Sunday, September 30, 2007


In United States history, the degree to which the President's political party has control over the House of Representatives and Senate often determines his or her political strength - such as the ability to pass sponsored legislation, ratify treaties, and have Cabinet members and judges approved. Moreover, it appears to have a strong effect on his or her historical ranking, especially in conjunction with years served and number of elections won.
The commomly-quoted recent rankings of presidents have the same top 18 presidents in slightly differing orders as the 2000 Wall Street Journal poll used in this comparison except, in the lower rankings, some polls have added John Quincy Adams or Bill Clinton and deleted Ronald Reagan or William McKinley.
Of the top 18 presidents in the 2000 Wall Street Journal poll, all had:
Many presidents' elections produced what is known as a coattail effect, in which the success of a presidential candidate also leads to electoral success for other members of his or her party. In fact, all newly-elected presidents except Zachary Taylor, Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush were accompanied by control of at least house of Congress.

both houses for 100% of their time in office except, of the top six, Washington, and of the remaining 12, Adams, James Polk, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.
the house for at least 75% of their time in office except Polk, Eisenhower and Reagan.
the senate for at least 75% of their time in office except Adams, Cleveland and Eisenhower.
won two elections and/or served more than four years except Adams, Polk and John F. Kennedy.
the inclusion of all full-term presidents who controlled both houses except Martin Van Buren, Calvin Coolidge and Jimmy Carter. United States presidents and control of congress Emphasized relationship of main table

Saturday, September 29, 2007


For other Jewish regiments, see Jewish legion (disambiguation).
The Jewish Brigade was a fighting unit in the British Army composed of volunteers from the British Mandate of Palestine that fought in World War II on the side of the Allies against the Nazi Axis Powers.

Background
Despite the efforts by the British to enlist an equal number of Jews and Arabs into the Palestine Regiment, three times more Jews volunteered than Arabs. As a result, on August 6, 1942, three Palestinian Jew battalions and one Palestinian Arab battalion were formed. At this time, the Regiment was principally involved in guard duties in Egypt and North Africa. The British also wanted to undermine efforts of Hajj Amin al-Husayni who successfully drummed up Arab support of the Axis Powers against the Allies.

Palestine Regiment
After early reports of the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust were made public by the Allied powers, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a personal telegram to the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt suggesting that "the Jews... of all races have the right to strike at the Germans as a recognizable body." The president replied five days later saying: "I perceive no objection..."
After much hesitation, on July 3, 1944, the British government consented to the establishment of a Jewish Brigade with hand-picked Jewish and also non-Jewish senior officers. On September 20, 1944, an official communique by the War Office announced the formation of the Jewish Brigade Group of the British Army. The Zionist flag was officially approved as its standard. It included more than 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine organized into three infantry battalions and several supporting units.
The contemporary newspapers dismissed it as a "token" (The New York Times on page 12) and "five years late" (The Manchester Guardian).

Jewish Brigade Formation of the Jewish Brigade
Under the command of Brigadier Ernest Benjamin, the Jewish Brigade fought against the Germans in Italy from March 1945 until the end of the war in May 1945, then it was stationed in Tarvisio, near the border triangle of Italy, Yugoslavia, and Austria. There it played a key role in the Berihah's efforts to help Jews escape Europe for Palestine, a role many of its members would continue after the Brigade disbanded. Among its projects was the education and care of the Selvino children.
In July 1945, the Brigade moved to Belgium and the Netherlands. The Jewish Brigade Group was disbanded in the summer of 1946.

Battles and Berihah
Out of some 30,000 Jewish volunteers from Palestine who served in the British Army during WWII, more than 700 were killed during active duty. Some of the Jewish Brigade members subsequently became key participants of the new State of Israel's Israel Defense Force.

Resources

Jewish Legion
Special Interrogation Group (SIG)

Friday, September 28, 2007

Teo Fabi
Teodorico Fabi, better known as Teo Fabi (born March 9, 1955) is an Italian former racing driver.

