V.Smile

The V.Smile (stylized as V.SMILE TV LEARNING SYSTEM) is a sixth-generation educational home video game console manufactured and released by VTech. Titles are available on ROM cartridges called "Smartridges", to play off the system's educational nature. The graphics are primarily sprite-based. The console is often sold bundled with a particular game, with most of them having a game called "Alphabet Park Adventure." Several variants of the V.Smile console are sold including handheld versions, or models with added functionality such as touch tablet integrated controllers or microphones. The V-Motion is a major variant with its own software lineup that includes motion sensitive controllers and has Smartriges designed to take advantage of motion-related "active learning". The V-Motion and Smartridges however are fully backwards compatible with other V.Smile variants and V.Smile Smartridges, and a V-Motion Smartridge can also be played on V.Smile console or handheld, albeit with limited functionality. However, in 2010, V.Smile NEW and OLD were canceled. VTech still made games for V.Smile Pocket and V.Motion.
Several versions of V.Smile and V-Motion consoles and handhelds have continued to be sold after newer models are introduced, allowing consumers a wide variety of consoles to choose from (frequently offered in an alternative pink color scheme) without worrying about a lack of backwards compatibility between games or consoles. Some key differentiators between systems and the ability to fully utilize all game functions include the options of a microphone, touch tablet, additional joystick port
(for 2-player gameplay), stylus-enhanced controller, or motion sensitive game pad (with V-Motion).
Variants.
A V.Smile generally has an on and an off button on the console itself and two joystick ports, and a compartment for keeping the cartridges in addition to the cartridge slot. Originally only available in Orange/Purple and bundled with a Winnie the Pooh game, a pink/purple colored console was shipped later, targeting girls and bundled with a Cinderella game. Much later, a Red/Blue and Red/Silver model was introduced and bundled with a "Scooby-Doo" game.
It was released in several countries with different names;
The buttons on the game system and controllers are large to accommodate small children's less developed manual dexterity. The default controller consists of an analog stick, four colored buttons, a large enter button, a button (dubbed the "Learning Zone" button) that immediately takes the player to a minigame section of the software, an Exit button (that either brings up an option to end the game or to keep playing, or to exit out of any menu that the player is in) and a Help button (which repeats the spoken instructions or hint provided by the game to the player). A small latch on the bottom of the controller allows the analog stick to be moved to the other side of the buttons, in order to accommodate left-handed players. This makes it the second console to come bundled in an ambidextrous controller (the Atari Lynx handheld console could be used upside down, making it the first).
A second generation of the V.Smile console was launched in 2007. The console (Model 752) is now bundled with a microphone, and a redesigned controller was shipped, which now comes with a graphics tablet built in. However, the design of the console is still the same as the first generation console apart from the presence of a microphone holder. The internals of the system also appear to be based upon the design of the first generation console, as software meant for the first generation console is playable on the second generation console, and vice versa, although software that takes advantage of the microphone feature will disable the sections of the software that requires the use of the microphone if played on the first generation console.
In 2008, a translucent-faced V.Smile TV Learning System Limited Edition console was released including two joysticks, and the Alphabet Park Adventure game cartridge. The console colors were reversed (translucent orange face with purple body) from the normal console colors (solid purple face with orange body).
The last revision of the console (Model 1086) was the smallest of the main line, becoming shorter and square in shape, it retains 2 controller ports, but it adds V-Link functionality, and the cartridge storage on the back removed the cover and became smaller with space for only 4 games. The console also drops stereo sound, having a video and mono audio jack.
V.Smile Pocket and V.Smile Cyber Pocket.
The V.Smile Pocket is a handheld version of the V.Smile console. It features a built-in Passive matrix-based color LCD display and a monaural speaker, but is otherwise similar to the desktop console counterpart. However, there is no connector for an additional joystick, and thus many games that support two player mode will disallow access selection of the said mode. Also, the device is not compatible with games that uses any of the other accessories due to the lack of an additional joystick port. It was originally introduced in Orange/Purple, but a Pink/Purple model was introduced later in line with the color schemes available for the desktop console. However, at the moment there is no Red/Silver or Red/Blue V.Smile Pocket.
A second-generation V.Smile Pocket model was introduced in 2007, in which a microphone is added to the device. Apart from the new feature, added support for games that use the microphone, and a repositioning of the speaker from the lower right to the upper left, it retained the general looks of the first generation V.Smile Pocket. Still, if compared side-by-side, a slight difference in the bulkiness of the lower half of the unit can be seen, with the New V.Smile Pocket being a bit slimmer and narrower towards the bottom. The game system may seem oversized when compared such devices as the Nintendo Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS, but a consideration must be made for the fact that the V.Smile Pocket uses full size Smartriges from the console, and is generally offered at lower prices in most markets.
A third generation of V.Smile Pocket was introduced in 2008. Called the V.Smile Cyber Pocket, the console was redesigned with a smaller flip-open screen (still Passive matrix-based) and an integrated graphics tablet, while retaining the microphone introduced in the second generation V.Smile Pocket. Also, a proprietary port was added to the console, which a flash drive like device called the “V-Link” with a matching proprietary connector on one end and a USB connector on another, could plug into the Cyber Pocket. This device is used to transfer the data of games that support such function to a PC, which would in turn upload the data to a website. The data could then be used to chart the player's progress as well as be used to unlock bonus games on the said website.
During 2008's Black Friday sales, limited supplies of New V.Smile Pocket units were sold at U.S. Walmart stores for the reduced price of $25 USD. This was roughly half of the cost of a single Xbox 360 Game Disc at that time, and nearly one-tenth the cost of a PlayStation Portable game system bundle.
PC Pal.
The PC Pal is a variant of the basic V.Smile console with an integrated accessory, a more colorful and functional version of the Smart Keyboard accessory with built in joystick and tablet controls. Unlike a regular V.Smile system, the V.Smile PC Pal has a port for the V-Link accessory. It comes bundled with a Smartridge of games for the keyboard that teach typing and other basic keyboard skills. It plays all of the Smartridges, but since the joystick controls are built into the keyboard the setup is more easily used on a desktop surface with a small TV serving as a monitor, similar to a personal computer. For someone who already owns a V.Smile, the Smart Keyboard accessory and a touch tablet enhanced joystick will provide a similar experience. Since the keyboard can be disconnected and a standard joystick or other V.Smile accessory used, the PC Pal can easily convert into duty as a normal V.Smile system when needed.
V-Motion.
A newer variant of the V.Smile is the V-Motion Active Learning System (Model 788), introduced as a sort of low-cost, educational alternative from VTech to the popular Wii with its built-in controller accelerometers that detect movement. The V-Motion system is not as advanced, but includes a Wireless, motion activated joystick that is righty/lefty adaptable. The controller can be tilted in a direction to achieve a result on the screen, rather than using the traditional joystick directional control. Dodging things or moving left and right with the controller can inspire the player to physically engage in games. It won the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval for 2008, and the Creative Child 2008 Seal of Excellence.
Accessories.
"Note: Aside from the V-Link, these accessories are intended for the TV-connected consoles, not handheld versions of the V.Smile."
Competition and comparisons.
The V.Smile Pocket's direct competition is the handheld Leapster by LeapFrog. The Leapster TV Learning System is the less high-profile but available counterpart to the multiple V.Smile and V-Motion consoles that are direct connect to the TV. The Leapster L-Max is comparable to the V.Smile Cyber Pocket and is stylus-enhanced. VTech has the advantage in number and diversity of available accessories such as SmartBooks and Art Studio, where as LeapFrog's Leapster accessories are generally focused on portability options such as batteries and cases. The V.Smile family in general is more focused on TV connectability, while the Leapster family is more focused on the handheld, portable systems, but both VTech and LeapFrog have moved to compete with one another on both fronts. Leapster systems and games tend to be slightly more expensive than V.Smile games. The Leapster does have an age range for some games that reaches up to age 11, which is territory more for the V-Flash than the V.Smile. Noteworthy is that both LeapFrog and VTech continue to sell previous generation handhelds at a reduced price compared to the Leapster 2 and the New Improved V.Smile Pocket.
The V.Smile PC Pal variant console and Smart Keyboard accessory faces direct competition with LeapFrog's ClickStart educational computer offering, and indirect competition with various toy educational laptops and low cost desktop PCs with children software and child-friendly accessories installed. While the V.Smile SmartBook console may face competition from the Sega Pico due to the similarity of the concepts, the Sega Pico has not been available outside Japan for a long time.
Rough comparisons in technological capability with the V.Smile consoles in terms of graphics and sound can be made to Nintendo's SNES console or Game Boy Advance systems, thus generally the console is technologically comparable to most fourth or fifth generation consoles despite being released in the seventh generation era of gaming consoles. The V.Smile systems in general are offered for a fraction of the price of those consoles when they were new, and the V.Smile systems were designed specifically for children with a focus on education.
Durability and quality of plastics and other components of the V.Smile systems is in-line with expectations given the low cost of the devices. Replacement game system hardware can often be bought for less than the cost of a single game on dedicated current generation console game systems from Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo on the market.
Games.
The majority of educational game Smartridges offered for the V.Smile involve licensed characters popular with children in the target age group of 3 to 7 such as Scooby-Doo, Bob the Builder, The Little Mermaid, Go, Diego, Go!, and The Wiggles. CGI-animated characters from movies also found their way to the V.Smile, including Kung Fu Panda, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and Cars. Vtech also offers less commercial or traditional characters in games such as Soccer, Little Red Riding Hood, and Whiz Kid Wheels.
Smartridges are labeled for the intended age of players. Two major categories are Junior Thinkers (Ages 4–6) and Master Minds (Ages 6–8). There are also Beginner's games with age ranges of 3-5, and Advanced games for ages 6–9, such as "SpongeBob SquarePants: A Day in The Life of a Sponge". The educational content and difficulty of gameplay is age appropriate. For example, in "Dora's Fix-it Adventure" (Ages 4–6), Dora will not fall from the edge of a platform if the child makes a mistake when moving her. Instead she will get up on her tip-toes and appear unbalanced. For children in the older age range, Cinderella and Batman games offer more challenging educational and action-based gameplay.
Some titles may include the text "New and Improved Version" on the covers. These are updated versions of existing game titles that now include microphone and/or touch tablet enhanced gameplay, such as Sing Along through use of the microphone feature that was added to second generation V.Smile consoles and the New V.Smile Pocket.
List of V.Smile games.
There were titles known to have been released for the V.Smile;
V.Smile Baby Infant Development System.
An unrelated and separate spin-off system called the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System, was released shortly after the original V.Smile TLS was introduced to the market. The games and cartridges of a V.Smile Baby IDS are not compatible with a V.Smile TLS and vice versa. This is an important distinction since so many of the other consoles named "V.Smile" are inter-compatible. The control system for the V.Smile Baby Infant Development System is significantly different from those used in the V.Smile TLS that is targeted at older children: it does not have the features of a typical game controller, instead the design is more like that of a playboard. The controls consist of a mode slider, two switches (one for power and the other toggles the board between standalone play mode and console control mode), 7 buttons (5 shape buttons, a "fun" button, a small Exit button), and a roller ball hooked up to a sensor. The controller itself has a speaker which comes into play during standalone mode (in which it functions as a playboard that play music, speech and sound when interacted with). The controller communicates with the console by means of infrared signaling, and runs off six AA (Lithium) batteries. It Also Lacks Pink Variant For Girls, V.Smile Baby Only Ships With Orange Color Scheme.
The console itself is rather unusual in design, having only an on-off switch and permanently attached cables carrying composite video signal and mono audio through two RCA connectors. It runs off four AA (Lithium) batteries or a 6V DC power supply (sold separately), although European systems are missing the DC-in port, only being able to use batteries. The console has a cartridge slot as well as indents to hold four additional cartridges for storage. Also, powering off the controller will also power off the console if the console is switched on at the time. Designed for kids ages 9 months-3 Years.
It was released in several countries with different names;
List of V.Smile Baby games.
This is an (possibly) incomplete list of games for the system.
Most games were released in both NTSC and PAL, with PAL region titles sometimes having a different English name to its US counterparts. Most games were also translated for other European market languages.
The game Bailey Goes to Town came included with the Bailey Teddy bear that functioned as a controller.
There were only 12 titles known to have been released;
Region protection and inter-compatibility.
Even though the V.Smile range of games are compatible with most of its consoles, the V.Smile Baby games aren't. The cartridges are shorter, but are also thicker and wider than normal V.Smile ones, meaning they can't fit on other systems. However, both cartridges have the same connector and pins, meaning V.Smile Smartridges, which are slimmer and narrower, can be physically inserted into the V.Smile Baby and connected, although it's harder to do so, and the game won't work with the console.
The V.Smile range of consoles are apparently not region-locked. While the console itself come in NTSC and PAL versions and the BIOS on the consoles appear to be region specific (distinguishable from the speech sample played in the screen after the VTech logo when the console is started with no cartridge inserted), games purchased from an NTSC region can play on PAL systems and vice versa. Observations suggest that both the V.Smile and V.Smile Infant Development System used different methods of booting: The V.Smile and V.Smile Pocket variants will apparently boot into their own BIOS, then obligingly run the software on the cartridge. The V.Smile Baby appears to boot from the default BIOS when a cartridge of the same region is inserted or when there's no cartridge in the system, but appears to boot from a different BIOS when a cartridge of a different region is inserted. Currently it is unknown if the extra BIOS resides on the cartridge or on the console itself.
Criticisms.
Research by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) show that Vtech's V.Smile Baby product, marketed for ages nine months to three years, does not meet the claims that it helps with early childhood development or education in any way, stating that children ages 0 to 2 years do not understand what is going on on a TV screen.
On October 17, 2011 AAP's Council on Communications and media released a report titled "Media Use by Children Younger than 2 Years" concluded that "the educational merit of media for children younger than two years remains unproven despite the fact that three-quarters of the top selling infant videos make explicit or implicit educational claims," and further found that media viewing by children under 2 years of age can have a negative effect on language development.
Video game and technology critics are also quick to discount Vtech's line of products, including V.Smile (ages 4–8), V.Smile Baby (ages 9m–3), V.Flash (ages 6–36), V.Smile Pocket (ages 3–8), and V.Reader, citing the lack of professionally developed games, as VTech consoles have no major third party video game publishers aside from Disney Interactive.
Critics also state that the V.Smile proves the notion that the need for special electronics for children is artificial, as products like mainstream consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Wii), tablets (iPad, Android), and computers (PC, Mac) have a variety of educational and children's software. Furthermore, such devices offer flexibility that allow children to grow with them, not outgrow them.


