DJ Boy

DJ Boy (DJボーイ) is a 1989 beat 'em up arcade game developed by Kaneko. It was published in Japan by Kaneko and in North America by Sammy.
"DJ Boy", also known as "DJ Kid", was designed as a standard side-scrolling beat'em up game partially based on the hip hop culture of the U.S. cities. What made the game unique at the time was the fact that many of the characters rode around on roller skates rather than walking or running.
Plot.
The premise of the home console game: A young man named Donald J. Boy (DJ Boy) is a roller fighter taking part of an ultimate fight-race known as "Rollergame", taking place in Cigaretch City, located on the outskirts of New York City. Many people were excited to see DJ Boy, but a roller fighter gang known as the Dark Knights want him out of the competition. Their leader, Heavy-Met Tony, calls his gang to kidnap his girlfriend Maria, who also comes into town and defeat DJ Boy. DJ Boy must rescue Maria, defeat the Dark Knights, and win the Rollergame competition in one adventure. The arcade plot tells a different story. Two rollerskaters named Bob & Tom (the two playable characters) were breakdancing to the beat of their boombox, until it got stolen from rollerskater thieves (possibly the Dark Knights), in which they must find and defeat them in order to retrieve what is rightfully theirs.
DJ Boy skates across various stages and utilizes hand-to-hand combat moves in order to defeat opponents, culminating with a battle with a boss at the end of each level. Along the path, the player also encounters prizes, which then can be used later to purchase Power-ups from a store located at the end of each level (in the home version, the arcade simply tallied these as points). In the console versions of the game, as another game, "River City Ransom", the "prizes" consist of coins that are dropped by defeated enemies, or food items like burgers that restore health.
Differences between arcade and home versions.
The original Japanese home release of the game featured caricatures that were part of the game's offbeat sense of humor that would've been seen as offensive if they were retained in their western releases. For example, the stage 1 boss was an overweight black woman who attacked by farting (known as "Big Mama" in the home versions). When the player hit Big Mama a certain number of times, she would temporarily drop to the ground head first and show off her white frilly bloomers underneath her dress and then force herself up again. The arcade versions of the game featured two incarnations of "Big Mama" in the same game, one with light brown skin and another with pink skin. The home console ports gave her dark brown skin and bright red lips in the original Japanese port. The arcade version had the character "fart" occasionally simply as a character animation. The home versions turned it into a kind of "fart fireball" attack that did damage.
For the subsequent home release in North America and abroad, multiple changes were made. For example, Big Mama now has neon pink skin and, instead of farting, threw doughnut-like pastries at the player. The second encounter had her with tan skin in a martial arts outfit (the Japanese version gave her darker skin for this second encounter, while the arcade version simply featured a single encounter then a second encounter with two identical "Big Mama" foes that had light brown and pink skin to distinguish them, rather than an outfit/attack style change).
Other change included is a male stripper character simply appearing in his "Chippendales" outfit from the start, rather than beginning as a homeless looking man who sheds his outer garments to fight as in the Japanese version. Another change was the substitution of Japanese text featured on in-game billboards with images of scantily clad women (and focusing on crotch images); this appears to be the same type of "Are you covered?" scantily clad woman joke (a risqué reference to insurance sales) that was featured in Konami's "Crime Fighters", another arcade fighting game.
The home version added cutscenes in which DJ Boy insults his defeated foes. Other alterations include turning the "robot clown" characters into bosses rather than normal enemies, eliminating some of the "homeless guy/stripper" regular enemies, and featuring a boss that was an "evil twin" of DJ Boy (in blue clothing).
The Disk Jockey was Demon Kogure in the Japanese arcade version. However, in the North American and PAL arcade versions, the Disk Jockey was Wolfman Jack, though the in-game sprite is still Demon Kogure. In the home versions, the Disk Jockeys were removed due to memory limitations.
The arcade versions had a two player simultaneous mode (cooperative or competitive, as players could hurt each other with their attacks), with each player controlling a "DJ Boy" (with the second player character also known as OJ, according to the Killer List of Videogames website) with slightly differently colored clothing (Player 1 in green and orange, Player 2 in green and red), but the home versions did not.
"B.Rap Boys".
In 1992, a sequel, B.Rap Boys (Ｂラップボーイズ), was produced containing similar designs and content. The game features three player simultaneous action using characters that are different from one another (rather than palette swaps), and the optional use of weapons and vehicles, as well as a more robust fighting system. The game's soundtrack was notable for having extensively sampled studio recordings from hip-hop group 3 Stories High. In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "B.Rap Boys" on their August 1, 1992 issue as being the thirteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the year.
Reception.
In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "DJ Boy" on their October 15, 1989 issue as being the seventh most-successful table arcade unit of the year. "Entertainment Weekly" compared the US release to the Japanese version, and wrote that "D.J. Boy "still" does battle with an enormous black woman, only here she's a few shades lighter and no longer has a fondness for flatulence. Kaneko USA: '[The Japanese programmers] were looking for input, and obviously they got it from the wrong people.'" Sega Power magazine gave the game an overall score of 30 out of 100 criticizing the boring gameplay, the levels being too easy, the dull graphics, terrible sound and concluding “A nob beat-em-up with added nobby bits. The levels are dull, the moves limited and the end-of-level bosses too tough to beat. DJ Boy is unfriendly, unfunny and unfair.” MegaTech magazine gave a review score of 78 out of 100 praising the game being fun to play although giving criticism that the game being too easy. "Mega" placed the Mega Drive version at #4 in their list of the 10 Worst Mega Drive Games of All Time.


Densha de Go! (video game)

 is a 1997 train simulator arcade game developed and published by Taito in Japan. Players are tasked with guiding a train to its destination under a time limit while managing its acceleration and speed limitations. It features real-world train stations and train lines from Japan, including the Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line. The game was ported to several home consoles, including the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation.
The concept for "Densha de Go!" was inspired by designer Akira Saito's personal fascination with Japanese train lines and railroads. He wanted to create a game that allowed players to familiarize themselves with driving a train. The controls were his primary focus as he wanted them to be accurate and responsive, and to mimic the controls of a real train—his father worked for the Kyoto City Transportation Bureau Facilities Division, which made this easier to accomplish. Saito included real-world railroads and trains to appeal towards other railroad enthusiasts, thinking that it could also attract more "ordinary" players for its realistic, familiar theme. As arcades at the time were dominated primarily by racing and fighting games, he believed its unique concept could make it stand out.
"Densha de Go!" is among Taito's most successful games, preceded only by "Space Invaders". The PlayStation version sold over one million copies. The game was well-received by critics for its controls, attention to detail, and unique concept. Some felt that its home releases lacked enough content and had poor visuals. It was followed by a long series of sequels, spin-offs, and reimaginings, beginning with "Densha de Go! 2" in 1999.
Gameplay.
"Densha de Go!" is a train simulation video game. The player assumes the role of a train conductor who must guide a Japanese train line to its destination under a strict time limit.
Development.
"Densha de Go!" was the creation of Taito video game designer Akira Saito. Based on his personal fascination with Japanese trains and railroads, Saito wanted to create a video game that allowed players to easily become familiar with driving a train. His primary focus was towards the game's controls as he wanted them to be responsive and as accurate to a real train as possible — his father worked for the Kyoto City Transportation Bureau Facilities Division, which made this task easier to fulfill. As a way to attract railroad enthusiasts to his game, Saito included many real-world train lines and stations such as the Yamanote Line, paying close attention to detail and the way they were represented. He often traveled to these stations himself to make any last-minute changes or corrections. Saito also felt that its realistic, familiar premise could attract newer, more "ordinary" players. Several of the locations and trains were taken from experiences in his childhood, which he claims to have been the "driving force" of development. Taito was skeptical of the idea at first, concerned that its realistic premise would cause it to become lost within the growing popularity of racing and fighting games. Saito felt differently, thinking that its unique concept would instead make it stand out from other games at the time.
Release.
"Densha de Go!" was demonstrated at the 1996 Amusement Machine Show (AMS) exposition in Tokyo, alongside "G-Darius" and "Arkanoid Returns". It was released in Japan in March 1997. It was one of the expo's most popular games; "Official Sega Saturn Magazine" claims that it saw more player numbers than Sega's "The House of the Dead". Taito chose not to release it overseas, as the company felt its heavy usage of region-specific train lines and stations made it unsuitable for non-Japanese players.
A PlayStation home version of "Densha de Go!" was released on December 18, 1997 in Japan, followed by a version for Microsoft Windows on April 23, 1999. At the 1999 Tokyo Game Show, Taito demonstrated a version of "Densha de Go!" for the Nintendo 64, "Densha de Go! 64", which was published on July 23. "64" features multiple additions to the original game, such as a voice recognition system and content ported from its arcade sequel "Densha de Go! 2". For the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions, Taito produced a special controller that mimicked the control setup used in arcades. The controller was released separately and has since become a prize collector's item. Ports for the Game Boy Color and WonderSwan were published in 2000.
Reception.
The arcade version of "Densha de Go!" attracted considerable attention for its unique premise making it stand out among other games at the time, many of which were racing games or fighters. The PlayStation version of the game sold over one million copies, leading to Sony Computer Entertainment awarding Taito the Platinum Prize award at the 1998 PlayStation Awards ceremony. "Densha de Go! 64" earned the Gold Hall of Fame award from Japanese publication "Famitsu". According to Taito representative Keiji Fujita, it is the company's second most-successful game after "Space Invaders".
Home ports of "Densha de Go!" were well-received by critics for retaining the same feel and realism the arcade version had. "Famitsu" found it to be one of the most realistic simulation games up to that point, while "Dengeki PlayStation" said that its easy-to-learn controls and more realistic approach made "Densha de Go!" a welcome title for newcomers to the genre. Many applauded the game’s attention to detail and accuracy with its usage of real-world railroads and trains. "Dengeki PlayStation" was particularly impressed with the accuracy of the in-game world and environments, saying it would greatly appeal to railroad fans and players not even familiar with the genre as a whole. "Famitsu" had a similar response, finding many of its railroad tracks and stations to be accurately depicted. "IGN" found both the usage of real trains as a whole and the controller to be interesting, “funky” additions. "Densha de Go 64"’s usage of voice-recognition garnered praise, with "IGN" labeling it as a “funky” addition and "Famitsu" calling it response and easy to use. In a 2013 retrospective review, "Nintendo Life" commended the Nintendo 64 version’s realistic environments, challenge and the addition of a tutorial for beginners.
Some publications were mixed on the game’s graphics. "Dengeki PlayStation" stated the PlayStation conversion’s graphics were not as good as the arcade version, while "IGN" called the Nintendo 64 version's "blurry" and unappealing to look at. "IGN" was rather critical towards the game as a whole, finding it too boring and having limited gameplay on top of barren environments and an overall lack of content. They also argued that it provided an inaccurate representation of how Japanese train lines operate, particularly with the inability to reverse the train should the player accidentally miss their destination. The WonderSwan port was disliked by "Famitsu" for having poor graphics and clunky controls, saying it was a drastic downgrade in quality compared to other versions of the game. "Nintendo Life" thought that the game’s critical attention to detail and steep learning curve made it cater towards a relatively niche audience.


