Nokia N72

The Nokia N72 is a smartphone introduced by Nokia on April 25, 2006. It runs on Symbian OS 8.1a (S60 2nd Edition FP2). It is effectively a re-branded Nokia N70 with a reduced feature set. It was released in June 2006.
Features.
For an Nseries device its features are quite limited, as it has only a 2 MP camera, and runs on Symbian 8.1a operating system. The N72 is based upon the N70 and is actually a remake of the N70-5 but was redesigned and is targeted at the mass market just like its prior model the N70-5 by the removal of the 3G hardware, making it much cheaper. However, it retains the same edition of the Symbian OS as the N70, as well as a similar set of features.
The Nokia N72 is a feature-rich phone with a 2-megapixel camera, a built-in flash, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, digital music player functionality and support for 3D Java games. It also supports Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 – Pop-Port interface. It is available in two colors namely glossy black and pearl pink.
External memory.
The N72 uses Dual-Voltage Reduced Size MMC (RS-DV-MMC) cards which are also marketed as MMCmobile. These cards should not be mistaken as RS-MMC cards, which have only 7 contact pins but with the same size. The user memory for Nokia N72 is expandable up to 4 GB memory.


Mega Power

Mega Power was launched following the success of Paragon Publishing's first publication, "Sega Pro". Dave Perry along with a small editorial team helped the magazine become the first console publication to include a cover CD. The magazine was in circulation between August 1993 and July 1995.
Cover mounted CDs.
Issue 4, November 1993, included the first ever cover mounted demo playable on a Sega console, that being Thunderhawk. Game demo insert covers were provided, through the magazine, to use with the CD and an empty case.
Various other game demo CDs were released through 1993 and 1994 and they became a regular feature after May 1994. Other playable game demos CDs have included:-
"Soulstar"
"Battlecorps"
"Sensible Soccer"
"FIFA International Soccer"
"Lawnmower Man"
"Mickey Mania"
"BC Racers"
External links.
Archived Mega Power magazines on the Internet Archive


Am5x86

The Am5x86 processor is an x86-compatible CPU introduced in 1995 by AMD for use in 486-class computer systems. It is one of the fastest, and most universally compatible upgrade paths for 486 systems.
Introduced in November 1995, the Am5x86 (also known as 5x86-133, Am5x86, X5-133, and sold under various 3rd-party labels such as the Kingston Technology "Turbochip") is an Enhanced Am486 processor with an internally set multiplier of 4, allowing it to run at 133 MHz on systems without official support for clock-multiplied DX2 or DX4 486 processors. Like all Enhanced Am486, the Am5x86 featured write-back L1 cache, and unlike all but a few, a generous 16 kilobytes rather than the more common 8 KB. A rare 150 MHz-rated OEM part was also released by AMD.
Since having a clock multiplier of four is not part of the original Socket 3 design (and that the 486 only have a single CLKMUL pin anyway), AMD made the 5x86 accept a 2x setting from the motherboard and instead operate at a rate of 4x. When using an Am5x86, the motherboard must be set to the 2x setting. The chip will actually physically fit into an older 486 socket such as a socket 1 or 2 or the original 168-pin 80486 socket, but doing this requires a replacement voltage regulator, since the AMD chip runs at 3.45 volts.
The combination of clock speed and the relatively large 16 KB write-back L1 cache allows the 5x86 to equal or slightly exceed an Intel Pentium 75 MHz processor in integer arithmetic in benchmarks. Real world performance varies, however, with later Windows operating systems and many FPU-sensitive games favoring the Pentium 75 MHz. Because it is based on a pure 486 design, it is compatible with older systems, something its slightly faster rival, the Cyrix Cx5x86, has trouble with. The CPU is commonly overclocked to 160 MHz, thereby giving performance similar to that of a Pentium 90 MHz system. There are four main versions of the socketed version of this CPU, manufactured in different locations. There is the common ADW variety, as well as the later ADY, ADZ and BGC. The later models were the preferred versions of the chip, because they were rated for higher temperatures and thus more forgiving of overclocking.
The Am5x86 made the first-ever use of the controversial PR rating. Because the 5x86 is the equal of a Pentium 75 MHz processor in benchmarks, AMD later marketed the chip as "Am5x86-P75".
Sales of the Am5x86 were an important source of revenue for AMD at a time when lengthy delays in bringing the AMD K5 to production were threatening the company's profitability.
AMD manufactured the Am5x86 processor for ordinary PC systems until 1999. It was popular for entry-level desktop systems, appeared in many different notebook models, and also sold separately as an upgrade processor for older 486 systems. Several companies made upgrade kits with an AMD 5x86 with a voltage regulator and socket converter, which allows its use on virtually every socketed 486 motherboard ever produced. Several companies also provided upgrades for older 486 notebooks by replacing soldered 486 CPUs. The chips were even used on later Acorn RiscPC "PC card" second processors. The RiscPC's OpenBus memory interface was only 32 bit, which meant that the Pentium could not be easily interfaced to it. Intel's expensive Pentium Overdrive for 486 systems is a troublesome CPU, with many compatibility issues, and so is not used. The 5x86 therefore provided the acme of RiscPC Windows performance.
The chip remained in production for a long time, as it was a popular choice for use in embedded controllers. One derivative of the 5x86 family is the core used in the Élan SC520 family of microcontrollers marketed by AMD. This powers the original Cisco PIX.
Models.
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GeForce 200 series

The GeForce 200 series is a series of Tesla-based GeForce graphics processing units developed by Nvidia.
Architecture.
The GeForce 200 Series introduced Nvidia's second generation of Tesla (microarchitecture), Nvidia's unified shader architecture; the first major update to it since introduced with the GeForce 8 Series.
The GeForce GTX 280 and GTX 260 are based on the same processor core. During the manufacturing process, GTX chips were binned and separated through defect testing of the core's logic functionality. Those that fail to meet the GTX 280 hardware specification are re-tested and binned as GTX 260 (which is specified with fewer stream processors, less ROPs and a narrower memory bus).
In late 2008, Nvidia re-released the GTX 260 with 216 stream processors, up from 192. Effectively, there were two GTX 260 cards in production with non-trivial performance differences.
The GeForce 200 series GPUs (GT200a/b GPU), excluding GeForce GTS 250, GTS 240 GPUs (these are older G92b GPUs), have double precision support for use in GPGPU applications. GT200 GPUs also have improved performance in geometry shading.
, the GT200 is the seventh largest commercial GPU ever constructed, consisting of 1.4 billion transistors covering a 576 mm2 die surface area built on a 65 nm process. It is the fifth largest CMOS-logic chip that has been fabricated at the TSMC foundry. The GeForce 400 Series have since superseded the GT200 chips in transistor count, but the original GT200 dies still exceed the GF100 die size. It is larger than even the Kepler-based GK210 GPU used in the Tesla K80, which has 7.1 billion transistors on a 561 mm2 die manufactured in 28 nm. The Ampere GA100 is currently the largest commercial GPU ever fabricated at 826 mm2 with 54.2 billion transistors.
Nvidia officially announced and released the retail version of the previously OEM only GeForce 210 (GT218 GPU) and GeForce GT 220 (GT216 GPU) on October 12, 2009. Nvidia officially announced and released the GeForce GT 240 (GT215 GPU) on November 17, 2009. The new 40nm GPUs feature the new PureVideo HD VP4 decoder hardware in them, the older GeForce 8 and 9 GPUs only have PureVideo HD VP2 or VP3(G98). They also support Compute Capability 1.2, whereas older GeForce 8 and 9 GPUs only supported Compute Capability 1.1. All GT21x GPUs also contain an audio processor inside and support 8 channel LPCM output through HDMI.
Chipset table.
GeForce 200 Series.
All models support Coverage Sample Anti-Aliasing, Angle-Independent Anisotropic Filtering, 240-bit OpenEXR HDR
Features.
Compute Capability: 1.1 (G92 [GTS250] GPU)
Compute Capability: 1.2 (GT215, GT216, GT218 GPUs)
Compute Capability: 1.3 has double precision support for use in GPGPU applications. (GT200a/b GPUs only)
GeForce 200M (2xxM) Series.
The GeForce 200M Series is a graphics processor architecture for notebooks.
Discontinued support.
NVIDIA has ceased driver support for GeForce 200 series on April 1, 2016.


David Plummer (programmer)

David William Plummer (born August 9, 1968) is a Canadian-American programmer and entrepreneur. He created the Task Manager for Windows, the "Space Cadet Pinball" ports to Windows NT, Zip file support for Windows, HyperCache for the Amiga and many other software products. He has been issued six patents in the software engineering space. He holds the world record score for the video game "Tempest".
Personal life.
Plummer was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. As a child, Plummer spent much of his free time at his father’s hardware store and his grandfather’s workshop. When he was 11, he had his first interaction with a computer at a local RadioShack; he helped them set up their newly-arrived computer even though he had no previous experience.
Plummer discovered that the University of Regina had a computer lab that he could access on Saturday mornings. He began going there every week to use and explore their computers. Shortly after, his mother enrolled him in a computer class at the University of Regina that was offered to the community.
He attended Miller High School, but dropped out during his senior year. As a teenager, he created several video games for the Commodore 64, including "Tour de Force". After working various jobs and programming a computer game with a friend, he returned to high school at the age of 21 and graduated. He then enrolled in the University of Regina and graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor’s of Science with High Honors Computer Science.
As of 2020, Plummer lives with his wife Nicole and their four children, ages 12-22, in Redmond, Washington.
Career.
After landing an intensive interview with Microsoft, Plummer moved to Redmond, Washington and began working for the tech company in 1993. He began his career with Microsoft as an intern, but was later offered a full-time job with the company for $35,000 a year.
While employed at Microsoft, Plummer began creating the Task Manager program at his home. Plummer eventually showed his newly developed program to Dave Cutler, who allowed him to bring his project into work, upload it to the system, and fine tune the program into what was eventually released with the 1996 shipments of Microsoft computers. During his tenure with Microsoft, Plummer worked on software such as MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows NT, including features of note like Task Manager and "Space Cadet Pinball".
Plummer left Microsoft in 2003. and continues to code in his free time. He has since started his own YouTube channel (Dave's Garage) where he creates a variety of content regarding computer programming and, his personal interest, cars.
After nearly 25 years of anonymity, on May 25, 2020, Plummer came forward on a Reddit post and admitted to developing the Task Manager application. In his post, he shares some tips and tricks for using Task Manager.
Exactly six months later, on Nov 25, 2020, Plummer came forward again with a YouTube video that described his role in selecting the ballast data for the Windows XP anti-piracy protection. Plummer claims to have used the digital images of Microsoft Bob as the initial seed into the pseudorandom number generation that produced the ballast, so that (in his words) the "Digital spirit of Bob" was included with the approximately 500,000,000 Windows XP installations.


