Visual 1050

The Visual 1050 was an 8-bit desktop computer sold by Visual Technology in the early 1980s. The computer ran under the CP/M operating system and used 2 400KB, 5¼, SSDD, 96tpi floppy disk drives (TEAC FD-55E) for mass storage with an optional 10Mb external Winchester hard disk drive. In addition to the Zilog Z80 processor clocked at 4 MHz, the Visual 1050 also included a MOS Technology 6502 used as a graphics coprocessor.

Overview

The Visual 1050 featured a dual-processor architecture; Z80A processor as the main CPU and a 6502 to drive the display.

Memory: 160K of RAM was included with the system. 128K of this was programmable and 32K reserved for use by the display processor.

Screen: The display unit was 640×300 pixel, 80×25 character (8×12 dot matrix) green monochrome CRT bit-mapped display. The display offered programmable features which could be invoked from the main processing unit via a character-stream interface built in between the Z80 CPU and 6502 co-processor.

Communication ports An RS-232C serial port and Centronics parallel port.

Visual 50

The Visual 50 is a computer created by Visual Technology, Inc., which was located in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Visual's slogan was "See for yourself". It merged with White Pine Software in 1993, which became CU-SeeMe Networks, in turn absorbed into RadVision in 2001.

The computer consists of a monitor which is the main computer and a keyboard. The computer was used as a computer terminal so there are no internal drives or daughter cards. The only computer component in the case is a motherboard with a modem port, keyboard port, and an aux. port. Termcap provides support for the Visual 50 by way of the entries named v50, vi50, v50am, or visual50, depending on the system. The computer uses on an SGS (now STMicroelectronics) Z8400AB1 CPU, based on the Zilog Z80A CPU. This CPU has an 8 bit data bus and a 16 bit address bus, and runs at 4 MHz. The keyboard is a Keytronic A65-0248, attached by a 4 wire telephone cord. The keyboard uses an Intel P8048H MCU, a common MCU for keyboards.

Xenosaga

Xenosaga (ゼノサーガ, Zenosāga) is a series of science fiction video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Bandai Namco. Xenosaga's main story is in the form of a trilogy of PlayStation 2 video games. There have been three spin-off games and an anime adaptation. The Xenosaga series serves as a spiritual successor to the game Xenogears, which was released in 1998 for the PlayStation by Square. The creator of both Xenogears and Xenosaga is Tetsuya Takahashi, who left Square in 1998 along with Hirohide Sugiura. Using funds from Namco, they started MonolithSoft and the Xenosaga project.

The first game in the trilogy, Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht was released in February 2002 in Japan, and in February 2003 in North America. Xenosaga Freaks, a lighthearted game with a playable demo for Episode II, was released in April 2004 in Japan, but was not released elsewhere. Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse was released in June 2004 in Japan and February 2005 in North America. Xenosaga: The Animation, an anime based on Episode I, premiered on TV Asahi in Japan on January 5, 2005. Xenosaga Pied Piper, a three chapter-long cellphone-based game depicting the history of cyborg "Ziggurat 8" 100 years before the start of Episode I, was released in Japan in July 2004. Released on July 6, 2006, Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra is the final title in the Xenosaga series; six episodes were originally projected, but by the time Episode III was released, Namco had already established that it would be the last entry, effectively halving the series. A retelling of the first two episodes titled Xenosaga I & II was released on the Nintendo DS in March 2006 in Japan.

MC Hammer

Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), known professionally as M.C. Hammer or "Ham Time" (and later, for a time, simply Hammer), is an American hip-hop recording artist, dancer, entrepreneur, spokesman and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the late 1990s. Remembered for his rapid rise to fame, Hammer is known for hit records (such as "U Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit"), flashy dance movements, choreography and eponymous Hammer pants. Hammer's superstar-status and entertaining showmanship made him a household name and hip hop icon. He has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.

A multi-award winner, M.C. Hammer is considered a "forefather/pioneer" and innovator of pop rap (incorporating elements of freestyle music), and is the first hip hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album. Hammer was later considered a sellout due in part to overexposure as an entertainer (having live instrumentation/bands, choreographed dance routines and an impact on popular culture being regularly referenced on television and in music) and as a result of being too "commercial" when rap was "hardcore" at one point, then his image later becoming increasingly "gritty" to once again adapt to the ever-changing landscape of rap. Regardless, BET ranked Hammer as the #7 "Best Dancer Of All Time".Vibe's "The Best Rapper Ever Tournament" declared him the 17th favorite of all-time during the first round.

Donkey Kong (video game)

Donkey Kong (Japanese: ドンキーコング, Hepburn: Donkī Kongu) is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. It is an early example of the platform game genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main character across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles. In the game, Mario (originally named Mr. Video but then changed to "Jumpman") must rescue a damsel in distress named Pauline (originally named Lady), from a giant ape named Donkey Kong. The hero and ape later became two of Nintendo's most popular and recognizable characters. Donkey Kong is one of the most important titles from the Golden Age of Video Arcade Games, and is one of the most popular arcade games of all time.

The game was the latest in a series of efforts by Nintendo to break into the North American market. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's president at the time, assigned the project to a first-time video game designer named Shigeru Miyamoto. Drawing from a wide range of inspirations, including Popeye, Beauty and the Beast and King Kong, Miyamoto developed the scenario and designed the game alongside Nintendo's chief engineer, Gunpei Yokoi. The two men broke new ground by using graphics as a means of characterization, including cutscenes to advance the game's plot, and integrating multiple stages into the gameplay.

Drive (Béla Fleck album)

Drive is an album by American banjoist Béla Fleck. The album was produced toward the end of Fleck's New Grass Revival career and before the Flecktones were formed and included an all-star list of bluegrass performers.

Track listing

All tracks written by Béla Fleck

Bonus track on the SACD version*

Personnel

References

Melanie Blatt

Melanie Blatt (born 25 March 1975) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is also the daughter of author and travel expert David Blatt. She rose to fame in 1997 as a member of the BRIT Award-winning girl group All Saints. The group have gained five number one singles, two multi-platinum albums, two BRIT Awards and have sold over 10 million records worldwide making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, and the second best-selling girl group in the UK. Melanie Blatt began recording a solo album in 2003, working with numerous producers including Xenomania and released her debut solo single "Do Me Wrong" in 2003. Blatt was later dropped by her record label, and her solo album was cancelled. In 2005, she made a return to music with her single "See Me", and began recording another album independently which was later shelved and cancelled in favour of the All Saints reunion. Starting in 2013, she was a judge on the television series The X Factor NZ.

Early life