Pentax *ist DS

PENTAX *ist DS is a digital SLR camera produced by Pentax. The *ist DS produces a 6.1 megapixel resolution image. The *ist DS was a lower-prices follow-on to the Pentax *ist D. In September 2005 the Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA), a worldwide organization of collaborating websites, announced that Pentax had received their first DIWA Award for a DSLR camera. The *ist DS model was awarded with a Silver medal for outstanding test results.
Description.
As with other Pentax DSLRs, the *ist DS uses the Pentax KAF bayonet mount and can use older lenses using the KA-mount without limitations. Original K mount lenses and, with adapter also M42 screw-mount lenses, can be used in manual mode by selecting a menu option. Centre-weighted metering, aperture priority and focus indication are maintained, even with adapter mounted lenses. When using non-auto aperture lenses, a press of the AE-L button with the camera in manual mode will meter the scene and set the shutter speed. Some non-Pentax K-mount lenses have been reported not to mount on the camera, because a plate protecting the aperture stop-down lever is slightly deeper.
Along with the other D-series Pentax DSLRs, the Pentax *ist DS, Pentax *ist DS2, and Pentax *ist D have TTL-mode (not only P-TTL) for external flash. This allows the photographer to use cheaper TTL flashes rather than the current offerings from Pentax and Samsung with 'pre-flash' operation, which can cause some subjects to blink. Unlike red-eye reduction pre-flash, the P-TTL pre-flash for metering purposes fires only a brief moment before the main flash. Looking through the viewfinder, it can be seen before the mirror flips up.
Firmware version 2.02 adds SDHC cards support, continuous AF support, and auto ISO mode (selectable from 200–400, 200–800, 200–1600, 200–3200 ISO).
Pentax *ist DS2.
Introduced in 2005, the Pentax *ist DS2 is a minor upgrade to the original model that increased the size of the rear LCD from 2.0" to 2.5".


The Quest for Thelda


Commodore 8060

The Commodore 8060, 8061, and 8062 are a series of 8" floppy disk drives developed by Commodore Business Machines. These disk drives use the parallel interface IEEE-488 to connect with Commodore's PET and CBM-II line of microcomputers. The 8060 is a single-disk model, while the 8061 and 8062 are both double-drive models similar to the later Commodore 8280 8" drive. The drives in the 806x series are full-height Shugart SA-800s.
All of the models in the 8060 series use Commodore group coded recording (GCR) for disk reading and writing; the later 8061 and 8062 models can also read and write IBM 3740 format disks. Each drive in the series contains two MOS 6502 microprocessors for operating the disk controllers and executing the built-in disk operating system. The built-in operating system is CBM DOS 2.7. The ROM on the 8061 and 8062 does not contain support for formatting disks; instead a provided utility disk had the formatter program, which allows the user to select between native 806x and IBM 3740 formats. The utility disk also contained a program for doing whole disk copies of IBM disks as well as the codice_1 command, which is included in the ROM of all other Commodore drives.


Nikon E2S


NoiseTracker

NoiseTracker is a freeware tracker created in 1989 for the Amiga platform. It was based on the Ultimate Soundtracker and developed by Pex "Mahoney" Tufvesson and Anders “Kaktus” Berkeman. It was used by Amiga game musicians to create music with four channels of sampled stereo sound. Additionally it was used by some music groups as a low cost alternative to a full studio for rudimentary backtrack music production. One of the users is Axwell of Swedish House Mafia.


Circus Charlie

 is an action game originally published in arcades by Konami in 1984. The player controls a clown named Charlie in six different circus-themed minigames. It was released for MSX in the same year, followed by ports to the Famicom in 1986 by Soft Pro and the Commodore 64 in 1987.
Gameplay.
In the game there are six regular stages (plus an extra stage) of differing tasks that are to be completed by Charlie. Grabbing money bags, performing dangerous tricks, avoiding enemies, completing stages, etc., earns Charlie points. After the sixth stage is completed, the game starts over again but with a faster pace and more difficult (but exactly the same in terms of task to be completed) levels.
Charlie also races against time. Bonus points are awarded according to the time remaining, but running out of time will cost the player a life.
Levels.
The standard Arcade version has 6 levels in total. Levels 1, 2, 4 and 5 have 5 sublevels. Level 3 contains 7 sublevels. Each sublevel gets more difficult. Level 6 also has 5 sublevels, but repeats as long the user has lives.
Versions.
In arcades, there's a "Level Select" version of the game, in which the player can choose any of the stages to play, but only a limited number of times each, whereupon the level will become unselectable. There is no "ending" to the game—after the first five levels have each been played to their limit, the player then repeats the trapeze stage until all their lives are exhausted.
The Famicom version drops the trampoline stage, but offers a "B" mode, in which all the levels are repeated with added difficulty. The game often shows up on Famicom clone systems and multicarts, usually with its title screen altered to remove copyright, some versions also have the levels split up to make up separate games in multicarts.
The music comes from "American Patrol" and "The Blue Danube".
Reception.
In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Circus Charlie" on their May 15, 1984 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the year.
Legacy.
In "Mikie", another Konami arcade game, headbutting the teacher's desk from below three times in the classroom stage will make Circus Charlie appear, giving the player extra points.
"Circus Charlie" was released along with other Konami classic games on the Nintendo DS compilation "".


Billboard Twitter Real-Time

The "Billboard" Twitter Real-Time charts were four interactive "Billboard" music magazine charts debuted on May 27, 2014. The charts ranked trending songs from popular and emerging artists based on how often they are mentioned in messages called "tweets" sent by social networking site Twitter in the United States.
The charts "Trending 140", "Emerging Artists", "Weekly Top Tracks" and "Weekly Emerging Artists" were reported to define how fans interacted with, and influenced, popular content by ranking the most popular songs being shared on Twitter in the U.S. The first two charts updated on a "real-time" minute-by-minute basis, with the last two charts providing weekly summaries.
In August 2017, for the charts dating September 2, the "Trending 140" and real-time charts were discontinued and the Emerging Artists chart was revised to become a "breakout" of the overall Artist 100 chart, highlighting the top-performing rising acts of each week.
History.
2014: Charts created.
These charts, for "Billboard", represented an ongoing attempt to incorporate new-music consumption and sharing technologies in its charts. In 2013, "Billboard" added YouTube plays to its "Billboard" Hot 100 formula, alongside its Social 50 that already tracked which artists are most active on social networks, and included data from Twitter.
For Twitter, it was a follow-up to its failed Apple "#music" app, launched in April 2013 to track music on Twitter, which intended to acquaint users with new acts and see what their contacts were listening to. The app had a "Popular" page, showing music trending across Twitter, and an "Emerging" page, showing "hidden talent found in tweets." On March 21, 2014, the "Twitter Music" account wrote that the app would discontinue on April 18, and said in another tweet, "We continue to experiment with new ways to bring you great content based on the music activity we see every day on Twitter." On March 27, 2014, Billboard and Twitter announced the partnership for the Billboard Twitter Real-Time Charts, and Twitter Amplify to help with chart distribution; along with custom in-Tweet charts and a weekly in-Tweet video round up of the week in music.
Music is one of the most popular topics on Twitter, and music acts routinely dominate its list of the most popular personalities on the service, with most of the top accounts being musicians. Billboard President John Amato said “Twitter, for us, felt like the right way to capture real time more than anything else that we could think of,” and “They’re the only people that have true scale in real time. Facebook is a behemoth."
Austin Mahone's performed his single "Shadow" at the May 27, 2014, New York City launch event for the "Billboard" Twitter Real-Time Charts and charted for the first number one on the (Twitter) Trending 140 chart on the same day. "Problem" by Ariana Grande was the first song to top the weekly ("Billboard") Twitter Top Tracks chart, and K Camp's "Cut Her Off" featuring 2 Chainz was the first number one for the weekly Emerging Artists chart, both on June 7, 2014. At the end of 2014, the first year for the charts, hip-hop was the most popular genre of music on Twitter and topped many of the year-end "Billboard" charts. Rapper Bobby Shmurda's "Hot Nigga" (also called "Hot Boy"), with its popular dance, gave him a number one for the real-time Emerging Artists chart for the year, with 837 peaks at number one, with Dej Loaf following at number two, and K Camp at number three.
Chart data collection.
The "Trending 140" chart "is an up to the minute ranking of songs shared in the U.S., measured by acceleration over the past hour. This chart can be filtered to present a real-time view of the most shared track in the U.S. over the past 24 hours, with a weekly summary presented as the "Billboard" Twitter Top Tracks chart on Billboard.com and in print in Billboard". The chart's name combined a typical "Billboard" "top 40" sounding name with 140, for the limit of characters allowed in a "tweet" and for the number of songs the chart tracked.
The "Emerging Artists" chart "is a ranking of the most shared songs on Twitter in the U.S. by up-and-coming artists (defined as artists with fewer than 100,000 Twitter followers who have also not appeared as a lead artist in the top 50 songs on the "Billboard" Hot 100)", "ranked by the number of times each song was shared over the past 24 hours. The weekly ranking chart, "Weekly Emerging Artists", is, also, ranked over a seven-day period".
Songs that are shared or mentioned on Twitter are tracked and incorporated into the charts by the following criteria: "the use of, or the inclusion, of a link to the song via music listening platforms, such as Spotify, Vevo and iTunes; the use of various track sharing notations, such as a hashtag “#nowplaying” or “#np,” along with song/artist name; and the use of various terms associated with the song and song playing, such as “music,” “song,” “track,” “listen.”
2017: Emerging Artists chart revised, others discontinued.
Starting with "Billboard" charts dated September 2, 2017 and released online August 22, all of the "Billboard" Twitter charts except for Emerging Artists were discontinued. A revamped Emerging Artists chart was modeled after the same formula as the Artist 100 chart which debuted in 2014 and captures the breakout artists not on that chart. It measures artist activity across "Billboard"'s "most influential charts", including "Billboard" Hot 100, "Billboard" 200 and the Social 50. And, unlike the original "Billboard" Twitter Emerging Artists chart, which ranked with song titles of the weekly most shared songs on Twitter by new artists, the new Emerging Artists chart ranks only by artist, without listing a song or album.
New methodology.
The new chart "incorporates key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity". And the revised chart will "exclude artists that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard's "Hot" song genre charts that blend streaming, airplay and sales data (such as Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Latin Songs) and/or consumption-based "Top" album genre rankings (including counterpart charts Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Latin Albums)".


Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is a hyperzoom camera that was released in 2012.
Features.
Features of the camera include:


Volcanic Dungeon

Volcanic Dungeon is a role-playing video game designed by Roy Carnell and Stuart A. Galloway and released by Carnell Software for the ZX Spectrum, Dragon 32/64 and ZX81 computers in 1983. It is a follow-up to 1982's "Black Crystal".
Plot.
A war between the forces of good and evil has been won by the light and the dark goddess Methzar and the Snow Queen were both defeated. But the witch Magra has managed to escape with some of her army into the titular volcanic dungeon, taking with her a captive elfin princess named Edora. The task of a hero known as the Knight of Star Jewel is to hunt down and kill Magra, and to rescue Edora from her glass coffin.
Reception.
According to a "Sinclair User" ZX-81 retrospective in 1985, ""Volcanic" deserves recognition as the first graphics adventure for the ZX-81, and therefore one of the first of all adventures. Unfortunately, the game mechanics are rather crude and it is frequently a matter of good fortune." In a "Favourites of Yesteryear" article that same year, "Sinclair User" rated it 5/10, complaining of the game's slowness and how "death is always too swift. It is as if the computer is playing the player and not the other way around."
Legacy.
"Volcanic Dungeon" was the second part of the 'Third Continent Trilogy'; See also "Black Crystal", 1982 and, "The Wrath of Magra", 1984.
The BASIC source code listing of "Volcanic Dungeon" is available online.


Sinclair User

Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was published in the UK between 1982 and 1993, and was the longest running Sinclair-based magazine.
Like many similar magazines, it contained news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, regular columns, readers' letters and cover-mounted game demos.
In May 1992 the former rival publication "CRASH" was notionally subsumed into "Sinclair User" but in practice this meant little more than the addition of the "Crash!" logo to the magazine's cover page.
In earlier years, the magazine built up personality cults around some of its "hilariously" monikered staff, including Bill "Incorruptible" Scolding, John "Disgusting" Gilbert, Chris "Lunchbreaks" Bourne, Claire "Ligger" Edgely, Richard Price (writer of the "Gordo Greatbelly" adventure tips section), and columnist Andrew Hewson (founder of Hewson Consultants software).
Under David Kelly's editorial tenure, the magazine began to focus more on the gaming scene, and featured more colour graphics under designer Gareth "the Mad Celt". By the time of editor Graham Taylor, the magazine included the cartoon character Kamikaze Bear, and the tone of the publication changed from a semi-serious magazine to something aimed more at children.
"Timex Sinclair User".
 A short-lived spin-off known as "Timex Sinclair User" was also published for the American market, where versions of Sinclair computers were marketed under the Timex Sinclair name.


Antic (magazine)

Antic () was a magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit family of home computers and later the Atari ST. It was named after the ANTIC chip which provides 2D graphics in the computers. The magazine was published from April 1982 until June/July 1990. "Antic" printed type-in programs (usually in BASIC), reviews, and tutorials, among other articles. Each issue contained one type-in game as "Game of the Month."
Its main rival in the United States was "ANALOG Computing", another long-lived magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit line. Multi-system magazines "COMPUTE!" and "Family Computing" also served Atari 8-bit owners with type-in programs.
History.
NASA programmer Jim Capparell was an early Atari 8-bit owner. He quit his job on 15 January 1982 to found a magazine for the computer. Companies such as On-Line Systems, Broderbund, and Synapse Software agreed to purchase advertising in the new publication, and Capparell's staff distributed the first issue of 30 pages at the March 1982 West Coast Computer Faire. The first issue of "Antic" was published in April 1982. While it began as a bimonthly magazine, within a year it had gone monthly.
By Christmas 1983 the magazine was 148 pages, but in 1984 Antic saw advertising sales drop by 50% in 90 days. The Antic Software catalog, bound into each issue, contained public domain software, re-released products from the Atari Program Exchange after it folded, and original titles. It helped the company avoid bankruptcy, and in 1985 it started "II Computing" for the Apple II series.
Antic started selling games and application software under the name Antic Software after the Atari Program Exchange was closed by Atari, Inc.. The Antic Software catalog was bound into issues of the magazine and included former APX titles.
In 1985 "Antic" began "ST Resource", a section of the magazine devoted to the Atari ST line. In 1986 it began "STart Magazine" for the computer. The daughter magazine would outlive its parent by about a year. When "Antic" ended, it continued as a section of "STart", appearing in six more issues. A magazine for the Amiga, the primary competitor of the Atari ST, was published from 1989 until 1991 under the name "Antic's Amiga Plus".
The last issue of "Antic" was June–July 1990. All told, 88 issues and a "Best of" book were published.
TYPO.
A utility called "TYPO" ("Type Your Program Once," a play on typographical error) was used to verify that programs were typed in correctly that generated set of check-sums for different portions of the lines of code, but it didn't help users find exactly which line had the error. "TYPO" was later succeeded by "TYPO II", a smaller, faster program that generates a checksum two letter code for each Atari BASIC line entered in a program. By comparing each line's checksum with that printed in the magazine, the reader could be sure they typed the BASIC source correctly before entering the next line of code.
Versions of "TYPO" were also published and used (with permission) by "Page 6" magazine. ANALOG magazine also used a two-letter checksum code for their type-in programs they offered and was interoperable with Antic's TYPO II.


NDR-Klein-Computer

The NDR Klein Computer, abbreviated NKC, was a do-it-yourself computer project from the early 1980s developed by (RDK) and Joachim Arendt. In 1984, the computer was featured in the educational television series NDR-Klein-Computer for NDR-Schulfernsehen (NDR School Television). It was also broadcast on the computer television show "" on the Bavarian TV network Bayerisches Fernsehen (BFS).
History.
The NDR Klein Computer was created by Rolf-Dieter Klein, a computer enthusiast who regularly contributed articles to the German computer magazine "mc". His plan was not only to give a basic introduction to the way a computer operates, but also to introduce a modular system through which laymen could learn to complete basic programming exercises, as well as acquire the skills to operate a high-end home computer. Under the direction of Joachim Arendt, they developed a television series that was picked up by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) for its NDR-Schulfernsehen (NDR School Television) channel. The series, titled "NDR-Klein-Computer", consisted of twenty-six episodes of fifteen minutes each. Klein hosted the show and wrote articles in "mc" to supplement the series. He published a book on the same subject, titled: "Microcomputer Selbstgebaut und Programmiert" (DIY Microcomputer Building and Programming), through Franzis Verlag, which also released the TV series on VHS. The computer's hardware was provided by Graf Elektronik System in Kempten, and sold at an electronics store in Detmold. The company Fischertechnik also produced a robot kit, which was one of the most comprehensive 32-bit programming language applications at the time.
Features.
The NKC was built with several different hardware configurations, from a simple 8-bit single-board computer based on a Zilog Z80A processor to a 32-bit system equipped with a Motorola 68020 CPU. The software could be loaded with EPROMs or involve an operating system such as CP/M which could handle executable programs in various programming languages.
A helper card with an Intel 8088 processor allowed the NKC to run MS-DOS. Systems could be customized to handle many different peripherals including PS/2 keyboard, 3½-inch floppy disks, IDE-hard drives and modern storage. Users have developed new cards which replaced the former specialized components. For instance, a system could contain a new graphics card (with VGA connector), one serial port, a sound card, and a mouse connector. Another system configuration that supports booting via the IDE-interface has been developed for the 68xxx family.