Teo Fabi Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Agostino Depretis
Agostino Depretis (January 31, 1813July 29, 1887) was an Italian statesman.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Bruce Cameron
This article is about the priest. For the guitarist, see Bruce Cameron (guitarist).
The Most Reverend Bruce Cameron (born 1941) is a Scottish priest, who became Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 1 November 2000. On 6 November 2005 he announced his intention to step down from being the Primus at the end of April 2006, prior to his retirement as Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney at the end of June 2006.
He was succeeded as Primus by the Most Rev Idris Jones on 18 May 2006.

Biography
Cameron was born in 1941, in Glasgow, Scotland. He was subsequently educated at Edinburgh Theological College between 1961 and 1964. Upon graduation he became a Deacon and a Priest in 1965.
He first served as curate at St. Michael's and All Angels Church, Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, from 1964 to 1967. He was next posted to another curacy at Holy Cross Church, Edinburgh 1967-1970.
Cameron's quick advance in the church led him to become chaplain at St Mary's Cathedral 1971-1975. During this period he was the Diocesan Youth Chaplain. His first Rectorship was at St. Mary's Church, Dalmahoy 1975-1982. He was also Team Rector, Livingston Ecumenical Team Ministry from 1982 to 1988 and Rector of St. John's Church in Perth from1988 to 1992. Cameron was Consecrated Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in 1992 and Elected Primus on November 1st 2000.
He Retired in June of 2006
He remains married to Elaine (nee Gingles), who he wedded in 1974. The couple have two sons [1]

Tuesday, September 25, 2007


The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of relational database management systems. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up-to-date. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions without any add-ons, extensions or external programs.

General information
The operating systems the RDBMSes can run on.
Note (1): Open source databases listed as UNIX-compatible will likely compile and run under z/OS's built-in UNIX System Services (USS) subsystem. Most databases listed as Linux-compatible can run alongside z/OS on the same server using Linux on zSeries.
Note (2): The database availability depends on Java Virtual Machine not on the operating system

Fundamental features
Information about what tables and views (other than basic ones) are supported natively.
Note (5): Server provides tempdb, which can be used for public and private (for the session) temp tables.[2]
Note (6): Materialized views can be emulated using stored procedures and triggers.[3].
Note (7): Materialized views can be emulated with stored procedures and triggers using PL/pgSQL, PL/Perl, PL/Python, or other procedural languages.[4].

Tables and views
Information about what indices (other than basic B-/B+ tree indices) are supported natively.
Note (8): Can be implemented by indexing a computed column or by using an indexed view. [5]
Note (9): Can be implemented by using an indexed view. [6]
Note (17): InnoDB automatically generates adaptive hash index entries as needed.
Note (10): A PostgreSQL functional index can be used to reverse the order of a field.
Note (11): PostgreSQL will likely support on-disk bitmap indexes in 8.3. Version 8.2 supports a related technique known as "in-memory bitmap scans".
Note (15): Can be implemented using Function-based Indexes in Oracle 8i and higher.
Note (16): The users need to use a function from freeAdhocUDF library or similar. [7]
Note (17): Can be implemented using Function-based Indexes in Valentina.

Comparison of relational database management systems Indices

Database capabilities
Information about what other objects are supported natively.
Note (12): Both function and procedure refer to internal routines written in SQL and/or procedural language like PL/SQL. External routine refers to the one written in the host languages, such as C, Java, Cobol, etc. "Stored procedure" is a commonly used term for these routine types. However, its definition varies between different database vendors. Note (13): In Derby, users code functions and procedures in Java.

Other objects
Information about what partitioning methods are supported natively.
Note (14): PostgreSQL 8.1 provides partitioning support through check constraints. Range, List and Hash methods can be emulated with PL/pgSQL or other procedural languages. [8]

Databases vs Schemas (terminology)

List of relational database management systems
Comparison of truly relational database management systems
Comparison of object-relational database management systems

Monday, September 24, 2007

Saint Emygdius Legend
His hagiography was written probably by a monk of Frankish origin in the eleventh century, after the rediscovery of the saint's relics, which had been conserved in a Roman sarcophagus.

