Acorn Communicator

The Acorn Communicator is a discontinued business computer developed by Acorn Computers. Mentioned in the computing press in late 1984 as the C30, previewed in early 1985 with estimated pricing between £500 and £800, in late 1985 with a built-in LCD display, and subsequently unveiled in a slightly different form, the system sold in very low numbers to companies requiring a computer with a built-in modem.
Orders for the machine were reported in late 1986, with an initial 500 units to be rebadged by Thorn EMI Business Communications for its own customers and approximately 1400 units going to Pickfords Travel for use in its high street stores. As a "smart videotex terminal" and a "complete turnkey comms solution" featuring Prestel connectivity and built-in word processing and spreadsheet capabilities, the extensibility of the product through the development of additional software appealed to customers such as Pickfords. Although not openly priced, rumoured pricing of a Communicator was around £1000 in late 1985 for the basic model, remaining at a similar price level in early 1987 with colour monitor included.
Features.
Alongside its personal computer features, an Acorn brochure for the C series describes a range of telephony facilities offered by the product range including auto-dialling and auto-answering for data and electronic mail, call answering and message storage using optional microcassette hardware, and telex sending. Microcassettes could also support dictation. A real time clock, perpetual calendar, desk diary and calculator are featured.
The system uses a 16-bit Western Design Center 65816 chip rather than the 8-bit MOS Technology 6502 or variants, which were used by virtually all of Acorn's previous microcomputer products. 128 KB or 512 KB RAM could be fitted, expandable to 1024 KB. For display capabilities, it employs the ULA originally developed for the Electron (reputed to be the largest ULA or gate array ever developed at that time) and supported a monochrome version of Teletext using software emulation for access to services such as Prestel. Full-colour teletext was supported using an additional expansion board.
RGB and composite video outputs were provided as standard interfaces. A 25-character by 8-line LCD display (256 x 64 pixels) is described as an option and is depicted in the C series brochure, with a monochrome monitor also offered as an option. One version of the Communicator was initially indicated to provide a teletext adapter "enabling it to receive Ceefax and Oracle", and the C series brochure notes a "cable TV interface for teletext" as optional. The microcassette facilities featured in the C series brochure were reportedly prototyped as a peripheral, and the telephone handset featured in the brochure was supported by an optional bracket. General expansion capabilities were provided by an "Electron-style expansion connector" as also featured in the Master Compact.
The machine offered no built-in storage mechanism (such as a disk drive) nor a connector for an external storage mechanism, although the C series brochure mentions a 3.5-inch disk drive as an option. A separate file and print server "in the same style as the Communicator itself" offering floppy and hard drive support plus a Centronics printer interface, based on the 6512 CPU and having 64 KB RAM plus 64 KB ROM, was intended to be the means by which Communicator machines, fitted with a standard Econet module, would access files and print documents. The Acorn Filestore product had essentially this specification and capabilities, and documentation was made available describing its use with the Communicator.
The Communicator provided an office software suite, including View (word processor), ViewSheet (spreadsheet), Videotex and VT100 terminal emulation, plus Econet local area networking, a telephone line input port for connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), an RS423 serial port for connection to serial printers or other computers, and a Centronics parallel port to connect a printer. The system software that bound the packages together was a mixture of BBC Basic and assembly language. The software development team was led by Paul Bond, who led development of the original Acorn MOS, a keen pilot who would occasionally fly team members in his Cessna when things were quiet.
First versions of the Communicator were monochrome-only; later (but before first customer delivery), a daughterboard provided full colour.
A briefcase version of the Communicator was apparently offered as the Spectar II by Advanced Medical Communications, supposedly for use by pharmaceutical company representatives, offering a bar code reader and "credit-card size memory packs", with one version having "a flat screen in the briefcase". Acorn records suggest that the memory cards employed the Astron format, apparently being evaluated by Acorn who had acquired one of the "100-or-so" development systems for the technology. The system documentation confirms this hardware configuration.
Hardware details.
The hardware specifications of the Communicator, observed from manufactured units, include the G65SC816 CPU, ULA, 512 KB of dynamic RAM, 32 KB of static RAM, 6522 VIA, AM2910PC modem, SCN2641CC1N24 UART, and SAA5240 teletext decoder and display generator, (with 2 KB of static RAM presumably employed for page storage). The components chosen and the capabilities provided are broadly similar to the BT Merlin M2105 variant of the Acorn Electron, with an upgraded CPU, the addition of teletext circuitry, the provision for Econet, and the omission of speech synthesis hardware apparently refining the Communicator as a product offering in the same general category.
The Centre for Computing History notes that an example of the machine in their possession does not contain a Ferranti-manufactured ULA, indicating that a Mietec IC with an Acorn part number of 0252,602 could possibly be a ULA from another source. According to archived Acorn product documentation, it is indeed a ULA, although the system documentation refers to it as a video ULA, despite it also providing support for the keyboard and sound generation.
The system documentation notes the presence of 32 KB of video RAM (accessed at 1 MHz), 512 KB or 1 MB of system RAM (accessed at 2 MHz), 32 KB of non-volatile RAM, up to 512 KB of internal ROM, and up to 3.5 MB of ROM accessible via the expansion bus. The modem, asynchronous serial port, Econet port, printer port, and expansion bus connector are noted, along with an IIC bus providing access to a real-time clock and the DTMF dialler. Support was present to access dynamic and non-volatile RAM using a RAM filing system, and the Spectar II variant of the machine supported a memory card filing system allowing "the use of up to eight ASTRON Data Cards at one time".
The development system for the Communicator as intended for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) use was centred on the BBC Master 128 with ARM second processor, floppy and hard drives, a monochrome monitor, and an external ROM expansion. The provided development tools included the TWIN editor, MASM assembler (supporting the 65SC816 instruction set), and the 65TURBO emulator for running the tools and utilities written for 6502-based machines.
Legacy.
Ultimately, the Communicator, being a product from Acorn's custom systems division, was apparently abandoned when that division was closed having contributed to "more than two-thirds" of Acorn's £3.3 million loss in 1987. It having been noted that Acorn would "probably throw the computer away and use the case for something else", Acorn did indeed appear to employ a very similar case for the Master Compact, incorporating the expansion connector on the right-hand side of the unit, and even retaining the casing features for the Communicator's optional handset.
Although considered to be either a potential successor to the Model B in the BBC Micro range or to be presaging the arrival of a 16-bit BBC "Model C", the Communicator's heritage draws much from the Electron and its BT Merlin M2105 derivative, giving some substance to contemporary speculation about a successor to the Electron being readied for launch, despite such speculation ultimately proving to be about the Master Compact.


PC Plus

PC Plus was a computer magazine published monthly from 1986 until September 2012 in the UK by Future plc. The magazine was aimed at intermediate to advanced PC users, computer professionals and enthusiasts. The magazine was specifically for users of PCs and related technologies so features articles were undiluted by coverage of other platforms. It began its life specifically as a magazine aimed at the Amstrad PC user.
Staff.
For many years, the editor (later editor-in-chief) was Dave Pearman. PC Plus print magazine was closed in October 2012, when the editor was Martin Cooper.
Each edition of the print magazine was centered on four main sections - news, reviews, features, and tutorials.
Under Pearman's editorship, the magazine was characterised by the inclusion of irreverent off-the-wall features and content including Huw Collingbourne's Rants and Raves, a serialisation of a fictional office entitled Group Efforts and the Bastard Operator From Hell. The magazine frequently drew on images of Bath, its office base, during multimedia tutorial articles.
Future plc. no longer publishes "PC Plus" as a print publication although the on-line domain is still serviced by parent brand TechRadar.com.


Felix HC


DeltaSync

DeltaSync was a proprietary Microsoft communications protocol for synchronizing web services with offline clients. It was switched off by Microsoft on 30 June 2016.
Windows Live Hotmail was connected to offline clients using DeltaSync; Outlook Connector and the Windows Live Mail client use it for offline access. Microsoft pushed for this protocol instead of POP3 or IMAP4 for supporting various advanced features, like contacts, calendar, and notes synchronization. Using the DeltaSync protocol, Microsoft intended to provide a common platform for any compatible device to implement a client which can two-way synchronize mail, contacts, calendar, and notes.
History.
In January 2007, Microsoft announced DeltaSync as the replacement for WebDAV. In April 2008, Microsoft sent an email warning that WebDAV would no longer be supported after 30 June 2008. However, in May 2008, Microsoft stated that it would be "postponing the transition deadline previously announced" to allow customers more time to "evaluate alternative solutions". In June 2009, Microsoft announced that WebDAV support would finally end on 1 September 2009.
Format details.
The DeltaSync compression code produces a stream with a four byte magic number of "HU01", followed by the stream header.
HU01 header.
Following this header is a series of compressed data blocks with the following structure.
SCBH header.
This is followed by 256 bytes of decompression table and finally the actual compressed data.
Discontinuation.
Since Microsoft migrated the Outlook.com mail to use a structure based on Office 365, the DeltaSync protocol was discontinued on 30 June 2016, and mail will not be able to be synced using Windows Live Mail after that time. Google's Gmail and some other providers' mail services still work with DeltaSync.
Although DeltaSync has sunk, Microsoft's Windows Live Mail 2011 and 2012 continue to work with Hotmail e-mail accounts, by using IMAP (or, less effectively, POP) in place of DeltaSync.


