ROM image

A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board. The term is frequently used in the context of emulation, whereby older games or computer firmware are copied to ROM files on modern computers and can, using a piece of software known as an emulator, be run on a computer.

Creation

ROMs can be copied from the read-only memory chips found in cartridge-based games and many arcade machines using a dedicated device in a process known as dumping. For most common home video game systems, these devices are widely available, examples being the Doctor V64 or the Retrode.

Dumping ROMs from arcade machines, which in fact are highly customized PCBs, often requires individual setups for each machine along with a large amount of expertise.

Copy protection mechanisms

While ROM images are often used as a means of preserving the history of computer games, they are also often used to facilitate the unauthorized copying and redistribution of modern games. Seeing this as potentially reducing sales of their products, many game companies have incorporated features into newer games which are designed to prevent copying, while still allowing the original game to be played. For instance, the Nintendo GameCube used non-standard 8 cm DVD-like optical media which for a long time prevented games from being copied to PCs. It was not until a security hole was found in Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II that GameCube games could be successfully copied to a PC, using the GameCube itself to read the discs.

Epistle to the Romans

The Epistle to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the longest of the Pauline epistles and is considered his "most important theological legacy" and magnum opus.

General presentation

In the opinion of Jesuit scholar Joseph Fitzmyer, the book "overwhelms the reader by the density and sublimity of the topic with which it deals, the gospel of the justification and salvation of Jew and Greek alike by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, revealing the uprightness and love of God the Father."

N. T. Wright notes that Romans is

Authorship

The scholarly consensus is that Paul authored the Epistle to the Romans.

C. E. B. Cranfield, in the introduction to his commentary on Romans, says:

Dating

The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, and probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius and transcribed by Tertius his amanuensis. There are a number of reasons Corinth is most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter, which matches Acts where it is reported that Paul stayed for three months in Greece. This probably implies Corinth as it was the location of Paul’s greatest missionary success in Greece. Additionally Phoebe was a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, a port to the east of Corinth, and would have been able to convey the letter to Rome after passing through Corinth and taking a ship from Corinth’s west port. Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16:23, also lived in Corinth, being the city's commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times, again indicating that the letter was written in Corinth.

Rom (Star Trek)

Rom is a recurring character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is played by Max Grodénchik.

Rom is a Ferengi, the son of Keldar and Ishka. He is Quark's younger brother, and the father of Nog.

Overview

Born around 2335, Rom did not have the business acumen typically associated with the Ferengi race, (described as one who "didn't have the 'lobes' for business"). He had a knack for fixing things but, until around 2372, he worked exclusively as a waiter and stock boy in his brother Quark's bar on Deep Space Nine (DS9). (In the first episode, he was credited only as "Ferengi Pit Boss"). Rom frequently displays a lack of confidence, largely due to Quark's habit of belittling him. However, there is evidence to suggest that Quark was attempting to protect Rom from inevitable failure by preventing him from venturing into business for himself. Nevertheless, after four years living among Federation and Bajoran citizens on the station, and possibly inspired by his son Nog's admission to Starfleet (which made him very proud), Rom left the bar to become an engineer in the Bajoran Militia.

Orca (novel)

Orca is the seventh book in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series, set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Originally published in 1996 by Ace Books, it was republished in 2003 along with Athyra in the omnibus The Book of Athyra. Following the trend of the Vlad Taltos books, it is named after one of the Great Houses and features that House as an important element to its plot.

Plot introduction

Vlad and his friend Kiera the Thief investigate a financial cover-up following the mysterious death of an Orca tycoon.

Plot summary

Reunions

Kiera the Thief sends a letter to Vlad's estranged wife Cawti, offering to meet and tell her of Vlad's most recent adventures. In return for not telling Vlad some of Cawti's secrets, Kiera insists on making some omissions from her story. The rest of the novel is Kiera's story, seemingly without the omissions she makes to Cawti.

Vlad contacts Kiera from the city of Northport and asks her a favor: break into the mansion of the late Orca businessman Fyres and take any documents she can find. She agrees if he will explain why. He tells her that he went to Northport to find a healer for Savn, a Teckla boy whose mind was damaged during the events of Athyra. A local healer, whom Vlad calls "Mother" because he cannot pronounce her name, agrees to help Savn if Vlad will help fix her problem: she's being evicted from her cottage. Vlad navigates through a labyrinth of business records to discover that Mother's land is ultimately owned by Fyres, who only a week ago died on his yacht.

Jaws (film)

Jaws is a 1975 American film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. The prototypical summer blockbuster, its release is regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history. In the story, a giant man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional New England summer resort town, prompting the local police chief to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. The film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as oceanographer Matt Hooper, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Murray Hamilton as Larry Vaughn, the mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen. The screenplay is credited to both Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.

Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the film had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks suffered many malfunctions, Spielberg decided to mostly suggest the animal's presence, employing an ominous, minimalistic theme created by composer John Williams to indicate the shark's impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of classic thriller director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.

Orca (C-Bo album)

Orca: The Killer Whale of the Hood is the 12th studio album (13th overall) by American rapper C-Bo, which was released on July 3, 2012 through his own imprint West Coast Mafia Records and Uneek-Music. The album features guest performances by Young Buck, WC, Yukmouth, BG Knocc Out, Brotha Lynch Hung E-40, Paul Wall, Slick Pulla ( CTE) and more.

Background

"187" was the first track released off the album along with the music video featuring westcoast rapper WC on May 21, 2012.

The track "Fuckin Wit It" feat. E-40 was released June 7, 2012 from the album free of charge to promote the upcoming release of the album.

On June 14 C-Bo announced via his Official Twitter account that the album release date was set for July 3 nationwide.

Track listing

References