Gallery

Sunday, September 23, 2007


Edmund Dulac (born Edmond Dulac 1882-1953) was a French book illustrator prominent during the so called "Golden Age of Illustration" (the first quarter or so of the twentieth century).

Later life
Illustration to The Snow Queen
The Garden of Paradise - The Fairy of the Garden's garment
Illustration to The Nightingale
Illustration to The Princess and the Pea
Illustration to The Garden of Paradise
Edmund Dulac Illustration to The Garden of Paradise
Edmund Dulac Illustration to The Little Mermaid
Illustration to The Emperor's New Clothes

Saturday, September 22, 2007


The Lost Boyz are a Hip Hop group from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. The original group members were lead MC Mr. Cheeks, backup MC and hype man Freaky Tah (1972-1999), DJ Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou.

Lost Boyz Discography

Friday, September 21, 2007

Carl Weathers Biography
Weathers was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School and then went to San Diego State University.

Early life
At San Diego State University, Carl was a member of the football team. This led to a brief career as a linebacker with the Oakland Raiders, where he played 7 games in 1970 and one game in 1971. He joined the Canadian Football League (British Columbia Lions) in 1971 and played until 1973, 18 games in total. He retired in 1974 to become an actor.

Carl Weathers Football career
Weathers had his first parts in two Arthur Marks directed 1970s blaxploitation films: Bucktown and Friday Foster, both in 1975. Weathers also appeared in an episode on the 70's Sitcom "Good Times".
In 1976, he starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rocky as Apollo Creed, a role he would reprise in the next three Rocky films in 1979, 1982, and 1985. He also starred in a number of action films, both theatrically and on television, including: Force 10 from Navarone (1978), Predator (1987), Action Jackson (1988), and Hurricane Smith (1992), he also had the role of Chubbs in Happy Gilmore. And he is briefly seen as an Army MP in just one of the three released versions of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As a member of the cast of Predator, Weathers worked with future California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and future Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura.
He also appeared in Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" music video, in a McDonald's commercial around 1976, and in an episode of Good Times as an angry husband who suspected his wife of cheating on him with JJ. Ironically, though his character was presumably supposed to be older, Carl is actually one year younger than Jimmie Walker.
During the final season of In the Heat of the Night, his character of Hampton Forbes replaced Bill Gillespie at the chief of the Sparta, Mississippi police. He continued that role in the television movies based on the series. His noted other TV role was on the cop show Street Justice where he played Sgt. Adam Beaudreaux. He also played as MACV-SOG Colonel Brewster in the CBS series Tour of Duty.
In 2004, Weathers received a significant career revival as a comedic actor. Since he had worked primarily as a dramatic actor in action films throughout the first half of his career, he began appearing in many works that were quite different from his past. Beginning in 2004 with appearances in several episodes of the cult hit comedy series Arrested Development as a cheapskate caricature of himself, Weathers began appearing in largely comedic roles. This series of guest spots led to him getting roles in the comedies The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang and The Comebacks. The Comebacks will be his first major role in a film since 1992's Hurricane Smith.
Sylvester Stallone asked Weathers, Mr. T, and Dolph Lundgren for permission to use footage from their appearances in the earlier Rocky movies for Rocky Balboa. Mr. T and Dolph Lundgren gave him their graces, however Weathers wanted an actual part in the movie, even though his character died in Rocky IV. Stallone refused and Weathers decided not to allow Stallone to use his image for Rocky flashbacks from the previous movies. They instead decided to use new footage of a fighter who looks similar to Weathers.
He is currently acting as "Alex Keith" in advertising for Old Spice's sponsorship of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

Personal life

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Designer baby
The colloquial term "designer baby" has been used in popular scientific and bioethics literature to specify a child whose hereditary makeup (genotype) would be, using various reproductive and genetic technologies, purposefully selected ("designed") to be the optimal recombination of their parents' genetic material. The term is usually used pejoratively to signal opposition to such use of human biotechnologies.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007


Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather, other features of our environment, and for safety reasons. Every article of clothing also carries a cultural and social meaning. Human beings are the only creatures known to wear clothing, with the exception of pets clothed by their owners.
People also decorate their bodies with makeup or cosmetics, perfume, and other ornamentation; they also cut, dye, and arrange the hair of their heads, faces, and bodies (see hairstyle), and sometimes also mark their skin (by tattoos, scarifications, and piercings). All these decorations contribute to the overall effect and message of clothing, but do not constitute clothing per se.
Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses, canes, and umbrellas) are normally counted as fashion accessories rather than as clothing. Jewelry and eyeglasses are usually counted as accessories as well, even though in common speech these items are described as being worn rather than carried.
The practical function of clothing is to protect the human body from dangers in the environment: weather (strong sunlight, extreme heat or cold, and precipitation, for example), insects, noxious chemicals, weapons, and contact with abrasive substances, and other hazards. Clothing can protect against many things that might injure the naked human body. In some cases clothing protects the environment from the clothing wearer as well (example: medical scrubs).
Humans have shown extreme inventiveness in devising clothing solutions to practical problems and the distinction between clothing and other protective equipment is not always clear-cut. See, among others: air conditioned clothing, armor, diving suit, swimsuit, bee-keeper's costume, motorcycle leathers, high-visibility clothing, and protective clothing.

It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. Tagged since August 2007. It may contain an unpublished synthesis of published material that conveys ideas not verifiable with the given sources. Tagged since August 2007. It does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by citing reliable sources. Tagged since June 2007.
Social status
See also: undercover.
In many regions of the world, national costumes and styles in clothing and ornament declare membership in a certain village, caste, religion, etc. A Scotsman declares his clan with his tartan. A Muslim woman might wear a hijab to express her religion. A male Sikh may display his religious affiliation by wearing a turban and other traditional clothing. A French peasant woman may identify her village with her cap or coif.
Clothes can also proclaim dissent from cultural norms and mainstream beliefs, as well as personal independence. In 19th-century Europe, artists and writers lived la vie de Bohème and dressed to shock: George Sand in men's clothing, female emancipationists in bloomers, male artists in velvet waistcoats and gaudy neckcloths. Bohemians, beatniks, hippies, goths, punks and skinheads have continued the counter-cultural) tradition in the 20th-century West. Now that haute couture plagiarises street fashion within a year or so, street fashion may have lost some of its power to shock, but it still motivates millions trying to look hip and cool.

Occupation
Hindu women, once married, wear sindoor, a red powder, in the parting of their hair; if widowed, they abandon sindoor and jewelry and wear simple white clothing. Men and women of the Western world may wear wedding rings to indicate their marital status.
See also: Visual markers of marital status

Marital status
Clothing may signal an individual's receptiveness to sexual advances. Some garments signal lack of interest in advances; some garments and accessories indicate openness to flirtation. What constitutes modesty and allurement varies radically from culture to culture, within different contexts in the same culture, and over time as different fashions rise and fall. Often, exposure of skin and hair is an availability signal; covering skin and hair signals unavailability. However, minute adjustments of "modesty" signals can subvert the surface meaning and convey a mixed message ("I'm nice but I like to flirt too").
The vocabulary of women's clothing is usually more developed than the vocabulary of men's clothing in this regard.
Examples of sexual signaling:

In Amish communities, both men and women dress in plain garments that cover the body, without intricate details or patterns. Women also wear a prayer veil. Unmarried women wear black veils, married women wear white ones.
Many Muslim women wear a head or body covering (see hijab, burqa or bourqa, chador and abaya) that proclaims their status as respectable and modest women.
Streetwalking prostitutes in countries such as the United States where prostitution is illegal dress to advertise their status to potential customers, while avoiding anything that might constitute an unambiguous offer of sex for sale (which would increase their chances of being caught and convicted). They tend to wear current fashions in exaggerated form, bare a great deal of skin, and wear heavy makeup. Sexual availability
Religious clothing might be considered a special case of occupational clothing. Sometimes it is worn only during the performance of religious ceremonies. However, it may also be worn everyday as a marker for special religious status.
For example, Jains wear unstitched cloth pieces when performing religious ceremonies. The unstitched cloth signifies unified and complete devotion to the task at hand, with no digression.
The cleanliness of religious dresses in Eastern Religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism is of paramount importance, which indicates purity.
See also: Category:Religious vesture.