XTree

XTree is a file manager program originally designed for use under DOS. It was published by Underwear Systems, later Executive Systems, Inc. (ESI) and first released on 1 April 1985, and became highly popular. The program uses a character-mode interface, which has many elements typically associated with a graphical user interface.
The program filled a required niche in the market, as DOS shipped with only a command-line file manager, until the generally unsuccessful DOS Shell that was provided with MS-DOS 4.0. Even then, the speed and features of XTreeGold were superior — specifically support for the Zip compression format and ability to undelete files. The program also has the benefit of requiring very little memory, essential at a time when less than 640 kB of memory was available for programs to run.
History.
XTree 1.0 was officially introduced on April 1, 1985, at the West Coast Computer Faire and sold for $39.95. Work had begun on XTree in December 1984. The primary developer was Jeffery C. Johnson, who was working for a company named Executive Systems, Inc. (ESI). Additional contributions were made by ESI owners Dale Sinor, Tom Smith, and Henry Hernandez, as well as Ken Broomfield, who provided quality assurance. The XTree name was the concept of Johnson's wife, Arletta, who had made the suggestion: "'XTree'. You know, like 'X-Tree, X-Tree. Read all about it!'". Johnson was the originator of the visual directory tree concept first used in an Epson backup product created by ESI. Johnson describes the creation of a visual directory tree as follows: 'Everyone in the room when I first drew it on a whiteboard [...] When I sat down, Tom and Dale both said "it can't be done." Henry, on the other hand, could read me like a book, and seeing the look in my eyes said something like, "... possible, but not on today's computers." That was a Friday afternoon, it was running by Monday morning and by the end of the day verified as being accurate by an office full of skeptics.
The codice_1 command found in later DOS releases displayed directories in a markedly similar fashion. By 1991, XTree had sold over 3 million copies and was released in over a half-dozen languages.
Even in its earliest version XTree contained features like listing all files of a branch, including subdirectories, listing of all files on a disk, or viewing a file's contents in text or hexadecimal format (regardless of its file extension), a feature never added to the built-in Windows file manager.
XTree was supplemented by the enhanced XTreePro in 1988, which added features for working with multiple disk drives, speed improvements, and brought the keyboard commands more in line with other common DOS programs. A version of XTreePro with Novell NetWare connectivity debuted in late 1988. XTreeProGold/XTreeGold succeeded Xtree Pro in 1989, adding pull-down menus to enhance the interface, additional file viewers, and the choice of a Norton Commander-style split pane between locations on different disks. The first GUI-enabled XTree product was XTreeMac, also launched in 1989, which brought the XTree interface metaphors to the Macintosh System as a Finder replacement. While the Macintosh System software already had competent file management, XTreeMac made it easier to move and copy files and added undeletion and enhanced file finding tools.
Also in 1989, the company ran a four-month "Software Amnesty for Everyone", allowing users of unauthorized copies of XTree to register them for a small fee. Five thousand licenses were sold for $20 each.
XTree suffered a terminal decline after the widespread adoption of Microsoft Windows. The built-in Windows file manager had a vaguely similar appearance to XTree, and while it lacked the speed, keyboard shortcuts and power, it did benefit greatly from being included with Windows.
In 1992 XTree for Windows was released. The product dropped many of the features liked in the DOS versions, with undeletion and file editing particularly noticeable by their absence. The program also took considerably longer to load than both DOS Xtree and other Windows file managers, and operations like viewing files were slower. Despite this, features like native support for file compression and a wide range of file viewers made it the most feature complete Windows file manager of that year. It was not a success for the company. In 1993, the XTree Company was sold to Central Point Software, which was in turn acquired by Symantec in 1994, and in 1995 production of XTree products was halted.
Clones.
The popularity of the program has led many enthusiasts to develop clone versions that work with modern operating systems. Known clones include Xfile, ZTreeWin, Unixtree and Ytree.
The authors and users commonly view these clones as a tribute to the original XTree program, rather than a competitor, especially since XTree is no longer commercially available.


The Sands of Egypt

The Sands of Egypt is an adventure game written by James Garon, Ralph Burris, and Steve Bjork of Datasoft for the TRS-80 Color Computer. It was licensed to Tandy Corporation and was the first disk-only game for the Color Computer sold by RadioShack. Ports to the Atari 8-bit family in 1982 and Apple II in 1983 were published by Datasoft. Set in 1893, the game follows a British explorer and archaeologist who is lost in the desert. Text commands are entered in the lower half of the screen, while a sometimes animated image of the current location is displayed in the upper half.
Gameplay.
The player interacts with the game by typing commands, either in a "VERB NOUN" format or single words such as codice_1 for "move north". The number of moves made is tracked as the score. It can be seen with the codice_2 command. The player needs to periodically drink water to stay alive.
Reception.
Owen Linzmayer, reviewing the Color Computer original for "Creative Computing", wrote "In comparison with other adventures, "The Sands of Egypt" does feel a bit shallow" and "the game relies strongly on perseverence and patience." In "Electronic Games", Tracie Forman didn't mention the puzzles, but wrote "By far the most striking thing about "The Sands of Egypt" is its eye-pleasing animation" and called it "an exceptional gaming experience."
In a walkthrough of part of the game for "TRS-80 Microcomputer News", Bruce Elliott discussed the codice_3 command:


Shadow of the Beast II

Shadow of the Beast II is a platform game developed by Reflections and published by Psygnosis in 1990. It is the sequel to the earlier "Shadow of the Beast".
Plot and gameplay.
"Shadow of the Beast II" finds the hero Aarbron in half-beast form, wandering the lands of Karamoon in search of his kidnapped sister. She had been taken away from her mother's cottage by the dragon-form of the Beast Mage, Zelek, servant to Maletoth. Along the way, Aarbron befriends the wise dragon Barloom and must defeat the evil dragon Ishran. Tree Pygmies in the forest and the goblins in the Crystal Caverns serve as foes.
Production.
As in the first game, the cover art for "Shadow of the Beast II" was created by Roger Dean and the game was packaged with a promotional black T-shirt that featured Dean's artwork.
The music for "Beast" 2 & 3 was composed and produced by Tim Wright. These titles featured a more extensive soundtrack and utilised ethnic samples taken from among other sources the same Korg M1 synthesizer that was sampled by David Whittaker for the original game (although in this case, it was the rack-mounted version the Korg M1/R). "Beast 2" contained a total of 17 tracks, most notable of which are the title theme and the game over theme, both of which feature real sampled electric guitars.
Ports.
"Shadow of the Beast II" was ported to the Atari ST and FM-Towns computers, as well as the Mega Drive and Mega-CD platforms. The Mega-CD version had drastic changes made to it, the most noticeable being a new soundtrack complete with voice acted dialogue sequences and added FMVs. The in-game graphics were also slightly enhanced, and some areas of the game were redesigned to be less difficult than the original.
Reception.
"Shadow of the Beast" and "Shadow of the Beast II" were reviewed in 1991 in "Dragon" where both games received ratings of 5 out of 5 stars.
A reviewer for "Next Generation" gave the Sega CD version one out of five stars, saying that the game had been good at the time of its release on the Amiga four years before, but was now horribly outdated: "Even though the designers tried to spruce it up by adding better music, digitized speech, and a few rendered cut scenes, it still doesn't help much considering the game's overall stilted animation and poor control."


SYMPL

SYMPL is an obsolete programming language developed by the Control Data Corporation (CDC) for use on the CDC 6000 series computer systems in the 1970s and 1980s. It was based on a subset of CDCs version of JOVIAL, as an alternative to assembly language. A number of important CDC software products were implemented in SYMPL, including compilers, libraries, a full-screen editor, and major subsystems.
SYMPL is a compiled, imperative, and procedural language. Compared to the Fortran of the day, SYMPL supports:
Simplifications compared to JOVIAL include: fewer built-in data types, no recursive calls to procedures, and no codice_1 concept.


List of laptop brands and manufacturers

This is a list of laptop brands and manufacturers.
Original design manufacturers (ODMs).
The vast majority of laptops on the market are manufactured by a small handful of Taiwan-based original design manufacturers (ODM), although their production bases are located mostly in mainland China. Quanta Computer pioneered the contract manufacturing of laptops in 1988. By 1990, Taiwanese companies manufactured 11% of the world's laptops. That percentage grew to 32% in 1996, 50% in 2000, 80% in 2007 and 94% in 2011. The Taiwanese ODMs have since lost some market share to Chinese ODMs, but still manufactured 82.3% of the world's laptops in Q2 of 2019, according to IDC.
Major relationships include:
ODM laptop units sold and market shares.
There is a discrepancy between the 2009 numbers due to the various sources cited; i.e. the units sold by all ODMs add up to 144.3 million laptops, which is much more than the given total of 125 million laptops. The market share percentages currently refer to those 144.3 million total. Sources may indicate hard drive deliveries to the ODM instead of actual laptop sales, though the two numbers may be closely correlated.


Motorola G5 project

The Motorola G5 project was an unsuccessful attempt around 2000-2001 to create a 64-bit PowerPC processor, as a successor to Motorola's PowerPC 7400 series. On roadmaps from the era it was designated PowerPC 7500.
It has been suggested that Motorola had a working "G5" chip, but said chip failed in the early stages of mass production and thus could not be widely made into a usable chip.
When Apple began producing 64-bit systems under the G5 brand, they used IBM's PowerPC 970, which is also known as the PowerPC G5.


Sony Vaio L series

The Sony Vaio L series is a range of Vaio all-in-one desktop computers sold by Sony since 2006.
Windows 7 models.
Since the launch of Windows 7, the L series has been a touchscreen PC, featuring a 24" 1920x1080 LCD touchscreen. As of 2013, the L series used the Windows 8 operating system.
The Sony Vaio J series is similar to the L series, except that it features a 21.5" 1920x1080 LCD touchscreen.


Microsoft Live Labs Listas

Listas was a tool for the creation, management and sharing of lists, notes, and favorites, being developed at Microsoft Live labs. It allowed users to quickly and easily edit lists, share them with others for reading or wiki-style editing, and discover the public lists of other users.
The Listas Community section allowed users to find highlights of the most popular lists from around the community of public lists, such as the most used tags, the "hottest lists", and prolific contributors. Users were able to add another user's lists or RSS feed to their own Listas to keep them up to date.
Listas has since been retired as a project from Live Labs.
Listas Toolbar.
Listas Toolbar was an internet toolbar for Internet Explorer that allowed users to create lists from search results, wish lists, videos, or all or part of virtually any page that can be found on the web.


List of FM Towns games

The FM Towns is a fourth generation home computer developed and manufactured by Fujitsu, first released only in Japan on 28 February, 1989. It was the fourth computer to be released under the Fujitsu brand, succeeding the FM-7 series. The following list contains all of the known games released commercially for the FM Towns platform.
Featuring an operating system based on MS-DOS called Towns OS, the FM Towns operates with both 3.5" floppy disks and CD-ROMs. Many add-ons were released including networking, SCSI, memory upgrades and CPU enhancements, among others that increased the performance of the system. A fifth-generation home video game console based on the FM Towns computer called FM Towns Marty was released exclusively for the Japanese market on 20 February 1993, featuring backward-compatibility with older FM Towns titles. Multiple revisions were later released that included several changes compared to the original model, with the last model being released in 1995 before being officially discontinued in the market on Summer 1997. A total of 500,000 FM Towns units were reportedly sold during its commercial life span, while 45,000 FM Towns Marty consoles were sold as of 31 December 1993.
Games.
There are currently games on this list.