ELF II

The Netronics ELF II was an early microcomputer trainer kit featuring the RCA 1802 microprocessor, 256 bytes of RAM, DMA-based bitmap graphics, hexadecimal keypad, two digit hexadecimal LED display, a single "Q" LED, and 5 expansion slots. The system was developed and sold by Netronics Research and Development Limited in New Milford, CT, USA.
Hardware.
Available hardware accessories included:
Software.
Available software included:
Notable Innovations.
10 REM This program will print the number 30
20 A=10,B=20
30 C=A#B+
40 PRINT C
50 END
In the code above, the "#" symbol is equivalent to the "Enter" key on a RPN calculator.
The Name.
The ELF part of the name came from an earlier machine called the "COSMAC ELF", published as a construction project in Popular Electronics magazine. Improvements on its predecessor included an etched PCB, a hexadecimal keypad instead of toggle switches for program entry, the CDP1861 Pixie-graphics chip, and the 5 slot 86-line bus for expansion cards.


Leica M9-P


Jim Westwood

Jim Westwood is the former chief engineer at Sinclair Research Ltd in the 1980s, starting at the company in 1963. Westwood was the technical mastermind behind many of Sinclair's products and worked there for more than twenty years.
Sir Clive Sinclair and Westwood shared a connection even before they met when Westwood had previously worked at an electronics store in London which was owned by Bernard Babani, Sinclair's publisher. This gave Westwood a good degree of familiarity with Sinclair's designs, which prompted him to join Sinclair's fledgling company, Sinclair Radionics. Westwood subsequently had a hand in most of the company's products, including the calculators, audio equipment, ZX Spectrum computers and TV80.
He is still designing hardware for Amino Communications, and is a partner in Cambridge Electronics Consultancy.
Colin Michael Carmichael plays Westwood in the 2009 BBC television movie "Micro Men".