Religious habits and special religious clothing
Most sports and physical activities are practised wearing special clothing, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Common sportswear garments include shorts, T-shirts, tennis shirts, tracksuits, and trainers. Specialised garments include wet suits (for swimming, diving or surfing) and salopettes (for skiing).

Attire Sport and activity
Common clothing materials include:
Less-common clothing materials include:
Reinforcing materials such as wood, bone, plastic and metal may be used in fasteners or to stiffen garments.

Cloth, typically made of viscose cotton, flax, wool, hemp, ramie, silk, lyocell, or synthetic fibers such as Polyester and Nylon among many others.
Down for down-filled parkas
Fur
Leather
Denim
Paper
Jute
Rubber
PVC
Recycled PET
Tyvek
Rayon
Hemp
Bamboo
Recycled or Recovered Cotton
Soy
Other Natural Fibers Clothing materials
Clothing, once manufactured, suffers assault both from within and from without. The human body inside sheds skin cells and body oils, and exudes sweat, urine, and feces. From the outside, sun damage, damp, abrasion, dirt, and other indignities afflict the garment. Fleas and lice take up residence in clothing seams. Well-worn clothing, if not cleaned and refurbished, will smell, itch, look scruffy, and lose functionality (as when buttons fall off and zippers fail).
In some cases, people simply wear an item of clothing until it falls apart. Cleaning leather presents difficulties; one cannot wash bark cloth (tapa) without dissolving it. Owners may patch tears and rips, and brush off surface dirt, but old leather and bark clothing will always look old.
But most clothing consists of cloth, and most cloth can be laundered and mended (patching, darning, but compare felt).

Clothing maintenance
Humans have developed many specialized methods for laundering, ranging from the earliest "pound clothes against rocks in running stream" to the latest in electronic washing machines and dry cleaning (dissolving dirt in solvents other than water).
Many kinds of clothing are designed to be ironed before they are worn to remove wrinkles. Most modern formal and semi-formal clothing is in this category (for example, dress shirts and suits). Ironed clothes are believed to look clean, fresh, and neat. However, much contemporary casual clothing is made of knit materials that do not readily wrinkle and so do not have to be ironed. Some clothing is permanent press, meaning that it has been treated with a synthetic coating (such as polytetrafluoroethylene) that suppresses wrinkles and creates a smooth appearance without ironing.
Once clothes have been laundered and possibly ironed, they are usually hung up on clothes hangers or folded, to keep them fresh until they are worn. Clothes are folded to allow them to be stored compactly, to prevent creasing, to preserve creases or to present them in a more pleasing manner, for instance when they are put on sale in stores.
Many kinds of clothes are folded before they are put in suitcases as preparation for travel. Other clothes, such as suits, may be hung up in special garment bags, or rolled rather than folded. Many people use their clothing as packing material around fragile items that might otherwise break in transit.

Laundry, ironing, storage
In past times, mending was an art. A meticulous tailor or seamstress could mend rips with thread raveled from hems and seam edges so skillfully that the darn was practically invisible. When the raw material — cloth — was worth more than labor, it made sense to expend labor in saving it. Today clothing is considered a consumable item. Mass-manufactured clothing is less expensive than the time it would take to repair it. Many people prefer to buy a new piece of clothing rather than to spend their time mending old clothes. But the thrifty still replace zippers and buttons and sew up ripped hems.

Mending
Used, no-longer-wearable clothing was once desirable raw material for quilts, rag rugs, bandages, and many other household uses. It could also be recycled into paper. Now it is usually thrown away. Used but still wearable clothing can be sold at consignment shops, flea markets, online auction, or just donated to charity. Charities usually skim the best of the clothing to sell in their own thrift stores and sell the rest to merchants, who bale it up and ship it to poor Third World countries, where vendors bid for the bales and then make what profit they can selling used clothing.