Room for PlayStation Portable

Room for PlayStation Portable (officially styled R∞M — that is, with the initial and final letters in capital case, and an intervening pair of (lowercase) letters O suggested by an intervening infinity symbol. also marketed as PlayStation Room) was a community-based social networking service that halted development on April 15, 2010. It was being developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and beta tested in Japan, from October 2009 to April 2010 for the PlayStation Portable on the PlayStation Network. The service was similar to the PlayStation 3's service, PlayStation Home.
Room was first announced at TGS 2009. It could be launched directly from the PlayStation Network section of the PSP's XrossMediaBar after it had been downloaded and installed onto the PSP system. Just as with Home, PSP owners would have been able to invite other PSP owners into their Simulated rooms (called "my rooms") to "enjoy real time communication." The service would have been free, with additional premium content available at launch. It was to be available for all models of the PSP; Sony announced that it would allow users to create 3-D avatars, room spaces, blogs, albums, and chat support.
A closed beta test was conducted from October 2009 up to April 15, 2010, with selected PSP owners receiving an invitation to participate, and further details. PSP owners in Japan were able to sign up from September 24 to October 5 of 2009, on the Japanese website, requiring
Development of the service was halted on April 15, 2010, in light of the feedback from the participants, with SCE Japan thanking them for their feedback.


MicroSPARC

The microSPARC (code-named "Tsunami") is a microprocessor implementing the SPARC V8 instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Sun Microsystems. It was a low-end microprocessor intended for low-end workstations and embedded systems. The microprocessor was developed by Sun, but the floating-point unit (FPU) was licensed from Meiko Scientific. It contained 800,000 transistors.
There were two derivatives of the microSPARC: the microSPARC-II and microSPARC-IIep. The microSPARC-IIep was a 100 MHz microSPARC-II with an integrated PCI controller for embedded systems. It was developed and fabricated by LSI Logic for Sun. The microprocessor was used by Sun in their JavaStation Network Computer.


Carter (supercomputer)

Carter is a supercomputer installed at Purdue University in the fall of 2011 in a partnership with Intel. The high-performance computing cluster is operated by Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), the university's central information technology organization. ITaP also operates clusters named Steele built in 2008, Coates built in 2009, Rossmann built in 2010, and Hansen built in the summer of 2011. Carter was the fastest campus supercomputer in the U.S. outside a national center when built. It was one of the first clusters to employ Intel's second generation Xenon E-5 "Sandy Bridge" processor and ranked 54th on the November 2011 TOP500 list, making it Purdue's first Top 100-ranked research computing system.
Hardware.
The Carter cluster consists of HP Proliant compute nodes with two 8-core Intel Xeon-E5 processors (16 cores per node), either 32 gigabytes or 64 GB of memory, and a 500 GB system disk. NVIDIA Tesla GPU-accelerated nodes also are available. All nodes have 56 Gbit/s FDR Infiniband connections from Mellanox. Carter was the first cluster to employ this generation of Mellanox interconnects.
Software.
Carter nodes run Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6) and Carter uses Moab Workload Manager 6 and TORQUE Resource Manager 3 as the portable batch system (PBS) for resource and job management. The cluster also has compilers and scientific programming libraries installed.
Funding.
The Carter supercomputer and Purdue's other clusters are part of the Purdue Community Cluster Program, a partnership between ITaP and Purdue faculty. In Purdue's program, a "community" cluster is funded by hardware money from grants, faculty startup packages, institutional funds and other sources. ITaP's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing administers the community clusters and provides user support. Each faculty partner always has ready access to the capacity he or she purchases and potentially to more computing power when the nodes of other investors are idle. Unused, or opportunistic, cycles from Carter are made available to the National Science Foundation's Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) system and the Open Science Grid.
Users.
The Purdue departments and schools by which Carter and Purdue's clusters are used vary broadly, including Aeronautics and Astronautics, Agriculture, Agronomy, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Communications, Computer and Information Technology, Computer Science, Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Physics, the Purdue Terrestrial Observatory and Statistics, among others.
DiaGrid.
Unused, or opportunistic, cycles from Carter are made available to XSEDE and the Open Science Grid using Condor software. Coates is part of Purdue's distributed computing Condor flock, which is the largest publicly disclosed distributed computing system in the world and the center of DiaGrid, a nearly 43,000-processor Condor-powered distributed computing network for research involving Purdue and partners at nine other campuses.
Naming.
The Carter cluster is named for Dennis Lee Carter, the retired vice president for marketing of Intel, who received his master's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1974. He is credited with creating and implementing the internationally recognized “Intel Inside” campaign, spurred by what Carter says was his recognition at the dawn of the PC age that Intel needed to begin talking to the general public, not just to the PC company design engineers who had been its traditional focus. The campaign created the first broad brand awareness of a microprocessor as a key ingredient in a personal computer and made Intel’s logo a feature on the outside of most of the world’s PCs, while its five-note jingle became one of the most recognizable tunes on television. Carter also worked with Intel President Andy Grove to create the iconic Pentium brand name. The Carter cluster continues ITaP's practice of naming new supercomputers after notable figures in Purdue's computing history.


GParted

GParted (acronym of GNOME Partition Editor) is a GTK front-end to GNU Parted and an official GNOME partition-editing application (alongside Disks). GParted is used for creating, deleting, resizing, moving, checking, and copying disk partitions and their file systems. This is useful for creating space for new operating systems, reorganizing disk usage, copying data residing on hard disks, and mirroring one partition with another (disk imaging).
Background.
GParted uses libparted to detect and manipulate devices and partition tables while several (optional) file system tools provide support for file systems not included in libparted. These optional packages will be detected at runtime and do not require a rebuild of GParted.
GParted is written in C++ and uses gtkmm to interface with GTK. The general approach is to keep the GUI as simple as possible and in conformity with the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines.
The GParted project provides a live operating system including GParted which can be written to a Live CD, a Live USB and other media. The operating system is based on Debian. GParted is also available on other Linux live CDs, including recent versions of Puppy, Knoppix, SystemRescueCd and Parted Magic. GParted is preinstalled when booting from "Try Ubuntu" mode on an Ubuntu installation media.
An alternative to this software is GNOME Disks.
Supported features.
GParted supports the following operations on file systems (provided that all features were enabled at compile-time and all required tools are present on the system). The 'copy' field indicates whether GParted is capable of cloning the mentioned filesystem.
Cloning with GParted.
GParted is capable of cloning by copying and pasting. GParted is not capable of cloning an entire disk, but only one partition at a time. The file system being cloned should not be mounted. GParted clones partitions at the filesystem-level, and as a result is capable of cloning different target-size partitions for the same source, as long as the size of the source filesystem does not exceed the size of the target partition.


IO.WIN


ECW Hardcore Revolution

ECW Hardcore Revolution is a professional wrestling video game released by Acclaim Entertainment, based on the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The game was released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Dreamcast in 2000. It was the first wrestling game to be based on ECW, as well as the first professional wrestling video game to receive a Mature rating from the ESRB, although the Game Boy Color version was rated Everyone. Acclaim followed this title with the release of a sequel, "ECW Anarchy Rulz", in August 2000.
Gameplay.
Gameplay for "ECW Hardcore Revolution" is identical to WWF Attitude. Much of the content was the same, but with ECW images replacing all WWE owned material. The match rules are also retained.
Two (or more) participants attempt to meet one of the win conditions over their rival/s. They can reduce their opponent's resistance by performing decreasing their health. This is done by performing successful attacks and reversals.
Nearly all of the main characters were performers and staff members involved with ECW during the game's production. Some personalities who had left the company before or during the production were left in as unlockable content. The additional "jobber" characters are loosely based on other ECW or Acclaim staff, or are completely fictional.
The season mode is similar to the one used in WWF Attitude. The player(s) must win matches to move up the rankings before they can challenge for championship titles at pay-per-view events. In 'Versus' career, the player must first challenge for the fictional Acclaim Championship. After clearing the first tier, the player moves on to the ECW Television Championship division, and then the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. The tag team career only allows players to compete for the ECW World Tag Team Championships.
The game features all of the attacks and taunts that appeared in WWF Attitude, with some renamed, as well as some new ones. However, many of the added moves are just duplicates of moves that are already in the game. For example, Danny Doring's finisher "Whambam Thankyou Maam" is identical to the "Double Arm DDT".
One of the unique features is that match commentary is performed by Joey Styles alone. This is one of the very few wrestling video games in existence to use just one commentator.
Match Types.
Most of the matches in the game have been repeated from WWF Attitude, with many having name changes.
Match Types.
Match types are additional options that can alter match rules.
Win Modifiers.
These are more additional options that can be added to a match that will change the win conditions.
Playable Roster.
The game features numerous wrestlers and other on screen personalities who appeared on ECW programming prior to its release. Most are available by default, with the rest being un-lockable through game play. Non-wrestlers have move sets based on characters from WWF Attitude e.g. Joey Styles moves are copied directly from WWF star Edge. Several wrestlers left the company while the game was in development, but were left in as they had already been paid a fee for having their likenesses and voices used. Even though Spicolli had left the company and died years before this game was pitched, he was added as favor by Paul Heyman to Tommy Dreamer. In one of Dreamer's pre-match taunts, he can be heard saying "This one's for you, Spicolli."
The game also includes several "Jobber" characters. These characters are loosely based Acclaim and ECW staff, and have moves sets borrowed from the WWF Attitude video game. They appear as opponents in the earlier stages of Career Mode. At first there are only three available, but you can unlock the rest by beating Career mode, and then pressing 'Right' on the character selection screen.
Reception.
The Nintendo 64 and PlayStation versions received mixed reviews, while the Dreamcast and Game Boy Color versions received unfavorable reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.
Critics praised Joey Styles's commentary, and the use of weapons during the game. However, many reviews criticized "Revolution" for being a near copy of its predecessors, "WWF Attitude" and "War Zone", and not reflecting ECW's unique style, just covering over everything with ECW wrestlers and themes. Daniel Erickson of "NextGen" gave the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 versions negative reviews in two separate issues, calling the latter "One of the few games to inspire active anger and hate. Just having to handle the cart with our bare fingers made us feel dirty" (#63, March 2000); and later calling the former "A blatant insult to the intelligence of wrestling fans and Dreamcast owners" (#65, May 2000).
The Game Boy Color version was heavily criticized by critics and fans alike. Players complained about sluggish controls, poor sound effects and graphics and glitches. It was rated as one of the two worst GBC games of all time by MobyGames.com