AmiKit

AmiKit is a compilation of 425 pre-installed and pre-configured Amiga programs (Amiga software built for Motorola 68k CPU) running on Windows, macOS, Linux computers (thanks to WinUAE emulator) and on Amiga computer with Vampire V2 card.
Requirements.
AmiKit requires Windows 7 (or better) or macOS (10.08 up to 10.14) or Linux (x86/64 able to run PlayOnLinux).
For AmiKit to work, the original AmigaOS (version 3.x) and Kickstart ROM (version 3.1) are required. The following sources are supported:


Cavium ThunderX


Nokia X2-00

The Nokia X2-00 is the first low budget phone in the Xseries line from Nokia. This single SIM phone was announced in April 2010 and was released 3 months later in July 2010. It runs on Series 40 and comes with many pre-installed games and also supports messaging and data-connections.
Features.
The phone has 240 X 320 256K TFT display with screen of 2.20 inches (~28.7% screen to body ratio) and weighs 81.00gm. It comes with a rear camera of 5MP of 2592 x 1944 px and it also has video recording of QVGA with 320 x 240px. Data connection is through GPRS and EDGE. The device also supports bluetooth and USB connections but lacks infrared, Wi-Fi and GPS. It has a RAM of 64MB, ROM of 128MB and supports expandable memory of 16GB microSD. It's 860mAh (BL-4C) removable battery supports standby of 624 hours and talk time of 13h 30min. It has a SAR EU 0.82 W/kg (head).
Appearance.
The aluminium back panel gives a metallic appearance to the feature phone. It comes in 2 colors which are red on black and blue on silver.
Multimedia.
The phone is good for its multimedia features. It supports MIDP1.0 JAVA. The phone can successfully play MP3, WMV, NRT (Nokia Ringing Tone), WMA and eAAC+ audios and also MP4, H.263 videos. The inbuilt antennae gives clarity to the FM Radio and also has RDS stereo. On the left side seek and play/pause buttons are used to control the music/video/radio. The photo editor software in this phone also adds effects to the photos.
Games.
There are 8 games on the Nokia X2-00: Bounce Tales, City Bloxx, Diamond Rush, Sudoku, Snake III, Brain Champion, Block'd and Rally 3D.
Data Connections.
The device supports networking via GPRS and EDGE. It also has a maximum download speed of 0.236 Mbit/s.


NDOS


Nokia Eseries

The Nokia Eseries consists of business-oriented smartphones running Symbian OS, with emphasis on enhanced connectivity and support for corporate e-mail push services, as well as enterprise-styled products and many featuring QWERTY keyboards. All devices have advanced office features through its S60 platform. Phones equipped with Wireless LAN also provide a VoIP client (SIP Protocol). Throughout the series' lifetime its main competitors were BlackBerry products from Research In Motion. The Eseries was marketed until 2011.
Announcements.
On October 12, 2005, mobile phone manufacturer Nokia announced what the company refers to as the Eseries, consisting of the three mobile phones, the Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70.
On May 18, 2006, Nokia announced the addition of the E50 to the series, which it refers to as a "business device" rather than a "smartphone".
On February 12, 2007, Nokia announced the addition of three new devices to the series; E61i, E65 and E90 Communicator.
On April 11, 2008, Nokia Australia has advised that the E61i will be discontinued in May 2008 and be replaced by a more featured but smaller E71. Later releases included E72, E52 and E5.
The last Eseries device was the Nokia E6 from 2011.


DiskMAX


.sys

.sys is a filename extension used in MS-DOS applications and Microsoft Windows operating systems. They often contain device drivers or hardware configurations for the system.
Most DOS files are real mode device drivers. Certain files using this extension are not, however: MSDOS.SYS and IO.SYS are core operating system files in MS-DOS and Windows 9x. The CONFIG.SYS text file contains various configuration options and specifies what device drivers will be loaded. COUNTRY.SYS is a binary database containing country and codepage related information for use with the CONFIG.SYS COUNTRY directive and the NLSFUNC driver, whereas KEYBOARD.SYS is a binary database containing keyboard layout related information including short P-code sequences to be executed by an interpreter inside the KEYB keyboard driver.
File location.
In particular in Windows Vista and its successors, the .sys files are mainly found under the following paths:


Omega Drivers

Omega Drivers were unofficial, third-party device drivers for ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards, created by Angel Trinidad. They differed from the official drivers in that they offer more customization and extra features. They are compatible with some ATI graphics cards and some NVIDIA cards that use Detonator drivers.
The drivers are tweaked versions of those officially released by ATI and NVIDIA, mainly using registry tweaks and offering an alternative installer. They are not custom drivers compiled from source code.
From the website:
ATI driver features.
The Omega ATI driver is based on ATI's Catalyst drivers. The driver is particularly notable for resolving 3D compatibility problems affecting past versions of the ATI drivers (versions 7.8-7.12) and some AGP cards.
The driver includes various third party utilities including 'MultiRes' (from EnTech Taiwan) and ATI Tray Tools tweaking utility.
Reception.
The drivers are recognized by ATI as the best alternative drivers on the Internet according to Terry Makedon:
NVIDIA has previously attempted legal action against some versions of Omega Drivers; the company has since allowed Omega Drivers for NVIDIA cards to be made.
Branding.
Recently, AMD began offering an upgraded driver, known as the Catalyst Omega driver. AMD claims that the change in brand is due to the significant feature additions - and has not mentioned the existence of Omega Drivers. Omega Drivers has noted it is not affiliated with the AMD-distributed Catalyst Omega driver.


List of VIA C7 microprocessors

The C7 microprocessor from VIA Technologies is a seventh-generation CPU targeted at the consumer and embedded market.