GrandRomMax


HTC

HTC Corporation () (High Tech Computer Corporation, literally "Hongda International Electronics Co., Ltd."; trading as HTC) is a Taiwanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Xindian District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Founded in 1997, HTC began as an original design manufacturer and original equipment manufacturer, designing and manufacturing laptop computers.
After initially making smartphones based mostly on Windows Mobile, HTC became a co-founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of handset manufacturers and mobile network operators dedicated to the development of the Android operating system. The HTC Dream (marketed by T-Mobile in many countries as the T-Mobile G1) was the first phone on the market to run Android.
Although initially successful as a smartphone vendor, competition from Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics, among others, diluted its market share, which reached just 7.2% by April 2015, and the company has experienced consecutive net losses. In 2016, HTC began to diversify its business beyond smartphones, having partnered with Valve to produce a virtual reality platform known as HTC Vive. After having collaborated with Google on its Pixel smartphone, HTC sold roughly half of its design and research talent, as well as non-exclusive rights to smartphone-related intellectual property, to Google in 2017 for billion.
History.
Cher Wang () and H. T. Cho () founded HTC in 1997. Initially a manufacturer of notebook computers, HTC began designing some of the world's first touch and wireless hand-held devices in 1998.
HTC started making Windows Mobile PDAs and smartphones starting from 2004 under the Qtek brand. In 2006 the range was rebranded as HTC with the launch of the HTC TyTN.
In 2007, HTC acquired the mobile device company Dopod International.
In 2008, HTC unveiled the HTC Max 4G, the first GSM mobile phone to support WiMAX networks.
HTC joined Google's Open Handset Alliance and then developed and released the first device powered by Android in 2008, the HTC Dream.
In November 2009 HTC released the HTC HD2, the first Windows Mobile device with a capacitive touchscreen. The same year, HTC Sense debuted as a user interface which continues to be used as of 2018.
In July 2010, HTC announced it would begin selling HTC-branded smartphones in China in a partnership with China Mobile. In October 2010, HTC launched the brand tagline "quietly brilliant"', and the YOU campaign, HTC's first global advertising campaign. The same month, the HTC HD7 was released as one of the launch models of Microsoft's revitalised Windows Phone. In 2010, HTC sold over 24.6 million handsets, up 111% over 2009.
At the Mobile World Congress in February 2011, the GSM Association named HTC the "Device Manufacturer of the Year" in its Global Mobile Awards. In April 2011, HTC surpassed Nokia as the third-largest smartphone manufacturer by market share, behind Apple and Samsung.
On 6 July 2011, it was announced that HTC would buy VIA Technologies' stake in S3 Graphics. On 6 August 2011, HTC acquired Dashwire for $18.5M. In August 2011, HTC confirmed a plan for a strategic partnership with Beats Electronics involving acquiring 51 percent of the company.
The 2011 Best Global Brands rankings released by Interbrand, listed HTC at #98 and valued it at $3.6 billion. Based on researcher Canalys, in Q3 2011 HTC Corporation became the largest smartphone vendor in the U.S. with 24 percent market share, ahead of Samsung's 21 percent, Apple's 20 percent and BlackBerry's 9 percent. HTC Corporation made different models for each operator.
During early 2012, HTC lost much of this U.S. market share due to increased competition from Apple and Samsung. According to analyst firm comScore, HTC only accounted for 9.3% of the United States smartphone market as of February 2013. In light of the company's decrease in prominence, Chief Executive Peter Chou had informed executives that he would step down if the company's newest flagship phone, the 2013 HTC One, had failed to generate impressive sales results. HTC's first quarter results for 2013 showed its year-over-year profit drop by 98.1%, making it the smallest-ever profit for the company—the delay of the launch of the HTC One was cited as one of the factors. In June 2012, HTC moved its headquarters from Taoyuan City (now Taoyuan District) to Xindian District, New Taipei City. On 14 January 2013, HTC launched its smartphones in Burma.
The HTC One was released in mid-2013 and, subsequently won various industry awards in the best smartphone and best design categories, but global sales of the HTC One were lower than those for Samsung's Galaxy S4 flagship handset and HTC recorded its first ever quarterly loss in early October 2013: a deficit of just under NT$3 billion (about US$100m, £62m). Marketing problems were identified by HTC as the primary reason for its comparative performance, a factor that had been previously cited by the company.
During 2013, Microsoft was in negotiations to purchase HTC. This was revealed in 2018 by Risto Siilasmaa, chairman of Nokia, in an interview with the "Helsingin Sanomat". Microsoft would eventually purchase Nokia's mobile phone business that year.
In August 2013, HTC debuted a new "Here's To Change" global marketing campaign featuring actor Robert Downey Jr., who signed a two-year contract to be HTC's new "Instigator of Change.". On 27 September 2013, HTC announced that it would sell back its stake in Beats Electronics
Following the release of the HTC One, two variants were released to form a trio for the 2013 HTC One lineup. A smaller variant named the HTC One Mini was released in August 2013, and a larger variant named the HTC One Max was released in October 2013. Similar in design and features to the HTC One, the upgraded aspects of the One Max include a display measuring , a fingerprint sensor and a removable back cover for expandable memory. The product was released into the European and Asian retail environment in October 2013, followed by a US launch in early November 2013.
In March 2014, HTC released the HTC One (M8), the next version of the HTC One flagship, at press conferences in London and New York City. In a change from previous launches, the HTC One was made available for purchase on the company website and North American mobile carrier websites on the same day a few hours after the launch.
In April 2014, HTC reported sales climbing 12.7 percent to NT$22.1 billion, the company's fastest growth since October 2011. In September 2014, Google selected HTC to make its Nexus 9 tablet. In August 2014 HTC announced a Windows Phone-powered variant of the One (M8), their first using the operating system since 2012. HTC ended its long relationship with Microsoft afterwards due to Nokia's dominance in Windows Phone devices, and started focusing solely on Android.
On 1 March 2015, HTC unveiled Vive, a virtual reality head-mounted display in collaboration with Valve. In June and October 2015, HTC reported net losses; the company has faced increased competition from other smartphone makers, including Apple, Samsung, and others, which had resulted in a decline in its smartphone sales, as well a major loss of market share. Its smartphone market share had risen back to 7.2 percent in April 2015 due to its strong sales of recent devices, but HTC's stock price had fallen by 90 percent since 2011.
In November 2016, HTC reported that it had sold at least 140,000 Vive units, and that each unit was being sold at a profit. In January 2017, HTC unveiled its new U series smartphone line, the U Play and U Ultra; the company described the U series as a "new direction" for its phones, emphasizing an integrated virtual assistant developed by the company. In February 2017, HTC reported that in the fourth quarter of 2016, its operating losses had decreased by 13% year-over-year, citing "robust sales performance" and sequential revenue increases throughout the year.
On 21 September 2017, Google announced that it would acquire roughly half of the 4,000 employees who worked in HTC's design and research staff, and non-exclusive licences to smartphone-related intellectual property held by HTC, for US$1.1 billion. The employees included the team involved with Google's Pixel smartphone, which was manufactured by HTC. Google stated that the purchase was part of its efforts to bolster its first-party hardware business. The transaction was completed on 30 January 2018; while HTC will continue to produce its own smartphones, the company has stated that it planned to increase its focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and virtual reality going forward.
On 26 March 2018, HTC reported a quarterly net loss of US$337 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, citing "market competition, product mix, pricing, and recognized inventory write-downs". The company's transaction with Google will be reflected in its first quarter 2018 numbers. HTC stated that it would use the revenue to further its investments in "emerging technologies". The company had also cited its increasing VR investments, including its upcoming Vive Pro model, and Vive Focus—a standalone "all-in-one" VR headset unveiled in November 2017.
In July 2018 HTC has revealed that it has entered into a partnership with games and apps developer and publisher Animoca. This includes product development and joint collaboration in areas such as games, blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, augmented reality and virtual reality. Animoca's games will be pre-installed on HTC devices in the future.
On 5 February 2019 HTC released its first "Cryptophone", focused on providing universal finance through Bitcoin and creating a portal towards realizing a truly decentralized web.
On 11 May 2019 HTC announced that its Cryptophone will be the first smartphone to support a bitcoin full node.
On 17 September 2019 HTC appointed Yves Maitre, former executive vice president of consumer equipment and partnerships of Orange, as CEO where Cher Wang will continue her role as chairwoman.
On 3 September 2020 HTC CEO Yves Maitre stepped down from the position citing personal reasons. Co-founder Cher Wang then stepped in and is now the current CEO of HTC.
Litigation.
In March 2010, Apple Inc. filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission claiming infringement of 20 of its patents covering aspects of the iPhone user interface and hardware. HTC disagreed with Apple's actions and reiterated its commitment to creating innovative smartphones. HTC also filed a complaint against Apple for infringing on five of its patents and sought to ban the import of Apple products into the US from manufacturing facilities in Asia. Apple expanded its original complaint by adding two more patents.
On 10 November 2012, Apple and HTC reached a 10-year license-agreement covering current and future patents held by the two companies. The terms of the agreement remain confidential.
Previously, Apple ignored HTC's long held rights over the trade name Touch by calling its new iPod range the same.
In February 2013, HTC settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission concerning lax security on more than 18 million smartphones and tablets it had shipped to customers and agreed to security patches.
Corporate information.
HTC's chairwoman and acting CEO is Cher Wang who is the daughter of the late Wang Yung-ching, founder of the plastics and petrochemicals conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group. Peter Chou serves as head of the HTC Future Development Lab, and HT Cho as Director of the Board and Chairman of HTC Foundation. HTC's CFO is Hui-Ming Cheng. In addition to being chair of HTC, Cher Wang is also acting chair of VIA Technologies. HTC's main divisions, including the IA (Information Appliance) engineering division and the WM (Wireless Mobile) engineering division, are ISO 9001/ISO 14001-qualified facilities.
The company's growth has accelerated dramatically since being chosen by Microsoft as a hardware platform development partner for the Windows Mobile operating system (based on Windows CE). HTC also works with Google to build mobile phones running Google's Android mobile OS such as the Nexus One. HTC's sales revenue totalled $2.2 billion for 2005, a 102% increase from the prior year. In 2005 it was listed as the fastest-growing tech company in "BusinessWeek"s Info Tech 100.
HTC invested strongly in research and development, which accounts for a quarter of its employees. The company's North American headquarters are located in Bellevue, Washington. HTC runs a software design office in Seattle (near its North American headquarters) where it designs its own interface for its phones. In 2011, HTC also opened a research and development office in Durham, North Carolina, a location the company chose over Seattle and Atlanta, to focus on multiple areas of wireless technology.
On 17 February 2010, "Fast Company" ranked HTC as the 31st most innovative company in the world. On 27 May 2011, in response to customer feedback, HTC announced that they will no longer lock the bootloaders on their Android-based phones.
Sports sponsorship.
Cycling.
HTC sponsored the HTC-Highroad professional cycling team from 2009 to 2011.
Association football.
In 2012, HTC became the official smartphone sponsor of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. HTC also became the shirt sponsors for the Indian Super League franchise NorthEast United FC for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 season.
Cricket.
Ahead of the 2015 season, Indian Premier League franchise Kings XI Punjab signed a sponsorship deal with HTC. According to the agreement, HTC would be the team's official principal sponsor, and the company's logo would occupy the right chest position on the Kings XI Punjab playing jersey.
eSports.
HTC sponsors professional eSports teams FaZe Clan, Team SoloMid, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and J Team, (formerly known as Taipei Assassins).
HTC sponsored a "Super Smash Bros. Melee" tournament, HTC Throwdown, which was held on 19 September 2015, in San Francisco. At the end of 2015, the company also sponsored the creation of that year's SSBMRank, the annual rankings of the best "Melee" players in the world.