GRAPHICS.CMD


Am486

The Am486 is a 80486-class family of computer processors that was produced by AMD in the 1990s. Intel beat AMD to market by nearly four years, but AMD priced its 40 MHz 486 at or below Intel's price for a 33 MHz chip, offering about 20% better performance for the same price.
While competing 486 chips, such as those from Cyrix, benchmarked lower than the equivalent Intel chip, AMD's 486 matched Intel's performance on a clock-for-clock basis.
While the Am386 was primarily used by small computer manufacturers, the Am486DX, DX2, and SX2 chips gained acceptance among larger computer manufacturers, especially Acer and Compaq, in the 1994 time frame.
AMD's higher clocked 486 chips provided superior performance to many of the early Pentium chips, especially the 60 and 66 MHz launch products. While equivalent Intel 80486DX4 chips were priced high and required a minor socket modification, AMD priced low. Intel's DX4 chips initially had twice the cache of the AMD chips, giving them a slight performance edge, but AMD's DX4-100 usually cost less than Intel's DX2-66.
The enhanced Am486 series supported new features like extended power-saving modes and an 8 KiB Write-Back L1-Cache, later versions even got an upgrade to 16 KiB Write-Back L1-Cache.
The 133 MHz AMD Am5x86 was a higher clocked enhanced Am486.
Am486 models.
WT = Write-Through cache strategy, WB = Write-Back cache strategy


IBM PC keyboard

The keyboard for IBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, many keyboard layout variations have been developed.
A well-known class of IBM PC keyboards is the Model M. Introduced in 1984 and manufactured by IBM, Lexmark, Maxi-Switch and Unicomp, the vast majority of Model M keyboards feature a buckling spring key design and many have fully swappable keycaps.
Keyboard layouts.
The PC keyboard changed over the years, often at the launch of new IBM PC versions.
Common additions to the standard layouts include additional power management keys, volume controls, media player controls, and miscellaneous user-configurable shortcuts for email client, World Wide Web browser, etc.
The IBM PC layout, particularly the Model M, has been extremely influential, and today most keyboards use some variant of it. This has caused problems for applications developed with alternative layouts, which require keys that are in awkward positions on the Model M layout – often requiring the pinkie to operate – and thus require remapping for comfortable use. One notable example is the escape key, used by the vi editor: on the ADM-3A terminal this was located where the Tab key is on the IBM PC, but on the IBM PC the Escape key is in the corner; this is typically solved by remapping Caps Lock to Escape. Another example is the Emacs editor, which makes extensive use of modifier keys, and uses the Control key more than the meta key (IBM PC instead has the Alt key) – these date to the Knight keyboard, which had the Control key on the "inside" of the Meta key, opposite to the Model M, where it is on the "outside" of the Alt key; and to the space-cadet keyboard, where the four bucky bit keys (Control, Meta, Super, Hyper) are in a row, allowing easy chording to press several, unlike on the Model M layout. This results in the "Emacs pinky" problem.
Reception.
Although "PC Magazine" praised most aspects of the 1981 IBM PC keyboard's hardware design, it questioned "how IBM, that ultimate pro of keyboard manufacture, could put the left-hand shift key at the awkward reach they did". The magazine reported in 1982 that it received more letters to its "Wish List" column asking for the ability to determine the status of the three lock keys than on any other topic. "Byte" columnist Jerry Pournelle described the keyboard as "infuriatingly excellent". He praised its feel but complained that the Shift and other keys' locations were "enough to make a saint weep", and denounced the trend of PC compatible computers to emulate the layout but not the feel. He reported that the layout "nearly drove" science-fiction editor Jim Baen "crazy", and that "many of [Baen's] authors refused to work with that keyboard" so could not submit manuscripts in a compatible format. The magazine's official review was more sanguine. It praised the keyboard as "bar none, the best ... on any microcomputer" and described the unusual Shift key locations as "minor [problems] compared to some of the gigantic mistakes made on almost every other microcomputer keyboard".
"I wasn't thrilled with the placement of [the left Shift and Return] keys, either", IBM's Don Estridge stated in 1983. He defended the layout, however, stating that "every place you pick to put them is not a good place for somebody ... there's no consensus", and claimed that "if we were to change it now we would be in hot water".
Standard key meanings.
The PC keyboard with its various keys has a long history of evolution reaching back to teletypewriters. In addition to the 'old' standard keys, the PC keyboard has accumulated several special keys over the years. Some of the additions have been inspired by the opportunity or requirement for improving user productivity with general office application software, while other slightly more general keyboard additions have become the factory standards after being introduced by certain operating system or GUI software vendors such as Microsoft.


List of AMD Phenom microprocessors

The AMD Phenom family is a 64-bit microprocessor family from AMD, based on the K10 microarchitecture. It includes the Phenom II X6 hex-core series, Phenom X4 and Phenom II X4 quad-core series, Phenom X3 and Phenom II X3 tri-core series, and Phenom II X2 dual-core series. Other related processors based on the K10 microarchitecture include the Athlon X2 "Kuma" processors, Athlon II processors, and various Opteron, Sempron, and Turion series. The first Phenoms were released in November 2007. An improved second generation was released in December 2008, named Phenom II. Processors with an "e" following the model number (e.g., 910e) are low-power models, typically 45 W for Athlons, 65 W for Phenoms. Processors with a "u" following the model number (e.g., 270u) are ultra-low-power models, typically 20 W for single core chips or 25 W for dual core chips.
Desktop processors.
Phenom II series.
Phenom II 42 TWKR (C2, 45 nm, Quad-core, Limited Edition).
AMD released a limited edition Deneb-based processor to extreme overclockers and partners. Fewer than 100 were manufactured.
The "42" officially represents four cores running at 2 GHz, but is also a reference to the answer to life, the universe, and everything from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".