Motion Computing

Motion Computing was a developer of slate Tablet PC computers located in Austin, Texas. Motion Computing focused on vertical markets such as healthcare government, public safety, and construction. It was the first company to introduce Gorilla Glass, Bonded displays, built-in array microphones, and UV light-based disinfection stations for clinical environments.
History.
Motion Computing was founded in 2001 by a team of former Dell executives including David Altounian and Scott Eckert, who served as CEO of Motion. In 2002, it launched its first product, the Motion M1200, a tablet designed as a successor of pen slates from the 1990s. The M1200 was the first slate tablet available in a 12-inch size. That same year, Motion raised $6.5 million in funding. Its second funding round in 2003 raised $11.2 million, and the 2004 Series C round raised $25 million. In 2003, Motion launched the M1300, which was the first 1 GHz tablet using Intel Centrino mobile technology. The M1400, released in 2004, was the first 12-inch slate tablet to have a View Anywhere display.
Through its independent software vendor partnership program, Motion paired with companies including Active Ink and Mi-Co to advance the development of tablet PC applications. In 2007, Motion released the first mobile clinical assistant (MCA), the C5, at UCSF Medical Center.
Through a Series D funding round in 2008, the company closed $6 million. In 2009, Motion secured $5.6 million in a round of financing from eight investors. That same year, Motion announced that its C5 and F5 tablets would be the first rugged tablet PCs to use Corning's Gorilla Glass.
In February 2011, Motion introduced ReadyDock, the first chemical-free disinfection stations using ultraviolet technology, for the C5 tablet. In 2011, Motion Computing announced the Intel Atom "Oak Trail"-powered CL900 running Windows 7, a fully rugged 10" screen ultra-light Tablet PC, weighing 2.1 pounds. The company then announced the CL910 tablet in July 2012 and the CL920 in October 2014. Motion also released the LINCWorks RDA (Remote Data Access) series.
In April 2015, Xplore Technologies Corp. purchased Motion Computing Inc. for $16 million. At the time, Motion was the world's second-leading provider of rugged tablet PCs.


HP-65

The HP-65 is the first magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator. Introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1974 at an MSRP of $795 (), it featured nine storage registers and room for 100 keystroke instructions. It also included a magnetic card reader/writer to save and load programs. Like all Hewlett-Packard calculators of the era and most since, the HP-65 used Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) and a four-level automatic operand stack.
Bill Hewlett's design requirement was that the calculator should fit in his shirt pocket. That is one reason for the tapered depth of the calculator. The magnetic program cards are fed in at the thick end of the calculator under the LED display. The documentation for the programs in the calculator is very complete, including algorithms for hundreds of applications, including the solutions of differential equations, stock price estimation, statistics, and so forth.
Features.
The HP-65 introduced the "tall", trapezoid-shaped keys that would become iconic for many generations of HP calculators. Each of the keys had up to 4 functions. In addition to the "normal function" printed on the key's face, a "gold" function printed on the case above the key and a "blue" function printed on the slanted front surface of the key were accessed by pushing the gold "f" or blue "g" prefix key, respectively. For example, "f" followed by "formula_1" would access the sine function, or "g" followed by "formula_1" would calculate formula_3. For some mathematical functions, a gold "f−1" prefix key would access the inverse of the gold-printed functions, e.g. "f−1" followed by "formula_1" would calculate the inverse sine (formula_5).
Functions included square root, inverse, trigonometric (sine, cosine, tangent and their inverses), exponentiation, logarithms and factorial. The HP-65 was one of the first calculators to include a base conversion function, although it only supported octal (base 8) conversion. It could also perform conversions between degrees/minutes/seconds (sexagesimal) and decimal degree (sexadecimal) values, as well as polar/cartesian coordinate conversion.
Programming.
The HP-65 had a program memory for up to 100 instructions of 6 bits which included subroutine calls and conditional branching based on comparison of x and y registers. Some but not all commands entered as multiple keystrokes were stored in a single program memory cell. When displaying a program, the key codes were shown without line numbers.
A program could be saved to mylar-based magnetically coated cards (71 mm × 9.5 mm), which were fed through the reader by a small electric motor through a worm gear and rubber roller at a speed of 6 cm/s. The recording area used only half of the width of the card. While reversing the card to store a second program was possible, it was officially discouraged (unlike in later models such as the HP-67) because the other half of the card was touched by the rubber wheel during transport, causing extra abrasion. When inserted into an extra slot between the display and the keyboard, the printing on top of the card would correspond to the top row of keys (A - E), which served as shortcuts to the corresponding program entry points.
Cards could be write-protected by diagonally clipping the top left corner of the card. HP also sold a number of program collections for scientific and engineering applications on sets of pre-recorded (and write-protected) cards.
The HP-65 had a "feature" whereby storage register R9 was corrupted whenever the user (or program) executed trigonometric functions or performed comparison tests; this kind of issue was common in many early calculators, caused by a lack of memory due to cost, power, and/or size considerations. Since the limitation was documented in the manual, it is not strictly speaking a bug.
Significant applications.
During the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the HP-65 became the first programmable handheld calculator in outer space. It was carried as a backup in case of a problem with the Apollo Guidance Computer. It was not put into operation, though, as the Apollo computer did not malfunction during that mission.
Also in 1975, Mitchell Feigenbaum, using the small HP-65 calculator he had been issued at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, discovered that the ratio of the difference between the values at which successive period-doubling bifurcations occur tends to a constant of around 4.6692... This "ratio of convergence" is now known as the first Feigenbaum constant.


Alien Highway

Alien Highway: Encounter 2 is an isometric 3D arcade adventure game released by Vortex in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. It was programmed by Mark Haigh-Hutchinson and is the sequel to "Highway Encounter".
Gameplay.
Gameplay is similar to "Highway Encounter", with the player controlling a "Vorton" robot in its attempt to deliver a bomb to an alien base at the end of a highway. Various enemies and obstacles lie in its path.
A notable difference is that the player has a single Vorton with an energy meter, instead of five lives; accordingly, the bomb must be pushed by the player, whereas in the previous game it was pushed by the player's spare Vortons.
Background.
Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, the developer
"After "Highway" Costa [Panayi] wanted to come up with something completely different again. Since I was now working full-time for Vortex it was decided that I should write "Alien Highway" whilst Costa developed his new ideas. I had previously written "" for the Amstrad CPC (in my spare time at University) and then converted "Highway Encounter" to the CPC in 8 weeks after graduation. "Alien Highway" attempted to retain the essence of the original game yet expand the gameplay and introduce a random element into the game. It was also considerably faster than the original."
Reception.
"Alien Highway" received positive reviews.


Nikon D200

The Nikon D200 is a 10.2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera that falls between entry-level/midrange DSLR cameras such as the Nikon D40, Nikon D40x, and D80 and high-end models such as the Nikon D2Hs and D2Xs. It was released by the Nikon Corporation in November 2005. The D200 was succeeded by the D300 in August 2007.
Comparison with other Nikon models.
Main advantages over the D40, D40x, D50, D60 and D80 cameras include:
Compared with Nikon's professional cameras, mainly the D2Xs, the D200 lacks an integrated vertical battery grip, longer battery life, and some minor features. The autofocus system has only one cross-type sensor instead of nine like the D2H, D2Hs, D2X and D2Xs, though it has the same number of focus points (eleven). This means the D200 has the versatility but lacks the precision of the D2 series, particularly with the sensors other than the center cross-type sensor, and in low-light conditions. The D200 offers a lower price and a more compact, lighter body than the D2 series.
Competition.
The main competitor for the D200 was the Canon EOS 30D, which had many of the same features. The D200 was also often compared with the Canon EOS 5D, but these two cameras were intended for somewhat different uses – unlike the 30D or 5D, the D200 has weathersealed buttons, allowing it to be used in more demanding outdoor environments.
The Fujifilm S5 Pro is based on the Nikon D200. While both cameras use the same body, the technology used in the imaging systems is different—the Fuji lacks the frame rate and buffer depth of the Nikon, with the Fuji sensor and image processor geared towards higher dynamic range (Fuji Super CCD).
History.
The D200 was announced in November 2005 with an initial estimated selling price of $1699.95 US. Some cameras in initial shipments exhibited "banding" in images. The camera won the TIPA 2006 award for Best Digital SLR in the Expert category.
The D200 is often used as a backup body to supplement the high-end professional line of cameras because of its similar feature-set and control layout. Upon its introduction, it was intended to fill the void in the Nikon line-up left by the discontinuation of the Nikon D100. It is in many ways the professional version of the D80.
The D200 has been used in the hit American television series NCIS (TV Series), by the NCIS agents to document crime scenes.
Accessories.
MB-D200.
Attachable vertical grip. Has extra shutter button for improved handling at vertical shooting and has room for two batteries, thereby doubling the battery capacity. It also comes with the MS-D200 battery holder which allows the camera to be powered by 6x AA size (LR6 alkaline/HR6 Ni-MH/FR6 Lithium/ZR6 Ni-Mn) batteries. It also has two command dials for adjusting various settings, e.g. aperture and shutterspeed, and an AF-on button.
Unlike its predecessor model, the MB-D100 for the Nikon D100, the MB-D200 does not feature a voice recording facility.
WT-3a.
The wireless image transmitter, WT-3a, is capable of transmitting images via IEEE 802.11g WLAN to an FTP server. Although physically similar to the MB-D200 on the outside, the transmitter can only hold one battery, compared to the vertical grip's two. An optional antenna, WA-E1, can be attached to extend the cameras' wireless range from 256 ft (78 m) to a maximum of 840 ft (256 m). It also has an ethernet jack for direct connection to a computer.
EH-6.
Power Adapter for the D200 which supplies power instead of using the battery. The power adapter doesn't charge the battery in the camera but rather powers the camera.
Input rating: 100–240 V AC, 50 or 60 Hz at 1.7 A
Output rating: 13.5 V at 5.0 A
EN-EL3e.
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery. 7.4 V, 1500 mA·h rated capacity. Approved chargers:
Note the EN-EL3e is different from the Nikon EN-EL3 battery used in the Nikon D100.
MH-18(a/e).
Quick charger for EN-EL3 and EN-EL3e. Battery and charger supplied with the Nikon D200 camera kit.
 Input rating : 120–240 V, 50 or 60 Hz at 0.25 A
Output rating : 8.4 V at 0.9 A
MC-22.
Remote cord terminated with three banana plugs.
Join the black and blue plugs to engage autofocus and meter, then join yellow to already joined black and blue to engage the shutter and take the photo.


