HopStop was an online city transit guide offering detailed, door-to-door biking, bus, subway, taxi, train, and walking directions in real time, as well as official transit maps for 600 cities around the world via Hopstop.com or apps for Android devices, iPads, iPhones, and Windows Phones. The company, founded in 2005, was named one of the top 100 fastest growing software companies in the United States in 2011.

Transit directions were available for several major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Las Vegas; London; Los Angeles; New York City; Paris; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Seattle; Toronto; and Washington, D.C.

History
Chinedu Echeruo (BS Syracuse University, MBA Harvard Business School), formerly an analyst at investment banks and hedge funds, founded HopStop in 2005 and was HopStop's Chairman of the Board. He left HopStop in 2009 and is founder and CEO of the "cause-driven" social platform Gigameet.

Joe Meyer, formerly Vice President and General Manager for AOL's Quigo Technologies, came on as HopStop's President and CEO in 2009.

In 2011, HopStop was named one of the top 100 fastest growing software companies in the United States and ranked 1,182 overall on the 2011 Inc 500 | 5000 list.

Since the release of iOS 6 in September 2012, in which Apple replaced support for Google Maps with their own mapping, HopStop was named as one of the top transit apps for Apple products by multiple publishers, including Business Insider, FastCompany, and Wired.

Apple Inc. acquired HopStop in July 2013 and dropped support for Windows Phone a few days later. In September 2013, Apple removed the Android version of its app from the Play Store. In October 2015, HopStop was no longer available on any platform; Apple, instead, began using the iOS 9 update to supply Apple Maps transit directions. Apple received some criticism in response to this shutdown, mostly due to the discontinued support of around 100 cities and the very early release of the iOS9 update.

Features
HopStop.com provided free customized public transit directions, as well as other related features and information relevant to public transit via HopStop.com and free Android, iOS, and Windows Phone apps.
Users could get step-by-step biking, public transit, taxi, walking, and hourly car rental directions based on the travel options selected (departure time, transportation mode, more walking vs. more transfers, etc.). (Support for Android, Windows Phone, and mobile site support were withdrawn in 2013, after Apple bought the company.)
Nearby Stations allowed users to find bus or subway stops near an address.
The City Guide helped users find attractions, bars, hotels, restaurants, shopping areas, and other businesses.
The Community tab offered users the ability to plan a trip with multiple destinations, including City Guide listings and custom locations.
Transit maps and schedules.
HopStop also calculated calories burned and per passenger carbon emissions savings for each transit route.

Coverage
HopStop.com provided directions in 600 metropolitan areas worldwide, such as:

Canada
Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Waterloo, Winnipeg.

Europe
London, Moscow, Paris, St Petersburg.

United States
Akron, Albany, Albuquerque, Allentown / Lehigh, Ann Arbor, Asheville, Atlanta, Austin, Bakersfield, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Charlotte, Chicago (service suspended as of October 2013), Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delaware, Denver / Boulder, Detroit, Eugene, Flagstaff, Fresno, Green Bay / Appleton, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Huntsville, Indiana, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Lansing, Las Vegas, Lexington, Little Rock, Long Island, LA, Louisville, Madison, Memphis, Metro North Area, Miami / S. Florida, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Missoula, Nashua, Nashville, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York City, Norfolk / VA Beach, Oklahoma City, Orange County, Orlando, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Portland / Salem, Providence, Raleigh-Durham, Reno / Tahoe, Richmond, Rochester, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sarasota, Seattle / Tacoma/ Olympia, Spokane, St Louis, State College, Stockton / Modesto / Tracy, Syracuse / Oswego / Utica, Tampa, Washington D.C., Wilmington.

Transit agencies were not required to have a General Transit Feed Specification for information to be provided.

References

Further reading

Internet properties established in 2005
Web Map Services
Apple Inc. acquisitions
2013 mergers and acquisitions
Defunct online companies of the United States

HopStop


Per Eynert Seyersted (18 May 1921 – 3 April 2005) was a Professor of American Literature at the American Institute at the University of Oslo.

Seyersted was born in Oslo, Norway. He earned his master's degree at Harvard University in 1959 and earned his doctoral degree (dr. philos.) in 1969 at the University of Oslo. He was internationally renowned for his monograph on 19th century novelist Kate Chopin. His last monograph was a study of the works of Robert Cantwell. According to Professor of American Literature Per Winther, Seyersted's book on Chopin became an important reference for the emergence of feminist literary criticism in the 1970s and 1980s and his work has been crucial in the rediscovery of Chopin.

Select Publications
 Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969
 "Kate Chopin (1851–1904) ." American Literary Realism (Spring 1970): 153-159.
 "A Survey of Trends and Figures in Afro-American Fiction ." American Studies in Scandinavia 6 (1973–74): 67-86.
 "The American Girl from Howells to Chopin." Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik 13, no. 2 (1988): 183-192
 ""Who Do You Think You Are?': Alice Munro and the Place of Origin." American Studies in Scandinavia 24, no. 1 (1992): 17-23.
 Toth, Emily and Per Seyersted, eds. Kate Chopin's Private Papers. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1998.
 Robert Cantwell: An American 1930s Radical Writer and His Apostasy. Introduction by Alan Wald. Oslo: Novus Press, 2004.

Notes

1921 births
2005 deaths
Literary critics of English
Feminist literature
University of Oslo alumni
Harvard University alumni
Norwegian expatriates in the United States

Per Seyersted


River Rose and the Magical Christmas is a Christmas children's picture book written by American singer Kelly Clarkson and published by HarperCollins on October 24, 2017. Illustrated by Lucy Fleming, it is the second installment of the River Rose series of pictures books written by Clarkson. The story centers on a little girl's adventure with her dog to visit Santa Claus in the North Pole on the night before Christmas.

Premise
It's Christmas Eve, and River Rose wants to stay up all night to hand-deliver a letter to Santa Claus. She can't wait to finally meet the man in red. River Rose and her dog, Joplin, have fallen asleep and been swept off on another magical adventure. This time, they're off to the North Pole to let Santa know what she really wants for Christmas.

Background and publication
The Magical Christmas was inspired by Clarkson's daughter's love for the holiday season. She explained, "She's at such a fun age... It's a fun time for kids and Christmas. And she just gets so excited about it and I thought it would be a fun book for her to get to read." She also added that a year after announcing the release of the first book, she felt it was the right time to make another installment to the series, focusing on Christmas. On June 28, 2017, HarperCollins announced that the book will be released on October 24, 2017.

Unlike its predecessor, Clarkson wrote a full song to accompany the book's release. Titled "Christmas Eve", she wrote it as a prospective song from her Christmas album, Wrapped in Red (2013). According to Clarkson, the song's lyrical content will differ from the book, focusing itself on the viewpoint of elves of Christmas preparations.

References

External links

  on HarperCollins.com

2017 children's books
American picture books
Christmas novels
Christmas children's books
HarperCollins books
Kelly Clarkson

River Rose and the Magical Christmas


Chiwaukee Prairie is a  prairie in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin managed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (about midway between Chicago and Milwaukee). It is located on Lake Michigan at the Illinois state line and includes grassy wetlands, wooded areas, and the Kenosha Sand Dunes at its northern tip. It is home to an abundance of wildlife. It was designated a Wisconsin State Natural Area in 1967 and a National Natural Landmark in 1973.

Together with surrounding areas, and south to Illinois Beach State Park, the prairie is part of an internationally recognized wetland of importance under the Ramsar Convention, called the Chiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain.

History

The Chiwaukee Prairie was formed at the end of the Last Glacial Period, over 10,000 years ago. As lake water receded from the older Toleston Shoreline, wind and wave action accumulated sand along the current Lake Michigan shoreline. This sediment was stabilized by sand-binding grasses. The decaying plant material contributed humus which supported shrubs and native wildflowers. Eventually, larger trees such as oaks, birch and cottonwood took root.  Today, the prairie appears as a series of sandy ridges, wet swales and woodland areas. Chiwaukee Prairie and the Illinois Beach to the south are referred to as a Lake Plain.

In 1924, Edith Rockefeller McCormick bought 1800 acres from 80th street south to Tobin Road (116th Street) and west to Sheridan Road. This was to be the site of a model city named Edithton Beach. At about the same time, a second development from 116th Street south to the state line, named Chiwaukee on the Lake, was launched. Surveyors divided the acreage into lots, and a nine-hole golf course was completed. Developers built few large homes along Lake Michigan, but wet soil made building elsewhere difficult. The Great Depression of 1929 brought an end to both developments.

In 1936, the Wisconsin State Planning Commission recommended that the sand dunes and land extending south to the Illinois state line be acquired as a state park. The plan died for lack of funds and sufficient local interest.

In 1947, a group of developers led by Joseph E. Shaffron bought most of the land to build homes for middle-class families. Shaffron named the development Carol Beach, after his daughter. Shaffron built ranch-style houses, but once again drainage problems on many lots made them difficult to develop. Wisconsin Power Company bought another 130 acres of sand dunes just north of Carol Beach for a potential power plant.

In the 1960s, a group of concerned citizens, led by Phil Sander and Al Krampert, organized to save the prairie by acquiring undeveloped tracts of land. The Nature Conservancy supported their efforts. Hundreds of private property owners were tracked down and solicited. Some donated their land. Other properties were purchased as funds became available. In 1967 in Wisconsin deemed Chiwaukee Prairie a State Natural Area. The National Park Service recognized it as a National Natural Landmark in 1973.  In 1993, WEC Energy Group donated 62 acres to the Nature Conservancy adding the Kenosha Sand Dunes to Chiwaukee Prairie. Many properties have been deeded to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) or the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and all are managed by the WDNR. In 2015, the entire Lake Plain from Chiwaukee Prairie south was designated a Ramsar wetland of International Significance.

