Fursuits are custom-made animal costumes owned and worn by cosplayers and members of the furry fandom, commonly known as "furries"; a furry who wears a fursuit is called a fursuiter. The term is believed to have been coined in 1993 by Robert King. Unlike mascot suits, which are usually affiliated with a team or organization, fursuits represent an original character created by their wearer, and are often better-fitting and more intricately crafted, with features such as a moving jaw. Fursuits are made in a wide range of styles, from cartoonish to highly realistic.

History

The concept of a fursuit can be traced decades prior to the term "fursuit" ever being coined, to at least as early as 1947, with a German Shepherd dog suit being a core plot element of Edwin Corle's Three Ways to Mecca. An early fursuit worn by former Disney mascot wearer Robert Hill, and based on the feminine character "Hilda the Bamboid", appeared at the first ever furry convention, ConFurence 0, in 1989, but most furries of the time simply wore ears and tails, influenced by their intersection with the anime and sci-fi fandoms.

During the 1990s guides for building fursuits were common. Fursuits did not become widely known until the mid-1990s and the rise of the Internet, which led to the spread of ideas on costume making. According to The Daily Dot during the same decade sex in fursuits were also common back before the 21st century.

Most early fursuit making was done by the suit's owner using guides released by members of the community, with one of the most prominent being Critter Costuming, a 2004 manual by Adam Riggs. However, by the mid-2000s, the demand for high-quality fursuits was high enough that fursuit making became a viable business. Furries began to commission specialized makers with their custom designs or open-ended requests. Including used suits, the industry now sells millions of dollars worth of suits each year, and organizations such as sports teams are increasingly commissioning custom-made fursuits for their mascots.

According to Forbes in 2018, a few fursuit makers in recent years have gained a larger audience by making mascots for mainstream organizations.

Fursuit construction

Fursuits originated due to the dissatisfaction with the quality of mass-produced mascot costumes. Fursuit making is a growing industry, with new costume makers who handcraft custom suits entering the market every week. A few dozen of these makers are highly respected and command prices up to $4,500 or more for a full suit, while there are several hundred more who charge less, usually between $600 and $1,000. Some of these, however, are "fly-by-night" operations or make suits of sub-par quality, leading to the proliferation of fursuit review sites to weed them out. There is heavy turnover of these smaller makers, with only a third of them able to stay afloat, due to suit-making being labor-intensive, and requiring a unique style and a following.

People also sometimes make fursuits from scratch as a hobby without opening a business themselves.

To have a fursuit fit correctly, many fursuit makers want a "duct tape dummy" to be made, which will measure and represent the wearer's body during the construction process. Fursuits are often made with faux fur that may  be sourced from places like the Los Angeles Fashion District. A single suit can take more than 200 hours of work and sell for thousands of dollars.

Fursuits can be expensive to clean, although many modern-day suits are machine-washable.

Types of fursuits
Besides the typical full-body suit, the partial suit, where the suit's body is substituted by normal clothing, is a popular variation. Three-quarter suits only include part of the body, like the torso or legs, appearing similarly to a funny animal character. Quadsuits are one of the most challenging and expensive types of costumes to make, and involve the wearer walking on all fours with arm extensions to create the illusion of a real animal. A plush suit is a suit that is made to look like a stuffed animal/plushie. There are also fursuits made of other materials, such as spandex or latex.

Fursuits can range from cartoon-styled to hyper-realistic. The most popular animals for fursuits to be based on are dogs and big cats. They may also be based on fictional animal hybrids. Some suits may include integrated technology, such as LED lights and programmed expressive eyes.

Fursuits of a sexual nature are known as murrsuits, and may have custom modifications for the purpose. Murrsuiting is slightly taboo in the furry community, but has become more accepted in recent years, though some makers have stipulations on adult use.

In culture
Fursuits are heavily associated with the furry fandom by the general public, despite the fact that only about 15 percent of furries own a fursuit, mainly due to their cost being prohibitively high. They may also be seen as overtly sexualized due to negative coverage from shows like CSI, though this is typically not the case. According to a 2019 study, only 8.8% of furries had a fetish for fursuits. Courtney Plante stated in 2015 the vast majority of furries "don't want to hear about sex in fursuits, and while they might not reject you, they don't want to know." Furries who own a fursuit often base them on a "fursona", an anthropomorphic character that represents themselves. Dedicated fursuiters may own as many as a dozen suits based on different characters. Despite being stigmatized as "bizarre", many members of the furry fandom aspire to be society's highest earners, in part to afford expensive fursuits and associated furry art.

Fursuits are usually worn to furry conventions such as Midwest FurFest and Anthrocon. Some fursuits of existing characters are made for the purposes of cosplay and are worn to anime or gaming conventions. They are also worn in public, though this often requires a spotter or handler to ensure the safety of the performer from things like rowdy people, exhaustion or accidents due to limited vision.

Esports champion SonicFox became notable in the gaming community for participating in and winning fighting game tournaments while wearing a partial fursuit of their fursona created by fursuit maker Yamishizen. They later ordered two new fullsuits from the same maker.

Gallery

See also
 Creature suit
 Costumed character
 Cosplay
 Furry fandom
 Fursona

References

External links

Furry fandom
Creature suits
Cosplay

Fursuit


2-1-1 is a special abbreviated telephone number reserved in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) as an easy-to-remember three-digit code to reach information and referral services to health, human, and social service organizations.

Like the emergency telephone number 9-1-1, 2-1-1 is one of the eight N11 codes of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP).

History

United States
For many years, New York Telephone (now a unit of Verizon) used 2-1-1 as an automated credit request number for disconnected or misdialed calls. This service was in service from the 1970s through the early 2000s.

