Dolby DigitalDolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally named Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints. It is now also used for other applications such as HDTV broadcast, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs and game consoles.

In the cinemasBatman Returns was the first film to use Dolby Digital technology when it premiered in theaters in the summer of 1992.[1] Dolby Digital cinema soundtracks are optically recorded on a 35 mm release print using sequential data blocks placed between every perforation hole on the sound track side of the film. A constant bit rate of 320 kbit/s is used. A charge-coupled device (CCD) scanner in the image projector picks up a scanned video image of this area, and a processor correlates the image area and extracts the digital data as an AC-3 bitstream. The data are finally decoded into a 5.1 channel audio source. All film prints with Dolby Digital data also have Dolby Stereo analogue soundtracks using Dolby SR noise reduction and such prints are known as Dolby SR-D prints. The analogue soundtrack provides a fall-back option in case of damage to the data area or failure of the digital decoding; it also provides compatibility with projectors not equipped with digital soundheads. Almost all current release cinema prints are of this type and may also include SDDS data and a timecode track to synchronize CD-ROMs carrying DTSsoundtracks.

Video Cassette RecorderVideo Cassette Recording (VCR) is an early domestic analog recording format designed byPhilips. It was the first successful consumer-level home videocassette recorder (VCR) system. Later variants included the VCR-LP and Super Video (SVR) formats.

Video Cassette RecorderThe VCR format was introduced in 1972, just after the Sony U-matic format in 1971. Although at first glance the two might appear to have been competing formats, they were aimed at very different markets. U-matic was introduced as a professional television production format, whilst VCR was targeted particularly at educational but also domestic users. Unlike some other early formats such as Cartrivision, the VCR format does record a high-quality video signal without resorting to Skip field.

Video Cassette Recorder

Video Cassette Recorder

Video Cassette Recorder

Home video systems had previously been available, but they were open-reel systems (most notably made by Sony) and were expensive to both buy and operate. They were also unreliable and often only recorded in black and white such as the EIAJ-1. The VCR system was easy to use and recorded in colour but was still expensive: when it was introduced in 1972 the N1500 recorder cost nearly UK £600 (equivalent to £3,400 in 2014). By comparison a small car (theMorris Mini) could be purchased for just over £600.

Video Cassette Recorder

The Philips VCR system was groundbreaking and brought together many

advances in video recording technology to produce the first truly practical home

video cassette system. The very first Philips N1500 model included all the

essential elements of a domestic video cassette recorder:

● Simple loading of cassette and simple operation by "Piano Key" controls,

with full auto-stop at tape ends.

● A tuner for recording off-air television programmes.

● A clock with timer for unattended recordings.

● A modulator to allow connection to a normal (for the time) television

receiver without audio and video input connectors.

Video Cassette Recorder

Replacement

In the late 1970s, the VCR formats were superseded altogether by

Video 2000 (also known as 'Video Compact Cassette' or VCC). Due

to the similar initialisms, and the fact that both were designed by

Philips, the 'VCC' and 'VCR' formats are often confused. However,

the two systems are incompatible, and there are significant

differences between them. Some Video 2000 machines carry a

modified version of the "VCR" logo.

Video Cassette Recorder

Video Cassette Recorder

Video Cassette Recorder

Desktop Computer

A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single

location desk/table due to its size and power requirements, as opposed to a laptop whose

rechargeable battery and compact dimensions allow it to be regularly carried and used in different

locations. The most common configuration is a computer monitor, keyboard and mouse, and a

case that houses the main components of the PC, namely the power supply, motherboard, hard

drive, optical drive, and previously the floppy drive. The form factor of the case is typically an

upright tower or (horizontal) desktop. All-in-one computers, that integrate the monitor and main

PC components in one unit, are often categorized under the desktop computer umbrella,

particularly if they require an external power source and separate keyboard/mouse. The desktop

category has also encompassed home computers and workstations.

Desktop Computer

Origins

Prior to the widespread use of microprocessors, a computer that could fit on a desk was considered

remarkably small; the type of computers most commonly used were minicomputers, which were

themselves desk-sized. Early computers took up the space of a whole room. Minicomputers generally fit

into one or a few refrigerator-sized racks.