HylaFAX

HylaFAX is the leading fax server for Unix-like computer systems. It uses a client-server design and supports the sending and receiving of faxes as well as text pages, on any scale from low to very high volumes, if necessary making use of large numbers of modems. It is open-source, free software and can be used commercially without charge.
History.
Sam Leffler, while working at Silicon Graphics (SGI), wrote a fax server for SGI's IRIX servers called FlexFAX and released it to the public in June 1991. Leffler and others worked for several years on FlexFAX, adding new features and porting the software to new platforms. In April 1995 FlexFAX was renamed HylaFAX with the 3.0pl0 release to avoid potential trademark issues.
Following the 4.0pl0 release in September 1996, Leffler began to leave working on the project, which caused development to slow dramatically. He did release version 4.0pl1 in December; however, in February 1997 Sam officially handed maintainership of HylaFAX over to Matthias Apitz, who had previously been known for his maintainership of the SVR4 HylaFAX binary releases and the so-named "HylaFAQ".
Some HylaFAX community members were frustrated that code releases and development work did not increase noticeably after the maintainership transition. Apitz did release HylaFAX 4.0pl2 a year later, in February 1998, and anticipated an eventual 4.0pl3. However, some community members were still unhappy with the slow development pace.
In November 1998, Darren Nickerson, maintainer of the tpc.int network, and Robert Colquhoun led an attempt to revitalize HylaFAX development by the creation of hylafax.org, a central repository for HylaFAX development, downloads, documentation, mailing lists, etc. Colquhoun released a number of "rjc" versions before releasing 4.1beta1 in July 1999 and then 4.1beta2 in August.
In early 2000, newcomer Lee Howard began assisting Nickerson to prepare the next release after development had once again slowed down. A lot of work went into the 4.1beta3 release in February 2001, and in July a non-beta 4.1 was finally released. Since that time releases (now numbered like 4.1.1, 4.1.2, and so forth) have been comparatively regular and the development pace has been relatively steady with releases occurring roughly every six months.
In March 2002, Nickerson started iFAX, Inc., endeavoring to sell and commercialize HylaFAX in particular to enterprise customers. Thus iFAX began selling a proprietary product called HylaFAX Enterprise Edition which supported the proprietary interfacing of BrookTrout fax hardware.
The development pace was still not fast enough for some, in particular Howard. And so after the 4.1.6 release in May 2003 the code repository was branched into a "4.1" legacy branch, to satisfy the conservative elements, and a "4.2" development branch to satisfy Howard. The development branch then began the largest period of code work since before Leffler released 4.0pl0. The Class 1 driver was endowed with ECM capability, fax batching support (sending multiple faxes in one call) was added, extended resolution support began, MMR and JBIG data compressions were supported, and color fax reception was supported all in a relatively short amount of time. This set of developments, and the subsequent stabilization of those features, made HylaFAX not only the best, most feature-rich open-source fax software available, but it also became easily the most feature-rich fax software of any kind that supported average, inexpensive off-the-shelf fax modems.
After many years of disagreements between Howard and Nickerson regarding the direction and pace of the software development, Howard began developing HylaFAX at SourceForge.net in October 2005. That work later became known as HylaFAX+. Version numbers initially added another "dot" (like "4.3.0.11") and then simply changed outright to "5.0.0", "5.0.1", and so forth.
HylaFAX development currently continues both at Sourceforge and at hylafax.org. The Sourceforge development aims to adopt and release new developments quickly and with little hassle, and so releases there are regular and frequent. The development at hylafax.org continues to be steady with releases occurring less frequently and without adopting all of the features found in HylaFAX+.


Chisholm Trail (video game)

The Chisholm Trail is a computer game released in July 1982 for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4A personal computer.
Game Play.
Players take the role of a cattle driver on the Chisholm Trail, bringing their cattle to set destinations while defending them against cattle rustlers and wranglers. The game has nine levels. You can choose any of the levels from the start menu and the level selected determines how long you have been on the trail, how many steers you have, how many shots you have, and how many wranglers and rustlers must be eliminated.
Wranglers are in the form of brands and will try to brand the steers for themselves. Mileage counts as the score and Rustlers are worth 250 miles and Wranglers are 150 miles. Every time 10,000 miles is reached another steer is added to the group.


Run commands

In the context of Unix-like systems, the term "rc" stands for the phrase "run commands". It is used for any file that contains startup information for a command. It is believed to have originated sometime in 1965 at a runcom facility from the MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS).
From Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie:
Tom Van Vleck, a Multics engineer, has also reminisced about the extension rc: "The idea of having the command processing shell be an ordinary slave program came from the Multics design, and a predecessor program on CTSS by Louis Pouzin called RUNCOM, the source of the '.rc' suffix on some Unix configuration files."
This is also the origin of the name of the Plan 9 from Bell Labs shell by Tom Duff, the rc shell. It is called "rc" because the main job of a shell is to "run commands".
While not historically precise, rc may also be expanded as "run control", because an rc file controls how a program runs. For instance, the editor Vim looks for and reads the contents of the .vimrc file to determine its initial configuration. In "The Art of Unix Programming", Eric S. Raymond consistently refers to rc files as "run-control" files.


BootManager

 BootManager, formerly known as BootMan, is the Haiku and BeOS boot loader on x86 systems. It resides solely in the master boot record and does not require installing Haiku or BeOS, although it must be installed from Haiku or BeOS. Its BeOS predecessor was BootMan, and was later renamed as BootManager by the Haiku project.
It is filesystem agnostic, and boots an operating system as if it were being booted directly from the hardware. As such, it can boot virtually any operating system. It can also chainload GRUB, LILO and NTLDR. However, being independent of an OS prevents it from being able to boot any disks which are not accessible via BIOS I/O routines (e.g. INT 13H), with the exception of BeOS disk-in-a-file images on FAT32, NTFS or ext2 file systems.
Configuration.
In Haiku, BootManager exists in "/boot/system/apps/BootManager".
Steps:
1. Launch the Installer application and select "Set up boot menu" from the Tools menu.
2. Select the drive on which you want to install "BootManager "to
3. Click on the "Install "button
4. Leave the "default MBR save location" alone (this lets you use the defaults if you need to "Uninstall"), and click the "Next" button.
5. Click "Next"
6. Choose the "partition" in which you have installed operating systems and name them. Hit "Next"
7. "Draw" to adjust the timeout and select the default OS that loads when the timeout finishes.
8. Click "Next"
Congratulations, you have successfully configured "BootManager" on your system.
History.
Bootman appeared in BeOS R4.0, replacing LILO, which was used in R3.x. "Installing", "configuring", and "uninstalling" can be done solely by a graphical application, also called Bootman. This can also create an MBR restoration floppy disk without modifying the current MBR. In Haiku Alpha 3, Bootman was rewritten and renamed to "BootManager."


Emerald Isle (video game)

Emerald Isle is an interactive fiction game by Level 9 Computing released in 1984. A plane has crashed after being struck by a storm over the Bermuda Triangle. The sole occupant has escaped by parachute and finds himself on an unknown island inhabited by strange peoples and creatures.
Gameplay.
The game is a standard text adventure with limited graphics on some platforms.
Reception.
John Sweeney writing for "Page 6" said: "For anyone who has not yet taken the plunge into adventuring, and can't afford to buy an Infocom adventure such as Wishbringer, Emerald Isle offers an excellent introduction to a very enjoyable pastime."