ICL CME


ThinkCentre M series

The M-series of desktops are part of Lenovo's ThinkCentre product line. Formerly an IBM brand, Lenovo acquired the ThinkCentre desktop brand following its purchase of IBM's Personal Computing Division (PCD) in 2005. Following its acquisition of IBM's PCD, Lenovo has released M-series desktops in multiple form factors, ranging from traditional tower, to small form factor, and all-in-ones (AIOs).
2003.
In 2003, IBM redesigned and re-launched their ThinkCentre product line. The first desktop released was an M-series desktop – the M50.
M50.
The first desktop in IBM's redesigned ThinkCentre line was the M50, announced in 2003. The desktop offered the following specifications:
While the desktop was made available as a consumer PC, it was more suited to a corporate environment, with the limited storage and graphics capabilities.
2005.
The ThinkCentre desktop released by Lenovo in 2005, following its acquisition of IBM's PCD was the M52.
M52.
The ThinkCentre M52 desktop was announced in May 2005 following Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's Personal Computing Division. PC World called the M52 desktop, "A corporate machine for the security conscious business user looking for stability and reliability". The M52 desktop was equipped with a 3 GHz Pentium 4 processors, an 80GB hard disk drive, up to 4GB of RAM, eight USB 2.0 ports, two serial ports, a Gigabit Ethernet connection, VGA output, and a chassis that did not require tools to open − a toolless chassis.
2006.
The ThinkCentre M55, M55p, and M55e were announced by Lenovo in September 2006.
M55.
The ThinkCentre M55 received a positive review from PC World, with the reviewer stating that "The Lenovo ThinkCentre M55 9BM is a compact and quiet business PC that keeps maintenance simple and makes upgrades easy. Its design and functions are well-suited to an office environment and we think it's a good choice for any business searching for a uniformed PC roll-out."
The desktop offered the following specifications:
Despite the fact that the desktop was capable of handling Windows Vista Business, it was preloaded with Windows XP. While the chassis was similar to previous ThinkCentre desktops, it was made smaller to fit better in office spaces.
M55p.
The ThinkCentre M55p desktop offered the following specifications:
It was described by About.com as being "a very solid system for business users" and a "general purpose PC" for consumers. However, both multimedia performance and storage space were criticized.
M55e.
The ThinkCentre M55e desktop was equipped with:
PCMag listed the pros as being the dual core processor, small form factor, enterprise-class hardware, ThinkVantage Technologies, and the three year on-site warranty. The price, the 90-day subscription to Symantec client security, and the lack of a DVD writer were listed as the cons of the desktop.
2007.
The ThinkCentre M-series desktops released by Lenovo in 2007 were the M57 and M57p.
M57 and M57p.
The ThinkCentre M57 and M57p desktops were announced in September 2007 by Lenovo. These were the first desktops from a manufacturer to receive a GREENGUARD certification.<ref name="ThinkCentre M57/M57p Preview - Engadget"></ref> In addition, both desktops were EPEAT Gold and Energy Star 4.0 rated. They were also the first ThinkCentre desktops to incorporate recycled material from consumer plastics. The desktops were equipped with up to Intel Core 2 Duo processors, up to 2GB DDR2 RAM, integrated graphics, and up to 160GB hard disk drive.
2008.
M57 Eco and M57p Eco.
The ThinkCentre M57 Eco and M57p Eco were announced by Lenovo in March 2008. These were eco-friendly versions of the M57 and M57p, which were released in 2007. The desktops were dubbed "eco" and had an ultra-small form factor with low power consumption. According to Desktop Review, the M57 used a fraction of the power needed by standard desktops, and a little more than that of an energy-saving notebook.
The M57 desktop offered the following specifications:
The M57p eco desktop had the same specifications as the M57 eco.
M58.
The M58 and M58p were announced by Lenovo in October 2008.
The desktop offered the following specifications:
M58p.
The M58p was received by Desktop Review in a manner similar to the M58, with the reviewer stating, "The M58p is designed to meet all the stringent requirements commercial organizations have while still providing that Lenovo touch through OEM software, warranties and support."
The M58p desktop offered the following specifications:
The pros of the system were listed by Desktop Review as the high-end configuration, the handle for easy movement, and the capacity for expansion. The cons were listed as being the price and the lack of DVI ports.
2009.
The ThinkCentre M-series desktop released by Lenovo in 2009 was the M58e. The Small Form Factor version uses a BTX motherboard.
M58e.
Lenovo announced the ThinkCentre M58e desktop in March 2009. The desktop offered the following specifications:
The desktop was EPEAT Gold rated and met Energy Star requirements. The M58e was also compatible with solar charger packs. PC Mag summarized its review of the desktop by saying "The Lenovo ThinkCentre M58e is a middle-of-the-road business PC, both in performance and features, though it does have the added benefits of Intel vPro and IT-friendly features. It's certainly worth a look if you need a PC environment that can grow with your business."
2010.
The ThinkCentre M-series desktops released by Lenovo in 2010 were the M70e, M70z, M90, and M90z.
M70e.
The M70e desktop was released by Lenovo in 2010 with the following specifications:
M90.
The M90 desktop was released by Lenovo in 2010 with the following specifications:
The M90 desktop received the "PCPro Recommended" award upon release, with an overall rating of five of six stars. The desktop was summarized as, "Expensive but, thanks to superb design and power, worth the cash for demanding business users".
M90z.
Also released in 2010, the M90z was an all-in-one (AIO) desktop released by Lenovo. The AIO desktop offered the following specifications:
PCMag listed the pros of the desktop as the compact design, HD display, support for two monitors, simple multi-touch interface, good component mix, stand options, and easy servicing. The cons were listed as the dull colors on videos because of the matte screen, the lack of an eSATA port, and the need for an adapter when using external DVI.
Computer shopper summarized the capabilities of the M90z with the statement, "In our test configuration, the business-oriented M90z is overkill for most office tasks. Configuration options, however, can bring down the price while still delivering a peppy big-screen office PC."
2011.
M71e.
The ThinkCentre M71e desktop was described by PCWorld as being "a basic PC designed for small and medium-sized businesses". The desktop was powered by an Intel Core i5-2500 processor and included 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM hard disk drive, and AMD Radeon HD 5450 discrete graphics. The desktop was indicated to be good for everyday office tasks and offering suitable responsiveness. Despite the presence of three fans, the desktop was not "annoyingly loud".
The DVD bay was powered by a strong motor; the drive tray would eject and close almost as soon as the button was pressed with very little lag. The desktop was, overall, described as being a simple machine with a decent configuration, without "fancy features" such as a USB 3.0 port. Some legacy features, such as a PS/2 port were available on the desktop. Also, the assembly of the machine was described as "basic", with a messy internal appearance.
The one year on-site warranty was indicated as being one of the best features on the desktop. Other features on the desktop included four USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, DVI, Display Port, and analogue audio ports.
M71z.
The M71z was described by IT Pro as being "a rare business all-in-one with a touchscreen." The default configuration offered a non-touch screen, with multi-touch as an optional upgrade. The touchscreen was described as being precise and responsive, with Lenovo applications using suitably large icons. However, the applications themselves were indicated to have not been optimized for touch control. Further, there were no touch-specific applications commonly found on consumer touchscreen devices.
The 1600 x 900 display was indicated to be "spacious enough" with acceptable color accuracy. However, the brightness level was indicated to be low, at 210.8 cd/m2.
The processing and graphical power was acceptable for everyday office tasks, with the all-in-one powered by an Intel Core i3-2100 processor and Intel HD 2000 integrated graphics. The use of graphics- and processing-intensive software was indicated to be a challenge, because of the lack of discrete graphics. Power consumption, heat levels, and noise levels were low. IT Pro commented that "the fans never became irritatingly loud. In fact, we had to press our ears up against the computer to even hear them."
The build of the all-in-one was described as being good, with strong, matte black plastic. Both keyboard and mouse were called reliable, with the keyboard described as responsive.
Detailed specifications of the M71z all-in-one are as follows:
M75e.
The ThinkCentre M75e desktop was praised by "SlashGear" for its processing power and small form factor. In terms of design, the desktop was similar to other ThinkCentre products from Lenovo, with no unnecessary styling and designs. Components could be accessed by removing two screws on the chassis.
The desktop contained an AMD Athlon II X4 640 processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 500GB hard disk drive, and ATI Radeon HD 3000 discrete graphics. The desktop was indicated by Lenovo to be "multi-monitor friendly", with the capacity to power two displays even with the basic configuration. An optional half-height graphics card also allowed two additional monitors to be powered, for a total of four independent displays.
The primary points of criticism were a direct result of the desktop's small form factor. Although the space for cooling was reduced, the M75e did not exceed stable temperatures. However, noise was a concern. The PC's fan would only run for a short duration at a high speed, making it louder than some desktops and workstations.
Detailed specifications of the ThinkCentre M75e desktop are as follows:
M77.
Announced on October 28, 2011, the ThinkCentre M77 could be upgraded to include AMD's FX processors and up to 16GB of RAM. According to Tom Shell, the vice-president and general manager of Lenovo's Commercial Desktop Business Unit, this represented a level of processing power previously found only in premium desktops. The desktop was made available in both tower and small form factors.
According to Lenovo, the use of Enhanced Experience 3.0 allowed the desktop to boot in less than 30 seconds. The desktop optionally included AMD Radeon discrete graphics, with support for up to four independent displays. Additional features on the desktop included a hard disk drive of up to 1TB, eight USB 2.0 ports, a 25-in-1 memory card reader, Trusted Platform Module, and hard disk encryption.
2012.
M82.
The M82 is available in Tower or SFF.
Specifications:
2013.
M92/M92p.
The M92p is a desktop computer designed for business use. Like other computers of the M series, it exists in three form factors: tower, small form factor (SFF) and tiny. The M92p uses Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors and makes use of DDR3-1600 RAM. Graphics processing is done by an integrated Intel HD Graphics 2000 GPU. The M92p is available with both hard drives and solid-state storage. One difference with the M91p is that the M92p comes with four USB 3.0 ports on the rear of the computer, whilst the M91p only offers USB 2.0 ports.
In a review for "ZDNet", Charles McLellan wrote, "Unless internal expansion is required, we can find little wrong with Lenovo's ThinkCentre M92p as a business-class small-form-factor PC (and there are bigger models in the range if expansion is required). Our review unit was only a moderate performer, but alternative configurations are available to give it more muscle if required."
Specifications (tower):<ref name="ThinkCentre M92/M92p Tower Desktop"></ref>
M93/M93p.
The M93/M93p available in Tower Form Factor, Small Form Factor (SFF), and Tiny Form Factor.
Specifications (tower):
2015.
M83.
The M83 is available in Mini Tower Form Factor, Small Form Factor, or Tiny Form Factor.
Specifications (mini tower):
M900/M900x.
The M900 series was announced in December, 2015. The M900 series is available in Tower Form Factor, Small Form Factor, or Tiny Form Factor. The M900x was only available in Tiny Form Factor.
Specifications (tower):
2016.
M700.
The M700 series was announced in January, 2016. The M700 series is available in Tower Form Factor, Small Form Factor, Tiny Form Factor, or Thin Client.
Specifications (tower):
2017.
M710.
The M710 series was announced in February, 2017. The M710 series consists of these models:
Specifications (tower):
M715.
The M715 series was announced in June, 2017. The M715 series consists of these models:
Specifications (Tiny 2nd gen):


Input/output base address

In the x86 architecture, an input/output base address is the first address of a range of consecutive read/write addresses that a device uses on the x86's IO bus. This base address is sometimes called an I/O port.


IBM 5162 Personal Computer XT/286


Dual Analog Controller

The Dual Analog Controller (SCPH-1150 in Japan, SCPH-1180 in the United States, and SCPH-1180e in Europe) is Sony's first handheld analog controller for the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the DualShock. Its first official analog controller was the PlayStation Analog Joystick (SCPH-1110).
History.
The Dual Analog Controller was first displayed under glass at the "PlayStation Expo 96–97", which was held from November 1 to November 4, 1996. It was released in Japan in April 1997, coincident with the Japanese releases of analog-capable titles "Tobal 2" and "Bushido Blade". It was advertised as allowing for more precise and fluid control of the games' fighters, with the rumble feature contributing to a more realistic experience.
Before its release in the United States, Sony decided that vibration feedback would be removed from the European and American versions of the controller. According to a Sony spokesperson, "We evaluated all the features and decided, for manufacturing reasons, that what was most important to gamers was the analog feature." Reasons for dropping the vibration feedback reportedly included its being linked to premature malfunction of the controllers. There were rumors that Nintendo had attempted to legally block the release of the controller in North America due to the vibration feature's similarity to Nintendo's Rumble Pak, but Nintendo firmly denied that it had taken any form of legal action over Sony's controllers. Moreover, according to the United States Patent Office, two employees of Atari Games have held a patent on vibrating game controller technology since March 1991. Another theory for the vibration feedback being dropped was that Sony simply wanted to keep the price of the controller down so as to maximize user adoption.
It was released in the United States on August 27, 1997, and in Europe in September 1997 with little promotion. A few months later, the first DualShock controller was released in Japan on November 20, 1997.
Namco had already released an analog controller for PlayStation called NeGcon. Sony's Dual Analog Controller's analog mode was not compatible with the NeGcon-compatible games such as "Wipeout" and "Ridge Racer". However, "Need for Speed II", "Gran Turismo", and "Gran Turismo 2" feature compatibility with both NeGcon and Dual Analog control schemes.
Fans of a smaller form factor, Japanese players complained that the very long hand grips made the controller too large to be held properly and the lack of a rumble feature in the U.S. and European models are the most commonly cited reasons that Sony decided to end production of this controller and redesign it. This redesign eventually became the DualShock.
The Dual Analog controller was discontinued in all three markets in 1998, to be replaced by the DualShock.
Features.
The Dual Analog controller has three modes of operation: "Digital", which disables the Analog sticks, "Analog" (as also found on DualShock/DualShock 2 controllers) and an "Analog Flightstick" mode emulating the PlayStation Analog Joystick that is not available on the DualShock or DualShock 2.
If a PlayStation game is DualShock or Dual Analog compatible, the player may press the Analog button located between the two analog sticks to activate the analog mode. This is indicated by a red LED. If the Dual Analog controller is switched to analog mode while using a game which is not analog-compatible, the game will not register any button presses or, in some cases, the PlayStation will consider the controller to be detached.
The ability to emulate Sony's own PlayStation Analog Joystick by pressing the "Analog" button a second time to reveal a green LED (this was commonly referred to as "Flightstick Mode") provided a less expensive alternative to the FlightStick Analog Joystick and retailed for an average of US$35 compared to the Flightstick's retail price of US$70.
Similarly to the Nintendo 64 controller, the Dual Analog Controller was designed to be held in four different ways: standard control, in which the left thumb uses the directional buttons and the right thumb uses the action buttons; analog control, in which the left thumb uses the left analog stick and the right thumb uses the action buttons; dual analog control, which imitates the Dual Analog Joystick, with both thumbs positioned over the analog sticks, and the shoulder buttons used instead of the action buttons; and analog-digital control, in which the left thumb uses the directional buttons, the right thumb uses the right analog stick, and the shoulder buttons are again used for actions.
"MechWarrior 2", "Ace Combat 2", "Descent Maximum", and "Colony Wars" were among the shortlist of twenty-seven PlayStation Flightstick compatible games.
Differences from DualShock.
The Dual Analog controller features several aspects that remain exclusive to it, and were scrapped or redesigned for the release of the DualShock controller.


Cycle stealing

In computing, traditionally cycle stealing is a method of accessing computer memory (RAM) or bus without interfering with the CPU. It is similar to direct memory access (DMA) for allowing I/O controllers to read or write RAM without CPU intervention. Clever exploitation of specific CPU or bus timings can permit the CPU to run at full speed without any delay if external devices access memory not actively participating in the CPU's current activity and complete the operations before any possible CPU conflict. Such systems are nearly dual-port RAM without the expense of high speed RAM. Most systems halt the CPU during the steal, essentially making it a form of DMA by another name.
For example, a system with separate instruction and data memory banks can allow external devices one memory access to the data bank while the CPU was fetching an instruction from the instruction bank if both accesses are initiated simultaneously. A memory management unit is not essential, for example, the Zilog Z80's "M1" line can be used to distinguish instruction from data access, so while the CPU is reading an instruction from instruction-RAM or ROM, the data RAM is available to other devices without interfering with CPU processing.
Modern architecture.
Cycle stealing is difficult to achieve in modern systems due to many factors such as pipelining, where pre-fetch and concurrent elements are constantly accessing memory, leaving few predictable idle times to sneak in memory access. DMA is the only formal and predictable method for external devices to access RAM.
This term is less common in modern computer architecture (above 66-100 MHz), where the various external buses and controllers generally run at different rates, and CPU internal operations are no longer closely coupled to I/O bus operations.
Examples in actual computer systems.
Unexpected cycle stealing by the rendezvous radar during descent nearly caused the Apollo 11 landing to be aborted, but the design of the Guidance Computer allowed the landing to continue by dropping low-priority tasks.
The IBM 1130's "cycle steal" is really DMA because the CPU clock is stopped during memory access. Several I/O controllers access RAM this way. They self-arbitrate via a fixed priority scheme. Most controllers deliberately pace RAM access to minimize impact on the system's ability to run instructions, but others, such as graphic video adapters, operate at higher speed and may slow down the system.
The cycle-stealing concept of the 1130
permits the CPU program to start an operation on an I/O device and then continue the mainline program while the I/O device is performing its operation. Each I/O device that operates in this manner takes (steals) a cycle from the CPU when it is needed.
The CPU is "tied up" only one cycle while a data character is being transferred. The frequency at which devices steal cycles depends on the type of device.
Since the CPU is much faster than any I/O device on the system, the CPU may be performing another function, such as arithmetic, at the same time an I/O operation is being performed. In fact, several I/O operations may be overlapped with each other and with other CPU functions.
Cycle stealing has been the cause of major performance degradation on machine such as the Sinclair QL, where, for economy reasons, the video RAM was not dual access. Consequently, the M68008 CPU was denied access to the memory bus when the ZX8301 "master controller" was accessing memory, and the machine performed poorly when compared with machines using similar processors at similar speeds.


Tomsrtbt

tomsrtbt (pronounced: Tom's Root Boot) is a very small Linux distribution. It is short for "Tom's floppy which has a root filesystem and is also bootable." Its author, Tom Oehser, touts it as "The most GNU/Linux on one floppy disk", containing many common Linux command-line tools useful for system recovery (Linux and other operating systems.) It also features drivers for many types of hardware, and network connectivity.
It could be created from within Linux or earlier versions of Windows running in MS-DOS mode, either by formatting a standard 1.44MB floppy disk as a higher density 1.722MB disk and writing the tomsrtbt image to the disk, or by burning it as a bootable CD. It is capable of reading and writing the filesystems of many operating systems of its era, including ext2/ext3 (used in Linux), FAT (used by DOS and Windows), NTFS (used in Windows NT, 2000, and XP) and Minix (used by the Minix operating system).
Windows NT and most later versions of Windows, including 2000, XP, and Vista, cannot create a tomsrtbt floppy as their floppy driver does not allow the extended format.
A few of the utilities on tomsrtbt are written in the Lua programming language, and many more use BusyBox. Space saving compiler options were used throughout, the kernel was patched to support loading an image compressed with Bzip2, and in many cases older or alternate versions of programs were selected due to their smaller size.


NEC V50


Nokia N8

The Nokia N8 is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Nokia. Announced on 27 April 2010, the Nokia N8 was the first device to run on the Symbian^3 mobile operating system and it was the company's flagship device for the year. It was released on 30 September 2010 at the Nokia Online Store before being released in markets around the world on 1 October 2010. There were two version made, the N8 and the N8-00. The N8 was made for Vodafone and locked to its networks, and the N8-00 was made by Microsoft and open network.
The N8 has a 3.5-inch AMOLED display with 16 gigabytes mass memory, and features a 12-megapixel camera, the second time a camera of such megapixel count was used (the first one being the Sony Ericsson Satio in 2009) with a Xenon flash (like the Nokia N82) and with a very large 1/1.83” sensor size (larger than most point-and-shoot cameras of the time). It also has 720p HD video recording, a pentaband 3.5G radio, and an FM transmitter. Among the connectivity features are an HDMI output, USB On-The-Go, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.
The N8 was an important device for Nokia in its bid against increasing competition in the smartphone industry, and its revamped Symbian^3 software was also important. The device was delayed several times pushing its release date by several months, which had a negative impact on the company. Despite mixed views on the Symbian software, the N8's hardware build and camera quality were very well received, with many calling it the "best camera phone". The N8 would also become Nokia's last flagship device running Symbian, due to Nokia Lumia 800 in 2011 which ran on Windows Phone software. The N8's Symbian successor, Nokia 808 PureView, appeared in 2012.
History.
The previous flagship phone in the Nseries was the N97, which was criticised for its initial firmware issues. Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's Executive Vice President for Markets, said in an interview that software quality control would be better than for the N97. The N97's reception was highly negative and tarnished the company's image in the market. The N8 was the first device to feature the Symbian^3 operating system. Initially scheduled for the second quarter of 2010, the N8 was pushed back to the third quarter, being finally released on 30 September 2010 due to 'final amendments'. The N8 became the product with the most customer pre-orders in Nokia's history up to the point of its release and sales in Q4 2010 were estimated to be almost 4 million.
The previous Nokia phone with a focus on photography had been the N86 8MP, which has an 8-megapixel sensor and had become available in June 2009.
The N8 was the second Nokia to have a capacitive touchscreen, following the X6, and the first with multi-touch.
Hardware.
Power and related information.
The Nokia N8 has dual charging options, allowing it to be charged both from a standard-pin Nokia charger, and through the micro-USB port.
The Nokia N8's battery compartment is internally contained and thus the battery is not entirely straightforwardly removable or replaceable by users. Nonetheless, although the procedure is not endorsed by Nokia, it is possible with the correct tool and careful handling to change the battery.
BL-4D 1200 mAh Lithium-ion battery.
Software.
Software platform and user interface.
The N8 was the first Nokia smartphone device to run on the Symbian^3 operating system.
From 7 February 2012, Nokia Belle update was available for N8 through Nokia Suite. In August of that year, Nokia also started to roll out the Nokia Belle Refresh update. This update brought new features to the Symbian Smartphone like HTML 5 web apps support and a new set of home screen widgets.
Other software which will function on the N8 smartphone:
Communications.
Email and messaging.
The Anna operating system update gave Communicator support (which is usually reserved for E-Series devices). There was also a new push notification API and a corresponding app.
Sharing and Internet.
Browsing and Internet.
Proprietary web browser (latest version 7.4.2.6 in Belle v.111.030.0609 official firmware), including:
Video.
Video cameras.
The video-capturing feature is complemented by the mini HDMI port located on the top side of the phone, which normally mirrors the phone's screen, but allows for applications (such as the built-in video player, the Nokia Big Screen app and selected games) to output content in resolutions up to 720p. The corresponding cable is provided in the retail box in most regions.
Accessories.
The Nokia Mobile TV Headset provides DVB-H TV.
Development support.
Applications can be developed using the Nokia Qt framework.
Promotion.
To highlight the capabilities of the Nokia N8 camera, Nokia created a short film, "The Commuter", in October 2010. Directed by the McHenry brothers and starring Dev Patel, Ed Westwick, Charles Dance and Pamela Anderson, the seven-minute film was shot entirely on the phone's 720p camera. For the Spanish promotion of the phone they also created a short video featuring luminescent puppets, called "Love Knot".
The phone was also used to film Drums of Death's "Won't Be Long" music video.
Using CellScope technology, Nokia also released another film called "Dot" which they marketed to as "the world's smallest stop-motion animation character".
The device also appeared on the popular Showtime TV show, "Dexter", and the BBC TV series "Hustle", as well as the film, "".
It is also the phone Sarah Lund uses in the third series of "The Killing".
In Asian countries, it was promoted differently through the fictional character Pier Roxas on Nokia's Project Gener8 by Young & Rubicam Philippines. He also appeared on the GMA talk show "Startalk" to promote the device.
The "Nokia Shorts 2011" competition involved 8 Short films shot on a Nokia N8. The winner was "Splitscreen: A Love Story".
The independent film "Olive", which is the first feature-length film of about 90 minutes to be made entirely with a cell phone, uses the Nokia N8 along with an old fashioned video camera attachment with a 35 mm lens made exclusively for the device and to trick the audience by not realizing it was made from the Nokia N8.


TRANS (command)


Privilege level


HostAP

HostAP was one of the most popular IEEE 802.11 device drivers for Linux and since November 2016 is officially obsolete in Linux kernel. It works with cards using the Conexant (formerly Intersil) Prism 2/2.5/3 chipset and support Host AP mode, which allows a WLAN card to perform all the functions of a wireless access point.
The driver code was written by Jouni Malinen, hired by Atheros in 2008, and was included into the main kernel tree in Linux 2.6.14.


Dual Heroes

 is a fighting game for Nintendo 64. The game was developed by Produce! and published by Hudson Soft in Japan, Electro Brain in North America and Gaga Interactive Media in Europe.
Gameplay.
"Dual Heroes" is a fighting game.
In a "medal match" players can win a medal, either from an A.I. opponent or from another player.
Story.
120 years ago, in preparation for the coming doom, mankind began an exodus to the manmade satellites in outer space. But the "Day of Judgment" arrived even before half the population had escaped to space. The shift in the tectonic plate caused the shape of the Pacific Ocean to change and a new continent was created.
After 100 years, the only inhabitable areas were limited to the area around the new Pacific Ocean and the new continent. New nations were founded on this continent and mankind began rebuilding their lives. In the midst of rebuilding, "Gaiathyst" a mineral which releases an energy similar to gravity was discovered as a new source of endless energy.
The nations began to war with each other for domination, but conventional weapons were found useless due to the influence of the Gaiathyst. To fight under these conditions, the power suits used to mine Gaiathyst were improved for combat. But the "Gaiathyst War" came to an abrupt end by the invading forces of the Zodgierra Empire from outer space.
After conquering the nations, Emperor ZORR creates the "SAP", a super gravity producing device. Orbiting over the new continent, the super gravity of the device, prohibits beings not wearing a power suit to exist under it. Protected by the super gravity, ZORR commands his empire from a tower under the SAP.
A few brave make a stand to defeat ZORR. They are the true Heroes.
Development.
"Dual Heroes" was developed by Produce! It was the first fighting game to use analog controls. Hudson Soft programmed multiple AIs for each character, in an effort to imitate different players controlling the character on different occasions, and thereby make the game's single-player mode more closely emulate the multiplayer fighting game experience.
The game was shown at E3 1997, being 70% completed. A complete build was later shown at the 1997 Nintendo Space World.
Reception.
The game received unfavorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. In Japan, however, "Famitsu" gave it a score of 28 out of 40.
It was often mocked and criticized for its gameplay, controls and fighting mechanics, it took out the title of "Worst Game Ever" when a poll was run by an Australian Nintendo magazine "Nintendo Gamer" (formerly "N64 Gamer"). The game's poor quality was attributed in part to the poor AI, which often sent your enemy running with a devil-may-care attitude over the edge of precipices and to their deaths in chase of the player's character.
A reviewer for "GameSpot" declared the game to be one of the worst fighting games for home consoles.
One writer for "Nintendo Power" commented that the game did not add much to the fighting game genre.


Apulet

An apulet (plural apulettes) is a component of the Cell computer architecture consisting of a bundle comprising a data object and the code necessary to perform an action upon it. The Cell architecture calls for several APUs (Attached Processing Units) which do the primary processing of the system, under the control of a single Processing Element (PE). Each APU is loaded with its apulet by the PE and can pass its results to the next APU.


MEMMAKER


Mary Gardiner

Mary Gardiner is an Australian Linux programmer who was director of operations at the Ada Initiative, described as a "non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture". She was a council member of Linux Australia until September 2011. In 2012, Gardiner and Ada Initiative co-founder Valerie Aurora were named two of the most influential people in computer security by "SC Magazine".
Career.
Gardiner was a co-founder of AussieChix, which later became Oceania Women of Open Tech. She is a former coordinator of LinuxChix. She speaks out against "the social norms and beliefs of a minority of contributors who are not interested in women as colleagues or who do not believe women have the capability to successfully contribute". Gardiner has been involved with drafting and adopting anti-harassment policies for technology conferences. Gardiner was the winner of the 2011 Rusty Wrench award given by Linux Australia for service to Linux programmers in Australia. She was commended for her work to improve gender diversity and oppose sexual harassment in the open-source software community. She was the keynote speaker at Wikimania 2012, which was held 12–15 July 2012 in Washington DC. In 2012, Gardiner was listed as one of the 10 Women in Tech Who Give Back by Datamation and one of the most influential people in computer security by "SC Magazine".


UIQ

UIQ (formerly known as User Interface Quartz) was a software platform based upon Symbian OS, created by UIQ Technology AB. It is a graphical user interface layer that provides additional components to the core operating system, to enable the development of feature-rich mobile phones that are open to expanded capabilities through third-party applications.
History.
UIQ was the result of 'Quartz', a user interface for pen PDAs that was one of the three provisional interfaces that were designed by Symbian Ltd. The first three Quartz phones never made it to market, including Psion's "Odin" in a joint venture with Motorola, which was cancelled in January 2001, causing Psion's shares to deteriorate. Engineers thereafter created a lighter version of the software which was presented in 2002, and first shipped that year with Sony Ericsson P800.
Sony Ericsson was the main OEM using the UIQ platform in its products. Motorola also developed some products using UIQ, but abandoned the platform in 2004 in favour of Linux, along with its stake in Symbian Ltd. In 2007, Motorola returned to UIQ with the launch of Motorola RIZR Z8. Nokia, which was using the competing Series 60 (later S60) platform, created one UIQ device called Nokia 6708, which is a rebadged BenQ P31, and was only released in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sony Ericsson bought UIQ Technology in November 2006, and the next year, Motorola bought half of it.
After the creation of the Symbian Foundation and its favouring of S60 as their user interface of choice, UIQ's future was uncertain, as it could no longer develop the software for the Symbian operating system. Many Motorola UIQ devices planned for 2009 were cancelled, including Motorola Razr3, codenamed "Ruby".
UIQ Technology filed for bankruptcy in January 2009, which effectively ended the UIQ platform. Sony Ericsson moved on to Windows Mobile and the open source Symbian from the Symbian Foundation, whilst Motorola adopted Google's Android software.
UIQ 3.3 was the last version of the platform, based upon Symbian OS v9.3. Developers that developed on the UIQ 3.x platform had a much better story than with previous releases, since all UIQ 3.x phones were served by a single, core SDK.
UIQ programming languages.
Native applications can be written in C++ using the Symbian/UIQ SDK. All UIQ-based phones (2.x and 3.x) also support Java applications.
UIQ phones employ touch screens with a resolution of 208×320 pixels (UIQ 1.x & 2.x) and 240×320 (UIQ 3.x). Depending on the phone, the color depth is 12-bit (4096 colors), 16-bit (65536 colors), 18-bit (262144 colors), and 24-bit (16,777,216 colors) on some newer phones.
For developers, the significant items are:
List of UIQ 2.x phones.
Sony Ericsson
Motorola
Benq
Nokia
Arima
List of UIQ 3.x phones.
The following is a list of smartphones that have been announced/confirmed as running the newer UIQ 3.x platform.
PDA-style design (similar to a handheld computer)
Hybrid PDA/Phone design (Candy-bar phone with Touchscreen Display)
Slider design


DOSPLUS.SYS


List of best-selling PSP video games

This is a list of video games for the PlayStation Portable video game console that have sold or shipped at least one million copies. The best-selling game on the PlayStation Portable is '. An action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, "Liberty City Stories" was originally released in North America on October 24, 2005, and went on to sell 8million units worldwide. The second-best-selling game on the console is ' (2006), which sold just over 5million units. The top five is rounded out by "Monster Hunter Portable 3rd" (2010) selling 4.9million units, "Gran Turismo" (2009) with over 4million units sold, and "Monster Hunter Freedom Unite" (2008) with 3.8 million units sold.
As of March 31, 2012, over 331 million total copies of games have been sold for the PlayStation Portable.


Shebang (Unix)

In computing, a shebang is the character sequence consisting of the characters number sign and exclamation mark () at the beginning of a script. It is also called sha-bang, hashbang, pound-bang, or hash-pling.
When a text file with a shebang is used as if it is an executable in a Unix-like operating system, the program loader mechanism parses the rest of the file's initial line as an interpreter directive. The loader executes the specified interpreter program, passing to it as an argument the path that was initially used when attempting to run the script, so that the program may use the file as input data. For example, if a script is named with the path "path/to/script", and it starts with the following line, codice_1, then the program loader is instructed to run the program "/bin/sh", passing "path/to/script" as the first argument.
In Linux, this behavior is the result of both kernel and user-space code.
The shebang line is usually ignored by the interpreter, because the "#" character is a comment marker in many scripting languages; some language interpreters that do not use the hash mark to begin comments still may ignore the shebang line in recognition of its purpose.
Syntax.
The form of a shebang interpreter directive is as follows:
 #!"interpreter" ["optional-arg"]
in which "interpreter" is generally an absolute path to an executable program.
The optional argument is a string representing a single argument. White space after #! is optional.
In Linux, the file specified by "interpreter" can be executed if it has the execute right and contains code which the kernel can execute directly, if it has a wrapper defined for it via "sysctl" (such as for executing Microsoft .exe binaries using wine), or if it contains a shebang. On Linux and Minix, an interpreter can also be a script. A chain of shebangs and wrappers yields a directly executable file that gets the encountered scripts as parameters in reverse order. For example, if file "/bin/A" is an executable file in ELF format, file "/bin/B" contains the shebang "#!/bin/A optparam", and file "/bin/C" contains the shebang "#!/bin/B", then executing file "/bin/C" resolves to "/bin/B /bin/C", which finally resolves to "/bin/A optparam /bin/B /bin/C".
In Solaris- and Darwin-derived operating systems (such as macOS), the file specified by "interpreter" must be an executable binary and cannot itself be a script.
Examples.
Some typical shebang lines:
Shebang lines may include specific options that are passed to the interpreter. However, implementations vary in the parsing behavior of options; for portability, only one option should be specified without any embedded whitespace. Further portability guidelines are found below.
Purpose.
Interpreter directives allow scripts and data files to be used as commands, hiding the details of their implementation from users and other programs, by removing the need to prefix scripts with their interpreter on the command line.
A Bourne shell script that is identified by the path "some/path/to/foo", has the initial line,
 #!/bin/sh -x
and is executed with parameters "bar" and "baz" as
 some/path/to/foo bar baz
provides a similar result as having actually executed the following command line instead:
 /bin/sh -x some/path/to/foo bar baz
If "/bin/sh" specifies the Bourne shell, then the end result is that all of the shell commands in the file "some/path/to/foo" are executed with the positional variables "$1" and "$2" having the values "bar" and "baz", respectively. Also, because the initial number sign is the character used to introduce comments in the Bourne shell language (and in the languages understood by many other interpreters), the whole shebang line is ignored by the interpreter.
However, it is up to the interpreter to ignore the shebang line; thus, a script consisting of the following two lines simply echos "both" lines to standard output when run:
 #!/bin/cat
 Hello world!
Strengths.
When compared to the use of global association lists between file extensions and the interpreting applications, the interpreter directive method allows users to use interpreters not known at a global system level, and without administrator rights. It also allows specific selection of interpreter, without overloading the filename extension namespace (where one file extension refers to more than one file type), and allows the implementation language of a script to be changed without changing its invocation syntax by other programs. Invokers of the script need not know what the implementation language is as the script itself is responsible for specifying the interpreter to use.
Portability.
Program location.
Shebangs must specify absolute paths (or paths relative to current working directory) to system executables; this can cause problems on systems that have a non-standard file system layout. Even when systems have fairly standard paths, it is quite possible for variants of the same operating system to have different locations for the desired interpreter. Python, for example, might be in "/usr/bin/python3", "/usr/local/bin/python3", or even something like "/home/username/bin/python3" if installed by an ordinary user.
A similar problem exists for the POSIX shell, since POSIX only required its name to be "sh", but did not mandate a path. A common value is , but some systems such as Solaris have the POSIX-compatible shell at "/usr/xpg4/bin/sh". In many Linux systems, "/bin/sh" is a hard or symbolic link to "/bin/bash", the Bourne Again shell (BASH). Using bash-specific syntax while maintaining a shebang pointing to "sh" is also not portable.
Because of this it is sometimes required to edit the shebang line after copying a script from one computer to another because the path that was coded into the script may not apply on a new machine, depending on the consistency in past convention of placement of the interpreter. For this reason and because POSIX does not standardize path names, POSIX does not standardize the feature. The GNU Autoconf tool can test for system support with the macro AC_SYS_INTERPRETER.
Often, the program can be used to circumvent this limitation by introducing a level of indirection. is followed by , followed by the desired command without full path, as in this example:
 #!/usr/bin/env sh
This mostly works because the path is commonly used for the utility,
and it invokes the first found in the user's $PATH, typically .
This still has some portability issues with OpenServer 5.0.6 and Unicos 9.0.2 which have only and no .
Character interpretation.
Another portability problem is the interpretation of the command arguments.
Some systems, including Linux, do not split up the arguments; for example, when running the script with the first line like,
 #!/usr/bin/env python3 -c
all text after the first space is treated as a single argument, that is, will be passed as one argument to , rather than two arguments. Cygwin also behaves this way.
Complex interpreter invocations are possible through the use of an additional wrapper. FreeBSD 6.0 (2005) introduced a option to its as it changed the shebang-reading behavior to non-splitting. This option tells to split the string itself. The GNU utility since coreutils 8.30 (2018) also includes this feature. Although using this option mitigates the portability issue on the kernel end with splitting, it adds the requirement that supports this particular extension.
Another problem is scripts containing a carriage return character immediately after the shebang line, perhaps as a result of being edited on a system that uses DOS line breaks, such as Microsoft Windows. Some systems interpret the carriage return character as part of the interpreter command, resulting in an error message.
Magic number.
The shebang is actually a human-readable instance of a magic number in the executable file, the magic byte string being ', the two-character encoding in ASCII of . This magic number is detected by the "exec" family of functions, which determine whether a file is a script or an executable binary. The presence of the shebang will result in the execution of the specified executable, usually an interpreter for the script's language. It has been claimed that some old versions of Unix expect the normal shebang to be followed by a space and a slash ('), but this appears to be untrue; rather, blanks after the shebang have traditionally been allowed, and sometimes documented with a space (see the 1980 email in history section below).
The shebang characters are represented by the same two bytes in extended ASCII encodings, including UTF-8, which is commonly used for scripts and other text files on current Unix-like systems. However, UTF-8 files may begin with the optional byte order mark (BOM); if the "exec" function specifically detects the bytes 0x23 and 0x21, then the presence of the BOM () before the shebang will prevent the script interpreter from being executed. Some authorities recommend against using the byte order mark in POSIX (Unix-like) scripts, for this reason and for wider interoperability and philosophical concerns. Additionally, a byte order mark is not necessary in UTF-8, as that encoding does not have endianness issues; it serves only to identify the encoding as UTF-8.
Etymology.
An executable file starting with an interpreter directive is simply called a script, often prefaced with the name or general classification of the intended interpreter. The name "shebang" for the distinctive two characters may have come from an inexact contraction of "SHArp bang" or "haSH bang", referring to the two typical Unix names for them. Another theory on the "sh" in "shebang" is that it is from the default shell "sh", usually invoked with shebang. This usage was current by December 1989, and probably earlier.
History.
The shebang was introduced by Dennis Ritchie between Edition 7 and 8 at Bell Laboratories. It was also added to the BSD releases from Berkeley's Computer Science Research (present at 2.8BSD and activated by default by 4.2BSD). As AT&T Bell Laboratories Edition 8 Unix, and later editions, were not released to the public, the first widely known appearance of this feature was on BSD.
The lack of an interpreter directive, but support for shell scripts, is apparent in the documentation from Version 7 Unix in 1979, which describes instead a facility of the Bourne shell where files with execute permission would be handled specially by the shell, which would (sometimes depending on initial characters in the script, such as ":" or "#") spawn a subshell which would interpret and run the commands contained in the file. In this model, scripts would only behave as other commands if called from within a Bourne shell. An attempt to directly execute such a file via the operating system's own "exec()" system trap would fail, preventing scripts from behaving uniformly as normal system commands.
In later versions of Unix-like systems, this inconsistency was removed. Dennis Ritchie introduced kernel support for interpreter directives in January 1980, for Version 8 Unix, with the following description:
 From uucp Thu Jan 10 01:37:58 1980
 >From dmr Thu Jan 10 04:25:49 1980 remote from research
 The system has been changed so that if a file being executed
 begins with the magic characters #! , the rest of the line is understood
 to be the name of an interpreter for the executed file.
 Previously (and in fact still) the shell did much of this job;
 it automatically executed itself on a text file with executable mode
 when the text file's name was typed as a command.
 Putting the facility into the system gives the following
 benefits.
 1) It makes shell scripts more like real executable files,
 because they can be the subject of 'exec.'
 2) If you do a 'ps' while such a command is running, its real
 name appears instead of 'sh'.
 Likewise, accounting is done on the basis of the real name.
 3) Shell scripts can be set-user-ID.
 4) It is simpler to have alternate shells available;
 e.g. if you like the Berkeley csh there is no question about
 which shell is to interpret a file.
 5) It will allow other interpreters to fit in more smoothly.
 To take advantage of this wonderful opportunity,
 put
 #! /bin/sh
 at the left margin of the first line of your shell scripts.
 Blanks after ! are OK. Use a complete pathname (no search is done).
 At the moment the whole line is restricted to 16 characters but
 this limit will be raised.
The feature's creator didn't give it a name, however:
From: "Ritchie, Dennis M (Dennis)** CTR **" <dmr@[redacted]>
To: <[redacted]@talisman.org>
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:37:37 -0600
Subject: RE: What do -you- call your #!<something> line?
 I can't recall that we ever gave it a proper name.
It was pretty late that it went in--I think that I
got the idea from someone at one of the UCB conferences
on Berkeley Unix; I may have been one of the first to
actually install it, but it was an idea that I got
from elsewhere.
As for the name: probably something descriptive like
"hash-bang" though this has a specifically British flavor, but
in any event I don't recall particularly using a pet name
for the construction.
Kernel support for interpreter directives spread to other versions of Unix, and one modern implementation can be seen in the Linux kernel source in "fs/binfmt_script.c".
This mechanism allows scripts to be used in virtually any context normal compiled programs can be, including as full system programs, and even as interpreters of other scripts. As a caveat, though, some early versions of kernel support limited the length of the interpreter directive to roughly 32 characters (just 16 in its first implementation), would fail to split the interpreter name from any parameters in the directive, or had other quirks. Additionally, some modern systems allow the entire mechanism to be constrained or disabled for security purposes (for example, set-user-id support has been disabled for scripts on many systems).
Note that, even in systems with full kernel support for the "#!" magic number, some scripts lacking interpreter directives (although usually still requiring execute permission) are still runnable by virtue of the legacy script handling of the Bourne shell, still present in many of its modern descendants. Scripts are then interpreted by the user's default shell.