The group of citizens that saved the prairie from development is now constituted as the Chiwaukee Prairie Preservation Fund. They continue to raise money and organize efforts to restore and maintain the land and its wildlife. Since 2014, the Nature Conservancy has acquired another 150 acres just east of Sheridan Road from 116th Street south towards the Illinois border. Dubbed the "Chiwaukee West Restoration Area," the land is being cleared of invasive species and will be seeded with native plant species.

Flora and fauna

The Chiwaukee Prairie is one of the most complete prairie complexes in Wisconsin. It offers a variety of habitats from marshy grasslands, to sand dunes and wooded areas. And it supports a large variety flora and fauna, some of which are rare or endangered.

The prairie has over 400 vascular plant species. There are ferns, lichens, rushes and aquatic plants. There are shrubs such as sumac, red raspberry and an abundance of red-twig dogwood. There are some 80 different kinds of sedges and grasses. And is there is a bewildering assortment of flowers including blazing stars, black-eyed susan, goldenrod, tickseed, milkweed, Queen Anne's-lace, lobelias, asters, thistles, and sunflowers. These bloom at various times throughout the warmer months. In the higher and drier parts of the prairie, there are open woodlands of cottonwood, birch, maples and oaks.

The prairie is home to more than 75 types of birds including gulls, ducks, vireos, swallows, wrens, finches, orioles, woodpeckers, turkey, hawks, kestrels, and bald eagle. Additionally, it is a stop-over site for a succession of migratory birds. The prairie supports an abundance of insects, butterflies, amphibians, and reptiles, including the rare Blanding's turtle (a species of special concern). The prairie is also home to many mammals such as woodchucks, minks, red foxes, coyotes, and the rare Franklin's ground squirrel.

References

Protected areas of Kenosha County, Wisconsin
National Natural Landmarks in Wisconsin
Nature Conservancy preserves
Prairies
Ramsar sites in the United States
State Natural Areas of Wisconsin

Chiwaukee Prairie


Annie Goetzinger (18 August 1951 – 20 December 2017) was a French comics artist and graphic novelist. She was born in Paris, France. From the mid-1970s until her death in 2017, she worked on award-winning graphic novels as well as press cartoons for newspapers such as La Croix and Le Monde.

Goetzinger was known for her research and attention to detail, carefully creating a style influenced by Art Nouveau. Goetzinger's background in fashion drawing and costume design shows through in her work as well. In 2016, she was hired to illustrate a recap of New York Fashion Week for New York Magazine.

Her earliest works were illustrations for short comic stories published in French comic magazines like Pilote, Charlie Mensuel and Fluide Glacial.

Goetzinger died on December 20, 2017 in Paris of endometrial cancer at the age of 66.

References

1951 births
2017 deaths
Cancer deaths in France
Comics artists
Deaths from endometrial cancer
French artists
French novelists
Writers from Paris

Annie Goetzinger


Megisto cymela, the little wood satyr, is a butterfly species of the Satyrinae family that occurs in North America.

Description

Adult
The wingspan is 29–48 mm. The forewing has two yellow-rimmed black eyespots on both sides, dorsal and ventral. The hindwing has two spots on the dorsal side but have smaller spots on the ventral. The other all color is light brown. The wood satyr is comparably larger than sosybia.
Caterpillar
The body is light greenish brown with a dark dorsal line and alternating brown and yellowish lateral stripes. The surface of the caterpillar has bumps, these bumps bear short reddish-brown hairs. The head is dirty white while the tail hairs are light gray.

The wood satyr is part of the typically Neotropical subtribe Euptychiina.  It can be observed in forests, usually along the edges and in brush-filled openings along cleared forest roads. It has also been observed in grassy areas usually between forested patches.  It flies near the ground, twisting between and through grasses, small trees and bushes.  Collectors have found it often difficult to capture, though it appears to be a slow flyer at first glance. This butterfly prefers habitat that is open, contains deciduous trees along with marshy areas and possessing brushy cover.

Range and habitat
They are seen in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, from Nova Scotia south into Florida, west to Texas, Saskatchewan and Wyoming. As the name implies the little wood satyr is most commonly seen in woods and shrubby areas.

Life cycle
Adults in the northern portions of their range fly between June and July while their southern populations fly between March and September. Adults have a slow "bouncing" flight but they will rise as far as the top of tall trees. Females lay eggs singly on grass, the fourth-instar caterpillars hibernate.

Larval foods
 Dactylis glomerata
 Poa pratensis
 Eremochloa ophiuroides

Adult foods
 Plant sap
 Aphid honeydew
 Rarely nectar

References

Bibliography

"Megisto Hübner, [1819]" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms

External links
Little Wood-Satyr, Butterflies of Canada

Butterflies of North America
Euptychiina
Butterflies described in 1777
Taxa named by Pieter Cramer

Megisto cymela


A Mason jar, also known as a canning jar or fruit jar, is a glass jar used in home canning to preserve food. It was named after American tinsmith John Landis Mason, who patented it in 1858. The jar's mouth has a screw thread on its outer perimeter to accept a metal ring or "band". The band, when screwed down, presses a separate stamped steel disc-shaped lid against the jar's rim.

Mason lost his patent for the jars and numerous other companies started manufacturing similar jars. Over the years, the brand name Mason became the genericized trademark for that style of glass home canning jar, and the word "Mason" can be seen on many Ball and Kerr brand jars. The style of jar is occasionally referred to by common brand names such as Ball jar (in the eastern US) or Kerr jar (in the western US) even if the individual jar is not that brand.

In early 20th century America, Mason jars became useful to those who lived in areas with short growing seasons. The jars became an essential part of farming culture, while being used at fairs to display jams and pickles for judging and awards. This was a reflection of the labour that went into making the jams. The jams, pickles, and sauces would be given and exchanged as gifts during the holidays as a canned preserved good was of much value. The peak use of Mason jars came during World War II, when the U.S. government rationed food, encouraging the public to grow their own. As migration to cities occurred, along with the rise of refrigerators, the more efficient transport of goods made fruit and vegetables available year round, reducing the need for food preservation. Contemporary industrial preservation transitioned to the use of plastics like bakelite and nylon and billions of containers were produced instead.

In the early to mid-2010s a revival of the Mason jar occurred from a mix of the rise of thrifting and adoption by hipsters. Used as a novelty by major corporations like 7-Eleven to advertise new drinks, for greenwashing being branded as zero waste consumer lifestyle, or as a trendy presentation for dessert. In a search for authenticity, commodification of Mason jars occurred leading to irony, as drinking out of canning jar highlighted overconsumption and lack of scarcity, the opposite of the designed intention of the jars. Its utility has been praised for use as a variety of household functional and decorative purposes; such as an oil lantern, soap dispenser, speaker or vase.

On August 15, 2017, the Registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed National Mason Jar Day to be observed annually as a National Holiday on November 30th, beginning in 2017.

History

Before Mason

French chef Nicolas Appert invented the method of preserving food by enclosing it in sealed containers. Among the earliest glass jars used for home canning were wax sealers, named in reference to the sealing wax that was poured into a channel around the lip to secure a tin lid. This process, though complicated and error-prone, became popular in the late 1830s or early 1840s and was still used to seal fruit jars until about 1890. The wax sealing process was largely the only one available until other sealing methods were developed.

John Landis Mason

In 1858, a Vineland, New Jersey tinsmith named John Landis Mason (1832–1902) invented and patented a screw threaded glass jar or bottle that became known as the Mason jar (U.S. Patent No. 22,186.) From 1857, when it was first patented, to the present, Mason jars have had hundreds of variations in shape and cap design. After Mason's patent expired, many other manufacturers produced glass jars for home canning using the Mason-style jar.

The initial form of closure for the glass canning jar was a zinc screw-on cap, the precursor to today's screw-on lids. It usually had a milk-glass liner, but some of the earliest lids may have had transparent glass liners. The cap screwed down onto a rubber ring on the shoulder of the jar, not the lip. Between 1860 and 1900, many other patents were issued for Mason jar improvements and closures. In 1903 Alexander Kerr introduced lids with a permanent rubber seal. His improved design in 1915 used the modern design. Jars are closed with two-piece metal lids that seal on the rim. The jar lid has a rubber or rubber-like sealing surface and is held in place by a separate metal band.

Mason sold the patents for the Mason jar to the Sheet Metal Screw Company of Lewis R. Boyd in 1859. Boyd had patented a white "milk-glass" insert for the zinc screw lids to theoretically lessen the chances that food would be tainted by contact with the metal lid. In 1871, Mason partnered with Boyd in the Consolidated Fruit Jar Company which licensed Mason jar patents to numerous glass makers. Letters of patent issued to Mason on May 10, 1870, for improvements to his fruit-canning jar was determined to be invalid as a result of a patent infringement case brought before the Southern District of New York on June 11, 1874. The court acknowledged that Mason had invented the jar in 1859, but he did not apply for a patent for an improved version of the fruit jar until 1868. In the meantime, several others had patented designs and Mason had known these jars were being produced and sold. The court ruled that Mason's delay in protecting his patent indicated he had abandoned his invention in the intervening years between 1859 and 1868 and had forfeited his patent. The court's decision allowed other manufacturers to patent, produce, and sell glass jars for canning.

Design variations
Variations of the Mason jar include the "Improved Mason," which sealed on a shoulder above the thread instead of below, and the Atlas Strong Shoulder, with a reinforced shoulder area (as the original design was subject to cracks from the stress at the sealing point). A new type of Mason jar known as a "bead" jar was introduced circa 1910–1915. These continuous screw-thread jars were designed with a bead between the screw threads and the shoulder as a sealing surface. The Ball Corporation's "Perfect Mason" jar, one of the most common jars of this style, was introduced circa 1913 and produced until the mid-20th century. It had several variations, including a square-shaped jar.