Berkeley r-commands

The Berkeley r-commands are a suite of computer programs designed to enable users of one Unix system to log in or issue commands to another Unix computer via TCP/IP computer network. The r-commands were developed in 1982 by the Computer Systems Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley, based on an early implementation of TCP/IP (the protocol stack of the Internet).
The CSRG incorporated the r-commands into their Unix operating system, the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). The r-commands premiered in BSD v4.1. Among the programs in the suite are: (remote copy), (remote execution), (remote login), (remote shell), , , and (remote who).
The r-commands were a significant innovation, and became "de facto" standards for Unix operating systems. With wider public adoption of the Internet, their inherent security vulnerabilities became a problem, and beginning with the development of Secure Shell protocols and applications in 1995, its adoption entirely supplanted the deployment and use of r-commands (and Telnet) on networked systems.
Authentication.
The original Berkeley package that provides rlogin also features rcp (remote-copy, allowing files to be copied over the network) and rsh (remote-shell, allowing commands to be run on a remote machine without the user logging into it). These share the hosts.equiv and .rhosts access-control scheme (although they connect to a different daemon, rshd).
Commands.
rlogin.
 enables a user to log in on another server via computer network, using TCP network port 513.
rlogin is also the name of the application layer protocol used by the software, part of the TCP/IP protocol suite. Authenticated users can act as if they were physically present at the computer. RFC 1282, in which it was defined, states: "The rlogin facility provides a remote-echoed, locally flow-controlled virtual terminal with proper flushing of output." rlogin communicates with a daemon, rlogind, on the remote host. rlogin is similar to the Telnet command, but is not as customizable and is able to connect only to Unix-like hosts.
rsh.
rsh opens a shell on a remote computer without a login procedure. Once connected, the user can execute commands on the remote computer through the shell's command-line interface. rsh passes input and output through the standard streams, and it sends standard output to the user's console. Over the network, standard input and standard out flow through TCP port 514, while Standard Error flows through a different TCP port, which the rsh daemon (rshd) opens.
rexec.
Like rsh, rexec enables the user to run shell commands on a remote computer. However, unlike the rsh server, the rexec server (rexecd) requires login: it authenticates users by reading the username and password (unencrypted) from the network socket. rexec uses TCP port 512.
rcp.
rcp can copy a file or directory from the local system to a remote system, from a remote system to the local system, or from one remote system to another. The command line arguments of cp and rcp are similar, but in rcp remote files are prefixed with the name of the remote system:
 rcp file.txt subdomain.domain:~/home/foo/file.txt
As with the Unix copy command cp, rcp overwrites an existing file of the same name in the target; unlike cp, it provides no mechanism for warning the user before overwriting the target file. Like rsh, rcp uses TCP port 514.
rwho.
Just as the who command lists the users who are logged in to the local Unix system, rwho lists those users who are logged into all multi-user Unix systems on the local network. rwho's daemon, rwhod, maintains a database of the status of Unix systems on the local network. The daemon and its database are also used by the ruptime program.
ruptime.
Just as the command shows how long a Unix system has been running since the last restart, requests a status report from all computers on the local network. It then returns the uptime report. If a computer did not respond within the time limit, then ruptime reports that the system is down. This information is tracked and stored by the daemon rwhod, which is also used by the rwho command.
Security.
Those r-commands which involve user authentication (rcp, rexec, rlogin, and rsh) share several serious security vulnerabilities:
Due to these problems, the r-commands fell into relative disuse (with many Unix and Linux distributions no longer including them by default). Many networks that formerly relied on rlogin and telnet have replaced them with SSH and its rlogin-equivalent "slogin".


Nikon E2


MacTCP

MacTCP was the standard TCP/IP implementation for the classic Mac OS through version 7.5.1. It was the first application-independent implementation of a TCP stack for a non-Unix platform and predates Winsock by over 5 years. Released in 1988, it is considered obsolete and has reliability issues and incomplete features that sometimes prevent it from operating properly on the modern Internet. In addition, the API was unique to the Mac OS, and at least one developer released a Berkeley Sockets-derived API to make porting from other platforms easier.
It was originally a substantial purchase, carrying a $2,500 price tag for a site license, with an additional $2,500 fee for commercial use. The price was lowered until by the mid-1990s it sold for $60. MacTCP was not included free with Mac OS until System 7.5, when the rising popularity of the Internet made it a necessity. Apple replaced it in 1995 with Open Transport, which had an improved interface for user configuration, although MacTCP remained in use on older systems due to its generally lower system requirements.


HP 35s Celebrating 35 years


IBM System/360 Model 20

The IBM System/360 Model 20 is the smallest member of the IBM System/360 family announced in November 1964. The Model 20 supports only a subset of the System/360 instruction set, with binary numbers limited to 16 bits and no floating point. In later years it would have been classified as a 16-bit minicomputer rather than a mainframe, but the term "minicomputer" was not current, and in any case IBM wanted to emphasize the compatibility of the Model 20 rather than its differences from the rest of the System/360 line. It does, however, have the full System/360 decimal instruction set, that allows for addition, subtraction, product, and dividend of up to 31 decimal digits.
Developed by IBM in Böblingen, Germany, the system was intended for data processing and as a replacement for tab equipment. An incompatible small computer, the IBM 1130 introduced the following year, was designed for scientific and engineering computing.
The design of the Model 20 was the result of a tug of war within IBM. John Haanstra had wanted a low-end machine that could execute IBM 1401 instructions. Fred Brooks wanted the machine to have System/360 architecture. The final result was a compromise where cost concerns predominated: the system leased for under $2000 per month including "Multi-Function Card Machine" and line printer, compared to around $3000 for a comparable 1401.
Based on number of systems sold the Model 20 was the most successful model of System/360. According to Pugh "The number of Model 20 processors installed by the end of 1970 in the United States exceeded 7,400." Other models, however, brought in greater revenue. Despite their popularity there are relatively few Model 20s in existence in working condition in 2020.
Architecture.
The Model 20 was available with six memory sizes: 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 and 32 KB. As in other models of System/360 memory is byte-addressable. It has eight 16-bit general purpose registers numbered R8 through R15 which can be used in computations as base registers. All of memory is also directly addressable through a feature, called direct addressing, that combines the twelve bit displacement and the low-order bits of what would normally be the base register field of the instruction (R0-R7) to form a combined fifteen bit address. No storage protection is provided, except for the low 144 bytes of "protected area".
The instruction set is a subset of System/360 consisting of 37 instructions instead of 143, with some incompatible instructions, such as a BASR (Branch And Store Register) rather than BALR (Branch And Link Register).
Like most other models of System/360 the Model 20 is microprogrammed; it uses transformer read-only storage (TROS).
Peripherals.
As of 1967 the following peripherals were supported:
The system can also have an integrated communications adapter. Two adapter versions were available, one for Synchronous transmit-receive (STR) and one for binary synchronous communications (Bisync).
2311 Disk Storage.
Model 20 disk storage uses IBM 2311 disk drives, model 11 or 12, attached to an integrated "storage control feature" on the CPU. If multiple drives are attached they have to be the same model. Both models use the 1316 disk pack which provides a maximum of 203 cylinders with 10 tracks per cylinder. The model 11 uses all cylinders, the model 12 uses only the outermost 103. Each track is divided into ten sectors of 270 bytes each. The model 11 has a formatted capacity of 5.4 million bytes, and the model 12 of 2.5 million.
IBM 2560 Multi-Function Card Machine.
The IBM 2560 Multi-Function Card Machine (MFCM) is a peripheral first offered on the Model 20. Due to its reliability problems, often involving card jams, the acronym was frequently interpreted as referring to many less favorable names.
The 2560 has two hoppers into which punch cards can be placed. The cards in the second hopper can contain punched cards to be read or blank cards to be punched. Two models were offered:
Card flow is: a read station, a punch station, and on the A2 a print station allowing text to be printed on cards. Cards then flowed into one of the stackers after being processed. This allows it to function as a card reader and a card punch. As a program can issue a Write Card instruction to print on the card after reading card data with a Read Primary Card or Read Secondary Card instruction, it can also, under program control, function as an interpreter and, as a program can issue a Primary Card Stacker Select or Secondary Card Stacker Select instruction to select the stacker into which a card should be put after reading card data, it can function as a card sorter. This allows the Model 20 to replace several separate pieces of punched-card equipment.
IBM's announcement proclaimed the 2560 as providing "a card-handling capability never before possible on a single pass through the system." Since all I/O is performed by the processor, the system is particularly suited to controlling timing-dependent devices such as the 2560, where a card can be read, punched into, printed on, and sent to a specified output stacker with tight timing requirements if full rated speed is to be maintained.
Software.
Disk Programming System.
The Disk Programming System (DPS) is a control program for a Model 20 with at least 12 KiB of memory and one disk drive. The components of DPS are:
"Rollout/Rollin" allows the computer operator to interrupt a running batch program, execute an inquiry program, and then restart the batch job where it was interrupted.
Tape Programming System.
Tape Programming Support (TPS) supports systems with magnetic tape drives but no disk drives.
The minimum configuration for TPS is 4096 bytes of main storage, a card reader, a card punch, a printer and two magnetic tape drives.
On such systems TPS provides an assembler and tape manipulation utility programs.
Additional capabilities are provided on systems with 8192 bytes of main storage,
and still more with four or more magnetic tape drives.
Card Programming Support.
Card Programming System (CPS) is a set of control programs for a Model 20 computer system with only card input/output devices.
Clones.
The UNIVAC 9200 and 9300 processors were clones of the Model 20.
Remaining machines.
Despite having been sold or leased in very large numbers for a mainframe system of its era, only a few of System/360 Model 20 computers remain. These are primarily the property of museums or collectors. Examples of existing systems include:
A running list of remaining System/360s can be found at World Inventory of remaining System/360 CPUs.