Bomberman Fantasy Race

 (working title: Bomberman Fantasy Racing) is a racing video game developed by GraphicResearch Inc., released for PlayStation in Japan by publisher Hudson Soft in 1998, in North America by Atlus USA in 1999, and in Europe by Virgin Interactive in 2000. It is a spin-off of the "Bomberman" series.
The game was re-released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via PlayStation Network on August 26, 2008 in Japan and May 18, 2010 in North America for the PSone Classics series.
In Bomberman Fantasy Race, the player can select six different characters to ride on two different animal types, the Louie or the Tirra, each having unique individual skills. In the single player mode, the player must race against four CPU controlled opponents to reach first place. Creatures are able to dash, jump, and throw bombs. During the race, the player can find random items that can help or hinder their progress. Winning a race provides the player with coins which they can use to buy items, more powerful creatures, and new courses. Other modes include VS. Mode and Time Attack Mode.
Gameplay.
Bomberman Fantasy Race is a 3D racing game featuring two single player modes and a two player mode. Players choose one of six Bomberman characters, then select the creature which they want to ride. There are two types of creatures, the Louie and the Tirra, and the player can eventually choose from six of each. Before starting a race, players purchase items at a shop with their prize money. The goal of the main single player mode is to finish the race ahead of the other four racers, who are controlled by the CPU. The player is rewarded with prize money (called Bomberman coins) if they reach at least third place. If the player reaches first place, the player will be able to play a bonus course that will reward him with more coins. Finishing a course in first place will unlock a mirrored version of that course.
In the two player mode, players are able to bet money on the race. The player who wins the race will earn all the money that the losing player bet before the race. The player with the least amount of money is the one who decides if a bet can be placed on a race.
In Time Attack Mode, players race against the clock to post their fastest lap times and course records. Players can save a ghost data to study their runs or exchange it with friends. The ranking screen posts the player's name, creature, and best time.
Players can look and exchange coins in the bank. The bank has ten boxes with a lit blue light if they have coins, and a red one if they are full. Players exchange hundred Copper coins for one Silver coin, and ten Silver coins for one Gold coin. When a safe in the bank is full, the coins are exchanged automatically. Coins can be used to buy new creatures at the stable, items, and courses.
Players are able to throw or drop bombs during a race. Other than using bombs to attack other opponents, players can use a bomb dash, giving their creatures an acceleration boost. Creatures are able to dash using stamina for a limited amount of time, and can also use a triangle jump by jumping off walls. During a race, players will come across panels that will give them different items which they can use to help their progress or hinder the progress of their opponents. Players can also find eggs among the course, and a creature can hold three eggs. The eggs function differently for each creature. A Louie will gain a speed boost, while a Tirra will form a barrier that will protect them from bomb explosions.
Reception.
The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. It was reviewed by "IGN" who said, "although it lacks a speedy adrenaline rush, and it doesn't push technical limits to the top, "Bomberman Fantasy Race" is a good time." "Game Informer" gave it an above-average review, nearly two months before the game was released Stateside. "Next Generation" said in an early review, "For all its cuteness and quirk, the somewhat stiff digital controls and tough tracks of "Bomberman Racing" make it a choice for fans and racing veterans only." In Japan, "Famitsu" gave it a score of 26 out of 40.


Kabru (supercomputer)

Kabru is a supercomputer that uses a 2.4 GHz Pentium Xeon Cluster and Linux to provide a sustained speed of 959 gigaflops. It was developed by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) in Chennai, India. In June 2004, Kabru was listed as #264 in the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful computers. It takes its name from a Himalayan peak.
The idea for Kabru was born when Professor Hari Dass of the Institute began looking for a supercomputer to handle his theoretical physics research, which dealt primarily with large-scale simulations in the field of the lattice gauge theory.
The Department of Atomic Energy in India made a grant of Rs 3.5 crore to the Institute to develop Kabru.


Cho Aniki Zero

 is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, the latest game in the "Cho Aniki" series. It was published in Japan by GungHo Works on 19 March 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. The game was published in North America by Aksys Games on 25 March 2010 as a digital download exclusive for the PSP, with the full title of "Cho Aniki Zero: Muscle Brothers". This makes it the second "Cho Aniki" title to be released in North America, following the Virtual Console port of the original game. It is the first "Cho Aniki" title developed by extreme Co., Ltd., who had obtained the rights of original developers NCS Corp. and Masaya products. The graphics followed the 3D appearance of the PS2 game.
A limited edition was released in Japan, which includes a soundtrack CD. Also released was a demo that included the first stage of the game.
Gameplay.
Control.
During the Men's beam firing sequence, the player can choose their beam level during countdown.
The cut-in bomb attacks all on-screen enemies, and destroys all enemy bullets.


Monaco Grand Prix (video game)

Monaco Grand Prix: Racing Simulation 2, also known as just Monaco Grand Prix, is a Formula one racing game for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Dreamcast. It was released in 1998-1999. The game is based on the Formula One World Championship, but does not have the licence to use drivers names, official cars, etc. (the licence was held by Video System at the time, who made "F-1 World Grand Prix" and "F-1 World Grand Prix II"). The game does however have a licence to use Formula One's official sponsors; Schweppes and Castrol among others, helping add to the authenticity of the game. The game is unrelated to Sega's "Monaco GP" series.
The sequel to "F1 Racing Simulation" recreates the 1997 season, featuring 17 authentic tracks, 11 teams and cars with their 22 drivers. The Monaco license is used, although the teams themselves are not licensed. A total of 22 camera views are provided. Telemetry is stored and analysed in a similar way to "Grand Prix 2", and physics are modeled to be realistic. There are eight different modes to race, the new ones being a career mode in which the player starts with a poor team and must drive well enough to earn competitive rides, and scenarios recreating key races for particular drivers. Returning from the first game are Time Attack, a full championship, and a 1950s retro mode. There is also a track editor for the players to create their own tracks.
Reception.
The game received "favorable" reviews on all platforms except the Dreamcast version, which received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. "PC Gamer" gave the PC version universal acclaim, while "PC Accelerator" gave it a favorable review, months before its U.S. release. An unnamed reviewer of "Next Generation" said of the N64 version in its July 1999 issue: "With 16 tracks, 22 cars onscreen at the same time, two-player split-screen racing, excellent graphics, detailed physics, and great gameplay, it's a hard title to stop playing." Four issues later, however, Chris Carla of the same magazine (now labeled "NextGen") said of the Dreamcast version: "If you've got a Dreamcast and [you] want GP racing, this isn't bad, but we'd much rather play Ubi's "Speed Devils" instead." In Japan, where the same Dreamcast version was ported for release on March 11, 1999, followed by the PlayStation version on September 30, "Famitsu" gave it a score of 31 out of 40 for the former, and 26 out of 40 for the latter.
Pete Wilton of "Official UK PlayStation Magazine" gave the PlayStation version seven out of ten: "Despite minor annoyances (where's the commentary?) and unrealistic arcade looks, "Monaco GP" is certainly better than the disappointing "F1 '98". The trouble is, some 18 months on, it still can't best "F1 '97". It seems like the racing leegends of yesteryear still take some beating." "Computer Games Strategy Plus" gave the PC version four-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "a great simulation—arguably the best on the market. Its combination of accurate driving model, gorgeous graphics, and solid multiplayer make it the best—"modern day"—open wheel racing simulation around." "Edge" gave the same PC version a score of seven out of ten in its December 1998 issue, saying that despite the issues, the game "proves one of the most comptent and technical recreations of modern F1 currently available." Seven issues later, the same magazine gave the Japanese Dreamcast import six out of ten, calling it "a proficient, F1 simulation title with a respectable set of handling dynamics. It's just that things have moved on a little since its original appearance six months ago, and this version is therefore unable to match its predecessor's impact. Some genuine enhancements -- rather than a seemingly straightforward port -- would have been welcome."
"AllGame" gave the Dreamcast, PC and PlayStation versions each three stars out of five, with Brad Cook saying of the Dreamcast version: "I have to give this game a higher rating than I thought I would simply because I know it will appeal to its intended audience. Just stay away if you want Arcade-style action"; Michael L. House saying that the PC version "crosses the finish line in fairly good shape. I'm a firm believer that all games don't necessarily have to fit exclusively in a restrictive "either/or" category but can fill niches in a sliding scale of desirability. Just as those gamers who do themselves an injustice by adamantly shouting there is only one viable golf simulation because of a strict, narrow mindset, so to[o] will racing fans unwilling to experience alternatives in the Formula 1 racing genre"; and Jonathan Sutyak saying of the PlayStation version: "While "Monaco Grand Prix" more than passes from a technical standpoint, there are a few things excluded that keep it from being a classic."
Jes Bickham of "N64 Magazine" gave the N64 version 87% in his early review, calling it "a rattlingly good game." Cam Shea of "Hyper" gave it 83% in his early review, calling it "a semi-sim that would make a good introduction for F1 fans intimidated by steep learning curves." "Electronic Gaming Monthly", "GamePro", and "Nintendo Power" gave the European version average reviews, months before its U.S. release date.
The PC version was a runner-up for "Computer Games Strategy Plus" 1999 "Racing Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to "Dirt Track Racing". Its staff wrote: "Superb graphics and excellent vehicle physics are the hallmark of the latest installment in this excellent series."