Ball Corporation brands
The Ball Corporation, which once dominated the market as the largest domestic manufacturer of home-canning jars, spun off its home-canning business in 1993. In 1939 the company manufactured 54% of all the canning jars made in the US. Ball ceased production of canning jars when its subsidiary, Alltrista, became a separate company in 1993. Ball Corp. acquired certain Kerr assets, including factories, in 1992 and the Kerr brand of glass home canning jars was absorbed into Alltrista in 1996. Alltrista was renamed Jarden Corporation in 2002. Newell Brands acquired Jarden Corporation in 2016. As of 2022, Newell manufactures canning jars under the brand names Ball, Bernardin, Golden Harvest, and Kerr.

Contemporary jar design

A complete Mason jar is composed of a tempered glass jar, a flat self-sealing lid, and a metal band.

The jars are made with either a wide mouth () or regular mouth () opening. They come in a variety of sizes, from 4 ounces to a gallon. The half-gallon size and larger are not recommended for canning purposes. The most typical sizes used in canning are quart, pint, and half-pint. The jars typically have their brand name embossed on the side, though jars may also have a decorative design such as a quilting pattern or may be completely blank and smooth. Jars may be washed and reused so long as they have no chips or cracks.

In the illustration, the left half are wide mouth and the right half are regular mouth. From left to right: wide mouth half-pint, pint, 1½ pint, quart, then regular mouth quart, pint, half-pint, quarter-pint. The lids and bands are also shown. The two rightmost jars are quilted.

The lids are made of metal with a ring of sealing compound which acts as a gasket against the jar's rim. New sealing compound is only good for about five years from date of manufacture, so older unused lids should be discarded. Lids may not be used more than once. New lids are slightly domed (convex). During processing, air is vented from the jar and the food shrinks. While cooling, a vacuum is created inside the jar, sucking the dome downward (concave) – an indication that a seal is good. Processed jars should be stored in a manner where the lids are not disturbed and the seals remain intact.

The metal screw bands are used to properly align the lids onto the jar, and to hold the lid in place during processing. They should be removed after processing and may be reused many times as long as they are kept rust-free and undented.

Collecting vintage jars

The value of a jar is related to its age, rarity, color, and condition. A jar's age and rarity can be determined by the color, shape, mold and production marks of the glass, and the jar's closure. Mason jars usually have a proprietary brand embossed on the jar. Early jars embossed with "Mason's Patent November 28th 1858" that date from the late 1850s to early 1860s closely match the illustrations of Mason's 1858 patents. Mouth-blown (or hand-blown) jars embossed with a version of "Mason's Patent November 28th 1858" were made about 1857 to 1908 and often had a ground lip as well. By 1908 semi-automatic machines manufactured the majority of these jars. Machine-made Mason jars that originated around 1909 have a sealing surface on a bead ledge below the threads. This type of jar dominated the market by the mid to late 1910s. Manufacturers continued to make jars with the beaded seal after the mid-twentieth century. Ball's "Ideal" canning jar, which first appeared around 1915 and was discontinued in 1962, is one of the company's best-known jars and is popular among collectors.

Most antique jars that are not colorless are aqua or "Ball blue," a blue-green shade that was named for the Ball Corporation, a prevalent jar manufacturer. Most mouth-blown Mason jars embossed with some type of 1858 patent date were produced in aqua glass. The Ball brand of Mason jars were manufactured in several colors, but the most common color was the distinctive "Ball blue," which the Ball Corporation used in its jars from about 1910 to 1930. Mason jars with this particular color of glass may be attributed to Ball, since "virtually no other bottle or jar was made in that color."

Older styles of home canning jars are "Not Recommended" by the U.S.-based National Center for Home Food Preservation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and University Extension Services. These include: those using a zinc cap and a rubber jar ring, and those using a glass lid, wire bail, and rubber sealing ring. These provide "no definitive way to determine if a vacuum seal is formed".

See also

 Home canning
Other canning jar types/brands:
 Fowler's Vacola jar – Australian product, glass jar sealed with a rubber ring, metal lid, and a spring fastener
 Kilner jar — British canning jar brand; rubber-sealed, screw-topped jar
 Weck jar – German product, glass jar with glass lid, rubber seal, metal spring clips

References

General references

External links

 Historic canning jars
 A Primer on Fruit Jars
 The Knox Glass Bottle Co. Mason Jars, research and illustrations
 Ball Perfect Mason fruit jars
 Mason's Patent Nov. 30th 1858 fruit jars

Glass jars
History of glass
Canned food
Food storage containers
1858 introductions

Mason jar


Entra ASA is a Norwegian real estate company, headquartered in Oslo, Norway. As of 22 June 2020, it is 19.25% state-owned.

Operations
The company was founded in 2000 when all commercial real estate owned by the state through Statsbygg was transferred to Entra. The company manages 1.2 million square meters in 128 buildings.

Entra's main purpose is to provide premises to meet central government needs and to operate on commercial principles. In addition, Entra is also able to serve municipal and private customers. Entra Eiendom has  about 175 employees and is based in Oslo.

Management
Chief executive officer from 2008 to 2012 was Kyrre Olaf Johansen. In 2012 Rune Olsø was hired as acting chief executive, later on a permanent basis, but he resigned after a short time. Anne Harris became acting chief executive throughout the year.

Chief executive officer from January 2013 is Klaus-Anders Nysteen.

References

External links
This is Entra
 Entra

Real estate companies of Norway
Real estate companies established in 2000
Companies based in Oslo
2000 establishments in Norway
Companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange

Entra


Ulrich Born  (born 15 May 1950 in Barntrup, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German lawyer and politician, representative of the German Christian Democratic Union.

Biography

Background
Born began studying law and political science in Marburg and Munich. From 1975 to 1978 he worked as a research assistant at the Faculty of Law and Economics, at the Philipps University of Marburg and further studied additional administrative sciences at the College of Administrative Sciences Speyer. After a legal degree in 1980, he worked as a Lecturer at the Law and Economics Faculty of the University of Bayreuth .

Later Born became a member of the National Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg. He currently resides in Pingelshagen in North Mecklenburg.

Career
Born became a member of the CDU in 1967. After the political changes in East Germany, he moved into the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania politics and was elected chairman of the Northwest District Association Mecklenburg. He is also the state chairman of the Protestant Working Group (EAK), for the CDU Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

From 1994 to 2006 he was a member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Vice Chairman of the CDU. Today he is a member of the Northwest Mecklenburg County Council, and is the President of the County Council.

On 27 October 1990 he was also appointed as Minister of Justice, Federal and European Affairs in the government led by Prime Minister Alfred Gomolka of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On 14 March 1992, however, he was dismissed by the Prime Minister from this office before Gomolka himself resigned.

See also
List of German Christian Democratic Union politicians

References

External links
 Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands web site

1950 births
Living people
People from Barntrup
German Lutherans
Christian Democratic Union of Germany politicians
Members of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Ulrich Born


Hugh le Despenser (1 March 126127 October 1326), sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England. He was created a baron in 1295 and Earl of Winchester in 1322. One day after being captured by forces loyal to Sir Roger Mortimer and Edward's wife, Queen Isabella, who were leading a rebellion against Edward, he was hanged and then beheaded.

Ancestry
Despenser was the son of Hugh le Despencer (1223–1265, briefly Justiciar of England) and Aline Basset, only daughter and heiress of Philip Basset. His father was killed at the Battle of Evesham when Hugh was a boy, but Hugh's patrimony was saved through the influence of his maternal grandfather, who had been loyal to the king.

Life

Despenser served Edward I on numerous occasions both in battle and as a diplomat, and was created a baron by writ of summons to Parliament in 1295. His son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, became a favourite of Edward II, in what was rumoured to be a homosexual relationship. Hugh the Elder was loyal to his son and the King, which worried the barons. Until that time, the highest office he had held was justice of the forests.

He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward during the controversy regarding Piers Gaveston. Despenser became Edward's loyal servant and chief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but the jealousy of other barons—and, more importantly, his own corruption and unjust behaviour—led to his being exiled along with his son in 1321, when Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent replaced him as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Edward found it difficult to manage without them, and recalled them to England a year later, an action which enraged Queen Isabella, the more so when Despenser was created Earl of Winchester in 1322. Although his reputation was not as unsavoury as his son's, Despenser the Elder was accused by a significant number of people of widespread criminality during the next few years, often involving false accusations of trespass or theft and the extortion of money or land.

Death
When Isabella, Queen of England, and Sir Roger Mortimer led a rebellion against her husband Edward, they captured both Despensers—first the elder, later the younger. Following Hugh the Elder's capture at the Siege of Bristol, Isabella interceded for him, but his enemies, notably Mortimer and Henry, Earl of Lancaster, insisted that both father and son should face trial and execution.

One day after being captured, the elder Despenser was hanged in his armour at Bristol on 27 October 1326. He was then beheaded, after which his body was cut into pieces and fed to dogs. His head was sent to be displayed in Winchester, which had supported the king. Despenser's Winchester title was forfeit, not to be revived until 1472. The younger Despenser was hanged, drawn and quartered at Hereford the following month.

After Despenser's death, pardons were issued to thousands of people whom he had falsely accused.

Marriage and issue
He married Isabel de Beauchamp, a daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick (–1298) by his wife Maud FitzJohn, and widow of Sir Patrick de Chaurces. By his wife he had two sons and several daughters, including:
Hugh Despenser the Younger;
Philip le Despenser (grandfather of Philip le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser);
Isabel le Despenser, second wife of John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and second wife of Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer;
Margaret le Despenser, wife of John de St Amand, 1st Baron Amand (1283/6–1330).

Notes

References
Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines: 72–31, 74–31, 74A-31, 93A-29

 Karau, Björn: Günstlinge am Hof Edwards II. von England – Aufstieg und Fall der Despensers, MA-Thesis, Kiel 1999. (Free Download: http://www.despensers.de/download.htm)

1261 births
1326 deaths
13th-century English nobility
14th-century English nobility
14th-century crime
Earls of Winchester
Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports
Executed English people
People convicted under a bill of attainder
People executed under the Plantagenets for treason against England
People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging
14th-century executions by England
Hugh
Medieval English criminals
Barons le Despencer

Hugh Despenser the Elder


Waldemar Maciszewski (1927–1956) was a Polish pianist and composer.