Samsung Galaxy Player

The Samsung Galaxy Player (known as the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi in Europe) is a line of Android-based all-purpose pocket computers produced by Samsung. The product was debuted on 2 September at the 2010 IFA in Berlin, and was showcased at the 2011 CES in Las Vegas.
Models.
All of the Galaxy Player models support 3-axis accelerometer. The Galaxy Player 4.2 also supports 3-axis gyroscope.
The Galaxy Player 50 (not to be confused with Galaxy Player 5.0) was the first Samsung Android-based media player, announced at the 2010 IFA and released early 2011. It features a 3.2 inch 400 x 240 pixels TFT-LCD display, 8 or 16GB internal memory, a microSDHC slot, 1000mAh battery, Bluetooth 3.0, RDS FM tuner and 2 MP rear camera. It runs on Android 2.1 Eclair.
The Galaxy Player 4.0 features a 4" multi-touch capacitative touchscreen, a "Super Clear" LCD with 800x480 resolution (WVGA). It has 8 GB of internal flash storage, that can be expanded with a microSD card (up to 32 GB cards are supported). It has two cameras (a VGA front camera, and a 3.2 megapixel back camera), WiFi, FM radio, and a GPS, and runs Android 2.3.5 ("Gingerbread"). Development teams have created an unofficial Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich") port.
Its design is almost the same of the Samsung Galaxy S phone (I9000) but with a lower resolution camera (3.2 MP instead of 5.0 MP) and without phone functions or 3G. The CPU is a Samsung Exynos 3110 Applications Processor.
Samsung announced that the Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 would be released in the first half of 2011, starting with the UK. The Galaxy Player 4.0 and 5.0 launched in U.S. in October 2011.
The Galaxy Player 5.0 features a micro-SD card slot allowing for up to an additional 32 GB of storage. The CPU is an Exynos 3110 1Ghz Application Processor. It has an estimated 60-hour battery life during music playback and 8 hours during video playback. As of now, the Galaxy Player 5.0 comes preloaded with Android 2.2.2 Froyo in Europe, and Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread in the US. Development teams have created an unofficial Android 4.0 ("Ice Cream Sandwich"), Android 4.4 ("KitKat") up to Android 5.1.1 ("Lollipop").
The Galaxy Player 3.6 carries a 3.65" LCD TFT (with a resolution of 480×320) instead of the AMOLED which is used by Samsung in most of its phones. The internal storage is flash 8 GB that can be expanded via a microSD card. The CPU is a single core 1 GHz based on ARM Cortex-A8 based CPU core (OMAP3630). It has a removable battery. It runs on the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS.
The player has a 2.0 MP camera on the back, GPS location services, and an accelerometer.
The player supports Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) as well as Bluetooth 3.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, OPP, PBAP).
The Galaxy Player 4.2 has a 4.2" IPS display at 800 x 480, 1 GHz processor, front and rear cameras and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It has a removable battery and microSD card slot.
The Galaxy Player 5.8 has a 5.8 inch qHD LCD display at a resolution of 960 x 540, 1GB of RAM, dual-core 1 GHz processor, a 3.0 megapixel camera with no LED flash, and will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, although some versions have been known to ship with Android 4.0.2. It has the same 2500 mAh battery as the Galaxy Player 5.0 and comes in 16 and 32 GB variants, with a microSD card slot supporting up to 32 GB of extra storage.
The Galaxy 070 features a 4.2 inch 800 x 480 pixels TFT LCD display, dual-core ARM Cortex A9 1.2 GHz CPU, Bluetooth 3.0, 1300 mAh battery, 8 GB internal memory and microSDXC slot. It runs on the Android 4.1 Jellybean. It was released in August 2013 in Korea only. It was only sold by Korea Telecom and marketed as a home phone with specific apps allowing SMS and calls via WiFi.
It is the latest Galaxy Player released.
Codec support.
Audio: MP3, M4A (AAC, AAC+, eAAC+), AMR (AMR-NB, AMR-WB), WMA, OGG, FLAC
Video: MP4, 3GP, AVI (DivX, Xvid), WMV, ASF, H.263/H.264
Pricing.
Suggested retail pricing in the U.S. is $149.99 for the 3.6 model, $199.99 for the 4.2 model, $229.99 for the 4.0 model & $269.99 for the 5.0 model.


Commodore 4040

The Commodore 4040 is the replacement for the previous models 2040 (U.S.) and 3040 (Europe). It's a dual-drive 5¼" floppy disk subsystem for Commodore Business Machines. It uses a wide-case form, and uses the parallel IEEE-488 interface common to Commodore PET/CBM computers.
These drive models use a single-density, single-side floppy data storage format similar to that used by the Commodore 1540 & 1541 drives, but with a slightly different data marker indicating which model originally formatted the disk. The low-level disk format is similar enough to allow reading between models, but different enough that one series of drive models cannot reliably write to disks formatted with one of the other model series. A difference of one extra 'header' byte is what causes this write incompatibility.
The Group Coded Recording (GCR) scheme of binary encoding is used to store data on the magnetic disk medium. The drive also uses variable bit-clock to enable increased data density on a standard single-density floppy disk. It is a form of constant bit-density recording done by gradually increasing the clock rate (zone constant angular velocity, ZCAV) and storing more physical sectors on the outer tracks than on the inner ones (zone bit recording, ZBR). Starting with the Commodore 2040 drive, this enabled Commodore to fit 170 kB on a standard single-sided single-density 5.25" floppy.


Salamander (video game)