Arcade Party Pak

Arcade Party Pak is a PlayStation compilation of six Atari and Midway games: "720°", "Klax", "Rampage", "Smash TV", "Super Sprint", and "Toobin"'. It was the first compilation game for the system. All games are presented in their original arcade formats as individually launchable games from the main menu.
Gameplay.
The player is presented with a main menu where they can select from the 6 arcade titles. For each game they can select various settings such as skill level, number of lives and if they want high scores automatically saved to the memory card. In addition to the games themselves, there are also behind the scenes interviews on the making of the games presented as an FMV. The compilation features the following games:
720°.
A skateboarding game where the player must complete tricks to increase their score.
Klax.
A puzzle video game where blocks roll towards the player who can catch them on a panel and drop them into the playing area below to get color matches to score points.
Rampage.
The player takes control of gigantic creatures with the main goal being to destroy the city and the military forces trying to stop you.
Smash TV.
The setting is a futuristic ultra violent game show where the player must defeat hordes of oncoming enemies in each room to progress.
Super Sprint.
A quick paced overhead 3 player car racing game.
Toobin'.
A river race in an inflatable tube while avoiding obstacles and crashing into competitors.
Faithfulness to the original games.
Skill levels and number of lives can be set before starting the game, making it less harsh in terms of difficulty. On the negative side there are frame rate drops in "Rampage", and a darker colour palette in "720°" and "Toobin'."
Peripherals.
Most games are either compatible with a certain peripheral or they're not, but due to "Arcade Party Pak's" multiple game set-up, compatibility is on a game by game basis. Rampage is compatible with the multitap, allowing up to 3 players, "720°" can take advantage of the PlayStation Mouse but for player 2 only and "Super Sprint" is compatible with the mouse for any player. Although not mentioned in the game's manual, "Super Sprint" can be played with the PlayStation steering wheel. "Smash TV" benefits from analog stick compatibility, effectively turning it into a true Twin-stick shooter.
Compatibility.
Whereas most PS1 games are compatible with the "PlayStation 2, Arcade Party Pak" is a PlayStation game partially incompatible with PlayStation 2.
Reception.
Digital Press magazine gave the game a 33/40, PlayStation Official Magazine – UK gave the game a 5/10 and Gamers Republic gave the game a B rating.


Astro Boy (2004 video game)

 is a video game based on the 2003 anime television series, produced by Sonic Team. Astro boy is a 3-D third person adventure game and has open world capabilities; throughout the game, Astro is controlled by the player and learns more of his abilities that can be used outside of battles and also in battles as well. Players explore a series of many levels towards a particular game cycle of events. Astro Boy also has a day and night cycle depending on the said storyline and events throughout the game.
Reception.
"Astro Boy" received "mixed or average" reviews upon release, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
"Game Informer"'s Matt Helgeson gave it a 5.5/10, commenting that "The amount of time you have to spend tweaking your viewpoint with the shoulder buttons is ridiculous, an unwanted flashback to early 3D platformers like Gex and Spyro the Dragon." In a second opinion, Matt Miller rated it 6.75/10, praising "incredible special effects and a smorgasbord of boss battles", but stating that it is "unlikely to entrance for more than a weekend".


PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000, in North America on October 26, 2000, in Europe on November 24, 2000, and in Australia on November 30, 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation console line-up. A sixth-generation console, it competed with Sega's Dreamcast, Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's original Xbox.
Announced in 1999, the PS2 offered backward-compatibility for its predecessor's DualShock controller, as well as its games. The PS2 is the best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide. Over 3,800 game titles have been released for the PS2, with over 1.5 billion copies sold. Sony later manufactured several smaller, lighter revisions of the console known as Slimline models in 2004.
Even with the release of its successor, the PlayStation 3, the PS2 remained popular well into the seventh generation. It continued to be produced until 2013 when Sony finally announced it had been discontinued after over twelve years of production—one of the longest lifespans of a video game console. Despite the announcement, new games for the console continued to be produced until the end of 2013, including "Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin" for Japan, "FIFA 14" for North America, and "Pro Evolution Soccer 2014" for Europe. Repair services for the system in Japan ended on September 7, 2018.
History.
Though Sony has kept details of the PlayStation 2's development secret, work on the console began around the time that the original PlayStation was released (in late 1994). Insiders stated that it was developed in the U.S. West Coast by former members of Argonaut Software. By 1997 word had leaked to the press that the console would have backward-compatibility with the original PlayStation, a built-in DVD player, and Internet connectivity. Officially, however, Sony continued to deny that a successor to the PlayStation was being developed. Sony announced the PlayStation 2 (PS2) on March 1, 1999. The video game console was positioned as a competitor to Sega's Dreamcast, the first sixth-generation console to be released, although ultimately the main rivals of the PS2 were Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. The Dreamcast itself launched very successfully in North America later that year, selling over 500,000 units within two weeks.
Soon after the Dreamcast's North American launch, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 2 at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 1999. Sony showed fully playable demos of upcoming PlayStation 2 games including "Gran Turismo 2000" (later released as "") and "Tekken Tag Tournament"—which showed the console's graphic abilities and power.
The PS2 was launched in March 2000 in Japan, October in North America, and November in Europe. Sales of the console, games and accessories pulled in $250 million on the first day, beating the $97 million made on the first day of the Dreamcast. Directly after its release, it was difficult to find PS2 units on retailer shelves due to manufacturing delays. Another option was purchasing the console online through auction websites such as eBay, where people paid over a thousand dollars for the console. The PS2 initially sold well partly on the basis of the strength of the PlayStation brand and the console's backward-compatibility, selling over 980,000 units in Japan by March 5, 2000, one day after launch. This allowed the PS2 to tap the large install base established by the PlayStation—another major selling point over the competition. Later, Sony added new development kits for game developers and more PS2 units for consumers. The PS2's built-in functionality also expanded its audience beyond the gamer, as its debut pricing was the same or less than a standalone DVD player. This made the console a low-cost entry into the home theater market.
The success of the PS2 at the end of 2000 caused Sega problems both financially and competitively, and Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast in March 2001, just 18 months after its successful Western launch. Despite the Dreamcast still receiving support through 2001, the PS2 remained the only sixth-generation console for over 6 months before it faced competition from new rivals: Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. Many analysts predicted a close three-way matchup among the three consoles. The Xbox had the most powerful hardware, while the GameCube was the least expensive console, and Nintendo changed its policy to encourage third-party developers. While the PlayStation 2 theoretically had the weakest specification of the three, it had a head start due to its installed base plus strong developer commitment, as well as a built-in DVD player (the Xbox required an adapter, while the GameCube lacked support entirely). While the PlayStation 2's initial games lineup was considered mediocre, this changed during the 2001 holiday season with the release of several blockbuster games that maintained the PS2's sales momentum and held off its newer rivals. Sony also countered the Xbox by temporarily securing PlayStation 2 exclusives for highly anticipated games such as the "Grand Theft Auto" series and "".
Sony cut the price of the console in May 2002 from US$299 to $199 in North America, making it the same price as the GameCube and $100 less than the Xbox. It also planned to cut the price in Japan around that time. It cut the price twice in Japan in 2003. In 2006, Sony cut the cost of the console in anticipation of the release of the PlayStation 3.
Unlike Sega's Dreamcast, Sony originally placed little emphasis on online gaming during its first few years, although that changed upon the launch of the online-capable Xbox. Coinciding with the release of Xbox Live, Sony released the PlayStation Network Adapter in late 2002, with several online first-party titles released alongside it, such as "SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs" to demonstrate its active support for Internet play. Sony also advertised heavily, and its online model had the support of Electronic Arts (EA); EA did not offer online Xbox titles until 2004. Although Sony and Nintendo both started late, and although both followed a decentralized model of online gaming where the responsibility is up to the developer to provide the servers, Sony's moves made online gaming a major selling point of the PS2.
In September 2004, in time for the launch of "", Sony revealed a newer, slimmer PS2. In preparation for the launch of the new models (SCPH-700xx-9000x), Sony stopped making the older models (SCPH-3000x-500xx) to let the distribution channel empty its stock of the units. After an apparent manufacturing issue—Sony reportedly underestimated demand—caused some initial slowdown in producing the new unit caused in part by shortages between the time Sony cleared out the old units and the new units were ready. The issue was compounded in Britain when a Russian oil tanker became stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking a ship from China carrying PS2s bound for the UK. During one week in November, British sales totalled 6,000 units—compared to 70,000 units a few weeks prior. There were shortages in more than 1,700 stores in North America on the day before Christmas.
In 2010, Sony introduced a TV with a built-in PlayStation 2.
Hardware.
Software for the PlayStation 2 was distributed primarily on DVD-ROM, with some titles being published on CD-ROM. In addition, the console can play audio CDs and DVD movies and is backward-compatible with almost all original PlayStation games. The PlayStation 2 also supports PlayStation memory cards and controllers, although original PlayStation memory cards will only work with original PlayStation games and the controllers may not support all functions (such as analog buttons) for PlayStation 2 games.
The standard PlayStation 2 memory card has an 8 MB capacity. There are a variety of non-Sony manufactured memory cards available for the PlayStation 2, allowing for a memory capacity larger than the standard 8 MB.
The console also features 2 USB ports, and 1 IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port (SCPH-10000 to 3900x only). A hard disk drive can be installed in an expansion bay on the back of the console, and is required to play certain games, notably the popular "Final Fantasy XI". This is only available on certain models.
The console uses the Emotion Engine CPU, custom-designed by Sony and Toshiba and based on the MIPS architecture with a floating point performance of 6.2 GFLOPS. The GPU is likewise custom-designed for the console and called the Graphics Synthesizer, with a fillrate of 2.4 gigapixels/second, capable of rendering up to 75 million polygons per second. When accounting for features such as lighting, texture mapping, artificial intelligence, and game physics, it has a real-world performance of 3 million to 16 million polygons per second.
Video and audio.
The PlayStation 2 may natively output video resolutions on SDTV and HDTV from 480i to 480p while other games, such as "Gran Turismo 4" and "Tourist Trophy" are known to support up-scaled 1080i resolution using any of the following standards: composite video (480i), S-Video (480i), RGB (480i/p), VGA (for progressive scan games and PS2 Linux only), component video (which display most original PlayStation games in their native 240p mode which most HDTV sets do not support), and D-Terminal. Cables are available for all of these signal types; these cables also output analog stereo audio. Additionally, an RF modulator is available for the system to connect to older TVs.
Digital (S/PDIF) audio may also be output by the console via its TOSLINK connector which outputs 2.0 PCM, 5.1, and 6.1 channel sound in Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS, And DTS-ES formats.
Online support.
"
PlayStation 2 users had the option to play select games over the Internet, using dial-up or a broadband Internet connection. The PlayStation 2 Network Adaptor was required for the original models, while the slim models included networking ports on the console. Instead of having a unified, subscription-based online service like Xbox Live as competitor Microsoft later chose for its Xbox console, online multiplayer functionality on the PlayStation 2 was the responsibility of the game publisher and ran on third-party servers. Many games that supported online play exclusively supported broadband Internet access.
Retail configurations.
The PS2 has undergone many revisions, some only of internal construction and others involving substantial external changes.
The PS2 is primarily differentiated between models featuring the original "fat" case design and "slimline" models, which were introduced at the end of 2004. In 2010, the Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300 was made available to consumers. It was a 22" HD-Ready television which incorporated a built-in PlayStation 2.
The PS2 standard color is matte black. Several variations in color were produced in different quantities and regions, including ceramic white, light yellow, metallic blue (aqua), metallic silver, navy (star blue), opaque blue (astral blue), opaque black (midnight black), pearl white, sakura purple, satin gold, satin silver, snow white, super red, transparent blue (ocean blue), and also Limited Edition color Pink, which was distributed in some regions such as Oceania, and parts of Asia.
In September 2004, Sony unveiled its third major hardware revision. Available in late October 2004, it was smaller, thinner, and quieter than the original versions and included a built-in Ethernet port (in some markets it also had an integrated modem). Due to its thinner profile, it did not contain the 3.5" expansion bay and therefore did not support the internal hard disk drive. It also lacked an internal power supply until a later revision (excluding the Japan version), similar to the GameCube, and had a modified Multitap expansion. The removal of the expansion bay was criticized as a limitation due to the existence of titles such as "Final Fantasy XI", which required the HDD use.
Sony also manufactured a consumer device called the PSX that can be used as a digital video recorder and DVD burner in addition to playing PS2 games. The device was released in Japan on December 13, 2003, and was the first Sony product to include the XrossMediaBar interface. It did not sell well in the Japanese market and was not released anywhere else.
Disc-read error lawsuit.
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. on July 16, 2002, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. The lawsuit addresses consumer reports of inappropriate "no disc" error (disc read error) messages and other problems associated with playing DVDs and CDs on the PlayStation 2.
Sony settled its "disc read error" lawsuit by compensating the affected customers with US$25, a free game from a specified list, and the reduced cost repair or replacement (at SCEA's discretion) of the damaged system. This settlement was subject to the courts' approval, and hearings began in the US and Canada on April 28, 2006, and May 11, 2006, respectively.
Games.
PlayStation 2 software is distributed on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM; the two formats are differentiated by their discs' bottoms, with CD-ROMs being blue and DVD-ROMs being silver. The PlayStation 2 offered some particularly high-profile exclusive games. Most main entries in the "Grand Theft Auto", "Final Fantasy", and "Metal Gear Solid" series were released exclusively for the console. Several prolific series got their start on the PlayStation 2, including "God of War", "Ratchet & Clank", "Jak and Daxter", "Devil May Cry," "Kingdom Hearts", and "Sly Cooper". "" was the best-selling game on the console.
Game releases peaked in 2004, but declined with the release of the PlayStation 3 in 2006. The last new games for the console were "Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin" in Asia, "FIFA 14" in North America, and "Pro Evolution Soccer 2014" in Europe. As of June 30, 2007, a total of 10,035 software titles had been released worldwide including games released in multiple regions as separate titles.
Reception.
Initial reviews in 2000 of the PlayStation 2 acclaimed the console, with reviewers commending its hardware and graphics capabilities, its ability to play DVDs, and the system's backwards compatibility with games and hardware for the original PlayStation. Early points of criticism included the lack of online support at the time, its inclusion of only two controller ports, and the system's price at launch compared to the Dreamcast in 2000. "PC Magazine" in 2001 called the console "outstanding", praising its "noteworthy components" such as the Emotion Engine CPU, 32MB of RAM, support for IEEE 1394 (branded as "i.LINK" by Sony and "FireWire" by Apple), and the console's two USB ports while criticizing its "expensive" games and its support for only two controllers without the multitap accessory.
Later reviews, especially after the launch of the competing GameCube and Xbox systems, continued to praise the PlayStation 2's large game library and DVD playback, while routinely criticizing the PlayStation 2's lesser graphics performance compared to the newer systems and its rudimentary online service compared to Xbox Live. In 2002, CNET rated the console 7.3 out of 10, calling it a "safe bet" despite not being the "newest or most powerful", noting that the console "yields in-game graphics with more jagged edges". CNET also criticized the DVD playback functionality, claiming that the console's video quality was "passable" and that the playback controls were "rudimentary", recommending users to purchase a remote control. The console's two controller ports and expensiveness of its memory cards were also a point of criticism.The slim model of the PlayStation 2 received positive reviews, especially for its incredibly small size and built-in networking. The slim console's requirement for a separate power adapter was often criticized while the top-loading disc drive was often noted as being far less likely to break compared to the tray-loading drive of the original model.
Sales.
Demand for the PlayStation 2 remained strong throughout much of its lifespan, selling over 1.4 million units in Japan by March 31, 2000. Over 10.6 million units were sold worldwide by March 31, 2001. In 2005, the PlayStation 2 became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch; this was surpassed 4 years later when the Nintendo DS reached 100 million shipments in 4 years and 5 months from its launch. By July 2009, the system had sold 138.8 million units worldwide, with 51 million of those units sold in PAL regions.
Overall, over 155 million PlayStation 2 units were sold worldwide by March 31, 2012, the year Sony officially stopped supplying updated sales numbers of the system.
Accessories.
The PlayStation 2's DualShock 2 controller is largely identical to the PlayStation's DualShock, with the same basic functionality. However, it includes analog pressure sensitivity on the face, shoulder and D-pad buttons, replacing the digital buttons of the original. (These buttons later became digital again with the release of the DualShock 4.) Like its predecessor, the DualShock 2 controller has force feedback, or "vibration" functionality. It is lighter and includes two more levels of vibration.
General.
Optional hardware includes additional DualShock or DualShock 2 controllers, a PS2 DVD remote control, an internal or external hard disk drive (HDD), a network adapter, horizontal and vertical stands, PlayStation or PS2 memory cards, the multitap for PlayStation or PS2, a USB motion camera (EyeToy), a USB keyboard and mouse, and a headset.
The original PS2 multitap (SCPH-10090) cannot be plugged into the newer slim models. The multitap connects to the memory card slot and the controller slot, and the memory card slot on the slimline is shallower. New slim-design multitaps (SCPH-70120) were manufactured for these models; however, third-party adapters also permit original multitaps to be used.
Early versions of the PS2 could be networked via an i.LINK port, though this had little game support and was dropped. Some third-party manufacturers have created devices that allow disabled people to access the PS2 through ordinary switches, etc.
Some third-party companies, such as JoyTech, have produced LCD monitor and speaker attachments for the PS2, which attach to the back of the console. These allow users to play games without access to a television as long as there is access to mains electricity or a similar power source. These screens can fold down onto the PS2 in a similar fashion to laptop screens.
Music.
There are many accessories for musical games, such as dance pads for "Dance Dance Revolution", "In the Groove", and "Pump It Up" titles and '. Konami microphones for use with the "Karaoke Revolution" games, dual microphones (sold with and used exclusively for "SingStar" games), various "guitar" controllers (for the "Guitar Freaks" series and "Guitar Hero" series), the drum set controller (sold in a box set (or by itself) with a "guitar" controller and a USB microphone (for use with "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" series, "World Tour" and newer), and a taiko drum controller for '.
Controllers.
Specialized controllers include light guns (GunCon), fishing rod and reel controllers, a ' "slime" controller, a "Final Fantasy X-2" "Tiny Bee" dual pistol controller, an ' katana controller, and a "Resident Evil 4" chainsaw controller.
Mouse and keyboard.
Unlike the PlayStation, which requires the use of an official Sony PlayStation Mouse to play mouse-compatible games, the few PS2 games with mouse support work with a standard USB mouse as well as a USB trackball. In addition, some of these games also support the usage of a USB keyboard for text input, game control (instead of a DualShock or DualShock 2 gamepad, in tandem with a USB mouse), or both.
Homebrew development.
Using homebrew programs, it is possible to play various audio and video file formats on a PS2. Homebrew programs can also play patched backups of original PS2 DVD games on unmodified consoles and install retail discs to an installed hard drive on older models. Homebrew emulators of older computer and gaming systems have been developed for the PS2.
Sony released a Linux-based operating system, Linux for PlayStation 2, for the PS2 in a package that also includes a keyboard, mouse, Ethernet adapter and HDD. In Europe and Australia, the PS2 comes with a free Yabasic interpreter on the bundled demo disc. This allows users to create simple programs for the PS2. A port of the NetBSD project and BlackRhino GNU/Linux, an alternative Debian-based distribution, are also available for the PS2.
Successor.
The PlayStation 3 was released in Japan and North America in November 2006 and Europe in March 2007.


PlayStation 4 Pro


DNA-OS

DNA-OS is a French-made operating system to supersede MutekA, an obsolete operating system, while still providing POSIX thread API. As said on the SoCLib website, "It is a kernel-mode lightweight operating system for Multiprocessor System on a Chip. It is built on top of a thin HAL to ease porting on new platforms and processor architecture. DNA/OS does not support virtual memory."
DNA-OS is a layered microkernel operating system, written in C99, released under the GNU GPLv3 license.