Before the introduction of direct long-distance dialing, the long-distance operator was reached by dialing 2-1-1 for placing a long-distance call. When the states in the US and  provinces in  Canada were assigned area codes in 1947 by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), direct distance dialing (DDD) using the area code and the local number was introduced starting in 1951, eventually eliminating the use of the prefix. After that, the local telephone providers designated "00" for long-distance operator access.

In 1986, the United Way of San Diego created its INFO LINE in partnership with the County and City of San Diego. The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta introduced a 2-1-1 service in 1997. Many states began implementation plans soon after, aided by the United Way of America in partnership with the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems, or AIRS (renamed Inform USA in July 2023)AIRS operates as a charitable organization, providing information and referral services for nonprofit and government sectors. On July 20, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved 2-1-1 for nationwide use as a short number in the United States along with 5-1-1 for transportation. In Texas, particularly in the Coastal Bend area, 2-1-1 is also the number to call for elderly and disabled people needing evacuation assistance in the event of a pending disaster such as a hurricane. The role of libraries in information and referral including 2-1-1 has been considered with a case study in Mississippi,

As of 2017, close to 95% of the population in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.) has access to 2-1-1 services. More than two-hundred agencies, including United Ways, provide 2-1-1 services. The largest population without access to 2-1-1 is the metro-Chicago area. In 2017, the 2-1-1 network in the U.S. answered close to 15 million requests for assistance through phone, text, and web chat.

Canada
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the use of 2-1-1 throughout Canada on August 9, 2001. The first Canadian 2-1-1 service opened in Toronto on June 13, 2002. 2-1-1 services are free of charge and multilingual in Canada.

As of October 2020, the whole of Canada, including the territories, has had access to 2–1-1 thanks to a nationwide expansion, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Canada, 2-1-1 offers free and confidential information and referral for all non emergency needs.

Operation
2-1-1 center hours vary. Many are open 24/7 to refer callers to organizations that provide services in such areas as:

Addiction counseling
Affordable housing
Alzheimer's assistance
Child care
Debt counseling
Disaster relief
Donation opportunities
Education
Emergency food, such as food banks and soup kitchens
ESL
Financial assistance
Homeless services
Job counseling
Parenting programs
Psychotherapy counseling
Senior citizen programs
Suicide prevention
Telephone reassurance, care for the elderly
Volunteer opportunities
Youth programs

Where available, 2-1-1 is operated by a private non-profit community-service organization, local government or local United Ways, which are part of the broader United Way Worldwide network. 2-1-1 provides information and referral to callers on where to obtain assistance from local and national social service programs, local and national governmental agencies and local and national non-profit organizations as well as where to volunteer or make a donation locally. Referrals are often given from databases accessed by call specialists. These databases are maintained by 2-1-1 staff following stringent data management guidelines. The databases are typically local but in some cases linked together to form statewide databases.

Many 2-1-1 centers are exploring Memorandums of Understanding with state and federal governments to facilitate the efficient handling of future disasters. Television or radio stations could easily tell citizens to call 2-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Call specialists at these centers would be informed of current disaster plans or places to receive help and could then inform the public of the correct course of action. After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Gulf Coast region, 2-1-1 centers were instrumental in coordinating with local government officials and providing information to communities before and after local disasters. Furthermore, 2-1-1 providers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida were called upon to provide assistance to individuals fleeing Puerto Rico's devastation.

Availability

United States
As of May 2017, the service is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and 95% of the U.S. population has access to 2-1-1 services by dialing 2-1-1 on a landline or cell phone. In 2017, the 2-1-1 network answered close to 15 million requests for assistance by phone, text, and chat.

Canada
In Canada, 2-1-1 is available in the following places (starting dates in parentheses). This list may be out-of-date; 2-1-1 service coverage is generally expanding over time.

Nova Scotia – 211 Nova Scotia
 province-wide (February 11, 2013)

New Brunswick – 211 New Brunswick
 province-wide (October 15, 2020)

Quebec – 211 Grand Montréal and 211 Québec régions
 Capitale-Nationale Region (April 2008)
 Chaudière-Appalaches Region (April 2008)
 La Haute-Yamaska
 Laval Region (October 2016)
 Greater Montreal (April 2018)

Ontario – 211 Ontario
 Algoma District (September 2010)
 Bruce County (February 2009)
 Frontenac County (June 2010)
 Grey County (February 2009)
 Haliburton County (September 2009)
 Halton Region (2007)
 Huron County (June 2010)
 Kawartha Lakes (September 2009)
 Kingston (June 2010)
 Lennox and Addington County (June 2010)
 London (October 2011)
 Muskoka District (November 2008)
 Niagara Region (November 2005)
 Northumberland County (May 2009)
 Ottawa (September 19, 2008)
 Oxford County (September 2010)
 Peel Region (May 2008)
 Perth County (June 2010)
 Peterborough County (June 2009)
 Renfrew County (February 2011)
 Sault Ste. Marie (September 2009)
 Simcoe County (November 2005)
 Thunder Bay (February 2008)
 Toronto (June 2002)
 Waterloo Region (May 2011)
 Windsor-Essex County (November 2007)

Saskatchewan – United Way 211
 province-wide (September 2013)

Alberta – 211 Alberta
 Calgary (2005)
 Edmonton (2004)

British Columbia – bc211
 Fraser Valley Regional District (October 2010)
 Metro Vancouver (October 2010)
 Sunshine Coast Regional District
 Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (October 2011)
 Vancouver Island\Gulf Islands (September 2017)

The Windsor Star has reported on March 20, 2003, that Windsor, Ontario, intended to have a 2-1-1 service up by 2009, as the Provincial Government allocated $311,000 to start it up, with much of the money being donated by the United Way of Canada, but had a set time limit on how long those funds would be available. On November 26, 2007, the City of Windsor's website announced that 2-1-1 service for Windsor and Essex County began, and was being run by the United Way (who also runs the local 3-1-1 service).