CCPM.SYS


Game Boy Advance

The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004. The GBA is part of the sixth generation of video game consoles. The original model does not have an illuminated screen; Nintendo addressed that with the release of a redesigned model with a frontlit screen, the Game Boy Advance SP, in 2003. A newer revision of the redesign was released in 2005, with a backlit screen. Around the same time, the final redesign, the Game Boy Micro, was released.
As of June 30, 2010, 81.51 million units of the Game Boy Advance series have been sold worldwide. Its successor, the Nintendo DS, was released in November 2004 and is backward compatible with Game Boy Advance software.
History.
Contrary to the previous Game Boy models, which have the "portrait" form factor of the original Game Boy (designed by Gunpei Yokoi), the Game Boy Advance was designed in a "landscape" form factor, putting the buttons to the sides of the device instead of below the screen. The Game Boy Advance was designed by the French designer Gwénaël Nicolas and his Tokyo-based design studio Curiosity Inc.
News of a successor to the Game Boy Color (GB/GBC) first emerged at the Nintendo Space World trade show in late August 1999, where it was reported that two new handheld systems were in development. An improved version of the GBC with wireless online connectivity was codenamed the Advanced Game Boy (AGB), and a brand-new 32-bit system was not set for release until the following year. On September 1, 1999, Nintendo officially announced the Game Boy Advance, revealing details about the system's specifications including online connectivity through a cellular device and an improved model of the Game Boy Camera. Nintendo teased that the handheld would first be released in Japan in August 2000, with the North American and European launch dates slated for the end of the same year. Simultaneously, Nintendo announced a partnership with Konami to form Mobile 21, a development studio that would focus on creating technology for the GBA to interact with the GameCube, Nintendo's home console which was also in development at the time under the name "Dolphin". On August 21, 2000, IGN showed off images of a GBA development kit running a demonstrational port of "Yoshi Story", and on August 22, pre-production images of the GBA were revealed in an issue of "Famitsu" magazine in Japan. On August 24, Nintendo officially revealed the console to the public in a presentation, revealing the Japanese and North American launch dates, in addition to revealing that 10 games would be available as launch games for the system. The GBA was then featured at Nintendo Space World 2000 from August 24 to 26 alongside several peripherals for the system, including the GBA Link cable, the GameCube - Game Boy Advance link cable, a rechargeable battery pack for the system, and an infrared communications adaptor which would allow systems to exchange data. In March 2001, Nintendo revealed details about the system's North American launch, including the suggested price of $99.99 and the 15 launch games. Nintendo estimated that around 60 games would be made available for the system by the end of 2001.
Project Atlantis.
In 1996, magazines including "Electronic Gaming Monthly", "Next Generation", issues 53 and 54 of "Total!", and the July 1996 issue of "Game Informer" featured reports of a successor to the original Game Boy, codenamed Project Atlantis. Although Nintendo's expectations of releasing the system in at least one territory by the end of 1996 would make that machine seem to be the Game Boy Color, it was described as having a 32-bit ARM processor, a 3-by-2-inch (7.6 cm x 5 cm) color screen, and a link port — a description that more closely matches the Game Boy Advance. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" reported the processor to be an ARM710, clocked at 25 MHz, while "Next Generation" claimed it to be a StrongARM SA-110, possibly supporting 160 MHz. Both were designed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM), which also created the CPU for the Game Boy Advance (and all Nintendo handhelds since). In terms of software, it was announced that Nintendo of Japan was working on a game for the system called "Mario's Castle", ultimately unreleased. Nintendo suspended the Atlantis project sometime in 1997, since the original Game Boy's 80% of the handheld market share was considered too high to merit the release of a successor.
During a panel discussion at 2009's Game Developers Conference, a cancelled "Game Boy Advance predecessor" was shown on-screen, which looked like a bulky Game Boy Color. While not named, "Joystiq" concluded this device was most likely Project Atlantis.
Hardware.
Technical specifications.
The technical specifications of the original Game Boy Advance are, as provided by Nintendo:
Backward compatibility for Game Boy and Game Boy Color games is provided by a custom 4.194/8.388 MHz 8080-based coprocessor (Game Boy Advance software can use the audio tone generators to supplement the primary sound system), while a link port at the top of the unit allows it to be connected to other devices using a Game Link cable or GameCube link cable. When playing Game Boy or Game Boy Color games on the Game Boy Advance, the L and R buttons can be used to toggle between a stretched widescreen format and the original screen ratio of the Game Boy . Game Boy games can be played using the same selectable color palettes as on the Game Boy Color. Every Nintendo handheld system following the release of the Game Boy Advance SP has included a built-in light and rechargeable battery.
The Game Boy Advance 2D graphics hardware has scaling and rotation for traditional tiled backgrounds in its modes 1 and 2 and scaling and rotation for bitmaps in modes 3 through 5 (used less often on the GBA because of technical limitations). On each machine supporting this effect, it is possible to change the scaling and rotation values during the horizontal blanking period of each scanline to draw a flat plane in a perspective projection. More complex effects such as fuzz are possible by using other equations for the position, scaling, and rotation of each line. The "character mode" supports up to 4 tile map background layers per frame, with each tile being 8x8 pixels in size and having 16 or 256 colors. The "character mode" also supports up to 128 hardware sprites per frame, with any sprite size from 8x8 to 64x64 pixels and with 16 or 256 colors per sprite.
Color variants.
The Game Boy Advance has been available in numerous colors and limited editions throughout its production. It was initially available in Arctic, Black, Orange, Fuchsia (translucent pink), Glacier (translucent blue/purple), and Indigo. Later in the system's availability, additional colors and special editions were released, including: Red, Clear Orange/Black, Platinum, White, Gold, Hello Kitty edition (pink with Hello Kitty and logo on bezel), "The King of Fighters" edition (black with images on bezel and buttons), "Chobits" edition (translucent light blue, with images on bezel and buttons), "Battle Network Rockman EXE 2" (light blue with images on bezel), "Mario Bros." edition (Glacier with Mario and Luigi on bezel), and Yomiuri Giants edition (Glacier with images on bezel).
A number of "Pokémon"-themed limited-edition systems were made available in Pokémon Center stores in Japan. These editions include: Gold Pokémon edition (Gold with Pikachu and Pichu on bezel), Suicune edition (blue/grey with greyscale Pikachu and Pichu on bezel, and a Pokémon Center sticker on the back), Celebi edition (olive green with Celebi images on bezel), and Latias/Latios edition (pink/red and purple, with images of Latias and Latios on bezel).
Games.
With hardware performance comparable to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy Advance represents progress for sprite-based technology. The system's library includes platformers, SNES-like role-playing video games, and games ported from various 8-bit and 16-bit systems of the previous generations. This includes the "Super Mario Advance" series, as well as the system's backward compatibility with all earlier Game Boy titles. While most GBA games employ 2D graphics, developers have ambitiously designed some 3D GBA games that push the limits of the hardware, including first-person shooters like a port of "Doom" and racing games like "GT Advance Championship Racing".
In Japan, the final game to have been released on the system is "Final Fantasy VI Advance" on November 30, 2006, which is also the final game published by Nintendo on the system. In North America, the last game for the system is "Samurai Deeper Kyo", released on February 12, 2008. Lastly, in Europe, "2 Games in 1: Columns Crown & ChuChu Rocket!" is the last game for the system (and also the last one released on the system overall), released on November 28, 2008. The Japan-only "Rhythm Tengoku", the first game in what would eventually become known outside Japan as the "Rhythm Heaven"/"Rhythm Paradise" series, is the final first-party-developed game for the system, released on August 3, 2006.
Compatibility with other systems.
An accessory for the GameCube, known as the Game Boy Player, was released in 2003 as the successor to the Super Game Boy peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The accessory allows Game Boy Advance games, as well as Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, to be played on the GameCube. However, some games may have compatibility issues due to certain features requiring extra hardware. For example, games with built-in motion sensors (such as "Yoshi's Topsy-Turvy") would require players to manipulate the console itself.
The GBA is the last of the three Nintendo handheld systems to bear the Game Boy name, games developed for it are incompatible with older Game Boy systems, and each game's box carries a label indicating that the game is "not compatible with other Game Boy systems". However, games designed for older Game Boy systems are conversely compatible with the Game Boy Advance, with options to play such games on either their standard aspect ratios or a stretched fullscreen.
Game Boy Advance games are compatible with Nintendo DS models that support them with a dedicated GBA cartridge slot beneath the touch screen, (specifically the original model and the Nintendo DS Lite), although they do not support multiplayer or features involving the use of GBA accessories because they do not have the GBA's external peripheral port that these features require to function. The Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL do not have backward compatibility with the GBA and a few DS games that use the GBA slot.
Virtual Console.
As part of an Ambassador Program for early adopters of the Nintendo 3DS system, ten Game Boy Advance games, along with ten Nintendo Entertainment System games, were made available free for players who bought a system before the price drop on August 12, 2011. Unlike the other Virtual Console games for the system, features such as the Home menu or save states are missing, since the games are running natively instead of in emulation. 3DS systems that have custom firmware installed can also install the ten available games available to Ambassador Program members. Many other Game Boy Advance games can also be played via custom firmware by injecting a different game into one of the released Game Boy Advance games. Satoru Iwata stated Game Boy Advance games will be available on the Wii U's Virtual Console sometime during April 2014. On April 3, 2014, the first of the announced GBA games, "Advance Wars", "Metroid Fusion", and "", were released for the Wii U's Virtual Console. A Virtual Console library of Game Boy Advance games was launched for the Wii U console. Similar to the original DS and DS Lite, all of the Virtual Console releases are single-player only, as they do not emulate multiplayer features enabled by Game Link cables.
Accessories.
Official.
Nintendo released various addons for the Game Boy Advance, which include:
Unofficial.
Other accessories for the Game Boy Advance include:
Revisions.
Game Boy Advance SP.
In early 2003, Nintendo introduced a new form-factor for the handheld, known as the Game Boy Advance SP (model AGS-001). The redesigned unit resembles a pocket-size laptop computer, including a folding case approximately one-half the size of the original unit. It also supports a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, a significantly brighter LCD screen, and an internal front-light that can be toggled on and off. The redesign was intended to address some common complaints about the original Game Boy Advance, which had been criticized for being somewhat uncomfortable to use, especially due to an overly dark screen.
Backlight model (AGS-101).
Around the same time as the release of the Game Boy Micro, Nintendo released a new backlit version of the SP (model AGS-101). The switch that controls the light now toggles between "normal" (which itself is already brighter than the original Game Boy Advance SP's screen), and "bright", an intense brightness level similar to an LCD television.
Game Boy Micro.
In September 2005, Nintendo released a second redesign of the Game Boy Advance. This model, dubbed the Game Boy Micro, is similar in style to the original Game Boy Advance's horizontal orientation, but is much smaller and sleeker. The Game Boy Micro also allows the user to switch between several colored faceplates to allow customization, a feature which Nintendo advertised heavily around the Game Boy Micro's launch. Nintendo also hoped that this "fashion" feature would help target audiences outside of typical video game players. Unlike the previous Game Boy Advance models, the Game Boy Micro is unable to support Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. The Game Boy Micro did not make much of an impact in the video game market as it was overshadowed by Nintendo's other portable, the Nintendo DS, which also played Game Boy Advance cartridges.
Reception.
Upon its North American release, IGN praised the Game Boy Advance's graphical capabilities and battery life, but criticized the system's shoulder button placement and noted the system's high price tag which "may be a tad bit too high to swallow," ultimately scoring the system with in "8.0" out of 10. They also pointed out the system's lack of a backlight which occasionally got in the way of playing games.
ABC News praised the Game Boy Advance's graphics, grip and larger screen, stating that "You've never had as much fun playing old games."
Reviewing for CNET, Darren Gladstone scored the system with a 7.0 out of 10, praising its graphical performance and backwards compatibility, but being considerably critical of the system's lack of a backlit screen, noting that it makes it "nearly impossible" to play in normal lighting conditions. Gladstone ultimately suggested the sleeker and backlit Game Boy Advance SP over the system despite noting that its cheaper price may "appeal to gamers on a lower budget."
Sales.
Nintendo hoped to sell 1.1 million Game Boy Advance units by the end of March with the system's Japanese debut, and anticipated sales of 24 million units before the end of 2001; many marketing analysts believed for this to be a realistic goal due to the company's lack of major competition in the handheld video game market. Within the first week of its North American launch in June, the Game Boy Advance sold 500,000 units, making it the fastest-selling video game console in the United States at the time. In response to strong sales, Nintendo ordered 100,000 units to ship to retail stores, hoping to ship another half million of them by the end of June. The Game Boy Advance also became the fastest-selling system in the United Kingdom, selling 81,000 units in its first week of release and beating the PlayStation 2's previous record of 20,000 units. In 2004, the system's sales in the United Kingdom surpassed one million units.
On December 1, 2006, Nintendo of America released launch-to-date information indicating that the company had sold 33.6 million units of the Game Boy Advance series in the United States. In a Kotaku article published on January 18, 2008, Nintendo revealed that the Game Boy Advance series had sold 36.2 million units in the United States, as of January 1, 2008. As of December 31, 2009, the Game Boy Advance series has sold 81.51 million units worldwide, 43.57 million of which are Game Boy Advance SP units and 2.42 million of which are Game Boy Micro units.
After the Game Boy Advance's support lessened, the most popular software became mostly games oriented to younger gamers.