The life cycle of clothing
Western fashion has, to a certain extent, become international fashion, as Western media and styles penetrate all parts of the world. Very few parts of the world remain where people do not wear items of cheap, mass-produced Western clothing. Even people in poor countries can afford used clothing from richer Western countries.
However, people may wear ethnic or national dress on special occasions or if carrying out certain roles or occupations. For example, most Japanese women have adopted Western-style dress for daily wear, but will still wear silk kimonos on special occasions. Items of Western dress may also appear worn or accessorized in distinctive, non-Western ways. A Tongan man may combine a used T-shirt with a Tongan wrapped skirt, or tupenu.
Western fashion, too, does not function monolithically. It comes in many varieties, from expensive haute couture to thrift store grunge.

Early 21st-century clothing styles
For example: "Catalogue" fashion, regional styles such as preppy or Western wear.
These fashions are often associated with fans of various musical styles.
See also: Gothic fashion, Hippie, Grunge, Hip hop music, and Fetish clothing

Clothing of Europe and Russia
Clothing in the Americas

  • South American fashion
    United States mainstream fashion


    • United States alternative fashion
      Clothing in Asia
      Clothing in Africa
      Clothing in Oceania
      Islamic clothing Origin and history of clothing
      As technologies change, so will clothing. Many people, including futurologists have extrapolated current trends and made the following predictions:

      Man-made fibers such as nylon, polyester, terylene, terycot, lycra, and Gore-Tex already account for much of the clothing market. Many more types of fibers will certainly be developed. Clothing industry

      Clothing terminology
      Nudity
      Costume
      Clothes valet
      Clothes hanger

Tuesday, September 18, 2007


Java Platform, Enterprise Edition or Java EE is a widely used platform for server programming in the Java programming language. The Java EE Platform differs from the Standard Edition (SE) of Java in that it adds additional libraries which provide functionality to deploy fault-tolerant, distributed, multi-tier Java software, based largely on modular components running on an application server.

Nomenclature, standards and specifications

Main article: Java EE version history History
The Java EE APIs includes several technologies that extend the functionality of the base Java SE APIs.

Java EE General APIs
The Enterprise JavaBeans API defines a set of APIs that a distributed object container will support in order to provide persistence, remote procedure calls (using RMI or RMI-IIOP), concurrency control, and access control for distributed objects.

javax.ejb.*
The javax.naming, javax.naming.directory, javax.naming.event, javax.naming.ldap and javax.naming.spi packages define the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) API.

javax.naming
The java.sql and javax.sql packages define the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) API.

java.sql, javax.sql
These packages define the Java Transaction API (JTA).

java.transaction.*
These packages define the JAXP API. This is used for XML parsing.
xml is a language used in J2EE (section)

javax.xml.*
These packages define the Java Message Service (JMS) API.

javax.jms.*
These packages define the JAX-WS API responsible for web services support.

javax.jws.*

Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 9.0, developed as the open-source server GlassFish
WebLogic Application Server 10.0 from BEA Systems
SAP NetWeaver Application Server, Java EE 5 Edition from SAP
JEUS 6, an Application Server from TmaxSoft Java EE 5 application server certified

JBoss, an open-source application server from JBoss. A beta version of the JEE 5 version is available but this version is not certified [1].
Pramati Server 5.0
Geronimo, an open-source application server from Apache
JOnAS, an open-source application server from ObjectWeb
Oracle Application Server 10g
Resin, an application server with integrated XML support
SAP NetWeaver Application Server, Java EE 5 Edition from SAP
Sun Java System Web Server
Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8.2
IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) J2EE 1.4 application server certified

JRun Application Server from Macromedia

Friday, September 14, 2007


Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers that were originally designed as personal organizers, but became much more versatile over the years. PDAs are also known as pocket computers or palmtop computers. PDAs have many uses: calculation, use as a clock and calendar, accessing the Internet, sending and receiving E-mails, video recording, typewriting and word processing, use as an address book, making and writing on spreadsheets, use as a radio or stereo, playing computer games, recording survey responses, and Global Positioning System (GPS). Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones (smartphones), web browsers, or portable media players. Many PDAs can access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi, or Wireless Wide-Area Networks (WWANs). One of the most significant PDA characteristics is the presence of a touch screen.