Macizewski was born in Warsaw in 1927.  He trained under Zbigniew Drzewiecki at the underground Warsaw Conservatory throughout World War II and at the Cracow State Music Academy from 1945 to 1948. He ranked 6th at the 1948 Béla Bartók Competition, and was awarded the just reinstated 1949 IV International Chopin Piano Competition's 3rd prize. One year later he shared 3rd prize with Jörg Demus at the inaugural edition of the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig.

In addition to his concert career, he was active as a jazz musician and performed popular music. As a composer he composed two Concertinos for piano and orchestra, a band Suite, a choral Suite on Wielkopolska's folklore, songs and incidental music both for theatre plays and the radio.

He died at 29, run over by a train.

References
 Fryderyk Chopin Information Centre

Polish classical pianists
Male classical pianists
1927 births
1956 deaths
Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition
Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century composers
20th-century male musicians
Railway accident deaths in Poland

Waldemar Maciszewski


The President's Export Council is an American government organization that serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade. The Council advises the president of the United States on policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labor, and government sectors. The Council reports to the President through the Secretary of Commerce. The Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade serves as the Council's executive director. The current chairman is Mark Ein, who was appointed by Joe Biden in 2023.

The President's Export Council was created by Executive Order on December 20, 1973. The twenty-eight private-sector members of the Council are appointed by the President. They serve with no set term of office. Five United States Senators and five members of the House of Representatives are appointed to the Council by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, respectively. The Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, Agriculture, Treasury, State, and Homeland Security; the Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; the U.S. Trade Representative; and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration are also members of the Council.

See also

United States Department of Commerce

References

External links

United States Department of Commerce
United States national commissions
Organizations established in 1973
1973 establishments in the United States

President's Export Council


A code of practice can be a document that complements occupational health and safety laws and regulations to provide detailed practical guidance on how to comply with legal obligations, and should be followed unless another solution with the same or better health and safety standard is in place, or may be a document for the same purpose published by a self-regulating body to be followed by member organisations.

Codes of practice published by governments do not replace the occupational health and safety laws and regulations, and are generally issued in terms of those laws and regulations. They are intended to help understand how to comply with the requirements of regulations. A workplace inspector can refer to a code of practice when issuing an improvement or prohibition notice, and they may be admissible in court proceedings. A court may use a code of practice to establish what is reasonably practicable action to manage a specific risk. Equivalent or better ways of achieving the required work health and safety may be possible, so compliance with codes of practice is not usually mandatory, providing that any alternative systems used provide a standard of health and safety equal to or better than those recommended by the code of practice.

Organisational codes of practice do not have the same authority under law, but serve a similar purpose. Member organisations generally undertake to comply with the codes of practice as a condition of membership and may lose membership if found to be in violation of the code.

References

Occupational safety and health
Professional ethics

Code of practice


Inter-Access Point Protocol or IEEE 802.11F is a recommendation that describes an optional extension to IEEE 802.11 that provides wireless access point communications among multivendor systems. 802.11 is a set of IEEE standards that govern wireless networking transmission methods. They are commonly used today in their 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n versions to provide wireless connectivity in the home, office and some commercial establishments.

The IEEE 802.11 standard doesn't specify the communications between access points in order to support users roaming from one access point to another and load balancing. The 802.11 working group purposely did not define this element in order to provide flexibility in working with different wired and wireless distribution systems (i.e., wired backbones that interconnect access points).

Protocol operation
The protocol is designed for the enforcement of unique association throughout an Extended Service Set and for secure exchange of station's security context between the current Access Point (AP) and the new AP during the handoff period.  Based on security level, communication session keys between Access Points are distributed by a RADIUS server.  The RADIUS server also provides a mapping service between AP's MAC address and IP address.

Status
The 802.11F Recommendation has been ratified and published in 2003.

IEEE 802.11F was a Trial Use Recommended Practice.  The IEEE 802
Executive Committee approved its withdrawal on February 3, 2006.

See also
IEEE 802.11k Radio Resource Management
IEEE 802.11r Fast roaming

References

External links
Status of the project 802.11f IEEE Task Group TGf

Quick Guide to IEEE 802.11 WG

IEEE 802.11

Inter-Access Point Protocol


Seoul (; ; ; ), officially Seoul Special City, serves as the capital and South Korea's most extensive urban center. The broader Seoul metropolitan area, encompassing Gyeonggi province and Incheon metropolitan city, emerged as the world's fourth largest metropolitan economy in 2014, trailing only Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles, hosting more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at slightly over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at approximately 9.97 million residents as of 2020. Seoul is the seat of the Korean government.

Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC when it was founded by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. During the Joseon dynasty, Seoul was officially designated as the capital, surrounded by the Fortress Wall of Seoul. In the early 20th century, Seoul was occupied by the Japanese Empire, temporarily renamed "Gyeongseong." The Korean War brought fierce battles, with Seoul changing hands four times and leaving the city mostly in ruins. Nevertheless, the city has since undergone significant reconstruction and rapid urbanization.

Seoul was rated Asia's most livable city, with the second-highest quality of life globally according to Arcadis in 2015 and a GDP per capita (PPP) of approximately $40,000. 15 Fortune Global 500 companies, including industry giants such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, are headquartered in the Seoul Capital Area, which has major technology hubs, such as Gangnam and Digital Media City,. Seoul is ranked seventh in the Global Power City Index and the Global Financial Centres Index, and is one of the five leading hosts of global conferences. The city has also hosted major events such as the 1986 Asian Games, the 1988 Summer Olympics, and the 2010 G20 Seoul summit.

Seoul is geographically set in a mountainous and hilly terrain, with Bukhan Mountain positioned on its northern edge. Within the Seoul Capital Area lie five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong, and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon dynasty. Furthermore, Seoul has witnessed a surge in modern architectural development, with iconic landmarks including the N Seoul Tower, the 63 Building, the Lotte World Tower, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Lotte World, the Trade Tower, COEX, IFC Seoul, and Parc1. Seoul was named the World Design Capital in 2010 and has served as the national hub for the music, entertainment, and cultural industries that have propelled K-pop and the Korean Wave to international prominence.

Toponomy

The city has been known in the past by the names Wiryeseong (, during the Baekje era), Bukhansangun (북한산군; 北漢山郡 during the Goguryeo era), Namcheon (, during the Silla era), Hanyang (, during the Northern and Southern States period), Namgyeong(남경; 南京, during Goryeo era), Hanseong (, during the Joseon era), and Keijō () or Gyeongseong () during Japanese rule.

During Japan's annexation of Korea, Hanseong () was renamed  by the Imperial authorities to prevent confusion with the Hanja '' (a transliteration of an ancient Korean word Han () meaning "great"), which also refers to Han people or the Han dynasty in Chinese and in Japanese is a term for "China".

After World War II and the liberation of Korea, the city took its present name, which originated from the Korean word meaning "capital city", which is believed to have descended from an ancient word, Seorabeol (), which originally referred to Gyeongju, the capital of Silla. Ancient Gyeongju was also known in documents by the Chinese-style name Geumseong (, literally "Gold Castle or City" or "Metal Castle or City"), but it is unclear whether the native Korean-style name Seorabeol had the same meaning as Geumseong.

Unlike most place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding Hanja (Chinese characters used in the Korean language). On 18 January 2005, the Seoul government changed its official name in Chinese characters from the historic Hancheng () to Shou'er ().

History

Early history
Settlement of the Han River area, where present-day Seoul is located, began around 4000 BC.

Seoul is first recorded as Wiryeseong, the capital of Baekje (founded in 18 BC) in the northeastern area of modern Seoul. There are several city walls remaining in the area that date from this time. Pungnaptoseong, an earthen wall located southeast Seoul, is widely believed to have been at the main Wiryeseong site. As the Three Kingdoms competed for this strategic region, control passed from Baekje to Goguryeo in the 5th century.

However, according to Samguk Sagi, both Baekje and Silla described the land as frontier border of Baekje, not as the capital region. Moreover, Jinheung Taewang Stele found at current day Bukhansan tells that the place was underdeveloped as of 6th century AD, suggesting that the first capital Wiryeseong was not located in or nearby Seoul.

In July or August 553, Silla took the control of the region from Baekje, and the city became a part of newly established Sin Province (). Sin (新) has both meaning of "New" and "Silla", thus literally means New Silla Province.

In November 555, Jinheung Taewang made royal visit to Bukhansan, and inspected the borderline. In 557, Silla abolished Sin Province, and established Bukhansan Province (). The word Hanseong () appears on the stone wall of "Pyongyang Fortress", which was presumably built in the mid to late 6th century AD over period of 42 years, located in Pyongyang, while there is no evidence that Seoul had name Hanseong dating the three kingdoms and earlier period.

In 568, Jinheung Taewang made another royal visit to the northern border, visited Hanseong, and stayed in Namcheon on his way back to the capital. During his stay, he set Jinheung Taewang Stele, abolished Bukhansan Province, and established Namcheon Province (남천주; 南川州; South River Province), appointing the city as the provincial capital. Based on the naming system, the actual name of Han River during this time was likely Namcheon (Nam River) itself or should have the word ending with "cheon" (천; 川) not "gang" (강; 江) nor "su" (수; 水). In addition, "Bukhansan" Jinheung Stele clearly states that Silla had possession of Hanseong (modern day Pyongyang), thus Bukhansan has to be located north of Hanseong. Modern day Pyongyang was not Pyongyang, Taedong River was likely Han River, and Bukhansan was not Bukhansan during the three kingdoms period. Moreover, Pyongyang was a common noun meaning capital used by Goguryeo and Goryeo dynasties, similar to Seoul.

In 603, Goguryeo attacked Bukhansanseong (북한산성; 北漢山城; Bukhan Mountain Fortress), which Silla ended up winning. In 604, Silla abolished Namcheon Province, and reestablished Bukhansan Province in order to strengthen the northern border. The city lost its provincial capital position and was put under Bukhansan Province once again. This further proves that Bukhansan was located in the North of modern-day Pyongyang as changing the provincial name and objective would not be required if Bukhansan was located within Seoul.

