. The Faculty consists of five departments: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Information System, Software Engineering, and Network Engineering.
Architecture and Design
The Faculty of Architecture and Design awards both bachelor's degrees and master's degrees and comprises the departments of architecture and urban planning. It participates yearly in the Arab Architectural Graduation Project Exhibition, which started as Bilad Al Sham Graduation Project Exhibition.
Veterinary Medicine
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was established at JUST in 1990 as a response to the national objective of improving animal health and productivity by increasing their efficiency and thereby reducing the cost of animal production. It is the only Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Jordan. It also houses a Veterinary Health Center (VHC), which serves the purpose of clinical training for students and provides veterinary services to the public. The faculty is a research and a consultative center, in addition to its basic function in promoting and sustaining high standards of undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The faculty is an active member of the Arab Association of Veterinary Medical Faculties and it houses its office.
Graduate Studies
The Faculty of Graduate Studies provides advanced studies in different fields including Medicine, Applied Medical Sciences, Science, Nursing, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture, Engineering and Computer Technology. The faculty is entrusted with setting the rules and regulations pertinent to graduate programs and degrees and pursuing the implementation of these regulations.
Each faculty is best known with a color:
Research
Since its establishment, JUST has given its utmost priority to academic research. In this vein, the Deanship of Research commenced its activities at the early stages of the university establishment during the academic year 1986/1987. Research, basic and applied, is amongst the principal priorities of the university. Training and supervision in research methodology, especially for postgraduate students, is reinforced by several research centers, such as the Queen Rania Center for Environmental Science and Technology, Consultative Center for Science and Technology, Energy Center, Pharmaceutical Research Center, Princess Haya Biotechnology Center, and the Agricultural Center for Research & Production.
Research funding has steadily grown since the establishment of JUST in 1986, and an average of 200 research projects are sponsored and funded each year. As testimony to this development, JUST was ranked as the top research university in Jordan, and amongst the top 3% universities in the Islamic world, according to a study carried out by the Ankara-based Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRTCIC).
Nature Journal has reported Jordan as having the highest number of researchers in research and development per million people among all the 57 countries members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In Jordan there are 2,000 researchers per million people, while the average among the members of OIC is 500 researchers per million people. This means that the number of researchers per population in Jordan, is higher than Italy, Israel and Greece and just close to the number in United Kingdom and Ireland.
The Deanship of Research at JUST is the administrative and technical body that facilitates, regulates and observes the processes concerning research. It works in a collaborative and complementary manner with other faculties and administrative bodies of the university. Any research on humans should be approved by the Institutional Research Board (IRB) and any research on animals should be approved by the university Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) before being funded. Deanship of Research
Nuclear Science and Technology Center
In consistence with Jordan's efforts to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and lessen its dependence on fossil fuel, and in co-ordinance with the Department of Nuclear Engineering of JUST, a nuclear research reactor, the first in the country, has been set to be built in the university campus which will serve as an integral part of the nuclear technology infrastructure of Jordan.
The five-megawatt (MW) nuclear research reactor, which was inaugurated in December 2016, will become the focal point for a Nuclear Science and Technology Center (NSTC) in JUST, playing the primary role in educating and training the upcoming generations of nuclear engineers and scientists, and providing irradiation services in support of the Jordanian industrial, agricultural and health/medical infrastructures.
The nuclear research reactor center will include radioisotope production and training facilities, future expansion of the center will include a fuel fabrication plant, as well as radioactive waste and cold neutron facilities. The reactor, which will be upgradeable to 10MW, will facilitate the training of nuclear operators and technicians as well as advanced nuclear research in neutron sciences and the commercial production of radioisotopes, it will also allow for practical experience for Jordanians in nuclear energy, reactor physics, radiochemistry and radiation protection. The research reactor is considered by Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) officials to be an important precursor to Jordan's first nuclear power plant, a 750–1,000MW Generation III reactor to be built in an area in Mafraq 40 kilometers northeast of Amman and 15 kilometers away from the Hashemite University.
Library
The library collection comprises 115,000 books, and 45,000 volumes of periodicals back issues. In organizing its collection, the Library adopts the Library of Congress Classification Scheme, and uses the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules (AACR2) and the International Standard of Bibliographic Description (ISBD).
To cope with the new technologies in the field of library and information science, the library started in 1993 to offer retrieved information services through a good number of necessary databases, which are published on CD-ROM or online (WAN) subscriptions.
There are two libraries in JUST, one in the Engineering Faculties Complex and the other is in the Medical Faculties Complex. While both libraries give the students an appropriate and suitable place for reading and studying, the two-floor library at the Medical Faculties Complex is relatively larger, also contains 115,000 books, and 45,000 volumes of back issues of periodicals, which makes it the main library at the university. At the present time, a third library is being built in the area between the two complexes and is larger in size than both existing libraries and is set to become the largest library in the Middle East.
Publications
The university issues a quarterly journal called the Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering (JJCE). The journal is internationally peer-reviewed. Subjects covered include applications of civil rehabilatations, structural control, smart materials, earthquake engineering, geotechnical engineering and soil/rock mechanics, dam engineering, traffic and transportation engineering, water and environmental engineering, construction management and project planning, surveying and mapping, and infrastructures engineering, as well as numerical and analytical methods.
The Deanship of Research is responsible for the funding of research publications by staff members and students, as well as managing the Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering.
Student Newspaper
Just for Just, is an electronic newspaper initiated by the students of the university.
Students
A students' union is elected annually to represent the students. Student clubs that are responsible for organizing various events throughout the academic year. Of the most prominent of these clubs are the Medical Club, Great Arab Revolt Club, Media Club, Science Club, International student Club, Chess Club, and Culture Club.
International community
The number of international students at JUST continues to rise; in the academic year 2005/2006, more than 3,500 students of 48 nationalities came from outside Jordan. As of the academic year 2009/2010, the university comprised 5,415 international students from 61 different nationalities, rendering it the most cultural-diverse university in Jordan. The International Student Office (ISO) was established in 2005 and is supervised directly by the president. Highly qualified coordinators and staff provide cultural, social and legal consultation, field trips, social events, and meetings with the president. An International Community Fair takes place annually at the university with the aim of encouraging and promoting cross-cultural communication and diversity in the workplace.
Housing
On-campus housing
The first building was established in 1993. Due to increasing demand, the number of buildings was gradually raised to eight fully occupied buildings. Each building consists of four floors, the ground floor included. Each floor consists of two major wards, each of which contains eleven rooms, in addition to an adequate number of bathrooms and showers associated with each ward. Each building offers three types of rooms.
Health care and insurance
Health care is available to all students, the cost of which is included in the semester fees. It covers 100% of most services offered by the University Health Centers, including King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) and the JUST Health Center (HC). The university provides free life insurance coverage to all students. JUST Health Center (HC) in Irbid was established in 1983 to provide medical care to students, faculty and staff. It is also a teaching center for the residency program of family medicine.
Faculty
Kamel Ajlouni, endocrinologist and university president from 1986 to 1995.
International affiliations
Association of Arab Universities (AArU)
International Association of Universities (IAU)
Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW)
Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED)
Royal Norwegian Commission
IKIP/Malaysia
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
EU
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB)
UNESCO
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation/Germany
International Centre for Theoretical Physics/Italy
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
The British Council/ODA
The French Mission for Agriculture and Water (Fulbright)
Cisco Systems
Boscan International
Microsoft
IBM
Photo gallery
References
External links
Jordan University of Science and Technology
Educational institutions established in 1986
Scientific organisations based in Jordan
Science and technology in Jordan
Research institutes in Jordan
1986 establishments in Jordan
Universities in Jordan
Irbid Governorate |
1623141 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote%20administration | Remote administration | Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer from a remote location. Software that allows remote administration is becoming increasingly common and is often used when it is difficult or impractical to be physically near a system in order to use it. A remote location may refer to a computer in the next room or one on the other side of the world. It may also refer to both legal and illegal (i.e. hacking) remote administration (see Owned and Trojan).
Requirements
Internet connection
Any computer with an Internet connection, TCP/IP or on a Local Area Network can be remotely administered.
For non-malicious administration, the user must install or enable server software on the host system in order to be viewed. Then the user/client can access the host system from another computer using the installed software.
Usually, both systems should be connected to the internet, and the IP address of the host/server system must be known. Remote administration is therefore less practical if the host uses a dial-up modem, which is not constantly online and often has a Dynamic IP.
Connecting
When the client connects to the host computer, a window showing the Desktop of the host usually appears. The client may then control the host as if he/she were sitting right in front of it.
Windows has a built-in remote administration package called Remote Desktop Connection. A free cross-platform alternative is VNC, which offers similar functionality.
Common tasks for which remote administration is used
Shutdown
Shutting down or rebooting another computer over a network
Accessing peripherals
Using a network device, like printer
Retrieving streaming data, much like a CCTV system
Modifying
Editing another computer's Registry settings
Modifying system services
Installing software on another machine
Modifying logical groups
Viewing
Remotely assisting others
Supervising computer or internet usage
Access to a remote system's "Computer Management" snap-in
Hacking
Computers infected with malware such as Trojans sometimes open back doors into computer systems which allows malicious users to hack into and control the computer. Such users may then add, delete, modify or execute files on the computer to their own ends.
Notable software
Windows
Windows Server 2003, 2008, Tablet PC Editions, and Windows Vista Ultimate, Enterprise and Business editions come with Microsoft's Microsoft Management Console, Windows Registry Editor and various command-line utilities that may be used to administrate a remote machine. One form of remote administration is remote desktop software, and Windows includes a Remote Desktop Connection client for this purpose.
Windows XP comes with a built-in remote administration tools called Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop, these are restricted versions of the Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services meant only for helping users and remote administration. With a simple hack/patch (derived from the beta version of Windows XP) it's possible to "unlock" XP to a fully featured Terminal Server.
Windows Server 2003 comes with built-in remote administration tools, including a web application and a simplified version of Terminal Services designed for Remote administration.
Active Directory and other features found in Microsoft's Windows NT Domains allow for remote administration of computers that are members of the domain, including editing the Registry and modifying system services and access to the system's "Computer Management" Microsoft Management Console snap-in.
Some third-party remote desktop software programs perform the same job.
Back Orifice, whilst commonly used as a script kiddie tool, claims to be a remote-administration and system management tool. Critics have previously stated that the capabilities of the software require a very loose definition of what "administration" entails.
Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on remote computers that are running Windows Server 2008 R2
Non-Windows
VNC can be used for remote administration of computers, however it is increasingly being used as an equivalent of Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Protocol for multi-user environments.
Linux, UNIX and BSD support remote administration via remote login, typically via SSH (The use of the Telnet protocol has been phased out due to security concerns). X-server connection forwarding, often tunneled over SSH for security, allows GUI programs to be used remotely. VNC is also available for these operating systems.
Apple Remote Desktop provides Macintosh users with remote administration capabilities.
NX and its Google fork Neatx are free graphical Desktop sharing solutions for the X Window System with Clients for different platforms like Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. There is also an enhanced commercial version of NX Server available.
Wireless remote administration
Remote administration software has recently started to appear on wireless devices such as the BlackBerry, Pocket PC, and Palm devices, as well as some mobile phones.
Generally these solutions do not provide the full remote access seen on software such as VNC or Terminal Services, but do allow administrators to perform a variety of tasks, such as rebooting computers, resetting passwords, and viewing system event logs, thus reducing or even eliminating the need for system administrators to carry a laptop or be within reach of the office.
Wireless remote administration is usually the only method to maintain man-made objects in space.
Internet Protocol based network software
Remote administration software
System administration |
1605278 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion%20Series%203 | Psion Series 3 | The Psion Series 3 range of personal digital assistants were made by Psion PLC. The four main variants are the Psion Series 3 (1991), the Psion Series 3a (1993), the Psion Series 3c (1996), and the Psion Series 3mx (1998), all sized . Further, a Psion Series 3a variant with factory installed software for the Russian language was called a Psion Series 3aR, and Acorn Computers sold renamed versions of the Psion Series 3 and 3a marketed as the Acorn Pocket Book and Acorn Pocket Book II.
The Psion Series 3 range was regarded in 2009 by writer Charles Stross as an unsurpassed PDA because of its long battery life (20 to 35 hours), its stable and versatile software, and its durable hardware. Others describe over twenty years of daily use with models such as the Psion 3mx. About 1.5 million Psion 3s were made. The prices were 128 kB at and 256 kB at .
The Psion Series 3 models were a major advance on the Psion Organiser. They had an original way of managing files: the available program icons are shown in a horizontal line and the associated files display in a drop-down list beneath them. Manufacture of Psion 3s was discontinued in 1998 shortly after the launch of the Psion Series 5 (a Psion Series 4 does not exist, due to Psion's concern of tetraphobia in their Asian markets) and the Psion Siena. Psion's industrial hardware division continue to produce handhelds running the same 16-bit operating system, some 17 years after its introduction on the Psion MC range of laptops and 5 years after Psion Computer's final 32-bit EPOC PDA was released.
All Series 3 variants are powered by two AA battery cells which are easily obtainable, rather than having a specially shaped proprietary battery which are often difficult to replace. All have an internal backup battery in the form of an easily changed small button cell, which allows the main AA batteries to be changed while losing no data files. All have a DC input socket for optional external power-supply via a mains transformer AC adapter.
The Series 3's innovative clamshell design did have some problems: breakages of any of the four hinges; loss of function in the button bar between the two halves of the clam; and deterioration of the cable linking the keyboard half to the screen, leading to a serious display problem with vertical lines appearing.
Psion Series 3s have room for two flash-memory cards, which enabled backup of data. Psion, Acorn and third party software was available loaded onto such memory cards which were available as separate packs.
The Series 3 featured a tone dialing feature using a combination of its built-in loudspeaker and dedicated software for generating tones suitable for telephone systems. It could be used to dial a telephone number by holding the device to the mouthpiece of a tone dialing telephone. The tone dialing feature was integrated into the Psion's Agenda, Contacts and Data applications.
One unique feature of the Psion Series 3 software package was a built-in programming language, Organiser then Open Programming Language (OPL), which enabled users to create their own applications that ran and looked just as system programs. This, along with the rise in popularity of forums such as Compuserve and CIX, led to a significant shareware scene, (still) archived by Steve Litchfield and the 3-Lib shareware library, begun in 1994. This Psion shareware scene was mirrored a few years later by the PalmPilot shareware scene and both were forerunners of the 'app'-centric mobile market that exists today.
The Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset project has produced a small subset of Linux that runs on the Series 3a.
Psion Series 3
The Psion Series 3 was the first truly useful personal digital assistant (PDA). Its purpose was to replace the old-fashioned paper agenda and Rolodex, but it could do much more. Besides the agenda with multiple views, it featured a database, a word processor, a spreadsheet with charts, world times, and more.
With an optional modem, it could connect to the Internet. It could be programmed in Organiser Programming Language (OPL), with easy access to menu and computer graphics functions.
The Series 3 had a 240×80 pixel screen of . The backup battery for the Series 3 is a CR1620.
Acorn Pocket Book
Essentially a renamed OEM version of the Series 3 with slightly different on-board software, the Acorn Pocket Book was marketed by Acorn Computers as an low cost computer for schoolchildren, rather than as an executive tool. The hardware was the same as the Series 3, but the integrated applications were different; for example, the Pocket Book omitted the Agenda diary application, which became an optional install from floppy diskette. Other programs were renamed: 'System' became 'Desktop', 'Word' became 'Write', 'Sheet' became 'Abacus' and 'Data' became 'Cards'.
Psion Series 3a
The most obvious upgrade to the Psion 3a is a larger screen, to 480 x 160. The Series 3a has a NEC V30H CPU (running at 7.68 MHz), a microphone for voice recording, an input/output (I/O) port (for modem, printing and PC synchronization), and 256 kB, 512 kB, 1 MB or 2 MB of random-access memory (RAM). The backup battery for the Series 3a is a CR1620. The Psion Series 3a range was revised in 1995 to include models with 1 MB or 2 MB of RAM and more software was factory preloaded into the ROM. This included a spell checker and thesaurus, communication software, games and more, though all of these had been available formerly as optional extras (or in the case of the comms software, as a program loaded from the ROM of the 3Link serial connector) for earlier models.
Acorn Pocket Book II
As a successor to its slightly-modified Pocket Book, Acorn also produced a renamed 3a named the Pocket Book II. This added back some of the applications omitted from the original Pocket Book, so was closer in specification to the standard Psion model. For example, Psion's 'Agenda' application was replaced, although renamed 'Schedule', and a new Plotter application (graph-plotting software) was added. The Pocket Book II came in either 256 kB, 512 kB or 1 MB variants.
Psion Series 3aR
There was also a modification of the Series 3a for the Russian market named Psion Series 3aR, which had software factory installed directly in the read-only memory (ROM) for the Russian language. All the other Series 3 models had software for the English language factory installed and localization required installation of localization software, which was bundled in the box with the Psion palmtop.
Psion Series 3c
The Psion Series 3c was the next variant after the Psion Series 3a. (A Psion Series 3b does not exist). It has a slightly different external appearance to the earlier variants because a redesigned badge is placed centrally on the lid, the lid has fewer undulations, and a port for an infrared connection is visible. The plastic case is painted matte dark grey. The backup battery for the Series 3c is a CR1620.
The Series 3c, and the later 3mx, have an Easter Egg. In the System Screen, if the About screen displays, then type: , the English anthem "Jerusalem" is played, followed by a list of credits. A user has one try: if mistyped, the System Screen must be killed and restarted by typing Ctrl+Psion+Shift+K before a retry can work.
Psion Series 3mx
The Psion Series 3mx was the last upgrade in the popular 16-bit (SIBO) Series 3 line. Announced in July 1998, after the release of the 32-bit (EPOC) Psion Series 5, the 3mx is essentially an upgraded Series 3c. The 3mx comes in two models: 1 MB and 2 MB.
The Psion Series 3mx and Series 3c have a similar overall external appearance, except the 3mx sports a matte silver metallic paint covering, rather than the dark grey finish of the 3c.
The Series 3mx has a faster processor: a 16 bit NEC V30MX (80C86 compatible) running at 27.684 MHz, and a faster RS232c connection, which was boosted to 115 kbit/s. For compatibility with legacy software the processor speed can be reduced by pressing Ctrl + CapsLock.
All models of the Series 3mx came with a backlit screen, also some 3cs (mainly for the USA market) had backlit screens. The screen backlight can be switched on and off by pressing the space bar whilst the special function key is pressed.
The Series 3mx takes a CR2025 backup battery which is larger than the CR1620 that is used for the previous series 3 Psion models.
Like many other Series 3 models, the 3mx uses an infrared port which can be used to transfer data between two devices.
The ability to browse the World Wide Web on the device was also available through the STNC HitchHiker mobile browser, although it was only available for use with an external modem. Due to the monochrome (black and white) screen, this was often not the most practical way to browse the web.
Accessories
Software packs
Software packs were optional extras. Software was available from Psion PLC or from third parties, such as Purple Software, PsionPages or Widget UK. In later years software became available via download.
The software memory unit slots into either of two bays: there is one bay hidden by a swivel locking door at each end of the Series 3 models. A Mob-i-Mail software package was used to enable sending email via Short Message Service (SMS) and Mobitext networks.
The spell software pack is for the early models that did not have a spell checking facility preloaded.
Memory modules
The older RAM needed a button cell to keep the data stable in the memory. One button cell fitted into each module.
The later memory modules, flash I and flash II, did not need a battery and were cheaper for each capacity (both versions continued being manufactured).
The flash modules did have the limit of needing to be re-formatted entirely to reclaim space from deleted or modified files; old versions of files which were deleted or modified continued to take up space until the module was formatted. This made the RAM modules more desirable for use where the data stored was likely to be changed frequently, as every change with a flash module meant writing a new version of the file into the remaining space.
Psion Travel Modem
The Psion Travel Modem is an optional extra. They were made at the Psion Dacom plc factory in Milton Keynes, England. The connections to the Psion Series 3 and 3a are different from those for the Series 3c and 3mx.
See also
Psion (company)
Psion Organiser
Psion Series 5
Psion Series 7
References
External links
Unofficial history of Psion
Official Psion PDA Support Site
Clive Feather's Psion 3 stuff
David MacKay's repair tips
Psion devices
Computer-related introductions in 1991
Personal information managers |
11678095 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC%20Touch | HTC Touch | The HTC Touch, also known as the HTC P3450 or its codename the HTC Elf or the HTC Vogue for the CDMA variant, is a Windows Mobile 6-powered Pocket PC designed and manufactured by HTC. Its main, unique feature is a user interface named TouchFLO that detects a sweeping motion and can distinguish between a finger and a stylus. TouchFLO incorporates stylus-free access to a music player, a photo album, a video player and a picture-based contact book.
The global launch of the Touch was in Leicester Square, London, on , and the phone was initially available in two colours: black and green. The carrier bound names for this phone include Verizon Wireless XV6900, T-Mobile MDA Touch, O2 XDA Nova, Okta Touch and Vodafone VPA Touch.
In November 2007, HTC started to sell an "Enhanced" Touch, also known as the HTC P3452 or its codename the HTC Elfin, with double the RAM and ROM of the original version (128 MB and 256 MB respectively). The newer version is also available in two new colors: white and burgundy.
Sales
HTC shipped 1 million units within 5 months of the launch, and shipped another million in the following 6 months.
Features
Connectivity
Tri band GSM / GPRS (Class 10) / EDGE: GSM 900/1800/1900 (2.75 G)
802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 2.0. Supports most common profiles including serial port, FTP, HID (keyboard and mice), headset, hands free, DUN (dial up networking for using the phone as a wireless modem for a notebook or desktop), and A2DP Bluetooth stereo.
HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB & audio jack)
Input
Touchscreen (designed for fingers and the included stylus)
5 -way directional block (including action button)
Power and camera buttons
TouchFLO
Memory
128 MB (35.46 MB user-accessible) flash ROM
64 MB (47.89 MB accessible) SDRAM
microSD expansion slot (SD 2.0 compatible, 1 GB card included, 16 GB SDHC Tested Successfully)
Other features
TI OMAP 850 201 MHz processor
2.0-megapixel CMOS color camera
2.8 in. LCD screen (240x320 px, 65k-color, QVGA, TFT)
HTC Vogue
The CDMA version of the Touch, known as the "HTC Vogue" or the "HTC P3050", has double the RAM and ROM of the original Touch, a faster 400 MHz processor (QualComm MSM7500), and a faster over the air data capability, but no Wi-Fi. This is sold under the name Okta Touch by Telecom in New Zealand. Also sold as the "HTC Touch" through Sprint Nextel and Alltel and as the "XV6900" through Verizon Wireless in the United States; as the "HTC Touch" by Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility in Canada; and through Raya and i2 Mobile in Egypt.
Operating system upgrades
The Windows Mobile version is upgradable, to 6.5.* via ROMs from XDA-Developers website.
Linux and Android conversions
Linux and Android operating systems are being ported to these phones. Vogue Linux runs on the HTC Vogue. Wing Linux, an Android version, is in development and available via ROMS, from xda-developers website. Android versions through 2.3 (Gingerbread) have been successfully ported to the CDMA (Vogue) version of the Touch.
See also
HTC Touch 3G
TouchFLO
HTC Touch Family
O2 Xda Comet
References
External links
Featured in PC World's round-up of Top Canadian Smartphones and Cell Phones
Touch
Windows Mobile Professional devices
Mobile phones introduced in 2007
Mobile phones with user-replaceable battery |
7349026 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinuxSampler | LinuxSampler | LinuxSampler is a music sampler under active development, aiming to provide a pure software audio sampler with professional grade features, comparable to both hardware and commercial Windows or Mac software samplers and to introduce new features not yet available by any other sampler. Much of LinuxSampler is free software but some, such as the back-end, is non-free, as commercial reuse is restricted.
Concept
LinuxSampler was designed as a sampler back-end, decoupled from any user interface. It provides a native C++ API as well as a network interface using an ASCII based protocol called LSCP for controlling the sampler and managing sampler sessions. Also, there are already two convenient frontends for LinuxSampler, QSampler and JSampler.
Due to the decoupled design the sampler can be controlled with the GUI frontend(s) even from another computer, probably even running another OS like Windows or OS X. SMP and cluster support is planned for future releases. There is a graphical instrument editor called gigedit, based on the GUI library GTK+, which can be used to edit and create Gigasampler format instruments and can either be used as a stand-alone application or in conjunction with LinuxSampler. The latter case allows to play and edit instruments at the same time, making all modifications with gigedit immediately audible, without having to reload the instruments into the sampler.
Platforms
LinuxSampler, as the name indicates, was originally conceived to run on Linux, but thanks to the abstraction of audio and MIDI drivers and platform dependent functions, the sampler was successfully ported to Windows, OS X and FreeBSD.
The Windows version of LinuxSampler currently can work in standalone mode providing ASIO audio output and MME MIDI input and as a VSTi plugin providing full integration with VST sequencers. The OS X version currently supports jackd audio output and CoreMIDI input. The Audio Unit interface (AU plugin) is in beta.
Goals
It is planned to support all common sampler formats in LinuxSampler, but at the moment the work is concentrated on the Gigasampler format. Beside that, the goal is to design a new, sophisticated sampler format, more powerful and more flexible compared to any sampler format currently available in the world.
There is a feature list with more information about the current development plans available.
Licensing
Most components are distributed as free software, under either the GNU General Public License or the GNU Lesser General Public License. However, the software license of the sampler backend prohibits commercial use. For commercial use, permission and terms must be sought from the developers. The backend is thus not free software. The ban on commercial use does not however include banning LinuxSampler's use for commercial music production. This is explicitly allowed.
See also
Comparison of free software for audio
List of Linux audio software
References
External links
Article about LinuxSampler on Linux Journal
List of sample libraries compatible with LinuxSampler
QSampler - based on the cross-platform C++ GUI library Qt
JSampler - Java based, thus platform independent
Audio software with JACK support
Audio software for Linux
Software synthesizers
Electronic musical instruments
Samplers (musical instrument)
Sound production |
21187538 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renfe%20Class%20333 | Renfe Class 333 | The Renfe Series 333 are high power six-axle diesel-electric locomotives built in the 1970s; at the time of their introduction they were the most powerful non-electric locomotives in Spain.
After three decades of service the class were rebuilt incorporating Alstom's newer technology, and thus extending their life - these rebuilt machines were given the sub-class names 333.3 and 333.4
Background
In the early 1970s, Renfe's dieselization program, with classes 316 (former 1600) and 318 (former 1800) CC locomotives, later followed by the more numerous classes 319 (former 1900) and 321 (former 2100), had displaced steam-powered traction and were responsible for much of the work requiring medium-powered locomotives. On the other hand, diesel-hydraulic class 340 (former 4000), based on the German V 200, initially intended for hauling express trains at the Madrid-Barcelona railway and other non-electrified lines, were suffering many failures from poor maintenance and being assigned to slow cargo trains. This is why Renfe was looking for a new diesel engined locomotive capable of both hauling express trains and high-tonnage heavy freight trains nationwide at a maximum speed of 62 mph.
The Class 319, produced in collaboration between Macosa and General Motors, had shown good performance, which influenced the decision to choose a locomotive of the General Motors type GT 26, (). In this series of locomotives, instead of taking the typical single cabin General Motors design it was decided to use a two cabined design; the Scandinavian manufacturer NOHAB had also been producing GM engined locomotives (having acquired a license to produce GM engined locomotives of its own designs), and a model was chosen based on the JT-26 with the Nohab bi-cabin box (See DSB class MZ) which was used by the Danske Statsbaner (DSB).
Renfe chose the variant model MZ1 which had a power output of almost , they were also able to supply electrical train heating - a first in Spain.
Technical
The locomotives were equipped with General Motors engines, generators, traction motors and electrical equipment. The diesel engines are 45-degree offset 16 cylinder V engined, two-stroke designs (EMD 645), with a compression ratio of 14.5:1, and an engine displacement of .
The available power for traction is 2514 hp - produced at 600 V AC, and is rectified to DC through two groups of 30 silicon diodes, and eventually supplies six nose suspended traction motors which drive the wheels via a pinion gear at a ratio of 59:18.
The maximum speed was rated at , though some of the class can travel at with appropriate modifications. The bogies are of the 'flexicoil' type.
ASFA, a Spanish train safety system was also fitted (See Train protection system)
Service history and operators
The 93 units of the original series were ordered from Macosa for Renfe and delivered in several batches between 1974 and 1976. The first units were assigned to Madrid Atocha depot, where they progressively replaced class 340 on the Madrid-Burgos railway and later in other lines. Despite so, they were outran in 13 minutes by well-maintained class 340 on the 329 mile stretch between Madrid and Móra la Nova.
Other class 333 hauled services was the legendary express train from Barcelona to A Coruña/Vigo via Roda de Barà, la Plana-Picamoixons and Miranda de Ebro. Other notable services were the fast Madrid to Canfranc, and the locomotives use in dragging the Madrid to Vigo Pendular service until the line was electrified.
Ourense-junction to Medina del Campo route was served by the class 333s, which also were found in applications such as transporting coal from Samper de Calanda to thermal power stations in Andorra, and working in pairs to bring ore from Ojos Negros to the steel works at Sagunto.
On 1 January 2005 a law came into effect that began the de-monopolisation of the Spanish railway system - one effect of this new law was that private rail companies could now operate services in Spain alongside existing Renfe services. Two companies "Continental Rail" (part of ACS) and "Acciona Rail" bought Class 333.3 locomotives to operate freight services.
Variants and rebuilds
Part of this class were destined to have a second life, some were upgraded in the 1990s, and yet more were totally rebuilt in the early part of the 2000s to meet new demands and at the same some losing the locomotive's distinctly 'Viking' appearance. With the rebuilding complete none of the original type remain in service.
Subclass 333.0
These are the remainder of the original 93 locomotives, consisting of the locomotives that have remained unrebuilt, and un-upgraded. They are (or were) numbered 333.001 to 333.093
Subclass 333.1
Eight locomotives had new bogies fitted suitable for 160 km/h operation in the early 1990s forming the subclass 333.1 They are numbered 333.101 to 333.108 and are intended for passenger operation.
Subclass 333.2
In the 1990s four locomotives intended for mixed operation had new bogies fitted including gearing suitable for 140 km/h operation forming the subset 333.2 They are numbered 333.201 to 333.204
Subclass 333.3
From 2000 to 2005 a total of 92 locomotives were produced from new using some components from the original series; only the engine (or prime mover) and generators as well as the ASFA train protection system were reused - the rest of the locomotive being completely new type with input from Alstom. The control electronics have been upgraded from the system of relays and contactors with a block rectifier with power electronics which are electronically controlled by microprocessors and software. The traction motors have been updated from the D-77 to D-78 type, additionally the fuel capacity has been increased from 4500 to 7200 l.(6000l?)
The new designs have a top speed of 120 km/h, and are intended for freight traffic. The rebuild gives improvement of 8–10% in tractive effort over the original machines which is explained by the use of the power electronics system.
One of them 333.304 (previously 333.050) was destroyed in an accident at Chinchilla de Montearagón in 2003.