The Attack (video game)

The Attack is a multidirectional shooter written by Tom Pettingill for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A home computer and published by Texas Instruments in 1981. The game was originally developed at Milton Bradley as "Alien", based on the 1979 movie of the same name.
Gameplay.
The player in a spaceship use their weapons to blast apart "spores" that connect together to form new aliens, and blast already formed aliens before they eat the player. There are incubators on screen that will release more spores or, in later levels, aliens.


Ceres (workstation)

The Ceres Workstation was a workstation computer built by Niklaus Wirth's group at ETH Zurich in 1987. The central processing unit (CPU) is a National Semiconductor NS32000, and the operating system, named "The Oberon System" is written fully in the object-oriented programming language Oberon. It is an early example of an object-oriented operating system using garbage collection on the system level and a document centered approach for the user interface (UI), as envisaged later with OpenDoc. Ceres was a follow-up project to the Lilith workstation, based on AMD bit slicing technology and the programming language Modula-2.
On the same hardware, Clemens Szyperski implemented as part of his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, an operating system named ETHOS, which takes full advantage of object-oriented technologies. A Usenet posting by Szyperski says Oberon/F, renamed BlackBox Component Builder, incorporates many ETHOS ideas and principles.


All Dogs Go to Heaven (video game)


Great Valley Products

Great Valley Products is a former third-party Amiga hardware supplier.
The company was mostly known for CPU accelerators and SCSI host adapters for the Commodore Amiga 500 and the Amiga 2000 computer series. The company liquidated itself in July 1995. A new company GVP-M picked up rights to the Amiga products.
Employee Shareholders.
Great Valley Products was owned by its managing employees and their family members.
GVP A530 Turbo.
GVP A530 Turbo released in 1992 is a processor accelerator, disc controller and PC-286 co-system for Amiga 500.


Micro-80 Pinball Machine

Micro-80 Pinball Machine is a 1980 video game published by Micro-80 Inc. for the TRS-80 16K. It was also published as a type-in BASIC listing in the July 1980 issue of "SoftSide".
Contents.
"Micro-80 Pinball Machine" is a pinball game with multiple scenarios.
Reception.
Jon Mishcon reviewed "Micro-80 Pinball Machine" in "The Space Gamer" No. 40. Mishcon commented that "Overall, I'd say this is a good buy for kids. For the serious video/pinball fan forget it."


Mailody

Mailody is an e-mail client for the KDE Platform by Tom Albers.
Mailody has been discontinued. Tom Albers deleted it in the spring of 2010.
Unlike a complete mail client like KMail, the current stable version only works with the IMAP protocol, and does not support POP3.
The next version of Mailody was to use Akonadi as backend. Akonadi can fetch mail messages from multiple sources (e.g. IMAP, POP3, Maildir, Exchange) and also serves as a storage engine for these messages. Mailody’s current sqlite database engine would have been dropped as a consequence.


Moskva (computer)


Aviion

Aviion (styled AViiON) was a series of computers from Data General that were the company's main product from the late 1980s until the company's server products were discontinued in 2001. Earlier Aviion models used the Motorola 88000 CPU, but later models moved to an all-Intel solution when Motorola stopped work on the 88000 in the early 1990s. Some versions of these later Intel-based machines ran Windows NT, while higher-end machines ran the company's flavor of Unix, DG/UX.
History.
Data General had, for most of its history, essentially mirrored the strategy of DEC with a competitive (but, in the spirit of the time, incompatible) minicomputer with a better price/performance ratio. However, by the 1980s, Data General was clearly in a downward spiral relative to DEC. With the performance of custom-designed minicomputer CPU's dropping relative to commodity microprocessors, the cost of developing a custom solution no longer paid for itself. A better solution was to use these same commodity processors, but put them together in such a way to offer better performance than a commodity machine could offer.
With Aviion, DG shifted its sight from a purely proprietary minicomputer line to the burgeoning Unix server market. The new line was based around the Motorola 88000, a high performance RISC processor with some support for multiprocessing and a particularly clean architecture. The machines ran a System V Unix variant known as DG/UX, largely developed at the company's Research Triangle Park facility. DG/UX had previously run on the company's family of Eclipse MV 32-bit minicomputers (the successors to Nova and the 16-bit Eclipse minis) but only in a very secondary role to the Eclipse MV mainstay AOS/VS and AOS/VS II operating systems. Also, some Aviion servers from this era ran the proprietary MEDITECH MAGIC operating system.
From February 1988 to October 1990, Robert E. Cousins was the Department Manager for workstation development. During this time they produced the Maverick project and several follow-ons including the 300, 310 and 400 series workstations along with the 4000 series servers.
Aviion were released in a variety of sizes beginning in the summer of 1989. They debuted as a pizza box workstation (codenamed "Maverick") and a server in both roller-mounted and rackmount flavors ("Topgun"). Speed-bumped and scaled-up versions followed, culminating in, first, the 16-CPU AV/9500 server and then the up to 32-way AV 10000 server in 1995, DG's first implementation of a Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) design. Workstations remained part of the line for a time, but the emphasis increasingly shifted towards servers.
In 1992, Motorola joined the AIM alliance to develop "cut down" versions of the IBM POWER CPU design into a single-chip CPU for desktop machines, and eventually stopped further development of the 88000. Because of this, DG gave up working with Motorola, and decided instead to align its efforts with what was soon to become the clear winner in volume microprocessors, and used i386 architecture CPUs from Intel instead.
This resulted in a second series of Aviion machines based first on the Pentium, and later on faster Pentium Pro, Pentium II and Pentium III Xeon CPUs. This more commoditized hardware approach also led DG to develop NUMA servers that added a memory-coherent interconnect (Scalable Coherent Interconnect (SCI)) to "standard high-volume" x86 motherboards sourced from Intel. Sequent Computer Systems, now part of IBM, was following a similar strategy at the time. A system codenamed "Manx" was an earlier NUMA effort based on the original Pentium and Zenith hardware, but it was never brought to market. The AV 20000 ("Audubon") connected to 32 Pentium Pro processors (on up to eight quad-processor building blocks) in this manner; the later AV 25000 ("Audubon 2") upgrade expanded this to 64 Pentium II (later Pentium III) Xeons.
Based on the burgeoning popularity of Windows NT, Intel-based Aviion servers also added Windows to their OS roster across the Aviion x86 line. It ended up contributing a significant percentage of revenues at the low-end, especially among existing DG customers who had made a decision to switch to NT. However, at the high-end, although Windows NT could run efficiently on single-block (i.e. quad-processor) building blocks in NUMA servers, it did not at the time have the processor and memory affinity optimizations that are required to achieve high performance on larger systems. As a result, Windows on DG NUMA servers was always more of a marketing story than a technical reality.
Around the same time, DG was also aggressively working towards an "industry standard" Unix operating system with the Santa Cruz Operation and others. However, first with SCO's Data Center Acceleration Program (DCAP), and then Project Monterey, this never came to pass. Ultimately, DG's NUMA servers ended up as just another large-scale proprietary Unix server at a time when the industry was coalescing around the Unix platform variants of just a few large vendors — Compaq (later acquired by HP), HP, IBM, and Sun Microsystems.
In 1999, EMC purchased Data General for 1.2 billion dollars primarily to gain access to its CLARiiON line of disk array storage products and associated software. Under the terms of the "pooling of interests merger," EMC maintained the server line for two years, but discontinued it as soon as the terms of the deal allowed, at which point Aviion disappeared.
Notes.
The name "AViiON" has often been claimed to be an anagram of "Nova II", the Nova being one of DG's most successful products. An employee competition was held to choose a name for the new line, but none of the suggestions was found to be acceptable for trademarking purposes. Given that early codenames for Eclipse systems included The Bird and The Big Bird, a reference to flight seemed appropriate. "Avion" had been suggested, but lacked the ability to be trademarked. At that time, two European companies had created a naming trend using repeated vowels - Baan and BiiN. Avion was modified by repeating the 'i' and making the rest of the word uppercase as AViiON. ("Avion" (or "avión") is the word for "aircraft" in French and Spanish.)
The use of the "ii" was carried through to the CLARiiON and THiiN Line product lines.


PC 8300

PC 8300 was a Sinclair ZX81 clone from China with rubber keys, joystick port, and monitor port. Identical to Lambda 8300 and Power 3000.


Samsung NX mini

The Samsung NX mini is a digital rangefinder-style interchangeable lens mirrorless camera announced by Samsung on March 19, 2014.
Design features.
The NX mini features a self-portrait mode where flipping the rear screen to face forward turns the camera on, and a wink will start a two-second countdown timer to shutter release. Photographs may be shared via flickr and Dropbox when the NX mini is connected using its onboard Wi-Fi, or transmitted to compatible smartphones through NFC.
NX Mini 2.
In June 2015, rumors were circulated of a NX mini 2. Based on leaked specifications, the NX mini 2 would feature high-resolution 4K video recording and interchangeable front covers. It would use the same sensor with an AMOLED rear screen and a battery with slightly less capacity (1820 mAh versus 2330 mAh).
Lenses.
The NX mini, which uses a 1"-type sensor, uses the Samsung NX-M lens mount (with a flange focal distance of 6.95 mm, among the shortest in existence). An adaptor (ED-MA4NXM) may be separately purchased to mount larger lenses using the Samsung NX-mount, which is designed for an APS-C sensor.