NeXTdimension

NeXTdimension (ND) was an accelerated 32-bit color board manufactured and sold by NeXT from 1991 that gave the NeXTcube color capabilities with PostScript planned. The NeXTBus (NuBus-like) card was a full size card for the NeXTcube, filling one of four slots, another one being filled with the main board itself. The NeXTdimension featured S-Video input and output, RGB output, an Intel i860 64-bit RISC processor at 33 MHz for Postscript acceleration, 8 MB main memory (expandable to 64 MB via eight 72-pin SIMM slots) and 4 MB VRAM for a resolution of 1120x832 at 24-bit color plus 8-bit alpha channel. An onboard C-Cube CL550 chip for MJPEG video compression was announced, but never shipped. A handful of engineering prototypes for the MJPEG daughterboard exist, but none actually function.
A stripped down Mach kernel was used as the operating system for the card. Due to the supporting processor, 32-bit color on the NeXTdimension was faster than 2-bit greyscale Display PostScript on the NeXTcube. Display Postscript never actually ran on the board so the Intel i860 never did much more than move blocks of color data around. The Motorola 68040 did the crunching and the board, while fast for its time, never lived up to the hype. Since the main board always included the greyscale video logic, each NeXTdimension allowed the simultaneous use of an additional monitor. List price for a NeXTdimension sold as an add-on to the NeXTcube was , and for the MegaPixel Color Display.


Intel X58

The Intel X58 (codenamed "Tylersburg") is an Intel chip designed to connect Intel processors with Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) interface to peripheral devices. Supported processors implement the Nehalem microarchitecture and therefore have an integrated memory controller (IMC), so the X58 does not have a memory interface. Initially supported processors were the Core i7, but the chip also supported Nehalem and Westmere-based Xeon processors.
Description.
The QuickPath architecture differs considerably from earlier Intel architectures, and is much closer to AMD's HyperTransport architecture. Except for the lack of a memory interface, the X58 is similar to the traditional northbridge: it communicates with the processor(s) via the high bandwidth QuickPath Interconnect, it communicates with the southbridge via Direct Media Interface (DMI), and it communicates with high bandwidth peripherals via PCI Express (PCIe).
The X58 is not a "memory controller hub" (MCH), because it has no memory interface, so Intel calls it an "I/O hub". This should not be confused with the similar term "I/O controller hub" (ICH) which has traditionally been used to refer to the southbridge chips. Intel documentation now refers to the southbridge as the "Legacy I/O Controller Hub".
The X58 has 36 PCIe lanes that are arranged in two ×16 links, DMI link and "spare"-based link. When used with the ICH10 I/O Controller Hub with ×4 DMI connection the "spare" supports a separate ×4 PCIe connection. Future southbridge chips DMI may support a wider DMI.
Each X58 QuickPath Interconnect uses 21 unidirectional differential pairs in each direction, for a total of 84 pins per QPI. At the highest bandwidth, each QPI can transfer up to 12.8 GB/s usable in each direction simultaneously using the QPI protocol. The protocol transfers information in 80 bit flits which contain 8 bits of error correction, 8 bits of QPI routing information, and 64 bits of data.
X58 PCIe ports support full PCIe 2.0 bandwidth (e.g., up to 8GB/s including overheads per ×16 link) and each ×16 link may be divided into total 16 lanes in any combination of ×8, ×4, ×2 or ×1 ports. They also support all features of line-reserved wiring, which means that in the combinations of (×16 + ×1/×8) slots, often used on the motherboards, not only ×1 or ×8 cards may be installed into the ×1/×8 slot, but ×4 cards should work as well (if not disallowed by the motherboard BIOS.)
Unlike the front-side bus (FSB), QPI is a point-to-point interface and supports not only processor-chipset interface, but also processor-to-processor connection and chip-to-chip connection. The X58 has two QPIs and can directly connect to two processors on a multi-socket motherboard or form a ring-like connection (processor 1 to X58 to processor 2 back to processor 1). When used with the Intel Core i7, the second QPI is usually unused (though, in principle, the second X58 might be daisy-chained on the board).
When used with the "Gainestown" DP processor, which will have two QPIs, the X58 and the two processors may be connected in a triangle or ring. For MP processors such as "Beckton" with more than two QPIs, the X58 is either connected to two processors, which in turn are connected in a "mesh" of QPIs to other processors or attached "in pairs" to two different processors. I/O for "remote" processors is relayed via the inter-processors QPI.
X58 board manufacturers can build SLI-compatible Intel chipset boards by submitting their designs to nVidia for validation. However, users wishing to run more than two Nvidia video cards in PCIe ×16 will still need to purchase motherboards equipped with one or more nVidia nForce chipsets. It is still possible to run more than two video cards in an SLI-configuration at fewer PCIe lane widths. The X58 chipset itself supports up to 36 PCI-Express 2.0 lanes, so it is possible to have two PCIe ×16 slots and one PCIe ×4 slot on the same motherboard.


Tadpole Computer

Tadpole Computer was a manufacturer of rugged, military specification, UNIX workstations, thin client laptops and lightweight servers.
History.
Tadpole was founded in 1994 and originally based in Cambridge, England, then for a time in Cupertino, California.
In 1998, Tadpole acquired RDI Computer Corporation of Carlsbad, California, who produced the competing Britelite and Powerlite portable SPARC-based systems, for $6 million.
Tadpole was later acquired by defense contractor General Dynamics, in April 2005.
Production continued until March 2013 but since then, they no longer sell any systems; and support for their products is provided by Flextronics.
An anonymous US intelligence officer had stated to Reuters in 2013 that a decade earlier the US secretly created a company reselling laptops from Tadpole Computer to Asian governments. The reseller added secret software that allowed intelligence analysts to access the machines remotely.
Products.
Tadpole laptops used a variety of architectures, such as SPARC, Alpha, PowerPC and x86. Although very expensive, these classic Tadpoles won favour as a method to show corporation's proprietary software (IBM/HP/DEC) on a self-contained portable device on a client site in the days before remote connectivity.
SPARC.
The original "SPARCbook 1" was introduced in 1992 with 8–32 MB RAM and a 25 MHz processor. It was followed by several further SPARCbooks, Ultrabooks - and the Voyager IIi. These all ran the SunOS or Solaris operating systems. In 2004, Tadpole released the Viper laptop.
The SPARCLE was based on an 500-600 MHz UltraSPARC IIe or 1 GHz UltraSPARC IIIi.
DEC Alpha.
An Alpha-based laptop, the ALPHAbook 1, was announced on 4 December 1995 and became available in 1996. The Alphabook 1 was manufactured in Cambridge, England. It used an Alpha 21066A microprocessor specified for a maximum clock frequency of 233 MHz. The laptop used the OpenVMS operating system.
IBM PowerPC.
A PowerPC-based laptop was also produced - the IBM RISC System/6000 N40 Notebook Workstation, powered by a 50 MHz PowerPC 601 and with between 16 and 64MB RAM - and designed to run IBM AIX.
x86.
Tadpole also produced a range of x86-based notebook computers, including the "Tadpole P1000", and the TALIN laptops with SUSE Linux, or optionally Microsoft Windows.


LOGO.SYS

LOGO.SYS is a core system file used by Windows 9x operating systems to display its boot-up message.
It is present and used in the Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME products, instead of the Windows NT family of operating systems, such as Windows XP.
There are three variants of the file:
LOGO.SYS is in fact an 8-bit RLE-encoded Windows bitmap file with a resolution of exactly 320×400 pixels at 256 colors. This is displayed in the otherwise little-used 320x400 VGA graphics mode, a compromise to allow the display of a 256-color image with high vertical (but not horizontal) resolution on all compatible systems, even those with plain VGA cards (which could only show 16 colors with high horizontal resolution) and without needing any additional graphics drivers. The mode appears, to any attached monitor, to be identical to the more common 640x400 graphics or 720x400 text modes, and is therefore stretched to a standard 4:3 aspect ratio (meaning the pixels appear to be 1.67x (2/1.2) wider than they are tall, instead of square - as they would be on a full 640x480 VGA display) on a typical 4:3 monitor of the time, and on monitors of other shapes (5:4, 16:9, etc.) when set to display standard video modes in their original aspects with letterbox borders. This lent the startup screens a peculiar, characteristic "feel" and made them more suited to certain subjects (which disguised the horizontal blockiness or made good use of the vertical resolution) than others (which accentuated it), meaning some skill was needed in choosing an image that would still be aesthetically pleasing - or even clear enough to be properly interpreted - once resized.
For LOGO.SYS or the equivalent embedded image in IO.SYS, Windows will also animate the image's color information using palette rotation; the image is static, but may have the illusion of movement as colors are changed.
As the files are standard RLE-compressed .BMPs (with an entirely optional custom tag segment) renamed to ".SYS", they may be opened and edited using image editing tools such as MS Paint, and the contents replaced with user-selected pictures; the only conversion needed is to change the file extension, and to ensure they are in the correct resolution and color depth (with dithering if needed). However, the process is not foolproof:


Kernel marker

Kernel markers were a static kernel instrumentation support mechanism for Linux kernel source code, allowing special tools such as LTTng or SystemTap to trace information exposed by these probe points. Kernel markers were declared in the kernel code by one-liners of the form:
trace_mark(name, format_string, ...);
Where name is the marker's unique name, and format_string describes the remaining arguments' types.
A marker can be on or off depending on whether a probe is connected to it or not. Code which wants to hook into a trace point first calls:
int marker_probe_register(const char *name, const char *format_string, marker_probe_func *probe, void *pdata);
to register its probe callback with the marker point (pdata is a private data value that the code wants to pass to the probe). Later, the probe is turned on and off using:
int marker_arm(const char *name);
int marker_disarm(const char *name);
Using markers has a negligible overhead thanks in part to "Immediate Values", another support mechanism that embeds switches in the code that can be dynamically turned on and off, without using a memory reference and thus saving cache lines.
The initial motivation to create this static instrumentation infrastructure was the large performance overhead induced by the predating dynamic instrumentation mechanism "Kprobe" mechanism, which depends on breakpoints. Static instrumentation can also more easily survive source code changes because the markers are in the source code.
Kernel Markers consisted essentially of a C preprocessing macro which added, in the instrumented function, a branch over a function call. By doing so, neither the stack setup nor the function call are executed when instrumentation is not enabled. By identifying the branch executing stack setup and
function call as unlikely (using the gcc built-in expect()), a hint is given to the compiler to position the tracing instructions away from cache lines involved in standard kernel execution.
Two Kernel Markers drawbacks were identified which led to its replacement by Tracepoints:
A patch-set implementing them was merged into version 2.6.24, which was released on January 24, 2008. To address issues regarding kernel markers, Mathieu Desnoyers, their original author, implemented a simpler and more type-safe version of static probe points named Tracepoints. A patch-set implementing Tracepoints was merged into version 2.6.28, which was released on December 25, 2008. Starting then, kernel markers were slowly removed from kernel sources and eventually fully removed in Linux kernel 2.6.32, which was released on December 3, 2009.


