Beige box

In consumer computer products, a beige box is a standard personal computer (PC). It has come to be used as a term of derision implying conservative or dated aesthetics and unremarkable specifications.

The term is ultimately derived from the style of many early personal computers and dedicated word processors, which were usually beige or similar colors like off white or ecru. These colors were presumably chosen to allow the machines to blend inconspicuously into a variety of settings, especially among similarly colored cubicles and office equipment.

IBM's early desktop computers (e.g. IBM Personal Computer, IBM PC/AT) were not only beige, but were distinctly box-shaped, and most manufacturers of clones followed suit. As IBM and its imitators came to dominate the industry, these features became unquestioned standards of desktop computer design. Some industrial design critics derided them as indistinguishable “beige boxes.”

The early Macintosh models were a beige color (specifically Pantone 453). Although Apple switched to a desaturated gray they called “Platinum” in 1987, users began to refer to them as “beige” following the introduction of the brightly colored iMac and Blue and White G3. It then became a standard term to identify any previous OldWorld Macintosh, such as the “Beige G3.”

Beige box (phreaking)

In phone phreaking, a beige box is a device that is technically equivalent to a telephone company lineman's handset — a telephone fitted with alligator clips to attach it to a line.

Construction

Beige boxes can be usually constructed with easily available materials, such as a simple "POTS" telephone, a soldering iron, and a pair of alligator clips. Sometimes a switch is added in order to turn the microphone off (mute), so as not to introduce ambient noise into the line through the telephone's microphone. Green and red wire are the only wires that need connection in order to both talk and listen. Usually this method is done by stripping a portion of the line and attaching alligator clips linked to a corded phone. Instructions for constructing a beige box can be found in many places on the Internet, as well as instructions on how to make other phreaking boxes.

Alternative beige boxes can also be built by connecting alligator clips to an RJ11 jack. This method does not require modification of a telephone—any kind of telephone that connects to the jack can be used.

Klinik

Klinik, (sometimes called The Klinik), is an industrial music band from Belgium, originally formed around 1982 by electro-synthpop practitioner Marc Verhaeghen, who is the only constant member.

History

Marc Verhaeghen originally formed Klinik in the early-to-mid 1980s; the exact date varies depending on the source. The group is normally described as one of the most influential Belgian industrial bands in history.

In 1985, Verhaeghen joined forces with two other bands, Absolute Body Control (with Dirk Ivens and Eric van Wonterghem), and "The Maniacs" (Sandy Nys) to form one "super group" "Absolute Controlled Clinical Maniacs". This rather unwieldy name was soon dropped in favour of the shorter name "The Klinik". Nys soon left the band to form "Hybryds", followed in 1987 by van Wonterghem, leaving The Klinik as the "classic" duo of Dirk Ivens and Marc Verhaeghen.

The Klinik soon made a name for themselves with their cold and harsh EBM sound and their live shows, where both Ivens and Verhaeghen performed with their heads wrapped in gauze, wearing long black leather coats. Ivens' hissing vocals and minimalist lyrics were complemented by Verhaeghen's synthesizer skills and distorted trombone playing. This however, did not last forever; after Time, an album neither member was fully pleased with, musical differences became too great, and they decided to go their separate ways. In a 2013 interview, Ivens said the due were moving in different directions musically, and that compromise between only two members was challenging.

Hi-Riser (automobile)

Hi-Risers are a type of highly customized automobile, typically a traditional, full-size, body on frame, V8 powered, rear wheel drive American-built sedan modified by significantly increasing the ground clearance and adding large-diameter wheels with low-profile tires. Depending on the model and style of body, autos customized in this manner can be labeled "donk," "box," or "bubble."

Hi-risers originally grew out of the Dirty South subculture, but the trend has spread across the United States. Vehicles customized in the hi-riser style are distinguished by their oversized (even disproportionate) wheels, ranging from 20 inches to 30 inches or more in diameter (largest being 50 inch), as well as fanciful custom paint-jobs and expensive audio equipment. Suspension modifications similar to those employed on lifted pickup trucks are made to give adequate clearance for the large wheels. Often the suspension is modified so the front end sits slightly higher than the rear end, giving the car a swaggering appearance. Because of the exaggerated look gained from installing a lifted suspension and enormous wheels, donks are also known as "hi-risers" or "sky-scrapers."

Hyperrectangle

In geometry, an n-orthotope (also called a hyperrectangle or a box) is the generalization of a rectangle for higher dimensions, formally defined as the Cartesian product of intervals.

Types

A three-dimensional orthotope is also called a right rectangular prism, rectangular cuboid, or rectangular parallelepiped.

A special case of an n-orthotope, where all edges are equal length, is the n-cube.

By analogy, the term "hyperrectangle" or "box" refers to Cartesian products of orthogonal intervals of other kinds, such as ranges of keys in database theory or ranges of integers, rather than real numbers.

Dual polytope

The dual polytope of an n-orthotope has been variously called a rectangular n-orthoplex, rhombic n-fusil, or n-lozenge. It is constructed by 2n points located in the center of the orthotope rectangular faces.

An n-fusil's Schläfli symbol can be represented by a sum of n orthogonal line segments: { } + { } + ... + { }.

A 1-fusil is a line segment. A 2-fusil is a rhombus. Its plane cross selections in all pairs of axes are rhombi.

Beige (album)

Beige is an album by the Canadian comedy music group, The Arrogant Worms. It was released in February 2006.

Track listing