Super Xevious

 is a 1984 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. It is an updated version of "Xevious" (1983), created as a response to the overwhelming success of the original in Japan. Like the original game, the player controls a starship known as the "Solvalou", equipped with two weapons: an "air zapper" to defeat flying enemies, and a "blaster bomb" to destroy ground-based enemies. It runs on the Namco Galaga arcade board. New enemy types include metallic "Galaxian" flagships. Some of these revert the player's score to zero if destroyed. It has been ported to the Sharp X68000 and PlayStation, alongside inclusion in several Namco collections.
Gameplay.
"Super Xevious" is a vertical-scrolling shooter, and an updated version of "Xevious". Its gameplay is largely identical; the player assumes control of a starship, the Solvalou, in its mission to destroy a supercomputer named GAMP and its Xevious forces. In each of these areas, the player must destroy constantly-moving waves of enemies and avoiding collision with them or their projectiles. The Solvalou has two weapons at its disposal: a forward-moving shot that destroys flying enemies, and an air-to-surface bomb that destroys ground-stationed targets. On occasion, the player will face off against a boss named the Andor Genesis, which can be defeated by destroying its center core or four blaster receptacles. Some areas contain hidden towers known as "Sol Citadels", which are found by bombing specific parts of an area. Yellow "Special Flags" from "Rally-X" can also be uncovered, which reward the player with an extra life.
"Super Xevious" poses multiple additions and changes to the original game. The gameplay overall is harder than its predecessor in difficulty, featuring more aggressive enemies and faster-moving projectiles. Several new enemy types were introduced, including fighter jets, tanks, helicopters, and silver-plated "Galaxian" flagships, which are found in specific areas of the game. Some of these enemies reset the player's score to zero upon destruction; however, bonus points are awarded for flying over the tank. The placement of the Sol Citadels and Special Flags have also been changed.
Reception and legacy.
Its inclusion in "Xevious 3D/G+" drew mixed responses from critics. Graeme Nicholson, a writer for "Play UK", believed that while "Super" was still fun to play and posed enough challenge, its differences from the original "Xevious" were few and far between and "[spoiled] the idea of the collection slightly". A writer for the Spanish magazine "PSX Magazine" agreed, describing it as a "decaffinated" variation of its predecessor with little in the way of new content. However, they liked the slightly-refined visuals and overall increase in speed.
Retrospectively in 1998, "AllGame"s Earl Green noted of "Super"s high level of difficulty and new enemy types, writing that its enhanced challenge and differences in gameplay made it a superior update to "Xevious". "Retro Gamer" writer Stuart Campbell showed appreciation towards its new additions to the game, namely the silver "Galaxian" bosses.
Former Happy End and Yellow Magic Orchestra member Haruomi Hosono recorded an arranged dance/synthpop version of the game's theme tune, which was released in Japan by Alfa Records' Yen label as a 12" single on August 29, 1984. The single was also released in Europe by Pick Up Records that same year.


Dick Smith System 80


Max-80

The MAX-80 is a personal computer released in 1982 by Lobo Systems (formerly Lobo Drives International). It differed from other TRS-80 compatible computers in that it was not hardware compatible with the TRS-80.
Hardware.
The MAX-80 featured a Zilog Z80-B CPU which ran at 5.07 MHz, a very fast speed for its time. It came standard with 64k of memory, and was expandable via sockets for a further 64k. The standard configuration originally consisted of a 64k unit (later 128k) and CP/M. The user could buy a complete system, or provide their own monitor and disk drives.
The floppy disk controller could handle 8 inch drives using the standard IBM 3740 format in single-sided or double-sided modes, as well as 5.25 inch floppy drives with up to 80 cylinders. The Max-80 included a hard disk interface and two RS-232 serial ports. The Max-80's character generator was user programmable.
Software.
Up to 95% of TRS-80 Model III software would function without modification on the MAX-80. This did not include games. The special version of LDOS used was able to run most Model III programs with a patch disk available for those, such as VisiCalc, which it couldn't. The CP/M operating system was offered as well.
A patched version of the TRS-80 Model 4's LS-DOS 6.x operating system was later made available for the Max-80. This was called MAXDOS.
Community.
A users' group called MAXIMUL published a MAX-80 newsletter. MAXIMUL actually outlived Lobo Systems, lasting until 1989.
Reception.
Jerry Pournelle wrote in September 1983 that if the Max-80 came with more bundled software "it would be a strong contender for the best deal in microcomputerland. As it is, it's a lot of machine for the money". He recommended that customers join Maximul.


Lagoon (video game)

 is a top-view action/adventure video game for the X68000 and Super NES, in which Nasir ("Nassel" in the Japanese version), Champion of Light, must investigate the source of the world's corrupted water and return peace to Lakeland.
"Lagoon" is an action role-playing game with a fantasy setting, very similar to the early "Ys" games, combining real-time action gameplay with RPG elements such as experience levels and equipment management. The player travels through an assortment of towns, landscapes, and dungeons while battling a variety of enemies ranging from insects to giant bosses, and gaining experience and items along the way.
Story.
Lakeland is a prosperous country full of many people and their families. All was great until something bad happened. It seems that Lakeland is having a bit of a water problem: Muddy Water. An evil being known as Zerah has polluted all of Lakeland's rivers and lakes, making people very sick, and some dying. He does this in hopes to release the Evil Spirit, which is hiding underneath Lagoon Castle, so Zerah lifts Lagoon Castle into the clouds to where no one can reach it. With all this, Lakeland needs a hero.
That hero is named Nasir, the Champion of the Light. Nasir must go through many lands, challenge many monsters, and meet many people who will help him on his quest.
Characters.
The following is a list of major characters in "Lagoon", taken directly from the manual:
X68000 Version.
The original Sharp X68000 version has several differences from the more common Super NES release. It features animated cutscenes between game situations. Also, the storyline is slightly different, with objectives that do not match the order in which they happen in the Super NES version. The combat is closer in style to "", "Hydlide" or "The Tower of Druaga", where the player attacks by simply drawing a sword and crashing into an enemy, rather than hitting a button for each slash.


True and false (commands)

In Unix-like operating systems, codice_1 and codice_2 are commands whose only function is to always return with a predetermined exit status. Programmers and scripts often use the exit status of a command to assess success (exit status zero) or failure (non-zero) of the command. The codice_1 and codice_2 commands represent the logical values of command success, because "true" returns 0, and "false" returns 1.
Usage.
The commands are usually employed in conditional statements and loops of shell scripts. For example, the following shell script repeats the "echo hello" loop until interrupted:
while true
do
 echo hello
done
The commands can be used to ignore the success or failure of a sequence of other commands, as in the example:
make … && false
Setting a user's login shell to false, in /etc/passwd, effectively denies them access to an interactive shell, but their account may still be valid for other services, such as FTP. (Although /sbin/nologin, if available, may be more fitting for this purpose, as it prints a notification before terminating the session.)
The programs take no "actual" parameters; in the GNU version, the standard parameter codice_5 displays a usage summary and codice_6 displays the program version.
Null command.
The "true" command is sometimes substituted with the very similar null command, written as a single colon (codice_7). The null command is built into the shell, and may therefore be more efficient if "true" is an external program ("true" is usually a shell built in function). We can rewrite the upper example using codice_7 instead of codice_1:
while :
do
 echo hello
done
The null command may take parameters, which are ignored. It is also used as a no-op dummy command for side-effects such as assigning default values to shell variables through the codice_10 parameter expansion form. For example, from "bashbug", the bug-reporting script for Bash:


Today Trader

Today Trader, Inc is a trading and education service that started in 2008. As of 2013, trading with their service is done primarily through their relationship with the Ditto Trade online brokerage service. Since 2018, the venture serves as an educational hub.
History.
Steve Gomez and Andy Lindloff met at a Level 2 trading seminar when they were both working as floor traders in 1998. Today Trader, Inc was started in 2008 when Gomez and Lindloff began sharing their desktops with other traders through GoToMeeting. This service was available as a subscription for active day traders.
The day trading transparency and education provided by Today Trader was unique and they were early adopters in 2010. The company utilized many social media resources to crowdsource ideas and share their ideas including YouTube, Twitter, and StockTwits.
Following the article in "The New York Times", the company was approached by Brian Lund to consider becoming a "Lead Trader" with the online brokerage service Ditto Trade. Ditto Trade allows people to follow the Today Trader Lead Trader account and be included in every trade or trade alongside these "master traders" from trade alerts. In 2011, the company was performing approximately thirty transactions per month. These trades are primarily day and swing trading transactions. The service was launched later in 2010 and has been outperforming the S&P 500 since that time.
Gomez was interviewed by CNBC reporter Jane Wells after he sold a portion of his silver holdings in 2011.
On September 20, 2012, the Today Trader team discontinued their live trading service in favor of their relationship with Ditto Trade. They offer trading classes online to learn their specialized trading technique called "swing scalping". Gomez and Lindloff have also published on the importance on money management for traders.
Gomez was listed as one of the "Top 5 Trading Guru’s of 2013" by Trader Robotics.
In March 2018 Michael Hebenstreit, a stock broker from Germany, acquired Today Trader and converted the venture into an educational hub offering content and services for professional traders and students who want to learn trading.
Controversy.
The Today Trader live trading service brought attention to the field of day trading. "The Motley Fool" author Rich Greifner argued that the day trading lifestyle and results described in "The New York Times" article was "impressive" but questioned the accuracy of the claim as well as offering that these results were "hardly indicative of the typical day trader's experience".
In a follow-up post, StockTwits founder Howard Lindzon described his dislike of the term "day trader" describing it as "tired" similar to the term "journalist". He also noted that traders Gomez "keep moving forward and adapt" to the current market conditions.