Plans to introduce 2-1-1 services are also in development in other Canadian communities. Ontario extended 2-1-1 province-wide in 2012 and Nova Scotia's province-wide 2-1-1 deployment will be fully operational in 2014. In British Columbia, 2-1-1 services are administered by bc211, and is available on Vancouver Island\Gulf Islands and in the Metro Vancouver, Squamish-Lillooet, Sunshine Coast Regional District and Fraser Valley and regional districts, with plans to expand the services provincially.

In some communities, unused X-1-1 codes were assigned as plant test numbers for telephone installers testing individual lines. In the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, for instance, when 2-1-1 was dialed, it caused a busy signal to occur and the dialer's telephone line would "go dead" for several minutes afterward. These codes must first be "recovered" by moving the test functions elsewhere (958 and 959 are standard reserved local and long-distance test exchanges in most areas) to permit redeployment as local public information numbers.

Accreditation

United States
The American accrediting body for 2-1-1 centers is Inform USA, formerly the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (AIRS). Inform USA provides an accreditation process for 2-1-1 centers and certifies 2-1-1 Call Center Representatives as Certified Information and Referral Specialists (CIRS), Certified Information and Referral Specialists for Aging (CIRS-A) and Certified Resource Specialists (CRS) annually. Inform USA standards have been created to provide a benchmark for 2-1-1 centers and its staff. The standards regulate nationally how a 2-1-1 centers provides services and how they collect and store information.

INFOLINE of Los Angeles, an information and referral services agency serving the greater Los Angeles area, developed a national taxonomy of human services that provides a standard language for information and referral providers nationally. AIRS adopted this taxonomy as its national standard for use in the field of information and referral.  This taxonomy provides standard definition of terms, an exact coding structure for referrals and search methodology for providing referrals to consumers.

Accredited 2-1-1 centers must have active Memorandums of Understanding with local 9-1-1 service as well as domestic violence providers, elder care providers, mental health providers and local law enforcement.

Canada
In Canada, professional certification is handled by InformCanada InformCanada – Fédération Inform Canada. The national 211 initiative is a partnership between InformCanada and United Way of Canada – Centraide Canada.

Work is underway to create a bilingual, Canadian Taxonomy of human services based on the AIRS/Infoline Taxonomy. This project is led by InformCanada and significant steps have been made on the creation of a starter taxonomy by the 211 Ontario phase 2 project, funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the government of Canada. Updates on the Canadian Taxonomy Project are maintained by 211.ca.

Implementation process
The number 2-1-1 must be captured and approved for assigning through the local telecom companies providing services in the local area. The process of implementing a 2-1-1 service in a community has taken many paths since its beginning in 1997. Some places have a centralized statewide system while others have decentralized regional networks with different types of affiliations.

In the United States, each implementation is monitored by the national accrediting entity Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (AIRS) and its local statewide affiliate.

In Canada, the deployment of 2-1-1 service is subject to InformCanada accreditation and Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval.

See also

 Crisis hotline
 Fighting poverty
 Social services
 Speed dial
 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (9-8-8)

References

External links
FCC fact sheet on 2-1-1
2-1-1 Information & Referral Search
AIRS/Infoline Taxonomy of Human Services

Geriatrics
Three-digit telephone numbers

2-1-1


Diversity FM was a community radio station based in Lancaster, north Lancashire, which covered the Lancaster and Morecambe district. It broadcast a mixture of live and pre-recorded shows and music 24/7 on 103.5FM and via the Internet.

It launched at 11am on 9 October 2007 with the first song 'I'm on my Way' from the musical 'Paint Your Wagon'.

At the start of September 2011 Diversity FM launched a new website and started to play announcements on air that a change was happening on 3 October 2011 ahead of a brief re-brand and relaunch before its eventual closure.

In early March it was reported that Diversity FM was to close down at the end of the month due to problems with funding. At midnight on 31 March 2012, Diversity FM was to cease its live broadcasting.  The presenters (a large group of the volunteers involved with the station at the time and some previous members) were unable to decide what to play as the last 'official' song and the broadcast was extended due to the presenters not wanting to end.  Eventually, the last song was chosen and played at twenty nine minutes past midnight (00:29) on 1 April 2012, the song 'September' by Earth Wind and Fire marked the end of the station's live broadcasting and the station went into automation (or 'Non-Stop Diversity' as it was branded).
On 27 April 2012 the transmitter was turned off.  The last song (which just happened to be 'I Try' by Macy Gray) was followed by the last piece of audio heard on 103.5FM: a clip of Edmund Blackadder and Queen Elizabeth from the popular TV show 'Blackadder' reciting the end of a ransom note that read "hope you're not too miffed... byeeeeee".  This was followed by the last post and a final jingle.

External links
 Diversity FM on Facebook
 Beyond Radio - The new community radio project

Notes

Community radio stations in the United Kingdom
Radio stations in Lancashire
Lancaster, Lancashire
Radio stations established in 2007
Radio stations disestablished in 2012
2007 establishments in England
2012 disestablishments in England

Diversity FM


The San Isidro Labrador Parish Church, commonly referred to as Pulilan Church, is a 19th-century Baroque church located at Brgy. Poblacion, Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines. The parish church, dedicated to Saint Isidore, the Laborer, is under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos. The church is popular for being the site where water buffalos are made to kneel as tribute to the feast day of the patron saint. Like the Saint Augustine Parish from the nearby town of Baliuag, the church is also known for featuring one of the longest Holy Week Processions with at least 110 floats.

History
Pulilan, known before as barrio San Isidro or Buenavista, is a former barrio and parochial catchment of Quingua before it separated into a town with its own parish. Several sources provide varied claims as to the beginnings of the town and parish. One of such sources tells that the town was founded in 1749 under the advocation of San Isidro and was subsequently named Pulilan in 1850 by Ignacio Manzanares of Hagonoy in 1871. Likewise, Simon Barroso called the town San Isidro de Pulilan in 1873. The parish of Pulilan was declared as independent some time in 1780 to 1785 according to Martinez de Zuñiga, although it was not indicated in the report to the Augustinian Province in the Philippines in 1760.