Personal digital assistant History
Currently, a typical PDA has a touch screen for entering data and a memory card slot for data storage and IrDA, Bluetooth and WIFI for connectivity.

Typical features
Many original PDAs, such as the Apple Newton and the Palm Pilot, featured touch screens for user interaction, having only a few buttons usually reserved for shortcuts to often used programs. Touch screen PDAs, including Windows Pocket PC devices, usually have a detachable stylus that can be used on the touch screen. Interaction is then done by tapping the screen to activate buttons or menu choices, and dragging the stylus to, for example, highlight. Text input is usually done in one of two ways:
PDAs for business use, including the BlackBerry and Treo, have full keyboards and scroll wheels or thumb wheels to facilitate data entry and navigation, in addition to supporting touch-screen input. There are also full-size foldable keyboards available that plug directly, or use wireless technology to interface with the PDA and allow for normal typing. BlackBerry also has additional functionality as push based email and applications.
Newer PDAs, such as the Apple iPhone include new user interfaces using other means of input. The iPhone uses a technology called Multi-touch which uses fingers as input. Whereas the MacsturSoft version contains a slightly different version of Multi-Touch which is more advanced than Apple's Technology. Recognition and computation of handwritten horizontal and vertical formulas such as "1 + 2 =" was also under development. Touch screen
Although many early PDAs did not have memory card slots, now most have either an SD (Secure Digital) and/or a Compact Flash slot. Although originally designed for memory, SDIO and Compact Flash cards are available for such things as Wi-Fi and Webcams. Some PDAs also have a USB port, mainly for USB flash drives.

Memory cards
While many earlier PDAs connected via serial ports or other proprietary format, many today connect via USB cable. This served primarily to connect to a computer, and few, if any PDAs were able to connect to each other out of the box using cables, as USB requires one machine to act as a host - functionality which was not often planned. Some PDAs were able to connect to the internet, either by means of one of these cables, or by using an extension card with an ethernet port/RJ-45 adaptor.

Wired connectivity
Most modern PDAs have Bluetooth wireless connectivity, an increasingly popular tool for mobile devices. It can be used to connect keyboards, headsets, GPS and many other accesories, as well as sending files between PDAs. Many mid-range and superior PDAs have Wi-Fi/WLAN/802.11-connectivity, used for connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots or wireless networks. Older PDAs predominantly have an IrDA (infrared) port; however fewer current models have the technology, as it is slowly being phased out due support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. IrDA allows communication between two PDAs, a PDA and any device with an IrDA port or adapter. Most universal PDA keyboards use infrared technology because many older PDAs have it, and infrared technology is low-cost.

Wireless connectivity
An important function of PDAs is synchronizing data with a PC. This allows up-to-date contact information stored on software such as Microsoft Outlook or ACT! to update the database on the PDA. The data synchronization ensures that the PDA has an accurate list of contacts, appointments and e-mail, allowing users to access the same information on the PDA as the host computer.
The synchronizing also prevents the loss of information stored on the device in case it is lost, stolen, or destroyed. Another advantage is that data input is usually a lot quicker on a PC, since text input via a touch screen is still not quite optimal. Transferring data to a PDA via the computer is therefore a lot quicker than having to manually input all data on the handheld device.
Most PDAs come with the ability to synchronize to a PC. This is done through synchronization software provided with the handheld, such as HotSync Manager, which comes with Palm OS handhelds, Microsoft ActiveSync for older versions of Windows or Windows Mobile Center on Windows Vista, which comes with Windows Mobile handhelds.
These programs allow the PDA to be synchronized with a Personal information manager. This personal information manager may be an outside program or a proprietary program. For example, the BlackBerry PDA comes with the Desktop Manager program which can synchronize to both Microsoft Outlook and ACT!. Other PDAs come only with their own proprietary software. For example, some early Palm OS PDAs came only with Palm Desktop while later Palms such as the Treo 650 has the built-in ability to sync to Palm Desktop and/or Microsoft Outlook. Third-party synchronization software is also available for many PDAs from companies like Intellisync and CompanionLink. This software synchronizes these handhelds to other personal information managers which are not supported by the PDA manufacturers, such as GoldMine and Lotus Notes.