TouchFLO 3D

TouchFLO 3D is a graphical user interface designed by HTC. It is used in the HTC Touch Family of Pocket PCs and was preceded by TouchFLO. TouchFLO 3D has been ported to Windows Mobile and Android, and is used in the HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, HTC Touch HD, HTC MAX 4G, HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2. The HTC Touch Viva, HTC Touch 3G and HTC Touch2 have a simpler version entitled TouchFLO 2D, where they have the same scrolling tab on the bottom of the screen, however they do not have any 3D visual effects. From the HTC Hero and HTC HD2 onwards, TouchFLO 3D has been heavily extended and is now being referred to, along with other usability improvements, as HTC Sense. The HTC Touch2 runs a version of TouchFLO 2D that is similar in style to HTC Sense.
Main Elements.
Today Screen Plugin.
The Today screen plugin is the main aspect of TouchFLO 3D, and consists of several tabs, which can be viewed by sliding a finger along the bottom bar or touching one of the visible icons. The tabs to the immediate right and left of the current tab can be accessed by swiping in the relevant direction. The tabs are:
Each tab has two soft keys which provide access to functions associated with a tab or tab customisation.
System Status Screen.
Instead of requiring users to touch the small status icons at the top of the screen (battery, volume, signal, etc.), the System Status Screen appears when the system status area is pressed, providing larger, finger-friendly buttons.
Revisions.
TouchFLO 3D debuted in 2008 on the HTC Touch Diamond. Early updates removed many of the animations to increase the perception of speed. Since then, it has been altered several times:
HTC Touch Pro.
The Tasks screen is only available on the HTC Touch Pro. It may be accessed by opening the keyboard while viewing TouchFLO 3D.
HTC Touch HD.
The HTC Touch HD added the Stock tab and the ability to rearrange or hide tabs. Also, from the Touch HD onwards, TouchFLO 3D was designed for WVGA screens rather than VGA screens.
HTC Touch Diamond2/HTC Touch Pro2/HTC Tilt 2 (AT&T).
At the 2009 Mobile World Congress, more extensive changes were revealed. A Calendar tab, featuring month and day views, was introduced. The Stock tab was revised; it no longer displays graphs, but instead displays the quote and whether it has increased or decreased. The contacts tab was also changed: tapping on a contact displays a subscreen with several new tabs: a contact details tab, and tabs which display text messages, emails, and the call history associated with that contact. The Settings tab has been expanded to include more aspects such as G-sensor and contact card. In addition, a replacement for the Tasks Screen has been devised: all tabs now have an arrangement in landscape format. To give extra screen space, the slider will shrink to a small button on the bottom left, which when pressed will expand to reveal the entire slider. Alternatively, in both portrait and landscape modes, a quick swipe left or right can flip tabs one at a time.
Third Party Interest.
There have been several third-party add-on tabs created. These include:
Also, a 3rd party TouchFLO 3D clone, called ThrottleLauncher , is available for many other devices.


Arena of Octos

Arena of Octos is a single-player, turn-based combat video game for the Apple II and TRS-80 computer families. It was created by Steve Kropinak and Al Johnson in 1981 and published by "SoftSide" magazine. The player assumes the role of a human space pilot, captured by an aggressive race of green-skinned aliens known as Octons after straying into their space. To win freedom, the human must become a gladiator and engage in physical combat with numerous Octon warriors.
Gameplay.
Combat takes place in an octagonal arena, with eight stones littering the ground and a fire pit at its center. The first round pits the player against a single Octon warrior named Ziuf-Basi, whom the player must defeat using a sword and shield. (The Octon is similarly equipped.) Subsequent rounds of combat may add additional opponents.
Combat is handled in turn fashion: the player makes a series of actions, then the opponents respond. Actions include swinging the sword, raising the shield, moving in one of eight directions, or standing up. The player can shove an opponent by moving into him, which may cause him to stumble over a rock or fall into the fire pit. In the first round, both the player and the Octon can perform four actions in a turn, but this increases in subsequent rounds.
Damage is tracked using strength points. The player begins with 16 points and each direct blow removes one point, as does stumbling. Falling into the fire pit removes one or more points.
The game's display has an eight-pointed direction selector to choose which way to move, and a stats area showing the player's condition and that of the opponents.
Development.
In response to offers in computing magazines promising "up to $1000 for your programs," friends Steve Kropinak and Al Johnston created "Arena of Octos" and submitted it in 1981 to "SoftSide", a magazine which published user-submitted programs for the TRS-80, Apple II, and Atari 8-bit platforms. Having worked out the premise of the game together, Johnston wrote the TRS-80 version and Kropinak the Apple II version. "SoftSide" paid Johnston and Kropinak $90 each for first publishing rights of the game's BASIC listing, and a further $90 to acquire the full rights.
Legacy.
"Arena of Octos" was reprinted in "The Best of SoftSide" (1983).


Toronto PET Users Group

The Toronto PET Users Group is one of the world's oldest extant computer user groups, and was among the very largest. The non-profit group is based in Toronto but has an international membership. It supports nearly all Commodore computers, including the PET, VIC-20, C64, C128, Plus/4, C16, C65, and Amiga, including the COMAL, CP/M and GEOS environments. TPUG is noted for its ties with Commodore Canada, its extensive and widely distributed software library, and its association with prominent computing pioneers such as Jim Butterfield, Brad Templeton, Karl Hildon, and Steve Punter.
History.
TPUG was founded in 1978 or 1979 by Lyman Duggan, a Toronto-area resident who had recently bought a Commodore PET 2001 but could not find an existing user group with any PET owners. At the urging of local author and programmer Jim Butterfield, Duggan organized his own PET group—then known as CLUB 2001—and advertised it by word of mouth. The first meeting was held in the party room of Duggan's condominium, with Butterfield as the invited speaker. Some 35 people showed up. Attendance at subsequent meetings grew rapidly, leading Duggan to shift them to ever-larger venues—first to the Ontario Science Centre and later to a theatre at Sheridan College.
When Duggan was unexpectedly transferred by his employer to Florida in 1980, he nominated a board of directors to replace him, and TPUG was transformed from a privately run enterprise into a members' club. By 1982 it had over 2000 members, with 40 more signing up each week, and a magazine circulation of 3000. The club reached its peak in the mid-1980s, with membership figures variously reported between 15,000 and 22,000. It thus became one of the largest and longest-running user groups in the world. The club's scope grew to include other Commodore computers, with dedicated chapters for the PET, VIC-20, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and Amiga. TPUG held over a hundred chapter meetings each year, with attendance at the largest ones reaching about 700.
Operations.
In the 1980s TPUG employed a full-time staff to process memberships and to operate its software library and magazine publishing operations. The club became a central clearing house for freeware for the PET, VIC-20, C64, and other Commodore 8-bit computers. Disks and tapes were distributed by mail to a network of associated Commodore user groups across North America and around the world. Jim Butterfield authored much of the original TPUG software library and he continued to distribute new programs through the club. the software library was still maintained, and has been released in its entirety on CD-ROM, though there is little demand for titles for the very oldest machines.
TPUG's publishing arm produced a number of print periodicals for internal and external distribution, including the standalone journals "TPUG Magazine" (1984–1986) and "TPUG Newsletter" (1988–), as well as "TPUG News" (1987–1988) which was distributed as an insert in Karl Hildon's magazine "The Transactor". An earlier club magazine, "The TORPET", was produced independently under commercial contract from 1980. In 1984 its owner, Bruce Beach, dissociated the publication from TPUG and relaunched it as an oceanography journal.
TPUG was regularly involved in Commodore Canada's annual World of Commodore computer expos since their launch in 1983. The early Toronto-based shows saw attendance of around 40,000, but the series became moribund some years after Commodore's demise in 1994. In 2004 TPUG revived the World of Commodore shows, which continue under their aegis, albeit on a much reduced scale.
In its early decades, the club kept in touch with members and associates around the world through its dial-up bulletin board system, which was programmed and operated by Steve Punter and Sylvia Gallus. TPUG also maintained a presence on private online services of the day and eventually the Internet and World Wide Web. In the 2000s the club set up a special web server running on a Commodore 64, and within a week it had received hits from thousands of other Commodore machines.
Current activities.
Though membership has dwindled, TPUG continues to hold monthly meetings where 12 to 15 attending members trade software, share hacking tips, and troubleshoot old hardware. The club continues to organize the annual World of Commodore expo in Toronto, with attendance figures around 100.
On 20 January 2013, the club staged a flash mob at Starbucks to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the Commodore SX-64 portable computer. The publicity generated led to Starbucks Corporation approaching TPUG to recreate the event for a promotional documentary film. The short film, which shows club members invading a Kipling Starbucks with PETs, SX-64s, and other antique computers, was released by the corporation in October 2014 as part of its "Meet Me At Starbucks" series.


Canon EOS 400D

The EOS 400D, called Digital Rebel XTi in North America and EOS Kiss Digital X in Japan, is an entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera introduced by Canon on 24 August 2006.
Details.
It is the successor of the Canon EOS 350D, and upgrades to a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, a larger continuous shooting buffer, an integrated image sensor vibrating cleaning system (first used in a Canon EOS DSLR), a more precise nine-point autofocus system from the EOS 30D, improved grip, and a bigger LCD with 230,000 pixels and a larger viewing angle which replaces the top status screen.
The 400D uses the DIGIC II image processor, as is used in the 350D. The 400D file numbering system holds 9,999 pictures, as opposed to 100 photos in one folder with the 350D. Support for the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) USB protocol is available since version 1.1.0. The latest firmware available is version 1.1.1.
It was succeeded by the Canon EOS 450D (Rebel XSi in North America) which was announced at the PMA show in January 2008 with sales commencing in April 2008.
Custom firmware.
400plus is a firmware add-on which offers additional functionality for Canon 400D, such as intervalometer and custom autofocus patterns.


Be Inc.