Ruby Version Manager

Ruby Version Manager, often abbreviated as RVM, is a software platform for unix-like operating systems designed to manage multiple installations of Ruby on the same device.
The entire ruby environment including the Ruby interpreter, installed RubyGems, and documentation is partitioned. A developer can then switch between the different versions to work on several projects with different version requirements. In addition to MRI, the standard Ruby interpreter, RVM functions as an installer for various other implementations of Ruby. These include JRuby, mruby, MacRuby, IronRuby, Maglev, Rubinius, Ruby Enterprise Edition, Topaz, and GoRuby (an interpreter optimized for code golf). In addition, RVM supports the installation of patched versions of MRI.
RVM provides features for organization of Ruby gems through "gemsets", collections of gems separated by a namespace and associated Ruby installation. Gemsets can be associated with directories/projects through the use of the RVM-exclusive codice_1 file. An alternative to using the codice_1 file (and the general purpose although user-specific codice_3) and its format is use of the codice_4 and codice_5 files, which are compatible with other ruby version managers, such as RBenv and chruby. Additionally, using codice_1 requires trusting to prevent execution of unauthorized code, while codice_4 does not.


DELWATCH file deletion date


S3 Graphics Chrome 400

S3 Graphics Chrome 400 is the successor of S3 Chrome S20 series.
History.
VIA planned the production of two new graphics chips, Chrome 440 and 430, by the end of 2007. The Chrome 460 will support DirectX 10 and adopts a 90 nanometer process, while the Chrome 430 will support DirectX 10.1 and adopts a 65 nanometer process. The Chrome 400 series was codenamed 'Destination'. Both chips will be manufactured by Fujitsu and have already entered the design verification test stage. Volume production is expected to start before the end of the year, noted the sources.
The 430 GT was released on 2008-03-20 in US market, while 440 GTX was released in 2008-05-30.
Features.
The production models are made in 65 nm process, supports DirectX 10.1, and uses PCI Express 2.0 interface. Chromotion engine now supports variable-length decoding, and dual-stream Blu-ray playback (440 GTX). Display unit includes two dual-link DVI transmitters with integrated HDMI (audio pass-through) and HDCP, an integrated dual-channel LVDS transmitter, an integrated TV/HDTV encoder, and support for two analog CRTs. 440 GTX runs at 725 MHz core speed.
Chrome 400 ULP.
It is a mobile line for the Chrome 400. 430 ULP includes features in 430 GT, while 435 ULP and 440 ULP includes features in 440 GTX.
This product was released on 2008-09-24.
Reception.
In TechPowerUp's review of the 800/800 MHz core/memory version of S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX 256 MB video card, its performance is in the range of Radeon 3450 and GeForce 8500 GT. At a 1024×768 resolution, it is slightly slower than GeForce 9400 GT. Performance per dollar is the lowest of the list. Power consumption is on par with those products.


Rocky Linux

Rocky Linux is an upcoming Linux distribution that is currently in development. It is intended to be a downstream, complete binary-compatible release using the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system source code. The project's aim is to provide a community-supported, production-grade enterprise operating system. A release candidate version of Rocky Linux was released on April 30, 2021.
History.
On December 8, 2020, Red Hat announced that they would discontinue development of CentOS, which had been a production-ready downstream version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, in favor of a newer upstream development variant of that operating system known as "CentOS Stream". In response, original founder of CentOS, Gregory Kurtzer, announced that he would again start a project to achieve the original goals of CentOS. Its name was chosen as a tribute to early CentOS co-founder Rocky McGaugh. By December 12, the code repository of Rocky Linux had become the top-trending repository on GitHub.
On December 22, 2020, Rocky Linux community manager Jordan Pisaniello announced that the target for an initial release was anywhere between March and May of 2021. On January 20, 2021, it was announced that a test repository would be made available to the public by the end of February, and a release candidate was on target for the end of March 2021. However, that date was slightly pushed back, and on April 30, 2021, the first release candidate was officially released.


Nokia E72

The Nokia E72 is a smartphone from the Nokia Eseries range manufactured in Finland. The Nokia E72 was announced on June 15, 2009 at the Nokia Connections 2009 event in Singapore. It is the successor to the Nokia E71 and is based on a similar design and form factor, and offers a similar feature set. The Nokia E72 is a business-oriented phone (as all Eseries devices) and has standard features including mobile email, calendar and instant messaging among many others with its Symbian-based S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 operating system.
The Nokia E72 has a new Optical Navi Key feature in addition to the standard D-pad used on many other Nokia devices including the Nokia E71 – this is said to improve the ease of scrolling through menus, emails, Internet browser, and images as it is an optical sensor in addition to a series of closely spaced buttons. In comparison to its predecessor, the Nokia E72 is said to have a higher level of performance (likely due to the faster 600 MHz ARM processor) and also includes a 5-megapixel auto focusing camera. Other changes and improvements are software-based including changes to the user interface and built-in messaging application among others.
The Nokia E73 Mode is a USA feature phone for T-Mobile USA, with support for T-Mobile's UMA service and Band IV support for 3G. It is a different piece of hardware internally from the E72.
The current firmware of this device is 91.004 published on 2 June 2012 (to check the current firmware, one may dial *#0000#).
The Vertu Constellation Quest from 2010 is based on the E72 design.


Extended MMX

Extended MMX refers to one of two possible extensions to the MMX instruction set for x86.
Intel Extended MMX.
Included in Intel's Streaming SIMD Extensions were a number of new instructions that extended the functionality of MMX. AMD incorporated this subset of extended MMX instructions into the Athlon microarchitecture. These instructions are commonly known as "Extended MMX instructions".
These instructions debuted in May 1999, in the Intel Pentium III Processor, as part of the SSE instruction set. Next month, in late June 1999, AMD's Athlon processor was released which featured the extended MMX instructions, but not SSE.
Today, these extended MMX instructions are notable as being the common subset of MMX extensions that work across both AMD Athlon and SSE-capable Intel processors.
Cyrix EMMI (Extended Multi-Media Instructions).
Less commonly known, "Extended MMX" could also refer to the original Cyrix EMMI (Extended Multi-Media Instructions). This instruction set was developed by Cyrix and implemented on their 6x86 MX and MII line of processors. It extended the MMX instruction set with 12 new instructions useful in multimedia applications. The extensions were not enabled by default, requiring the BIOS or software to enable them. EMMI was never given much support from software developers or acknowledged by Cyrix's competitors (certain Intel SSE instructions even share opcodes with EMMI instructions). It was never implemented in any processors after the MII.
The EMMI instruction set included:


Kentsfield (microprocessor)

Kentsfield is the code name of the first Intel desktop quad core CPU branded Core 2 (and Xeon for lower-end servers and workstations), released on November 2, 2006. The top-of-the-line Kentsfields were Core 2 Extreme models numbered QX6xx0, while the mainstream ones branded Core 2 Quad were numbered Q6xx0. All of them featured two 4 MB L2 caches. The mainstream 65 nanometer Core 2 Quad Q6600, clocked at 2.4 GHz, was launched on January 8, 2007 at US$851 (reduced to US$530 on April 7, 2007). July 22, 2007 marked the release of the Q6700, and Extreme QX6850 Kentsfields at US$530 and US$999 respectively along with a further price reduction of the Q6600 to US$266. Both Kentsfield and Kentsfield XE use product code 80562.
Variants.
Kentsfield.
Analogous to the Pentium D branded CPUs, the Kentsfields comprise two separate silicon dies (each equivalent to a single Core 2 duo) on one MCM. This results in lower costs but lesser share of the bandwidth from each of the CPUs to the northbridge than if the dies were each to sit in separate sockets as is the case for example with the AMD Quad FX platform. Also, as might be predicted from the two-die MCM configuration, the max power consumption (TDP) of the Kentsfield (QX6800 - 130 watts,
QX6700 - 130 W,
Q6600 - 105 W
) has been found to be double that of its similarly clocked Core 2 Duo counterpart.
The multiple cores of the Kentsfield mostly benefits applications that can easily be broken into a small number of parallel threads (such as audio and video transcoding, data compression, video editing, 3D rendering and ray-tracing). To take a specific example, multi-threaded games such as Crysis and Gears of War which must perform multiple simultaneous tasks such as AI, audio and physics benefit from the quad-core CPUs. In such cases, the processing performance may increase relative to that of a single-CPU system by a factor approaching the number of CPUs. This should, however, be considered an upper limit as it presupposes the user-level software is well-threaded. To return to the above example, some tests have demonstrated that Crysis fails to take advantage of more than two cores at any given time. On the other hand, the impact of this issue on broader system performance can be significantly reduced on systems which frequently handle numerous unrelated simultaneous tasks such as multi-user environments or desktops which execute background processes while the user is active. There is still, however, some overhead involved in coordinating execution of multiple processes or threads and scheduling them on multiple CPUs which scales with the number of threads/CPUs. Finally, on the hardware level there exists the possibility of bottlenecks arising from the sharing of memory and/or I/O bandwidth between processors.
Kentsfield XE.
The first "Kentsfield XE", named Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (product code 80562) and clocked at 2.67 GHz, was released on November 2, 2006, at US$999. January 4, 2008, marks its discontinuation. It featured the Kentsfield XE core, and complemented the Core 2 Extreme X6800 dual-core processor based on the Conroe XE core. Like their dual core Extreme predecessors, CPUs with the "Kentsfield XE" core had unlocked multipliers.
The Core 2 Extreme QX6800 clocked at 2.93 GHz was released on April 8, 2007, at US$1,199. It had a 130 W TDP thermal envelope, and was intended for high end OEM-only systems.
The Core 2 Extreme QX6850 clocked at 3.0 GHz was launched on July 22, 2007, at US$999. It featured a faster 1333 MT/s FSB. Simultaneously, the previously available Extreme QX6700 was reduced in price.
Related processors.
The dual-core desktop version of Kentsfield is Conroe, the server versions of Kentsfield are the dual-processor Clovertown (Xeon 53xx) and the multi-processor Tigerton (Xeon 73xx).
Successor.
Kentsfield was subsequently replaced by the 45 nm Yorkfield processor.