On December 13, 2020, Bishop Dennis Villarojo elevated the parish church to the status of a diocesan shrine, making it the seventh in the Diocese of Malolos.

Architecture

Parochial structures of light materials were said to have been built immediately after the erection of the parish. In 1826, Juan Rico started the construction of a new church. One record tells that the church is still under construction in 1829 as it says all churches in Bulacan are already made of masonry except for the church of Pulilan which was still under construction. Two earthquakes, on June 3, 1863, and 1880, damaged the church greatly. Miguel de Celis rebuilt the church a few years later.

The façade of the church is predominantly neo-classical and is devoid of heavily detailed ornamentation. Rectangular pilasters divide the façade into three vertical sections capped off by a triangular pediment. The façade is punctured by rectangular openings: three rectangular windows and one canopied rectangular main portal. Only the Augustinian emblem on the pediment, motifs on the cornice and the balustrade on the belfry break the monotony of design. The plastered façade contrasts greatly with the bare stone walls on the side and interior of the church. To the right of the church is the three-tiered bell tower, with the top level done in concrete.

Pulilan Carabao Festival
During the May 14 and 15 every year, Pulilan holds the Kneeling Carabao Festival as tribute to their patron saint. Farm animals especially carabaos or water buffalos are paraded in front of the church. The highlight of the fiesta is the genuflection or kneeling of the carabaos with its two front legs in front of the church as sign of reverence to Saint Isidore.

References

External links

Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines
Roman Catholic churches in Bulacan
Baroque architecture in the Philippines
1749 establishments in the Philippines
Augustinian churches in the Philippines
Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos

San Isidro Labrador Church (Pulilan)


Charles Burrell (born October 4, 1920) is a classical and jazz bass player most prominently known for being the first African-American to be a member of a major American symphony (the Denver Symphony Orchestra, now known as the Colorado Symphony). For this accomplishment he is often referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of Classical Music".

Early life
Charles was born in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in depression-era Detroit, Michigan. In grade school, he excelled in music. When he was twelve years old, he heard the SFS under renowned conductor Pierre Monteux on his family's crystal radio, and vowed to one day play as a member of the orchestra under his direction.

Start of musical career
After high school, Burrell landed a job playing jazz at a club called B.J.'s in Detroit's Paradise Valley. At the start of World War II, he was drafted into an all-black naval unit located at Great Lakes Naval base near Chicago. He played in the unit's all-star band with Clark Terry, Al Grey, and O. C. Johnson, and took classes at Northwestern University and with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Career as an orchestral and jazz musician
In 1949, Burrell joined his mother's relatives in Denver, Colorado, and was soon hired by the Denver Symphony Orchestra,. In 1959 he fulfilled his dream of playing for Pierre Monteux by joining the SFS and remained there until 1965. According to the book "Music for a City Music for the World: 100 Years with the San Francisco Symphony", he charmed his way into an audition with the orchestra after a chance meeting in the street with Philip Karp, the principal bassist for the Symphony, while on vacation in San Francisco.

He was called the first African-American to become a member of such a prestigious orchestra, and thus has been referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of classical music".

According to Jet Magazine and Indianapolis Recorder articles in 1953, he quit playing in the Denver Symphony to become the bass player in Nellie Lutcher's band. He went on to become a prominent jazz player in the scene of Five Points, Denver, and was featured in the PBS documentary on the subject. At that time, the Jazz scene in Five Points was the only one between St. Louis and the West Coast, so it became one of the most alive in the country, often being referred to as "The Harlem of the West". He played in the first integrated jazz trio in Colorado, the Al Rose Trio. He rose to be a central player in the Five Points jazz scene by becoming the house bass player at the Rossonian Hotel, considered the "entertainment central" spot in Five Points during that era. He shared the stage with jazz legends such as Billie Holiday, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton as well as Gene Harris.

He is also noted as the teacher and mentor of bass player Ray Brown and multi-Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves (who is also his niece). Keyboardist George Duke (a cousin) also credited Burrell for being the person that convinced him to give up classical music and switch to jazz. Duke explained that he "wanted to be free" and Burrell "more or less made the decision for me" by convincing him to "improvise and do what you want to do".

He still performed well into his 90s, including playing live in the studio of prominent Jazz radio station KUVO, and was recently one of the two grand marshals that led the kick-off parade at the Five Points Jazz Festival.

Awards and tributes
 In 2008, he received a Denver Mayor's award for excellence in Arts and Culture.
 In 2011, he received a Martin Luther King Jr. humanitarian award
 Prominent Jazz radio station KUVO broadcast a tribute concert to him on his birthday.
 Congresswoman Diana DeGette also led a tribute to him on the floor of the United States House of Representatives in honor of his 90th birthday, referring to him as a "titan of the classical and jazz bass"
 The Alphonse Robinson African-American Music Association named the "Charles Burrell Award" after him,
 On November 28, 2017, he was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame
 In 2021, Aurora Public Schools in Colorado announced that their new arts magnet school would be named after him. The Charles Burrell Visual and Performing Arts Campus opened for the 2022-2023 school year.