The very first "programmable calculator/computer" was marketed in the second half of the 1960s starting

with the Italian machinery Programma 101 (1965) computer is typewriter size. More desktop models were

introduced in 1971, leading to a model programmable in BASIC in 1972. This one used a smaller version

of a minicomputer design based on read-only memory (ROM) and had small one-line LED alphanumeric

displays. They could draw computer graphics with a plotter.

Desktop Computer

A sophisticated programmable calculator, theHP 9830A desktop computers was actually an early desktop computer with printer.

Desktop Computer

Growth and development

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s desktop computers

became the predominant type, the most popular being the

IBM PC and its clones, followed by the Apple Macintosh,

with the third-placed Commodore Amiga having some

success in the mid-1980s but declining by the early 1990s.

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Growth and development

Early personal computers, like the original IBM Personal Computer, were enclosed

in a "desktop case", horizontally oriented to have the display screen placed on top,

thus saving space on the user's actual desk, although these cases had to be sturdy

enough to support the weight of CRT displays that were widespread at the time.

Over the course of the 1990s, desktop cases gradually became less common than

the more-accessible tower cases that may be located on the floor under or beside a

desk rather than on a desk.

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Growth and development

As these tower cases had more room for expansion, and as this

freed up desk space for monitors which were becoming larger

every year. Desktop cases, particularly the compact form factors,

remain popular for corporate computing environments and kiosks.

Some computer cases can be interchangeable positioned either

horizontally (desktop) or upright (mini-tower), such as the

Quadra 700.

Desktop Computer

Desktop Computer

Growth and development

Influential games such as Doom and Quake during the 1990s had pushed gamers

and enthusiasts to frequently upgrade to the latest CPUs and graphics cards (3dfx,

ATI, and Nvidia) for their desktops (usually a tower case) in order to run these

applications, though this has slowed since the late 2000s as the growing popularity

of Intel integrated graphics forced game developers to scale back.

Creative Technology's Sound Blaster series were a de facto standard for sound

cards in desktop PCs during the 1990s until the early 2000s, when they were

reduced to a niche product, as OEM desktop PCs came with sound boards

integrated directly onto the motherboard.

Desktop Computer

Walkman

Walkman is a Sony brand trade name originally used for portable

audio cassette players, and now used to market Sony's portable

audio and video players as well as a line of former Sony Ericsson

mobile phones. The original Walkman introduced a change in music

listening habits by allowing people to carry music with them and

listen to music through lightweight headphones.

Walkman

The prototype was built in 1978 by audio-division engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony

co-chairman Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to operas during his frequent

trans-Pacific plane trips. The original Walkman was marketed in 1979 as the Walkman

in Japan and, from 1980, the Soundabout in many other countries including the US,

Freestyle in Sweden and the Stowaway in the UK. Advertising, despite all the foreign

languages, still attracted thousands of buyers in the US specifically. Morita hated the

name "Walkman" and asked that it be changed, but relented after being told by junior

executives that a promotion campaign had already begun using the brand name and

that it would be too expensive to change.

Walkman

A personal stereo audio cassette player, called Stereobelt, was first invented by the

German-Brazilian Andreas Pavel in 1972. Pavel filed a patent for his Stereobelt in

Italy in 1977, followed by patent applications in the U.S., Germany, the

United Kingdom and Japan by the end of 1978. His patent applications in the U.S.

and the U.K. were rejected.

In 1979, Sony began selling the popular Walkman in Japan, and in 1980 started

legal talks with Pavel regarding a royalty fee. In 1986 Sony finally agreed to pay

royalties to Pavel, but only for sales in Germany, and only for a few models, and

refused to acknowledge him as the inventor of the device.

Walkman

Walkman

In 2001, Pavel threatened Sony with legal suits in every country in which he had

patented his invention. The corporation agreed to resume talks with Pavel and a

settlement was finally reached in 2003. The exact settlement fee is a closely

guarded secret but European press accounts said that Pavel received a cash

settlement for damages in excess of $10,000,000 and is now also receiving

royalties on some Walkman sales. The settlement also includes a clause which will

prevent Pavel from bringing future lawsuits.