In the 11th century Goryeo, which succeeded Unified Silla, built a summer palace in Seoul, which was referred to as the "Southern Capital". It was only from this period that Seoul became a larger settlement.

Joseon

When Joseon replaced Goryeo, the capital was moved to Seoul (also known as Hanyang or Hanseong), where it remained until the fall of the dynasty. The Gyeongbok Palace, built in the 14th century, served as the royal residence until 1592. The other large palace, Changdeokgung, constructed in 1405, served as the main royal palace from 1611 to 1872. After Joseon changed its name to the Korean Empire in 1897, Hwangseong also designated Seoul.

Originally, the city was entirely surrounded by a massive circular stone wall to provide its citizens security from wild animals, thieves and attacks. The city has grown beyond those walls and although the wall no longer stands (except along Bugaksan Mountain (), north of the downtown area), the gates remain near the downtown district of Seoul, including most notably Sungnyemun (commonly known as Namdaemun) and Heunginjimun (commonly known as Dongdaemun). During the Joseon dynasty, the gates were opened and closed each day, accompanied by the ringing of large bells at the Bosingak belfry. In the late 19th century, after hundreds of years of isolation, Seoul opened its gates to foreigners and began to modernize. Seoul became the first city in East Asia to introduce electricity in the royal palace, built by the Edison Illuminating Company and a decade later Seoul also implemented electrical street lights.

Much of the development was due to trade with foreign countries like France and the United States. For example, the Seoul Electric Company, Seoul Electric Trolley Company, and Seoul Fresh Spring Water Company were all joint Korean–U.S. owned enterprises. In 1904, an American by the name of Angus Hamilton visited the city and said, "The streets of Seoul are magnificent, spacious, clean, admirably made and well-drained. The narrow, dirty lanes have been widened, gutters have been covered, roadways broadened. Seoul is within measurable distance of becoming the highest, most interesting and cleanest city in the East."

Japanese annexation of Korea
After the annexation treaty in 1910, Japan annexed Korea and renamed the city Gyeongseong ("Kyongsong" in Korean and "Keijo" in Japanese). Japanese technology was imported, the city walls were removed, some of the gates demolished. Roads became paved and Western-style buildings were constructed. The city was liberated by U.S. forces at the end of World War II.

Contemporary history
In 1945, the city was officially named Seoul, and was designated as a special city in 1949.

During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Soviet/Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the American-backed South Korean forces four times: falling to the North Koreans in the June 1950 First Battle of Seoul, recaptured by UN forces in the September 1950 Second Battle of Seoul, falling to a combined Chinese/North Korean force in the January 1951 Third Battle of Seoul, and finally being recaptured once more by UN forces in Operation Ripper during the spring of 1951. The extensive fighting left the city heavily damaged after the war. The capital was temporarily relocated to Busan. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of the city and its metropolitan area to an estimated 1.5 million by 1955.

Following the war, Seoul began to focus on reconstruction and modernization. As South Korea's economy started to grow rapidly from the 1960s, urbanization also accelerated and workers began to move to Seoul and other larger cities. From the 1970s, the size of Seoul administrative area greatly expanded as it annexed a number of towns and villages from several surrounding counties.

Until 1972, Seoul was claimed by North Korea as its de jure capital, being specified as such in Article 103 of the 1948 North Korean constitution.

South Korea's 2019 population was estimated at 51.71 million, and according to the 2018 Population and Housing Census, 49.8% of the population resided in the Seoul metropolitan area. This was up by 0.7% from 49.1% in 2010, showing a distinct trend toward the concentration of the population in the capital. Seoul has become the economic, political and cultural hub of the country, with several Fortune Global 500 companies, including Samsung, SK Holdings, Hyundai, POSCO and LG Group headquartered there.

Seoul was the host city of the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Summer Olympics as well as one of the venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Geography

Seoul is in the northwest of South Korea. Seoul proper comprises , with a radius of approximately , roughly bisected into northern and southern halves by the Han River. The river is no longer actively used for navigation, because its estuary is located at the borders of the two Koreas, with civilian entry barred. There are four main mountains in central Seoul: Bugaksan, Inwangsan, Naksan and Namsan. The Seoul Fortress Wall, which historically bounded the city, goes over these mountains. The city is bordered by eight mountains, as well as the more level lands of the Han River plain and western areas.

Climate

Seoul has a humid continental climate influenced by the monsoons (Köppen: Dwa). Being in the extreme East Asia, the climate can be described as humid subtropical (Cwa, by  isotherm) with great variation in temperature and precipitation throughout the year. The suburbs of Seoul are generally cooler than the center of Seoul because of the urban heat island effect. Summers are hot and humid, with the East Asian monsoon taking place from June until September. August, the hottest month, has average high and low temperatures of  with higher temperatures possible. Heat index values can surpass  at the height of summer.
Winters are usually cold to freezing with average January high and low temperatures of , and are generally much drier than summers, with an average of 24.9 days of snow annually. Sometimes, temperatures drop dramatically to below , and on some occasions as low as  in the mid winter period of January and February. Temperatures below  have been recorded.

Air quality

Air pollution is a major issue in Seoul. According to the 2016 World Health Organization Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, the annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2014 was , which is 2.4 times higher than that recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines for the annual mean PM2.5. The Seoul Metropolitan Government monitors and publicly shares real-time air quality data.

Since the early 1960s, the Ministry of Environment has implemented a range of policies and air pollutant standards to improve and manage air quality for its people. The "Special Act on the Improvement of Air Quality in the Seoul Metropolitan Area" was passed in December 2003. Its 1st Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement Plan (2005–2014) focused on improving the concentrations of PM10 and nitrogen dioxide by reducing emissions. As a result, the annual average PM10 concentrations decreased from 70.0 μg/m3 in 2001 to 44.4 μg/m3 in 2011 and 46 μg/m3 in 2014. As of 2014, the annual average PM10 concentration was still at least twice than that recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines. The 2nd Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement Plan (2015–2024) added PM2.5 and ozone to its list of managed pollutants.

Asian dust, emissions from Seoul and in general from the rest of South Korea, as well as emissions from China, all contribute to Seoul's air quality. A partnership between researchers in South Korea and the United States is conducting an international air quality field study in Korea (KORUS-AQ) to determine how much each source contributes.

Besides air quality, greenhouse gas emissions represent hot issues in South Korea since the country is among top-10 strongest emitters in the world. Seoul is the strongest hotspot of greenhouse gas emissions in the country and according to satellite data, the persistent carbon dioxide anomaly over the city is one of the strongest in the world.

Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is the local government for Seoul, and is responsible for the administration and provision of various services to the city, including correctional institutions, education, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services. It is headed by a mayor and three vice mayors, and is divided into 25 autonomous districts and 522 administrative neighborhoods.

Administrative districts

Seoul is divided into 25 gu () (district). The gu vary greatly in area (from ) and population (from fewer than 140,000 to 630,000). Songpa has the most people, while Seocho has the largest area. The government of each gu handles many of the functions that are handled by city governments in other jurisdictions. Each gu is divided into "dong" () or neighborhoods. Some gu have only a few dong while others like Jongno District have a very large number of distinct neighborhoods. Gu of Seoul consist of 423 administrative dongs () in total. Dong are also sub-divided into 13,787 tong (), which are further divided into 102,796 ban in total.

Demographics

Seoul proper is noted for its population density, which is almost twice that of New York City and eight times greater than Rome. Its metropolitan area was the most densely populated among OECD countries in Asia in 2012, and second worldwide after that of Paris. As of 2015, the population was 9.86 million, in 2012, it was 10.44 million. As of 2021, the population is 9.59 million. As of the end of June 2011, 10.29 million Republic of Korea citizens lived in the city. This was a 0.24% decrease from the end of 2010. The population of Seoul has been dropping since the early 1990s, the reasons being the high costs of living, urban sprawling to Gyeonggi region's satellite bed cities and an aging population.

As of 2016, the number of foreigners living in Seoul was 404,037, 22.9% of the total foreign population in South Korea. As of June 2011, 186,631 foreigners were Chinese citizens of Korean ancestry. This was an 8.84% increase from the end of 2010 and a 12.85% increase from June 2010. The next largest group was Chinese citizens who are not of Korean ethnicity; 29,901 of them resided in Seoul. The next highest group consisted of the 9,999 United States citizens who were not of Korean ancestry. The next highest group were Taiwanese citizens, at 8,717.

The two major religions in Seoul are Christianity and Buddhism. Other religions include Muism (indigenous religion) and Confucianism. Seoul is home to one of the world's largest Christian congregations, Yoido Full Gospel Church, which has around 830,000 members. According to the 2015 census, 10.8% of the population follows Buddhism and 35% follows Christianity (24.3% Protestantism and 10.7% Catholicism). 53.6% of the population is irreligious.

Seoul is home to the world's largest modern university founded by a Buddhist Order, Dongguk University. Native Seoulites tend to speak the Gyeonggi dialect of Korean.

Economy

Seoul is the business and financial hub of South Korea. Although it accounts for only 0.6 percent of the nation's land area, 48.3 percent of South Korea's bank deposits were held in Seoul in 2003, and the city generated 23 percent of the country's GDP overall in 2012. In 2008 the Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index ranked Seoul No.9. The Global Financial Centres Index in 2015 listed Seoul as the 6th financially most competitive city in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Seoul 15th in the list of "Overall 2025 City Competitiveness" regarding future competitiveness of cities.

Manufacturing
The traditional, labor-intensive manufacturing industries have been continuously replaced by information technology, electronics and assembly-type of industries; however, food and beverage production, as well as printing and publishing remained among the core industries. Major manufacturers are headquartered in the city, including Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and SK. Notable food and beverage companies include Jinro, whose soju is the most sold alcoholic drink in the world, beating out Smirnoff vodka; top selling beer producers Hite (merged with Jinro) and Oriental Brewery. It also hosts food giants like Seoul Dairy Cooperative, Nongshim Group, Ottogi, CJ, Orion, Maeil Holdings, Namyang Dairy Products and Lotte.

