The unisys Essay Example For Students

The unisys Essay hhjjkh Unisys Corporation is in the process of creating a corporate university challenged to foster a learning culture. This new entity will replace seven loosely connected professional development organizations that currently design, develop or procure, and deliver professional development programs to 34,000 world wide employees. The widely dispersed locations of these employees, as well as the requirement to build corporate profitability while containing costs, will require many of the courses to be delivered using distance education technologies. The corporation has engaged in a limited number of distance learning courses to date; most of these have used video technology distributed over the corporate business television network. Additionally, an attempt to apply asynchronous learning network technology over the corporate Intranet was researched with limited success. The application of distance learning technologies, when applied in corporate settings, carries a preconceived set o f executive expectations.Gayeski(1998) found that most executives are trying to foster management cultures of speed, performance, collaboration, flexibility, continuous improvement (p. 37). Additionally, Sheridan(1996) states that experience to date shows that effective distance training requires the right mix of instructional design, expert talent and delivery media (p. S12). We will write a custom essay on The unisys specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Unisys Corporation is in the process of creating a corporate university challenged to foster a learning culture. This new entity will replace seven loosely connected professional development organizations that currently design, develop or procure, and deliver professional development programs to 34,000 world wide employees. The widely dispersed locations of these employees, as well as the requirement to build corporate profitability while containing costs, will require many of the courses to be delivered using distance education technologies. The corporation has engaged in a limited number of distance learning courses to date; most of these have used video technology distributed over the corporate business television network. Additionally, an attempt to apply asynchronous learning network technology over the corporate Intranet was researched with limited success. The application of distance learning technologies, when applied in corporate settings, carries a preconceived set of execu tive expectations.Gayeski(1998) found that most executives are trying to foster management cultures of speed, performance, collaboration, flexibility, continuous improvement (p. 37). Additionally, Sheridan(1996) states that experience to date shows that effective distance training requires the right mix of instructional design, expert talent and delivery media (p. S12). Unisys Corporation is in the process of creating a corporate university challenged to foster a learning culture. This new entity will replace seven loosely connected professional development organizations that currently design, develop or procure, and deliver professional development programs to 34,000 world wide employees. The widely dispersed locations of these employees, as well as the requirement to build corporate profitability while containing costs, will require many of the courses to be delivered using distance education technologies. The corporation has engaged in a limited number of distance learning courses to date; most of these have used video technology distributed over the corporate business television network. Additionally, an attempt to apply asynchronous learning network technology over the corporate Intranet was researched with limited success. The application of distance learning technologies, when applied in corporate settings, carries a preconceived set of execu tive expectations.Gayeski(1998) found that most executives are trying to foster management cultures of speed, performance, collaboration, flexibility, continuous improvement (p. 37). Additionally, Sheridan(1996) states that experience to date shows that effective distance training requires the right mix of instructional design, expert talent and delivery media (p. S12). Unisys Corporation is in the process of creating a corporate university challenged to foster a learning culture. This new entity will replace seven loosely connected professional development organizations that currently design, develop or procure, and deliver professional development programs to 34,000 world wide employees. The widely dispersed locations of these employees, as well as the requirement to build corporate profitability while containing costs, will require many of the courses to be delivered using distance education technologies. The corporation has engaged in a limited number of distance learning courses to date; most of these have used video technology distributed over the corporate business television network. Additionally, an attempt to apply asynchronous learning network technology over the corporate Intranet was researched with limited success. The application of distance learning technologies, when applied in corporate settings, carries a preconceived set of execu tive expectations.Gayeski(1998) found that most executives are trying to foster management cultures of speed, performance, collaboration, flexibility, continuous improvement (p. 37). Additionally, Sheridan(1996) states that experience to date shows that effective distance training requires the right mix of instructional design, expert talent and delivery media (p. 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Social Theorists On The Sociology of Science

Social Theorists On The Sociology of Science We as societies are governed by principles, in which are in no doubt, have and are still influencing the way the world and society is being developed. One of the most critical contributors towards this structure would have to be the dynamic field of science or what others such as sociologists would call the study of the scientific method. Although science as a field is in retrospectively speaking a field which rely on having certain objectives and using particular methods to reach those objectives. These objectives are usually explained by using the term theories, in which are put under scrutiny to reach a proven hypotheses. So as far as science is concerned it is in such that each theory or generalisation is concerned passes through a multiple series of events such as experiments, which are repeated over and over to quantify variables, provide techniques of measurement and apply mathematical and statistical methods to the result, and as such the people who introduced these theories are called theorists.Three models of change in scientific theories, dep...So accordingly I will try and introduce you to three of these theorists in the science field and compare and contrast their social theories of science and see how if any of their theories suggest that science is a part of the rationalization process in particular of M.Webers rationalization.The Three theorists in wich I am referring to are R.Merton, B. Barnes and P Feyerabend. Each of these particular individuals as far as we or science is concerned have in no doubt had overwhelming impact on way in which science has evolved and expanded over time. R. Merton or Robert Merton is considered as one of the founding fathers of sociology of science. Merton's special interest is in the mores of science, moral regulations that collectively form the scientific 'etos', constraining the...