The settlement grants Pavel the recognition from Sony that he was the original

inventor of the personal stereo.

Walkman

Sony Walkman WM-2, the best-selling model, with plastic battery case and belt clip (1981)

Tin Toy

Tin ToyTin Toy is a 1988 American computer-animated short film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter. The short film, which runs five minutes, stars Tinny, a tin one-man-band toy, attempting to escape from Billy, a destructive baby. The third short film produced by the company's small animation division, it was a risky investment: due to low revenue produced by Pixar's main product, the eponymous computer to manage animations, the company was under financial constraints.

Tin ToyLasseter pitched the concept for Tin Toy by storyboard to Pixar owner Steve Jobs, who agreed to finance the short despite the company's struggles, which he kept alive with annual investment. The film was officially a test of the PhotoRealistic RenderMan software, and proved new challenges to the animation team, namely the difficult task of realistically animating Billy. Tin Toy would later gain attention from Disney, who sealed an agreement to create Toy Story, which was primarily inspired by elements from Tin Toy.

Tin ToyThe short premiered in a partially completed edit at the SIGGRAPH convention in August 1988 to a standing ovation from scientists and engineers. Tin Toy went on to claim Pixar's first Oscar with the 1988Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, becoming the first CGI film to win an Oscar. With the award,Tin Toy went far to establish computer animation as a legitimate artistic medium outside SIGGRAPH and the animation-festival film circuit. Tin Toy was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2003.

Tin Toy ProductionIn the spring of 1988, cash was running so short that Jobs convened a meeting to decree deep spending cuts across the board. When it was over, Lasseter and his animation group were almost too afraid to ask Jobs about authorizing some extra money for another short. Finally, they broached the topic and Jobs sat silent, looking skeptical. The short would require close to $300,000 more out of his pocket. After a few minutes, he asked if there were any storyboards. Catmull took him down to the animation offices, and Lasseter started his show. With the storyboards pinned on his wall, Lasseter did the voices and acted out the shots—just as story men had done on the Disney lot for decades—and thereby showed his passion for the project. The stakes here were much higher than before, however. Ralph Guggenheim, manager of the animation unit, recalled, "We knew that he wasn't just pitching for the film, he was pitching for the survival of the group." Jobs warmed up to the project and agreed to provide the money. "I believed in what John was doing," Jobs later said. "It was art. He cared, and I cared. I always said yes." His only comment at the end of Lasseter’s presentation was, "All I ask of you, John, is to make it great."

Tin Toy ProductionThat fall, after completion of Red's Dream, most members of the company gathered at Stillwater Cove, near Fort Ross, to design a new software that was designed completely for the work of an animator. From the meeting came Menv software ("modeling Environment"), the first program specifically designed to facilitate the workflow of an animator, separating the various phases of the animation (modeling, animation and lighting), later renamedPuppets.[

To show the application of the new program, it was approved the production of a short. Inspired by the birth of his daughter Julia, William Reeves proposed the idea to create a human baby. Lasseter had an inspiration for the new opera based on the observation of his nephew, intent to put any toy in the mouth on the way. Lasseter said "In terms of toys the child must have seemed a terrible monster!"

Tin Toy ProductionThe story was about Lasseter’s love, classic toys, and was inspired by a visit made in 1987 at the Tin Toy Museum in Yokohama, Japan. It was told from the perspective of a toy one- man band named Tinny, who meets a baby that charms and terrorizes him. Escaping under the couch, Tinny finds other frightened toys, but when the baby hits his head and cries, Tinny goes back out to cheer him up. Tin Toy was inspired much like Luxo Jr., namely, Lasseter's observations of a friend's baby. This time, he opted for a more ambitious task, attempting to mimic a human baby in its appearance, the movement of its arms, and its fickle moods.

Tin Toy ProductionThe film was officially a test of the PhotoRealistic RenderMan software. This was the only Pixar short rendered on the RM-1, a RenderMan specific computer that was never sold to the public. As with Luxo Jr. and Red's Dream, it was also a chance for Lasseter to one-up his earlier efforts, taking his animation and storytelling to another level. The baby proved very difficult to model and animate; "it just became an incredible burden," remembered Flip Phillips, a new member of the team at the time. In early attempts at a model of the baby's head, he appeared to have the face of a middle-aged man. The final version of the baby (known to the team as Billy) had a much-improved face, but his skin had the look of plastic. When he moved, moreover, his body lacked the natural give of baby fat and his diaper had the solidity of cement—compromises made necessary by lack of time and the still-developing technology.