, retitled in North America and in the Japanese arcade re-release, is a scrolling shooter arcade game by Konami. Released in 1986 as a spin-off of "Gradius", "Salamander" introduced a simplified power-up system, two-player cooperative gameplay and both horizontally and vertically scrolling stages. Some of these later became the norm for future "Gradius" games.
"Salamander" was followed with a sequel in 1996 titled "Salamander 2".
Gameplay.
The first player controls Vic Viper and the second player takes the reins of debuting spacecraft Lord British, which is sometimes referred to as "Road British" due to the ambiguity of Japanese-to-English romanization. The game features six stages which alter between horizontal and vertical scrolling.
Players are allowed to continue from where they leave upon death instead of being returned to a predefined checkpoint as per "Gradius" tradition. There are no continues in single player mode, and two in the two-player mode. The number of continues can be changed through DIP switches. The player gains power-ups by picking up capsules left behind by certain enemies, as opposed to the selection bar used in other "Gradius" games. However, the Japanese version of "Life Force" keeps the selection bar.
Many of the power-ups can be combined. For example, an option fires a second (or third) salvo of missiles or ripple/plutonic lasers if these power-ups have been attained. The ripple and laser, however, are mutually exclusive. The only power-up that can survive the ship's destruction is the options. Upon the ship's destruction, the options float in space for a brief time before disappearing; the new ship can grab and retain them.
Development.
The arcade version of the game was released under its original title in Japan and Europe, and as "Life Force" in North America. The Japanese and European versions are nearly identical, but the American version changes the game's plot by adding an opening text that establishes the game to be set inside a giant alien life-form which is infected by a strain of bacteria. Stages that feature starfield backgrounds were changed to the web background from Stage 1 to maintain consistency with the organic setting of the plot. The power-ups are also given different names, with the "Speed-Up" becoming "Hyper Speed", the "Missile" becoming the "Destruct Missile", the "Ripple Laser" becoming the "Pulse Laser" and "Force Field" becoming the "Shield". Narration is added to the beginning of each stage, detailing the area of the alien's body which the player is currently inhabiting such as "Enter stomach muscle zone" or "Bio-mechanical brain attack".
Konami later released an enhanced version of "Salamander" in Japan in 1987 bearing the American title of "Life Force" which further fleshes out the organic motif. All of the backgrounds and mechanical enemies are completely redrawn and given organic appearances. The power-up system was also modified, with the Japanese "Life Force" using the same power-up gauge as the original "Gradius". Some music tracks have been completely changed for this release and the power-up gauge is arranged differently for both players.
Versions.
Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.
Ocean Software on their Imagine label, released licensed versions of "Salamander" for computer systems by Spectrum, Commodore and Amstrad in 1988. The Spectrum and Amstrad versions were generally criticized, but the Commodore 64 version was highly praised by the critics of the day, particularly Zzap!64. Though missing two of the six stages, the simultaneous two player mode and gameplay being much easier than its arcade counterpart, the Commodore port is generally considered to be one of the best arcade conversions on this system.
Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System.
"Salamander" was ported to the Family Computer in Japan in 1987. Instead of being a direct port of "Salamander", elements were taken from the original "Salamander" and the Japanese "Life Force" re-release, and some elements, such as levels and bosses, were removed to make way for new content. Most of the background graphics and enemy sprites from "Salamander" are used in favor of those used in "Life Force", though the "Gradius"-style power bar is used in place of the original instant pick-up system. The same year, North America received a port as well for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES version is practically identical to its Famicom equivalent, other than not having the multiple endings, having two option power ups instead of three, and being titled "Life Force". The North America version was later re-released for the Virtual Console on February 16, 2009 for the Wii, on January 23, 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS and August 21, 2014 for the Wii U. The European version is titled "Life Force: Salamander" on its cover and was released on November 22, 1989. The NES version makes use of the Konami Code, which increases the number of lives from three to 30. The first two levels of "Life Force" were profiled in the second issue of "Nintendo Power", issued in 1988. Several issues later the entire game was re-profiled.
MSX.
The MSX port of is significantly different from the original and any other ports. New to this port is a graphical introduction that introduces human pilots for each ship, as well as names for each stage. The levels are notably longer than the arcade original, and the player is forced to start from a pre-defined checkpoint upon death of either pilot, instead of starting where he left off. After level two, the player can choose the order of the next three stages. In addition, the player can collect "E" capsules by destroying certain enemies. Collecting fifteen will permanently upgrade one of the available weapons on the power-up bar. Some weapons allow the player ships to merge, one player controlling movements and the second player controlling weapons. Instead of the Vic Viper and the Lord British Space Destroyer, the ships are known as the Sabel Tiger and the Thrasher; piloted by human characters named Iggy Rock and Zowie Scott. The story takes place in the year 6709 A.D and has 2 different endings. The MSX version was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on January 12, 2010. It was later released for the Wii U's Virtual Console on July 20, 2016. They were also made available for the Project EGG on Windows Store on May 19, 2015.
PC Engine.
A version for the PC Engine was released on December 6, 1991. Based on the arcade version of "Salamander", changes on this port include starting from a pre-defined checkpoint upon death in 1 Player mode, faster enemy animations, and improved music. In Japan, the PC Engine version was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console on September 11, 2007, for PlayStation Network on July 21, 2010 and for the Wii U's Virtual Console on October 22, 2014, and also for the Project EGG con Windows Store on March 3, 2014. It was released in North America on November 16, 2017 for the Wii U Virtual Console. The PC version is on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini released in 2020 and is the sole title from the compilation that is excluded from the Japanese model while being included in the North American and European ones.
PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
A compilation titled "Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus" was released in Japan for the Sega Saturn on June 19, 1997, and for the PlayStation on July 6 of the same year. The compilation includes "Salamander", the Japanese version of "Life Force", and "Salamander 2". Konami announced that the PlayStation version would be released in the U.S. as part of a bundle with "Gradius Gaiden", but this release was later cancelled.
Mobile Phones.
"Salamander" was released for mobile phones in 2003.
PlayStation 4.
All three arcade versions ("Salamander", and the American and Japanese adaptations of "Life Force") were ported to the Arcade Archives on November 27, 2015 in Japan exclusively for PlayStation 4. It was later released worldwide in Spring 2016. It was published by Hamster Corporation.
PlayStation Portable.
Another compilation of the "Salamander" series, titled "Salamander Portable", was released for the PlayStation Portable on January 24, 2007 in Japan. The PSP compilation features all three games previously included in the "Salamander Deluxe Pack Plus", as well as "Xexex" and the MSX version of "Gradius 2" (a.k.a. "Nemesis II", which is unrelated to the arcade game "").
iOS.
On December 20, 2010, an application called "PC Engine Game Box" was published in the App Store which served as a portal to download classic PC Engine video games. Among the downloadable titles is the PC Engine version of "Salamander" for a fee.
"Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection".
The arcade version is included on Konami's "Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection" released in April 2019 in digital-only format for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Initially, the compilation in Japan only had the "Salamander" version of the game, while everywhere else featured the American "Life Force" instead. In June 2019, Konami added for free the Japanese versions of the respective games on the western "Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection". Only the "Salamander" version can be played in this addition, as the Japanese "Life Force" is not part of the compilation. Conversely, the American version of "Life Force" was added to the collection in Japan in that same update.
Reception.
In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Salamander" on their August 15, 1986 issue as being the second most successful table arcade unit of the month. It went on to be the top-grossing arcade game on Japan's "Gamest" charts between September and October 1986.
In 1997, "Electronic Gaming Monthly" rated the NES version the 76th best console video game of all time, calling it "one of the coolest shooters ever, and ... one of the first big two-player simultaneous shooters on the NES." They particularly noted that the graphics in the fire stage were "mind-blowing back in the day".
Anime.
 is a 1988 OVA mini-series by Studio Pierrot, directed by Hisayuki Toriumi. There were three episodes released on VHS and Laserdisc between February 25, 1988 and February 21, 1989. The series was licensed by a British company Western Connection. The series is not canon, however; as the "MSX Gradius" series states that the events with Gofer take place over a two-hundred year period following the crisis with Zelos and his Salamander Armada. In this mini-series, it is revealed that the Bacterians capture sentient life to create leaders for their space armada. They capture sentient life via a dark fog going through space that changes inorganic matter into organic matter (the large brain-like final bosses in the games); and that they are a crystal-like life-form in origin. Noriko Hidaka provided the voice of the protagonist Stephanie. In the anime, the Lord British Space Destroyer was named after one of the protagonists, Ike Lord British of planet Latis; thus making it Lord British's Space Destroyer.


Nikon D70s


Ockel Sirius B

Ockel Sirius B is a pocket PC. Its makers claim it is the smallest portable Windows 10 PC that can fit in a user's pocket. The Ockel Sirius B is a co-production of Ockel Products and Avanca International, both based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Overview.
The Sirius B was launched on October 28, 2015. It features a quad-core Intel Atom processor, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB internal storage and Intel HD graphics. With respect to connectivity, it will come with one USB ports, HDMI, microSD card slot, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. The device weighs less than 120 grams.
Ockel Products raised $361,331 for the production of the Ockel Sirius B by crowd funding through Indiegogo. both the first version of the Sirius B and the more powerful Ockel Sirius B Black Cherry were available for sale on the Ockel website and other websites like Amazon.


XScope

xScope is a utility by The Iconfactory & ARTIS Software that can measure any element displayed on screen. The idea behind the program is that designers can check the size of their work against real-world computer display measurements and be able to measure their work as well.


Iwconfig


IStumbler

iStumbler is a utility for finding wireless networks and devices with AirPort- or Bluetooth-enabled Macintosh computers.
iStumbler was originally based on MacStumbler source code. Its early development focused on detection of open wireless (802.11) networks, but more recent versions support the detection of Bluetooth wireless devices and Bonjour network services.
Up to release 99, iStumbler was open-source under a BSD license.


Gotive

Gotive is a brand of handheld computers based in Slovakia. The firm specialises in producing handhelds for the enterprise market featuring options such as barcode, rfid, magnetic card readers, Wi-Fi, and GPRS built in.
The two main products are the H42 and SQ31, both of which run Microsoft Windows CE.NET.