Eteocles and Polynices

Eteocles and Polynices Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of the classic Greek tragic hero and Theban king Oedipus, who fought each other for the control of Thebes after their father abdicated. The Oedipus story is part of the Theban cycle and told most famously by the Greek poet Sophocles. After decades of ruling Thebes, Oedipus discovered he had been at the mercy of a prophecy cast before his birth. Fulfilling the curse, Oedipus had unwittingly killed his own father Laius, and married and fathered four children by his mother Jocasta. In rage and horror, Oedipus blinded himself and abandoned his throne. As he left, Oedipus cursed his own two grown sons/brothers, Eteocles and Polynices had been left to rule Thebes, but Oedipus doomed them to kill each other. The 17th-century painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo shows the fulfillment of that curse, their deaths at each others hand. Owning the Throne The Greek poet Aeschylus told the Eteocles and Polynices story in his award-winning trilogy on the topic, Seven Against Thebes, In the final play, the brothers fight  each other for possession of the throne of Thebes. At first, they had agreed to rule Thebes jointly by alternating years in power, but after his first year, Eteocles refused to step down. To gain the rule of Thebes, Polynices needed warriors, but Theban men within the city would only fight for his brother. Instead, Polynices gathered a group of men from Argos. There were seven gates to Thebes, and Polynices selected seven captains to lead the charges against each gate. To fight them and protect the gates, Eteocles selected the best-qualified man in Thebes to challenge the specific Argive adversary, so there are seven Theban counterparts to the Argive attackers. The seven pairs are: Tydeus vs. MelanippusCapaneus vs. PolyphontesEteoclus vs. MegareusHippomedon vs. HyperbiusParthenopeus vs.  ActorAmphiaraus vs. LasthenesPolynices vs. Eteocles The battles end when the two brothers kill each other with swords. In the sequel to the battle between Eteocles and Polynices, the successors of the fallen Argives, known as the Epigoni, win control of Thebes. Eteocles was buried honorably, but the traitor Polynices was not, leading to their sister Antigones own tragedy.

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration - Essay Example Thus, the key factor that pushes Syrian citizens to migrate is a war which brings â€Å"daily violence and a dramatic deterioration in living standards† (Wolfe, 2014). â€Å"The wars raging in Syria and Iraq are clearly big drivers of migration† (Peter, 2015). For example, one Syrian citizen speaks on a subject in next terms, â€Å"We no longer have any hope in Syria, and there is nothing here except fear and death† (Hashash, 2015). The economic and infrastructure of most of the Syrian cities are ruined by the war. "In terms of infrastructure, major parts of Syria have effectively been bombed back to Ottoman times," says Ammar Abdul-Hamid, a Syrian activist (FoxNews, 2012). Therefore, there are no jobs, no appropriate health care, and generally, no good living conditions. Most of the citizens are left without even basic human rights (Wolfe, 2014). Being brutal to each other, opponents continue to keep the field on territories which once were private and public do mains, homes and schools. â€Å"A Syrian army officer moved into my house†¦ He likes my home, apparently†, says Khaled, a refrugee from Syria, ironically (Rollins, 2014). At least half a million homes have been destroyed in Syrian conflict already by 2013. According to estate expert Ammar Youssef’s study, it means that â€Å"about 700,000 families, or nearly 2.8 million people†, literally have no place to return (Haydar, 2013). Thus, Syrians are forced to seek for a shelter, for a better life. For the past three years of brutal conflict, about â€Å"9.6 million people have fled their homes for safety† (IRC, 2014). According to UNHCR, â€Å"approximately 7.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes within Syria, and 3.3 million have become refugees abroad† (Wolfe, 2014). In comparison to around 22 million population of Syria in prewar times, it’s about 50% of general population of the country. The situation is already called â€Å"the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era† (Wolfe,

Slavery and Racism in Early American History Essay

Slavery and Racism in Early American History - Essay Example The second part of the paper is based on the following sources: Senator Lincoln's speech of September 18, 1858, and Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" In both parts of the paper the following fact is made clear: racism is closely related to slavery; the relationship between these two concepts is so strong that, often, the terms of their interaction are too difficult to be identified. Moreover, the following issue needs to be highlighted: both racism and slavery have been highly developed in America; the intervention of these concepts in the country’s social and political life is still high. The elimination of racism and slavery would be required for securing social justice. The terms of elimination of racism and slavery in America would be differentiated across states because of their different legal framework, at least up to a level, compared to the legal rules of federal government. Racism seems to be well established in the American history. In any case, the historical development of racism has been related to slavery. In order to understand the role of these two