Be Inc. was an American computer company founded in 1990. It is best known for the development and release of BeOS, and the BeBox personal computer. Be was founded by former Apple Computer executive Jean-Louis Gassée with capital from Seymour Cray.
Be's corporate offices were located in Menlo Park, California, with regional sales offices in France and Japan. The company later relocated to Mountain View, California for the duration of its dissolution.
The company's main intent was to develop a new operating system using the C++ programming language on a proprietary hardware platform. BeOS was initially exclusive to the BeBox, and was later ported to Apple Computer's Power Macs despite resistance from Apple, due to the hardware specifications assistance of Power Computing. In 1998, BeOS was ported to the Intel x86 architecture, and PowerPC support was reduced and finally dropped after BeOS R5. It inspired the open source operating system, Haiku.
History.
Be was founded by former Apple Computer executive Jean-Louis Gassée in 1990 with Steve Sakoman after being ousted by Apple CEO John Sculley.
According to several sources including "Macworld UK", the company name "Be" originated in a conversation between Gassée and Sakoman. Gassée originally thought the company should be called "United Technoids Inc.", but Sakoman disagreed and said he would start looking through the dictionary for a better name. A few days later, when Gassée asked if he had made any progress, Sakoman replied that he had got tired and stopped at "B." Gassée said, "'Be is nice. End of story."
Be aimed to create a modern computer operating system written in C++ on a proprietary hardware platform. In 1995, the BeBox personal computer was released by Be, with its distinctive strips of lights along the front that indicate the activity of each PowerPC CPU, and the combined analogue/digital, 37-pin GeekPort. In addition to BeOS and BeBox, Be also produced BeIA, an OS for internet appliances. Its commercial deployments included the Sony eVilla and DT Research, during its short lifespan.
In 1996, Apple was searching for a new operating system to replace the classic Mac OS. Eventually, the two final options were BeOS and NeXTSTEP. NeXT was chosen and acquired due to the persuasive influence of Steve Jobs and the incomplete state of the BeOS product, criticized at the time for lacking such features as printing capability.
Dissolution and litigation.
Ultimately the assets of the Be, Inc. were bought for US$11 million in 2001 by Palm, Inc., where Gassée served on the board of directors, at which point the company entered dissolution. The company then initiated litigation against Microsoft for aggressively anti-competitive and monopolistic business practices. Joining a long history of antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft, Be specifically contested Microsoft's prohibition of OEMs to allow dual-boot systems containing both Microsoft and non-Microsoft operating systems. The suit was settled in September 2003 with a US$23.25 million payout to Be, Inc.
Palm subsequently spun off a wholly owned subsidiary PalmSource to develop its Palm OS and related software, with the Be assets being transferred to PalmSource which was subsequently acquired by Japanese-based ACCESS.
Legacy.
The open source operating system Haiku resumed BeOS's legacy in the form of a complete reimplementation. Beta 1 of Haiku was released in September 2018. As of then, there is an active development team with nightly releases.


BigPark

BigPark was a Canadian video game developer owned by Microsoft Studios.
History.
Microsoft acquired BigPark in 2009, a few months prior to the announcement of the Kinect sensor (known then as "Project Natal"). Their first project was to be "Joy Ride", a casual racing title which incorporated Xbox Live Avatars and used the Kinect motion sensing device. The game was originally intended to be a free Xbox Live Arcade game, but was eventually renamed "Kinect Joy Ride" and became a launch title for Kinect. Later, the company became more involved in providing interactive content that would be shown alongside live television as part of the Xbox One platform. As Microsoft moved away from the Kinect around 2016, BigPark along with several other studios that had been part of Microsoft's Kinect efforts were folded into the company.


Darkman (video game)

Darkman is a video game that was developed by Ocean Software (Painting By Numbers on the NES version, Twilight on the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum versions) and published by Ocean Software in 1991. It was released for the Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Atari ST. It also had two different games of the same name for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. The game's plot is loosely based on the film of the same name.
NES version.
In this side-scrolling platformer, the player controls Darkman, a superhero who can jump, kick and punch, as well as swing from a rope during action sequences between levels. In most levels, Darkman disguises himself as the boss of the level, whom he must defeat before the time limit elapses. Tying into the plot of the film, Darkman wears masks of various gangsters who are responsible for his disfigurement, but his disguise dissolves after being exposed to sunlight for too long. The character changes into a different member of the evil gang in each level, taking on their attack moves as well as their face.
Between levels, Darkman must photograph his quarry before he can make a mask of them. These scenes involve moving the cursor to take a picture of the gangster. The better the photo accuracy, the more time Darkman is granted to complete the subsequent level. The final level is the similar to the film, and takes place on a skyscraper under construction.
Reception.
The Spectrum version was well received critically, with "Crash" magazine awarding 82%, and "Sinclair User" 78%. In a 1991 review, "Your Sinclair" gave the Spectrum version 85%, while a 1993 review by another "Your Sinclair" critic gave "Darkman's" budget re-release 22%.


Sakhr Software Company

Sakhr Software Company () is an Arabic language technology company based in Kuwait. It deals with products for the Middle East in e-governance, education, wireless, and security.
The Company currently has 200 employees worldwide. Its research and engineering activities are in Silicon Valley and Egypt, with sales offices in the U.S. (Washington, DC and California), Kuwait, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Oman, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
History.
Sakhr was founded in 1982 by Mohammed AlSharekh after branching out of his computer hardware company Alamiah Electronics by producing Arabic versions of the MSX computers. After nearly three decades in the industry and more than US$100 million investments, it now leads the field in Arabic language machine translation, OCR, speech recognition, speech synthesis, search, and localization.
In 1990, following the first events of the Gulf War, Sakhr relocated to Heliopolis, Cairo. After the relocation, the company changed its approach by terminating all computer manufacturing projects to focus exclusively on developing software products.
Sakhr provided Arabic language localization services to the Saudi's Ministry of Education, Egypt's Ministry of Commerce, Oman's Ministry of Education, and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Dial Directions.
In 2009, Sakhr acquired Dial Directions, Inc., a U.S. Silicon Valley software company providing language applications for mobile cloud-computing environments, including wireless carriers, telematics, and “smartphones” such as the Apple iPhone to enhance its market position in the emerging mobile application & cloud computing market.
Awards.
Sakhr software has won the following International awards:


Videx

Videx, Inc. is a Corvallis, Oregon manufacturer of computer hardware such as access control products and data collection terminals. Its initial success came with the first release of the $345 Videoterm (80 column) display card in March 1980 and the $149 shift and custom keyboard mapping Enhancer II terminal card in November 1981, both for Apple II computers. Later, in 1984, it released its $379 UltraTerm expansion card boasting high-definition 96-pixel characters and up to 128 × 32 character display. These products became obsolete when Apple released the Apple IIe with most of the 80-column card hardware built-in - only a much simpler and cheaper RAM card was then required.
Videx also produced software, including Desktop Calendar for the Apple Lisa.


Microworld (video game)

Microworld is a 1981 text adventure published by Med Systems Software for the TRS-80. An Atari 8-bit family version followed.
Gameplay.
"Microworld" is a text adventure game in which the player is transformed into an "electroid" inside a TRS-80 computer, and travels through the circuits, searching for colored IC chips.
Reception.
Allen L. Wold reviewed "Microworld" in "The Space Gamer" No. 52. Wold commented that "for the intelligent child, the adventure gaming beginner, or someone who'd just like to 'get into' his or her computer for a while, "Microworld" can be a lot of fun."


Huawei Ideos Tablet S7

The Huawei Ideos Tablet S7 is an Android 3G tablet/phone with a 7-inch touch-screen that has 800*480 resolution, it runs Android 2.1, can connect via Wifi, has stereo sound and a gravity sensor.
It is sold in Australia by Telstra as the T-Touch Tab. It is the cheapest tablet in Australia, according to PC World "the T-Touch Tab is effectively alone as an affordable, entry-level tablet that doesn't skimp on too many features". It is sold exclusively by Telstra for use on the Telstra Next G network.


Sun Java Workstation

Sun Java Workstation was a line of computer workstations sold by Sun Microsystems from 2004 to 2006, based on the AMD Opteron microprocessor family. The range supplanted the earlier Sun Blade workstation line. These were the first x86-architecture workstations Sun had produced, other than the short-lived Sun386i in the late 1980s.
Supported operating systems were Solaris, Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9. The Java Workstation name alluded to the workstations being intended to run Sun's Java Desktop System, a GNOME-based desktop environment.
The Java Workstation series was replaced by Ultra 20 and Ultra 40 workstations from 2005 onwards.


HP Neoview

HP Neoview was a data warehouse and business intelligence computer server line based on the Hewlett Packard NonStop line. It acted as a database server, providing NonStop OS and NonStop SQL, but lacked the transaction processing functionality of the original NonStop systems.
The line was retired, and no longer marketed, as of January 24, 2011.


Gradiente Expert

The Expert, made by Gradiente Eletrônica (to date best known as a game console and Hi-Fi equipment company) was the second and last MSX home computer launched in the Brazilian market, in the mid-1980s.
It was presented to the public at the 5th International Computing Fair, nicknamed "Informatica '85". The event took place at Anhembi Exhibition Center in the city of São Paulo from September 23 to 29, 1985. At the announcement, the computer was priced 65 ORTN s.
Its market release date was 1 December 1985, one week after Epcom's Hotbit, just in time for 1985's Christmas and with a massive media campaign on magazines, newspapers and TV. In the newspapers ads the initial offer price was Cr$4.640.000,00, or US$493,62 by the value at the time, or US$ 1150 in 2019.
The machine was a clone of the National CF-3000, with a computer case resembling a stereo system, a detached keyboard with a proprietary connector, no caps lock LED and no reset key, although the soft-reset could be achieved by pushing in either of the cartridge slot covers.
The Expert XP-800 was followed by the Expert GPC-1 ("Gradiente Personal Computer") in 1987, and by Expert Plus and Expert DD Plus (a system with a built-in 720 KB 3" floppy disk drive) in 1989. The Expert users waited for an MSX2 machine, but Gradiente never produced it and discontinued the MSX line in 1990.
Versions XP-800/GPC-1.
The two first versions had a graphite case and socketed chips, which caused a chronic problem: when the machine heated, the chips frequently pulled out and the system "froze". Also, the GPC-1, released in 1987, had a ROM slightly modified to solve an ASCII table compatibility issue with the other popular Brazilian MSX, Sharp's Hotbit.
Versions Plus/DD Plus.
The last two versions had a black case and the problematic socketed chips were replaced by an ASIC. Nevertheless, the RAM was mapped to a secondary slot and, although it was straight by the MSX standards, caused a lot of crashes with programs who searched for memory in the wrong place. It did not contribute for the popularity of any of the Plus versions.