Pia Andrews

Pia Andrews (née Pia Smith, also formerly known as Pia Waugh), born 1979, is an open government leader and the "Special Advisor, Digital & Client Data Workstream Lead" for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Andrews spearheaded the growth of the Australian open government community by organising events such as GovHack, GovCamp and other events that bring together a diverse range of citizens who want to see government data made open for reuse. Previously, Andrews was known for her work as an Australian free software advocate. Her past positions include presidency of Software Freedom International; and presidency and vice-presidency of Linux Australia.
Career.
Andrews was employed by IT services company Volante for several years. In 2005 Andrews was appointed Research Co-ordinator of the Australian Service for Knowledge of Open Source Software (ASK-OSS) project. From 2006 Andrews, with her then-husband Jeff Waugh, was a director of Waugh Partners, an Australian Open Source consultancy. Waugh Partners won the 2007 NSW State Pearcey Award for Young Achievers for their work promoting Free Software to the Australian ICT industry. She was the project leader and a member of the Board of Directors of the One Laptop Per Child Australia program, launched in 2008.
Andrews is a self-taught computer specialist, and has also studied politics at a tertiary level. She has been involved in several projects and events promoting ICT careers to children and women.
In April 2009 Andrews announced her appointment as a policy advisor to Kate Lundy, and announced that in this role she was stepping aside from leadership and advocacy roles in community groups, and that she would no longer work for Waugh Partners.
In November 2012 Andrews joined the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO). She was Director of Coordination and Gov 2.0 in the Technology and Procurement Division of Finance (under John Sheridan, the CTO of Australia) and in charge of Australian national open data site http://data.gov.au/
In 2014 Andrews was recognised for innovation and named one of Australia's 100 Women of Influence 2014 in The Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards.
Andrews was included in the 2018 list of the world's 100 most influential people in digital government, by Apolitical Group.
In August 2018 Andrews was appointed Executive Director of Digital Government in the New South Wales Department of Finance, Services and Innovation.
In February 2020 Andrews was appointed "Special Advisor, Digital & Client Data Workstream Lead" for Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Free software community and volunteer positions.
Andrews has held several positions in the Free Software community:


The Adventures of Mighty Max

The Adventures of Mighty Max is a video game developed by British studio WJS Design and published by Ocean Software for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994.
Gameplay.
"The Adventures of Mighty Max" is a side-scrolling action game based on the cartoon series "Mighty Max".
Reception.
"Next Generation" reviewed the SNES version of the game, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "The sheer height of this game's creativity is that some stages have as much as three (count 'em, three) layers of scrolling in the background, and our tiny hero, Max, can stun his tiny enemies and pick them up to throw at other tiny enemies. "Mighty Max" is awful and no fun."
"Electronic Gaming Monthly's " five-critic review crew gave the Genesis version of "Mighty Max" an average score of 4.8 out of 10, calling the game "incredibly slow" and 'unappealing'.


DoubleGuard


HyperSPARC

The hyperSPARC, code-named "Pinnacle", is a microprocessor that implements the SPARC Version 8 instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Ross Technology for Cypress Semiconductor.
The hyperSPARC was introduced in 1993, and competed with the Sun Microsystems SuperSPARC. Raju Vegesna was the microarchitect. The hyperSPARC was Sun Microsystem's primary competitor in the mid-1990s. When Fujitsu acquired Ross from Cypress, the hyperSPARC was considered to be more important by its new owner than the SPARC64 developed by HAL Computer Systems, also a Fujitsu subsidiary, a view which was shared with analysts.
Description.
The hyperSPARC was a two-way superscalar microprocessor. It had four execution units: an integer unit, a floating-point unit, a load/store unit and a branch unit. The hyperSPARC has an on-die 8 KB instruction cache, from which two instructions were fetched per cycle and decoded. The decoder could not decode new instructions if the previously decoded instructions were not issued to the execution units.
The integer register file contained 136 registers, providing eight register windows, a feature defined in the SPARC ISA. It had two read ports. The integer unit had a four-stage pipeline, of which two stages were added so the pipeline would be equal to all non-floating-point pipelines. Integer multiply and divide, instructions added in the V8 version of the SPARC architecture, had an 18- and 37-cycle latency, respectively, and stalled the pipeline until they were completed.
The microprocessor supported multiprocessing on MBus systems.
Physical.
The hyperSPARC consists of 1.2 million transistors. It was fabricated by Cypress in their 0.65 µm, two-layer metal, complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) process. Later iterations of the hyperSPARC have more transistors due to new features, and were ported to newer processes. They were fabricated by Fujitsu, except for the last iteration, which was fabricated by NEC.
Packaging.
The hyperSPARC was a multi-chip design. It was packaged in a ceramic multi-chip module (MCM) with a pin grid array (PGA).
Chipsets.
The hyperSPARC used the Cypress SparcSet chipset which was introduced in late July 1992. It was developed by Santa Clara, California start-up Nimbus Technologies, Inc. for Cypress, who fabricated the design. SparcSet was also compatible with other SPARC microprocessors.


Aleph kernel

Aleph is a discontinued operating system kernel developed at the University of Rochester as part of their RIG project in 1975. Aleph was an early set on the road to the creation of the first practical microkernel operating system, Mach.
Aleph used inter-process communications to move data between programs and the kernel, so applications could transparently access resources on any machine on the local area network (which at the time was a 3-Mbit/s experimental Xerox Ethernet). The project eventually petered out after several years due to rapid changes in the computer hardware market, but the ideas led to the creation of Accent at Carnegie Mellon University, leading in turn to Mach.
Applications written for the RIG system communicated via "ports". Ports were essentially message queues that were maintained by the Aleph kernel, identified by a "machine" unique (as opposed to globally unique) ID consisting of a process id, port id pair. Processes were automatically assigned a process number, or "pid", on startup, and could then ask the kernel to open ports. Processes could open several ports and then "read" them, automatically blocking and allowing other programs to run until data arrived. Processes could also "shadow" another, receiving a copy of every message sent to the one it was shadowing. Similarly, programs could "interpose" on another, receiving messages and essentially cutting the original message out of the conversation.
RIG was implemented on a number of Data General Eclipse minicomputers. The ports were implemented using memory buffers, limited to 2 kB in size. This produced significant overhead when copying large amounts of data. Another problem, realized only in retrospect, was that the use of global ID's allowed malicious software to "guess" at ports and thereby gain access to resources they should not have had. And since those IDs were based on the program ID, the port IDs changed if the program was restarted, making it difficult to write servers with clients that could rely on a specific port number for service.


Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity

Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity is a point and click adventure computer game based on the American animated television series created by Mike Judge, "Beavis and Butt-Head", that was developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Viacom New Media. It was released on August 31, 1995.
It featured vocals from the series' cast of voice actors, including Mike Judge. Besides the main game, four mini-games are featured, called Hock-A-Loogie, Court Chaos, Bug Justice, and Air Guitar.
The main game plots the two main characters, Beavis and Butt-Head, trying to get into Todd's gang. Over the course of the game, they have to complete tasks and explore areas in the fictional town of Highland, Texas.
It was originally released on the PC. A CD-i port of "Virtual Stupidity" was planned but was cancelled due to falling sales of the console. A Sony PlayStation port was released exclusively in Japan in 1998 with dubbed voice acting by Owarai duo London Boots Ichi-gō Ni-gō.
Plot.
The game starts with Beavis and Butt-Head working at Burger World. They are met by Todd, who threatens them. Despite this, Beavis and Butt-Head like Todd because of his power and consider him "cool." They decide to try to join Todd's gang.
At Highland High, the duo are forced to stay in Science Class and dissect a frog. Eventually, they manage to skip class after lying to the science teacher that they are going to the bathroom. They manage to slip from school after spitting on Principal McVicker from the school rooftop, causing him to leave the school entrance.
From then on, Beavis and Butt-Head explore various areas from Highland, including their house, BurgerWorld, the park, and Maxi-Mart, completing various tasks, in order to get closer to Todd and his gang.
Music videos.
Three full-length music videos (with included commentary by Beavis and Butt-Head) are viewable on various television sets in the game:
Reception.
According to senior artist Tom Zehner, "Virtual Stupidity" achieved sales above 100,000 units. The game was a commercial success.
"Virtual Stupidity" received mostly positive reviews from video game magazines and websites. It held a 76.86% average at GameRankings based on seven reviews. Reviewing the PC version, a reviewer for "Next Generation" said it "may be one of the funniest games to ever hit store shelves." He applauded the game for "flawlessly" recreating the look, sound, and humor of the TV show while having enough strong gameplay to make it stand on its own as an outstanding adventure game. He scored it 4 out of 5 stars.
"PC Gamer US" named "Virtual Stupidity" the best adventure game of 1995. The editors wrote, "This game is a textbook example of the "right" way to bring material from another medium to PC gaming." In 1998, the magazine declared it the 24th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a great piece of adventure gaming".


4MLinux

4MLinux is a lightweight distribution made for both the 32 bit and 64 bit architectures. It is named "4MLinux" since it has 4 main components of the OS. Maintenance (it can be used a rescue Live CD), Multimedia (There is inbuilt support for almost every multimedia format), Miniserver (It comes with a 64-bit server is included running LAMP suite), and Mystery (Includes a collection of classic Linux games). The distribution is developed in Poland, and was first released in 2010. The distribution does not include a package manager, and uses JWM (Joe's Window Manager) as its default window manager. It also comes with Conky preinstalled. When installing programs with the distribution, the distribution will retrieve the Windows version rather than the Linux version due to it coming pre-installed with Wine (A compatibility layer for Windows applications), and not having any package manager. The distribution is geared towards people who prefer a lightweight distribution. There is a version of the distribution called the "4MLinux Game Edition" which provides 90s games natively such as Doom, and Hexen.
The distribution comes in two different version, 4MServer, and 4MLinux. 4MLinux requires 128 MB of RAM when installed to an HDD, and 1024 MB of RAM when being used as a live CD/USB. Whereas, 4MServer requires 256 MB of RAM when installed to an HDD, and 2048 MB of RAM when being used as a live CD/USB.