Subclass 333.4
Between 2003 and 2004 eight of the converted 333.3 machines were converted to 140 km/h running for passenger services and given the classification "333.4"
See also
Renfe Class 334 This model is very similar to the rebuilt 333.3 and 333.4 sub types - except it uses a different GM-EMD engine.
Vossloh Euro locomotives These 'Euro' locomotives technically may include the Renfe class 334, and are built at the same plant in Valencia.
References
Railway locomotives introduced in 1974
Co′Co′ locomotives
333
Macosa/Meinfesa/Vossloh Espana locomotives
Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives
NOHAB locomotives
5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives
Diesel-electric locomotives of Spain
Mixed traffic locomotives |
25416724 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True%20Crime%20%28series%29 | True Crime (series) | True Crime is a series of open world action-adventure video games told from the perspective of law enforcement. There are two games in the series, True Crime: Streets of LA, released in 2003, and True Crime: New York City, released in 2005. Each game features GPS-accurate open world recreations of parts of Los Angeles and New York City, respectively. Streets of LA was developed by Luxoflux for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, and ported to Microsoft Windows by LTI Gray Matter, to mobile by MFORMA and to macOS by Aspyr. It was published on all systems by Activision, except the Mac version, which was published by Aspyr. New York City was developed by Luxoflux for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, and ported to Windows by Aspyr and to mobile by Hands-On Mobile. It was published on all systems by Activision.
Streets of LA received generally positive reviews, with many reviewers favourably comparing it to Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It was also a commercial success, selling over three million units worldwide across all systems. New York City received mixed reviews, with many critics feeling the game had been rushed to release incomplete. It was also a commercial failure, selling only 72,000 units across North America in its first two weeks of release.
Originally, New York City was intended as the first of a two-part series set in New York, but after the game's poor critical and commercial performance, Activision scrapped the direct sequel and put plans for future True Crime games on hold. In 2007, they hired United Front Games to develop an open world game set in Hong Kong. By 2009, this game had become True Crime: Hong Kong. However, in 2011, the game was cancelled. The publishing rights were picked up by Square Enix several months later, and True Crime: Hong Kong was ultimately released in 2012 as Sleeping Dogs, which has no connection to the True Crime series. In 2014, Activision abandoned the True Crime trademark.
Games
True Crime: Streets of LA was developed by Luxoflux for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, by LTI Gray Matter for Microsoft Windows, by MFORMA for mobile, and by Aspyr for macOS. It was published on all systems by Activision, except the macOS version, which was published by Aspyr. The PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube versions were released in 2005 in North America on November 4, and in Europe on November 7. The PC version was released in North America on May 14 and in Europe on May 28, 2004. The mobile version was released in North America on November 21, 2004, while the macOS version was released in North America on March 1, 2005.
True Crime: New York City was developed by Luxoflux for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube, by Aspyr for Microsoft Windows, and by Hands-On Mobile for mobile. It was published for all systems by Activision. The PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube versions were released in 2005 in North America on November 16 and in Europe on November 25, 2005. The PC version was released in North America on March 24, 2006, and in Europe on March 30. The mobile version was released in North America on March 21, 2007.
Gameplay
The gameplay in the True Crime games is broadly similar. Both are open world action-adventure games played from a third-person perspective. In Streets of LA, players control Detective Nicholas Kang of the fictional Elite Operations Division (E.O.D.), a hand-picked autonomous unit of the regular LAPD. In New York City, players control Detective Marcus Reed of the PDNY (a fictional version of the NYPD).
Streets of LA was one of the first non-Grand Theft Auto open world action-adventure games released after Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, and, as such, was labeled by many as a Grand Theft Auto clone, as the core game mechanics are identical to Grand Theft Auto III, and its 2002 successor, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – in both Streets of LA and New York City, the player can travel across the city freely, commandeer vehicles, do whatever they want in terms of attacking and/or killing innocent civilians, and progress through the storyline at their own leisure, spending as much time traversing the city as they wish. However, the major difference from Grand Theft Auto games is that in the True Crime games, the player controls a law enforcement officer.
Compared to Streets of LA, New York City introduced more variety into the open world gameplay, with the player able to engage in minigames and sidequests, such as a street racing circuit, an underground fight club tournament, and securing CIs. Also new to New York City is that many buildings throughout the city, beyond those related to the game's story, are accessible to the player. These include pharmacies, where the player can purchase medicine, and delis, where they can purchase food (both of which restore lost health), clothing stores where they can purchase new outfits, car dealers where they can purchase new cars, dojos where they can purchase new fighting techniques, record stores where they can purchase new songs for the game's soundtrack, gun stores where they can purchase new weaponry and ammunition, and other random buildings such as hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, and apartment buildings. In most business interiors, players can extort the owner for extra cash and/or plant evidence to make an arrest.
In both games, during shooting missions, the game auto-targets the closest opponent. If the player wishes to switch target to another opponent, they must do so manually. When the player is in shooting mode, they can enter "Precision Targeting" at any time. At this point, the game switches to first-person, zooms in on the target, and goes into slow motion momentarily. While in Precision Targeting, if the targeting reticule turns green (Streets of LA) or blue (New York City), the player can hit the enemy with a neutralizing, non-lethal shot. If the player fires when the reticule is red, the enemy will be killed instantly. Players can also take cover during shootouts, firing from behind cover when the opportunity presents itself. Players are also free to pick up any weapons dropped by enemies. Once the ammo of these weapons is depleted, however, the player character will drop the weapon and revert to his standard issue handgun, which, although it does need to be reloaded, never runs out of ammo.
In hand-to-hand combat in Streets of LA, the player has four main attacks; high kick, low kick, punch, and grapple. After hitting an enemy a certain number of times, the enemy will be stunned, at which point the player can perform a combo by pressing a series of buttons. In hand-to-hand combat in New York City, the player has three main attacks; light attack, heavy attack, and grapple. When the player grapples an opponent, they are free to throw them, or hit them with a number of light and/or heavy attacks. At certain points during combat, the enemy will be stunned, and a meter will appear on-screen prompting the player to press either the heavy attack or light attack button as much as possible within a set time. The more times the player presses the button, the more devastating the resulting special attack. The player can also toggle between different fighting styles, and switch to using a melee weapon at any time.
Driving missions can involve either trying to catch another car, escape from another car, or tailing another car. At all times, when the player is in a car, their car's condition is shown on screen. If the car's health meter empties, the car is close to destruction. During normal driving missions in both games, the player can solve random crimes given by the radio dispatcher.
In New York City, the map is divided up into twenty different neighborhoods. When Reed solves a random crime in a particular area, the crime rate in that area drops. After he has solved a set number of crimes in one area, that area is considered "clean", and crime rates will not increase (although random crimes will still occur within the area). If Reed continues to ignore random crimes in a given area before it is clean, the crime rate in that area will increase, leading to stores closing, dirtier streets, boarded up buildings, more aggressive civilians, and more random crimes needed to clean the area up.
Upgrades are handled differently in each game. In Streets of LA, the player can access 24/7 facilities throughout the map to upgrade their driving, fighting or shooting abilities. 24/7 facilities are only accessible if the player has an available "badge". Badges are earned by acquiring "Reward points"; every one-hundred reward points is converted into one badge. Entry into a 24/7 facility costs one badge, and the player must complete a challenge to earn the upgrade. The player earns reward points for arresting or killing criminals, solving crimes and completing missions. Points are deducted for killing civilians and failing missions. Upgrades in New York City simply cost money, with no points system and no challenge to complete. Upgrades become available for purchase as the player moves up through five grades of promotion. Money in the game can be earned legitimately by collecting wages, or illegitimately by selling evidence at pawn shops and/or extorting business owners.
Both game also feature a "Good Cop/Bad Cop" system. If the player arrests criminals, solves crimes, and shoots opponents with neutralizing shots, they will get Good Cop points. If, however, they kill civilians, shoot criminals in the head, fail to identify themselves as a police officer before opening fire, extort businesses, or sell evidence to pawn stores, they will get Bad Cop points. In Streets of LA, if the player's Bad Cop score gets too high, civilians will begin to attack Kang. If the Bad Cop score reaches 99, SWAT will attempt to kill him. In New York City, if the player's Bad Cop score gets too high, the player is considered to have "gone rogue", and other police officers will begin to attack Reed.
Development
Streets of LA
Streets of LA was first announced on May 15, 2002, when Activision revealed Luxoflux were developing an "original action-racing game inspired by Hong Kong action films" for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Larry Goldberg, executive vice president of Activision Worldwide Studios, stated:
Activision said the game combined the gameplay of beat 'em ups, third-person shooters, and vehicular combat games, and includes over twenty branching missions and multiple endings, with the game recreating of Los Angeles. The game was first shown at the 2002 E3 event in May.
In December, Activision revealed the size of the game's Los Angeles had been reduced to roughly . To recreate the city, the developers used commercial satellite imaging, GPS technology and traditional photographs, with the in-game city stretching from the Hollywood Hills to Downtown to Santa Monica to Marina Del Rey. They also revealed details of the branching plot, with many levels having two or three opening cutscenes, depending on what the player has done in previous levels. They stressed it would be rare for the player to find a "Game Over" screen; usually a failed mission will simply lead to a later level by way of a different path than had the player completed the mission successfully. They also announced the game would feature roughly one-hundred randomly occurring crimes that the player has the option of solving whilst driving around the city. The casting of Russell Wong as protagonist Nick Kang and Gary Oldman as the game's main villain was also announced. In April 2003, Activision revealed the casting of Christopher Walken, C. C. H. Pounder, James Hong, Mako, Ron Perlman and Keone Young. Several days later, Michelle Rodriguez and Michael Madsen were also added to the cast.
The game was next shown at the 2003 E3 event in May, where Activision again announced the size of the game's city had been decreased in size, this time to . However, they also said that over one-hundred landmarks in L.A. were featured in the game, in their exact geographical locations, such as the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center. On October 22, they sent the final build of the game to gaming websites. Several days later they confirmed rumors that Snoop Dogg was an unlocakble character, with his own mission and car. They also signed an exclusive licensing deal with PUMA.
New York City
New York City was first announced on July 21, 2004, when Activision CEO Ron Doornink announced plans for "sequels to True Crime, Call of Duty, Spider-Man, Tony Hawk, Shrek, and Quake". However, nothing more was heard about the game for almost a year; until May 2005, when Activision revealed the game was so big, developers Luxoflux had drafted in staff from another Activision owned developer, Z-Axis. In May 18, Activision debuted a trailer, which featured protagonist Marcus Reed arresting some criminals. At the 2005 E3 event, Activision dedicated a large part of their booth to the upcoming game, but no footage was made available, nor was any plot information, or even a title, with the game going by True Crime 2005. All that was confirmed at was that the game would definitely be released on current generation systems.
The game's official website revealed it was set in New York City, with an image of the Manhattan skyline appearing as the site's wallpaper. In August 2005, IGN published an interview with former NYPD detective Bill Clark, who had previously served as executive producer and technical advisor of NYPD Blue, and was working as head technical advisor for New York City. Of his involvement with the game, Clarke stated:
In his efforts to help Activision make the best game they could, Clarke found a compromise had to be reached between reality and the nature of videogaming:
A work-in-progress build of the game was shown on September 7. Activision revealed several features new to the game, including a continuous day/night cycle, a more populated city than the Los Angeles of Streets of LA, a darker palette than the first game, more cars and vehicles, the ability to travel by taxi or subway, and the ability to enter buildings beyond those related to plot. The following week, the main cast was shown, including Laurence Fishburne, Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Mariska Hargitay, Esai Morales, and Traci Lords. Marcus Reed was voiced by Avery Waddell. Details of the soundtrack were released a week later. The soundtrack's headliner was Redman, who was recording an original song for the game, and became an unlocakble character with his own minigame, much as Snoop Dogg had in Streets of LA.
As part of the video game's launch, PUMA revealed a unique sneaker mission within the game, and the production of a special edition sneaker. In the game, if players find all of the True Crime RS-100 sneakers throughout the city and return them to real New York City retailers featured in the game, the player unlocks an exclusive PUMA outfit for Reed. In addition, players could purchase the limited-edition True Crime RS-100 sneakers within the same New York City stores in the real world.
Initially, New York City was intended to have been the first part of a two-part series set in New York and featuring Marcus Reed, but the sequel was scrapped when the game proved a critical and commercial failure.
Hong Kong
Towards the end of 2007, Activision approached United Front Games to develop an open world game for next generation consoles set in Hong Kong, and unrelated to the True Crime series. Originally called Black Lotus, the game went into production in early 2008. A year into development, Activision proposed that Black Lotus be incorporated into the True Crime franchise, hoping the new ideas brought to the table by United Front could help revitalize the franchise. At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, Activision debuted the game as True Crime: Hong Kong. Although originally slated for a Fall 2010 release, in May that year, Activision announced the game had been pushed back to early 2011 "in order to give the development team more time to deliver the high-quality entertainment experience they envision for the game".
In February 2011, however, Activision cancelled True Crime: Hong Kong, claiming that due to "quality issues", further investment would not make the game competitive in the open world genre. The game's executive producer Stephen Van Der Mescht expressed disappointment with Activision's decision, stating the game was "playable from start to finish and virtually complete in terms of content". Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg explained that an escalating budget and development delays were the main contributing factors in the game's cancellation. Hirshberg stated that the increase in budget and subsequent delays meant the game would have to be "a pretty incredible success in order to be worth the investment that it was taking to get it done". Due to competition posed by other titles, particularly Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, and the fact that the previous game in the True Crime series had been a critical and commercial failure, Activision's view was that the game would not be able to compete. According to Hirshberg:
In August, Square Enix acquired the publishing rights to the game, although they did not buy the rights to the True Crime franchise, which were retained by Activision. Ultimately, the game was renamed Sleeping Dogs and released in August 2012. In December 2014, Activision abandoned the True Crime trademark completely.
Reception
The two games in the True Crime franchise garnered different reactions from critics. Whilst Streets of LA received generally positive reviews, New York City was more mixed.
IGN's Aaron Boulding wrote of Streets of LA that "the greatest strength of this Luxoflux game is the integration of story and layers of game design into one cohesive package", calling it "an enjoyable game if you can clear your mind of Grand Theft Auto expectations". Game Informers Andrew Reiner wrote "True Crime is the first game to come along and truly give the Grand Theft Auto series a run for its money". However, he called Nick Kang "quite easily the most annoying new character in video games". GameSpy's Russ Fischer wrote "there's more to True Crime than GTA emulation". GameSpot's Jeff Gertsmann called Kang "completely unlikeable" and "an unnecessarily cocky jerk". Of the gameplay, he wrote "it makes decent attempts with its different styles of gameplay, but none of them are particularly well done". Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell was critical of the graphics, citing "low-resolution textures, some clipping issues, a rather horrible depth of field effect and a lack of screen-filling vistas". He also called Kang "one of the most unlikeable folks I've ever had the displeasure of thumbing around a third-person action game". Despite of the game's flaws, he concluded that "it's a respectable enough game in its own right".
IGN's Chris Roper was impressed with New York City, praising "how well your general duties as a cop are tied into the game, working very well alongside your own personal investigations" and finding the gameplay and game mechanics superior to Streets of LA. Eurogamer's Jim Rossignol was critical of the AI: "The perps you take down never suggest that they are anything other than mindless automata ready to be slain, and exhibit an artificiality that could never be described as 'intelligence'". GameSpy's Sterling McGarvey wrote: "Luxoflux have turned a slightly above-par GTA clone into a sub-par franchise". Of the graphics, he wrote that "the frame rate has a knack for chugging. Considering it's a console and not a five year-old PC running this game, it's unacceptable. Out of nowhere, the frame rate will completely bottom out while Marcus patrols the streets". He called the game "unfinished". GameSpot's Greg Mueller accused the game of being "so riddled with problems that it feels like it was rushed to make it to store shelves in time for the holidays. He cited "collision detection issues and edge detection problems that cause you to get stuck on the edge of a platform. [And] the game will actually freeze up entirely from time to time [...] There are also some pretty ugly clipping issues here too". He concluded "the technical problems far outweigh any faint hope this game ever had of being enjoyable. If you're curious about what a video game looks like before it goes through adequate testing and quality assurance, then by all means give this one a try".
Sales
Streets of LA was a commercial success. During its first two weeks on release in North America, it sold over 300,000 units across all platforms. By the end of its first month, it had sold over 600,000 units. Ultimately, the game went on to sell over 3 million units worldwide across all platforms.
New York City did not sell well, falling considerably short of Activision's expectations, and selling only 72,000 units in its first two weeks on release in North America.
References
Action-adventure games
Activision Blizzard franchises
Activision games
Detective video games
Luxoflux games
Open-world video games
Organized crime video games
Third-person shooters
Video games developed in the United States
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 2003
Video games about police officers
Video games with alternate endings |
53036 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network%20address%20translation | Network address translation | Network address translation (NAT) is a method of mapping an IP address space into another by modifying network address information in the IP header of packets while they are in transit across a traffic routing device. The technique was originally used to avoid the need to assign a new address to every host when a network was moved, or when the upstream Internet service provider was replaced, but could not route the network's address space. It has become a popular and essential tool in conserving global address space in the face of IPv4 address exhaustion. One Internet-routable IP address of a NAT gateway can be used for an entire private network.
As network address translation modifies the IP address information in packets, NAT implementations may vary in their specific behavior in various addressing cases and their effect on network traffic. The specifics of NAT behavior are not commonly documented by vendors of equipment containing NAT implementations.
Basic NAT
The simplest type of NAT provides a one-to-one translation of IP addresses. RFC 2663 refers to this type of NAT as basic NAT; it is also called a one-to-one NAT. In this type of NAT, only the IP addresses, IP header checksum, and any higher-level checksums that include the IP address are changed. Basic NAT can be used to interconnect two IP networks that have incompatible addressing.
One-to-many NAT
The majority of network address translators map multiple private hosts to one publicly exposed IP address. In a typical configuration, a local network uses one of the designated private IP address subnets (RFC 1918). A router in that network has a private address of that address space. The router is also connected to the Internet with a public address, typically assigned by an Internet service provider. As traffic passes from the local network to the Internet, the source address in each packet is translated on the fly from a private address to the public address. The router tracks basic data about each active connection (particularly the destination address and port). When a reply returns to the router, it uses the connection tracking data it stored during the outbound phase to determine the private address on the internal network to which to forward the reply.
All IP packets have a source IP address and a destination IP address. Typically packets passing from the private network to the public network will have their source address modified, while packets passing from the public network back to the private network will have their destination address modified. To avoid ambiguity in how replies are translated, further modifications to the packets are required. The vast bulk of Internet traffic uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP). For these protocols, the port numbers are changed so that the combination of IP address (within the IP header) and port number (within the Transport Layer header) on the returned packet can be unambiguously mapped to the corresponding private network destination. RFC 2663 uses the term network address and port translation (NAPT) for this type of NAT. Other names include port address translation (PAT), IP masquerading, NAT overload and many-to-one NAT. This is the most common type of NAT and has become synonymous with the term "NAT" in common usage.
This method enables communication through the router only when the conversation originates in the private network since the initial originating transmission is what establishes the required information in the translation tables. A web browser in the masqueraded network can, for example, browse a website outside, but a web browser outside cannot browse a website hosted within the masqueraded network. Protocols not based on TCP and UDP require other translation techniques.
One of the additional benefits of one-to-many NAT is that it is a practical solution to IPv4 address exhaustion. Even large networks can be connected to the Internet using a single public IP address.
Methods of translation
Network address and port translation may be implemented in several ways. Some applications that use IP address information may need to determine the external address of a network address translator. This is the address that its communication peers in the external network detect. Furthermore, it may be necessary to examine and categorize the type of mapping in use, for example when it is desired to set up a direct communication path between two clients both of which are behind separate NAT gateways.
For this purpose, RFC 3489 specified a protocol called Simple Traversal of UDP over NATs (STUN) in 2003. It classified NAT implementations as full-cone NAT, (address) restricted-cone NAT, port-restricted cone NAT or symmetric NAT, and proposed a methodology for testing a device accordingly. However, these procedures have since been deprecated from standards status, as the methods are inadequate to correctly assess many devices. RFC 5389 standardized new methods in 2008 and the acronym STUN now represents the new title of the specification: Session Traversal Utilities for NAT.
Many NAT implementations combine these types, and it is, therefore, better to refer to specific individual NAT behavior instead of using the Cone/Symmetric terminology. RFC 4787 attempts to alleviate confusion by introducing standardized terminology for observed behaviors. For the first bullet in each row of the above table, the RFC would characterize Full-Cone, Restricted-Cone, and Port-Restricted Cone NATs as having an Endpoint-Independent Mapping, whereas it would characterize a Symmetric NAT as having an Address- and Port-Dependent Mapping. For the second bullet in each row of the above table, RFC 4787 would also label Full-Cone NAT as having an Endpoint-Independent Filtering, Restricted-Cone NAT as having an Address-Dependent Filtering, Port-Restricted Cone NAT as having an Address and Port-Dependent Filtering, and Symmetric NAT as having either an Address-Dependent Filtering or Address and Port-Dependent Filtering. Other classifications of NAT behavior mentioned in the RFC include whether they preserve ports, when and how mappings are refreshed, whether external mappings can be used by internal hosts (i.e., its hairpinning behavior), and the level of determinism NATs exhibit when applying all these rules. Specifically, most NATs combine symmetric NAT for outgoing connections with static port mapping, where incoming packets addressed to the external address and port are redirected to a specific internal address and port.
Type of NAT and NAT traversal, role of port preservation for TCP
The NAT traversal problem arises when peers behind different NATs try to communicate. One way to solve this problem is to use port forwarding. Another way is to use various NAT traversal techniques. The most popular technique for TCP NAT traversal is TCP hole punching.
TCP hole punching requires the NAT to follow the port preservation design for TCP. For a given outgoing TCP communication, the same port numbers are used on both sides of the NAT. NAT port preservation for outgoing TCP connections is crucial for TCP NAT traversal because, under TCP, one port can only be used for one communication at a time, so programs bind distinct TCP sockets to ephemeral ports for each TCP communication, rendering NAT port prediction impossible for TCP.
On the other hand, for UDP, NATs do not need port preservation. Indeed, multiple UDP communications (each with a distinct endpoint) can occur on the same source port, and applications usually reuse the same UDP socket to send packets to distinct hosts. This makes port prediction straightforward, as it is the same source port for each packet.
Furthermore, port preservation in NAT for TCP allows P2P protocols to offer less complexity and less latency because there is no need to use a third party (like STUN) to discover the NAT port since the application itself already knows the NAT port.
However, if two internal hosts attempt to communicate with the same external host using the same port number, the NAT may attempt to use a different external IP address for the second connection or may need to forgo port preservation and remap the port.
, roughly 70% of the clients in P2P networks employed some form of NAT.
Implementation
Establishing two-way communication
Every TCP and UDP packet contains a source port number and a destination port number. Each of those packets is encapsulated in an IP packet, whose IP header contains a source IP address and a destination IP address. The IP address/protocol/port number triple defines an association with a network socket.
For publicly accessible services such as web and mail servers the port number is important. For example, port 80 connects through a socket to the web server software and port 25 to a mail server's SMTP daemon. The IP address of a public server is also important, similar in global uniqueness to a postal address or telephone number. Both IP address and port number must be correctly known by all hosts wishing to successfully communicate.
Private IP addresses as described in RFC 1918 are usable only on private networks not directly connected to the internet. Ports are endpoints of communication unique to that host, so a connection through the NAT device is maintained by the combined mapping of port and IP address. A private address on the inside of the NAT is mapped to an external public address. Port address translation (PAT) resolves conflicts that arise when multiple hosts happen to use the same source port number to establish different external connections at the same time.
Telephone number extension analogy
A NAT device is similar to a phone system at an office that has one public telephone number and multiple extensions. Outbound phone calls made from the office all appear to come from the same telephone number. However, an incoming call that does not specify an extension cannot be automatically transferred to an individual inside the office. In this scenario, the office is a private LAN, the main phone number is the public IP address, and the individual extensions are unique port numbers.
Translation process
With NAT, all communications sent to external hosts actually contain the external IP address and port information of the NAT device instead of internal host IP addresses or port numbers. NAT only translates IP addresses and ports of its internal hosts, hiding the true endpoint of an internal host on a private network.
When a computer on the private (internal) network sends an IP packet to the external network, the NAT device replaces the internal source IP address in the packet header with the external IP address of the NAT device. PAT may then assign the connection a port number from a pool of available ports, inserting this port number in the source port field. The packet is then forwarded to the external network. The NAT device then makes an entry in a translation table containing the internal IP address, original source port, and the translated source port. Subsequent packets from the same internal source IP address and port number are translated to the same external source IP address and port number. The computer receiving a packet that has undergone NAT establishes a connection to the port and IP address specified in the altered packet, oblivious to the fact that the supplied address is being translated.
Upon receiving a packet from the external network, the NAT device searches the translation table based on the destination port in the packet header. If a match is found, the destination IP address and port number is replaced with the values found in the table and the packet is forwarded to the inside network. Otherwise, if the destination port number of the incoming packet is not found in the translation table, the packet is dropped or rejected because the PAT device doesn't know where to send it.
Visibility of operation
NAT operation is typically transparent to both the internal and external hosts. The NAT device may function as the default gateway for the internal host which is typically aware of the true IP address and TCP or UDP port of the external host. However, the external host is only aware of the public IP address for the NAT device and the particular port being used to communicate on behalf of a specific internal host.
Applications
Routing Network address translation can be used to mitigate IP address overlap. Address overlap occurs when hosts in different networks with the same IP address space try to reach the same destination host. This is most often a misconfiguration and may result from the merger of two networks or subnets, especially when using RFC 1918 private network addressing. The destination host experiences traffic apparently arriving from the same network, and intermediate routers have no way to determine where reply traffic should be sent to. The solution is either renumbering to eliminate overlap or network address translation.
Load balancing In client–server applications, load balancers forward client requests to a set of server computers to manage the workload of each server. Network address translation may be used to map a representative IP address of the server cluster to specific hosts that service the request.
Related techniques
IEEE Reverse Address and Port Translation (RAPT or RAT) allows a host whose real IP address changes from time to time to remain reachable as a server via a fixed home IP address. Cisco's RAPT implementation is PAT or NAT overloading and maps multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address. Multiple addresses can be mapped to a single address because each private address is tracked by a port number. PAT uses unique source port numbers on the inside global IP address to distinguish between translations. PAT attempts to preserve the original source port. If this source port is already used, PAT assigns the first available port number starting from the beginning of the appropriate port group 0–511, 512–1023, or 1024–65535. When there are no more ports available and there is more than one external IP address configured, PAT moves to the next IP address to try to allocate the original source port again. This process continues until it runs out of available ports and external IP addresses.
Mapping of Address and Port is a Cisco proposal that combines Address plus Port translation with tunneling of the IPv4 packets over an ISP provider's internal IPv6 network. In effect, it is an (almost) stateless alternative to carrier-grade NAT and DS-Lite that pushes the IPv4 address/port translation function (and therefore the maintenance of NAT state) entirely into the existing customer premises equipment NAT implementation. Thus avoiding the NAT444 and statefulness problems of carrier-grade NAT, and also provides a transition mechanism for the deployment of native IPv6 at the same time with very little added complexity.
Issues and limitations
Hosts behind NAT-enabled routers do not have end-to-end connectivity and cannot participate in some internet protocols. Services that require the initiation of TCP connections from the outside network, or that use stateless protocols such as those using UDP, can be disrupted. Unless the NAT router makes a specific effort to support such protocols, incoming packets cannot reach their destination. Some protocols can accommodate one instance of NAT between participating hosts ("passive mode" FTP, for example), sometimes with the assistance of an application-level gateway (see below), but fail when both systems are separated from the internet by NAT. The use of NAT also complicates tunneling protocols such as IPsec because NAT modifies values in the headers which interfere with the integrity checks done by IPsec and other tunneling protocols.
End-to-end connectivity has been a core principle of the Internet, supported, for example, by the Internet Architecture Board. Current Internet architectural documents observe that NAT is a violation of the end-to-end principle, but that NAT does have a valid role in careful design. There is considerably more concern with the use of IPv6 NAT, and many IPv6 architects believe IPv6 was intended to remove the need for NAT.
An implementation that only tracks ports can be quickly depleted by internal applications that use multiple simultaneous connections such as an HTTP request for a web page with many embedded objects. This problem can be mitigated by tracking the destination IP address in addition to the port thus sharing a single local port with many remote hosts. This additional tracking increases implementation complexity and computing resources at the translation device.
Because the internal addresses are all disguised behind one publicly accessible address, it is impossible for external hosts to directly initiate a connection to a particular internal host. Applications such as VOIP, videoconferencing, and other peer-to-peer applications must use NAT traversal techniques to function.
Fragmentation and checksums
Pure NAT, operating on IP alone, may or may not correctly parse protocols with payloads containing information about IP, such as ICMP. This depends on whether the payload is interpreted by a host on the inside or outside of the translation. Basic protocols as TCP and UDP cannot function properly unless NAT takes action beyond the network layer.
IP packets have a checksum in each packet header, which provides error detection only for the header. IP datagrams may become fragmented and it is necessary for a NAT to reassemble these fragments to allow correct recalculation of higher-level checksums and correct tracking of which packets belong to which connection.
TCP and UDP, have a checksum that covers all the data they carry, as well as the TCP or UDP header, plus a pseudo-header that contains the source and destination IP addresses of the packet carrying the TCP or UDP header. For an originating NAT to pass TCP or UDP successfully, it must recompute the TCP or UDP header checksum based on the translated IP addresses, not the original ones, and put that checksum into the TCP or UDP header of the first packet of the fragmented set of packets.
Alternatively, the originating host may perform path MTU Discovery to determine the packet size that can be transmitted without fragmentation and then set the don't fragment (DF) bit in the appropriate packet header field. Of course, this is only a one-way solution, because the responding host can send packets of any size, which may be fragmented before reaching the NAT.
DNAT
Destination network address translation (DNAT) is a technique for transparently changing the destination IP address of a routed packet and performing the inverse function for any replies. Any router situated between two endpoints can perform this transformation of the packet.
DNAT is commonly used to publish a service located in a private network on a publicly accessible IP address. This use of DNAT is also called port forwarding, or DMZ when used on an entire server, which becomes exposed to the WAN, becoming analogous to an undefended military demilitarized zone (DMZ).
SNAT
The meaning of the term SNAT varies by vendor:
source NAT is a common expansion and is the counterpart of destination NAT (DNAT). This is used to describe one-to-many NAT; NAT for outgoing connections to public services.
stateful NAT is used by Cisco Systems
static NAT is used by WatchGuard
secure NAT is used by F5 Networks and by Microsoft (in regard to the ISA Server)
Microsoft's Secure network address translation (SNAT) is part of Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration Server and is an extension to the NAT driver built into Microsoft Windows Server. It provides connection tracking and filtering for the additional network connections needed for the FTP, ICMP, H.323, and PPTP protocols as well as the ability to configure a transparent HTTP proxy server.
Dynamic network address translation
Dynamic NAT, just like static NAT, is not common in smaller networks but is found within larger corporations with complex networks. The way dynamic NAT differs from static NAT is that where static NAT provides a one-to-one internal to public static IP address mapping, dynamic NAT usually uses a group of available public IP addresses.
NAT hairpinning
NAT hairpinning, also known as NAT loopback or NAT reflection, is a feature in many consumer routers that permits the access of a service via the public IP address from inside the local network. This eliminates the need for using separate domain name resolution for hosts inside the network than for the public network for a website.
The following describes an example network:
Public address: . This is the address of the WAN interface on the router.
Internal address of router:
Address of the server:
Address of a local computer:
If a packet is sent to the public address by a computer at , the packet would normally be routed to the default gateway (the router), unless an explicit route is set in the computer's routing tables. A router with the NAT loopback feature detects that is the address of its WAN interface, and treats the packet as if coming from that interface. It determines the destination for that packet, based on DNAT (port forwarding) rules for the destination. If the data were sent to port 80 and a DNAT rule exists for port 80 directed to , then the host at that address receives the packet.
If no applicable DNAT rule is available, the router drops the packet. An ICMP Destination Unreachable reply may be sent. If any DNAT rules were present, address translation is still in effect; the router still rewrites the source IP address in the packet. The local computer () sends the packet as coming from , but the server () receives it as coming from . When the server replies, the process is identical to an external sender. Thus, two-way communication is possible between hosts inside the LAN network via the public IP address.
NAT in IPv6
Network address translation is not commonly used in IPv6, because one of the design goals of IPv6 is to restore end-to-end network connectivity. NAT loopback is not commonly needed. Although still possible, the large addressing space of IPv6 obviates the need to conserve addresses and every device can be given a unique globally routable address. That being said, using unique local addresses in combination with network prefix translation can achieve similar results.
Applications affected by NAT
Some application layer protocols (such as FTP and SIP) send explicit network addresses within their application data. FTP in active mode, for example, uses separate connections for control traffic (commands) and for data traffic (file contents). When requesting a file transfer, the host making the request identifies the corresponding data connection by its network layer and transport layer addresses. If the host making the request lies behind a simple NAT firewall, the translation of the IP address and/or TCP port number makes the information received by the server invalid. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) controls many Voice over IP (VoIP) calls, and suffers the same problem. SIP and SDP may use multiple ports to set up a connection and transmit voice stream via RTP. IP addresses and port numbers are encoded in the payload data and must be known before the traversal of NATs. Without special techniques, such as STUN, NAT behavior is unpredictable and communications may fail.
Application Layer Gateway (ALG) software or hardware may correct these problems. An ALG software module running on a NAT firewall device updates any payload data made invalid by address translation. ALGs need to understand the higher-layer protocol that they need to fix, and so each protocol with this problem requires a separate ALG. For example, on many Linux systems there are kernel modules called connection trackers that serve to implement ALGs. However, ALG does not work if the control channel is encrypted (e.g. FTPS).
Another possible solution to this problem is to use NAT traversal techniques using protocols such as STUN or ICE, or proprietary approaches in a session border controller. NAT traversal is possible in both TCP- and UDP-based applications, but the UDP-based technique is simpler, more widely understood, and more compatible with legacy NATs. In either case, the high-level protocol must be designed with NAT traversal in mind, and it does not work reliably across symmetric NATs or other poorly behaved legacy NATs.
Other possibilities are UPnP Internet Gateway Device Protocol, NAT-PMP (NAT Port Mapping Protocol), or Port Control Protocol (PCP), but these require the NAT device to implement that protocol.
Most traditional client–server protocols (FTP being the main exception), however, do not send layer 3 contact information and therefore do not require any special treatment by NATs. In fact, avoiding NAT complications is practically a requirement when designing new higher-layer protocols today (e.g. the use of SFTP instead of FTP).
NATs can also cause problems where IPsec encryption is applied and in cases where multiple devices such as SIP phones are located behind a NAT. Phones that encrypt their signaling with IPsec encapsulate the port information within an encrypted packet, meaning that NA(P)T devices cannot access and translate the port. In these cases the NA(P)T devices revert to simple NAT operation. This means that all traffic returning to the NAT is mapped onto one client, causing service to more than one client "behind" the NAT to fail. There are a couple of solutions to this problem: one is to use TLS, which operates at level 4 in the OSI Reference Model and therefore does not mask the port number; another is to encapsulate the IPsec within UDP – the latter being the solution chosen by TISPAN to achieve secure NAT traversal, or a NAT with "IPsec Passthru" support.
Interactive Connectivity Establishment is a NAT traversal technique that does not rely on ALG support.
The DNS protocol vulnerability announced by Dan Kaminsky on July 8, 2008 is indirectly affected by NAT port mapping. To avoid DNS cache poisoning, it is highly desirable not to translate UDP source port numbers of outgoing DNS requests from a DNS server behind a firewall that implements NAT. The recommended workaround for the DNS vulnerability is to make all caching DNS servers use randomized UDP source ports. If the NAT function de-randomizes the UDP source ports, the DNS server becomes vulnerable.
Examples of NAT software
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS): NAT & DHCP implementation included with Windows desktop operating systems
IPFilter: included with (Open)Solaris, FreeBSD and NetBSD, available for many other Unix-like operating systems
ipfirewall (ipfw): FreeBSD-native packet filter
Netfilter with iptables/nftables: the Linux packet filter
NPF: NetBSD-native Packet Filter
PF: OpenBSD-native Packet Filter
Routing and Remote Access Service: routing implementation included with Windows Server operating systems
WinGate: third-party routing implementation for Windows
See also
Anything In Anything (AYIYA) – IPv6 over IPv4 UDP, thus working IPv6 tunneling over most NATs
Internet Gateway Device Protocol (IGD) – UPnP NAT-traversal method
Teredo tunneling – NAT traversal using IPv6
Carrier-grade NAT – NAT behind NAT within ISP.
Notes
References
External links
NAT-Traversal Test and results
Characterization of different TCP NATs – Paper discussing the different types of NAT
Anatomy: A Look Inside Network Address Translators – Volume 7, Issue 3, September 2004
Jeff Tyson, HowStuffWorks: How Network Address Translation Works
Routing with NAT (Part of the documentation for the IBM iSeries)
Network Address Translation (NAT) FAQ – Cisco Systems |
1938220 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extension%20conflict | Extension conflict | Extension conflicts were sometimes a common nuisance on Apple Macintosh computers running the classic Mac OS, especially System 7. Extensions were bundles of code that extended the operating system's capabilities by directly patching OS calls, thus receiving control instead of the operating system when applications (including the Finder) made system calls. Generally, once an extension completed its task, it was supposed to pass on the (possibly modified) system call to the operating system's routine. If multiple extensions want to patch the same system call, they end up receiving the call in a chain, the first extension in line passing it on to the next, and so on in the order they are loaded, until the last extension passes to the operating system. If an extension does not hand the next extension in line what it is expecting, problems occur; ranging from unexpected behavior to full system crashes. This is triggered by several factors such as carelessly programmed and malicious extensions that change or disrupt the way part of the system software works.
In addition, extensions sometimes competed for system resources with applications, utilities and other extensions, leading to crashes and general instability. Some users happily loaded every extension they could find on their computer, with little or no impact. Others fastidiously avoided any non-essential extensions as a way of avoiding the problem. Many were judicious in the addition of extensions.
This problem increased during the mid-1990s as resource-hungry multimedia technologies such as QuickTime were installed as extensions. In addition, a number of applications, especially Microsoft Office, required a large number of extensions. Many Macintosh users had hundreds of extensions running on their systems, all of varying age and quality. Buggy, damaged and outdated extensions were the most common cause of problems. Some users had to remember to turn off problematic extensions when running certain programs.
Later versions of System 7 included the Extensions Manager, which allowed users to disable specific extensions or groups of extensions at startup when troubleshooting the conflict by pressing the spacebar while the computer boots. This tool was also accessible by opening the Extensions CDEV in the Control Panels found in the Apple menu. Conflict Catcher, a third party utility, automatically detected conflicts and problematic extensions and other software executing at boot, otherwise a time-consuming task that required users to turn off extensions in sets until they found the conflict, as well as allowing load order to be altered without renaming items. Extensions were only loaded at startup time, meaning that any attempted change required a reboot.
The most common time for extension conflicts to start was the release of a new version of the operating system, followed closely by the installation of a complex new application that either conflicted with existing extensions, or installed extensions that conflicted with the existing set.
All of this was mitigated by the ease with which extensions and the operating system itself could be swapped in and out: Instead of modifying configuration files as on other operating systems, extensions and other automatically run software simply had to reside in a particular subfolder of the System Folder to be picked up. And load their order could be altered by renaming items in the Finder, based on descending ASCIIbetical order for each System subfolder. In addition, the Mac was perfectly happy to have two (or more) System Folders present on a hard drive. Only the "blessed" System Folder would be loaded at startup. So, when a new version of the operating system was to be installed, or a new application, the user could easily duplicate the system folder, perform the install, and then fall back if a problem resulted.
Extension conflicts came to an end with the release of Mac OS X, which uses a different extension mechanism. Software can still add new features to the Mac but instead of requiring a kernel extension, the new method has allowed Apple to push more and more extensions into user space, which is a safer and more organized approach that cannot destabilize the entire machine.
See also
Configuration management
Dependency management
DLL hell
References
Anti-patterns
Classic Mac OS |
9127108 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendaring%20software | Calendaring software | Calendaring software is software that minimally provides users with an electronic version of a calendar. Additionally, the software may provide an appointment book, address book, and/or contact list. These tools are an extension of many of the features provided by time management software such as desk accessory packages and computer office automation systems. Calendaring is a standard feature of many PDAs, EDAs and smartphones and also of many office suites for personal computers.
The software may be a local application designed for individual use (such as the Lightning extension for Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook without Exchange Server, or Windows Calendar) or may be a networked package that allows for the sharing of information between users (such as Mozilla Sunbird, Windows Live Calendar, Google Calendar, or Microsoft Outlook with Exchange Server).
Features
Calendaring software will contain one or more of the following features:
Calendara calendar showing dates and days of the week. An example a simple software calendar is the cal command, which simply outputs a monthly or yearly calendar.
Address booka list of contacts with information to enable the user to communicate with the contacts.
Appointment attachmentsThis feature allow users to attach a file to an appointment. If the appointment includes other participants, the attachment is shared with them.
Appointment calendara list of appointments and the attendees for the appointments. This software may include the capability of detecting scheduling conflicts, notifying the participants of the conflict, and suggesting alternate meeting times.
Appointment remindersAutomatically reminds participants of an upcoming meeting.
Availability sharingthis feature allows users to share their availability with others (users can select how much detail is shared); thus facilitating meeting scheduling amongst several individuals.
Availability and capacity checkingCheck the availability of all other employee and resource calendars in the group.
Calendar publishingsome calendaring tools allow the user to publish select calendar information on a public link.
Calendar exportingUsers are allowed to export selected calendars into various file formats, including iCalendar standard.
Collaborative schedulingthe capability of the software to check schedules and propose meeting times to all of the participants. This allows the invitees to suggest times that will work best for them, allowing the organizer to pick a meeting time that works best for all of the participants.
CustomizationThis feature allow users to customize several available features such as: email appointment remainders, calendar viewing default, workweek and work hours display, etc.
E-mail integrationan electronic mail communication system. This can be tied into the appointment calendar to send reminders and notify the participants of issues arising with scheduled meetings.
Group calendara calendar showing dates of groups in addition to individual calendars.
Multiple calendarsthis feature allows users to create separate calendars (i.e. work calendar, children school calendar).
Multiple viewsthis feature allow users to select how their calendar is displayed: one day, one week, one month, one year, etc.
PrintingUser may print selected schedule. Usually, this feature allows users to select how she wants to have the printout to look (i.e. include comments, subject only, etc.).
Timeblocking Allow users to organize their days into chunks, assigning a task to each chunk of time
Web-based interfaceallow users to access their calendars from any computer or mobile device (including cell phone) without having to solely rely on their work or personal computer.
See also
Personal information manager
Personal organizer
Project management software
Reminder software
Task management software
Time-tracking software
Standards
CalDAV
iCalendar
SyncML
vCard
Web Calendar Access Protocol
Webcal
Data synchronization
Groupware |
970131 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotic%20telescope | Robotic telescope | A robotic telescope is an astronomical telescope and detector system that makes observations without the intervention of a human. In astronomical disciplines, a telescope qualifies as robotic if it makes those observations without being operated by a human, even if a human has to initiate the observations at the beginning of the night, or end them in the morning. It may have software agents using Artificial Intelligence that assist in various ways such as automatic scheduling. A robotic telescope is distinct from a remote telescope, though an instrument can be both robotic and remote.
Design
Robotic telescopes are complex systems that typically incorporate a number of subsystems. These subsystems include devices that provide telescope pointing capability, operation of the detector (typically a CCD camera), control of the dome or telescope enclosure, control over the telescope's focuser, detection of weather conditions, and other capabilities. Frequently these varying subsystems are presided over by a master control system, which is almost always a software component.
Robotic telescopes operate under closed loop or open loop principles. In an open loop system, a robotic telescope system points itself and collects its data without inspecting the results of its operations to ensure it is operating properly. An open loop telescope is sometimes said to be operating on faith, in that if something goes wrong, there is no way for the control system to detect it and compensate.
A closed loop system has the capability to evaluate its operations through redundant inputs to detect errors. A common such input would be position encoders on the telescope's axes of motion, or the capability of evaluating the system's images to ensure it was pointed at the correct field of view when they were exposed.
Most robotic telescopes are small telescopes. While large observatory instruments may be highly automated, few are operated without attendants.
History of professional robotic telescopes
Robotic telescopes were first developed by astronomers after electromechanical interfaces to computers became common at observatories. Early examples were expensive, had limited capabilities, and included a large number of unique subsystems, both in hardware and software. This contributed to a lack of progress in the development of robotic telescopes early in their history.
By the early 1980s, with the availability of cheap computers, several viable robotic telescope projects were conceived, and a few were developed. The 1985 book, Microcomputer Control of Telescopes, by Mark Trueblood and Russell M. Genet, was a landmark engineering study in the field. One of this book's achievements was pointing out many reasons, some quite subtle, why telescopes could not be reliably pointed using only basic astronomical calculations. The concepts explored in this book share a common heritage with the telescope mount error modeling software called Tpoint, which emerged from the first generation of large automated telescopes in the 1970s, notably the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope.
In 2004, some professional robotic telescopes were characterized by a lack of design creativity and a reliance on closed source and proprietary software. The software is usually unique to the telescope it was designed for and cannot be used on any other system. Often, robotic telescope software developed at universities becomes impossible to maintain and ultimately obsolete because the graduate students who wrote it move on to new positions, and their institutions lose their knowledge. Large telescope consortia or government funded laboratories don't tend to have this same loss of developers as experienced by universities. Professional systems generally feature very high observing efficiency and reliability. There is also an increasing tendency to adopt ASCOM technology at a few professional facilities (see following section). The need for proprietary software is usually driven by the competition for research dollars between institutions.
Since the late 1980s, the University of Iowa has been in the forefront of robotic telescope development on the professional side. The (ATF), developed in the early 1990s, was located on the roof of the physics building at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. They went on to complete the Iowa Robotic Observatory, a robotic and remote telescope at the private Winer Observatory in 1997. This system successfully observed variable stars and contributed observations to dozens of scientific papers. In May 2002, they completed the Rigel Telescope. The Rigel was a 0.37-meter (14.5-inch) F/14 built by Optical Mechanics, Inc. and controlled by the Talon program. Each of these was a progression toward a more automated and utilitarian observatory.
One of the largest current networks of robotic telescopes is RoboNet, operated by a consortium of UK universities. The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) Project is another example of a professional robotic telescope. LINEAR's competitors, the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search, Catalina Sky Survey, Spacewatch, and others, have also developed varying levels of automation.
In 2002, the RAPid Telescopes for Optical Response (RAPTOR) project was the first fully autonomous closed–loop robotic telescope. RAPTOR was designed in 2000 and began full deployment in 2002. The project was headed by Tom Vestrand and his team: James Wren, Robert White, P. Wozniak, and Heath Davis. Its first light on one of the wide field instruments was in late 2001. The second wide field system came online in late 2002. Closed loop operations began in 2003. Originally the goal of RAPTOR was to develop a system of ground-based telescopes that would reliably respond to satellite triggers and more importantly, identify transients in real-time and generate alerts with source locations to enable follow-up observations with other, larger, telescopes. It has achieved both of these goals. Now RAPTOR has been re-tuned to be the key hardware element of the Thinking Telescopes Technologies Project. Its new mandate will be the monitoring of the night sky looking for interesting and anomalous behaviors in persistent sources using some of the most advanced robotic software ever deployed. The two wide field systems are a mosaic of CCD cameras. The mosaic covers and area of approximately 1500 square degrees to a depth of 12th magnitude. Centered in each wide field array is a single fovea system with a field of view of 4 degrees and depth of 16th magnitude. The wide field systems are separated by a 38 km baseline. Supporting these wide field systems are two other operational telescopes. The first of these is a cataloging patrol instrument with a mosaic 16 square degree field of view down to 16 magnitude. The other system is a .4m OTA with a yielding a depth of 19-20th magnitude and a coverage of .35 degrees. Three additional systems are currently undergoing development and testing and deployment will be staged over the next two years. All of the systems are mounted on custom manufactured, fast-slewing mounts capable of reaching any point in the sky in 3 seconds. The RAPTOR System is located on site at Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA) and has been supported through the Laboratory's Directed Research and Development funds.
History of amateur robotic telescopes
In 2004, most robotic telescopes are in the hands of amateur astronomers. A prerequisite for the explosion of amateur robotic telescopes was the availability of relatively inexpensive CCD cameras, which appeared on the commercial market in the early 1990s. These cameras not only allowed amateur astronomers to make pleasing images of the night sky, but also encouraged more sophisticated amateurs to pursue research projects in cooperation with professional astronomers. The main motive behind the development of amateur robotic telescopes has been the tedium of making research-oriented astronomical observations, such as taking endlessly repetitive images of a variable star.
In 1998, Bob Denny conceived of a software interface standard for astronomical equipment, based on Microsoft's Component Object Model, which he called the Astronomy Common Object Model (ASCOM). He also wrote and published the first examples of this standard, in the form of commercial telescope control and image analysis programs, and several freeware components. He also convinced Doug George to incorporate ASCOM capability into a commercial camera control software program. Through this technology, a master control system that integrated these applications could easily be written in perl, VBScript, or JavaScript. A sample script of that nature was provided by Denny.
Following coverage of ASCOM in Sky & Telescope magazine several months later, ASCOM architects such as Bob Denny, Doug George, Tim Long, and others later influenced ASCOM into becoming a set of codified interface standards for freeware device drivers for telescopes, CCD cameras, telescope focusers, and astronomical observatory domes. As a result, amateur robotic telescopes have become increasingly more sophisticated and reliable, while software costs have plunged. ASCOM has also been adopted for some professional robotic telescopes.
Meanwhile, ASCOM users designed ever more capable master control systems. Papers presented at the Minor Planet Amateur-Professional Workshops (MPAPW) in 1999, 2000, and 2001 and the International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry Conferences of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 documented increasingly sophisticated master control systems. Some of the capabilities of these systems included automatic selection of observing targets, the ability to interrupt observing or rearrange observing schedules for targets of opportunity, automatic selection of guide stars, and sophisticated error detection and correction algorithms.
Remote telescope system development started in 1999, with first test runs on real telescope hardware in early 2000. RTS2 was primary intended for Gamma ray burst follow-up observations, so ability to interrupt observation was core part of its design. During development, it became an integrated observatory management suite. Other additions included use of the Postgresql database for storing targets and observation logs, ability to perform image processing including astrometry and performance of the real-time telescope corrections and a web-based user interface. RTS2 was from the beginning designed as a completely open source system, without any proprietary components. In order to support growing list of mounts, sensors, CCDs and roof systems, it uses own, text based communication protocol. The RTS2 system is described in papers appearing in 2004 and 2006.
The Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface (INDI) was started in 2003. In comparison to the Microsoft Windows centric ASCOM standard, INDI is a platform independent protocol developed by Elwood C. Downey of ClearSky Institute to support control, automation, data acquisition, and exchange among hardware devices and software frontends.
Significance
By 2004, robotic observations accounted for an overwhelming percentage of the published scientific information on asteroid orbits and discoveries, variable star studies, supernova light curves and discoveries, comet orbits and gravitational microlensing observations.
All early phase Gamma ray burst observations were carried by robotic telescopes.
List of Robotic Telescopes
See below for further information on these professional robotic telescopes:
TRAPPIST, 60 cm, La Silla, Chile.
T80S, 80 cm, Tololo, Chile.
Super-LOTIS, 60 cm, Steward Observatory on Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA.
Liverpool Telescope (robotic telescope), 2.0 m, on La Palma, Canary Islands
Faulkes Telescope North, 2.0 m, Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii
Faulkes Telescope South, Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia
RoboNet, multiple locations
Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, California, USA.
Automated Planet Finder, 2.4 m,
Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope, 76 cm
Slooh telescopes, various sizes & locations.
Rapid Eye Mount telescope, 60 cm, La Silla, Chile
TAROT-South robotic observatory, 25 cm, La Silla, Chile
Bradford Robotic Telescope, 35.5 cm, Teide Observatory, Canary Islands
Warner and Swasey Observatory#Nassau Station Robotic Observatory, 91 cm, Warner and Swasey Observatory, Ohio, USA
Observatorio Astronómico de La Sagra, 3× 45 cm, Granada, Spain
ROTSE-IIIb, 45 cm, McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA
GROWTH,70 cm,
Indian Astronomical Observatory, Ladakh, India
MASTER network of small rapid-response robotic telescopes
Thailand NARIT Thai Robotic Telescope, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization) Thailand.
RAPTOR (telescope), Fenton Hill
See also
List of telescope types
Remote Telescope Markup Language
References
External links
Virtual Telescope Project The Virtual Telescope Project robotic facility.
List of professional robotic telescopes (with map and statistics).
provides an overview of telescope operation through the internet
Telescope types |
31324064 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel%20Wilensky | Gabriel Wilensky | Gabriel Wilensky (born April 23, 1964) is an American author, software developer and entrepreneur. He was born in Uruguay, where his Eastern-European grandparents had emigrated to before the Second World War. He is the author of the book Six Million Crucifixions (2010), which traces the history of antisemitism in Christianity and the role it played in the Holocaust.
Software development
Wilensky co-founded the software company Gryphon Software in the early 1990s. The company produces the software product Morph, which introduced the computer graphics effect of morphing. Gryphon Software then developed a pioneering new line of edutainment products, the Activity Centers. Gryphon developed many products in that line, some of which used well-known characters from Disney, Warner/DC Comics, and others. The Activity Center line of products introduced video from the feature films and cartoons in the application. Gryphon was acquired by Cendant Software (then CUC International).
Wilensky contributed to the development of these various products in the areas of software and user interface design, product management, audio and video production and new research and development work on audio/video compression. His software was used to make some of the special effects of several feature films, such as Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993) and others.
After Gryphon Software Wilensky worked on the development of other software products in the areas of user interface software for wireless devices, web site development, and TV broadcasting for mobile devices. Most recently he was responsible for the development of the GoPro software applications.
Research and writing Six Million Crucifixions
Wilensky spent years of research into the question of why the Holocaust happened. He used his technical background for a methodical study of the question and then wrote Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust, published in 2009.
Six Million Crucifixions provides an account of the almost two-thousand-year-old Christian teaching of contempt for Jews, and argues that it was this relentless animosity and even hatred toward Jews and Judaism in predominantly Christian lands that laid the foundation on which racial antisemitism stood, and which eventually led to the Holocaust. As Holocaust scholar John K. Roth argued in the foreword of the book, "Absent Christianity, no Holocaust would have taken place."
The book provides an account of how antisemitism developed from the very early days of the Christian movement into full-blown hatred by the time of the Crusades. Six Million Crucifixions shows how anti-Jewish sentiment stemmed out of Christian Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers, until it became second-nature to European Christians. As Dr. Carol Rittner, Distinguished Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at The Richard Stockton College wrote, "Too many of those hate-filled words had their origin in the Christian Scriptures and were uttered by Christian preachers and teachers, by Christians generally, for nearly two millennia."
The book also describes the role of both the Catholic and Protestant churches in the period leading to and beyond the Second World War, and sharply criticizes the Catholic Church (in particular), as well as the Protestant churches for their lack of loud and clear objection to the extermination of the Jews, for the assistance some members of the clergy gave the Nazis in their persecution of the Jews and the help some members of the Vatican gave to people who should have been regarded as war criminals to escape justice after the war. As Holocaust scholar and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute Michael Berenbaum wrote, "Gabriel Wilensky's Six Million Crucifixions is a powerful and passionate indictment of the Vatican for acts of omission and acts of commission."
Six Million Crucifixions further presents material that he asserts could have been used for a potential indictment of any Christian clergy who may have been guilty of crimes of incitement and/or persecution against Jews before, during and after World War II, had the Allies pursued another international prosecution after the Nuremberg Trials.
Awards
Two Software and Information Industry Association Codie awards
BYTE Magazine Award of Excellence
UCSD Connect Most Innovative New Product Award
Bronze Award in New Media Magazine's InVision Contest
Two MacUser Editor's Choice Awards - Finalist
Discover Magazine Award for Technological Innovation - Finalist
Published works
Six Million Crucifixions: How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust, San Diego : QWERTY Publishers, 2010,
Further reading
(Book review)
(Book review)
(Book review)
References
External links
Six Million Crucifixions web site
Articles by Gabriel Wilensky
Lecture, "How Christian Teachings About Jews Paved the Road to the Holocaust" (video)
(video)
Radio interviews
Six Million Crucifixions Facebook Page
1964 births
Living people
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
Historians of Nazism
Historians of the Holocaust
Historians of the Catholic Church
American male non-fiction writers
Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust
Scholars of antisemitism
Christianity and antisemitism
Uruguayan emigrants to the United States
Uruguayan historians
Businesspeople in software
Uruguayan businesspeople |
21896483 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arm%20Ltd. | Arm Ltd. | Arm Ltd. (stylized as arm) is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England. Its primary business is in the design of ARM processors (CPUs), although it also designs other chips; software development tools under the DS-5, RealView and Keil brands; and systems and platforms, system-on-a-chip (SoC) infrastructure and software. As a "holding" company, it also holds shares of other companies. It is considered to be market dominant for processors in mobile phones (smartphones or otherwise), tablet computers and for chips in smart TVs and in total over 160 billion chips have been made for various devices based on designs from Arm (more than from any other company). The company is one of the best-known "Silicon Fen" companies. Since 2016, it has been owned by conglomerate SoftBank Group.
While ARM CPUs first appeared in the Acorn Archimedes, a desktop computer, today's systems include mostly embedded systems, including all types of phones. Systems, like iPhone and Android smartphones, frequently include many chips, from many different providers, that include one or more licensed Arm cores, in addition to those in the main Arm-based processor. Arm's core designs are also used in chips that support all the most common network-related technologies.
Processors based on designs licensed from Arm, or designed by licensees of one of the ARM instruction set architectures, are used in all classes of computing devices (including in space). Examples of use of those processors range from the world's smallest computer, to smartphones, laptops, desktops, servers and to the world's fastest supercomputer by several benchmarks included on the TOP500 list (and including at one point, in 2019, the most energy-efficient one on the list). Processors designed by Arm or by Arm licensees are used as microcontrollers in embedded systems, including real-time safety systems. Arm's Mali line of graphics processing units (GPU) is the third most popular GPU in mobile devices. A recent addition to their lineup are AI accelerator chips for neural network processing.
Arm's main CPU competitors in servers include IBM, Intel and AMD. Intel competed with Arm-based chips in mobile, but Arm no longer has any competition in that space (however, vendors of actual Arm-based chips compete within that space). Arm's main GPU competitors include mobile GPUs from American and Japanese technology companies Imagination Technologies (PowerVR), Qualcomm (Adreno), and increasingly Nvidia and Intel. Despite competing within GPUs, Qualcomm and Nvidia have combined their GPUs with Arm-licensed CPUs.
Arm had a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It also had a secondary listing on NASDAQ. However Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group made an agreed offer for Arm on 18 July 2016, subject to approval by Arm's shareholders, valuing the company at £24.3 billion. The transaction was completed on 5 September 2016.
On 13 September 2020, it was announced that Nvidia would buy Arm from SoftBank for $40 billion, subject to regulatory approval, with the latter acquiring a 10% share in Nvidia. In February 2022, the two companies reported that the deal had collapsed due to regulatory hurdles; SoftBank subsequently announced that it planned to float Arm on the stock market by 2023.
History
Name
The acronym ARM was first used in 1983 and originally stood for "Acorn RISC Machine". Acorn Computers' first RISC processor was used in the original Acorn Archimedes and was one of the first RISC processors used in small computers. However, when the company was incorporated in 1990, what 'ARM' stood for changed to "Advanced RISC Machines", in light of the company's name "Advanced RISC Machines Ltd." and according to an interview with Steve Furber the name change was also at the behest of Apple, which did not wish to have the name of a former competitor namely Acorn in the name of the company. At the time of the IPO in 1998, the company name was changed to "ARM Holdings", often just called ARM like the processors.
On 1 August 2017, the styling and logo were changed. The logo is now all lowercase ('arm') and other uses of the name are in sentence case ('Arm') except where the whole sentence is upper case, so, for instance, it became 'Arm Holdings', and since only Arm Ltd.
Founding
The company was founded in November 1990 as Advanced RISC Machines Ltd and structured as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple, and VLSI Technology. Acorn provided 12 employees, VLSI provided tools, Apple provided $3 million investment. Larry Tesler, Apple VP was a key person and the first CEO at the joint venture. The new company intended to further the development of the Acorn RISC Machine processor, which was originally used in the Acorn Archimedes and had been selected by Apple for its Newton project. Its first profitable year was 1993. The company's Silicon Valley and Tokyo offices were opened in 1994. ARM invested in Palmchip Corporation in 1997 to provide system on chip platforms and to enter into the disk drive market. In 1998, the company changed its name from Advanced RISC Machines Ltd to ARM Ltd. The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in 1998 and by February 1999, Apple's shareholding had fallen to 14.8%.
In 2010, ARM joined with IBM, Texas Instruments, Samsung, ST-Ericsson (since dissolved) and Freescale Semiconductor (now NXP Semiconductors) in forming a non-profit open source engineering company, Linaro.
Acquisitions
1999
Micrologic Solutions, a software consulting company based in Cambridge
2000
Allant Software, a developer of debugging software
Infinite Designs, a design company based in Sheffield
EuroMIPS a smart card design house in Sophia Antipolis, France
2001
The engineering team of Noral Micrologics, a debug hardware and software company based in Blackburn, England
2003
Adelante Technologies of Belgium, creating its OptimoDE data engines business, a form of lightweight DSP engine
2004
Axys Design Automation, a developer of ESL design tools and Artisan Components, a designer of physical IP (intellectual property: standard cell libraries, memory compilers, PHYs etc.), the building blocks of integrated circuits
2005
KEIL Software, a leading developer of software development tools for the microcontroller (MCU) market, including 8051 and C16x platforms. ARM also acquired the engineering team of PowerEscape.
2006
Falanx (now called ARM Norway), a developer of 3D graphics accelerators
SOISIC, who specialise in developing silicon-on-insulator physical IP
2011
Obsidian Software Inc., a privately held company that creates processor verification products
Prolific, a developer of automated layout optimisation software tools, and the Prolific team will join the ARM physical IP team
2013
Internet of Things startup Sensinode
Cadence's PANTA family of high-resolution display processor and scaling coprocessor IP cores (formerly developed in Evatronix)
2014
PolarSSL, a software library implementing the SSL and TLS protocols. (In February 2015, PolarSSL has been rebranded to mbed TLS to better show its fit inside the mbed ecosystem.)
Duolog Technologies, an electronic design automation company that developed a suite of tools that automate the process of IP configuration and IP integration
2015
Sansa Security, a provider of hardware security intellectual property (IP) and software for advanced system-on-chip components deployed in Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices
Wicentric, a Bluetooth Smart stack and profile provider
Sunrise Micro Devices, a provider of sub-one volt Bluetooth radio intellectual property (IP)
Offspark, a provider of IoT security software
Carbon Design Systems, a provider of cycle-accurate virtual prototyping solutions
On 19 November, ARM, alongside Cisco Systems, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, and Princeton University, founded the OpenFog Consortium, to promote interests and development in fog computing.
2016
Apical, a provider of imaging and embedded computer vision IP products
Allinea Software, a leading provider of software tools for HPC
2018
Treasure Data ($600 million acquisition), provides enterprise data management software for device-to-data IoT platform
Stream Technologies, provides connectivity management platform and GSM connectivity
2020
In July 2020, Arm announced plans to spin off Treasure Data, together with the other parts of its "IoT Services Group" business, into separate SoftBank-owned entities by the end of September 2020.
Changes of ownership
Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank Group made an agreed offer for ARM on 18 July 2016, subject to approval by ARM's shareholders, valuing the company at £23.4 billion (US$32 billion). The transaction was completed on 5 September 2016.
In 2017, a 25 percent stake of Arm was transferred to the SoftBank Vision Fund, which received investment from the Saudi sovereign fund.
American technology company Nvidia announced plans on 13 September 2020 to acquire ARM from SoftBank, pending regulatory approval, for a value of US$40 billion in stock and cash, which would have been the largest semiconductor acquisition to that date. SoftBank Group will acquire slightly less than a 10% stake in Nvidia, and ARM will maintain its headquarters in Cambridge. There is opposition to the deal, for several reasons, including national security concerns from the UK and competition concerns from fellow tech companies such as Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm, whose chips in use or on sale heavily rely on Arm's intellectual property. It is also being battled by Arm China, its subsidiary, of which majority stake is held by the Chinese funds. The acquisition was initially scheduled to conclude before the end of 2022 per the contract. However, the European Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the US Federal Trade Commission has raised completion concerns focusing on Arm's role within Nvidia, while the UK government also raised concerns about national security. The merger attempt was eventually cancelled due to the aforementioned regulatory pressure.
Row over ownership of Arm China
Softbank Group sold more than half of Arm China in 2018 to a local consortium consisting of various parties including China Investment Corp. and the Silk Road Fund, effectively relinquishing the majority ownership of the Chinese subsidiary to a group of investors who have ties to Beijing. Since 2020, discord between Arm and the effective owners of Arm China became visible after the British parent company unsuccessfully tried to oust the chief executive of the subsidiary, who still kept his position regardless. A prevailing view emerged that the matter would negatively affect the pending approval by the Chinese regulators over the Softbank-Nvidia deal.
As of September 2021, despite Arm's denial, some reports observed that the chief executive the British parent had tried to dismiss publicly declared the "independence" of Arm China.
Operations
Business model
Unlike most traditional microprocessor suppliers, such as Intel, Freescale (the former semiconductor division of Motorola, now NXP Semiconductors) and Renesas (a former joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric), ARM only creates and licenses its technology as intellectual property (IP), rather than manufacturing and selling its own physical CPUs, GPUs, SoCs or microcontrollers. This model is similar to those of fellow British design houses ARC International and Imagination Technologies, which have similarly been designing and licensing GPUs, CPUs, and SoCs, along with supplying tooling and various design and support services to their licensees.
Facilities
The company has offices and design centres across the world, including Cambridge, Bangor, Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Warwick in United Kingdom; San Jose, Austin, Chandler, Mountain View, San Diego, Waltham, Richardson and Bellevue in the United States; Vancouver in Canada; Bangalore and Noida in India; Copenhagen in Denmark; Oulu in Finland; Sophia Antipolis in France; Grasbrunn in Germany; Budapest in Hungary; Galway in Ireland; Ra'anana in Israel; Trondheim in Norway; Katowice in Poland; Sentjernej in Slovenia; Cape Town in South Africa; Lund in Sweden; Yokohama, Tokyo in Japan; Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, in China; Hsinchu, Taipei in Taiwan; Seoul in South Korea.
Technology
A characteristic feature of Arm processors is their low electric power consumption, which makes them particularly suitable for use in portable devices. In fact, almost all modern mobile phones and personal digital assistants contain ARM CPUs, making them the most widely used 32-bit microprocessor family in the world. As of 2005, Arm processors accounted for over 75% of all 32-bit embedded CPUs.
Arm processors are used as the main CPU for most mobile phones, including those manufactured by Apple, HTC, Nokia, Xiaomi, Sony Ericsson and Samsung; many PDAs and handhelds, like the Apple iPod and iPad, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, 3DS and Switch, PlayStation Vita, Game Park GP32 and GamePark Holdings GP2X; as well as many other applications, including GPS navigation devices, digital cameras, digital televisions, network devices and storage. The WLAN processor of Sony's PlayStation Portable is an older ARM9.
Arm supercomputers
The world's fastest supercomputer, the Japanese Fugaku, based on Arm AArch64 architecture and codesigned by Fujitsu (their extensions are now included in the Arm architecture), was in June 2020 "2.8 times as fast as IBM's Summit, the nearest competitor. Fugaku also attained top spots in other rankings that test computers on different workloads, including Graph500, HPL-AI, and HPCG. No previous supercomputer has ever led all four rankings at once." This is the first Arm-based computer to take the top TOP500 spot. , after an upgrade, it widened the lead to 3 times as fast. Fujitsu has several Arm-based supercomputers high-ranking in supercomputer benchmarks; in total 4 computers on the TOP500 list (plus some non-Arm based), and two of those make top-10 on Green500.
The supercomputer maker Cray has added "ARM Option" (i.e. CPU blade option, using Cavium ThunderX2) to their XC50 supercomputers, and Cray claims that ARM is "a third processor architecture for building next-generation supercomputers", for e.g. the US Department of Energy.
Fujitsu (the supercomputer maker of June 2011 world's fastest K computer according to TOP500) announced at the International Supercomputing Conference in June 2016 that its future exascale supercomputer will feature processors of its own design that implement the ARMv8 architecture, rather than the SPARC processors used in earlier supercomputers. These processors will also implement extensions to the ARMv8 architecture equivalent to HPC-ACE2 that Fujitsu is developing with ARM Holdings. The Fujitsu supercomputer post-K planned, will use 512-bit scalable vector extension (ARMv8-A SVE) with "the goal of beginning full operations around 2021. [..] With post-K, Fujitsu and RIKEN aim to create the world's highest-performing supercomputer"; SVE is a new extension for ARMv8 allowing "implementation choices for vector lengths that scale from 128 to 2048 bits." Fujitsu has started production of this 52-core A64FX processor to replace the supercomputer, and each chip is about 2.5 times faster than their SPARC chips, "with double-precision floating-point performance of 2.7TFLOPS". A prototype supercomputer using the chip is on the TOP500 list as of November 2019, and is the most energy-efficient one on the list.
The Cray XC50-series supercomputer for the University of Bristol is called Isambard, named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The supercomputer is expected to feature around 160 nodes, each with two 32-core ThunderX2 processors running at 2.1 GHz. Peak theoretical performance of the 10,240 cores and 40,960 threads is 172 teraFLOPS.
The Vanguard project by Sandia National Laboratories is to deliver an exascale ARM machine. The first generation was called Hammer, it was based on X-Gene by Applied Micro. The second generation was called Sullivan was based Cavium's ThunderXs processors. The third generation of the Sandia National Laboratories' Vanguard project called Mayer was based on pre-production ThunderX2 and consisted of 47 nodes. The fourth generation also based on ThunderX2 is called Astra and was slated to become operational by November 2018. Each Astra node will feature two 28-core ThunderX2 processors running at 2.0 GHz with 128 GB DDR4. Each rack has 18x Hewlett Packard Enterprise Apollo 70 chassis with 72 compute nodes along with 3 InfiniBand switches. Astra will feature a total of 36 racks. Thus Astra will have 5,184 ThunderX2 processors, 145,152 ThunderX2 cores and 580,608 threads. Astra's peak theoretical performance is 4.644 PFLOPS in single-precision, and 2.322 PFLOPS in double-precision and will support 324 TB DDR4. Astra is the first ARM-based petascale supercomputer to enter the TOP500 list. , it is ranked at 156 after an upgrade (it started out ranked at 204 in November 2018).
Neuromorphic technology
ARM968E-S was used to build the neuromorphic supercomputer, SpiNNaker (Spiking Neural Network Architecture).
Licensees
Arm offers several microprocessor core designs that have been "publicly licensed" 830 times including 249 times for its newer "application processors" (non-microcontroller) used in such applications as smartphones and tablets. Three of those companies are known to have a licence for one of Arm's 64-bit Cortex-A72 (some including ARM's other 64-bit core the Cortex-A53).
Cores for ARMv8.2-A include the Cortex-A77, Cortex-A65AE, Cortex-A76, Cortex-A75 and Cortex-A55. Cores for ARMv8-A include the Cortex-A73, Cortex-A72, Cortex-A32, Cortex-A35, Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53. ARM's client roadmap includes Hercules in 2020 and Matterhorn in 2021.
Cores for 32-bit architectures include Cortex-A32, Cortex-A15, Cortex-A12, Cortex-A17, Cortex-A9, Cortex-A8, Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A5, and older "Classic ARM Processors", as well as variant architectures for microcontrollers that include these cores: Cortex-R7, Cortex R5, Cortex-R4, Cortex-M35P, Cortex-M33, Cortex-M23 Cortex-M7, Cortex-M4, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M1, Cortex-M0+, and Cortex-M0 for licensing.
Companies often license these designs from Arm to manufacture and integrate into their own System on chip (SoC) with other components such as GPUs (sometimes Arm's Mali) or modem/radio basebands (for mobile phones). Arm offers multiple licensing programs for their cores. Arm also offers Artisan POP IP, where Arm partners with foundries to provide physical implementation, which allows faster time to market.
In February 2016, Arm announced the Built on Arm Cortex Technology licence often shortened to Built on Cortex (BoC) licence. This licence allows companies to partner with Arm and make modifications to Arm Cortex designs. These design modifications will not be shared with other companies. These semi-custom core designs also have brand freedom, for example Kryo 280.
In addition to licences for their core designs and BoC licence, Arm offers an "architectural licence" for their instruction set architectures, allowing the licensees to design their own cores that implement one of those instruction sets. An Arm architectural licence is more costly than a regular Arm core licence.
CPU microarchitectures designed independently from Arm include:
Qualcomm's Scorpion, Krait and Kryo used in their Snapdragon series and Falkor used in their Centriq series.
Apple has had an architecture licence since March 2008, after having selected Arm architecture for their first iPhone. The first Arm-based chip of Apple design was the A4, launched in April 2010, and the most recent one is the A15, launched in September 2021. All iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches use Apple designed Arm chips, and on 22 June 2020, Apple announced that they will also migrate their laptop and desktop PCs from Intel's x86-64 to their own Arm-based chips over the next two years.
Nvidia's Denver, Denver 2 and Carmel used in their Tegra SoCs.
Cavium's ThunderX and ThunderX2.
AppliedMicro's Helix, X-Gene, X-Gene 2 and X-Gene 3.
Samsung System LSI's M1/M2 (Mongoose), M3 (Meerkat) and M4 (Cheetah) used in their Exynos 8890 to 9825 SoCs.
Fujitsu's A64FX.
Arm core licensees
Companies that are current licensees of the 64-bit ARMv8-A core designs include AMD, AppliedMicro (X-Gene), Broadcom, Calxeda, HiSilicon, Rockchip, Samsung, and STMicroelectronics.
Companies that are current or former licensees of 32-bit ARM core designs include AMD, Broadcom, Freescale (now NXP Semiconductors), Huawei (HiSilicon), IBM, Infineon Technologies (Infineon XMC 32-bit MCU families), Intel (older "ARM11 MPCore"), LG, Microsemi, NXP Semiconductors, Renesas, Rockchip, Samsung, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.
Arm architectural licensees
In 2013, Arm stated that there are around 15 architectural licensees, but the full list is not yet public knowledge.
Companies with a 64-bit ARMv8-A architectural licence include Applied Micro, Broadcom, Cavium, Huawei (HiSilicon), Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Apple.
Companies with a 32-bit Arm architectural licence include Broadcom (ARMv7), Faraday Technology (ARMv4, ARMv5), Marvell Technology Group, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Intel, and Apple.
Built on Arm Cortex Technology licensees
Companies that are current licensees of Built on ARM Cortex Technology include Qualcomm.
Mali licensees
Companies that are current licensees of the Mali GPU designs include Rockchip and Allwinner
Artisan POP IP
Artisan POP IP partners include GlobalFoundries, Samsung, TSMC, UMC.
Arm Flexible Access
On 16 July 2019, Arm announced Arm Flexible Access. Arm Flexible Access provides unlimited access to included Arm intellectual property (IP) for development. Per product licence fees are required once customers reaches foundry tapeout or prototyping.
75% of Arm's most recent IP over the last two years are included in Arm Flexible Access. As of October 2019:
CPUs: Cortex-A5, Cortex-A7, Cortex-A32, Cortex-A34, Cortex-A35, Cortex-A53, Cortex-R5, Cortex-R8, Cortex-R52, Cortex-M0, Cortex-M0+, Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4, Cortex-M7, Cortex-M23, Cortex-M33
GPUs: Mali-G52, Mali-G31. Includes Mali Driver Development Kits (DDK).
Interconnect: CoreLink NIC-400, CoreLink NIC-450, CoreLink CCI-400, CoreLink CCI-450, CoreLink CCI-500, CoreLink CCI-550, ADB-400 AMBA, XHB-400 AXI-AHB
System Controllers: CoreLink GIC-400, CoreLink GIC-500, PL192 VIC, BP141 TrustZone Memory Wrapper, CoreLink TZC-400, CoreLink L2C-310, CoreLink MMU-500, BP140 Memory Interface
Security IP: CryptoCell-312, CryptoCell-712, TrustZone True Random Number Generator
Peripheral Controllers: PL011 UART, PL022 SPI, PL031 RTC
Debug & Trace: CoreSight SoC-400, CoreSight SDC-600, CoreSight STM-500, CoreSight System Trace Macrocell, CoreSight Trace Memory Controller
Design Kits: Corstone-101, Corstone-201
Physical IP: Artisan PIK for Cortex-M33 TSMC 22ULL including memory compilers, logic libraries, GPIOs and documentation
Tools & Materials: Socrates IP ToolingArm Design Studio, Virtual System Models
Support: Standard Arm Technical support, Arm online training, maintenance updates, credits towards onsite training and design reviews
Arm Neoverse infrastructure
In October 2018, Arm rebranded their infrastructure portfolio under the Arm Neoverse brand and launched the Arm ServerReady certification program. The program is based on the Server Base System Architecture (SBSA) and Server Boot Base Requirements (SBBR) standards. Neoverse aims to scale from servers, WAN routers, gateways, cellular base stations and top-of-rack switches. Neoverse Platforms include Cosmos, Ares and in the future Zeus and Poseidon. The Cosmos Platform includes the Cortex-A72, Cortex-A73 and Cortex-A75. The Ares Platform includes the Neoverse N1 and Neoverse E1.
Companies using Neoverse Platforms include Amazon Web Services (Annapurna Labs), Ampere Computing, Marvell (Cavium), Huawei (HiSilicon), Qualcomm, Fujitsu, Xilinx, Mellanox, NXP.
Sales and market share
Arm-based CPU market share in 2010: over 95% in smartphone market; 10% in mobile computers; 35% in digital TVs and set-top boxes; however, Arm did not have any market share in servers and desktop PCs. , Amazon Web Services is renting access to servers using their custom Arm-based chips (and 32-core desktop PCs are available). The first mobile phone to use an Arm processor was 1997's Nokia 6110 mobile phone.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, 1.8 billion chips based on an Arm design were manufactured. By 2014, over 50 billion chips with Arm cores inside had been produced, 10 billion of which were produced in 2013.
In May 2012, Dell announced the Copper platform, a server based on Marvell's Arm powered devices. In October 2012, Arm announced the first set of early licensees of the 64-bit-capable Cortex-A57 processor.
Arm's goal was to have, by 2015, ARM-based processors in more than half of all tablets, mini-notebooks and other mobile PCs sold.
With Microsoft's ARM-based OS, market research firm IHS predicted that, in 2015, 23% of all the PCs in the world will use ARM processors. This guess by IHS has since been proven wrong and desktop Windows for ARM didn't arrive until 2018. , over 160 billion chips with ARM IP have been shipped worldwide.
Uses of Arm technology
Processors based on designs licensed from Arm, or designed by licensees of one of the ARM instruction set architectures, are used in all classes of computing devices (including in space). Examples of those processors range from the world's smallest computer to the processors in supercomputers on the TOP500 list, including the most energy-efficient one on the list. Processors designed by Arm or by Arm licensees are used as microcontrollers in embedded systems, including real-time safety systems (cars' ABS), biometrics systems (fingerprint sensor), smart TVs (e.g. Android TV), all modern smartwatches (such as Qualcomm Toq), and are used as general-purpose processors in smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops (even for running traditional x86 Microsoft Windows programs), servers and supercomputers/HPC, e.g. a CPU "option" in Cray's supercomputers.
In 2015, Arm's Mali line of graphics processing units (GPU) were used in over 70% of digital TVs and in over 50% of Android tablets by market share; some versions of Samsung's smartphones and smartwatches (Samsung Galaxy Gear) use Mali in addition to laptops. It is the third most popular GPU in mobile devices.
Systems, including iPhone smartphones, frequently include many chips, from many different providers, that include one or more licensed Arm cores, in addition to those in the main Arm-based processor. Arm's core designs are also used in chips that support many common network-related technologies in smartphones: Bluetooth, WiFi and broadband, in addition to corresponding equipment such as Bluetooth headsets, 802.11ac routers, and network providers' cellular LTE.
Partnerships
University of Michigan
In 2011, Arm renewed a five-year, US$5 million research partnership with University of Michigan, which extended their existing research partnership to 2015. This partnership would focus on ultra-low energy and sustainable computing.
World's smallest computer
, the "world's smallest computer", or computer device (made by University of Michigan team), is based on an ARM Cortex-M0+ core.
Arduino
In October 2017, Arduino announced its partnership with ARM. The announcement said, in part, "ARM recognized independence as a core value of Arduino ... without any lock-in with the ARM architecture." Arduino intends to continue to work with all technology vendors and architectures.
Intel
In October 2018, ARM Holdings partnered with Intel in order to share code for embedded systems through the Yocto Project.
Mbed OS
On 20 October 2018, Arm unveiled Arm Mbed OS, an open source operating system for IoT. On 8 October 2019, Arm announced a new Partner Governance model for partners to collaborate on the future roadmap. Partners include: Analog Devices, Cypress, Maxim Integrated, Nuvoton, NXP, Renesas, Realtek, Samsung, Silicon Labs and u-blox.
Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium (AVCC)
On 8 October 2019, Arm announced the Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium (AVCC) to collaborate and accelerate development of self-driving cars. Members include Arm, Bosch, Continental, Denso, General Motors, Nvidia, NXP and Toyota.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
In August 2020, Arm signed a three-year agreement with DARPA, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, enabling DARPA researchers to use all of Arm's commercially available technology.
Senior management
Warren East was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Arm Holdings in October 2001. In the 2011 financial year, East received a total compensation of £1,187,500 from ARM, comprising a salary of £475,000 and a bonus of £712,500. East said in March 2013 that he would retire from Arm in May, with president Simon Segars taking over as CEO. In March 2014, former Rexam chairman Stuart Chambers succeeded John Buchanan as chairman. Chambers, a non-executive director of Tesco and former chief executive of Nippon Sheet Glass Group, had previously worked at Mars and Royal Dutch Shell.
On 8 February 2022, Rene Haas succeeded Segars as CEO with immediate effect, with Segars leaving Arm.
Notes
References
External links
official site
1990 establishments in England
1998 initial public offerings
2016 mergers and acquisitions
Acorn Computers
Apple Inc. partnerships
Companies based in Cambridge
Electronics companies established in 1990
British companies established in 1990
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Semiconductor companies of the United Kingdom
Fabless semiconductor companies
HSA Foundation founding members
Softbank portfolio companies
Nvidia
Multinational joint-venture companies
British subsidiaries of foreign companies
Announced information technology acquisitions |
44219519 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SV%20Argo%20%281841%29 | SV Argo (1841) | The SV Argo was an American wooden sailing vessel (SV) designed for the trans-Atlantic Packet trade. William Whitlock, Jr acquired the ship for his Havre-Whitlock Line, which regularly scheduled round trips three times a year from New York City to Le Havre, France.
Captains
Caleb Anthony, Jr 1841–1847
Isaac H. Davis 1848–1849
Daniel H Wood 1849
Samuel Macoduck 1851–1854
Charles D Crawford 1850
Argo passenger arrivals into the Port of New York
Compiled from ship arrivals from Le Havre, France from 1841–1849, Ancestry.com, NARA and castlegarden.org. All Argo arriving passengers were processed through the Castle Garden immigration center. Arrival in the Port of New York was on pier 13 noted as the Havre-Union Line (trans-Atlantic packet).
The wreck of the Argo
The "Argo" ran aground on a sand bar on the south shore of Long Island near present-day Mastic Beach and remained there for over a year before it was removed, repaired and sold to another owner. As was common, major local newspapers avoided mention of wrecks, especially without loss of life, as not to supply negative publicity for their advertisers (owners and operators). The 1850 grounding of the Argo occurred at approximately , about 1.5 miles west of the contemporary memorial for TWA Flight 800.
"THE SHIP ARGO — This vessel, which went ashore off Fire-place, on Fire Island, on Friday night last, is now lying broadside to the shore. At high tide, yesterday, the sea broke completely over her the wind being from the northeast, but at low tide she can be approached dry shod. She was laden with about 1800 packages, about 800 of which have been discharged, 600 in a sound gate. The remaining portion of the cargo is all afloat, there being about ten feet of water in the lower hold. The planks are not started, and only a few seams near the stern are open. She is imbedded in the sand nearly to the top of her copper, but the underwriter's agent, Captain Waring, does not despair of getting her off. The cargo is now coming to the city in lighters. As the water shoals, on this shore, very gradually —at the rate, It is said, of not more than a fathom a mile—and as the wind was not high on Friday night, though the night was foggy, the occasion of the accident to the Argo is naturally a subject of much speculation."
"SHIP ARGO ASHORE - The N.Y Com. Adv. of Saturday says - Ship Argo, Crawford, went on shore on Tuesday night (March 12, 1850) at half past seven o'clock, twenty-five miles to the eastward of Fire Island. The passengers were safely landed and the mate and part of the crew came to the city by the Long Island railroad last evening. The Argo sailed from Havre on the 30th of January. The amount of damage she had sustained is not yet known. The Argo was built in this city in 1841, was 967 burthen, and her estimated value prior to this accident was $60,000. She was insured in various offices in Wall Street. Her cargo must be very valuable, $200,000 to $300,000 most of which is insured, partly in France but chiefly in this city. Assistance has been sent to her." No further voyages under the ownership of William Whitlock, Jr to and from Havre and New York have been discovered after this incident.
"We learn that the pkt ship Argo, ashore on Mystic (Mastic) Point, 20 miles E of Fire Island, will probably be got off after disg. She was perfectly sound when last heard from."
"Col. E.L. Snow, inspector of the customs, New York, was thrown from his wagon, on his way to the wreck of the ship Argo, on Long Island, and severely injured. It is said he cannot with safety be removed at present."
Margaret Fuller Ossoli wrote to Madame Arconati (April 21, 1850): " It was an odd combination. I had intended, if I went by way of France, to take the packet ship Argo from Havre; I had just written to Mrs. Story that I should not do so; and at the same time requested her to find Miss Fitton, who had my muff, etc. ; having closed the letter, I took up 'Galignani', and my eye fell on these words, Died, 4th April, at No. 10 Rue Ville l'Eveque, Miss E. Fitton. Turning the leaf, I read of the wreck of the Argo returning from America to France (from France to America). There were also notices of the wreck of the Royal Adelaide, a fine English steamer, and of the John Skiddy, one of the fine American packets. Thus, as it seems, safety is not to be found in the wisest calculation. I shall embark more composedly in my merchant ship; praying, indeed, fervently, that it may not be my lot to lose my babe at sea, either by un-solaced sickness, or amid the howling waves. Or, that if I should, it may be brief anguish, and Ossoli, he and I go together. Pray with me, dear friend, as yours ever, forever, MARGARET."
Margaret Fuller died about 90 days after writing to Madame Arconati in a shipwreck off Fire Island, near the wreck of the Argo.
"Ship Argo from Havre for New York, which was stranded a long while ago, has finally been floated off and at last account is waiting a steamer to tow her up to New York. She has been saved through the perseverance of Captain William Boardman, Jim and John M Brown, who contracted with the underwriters of Wall street to save her."
"The ship Argo lately brought to our port after having been buried for a twelvemonth in the sands below Fire Island has been put on the Sectional Floating Dry Dock for repair, all her timbers having been severely strained."
Later ownership
Used on a Liverpool to New York route by the Caleb Grimshaw and Co in 1851 and on a Liverpool to Melbourne Australia route in departing in 1852. Samuel Thompson's Nephew and Co., acquired the Argo in 1851.
"Packet ship Argo mentioned a few weeks ago in your columns is the same vessel, your correspondent refers to. This vessel was built at New York in 1841 for Fox & Livingston's (William Whitlock's) Havre Line. She went ashore on March 14, 1850, at Mystic Point, twenty miles east of Fire Island, and laid there for more than twelve months, brought to New York about March 26, 1851, repaired and sold to Thompson & Nephews Company, and run to Liverpool; afterward to the Pacific Ocean: vessel was lost on April 17, 1854, in a violent hurricane during a voyage from Baltimore to Liverpool, the pumps becoming choked, the case became hopeless and the vessel was abandoned. The crew was taken off by another vessel. She was nothing but an ordinary packet ship of that period. - J.B. Morrison"
Argo passenger arrivals into the Port of New York (N.Y.) and Melbourne (Mel.)
Compiled from ship arrivals from 1850–1852, Ancestry.com and NARA.
Loss of the Argo
The Argo was abandoned in the North Atlantic after a hurricane, boarded twice and was not seen again after the second boarding, perhaps considered a Ghost ship by the uniformed second crew who were unaware of the rescue. Its final resting place has never been determined. The Argo could have sunk, washed ashore in Ireland or been salvaged without notifying maritime authorities.
"Ship Argo Capt Macoduck from Baltimore 1 April 1854 for Liverpool experienced on 17 April a violent hurricane from S to NW which threw the vessel on her beam ends; her masts were cut away and she righted a little taking large quantities of water. On the 19th the vessel had 7 feet of water in her hold and was abandoned, the crew being taken off by the Br. ship Mahonongo (Mohongo) Capt Cor(n)ish from Londonderry".
"LOST SHIPS.—Argo, Macoduck, from Baltimore to Liverpool with breadstuffs was thrown on her beam ends, 17 April in Lat 46 Lon 31 () , and on the 19th, was abandoned; crew taken off by the Mahongo (Mohongo), Cor(n)ish, from Londonderry."
"Messrs Thompson and Nephew (Samuel Thompson's Nephew & Co.) intend presenting to Capt Raymond Cornish of the ship Mohongo of Londonderry an elegant silver trumpet suitably inscribed as a slight acknowledgment of his noble conduct in rescuing Capt Macoduck and the crew from the wreck of the ship Argo on the 19th April last. A heavy sea was running at the time and Capt Cornish effected the rescue at imminent hazard by his small boats - New York Courier".
"An American ship dismasted and abandoned, hailing from New: York, with port side of archboard washed away, laden with flour and corn, was boarded by the Portland, from New Orleans, in Lon. 30W., and letters were found in her cabin addressed to “Capt. Macodrick,” ship Argo. Mem.— The Argo, Macodrick, cleared from Baltimore March 22 for this port."
"The New City of Cork, from Barbados, at this port, saw, on the 20th ult. in lat. 46°17'N, long. 30°30'W, () a dismasted and abandoned ship (supposed to be the Argo, from Baltimore to this port, reported by the Portland), bearing NE, and bore down to her, and found her to be a ship of about 1000 tons, with painted ports, gilt billet head, main and mizenmasts gone close to the deck, foremast, bowsprit, and jibboom standing, & c. "New York " on her stern, but name gone: to all appearance a new vessel, with perfect rudder and wheel house; did not appear to be waterlogged, or long abandoned."
External links (passenger lists)
Norway Heritage
IMTG Vol. 2
Smith Ancestry
Genealogy of the Weichmann - Kelley Family of Western New York
Castle Garden, The Battery Conservancy search results for ship Argo 1841–1849
Germany Roots, February 14 1842 New York arrivals
Rupp Family, Bavarian Inn Lodge
External links (other)
Commercial tariffs and regulations, resources, and trade, of the several states of Europe and America: together with the commercial treaties between England and foreign countries. United States of America, Volume 2
George Howland junior by William Logan Rodman Gifford, Priv. print. E. Anthony & sons, incorp., printers, 1892 - 56 pages
The New York State Register, for 1843
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, H.M. Stationery Office, 1846 - Legislation
The New York State Register for 1845–46
Record of the Life and Work of the Rev. Stephen Higginson Tyng and History of St. George's Church, New York: To the Close of His Rectorship, E.P. Dutton, 1890 - 682 pages
Whitlock advertisement for Argo in New York Evening Mirror, April 3, 1845
Merchant sail. v.2. p. 1176, Fairburn, William Armstrong, 1876–1947
Merchant sail. v.2. p. 1297, Fairburn, William Armstrong, 1876–1947
Merchant sail. v.5. p. 2784, Fairburn, William Armstrong, 1876–1947
Merchant sail. v.5. p. 2809, Fairburn, William Armstrong, 1876–1947
Captain Caleb Anthony memorial on findagrave
References
1841 ships
Tall ships of the United States
Individual sailing vessels
Barques
Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Three-masted ships |
6300061 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task%20state%20segment | Task state segment | The task state segment (TSS) is a structure on x86-based computers which holds information about a task. It is used by the operating system kernel for task management. Specifically, the following information is stored in the TSS:
Processor register state
I/O port permissions
Inner-level stack pointers
Previous TSS link
All this information should be stored at specific locations within the TSS as specified in the IA-32 manuals.
Location of the TSS
The TSS may reside anywhere in memory. A segment register called the task register (TR) holds a segment selector that points to a valid TSS segment descriptor which resides in the GDT (a TSS descriptor may not reside in the LDT). Therefore, to use a TSS the following must be done by the operating system kernel:
Create a TSS descriptor entry in the GDT
Load the TR with the segment selector for that segment
Add information to the TSS in memory as needed
For security purposes, the TSS should be placed in memory that is accessible only to the kernel.
Task register
The TR register is a 16-bit register which holds a segment selector for the TSS. It may be loaded through the LTR instruction. LTR is a privileged instruction and acts in a manner similar to other segment register loads. The task register has two parts: a portion visible and accessible by the programmer and an invisible one that is automatically loaded from the TSS descriptor.
Register states
The TSS may contain saved values of all the x86 registers. This is used for task switching. The operating system may load the TSS with the values of the registers that the new task needs and after executing a hardware task switch (such as with an IRET instruction) the x86 CPU will load the saved values from the TSS into the appropriate registers. Note that some modern operating systems such as Windows and Linux do not use these fields in the TSS as they implement software task switching.
Note that during a hardware task switch, certain fields of the old TSS are updated with the CPU's current register contents before the values from the new TSS are read. Thus some TSS fields are read/write, while others are read-only:
Read/Write fields: read and written during a hardware task switch.
All general-purpose registers (EAX, EBX, ECX, EDX, ESI, EDI, EBP, ESP);
All segment registers (CS, DS, ES, FS, GS, SS);
Current execution state (EIP, EFlags);
The Link field in the new TSS, if the task switch was due to a CALL or INT rather than a JMP.
Read-only fields: read only when required, as indicated.
Control Register 3 (CR3), also known as the Page Directory Base Register (PDBR).
Read during a hardware task switch.
The Local Descriptor Table register (LDTR);
Read during a hardware task switch.
The three privilege-level stack pairs (SS0:ESP0, SS1:ESP1, SS2:ESP2);
Read during an inter-level CALL or INT to establish a new stack.
The IO Port Bitmap pointer (IOPB) and the I/O Port Bitmap itself;
Read during an IN, OUT, INS or OUTS instruction if CPL > IOPL to confirm the instruction is legal (see I/O port permissions below).
The PDBR field is in fact the very first one read out of the new TSS: since a hardware task switch can also switch to a completely different page table mapping, all the other fields (especially the LDTR) are relative to the new mapping.
I/O port permissions
The TSS contains a 16-bit pointer to I/O port permissions bitmap for the current task. This bitmap, usually set up by the operating system when a task is started, specifies individual ports to which the program should have access. The I/O bitmap is a bit array of port access permissions; if the program has permission to access a port, a "0" is stored at the corresponding bit index, and if the program does not have permission, a "1" is stored there. If the TSS’ segment limit is less than the full bitmap, all missing bits are assumed to be "1".
The feature operates as follows: when a program issues an x86 I/O port instruction such as IN or OUT (see x86 instruction listings - and note that there are byte-, word- and dword-length versions), the hardware will do an I/O privilege level (IOPL) check to see if the program has access to all I/O ports. If the Current Privilege Level (CPL) of the program is numerically greater than the I/O Privilege level (IOPL) (the program is less-privileged than what the IOPL specifies), the program does not have I/O port access to all ports. The hardware will then check the I/O permissions bitmap in the TSS to see if that program can access the specific port(s) in the IN or OUT instruction. If (all the) relevant bit(s) in the I/O port permissions bitmap is/are clear, the program is allowed access to the port(s), and the instruction is allowed to execute. If (any of) the relevant bit(s) is/are set - or if (any of) the bit(s) is/are past the TSS’ segment limit - the program does not have access and the processor generates a general protection fault. This feature allows operating systems to grant selective port access to user programs.
Inner-level stack pointers
The TSS contains 6 fields for specifying the new stack pointer when a privilege level change happens. The field SS0 contains the stack segment selector for CPL=0, and the field ESP0/RSP0 contains the new ESP/RSP value for CPL=0. When an interrupt happens in protected (32-bit) mode, the x86 CPU will look in the TSS for SS0 and ESP0 and load their values into SS and ESP respectively. This allows for the kernel to use a different stack than the user program, and also have this stack be unique for each user program.
A new feature introduced in the AMD64 extensions is called the Interrupt Stack Table (IST), which also resides in the TSS and contains logical (segment+offset) stack pointers. If an interrupt descriptor table specifies an IST entry to use (there are 8), the processor will load the new stack from the IST instead. This allows known-good stacks to be used in case of serious errors (NMI or Double fault for example). Previously, the entry for the exception or interrupt in the IDT pointed to a task gate, causing the processor to switch to the task that is pointed by the task gate. The original register values were saved in the TSS current at the time the interrupt or exception occurred. The processor then set the registers, including SS:ESP, to a known value specified in the TSS and saved the selector to the previous TSS. The problem here is that hardware task switching is not supported on AMD64.
Previous TSS link
This is a 16-bit selector which allows linking this TSS with the previous one. This is only used for hardware task switching. See the IA-32 manuals for details.
Use of TSS in Linux
Although a TSS could be created for each task running on the computer, Linux kernel only creates one TSS for each CPU and uses them for all tasks. This approach was selected as it provides easier portability to other architectures (for example, the AMD64 architecture does not support hardware task switches), and improved performance and flexibility. Linux only uses the I/O port permission bitmap and inner stack features of the TSS; the other features are only needed for hardware task switches, which the Linux kernel does not use.
Exceptions related to the TSS
The x86 exception vector 10 is called the Invalid TSS exception (#TS). It is issued by the processor whenever something goes wrong with the TSS access. For example, if an interrupt happens in CPL=3 and is transferring control to CPL=0, the TSS is used to extract SS0 and ESP0/RSP0 for the stack switch. If the task register holds a bad TSS selector, a #TS fault will be generated. The Invalid TSS exception should never happen during normal operating system operation and is always related to kernel bugs or hardware failure.
For more details on TSS exceptions, see Volume 3a, Chapter 6 of the IA-32 manual.
TSS in x86-64 mode
The x86-64 architecture does not support hardware task switches. However the TSS can still be used in a machine running in the 64 bit extended modes. In these modes the TSS is still useful as it stores:
The stack pointer addresses for each privilege level.
Pointer Addresses for the Interrupt Stack Table (The inner-level stack pointer section above, discusses the need for this).
Offset Address of the IO permission bitmap.
Also, the task register is expanded in these modes to be able to hold a 64-bit base address.
References
External links
Demonstration program using TSSes
X86 architecture |
34524905 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTOS | FTOS | FTOS or Force10 Operating System is the firmware family used on Force10 Ethernet switches. It has a similar functionality as Cisco's NX-OS or Juniper's Junos. FTOS 10 is running on Debian.
As part of a re-branding strategy of Dell FTOS will be renamed to Dell Networking Operating System (DNOS) 9.x or above, while the legacy PowerConnect switches will use DNOS 6.x: see the separate article on DNOS.
Hardware Abstraction Layer
Three of the four product families from Dell Force10 are using the Broadcom Trident+ ASIC's, but the company doesn't use the API's from Broadcom: the developers at Force10 have written their own Hardware Abstraction Layer so that FTOS can run on different hardware platforms with minimal impact for the firmware. Currently three of the four F10 switch families are based on the Broadcom Trident+ (while the fourth—the E-series—run on self-developed ASIC's); and if the product developers want or need to use different hardware for new products they only need to develop a HAL for that new hardware and the same firmware can run on it. This keeps the company flexible and not dependent on a specific hardware-vendor and can use both 3rd party or self designed ASIC's and chipsets.
The human interface in FTOS, that is the way network-administrators can configure and monitor their switches, is based on NetBSD, an implementation which often used in embedded networking-systems. NetBSD is a very stable, open source, OS running on many different hardware platforms. By choosing for a proven technology with extended TCP functionality built into the core of the OS it reduces time during development of new products or extending the FTOS with new features.
Modular setup
FTOS is also modular where different parts of the OS run independently from each other within one switch: if one process would fail the impact on other processes on the switch are limited. This modular setup is also taken to the hardware level in some product-lines where a routing-module has three separate CPU's: one for management, one for L2 and one for L3 processing. This same approach is also used in the newer firmware-families from Cisco like the NX-OS for the Nexus product-line or the IOS XR for the high-end routers (the Carrier Routing Systems) from Cisco. (and unlike the original IOS: processes under IOS aren't isolated from each other). This approach is regarded not only a way to make the firmware more resilient but also increases the security of the switches
Capabilities
All FTOS based switches offer a wide range of layer2 and layer3 protocols. All features are available on all switches: some switch models (in the S-series) offer an additional license for layer3 or routing: this additional license is NOT required to use that protocol, but only required to get support from the Dell Force10 support department on using these features. All interfaces on FTOS running switches are configured as a layer3 interface and by default shutdown. To use such an interface as an ethernet switchport you need to configure it as such (with the command "switchport") and then enable that port using "no shutdown".
Layer2 capabilities
All standardized ethernet standards are supported by switches running FTOS including: Spanning Tree Protocol and RSTP, VLAN and the IEEE 802.1Q standards, QinQ or IEEE 802.1ad, Link Layer Discovery Protocol and LLDP MED.
The S-series switches ending with a V and some of the E-series line-cards support Power over Ethernet or PoE with the standards for this protocol.
Layer3 capabilities
As mentioned above, by default an interface on a switch running FTOS are configured as a layer3 port. All FTOS switches are thus routers with many interfaces that can (and most often are) reconfigured into a layer2 ethernet switch.
All FTOS switches run at least the following routing protocols: Routing Information Protocol and RIP version 2, OSPF, IS-IS and Border Gateway Protocol version 4.
Management Interface
Switches running FTOS can only be configured using a command-line interface or CLI: FTOS doesn't offer a web-based Graphical user interface. Initial configuration is done via the console port using either a straight-through or roll-over cable (depending on model) to a terminal on 9600 bit/s and some models also support an AUX port allowing remote management via a dial-in modem. Most switches have a standard serial port or offer a USB-B port. After initial configuration access to the cli is possible via telnet and/or SSH. FTOS based switches also support SNMP and file-transfer (FTOS upgrades and startup-configuration data) can be done via FTP, TFTP or Secure copy
Most switches running FTOS offer a dedicated management interface where the IP routing to/from the management system is not part of the internal switching or routing system. Some S-series switches only offer in-band management using a physical router interface or a VLAN interface in layer-3 mode.
Open Automation
Under the name OpenAutomation 2.0 Dell Networking switches running DNOS 9.x (the new brand-name for FTOS) offers a number of features under this name. These features include:
Smart Scripting
Dell Force10 switches support so called smart scripting. It is possible to develop scripts that run on the switches running FTOS. Both Perl and Python are supported as scripting languages to automate environment specific repetitive tasks or to build in custom behavior. Users who write such scripts are promoted to share these scripts with the user-community and make them available to other Force10/DNOS users. Force10 introduced the smart scripting in FTOS in 2010, following other vendors like Cisco for their Nexus product range
Bare metal provisioning
Force10 switches support a bare metal provisioning option: if you need to deploy a number of similar switches you can put both (desired/latest) firmware release and standard user-specific configuration on a USB key: when deploying the switches you can insert the USB key, power-up the switch and it will automatically load the correct firmware and configuration. In combination with smart scripting someone can combine these features for a fully automated installation and configuration of new switches.
Virtual server networking
Part of the Open Automation platform are special features for the use of virtualization in your datacenter. Virtualization allows you to create complete (virtual) server-systems running on a standard hypervisor farm. This will create new challenges for networking in such a datacenter, support automated configuration of datacenter switches to connect newly created virtual servers. The open automation platform has several features to support this
.
Network Automation
According to Dell the move to (server and datacenter) virtualization is one of the most important developments in the IT industry. According to this vendor the industry must prevent that this path leads to getting locked-in into specific vendors due to the use of proprietary technologies. The open automation framework is an open framework that doesn't rely on proprietary solutions
Sources and references
Embedded operating systems
Internet Protocol based network software
Dell
Computer networking |
167241 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic%20degree | Academic degree | An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including bachelor's, master's, and doctorates, often alongside other academic certificates and professional degrees. The most common undergraduate degree is the bachelor's degree, although in some countries there are lower level higher education qualifications that are also titled degrees (e.g. associate degrees and foundation degrees) and higher level (e.g. undergraduate master's degrees).
History
Emergence of the doctor’s and master’s degrees and the licentiate
The doctorate (Latin: doceo “I teach”) appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach (Latin: licentia docendi) at a medieval university. Its roots can be traced to the early church when the term "doctor" referred to the Apostles, church fathers and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible. The right to grant a licentia docendi was originally reserved to the church which required the applicant to pass a test, to take oath of allegiance and pay a fee. The Third Council of the Lateran of 1179 guaranteed the access – now largely free of charge – of all able applicants, who were, however, still tested for aptitude by the ecclesiastic scholastic. This right remained a bone of contention between the church authorities and the slowly emancipating universities, but was granted by the Pope to the University of Paris in 1231 where it became a universal license to teach (licentia ubique docendi). However, while the licentia continued to hold a higher prestige than the bachelor's degree (Baccalaureus), it was ultimately reduced to an intermediate step to the Magister and doctorate, both of which now became the exclusive qualification for teaching.
At the university, doctoral training was a form of apprenticeship to a guild. The traditional term of study before new teachers were admitted to the guild of "Master of Arts", seven years, was the same as the term of apprenticeship for other occupations. Originally the terms "master" and "doctor" were synonymous, but over time the doctorate came to be regarded as a higher qualification than the master's degree.
Today the terms "master" (from the Latin 'magister'– meaning literally: "teacher"), "Doctor", and "Professor" signify different levels of academic achievement, but in the Medieval university they were equivalent terms, the use of them in the degree name being a matter of custom at a university. (Most universities conferred the Master of Arts, although the highest degree was often termed Master of Theology/Divinity or Doctor of Theology/Divinity depending on the place).
The earliest doctoral degrees (theology – Divinitatis Doctor (D.D.), law – Legum Doctor (LL.D., later D.C.L.) and medicine – Medicinæ Doctor (M.D., D.M.)) reflected the historical separation of all higher University study into these three fields. Over time, the D.D. has gradually become less common outside theology and is now mostly used for honorary degrees, with the title "Doctor of Theology" being used more often for earned degrees. Studies outside theology, law and medicine were then called "philosophy", due to the Renaissance conviction that real knowledge could be derived from empirical observation. The degree title of Doctor of Philosophy is a much later time and was not introduced in England before 1900. Studies in what once was called philosophy are now classified as sciences and humanities.
George Makdisi theorizes that the ijazah issued in medieval Islamic madrasas in the 9th century was the origin of the doctorate that later appeared in medieval European universities. Alfred Guillaume, Syed Farid al-Attas and Devin J. Stewart agree that there is a resemblance between the ijazah and the university degree. However, Toby Huff and others reject Makdisi's theory. Devin J. Stewart finds that the ijazat al-ifta, license to teach Islamic law and issue legal opinions, is most similar to the medieval European university degree in that it permits entry into certain professions. However, a key different is that the granting authority of the ijaza is an individual professor whereas the university degree was granted by a corporate entity.
The University of Bologna in Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, was the first institution to confer the degree of Doctor in Civil Law in the late 12th century; it also conferred similar degrees in other subjects, including medicine.
The University of Paris used the term "master" for its graduates, a practice adopted by the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the ancient Scottish universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.
Emergence of the bachelor's degree
In the medieval European universities, candidates who had completed three or four years of study in the prescribed texts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music), together known as the Liberal Arts and who had successfully passed examinations held by their master, would be admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, from the Latin , a term previously used of a squire (i.e., apprentice) to a knight. Further study and in particular successful participation in and then moderating of disputations would earn one the Master of Arts degree, from the Latin magister, "master" (typically indicating a teacher), entitling one to teach these subjects. Masters of Arts were eligible to enter study under the "higher faculties" of Law, Medicine or Theology and earn first a bachelor's and then master or doctor's degrees in these subjects. Thus a degree was only a step on the way to becoming a fully qualified master – hence the English word "graduate", which is based on the Latin ("step").
The evolution of the terminology of degrees
The naming of degrees eventually became linked with the subjects studied. Scholars in the faculties of arts or grammar became known as "master", but those in theology, medicine and law were known as "doctor". As study in the arts or in grammar was a necessary prerequisite to study in subjects such as theology, medicine and law, the degree of doctor assumed a higher status than the master's degree. This led to the modern hierarchy in which the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), which in its present form as a degree based on research and dissertation is a development from 18th- and 19th-century German universities, is a more advanced degree than the Master of Arts (M.A.). The practice of using the term doctor for PhDs developed within German universities and spread across the academic world.
The French terminology is tied closely to the original meanings of the terms. The baccalauréat (cf. "bachelor") is conferred upon French students who have successfully completed their secondary education and admits the student to university. When students graduate from university, they are awarded licence, much as the medieval teaching guilds would have done and they are qualified to teach in secondary schools or proceed to higher-level studies. Spain had a similar structure: the term "Bachiller" was used for those who finished the secondary or high-school level education, known as "Bachillerato". The standard Spanish university 5-years degree was "Licenciado", (although there were a few 3-years associate degrees called "diplomaturas", from where the "diplomados" could move to study a related licenciatura). The highest level was "Doctor".
Degrees awarded by institutions other than universities
In the past, degrees have also been directly issued by authority of the monarch or by a bishop, rather than any educational institution. This practice has mostly died out. In Great Britain, Lambeth Degrees are still awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop of Canterbury's right to grant degrees is derived from Peter's Pence Act of 1533 which empowered the Archbishop to grant dispensations previously granted by the Pope.
Among educational institutions, St David's College, Lampeter was granted limited degree awarding powers by royal charter in the nineteenth century, despite not being a university. University College North Staffordshire was also granted degree awarding powers on its foundation in 1949, despite not becoming a university (as the University of Keele) until 1962. Following the Education Reform Act 1988, many educational institutions other than universities have been granted degree awarding powers, including higher education colleges and colleges of the University of London (many of which are now effectively universities in their own right).
Academic dress
In most countries, gaining an academic degree entitles the holder to assume distinctive academic dress particular to the awarding institution, identifying the status of the individual wearing them.
Laws on granting and use of degrees
In many countries degrees may only be awarded by institutions authorised to do so by the national or regional government. Frequently governments will also regulate the use of university in names of businesses. This approach is followed, for example, by Australia and the United Kingdom. The use of fake degrees by individuals, either obtained from a bogus institution or simply invented, is often covered by fraud laws.
Indicating earned degrees
Depending on culture and the degree earned, degrees may be indicated by a pre-nominal title, post-nominal letters, a choice of either or not indicated at all. In countries influenced by the UK, post-nominal letters are the norm, with only doctorates granting a title, while titles are the norm in many northern European countries.
Depending on the culture and the purpose of the listing, only the highest degree, a selection of degrees or all degrees might be listed. The awarding institution may also be shown and it might be specified if a degree was at honours level, particularly where the honours degree is a separate qualification from the ordinary bachelor's degree.
For member institutions of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, there is a standard list of abbreviations for university names given in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook, but in practice many variations are used and the Yearbook notes that the abbreviations used may not match those used by the universities concerned. For some British universities it is traditional to use Latin abbreviations, notably 'Oxon' and 'Cantab' for the universities of Oxford and Cambridge respectively, in spite of these having been superseded by English 'Oxf' and 'Camb' in official university usage, particularly in order to distinguish the Oxbridge MA from an earned MA. Other Latin abbreviations commonly used include 'Cantuar' for Lambeth degrees (awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury), 'Dunelm' for Durham University, 'Ebor' for the University of York and 'Exon' for the University of Exeter. The Ancient universities of Scotland and the University of London have abbreviations that are the same in English and Latin. (See for a more complete list and discussion of abbreviations for British universities.)
Confusion can result from universities sharing similar names, e.g. the University of York in the UK and York University in Canada or Newcastle University in the UK and the University of Newcastle in Australia. In this case, the convention is to include a country abbreviation with the university's name. For example, 'York (Can.)' and 'York (UK)' or 'Newc (UK)' and 'Newc (Aus.) are commonly used to denote degrees conferred by these universities where the potential for confusion exists, and institution names are given in this form in the Commonwealth Universities Yearbook.
Abbreviations used for degrees vary between countries and institutions, e.g. MS indicates Master of Science in the US and places following American usage, but Master of Surgery in the UK and most Commonwealth countries, where the standard abbreviation for Master of Science is MSc. Common abbreviations include BA and MA for Bachelor and Master of Arts, BS/BSc and MS/MSc for Bachelor and Master of Science, MD for Doctor of Medicine and PhD for Doctor of Philosophy.
Online degree
An online degree is an academic degree (usually a college degree, but sometimes the term includes high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely on a distance learning basis through the use of an Internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology, the increasing use of the Internet worldwide and the need for people to have flexible school schedules that enable them to work while attending school have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.
Degree systems by regions
Asia
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan
Bangladesh and India mostly follow the colonial era British system for classification of degrees. However, Pakistan has recently switched to US model of two years associate degree and four year bachelor's degree program. The arts, referring to the performing arts and literature, have the corresponding degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA) and the Master of Arts (MA). Management degrees are also classified under 'Arts' but is nowadays considered a major new stream, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master Of Business Administration (MBA). Science referring to the basic sciences and natural science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry etc.) the corresponding degree are Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and its master is called Master of Science (M.Sc.). Another new set of Information Technology degree conferred specially in the field of computer science, Bachelor of Science in information technology (B.Sc.IT.) and Master of Science in information technology (M.Sc.IT.). The engineering degree in India follows two nomenclatures, Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) and Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.). Both represent bachelor's degree in engineering. In Pakistan, engineering degrees are Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) and Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S./B.Sc. Engineering). Both are same in curriculum, duration and pattern and differs only in nomenclature. The engineering degree in Bangladesh is Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.Sc. Engineering). Medical Degree – Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Dental Degree – Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Computer Application Degree – Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) and Master of Computer Application (MCA).
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka as many other commonwealth countries follow the British system with its own distinctions. Degrees are approved by the University Grants Commission.
Africa
Tunisia
Grading in Tunisia is done on a scale of 0–20. The passing grade is 10 out of 20 which is 50% of the complete mark; 20. This grading system is used from middle-school up to university level. A PhD thesis is even graded out of 20.
To get ahead on the academic ladder, one is strictly assessed numerically. That is; if you are a BA holder applying for an MA program you will be admitted according to how high your grades were during your undergraduate years.
Level 4 courses come in the form of 1st year of a bachelors programme or HNC (Higher National Certificate). Depending on the type of associate degree a student may be able to start their 2nd year of bachelors (The course must be the same as the one they are applying for)
South Africa
In South Africa, grades (which are also commonly referred to as "marks") are presented as a percentage, where anything below 50% is a failure. There are generally opportunities to rewrite the exam if the grade of your first attempt was sufficient to warrant an additional attempt. Each institution independently determines which grades warrant an additional attempt.
A degree in almost any discipline is available at one or another institution in South Africa. Some institutions are renowned for certain disciplines. Alphabetically, the major disciplines across the country are; Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science and Theology.
There are several levels of degrees which are awarded according to a credit-based system devised by the SAQA (South African Qualifications Agency: ).
Each level of degree has a different level of NQF rating, for example, an undergraduate (3-year) degree in Science is rated as an NQF level 6, and an additional year in that specific discipline will warrant the awarding of an NQF level 8 (or honours degree).
Kenya
In Kenya, the first undergraduate degree starts after students have successfully completed four years of the secondary school education, and attained at least C+ (55-59%) in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
For students pursuing a degree certificate in bachelor of science engineering, such as B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, B.Sc. Mechatronics Engineering, B.Sc. Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Civil Engineering, they are required to join degree programs that are accredited by engineers board of kenya and commission for university education. B.Sc. degree in engineering takes five years.
A degree in medicine or surgery may take six to seven years to complete.
A degree in education or management takes around four years.
The first postgraduate degree, master’s degree, starts after students have completed an undergraduate degree. For students to join a master’s degree, they must have attained at least a second class honors upper division (60-69%) or lower division plus at least two years of relevant experience. Most master course degrees take two years and have no specific final grading. Usually, in an engineering master’s degree, a student is required to publish at least one scientific paper in a peer reviewed journal.
For doctor of philosophy degrees, students must have completed a relevant master’s degree. Students are required to carry out a supervised scientific study for at least three years and publish at least two scientific first-author papers in peer reviewed journals, relevant to their area of study.
Europe
Since the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region in 1997 and the Bologna declaration in 1999, higher education systems in Europe are being harmonised through the Bologna process, based on a three-cycle hierarchy of degrees: Bachelor's/Licence – Master's – Doctorate, with the later addition of a "short cycle (within the first cycle)" to cover sub-bachelor's qualifications. This system is gradually replacing the two-stage system previously used in some countries and is combined with other elements such as the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the use of Diploma Supplements to make comparisons between qualifications easier.
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was formally established in 2010 and as of September 2016 has 50 members. Implementation of the various elements of the EHEA varies. Twenty-four countries have fully implemented a national qualifications framework and a further ten have a framework but have not yet certified it against the overarching framework; in 38 countries ECTS credits are used for all higher education programmes; 31 countries have fully implemented diploma supplements; and only 11 countries have included all the major points of the Lisbon Recognition Convention in national legislation.
From 2008, the European Union has been developing the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). This is an eight-level framework designed to allow cross-referencing of the various national qualifications frameworks. While it is not specific to higher education, the top four levels (5–8) correspond to the short cycle, first cycle, second cycle and third cycle of the EHEA.
Austria
In Austria, there are currently two parallel systems of academic degrees:
the traditional two-cycle system of Magister/Diplom followed by the Doctorate and
the three-cycle system of Bachelor, Master and Doctorate as defined by the Bologna process.
With a few exceptions, the two-cycle degree system will be phased out by 2010. Some of the established degree naming has, however, been preserved, allowing universities to award the "Diplom-Ingenieur" (and for a while also the "Magister") to graduates of the new-style Master programmes.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic implemented the Bologna process so there are basically three degrees: Bachelor (3 years), Master (2 years after Bachelor) and Doctor (4 years after Master).
There are also voluntary academic titles called "small doctorates" (e.g. RNDr. for natural sciences, PhDr. for philosophy, JUDr. for law etc.) achieved after rigorosum exam. Medical students don't get bachelor's or master's degrees, instead they study six years and after obligatory rigorous exam they get title MUDr. or MDDr. for dentists or MVDr. for veterinary physicians. They can also get "big doctorate" (Ph.D.) after another three or (more often) four years of studies.
Bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and small doctorates in the form of shortcuts (Bc., Mgr., Ing., ...) are listed before the person's name; a Doctor's degree (Ph.D.) is listed after name (e.g. MUDr. Jan Novák, Ph.D.). There are more degrees that used to be awarded, but you can still encounter them.
Denmark
Before the adaptation to international standards, the lowest degree that would normally be studied at universities in Denmark was equivalent to a master's degree (kandidatgrad). Officially, bachelor's degrees was always obtained after 3 years' university studies.
Various medium-length (2–4 years) professional degrees have been adapted so they now have status as professional bachelor's degrees of varying length and opposed to academic bachelor's degrees they are considered to be "applied" degrees. A professional bachelor's degree is 180 or 210 or 240 ECTS-points.
The academic degrees available at universities are:
bachelor i <field of study> (bachelor's degree = 180 ECTS-points)
cand. <Latin abbreviation of field of study> (master's degree = 120 ECTS-points, except Medicine, which is 180 ECTS-points and Veterinary Medicine, which is 150 ECTS-points)
ph.d. (PhD degree = normally 180 ECTS-points)
dr. <Latin abbreviation of field of study> (higher doctoral degree = normally after a minimum of 5 years of individual and original research)
Finland
Historically, the Finnish higher education system is derived from the German system. The current system of higher education comprises two types of higher education institutions, the universities and the polytechnics, many of whom refer to themselves as universities of applied sciences (UAS) With the exception of few fields such as medicine and dentistry, the Finnish system of higher education degrees is in compliance with the Bologna process. Universities award bachelor's degrees (kandidaatti / kandidat), Master's degrees (maisteri / magister) and doctoral degrees (lisensiaatin tutkinto / licentiat examen and tohtorin tutkinto / doktorexamen). In most fields the system of doctoral degrees is two-tier, the degree of licentiate is an independent academic degree but completing the degree of doctor does not require completion of a licentiate degree. The polytechnics (universities of applied sciences) have the right to award bachelor's and master's degrees; the degree titles are distinct from the titles used for university degrees.
In general, students who are admitted to bachelor studies at a university have the right to continue to studies at master level. At polytechnics, the right to continue to master-level studies has to be applied for separately and there is also a work experience requirement. The majority of master's degree holders have graduated from university.
The degrees awarded by the universities and polytechnics are at par by law, but the content and orientation of studies is different. A master's degree obtained at a polytechnic gives the same academic right to continue studies at doctoral level as a master's degree obtained at a university.
France
The French national education system makes a distinction between a diplôme national ("national degree") and diplôme universitaire ("university degree"). The former, which are considered higher status, are controlled by the state and issued by universities on behalf of the responsible ministry; the latter are controlled and granted by the universities themselves. Additionally, private universities and schools may be recognised by the state with a diplôme visé ("recognised degree") and then, after five years of recognition, have their degrees validated by the state, the validation having to be renewed every six years.
Historically, academic degrees were orientated towards research and the vocational education system awarded only diplomas. Since the implementation of the Bologna Process in France, things are going towards a simplification: schools continue to deliver their own diplomas, but the State recognition and degree awarding is far more ranged than before.
Diploma courses such as the University Bachelor of Technology's Diploma (bachelor universitaire de technologie; BUT) is recognised as "professionnal bachelor cycle" qualifications worth 180 ECTS credits; the Technologist's Certificate (brevet de technician supérieur; BTS) is now recognised as "short cycle" qualifications worth 120 ECTS credits, allowing progression from these to academic qualifications. Nonetheless, there are diplomas in France with no degree recognition, e.g. specific diplomas designed by various institutions with no recognition from the Ministry of Education, such as the mastère spécialisé or the Sciences Po Bachelor.
The recognised degrees fall in three levels, following the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area. These are the licence (first cycle), master (second cycle) and doctorat (third cycle). All licence degrees are 3 years (180 ECTS credits) in length and all master's degrees are 2 years (120 ECTS credits) in length. There are also 5 year (300 ECTS credits) engineer's degrees, which are master's degree. In addition to the doctorate, which is always a research degree, the Diplôme d'Etat de docteur en médicine and the Diplôme d'Etat de docteur vétérinaire are also considered third cycle qualifications.
Germany
Traditionally in Germany, students graduated after four to six years either with a Magister degree in social sciences, humanities, linguistics and the arts or with a Diplom degree in natural sciences, economics, business administration, political science, sociology, theology and engineering. Those degrees were the first and at the same time highest non-PhD/Doctorate-title in many disciplines before its gradual replacement by other Anglo-Saxon-inspired master's and bachelor's degrees under the Bologna process. The Magister and Diplom awarded by universities, both of which require a final thesis, are considered equivalent to a master's degree, although the Diplom awarded by a Fachhochschule (university of applied sciences) is at bachelor's degree level.
A special kind of examination is the Staatsexamen (State Examination). It is not an academic degree but a government licensing examination that future doctors, dentists, teachers, lawyers (solicitors), judges, public prosecutors, patent attorneys and pharmacists have to pass in order to be eligible to work in their profession. Students usually study at university for three to six years, depending on the field, before they take the first Staatsexamen. While this is normally at master's level, a few courses (e.g. primary and lower secondary level teaching), which have a standard study period of three years, are assigned to bachelor's level. After the first Staatsexamen, teachers and lawyers go through a form of pupillage, the Vorbereitungsdienst, for two years, before they are able to take the second Staatsexamen, which tests their practical abilities in their jobs. At some institutions pharmacists and jurists can choose whether to be awarded the first Staatsexamen or a master's degree (or formerly the Diplom).
Since 1999, the traditional degrees have been replaced by bachelor's (Bachelor) and master's (Master) degrees as part of the Bologna process. The main reasons for this change are to make degrees internationally comparable and to introduce degrees to the German system which take less time to complete (German students typically took five years or more to earn a Magister or Diplom). Some universities were initially resistant to this change, considering it a displacement of a venerable tradition for the pure sake of globalization. However, universities had to fulfill the new standard by the end of 2007. Enrollment into Diplom and Magister programs is no longer possible. However, programs leading to Staatsexamen did usually not make the transition to Bologna degrees.
Doctorates are issued with various designations, depending on the faculty: e.g., Doktor der Naturwissenschaften (Doctor of Natural Science); Doktor der Rechtswissenschaften (Doctor of Law); Doktor der Medizin (Doctor of Medicine); Doktor der Philosophie (Doctor of Philosophy), to name just a few. Multiple doctorates and honorary doctorates are often listed and even used in forms of address in German-speaking countries. A Diplom, Magister, Master's or Staatsexamen student can proceed to a doctorate. Well qualified bachelor's graduates can also enrol directly into PhD programs after a procedure to determine their aptitude administered by the admitting university. The doctoral degree (e.g., Dr. rer. nat., Dr. phil. and others) is the highest academic degree in Germany and generally a research degree. The degree Dr. med. for medical doctors has to be viewed differently; medical students usually write their doctoral theses right after they have completed studies, without any previous conducted scientific research, just as students in other disciplines write a Diplom, Magister or Master's thesis. Higher doctorates, such as the D.Sc. degree in the UK, are not present in the German system.
However, sometimes incorrectly regarded as a degree, the Habilitation is a higher academic qualification in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic that allows further teaching and research endorsement after a doctorate. It is earned by writing a second thesis (the Habilitationsschrift) or presenting a portfolio of first-author publications in an advanced topic. The exact requirements for satisfying a Habilitation depend on individual universities. The "habil.", as it is abbreviated to represent that a habilitation has been awarded after the doctorate, was traditionally the conventional qualification for serving at least as a Privatdozent (e.g. "PD Dr. habil.") (senior lecturer) in an academic professorship. Some German universities no longer require the Habilitation, although preference may still be given to applicants who have this credential, for academic posts in the more traditional fields.
Greece
In Greece access to university is possible after national exams (Panhellenic Exams).
The Greek academic degrees are:
Ptychio (EQL Level 6 or bachelor's degree)
Diploma (EQL Level 7 or Integrated master's degree)
Metaptychiako Diploma Eidikefsis (EQL Level 7 or master's degree)
Didaktoriko Diploma (EQL Level 8 or Doctorate)
Ireland
Ireland operates under a National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).
The school leaving qualification attained by students is called the Leaving Certificate. It is considered Level 4–5 on the framework. This qualification is the traditional route of entry into third level education. There are also Level 5 qualifications in certain vocational subjects (e.g. Level 5 Certificate in Restaurant Operations) awarded by the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC). Advanced Certificates at level 6 are also awarded by FETAC.
The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) award the following:
A higher certificate at Level 6;
An ordinary bachelor's degree at Level 7;
An honours bachelor's degree or higher diploma at Level 8;
A master's degree or postgraduate diploma at Level 9;
A doctoral degree or higher doctorate at level 10.
These are completed in institutes of technology or universities.
Italy
In Italy access to university is possible after gaining the Diploma di Maturità at 19 years of age, following 5 years of study in a specific high school focused on certain subjects (e.g. liceo classico focused on classical subjects, including philosophy, ancient Greek and Latin; liceo scientifico focused on scientific subjects such as Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics but also including philosophy, ancient Latin and Italian Literature; liceo linguistico focused on Foreign Languages and Literature; istituto tecnico focused on practical and theoretical subjects such as Mechanics, Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Electronics, Computer science, Telecommunications, Chemistry, Biology, Fashion industry, Food industry, Building technology, Law and Economy).
After gaining the diploma one can enter university and enrol in any curriculum (e.g. physics, medicine, chemistry, engineering, architecture): all high school diplomas allow access to any university curriculum, although most universities have pre-admission tests.
In 2011, Italy introduced a qualifications framework, known as the Quadro dei Titoli Italiani (QTI), tied to the three cycles of the Bologna Process. This tied together in a three-level system both the new qualifications introduced as part of the Bologna process and the older, pre-Bologna qualifications and covers qualifications from university institutions and higher education institutions for fine arts, music and dance (AFAM institutions). In addition to academic degrees, many professional qualifications are tied to the QTI at the different levels.
The first level, tied to the first cycle of the Bologna Process, covers the laurea (bachelor's degree) in universities and the Diploma accademico di primo livello in AFAM institutions. The older qualifications mapped to this level are the Diploma universitario and the Diploma di scuole dirette a fini speciali (SDAFS) from universities and the Diploma di Conservatorio, Diploma di Istituto Musicale Pareggiato, Diploma dell'Accademia di Belle Arti, Diploma dell'Istituto Superiore delle Industrie Artistiche (ISIA), Diploma dell'Accademia Nazionale di Danza and Diploma dell'Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica from AFAM institutions. The laurea is obtained after three years of study (180 ECTS credits) and gives the academic title of dottore; the older university qualifications at this level took two to three years, with three year courses granting the title of dottore.
The second level, tied to the second cycle of the Bologna Process, covers the Laurea magistrale and the laurea specialistica in university institutions and the Diploma accademico di secondo livello in AFAM institutions. The old Diploma di laurea is mapped to this level. The Laurea magistrale and the laurea specialistica are obtained after two further years of study (120 ECTS credits) and give the academic title of dottore magistrale. The old Diploma di laurea took four to six years but was accessed directly from school, with a possible reduction by one year for those with a related diploma and also granted the title of dottore magistrale.
The third level, tied to the third cycle of the Bologna Process, covers the Dottorato di ricerca in university institutions and the Diploma accademico di formazione alla ricerca in AFAM institutions. The old Dottorato di ricerca and Diploma di specializzazione are tied to this level. The Dottorato di ricerca, under both new and old systems, takes a minimum of three years after the laurea magistralie/specialistica and gives the academic titles of Dottore di Ricerca (Dott. Ric.) and PhD. The old Diploma di specializzazione took two to six years and gave the academic title of Specialista.
Universities in Italy offer a number of other qualifications including the Master universitario di primo livello (1 year/60 ECTS credits, 2nd cycle qualification) and the Master universitario di secondo livello (1 year/60 ECTS credits, 3rd cycle qualification), following on from the laurea and the laurea magistrale/specialistica respectively. These do not give access to the PhD. The Diploma di specializzazione, which is offered in a few specific professions, takes two to six years and gives the title of specialista. The Diploma di perfezionamento is a university certificate, aimed at professional training or in specific study fields, which usually takes one year; it is not allocated a level on the framework.
AFAM institutions may offer Diploma di perfezionamento o Master and Diploma accademico di specializzazione. These are one year and two year qualifications respectively and may be offered at second cycle or third cycle level, distinguished by adding (I) or (II) after the qualification name. Higher Schools for Language Mediators offer the Diploma di mediatore linguistico, a first cycle degree taking three years (180 ECTS credits), which gives access to the laurea specialistica. Specialisation Institutes/Schools in Psychoterapy offer the Diploma di specializzazione in psicoterapia, a third cycle qualification taking at least four years and requiring a laurea magistrale/specialistica in either Psychology or Medicine and Surgery, along with professional registration.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the structure of academic studies was altered significantly in 1982 when the "Tweefasenstructuur" (Two Phase Structure) was introduced by the Dutch Minister of Education, Wim Deetman. With this two phase structure an attempt was made to standardise all the different studies and structure them to an identical timetable. Additional effect was that students would be persuaded stringently to produce results within a preset time-frame or otherwise discontinue their studies. The two phase structure has been adapted to a bachelor-master structure as a result of the Bologna process.
Admission
In order for a Dutch student to get access to a university education, the student must complete a six-year pre-university secondary education called "voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs" (vwo). There are other routes possible, but only if the end level of the applicant is comparable to the two levels is access to university education is granted. For some studies, specific end levels or disciplines are required, e.g., graduating without physics, biology and chemistry will make it impossible to study medicine. People 21 years old or older who do not have the required entrance diplomas may opt for an entrance exam for being admitted to a higher education curriculum. In this exam, they have to prove their command of disciplines considered necessary for pursuing such study. After September 1, 2002, they would be thus admitted to a Bachelor's curriculum, not to a Master's curriculum.
For some studies in the Netherlands, a governmental determined limited access is in place (although under political review for abolishment, February 2011). This is a limitation of the number of applicants to a specific study, thus trying to control the eventual number of graduates. The most renowned studies for their numerus clausus are medicine and dentistry. Every year a combination of the highest pre-university graduation grades and some additional conditions determine who can start such a numerus clausus study and who can not.
Almost all Dutch universities are government supported universities, with only very few privately owned universities in existence (i.e. one in business and all others in theology). Leiden University is the oldest, founded in 1575.
Pre-Bologna phases
Before the introduction of the bachelor-master structure, almost all academic studies in the Netherlands had the same length of four years and had two phases:
The "propedeutische fase" (1–2 years): After finishing this phase a student can follow another two years' study, which grants equivalents to the Anglo-Saxon BSc (Bachelor of Science), BA (Bachelor of Arts) or LLB (Bachelor of Laws).
The "doctorale fase" (3–4 years): Completing the first phase successfully gives the student access to the second phase. Again, failure to finish within the time given will lead to discontinuation. This phase is concluded with the "doctoraal examen" (doctoral exam). This is not similar to any type of doctoral exam that would grant the student with any type of PhD title. Successful completion however does grant the student the Dutch degree of "drs." "doctorandus", ir. ("ingenieur" – engineer) or "mr." ("Meester in de rechten" – master of law). Nowadays these Dutch titles have been largely replaced by the Anglo Saxon titles MSc (Master of Science), MA (Master of Arts) and LLM (Master of Laws), depending on the area of study.
For medical students the "doctorandus" degree is not equivalent to the European Anglo Saxon postgraduate research degree in medicine of MD (Medical Doctor). Besides the title doctorandus, the graduates of the Curius curriculum may also bear the title arts (physician). The doctorandus in medicine title is granted after four years (nominal time) of the Curius curriculum, while the title physician is granted after six years (nominal time) of that curriculum. The Dutch physician title is equal to a MSc degree according to the Bologna process and can be compared with the MBBS in the UK degree system and the North American MD, but not the UK MD degree, which is a research degree. One-on-one equivalence or interchangeability of the Dutch medical title and MD is often suggested. However, officially the MD title is not known, nor legal to use in the Netherlands. The correct notation for a Dutch physician who completed his or her medical studies, but did not pursue a doctor (PhD-like) study is "drs." (e.g. drs. Jansen, arts) and not "dr." in medicine, as often used incorrectly. However, like in the United Kingdom, physicians holding these degrees are referred to as 'Doctor' by courtesy. In the Netherlands, there is the informal title dokter for physicians, but not doctor (dr.), unless they also earn such degree by completing a PhD curriculum. Furthermore, the "doctorandus" degree does not give a medical student the right to treat patients; for this a minimum of two years additional study (internships) is required. After obtaining a Medical Board registration, Dutch physicians must work an additional two to six years in a field of expertise to become a registered medical specialist. Dutch surgeons commonly are only granted access to surgeon training and positions after obtaining a doctorate (PhD) successfully. In recent years, the six-year (nominal time) old Curius curriculum (which offered the titles doctorandus and physician) has been replaced with a three-year (nominal time) Bachelor Curius+ followed by a three-year (nominal time) Master Curius+. Those who had already begun their old-style Curius curriculum before that will still have to complete it as a six-year study (nominal time).
A doctorandus in law uses the title "meester" (master, abbreviated as mr. Jansen) instead of drs. and some studies like for example technique and agriculture grant the title "ingenieur" (engineer, noted as ir. Jansen) instead of drs. These titles as equivalent to an LL.M (the title mr.) and to a MSc (the title ir.) and if got before September 1, 2002, from a recognized Dutch university, may be rendered as M (from Master) behind one's name, instead of using the typical Dutch shortcuts before one's name. Since September 1, 2002, Dutch universities offer specific BSc, BA or LLB studies followed by MSc, MA or LLM studies, thus integrating into and merging with the international scientific community, offering lectures, other classes, seminars or complete curricula in English instead of Dutch. According to their field of study, MSc graduates may use either ir. or drs. before their names, MA graduates may use drs. before their name and LLM graduates may use mr. before their names, but only if they received such degrees from recognized Dutch universities.
Not uncommonly, the Dutch "drs." abbreviation can cause much confusion in other countries, since it is perceived as a person who has a PhD in multiple disciplines. In the Netherlands, the degree MPhil is not legally recognised.
After successfully obtaining a "drs.", "ir." or "mr." degree, a student has the opportunity to follow a promotion study (informally called PhD) to eventually obtain a doctorate and subsequently the title "doctor". Promotion studies are structured ideally according to a preset time schedule of 4 to 6 years, during which the student has to be mentored by at least one professor. The promotion study has to be concluded with at least a scientific thesis, which has to be defended to "a gathering of his/her peers", in practice the board of the faculty with guest professors from other faculties and/or universities added. More and more common and in some disciplines even mandatory, is that the student writes and submits scientific publications to peer-reviewed journals, which eventually need to be accepted for publication. The number of publications is often debated and varies considerably between the various disciplines. However, in all disciplines the student is obligated to produce and publish a dissertation or thesis in book form.
Bachelor/master structure
All current Dutch academic education programs are offered in the Anglo-Saxon bachelor/master structure. It takes three years to earn a bachelor's degree and another one or two years to earn a master's degree. There are three official academic bachelor titles (BA, BSc and LLB) and three official master titles (MA, MSc and LLM). These academic titles are protected by the Dutch government.
Academic title bearing
After obtaining a doctorate, Dutch doctors may bear either the title dr. (lower case) before or the letter D following their name, but not both simultaneously. There is no specific notation of the discipline in which the doctorate is obtained. As of January 1, 2021, the title ‘PhD’ and post-nominal degree ‘PhD’ can also be used, and these are also legally protected.
Stacking of the titles as seen in countries such as Germany (Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Gruber) is highly uncommon in the Netherlands and not well received culturally. Those who have multiple doctor titles may use dr.mult. before their name, but this is seldomly seen in practice. The honoris cause doctors may use dr.h.c. before their name. Combining different Dutch titles, especially in different disciplines, is allowed however (e.g. mr. dr. Jansen, dr. mr. Jansen, dr. ir. Jansen, mr. ir. drs. Jansen, mr. ir. Jansen). The use of the combination ir. ing. is frequent, indicating one holds a HBO, vocational (or professional) engineering degree together with an academic engineering degree. What is not allowed is, after obtaining a doctorate, using dr. drs. Jansen; dr. Jansen should be used instead.
A combination of a Dutch title with an international title is not allowed, except for some limited number of international professional titles. Thus, one should choose either one's classical Dutch title or use the shortcut provided by the law following one's name (since September 1, 2002 it is the other way around: those who hold Dutch degrees as MSc, LLM or MA may optionally use the old-style shortcuts before their names).
"Doctors" (dr.) can proceed to teach at universities as "universitair docent" (UD – assistant professor). With time, experience and/ or achievement, this can evolve to a position as "universitair hoofddocent" (UHD – associate professor). Officially an UHD still works under the supervision of a "hoogleraar" (professor), the head of the department. However, this is not a given; it is also possible that a department is headed by a "plain" doctor, based on knowledge, achievement and expertise. The position of "hoogleraar" is the highest possible scientific position at a university and equivalent to the US "full" professor. The Dutch professor's title, noted as prof. Jansen or professor Jansen, is connected to one's employment. This means that, should the professor leave the university, he or she also loses the privilege to use the title of professor. Retired professors are an exception and may continue to note the title in front of their name or use the title emeritus professor (em. prof.). People who switch to a non-university job lose their professor title and are only allowed to use the "dr." abbreviation.
Unlike some other European countries such as Germany, Dutch academic titles are used rarely outside academia, hold no value in everyday life and typically are not listed on official documentation (e.g. passport, drivers license, (governmental) communication). Dutch academic titles however are legally protected and can only be used by graduates from Dutch institutions of higher education. Illegal use is considered a misdemeanor and subject to legal prosecution. Holders of foreign degrees therefore need special permission before being able to use a recognised Dutch title, but they are free to use their own foreign title (untranslated). In practice, the Public Department does not prosecute the illegal use of a protected title (in the Netherlands applies the principle of opportunity, so some known crimes are not prosecuted).
Norway
Prior to 1980, there were around 50 different degrees and corresponding education programs within the Norwegian higher education system.
Degrees had titles that included the gender based Latin term candidatus/candidata. The second part of the title usually consisted of a Latin word corresponding to the profession or training. For example, Cand. Mag. (Candidatus Magisterii) required 4 to 5 years, Cand. Real. (Candidatus Realium) required 6 years of study and a scientific thesis in a select set of scientific disciplines (realia). Over the years these were replaced gradually with degrees that were more and more internationally comparable programs and corresponding titles. For example, the degree Cand. Scient. replaced Cand. Real. in the period 1985 to 2003. These degrees were all retired in 2003 in favour of an international system.
The reform of higher education in Norway, Kvalitetsreformen ("The Quality Reform"), was passed in the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, in 2001 and carried out during the 2003/2004 academic year. It introduced standard periods of study and the titles master and bachelor (baccalaureus).
The system differentiates between a free master's degree and a master's degree in technology. The latter corresponds to the former sivilingeniør degree (not to be confused with a degree in civil engineering, which is but one of many degrees linked to the title sivilingeniør, which is still in use for new graduates who can choose to also use the old title). All pre-2001 doctoral degree titles were replaced with the title "Philosophical Doctor degree", written philosophiæ doctor (instead of the traditional doctor philosophiæ). The title dr. philos. is a substantially higher degree than the PhD and is reserved for those who qualify for such a degree without participating in an organized doctoral degree program.
Poland
In Poland the system is similar to the German one.
title – given by a university; the equivalent of Bachelor of Arts degree or Bachelor of Science degree (depending on academic major); granted after at least 3 years of study.
() title – Engineer's degree given by a technical university; granted after at least about 3.5 years of study.
() title – the equivalent of a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree, granted after 5–6 years of study or 2 years of additional study by holders of a bachelor's degree with classification of Honours Degree.
() title – the equivalent of a Master of Engineering, granted after about 2 years of additional study by holders of a degree of Bachelor of Engineering.
() degree – the equivalent of Doctor of Philosophy.
() degree – Polish Habilitation degree, requires approval by an external ministerial body.
() degree – the highest title, officially conferred by the President of Poland.
Russia, Ukraine and some other former USSR republics
Since 1992, Russian higher education has introduced a multilevel system, enabling higher education institutions to award and issue Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees.
In Russia, Ukraine and some other former USSR republics educational degrees are awarded after finishing college education. There are several levels of education one must choose between 2nd and 3rd year usually on the 3rd year of study.
Bachelor degree – usually takes 4 years of college. (minimum level to be recognized as having Higher Education)
Specialist degree is awarded after 5 years of college. (4 + 1)
Master's (Magister) degree is awarded after 6 years of college. (4 + 2)
(But Specialist degree can appear equivalent to Magister degree by reason of equivalence of amount of educational time).
Usually Specialist or Magister degrees incorporates bachelor's degree in them, but only high-level degree is stated in final diploma.
Specialist and Magister degrees require taking final state exams and written work on practical application of studied skills
or research thesis (usually 70–100 pages) and is roughly equivalent to master's degree.
The first level academic degree is called "Kandidat nauk" (that could be translated verbatim as a "Candidate of Sciences"). This degree requires extensive research efforts, taking some classes, publications in peer-reviewed academic journals (not less than 5 publications in Ukraine or 3 publications in Russia), taking 3 or more exams (one or more in their speciality, one in a foreign language and one in the history and philosophy of science) and writing and defending an in-depth thesis (80–200 pages) called a "dissertation".
Finally, there is a "Doktor Nauk" (that could be translated verbatim as a "Doctor of Sciences") degree in Russia and some former USSR academic environment. This degree is granted for contributions in a certain field (formally – who established new direction or new field in science). It requires discovery of new phenomenon or development of new theory or essential development of new direction, etc. There is no equivalent of this "doctor of sciences" degree in US academic system. It is roughly equivalent to Habilitation in Germany, France, Austria and some other European countries.
In countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of Kandidat Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of the first doctoral degree. In countries with only one doctoral degree, the degree of Kandidat Nauk should be considered for recognition as equivalent to this degree.
According to Guidelines for the recognition of Russian qualifications in the other countries In countries with a two-tier system of doctoral degrees, the degree of Doktor Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of the second doctoral degree. In countries in which only one doctoral degree exists, the degree of Doktor Nauk should be considered for recognition at the level of this degree.
According to International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) UNESCO 2011, par.262 for purposes of international educational statistics
DPhil to Kandidat Nauk/Philosophy,
D.Lit. to Kandidat Nauk in Literature,
D.Sc. to Kandidat Nauk of Natural Science,
LL.D. to Kandidat Nauk of Legal Science.
Spain
Spain's higher-education legal framework includes: official and accredited education and non-official education.
1.1 Official and accredited education
In Spain, accreditation of official university study programmes is regulated by law and monitored by governmental agencies responsible for verifying their quality and suitability for official approval and accreditation.
Official professional study programmes lead to degree qualifications (Títulos) with full academic and professional effects and the degrees awarded in accordance with the latest higher-education system are:
1. Bachelor's Degree (Grado) – 240 ECTS Credits in 4 years.
2. Master's Degree (Master Universitario) – 60 to 120 ECTS Credits in 1–2 years.
3. Doctoral degree PhD (Doctorado) – in 3–4 years.
Accredited bachelor's degrees and master's degrees qualifications will always be described as "Grado" and "Master Universitario". These qualifications comply with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework. Officially approved and accredited university study programmes must implement this framework by law in order to attain and retain accreditation in Spain.
1.2 Non-official education
Not all EHEA compliant study programmes in Spain are officially approved and/or accredited by government agencies. Some universities offer proprietary study programmes as an alternative to accredited study programmes for a variety of reasons: attending the continuing education market for individual self-advancement and also providing higher education to individuals that have failed to acquire bachelor's degree qualifications. The main reason for offering this alternative studies, though, is the heavy bureaucratic process that needs to be accomplished to receive the approval of specific titles, in particular when it refers to new studies or studies about matters that do not fit with the official studies. For historical reasons, the academic system has been very much under the control of the State and private universities are still regarded with as a threat to the State system.
These programmes fall within the category of "Non officially approved and accredited" or "Estudios no oficiales" and they have no academic or professional effects. This means that they do not entitle the bearer to claim to have any specific academic or professional qualifications, as far as the Spanish authorities are concerned. However, there may be private agreements to recognize the titles.
Universities offering non-official study programmes are legally bound to clearly differentiate between officially approved and non-officially approved qualifications when naming their offer of non-official qualifications. Non-accredited master's degrees will be described as "Master" on its own, without the term "Universitario".
Certain non-officially approved and accredited study programmes may acquire a well-deserved reputation. However, neither professional association, government agencies, judiciary authorities, nor universities – other than the study programme provider – are obliged to recognize non-official qualifications in any way.
2. Accreditation system
University taught study programmes accreditation is granted through the ANECA, a government dependent quality assurance and accreditation provider for the Spanish Higher Education System and ensures that the data held in the RUCT, a national registry for universities and qualifications, is correct and up to date. All study programmes must be accredited by ANECA prior to their inclusion in the RUCT.
The RUCT records all officially approved universities and their bachelor's degrees, master's Degrees and PhDs and each and every one of the officially approved and accredited study programmes and universities are assigned a specific number Code (Código) by the RUCT. The same study programme may acquire different codes as it progresses through various stages of official approval by local government and central government.
Prospective students should check the RUCT Code awarded to the study programme of their interest at every stage of their enquiries concerning degrees in Spain.
ANECA makes recommendations regarding procedures, staffing levels, quality of teaching, resources available to students and continuity or loss of accreditation and the ANECA Registry records all events in the life of an officially approved and accredited study programme or a university. The ANECA Registry Search Facility may be the simplest and safest way to verify the status of all officially approved and accredited study programmes in Spain.
It is also possible to track qualifications by using the search facility that several Autonomous Communities own accreditation agencies offer. These agencies work within the ANECA framework and generally show more detailed information about the study programmes available in each territory (i.e.: Catalonia, Madrid, etc.)
3. Qualifications framework for higher education
The qualifications framework for higher education MECES is the reference framework adopted in Spain in order to structure degree levels.
Not all universities offer degrees named exactly the same, even if they have similar academic and professional effects. Each university may present proposals for the study programme considered to meet professional and academic demand. The proposal will consist of a report linking the study programme being considered and the proposed qualification to be awarded. This report will be assessed by ANECA and sent for the Consejo de Universidades Españolas. If the Consejo agrees with ANECA's approval, it will be included in the RUCT and ANECA registries.
4. Spanish qualifications and their professional effects.
All bachelor's and master's degrees accredited by ANECA enjoy full academic and professional effects in accordance with new and previous laws. Professional practice law in Spain is currently under revision.
Sweden
Switzerland
Before the Bologna Process after 4 or 5 years of study the academic degree of a Licentiate was reached. Depending on the official language of the university it was called Lizentiat (German) Licence (French) or licenza (Italian) and is today considered equivalent to the master's degree according to the Bologna reform. A Licentiate with a predefined qualification gave access to the last stage of further two or more years of studies (depending on the field) for a Doctoral's degree.
Apart from this most universities offered a postgraduate diploma with up to two years of study. French-speaking universities called them diplôme d'études approfondies DEA or DESS, the Italian-speaking university post laurea and German-speaking universities mostly Nachdiplomstudium (NDS). Today the federal legislation defines these postgraduate diplomas (60 ECTS credits) as Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) or Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree. Universities may also offer the possibility to gain a diploma of advanced studies (DAS), less than 60 ECTS credits). These degrees do not normally give access to the doctorate study.
United Kingdom
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The title "degree" is protected under UK law. All valid UK degrees are awarded by universities or other degree-awarding bodies whose powers to do so are recognised by the UK government; hence they are known as "recognised bodies".
The standard first degree in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is the bachelor's degree conferred with honours. Usually this is a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Other variants exist, for example Bachelor of Education or Bachelor of Laws. It usually takes three years to read for a bachelor's degree.
The honours are usually categorised into four classes:
First class honours (1st)
Second class honours, divided into:
Upper division or upper second (2:1)
Lower division or lower second (2:2)
Third class honours (3rd).
Candidates who have not achieved the standard for the award of honours may be admitted without honours to the "ordinary" Bachelor's degree if they have met the required standard for this lesser qualification (also referred to as a "pass degree"). Standard levels for each of these classes are 70%+ for a first, 60-69% for a 2:1, 50-59% for a 2:2, 40-49% for a 3rd and 30%+ for a pass degree, although this can vary by institution (e.g. the Open University).
The foundation degree is a qualification at lower than Bachelor's level awarded following a two-year programme of study that is usually vocational in nature. The foundation degree can be awarded by a university or college of higher education that has been granted foundation degree awarding powers by the UK government. This degree is comparable to an associate degree in the United States.
The universities of Oxford and Cambridge award honorary Master of Arts (MA) degrees to graduates of their Bachelor's programmes, following a specified period of time. This is comparable to the practice of the ancient universities in Scotland of awarding an MA for a first degree and arguably reflects the rigorous standards expected of their graduates.
Master's degrees such as Master of Arts or Master of Science are typically awarded to students who have undertaken at least a year of full-time postgraduate study, which may be taught or involve an element of research. Degrees such as Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Master of Letters/Literature (MLitt) are likely to be awarded for postgraduate degrees involving original research. A student undertaking a Master's would normally be expected to already hold a bachelor's degree in a relevant subject, hence the possibility of reaching Master's level in one year.
Some universities award a Master's as a first degree following an integrated programme of study (an 'integrated master's degree'). These degrees are usually designated by the subject, such as Master of Engineering for engineering, Master of Physics for physics, Master of Mathematics for mathematics and so on; it usually takes four years to read for them. Graduation to these degrees is always with honours. Master of Engineering in particular has now become the standard first degree in engineering at the top UK universities, replacing the older Bachelor of Engineering.
Master's degrees are often graded as:
Distinction
Merit
Pass
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is highly valued by those seeking to advance in business as managers and decision makers.
Doctoral degrees or doctorates, such as the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD or DPhil) or Doctor of Education (EdD or DEd) are awarded following a programme of original research that contributes new knowledge within the context of the student's discipline. Doctoral degrees usually take three years full-time. Therefore, in the UK it may only take seven years to progress from undergraduate to doctoral level – in some cases six, since having a Master's is not always a precondition for embarking on a doctoral degree. This contrasts with nine years in the United States, reflecting differences in the educational systems.
Some doctorates, such as the Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) qualification, confirm competence to practice in particular professions. There are also higher doctorates – Doctor of Science (DSc) and Doctor of Letters/Literature (DLitt) that are typically awarded to experienced academics who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in their academic career; for example they may have published widely on their subject or become professors in their field.
UK post-secondary qualifications are defined at different levels, with levels 1–3 denoting further education and levels 4–8 denoting higher education. Within this structure, a foundation degree is at level 5; a bachelor's degree at level 6; a master's degree at level 7; and a doctoral degree at level 8.
Full information about the expectations for different types of UK degree is published by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
See also graduate certificate, graduate diploma, postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma and British degree abbreviations.
Scotland
The standard first degree for students studying arts or humanities in Scotland is either a Bachelor of Arts or a Master of Arts (the latter traditionally awarded by the Ancient Universities of Scotland for a first degree in an arts/humanities subject). The standard undergraduate degree for natural and social science subjects is the Bachelor of Science.
Students can work towards a first degree at either ordinary or honours level. A general or ordinary degree (BA/MA or BSc) takes three years to complete; an honours degree (BA/MA Hons or BSc Hons) takes four years. The ordinary degree need not be in a specific subject, but can involve study across a range of subjects within (and sometimes beyond) the relevant faculty, in which case it may also be called a general degree; if a third year or junior honours subject is included, the ordinary degree in that named discipline is awarded. The honours degree involves two years of study at a sub-honours level in which a range of subjects within the relevant faculty are studied and then two years of study at honours level which is specialised in a single field (for example classics, history, chemistry, biology, etc.). Not all universities in Scotland adhere to this, in some you study in several subjects within a faculty for three years and can then specialise in two areas and attain a joint honours degree in fourth year.
This also reflects the broader scope of the final years of Scottish secondary education, where traditionally five Highers are studied, compared to (typically) three English or Welsh A-Levels. The Higher is a one-year qualification, as opposed to the two years of A-Levels, which accounts for Scottish honours degrees being a year longer than those in England. Advanced Highers add an optional final year of secondary education, bringing students up to the level of their A-Level counterparts – students with strong A-Levels or Advanced Highers may be offered entry directly into the second year at Scottish universities.
Honours for MA or bachelor's degrees are classified into three classes:
First class honours
Second class honours, divided into:
Division one (2:1) [Upper Second Class Honours]
Division two (2:2) [Lower Second Class Honours]
Third class honours
Students who complete all the requirements for an honours degree, but do not receive sufficient merit to be awarded third-class honours may be awarded a Special Degree (ordinary degree – bachelor's level SCQF Level 9).
In most respects, the criteria for awarding qualifications at honours level and above are the same as in the rest of the UK (see above under England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Postgraduate qualifications are not designated Master of Arts as in the rest of the UK, as this is an undergraduate degree. Postgraduate degrees in arts and humanities subjects are usually designated Master of Letters (M.Litt.) or, in natural and social sciences, Master of Science (M.Sc.). Non-doctoral postgraduate research degrees are usually designated Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) or Master of Research (M.Res.). The postgraduate teaching qualification is the postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE).
Postgraduate qualifications are classified into four classes:
Distinction
Credit
Merit
Pass
North America
Canada
In Canada, education is the responsibility of the provinces and territories, rather than the federal government. However, all of Canada follows the three-level bachelor's-master's-doctorate system common to the Anglophone world, with a few variations. A common framework for degrees was agreed between the provinces and territories in 2007.
Bachelor's degrees are normally three to four years in duration, more commonly three years in Quebec (where they follow on from college courses rather than directly from secondary education). Outside Quebec, three-year bachelor's degrees are normally ordinary degrees, while four-year bachelor's degrees are honours degrees; an honours degree is normally needed for further study at the master's level. Master's degrees take one to three years (in Quebec they normally take one and a half to two years). Doctorates take a minimum of three years. Alone among Canadian provinces and territories, British Columbia offers two-year associate degrees, allowing credit to be transferred into a four-year bachelor's program.
In Canada, first professional degrees such as DDS, MD, PharmD and LLB or JD are considered bachelor's level qualifications, despite their often being named as if they were doctorates.
Quebec
In the province of Quebec, the majority of students must attend college prior to entering university. Upon completion of a two-year pre-university program, such as in Sciences or Humanities, or a three-year technical program, such as Nursing or Computer Science, college graduates obtain a college diploma, which is a prerequisite for access to university-level studies. Although these college programs are typical, they are not offered in every institution in the province. Moreover, while a few other pre-university programs with various concentrations exist, many other technical/career programs are available depending on the college of choice. For example, Dawson College in Montreal has nearly sixty different programs leading to a college diploma. Special programs, such as physical rehabilitation therapy, are offered in some colleges as well. These programs are particularly interesting because they allow students to enter professional university programs, such as physiotherapy (which consists of an integrated Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy and Master of Physical Therapy), without having to meet the usual grade and course prerequisites required from students holding a pre-university science diploma. A similar option is offered for college nursing graduates as they can pursue their studies in university to obtain a Bachelor of Nursing in two years (rather than the usual three or four years, depending on whether the student has completed a college diploma in Quebec). Additionally, whereas aspiring medical students are usually required to complete an undergraduate degree before applying to medical schools, Quebec college graduates have the option to enter:
a "medical preparatory" year at McGill University or Université de Montréal and then pursue medical studies for the four following years;
directly into the undergraduate medical education program at Université Laval (4 to 5 years in duration) or Université de Sherbrooke (4 years in duration).
Mexico
Education in Mexico follows a three-degree system similar to that of Canada and the US. The pre-university academic level is the bachillerato (also called preparatoria), similar to high school. Students typically leave preparatoria at the age of 18 for university, at which point they choose to specialize in a specific academic area (a carrera).
After high school, students progress to university, where they study for a Técnico Superior universitario (Associate degree) or a licenciatura (Bachelor), then a maestría (Master), then a doctorado (doctorate).
Once in university, students begin the carrera, the study of a precise academic branch like economics, business administration, sciences, law, engineering or medicine. Students will be in university for 8–10 semesters of full-time study, which typically takes 4–5 years. Upon graduation, students receive a licenciatura in their chosen subject area, which is equivalent to an American Bachelor's degree. They can also get the degree of "ingenieria" or "medico" that refers to an engineer or MD respectively.
Several Mexican universities offer students the possibility of obtaining an equivalent to an associate degree, called in Mexico Técnico Superior universitario (TSU), studying only half of the licenciatura, with the possibility of finishing a full bachelor's degree later. This is done mainly in fields like engineering and computer sciences.
After receiving the licenciatura, students may take extra courses called diplomados (similar to a Certification but issued by a university). These courses last 4–12 months and are a means to further study without continuing to the next degree level, usually studied to demonstrate that the student still updated in his field. Most students stay at this level, but some choose to continue to the maestría, equivalent to the master's degree. Study at the maestría level takes 1–3 years and mandates completion of a thesis. Post-graduate students in Mexico typically enter a master's program after a few years in the workforce and often continue working while studying.
Traditionally, students who have completed the maestria may continue on to the doctorado or the doctorate. Doctoral study typically lasts 3–4 years. In last years this schemes has become flexible such that in some PhD programmes, students are accepted before or not completing at all a Master course.
United States
In the United States, since the late 19th century, the threefold degree system of bachelor, master and doctor has been in place, but has evolved into a slightly different pattern from the European equivalent. The U.S. Department of Education now classifies degrees in six categories: associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, first professional degrees, master's degrees, intermediate graduate qualifications and research doctorates.
The standard academic progression remains bachelor's—master's—(research) doctorate. Most standard academic programs are based on the four-year bachelor's degree, most often Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.), a one- or two-year master's degree (most often Master of Arts (M.A.) or Master of Science (M.S.); either of these programs might be as long as three years in length) and a further two to five years of coursework and research, culminating in "comprehensive" examinations in one or more fields, plus perhaps some teaching experience and then the writing of a dissertation for the doctorate, for a total of ten or more years from starting the bachelor's degree (which is usually begun around age 18) to the awarding of the doctorate. This timetable is only approximate, however, as students in accelerated programs can sometimes earn a bachelor's degree in three years or, on the other hand, a particular dissertation project might take four or more years to complete. In addition, a graduate may wait an indeterminate time between degrees before candidacy in the next level or even an additional degree at a level already completed. Therefore, there is no time-limit on the accumulation of academic degrees.
By far the most common research doctorate is the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), comprising 98.1% of research doctorates in 2014. The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) made up 1.1% (not including Ed.D.s classified as professional degrees rather than research doctorates) and all other research doctorates were less than 1% in total.
Some schools, mostly junior colleges and community colleges and some four-year schools, offer an associate degree for two full years of study. These may be in professional or academic fields and the most common awards are the Associate of Arts (A.A.) and Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees. Articulation agreements may allow credit earned on an associate degree to be counted toward completion of a bachelor's degree.
The "first professional degree" is a graduate level degree program designed to prepare graduates for professional practice in various fields other than academic scholarship and research. First professional degrees require a minimum of two years prior college-level education to enter the program and a minimum of six years total college-level education (including that undertaken prior to entry) to complete the program. Most professional degree programs require a prior bachelor's degree for admission and many require seven or eight years of total study. Many first professional degrees, e.g. M.D., J.D. or D.O. are named as doctorates but should not be confused with research doctorates such as the Ph.D. (or, in law, the S.J.D.). First professional degrees should also not be confused with professional master's degrees such as the M.Arch. and M.B.A., which are classified as master's degrees, or with intermediate graduate qualifications that also bear the title of doctor, such as D.Min. or D.Psy.
Intermediate graduate qualifications lie between master's level and the doctorate. They include awards such as Advanced Certificates, Advanced Graduate Certificates, Graduate Diplomas, Professional Engineer status and Professional Diplomas, as well as specialist degrees such as Education Specialist, Doctor of Ministry, Doctor of Psychology and the Licentiate in Sacred Theology.
In 21 US jurisdictions, religious institutions can be authorized to grant religious-exempt (rel. exmpt., rel. expt., etc.) degrees without accreditation or government oversight. Such degrees are used primarily to attain church-related employment.
Current levels of attainment of degrees
Traditionally more men than women attended and earned degrees at the world's universities. A milestone was reached in the United States according to results of the 2010 census, as women surpassed men in attaining master's degrees, for the first time. The U.S. census reports that 10.5 million men have master's degrees or higher, compared with 10.6 million women. The first year that women surpassed men in earning bachelor's degrees was in 1996.
Perceptions of the value of a degree in the US
Students, the media and the general public have shown much concern over the value of getting a higher degree in the US ever since the Great Recession of 2007. A 2015 survey of 2,000 adults (900 of which were graduates), implemented by an education technology company called Greenwood Hall, reported that more than half of the graduates surveyed believe those getting their degree now will be receiving a lower return on their investment than their counterparts 10–15 years ago. Media coverage of the rising costs of higher education and increased student debt have also affected the public's perceptions of whether higher degrees are still worthwhile. Statistics citing that college graduates make around $1 million more in their lifetimes than those who didn't attend college and living longer, healthier lives work in favor of those who argue the continued value of higher degrees. Studies like the 2011 Learning Gains study by Arum and Roksa, on the other hand, reported that only 55% of students had any learning gains during their first two years of college, which favors the argument that investing in higher education may not still be worth it. As academics continue researching and dissecting these arguments, education remains a hot topic in the US as shown by President Obama recently setting a national goal for the US to once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Oceania
Australia
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) covers 10 levels, of which 6 – 10 correspond to academic degrees. These are: the associate degree (level 6), which normally takes 2 years; the bachelor degree (level 7), which normally takes 3 years, the bachelor honours degree (level 8), which normally takes 1 year after the bachelor's degree and is mostly taken as an optional extension year depending on the discipline, the master degree (level 9), which normally takes 1 – 2 years for "research" or "coursework" degrees and 3 – 4 years for an "extended" degree and follows on from either a bachelor or honours degree; and the doctoral degree (level 10), which normally takes 3 – 4 years following on from a master's degree or a Class I or IIa honours qualification. Also included within the higher education system are: diplomas at level 5 (first year of a degree course); advanced diplomas, at level 6 (associate degree level); and graduate certificates and graduate diplomas, both of which are at level 8 (honours degree level). In Australia, most degrees are issued ungraded, with bachelor's degrees with honours being the exception.
Categories of honours degrees are:
First Class Honours (H1 or I; overall mark of 80% and above);
Second Class Honours - A Division (H2A or IIA; overall mark of 74% to 79%);
Second Class Honours - B Division (H2B or IIB; overall mark of 70% to 74%);
Third Class Honours (H3 or III; overall mark of 65% to 69%).
Lower marks do not qualify for honours, but yield a bachelor degree at:
Pass (P: overall mark of 50% to 64%);
Fail (N or Failed; overall mark of 49% and below).
Doctorates in Australia may be research doctorates (normally titled PhDs) or professional doctorates (normally titled to refer to the field of practice, e.g. Doctor of Engineering. Professional doctorates still require research leading to "a significant and original contribution to knowledge in the context of professional practice" and should not be confused with extended master's degrees that bear similar names for historical reasons: the Juris Doctor and Doctors of Medical Practice, Physiotherapy, Dentistry and Optometry. Despite their names, these extended master's degrees may not be described as doctoral degrees nor do they confer the right to use the title of doctor on their recipients.
New Zealand
Like Australia, New Zealand has a 10-level qualifications framework (the New Zealand Qualifications Framework; NZQF) and a referencing exercise has found a one-to-one correspondence between the levels of the two frameworks. However, the names given to qualifications at different levels are not the same and New Zealand does not have associate degrees, thus only levels 7 – 10 correspond to academic degrees. These are the bachelor's degree (level 7), bachelor honours degree (level 8), master's degree (level 9) and the doctoral degree (level 10). In addition to these, the NZQF has certificates across levels 1 – 6, diplomas at levels 5 and 6, graduate certificates and graduate diplomas at level 7 (bachelor's) and postgraduate certificates and postgraduate diplomas at level 8 (honours). Another referencing exercise, comparing the NZQF to the 10-level Irish National Framework for Qualifications found that degrees were comparable but that further work was needed to improve compatibility for the sub-degree levels (1 – 6). Non-degree qualifications at levels 7 – 9 were not included in the study. In New Zealand, master's degrees may be awarded with classified honours (1st, 2:1, 2:2, 3rd) or with distinction or merit.
South America
Argentina
Brazil
Undergraduate students in Brazilian universities graduate either with a bachelor's degree, a Licentiate degree or a Technologist degree.
Bachelor degrees in Brazil normally takes four or five years of full-time study to complete, with the exception of the human medicine course which requires six years.
Licentiate degree, normally takes four-years length degrees, available for students who want to qualify as school teachers. Licenciatura courses exist mostly in mathematics, humanities and natural sciences.
Technologist degree is available in technology-related fields and can be normally obtained in three years. These degrees are turned to fast entry the industry.
Admission as an undergraduate student in most top public or private universities in Brazil requires that the applicant pass a competitive entrance examination known as Vestibular. Contrary to what happens in the United States, candidates must declare their intended university major when they register for the Vestibular. Although it is theoretically possible to switch majors afterwards (in a process known within the universities as transferência interna), that is actually quite rare in Brazil. Undergraduate curricula tend to be more rigid than in the United States and there is little room to take classes outside one's major.
Individuals who hold either a bachelor's degree, Licentiate or Technologist are eligible for admission into graduate courses leading to advanced master's or doctor's degrees. Criteria for admission into master's and doctor's programs vary in Brazil. Some universities require that candidates take entrance exams; others make admission decisions based solely on undergraduate transcripts, letters of recommendation and possibly oral interviews. In most cases, however, especially for the doctorate, the candidate is required to submit a research plan and one faculty member must agree to serve as his/her supervisor before the candidate can be admitted into the program; The exception are the Natural Sciences post-graduate programs, that accepts students with very broad and/or vague research prospects with sometimes the prospect is given in promptu during the interview, preferring to let the students define their study program and advisor in the course of the first year of studies.
There are two types of post-graduate programs, lato sensu (specialization and MBAs) and stricto sensu (professional master's, master's and doctorate):
Specializations or MBAs are courses that include taking a minimum number (minimum 360 hours) of graduate classes but with no need to do research nor defend a thesis, only present a final work showing the knowledge. It's a professional level where theory and practice are focused in a broad sense.
Professional Master's or master's degrees usually takes one to two years of full-time study. Requirements for an academic master's degree include taking a minimum number of advanced graduate classes (typically between five and eight) and submitting a research thesis which is examined orally by a panel of at least two examiners (three is the preferred number), sometimes including one external member who must be from another university or research institute. The emphasis of the thesis must be in adding some value to the academic knowledge, but not necessarily in being original.
Doctor's degrees normally take four additional years of full-time study to complete. Requirements for obtaining a doctor's degree include taking additional advanced courses, passing an oral qualifying exam and submitting a longer doctoral dissertation which must represent a significant original contribution to knowledge in the field to which the dissertation topic is related. That contrasts with master's thesis, which, in addition to being usually shorter than doctoral dissertations, are not required to include creation of new knowledge or revision/reinterpretation of older views/theories. The doctoral dissertation is examined in a final oral exam before a panel of at least two members (in the state of São Paulo the preferred number is five, while the other regions prefer three members), usually including one or two external examiners from another university or research institute.
Finally, a small number of Brazilian universities, most notably the public universities in the state of São Paulo still award the title of Livre-Docente (free docent), which is of higher standing than a doctorate and is obtained, similar to the German Habilitation, by the submission of a second (original or cumulative) thesis and approval in a Livre-Docência examination that includes giving a public lecture before a panel of full professors.
See also Universities and Higher Education in Brazil
Colombia
In Colombia, the system of academic degrees is based in the British model been similar to the U.S. model. After completing their "bachillerato" (high school), students can take one of three options. The first one is called a "" (professional career), which is similar to a bachelor's degree requiring from four to 6 years of study according to the chosen program. The other option is called a "Técnico" (technician); this degree consists in two and a half years of study and prepares the student for technical or mechanical labors. Finally, the third option is called a ¨Tecnólogo¨ (equivalent to associate degree) and consist of 3 years of study.
After this, students, now called "" (professionals), Tecnólogos (associates) or "" (technicians), can opt for higher degrees.
Formal education after the bachelor's degree is the master's degree with the title of "" and doctorate degree known as "" (doctorate). The master's degree normally consists of two years.
Students also can take a specialization course, "", equivalent to a graduate certificate degree, after their bachelor's degree. These programs, like in the U.S. are very popular, because it requires only one to two years of study.
A similar situation in Colombia, when compared to the U.S. system, is that the students may not go directly to the "" without having the "Master" degree first.
Chile
After completing "" (high school), students receive a "Licenciatura de Enseñanza Media" (high school diploma), which is a requirement for higher education.
In Chile, there's a distinction between academic degrees and professional titles:
is the denomination given to an academic degree granted by a higher education institution recognized by the Chilean Mineduc (Ministry of Education).
is the denomination given to a professional title. Some professional titles are required for occupations such as physicians, attorneys and as civil/commercial engineers. A professional title may or not require a "Grado académico", additional examination and/or work experience. For example, the "" professional title is granted by the Chilean Supreme Court and requires an examination, academic degree and 6 months of pro-bono work experience.
Among degrees, we can find the following levels:
, undergraduate degree obtained by completing a 2-year "bachillerato".
, undergraduate degree obtained as a 4+ year "licenciatura". Equivalent to a bachelor's degree.
, graduate degree, requiring a "Licenciado" degree or equivalent. Equivalent to a master's degree.
, a doctoral degree, often requiring a "Magister" degree or equivalent.
Higher education programs that provide a professional title but not an academic degree are referred to as "", which are similar in duration and scope to associate degree programs. These are often granted by educational institutions of the type "Instituto profesional" (IP) or "Centro de formación técnica" (CFT).
Venezuela
Titles in Venezuela start with the Certificado de Educación Básica (Certificate of Basic Education), awarded upon completing 9th grade. The next title is earned upon completing 11th grade and may be Bachiller en Ciencias (High School Graduate of Science), Bachiller en Humanidades (High School Graduate of Humanities) or Técnico en Ciencias (Science Technician). The reason for this diversity is because some schools provide vocational education as part of their high school curriculum (thereby allowing them to hand out "Technician" titles) while elsewhere, the student is required to decide whether to study Sciences or Humanities for the last two years of secondary school.
Titles at the higher education level usually depend on the institution handing them out. Technical schools award the student with the title of Técnico Superior Universitario (university higher technician, to distinguish from science technician). Universities award the student with the title of Ingeniero (engineer) or with the title Licenciado (licentiate) after completing a five-year program. The engineer have more physics subjects than the licentiate, but both are five-year careers. Some higher education institutions may award Diplomados (diploma), but the time necessary to obtain one varies. Medical doctors are awarded the title "Médico Cirujano" after completing a 6 year-career.
Postgraduate education follows conventions of the United States (being named "master's" and "doctorate" after the programs there)
Pontifical universities
Pontifical universities around the world such as the Pontifical University, St Patrick's College, Maynooth in Ireland, the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila, The Catholic University of America, the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome, the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Belgium and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru depend for their status as pontifical universities and for the nature of their academic degrees on the Pope through the Congregation for Catholic Education. The nature of academic degrees from ecclesiastical institutions of education is outlined in the apostolic constitution Sapientia Christiana.
In distinction to secular or Catholic universities, which are academic institutions for the study and teaching of a broad range of disciplines, Ecclesiastical or Pontifical universities "are usually composed of three principal ecclesiastical faculties, theology, philosophy and canon law and at least one other faculty. A Pontifical university specifically addresses Christian revelation and disciplines correlative to the evangelical mission of the Church as set out in the apostolic constitution Sapientia christiana."
There are three cycles of degrees that constitute the core of degrees granted by pontifical universities: the first cycle leading to the baccalaureate degree; the second cycle leading to the licentiate degree; the third cycle leading to the doctorate. From this core pontifical universities confer degrees including:Theology
Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureatus (S.T.B.)
Licentiate in Sacred Theology, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus (S.T.L.)
Doctorate in Sacred Theology, Sacrae Theologiae Doctoratus (S.T.D.)
Philosophy
Baccalaureate in Philosophy, Philosophiae Baccalaureatus (Ph.B.)
Licentiate in Philosophy, Philosophiae Licentiatus (Ph.L.)
Doctorate in Philosophy, Philosophiae Doctoratus (Ph.D.)
Canon Law
Baccalaureate in Canon Law, Juris Canonici Baccalaureatus (J.C.B.)
Licentiate in Canon Law, Iuris Canonici Licentiatus (J.C.L.)
Doctorate in Canon Law, Iuris Canonici Doctoratus (J.C.D.)
See also
Academic Awards in Spain
Academic Inflation
Academic stole
Ad eundem degree
Degrees of the University of Oxford
Educational devaluation
External degree
Higher education
Honorary degree
Lambeth degree
Lisbon Recognition Convention
List of fields of doctoral studies
Pontifical university
Postgraduate education
Thesis
Validation of foreign studies and degrees
References |
17447118 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity%20on%20Shabbat | Electricity on Shabbat | Many Jews who strictly observe Shabbat (the Sabbath) refrain from using electrical devices on Shabbat, with the exception of passive enjoyment of devices which were set up before Shabbat. Various rabbinical authorities have pronounced on what is permitted and what is not, but there are many disagreements in detailed interpretation, both between different individual authorities and between branches of Judaism.
In Orthodox Judaism, it is generally discouraged to use electrical devices on Shabbat, but Orthodox Poskim (authorities) of Jewish law have disagreed about the basis of this claim since the early 20th century. Many Orthodox leaders have held that turning on an incandescent light bulb violates the Biblical prohibition against igniting a fire. However, the reasons for prohibiting the operation of an electrical appliance that does not involve heating metal to glowing temperatures (which is considered like kindling a fire because of the heat and light), are not agreed upon. At least six substantive reasons have been suggested, and a minority (including Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach) believe that turning on most electrical appliances is prohibited only because of rabbinic decree.
Some conservative authorities, on the other hand, reject the argument that turning on incandescent lights is considered "igniting". The Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has argued that "refraining from operating lights and other permitted electrical appliances is a pious behavior," but is not required, while also stating that the use of some electrical devices (such as computers, cameras, and smartphones which record data) is forbidden on the sabbath.
Although directly operating electrical appliances is prohibited in Orthodoxy, several indirect methods are permitted according to some authorities. For example, Jews may set a timer before Shabbat to operate a light or appliance on Shabbat, and in some cases, they may adjust the timer on Shabbat. Actions that activate an electrical appliance but are not specifically intended to do so may be permitted if the activation is not certain to occur or if the person does not benefit from the appliance's automatic operation. For example, most authorities allow Jews to open a refrigerator door even though it may cause the motor to turn on immediately or later (not certain to occur); however, they prohibit opening the door if a light inside will automatically turn on (certain and of benefit). Some rabbinic authorities permit, under certain conditions, walking past a house with a motion sensor which switches on a light (for example, if the street is already well-lit so there would not be any direct benefit for you).
Some uses of electricity are especially controversial in Israel because of its majority Jewish population. The use of automated machines to milk cows on Shabbat, an activity that is prohibited if done by hand, is disputed because the farmer may derive economic benefit from the milk, although cows suffer if not milked regularly. The use of electricity from power plants operated by Jews in violation of Shabbat is also controversial because it is normally forbidden to benefit from the action of another Jew's violation of Shabbat. However, because of communal need and other halakhic factors, most religious authorities in Israel permit these uses of electricity.
Incidental prohibitions and leniencies
Many electric devices may not be used on Shabbat for reasons unrelated to electricity. For example:
An electric stove may not be used to cook food, since all cooking of food is forbidden ().
An electric lawn mower may not be used, since cutting grass by any means is forbidden ().
Use of a computer may violate the prohibition of writing (), either in displaying words on the screen, or saving information to the disk (see fuller discussion below).
Conversely, even if use of an electric device would normally be forbidden on Shabbat, in certain circumstances it may be permitted due to leniencies which apply to all Shabbat prohibitions. For example:
If violating Shabbat is the only way of saving a human life (), one may (and must) violate Shabbat to save a life.
If one performs an activity which indirectly causes Shabbat to be violated (), the level of violation is considered lower. If other reasons for leniency are present, the activity may become permitted under certain conditions.
If one performs an activity which has the unwanted consequence of violating Shabbat (), the level of violation is considered lower. If other reasons for leniency are present, the activity may become permitted.
If one performs an activity which has the unwanted consequence of possibly (not definitely) violating Shabbat (), the activity is permitted on Shabbat.
Incandescent lights
Of the 39 categories of creative activities prohibited on Shabbat, rabbinic authorities have associated at least three with incandescent lights. The overwhelming majority of Orthodox halakhic authorities maintain that turning on an incandescent light on Shabbat violates a Biblical prohibition on "igniting" a fire (Hebrew: הבערה, ), because the filament becomes glowing hot like a coal. Some argue instead that it violates the prohibition on "cooking". Another approach is that of Raavad, who would classify incandescent light as a third creative activity: "completing a product" (Hebrew: מכה בפטיש, : literally, "striking the final hammer blow").
The Mishnah, in the context of laws prohibiting cooking, states: "One who heats a metal pot may not pour cold water into it to heat [the water], but he may pour water into the pot or a cup to quench [the vessel]." In the Gemara, Rav says it is permitted to add water to cool it, but forbidden to add water to mold the metal. Shmuel says it is also permitted to add enough water to mold the metal as long as that is not his intent, but if he intends to mold the metal it is forbidden. In a different context, Rav Sheshet says that "cooking" a metal filament is forbidden by analogy to cooking spices.
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach prohibits raising (or lowering) the level of an electric heater with an adjustable dial, since numerous small heating elements are turned on (or off) in the process.
Conservative Rabbi Daniel Nevins has argued that, according to traditional halakhic sources, heating a filament is not prohibited, because the heat does not cause any significant change in the metal and provides no benefit.
Fluorescent and LED lights
While the visible light produced by fluorescent lamps comes from a phosphor coating which luminesces at low temperature, such lamps also include metal electrodes which are heated to a very high temperature, seemingly causing the same halachic issues as incandescent lamps. However, LED lamps contain no hot metal filament and do not have the same halachic questions, though they may be halachically problematic for reasons discussed later in this article.
Shabbat laws potentially related to electricity
Other prohibitions may apply to electric devices that do not involve heating metal to glowing temperatures.
Molid
The Talmud prohibits infusing a fragrant scent into one's clothing on Shabbat. According to Rashi, this is because a rabbinic prohibition exists to "create anything new" (molid). Rabbi Yitzchak Schmelkes suggested applying molid to the generating of electric current. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and many others disagree with this application. Among other reasons, they state that molid is a limited category that cannot be expanded past the definitions the Talmudic Sages imposed. Rav Auerbach also stated that molid only applies when the new property is visible (which is not the case with an electric current in a circuit, but is the case when a computer screen is lit up, for example). Nevins has endorsed Rav Auerbach's reasoning.
In any case, molid would seemingly apply only creating an electric circuit, not to extinguishing an existing current (or modifying its strength).
Boneh
The Chazon Ish wrote that closing an electrical circuit to create an electrical current is Biblically prohibited as "building" (boneh), and opening a closed circuit is prohibited as "destroying".
R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disagreed vigorously with the Chazon Ish. Among other reasons, he claimed that building and destroying must be fundamentally permanent in nature, whereas most electrical devices are routinely turned on and off at will, and the person who turns it on usually intends that it will be turned off at some later point, and vice versa. Building an item that is fundamentally temporary in nature is at most a Rabbinic prohibition, and Rav Auerbach said that opening and closing a circuit is like opening and closing a door, which is not prohibited at all. Many other Orthodox authorities take this position as well, as does the Conservative Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.
One contemporary authority states that even according to the Chazon Ish, the prohibition of "building" would not apply to changing the state of electric circuits in a computer which is already running.
Makeh Bapatish
The Chazon Ish argued, in addition, that closing a circuit to render a device operational might violate the Biblical prohibition of (striking the final hammer blow, i.e.. completing a product). The argument would be that an electrical device is not complete because it does not function unless the electricity is turned on.
Rabbis Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Yaakov Breisch, and Nevins strongly disagree because refers to a fundamentally permanent act that requires great effort, and turning on an electrical appliance is fundamentally temporary because it will be turned off, and requires a minimal amount of effort.
Rabbi Osher Weiss argues that intentionally creating an electric circuit violates because (in his opinion) any activity that is sufficiently significant and creative is prohibited on Shabbat, and if it does not fit into one of the 38 other forbidden activities, it is categorized as . He also argues that unintentionally creating a circuit (as often occurs when electronic devices operate in a person's vicinity) is completely permitted, as it does not have the level of significance needed to qualify as .
Sparks
Intentionally creating burning sparks, for example by rubbing stones together to make a fire, is prohibited on Shabbat as igniting a fire; it is possible that this prohibition includes the sparks momentarily generated when an electric appliance is turned on. However, R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach rules leniently for several reasons: the lighting of sparks is undesired, and might not occur, and the sparks are very small so they might not be considered significant. With solid-state technology, the probability of generating sparks is greatly reduced.
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman recounts that he was approached by young rabbis in a seminary who asked him "is electricity fire?". He replied, "no", but asked why they wanted to know, and was shocked that they weren't interested in science at all, but just wanted to interpret the Talmud. Feynman said that electricity was not a chemical process, as fire is, and pointed out that there is electricity in atoms and thus every phenomenon that occurs in the world. Feynman proposed a simple way to eliminate the spark: '"If that's what's bothering you, you can put a condenser across the switch, so the electricity will go on and off without any spark whatsoever—anywhere.' But for some reason, they didn't like that idea either".
Additional fuel consumption
Turning on an appliance may indirectly cause the power plant to consume more fuel, and as so violates mavir, the augmenting of a fire. For various reasons most authorities permit this indirect causation if the power-plant is operated by non-Jews. (If the power plant is operated by Jews, the issue is more complicated. See the section below regarding Israeli power plants.)