Discography
 Don Ewell: Denver Concert (Pumpkin)
 Marie Rhines : Tartans & Sagebrush (Ladyslipper)
 Whiskey Blanket: No Object
 Joan Tower / Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop – Fanfares For The Uncommon Woman (Koch International Classics)

Bibliography
Charlie Burrell, Mitch Handelsman, The Life of Charlie Burrell: Breaking the Color Barrier in Classical Music, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 29, 2014)

References

External links

Documentary Charlie Burrell, American symphonies' first black musician
Transcript of tribute to Charles Burell on the floor of the US House of Representatives
PBS documentary on Jazz in Five Points
Documentary Series Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Integrating a Major U.S. Symphony
1983 KRMA TV broadcast of the Charlie Burrell Trio on the Show 'Glenarm Place'

1920 births
Living people
American jazz bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
Musicians from Toledo, Ohio
African-American jazz musicians
African-American classical musicians
Northwestern University alumni
20th century in San Francisco
Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area
20th-century American bass guitarists
Jazz musicians from California
Guitarists from Ohio
Guitarists from California
Jazz musicians from Ohio
Classical musicians from California
Classical musicians from Ohio
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
African-American centenarians
American centenarians
Men centenarians
African-American guitarists
United States Navy personnel of World War II
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American musicians

Charles Burrell (musician)


Solaris is a proprietary Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. After the Sun acquisition by Oracle in 2010, it was renamed Oracle Solaris.

Solaris superseded the company's earlier SunOS in 1993, and became known for its scalability, especially on SPARC systems, and for originating many innovative features such as DTrace, ZFS and Time Slider.
Solaris supports SPARC and x86-64 workstations and servers from Oracle and other vendors. Solaris was registered as compliant with the Single UNIX Specification until 29 April 2019.

Historically, Solaris was developed as proprietary software. In June 2005, Sun Microsystems released most of the codebase under the CDDL license, and founded the OpenSolaris open-source project. With OpenSolaris, Sun wanted to build a developer and user community around the software. After the acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January 2010, Oracle decided to discontinue the OpenSolaris distribution and the development model. In August 2010, Oracle discontinued providing public updates to the source code of the Solaris kernel, effectively turning Solaris 11 back into a closed source proprietary operating system. Following that, OpenSolaris was forked as Illumos and is alive through several illumos distributions. In September 2017, Oracle laid off most of the Solaris teams.

In 2011, the Solaris 11 kernel source code leaked. Through the Oracle Technology Network (OTN), industry partners can gain access to the in-development Solaris source code. Solaris is developed under a proprietary development model, and only the source for open-source components of Solaris 11 is available for download from Oracle.

History

In 1987, AT&T Corporation and Sun announced that they were collaborating on a project to merge the most popular Unix variants on the market at that time: Berkeley Software Distribution, UNIX System V, and Xenix. This became Unix System V Release 4 (SVR4).

On September 4, 1991, Sun announced that it would replace its existing BSD-derived Unix, SunOS 4, with one based on SVR4. This was identified internally as SunOS 5, but a new marketing name was introduced at the same time: Solaris 2. The justification for this new overbrand was that it encompassed not only SunOS, but also the OpenWindows graphical user interface and Open Network Computing (ONC) functionality.

Although SunOS 4.1.x micro releases were retroactively named Solaris 1 by Sun, the Solaris name is used almost exclusively to refer only to the releases based on SVR4-derived SunOS 5.0 and later.

For releases based on SunOS 5, the SunOS minor version is included in the Solaris release number. For example, Solaris 2.4 incorporates SunOS 5.4. After Solaris 2.6, the 2. was dropped from the release name, so Solaris 7 incorporates SunOS 5.7, and the latest release SunOS 5.11 forms the core of Solaris 11.4.

Although SunSoft stated in its initial Solaris 2 press release their intent to eventually support both SPARC and x86 systems, the first two Solaris 2 releases, 2.0 and 2.1, were SPARC-only.  An x86 version of Solaris 2.1 was released in June 1993, about 6 months after the SPARC version, as a desktop and uniprocessor workgroup server operating system. It included the Wabi emulator to support Windows applications. At the time, Sun also offered the Interactive Unix system that it had acquired from Interactive Systems Corporation. In 1994, Sun released Solaris 2.4, supporting both SPARC and x86 systems from a unified source code base.

On September 2, 2017, Simon Phipps, a former Sun Microsystems employee not hired by Oracle in the acquisition, reported on Twitter that Oracle had laid off the Solaris core development staff, which many interpreted as sign that Oracle no longer intended to support future development of the platform. While Oracle did have a large layoff of Solaris development engineering staff, development continued and Solaris 11.4 was released in 2018.

Supported architectures
Solaris uses a common code base for the platforms it supports: 64-bit SPARC and x86-64.

Solaris has a reputation for being well-suited to symmetric multiprocessing, supporting a large number of CPUs. It has historically been tightly integrated with Sun's SPARC hardware (including support for 64-bit SPARC applications since Solaris 7), with which it is marketed as a combined package. This has led to more reliable systems, but at a cost premium compared to commodity PC hardware. However, it has supported x86 systems since Solaris 2.1 and 64-bit x86 applications since Solaris 10, allowing Sun to capitalize on the availability of commodity 64-bit CPUs based on the x86-64 architecture. Sun heavily marketed Solaris for use with both its own x86-64-based Sun Java Workstation and the x86-64 models of the Sun Ultra series workstations, and servers based on AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon processors, as well as x86 systems manufactured by companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. , the following vendors support Solaris for their x86 server systems:
 Dell – will "test, certify, and optimize Solaris and OpenSolaris on its rack and blade servers and offer them as one of several choices in the overall Dell software menu"
 Intel
 Hewlett Packard Enterprise – distributes and provides software technical support for Solaris on BL, DL, and SL platforms
 Fujitsu Siemens

Other platforms
Solaris 2.5.1 included support for the PowerPC platform (PowerPC Reference Platform), but the port was canceled before the Solaris 2.6 release. In January 2006, a community of developers at Blastwave began work on a PowerPC port which they named Polaris. In October 2006, an OpenSolaris community project based on the Blastwave efforts and Sun Labs' Project Pulsar, which re-integrated the relevant parts from Solaris 2.5.1 into OpenSolaris, announced its first official source code release.

A port of Solaris to the Intel Itanium architecture was announced in 1997 but never brought to market.

On November 28, 2007, IBM, Sun, and Sine Nomine Associates demonstrated a preview of OpenSolaris for System z running on an IBM System z mainframe under z/VM, called Sirius (in analogy to the Polaris project, and also due to the primary developer's Australian nationality: HMS Sirius of 1786 was a ship of the First Fleet to Australia). On October 17, 2008, a prototype release of Sirius was made available and on November 19 the same year, IBM authorized the use of Sirius on System z Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) processors.

Solaris also supports the Linux platform application binary interface (ABI), allowing Solaris to run native Linux binaries on x86 systems. This feature is called Solaris Containers for Linux Applications (SCLA), based on the branded zones functionality introduced in Solaris 10 8/07.

Installation and usage options

Solaris can be installed from various pre-packaged software groups, ranging from a minimalistic Reduced Network Support to a complete Entire Plus OEM. Installation of Solaris is not necessary for an individual to use the system.
Additional software, like Apache, MySQL, etc. can be installed as well in a packaged form from sunfreeware and OpenCSW. Solaris can be installed from physical media or a network for use on a desktop or server, or be used without installing on a desktop or server.

Desktop environments

Early releases of Solaris used OpenWindows as the standard desktop environment. In Solaris 2.0 to 2.2, OpenWindows supported both NeWS and X applications, and provided backward compatibility for SunView applications from Sun's older desktop environment. NeWS allowed applications to be built in an object-oriented way using PostScript, a common printing language released in 1982. The X Window System originated from MIT's Project Athena in 1984 and allowed for the display of an application to be disconnected from the machine where the application was running, separated by a network connection. Sun's original bundled SunView application suite was ported to X.

Sun later dropped support for legacy SunView applications and NeWS with OpenWindows 3.3, which shipped with Solaris 2.3, and switched to X11R5 with Display Postscript support. The graphical look and feel remained based upon OPEN LOOK. OpenWindows 3.6.2 was the last release under Solaris 8. The OPEN LOOK Window Manager (olwm) with other OPEN LOOK specific applications were dropped in Solaris 9, but support libraries were still bundled, providing long term binary backwards compatibility with existing applications. The OPEN LOOK Virtual Window Manager (olvwm) can still be downloaded for Solaris from sunfreeware and works on releases as recent as Solaris 10.

Sun and other Unix vendors created an industry alliance to standardize Unix desktops. As a member of the Common Open Software Environment (COSE) initiative, Sun helped co-develop the Common Desktop Environment (CDE). This was an initiative to create a standard Unix desktop environment. Each vendor contributed different components: Hewlett-Packard contributed the window manager, IBM provided the file manager, and Sun provided the e-mail and calendar facilities as well as drag-and-drop support (ToolTalk). This new desktop environment was based upon the Motif look and feel and the old OPEN LOOK desktop environment was considered legacy. CDE unified Unix desktops across multiple open system vendors. CDE was available as an unbundled add-on for Solaris 2.4 and 2.5, and was included in Solaris 2.6 through 10.

In 2001, Sun issued a preview release of the open-source desktop environment GNOME 1.4, based on the GTK+ toolkit, for Solaris 8. Solaris 9 8/03 introduced GNOME 2.0 as an alternative to CDE. Solaris 10 includes Sun's Java Desktop System (JDS), which is based on GNOME and comes with a large set of applications, including StarOffice, Sun's office suite. Sun describes JDS as a "major component" of Solaris 10. The Java Desktop System is not included in Solaris 11 which instead ships with a stock version of GNOME. Likewise, CDE applications are no longer included in Solaris 11, but many libraries remain for binary backwards compatibility.

The open source desktop environments KDE and Xfce, along with numerous other window managers, also compile and run on recent versions of Solaris.

Sun was investing in a new desktop environment called Project Looking Glass since 2003. The project has been inactive since late 2006.

License

Traditional operating system license (1982 to 2004)
For versions up to 2005 (Solaris 9), Solaris was licensed under a license that permitted a customer to buy licenses in bulk, and install the software on any machine up to a maximum number.  The key license grant was:

In addition, the license provided a "License to Develop" granting rights to create derivative works, restricted copying to only a single archival copy, disclaimer of warranties, and the like.  The license varied only little through 2004.

Open source (2005 until March 2010)
From 2005–10, Sun began to release the source code for development builds of Solaris under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) via the OpenSolaris project.  This code was based on the work being done for the post-Solaris 10 release (code-named "Nevada"; eventually released as Oracle Solaris 11).  As the project progressed, it grew to encompass most of the necessary code to compile an entire release, with a few exceptions.

Post-Sun closed source (March 2010 to present)
When Sun was acquired by Oracle in 2010, the OpenSolaris project was discontinued after the board became unhappy with Oracle's stance on the project. In March 2010, the previously freely available Solaris 10 was placed under a restrictive license that limited the use, modification and redistribution of the operating system. The license allowed the user to download the operating system free of charge, through the Oracle Technology Network, and use it for a 90-day trial period. After that trial period had expired the user would then have to purchase a support contract from Oracle to continue using the operating system.

With the release of Solaris 11 in 2011, the license terms changed again. The new license allows Solaris 10 and Solaris 11 to be downloaded free of charge from the Oracle Technology Network and used without a support contract indefinitely; however, the license only expressly permits the user to use Solaris as a development platform and expressly forbids commercial and "production" use. Educational use is permitted in some circumstances. From the OTN license:

When Solaris is used without a support contract it can be upgraded to each new "point release"; however, a support contract is required for access to patches and updates that are released monthly.

Version history

Notable features of Solaris include DTrace, Doors, Service Management Facility, Solaris Containers, Solaris Multiplexed I/O, Solaris Volume Manager, ZFS, and Solaris Trusted Extensions.

Updates to Solaris versions are periodically issued. In the past, these were named after the month and year of their release, such as "Solaris 10 1/13"; as of Solaris 11, sequential update numbers are appended to the release name with a period, such as "Oracle Solaris 11.4".

In ascending order, the following versions of Solaris have been released:

A more comprehensive summary of some Solaris versions is also available. Solaris releases are also described in the Solaris 2 FAQ.

Development release
The underlying Solaris codebase has been under continuous development since work began in the late 1980s on what was eventually released as Solaris 2.0. Each version such as Solaris 10 is based on a snapshot of this development codebase, taken near the time of its release, which is then maintained as a derived project. Updates to that project are built and delivered several times a year until the next official release comes out.

The Solaris version under development by Sun since the release of Solaris 10 in 2005, was codenamed Nevada, and is derived from what is now the OpenSolaris codebase.

In 2003, an addition to the Solaris development process was initiated. Under the program name Software Express for Solaris (or just Solaris Express), a binary release based on the current development basis was made available for download on a monthly basis, allowing anyone to try out new features and test the quality and stability of the OS as it progressed to the release of the next official Solaris version. A later change to this program introduced a quarterly release model with support available, renamed Solaris Express Developer Edition (SXDE).

In 2007, Sun announced Project Indiana with several goals, including providing an open source binary distribution of the OpenSolaris project, replacing SXDE. The first release of this distribution was OpenSolaris 2008.05.

The Solaris Express Community Edition (SXCE) was intended specifically for OpenSolaris developers. It was updated every two weeks until it was discontinued in January 2010, with a recommendation that users migrate to the OpenSolaris distribution. Although the download license seen when downloading the image files indicates its use is limited to personal, educational and evaluation purposes, the license acceptance form displayed when the user actually installs from these images lists additional uses including commercial and production environments.

SXCE releases terminated with build 130 and OpenSolaris releases terminated with build 134 a few weeks later. The next release of OpenSolaris based on build 134 was due in March 2010, but it was never fully released, though the packages were made available on the package repository. Instead, Oracle renamed the binary distribution Solaris 11 Express, changed the license terms and released build 151a as 2010.11 in November 2010.

Open source derivatives

Current

 illumos – A fully open source fork of the project, started in 2010 by a community of Sun OpenSolaris engineers and Nexenta OS. Note that OpenSolaris was not 100% open source: Some drivers and some libraries were property of other companies that Sun (now Oracle) licensed and was not able to release.
 OpenIndiana – A project under the illumos umbrella aiming "... to become the de facto OpenSolaris distribution installed on production servers where security and bug fixes are required free of charge."
 SchilliX – The first LiveCD released after OpenSolaris code was opened to public.
 napp-it – A webmanaged ZFS storage appliance based on Solaris and the free forks like OmniOS with a Free and Pro edition.
 NexentaStor – Optimized for storage workloads, based on Nexenta OS.
 SmartOS – Virtualization centered derivative from MNX Solutions (previously Joyent).

Discontinued
 OpenSolaris – A project initiated by Sun Microsystems, discontinued after the acquisition by Oracle.
 Nexenta OS (discontinued October 31, 2012) – First distribution based on Ubuntu userland with Solaris-derived kernel.
 StormOS (discontinued September 14, 2012) – A lightweight desktop OS based on Nexenta OS and Xfce.
 MartUX – The first SPARC distribution of OpenSolaris, with an alpha prototype released by Martin Bochnig in April 2006. It was distributed as a Live CD but is later available only on DVD as it has had the Blastwave community software added. Its goal was to become a desktop operating system. The first SPARC release was a small Live CD, released as marTux_0.2 Live CD in summer of 2006, the first straight OpenSolaris distribution for SPARC (not to be confused with GNOME metacity theme). It was later re-branded as MartUX and the next releases included full SPARC installers in addition to the Live media. Much later, MartUX was re-branded as OpenSXCE when it moved to the first OpenSolaris release to support both SPARC and Intel architectures after Sun was acquired by Oracle.
 MilaX – A small Live CD/Live USB with minimal set of packages to fit a 90 MB image.
 Dyson – illumos kernel with GNU userland and packages from Debian. Project is no longer active and the website is offline.
 EON ZFS Storage – A NAS implementation targeted at embedded systems.
 Jaris OS – Live DVD and also installable. Pronounced according to the IPA but in English as Yah-Rees. This distribution has been heavily modified to fully support a version of Wine called Madoris that can install and run Windows programs at native speed. Jaris stands for "Japanese Solaris". Madoris is a combination of the Japanese word for Windows "mado" and Solaris.
 OpenSXCE – An OpenSolaris distribution release for both 32-bit and 64-bit x86 platforms and SPARC microprocessors, initially produced from OpenSolaris source code repository, ported to the illumos source code repository to form OpenIndiana's first SPARC distribution. Notably, the first OpenSolaris distribution with illumos source for SPARC based upon OpenIndiana, OpenSXCE finally moved to a new source code repository, based upon DilOS.

Reception
Robert Lipschutz and Gregg Harrington from PC Magazine reviewed Solaris 9 in 2002:

Robert Lipschutz also reviewed Solaris 10:

Tom Henderson reviewed Solaris 10 for Network World:

Robert Escue for OSNews:

Thomas Greene for The Register:

See also
 IBM AIX
 HP-UX
 illumos
 Trusted Solaris
 Oracle VM Server for SPARC

References

External links

 Solaris Documentation

 Lifetime Support Policy: Oracle and Sun System Software and Operating Systems

 SunHELP – Sun/Solaris News, References, and Information
 Nikolai Bezroukov. Solaris vs. Linux: Ecosystem-based Approach and Framework for the Comparison in Large Enterprise Environments – Large Softpanorama article comparing Solaris 10 and Linux 2.6
  – Solaris information site by Michael Holve

1993 software
Formerly free software
OpenSolaris
Oracle Corporation
Oracle software
Proprietary operating systems
Sun Microsystems software
UNIX System V
X86 operating systems
X86-64 operating systems

Oracle Solaris


Santa Clara County is a county in the San Francisco Bay Area in the state of California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,936,259. It is the sixth largest county in California by population. The county seat and largest city is San Jose. Santa Clara County's population in 2020 was larger than the population of thirteen U.S. states and of the District of Columbia.