DSOS

DSOS ("Deep Six Operating System") was a real-time operating system (sometimes referred to as an operating system kernel) developed by Texas Instruments' Geophysical Services division (GSI) in the mid-1970s.
Background.
The Geophysical Services division of Texas Instruments' main business was to search for oil. They would collect data in likely spots around the world, process that data using high performance computers, and produce analyses that guided oil companies toward promising sites for drilling.
Much of the oil being sought was to be found beneath the ocean, hence GSI maintained a fleet of ships to collect seismic data from remote regions of the world. In order to do this properly it was essential that the ships be navigated precisely - if you find evidence of oil, you can't just mark an "X" on a tree - the oil is thousands of feet below the ocean and you are typically hundreds of miles from land. But this was a decade or more before GPS existed, thus the processing load to keep an accurate picture of "where you are" was considerable.
The GEONAV systems, which used DSOS (Frailey, 1975) as their operating system, performed the required navigation and, in addition, collected, processed and stored the seismic data being received in real-time.
Deep Six Operating System.
The name "Deep Six Operating System" was the brainchild of Phil Ward (subsequently a world-renowned GPS expert) who, at the time, was manager of the project and slightly skeptical of the computer science professor, Dennis Frailey, who insisted that an operating system was the solution to the problem at hand. In a sense the system lived up to its name, according to legend. Supposedly one of the ships hit an old World War II sea mine off the coast of Egypt and sank while being navigated by GEONAV and DSOS.
Why an Operating System?
In the 1970s, most real-time applications did not use operating systems because the latter were perceived as adding too much overhead. Typical computers of the time had barely enough computing power to handle the tasks at hand. Moreover, most software of this type was written in assembly language. As a consequence, real-time systems were classic examples of "spaghetti code" - complex masses of assembly language software using all sorts of machine-dependent tricks to achieve maximum performance.
DSOS ran on a Texas Instruments 980 minicomputer being used for marine navigation on GSI's fleet. DSOS was created to bring some order to the chaos that was typical of real-time system design at that time. The 980 was, for its time, a relatively powerful small computer that offered memory protection and multiple-priority interrupt capabilities. DSOS was designed to exploit these features.
Significance.
DSOS (Frailey, 1975) was one of the pioneering efforts in real-time operating systems. Incorporating many of the principles being introduced at the time in mainframe systems, such as semaphores, memory management, task management and software interrupts, it used a clever scheme to assure appropriate real-time performance while providing many services previously uncommon in the real-time domain (such as an orderly way to communicate with external devices and computer operators, multitasking, maintenance of records, a disciplined form of inter-task communication, a reliable real-time clock, memory protection, and debugging support). It remained in use for at least three decades and it demonstrated that, if well designed, an operating system can actually make a real-time system faster (and vastly more maintainable) than what had been typical before. Today, almost all real-time applications use operating systems of this type.


Sega Force

Sega Force was an early 1990s publication that covered the Sega console range (Sega Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Master System and Game Gear).
History.
"Sega Force" and "Nintendo Force" were initially announced in mid-1991 by Newsfield. However, the liquidation of the publisher resulted in the magazine being significantly delayed. It was eventually launched by Europress Impact in December 1991.
The magazine featured artwork created by Oliver Frey that was inspired by Japanese anime, such as "Akira". Frey often introduced a horror element into his artwork. His artwork for a Lemmings cover replaced the rodents with humans, depicting their horrified faces as they fell to the ground. The title also featured work by Stuart Wynne, Phil King, Steve Shields, Adrian Pitt and Matt Yeo.
The magazine occasionally featured novellas based on console games. Staff writer, Matt Yeo worked in conjunction with Acclaim software to publish a novella based on "Super Smash TV". The narrative followed the plot of the computer game closely and at the end of each chapter offered readers hints and tips on how to complete the game. The narrative style was in keeping with the brash violent cartoons used within the title itself - and bore striking similarities to Stephen King's "The Running Man". "Sega Force"'s move into computer game fiction is considered to be a response to its rival "Sega Power", which had already had success with several books based on computer games.
In 1993, Impact Magazines made the decision to separate the "Sega Force" and "N-Force" titles. "Sega Force" was split into "Sega Force Mega" (covering the Mega Drive and Mega-CD) and "Sega Master Force" (covering the Master System). Both titles featured a G-Force section that covered the Sega Game Gear.
"Sega Master Force".
"Sega Master Force" was aimed at the younger market, though it remained readable for older Sega fans. The magazine was edited by Nick Roberts and retained the visual appearance of "Sega Force". Six issues of "Sega Master Force" were published, each featuring 68 pages.
"Sega Force Mega".
"Sega Force Mega" was marketed as a "grown-up" games publication that would better compete with Future's "MEGA" magazine. The first issues were produced at Europress Impact, but later the magazine was outsourced to a company located in Newton Abbot, while Impact staff moved on to a new magazine, "Mega Machines". Each issue of "Sega Force Mega" featured 100 pages, consisting of news features, reviews, G-Force and a buyers guide. Six issues were published along with a 'special' seventh issue that included past reviews and news.
"Sega Force" Special.
The seventh, and what would turn out to be the final, issue of "Sega Force Mega" was dubbed a "Sega Force Special". The 132-page magazine featured reprints of reviews that had appeared in the previous six issues of "Sega Force Mega" and "Sega Master Force". The preview of Sonic Chaos for the Master System was updated to provide a game rating. In the editorial, Nick Roberts indicated that "Sega Force Mega" would be 'back to normal' in the following month, but did not mention "Sega Master Force". However, issue 8 failed to appear and it was learned that all of Impact's magazines were closed.
External links.
 on the Internet Archive
Digitized Sega Force Magazines on Retro CDN
Digitized Sega Master Force magazines on Retro CDN


Xplore M98

The Xplore M98 is a Palm OS-powered clamshell smartphone created by Group Sense PDA.
As of July 2008, it was still available for sale in Hong Kong from retailers.


NDN (file manager)


NUSSE

NUSSE (Norsk Universell Siffermaskin, Sekvensstyrt, Elektronisk) was the first Norwegian electronic computer.
It was constructed from 1950 through 1955 and unveiled at the University of Oslo in 1954 to an enthusiastic reception. The machine is considered to have played an important role in developing the commercial use of computers in Norway.
The environment around the NUSSE computer was the birthplace of the AUTOKON CAD/CAM system, at one point in use in 80% of the world's ship yards.
The computer is now on exhibit at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology.


Df (Unix)

' (abbreviation for disk f"'ree") is a standard Unix command used to display the amount of available disk space for file systems on which the invoking user has appropriate read access. is typically implemented using the statfs or statvfs system calls.
History.
 for Unix-like systems is part of the X/Open Portability Guide since issue 2 of 1987. It was inherited into the first version of POSIX and the Single Unix Specification. It first appeared in Version 1 AT&T Unix.
The version of bundled in GNU coreutils was written by Torbjorn Granlund, David MacKenzie, and Paul Eggert.
Usage.
The Single UNIX Specification specifications for are:
 df [-k] [-P|-t] [-del] [file...]
Most Unix and Unix-like operating systems add extra options. The BSD and GNU coreutils versions include , where free space is listed in human readable format, adding units with the appropriate SI prefix (e.g. 10 MB), , listing inode usage, and , restricting display to only local filesystems. GNU includes as well, listing filesystem type information, but the GNU shows the sizes in 1K blocks by default.
Specification.
The Single Unix Specification (SUS) specifies by original space is reported in blocks of 512 bytes, and that at a minimum, the file system names and the amount of free space.
The use of 512-byte units is historical practice and maintains compatibility with and other utilities. This does not mandate that the file system itself be based on 512-byte blocks. The option was added as a compromise measure. It was agreed by the standard developers that 512 bytes was the best default unit because of its complete historical consistency on System V (versus the mixed 512/1024-byte usage on BSD systems), and that a option to switch to 1024-byte units was a good compromise. Users who prefer the more logical 1024-byte quantity can easily to without breaking many historical scripts relying on the 512-byte units.
The output with shall consist of one line of information for each specified file system. These lines shall be formatted as follows:
In the following list, all quantities expressed in 512-byte units (1024-byte when -k is specified) shall be rounded up to the next higher unit. The fields are:
Example.
Example outputs of the df command:
$ df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
udev 48764976 0 48764976 0% /dev
tmpfs 9757068 173100 9583968 2% /run
/dev/sda2 1824504008 723009800 1008791744 42% /
tmpfs 48785328 0 48785328 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5120 0 5120 0% /run/lock
tmpfs 48785328 0 48785328 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1 523248 3672 519576 1% /boot/efi
$ df -i
Filesystem Inodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on
udev 12191244 500 12190744 1% /dev
tmpfs 12196332 702 12195630 1% /run
/dev/sda2 115859456 2583820 113275636 3% /
tmpfs 12196332 1 12196331 1% /dev/shm
tmpfs 12196332 5 12196327 1% /run/lock
tmpfs 12196332 16 12196316 1% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1 0 0 0 - /boot/efi
$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev 47G 0 47G 0% /dev
tmpfs 9.4G 170M 9.2G 2% /run
/dev/sda2 1.7T 690G 963G 42% /
tmpfs 47G 0 47G 0% /dev/shm
tmpfs 5.0M 0 5.0M 0% /run/lock
tmpfs 47G 0 47G 0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/sda1 511M 3.6M 508M 1% /boot/efi


ASP.NET Dynamic Data

ASP.NET Dynamic Data is a Ruby on Rails-inspired web application scaffolding framework from Microsoft, shipped as an extension to ASP.NET, that can be used to build data-driven web applications. It exposes tables in a database by encoding it in the URI of the ASP.NET web service, and the data in the table is automatically rendered to HTML. The process of rendering can be controlled using custom design templates. Internally, it discovers the database schema by using the database metadata.
ASP.NET Dynamic Data was originally shipped as part of the "ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions" package in 2007, and was incorporated into the .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1, which was released August 11, 2008.


Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS5 is a digital camera by Panasonic Lumix. The highest-resolution pictures it records is 14.1 megapixels, through its 26mm Ultra Wide-Angle.