ICL 7500 series

The ICL 7500 series (7501, 7502, 7503, 7561, etc.) was a range of terminals and workstations, that were developed by ICL during the 1970s for their new range ICL 2900 Series mainframe computers. The colour scheme was compatible with the 2900. The term 7561 is a commonly used though loose term for the interactive video aspects of the 7502 series. The 7501 and 7502 systems were known as Modular Terminal Processors in marketing publications. 7501 and 7502 systems were built at Blackhorse Road, Letchworth (1/3 factory).
7502 consisted of a system enclosure containing up to eight PCB's (CPU card, memory cards, peripheral controllers and video cards). It was similar in size to a desk side or tower PC, but was mounted horizontally. As it was intended to function in an office environment, steel-framed, wood-veneered cabinets and furniture were available for the processor and peripheral units. The 7502 system enclosure had two levels to include space for the dual, 8-inch floppy disc unit. The interior of the cabinet was covered with acoustic-absorbent foam material to cut the noise from the cooling fans. The maximum connectivity was 8 x 7561 VDU stations and four serial printers, but in the early systems it was necessary to reduce the VDU attachments if floppy disc storage was attached. The rear of the 7502 system carried the connectors for VDUs, modem and serial printers and a set of 8 "engineer's switches" which could be used to input data and set options for "teleloading" software.
7501 comprised a smaller enclosure integrated beneath a 7561 VDU terminal. It had only 5 card slots in the backplane and offered reduced connectivity with only one additional VDU terminal possible. A narrow operator's console with indicators, rotary-switch and modem control switches was implemented below the VDU screen bezel.
7501 and 7502 were functionally the same and shared identical interfaces and system software. A 4 Kbyte Read-Only Memory (ROM) in the normal address space provided a system bootstrap capable of downloading the operating software over the normal synchronous communications line, loading or dumping from/to local floppy disc or providing a local engineer's console. For diagnostic purposes an Engineer's Test Unit could be installed between the CPU card and the backplane. This gave the engineer full capability of reading and writing registers or memory and single-stepping machine code or CPU microcode. A digital cassette tape device could be used to load test or operating software.
7503 was similar to 7502 but was normally used as for Remote Job Entry. It featured a line printer, card reader and operator console integrated into a larger operators desk. It used totally different hardware and architecture for its processing system. 7503 was developed by a team in Stevenage, while 7502 was developed in Kidsgrove.
7561 VDUs were memory-mapped display monitors, and not character-based terminals. The tube phosphor was green in colour. The keyboards were separate input/output devices whose data was decoded by the operating software to update the screen display or trigger actions by the system. Security identifiers (Personal Identity Device, or PID) based on magnetically coded pens with a reader at the top right corner of the keyboard unit could be used to provide levels of access-privilege to users. Early 7561/1 VDUs had simple composite-video inputs, while the updated 7561/2 VDU had improved display tubes and interlaced scan. The native screen resolution was 25 lines of 80 characters, but there were options for a 960-character display format.
7502 used a much closer integration between the processor and the display driver circuits. In 7503, the screen updates involved the processor specifying a screen address to the display driver cards, and then firing a sequence of characters to be stored in consecutive locations starting at the specified address. The display driver hardware included hardware registers to track where the next character was to be placed. In 7502, the display memory was part of the processors normal memory space. This meant that the processor could read or write any screen location directly.
7502 had a number of command functions that allowed the processor to manipulate blocks of memory directly. This allowed the 7502 to move data on the screen very quickly, such as when the screen contents were to be scrolled up, or for rapidly clearing the screen. Similar functions also allowed the screen attributes to be amended in bulk, such as setting blocks of text to flash or to be displayed in italics.
To improve normal processing speed, 7502 used two sets of 16 bit registers. Each set had 16 registers, with 15 being used for general purpose operations, and the last one used as an instruction pointer. All writes went to both register sets, but reads were taken from one set with a simultaneous read of a different register being possible from the second set. When an interrupt occurred, one register set was frozen, and the second set was diverted to process the interrupt. After the interrupt was completed, the frozen set was copied back to the second set to resume normal operation. During interrupt processing, special functions allowed the frozen registers to be backed up to memory and different contents to be loaded to switch to a different process. The block manipulating functions described above were able to accept an interrupt part way through their execution so that manipulating very large blocks did not adversely affect interrupt processing.
7501 and 7502 used 132-column, dot-matrix printers with a serial interface. Different print speed options were offered by the various models. Most common were the 7574 (Drico), or 7576 models but legacy devices such as the "Termiprinter" could also be attached. In later years, more capable printers such as the Okidata Microline series became available. The 7503 was often connected to a card reader/punch and a medium-speed line printer, but as its popularity declined the 7502 became available with the bought-in PBS "Band Printer" with 360 or 720 lines per minute printing speed. This connectivity was a consequence of the 7502's implementation on the "Slow X2 Highway" bus system, which was also found in the 2900 Series DCU.
Storage for all three systems was 8 inch floppy drives made by CDC, although 7502 was most often used without a floppy disk, as it could download its operational software from the mainframe over its serial communication line. This was referred as "teleloading". Operational software was referred to as a Terminal Executive (TE), and would vary depending upon the functions required, mainframe connection and communications protocol employed. The TEs for standard protocols and functions were written and maintained by the Kidsgrove software team, but Letchworth Development Centre made a niche market of modifying TEs for special purposes. Variants for communication with IBM mainframes, X25 networks and the Counter Terminal System for Anglia Building Society and Local Government sector were examples. A separate development was the WORDSKIL word-processor system which was based upon 7502 hardware with dual or quadruple single-density floppy discs, portrait-format VDU and the Qume "Daisy-wheel" printer.
The role of the Terminal Processing Systems was essentially that of a communications front-end, and all computing functions were provided by the mainframe application. The workstations had limited processing facilities, including field validation, such as for alphabetic content and numeric content (with a range of check digit validations).
No user-software capability was included in the TEs. However, as the trend to distributed applications developed, an end-user programming capability was introduced under the name Transaction Processing Language (TPL). Screen forms could be defined and applications could be coded using development tools that were based in the same paradigm. Applications could be stored locally on floppy disc and low-priority transaction data spooled for transmission when a mainframe link was available, or at night when traffic was otherwise light. Applications were written by ICL partner companies and use of the development tools was not mainstream.
The natural ingenuity of the 7500 series software developers resulted in the appearance in the early 1980s of highly specialised TEs such as "PacMan" and "Space Invaders", for which the fast screen-handling abilities of the hardware was ideal. How far these games spread is unknown, but as the TEs were single-function loading "Space Invaders" would be obvious from the cessation of the normal front-end processes.
The 7500 series was largely superseded by the ICL DRS series.


MSX character set

MSX character sets are a group of single- and double-byte character sets developed by Microsoft for MSX computers. They are based on code page 437.
Character sets.
The following table shows the MSX character set. Each character is shown with a potential Unicode equivalent if available. Control characters and other non-printing characters are represented by their names.
Character set differences exist, depending on the target market of the machine. These are the variations:
The German DIN and International character sets are identical, apart from the style of zero (0) character. The international character set has a zero with a slash, while the DIN character set has a dotted zero.
The MSX terminal is compatible with VT-52 escape codes, plus extra control codes shown below.
Brazilian variants.
Gradiente custom charset.
The Brazilian manufacturer Gradiente have initially included a modified MSX character set on their v1.0 machines to allow writing correct Portuguese. Differences are shown boxed. The symbol at 0x9E (158) is the currency symbol for the Brazilian cruzado which is not used anymore.
BRASCII.
Later Brazilian MSX models (v1.1 or higher) included a standardized character set named BRASCII, which solved the accentuation incompatibility problems amongst the different makers.


Veil of Darkness

Veil of Darkness is a horror-action-adventure game for MS-DOS, FM Towns and PC-98, which was developed by Event Horizon Software and published by Strategic Simulations in 1993. Veil of Darkness is a third person, 2D point-and-click adventure game with RPG elements featuring a fixed isometric perspective and a fair share of action-RPG style combat.
Gameplay.
"Veil of Darkness" features an isometric point of view, a control panel customizable in size and an inventory system. All actions are controlled by the mouse and by areas / items within the control panel. A player can use either arrow keys for guiding movement or the mouse. The inventory can hold several items, and the Player can also find bags and pouches that enable the Player to carry more items. There is an indication in the control panel for weight (the knapsack bulges when inventory is too heavy), and for health (the Player character in a coffin becomes a skeleton progressively from the feet upwards). There is a 'mirror' that will indicate if the Player has an ailment (aged, cursed, etc.), and also certain ailments show on the Player's face in the Player portrait in the control panel. In conversations, the Player can click on a certain underlined word to pursue that topic, or the Player can type a word when the input cursor appears. If the typed word is appropriate, the Player will receive a response. To end a conversation, the Player would click 'Bye' or type 'Bye'.
The game is non-linear: the player can wander about and explore freely within an area, but certain places or actions cannot progress until the Player has done certain actions and/or found certain items. The player moves around in a dark valley, solving puzzles and occasionally killing monsters such as werewolves, vampires and skeletons. Different weapons work with different enemies, so the Player needs to find the right weapon for each battle. Also, one needs to find different plants (and sometimes other items) to cure different ailments. The puzzles are typical of a point-and-click adventure game. Some of them require very good reasoning. The puzzles consist mainly of piecing together what the Player learns from conversations, finding and using objects and finding ways to get into locked areas or past a guardian.
Plot.
The Player assumes the role of a cargo pilot whose plane is shot down by a mysterious force while flying over a remote valley in Romania. A helpful village girl named Deirdre Kristoverikh rescues the Player from the crash and takes the Player to her father Kiril, who informs them that their arrival via plane crash marks them as the chosen one who is prophesied to destroy Kairn.
Kairn is the local vampire lord who long ago murdered his father and brothers so he could inherit control of the valley. Becoming a vampire, he's used his powers to cut off contact with the outside world. The valley rests in perpetual darkness or as the game's title suggests a “veil of darkness” and the Player moves about the map, learning of new locations from the populace as you assist in various quests.
As Kairn has cut off all ways out of the valley, the only way the Player is going to leave is by fulfilling the Prophecy, an ancient curse put upon Kairn by his original source of power, a tome known as the Agrippa. The Player uses the Prophecy scroll as a guide and after bringing aid to many in the village, finally confronts Kairn at his fortress.
The Player defeats Kairn by performing a number of tasks that weaken the vampire to the point that a stake in the heart will kill him. Upon the destruction of Kairn, the Player and Deidre head for America via steamer ship.
Main characters.
The Player - The Player assumes the role of a cargo pilot whose appearance is that of a young Caucasian male with blond hair. The Player can type in any name or alias they wish, and all in game characters will often refer to him by that name.
Kairn - Kairn is the primary antagonist of the game: an evil nobleman who has become a vampire and subsequently plagued the valley over which he rules with an iron fist. Kairn's origins and back story are revealed in a story called The Forge of The Evil Heart which can be found preceding the Prophecy in the game manual. A major plot point of Veil of Darkness is the Player's need to discover the real name of Kairn. The name - contained in the pages of the Agrippa - is chosen randomly from a long list. A partial list of those names include: Beaulu, Bhenblod, Brcko, Dauthr, Drak, Malachi, T'san, and Yfelan.
Kirill Khristoverikh - The richest and most powerful man in the Valley, Kirill acts as a guide for the Player and instructs them in the Prophecy. He is also quite corrupt, and despite wishing to free himself and the others from Kairn's evil grip, he willingly hands his daughter to the vampire. He also keeps his son Andrei in an upstairs bedroom as a zombie, unwilling to kill him.
Deidre Khristoverikh - The female lead, she is the one who saves the Player and is later given to Kairn by her father Kirill. Deidre plays a small active role in the game itself, merely acting as a love interest and a damsel in distress for the end battle.
The Agrippa - The Agrippa is an ancient and powerful book of dark magic. Used by Kairn to achieve his power, he later saw it as a threat and had it chained in a secret room in a cave. It threw a curse on him which is the prophecy that forever threatens Kairn. When the Player speaks with the Agrippa, they become affected by the Brimstone curse and must remedy it by using the Dismissals of Evil Vol. III, which is located in Kairn's fortress. No one will talk to or help them until the curse has been removed.
Intellectual property rights.
Event Horizon Software has ceased to exist as a company long ago. The company has developed three other games: "The Summoning", "Dusk of the Gods" and "DarkSpyre".
Strategic Simulations, Inc. was bought by Ubisoft in 2004.
Reception.
"Computer Gaming World" stated that "Veil of Darkness" "held me in rapt attention until I had seen it through to its resolution". While critical of the brief length of the game, the magazine stated that "the experience is one to be savored ... definitely one that I am glad to have played". The magazine later nominated "Veil of Darkness" for its Role-Playing Game of the Year award, alongside "The Summoning".