SimCity

SimCity

SimCity, later renamed SimCity Classic, is a city-building simulation

video game, first released on October 3, 1989, and designed by Will Wright.

SimCity was Maxis's second product, which has since been ported into various

personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels

including SimCity 2000 in 1993, SimCity 3000 in 1999, SimCity 4 in 2003,

SimCity DS, SimCity Societies in 2007, and SimCity in 2013. Until the release

of The Sims in 2000, the SimCity series was the best-selling line of computer

games made by Maxis. SimCity spawned a series of Sim games.

On January 10, 2008 the SimCity source code was released under the

free software GPL 3 license under the original working title- Micropolis.

SimCitySimCity was originally developed by game designer Will Wright. The inspiration

for SimCity came from a feature of the game Raid on Bungeling Bay that

allowed Wright to create his own maps during development. Wright soon found

he enjoyed creating maps more than playing the actual game, and SimCity was

born. While developing SimCity, Wright cultivated a real love of the intricacies

and theories of urban planning and acknowledges the influence of

System Dynamics which was developed by Jay Wright Forrester and whose

book on the subject laid the foundations for the simulation. In addition, Wright

also was inspired by reading "The Seventh Sally", a short story by

Stanisław Lem, in which an engineer encounters a deposed tyrant, and creates

a miniature city with artificial citizens for the tyrant to oppress.

SimCity

SimCity

The first version of the game was developed for the Commodore 64 in 1985; it

was not published for another four years. The original working title of SimCity

was Micropolis. The game represented an unusual paradigm in computer

gaming, in that it could neither be won nor lost; as a result, game publishers did

not believe it was possible to market and sell such a game successfully.

Brøderbund declined to publish the title when Wright proposed it, and he

pitched it to a range of major game publishers without success. Finally, founder

Jeff Braun of then-tiny Maxis agreed to publish SimCity as one of two initial

games for the company.

SimCity

Wright and Braun returned to Brøderbund to formally clear the

rights to the game in 1988, when SimCity was near

completion. Brøderbund executives Gary Carlston and

Don Daglow saw that the title was infectious and fun, and

signed Maxis to a distribution deal for both of its initial games.

With that, four years after initial development, SimCity was

released for the Amiga and Macintosh platforms, followed by

the IBM PC and Commodore 64 later in 1989.

SimCity

The original version of SimCity was developed by Maxis on the Commodore 64,

and ported to various platforms, including the Macintosh. Maxis licensed the

Macintosh SimCity source code to DUX software, to port to Unix. DUX

Software contracted Don Hopkins to port SimCity to Unix, and he

developedSimCity HyperLook Edition, while working at The Turing Institute on

HyperLook with Arthur van Hoff. The user interface was written in PostScript,

which ran on the NeWS window system on Sun workstations, and it supported

multiple zoomable views, pie menus, annotating and printing maps, and many

user interface improvements.

SimCityAfter Sun canceled NeWS, DUX Software contracted Hopkins to rewrite the

HyperLook user interface in TCL/Tk for X11, and he developed a multi-player

networked user interface using the X11 protocol. The TCL/Tk version of SimCity has

been ported to various Unix and non-Unix platforms, includingSunOS, Solaris, IRIX,

HP-UX, OSF/1, Quarterdeck Desqview/X, NCD X Terminals, Warp, and Linux. The

contract to sell SimCity for Unix expired after ten years, so the TCL/Tk version was no

longer commercially available. OLPC SimCity is based on the TCL/Tk version of

SimCity, a trademark of Electronic Arts. Don Hopkins adapted it to the OLPC, thanks

to the support of John Gilmore. OLPC SimCity will be shipped with the OLPC, and it

has been run through EA's quality assurance process and reviewed for integrity. EA

reserves the right to review and approve any version of the game distributed under the

name SimCity.