Extreme-G 2

Extreme-G 2, also known as Extreme G: XG2, is a racing video game developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment for Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to "Extreme-G" and is followed by "Extreme-G 3".
Gameplay.
This iteration, as with all "Extreme-G" games, is about futuristic racing: pilots race plasma-powered "Tron"-like bikes in an intergalactic Grand Prix at speeds that are over 999 mph. Each of the machines have their own handling characteristics, with varying top speeds, armor values and traction values. All of the machines in the game have an energy meter—with two separate energy stores for protective shields and a basic primary weapon. If a machine loses all of its shield energy, it will explode on contact, causing the player to lose a life or the match. It is also possible for players to fall off the tracks when driving through jumps or similar obstacles. In this case, the player is simply teleported back to the track. Players are given three "Nitro" boosts per race. Extreme-G has a championship mode ranging from novice to expert, shoot-em-up mode (named "Arcade Mode" in XG2), multiplayer racing, and deathmatch. In shoot-em-up/arcade mode, computer drones follow a lunar path while the player attempts to destroy them with Extreme-G's arsenal of weapons.
Reception.
The game received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. "N64 Magazine" editor Jes Bickham felt that "Extreme-G 2" was better than its predecessor, but worse than "F-Zero X" and "Wipeout 64". IGN criticised the gameplay, stating that the N64 version was "nowhere near its competition" despite "improved controls and tracks". The graphics were criticised for its "stuttering framerates and over-filtering".


Volari V5

History
On September 15, 2003 XGI Technology Inc introduced the Volari V5. The V5 is a video card and is available with an AGP 8x interface from Walton Chaintech Corporation of Taiwan. It is similar in terms of clock speed to the Radeon 9600 Pro and the GeForce FX 5600.
References
XGI Volari - Newest GPU on the Block
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=908&page=1
XGI Volari Performance Figures Emerge
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=11609
External links
XGI Technology Inc
http://www.xgitech.com/
PSA Walton Chaintech Corporation
http://www.chaintech.com.tw/


System.map

In Linux, the System.map file is a symbol table used by the kernel.
A symbol table is a look-up between symbol names and their addresses in memory. A symbol name may be the name of a variable or the name of a function. The System.map is required when the address of a symbol name, or the symbol name of an address, is needed. It is especially useful for debugging kernel panics and kernel oopses. The kernel does the address-to-name translation itself when codice_1 is enabled so that tools like ksymoops are not required.
Internals.
The following is part of a codice_2 file:
 c041bc90 b packet_sklist
 c041bc94 b packet_sklist_lock
 c041bc94 b packet_socks_nr
 c041bc98 A __bss_stop
 c041bc98 A _end
 c041c000 A pg0
 ffffe400 A __kernel_vsyscall
 ffffe410 A SYSENTER_RETURN
 ffffe420 A __kernel_sigreturn
 ffffe440 A __kernel_rt_sigreturn
Because addresses may change from one build to the next, a new codice_2 is generated for each build of the kernel.
Symbol types.
The character between the address and the symbol (separated by spaces) is the "type" of a symbol. The codice_4 utility program on Unix systems list the symbols from object files. The codice_2 is directly related to it, in that this file is produced by codice_4 on the whole kernel program just like codice_4 lists the symbols and their types for any small object programs.
Some of these types are:
Filesystem location.
After building the Linux kernel, codice_2 is located in the root of the source directory. However, some further software installation steps expect to locate the file elsewhere:


Hot Wheels Turbo Racing

Hot Wheels Turbo Racing is a racing video game released for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in 1999. It features 40 cars based on the Hot Wheels series of toys. It also features Kyle Petty's 1999 NASCAR stock car, as it was sponsored by Hot Wheels. The game features music from artists like Primus, Metallica, The Reverend Horton Heat and Mix Master Mike.
Gameplay.
The focus of the game is racing one of a selection of vehicles through various themed race tracks. Secret tracks can be unlocked by winning races and new cars can be used by finding 'Mystery Car' bonuses hidden in each track. Six vehicles participate in each race. The game features a total of 40 playable vehicles. Stunts can be executed by holding the directional pad or analog stick in certain directions while in mid-air to add to the turbo meter for increased speed.
As seen in the hint screens, using the controller to perform various stunts from jumping-off points gains 'Turbos' which allow short bursts of speed. The car in use will take damage based on running into obstacles or other cars. Power-up icons found around the track give various performance enhancements.
Reception.
"Hot Wheels Turbo Racing" received above-average reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator GameRankings.
Doug Trueman of "NextGen" said that the Nintendo 64 version was "all in all, a fun title and a great party game, but perhaps a bit childish for hardcore racing fans".
Scott McCall of AllGame called the Nintendo 64 version "somewhat fun and original to play", but criticized its "average" sound effects and "very limited and repetitive" songs, which he felt were of poor quality. McCall called the game "a little disappointing in the graphics department", writing that it "seems like a CD-ROM game that was ported to the cartridge format quickly and cheaply. It's noticeable because of the limited, muffled sound, the lackluster graphics, and the lack of a four-player mode". Joe Ottoson of AllGame wrote a positive review of the PlayStation version and praised its soundtrack, although he noted that the sound effects "aren't quite as high budget, but the screeching tires and colliding cars provide a convincing supplement to the action". Ottoson wrote that the game's vehicles "resemble their real-life counterparts and the game speeds along without any slowdown", while also stating that its race tracks "seem to stick with the toy stunt track origins of the subject matter by using an array of vibrant colors on the backgrounds. They often reminded me of something that had escaped from a Tim Burton movie with the prodigious usage of stripes and cheerful colors".
Levi Buchanan of "GameFan" praised the Nintendo 64 version for its "Good bands", but criticized the game itself as "Mediocre": "The game must have so few merits, that they need a professional soundtrack to add a bullet point to the list of features on the back of the box. [...] Nothing in Hot Wheels raises it above the level of average". Buchanan felt that the Hot Wheels license was the only difference separating the game from other racing games. Jeff Gerstmann of "GameSpot" praised both versions for their graphics and wrote that the game "captures the look and feel of those popular little cars and manages to deliver a surprisingly excellent gaming experience along the way. At first glance, it's easy to dismiss Hot Wheels Turbo Racing as just another racing game. [...] But the cars and tracks are what make it so different. [...] It's a shame that many will underestimate Hot Wheels Turbo Racing just because it's got the toy-car license attached to it. The driving is great, and the stunt aspect of the game gives it a skateboard-like feel. It's definitely poised to become a sleeper hit".
"GamePro" praised the Nintendo 64 version for its soundtrack and wrote: "The graphics look much cleaner on the N64 than the PlayStation, with the accurately modeled cars looking less blocky. [...] While the N64 version looks better than the Playstation version, the controls are not as tight. The Playstation's dual analog sticks are more responsive than the cluttered default button arrangement on N64, which also offers a less precise analog stick for steering. But quibbling aside, the N64 offers solid controls for the cars". "GamePro" wrote that one of the top attributes of the game "is how it perfectly integrates performing tricks with successful racing".
Reviewing the PlayStation version, "GamePro" considered one of the game's best aspects to be its use of the console's DualShock controller, and wrote: "There are some mud spots that the game gets mired in. Although the 3D models of the cars are right on the money, they are somewhat blocky and the rolling, flipping, and twisting metal does tend to go on for longer than it should. Collisions with opposing racers have a sometimes unpredictable outcome, making the action very frustrating when trying to win the Hot Wheels Cup. Worst of all, though, is that there's no damage meter to clue you in when you're about to blow up. Nitpicking aside, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing does pulse-pounding fun like few other titles. EA makes perfect use of the Hot Wheels name, including the classic loops and car colliding track designs, to insure lots of repeat play-ability in this fun and fresh racer".
"GameRevolution", which felt that the game was best suited for young children, praised the PlayStation version for its soundtrack but called the graphics a "mixed bag": "The cars and tracks look pretty good and the frame rate is pretty fast, but the look of the tracks doesn't seem quite right. In my imagination, Hot Wheels would be raced on toy tracks through the back yard, on table tops, or in toy rooms. Instead, the tracks are a mix of real-life terrain, industrial areas and other random places. If the designers had truly wanted to capture the feel of racing little toy cars, they should've taken this into consideration and let you burn rubber in the kitchen. What we're left with is a game that tries to put toy cars into a quasi-real environment. There are plenty of jumps and loops, but their toy-like qualities clash with the natural environments. On the plus side, the cars look true to life and really bring back some memories".
Matt Casamassina of "IGN" praised the graphics of the Nintendo 64 version, writing that Stormfront Studios had "successfully translated the look of Hot Wheels plastic tracks into the world of polygons. "Hot Wheels Turbo Racing" features roads that glow bright red, stripe yellow and orange, green, blue -- everything but black, really. While these tracks are most definitely reminiscent of the toy courses they were inspired by, as a game we must admit that they still come off looking overly tacky and far too bright in appearance. [...] Because background graphics are of a much more realistic tone, the end effect is certainly unique, if not confusing. We end up with rainbow roads stretching through realistic environments. A bit odd to be sure, but it works. Vehicles, meanwhile, which are the classic Hot Wheels collection, come to life with solid polygon models and detailed textures. The colorful environments themselves, it must be said, are not overly detailed". Casamassina noted that the game had a "very polygon look", giving background objects and roads a "blocky appearance". Casamassina felt that the game looked outdated in comparison to other racing games of that time, and wrote that he preferred "the wide-open, go-anywhere racing environments and heavy car physics of the Rush series to Hot Wheels' seemingly weightless cars and sometimes confined 3D tracks. With that said, the title comes recommended as a good racer that's going to appeal to stunt-lovers and not simulation junkies".
Max Everingham of "IGN" praised the PlayStation version for its soundtrack and noted gameplay similarities to the "San Francisco Rush" games, which also incorporated high jumps and mid-air stunts; Everingham said that "Hot Wheels Turbo Racing"'s version of this concept was "fun, but it's also really easy. The learning curve is short and the long-term play life is moderate. Taking cues from "Beetle Adventure Racing", "Hot Wheels" is also packed with alternate courses and secrets. Here, it's still intriguing finding them all, but it doesn't feel as original or as compelling". Everingham called the graphics "a little too bright and in your face". and concluded: "If you wished "SF Rush" had more control and less randomness, then you'll love this. "Hot Wheels" does a little of everything pretty well, but doesn't execute everything well enough to remain a standout game for more than a month".


