Lantern

A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted fixture used to illuminate areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as torches, or as general light sources outdoors. Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to mean a light source, or the enclosure for a light source. Examples are glass pane enclosed street lights, or the housing for the top lamp and lens section of a lighthouse. The term is commonly associated with Chinese paper lanterns.

History

Lanterns are first spoken of by Theopompus, a Greek poet, and Empedocles of Agrigentum. Lanterns were used by the ancients in augury. The only known representation of an ancient Egyptian lantern probably is not much different from those spoken of by John the Evangelist in John 18:3 from the New Testament, where the party of men who went out of Jerusalem to apprehend Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane is described as being provided “with lanterns and torches.” Lanterns in ancient China were made of silk, paper, or animal skin with frames made of bamboo or wood. One of the earliest descriptions of paper lanterns is found in records from Khotan, which describe a "mounting lantern" made of white paper.

Lantern (software)

Lantern is a free peer-to-peer internet censorship circumvention software. It provides a way to bypass state-sanctioned filtration through a network of trusted users, but it's not an anonymity tool like Tor. Using Lantern, users in countries having free internet access can share their bandwidth with those who are in countries where the network is partly blocked. Network connections will be dispersed between multiple computers running Lantern so it will not put undue stress on a single connection or computer.

Lantern's CEO and lead developer is Adam Fisk, a former lead engineer of LimeWire and LittleShoot.

In early versions, Lantern's framework requires the use of Google Talk for users to invite other trusted users from their Google Talk contacts. It's financed through US Department of State seed funding. These have raised some concerns about privacy of users. Though Fisk has said the State Department is "incredibly hands off" and never dictates how they should write Lantern, or how they should talk about it.

Lantern (horse)

Lantern won the 4th Melbourne Cup in 1864.

Race info

Placings: 2nd place Lantern, 1st place Poet, 3rd place Rose of Denmark Jockeys: S. Davis, W. Perkins, H. Howard Trainer: S. Mahon Winner’s Time: 3:52.0 Weight: 39.46 kg Odds: 15/1 Prize money: £754

About

Lantern is remembered for holding the slowest winning running time in the Melbourne Cup. His time of 3 minutes 52 seconds is equal to that of Archer’s in the 1861 Melbourne Cup. His owner Hurtle Fisher also entered the colt into the Victoria Derby the following day and on the third day of the meeting, Lantern competed in a mile race. He won both races.

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