Finance

Seoul hosts large concentration of headquarters of International companies and banks, including 15 companies on Fortune 500 list such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Most bank headquarters and the Korea Exchange are located in Yeouido (Yeoui island), which is often called "South Korea's Wall Street" and has been serving as the financial center of the city since the 1980s. The Seoul international finance center & SIFC MALL, Hanhwa 63 building, the Hanhwa insurance company head office. Hanhwa is one of the three largest South Korean insurance companies, along with Samsung Life and Gangnam & Kyobo life insurance group.

Commerce

The largest wholesale and retail market in South Korea, the Dongdaemun Market, is located in Seoul. Myeongdong is a shopping and entertainment area in downtown Seoul with mid- to high-end stores, fashion boutiques and international brand outlets. The nearby Namdaemun Market, named after the Namdaemun Gate, is the oldest continually running market in Seoul.

Insadong is the cultural art market of Seoul, where traditional and modern Korean artworks, such as paintings, sculptures and calligraphy are sold. Hwanghak-dong Flea Market and Janganpyeong Antique Market also offer antique products. Some shops for local designers have opened in Samcheong-dong, where numerous small art galleries are located. While Itaewon had catered mainly to foreign tourists and American soldiers based in the city, Koreans now comprise the majority of visitors to the area. The Gangnam district is one of the most affluent areas in Seoul and is noted for the fashionable and upscale Apgujeong-dong and Cheongdam-dong areas and the COEX Mall. Wholesale markets include Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and Garak Market.

The Yongsan Electronics Market is the largest electronics market in Asia. Electronics markets are Gangbyeon station metro line 2 Techno mart, ENTER6 MALL & Shindorim station Technomart mall complex. Times Square is one of Seoul's largest shopping malls, and contains the world's largest permanent 35 mm cinema screen, the CGV Starium.

Korea World Trade Center Complex, which comprises COEX mall, congress center, 3 Inter-continental hotels, Business tower (Asem tower), Residence hotel, Casino and City airport terminal was established in 1988 in time for the Seoul Olympics. The 2nd World trade trade center is being planned at Seoul Olympic stadium complex as MICE HUB by Seoul city. Ex-Kepco head office building was purchased by Hyundai motor group with 9billion USD to build 115-storey Hyundai GBC & hotel complex until 2021. Now ex-kepco 25-storey building is under demolition.

Technology
Seoul has been described as the world's "most wired city", ranked first in technology readiness by PwC's Cities of Opportunity report. Seoul has a very technologically advanced infrastructure.

Seoul is among the world leaders in Internet connectivity, being the capital of South Korea, which has the world's highest fiber-optic broadband penetration and highest global average internet speeds of 26.1 Mbit/s. Since 2015, Seoul has provided free Wi-Fi access in outdoor spaces through a 47.7 billion won ($44 million) project with Internet access at 10,430 parks, streets and other public places. Internet speeds in some apartment buildings reach up to 52.5Gbit/s with assistance from Nokia, and though the average standard consists of 100 Mbit/s services, providers nationwide are rapidly rolling out 1Gbit/s connections at the equivalent of US$20 per month. In addition, the city is served by the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway, which provides 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, and DMB inside subway cars. 5G will be introduced commercially in March 2019 in Seoul.

Architecture

The traditional heart of Seoul is the old Joseon dynasty city, now the downtown area, where most palaces, government offices, corporate headquarters, hotels, and traditional markets are located. Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs from west to east through the valley before emptying into the Han River, was for many years covered with concrete, but was recently restored by an urban revival project in 2005. Jongno street, meaning "Bell Street", has been a principal street and one of the earliest commercial streets of the city, on which one can find Bosingak, a pavilion containing a large bell. The bell signaled the different times of the day and controlled the four major gates to the city. North of downtown is Bukhan Mountain, and to the south is the smaller Namsan. Further south are the old suburbs, Yongsan District and Mapo District. Across the Han River are the newer and wealthier areas of Gangnam District, Seocho District and surrounding neighborhoods.

Historical architecture

Seoul has many historical and cultural landmarks. In Amsa-dong Prehistoric Settlement Site, Gangdong District, neolithic remains were excavated and accidentally discovered by a flood in 1925.

Urban and civil planning was a key concept when Seoul was first designed to serve as a capital in the late 14th century. The Joseon dynasty built the "Five Grand Palaces" in Seoul—Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung and Gyeonghuigung—all of which are located in the Jongno and Jung Districts. Among them, Changdeokgung was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 as an "outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design". The main palace, Gyeongbokgung, underwent a large-scale restoration project. The palaces are considered exemplary architecture of the Joseon period. Beside the palaces, Unhyeongung is known for being the royal residence of Regent Daewongun, the father of Emperor Gojong at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.

Seoul has been surrounded by walls that were built to regulate visitors from other regions and protect the city in case of an invasion. Pungnap Toseong is a flat earthen wall built at the edge of the Han River, which is widely believed to be the site of Wiryeseong. Mongchon Toseong is another earthen wall built during the Baekje period that is now located inside the Olympic Park. The Fortress Wall of Seoul was built early in the Joseon dynasty for protection of the city. After many centuries of destruction and rebuilding, about  of the wall remains, as well as six of the original eight gates. These gates include the south gate Namdaemun and the east gate Dongdaemun. Namdaemun was the oldest wooden gate until a 2008 arson attack, and was re-opened after complete restoration in 2013. Located near the gates are the traditional markets and largest shopping center, Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market.

Modern architecture

Various high-rise office buildings and residential buildings, like the Gangnam Finance Center, the Tower Palace, Namsan Seoul Tower, and the Lotte World Tower, dominate the city's skyline. The tallest building is Lotte World Tower, reaching a height of 555m. It opened to the public in April 2017. It is also the 6th highest building in the world.

The World Trade Center Seoul, located in Gangnam District, hosts various expositions and conferences. Also in Gangnam District is the COEX Mall, a large indoor shopping and entertainment complex. Downstream from Gangnam District is Yeouido, an island that is home to the National Assembly, major broadcasting studios, and a number of large office buildings, as well as the Korea Finance Building and the Yoido Full Gospel Church. The Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park, and Lotte World are located in Songpa District, on the south side of the Han River, upstream from Gangnam District. Three new modern landmarks of Seoul are Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park, designed by Zaha Hadid, the new wave-shaped Seoul City Hall, by Yoo Kerl of iArc, and the Lotte World Tower, the 6th tallest building in the world designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.

In 2010 Seoul was designated the World Design Capital for the year.

Culture

Museums

Seoul is home to 115 museums, including four national and nine official municipal museums. The National Museum of Korea has a collection of 220,000 artifacts. The National Folk Museum is located on the grounds of Gyeongbokgung and focuses on the daily life of historical Koreans. Bukchon Hanok Village and Namsangol Hanok Village are old residential districts consisting of hanok (traditional Korean houses).

The War Memorial covers the history of wars that Korea has been involved with, especially the Korean War. Seodaemun Prison is a former prison built during the Japanese occupation, and is used as a historic museum.

The Seoul Museum of Art, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, and Ilmin Museum of Art are art museums in the city.

Religious monuments

The city has buildings related to a number of religions. The Wongudan altar has been used since the Three Kingdoms Period. There are also a number of Confucian shrines, such as Jongmyo, Sajikdan, Munmyo, and Dongmyo. For Buddhism, Jogyesa is the headquarters of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Hwagyesa and Bongeunsa are also major Buddhist temples in Seoul.

The Myeongdong Cathedral is a landmark of the Myeongdong, Jung District. Yakhyeon Catholic Church is the first Gothic church to be built in Korea. Yoido Full Gospel Church is a Pentecostal church affiliated with the Assemblies of God on Yeouido in Seoul. The St. Nicholas Cathedral, but sometimes called bald church, is the only Byzantine-style church in Seoul.

Festivals
In October 2012, KBS Hall in Seoul hosted major international music festivals – First ABU TV and Radio Song Festivals within frameworks of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union 49th General Assembly.
Hi! Seoul Festival is a seasonal cultural festival held four times a year every spring, summer, autumn, and winter in Seoul, South Korea since 2003. It is based on the "Seoul Citizens' Day" held on every October since 1994 to commemorate the 600 years history of Seoul as the capital of the country. The festival is arranged under the Seoul Metropolitan Government. , Seoul has hosted Ultra Music Festival Korea, an annual dance music festival that takes place on the 2nd weekend of June.

Parks

Seoul has a large quantity of parks. One of the most famous parks is Namsan Park, which offers recreational hiking and views of the downtown Seoul skyline, especially via its N Seoul Tower. Seoul Olympic Park, located in Songpa District and built to host the 1988 Summer Olympics, is the largest park. The areas near the stream Tancheon are popular for exercise. Cheonggyecheon also has spaces for recreation. In 2017 the Seoullo 7017 Skypark opened, spanning diagonally overtop Seoul Station.

There are also many parks along the Han River, such as Ichon Hangang Park, Yeouido Hangang Park, Mangwon Hangang Park, Nanji Hangang Park, Banpo Hangang Park, Ttukseom Hangang Park and Jamsil Hangang Park. The Seoul National Capital Area also contains a green belt aimed at preventing the city from sprawling out into neighboring Gyeonggi Province. These areas are frequently sought after by people looking to escape from urban life on weekends and during vacations.

Media

Seoul is home of the major South Korean networks KBS, SBS, and MBC. The city is also home to the major South Korean newspapers Chosun Ilbo, Donga Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo, and Hankook Ilbo.

Sports

Seoul is a major center of South Korean sports, and has the largest number of professional sports teams and facilities in the country.