Sigma dp0 Quattro

The Sigma dp0 Quattro is a large sensor digital compact camera announced by Sigma Corporation on February 10, 2015. As of the time of its release, it has the widest angle of view of any Sigma DP compact camera.
Software.
Sigma Photo Pro.
Postprocessing of raw X3F and JPEG of all digital Sigma cameras
Version 6.x is free Download for Windows 7+ und Mac OS ab Version 10.7 (6.3.x). Actual Versions are 6.5.4 (Win 7+) and 6.5.5 (MacOSX 10.9+).


Action Force (video game)

Action Force: International Heroes is a video game released by Virgin Games in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, and in 1988 for the Amstrad CPC. The game is set in the world of the Action Force (G.I. Joe) toys by Hasbro. The ZX Spectrum version of the game differs notably from the Commodore and Amstrad versions.
Gameplay.
Cobra have launched a surprise attack on the island of Botsneda. In the panic of the evacuation, classified information has been left behind in the eastern sector. An Action Force team must cross to the eastern side of the island in a modified A.W.E. Striker to retrieve the data. Their path must be safely cleared of enemies and obstacles.
The player controls a helicopter which must clear the path for the Striker and its occupants across a dangerous landscape. Rivers may be crossed by picking up pontoon sections and moving them to create pontoon bridges.
ZX Spectrum.
The Striker contains Flint, Lady Jaye and Quick Kick, while the player controls Snake Eyes, who is equipped with a helipack and an automatic rifle. The Striker will automatically stop when it meets an obstacle, and will begin moving again when the path is cleared. There are no enemy aircraft but missiles and aerial mines must be avoided or destroyed.
Commodore 64/Amstrad CPC.
The Striker contains Lady Jaye and Crankcase, while the player controls Wild Bill and Flint in an XH-1 helicopter. The XH-1 is equipped with missiles and bombs. The Striker will not stop when it meets an obstacle and will crash if the path is not cleared. The player must fight off hostile Cobra aircraft.
Sequel.
A sequel, Action Force II: International Heroes was released by Virgin Games in 1988 for the ZX Spectrum home computer.
Sequel gameplay.
Cobra has taken a number of innocent citizens hostage and it is up to Action Force to rescue them. They are being held in separate groups atop various urban buildings. Each block must be scaled by Quick Kick while Airtight covers him from the helicopter.
As with "Action Force", the player must shepherd a character across a dangerous environment, however the game is otherwise completely different.
The player controls the crosshairs of Airtight's weapon, and must shoot enemies that appear before they injure Quick Kick as he ascends the side of the building. Quick Kick also loses energy as the level progresses; it can be replenished by shooting the U.S. flags on the walls of some screens. When Quick Kick reaches the roof the hostages are released and make their way to the rescue helicopter.
At the end of each level Airtight may switch weapons; he can choose between a machine-gun, bazooka or bio-gun, each of which has different advantages and drawbacks.
Every two levels the player must defeat a tank by shooting it a certain number of times within a time-limit.
Background.
Martin Wheeler, one of the developers
I think "Action Force 2" was the game I was happiest with. We wrote it with instant arcade appeal in mind, deliberately playing on the tastes of the games reviewers who slated DD2. They gave it the 'Smash' we thought "Dan Dare 2" had deserved.
Reception.
The programming was done by the same people who did "Rebel" for Virgin, and it shows. "Rebel" looked big, bold and sharp, and so does "Action Force". It's one hell of a good game.
Hey! This game is brilliant... After a bad patch Virgin seems to have regained its former glory. "Dan Dare" was brill, "Dan Dare 2" was exceptional and "Action Force 2", well it's transcended!"
"Action Force 2" is full of wonderful little touches: bullet-holes appear in the brickwork, torches on the walls burn, your gunsight judders as you hold down the trigger. Quick-Kick expires convincingly if the enemy manages to shoot him or drop weights on his head. If you remember to shoot the dustbins, keep blasting the flags to restore energy, and keep your cool against the tank, the early levels are fairly straightforward. But as it gets harder and harder, "Action Force 2" just gets better and better.


Android Mini PC MK802

The MK802 is a PC-on-a-stick produced by Rikomagic, a Chinese company using mostly two series of Systems on a chip architectures :
History and models.
The thumb sized MK802, which was first brought into market in May 2012, can turn a display with a HDMI or DVI-D port into an Android computer, or several Ubuntu derived Linux distribution for LE (Linux Edition) versions. Since the original design was introduced, five other similar models have been released.
Connectors.
4G
All models appear similar to a somewhat enlarged USB flash drive housing a processor, RAM, storage and I/O ports. Equipped with a keyboard, mouse and display, the device can perform the functions of an Android-based computer. Linux distributions Ubuntu or PicUntu can also be installed on these devices that offer a windowed desktop environment.
The MK802's success and design has generated a host of similar devices with similar specifications, many of which have similar model numbers, but are not manufactured by Rikomagic. Also, these devices share many characteristics with the Raspberry Pi computer.


Aleutia

Aleutia Computers Ltd. (pronounced "al-oo-sha") is a privately owned computer manufacturer based in London, United Kingdom. Its product range consists of low-power desktop and server computers. Its products are used in the developing world and as original base designs for externally branded products. Its computers have been purchased by Unicef, Tesco, Schlumberger, Pret a Manger, Virgin Media, and the National Health Service. All computers come with the option to ship a version of Ubuntu or Linux Mint, alongside the mainstream choice of Microsoft Windows.
History.
Aleutia was founded in London by Michael Rosenberg in October 2006, motivated by the unreliability, inefficiency, and expense of the Hewlett-Packard PCs in the internet cafe he had set up in Takoradi, Ghana in the summer of 2006.
Its first product was the E1, which was introduced for public sale in October 2007, was a fanless, low-power computer targeting the need for energy efficient computers in Africa.
Most of the company's employees as shown on the website are now either retired or working elsewhere. The company stopped responding to telephone calls and emails in early 2018 and has effectively ceased trading. Eventually it was acquired by Captec, a manufacturer of industrial computers, in June 2019.
Products.
T series.
The T series of Atom-based nettop PCs is the longest-running and most popular. It comprises the T1 and the All-in-One, and the discontinued T1-R and T2.
D series.
The discontinued D series of desktop PCs are more powerful than the T series. It comprises the D1, D2, and D3.
Clients.
Aleutia supplies the T1 computers used as point-of-sale servers in every Pret a Manger store in the United Kingdom, United States and Hong Kong running Omnico Hospitality software.
A project being run by the Uganda Communications Commission to provide ICT to all Ugandan schools has chosen the T1 over the Asus Eee due to the T1's fan-less design.
The Ethiopia ConnectED project aimed to "build a solar-powered computer learning center that integrated the technology, theories of change, and pedagogical practices from the Hole-in-the-Wall, Education for All, and One Laptop Per Child initiatives." Aleutia supplied T1 PCs running Edubuntu, along with LED monitors, and solar kits.
Aleutia supplies the hardware and "eClinic" software used on the ground by the "Access to Basic Care" (ABC) programme, which runs 12 healthcare clinics in Oyo State, Nigeria.


System Security Services Daemon

The System Security Services Daemon (SSSD) is software originally developed for the Linux operating system (OS) that provides a set of daemons to manage access to remote directory services and authentication mechanisms. The beginnings of SSSD lie in the open-source software project FreeIPA (Identity, Policy and Audit). The purpose of SSSD is to simplify system administration of authenticated and authorised user access involving multiple distinct hosts. It is intended to provide single sign-on capabilities to networks based on Unix-like OSs that are similar in effect to the capabilities provided by Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services to Microsoft Windows networks.