Intel Turbo Boost

Intel Turbo Boost is Intel's trade name for a feature that automatically raises certain versions of its processors' operating frequency, and thus performance, when demanding tasks are running. Turbo-Boost-enabled processors are the Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9 and Xeon series manufactured since 2008, more particularly, those based on the Nehalem, and later microarchitectures. The frequency is accelerated when the operating system requests the highest performance state of the processor. Processor performance states are defined by the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification, an open standard supported by all major operating systems; no additional software or drivers are required to support the technology. The design concept behind Turbo Boost is commonly referred to as "dynamic overclocking".
When the workload on the processor calls for faster performance, the processor's clock will try to increase the operating frequency in regular increments as required to meet demand. The increased clock rate is limited by the processor's power, current, and thermal limits, the number of cores currently in use, and the maximum frequency of the active cores. Frequency increases occur in increments of 133 MHz for Nehalem processors and 100 MHz for Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell and Skylake processors. When any electrical or thermal limits are exceeded, the operating frequency automatically decreases in decrements of 133 or 100 MHz until the processor is again operating within its design limits. Turbo Boost 2.0 was introduced in 2011 with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, while Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 was introduced in 2016 with the Broadwell-E microarchitecture.
A feature of Turbo Boost 2.0 is that it introduced time windows with different levels of power limits, so that a processor can boost to a higher frequency for a few seconds. These limits are configurable in software for unlocked processors. Some motherboard vendors intentionally use values higher than Intel's default for performance, causing the processor to exceed its thermal design power (TDP).
Some Intel Core X Series (HEDT) Processor and some 10th Gen Intel Core Processor (10th Gen Desktop Core i7 and Core i9) support Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 Technology. Newer version Windows 10 and Linux kernel support Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 Technology.
History.
An Intel November 2008 white paper discusses "Turbo Boost" technology as a new feature incorporated into Nehalem-based processors released in the same month.
A similar feature called Intel Dynamic Acceleration (IDA) was available on many Core 2 based Centrino platforms. This feature did not receive the marketing treatment given to Turbo Boost. Intel Dynamic Acceleration dynamically changed the core frequency as a function of the number of active cores. When the operating system instructed one of the active cores to enter C3 sleep state using the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), the other active core(s) dynamically accelerated to a higher frequency.
Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor, as a GUI utility, could be used to monitor Turbo Boost; this utility has reached the end-of-life state by no longer supporting Intel processors released after Q2 2013, and is no longer available.