In the history of South Korea's major professional sports league championships, which include the K League, KBO League, KBL, and V-League, Seoul had multiple championship winners during the same season twice; in 1990, when Lucky-Goldstar FC (currently FC Seoul) won the 1990 K League and the LG Twins won the 1990 KBO League, and in 2016, when FC Seoul won the 2016 K League Classic and the Doosan Bears won the 2016 KBO League.

International competition
Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games, also known as Asiad, 1988 Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games. It also served as one of the host cities of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Seoul World Cup Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and first game of the tournament.

Taekwondo is South Korea's national sport and Seoul is the location of the Kukkiwon, the world headquarters of taekwondo, as well as the World Taekwondo Federation.

Domestic sports clubs

Football

Seoul's most well-known football club is FC Seoul.

 Men's football

 Women's football

Baseball

Basketball

Volleyball

Handball
Seoul City

Transportation

Seoul has a well developed transportation network. Its system dates back to the era of the Korean Empire, when the first streetcar lines were laid and a railroad linking Seoul and Incheon was completed. Seoul's most important streetcar line ran along Jongno until it was replaced by Line 1 of the subway system in the early 1970s. Other notable streets in downtown Seoul include Euljiro, Teheranno, Sejongno, Chungmuro, Yulgongno, and Toegyero. There are nine major subway lines stretching for more than , with one additional line planned. , 25% of the population has a commute time of an hour or longer.

Bus

Seoul's bus system is operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (S.M.G.), with four primary bus configurations available servicing most of the city. Seoul has many large intercity/express bus terminals. These buses connect Seoul with cities throughout South Korea. The Seoul Express Bus Terminal, Central City Terminal and Seoul Nambu Terminal are located in the district of Seocho District. In addition, East Seoul Bus Terminal in Gwangjin District and Sangbong Terminal in Jungnang District handles traffics mainly from Gangwon and Chungcheong provinces.

Urban rail

Seoul has a comprehensive urban railway network of 21 rapid transit, light metro and commuter lines that interconnects every district of the city and the surrounding areas of Incheon, Gyeonggi province, western Gangwon province, and northern Chungnam province. With more than 8 million passengers per day, the subway is one of the busiest subway systems in the world and the largest in the world, with a total track length of . In addition, in order to cope with the various modes of transport, Seoul's metropolitan government employs several mathematicians to coordinate the subway, bus, and traffic schedules into one timetable. The various lines are run by Korail, Seoul Metro, NeoTrans Co. Ltd., AREX, and Seoul Metro Line 9 Corporation.

Train

Seoul is connected to every major city in South Korea by rail. Most major South Korean cities are linked via the KTX high-speed train, which has a normal operation speed of more than . The Mugunghwa and Saemaeul trains also stop at all major stations. Major railroad stations include:
 Seoul Station, Yongsan District: Gyeongbu line (KTX/ITX-Saemaeul/Nuriro/Mugunghwa-ho)
 Yongsan station, Yongsan District: Honam line (KTX/ITX-Saemaeul/Nuriro/Mugunghwa), Jeolla/Janghang lines (Saemaul/Mugunghwa)
 Yeongdeungpo station, Yeongdeungpo District: Gyeongbu/Honam/Janghang lines (KTX/ITX-Saemaeul/Saemaul/Nuriro/Mugunghwa)
 Cheongnyangni station, Dongdaemun District: Gyeongchun/Jungang/Yeongdong/Taebaek lines (ITX-Cheongchun/ITX-Saemaeul/Mugunghwa)
 Suseo station (HSR), Gangnam District: Suseo HSR (SRT)

Airports
Seoul is served by two international airports, Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport.

Gimpo International Airport opened in 1939 as an airfield for the Japanese Imperial Army and opened for civil aircraft in 1957. Since the opening of Incheon International, Gimpo International handles domestic flights along with some short haul international flights to Tokyo Haneda, Osaka Kansai, Taipei Songshan, Shanghai Hongqiao, and Beijing Capital although flights to Osaka Kansai and Beijing Capital also operate from Incheon International.

Incheon International Airport opened in March 2001 in Yeongjong island. It is now responsible for major international flights. Incheon International Airport is Asia's eighth busiest airport in terms of passengers, the world's fourth busiest airport by cargo traffic, and the world's eighth busiest airport in terms of international passengers in 2014. In 2016, 57,765,397 passengers used the airport. Incheon International Airport opened terminal 2 on 18 January 2018.

Incheon and Gimpo are linked to Seoul by expressway, and to each other by the AREX to Seoul Station. Intercity bus services are available to various destinations around the country.

Cycling
Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in Seoul and in the entire country. Both banks of the Han River have cycling paths that run all the way across the city along the river. In addition, Seoul introduced in 2015 a bicycle-sharing system named Ddareungi (and named Seoul Bike in English).

Education

Universities

Seoul is home to the majority of South Korea's most prestigious universities, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University.

Seoul ranked 2nd on the QS Best Student Cities 2023.

Secondary education
Compulsory education lasts from grade 1–9 (six years of elementary school and 3 years of middle school). Students spend six years in elementary school, three years in middle school, and three years in high school. Secondary schools generally require students to wear uniforms. There is an exit exam for graduating from high school and many students proceeding to the university level are required to take the College Scholastic Ability Test that is held every November. Although there is a test for non-high school graduates, called school qualification exam, most Koreans take the test.

Seoul is home to various specialized schools, including three science high schools, and six foreign language High Schools. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education comprises 235 College-Preparatory High Schools, 80 Vocational Schools, 377 Middle Schools, and 33 Special Education Schools .

International relations

Seoul is a member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. In addition, Seoul hosts many embassies of countries it has diplomatic ties with.

Sister cities

Seoul has 23 sister cities:

See also
 Geography of South Korea
 List of cities in South Korea
 List of most populous cities

References

External links

Official sites

Tourism and living information
 i Tour Seoul – The Official Seoul Tourism Guide Site

Capitals in Asia
Seoul Capital Area
Special Cities and Metropolitan Cities of South Korea
Populated places with period of establishment missing

Seoul


DJ Derek, born Derek Serpell-Morris (18 December 1941 – July 2015) was an English DJ based in Bristol. In a DJ career that spanned over 40 years, he was known for playing a blend of 60s rocksteady, reggae, ska, dancehall and soul. He was reported missing in July 2015 and his remains were found on 10 March 2016.

Early life
He was born in Bristol, the second son of a carpenter, and raised close to St Andrew's Park, off Gloucester Road. Derek was a washboard player in a skiffle group in 1956 and later a drummer in a rock and roll band, after which he spent 10–18 years working in the accounts department of the confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons, later part of Cadbury.

DJ career

Following his second divorce and resignation from his accountancy job in 1977, Derek began his DJ career "by accident" in his mid-30s, as a reggae DJ at the Star and Garter pub in Montpelier an inner city area of Bristol. He moved to the adjacent St Pauls area in 1978. DJ Derek became a well known regular and respected feature in Bristol's music scene, referred to as a "legend" by many sources including the city's elected mayor George Ferguson. He was nicknamed "Britain's oldest DJ". In 2012 he received the Bristol Lord Mayor's medal for an "outstanding" contribution to music in the city. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said he finished most sets with the Bob Marley hit "One Love", saying "It's a perfect signing-off record for a reggae set—let's get together and feel all right. So next time, people, let's get together and feel all right." He MCed in Jamaican Patois while DJing.

Derek played DJ sets at many major music festivals, including Glastonbury and The Big Chill, and places like Las Palmas (Gran Canaria); as well as regular DJ sets in London and across the UK. In June 2006 he released a compilation of his favourite tracks titled DJ Derek Presents Sweet Memory Sounds, through Trojan Records. He appeared in Dizzee Rascal's video for "Dirtee Disco". In 2013 he played his final set before retiring at Notting Hill Arts Club in London on New Year's Eve, though he later played a one-off show in December 2014. He had a passion for travelling long distances by bus to visit newly opened Wetherspoon pubs .

Disappearance
In July 2015, Derek's family announced that he had been missing for three weeks, appealing for information related to his whereabouts. Police confirmed that he had not used his bank account since the beginning of July, and could not have gone abroad as he had no passport. He was last seen leaving the Criterion pub in St Pauls shortly after midnight on 11 July; later that morning his bus pass was used on a bus to Thornbury,  north of Bristol. Daddy G of Massive Attack, who described Derek as a "walking musical encyclopedia", played a club night in Bristol to raise funds for a search.

In December 2015, Derek's family said that a man matching his description had been seen fleeing a pub in Thornbury following an altercation; Avon and Somerset Police said that their investigations into his disappearance were continuing. Later in December, an image taken in London of a man resembling Derek was publicised. While his family noted an "uncanny" resemblance, Avon and Somerset Police later announced that they had located and spoken to the man photographed, and confirmed that he was not Derek. Derek's family began an application for presumed death in March 2016.

On 10 March 2016, human remains were found in undergrowth near The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, and on 16 March, were confirmed to be those of DJ Derek. Shortly after his remains were discovered, Bristol police said they were not treating his death as suspicious.

Tributes
During the 6 Music festival hosted by the BBC in Bristol in February 2016, Don Letts and Daddy G premiered a snippet of a documentary they had been working on before his disappearance.  Letts said they planned to complete the film as a mark of respect, as they had halted further production until his whereabouts were revealed. In March 2016, Bristol pub The Farm in St Werburghs, one of Derek's regular haunts, revealed they were hosting an auction to raise funds for a mural near his home. On 1 April, contributions from Banksy, Fatboy Slim, Stanley Donwood and other local artists helped to raise over £5000 (US$6,905) towards the fund. Mayor George Ferguson revealed plans for a city tribute to him, with an official announcement to follow.

See also
List of solved missing person cases

References

External links

 Documentary about DJ Derek – Part 1
 Documentary about DJ Derek – Part 2

1941 births
2010s missing person cases
2015 deaths
DJs from Bristol
Formerly missing people
Missing person cases in England

DJ Derek


The kempyang and ketuk are two instruments in the gamelan ensemble of Indonesia, generally played by the same player, and sometimes played by the same player as the kenong. They are important beat-keepers in the colotomic structure of the gamelan. Depending on the structure, they play different, repeating patterns every gongan. Not all structures use the kempyang, but the kempyang is never played without the ketuk.

They are shaped like bonang, but are generally placed in their own frame (rancak). The kempyang is pitched higher (about one octave, although it depends if they are in the pelog or slendro set. Both have a central boss like the bonang, but the kempyang has a rounder top (like the higher bonangs), while the ketuk has a flat top (like the lower bonangs).

In the common numerical notation, kempyang strokes are marked by "-" while the ketuk is marked by "+". The ketuk pattern is used to classify longer gendhing types, where it refers to the number of ketuk strokes in a nongan.

See also

 Gamelan
 Bonang
 Kempul
 Music of Indonesia
 Music of Java

Further reading
 Titon, Jeff Todd, Timothy Cooley, and David Locke. Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples. Belmont: Clark Baxter, 2009.

Colotomic instruments
Gongs
Indonesian musical instruments

Kempyang and ketuk


The discontinued Roland MC-909 Sampling Groovebox combines the features of a synthesizer, sequencer, and sampler, with extensive hands-on control of both the sound engine and the sequencing flow. It was intended primarily for live performance of pre-programmed patterns consisting of up to 16 tracks of MIDI data. It was released by Roland Corporation on October 8, 2002. This product was announced at the AES Fall Convention in 2002. It is the direct successor to the Roland MC-505 and is the predecessor to the Roland MC-808. Which eventually ended the "Groovebox by year 2010" line of products by Roland which began in the year 1996 with the Original Roland MC-303 groovebox. The Roland Groovebox began again resurgence in the year 2019 with a two new modern & redesign Roland MC-707 GROOVEBOX/Roland MC-101 GROOVEBOX.
The Roland MC-909 was developed from the blueprint of Roland's own "Roland Fantom-S Workstation & Roland Fantom-X Workstation" and uses the same structure and operating system, with some differences regarding the Patterns section, not implemented in the Roland Fantom S/X6/X7/X8 Workstation.

Sound generation

The MC-909 has a ROM-based sound generator (sometimes referred to as a rompler.) Its patches are built from up to four tones. The tones are based on waves stored in the machine. Patches can also utilize user-created samples. Roland's literature states that the MC-909 has "new-generation XV synthesis", the synth in the MC-909 is a very similar sound engine to that of the XV-5050 64-Voice Synthesizer Module.
The number of PCM waveforms is 693, ranging from vintage synths to strings, drums, guitars and pianos. It can be expanded by adding one SRX card* from 12 different cards available.

 *Note: [If you choose the Roland SRX-05 "Supreme Dance" expansion card, you'll get special Patches that can only be accessed on the MC-909.]

The MC-909 is always in sequencer mode, as opposed to other workstations that have also a simple Voice or Combination mode for straight playing.
Straight playing via an external keyboard is however possible directly from the sequencer mode by simply selecting one of the 16 tracks (parts) where a patch (voice, sound) is stored. In this case the MC-909 performs as a regular, 16-part multitimbral sound module, that happens to have a sequencer, too. In essence, the MC-909 can be used as a very capable sound module without ever needing to fire up its sequencer.

The MC-909 is the first Roland groovebox to feature a sampler. It can record audio from any of the external audio inputs, SPDIF connectors, or import wav and aiff files from a computer using a USB port. The sampler can be upgraded up to a total of 272 MB RAM (16 MB User + 256 MB PC-100 or PC-133 168-Pin DIMM Module), and the samples can also be stored on a 128 MB 3.3 volt Smartmedia card. The unit is also able to store on two 128 MB Smartmedia cards if there is more than 256 MB DATA in its user memory. There are tricks from user forum sites that have found ways to go beyond this limitation using xD-Picture Cards as other means for storage.

Sequencer

The MC-909's sequencer is based on pattern composition. Each pattern has 16 tracks (parts) and can have up to 999 measures (bars).
The "pattern" in the groovebox concept as developed by Roland (and thence adopted by other manufacturers) is intended to be a 4-to-16 bars-long small musical phrase made up of 8 to 16 tracks. The chaining of several patterns together (with seamless passage between one another) will create a full song, or the patterns can be looped as wanted and messed with using the on-board real-time controls.

In the MC-909 the storage capacity of the sequencer makes the patterns capable of storing almost 1000 bars, and 16 tracks.

Each of the 16 parts (tracks) is set to a specific patch, with its own mixer settings (pan, volume, key, effect, routing, and so on). There are a variety of editing modes: The main modes allow real-time recording, step recording and TR-REC recording. In step recording, notes or chords can be added one at a time. In TR-REC mode, each of the 16 pads represents a point along a musical measure. This speeds up the entry of percussion tracks. Patterns can be strung together into "songs", which, in fact, are mislabelled, merely being chains of patterns played in a specific order. In fact, there is no recording or sequencing capability in Song mode besides pattern chaining and some playback settings.

The sequencer can load Standard MIDI Files (albeit with some workarounds to avoid loading bugs that have never been fixed) and play them back. Additionally, the sequencer will also include samples stored into its memory in the pattern tracks.

Features
 Sound generator with 64 note - voice polyphony
 16-track sequencer+Tempo/Mute Ctrl Track
 16MB sample memory (expandable to 272 MB max.)
 SmartMedia card handling (8-128 MB) to store audio and midi files and backup (16MB)
 Effects generator (24-bit reverb, two multi-effects processors, compression/EQ and mastering effects)
 Large LCD screen
 Expandable with SRX-series wave expansion boards, SmartMedia cards (smf, wav)
 USB port for MIDI and transfer of data (full duplex) and for remote editing (groovemanager)
 S/PDIF input and output plus coaxial I/O (digital)
 Line In with selectable sources (line in, mic) for sampling, re-sampling
 Dual D-Beam controllers (solosynth, cut+reso, turntable, assignable)
 Turntable emulation (pitch control, BPM control, hold, push)
 Velocity sensitive pads
 V-LINK connecting audio & video in performance

Users
The Roland MC-909 was used by the hip hop producer RZA while working on the movies Blade: Trinity and Kill Bill. RZA uses many Roland products including the Roland Fantom, MV-8000 & Roland MV-8800. Another artist that uses the Roland MC-909 is Switchfoot keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas for live setups.

Criticisms

The Roland MC-909 received good reviews at tech magazines like Future Music and Sound on Sound. However, it faced serious competition from the equally powerful Yamaha RS7000. Many MC-909 users complained about several operating system bugs at the Yahoo! Groups forum and also Roland Clan Forums. In fact, even when the machine was released in 2002, it took Roland Corporation 5 years until some of the more complex bugs (like the inability to store RPS patterns) were fixed in the operating system upgrade v1.23 in early 2007.
Another common complaint refers to the unit's size, which makes it less portable than a laptop with a midi controller.
The unit has been designed with only a 2-prong power inlet, without a ground lift; hence, there have been complaints of light electrical discharges from its metallic body when handled with less-than-dry hands.

Further criticism pointed out the uneven volume ranges of its voices, waveforms and sounds.
Additionally, critics noted that, for a machine aimed at the dance/techno/electronica market, the sound engine was excessively rich in sounds from ethnic, classical and band instruments.

The sampler, although powerful, has a very complex access-and-editing route and lacks the ability to set keyboard ranges for different samples, making it difficult to create realistic sounds from a set of multisamples. There is, however, a work-around for this via an external editor on the PC & Mac called: MC-909 Editor Update v3.1, that is freely available for download at this site.

The inputs, used for either sampling or sound processing of an external sound source, are routed through the effects engine and heard at the outputs during real-time. However, re-sampling is necessary in order for the sample to contain the effects as a part of the sample. Following any re-sampling, the sample playback can be further re-sampled or processed by more effects at the outputs during playback.

The Roland MC-909 is no longer in production by Roland Corporation. The Roland MC-909 is consequently called to become a cult item, as Mellotron or the TB-303.
While no longer in production, the MC-909 can be bought these days second-hand at places like eBay, with a typical second-hand purchase price, as of 2021, around US$1000. The original MSRP price set by Roland in 2002 was US$1,795.99.

Unsolved bugs

Several operating system bugs were gradually solved over time; the last operating system upgrade (Version 1.23) was introduced on March 30, 2007.

The current unsolved problems at the present moment are:
 It is not possible to load a Standard Midi File or other sequence file from a card to internal memory onto an existing pattern without initializing all the existing pattern's settings back to basic format. In order to load a SMF onto a pattern and retain that pattern's settings, the SMF must be first loaded onto an unused or empty location within internal memory, then moved to the wanted location with the Copy function.
 Many users complain that there is no sustain in Song Mode, resulting in a noticeable audio gapping between patterns. This is most noticeable at slower tempos. (Although different Machine, see also: MC-808 Roland MC-808#Unresolved issues)
 Even when a part is set to EXT, the internal sound engine will continue to produce sounds. You can work this around by assigning a blank patch to that part; however, this is not the expected behaviour described in the manual.
 Going into MENU (e.g. USB transfer) resets the 909 to Preset Pattern 1 when you come out of menu.
 Tracks 6 and 13 will not mute/unmute when pressed at the same time (introduced in v1.22)

There are current unresolved issues with the implementation of effects when switching patterns, but the MC-909 was "designed by specification". Roland might refer to the end users' requests for effects that sustain past the point when the pattern switches as they "developing a future new product".

The last operating system upgrade (Version 1.23), corrected few issue with:
 RPS Setting, RPS Mixer WRITE editor of the contents of operation does not save a fixed point.
 Import BMP features and functionality Realtime Erase fixed.
 Song editing function has been strengthened.
 Sounds & Effects strengthened, Stable for tuning various countries. (Roland Corp. Japan Trans: MC-909 VER. History List )

References

Further reading

MC-909
D-Beam
Grooveboxes
Japanese inventions

Roland MC-909