Delay insensitive circuit

A delay-insensitive circuit is a type of asynchronous circuit which performs a digital logic operation often within a computing processor chip. Instead of using clock signals or other global control signals, the sequencing of computation in delay-insensitive circuit is determined by the data flow.
Data flows from one circuit element to another using "handshakes", or sequences of voltage transitions to indicate readiness to receive data, or readiness to offer data. Typically, inputs of a circuit module will indicate their readiness to receive, which will be "acknowledged" by the connected output by sending data (encoded in such a way that the receiver can detect the validity directly), and once that data has been safely received, the receiver will explicitly acknowledge it, allowing the sender to remove the data, thus completing the handshake, and allowing another datum to be transmitted.
In a delay-insensitive circuit, there is therefore no need to provide a clock signal to determine a starting time for a computation. Instead, the arrival of data to the input of a sub-circuit triggers the computation to start. Consequently, the next computation can be initiated immediately when the result of the first computation is completed.
The main advantage of such circuits is their ability to optimize processing of activities that can take arbitrary periods of time depending on the data or requested function. An example of a process with a variable time for completion would be mathematical division or recovery of data where such data might be in a cache.
The Delay-Insensitive (DI) class is the most robust of all asynchronous circuit delay models. It makes no assumptions on the delay of wires or gates. In this model all transitions on gates or wires must be acknowledged before transitioning again. This condition stops unseen transitions from occurring. In DI circuits any transition on an input to a gate must be seen on the output of the gate before a subsequent transition on that input is allowed to happen. This forces some input states or sequences to become illegal. For example OR gates must never go into the state where both inputs are one, as the entry and exit from this state will not be seen on the output of the gate. Although this model is very robust, no practical circuits are possible due to the lack of expressible conditionals in DI circuits. Instead the Quasi-Delay-Insensitive model is the smallest compromise model yet capable of generating useful computing circuits. For this reason circuits are often incorrectly referred to as Delay-Insensitive when they are Quasi Delay-Insensitive.


Comparison of ARMv8-A cores

This is a table of 64/32-bit ARMv8-A architecture cores comparing microarchitectures which implement the AArch64 instruction set and mandatory or optional extensions of it. Most chips support 32-bit AArch32 for legacy applications. All chips of this type have a floating-point unit (FPU) that is better than the one in older ARMv7 and NEON (SIMD) chips. Some of these chips have coprocessors also include cores from the older 32-bit architecture (ARMv7). Some of the chips are SoCs and can combine both ARM Cortex-A53 and ARM Cortex-A57, such as the Samsung Exynos 7 Octa.
Table.
As Dhrystone (implied in "DMIPS") is a synthetic benchmark developed in 1980s, it is no longer representative of prevailing workloads use with caution.


NLX (motherboard form factor)

NLX (short for New Low Profile eXtended) was a form factor proposed by Intel and developed jointly with IBM, DEC, and other vendors for low profile, low cost, mass-marketed retail PCs. Release 1.2 was finalized in March 1997 and release 1.8 was finalized in April 1999. NLX was similar in overall design to LPX, including a riser card and a low-profile slimline case. It was modernized and updated to allow support for the latest technologies while keeping costs down and fixing the main problems with LPX. It specified motherboards from to in size.
Officially, the NLX form factor was designed to use ATX power supplies and featured the same soft power function. However, for size reduction, some NLX cases instead used the smaller SFX form factor or proprietary form factors with the same 20-pin connector.
Many slimline systems that were formerly designed to fit the LPX form factor were modified to fit NLX. NLX is a true standard, unlike LPX, making interchangeability of components easier than it was for the older form factor. IBM, Gateway, and NEC produced a fair number of NLX computers in the late 1990s, primarily for Socket 370 (Pentium II-III and Celeron), but NLX never enjoyed the widespread acceptance that LPX had. Most importantly, one of the largest PC manufacturers, Dell decided against using NLX and created their own proprietary motherboards for use in their slimline systems. Although many of these computers and motherboards are still available secondhand, new production has essentially ceased, and in the slimline and small form factor market, NLX has been superseded by the Micro-ATX, FlexATX, and Mini-ITX form factors.


PlayStation TV

PlayStation TV (abbreviated to PS TV), known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on November 14, 2013, North America on October 14, 2014, and Europe and Australia on November 14, 2014.
Controlled with either the DualShock 3 or DualShock 4 controllers, the PS TV is capable of playing many PlayStation Vita games and applications, either through physical cartridges or downloaded through the PlayStation Store. However, not all content is compatible with the device, since certain features in the PS Vita such as the gyroscope and microphone are not available on the PS TV. Nevertheless, the PS TV is able to emulate touch input for both the Vita's front and rear touchpads using the PS3 and PS4 controller.
In Japan, "PlayStation TV" was the name given to PlayStation 3 retail kiosks from 2006 to 2014, which consisted of a PS3 unit, an LCD monitor and a number of controllers.
History.
Release.
The system was released in Japan on November 14, 2013. The device on its own sold for 9,954 yen tax inclusive (about US$100), whilst a bundle version with an 8 GB memory card and DualShock 3 controller retailed for 14,994 yen (about US$150).
Andrew House, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, explains that Sony hopes to use the PS Vita TV to penetrate the Chinese gaming market, where video game consoles have previously been prohibited. The PS Vita TV was released in five other Southeast Asian countries and the special region of Hong Kong on January 16, 2014. At E3 2014, the system was announced for North America and Europe, under the name PlayStation TV, for release in Q3 2014. Final release dates for the western release were announced at Gamescom 2014.
System software update 3.15 was released on April 30, 2014, which enabled PS4 remote play functionality for the PS Vita TV. the system can be used with PlayStation Network accounts originating from outside the original launch territories of Japan and Asia following the release of system software firmware version 3.30 update, which also renames the PS Vita TV system to PS TV within the system menus.
Open beta trials for PlayStation Now functionality on the PS TV began on October 14, 2014 in North America, the same day that PS TV was released there.
By the end of March, in Europe, Sony has dropped the price of PlayStation TV by 40% with the new price of €59.99. That same week the sales had increased by 1272%.
On February 28, 2016, Engadget reported that Sony has stopped shipping the PlayStation TV in Japan. Sony confirmed shipments were discontinued in Americas and Europe at the end of 2015, however will continue in Asia contrary to reports.
Features.
Instead of featuring a display screen, the console connects to a television via HDMI. Users can play using a DualShock 3 controller (with functionality for DualShock 4 controllers added with the 3.10 firmware update released on March 25, 2014), although due to the difference in features between the controller and the handheld, certain games are not compatible with PS Vita TV, such as those that are dependent on the system's microphone, camera, or gyroscopic features. The device is said to be compatible with over 100 PS Vita games, as well as various digital PlayStation Portable, PlayStation, and PC Engine titles, along with a selection of PlayStation 3 titles streamed from the PlayStation Now service. The device is technically referred to by Sony as the VTE-1000 series, to distinguish it from the handheld PCH-1000/2000 series PS Vita models.
According to Muneki Shimada, Sony Director of the Second Division of Software Development, the original PCH-1000 series PlayStation Vita already includes an upscaler that supports up to 1080i resolution, however it was decided that the idea for video output for the original Vita was to be scrapped in favor for releasing the PlayStation Vita TV as a separate device for television connectivity. The in-built scaler has been removed from the PCH-2000 series PlayStation Vita model.
The system supports Remote Play compatibility with the PlayStation 4, allowing players to stream games from the PlayStation 4 to a separate TV connected to PS Vita TV, and also allows users to stream content from video services such as Hulu and Niconico, as well as access the PlayStation Store. PS4 Remote Play functionality for the PS Vita TV gained full support with the release of the 1.70 PS4 firmware update. The device includes the software features of the PS Vita, such as the Web browser and email client. There are future plans for media server and DLNA support for remote video streaming and image/audio file transfer.
The console measures 6.5 cm by 10.5 cm, about the size of a pack of playing cards.
It is powered with (and ships with) the same model/type of power adapter that was used for the original PlayStation Portable.
Reception.
"PC World" called the device an amazing invention, praising the opportunity to play Vita and PSP games on the big screen. IGN said the console "may be one of Sony's most exciting new products and could provide a critical edge for the PS4."
Various commentators have compared the device to set-top boxes—including media streaming devices (such as Apple TV and Chromecast) and other microconsoles, such as the Ouya. "Time" said the console could compete well against set-top box competitors with a quality library of games. At launch however, the game library was limited to a subset of PS Vita games, which negatively impacted early reviews.
The PlayStation TV, along with the PlayStation 4, won the 2014 Good Design Award from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.
The PlayStation TV sold 42,172 units during its debut week of release in Japan. The PlayStation TV was heavily marketed alongside "God Eater 2" which was released on the same day as the device, and placed at the top of the Japanese software sales charts for that week.
Compatibility and whitelist hack.
Journalists criticized the platform's lack of compatibility with the Vita's overall software library. Sam Byford of The Verge commented: "Vita TV’s most egregious failure was that it failed at being a Vita. Many games’ reliance on dubious Vita features like the rear touchpad came back to haunt Sony, as vast swathes of the system's library was rendered incompatible with a regular gaming controller. And even some games that should by rights have worked just didn't, for whatever reason."
Andrew Hayward of IGN wrote: "Sadly, anyone with a large Vita library will surely find the incredibly massive holes in the PlayStation TV's compatibility list quite quickly. The 140+ compatible Vita games as of this writing represent a rather small chunk of those released in North America, and the omissions are baffling." The omissions included some of the Vita's heavy hitters such as ', "Wipeout 2048", ', "", "Tearaway", "Gravity Rush", "Borderlands 2", "The Sly Collection" and others. Hayward also reported: "It's possible to navigate menus in games with a cursor via the DualShock 4's touch pad, so why didn't Sony enlist its studios and third-party partners to make sure the biggest and best Vita games were patched and ready to play on day one? That's not the kind of thing to ignore or worry about down the line." Richard Leadbetter of Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry shared these sentiments, arguing that games such as "WipEout 2048" didn't need to be blacklisted, as it only used the touchscreen for the menus and could be accessed using the DualShock 4's touch pointer emulation: "Life as a PlayStation TV owner can be pretty frustrating - especially when a vast array of mobile Vita titles that should work just fine on the under-utilised micro-console fail to load at all, blocked by their lack of inclusion on Sony's whitelist of approved titles." Sean Hollister of Gizmodo complained that even ports of PlayStation 3 games didn't work on the PS TV, including "Sound Shapes", "Flower" and "Guacamelee".
In 2015 and 2016, hackers found ways to overwrite the PS TV's Whitelist to allow any Vita game to load. But while all games will load, compatibility issues persist in certain Vita games reliant on touch and motion controls. For example, ' is playable up until any mini game prompting the player to tilt the Vita side to side in order to balance Nathan Drake as he crosses a log. But for the most part, the Whitelist hack was well received by journalists, as many other games were playable from start to finish. Kyle Orland of Ars Technica reported: "some enterprising hackers have apparently gone a long way toward fixing this problem by increasing the PlayStation TV's software compatibility with a simple hack." Joel Hruska of "ExtremeTech" reported that "a full 30 additional titles" from his collection of Vita games were compatible with PS TV Whitelist hack. J.C. Torres confirmed that ', ', ', "" and "Gravity Rush" were among the titles compatible with the hack. He also reported: "Interestingly, Netflix also becomes compatible with this hack. Netflix is a curious case for the PS TV, as the app, which worked for the Vita, remains broken for the mini console. A tragedy for a set-top box device." Leadbetter rejoiced: "For the first time, you can play non-approved games like "WipEout 2048" and the "Metal Gear Solid HD Collection" on your handheld, then continue playing them at home on the big screen." He also felt "this exploit opens up some delicious gaming opportunities." Marliella Moon of Engadget even joked about the incompatibility of a stock PS TV in her review of the Whitelist hack: "If you have a PlayStation TV collecting dust in a cabinet somewhere, this might make it useful again."