PowerPC

PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM. PowerPC, as an evolving instruction set, has since 2006 been named Power ISA, while the old name lives on as a trademark for some implementations of Power Architecture–based processors.
PowerPC was the cornerstone of AIM's PReP and Common Hardware Reference Platform initiatives in the 1990s. Originally intended for personal computers, the architecture is well known for being used by Apple's Power Macintosh, PowerBook, iMac, iBook, and Xserve lines from 1994 until 2006, when Apple migrated to Intel's x86. It has since become a niche in personal computers, but remains popular for embedded and high-performance processors. Its use in 7th generation of video game consoles and embedded applications provided an array of uses, including satellites, and the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars. In addition, PowerPC CPUs are still used in AmigaOne and third party AmigaOS 4 personal computers.
PowerPC is largely based on IBM's earlier POWER instruction set architecture, and retains a high level of compatibility with it; the architectures have remained close enough that the same programs and operating systems will run on both if some care is taken in preparation; newer chips in the POWER series use the Power ISA.
History.
The history of RISC began with IBM's 801 research project, on which John Cocke was the lead developer, where he developed the concepts of RISC in 1975–78. 801-based microprocessors were used in a number of IBM embedded products, eventually becoming the 16-register IBM ROMP processor used in the IBM RT PC. The RT PC was a rapid design implementing the RISC architecture. Between the years of 1982 and 1984, IBM started a project to build the fastest microprocessor on the market; this new 32-bit architecture became referred to as the "America Project" throughout its development cycle, which lasted for approximately 5–6 years. The result is the POWER instruction set architecture, introduced with the RISC System/6000 in early 1990.
The original POWER microprocessor, one of the first superscalar RISC implementations, is a high performance, multi-chip design. IBM soon realized that a single-chip microprocessor was needed in order to scale its RS/6000 line from lower-end to high-end machines. Work began on a one-chip POWER microprocessor, designated the RSC (RISC Single Chip). In early 1991, IBM realized its design could potentially become a high-volume microprocessor used across the industry.
Apple and Motorola involvement.
Apple had already realized the limitations and risks of its dependency upon a single CPU vendor at a time when Motorola was falling behind on delivering the 68040 CPU. Furthermore, Apple had conducted its own research and made an experimental quad-core CPU design called Aquarius, which convinced the company's technology leadership that the future of computing was in the RISC methodology. IBM approached Apple with the goal of collaborating on the development of a family of single-chip microprocessors based on the POWER architecture. Soon after, Apple, being one of Motorola's largest customers of desktop-class microprocessors, asked Motorola to join the discussions due to their long relationship, Motorola having had more extensive experience with manufacturing high-volume microprocessors than IBM, and to form a second source for the microprocessors. This three-way collaboration between Apple, IBM, and Motorola became known as the AIM alliance.
In 1991, the PowerPC was just one facet of a larger alliance among these three companies. At the time, most of the personal computer industry was shipping systems based on the Intel 80386 and 80486 chips, which have a complex instruction set computer (CISC) architecture, and development of the Pentium processor was well underway. The PowerPC chip was one of several joint ventures involving the three alliance members, in their efforts to counter the growing Microsoft-Intel dominance of personal computing.
For Motorola, POWER looked like an unbelievable deal. It allowed the company to sell a widely tested and powerful RISC CPU for little design cash on its own part. It also maintained ties with an important customer, Apple, and seemed to offer the possibility of adding IBM too, which might buy smaller versions from Motorola instead of making its own.
At this point Motorola already had its own RISC design in the form of the 88000, which was doing poorly in the market. Motorola was doing well with its 68000 family and the majority of the funding was focused on this. The 88000 effort was somewhat starved for resources.
The 88000 was already in production, however; Data General was shipping 88000 machines and Apple already had 88000 prototype machines running. The 88000 had also achieved a number of embedded design wins in telecom applications. If the new POWER one-chip version could be made bus-compatible at a hardware level with the 88000, that would allow both Apple and Motorola to bring machines to market far faster since they would not have to redesign their board architecture.
The result of these various requirements is the PowerPC ("performance computing") specification. The differences between the earlier POWER instruction set and that of PowerPC is outlined in Appendix E of the manual for PowerPC ISA v.2.02.
Operating systems.
Since 1991, IBM had a long-standing desire for a unifying operating system that would simultaneously host all existing operating systems as personalities upon one microkernel. From 1991 to 1995, the company designed and aggressively evangelized what would become Workplace OS, primarily targeting PowerPC.
When the first PowerPC products reached the market, they were met with enthusiasm. In addition to Apple, both IBM and the Motorola Computer Group offered systems built around the processors. Microsoft released Windows NT 3.51 for the architecture, which was used in Motorola's PowerPC servers, and Sun Microsystems offered a version of its Solaris OS. IBM ported its AIX Unix. Workplace OS featured a new port of OS/2 (with Intel emulation for application compatibility), pending a successful launch of the PowerPC 620. Throughout the mid-1990s, PowerPC processors achieved benchmark test scores that matched or exceeded those of the fastest x86 CPUs.
Ultimately, demand for the new architecture on the desktop never truly materialized. Windows, OS/2, and Sun customers, faced with the lack of application software for the PowerPC, almost universally ignored the chip. IBM's Workplace OS platform (and thus, OS/2 for PowerPC) was summarily canceled upon its first developers' release in December 1995 due to the simultaneous buggy launch of the PowerPC 620. The PowerPC versions of Solaris and Windows were discontinued after only a brief period on the market. Only on the Macintosh, due to Apple's persistence, did the PowerPC gain traction. To Apple, the performance of the PowerPC was a bright spot in the face of increased competition from Windows 95 and Windows NT-based PCs.
With the cancellation of Workplace OS, the general PowerPC platform (especially AIM's Common Hardware Reference Platform) was instead seen as a hardware-only compromise to run many operating systems one at a time upon a single unifying vendor-neutral hardware platform.
In parallel with the alliance between IBM and Motorola, both companies had development efforts underway internally. The PowerQUICC line was the result of this work inside Motorola. The 4xx series of embedded processors was underway inside IBM. The IBM embedded processor business grew to nearly US$100 million in revenue and attracted hundreds of customers.
Breakup of AIM.
Toward the close of the decade, manufacturing issues began plaguing the AIM alliance in much the same way they did Motorola, which consistently pushed back deployments of new processors for Apple and other vendors: first from Motorola in the 1990s with the PowerPC 7xx and 74xx processors, and IBM with the 64-bit PowerPC 970 processor in 2003. In 2004, Motorola exited the chip manufacturing business by spinning off its semiconductor business as an independent company called Freescale Semiconductor. Around the same time, IBM exited the 32-bit embedded processor market by selling its line of PowerPC products to Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC) and focusing on 64-bit chip designs, while maintaining its commitment of PowerPC CPUs toward game console makers such as Nintendo's GameCube, Wii and Wii U, Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, of which the latter two both use 64-bit processors. In 2005, Apple announced they would no longer use PowerPC processors in their Apple Macintosh computers, favoring Intel-produced processors instead, citing the performance limitations of the chip for future personal computer hardware specifically related to heat generation and energy usage, as well as the inability of IBM to move the 970 processor to the 3 GHz range. The IBM-Freescale alliance was replaced by an open standards body called Power.org. Power.org operates under the governance of the IEEE with IBM continuing to use and evolve the PowerPC processor on game consoles and Freescale Semiconductor focusing solely on embedded devices.
IBM continues to develop PowerPC microprocessor cores for use in their application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) offerings. Many high volume applications embed PowerPC cores.
The PowerPC specification is now handled by Power.org where IBM, Freescale, and AMCC are members. PowerPC, Cell and POWER processors are now jointly marketed as the Power Architecture. Power.org released a unified ISA, combining POWER and PowerPC ISAs into the new Power ISA v.2.03 specification and a new reference platform for servers called PAPR (Power Architecture Platform Reference).
, IBM's POWER microprocessors, which implement the Power ISA, are used by IBM in their IBM Power Systems, running IBM i, AIX, and Linux.
Generations.
Many PowerPC designs are named and labeled by their apparent technology generation. That began with the "G3", which was an internal project name inside AIM for the development of what would become the PowerPC 750 family. Apple popularized the term "G3" when they introduced Power Mac G3 and PowerBook G3 at an event at 10 November 1997. Motorola and Apple liked the moniker and used the term "G4" for the 7400 family introduced in 1998 and the Power Mac G4 in 1999.
At the time the G4 was launched, Motorola categorized all their PowerPC models (former, current and future) according to what generation they adhered to, even renaming the older 603e core "G2". Motorola had a G5 project that never came to fruition, but the name stuck and Apple reused it when the 970 family launched in 2003 even if those were designed and built by IBM.
Design features.
The PowerPC is designed along RISC principles, and allows for a superscalar implementation. Versions of the design exist in both 32-bit and 64-bit implementations. Starting with the basic POWER specification, the PowerPC added:
Some instructions present in the POWER instruction set were deemed too complex and were removed in the PowerPC architecture. Some removed instructions could be emulated by the operating system if necessary. The removed instructions are:
Endian modes.
Most PowerPC chips switch endianness via a bit in the MSR (machine state register), with a second bit provided to allow the OS to run with a different endianness. Accesses to the "inverted page table" (a hash table that functions as a TLB with off-chip storage) are always done in big-endian mode. The processor starts in big-endian mode.
In little-endian mode, the three lowest-order bits of the effective address are exclusive-ORed with a three bit value selected by the length of the operand. This is enough to appear fully little-endian to normal software. An operating system will see a warped view of the world when it accesses external chips such as video and network hardware. Fixing this warped view requires that the motherboard perform an unconditional 64-bit byte swap on all data entering or leaving the processor. Endianness thus becomes a property of the motherboard. An OS that operates in little-endian mode on a big-endian motherboard must both swap bytes and undo the exclusive-OR when accessing little-endian chips.
AltiVec operations, despite being 128-bit, are treated as if they were 64-bit. This allows for compatibility with little-endian motherboards that were designed prior to AltiVec.
An interesting side effect of this implementation is that a program can store a 64-bit value (the longest operand format) to memory while in one endian mode, switch modes, and read back the same 64-bit value without seeing a change of byte order. This will not be the case if the motherboard is switched at the same time.
Mercury Systems and Matrox ran the PowerPC in little-endian mode. This was done so that PowerPC devices serving as co-processors on PCI boards could share data structures with host computers based on x86. Both PCI and x86 are little-endian. OS/2 and Windows NT for PowerPC ran the processor in little-endian mode while Solaris, AIX and Linux ran in big endian.
Some of IBM's embedded PowerPC chips use a per-page endianness bit. None of the previous applies to them.
Implementations.
The first implementation of the architecture was the PowerPC 601, released in 1992, based on the RSC, implementing a hybrid of the POWER1 and PowerPC instructions. This allowed the chip to be used by IBM in their existing POWER1-based platforms, although it also meant some slight pain when switching to the 2nd generation "pure" PowerPC designs. Apple continued work on a new line of Macintosh computers based on the chip, and eventually released them as the 601-based "Power Macintosh" on March 14, 1994.
Accelerator cards based on the first-generation PowerPC chips were created for the Commodore Amiga in anticipation for a move to a possible new Amiga platform designed around the PowerPC. The accelerator cards also included either a Motorola 68040 or 68060 CPU in order to maintain backwards compatibility, as very few apps at the time could run natively on the PPC chips. However, the new machines never materialized, and Commodore subsequently declared bankruptcy. Over a decade later, AmigaOS 4 would be released, which would put the platform permanently on the architecture. OS4 is compatible with those first-generation accelerators, as well as several custom motherboards created for a new incarnation of the Amiga platform.
IBM also had a full line of PowerPC based desktops built and ready to ship; unfortunately, the operating system that IBM had intended to run on these desktops—Microsoft Windows NT—was not complete by early 1993, when the machines were ready for marketing. Accordingly, and further because IBM had developed animosity toward Microsoft, IBM decided to port OS/2 to the PowerPC in the form of Workplace OS. This new software platform spent three years (1992 to 1995) in development and was canceled with the December 1995 developer release, because of the disappointing launch of the PowerPC 620. For this reason, the IBM PowerPC desktops did not ship, although the reference design (codenamed Sandalbow) based on the PowerPC 601 CPU was released as an RS/6000 model ("Byte"s April 1994 issue included an extensive article about the Apple and IBM PowerPC desktops).
Apple, which also lacked a PowerPC based OS, took a different route. Utilizing the portability platform yielded by the secret Star Trek project, the company ported the essential pieces of their Mac OS operating system to the PowerPC architecture, and further wrote a 68k emulator that could run 68k based applications and the parts of the OS that had not been rewritten.
The second generation was "pure" and includes the "low end" PowerPC 603 and "high end" PowerPC 604. The 603 is notable due to its very low cost and power consumption. This was a deliberate design goal on Motorola's part, who used the 603 project to build the basic core for all future generations of PPC chips. Apple tried to use the 603 in a new laptop design but was unable due to the small 8 KiB level 1 cache. The 68000 emulator in the Mac OS could not fit in 8 KiB and thus slowed the computer drastically. The 603e solved this problem by having a 16 KiB L1 cache, which allowed the emulator to run efficiently.
In 1993, developers at IBM's Essex Junction, Burlington, Vermont facility started to work on a version of the PowerPC that would support the Intel x86 instruction set directly on the CPU. While this was just one of several concurrent power architecture projects that IBM was working on, this chip began to be known inside IBM and by the media as the PowerPC 615. Profitability concerns and rumors of performance issues in the switching between the x86 and native PowerPC instruction sets resulted in the project being canceled in 1995 after only a limited number of chips were produced for in-house testing. Aside the rumors, the switching process took only 5 cycles, or the amount of time needed for the processor to empty its instruction pipeline. Microsoft also aided the processor's demise by refusing to support the PowerPC mode.
The first 64-bit implementation is the PowerPC 620, but it appears to have seen little use because Apple didn't want to buy it and because, with its large die area, it was too costly for the embedded market. It was later and slower than promised, and IBM used their own POWER3 design instead, offering no 64-bit "small" version until the late-2002 introduction of the PowerPC 970. The 970 is a 64-bit processor derived from the POWER4 server processor. To create it, the POWER4 core was modified to be backward-compatible with 32-bit PowerPC processors, and a vector unit (similar to the AltiVec extensions in Motorola's 74xx series) was added.
IBM's RS64 processors are a family of chips implementing the "Amazon" variant of the PowerPC architecture. These processors are used in the RS/6000 and AS/400 computer families; the Amazon architecture includes proprietary extensions used by AS/400. The POWER4 and later POWER processors implement the Amazon architecture and replaced the RS64 chips in the RS/6000 and AS/400 families.
IBM developed a separate product line called the "4xx" line focused on the embedded market. These designs included the 401, 403, 405, 440, and 460. In 2004, IBM sold their 4xx product line to Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (AMCC). AMCC continues to develop new high performance products, partly based on IBM's technology, along with technology that was developed within AMCC. These products focus on a variety of applications including networking, wireless, storage, printing/imaging and industrial automation.
Numerically, the PowerPC is mostly found in controllers in cars. For the automotive market, Freescale Semiconductor initially offered many variations called the MPC5xx family such as the MPC555, built on a variation of the 601 core called the 8xx and designed in Israel by MSIL (Motorola Silicon Israel Limited). The 601 core is single issue, meaning it can only issue one instruction in a clock cycle. To this they add various bits of custom hardware, to allow for I/O on the one chip. In 2004, the next-generation four-digit 55xx devices were launched for the automotive market. These use the newer e200 series of PowerPC cores.
Networking is another area where embedded PowerPC processors are found in large numbers. MSIL took the QUICC engine from the MC68302 and made the PowerQUICC MPC860. This was a very famous processor used in many Cisco edge routers in the late 1990s. Variants of the PowerQUICC include the MPC850, and the MPC823/MPC823e. All variants include a separate RISC microengine called the CPM that offloads communications processing tasks from the central processor and has functions for DMA. The follow-on chip from this family, the MPC8260, has a 603e-based core and a different CPM.
Honda also uses PowerPC processors for ASIMO.
In 2003, BAE Systems Platform Solutions delivered the Vehicle-Management Computer for the F-35 fighter jet. This platform consists of dual PowerPCs made by Freescale in a triple redundant setup.
Operating systems.
Operating systems that work on the PowerPC architecture are generally divided into those that are oriented toward the general-purpose PowerPC systems, and those oriented toward the embedded PowerPC systems.
Licensees.
Companies that have licensed the 64-bit POWER or 32-bit PowerPC from IBM include:
Game consoles.
PowerPC processors were used in a number of now-discontinued video game consoles:
Desktop computers.
The Power architecture is currently used in the following desktop computers:
Embedded applications.
The Power architecture is currently used in the following embedded applications: