MicroEmpix

MicroEmpix is the microkernel (much nearer to an exokernel) version of Empix, an operating system developed at the Computing Systems Laboratory of the Electrical & Computer Engineering department at the National Technical University of Athens.
Empix started out in the late 80's as the laboratory's effort to write a small Unix-like modern multi-tasking operating system, intended for educational use. Borrowing most of its basic characteristics (file system, binary format, shell) from other popular operating systems of the time (Xinu, Minix, DOS). Empix is quite small (about 10,000 lines of code) and supports PC XT and AT architectures, floppy disks and hard drives (with the FAT16 limitations), as well as EGA graphics (80x25 color terminal) and the serial ports. It has a shell with some basic commands, and the ability to execute multiple processes.
MicroEmpix is far different. It's about 1,600 lines of code (over which about 1,000 devoted to serial port control), and it's a microkernel, meaning that it creates and runs processes in kernel-space, with no distinction between process-space and kernel space. What the kernel sees, the process sees and vice versa. There are no system calls to require a system call dispatcher or a similar mechanism. Kernel functions are inherent to the processes created, and there is but one user.


New API

New API (also referred to as NAPI) is an interface to use interrupt mitigation techniques for networking devices in the Linux kernel. Such an approach is intended to reduce the overhead of packet receiving. The idea is to defer incoming message handling until there is a sufficient amount of them so that it is worth handling them all at once.
Motivation.
A straightforward method of implementing a network driver is to interrupt the kernel by issuing an interrupt request (IRQ) for each and every incoming packet. However, servicing IRQs is costly in terms of processor resources and time. Therefore, the straightforward implementation can be very inefficient in high-speed networks, constantly interrupting the kernel with the thousands of packets per second. Overall performance of the system as well as network throughput can suffer as a result.
Polling is an alternative to interrupt-based processing. The kernel can periodically check for the arrival of incoming network packets without being interrupted, which eliminates the overhead of interrupt processing. Establishing an optimal polling frequency is important, however. Too frequent polling wastes CPU resources by repeatedly checking for incoming packets that have not yet arrived. On the other hand, polling too infrequently introduces latency by reducing system reactivity to incoming packets, and it may result in the loss of packets if the incoming packet buffer fills up before being processed.
As a compromise, the Linux kernel uses the interrupt-driven mode by default and only switches to polling mode when the flow of incoming packets exceeds a certain threshold, known as the "weight" of the network interface.
Compliant drivers.
A driver using the NAPI interface will work as follow:
History.
NAPI was an over-three-year effort by Alexey Kuznetsov, Jamal Hadi Salim and Robert Olsson. Initial effort to include NAPI was met with resistance by some members of the community, however David Miller worked hard to ensure NAPI's inclusion.
A lot of real world testing was done in the Uppsala university network before inclusion. In fact, www.slu.se was the first production NAPI-based OS and is still powered to this day by NAPI-based Bifrost/Linux routers. The pktgen traffic generator was also born around this time. Pktgen was extensively used to test NAPI scenarios not induced by real world traffic.


Seccomp

seccomp (short for secure computing mode) is a computer security facility in the Linux kernel. seccomp allows a process to make a one-way transition into a "secure" state where it cannot make any system calls except codice_1, codice_2, codice_3 and codice_4 to already-open file descriptors. Should it attempt any other system calls, the kernel will terminate the process with SIGKILL or SIGSYS. In this sense, it does not virtualize the system's resources but isolates the process from them entirely.
seccomp mode is enabled via the system call using the codice_5 argument, or (since Linux kernel 3.17) via the system call. seccomp mode used to be enabled by writing to a file, codice_6, but this method was removed in favor of codice_7. In some kernel versions, seccomp disables the codice_8 x86 instruction, which returns the number of elapsed processor cycles since power-on, used for high-precision timing.
seccomp-bpf is an extension to seccomp that allows filtering of system calls using a configurable policy implemented using Berkeley Packet Filter rules. It is used by OpenSSH and vsftpd as well as the Google Chrome/Chromium web browsers on Chrome OS and Linux. (In this regard seccomp-bpf achieves similar functionality, but with more flexibility and higher performance, to the older systrace—which seems to be no longer supported for Linux.)
Some consider seccomp comparable to OpenBSD pledge(2) and FreeBSD capsicum(4).
History.
seccomp was first devised by Andrea Arcangeli in January 2005 for use in public grid computing and was originally intended as a means of safely running untrusted compute-bound programs. It was merged into the Linux kernel mainline in kernel version 2.6.12, which was released on March 8, 2005.


GeForce 300 series

The GeForce 300 series is a series of Tesla-based graphics processing units developed by Nvidia, first released in November 2009. Its cards are rebrands of the GeForce 200 series cards, available only for OEMs. All GPUs of the series support Direct3D 10.1, except the GT 330 (Direct3D 10.0).
History.
On November 27, 2009, Nvidia released its first GeForce 300 series video card, the GeForce 310. However, this card is a re-brand of one of Nvidia's older models (the GeForce 210) and not based on the newer Fermi architecture.
On February 2, 2010, Nvidia announced the release of the GeForce GT 320, GT 330 and GT 340, available to OEMs only. The Geforce GT 340 is simply a rebadged GT 240, sharing exactly the same specifications, while the GT 320 and 330 were newer cards (albeit still based on the previous generation GT200b and G92b architecture).
Discontinued support.
NVIDIA ceased driver support for the GeForce 300 series on April 1, 2016.


List of Sega Genesis games

The Sega Genesis, known as the in regions outside of North America, is a 16-bit video game console that was developed and sold by Sega. First released in Japan in 1988, in North America on August 14, 1989 and in PAL regions in 1990, the Genesis is Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. The system supports a library of 713 games created both by Sega and a wide array of third-party publishers and delivered on ROM cartridges. It can also play the complete library of Master System games when the separately sold Power Base Converter is installed. The Sega Genesis also benefited from numerous peripherals, including the Sega CD and Sega 32X, several network services, and multiple first-party and third-party variations of the console that focused on extending its functionality. The console and its games continue to be popular among fans, collectors, video game music fans, and emulation enthusiasts. Licensed third party re-releases of the console are still being produced, and several indie game developers continue to produce games for it. Many games have also been re-released in compilations for newer consoles and offered for download on various digital distribution services, such as Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam.
The Genesis library was initially modest, but eventually grew to contain games to appeal to all types of players. The initial pack-in title was "Altered Beast", which was later replaced with "Sonic the Hedgehog". Top sellers included "Sonic the Hedgehog", its sequel "Sonic the Hedgehog 2", and "Disney's Aladdin". During development for the console, Sega Enterprises in Japan focused on developing action games while Sega of America was tasked with developing sports games. A large part of the appeal of the Genesis library during the console's lifetime was the arcade-based experience of its games, as well as more difficult entries such as "Ecco the Dolphin" and sports games such as "Joe Montana Football". Compared to its competition, Sega advertised to an older audience by hosting more mature games, including the uncensored version of "Mortal Kombat".
This is an alphabetical list of released games for the Sega Genesis. Titles listed do not include releases for the Sega CD and Sega 32X add-ons. Included in this list are titles not licensed by Sega, including releases in Taiwan by several developers such as Gamtec, as well as releases by Accolade before being licensed following the events of "Sega v. Accolade". This list also includes titles developed by unlicensed third-party developers after the discontinuation of the Genesis, such as "Pier Solar and the Great Architects". Any unlicensed games will have "yes" in the unlicensed column.
A few games were only released exclusively on the Sega Channel subscription service, which was active from 1994 to 1998, in the US. This means that, whilst cartridges were officially released for use on PAL and Japanese consoles, they were unavailable physically in the US. While few games were released this way, some of them are considered to be staples in the Genesis library, such as "Pulseman" and "".
Licensed games.
A total of licensed game titles are known to have been released for the console:
Sega Meganet titles.
Sega Meganet, also known as the Net Work System, was an online service for the Mega Drive in Japan. Utilizing dial-up Internet access, Meganet was Sega's first online multiplayer gaming service, and functioned on a pay to play basis. The system functioned through the use of a peripheral called the Mega Modem and offered several unique titles that could be downloaded, and a few could be played competitively with friends. In addition, it shared technology and equipment with more serious services such as the Mega Anser, used for banking purposes. Though the system was announced for North America under the rebranded name "Tele-Genesis", it was never released for that region.
The Meganet service utilized its own library of titles, independent of the Mega Drive library. Most of these games never received a cartridge release; however, "Columns", "Flicky", "Fatal Labyrinth", and "Teddy Boy Blues" each later saw cartridge versions. Several Meganet games would also later appear in the "Game no Kanzume" series, released for the Mega-CD exclusively in Japan. Most games for the service were small, at around 128kB per game, due to the limits of Internet connection speeds at the time. Downloads were estimated to take about five to eight minutes to complete. All of the Meganet games were available through the Sega Game Library, accessed through the Meganet modem. Due to issues with long-distance charges through the use of telephone lines, as well as seconds of lag time between commands, only two games featured competitive play: "Tel-Tel Stadium" and "Tel-Tel Mahjong", with the remainder of the games available for single players via download. Due to Sega's reluctance to commit to releasing the service in North America, third-party developers in that region were unwilling to invest in developing games specifically for Meganet. This resulted in a low number of titles created for the service.
The following list contains all of the titles released for the Meganet service. All titles in this list were released in Japan only.
There were games on the Meganet.
" * " determines games that also had a physical release


Sega Genesis Collection

Sega Genesis Collection (Sega Mega Drive Collection in PAL regions) is a compilation of video games developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Sega for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. The collection includes twenty-eight Sega Genesis games from a variety of genres, as well as unlockable classic Sega arcade games, with different sets of arcade games for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions. A sequel was released in 2009 called "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
List of games.
Sega Genesis.
† <br>
Unlockable extra games.
This collection also features more than thirty-five minutes of unlockable interviews from Sega of Japan, a "museum" with facts about the games, strategy tips and box art for each game, as well as a "Sega Cheat Sheet" that consists of cheat codes for most games, and a set of unlockable arcade games, (some of which are from the early Sega/Gremlin era). The collection also contains unlockable trailers for "Phantasy Star Universe" and "Virtua Fighter 5".
PlayStation Portable.
†
Reception.
"Sega Genesis Collection" received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.


PackageForge

PackageForge is a commercial graphical installation and packaging software tool for Symbian OS based smartphones. PackageForge allows developers to graphically create software installation packages that can be installed to a Symbian OS based phone. After installation a user can start using the installed software application.
PackageForge works by providing a graphical interface towards the Symbian package definition files (.pkg). The developer provides information about the package, like the vendor, package name, version and what application files to include. After the package has been defined, the package is compiled and built into a Symbian installation file (.sis) which is then ready to be uploaded to the Nokia OVI store or for direct installation on a phone.
The SIS installation files are used for installing Flash Lite, Python for S60, Symbian C/C++ or Qt for Symbian applications.


Rump kernel

The NetBSD rump kernel is the first implementation of the "anykernel" concept where drivers either can be compiled into or run in the monolithic kernel or in user space on top of a light-weight kernel.
The NetBSD drivers can be used on top of the rump kernel on a wide range of POSIX operating systems, such as the Hurd, Linux, NetBSD, DragonFly BSD, Solaris and even Cygwin, along with the file system utilities built with the rump libraries. The rump kernels can also run without POSIX directly on top of the Xen hypervisor, an L4 microkernel using the Genode OS Framework or even on "OS-less" bare metal.
Anykernel.
An anykernel is different in concept from microkernels, exokernels, partitioned kernels or hybrid kernels in that it tries to preserve the advantages of a monolithic kernel, while still enabling the faster driver development and added security in user space. The "anykernel" concept refers to an architecture-agnostic approach to drivers where drivers can either be compiled into the monolithic kernel or be run as a userspace process, microkernel-style, without code changes. With drivers, a wider concept is considered where not only device drivers are included but also file systems and the networking stack.
File System Access Utilities.
The File System Access Utilities (fs-utils) is a subproject built with the rump libraries. It aims to have a set of utilities to access and modify a file system image without having to mount it. The fs-utils does not require superuser account to access the image or device. The advantage of fs-utils over similar projects such as mtools is supporting the usage of familiar filesystem Unix commands (codice_1, codice_2, codice_3, codice_4, etc.) for a large number of file systems which are supported by NetBSD.


Porteus (operating system)

Porteus (formerly Slax Remix) is a portable operating system based on Slackware. It does not require installation and can be run from fixed and removable media, such as a USB flash drive or compact disc.
Porteus is available in 32-bit and 64-bit version.
Development.
The Porteus project started out as "Slax Remix" at the beginning of 2010 and was started as a community project using the Zen kernel to improve and update the Slax OS.
The community agreed on the new name of the project, Porteus, which was named after "'Portability' and 'Proteus'. 'Proteus' is a "Greek god of the sea, capable of changing his form at will," according to the naming announcement on the Porteus forum. The project leader commented on the name, "I find this name as a kind of synonym of 'flexibility.' We have portable (small) and flexible (modular) features included in one name: Porteus."
Porteus 4.0 is available in seven desktop variants: Cinnamon, KDE Plasma 5, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, Openbox and Xfce.
Features.
Porteus is based on a substantially modified and optimized version of the Linux Live Scripts. It can be run from a disk or USB stick (with changes saved onto the portable device) or installed on a hard drive. Porteus can even be installed within another system without the need to create a new partition.
Porteus is preloaded with a variety of software that the user selects before installing. The system is downloaded only after selecting various options from a menu including one of four windows management systems, a browser and other features. Porteus uses a package manager utilizing slackware.
Porteus Kiosk.
Porteus Kiosk is a specialized edition of the Porteus operating system, a minimalist Linux distribution for web-only terminals with Firefox (or Google Chrome, Chromium or Opera, set upon installation) as the sole application. Porteus Kiosk provides users with a locked down computing environment, designed to be deployed in schools, offices, public libraries, internet cafés or any other business establishment that provides Internet access to their clients.
Porteus Kiosk can be installed to CD/DVD, USB flash drive, hard drive, or any other bootable storage media such as Compact Flash or SD/MMC memory cards. Prior to installation the system can be customized through the "kiosk wizard" utility which allows system and browser related tweaks.
The Porteus Kiosk system is open source and available free-of-charge, although a number of commercial services such as custom builds, automatic updates and software upgrades are available.
Until version 3.7.0 Porteus Kiosk was able to run on both 32-bit (i486 or greater) and 64-bit (x86_64) machines. As Google Chrome doesn't support 32-bit machines anymore, the developers of the distribution decided to follow that path. Hence with release 4.0.0 Porteus Kiosk supports only the x86_64 architecture. The system is lightweight in terms of size and resources used. The default image is about 80 MB while the size of the custom kiosk ISO will depend on the choice of added extra components such as Adobe Flash, Java, additional fonts and other factors.
Reception.
In reviewing Porteus 1.0 in June 2011, Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier wrote, "Users who've missed KDE 3.5.x are in for a treat with Porteus, a portable Linux distribution that offers a 32-bit release with the Trinity fork of KDE 3.5.x, and a 64-bit release that offers KDE 4.6.4. While not a distribution that will appeal to everyone, it might be of interest to enthusiasts of live CD distributions and old-school KDE fans." He concluded "...Porteus looks like a nice portable Linux distribution, aimed at expert or at least experienced Linux users. It's not something that will appeal to the majority of Linux users, particularly users who prefer a slightly larger depth of available packages. But, for users who are nursing older hardware or prefer a portable distribution, Porteus is an interesting project."
About the custom Live CD ISO creation, Linux magazine wrote in Issue 160/2014: "Build Your Own Portable Linux Distro with Porteus Building a customized Linux distribution can be a daunting proposition – unless you use Porteus Wizard. This clever and simple service lets you create a custom Live CD distro that fits a USB stick and loads in RAM."


Raw device

In computing, specifically in Unix and Unix-like operating systems, a raw device is a special kind of logical device associated with a character device file that allows a storage device such as a hard disk drive to be accessed directly, bypassing the operating system's caches and buffers (although the hardware caches might still be used). Applications like a database management system can use raw devices directly, enabling them to manage how data is cached, rather than deferring this task to the operating system.
In FreeBSD, all device files are in fact raw devices. Support for non-raw devices was removed in FreeBSD 4.0 in order to simplify buffer management and increase scalability and performance.
In Linux kernel, raw devices were deprecated and scheduled for removal at one point, because the flag can be used instead. However, later the decision was made to keep raw devices support since some software cannot use the flag. Raw devices simply open block devices as if the flag would have been specified. Raw devices are character devices (major number 162). The first minor number (i.e. 0) is reserved as a control interface and is usually found at . A command-line utility called can be used to bind a raw device to an existing block device. These "existing block devices" may be disks or CD-ROMs/DVDs whose underlying interface can be anything supported by the Linux kernel (for example, IDE/ATA or SCSI).


Intel Core

Intel Core are streamlined midrange consumer, workstation and enthusiast computers central processing units (CPU) marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors displaced the existing mid- to high-end Pentium processors at the time of their introduction, moving the Pentium to the entry level. Identical or more capable versions of Core processors are also sold as Xeon processors for the server and workstation markets.
, the lineup of Core processors includes the Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7, and Intel Core i9, along with the X-series of Intel Core CPUs.
Outline.
Although Intel Core is a brand that promises no internal consistency or continuity, the processors within this family have been, for the most part, broadly similar.
The first products receiving this designation were the Core Solo and Core Duo Yonah processors for mobile from the Pentium M design tree, fabricated at 65 nm and brought to market in January 2006. These are substantially different in design than the rest of the Intel Core product group, having derived from the Pentium Pro lineage that predated Pentium 4.
The first Intel Core desktop processor—and typical family member—came from the Conroe iteration, a 65 nm dual-core design fabricated brought to market in July 2006, based on the Intel Core microarchitecture with substantial enhancements in micro-architectural efficiency and performance, outperforming Pentium 4 across the board (or near to it), while operating at drastically lower clock rates. Maintaining high instructions per cycle (IPC) on a deeply pipelined and resourced out-of-order execution engine has remained a constant fixture of the Intel Core product group ever since.
The new substantial bump in microarchitecture came with the introduction of the 45 nm Bloomfield desktop processor in November 2008 on the Nehalem architecture, whose main advantage came from redesigned I/O and memory systems featuring the new Intel QuickPath Interconnect and an integrated memory controller supporting up to three channels of DDR3 memory.
Subsequent performance improvements have tended toward making additions rather than profound changes, such as adding the Advanced Vector Extensions instruction set extensions to Sandy Bridge, first released on 32 nm in January 2011. Time has also brought improved support for virtualization and a trend toward higher levels of system integration and management functionality (and along with that, increased performance) through the ongoing evolution of facilities such as Intel Active Management Technology.
Since 2019, the Core brand has been based on four product lines, consisting of the entry level i3, the mainstream i5, the high-end i7, and the "enthusiast" i9.
Vulnerabilities.
In early 2018, news reports indicated that security flaws, referred to as "Meltdown" and "Spectre", were found "in virtually all Intel processors [made in the past two decades] that will require fixes within Windows, macOS and Linux". The flaw also affected cloud servers. At the time, Intel was not commenting on this issue. According to a "New York Times" report, "There is no easy fix for Spectre ... as for Meltdown, the software patch needed to fix the issue could slow down computers by as much as 30 percent".
In mid 2018, the majority of Intel Core processors were found to possess a defect (the Foreshadow vulnerability), which undermines the Software Guard Extensions (SGX) feature of the processor. In March 2020, computer security experts reported another Intel chip security flaw, besides the Meltdown and Spectre flaws, with the systematic name (or, "Intel CSME Bug"). This newly found flaw is not fixable with a firmware update, and affects nearly "all Intel chips released in the past five years".
Overview.
Clock speeds range from
1.2 GHz to 4.2 GHz. (Intel Core i7-7700K) (or 4.5 GHz via Intel Turbo Boost Technology)
Origins.
Core.
The original "Core" brand refers to Intel's 32-bit mobile dual-core x86 CPUs, which derived from the Pentium M branded processors. The processor family used an enhanced version of the Intel P6 microarchitecture. It emerged in parallel with the NetBurst microarchitecture (Intel P68) of the Pentium 4 brand, and was a precursor of the 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. The Core brand had two branches: the "Duo" (dual-core) and "Solo" (Duo with one disabled core, which replaced the Pentium M brand of single-core mobile processor).
Intel launched the Core brand on January 6, 2006 with the release of the 32-bit "Yonah" CPU Intel's first dual-core mobile (low-power) processor. Its dual-core layout closely resembled two interconnected Pentium M branded CPUs packaged as a single die (piece) silicon chip (IC). Hence, the 32-bit microarchitecture of Core branded CPUs contrary to its name had more in common with Pentium M branded CPUs than with the subsequent 64-bit Core microarchitecture of Core 2 branded CPUs. Despite a major rebranding effort by Intel starting January 2006, some companies continued to market computers with the Yonah core marked as Pentium M.
The Core series is also the first Intel processor used as the main CPU in an Apple Macintosh computer. The Core Duo was the CPU for the first generation MacBook Pro, while the Core Solo appeared in Apple's Mac Mini line. Core Duo signified the beginning of Apple's shift to Intel processors across the entire Mac line.
In 2007, Intel began branding the Yonah core CPUs intended for mainstream "mobile" computers as Pentium Dual-Core, not to be confused with the "desktop" 64-bit Core microarchitecture CPUs also branded as Pentium Dual-Core.
September 2007 and January 4, 2008, marked the discontinuation of a number of "Core" branded CPUs including several Core Solo, Core Duo, Celeron and one Core 2 Quad chip.
Core Solo.
Intel Core Solo (product code 80538) uses the same two-core die as the Core Duo, but features only one "active" core. Depending on demand, Intel may also simply disable one of the cores to sell the chip at the Core Solo price—this requires less effort than launching and maintaining a separate line of CPUs that physically only have one core. Intel had used the same strategy previously with the 486 CPU in which early 486SX CPUs were in fact manufactured as 486DX CPUs but with the FPU disabled.
Core Duo.
Intel Core Duo (product code 80539) consists of two cores on one die, a 2 MB L2 cache shared by both cores, and an arbiter bus that controls both L2 cache and FSB (front-side bus) access.
Core 2.
The successor to Core is the mobile version of the Intel Core 2 line of processors using cores based upon the Intel Core microarchitecture, released on July 27, 2006. The release of the mobile version of Intel Core 2 marks the reunification of Intel's desktop and mobile product lines as Core 2 processors were released for desktops and notebooks, unlike the first Intel Core CPUs that were targeted only for notebooks (although some small form factor and all-in-one desktops, like the iMac and the Mac Mini, also used Core processors).
Unlike the Intel Core, Intel Core 2 is a 64-bit processor, supporting Intel 64. Another difference between the original Core Duo and the new Core 2 Duo is an increase in the amount of Level 2 cache. The new Core 2 Duo has tripled the amount of on-board cache to 6 MB. Core 2 also introduced a quad-core performance variant to the single- and dual-core chips, branded Core 2 Quad, as well as an enthusiast variant, Core 2 Extreme. All three chips are manufactured at a 65 nm lithography, and in 2008, a 45 nm lithography and support Front Side Bus speeds ranging from 533 MHz to 1600 MHz. In addition, the 45 nm die shrink of the Core microarchitecture adds SSE4.1 support to all Core 2 microprocessors manufactured at a 45 nm lithography, therefore increasing the calculation rate of the processors.
Core 2 Solo.
The Core 2 Solo, introduced in September 2007, is the successor to the Core Solo and is available only as an ultra-low-power mobile processor with 5.5 Watt thermal design power. The original U2xxx series "Merom-L" used a special version of the Merom chip with CPUID number 10661 (model 22, stepping A1) that only had a single core and was also used in some Celeron processors.
The later SU3xxx are part of Intel's CULV range of processors in a smaller µFC-BGA 956 package but contain the same Penryn chip as the dual-core variants, with one of the cores disabled during manufacturing.
Core 2 Duo.
The majority of the desktop and mobile Core 2 processor variants are Core 2 Duo with two processor cores on a single Merom, Conroe, Allendale, Penryn, or Wolfdale chip. These come in a wide range of performance and power consumption, starting with the relatively slow ultra-low-power Uxxxx (10 W) and low-power Lxxxx (17 W) versions, to the more performance oriented Pxxxx (25 W) and Txxxx (35 W) mobile versions and the Exxxx (65 W) desktop models. The mobile Core 2 Duo processors with an 'S' prefix in the name are produced in a smaller µFC-BGA 956 package, which allows building more compact laptops.
Within each line, a higher number usually refers to a better performance, which depends largely on core and front-side bus clock frequency and amount of second level cache, which are model-specific. Core 2 Duo processors typically use the full L2 cache of 2, 3, 4, or 6 MB available in the specific stepping of the chip, while versions with the amount of cache reduced during manufacturing are sold for the low-end consumer market as Celeron or Pentium Dual-Core processors. Like those processors, some low-end Core 2 Duo models disable features such as Intel Virtualization Technology.
Core 2 Quad.
Core 2 Quad processors are multi-chip modules consisting of two dies similar to those used in Core 2 Duo, forming a quad-core processor. This allows twice the performance of a dual-core processors at the same clock frequency in ideal conditions.
Initially, all Core 2 Quad models were versions of Core 2 Duo desktop processors, Kentsfield derived from Conroe and Yorkfield from Wolfdale, but later Penryn-QC was added as a high-end version of the mobile dual-core Penryn.
The Xeon 32xx and 33xx processors are mostly identical versions of the desktop Core 2 Quad processors and can be used interchangeably.
Core 2 Extreme.
Core 2 Extreme processors are enthusiast versions of Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors, usually with a higher clock frequency and an unlocked clock multiplier, which makes them especially attractive for overclocking. This is similar to earlier Pentium processors labeled as Extreme Edition. Core 2 Extreme processors were released at a much higher price than their regular version, often $999 or more.
1st generation.
Nehalem microarchitecture.
With the release of the Nehalem microarchitecture in November 2008, Intel introduced a new naming scheme for its Core processors. There are three variants, Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7, but the names no longer correspond to specific technical features like the number of cores. Instead, the brand is now divided from low-level (i3), through mid-range (i5) to high-end performance (i7), which correspond to three, four and five stars in Intel's Intel Processor Rating following on from the entry-level Celeron (one star) and Pentium (two stars) processors. Common features of all Nehalem based processors include an integrated DDR3 memory controller as well as QuickPath Interconnect or PCI Express and Direct Media Interface on the processor replacing the aging quad-pumped Front Side Bus used in all earlier Core processors. All these processors have 256 KB L2 cache per core, plus up to 12 MB shared L3 cache. Because of the new I/O interconnect, chipsets and mainboards from previous generations can no longer be used with Nehalem-based processors.
Core i3.
Intel intended the Core i3 as the new low end of the performance processor line from Intel, following the retirement of the Core 2 brand.
The first Core i3 processors were launched on January 7, 2010.
The first Nehalem based Core i3 was Clarkdale-based, with an integrated GPU and two cores. The same processor is also available as Core i5 and Pentium, with slightly different configurations.
The Core i3-3xxM processors are based on Arrandale, the mobile version of the Clarkdale desktop processor. They are similar to the Core i5-4xx series but running at lower clock speeds and without Turbo Boost. According to an Intel FAQ they do not support Error Correction Code (ECC) memory. According to motherboard manufacturer Supermicro, if a Core i3 processor is used with a server chipset platform such as Intel 3400/3420/3450, the CPU supports ECC with UDIMM. When asked, Intel confirmed that, although the Intel 5 series chipset supports non-ECC memory only with the Core i5 or i3 processors, using those processors on a motherboard with 3400 series chipsets it supports the ECC function of ECC memory. A limited number of motherboards by other companies also support ECC with Intel Core ix processors; the Asus P8B WS is an example, but it does not support ECC memory under Windows non-server operating systems.
Core i5.
The first Core i5 using the Nehalem microarchitecture was introduced on September 8, 2009, as a mainstream variant of the earlier Core i7, the Lynnfield core. Lynnfield Core i5 processors have an 8 MB L3 cache, a DMI bus running at 2.5 GT/s and support for dual-channel DDR3-800/1066/1333 memory and have Hyper-threading disabled. The same processors with different sets of features (Hyper-threading and other clock frequencies) enabled are sold as Core i7-8xx and Xeon 3400-series processors, which should not be confused with high-end Core i7-9xx and Xeon 3500-series processors based on Bloomfield. A new feature called Turbo Boost Technology was introduced which maximizes speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match the workload.
The Core i5-5xx mobile processors are named Arrandale and based on the 32 nm Westmere shrink of the Nehalem microarchitecture. Arrandale processors have integrated graphics capability but only two processor cores. They were released in January 2010, together with Core i7-6xx and Core i3-3xx processors based on the same chip. The L3 cache in Core i5-5xx processors is reduced to 3 MB, while the Core i5-6xx uses the full cache and the Core i3-3xx does not support for Turbo Boost.
Clarkdale, the desktop version of Arrandale, is sold as Core i5-6xx, along with related Core i3 and Pentium brands. It has Hyper-Threading enabled and the full 4 MB L3 cache.
According to Intel "Core i5 desktop processors and desktop boards typically do not support ECC memory", but information on limited ECC support in the Core i3 section also applies to Core i5 and i7.
Core i7.
Intel Core i7 as an Intel brand name applies to several families of desktop and laptop 64-bit x86-64 processors using the Nehalem, Westmere, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake microarchitectures. The Core i7 brand targets the business and high-end consumer markets for both desktop and laptop computers, and is distinguished from the Core i3 (entry-level consumer), Core i5 (mainstream consumer), and Xeon (server and workstation) brands.
Intel introduced the Core i7 name with the Nehalem-based Bloomfield Quad-core processor in late 2008. In 2009 new Core i7 models based on the Lynnfield (Nehalem-based) desktop quad-core processor and the Clarksfield (Nehalem-based) quad-core mobile were added, and models based on the Arrandale dual-core mobile processor (also Nehalem-based) were added in January 2010. The first six-core processor in the Core lineup is the Nehalem-based Gulftown, which was launched on March 16, 2010. Both the regular Core i7 and the "Extreme Edition" are advertised as five stars in the Intel Processor Rating.
In each of the first three microarchitecture generations of the brand, Core i7 has family members using two distinct system-level architectures, and therefore two distinct sockets (for example, LGA 1156 and LGA 1366 with Nehalem). In each generation, the highest-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and QPI-based architecture as the medium-end Xeon processors of that generation, while lower-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and PCIe/DMI/FDI architecture as the Core i5.
"Core i7" is a successor to the Intel Core 2 brand. Intel representatives stated that they intended the moniker "Core i7" to help consumers decide which processor to purchase as Intel releases newer Nehalem-based products in the future.
2nd generation.
Sandy Bridge microarchitecture.
In early 2011, Intel introduced a new microarchitecture named Sandy Bridge. This is the second generation of the Core processor microarchitecture. It kept all the existing brands from Nehalem, including Core i3/i5/i7, and introduced new model numbers. The initial set of Sandy Bridge processors includes dual- and quad-core variants, all of which use a single 32 nm die for both the CPU and integrated GPU cores, unlike the earlier microarchitectures. All Core i3/i5/i7 processors with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture have a four-digit model number. With the mobile version, the thermal design power can no longer be determined from a one- or two-letter suffix but is encoded into the CPU number. Starting with Sandy Bridge, Intel no longer distinguishes the code names of the processor based on number of cores, socket or intended usage; they all use the same code name as the microarchitecture itself.
Ivy Bridge is the codename for Intel's 22 nm die shrink of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based on tri-gate ("3D") transistors, introduced in April 2012.
Core i3.
Released on January 20, 2011, the Core i3-2xxx line of desktop and mobile processors is a direct replacement of the 2010 "Clarkdale" Core i3-5xx and "Arrandale" Core i3-3xxM models, based on the new microarchitecture. While they require new sockets and chipsets, the user-visible features of the Core i3 are largely unchanged, including the lack of support for Turbo Boost and AES-NI. Unlike the Sandy Bridge-based Celeron and Pentium processors, the Core i3 line does support the new Advanced Vector Extensions. This particular processor is the entry-level processor of this new series of Intel processors.
Core i5.
In January 2011, Intel released new quad-core Core i5 processors based on the "Sandy Bridge" microarchitecture at CES 2011. New dual-core mobile processors and desktop processors arrived in February 2011.
The Core i5-2xxx line of desktop processors are mostly quad-core chips, with the exception of the dual-core Core i5-2390T, and include integrated graphics, combining the key features of the earlier Core i5-6xx and Core i5-7xx lines. The suffix after the four-digit model number designates unlocked multiplier (K), low-power (S) and ultra-low-power (T).
The desktop CPUs now all have four non-SMT cores (like the i5-750), with the exception of the i5-2390T. The DMI bus runs at 5 GT/s.
The mobile Core i5-2xxxM processors are all dual-core and hyper-threaded chips like the previous Core i5-5xxM series, and share most of the features with that product line.
Core i7.
The Core i7 brand was the high-end for Intel's desktop and mobile processors, until the announcement of the i9 in 2017. Its Sandy Bridge models feature the largest amount of L3 cache and the highest clock frequency. Most of these models are very similar to their smaller Core i5 siblings. The quad-core mobile Core i7-2xxxQM/XM processors follow the previous "Clarksfield" Core i7-xxxQM/XM processors, but now also include integrated graphics.
3rd generation.
Ivy Bridge microarchitecture.
Ivy Bridge is the codename for a "third generation" line of processors based on the 22 nm manufacturing process developed by Intel. Mobile versions of the CPU were released on April 2012 following with desktop versions on September 2012.
Core i3.
The Ivy Bridge-based Core-i3-3xxx line is a minor upgrade to 22 nm process technology and better graphics.
4th generation.
Haswell microarchitecture.
Haswell is the fourth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was released in 2013.
5th generation.
Broadwell microarchitecture.
Broadwell is the fifth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was released by Intel on September 6, 2014, and began shipping in late 2014. It is the first to use a 14 nm chip. Additionally, mobile processors were launched in January 2015 and Desktop Core i5 and i7 processors were released in June 2015.
6th generation.
Skylake microarchitecture.
Skylake is the sixth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was launched in August 2015. Being the successor to the Broadwell line, it is a redesign using the same 14 nm manufacturing process technology; however the redesign has better CPU and GPU performance and reduced power consumption. Intel also disabled overclocking non -K processors.
7th generation.
Kaby Lake.
Kaby Lake is the codename for the seventh generation Core processor, and was launched in October 2016 (mobile chips) and January 2017 (desktop chips). With the latest generation of microarchitecture, Intel decided to produce Kaby Lake processors without using their "tick–tock" manufacturing and design model. Kaby Lake features the same Skylake microarchitecture and is fabricated using Intel's 14 nanometer manufacturing process technology.
Features.
Built on an improved 14 nm process (14FF+), Kaby Lake features faster CPU clock speeds and Turbo frequencies. Beyond these process and clock speed changes, little of the CPU architecture has changed from Skylake, resulting in identical IPC.
Kaby Lake features a new graphics architecture to improve performance in 3D graphics and 4K video playback. It adds native HDCP 2.2 support, along with fixed function decode of H.264, HEVC Main and Main10/10-bit, and VP9 10-bit and 8-bit video. Hardware encode is supported for H.264, HEVC Main10/10-bit, and VP9 8-bit video. VP9 10-bit encode is not supported in hardware. OpenCL 2.1 is now supported.
Kaby Lake is the first Core architecture to support hyper-threading for the Pentium-branded desktop CPU SKU. Kaby Lake also features the first overclocking-enabled i3-branded CPU.
Features common to desktop Kaby Lake CPUs:
High-end Desktop processors (X-Series).
Kaby Lake-X processors are modified versions of Kaby Lake-S processors that fit into the LGA 2066 socket. However, they can't take advantage of the unique features of the platform.
8th generation.
Coffee Lake microarchitecture.
Coffee Lake is a codename for the eighth generation Intel Core family and was launched in October 2017. For the first time in the ten-year history of Intel Core processors, the Coffee Lake generation features an increase in core counts across the desktop lineup of processors, a significant driver of improved performance versus previous generations despite similar per-clock performance.
Features.
Coffee Lake features largely the same CPU core and performance per MHz as Skylake/Kaby Lake. Features specific to Coffee Lake include:
Amber Lake microarchitecture.
Amber Lake is a refinement over the low power Mobile Kaby Lake CPUs.
Whiskey Lake microarchitecture.
Whiskey Lake is Intel's codename for the third 14 nm Skylake process-refinement, following Kaby Lake Refresh and Coffee Lake. Intel announced low power mobile Whiskey Lake CPUs availability on August 28, 2018. It has not yet been advertised whether this CPU architecture contains hardware mitigations for Meltdown/Spectre class vulnerabilities—various sources contain conflicting information. Unofficially it was announced that Whiskey Lake has hardware mitigations against Meltdown and L1TF while Spectre V2 requires software mitigations as well as microcode/firmware update.
Cannon Lake microarchitecture.
Cannon Lake (formerly Skymont) is Intel's codename for the 10-nanometer die shrink of the Kaby Lake microarchitecture. As a die shrink, Cannon Lake is a new process in Intel's "process–architecture–optimization" execution plan as the next step in semiconductor fabrication. Cannon Lake are the first mainstream CPUs to include the AVX-512 instruction set. In comparison to the previous generation AVX2 (AVX-256), the new generation AVX-512 most notably provides double the width of data registers and double the number of registers. These enhancements would allow for twice the number of floating point operations per register due to the increased width in addition to doubling the overall "number" of registers, resulting in theoretical performance improvements of up to four times the performance of AVX2.
At CES 2018, Intel announced that they had started shipping mobile Cannon Lake CPUs at the end of 2017 and that they would ramp up production in 2018. No further details were disclosed.
9th generation.
Skylake microarchitecture.
High-end Desktop processors (X-Series).
The 9th generation Skylake CPUs are updated versions of previous Skylake X-Series CPUs with clockspeed improvements.
Coffee Lake Refresh microarchitecture.
Desktop processors (S-Series).
The 9th generation Coffee Lake CPUs were released in the fourth quarter of 2018. They include hardware mitigations against certain Meltdown/Spectre vulnerabilities.
For the first time in Intel consumer CPU history, these CPUs support up to 128 GB RAM.
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Even though the F suffix CPUs lack an integrated GPU, Intel set the same price for these CPUs as their featureful counterparts.
10th generation.
Cascade Lake microarchitecture.
High-end Desktop processors (X-Series).
Cascade Lake X-Series CPUs are the 10th generation versions of the previous Skylake X-Series CPUs. They offer minor clockspeed improvements and a highly reduced price.
Ice Lake microarchitecture.
Ice Lake is codename for Intel's 10th generation Intel Core processors, representing an enhancement of the 'Architecture' of the preceding generation Kaby Lake/Cannon Lake processors (as specified in Intel's process–architecture–optimization execution plan). As the successor to Cannon Lake, Ice Lake uses Intel's newer 10 nm+ fabrication process, and is powered by the Sunny Cove microarchitecture.
Ice Lake are the first Intel CPUs to feature in-silicon mitigations for the hardware vulnerabilities discovered in 2017, Meltdown and Spectre. These side-channel attacks exploit branch prediction's use of speculative execution. These exploits may cause the CPU to reveal cached private information which the exploiting process is not intended to be able to access as a form of timing attack.
Comet Lake microarchitecture.
Comet Lake is Intel's codename for the fourth 14 nm Skylake process-refinement, following Whiskey Lake. Intel announced low power mobile Comet Lake CPUs availability on August 21, 2019.
Mobile processors (U-Series).
Pentium and Celeron CPUs lack AVX support.
11th generation.
Tiger Lake.
Launched on September 2, 2020.
I/O.
Miniaturization of CPU and motherboard into an M.2 SSD-sized small circuit board
Mobile processors (UP3-class).
IPU: Image Processing Unit, a special co-processor to improve image and video capture quality
Mobile processors (UP4-class).
All CPUs comes with IPU integrated.
Rocket Lake microarchitecture.
Rocket Lake is a codename for Intel’s desktop x86 chip family based on the new Cypress Cove microarchitecture, a variant of Sunny Cove (used by Intel's Ice Lake mobile processors) backported to the older 14nm process. The chips are marketed as "Intel 11th generation Core". Launched March 30, 2021.
12th generation.
Alder Lake.
Expected to launch in the second half of 2021.


AMD Phenom

Phenom is the 64-bit AMD desktop processor line based on the K10 microarchitecture, in what AMD calls family 10h (10 hex, i.e. 16 in normal decimal numbers) processors, sometimes incorrectly called "K10h". Triple-core versions (codenamed "Toliman") belong to the Phenom 8000 series and quad cores (codenamed "Agena") to the AMD Phenom X4 9000 series. The first processor in the family was released in 2007.
Background.
AMD considers the quad core Phenoms to be the first "true" quad core design, as these processors are a monolithic multi-core design (all cores on the same silicon die), unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad series which are a multi-chip module (MCM) design. The processors are on the Socket AM2+ platform.
Before Phenom's original release a flaw was discovered in the translation lookaside buffer (TLB) that could cause a system lock-up in rare circumstances; Phenom processors up to and including stepping "B2" and "BA" are affected by this bug. BIOS and software workarounds disable the TLB, and typically incur a performance penalty of at least 10%. This penalty was not accounted for in pre-release previews of Phenom, hence the performance of early Phenoms delivered to customers may have been less than the preview benchmarks. "B3" stepping Phenom processors were released March 27, 2008 without the TLB bug and with "xx50" model numbers.
An AMD subsidiary released a patch for the Linux kernel, to overcome this bug by software emulation of accessed- and dirty-bits. This method causes less performance loss than previous workarounds. The program was said in December 2007 to have received "minimal functional testing."
AMD launched several models of the Phenom processor in 2007 and 2008 and an upgraded Phenom II in late 2008.
Model naming methodology.
The model numbers of the Phenom line of processors were changed from the PR system used in its predecessors, the AMD Athlon 64 processor family. The Phenom model numbering scheme, for-later released Athlon X2 processors, is a four-digit model number whose first digit is a family indicator. Energy Efficient products end with an “e” suffix (for example, "Phenom 9350e"). Some Sempron processors use the prefix LE (for example, "Sempron LE-1200")


Fast user switching

Fast user switching is a feature of a multi-user operating system which allows users to switch between user accounts without quitting applications and logging out.
In Linux.
The Linux kernel's VT subsystem dates back to 1993 and does not understand the concept of multiple "seats", meaning that of the up to 63 VTs, only one VT can be active at any given time. Despite this kernel limitation, multiseat is supported on GNU/Linux. The feature of "fast user switching" has less severe necessities then multi-seat does because the multiple users don't work simultaneously, and therefore simply works.
The most straight forward solution to elegant multi-seat are kmscon/systemd-consoled in combination with systemd-logind. The available desktop environments such as GNOME or KDE Software Compilation adapt their graphical login and session manager (e.g. GDM, SDDM, LightDM, etc.) to the underneath solution and have to be configured to implement fast user switching that way.
For installations with older environments, the functionality must be enabled in the appropriate configuration files then a hot key sequence such as codice_1 is pressed. A separate login window will now appear and the second user can log in (or even the first user again). Alternatively, in the default install, new X sessions can be started at will by using different "display" parameters to have them run in different virtual terminals (e.g. "codice_2" or "codice_3"). Again, hot key sequences allow the user switching to take place.
Fast user switching may potentially introduce various security-related complications, and is handled differently among operating systems, each having its advantages and disadvantages. One possibility, simple and secure, is that only the first user gets ownership of resources. A second option is to grant ownership of resources to each new user. The last one to log in takes ownership. A third is to allow all users access to shared resources. This is easier and more intuitive, but allows (for example) one user to record another user's conversation. In Windows, shared resources, such as sound, are available to all sessions. In Red Hat Linux, the default behavior is to give ownership of "console resources" to the first connected session, but it can share resources among groups of console users or be configured to manage console ownership differently.
In Microsoft Windows.
Fast user switching in Windows is based on Remote Desktop Services technology. In Windows XP, GINA which is a component of Winlogon, and with which fast user switching interacts, can be programmatically called to automate a fast user switch. A PowerToy known as "Super fast user switcher" was offered in 2002 by Microsoft. It allowed fast user switching using a keyboard hotkey (Win+Q) (similar to Alt-Tab) without even going to the "Welcome screen". It was later made unavailable when the original set of PowerToys was replaced by updated versions, but still works with Windows XP SP3 (32-bit) when running as administrator.
In Windows Vista, GINA is replaced by "Credential Providers", however they do not support programmatic initiation of fast user switching.
In Windows XP, fast user switching was unavailable if the computer is on a Windows Server domain network or if Offline Files was enabled. Windows Vista and later no longer have these restrictions.


Radeon 8000 series

The R200 is the second generation of GPUs used in Radeon graphics cards and developed by ATI Technologies. This GPU features 3D acceleration based upon Microsoft Direct3D 8.1 and OpenGL 1.3, a major improvement in features and performance compared to the preceding Radeon R100 design. The GPU also includes 2D GUI acceleration, video acceleration, and multiple display outputs. "R200" refers to the development codename of the initially released GPU of the generation. It is the basis for a variety of other succeeding products.
Architecture.
R200's 3D hardware consists of 4 pixel pipelines, each with 2 texture sampling units. It has 2 vertex shaders and a legacy Direct3D 7 TCL unit, marketed as "Charisma Engine II". It is ATI's first GPU with programmable pixel and vertex processors, called "Pixel Tapestry II" and compliant with Direct3D 8.1. R200 has advanced memory bandwidth saving and overdraw reduction hardware called "HyperZ II" that consists of occlusion culling (hierarchical Z), fast z-buffer clear, and z-buffer compression. The GPU is capable of dual display output ("HydraVision") and is equipped with a video decoding engine ("Video Immersion II") with adaptive hardware deinterlacing, temporal filtering, motion compensation, and iDCT.
R200 introduced pixel shader version 1.4 (PS1.4), a significant enhancement to prior PS1.x specifications. Notable instructions include "phase", "texcrd", and "texld". The phase instruction allows a shader program to operate on two separate "phases" (2 passes through the hardware), effectively doubling the maximum number of texture addressing and arithmetic instructions, and potentially allowing the number of passes required for an effect to be reduced. This allows not only more complicated effects, but can also provide a speed boost by utilizing the hardware more efficiently. The "texcrd" instruction moves the texture coordinate values of a texture into the destination register, while the "texld" instruction will load the texture at the coordinates specified in the source register to the destination register.
Compared to R100's 2x3 pixel pipeline architecture, R200's 4x2 design is more robust despite losing one texture unit per pipeline. Each pipeline can now address a total of 6 texture layers per pass. The chip achieves this by using a method known as 'loop-back'. Increasing the number of textures accessed per pass reduces the number of times the card is forced into multi-pass rendering.
The texture filtering capabilities of R200 are also improved over its predecessor. For anisotropic filtering, Radeon 8500 uses a technique similar to that used in R100, but improved with trilinear filtering and some other refinements. However, it is still highly angle-dependent and the driver sometimes forces bilinear filtering for speed. NVIDIA's GeForce 4 Ti series offered a more accurate anisotropic implementation, but with a greater performance impact.
R200 has ATI's first implementation of a hardware-accelerated tessellation engine (a.k.a. higher order surfaces), called Truform, which can automatically increase the geometric complexity of 3D models. The technology requires developer support and is not practical for all scenarios. It can undesirably round-out models. As a result of very limited adoption, ATI dropped TruForm support from its future hardware.
Performance.
Radeon 8500's biggest disappointment was its early driver releases. At launch, the card's performance was below expectations and it had numerous software flaws that caused problems with games. The chip's anti-aliasing support was only functional in Direct3D and was very slow. To dampen excitement for 8500, competitor nVidia released their Detonator4 driver package on the same day as most web sites previewed the Radeon 8500. nVidia's drivers were of better quality, and they also further boosted the GeForce 3's performance.
Several hardware review sites discovered that the performance of the Radeon 8500 in some actual game tests was lower than benchmarks reflected. For example, ATI was detecting the executable "Quake3.exe" and forcing the texture filtering quality to much lower than normally produced by the card. HardOCP was the first hardware review web site to bring the issue to the community, and proved its existence by renaming all instances of "Quake" in the executable to "Quack." The result was improved image quality, but lower performance.
However, even with the Detonator4 drivers, the Radeon 8500 was able to outperform the GeForce 3 (which the 8500 was intended to compete against) and in some circumstances its faster revision, the Ti500, the higher clocked derivative Nvidia had rolled out in response to the R200 project. Later, driver updates helped to further close the performance gap between the 8500 and the Ti500, while the 8500 was also significantly less expensive and offered additional multimedia features such as dual-monitor support. Though the GeForce 3 Ti200 did become the first DirectX 8.0 card to offer 128 MiB of video memory, instead of the common 64 MiB norm for high-end cards of the time, it turned out that the GeForce 3's limitations prevented it from taking full advantage of it, while the Radeon 8500 was able to more successfully exploit that potential.
In early 2002, to compete with the cheaper GeForce 3 Ti200 and GeForce 4 MX 460, ATI launched the slower-clocked 8500LE (known as 9100 in Europe) which became popular with OEMs and enthusiasts due to its lower price, and overclockability to 8500 levels. Though the GeForce 4 Ti 4600 took the performance crown, it was a top line solution that was priced almost double that of the Radeon 8500 (MSRP of US$350–399 versus US$199), so it did not offer direct competition. With the delayed release of the potentially competitive GeForce 4 Ti 4200, plus ATI's initiative in rolling out 128 MiB versions of the 8500/LE kept the R200 line popular among the mid-high performance niche market. The greater features of the All-In-Wonder (AIW) Radeon 8500 DV and the AIW Radeon 8500 128 MB proved superior to Nvidia's Personal Cinema equivalents which used the faster GeForce 4 Ti 4200.
Implementations.
Radeon 8500/8500LE.
ATI's first R200-based card was the "Radeon 8500", launched in October 2001. In early 2002, ATI launched the "Radeon 8500LE" (re-released later as the "Radeon 9100" in Europe), an identical chip with a lower clock speed and slower memory. Whereas the full 8500 was clocked at 275 MHz core and 275 MHz RAM, the 8500LE was clocked more conservatively at 250 MHz for the core and 200 or 250 MHz for the RAM. Both video cards were first released in 64 MB DDR SDRAM configurations; the later 128 MB Radeon 8500 boards received a small performance boost resulting from a memory interleave mode.
In November 2001 was the release of the "All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500 DV", with 64 MB and a slower clock speed like the 8500LE. In 2002, three 128 MB cards were rolled out, the Radeon 8500, 8500LE, and the "All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500 128 MB", which was clocked at full 8500 speeds but had fewer video-related features than the AIW 8500 DV. ATI claimed that the lower clock speed for the 8500DV was due to the FireWire interface.
Radeon 8500XT (canceled).
An updated chip, the "Radeon 8500XT" (R250) was planned for a mid-2002 release, to compete against the GeForce 4 Ti line, particularly the top line Ti 4600 (which retailed for an MSRP of $350–399 USD). Prerelease information touted a 300 MHz core and RAM clock speed for the "R250" chip.
A Radeon 8500 running at 300 MHz clock speeds would have hardly defeated the GeForce 4 Ti4600, let alone a newer card from NVIDIA. At best it could have been a better performing mid-range solution than the lower-complexity Radeon 9000 (RV250, see below), but it would also have cost more to produce and would have been poorly suited to the Radeon 9000's dual laptop/desktop roles due to die size and power draw. Notably, overclockers found that Radeon 8500 and Radeon 9000 could not reliably overclock to 300 MHz without additional voltage, so undoubtedly R250 would have had similar issues because of its greater complexity and equivalent manufacturing technology, and this would have resulted in poor chip yields, and thus, higher costs.
ATI, perhaps mindful of what had happened to 3dfx when they took focus off their "Rampage" processor, abandoned the R250 refresh in favor of finishing off their next-generation DirectX 9.0 card which was released as the Radeon 9700. This proved to be a wise move, as it enabled ATI to take the lead in development for the first time instead of trailing NVIDIA. The new Radeon 9700 flagship, with its next-generation architecture giving it unprecedented features and performance, would have been superior to any R250 refresh, and it easily took the performance crown from the Ti4600.
Drivers.
Unix-related operating systems.
The open-source drivers from X.org/Mesa support almost all features provided by the R200 hardware. They are shipped by default on most BSDs and Linux systems. Newer ATI Catalyst drivers do not offer support for any R500 or older architecture product.
Windows drivers.
This series of Radeon graphics cards is supported by AMD under Microsoft Windows operating systems including Windows XP (except x64), Windows 2000, Windows Me, and Windows 98. Other operating systems may have support in the form of a generic driver that lacks complete support for the hardware. Driver development for the R200 line ended with the Catalyst 6.11 drivers for Windows XP.
Mac OS and Mac OS X.
Apple never shipped a Radeon 8000 series graphics card with any Power Mac, either stock or BTO, preferring to jump directly from the Radeon 7000 series (which was only available as a BTO option on the Power Mac G4 "Digital Audio") to the Radeon 9000 (as the default graphics card on most Power Mac G4 "Mirrored Drive Doors" models). Instead, various Nvidia cards filled the gap. However, ATI themselves released a retail 8500 Mac Edition, compatible with Mac OS 9.2.2 and Mac OS X and targeted at Mac gamers, but despite the name the card was actually based on the 8500LE with a 250 MHz clock and 64MB of memory.
MorphOS.
The R200 series of Radeon graphics cards is supported by MorphOS.


FeiTeng (processor)

FeiTeng (飞腾, fēiténg) is the name of several computer central processing units designed and produced in China for supercomputing applications. The microprocessors have been developed by Tianjin Phytium Technology. The processors have also been described as the YinHeFeiTeng (银河飞騰, YHFT) family. This CPU family has been developed by a team directed by NUDT's Professor Xing Zuocheng.
Initial designs.
The first generation was binary compatible with the Intel Itanium 2. The second generation, the FT64, was a system on a chip with CPU and 64-bit stream processor. FT64 chips were used in YinHe (银河) supercomputers as accelerators.
FeiTeng-1000.
The FeiTeng-1000 is the third generation CPU in the family. It is manufactured with 65 nm technology and contains 350 million gates. Its clock frequency is 0.8–1 GHz. It is compatible with the SPARCv9 instruction set architecture.
Each chip contains 8 cores and is capable of executing 64 threads. There are 3 HyperTransport channels for coherent links, 4 DDR3 memory controllers and a 8x PCIe 2.0 link.
The Tianhe-1A supercomputer uses 2,048 FeiTeng 1000 processors. Tianhe-1A has a theoretical peak performance of 4.701 petaflops, also employing 7,168 Nvidia Tesla M2050 GPUs and 14,336 Intel Xeon X5670 CPUs in addition to FT1000 processors. The FeiTeng-1000 is an eight-core processor based on the SPARC system and is used to operate service nodes on the Tianhe-1.
A 2012 report for the European High Performance Computing service stated that FeiTeng used the work of the OpenSPARC project.
Galaxy FT-1500.
Tianhe-2 supercomputer uses 4096 processors Galaxy FT-1500 with 16 cores, OpenSPARC architecture based and 65 W TDP. They are made with 40 nm technology, processor cores work at 1.8 GHz. Peak performance of FT-1500 is 115–144 GFLOPS; every core may execute up to 8 interleaving threads and supports 256-bit wide SIMD vector operations including Fused Mul-Add (FMA). Cache of this SoC works at 2 GHz frequency, there are 16 KB L1i, 16 KB L1d, 512 KB L2 per core, and shared 4 MB L3 cache. L3 cache has 4 segments (1 segment per block of 4 CPU cores), each of 1 MB with 32-way associative. Cache uses directory-based cache coherency protocol. FT-1500 also has:
FT-1500A.
FT-1500A is an ARM64 SoC designed by Phytium, which includes 16 cores of ARMv8 processor, a 32-lane PCIe host, 2 GMAC on-chip ethernet controller and a GICv3 interrupt controller with ITS support.
Future processors.
In 2020, Feiteng announced availability of the S2500 processor and a roadmap for the following years.


List of best-selling Nintendo 64 video games

This is a list of video games for the Nintendo 64 video game console that have sold or shipped at least one million copies. The best-selling game on the Nintendo 64 is "Super Mario 64". First released in Japan on June 23, 1996, it was a launch title for the system and the first "Super Mario" game to use three-dimensional graphics. The game went on to sell nearly 12million units worldwide. "Mario Kart 64", the second in the "Mario Kart" series, is the second-best-selling game on the platform, with sales of more than 9.8million units. The console's top five is rounded out by Rare's "GoldenEye 007" in third, with sales of just over 8million units, "" in fourth, with 7.6million units sold worldwide, and "Super Smash Bros." in fifth, with sales of more than 5.5million units.
There are a total of 46 Nintendo 64 games on this list which are confirmed to have sold or shipped at least one million units. Of these, 13 were developed by internal Nintendo development divisions. Other developers with the most million-selling games include Rare and AKI Corporation, with seven and four games respectively in the list of 46. Of the 46 games on this list, 32 were published in one or more regions by Nintendo. Other publishers with multiple million-selling games include THQ with four games, Rare with three games, and Acclaim Entertainment with two games. The most popular franchises on Nintendo 64 include "Pokémon" (14.55million combined units), "The Legend of Zelda" (10.96million combined units), "Donkey Kong" (10.15million combined units), and "Star Wars" (7.87million combined units).


Auto Modellista

 is a racing game developed and published by Capcom, first released on PlayStation 2, later ported to GameCube and Xbox.
Description.
"Auto Modellista" marked itself apart from others of the same genre with cel-shaded graphics, which gave a hand-drawn and cartoon-like appearance. The game is similar in gameplay to games like Gran Turismo, with the player picking a vehicle which they can modify and customize. There are six tracks in the default game, including the real-life Suzuka Circuit and the Mt. Akagi mountain pass.
After poor initial reception, Capcom modified the game for its North American releases. In Japan, the game was rereleased with these changes as "Auto Modellista: US Tuned". This version featured American cars such as the Dodge Viper, two new oval tracks, various UI improvements and a new handling model that saw cars accelerate slower and lose more speed in turns.
The US Tuned changes were present in every single release of the game starting with the North American PS2 release in early 2003, evidenced by the new cover art with the Dodge Viper. Many distributors predicted that sales of the game were going to be poor, and generally refused to carry it.
Also in 2003, "Auto Modellista" received a followup in the form of "Group S Challenge" for the Xbox, though it lacked any of "Auto Modellista"'s visual style and is generally not considered to be a direct sequel. Capcom has not been involved with driving games since, although it did publish some games based on MotoGP developed by Milestone srl, and included "Mega Man Battle & Chase", a racing game based on the "Mega Man" franchise, in the "Mega Man X Collection".
Gameplay.
"Auto Modellista" attempts to be a very technical racing game, with an immense amount of available parts and settings for the selection of cars provided to the player. Various aspects of each car can be tuned, allowing the player to tweak the performance of the car.
In the "Garage mode" (the main single-player mode), the player is granted the ability to select one of four tire types which affect road grip in regard to the weather conditions on the race track (for example, the "Semi-Slick Tires" provide maximum speed and grip in dry weather, but suffer in rain). Other options include brakes (which determine braking efficiency), suspension, Turbines, Mufflers, Computer (determines the car's ability to accept upgrades later in the game), the engine, "Final Gear", and Weight Reduction.
Auto Modellista's customisation options also extends to visual enhancements, allowing the player to choose from many different color combinations, hood and spoiler types, plus the ability to add badges, stickers and even create license plates. Engine swaps are also available, for example, the Subaru 360 can have EJ20T in place of its EK32. Swapped engines cannot be retuned in the game.
A large aspect of the game was its online mode, with online races supporting up to 8 players. This functionality (and many of the game modes relating to it) were removed from the original US and European releases, but was added back into the US Tuned editions of the game. The online mode of Auto Modellista has since been terminated, and cannot be used in any versions of the game.
Development.
"Auto Modellista" was a part of an initiative from Capcom's Production Studio 1 to develop three network focused games on the PlayStation 2. The other games were "Monster Hunter" and "Resident Evil Outbreak". Capcom's plan was that at least one of the games would become a million seller. Both "Monster Hunter" and "Resident Evil Outbreak" eventually became million sellers.
Reception.
The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. In Japan, "Famitsu" gave the PS2 version a score of 30 out of 40.


SGI Onyx

SGI Onyx, code named Eveready (deskside models) and Terminator (rackmount models), is a series of visualization systems designed and manufactured by SGI, introduced in 1993 and offered in two models, deskside and rackmount. The Onyx's basic system architecture is based on the SGI Challenge servers, but with the notable inclusion of graphics hardware.
The Onyx was employed in early 1995 for development kits used to produce software for the Nintendo 64 and, because the technology was so new, the Onyx was noted as the major factor for the impressively high price of – for such kits.
The Onyx was succeeded by the Onyx2 in 1996 and was discontinued on March 31, 1999.
Microprocessor.
The deskside variant can accept one CPU board, and the rackmount variant can take up to six CPU boards. Both models were launched with the IP19 CPU board with one, two or four MIPS R4400 microprocessors, initially with 100 and 150 MHz options and later increased to 200 and 250 MHz. Later, the IP21 CPU board was introduced, with one or two R8000 microprocessors at 75 or 90 MHz; machines with this board were referred to as POWER Onyx. Finally, SGI introduced the IP25 board with one, two or four R10000 microprocessors at 195 MHz.
Graphics subsystem.
The Onyx initially used the RealityEngine2 or VTX graphics subsystems, and later, InfiniteReality, which was introduced in 1995.
RealityEngine2.
The RealityEngine2 is the original high-end graphics subsystem for the Onyx and was produced in two models. The deskside model has one GE12 board with 12 GE (Geometry Engine) processors, up to four RM4 boards, and a DG4 board. The rackmount model differs by supporting four RM4 or RM5 boards, but is otherwise the same.
VTX.
The VTX graphics subsystem is a cost reduced version of the RealityEngine2, using the same hardware but in a feature reduced configuration that can not be upgraded. It consists of one GE10 board with six GE (Geometry Engine) processors, an RM4 board and a DG2 board.
InfiniteReality.
The InfiniteReality succeeded the RealityEngine2 as the high-end graphics subsystem for the Onyx when introduced in 1996. It was produced in two models; the deskside model consists of a GE12 board with GE11 geometry engines, one or two RM6 boards and a DG4 board while the rackmount model differs by supporting up to four RM6 boards.


System 7

System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Computer, Inc. It succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8 in 1997. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory, personal file sharing, QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and an improved user interface.
With the release of version 7.6 in 1997, Apple officially renamed the operating system "Mac OS", a name which had first appeared on System 7.5.1's boot screen. System 7 was developed for Macs that used the Motorola 680x0 line of processors, but was ported to the PowerPC after Apple adopted the new processor in 1994 with the introduction of the Power Macintosh.
Development.
The development of the Macintosh system software up to System 6 followed a fairly smooth progression with the addition of new features and relatively small changes and upgrades over time. Major additions were fairly limited. Some perspective on the scope of the changes can be seen by examining the official system documentation, Inside Macintosh. This initially shipped in three volumes, adding another to describe the changes introduced with the Mac Plus, and another for the Mac II and Mac SE.
These limited changes meant that the original Macintosh system remained largely as it was when initially introduced. That is, the machine was geared towards a single user and task running on a floppy disk based machine of extremely limited RAM. However, many of the assumptions of this model were no longer appropriate. Most notable among these was the single-tasking model, the replacement of which had first been examined in 1986's "Switcher" and then replaced outright with MultiFinder in System 5. Running MultiFinder normally required a larger amount of RAM and a hard drive, but these became more common by the late 1980s.
While additions had been relatively limited, so had fixes to some of the underlying oddities of the system architecture. For instance, to support a limited form of multitasking, the original Mac OS supported small co-resident programs known as desk accessories which had to be installed into the system using special tools. If the system were able to support multiple tasks, this one-off solution would no longer be needed — desk accessories could simply be small programs, placed anywhere. Yet, as MultiFinder was still optional, such a step had not been taken. Numerous examples of this sort of problem could be found throughout the system.
Finally, the widespread adoption of hard drives and local area networks led to any number of new features being requested from users and developers. By the late 1980s, the list of new upgrades and suggested changes to the existing model was considerable.
Pink and Blue.
In March 1988, shortly before the release of System 6, technical middle managers at Apple held an offsite meeting to plan the future course of Mac OS development. Ideas were written on index cards; features that seemed simple enough to implement in the short term (like adding color to the user interface) were written on blue cards, longer-term goals like true multitasking on pink cards, and "far out" ideas like an object-oriented file system on red cards. Development of the ideas contained on the blue and pink cards was to proceed in parallel, and at first the two projects were known simply as "blue" and "pink" (including Taligent). Apple intended to have the "blue" team (which came to call themselves the "Blue Meanies" after characters in "Yellow Submarine") release an updated version of the existing Macintosh operating system in the 1990–1991 time-frame, and the "pink" team to release an entirely new OS around 1993.
As Blue was aimed at relatively "simple" upgrades, the feature list reads to some degree as a sort of "System 6, corrected". In the underlying OS, a number of formerly optional components were made mandatory:
Furthermore, a number of oddities in the original System, typically included due to limited resources, were finally changed to use basic underlying OS features:
The system also offered a wide variety of new features:
Software.
System 7 was the first Apple operating system to be available on compact disc, although it shipped on a set of 15 floppy disks initially. Unlike earlier systems, System 7 did not come bundled with major software packages. Newly purchased Macintosh computers had System 7 installed and were often bundled with software such as HyperCard, At Ease and Mouse Practice. Later, the Macintosh Performa family added various software bundles including ClarisWorks, The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Microsoft Bookshelf, Spectre VR and Power Pete. Since System 7 was introduced before the Internet came to popular attention, software such as MacTCP, FreePPP and Netscape were not included at first, but was later available on disk from Internet service providers and bundled with books such as Adam C. Engst's Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh. Power Macintosh machines also included NuCalc, a graphing calculator. System 7 also includes AppleTalk networking and file sharing software in the form of system extensions and control panels.
The basic utilities installed by default with System 7 include TeachText (which was replaced by SimpleText in later versions) for basic text editing tasks and reading readme documents. Also available on the additional "Disk Tools" floppy disk are Disk First Aid for disk repair and Apple HD SC Setup for initializing and partitioning disks.
Later versions of System 7, specifically System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6, come with a dedicated "Utilities" folder and "Apple Extras" folder including: AppleScript, Disk Copy, QuickDraw GX Extras and QuickTime Movie Player. More optional extras and utilities could be manually installed from the System CD.
Transition to PowerPC.
System 7.1.2 is the first version of the Macintosh System Software to support Apple's new PowerPC-based computers. 68k applications which had not yet been updated to run natively on these systems were emulated transparently (without the user having to intervene) by a built-in 68k processor emulator. Fat binaries, which contained the code necessary to run natively on both PowerPC and 68k systems, became common during this time. This process was similar to the distribution of universal binaries during the Mac transition to Intel processors in 2006, as well as the Mac transition to Apple silicon beginning in 2020.
PC compatibility.
System 7.0 through 7.1 offered a utility called Apple File Exchange, which could access the contents of FAT- and Apple II-formatted floppy disks. System 7 Pro, System 7.5 and up shipped with PC Exchange, previously a separate product, which allowed the system to mount FAT-formatted floppy disks on the desktop in the same manner as regular Macintosh disks.
OS/2 disks were read as PC DOS disks, due to fact that OS/2 used the FAT file system. At this time, Macs could also read and write UNIX file systems with the help of extra software.
System 7 allowed users to access PC networks and allowed communication via TCP/IP and other compatible networking stacks. Actual PC software compatibility, however, required third party software such as SoftPC, which allowed some MS-DOS and early Microsoft Windows programs to run, or Connectix Virtual PC, which allowed the Mac to run Windows via full PC emulation.
Other PC compatibility solutions took a more native approach by running Windows and MS-DOS by using x86 expansion cards with an x86 chip on the card. Apple offered some systems configured this way, marketed as "DOS Compatible"—a card with dedicated x86 CPU and RAM was used, while the Mac hard drive, sound subsystem, networking and input provided services to the PC. The PC could run simultaneously with the Mac, and the user could switch between the two in a fashion similar to a KVM switch. The earliest of these systems were 680x0 based systems running System 7. System 7 provided the support for accessing the PC volume from the Mac through its own PC Exchange software, and actual control of the PC hardware was accomplished by way of control panels.
Miscellaneous.
At the time of its release, many users noticed that performance suffered as a result of upgrading from System 6 to System 7, though newer hardware soon made up for the speed difference. Another problem was System 7's large "memory footprint": System 6 could boot the system from a single 800k floppy disk and took up about of RAM, whereas System 7 used well over a megabyte. It was some time before the average Mac shipped with enough RAM built in for System 7 to be truly comfortable. System 7 was the first system release that could no longer be usefully run on floppy-only systems. Although most Macintosh models sold at the time included a hard disk as standard equipment, owners of older models were required to upgrade their hardware by buying either a new Mac or an external SCSI hard disk drive if they wished to run System 7.
In order to take advantage of System 7's virtual memory feature, a Macintosh equipped with a paged memory management unit (PMMU) is required. The Motorola 68030 CPU has one built-in, and one can be added to the motherboard of the Motorola 68020-equipped Macintosh II. The other Macintosh model using an 68020, the Macintosh LC, cannot use virtual memory. Apple introduced the 68030-equipped Macintosh LC II shortly after System 7's introduction. Despite the newer processor, the LCII retained the earlier model's 16-bit bus and did not perform any faster than the LC it replaced.
Despite these setbacks, System 7.0 was adopted quite rapidly by Mac users, and quickly became one of the base requirements for new software.
The engineering group within Apple responsible for System 7 came to be known as the "Blue Meanies", named after the blue index cards on which were written the features that could be implemented in a relatively short time as part of Apple's operating system strategy. In comparison, the pink index card features were handled by the Pink group, later becoming the ill-fated Taligent project.
System 7.0 was the last version of the Macintosh operating system that was available for no charge and could be freely redistributed. Although System 7 could be purchased from Apple, the cost was nominal and considered to only cover duplication and media. It was common for Macintosh dealers to allow customers to use the store's demo machines to copy System 7 install disks for the cost of a box of floppies. CD-ROM magazines such as "Nautilus" included System 7 on their disks. After Mac users downloaded thousands of copies of System 7 from the online services (AOL, CompuServe and GEnie), Apple surveyed the services and based on this popularity started selling the Mac OS as a retail product with System 7.1. Apple continued charging for major operating system upgrades until the release of OS X Mavericks in 2013.
Version history.
Soon after the initial release of System 7, the 7.0.1 minor update was released in October 1991. A patch called "System 7 Tune-Up" also followed, which fixed the "disappearing files" bug in which the system would lose files and added "minimum" and "preferred" memory allotments to an application's Get Info box.
System 7.1.
In August 1992, the 7.1 update was released. This was the first version of the system software that Apple charged money for. Of this change, David Pogue wrote:
New to 7.1 is the Fonts folder. This replaced the often time-consuming method of dragging fonts to and from the System file, introduced in System 7.0; it also replaced the Font/DA Mover application from System 6, which could also be used with 7.0. System 7.1 also included a lot of internal changes to support internationalization of dates, time, and numbers. It was also the first version to support "Enablers", which removed the requirement to release a new version of the system software every time new hardware was released.
A set of specialized versions of 7.1, ranging from 7.1P1 to 7.1P6 (excluding 7.1P4) were created and included with various Performa models that were already available or were released after 7.1. These specialized versions included At Ease, Launcher, and some other changes that were integrated into later versions of the system software.
The first major upgrade was System 7.1.1, also known as "System 7 Pro". This release was a bundle of 7.1 with AppleScript tools, QuickTime and Apple Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE). While System 7 had some trouble running in slightly older machines due to memory footprint, System 7 Pro barely fit into any Macintosh computers at the time. It was most commonly used for its minor bug fixes rather than its new functionality.
Apple joined the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM and Motorola) shortly after the release of System 7 in 1991, and started work on PowerPC-based machines that later became the Power Macintosh family. Support for these machines resulted in System 7.1.2.
System 7.1.2 was never offered for retail sale; it shipped with the first batches of the PowerPC Macs and a 68k version shipped with a small number of Quadra 600 series systems. Later shipments shipped with System 7.5 instead.
System 7.1.2P was the same as 7.1.2, and shipped with the Performa 630, LC 630 and Quadra 630 models that were released between July and November 1994.
System 7.5.
The next major release was System 7.5, which included bug fixes from previous updates and added several new features, including:
System 7.5 was codenamed "Capone", a reference to Al Capone and "Chicago", which was the code name for Microsoft's Windows 95, and was also the name of the default system font used in Mac OS until version 8.
System 7.5.1 was primarily a bug fix of 7.5, but also introduced a new "Mac OS" startup screen in preparation for Mac clones.
System 7.5.2, released only for the first PCI-based Power Macs, was notable for introducing Apple's new networking architecture, Open Transport.
System 7.5.3, a major bug-fix update that also included Open Transport for other PowerPC-based machines as well as some 68k-based machines. 7.5.3 also made several improvements to the 68k emulator, and added translucent dragging support to the Drag Manager. It also included the first version of Control Strip to be compatible with all Macs. This was also the first version of Mac OS to support SMP. (9500/MP)
System 7.5.3 Revision 2 included: performance enhancements; better reliability for PowerBooks using the third-party RAM Doubler program; improved reliability for PowerBook 500, 2300, and 5300 series computers with the PowerPC Upgrade Card; improved reliability when using the Startup Disk control panel; and improved reliability when copying files to 1 GB hard disks.
System 7.5.3 Revision 2.1 was shipped with the Performa 6400/180 and 6400/200; this particular release was specific to these machines as there were stability problems with System 7.5.3 Release 2 on the new hardware, especially with the video card and transferring files over LocalTalk.
System 7.5.4 was pulled due to a mistake at Apple, in which some components were not included in the installer.
System 7.5.5 included significant performance improvements for virtual memory and memory management on PowerPC-based Macs, including the elimination of one type 11 error. Also included were a number of reliability improvements, such as fixes for Macs using floppy disks equipped with a DOS compatibility card, improved hard disk access for PowerPC PowerBooks and Performa 5400 through 9500 computers, fixes for Macs that included an Apple TV Tuner or Macintosh TV Remote Control, improvements to LocalTalk and networking (especially for the Performa 5400 and 6400), fixes to system startup for the faster 180 MHz Macs (which included PowerPC 604 or 604e processors), improved reliability when using sound-intensive applications on Quadra or Centris computers that contained the PowerPC upgrade card, and improved stability when using multiple background applications and shared printers on a network. System 7.5.5 is also the last System 7 release that can run on 68000-based Macs such as the Macintosh Plus and Macs with ROMs that lack support for 32-bit addressing such as Macintosh IIcx. 7.6 and later required a 68030 processor and 32-bit-addressing-capable ROM and will automatically turn on 32-bit addressing on boot.
Mac OS 7.6.
Mac OS 7.6 (codenamed "Harmony") was the last major update, released in 1997. With 7.6, the operating system was officially called "Mac OS" instead of "System". New features include a revamped Extensions Manager, more native PowerPC code for Power Macs, more bundled Internet tools and utilities, and a more stable Finder with increased memory allocation. In this version, the PowerTalk feature added in 7.5 was removed due to poor application support, and support for a large number of older Macintosh models was dropped.
The minor update to Mac OS 7.6.1 finally ported the 68k exception handling routines to PowerPC, turning type 11 errors into less harmful errors (type 1, 2 or 3, usually) as crashing applications would more often terminate safely instead of crashing the operating system.
Through this period, Apple had been attempting to release a completely new "modern" operating system, named Copland. When the Copland project was abandoned in 1996, Apple announced plans to release an OS update every six months until Rhapsody (which would by 2001 evolve into what was released as Mac OS X) shipped. Two more releases were shipped, now officially branded as "Mac OS" — Mac OS 7.6 and the minor bug fix 7.6.1. Future versions were released as Mac OS 8–8.6 and Mac OS 9–9.2.


Ball Jacks

 is a 1993 action video game for the Sega Mega Drive.
Gameplay.
This video game is a futuristic action game involving an ultra-competitive sporting event. Two robot crabs are controlled by men who play the game merely to become wealthy and famous. There is a conveyor belt behind them that spews metal balls at them. The goal is to capture balls that belong to the opponent and keep them from him until time runs out. Balls can also be knocked out from the mechanical hands of the opponent. All damaged crabs must return to the pit area for a quick maintenance and repair session.
There are several modes: a world championship against increasingly tougher opponents, a multiplayer versus mode, a training mode, and a time trial where the time limit is the only foe.
Reception.
The game was poorly received, with Andy Dyer criticising the graphics, sound, gameplay and size.


Arrow Flash

 is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game developed by Sega and published by Sega in Japan and Europe and by Renovation Products in the United States for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1990. The game's main character pilots a prototype transformable fighter-mecha left from her grandfather to fight against an alien attack on humankind. The game is mostly a horizontal shooter, with one down scrolling stage.
Gameplay.
Like many scrolling shooters, the player initially has a basic shot, which can be upgraded and/or exchanged for different weapons, as well as gain smaller ships that follow the player's ship around and copy its attacks. As is usual, these power-ups are distributed throughout the levels. They are retained when advancing to the next stage but lost entirely when the player loses a life.
Two additional mechanics differentiate "Arrow Flash" from similar scrolling shooters, one of which is that the ability to transform the player's ship. The two forms available are a humanoid mech form and a fighter jet form. The player's weapons change depending on the form. The jet form only shoots forward but intensely, it can fly faster horizontally and the helper ships follow the jet in a snakelike pattern. The mech form has a wider shooting angle, sometimes even firing backwards upon getting enough upgrades. It has a faster vertical speed and the helper ships remain in a fixed formation whilst in this form. Missiles will also home on enemies in mech form, whereas they only travel directly forward in jet form. Regardless of form, the ship is killed in only one hit unless the player picks up an energy shield which can sustain three hits.
The game's titular "Arrow Flash" is a highly powerful attack for each form; the jet fires five large blasts forward, while the mech form becomes engulfed in flame, rendering it immune to attack for a short while. In the default "Stock" mode, arrow flashes are instant but limited and must be used sparingly. The other mode "Charge" allows arrow flashes to be used infinitely but with a weaker effect and must be 'charged up' before use.
Plot.
"Arrow Flash" follows the protagonist Zana Keene (named Anna Schwinn in the European release, and Starna Oval in the Japanese release) as she fights against hostile aliens. The game contains references to "Gundam" and "Macross".
Reception.
"Arrow Flash" received mixed reviews, including 32/50 from "ASM", 3/10 from "Génération 4", 24% from "Mega", 90% from "Player One", 73% from "RAZE", and 69% from "Zero".


Nokia E70

The Nokia E70 is a candybar/fold keyboard type smartphone from the Eseries range, announced in October 2005 and released in May 2006. There are two models of this phone, the E70-1 for the world market with tri-band (900, 1800, 1900 MHz) GSM and UMTS, and the E70-2 for the Americas with tri-band (850, 1800, 1900 MHz) GSM and EDGE packet data capability. Both models use the S60 platform 3rd Edition on top of Symbian OS version 9.1.
The E70 is the business version/successor to the Nokia 6800 series (6800, 6810, 6820 and 6822).
Key features.
The Nokia E70 is aimed at the high-end professional market. The 16 million color screen has a 352 × 416 pixel (totalling 146,432 pixels) resolution, and the E70 is capable of GSM, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The SIP VoIP functionality will currently not work through a firewall or most router configurations. Nokia has made a statement that they are working on implementing STUN (originally planned for 2006 but only available for E70-1 as of April 2012), TURN and ICE (also planned for 2007 but not available as of June 2008).
As well, the advanced Bluetooth capabilities of the phone, capable of connecting to up to six devices simultaneously, lacks A2DP support.