concepts in the American history, it would be necessary to refer to the initial perceptions of Englishmen on blacks. According to Winthrop (3) the first visit of Englishmen in West Africa took place about at 1550; it was then that Englishmen had their first contact with blacks (Winthrop 3). However, it seems that at that period, Englishmen did not perceive blacks as potential slaves but rather as buyers of goods (Winthrop 3). This phenomenon continued up to the mid seventieth century (Winthrop 3). However, it seems that the color of natives has attracted the interest of Englishmen (Winthrop 3), meaning that the difference in regard to physical characteristics implied also differences in terms of physical performance. Also, the difference in color implied the existence of other characteristics, meaning especially the dirt (Winthrop 3). It was in this co ntext that the first ideas on the low social status of blacks were developed; the potential use of blacks as slaves followed (Winthrop 3). However, slavery, as a social phenomenon, has not appeared before the 17th century, a period where the initial cases of use of blacks as slaves were reported. Indeed, as Winthrop notes, the enslavement of blacks has started almost since their arrival in America (Winthrop 26). Indeed, the first blacks arrived in Virginia in 1619 (Winthrop 26). A few years later, approximately by 1640, the first signs of enslavement appeared (Winthrop 26). In fact, it is noted that ‘between 1640 and 1660 there is evidence of enslavement’ (Winthrop 26). Reference is made to ‘the statute books of colonies’ (Winthrop 26), as evidence for proving the appearance of slavery in America. Through the decades, slavery was highly expanded across America (Winthrop 148), up to the elimination of the particular phenomenon due to its prohibition by the l aw (Winthrop 148). The term racism, as a term reflecting the rejection of equality among human no matter their physical characteristics (Winthrop 15), has appeared much later, approximately at 1950s (Winthrop 15), a point where the study of Winthrop (15) is aligned with that of Stannard (270). According to the issues discussed above, racism and slavery have been common concepts in American history. At this point, the

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3:

Differences between Windows Version 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Windows version Changes between 1.0.2 and 1.0.3: Video outputs: * Fix video quality when resizing the video on Windows Vista and 7, due to regressions in most popular drivers * New deinterlacers modules based on yadif and yadif(x2) algorithms Decoders: * Windows version supports now natively the WMA Professional codec, as it didnt work in the packaged version of 1.0.2 * Fix downmixing of particual 4.0 AC-3 audio tracks Encoders: * x264 has profile-limitter, like: #transcode{vcodec=h264,venc=x264{profile=baseline,level=12}..} Input: * Update for appletrailers lua script * Fixes on the RAR stream filter * Fix for E-AC3 in ATSC/TS streams * Various fixes for v4l and v4l2 * Fix a crash in mjpeg demuxer Service discovery: * New udev module for linux Qt4 interface: * Fixes on the playlist and the stream output panels Translations: * French, Galician, Korean, Polish, Russian, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian updates Changes between 1.0.1 and 1.0.2: Decoders: * Native support for WMA Professional, without the use of the Win32 dlls * Fix issues in subtitles, especially SSA ones * Various fixes on theora and ogg Demuxers: * Various fixes for EPG support in MPEG-TS demuxer * Fixes for potential stack overflow in .avi, .mp4 and .asf demuxers Access: * Fixes for v4l2 devices * Fixes for dvb-c channels-scanning Qt Interface: * Fix some playlist sorting issues Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed a crash when updating VLC * Fixed a crash related to QTKit when opening video files (10.6 only) * Added the ability to play 2nd media in sync to the primary item (input-slave) * Added the Quit after Playback feature Mac OS X Port: * The Delete Preferences script is now delivered as a Universal Binary with native code for PowerPC, Intel and Intel 64bit * Full 64bit runtime compatibility on both Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 no support for Goom and SDL limited text rendering support This port is still considered as EXPERIMENTAL despite its binary release. Encoders: * MPEG2 transrate stream output removed * x264 default-values closer to x264.exe defaults. * x264 rc-behaviour fixes: if user defines qp-value, CQP-mode is used otherwise if user defines vb=0, CRF-mode is used otherwise ABR-mode is used * x264 set vbv-bufsize/vbv-maxsize better if user hasnt defined these: ABR mode set vbv-max-bitrate=bitrate vbv-bufsize is bitrate * seconds between keyframes (keyint/fps) Playlist: * Lua scripts for Mpora and Vimeo playback Unix builds: * Various fixes to enable 1.0 to build on Solaris and OpenBSD Translations: * New Kazakh and Croatian translations * Lithunanian translation is available on Windows * Galician, Korean, Nepali, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Brazilian, Arabic and French translation updates Changes between 1.0.0 and 1.0.1: Demuxers: * Fix wmv/asf issues that caused audio to drop * Various fixes for ac3, mp3, dts and stability for wav format * Fix seek in RTSP in conformity to RFC 2326 * Fix Dailymotion access script * Fix crashes in xspf files handler * Fix seeking and timing issues in some flv files on Windows version Access: * Add extra caching for files on network shares * Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria Decoders: * Fix seeking in mpeg2 video files * Improve SSA subtitles rendering * Update most codecs for the Windows and Mac version Muxers: * Fix sound recording of .flv files with mp3 audio Qt Interface: * Possibility to change the opacity level of the Fullscreen controller * Fix various crashes and VIDEO_TS folders opening Mac OS X Interface: * Added options to disable support for Apple Remote and Media Keys * Fixed options for Volume, Last.fm password and Subtitle Encoding * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Preferences panel now includes help through tool-tips * More reliable Information and Messages panels * Fix various crashes Windows port: * The ZVBI module is now available for Windows, for complete teletext support Translations updates for Brazillian, French, German, Korean, Norwegian Nynorsk, Lithuanian Changes between 0.9.9a and 0.9.10: HTTP Interface: * Fixed default ACL Mac OS X: * Fixed crashes on multi-screen setups * Corrected volume and subtitle encoding options in the Preferences * Improved Information panel behavior, when playlist is not displayed * Fixed QTCapture input support for the latest iSight models * Added a menu-item to unlock the video windows aspect ratio * Fixed redraw issues when autosizing the video window * Updated libpng, libgpg-error, libgcrypt, fribidi Various fixes to the following modules: * access: HTTP, SMB updated and additional access scripts (BBC radio, dailymotion, ) Prevent integer underflow in Real pseudo-RTSP module, discovered by tixxDZ, DZCORE Labs, Algeria * stream out: RTP, RTSP VoD, Mosaic Bridge * decoder: TSCC Changes between 0.9.9a and 1.0.0: Important notes: - * Alsa and OSS audio capture has been removed from the v4l and v4l2 accesses. See Access: for more info. * Support for Mac OS X 10.4.x was dropped due to its technical limitations Playback: * Instantaneous pausing * Frame-by-Frame playback * Finer speed control * On-the-fly recording for all medias * Timeshift for most medias * RTSP trickplay support * Subtitles core improvements and fixes Decoders: * New AES3 (SMPTE 302M) decoder * New Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3 (A/52b) decoder * New True HD/MLP decoder and parser * New Blu-Ray Linear PCM decoder * New QCELP (Qualcomm PureVoice) decoder * Improved Real Video 3.0 4.0 decoder * New WMA v1/2 fixed point integer decoder * Closed Captions using the SCTE-20 standard are now correctly decoded * Improvement of WavPack decoder to support all integer modes and float mode * Corrections on 5.1 and 7.1 channel decoding and ordering Demuxers: * Support for Dirac, MLP and RealVideo in Matroska files * Major improvements in RealMedia files opening (.rm and .rmvb) * Improvements of the TS demuxer for M2TS files from Blu-Ray and AVCHD * Metadata for mod files are supported * GSM codecs in Wav files are supported * New raw audio demuxer supporting raw PCM streams * New Dirac demuxer for raw Dirac streams Encoders: * Dirac encoding using libdirac (supported in Ogg and in TS) * Shine mp3 fixed-point encoder Access: * RTSP authentication with Darwin Streaming Server * On-the-fly gzip and bzip2 file decompression (except on Windows) * Playback for video in uncompressed multi-RAR archives * DVB-S and ATSC cards support on Windows * New OSS and Alsa accesses. The v4l2 and v4l modules no longer support OSS or Alsa audio input. Use input-slave alsa:// or oss:// if needed. * DVB scanning on linux * EXPERIMENTAL Blu-Ray Disc and AVCHD Folders support * On-the-fly zip file decompression and browsing (MRL of the form zip://file.zip!/file.avi to specify the file the development form of zip://file.zip|file.avi is not supported anymore) * Opening of any file descriptor using fd:// * MTP device access on Unix * CD-Text support on the cdda module (CD-Audio) * :start-time and :stop-time can handle sub-second values Inputs: * Mouse cursor support in x11 and win32 screen modules * Screen module now features partial screen capture and mouse following on Windows and Mac OS X. Playlist: * Export the playlist in HTML * Lua script for BBC radio playback * Better metadata handling and reading Linux/Windows interface: * Global Hotkeys on Windows and Linux * Various fixes for skins2 interface * Recently played items list * Interface toolbar customizations * Various Improvements on the Qt interface: More menus actions Finer speed slider Improvements on many dialogs New dialog for plugins listing Fixed-size mode for videos Better Teletext, trickplay and encrypted streams control * Better integration in GTK environments Mac OS X Interface: * Controllable by the Media Keys on modern Apple keyboards (brushed Aluminium) * Reveal-in-Finder functionality for locally stored items. * Easy addition of subtitles through the Video menu * Additional usability improvements Stream output: * Restored the old mpeg2 transrating module. * Multiple bridge-in instances are now possible. * bridge-in can be used to configure a placeholder stream. * Remote Audio Output Protocol (AirTunes) module. * Fixed mosaic memleak. Mosaics are now usable again. Maemo Port: * New Maemo port with: an interface based on Hildon framework. scaler based on the swscale_nokia770 library. Windows CE Port: EXPERIMENTAL work for the winCE port has been done. Mac OS X Port: * EXPERIMENTAL 64bit support * Speed improvements by using llvm-gcc * New document icons by Dominic Spitaler * Support for latest iSight models Audio output: * Removed obsolete Esound and aRts plugins * Surround support for PulseAudio Video output: * Effects (cube, torus, etc.) removed from OpenGL video output * Video is able to stay in original size and to zoom in fullscreen (hotkey o) while keeping black borders * Image video output has been rewritten into a video-filter named scene. The old image video output has been removed. * Support for scaling and converting video chromas with FFMPEG imgresample was withdrawn due to bugs. Please use the newer FFMPEG swscale instead. Miscellaneous: * Invmem, a fake codec to display images from external applications New Localization: * Khmer * Mongolian * Sorani Changes between 0.9.9 and 0.9.9a: Mac OS X: * Updated multiple 3rd party libraries to keep in sync with the Win32 port * Playback fixes for PowerPC-based Macs Changes between 0.9.8a and 0.9.9: Decoders: * Experimental new decoder for Real Video 3.0 4.0 Demuxers: * Various fixes related to real demuxer Mac OS X Interface: * Fixed circumstances, which could lead to an empty Information panel Note that VLC will show information on the currently _selected_ item instead of the currently _playing_ item, if the playlist is visible in the main controller window. * Fixed multiple UTF8 issues in the Streaming / Exporting Wizard Mac OS X Port: * Improved video playback performance on Intel-based Macs New Localizations: * Indonesian * Bengali * Updates of other localizations Various bugfixes: * Support for receiving RTP packets on odd port numbers. * Lots of small bugfixes. * Correct Fullscreen behaviour on Multi-Screen setups on Windows * Telnet fixes on Windows * Resampling fixes when transcoding Changes between 0.9.6 and 0.9.8a: Security update: * Fixed buffer overflow in Real demuxer (SA-0811, CVE-2008-5276) Bunch of small bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.5 and 0.9.6: New Localizations: * Ukranian Security updates: * Fixed overflow in CUE support from VCD access (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5032) * Fixed overflow in RealText subtitles support (SA-0810, CVE-2008-5036) Changes between 0.9.4 and 0.9.5: Security updates: * Fixed buffer overflow in TiVo demuxer (SA-0809, CVE-2008-4686, CVE-2008-4654) * Fixed libpng CVE-2008-3964 in Win32 and MacOS builds Features: * Closed Caption EIA 608/708 parsing enabled for libmpeg2 Various bugfixes: * Fixed various potential crashes and memleaks * Fixed issues with reading from files (especially non-local) Windows port: * Fix bug where interface was eating some media keys * Fix some crashes in DirectShow access Qt Interface: * Fix bug when the resetting of preferences didnt reset the dialog states * Right-click menu to select playlist columns reenabled * Various fixed in playlist Access: * MMAP module is now deactivated by default Translations: * Update of Brazillian, Swedish translation Changes between 0.9.3 and 0.9.4: Various bugfixes: * Crashes fixed in ogg, vobsub, dvdread * Fixes several memory leaks. Mac OS X port: * Apple machines without Quartz Extreme are no longer supported (use 0.9.2 or earlier ) * Fixed a crash with deletion of old preferences. * Fixed targetname for downloaded updates Windows port: * Stability fix for the video output. Changes between 0.9.2 and 0.9.3: Various bugfixes: * Fixed DTS channel order on 5.1 systems * Fixed pausing behavior for subtitles and for Audio-CD * Multiple subtitles and podcast fixes * Various crashes fixed in PS, SSA, mkv, xspf, freetype * Fixed update system bugs * Other bug fixes (dvd language selection, subtitle colours, HTTP keep-alive+) Mac OS X port: * Fixed ffmpeg slowness on PowerPC-based Macs * Fixed crash on startup when installed on old preferences * Fixed bug in directory opening on Mac OS X * Fixed font selection in the Simple Preferences * Thicker border to the subtitle renderer * Fixed the appearance of playlist items in the Streaming/Transcoding Wizard * Fixed AC3 passthrough on Mac OS X * Fixed behavior of the Volume Normalizer settings on Mac OS X * Removed the deprecated QuickDraw video output module to avoid crashes on modern Mac OS X versions Windows port: * Fixed sensitivity of Fullscreen Controller * Fixed error messages on startup when VLC wasnt correctly uninstalled before installation * Fix showing of controller when returning from fullscreen playback * Multiple directory and path location fixes. Qt4 interface: * Added Faster/Slower icons to the controller panel * Fixed lost playlist columns when switching the playlist view * Added needed options to Simple preferences (to avoid NVIDIA drivers issues) * Fullscreen controller: added time label, remembering of last position * Fixed dragn drop behaviour on the playlist * Multiple other fixes (Enter hotkey in preferences, Skins selection) Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.2: * Restored the old behavior of sout-keep. It is now de-activated by default. * Skins2 interface repaired on Windows. * Multiple bugfixes. Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.0: * Multiple bug fixes. Changes between 0.8.6i and 0.9.0: Important notes: - * This release will need Windows 2000 and Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), or more recent to work correctly * The HTTP interface is now only available on the local machine by default. If you want to make it available from other machines, you will have to edit the .hosts file. On UNIX/Linux, the file is in /usr/share/vlc/http/.hosts If youre using the old http interface, its located in /usr/share/vlc/http/old/.hosts On Windows they are in C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttp.hosts and C:Program FilesVideoLANVLChttpold.hosts On Mac OS X, you can find it in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/.hosts and respectively in VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/share/http/old/.hosts * This version of VLC contains a new interface for Windows and Linux. This interface has a fullscreen controller and simplified preferences. This interface lacks the Streaming Wizard that used to be present in VLC 0.8.6, but provides basic profiles. * The behavior of sout-keep was changed. Its now activated by default. * The marq, mosaic and logo commands in the rc interface changed. They now require a target name as their first argument. Example: vlc sub-filter [emailprotected]{marquee=Hello} -I rc You can then use commands like: @test marq-marquee Goodbye If you didnt name the object using @test, its name will default to the plugin name (hence marq) in this example. These new commands are also available in the telnet interface. * The rtp access output module has been removed. Please use the RTP stream output instead, e.g.: Old: #std{access=rtp,mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2:5004,sap} New: #rtp{mux=ts,dst=239.255.1.2,port=5004,sap} * You now need to append m3u-extvlcopt to your command line to enable EXTVLCOPT options parsing in m3u playlists. Note that only a limited set of options is available to m3u playlists (CVE-2007-6683). * The old access:url syntax is no longer supported to resolve ambiguities with some file names. Use access://url instead. E.g.: vlc:quit -> vlc://quit ; udp:@239.255.12.12 -> udp://@239.255.12.12 * The ffmpeg module has been removed and replaced by the new avcodec, avformat, swscale (or imgresample if you use a swscale-less ffmpeg build) and postproc modules. * The web plugins ActiveX (IE)/Firefox/Mozilla/Safari now recognize the following states: IDLE/CLOSE=0, OPENING=1, BUFFERING=2, PLAYING=3, PAUSED=4, STOPPING=5, FORWARD=6, BACKWARD=7, ENDED=8, ERROR=9. With FORWARD and BACKWARD being reserved for future implementations and are thus not functional atm. * Croping and padding in transcode are now done using the croppadd video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=croppadd{cropttop=20,cropbottom=30,paddleft=100}} * Canvas setting in transcode is now done using the canvas video filter. For example: transcode{vcodec=mp2v,vfilter=canvas{width=640,height=480}} * Glide video output module has been removed. Changes: Security updates: * Updated libfreetype on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1806, CVE-2008-1807) * TTA Parser improvements (CVE-2008-3732) * MMS Access Module improvements (CVE-2008-3794 ) Playlist: * Vastly improved playlist support: * Media library creation to save all your playlist items * Live search * Shoutcast TV listings * Audioscrobbler/Last.FM support * Album art support * User definable Lua playlist scripts. See share/lua/playlist/README.txt (Default scripts open YouTube, DailyMotion, metacafe, Google Video and lots of other URLs) * User definable Lua album art fetcher scripts. See share/lua/meta/README.txt Inputs: * Video for Linux 2 (V4L2) input support * UDP-Lite transport for RTP/AVP * DCCP transport for RTP/AVP * Proxy support for MMSH stream * JACK audio input support * Input run time option (improved live stream recording) * BDA devices access module for DVB-C/S/T capture cards on Microsoft Windows * Re-written Screen access module for Mac OS X using OpenGL instead of QuickDraw * Screen module now supports partial screen capture and mouse following on X11. * Experimental EyeTV access module This requires the user to install a plugin to EyeTV.app (available as a separate download). * Simple RTP input (with MPEG A/V, G.711 and PCM support). * RTMP input support * QTKit-based Input module for Mac OS X allowing display and streaming of video taken from all iSight-labelled video cameras (no audio support) * HTTP access now supports gzip compressed data and Digest Access Authentication. * New options to reduce latency between arrival of raw data and display of frames. (auto-adjust-pts-delay and use-stream-immediate) Demuxers: * MP4 gpac and Apple chapter support * Fixed playback of AIFF stereo files * Fixed audio glitch on seek * Improved FLAC demuxer (duration / current time / meta data) * AAC tags support * APEv1/2 tags support * Improved ID3v2 tags support * Improved Ogg/Vorbis tags support * Raw video support * Standard MIDI File (types 0 1) support * TiVo Series 2 support * CD+G karaoke Files support * MXF files support * OMA support Decoders: * VP60/VP61/VP6F/VP62 support * Flash Screen Video support * CamStudio Screen Video support * DosBox Capture support * Karl Mortons Video support * limited atrac3 support * Fraps support * Fluidsynth MIDI software synthesis (with external sound fonts) * New codec FOURCCs to support more specific files: Avid, FCP, Sony, Samsung, * H.264 PAFF support * DNxHD / VC-3 support * NellyMoser ASAO support * APE (Monkey audio) support * RealVideo support (with the RealVideo run-time) * Dirac video support using libschroedinger Subtitles: * Closed Caption Decoder (DVD, ReplayTV, TiVo, DVB/ATSC) * VBI EBU (Teletext) support (*nix, Mac OS) * Ogg/Kate subtitles support * AQTitle subtitles support * MKV USF subtitles support * HTML-based subtitles support * MPSub subtitles support * JacoSub subtitles basic support * MPL2 subtitles support * Rewrite of ASS/SSA scripts and subtitles support * PowerDivx (.psb) Subtitles support * Realtext subtitle support * DKS subtitle support * SubViewer 1.0 (SubRip09) subtitles support * Correct Right-to-left languages in subtitles support Encoders: * Flash Screen Video support * Improved H.264 encoding speed Video outputs and filters: * New CoreAnimation-based output module (VLCKit framework on OS X only) * Adjust, Invert and Distort (now split into Wave, Ripple, Gradient and Psychedelic) video filters can now be streamed * New puzzle video output filter * Re-written motion detection video filter * New extract video filter (extract Red, Green and Blue components from a video) * New sharpen video filter (increase the contrast of adjacent pixels) * New erase video filter (removes logos from a video) * Enhanced subtitles renderer to support bold, italic and some HTML tags (Google Summer of Code Student project) * Support for RGBA and I420 blending. The latter improves Mosaic CPU usage *a lot*. * New transparency mask video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). * New bluescreen video filter (for use with the mosaic_bridge module). This was previously part of the mosaic module. * Fixed random characters problem in RSS filter. * Add rotate-deciangle for more precision on rotate filter * Support for Intel SSE2 instruction set in chroma converters * Improved use of Intel MMX instruction set in chroma converters * New croppadd and canvas video filters. Audio outputs and filters: * Replay gain support * Audio playback when going slower/faster (with pitch correction via new scaletempo audio filter) * New spatializer audio filter * Correct DTS output via S/PDIF Stream output: * RTSP for TS-multiplexed broadcast streams * New RTP payload formats: * Speex voice audio codec * ITU T.140 (for text, subtitles) output * G.711 (both A-law and  µ-law) output * UDP-Lite transport for RTP * DCCP transport for RTP * Lots of fixes for RTSP broadcasting * RTMP output Interfaces: * All * New Simple Preferences dialogs showing the most important settings in an end-user suitable way. * Improved user interaction * Improved mouse gestures * Vastly improved Update checker * Full support for meta data editing (ID3v2, Ogg/Vorbis, AAC, APEv1/2) * Windows/Linux * Brand new interface for Linux and Windows, based on the Qt toolkit * Fullscreen controller (transparency on Linux+Composite) * Mac OS X * Improved video output features * Online access to VideoLANs Help Wiki within VLC * New setting to disable the Recent Items service * When playing Radio (live) streams, the current track is shown correctly * Correct appearance on Macs using Aquas graphite theme * Simplified Extended Controls panel * Ncurses: * Correctly displays wide characters when using an UTF-8 locale, if libncursesw is available. * Some nice colors if the terminal supports it (most do) * Experimental Lua interface modules. See vlc -I lua and share/lua/playlist/README.txt for more info. * Unix * Option to allow only one running instance, using D-Bus interface. * D-Bus Interface implementing the MPRIS (Media Player Remote Interfacing specification), a common dbus control interface for media players that intends to become an xdg standard when finished: http://wiki.xmms2.xmms.se/index.php/Media_Player_Interfaces . * Motion module using disk accelerometers to keep video horizontal * Plugin to set Telepathy presence message using MissionControl * Fixed VLM schedule time on Linux Linux Port: * VLC now complies with the XDG Base Directory Specification version 0.6 http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-0.6.html (which means that VLC doesnt use the $HOME/.vlc directory anymore) Mac OS X Port: * Mac OS X Framework VLCKit that can be used to embed VLC in third party applications (Google Summer of Code Student project, Mac OS X 10.5 only) * New text renderer based on Quartz replacing the existing Freetype solution * Complete compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard * It is now required to compile a fully featured build * The support of Mac OS X 10.3.9 and QuickTime 6.x was discontinued. LibVLC: * Event management and various improvements in libvlc (Part of a Google Summer of Code Student project) New Localizations: * Finnish * Persian * Polish * Punjabi * Bulgarian Developers: * LibVLC now supports externally built plugins properly. A vlc-plugin pkg-config package is provided. * Java bindings are now built from a separate source. Changes between 0.8.6h and 0.8.6i: - Security updates: * Fixed integer overflow in WAV demuxer (CVE-2008-2430) Various bugfixes: * Fixed option to use shared memory within the GLX video output module * Improved galaktos-based audio visualizations on FreeBSD * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (transcode stream output, OSD menu video filter, VCD input, SAP services discovery, http control interface) * Updated Polish translation Changes between 0.8.6g and 0.8.6h: - Security updates: * Updated GnuTLS and libgcrypt on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1948, CVE-2008-1949, CVE-2008-1950) * Updated libxml2 on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2007-6284) Goodies: * Updated libebml and libmatroska on Mac OS X. Reliability improvements. * Miscellaneous bugfixes in multiple modules and in libvlc (ftp access, record access filter, video filters, RC interface, playlist demuxer, IP networking, MPJPEG muxer, stream outputs) * Improved support for MPEG2 content created by Final Cut Pro * More reliable audio reception for MPEG TS streams * Fixed a regression in 0.8.6g where usage of the snapshot feature could lead to an unexpected application termination * New Serbian translation * Updated Romanian translation Changes between 0.8.6f and 0.8.6g: - Security updates: * Removed VLC variable settings from Mozilla and ActiveX (CVE-2007-6683, VideoLAN-SA-0804) * Removed loading plugins from the current directory (CVE-2008-2147, VideoLAN-SA-0805) * Updated libpng on Windows and Mac OS X (CVE-2008-1382) * Fixed libid3tag denial of service (CVE-2008-2109) * Fixed libvorbis vulnerabilities (CVE-2008-1419, CVE-2008-1420, CVE-2008-1423) * Fixed speex insufficient boundary check (CVE-2008-1686, oCERT-2008-004) Various bugfixes: * Fixed various memory leaks, improving stability when running as a server * Fixed compilation with recent versions of FFmpeg * Correctly parses SAP announcements from MPEG-TS * Fixed AAC resampling * The Fullscreen Controller appears correctly on Mac OS X, if the Always-on-top video option was selected. Changes between 0.8.6e and 0.8.6f: - Security updates: * Really fixed subtitle buffer overflow (CVE-2007-6681, CVE-2008-1881) * Fixed Real RTSP code execution problem (CVE-2008-

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I read the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. It was a book filled with adventure, heartbreak and a few laughs. This is the fourth book in a series of seven books all telling the story of Harry Potter. It told an interesting story about a Wizarding world and the people inside of it. There was good and evil, happiness and sadness, and plenty of lessons to learn. Harry Potter is the main character of this novel.He has spiky black hair, round black-rimmed glasses, green eyes, a lightening shaped scar given to him on his forehead as a result of a curse from his foe Lord Voldemort. Out of all the many things that Harry Potter is, one of his main personality traits is that he is extremely brave. In this book his courage was shown during the Tri-Wizard tournament, a rare tournament where young wizards are chosen to compete for the Tri-Wizard Cup. During the second of three challenges he risks his life to not only save his best friend Ron, but also his opponent Fleurà ¢â‚¬â„¢s sister.The challenge was to save one person from the sea monsters but when Harry saw that Fleur could not complete the challenge and save her sister he saved her thus angering the sea monsters who tried to kill him for not following the rules of the challenge. Another example of Harry’s bravery was shown when he asked Cho Chang to the Yule Ball when he wasn’t sure she would say yes. This was risking rejection and humiliation from a girl Harry really liked if she said no but Harry was brave enough to face it. Another main character in this novel is Ronald Weasley. He has bright red hair, tons of freckles and is tall and gangly.He comes from a huge family and is one of seven children. In this book one of his main personality traits is jealousy. Ron is very jealous of Harry when Harry is chosen to participate in the Tri Wizard Tournament when he ineligible under the age rules of the tournament. After Harry is selected Ron shows his jealousy by ignoring his best f riend Harry. Also, Ron is jealous of Hermione Granger, another of his best friends, when she goes to the Yule Ball with Victor Krum when Ron wanted to go with her. He represents his jealousy of Hermione by trying to ruin Hermione’s night with snide comments.This novel is set in a wizarding school in Europe called Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a school that Harry, Ron and Hermione attend. This story is set in the 1990’s. This setting is important to the story because the Tri-Wizard tournament is at Hogwarts for the first time in 100 years and the whole story takes place in and around Hogwarts. The main conflict of this story is the clash between good and evil represented by Lord Voldemort’s effort to destroy Harry. Throughout the whole book Voldemort schemes to trap Harry in order to murder him. He uses his followers to get close to Harry.This is an external conflict as it is a conflict between Harry and Voldemort. In order to trap Harry Voldemort sent one of his followe rs to impersonate a Hogwarts teacher. This teacher, Dark Arts Professor Mad Eye Moody, arranges for Harry to be selected for the Tri-Wizard tournament in order to bring Harry to Voldemort. The climax of the novel occurs when at the end of the third and final challenge of the Tri Wizard Tournament. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory both touch the Tri-Wizard Cup at the same time and, instead of being transported back to the stadium they are transported to a graveyard where Lord Voldemort is waiting for them.When Harry and Cedric arrive at the graveyard they are confused but Cedric wants to take a look around. When they see Voldemort he is not in a human form and his assistant Wormtail murders Cedric. Harry narrowly escapes death but, with the help of a potion and blood from Harry, Voldemort regains his humanity. This resolves the main conflict because Harry escapes Voldemort but Voldemort is still undefeated. One of the main themes that J. K. Rowling wanted to communicate in this book i s that no matter how rough things get always believe in yourself.For example, when Harry is selected for the Tri Wizard Tournament, the whole school shuns him but he still does well and makes it to the end of the Tournament. Also, Harry believes that he could defeat Voldemort, even though it was nearly impossible to survive, and because he believed in himself he escaped Voldemort’s deathtrap. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a truly incredible story. It shows to you that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. It opens your eyes to adventure and sadness, but also new hope. The book was entertaining and I really enjoyed reading it.