It overlaps with the Santa Clara Valley and Silicon Valley.

References

1850 establishments in California

Santa Clara County, California


Susan Penelope Akers CBE QPM (born 1957) is a retired Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the British Metropolitan Police Service.

She joined the force in 1976 and was promoted by the Metropolitan Police Authority from the rank of Chief Superintendent to Commander in 2004. The posts she held also included Head of Organised Crime & Criminal Networks in the Specialist Crime Directorate.

She led Operation Weeting, a British police investigation into allegations of phone hacking in the News International phone hacking scandal, from January 2011. In July 2011, as the result of documents submitted to Operation Weeting, she took on the leadership of a related investigation, Operation Elveden. She led Operation Tuleta, a 2011–12 investigation into illegal access of private computers. Akers led police inquiries into the potential involvement of intelligence services in relation to detainees held abroad.

Akers retired at the end of 2012.

She was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 2007 and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to policing.

Akers' role as a private investigator in the case of alleged rape of a schoolgirl in 2016 has been questioned.  Employed by the family of the child, it was reported in The Daily Telegraph that Akers was "said to have had a number of meetings with serving officers about the case and tried to tell officers how to conduct the case. William Clegg QC, defending, also said she had asked to have access to court papers. The officer leading the investigation [...] agreed that it was 'unique' for a former Deputy Assistant Commissioner to be involved in that way."

References

1957 births
Living people
20th-century British women
21st-century British women
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Metropolitan Police chief officers
People associated with the News International phone hacking scandal
Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal
Women Metropolitan Police officers

Sue Akers


Michael James Stewart  (born 16 September 1932) is an English former cricketer, coach and administrator. A right-handed batsman, Stewart's international career was hampered by illness that curtailed his first overseas tour – serving as vice-captain in India in 1963–64 – and he made only eight Test appearances in all, scoring two half-centuries. His domestic career for Surrey spanned eighteen years, in which he scored over 26,000 first-class runs with forty-nine centuries. He made a century on debut for his county, against Pakistan, and went on to break the then-world record number of catches in a match in 1957 with his strong fielding. He captained Surrey between 1963 and 1972, winning the County Championship in 1971. After retiring, he became a manager at the club and later for England until 1992. He then worked for the ECB until 1997.

Stewart was awarded the OBE in 1998 for services to cricket. The cricket writer Colin Bateman commented, "a staunch patriot and the toughest of opponents, he stamped his mark on Test cricket as England's first full-time manager far more emphatically than he did as a player". His son, Alec Stewart, went on to play over 100 Tests for England.

Life and career
Born at Herne Hill, in south London, Stewart played first-class cricket for Surrey from 1954 to 1972 and also appeared in eight Test matches for England between 1962 and 1964. A right-handed opening batsman, Stewart averaged 35.00 with the bat in Test cricket with a highest score of 87. He was an outstanding close catcher, particularly at short leg. In 1957, he took 77 catches during the season, only one short of Wally Hammond's record. Against Northamptonshire that year, he held seven catches in an innings. It was partly for his fielding that he was selected as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in the 1958 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Stewart toured India in 1963/64 as M. J. K. Smith's vice-captain, but he contracted dysentery and was forced home after playing only one innings.

From 1959 to 1966, he had a successful opening partnership for Surrey with John Edrich, before moving down the batting order to number three. The pair also opened together for England on a couple of occasions. Stewart captained Surrey from 1963 to 1972, winning the County Championship in 1971.

He served as cricket manager of Surrey (1979–1986) and England (1986–1992), and was director of coaching for the ECB (1992–1997). According to Steve James, writing in the Daily Telegraph: "As England's first manager Stewart was way ahead of his time, not least in the aspects of fitness and planning..." James quotes Graham Gooch, captain during the latter part of Stewart's time as England manager, as saying: "We laid the foundations for what you see in the England set-up now. The fitness, the monitoring of fitness, the nutrition, it was the birth of all that on a team scale."

During a winter tour of New Zealand by England, Stewart controversially got involved in an argument with a TV cameraman who was filming footage of an injured David Lawrence on a stretcher; England wicketkeeper Jack Russell also joined in the fracas.

Stewart was also a footballer, playing outside right for the amateur side Corinthian-Casuals, Charlton Athletic and Wimbledon. In 1956 he played for the England amateur side in their match against France. He had hoped to play for his country in the Olympic Games to be held in Melbourne in November that year, but because he was a professional cricketer the Olympic Committee ruled that he was ineligible. He therefore decided to turn professional as a footballer, and left Corinthian-Casuals and joined Charlton Athletic. He went on to manage Corinthian-Casuals between 1970 and 1975.

He is the father of the former England wicket-keeper, Alec Stewart. At Lord's in 1991, Stewart was able to watch his son Alec score a Test century, something that had eluded him.

References
Notes

Sources
 Stephen Chalke, Micky Stewart and the Changing Face of Cricket, Fairfield Books, 2012, .

1932 births
Living people
Surrey cricket captains
Surrey cricketers
English cricketers
England Test cricketers
International Cavaliers cricketers
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Presidents of Surrey County Cricket Club
English cricket administrators
English men's footballers
Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth
England men's amateur international footballers
Men's association football wingers
Charlton Athletic F.C. players
Corinthian-Casuals F.C. players
Wimbledon F.C. players
People from Herne Hill
Cricketers from the London Borough of Southwark
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Players cricketers
People educated at Alleyn's School
English football managers
Corinthian-Casuals F.C. managers
A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers
E. W. Swanton's XI cricketers

Micky Stewart