Heating a wire or filament
Injecting current into a wire might cause that wire to heat to the temperature of yad soledet bo. According to the Chazon Ish, this would cause operation of such a device to be forbidden. However, R' Auerbach disagrees, saying that heating metal is only prohibited when the intent is to modify the metal (e.g. tempering). Some feel that the prevalence of solid-state technology has made the reality underlying this concern obsolete in many cases.
Custom
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach rejected any technical prohibition on electricity: "In my opinion there is no prohibition [to use electricity] on Shabbat or Yom Tov... There is no prohibition of Fine-tuning or molid... (However, I [Rabbi Auerbach] am afraid that the masses will err and turn on incandescent lights on Sabbath, and thus I do not permit electricity absent great need...) ... This matter requires further analysis. ... However, the key point in my opinion is that there is no prohibition to use electricity on Sabbath unless the electricity causes a prohibited act like cooking or starting a flame."
However, he considered the use of electricity forbidden by custom, and thus would only permit its use in situations of great need.
Practical applications
In general, from an Orthodox perspective, it is permissible to benefit from most electrical objects during Shabbat, provided they are preset before the start of Shabbat, and the status of the appliance is not manually modified during Shabbat. These include lights, heating, and air conditioning.
Cooking appliances
Cooking on Shabbat, whether by electrical or other means, is generally prohibited on Shabbat. Food may be kept hot when it is cooked before the start of Shabbat. There are various laws governing how this food is kept hot and served. Often, a blech or crock pot is used for this purpose.
Refrigerators
Though most Shabbat observant Jews permit opening and closing a refrigerator during Shabbat, some authorities require that the door only be opened when the refrigerator motor is already running. Otherwise, the motor will be caused to go on sooner by the increase in temperature indirectly caused by the flow of heat from the outside. Most refrigerators and freezers automatically turn the motor on to operate the cooling pump whenever the thermostat detects a temperature that is too high to keep the food cold. However, Auerbach and most authorities permit opening the door because this result is indirect and because there are additional grounds to be lenient.
Additionally, any incandescent light which is triggered upon opening the door must be disconnected before Shabbat. It is not permitted to open the door if the light will turn on because, unlike with the motor running, the light turning on is a Biblical prohibition whereas the motor running may be a Rabbinic prohibition, and also, the light is turned on immediately as an effect of opening the refrigerator whereas the motor turning on is an indirect effect.
Some appliance manufacturers have implemented subtle design aspects to accommodate Shabbat observant Jews. In 1998 Whirlpool's KitchenAid line patented a "Sabbath mode", and since then many manufacturers have followed by offering similar options. These modes typically turn off the electronic displays, disable oven and refrigerator lights that turn on automatically, and use delay timers that allow for permitted temperature controls. According to Jon Fasman, "about half of all ovens and refrigerators on the market (including those made by GE, Whirlpool, and KitchenAid) now have a Sabbath mode."
Thermostats
Some rabbinic authorities have questioned that if a thermostat for a heating or air conditioning system is set prior to the start of Shabbat, if changes made to the temperature of the room in which the thermostat is contained may impact the system's on/off status. Of particular concern is an action that intentionally triggers the thermostat; for example, if the thermostat is set to turn on the room's heat, and an occupant of the room wishes the heater would turn on, opening a window to allow cold air into the room, thereby triggering the heat to turn on.
While most rabbis have ruled that the example of intentionally letting cold air into the room to operate the thermostat constitutes a violation of Shabbat, if the person opens the window for some other, legitimate, reason, and the cold air enters as a side effect, no violation has occurred. Additionally, most agree that if a person who has no intention to operate the thermostat does something which happens to operate it, no violation has occurred.
A few rabbinical authorities have completely forbidden the use of heating or cooling systems controlled by a thermostat on Shabbat, declaring that human actions that trigger the system on or off constitute a violation, regardless of intention.
While (in general) it is prohibited to adjust an electric device so that it turns on or off sooner, many authorities permit adjusting it so an expected change will be delayed and the current state preserved for longer. According to the permissive opinion if a heating system is currently off (because the temperature is currently higher than the thermostat setting), one would be permitted to lower the thermostat, as this causes the heating system to remain in its current "off" state for longer.
Television and radio
Most rabbinical authorities have prohibited watching television during Shabbat, even if the TV is turned on before the start of Shabbat, and its settings are not changed. However, most rabbis have permitted programming a device to record television programmes during Shabbat, the programming to be done before the start of Shabbat and the viewing after.
Most authorities also prohibit either turning on or listening to a radio. The reason is, although an electric current is not turned on, the radio makes a loud noise, falling under the Rabbinic prohibition of making noise with an instrument designed to make noise. However, it may be permitted to turn up the volume of a radio that is already on because many authorities permit adding to an electric current. Eliezer Waldenberg says that changing the station on a radio by using a dial is prohibited, but Shlomo Auerbach says that it is permitted.
Regardless of permissibility, almost all authorities (including Conservative Nevins) consider that watching television, listening to a radio, or use of appliances for similar purposes on Shabbat violates the spirit of Shabbat and is not ideal.
Jewish people also might not leave certain devices on according to maris ayin—the prohibition of doing something which another might view as prohibitory in Jewish law.
Computers and similar appliances
In addition to possible halachic issues with any use of electricity, some additional issues may apply when using electronic devices such as computers.
Writing on the screen
Opinions differ regarding causing text to appear on an electronic screen (such as a computer screen or cellphone). Many argue that since the text will only appear on the screen for a short period, the Biblical prohibition on writing and erasing permanent text is not violated, so the action is only forbidden by rabbinic law. R' Shmuel Wosner was stricter, arguing that since text on the screen can last for a significant amount of time (i.e. an hour), it is considered "permanent" writing which is forbidden. However, other authorities say that even according to R' Wosner's approach, the Biblical prohibition would not apply if the device has a screensaver which automatically replaces the screen contents after a short period, or if the device is battery-powered (and not plugged in) and will inevitably run out of battery in not too long.
This judgment may be affected by the type of display used. For example, when using a CRT display (but not later types of display), words which appear on a computer screen are actually flickering many times a second; according to some authorities this means that such writing is not considered writing at all. On the other hand, text on an E Ink display (such as an Amazon Kindle) remains permanently even if the device loses electric power (unless the user decides to change the text), which makes it Biblically forbidden.
Writing to disk
Another issue is recording information on a computer (e.g. saving a file, or sending a text message which will be stored on a server or on the recipient's phone). Conservative Rabbi Daniel Nevins wrote that such recording violates the Biblical prohibition of writing. Among Orthodox authorities, opinions are divided on whether magnetic recording violates the prohibition of writing. In addition, R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach argued that recording may violate a separate Biblical prohibition of "building", since one is creating the capability for the computer to show you this information later on.
Other considerations
It is also questionable whether the use of a keyboard or other input device to change what is displayed is a direct effect, as it depends both on the keyboard and on the device's pre-programmed behavior. Regarding printing a document on paper, some authorities view it as grama and only rabbinically prohibited (since the printing only occurs after some time and after the computer has calculated how best to print), while others view it as straightforward writing and thus Biblically prohibited.
The use of a computer might be considered "Uvdin d'Chol" (weekday/mundane activities), which are prohibited rabbinically to preserve the spirit of the sanctity of Shabbat, by preventing one from carrying out unrequired or grueling tasks and weekday-specific activities on Shabbat.
R' Nahum Rabinovitch ruled that soldiers (who need to write to save lives) should preferably use a pen with disappearing ink (which is rabbinically prohibited as the writing is temporary) rather than electronic writing on a computer, indicating what he saw as the seriousness of the prohibitions involved in using a computer.
The Shabbos App was a proposed Android app claimed by its creators to enable Jews to permissibly use a smartphone to text on Shabbat. Developers stated that the application would be released in December 2014, but the app was delayed and eventually never released. When announced, the app caused an uproar among the public, and many rabbis spoke out against the development.
Telephones
Like other electrical appliances, telephones are bound by similar restrictions on Shabbat. Operating a telephone may involve separate prohibitions at each stage of the operation. Thus, removing a telephone from the receiver to produce a dial tone closes a circuit and makes a noise. Dialing closes more circuits and creates more noises. Speaking on the phone increases an existing current, but Shlomo Auerbach and many other authorities permit this. Hanging up the phone opens a circuit, which is a Biblical prohibition of "destroying" according to the Chazon Ish but a Rabbinic prohibition according to others.
Dialing on many phones, including cell phones, also causes the numbers to be written on a display screen, thus violating the prohibition of writing (as described above). If a phone call must be made on Shabbat, other factors being equal, it is preferable to use a phone without a display screen.
It is questionable if it is permissible to use an answering machine or voicemail to receive messages left during Shabbat, since one is benefiting from a violation of Shabbat, particularly if the caller is a Jew.
In an emergency case where a phone call must be made to save a life, making the phone call is permitted. In addition, a special phone has been invented to minimize the halachic issues regarding phone use on Shabbat; the inventors argue that its use by soldiers or other essential workers in less urgent situations is permitted. This phone is marketed as a "kosher phone" (unrelated to "kosher phones" in some other Jewish communities, which lack internet or media access to comply with bans on the internet in those communities).
Microphones
There are varying views on the use of a microphone during Shabbat. While most Orthodox rabbinic authorities prohibit the use of microphones, there has been some argument for allowing the use of a microphone in a synagogue that is turned on before the start of Shabbat on the basis that a microphone does not create a human voice, but rather amplifies it. Those in the majority, who forbid the microphone, have various concerns, including the conduction of electricity that is affected by the human voice, and the attention that is drawn from the sound coming from the speakers.
A "Shabbat microphone" has been developed, which is intended to allow Rabbis or Hazzans to amplify and transmit their voice without affecting the electrical current of the microphone to hold congregations without violating Shabbat. It uses acousto-fluidic technology and constant electric current, so the sound source does not change the status of the electric current. It has not been approved by all Orthodox rabbinic authorities. Rabbis disagree about whether even a Shabbat microphone can be used when the sound is being recorded.
Laundry
Washing clothes is not permitted on Shabbat, whether by hand or machine. Most rabbinical authorities have prohibited allowing a washing machine or dryer to run on Shabbat, even if it is set before the start of Shabbat. If the machine is still running after Shabbat starts when this was not planned, no benefit may be derived from clothes or other objects in the appliance during that Shabbat.
Automobiles
According to Orthodox authorities, while driving on Shabbat is prohibited directly because of the combustion of fuel, modern automobiles also have numerous electrical components whose operation is prohibited during Shabbat. These include headlamps and other external and internal lights, turn signals, and gauges. Additionally, the operation of the vehicle involves many uses of electricity and electrical circuits. According to many Conservative authorities, this use of electricity is not prohibited, and it may even be permitted to drive a car powered by an internal combustion engine in certain circumstances.
Elevators
Operating an elevator is generally prohibited by Orthodox authorities for multiple reasons. However, Shabbat elevators have been designed automatically to travel from one floor to the next regardless of whether a human is riding the elevator or not, so many authorities permit the use of such elevators under certain circumstances. The environmental advantages of reducing energy consumption when the device is not in use are lost.
Surveillance systems
The use of automated surveillance systems has been reviewed. Examples include closed-circuit television, video cameras, and motion detectors. A person who walks within view of an operating surveillance camera may permit photography if the camera must be passed to enter a building or location and the photograph is not of direct benefit to the passerby. This is called a (Aramaic: פסיק רישא דלא ניחא ליה, loose translation: "an inevitable resultant action that does not benefit the one who indirectly caused that action"). However, it is prohibited to knowingly walk past a motion sensor which switches on a light on Shabbat if the street or place is dark and because the turning on of the light substantively benefits the person, and it is a (Aramaic: פסיק רישא דניחא ליה, loose translation: "an inevitable resultant action that does benefit the one who indirectly caused that action"). Observant Jews are advised to avoid walking past a motion sensor that they know is there and will switch on a light, or close their eyes when doing so.
Static electricity
Many authorities permit separating clothes or performing other actions that might generate sparks due to static electricity.
Milking of cows
Some review articles have been published on the permissibility of milking cows on Shabbat using automated machines. Milking cows is fundamentally prohibited on Shabbat, but is permitted to relieve the suffering of an engorged cow, as long as the milk is allowed to go to waste rather than being stored.
Due to the desire that so much milk not go to waste, it was proposed to attach the pumping machine on Shabbat, to let the first few drops go to waste, then position a container to store the subsequent milk flow. While the Chazon Ish wrote that such a practice is forbidden, he is reported to have permitted it when asked orally, and some communities have used the practice accordingly. Using a device invented by the Zomet Institute in the 1980s, which allowed the switch from milking to waste to milking into containers to occur indirectly without human intervention, the act of milking cows became more indirect and thus more likely to be permitted. Yet another solution, whereby the cows are hooked up to the machine with electricity off, and the electricity is soon turned on automatically to milk the cows, was permitted in theory by the Chazon Ish and became practical in the late 20th century. It is currently practiced by the religious kibbutz at Sde Eliyahu.
Ways of circumventing the Shabbat prohibitions
Several innovations have been developed to address the needs of the Shabbat-observant user while not violating Shabbat.
Shabbat clocks
In general, halacha permits a Jew to begin a Shabbat-violating action on Friday (before Shabbat) even though the action will be completed automatically on Shabbat. Therefore, the consensus of contemporary authorities permits a Jew to program a timer (referred to as a "Shabbat clock") before Shabbat to perform automatically a prohibited action on Shabbat. For example, it is permitted to attach a timer to a light switch on Friday afternoon so that the light will turn off late on Friday night when people wish to sleep, and will turn on again the next day when people are awake.
However, an exception to this rule may be the production of a noise which disturbs the peaceful environment of Shabbat, as shown by a debate in the Talmud over whether a Jew may add wheat on Friday to a water mill that will run automatically on Shabbat, because the addition of wheat to the mill will cause a loud noise. Rishonim disagree as to which opinion is normative. Joseph Caro in the Shulchan Aruch permits this action, but Moses Isserles (the Ramo) prohibits it absent great need. Accordingly, Rabbis Moses Feinstein and Shlomo Auerbach prohibit programming a radio to turn on during Shabbat, or allowing it to run on Shabbat, not because of the violation of electricity as such, but rather because the noise of the radio violates a separate prohibition.
Some authorities have raised other reasons to prohibit Shabbat clocks in general, but the consensus of many rabbis permits their use. Nowadays they are commonly used to manage lights in private homes, to operate dishwashers and milk cows in Shabbat-observant kibbutzim and moshavim, and for various purposes in public facilities such as hospitals and hotels.
Adjusting a Shabbat clock on Shabbat
Shabbat clocks are typically mechanical devices that are "programmed" by moving pegs that represent specific hours. One is permitted on Shabbat to move pegs on a mechanical device, but when the pegs are part of a Shabbat clock, the resulting activity (e.g. turning on a light) may be forbidden. Several different cases must be considered:
Adjusting the shabbat clock so that a light turns on, sooner than it otherwise would have: This is forbidden, though some authorities are lenient in situations of need, since this can be considered turning on the light indirectly (grama).
Adjusting the shabbat clock so that a light turns on, later than it otherwise would have: Nearly all authorities permit this, and the common practice is to permit it. However, if the adjustment is done by removing and reinserting a peg, the reinsertion could cause the light to turn on earlier relative to the state of no peg, which would likely be forbidden as previously discussed.
Adjusting the shabbat clock so that a light turns off, sooner than it otherwise would have: This is similar to the case of turning the light on sooner, and thus forbidden. However, the act of turning off a light is less halachically serious than turning it on (a rabbinic rather than Biblical prohibition), so R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach permits if the light (or other device) is of a type whose operation is only rabbinically forbidden, as the multiple layers of rabbinic prohibition create more grounds for leniency.
Adjusting the shabbat clock so that a light turns off, later than it otherwise would have: This is similar to the case of turning the light on later, and thus permitted. (A minority of authorities hold it is forbidden due to causing more electricity to be consumed than would have otherwise.)
Other proposed bypasses
The KosherLamp, sold since 2004, is a lamp in which the electricity runs continually, but which contains a sliding cover so that the light can be exposed or blocked as desired. Thus, the lamp can be "turned on" or "turned off" even though in reality the bulb is always on.
In 2015, the KosherSwitch wall switch was introduced amid controversy, as a means of controlling electricity on-demand in a manner that is permissible according to several Orthodox authorities.
Use of electricity generated in Israeli power plants
Several review articles have been written about the permissibility of using electricity generated in Israeli power plants. In principle, it should be prohibited because one may not benefit from an action performed in violation of Shabbat. Thus, for example, if a Jew lights a candle in violation of Shabbat, both he and other Jews are forbidden to read a book using that candlelight. Similarly, if a Jew generates electricity in a power plant in violation of Shabbat, other Jews may not benefit from that electricity. However, there are several considerations to permit Jews to generate electricity in Israeli power plants and to use electricity generated in this manner.
Generating electricity
The primary motive to permit generating electricity is (Hebrew: פיקוח נפש, "saving lives"). Electricity generated on Shabbat is needed for the day-to-day operations of hospitals, first aid centers, outpatients who require medical care in their homes, and climate control for people who need it, a refrigerator for a baby or the elderly who must eat refrigerated food, and possibly street lights which help prevent road accidents. Because it is impossible to distinguish between the electric current going to purposes recognised as and to other purposes, all electricity generation is classified as . The argument based on would allow a Jew to work at the power plant on Shabbat to generate electricity. Rabbis Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Shlomo Goren permit this, but Auerbach and Moshe Feinstein question why non-Jews are not employed to do this work instead.
Using electricity
Assuming that a Jewish worker may generate electricity on Shabbat due to , opinions are divided on whether Jewish consumers may use this electricity for non- purposes. R' Shlomo Goren prohibits using it in ordinary circumstances using a Talmudic precedent: if meat is cooked for a patient who needs it for , nobody else may eat that meat, as this possibility could encourage the cook to prepare more meat than necessary, violating Shabbat without justification. However, R' Shlomo Auerbach, who permits the generation of electricity on Shabbat with some hesitation (see citation below), also permits the use of electricity based on a different Talmudic precedent: if a sick patient requires meat, and no dead meat is available, a live animal may be slaughtered (otherwise in violation of Shabbat) and its excess meat may be consumed by others on Shabbat. Since in this case, there is no way to cook any meat without slaughtering a whole animal, the rationale that the violator might do more than necessary does not hold.
Another possible reason for leniency is the fact that some Jewish power plant workers are unaware their work is considered Shabbat violation. Thus, it could be considered unintentional (Hebrew: שוגג, ). When a person violates Shabbat unintentionally (as opposed to intentionally), some authorities permit other Jews to benefit from the violation. Thus, customers might be allowed to use electricity generated on Shabbat.
Nowadays, it is generally accepted that consumers may use electricity from the power plant. However, part of the charedi community refuses to use the electric grid (instead of running
electricity generators at home), following the opinion of the Chazon Ish who argued that even if a power plant could run permissibly, using its electricity would be forbidden, as the secular workers there do not respect Shabbat and using their electricity would show public approval of their actions.
It is projected that in the future, when Israel's coal generating plants are shut down and replaced with natural gas power plants, it will be possible to run all-electric plants automatically without human intervention, removing the halachic questions about the use of this electricity on Shabbat.
Alternatives to publicly generated electricity
Tens of thousands of Israeli haredim, forming a significant fraction of the Haredi population, run private electric generators to avoid using the public electricity supply on Shabbat. Some even refuse to use a generator because the end-product of electricity is indistinguishable from what is provided to ordinary consumers, so using electricity in any manner constitutes the appearance of violating Halakhah. Some of these people use a kerosene lamp that provides them with a minimal amount of light, and some use only Shabbat candles for Friday night dinner.
Some people who do not use electricity also do not use faucets or other mechanisms that provide water from public supplies, because the municipal water pumps are operated electrically. These people prepare containers of water on Friday sufficient to provide for their needs on Shabbat.
See also
Activities prohibited on Shabbat
External links
The New York Times – Entrepreneurs find ways to make technology work with Jewish Sabbath
Notes
References
Michael Broyde and Howard Jachter (Pesach 1991). The Use of Electricity on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Journal of Halacha & Contemporary Society, No. XXI. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
Encyclopedia Talmudit, "Electricity" 18:155–190.
Dovid Ribiat. The 39 Melochos: An Elucidation of the 39 Melochos from Concept to Practical Application. Nanuet, N.Y. : Feldheim Publishers, 1999. Volume 4, pages 1201ff.
Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin. To Be a Jew, A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life'', Basic Books, 1972, 1991, , pages 89–93
Electricity
Laws of Shabbat |
3992949 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argus%20%E2%80%93%20Audit%20Record%20Generation%20and%20Utilization%20System | Argus – Audit Record Generation and Utilization System | Argus – the Audit Record Generation and Utilization System is the first implementation of network flow monitoring, and is an ongoing open source network flow monitor project. Started by Carter Bullard in 1984 at Georgia Tech, and developed for cyber security at Carnegie Mellon University in the early 1990s, Argus has been an important contributor to Internet cyber security technology over its 30 years. .
The Argus Project is focused on developing all aspects of large scale network situational awareness and network audit trail establishment in support of Network Operations (NetOps), Performance and Security Management. Motivated by the telco Call detail record (CDR), Argus attempts to generate network metadata that can be used to perform a large number of network management tasks. Argus is used by many universities, corporations and government entities including US DISA, DoD, DHS, FFRDCs, GLORIAD and is a Top 100 Internet Security Tool. Argus is designed to be a real-time situational awareness system, and its data can be used to track, alarm and alert on wire-line network conditions. The data can also be used to establish a comprehensive audit of all network traffic, as described in the Red Book, US DoD NCSC-TG-005, supplementing traditional Intrusion detection system (IDS) based network security. The audit trail is traditionally used as historical network traffic measurement data for network forensics and Network Behavior Anomaly Detection (NBAD). Argus has been used extensively in cybersecurity, end-to-end performance analysis, and more recently, software-defined networking (SDN) research. Argus has also been a topic in network management standards development. RMON (1995) and IPFIX (2001).
Argus is composed of an advanced comprehensive network flow data generator, the Argus monitor, which processes packets (either capture files or live packet data) and generates detailed network traffic flow status reports of all the flows in the packet stream. Argus monitors all network traffic, data plane, control plane and management plane, not just Internet Protocol (IP) traffic. Argus captures much of the packet dynamics and semantics of each flow, with a great deal of data reduction, so you can store, process, inspect and analyze large amounts of network data efficiently. Argus provides reachability, availability, connectivity, duration, rate, load, good-put, loss, jitter, retransmission (data networks), and delay metrics for all network flows, and captures most attributes that are available from the packet contents, such as Layer 2 addresses, tunnel identifiers (MPLS, GRE, IPsec, etc...), protocol ids, SAP's, hop-count, options, L4 transport identification (RTP detection), host flow control indications, etc... Argus has implemented a number of packet dynamics metrics specifically designed for cyber security. Argus detects human typing behavior in any flow, but of particular interest is key-stroke detection in encrypted SSH tunnels. and Argus generates the Producer Consumer Ratio (PCR) which indicates whether a network entity is a data producer and/or consumer, an important property when evaluating the potential for a node to be involved in an Advanced persistent threat (APT) mediated exfiltration.
Argus is an Open Source (GPL) project, owned and managed by QoSient, LLC, and has been ported to most operating systems and many hardware accelerated platforms, such as Bivio, Pluribus, Arista, and Tilera. The software should be portable to many other environments with little or no modifications. Performance is such that auditing an entire enterprise's Internet activity can be accomplished using modest computing resources.
Supported platforms
Linux: Unix operating system running the Linux kernel
Solaris: Unix operating system developed by Sun Microsystems
BSD: Unix operating system family (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD)
OS X: Unix operating system developed by Apple Inc.
IRIX: Unix operating system developed by Silicon Graphics
AIX, Unix operating system developed by IBM
Windows, (under Cygwin) operating system developed by Microsoft
OpenWrt: Unix operation system running the Linux kernel on embedded devices
References
External links
Argus website
Network flow problem
Network analyzers
Network performance
Software performance management
Network management
Packets (information technology)
Internet Protocol based network software |
4761038 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro%20Live | Micro Live | Micro Live was a BBC2 TV series that was produced by David Allen as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project, and followed on from earlier series such as The Computer Programme, Computers In Control, and Making the Most of the Micro. As the name implies, the series was broadcast live (so causing its own problems such as the infamous incident of the hacked email account).
The first programme was a one-off two-hour-long special, broadcast on Sunday 2 October 1983 as Making the Most of the Micro Live. A second one-hour special was broadcast in the summer of 1984, during which it was announced that Micro Live would be back on BBC2 as a regular monthly one-hour series starting in October of that year. A second season of Micro Live launched in 1985 as a weekly half-hour programme and was followed by a third series of weekly half-hour shows in 1986. The series broadcast its last programme on 28 March 1987.
The scope of the programme was much wider than the preceding computer series and had a less formal feel due to its live nature. Not only did it cover more subject areas but it also featured more microcomputers instead of its main focus being the BBC Micro. It regularly included stories from the United States and recorded various small but significant milestones, such as the first on-air transatlantic mobile phone call, made in a snowstorm from the top of a New York skyscraper to Lesley Judd sitting in a Sinclair C5 outside Television Centre.
Presenters
Ian McNaught-Davis was once again the anchorman and he was joined over the course of the series by regulars Lesley Judd, Fred Harris and Connor Freff Cochran, an American journalist who did live broadcast and filmed reports from the USA.
BBC Software for Schools Competition
The joint winners of this competition held in 1984 were Trevor Inns from Drayton Manor High School and Simon Harriss and David Eldridge of William Howard School, Brampton.
Hacking incident
The first one-off special was the subject of a memorable hacking incident. Ian McNaught-Davis and John Coll logged into the programme's BT Gold email account to demonstrate the features of the then relatively new idea of email, only to find that the account had been hacked. Shortly before air, the floor manager had informed Ian McNaught-Davis the password for the account, unfortunately while his microphone was live. Visiting computer guests, who were in the green room, overheard this information and immediately telephoned a friendly hacker, who proceeded to use the information to get into the account.
The following text was displayed once John Coll had logged in:
Computer Security Error. Illegal access.
I hope your Television PROGRAMME runs
as smoothly as my PROGRAM worked out
your passwords! Nothing is secure!
Hackers' Song.
"Put another password in,
Bomb it out and try again,
Try to get past logging in,
we're Hacking, Hacking, Hacking.
Try his first wife's maiden name,
This is more than just a game,
It's real fun, but just the same,
It's Hacking, Hacking, Hacking."
The NutCracker
( Hackers' UK )
HI THERE, OWLETS, FROM OZ AND YUG
(OLIVER AND GUY)
After that John Coll was able to read his email and continue the demonstration as no damage had been done to the account (although Oz and Yug had sent a few emails).
See also
Micro Men
The Computer Programme
Making the Most of the Micro
Computers in Control
The Computer Chronicles
Footnotes
External links
1983 British television series debuts
1987 British television series endings
BBC Television shows
Computer science education in the United Kingdom
Computer television series
English-language television shows |
17382011 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MuLinux | MuLinux | muLinux was an Italian, English-language lightweight Linux distribution maintained by mathematics and physics professor Michele Andreoli, meant to allow very old and obsolete computers (80386, 80486 and Pentium Pro hardware dating from 1986 through 1998) to be used as basic intranet/Internet servers or text-based workstations with a UNIX-like operating system. It was also designed for quickly turning any 80386 or later computer into a temporary, powerful Linux machine, along with system repair, education, forensic analysis and what the developer called proselytizing. In 2004 reviewer Paul Zimmer wrote, "Although there are several other single-floppy Linux distributions, none can match muLinux's extensive and unique combination of useful features." The last version update was in 2004, when further development of this "linux-on-a-floppy" distribution ended.
Name
The name muLinux comes from the Greek letter mu which is the SI symbol meaning one millionth, harking to the very small size of this OS.
Minimalist design
muLinux was based on the Linux 2.0.36 kernel. Development was frozen in 2004 at version 14r0, with some of the code and packages taken from software releases going back to 1998 (owing only to their smaller sizes). An experimental, unstable version called Lepton had the 2.4 kernel.
muLinux could be both booted or installed to a hard drive on an obsolete machine from floppy disks. A highly functional UNIX-like, network-enabled server with a Unix shell could be had from but one floppy disk. Another floppy disk added workstation functionality and a legacy X Window VGA GUI came with a third floppy. One reviewer noted, "It's not gorgeous, but the whole X subsystem fits onto a single floppy. Egad." muLinux could also be unpacked and installed by a self-executable archive, or extracted directly, onto an old DOS or Windows 9x (umsdos) partition without harming the current OS. If the machine had a floppy disk drive muLinux also would run on an otherwise diskless computer and no CD-ROM drive was needed.
Owing to its minimalist design muLinux was a single-user OS, with all operations performed by the root user. It used the ext2 Linux native file system (rather than the slower Minix file system seen in other single-floppy takes on Linux). The OS was robust when used for text-based tasks along with basic file, light web page or email serving. It could also be adapted as a very tiny, stand-alone embedded system.
muLinux was sometimes installed by Windows users who wanted to learn about the commands and configuration of a Unix-like operating system before taking the step of installing a full Linux distribution or BSD release, although on later computers this could easily be done with any one of many live CD distributions. Since the distribution was always wholly targeted at old hardware and meant to have a tiny footprint, Andreoli warned at the time that muLinux should not be used to evaluate Linux or open source software. The OS came with a lean and pithy online help system which also happened to be an introduction to UNIX, written in an English which the developer called "fractured." The OS had "cheery dialogues" and a friendly sense of humour sprinkled throughout.
System requirements
muLinux needed only minimal hardware, hence it would run on many thoroughly obsolete but still-working computers. Some machines from the later 1980s or very early 1990s may have needed additional SIMMs for enough RAM but overall, the requirements were only slightly higher than those for Windows 3.1 so a still-working machine which when new in 1992 ran Windows 3.1 would likely be able to handle a hard drive installation of muLinux:
4 MB RAM if run from a hard drive
16 MB RAM if booted from floppies, can boot from floppy with only 8MB
about 20 MB of hard drive space
an Intel 80386 or later processor
Packages
muLinux came with many packages, each of which fit on one floppy. muLinux was somewhat unusual in that all of the packages were wholly optional.
SRV - basic server package with a web server, mail, samba and more
WKS - basic work station package with mutt, lynx, ssh, pgp and many other Unix shell applications
X11 - legacy X Window 16 colour VGA environment (see below for SVGA) along with early versions of both fvwm95 and Afterstep window managers (based on the Windows 95 and NeXTSTEP GUI respectively)
VNC - for virtual network computing
GCC - C compiler
TCL - Tcl/Tk+ scripting language, which also brings a few more X applications and tools
TEX - TeX typesetting system
PERL - Perl interpreter with modules
EMU - Wine and Dosemu emulators
JVM - Kaffe Java virtual machine
NS1 - SVGA X server along with part of a small but highly obsolete version of Netscape Navigator
NS2 - second part of Netscape Navigator
Packages by other authors were also made available.
References
External links
muLinux official Web page
Light-weight Linux distributions
Floppy-based Linux distributions
Linux distributions |
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