Xenon (processor)

Microsoft XCPU, codenamed Xenon, is a CPU used in the Xbox 360 game console, to be used with ATI's Xenos graphics chip.
The processor was developed by Microsoft and IBM under the IBM chip program codenamed "Waternoose", which was named after the "Monsters, Inc." character Henry J. Waternoose III. The development program was originally announced on November 3, 2003.
The processor is based on IBM PowerPC instruction set architecture. It consists of three independent processor cores on a single die. These cores are slightly modified versions of the PPE in the Cell processor used on the PlayStation 3. Each core has two symmetric hardware threads (SMT), for a total of six hardware threads available to games. Each individual core also includes 32 KiB of L1 instruction cache and 32 KiB of L1 data cache.
The XCPU processors are manufactured at IBM's East Fishkill, New York fabrication plant and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (now part of GlobalFoundries) in Singapore. Chartered reduced the fabrication process in 2007 to 65 nm from 90 nm, thus reducing manufacturing costs for Microsoft.
XCGPU.
The Xbox 360 S introduced the XCGPU, which integrated the Xenon CPU and the Xenos GPU onto the same die, and the eDRAM into the same package. The XCGPU follows the trend started with the integrated EE+GS in PlayStation 2 Slimline, combining CPU, GPU, memory controllers and IO in a single cost-reduced chip. It also contains a "front side bus replacement block" that connects the CPU and GPU internally in exactly the same manner as the front side bus would have done when the CPU and GPU were separate chips, so that the XCGPU doesn't change the hardware characteristics of the Xbox 360.
XCGPU contains 372 million transistors and is manufactured by GlobalFoundries on a 45 nm process. Compared to the original chipset in the Xbox 360 the combined power requirements are reduced by 60% and the physical chip area by 50%.
Gallery.
Illustrations of the different generations of processors in Xbox 360 and Xbox 360 S.


Nokia X7-00

The Nokia X7-00 is a Symbian^3 smartphone from the Nokia Xseries. It is the first Xseries phone with Nokia's Symbian^3 platform and it shipped with the Anna update. It is also the successor to X6, which was the previous multimedia touchscreen phone, with similar features and specifications in the series. The X7-00 was announced on 12 April 2011, alongside the Nokia E6.


Phenom II

Phenom II is a family of AMD's multi-core 45 nm processors using the AMD K10 microarchitecture, succeeding the original Phenom. Advanced Micro Devices released the Socket AM2+ version of Phenom II in December 2008, while Socket AM3 versions with DDR3 support, along with an initial batch of triple- and quad-core processors were released on February 9, 2009. Dual-processor systems require Socket F+ for the Quad FX platform. The next-generation Phenom II X6 was released on April 27, 2010.
The Phenom II X4 operates as the processor component of AMD's Dragon Platform, which also includes the 790 series chipset and Radeon HD 4800 series graphics. The Thuban Phenom II X6 is the CPU in the Leo Platform which also includes the AMD 890 chipset and the Radeon HD 5800 series graphics.
Features.
The Phenom II triples the shared L3 cache size from 2MB (in the original Phenom line) to 6MB, leading to benchmark performance gains as high as 30%. In another change from the original Phenom, Cool'n'Quiet applies to the processor as a whole, rather than on a per-core basis. AMD implemented this to address the mishandling of threads by Windows Vista, which can cause single-threaded applications to run on a core that idles at half its clock rate. This feature can be disabled through BIOS options on most motherboards, which allows for customization and overclocking. Due to the nature of this feature, it reduces the effectiveness of overclocking the CPU and RAM, but also decreases power consumption and heat output.
Socket AM2+ versions of the Phenom II (920, 940) lack forward-compatibility with Socket AM3. Socket AM3 versions of the Phenom II are backwards-compatible with Socket AM2+, though this is contingent on motherboard manufacturers supplying BIOS updates. In addition to the Phenom II's pin compatibility, the AM3 memory controller supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory (up to DDR2-1066 and DDR3-1333), allowing existing AM2+ users to upgrade their CPU without changing the motherboard or memory. However, similar to the way the original Phenom handled DDR2-1066, current Phenom II platforms limit the usage of DDR3-1333 to one DIMM per channel; otherwise, the DIMMs are under clocked to DDR3-1066.
AMD claims that this behaviour is due to the BIOS, not the memory controller; several board manufacturers have addressed the issue with a BIOS update. The dual-spec memory controller also gives motherboard manufacturers and system builders the option of pairing AM3 with DDR2, as compared to competing chips from Intel which require DDR3.
"Thuban" and "Zosma" Phenom II processors support AMD's Turbo Core overclocking performance-boost technology. When not all cores are needed, the processor will automatically overclock up to half of the cores by up to 500 MHz, leaving the other half idle. In turn, when the application demands more than half of the cores, the processor will run on standard clock rate and with all cores enabled. The flagship AMD Phenom II X6 1100T shifts 3.3GHz to 3.7GHz.
Some top-level AM3 processors (x945 125W, x955 and x965) require a special power-supply feature, often called "dual power-plane". It's supported by default in all native AM3 mainboards, however not in most AM2+ mainboards, even those advertised as "AM3 optimized" or "AM3 ready". Processor running below its nominal speed (i.e. at 800 MHz), clock and multiplier locked are symptoms of this incompatibility. This is caused by the processor itself: when it detects that the motherboard does not supply dual power planes, the chip locks its multiplier to 4x. This issue is not resolvable via a BIOS update; however, users of AM2 and AM2+ motherboards can still use Phenom II processors excluding the 125 Watt variants.
Beginning with the AM3 versions, Phenom II CPUs are based on two dies: the original Deneb die with four cores and the new Thuban die with six. These are divided into five series for marketing. The first two series are flagships based on full dies. The other three series are formed from Deneb dies by die harvesting, that is, chips that were produced with some amount of defects. The affected portions of these chips are disabled and the chips themselves marked as a lower-grade product.
Some versions of the Phenom II X2 and X3 have one or two cores "deactivated" to enable AMD to target the lower end of its market. However, from outside, a user can never determine whether the disabling of the core(s) was merely due to marketing reasons (with the disabled cores being fully functional in reality) or whether they are "actually" defective hardware-wise.
So even though with the correct motherboard and BIOS, it is possible to unlock the deactivated core(s) of the processor, success is never guaranteed, because the user might catch the awkward case where one or more core(s) were deactivated due to faulty silicon. Hardware enthusiast websites have collected and summarized anecdotal reports that, overall, indicate about a 70% success rate, but these reports likely have self-reporting bias, and more importantly, it is impossible to know whether an unlocked core is truly bug-free.
Overclocking.
According to AMD, Black Edition CPUs are "designed to help you unleash the maximum potential of your system with tunable performance." What this means is that the core multiplier is unlocked, allowing for modification of the CPU speed without changing the FSB or HyperTransport. On a non-black edition CPU, the multiplier is allowed to only be lowered. The standard processors allow for overclocking, however not to the point that a Black edition CPU will.
The Phenom II range of CPUs is the first series of AMD CPUs to have a low enough minimum temperature of operation to support "extreme" cooling methods such as dry ice, liquid nitrogen or liquid helium, a deficiency in older CPUs referred to as the "Cold Bug".
In a public demonstration of the Phenom II's overclocking potential at CES 2009 in Las Vegas on 10 January 2009, Sami "Macci" Mäkinen (a record-breaking overclocker) used a Phenom II X4 940 and a DFI LANParty 790FXB-M2RS with a combination of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium cooling to take the processor to a clock rate of 6.5 GHz and succeeded in beating the world record 3DMark 2005 score with a total of 45474.
A group named LimitTeam successfully overclocked AMD’s Deneb 45 nm Phenom II X4 955 processor (Black Edition) on April 30, 2009, and submitted the results for validation to CPU-Z. During the process, the group used the Asus M4A79T Deluxe motherboard, dubbed as the Asus “multidimensional performance platform” featuring support for an AMD 140W CPU and the AMD 790FX/SB750 chipset. As a result, the group reached 7.127 GHz, beating the previous score of 6.7 GHz.
Note that these extreme overclocks involve specialized equipment and are nowhere near what the average consumer could expect using traditional air cooling even with expensive third party cooling fans. For instance, maximum overclocking on a Phenom II X4 955 processor using a heatsink and fan is approximately 4 GHz.