Synchronization
As with personal computers, it is possible to install additional software on most PDAs. Software can be bought or downloaded from the Internet, allowing users to personalize their PDAs to their liking. An example of this would be the display theme for the PDA. Almost all PDAs also allow for adding some form of hardware. The most common is a memory card slot, which allows the users to get additional and exchangeable storage space on their handheld devices. There are also miniature keyboards that can be connected to most mainstream PDAs for quicker text input. PDAs with Bluetooth use Bluetooth-enabled devices like headsets, mice and foldable keyboards.

Customization
PDAs are used to store information that can be accessed any time and any where.

Uses
Many PDAs are used in car kits and are fitted with differential Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to provide realtime automobile navigation. Most systems can also display traffic conditions, dynamic routing and roadside mobile radar guns. This information is usually downloaded from the Internet prior to travel, or can be downloaded on the fly with PDAs equipped with GPRS technology. Popular software in Europe for this functionality is TomTom software showing road conditions and 3D environments. PDAs are increasingly being fitted as standard on new cars.

Automobile navigation
For many years businesses and government organizations have relied upon rugged PDAs for mobile data applications. Typical applications include supply chain management in warehouses, package delivery, route accounting, medical treatment and record keeping in hospitals, facilities maintenance and management, parking enforcement, access control and security, capital asset maintenance, meter reading by utilities, and "wireless waitress" applications in restaurants and hospitality venues. There are even PDAs designed to take significant amounts of punishment, probably meant for military use. Unfortunately, these devices often lack the features of other PDAs, and come with a steep price tag.[1]

Ruggedized PDAs
In medicine, PDAs have been shown to aid diagnosis and drug selection and some studies have concluded that their use by patients to record symptoms improves the effectiveness of communication with hospitals during follow-up. The first landmark study in testing the effectiveness of PDAs in a medical setting was conducted at the Brigham & Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospitals in affiliation with Harvard Medical School. Led by the team of Steven Labkoff, MD and Sandeep Shah, the Constellation project used Apple's Newton (first PDA in the market) to cater to the demands of the medical professionals.
Constellation's objective was to test how clinicians in various medical environments (wired vs un wired) would use medical reference books on a hand-held device. The study validated the hypothesis that PDAs with medical content would be used to a greater degree (>40% more often) in unwired environments.
Today, the company evolved from the effort Skyscape offers a wide range of resources including drug information, treatment options, guidelines, evidence based information and journal summaries including the drug & safety alerts. Other entrants include Epocrates and ABX guide, which supply drug databases, treatment information and relevant news in formats specific to mobile devices and services such as AvantGo translate medical journals into readable formats and provide updates from journals. WardWatch organizes medical records to remind doctors making ward rounds of information such as the treatment regimens of patients and programs. Finally, Pendragon and Syware provide tools for conducting research with mobile devices, and connecting to a central server allowing the user to enter data into a centralized database using their PDA. Additionally, Microsoft Visual Studio and Sun Java provide programming tools for developing survey instruments on the handheld. These development tools allow for integration with SQL databases that are stored on the handheld and can be synchronized with a desktop/server based database. Recently the development of Sensor Web technology has led to discussion of using wearable bodily sensors to monitor ongoing conditions like diabetes and epilepsy and alerting medical staff or the patient themselves to the treatment required via communication between the web and PDAs.
Medical and scientific uses
As mobile technology has become almost a necessity, it is no surprise that personal computing has become a vital learning tool by this time. Educational institutes have commenced a trend of integrating PDAs into their teaching practices (mobile learning). With the capabilities of PDAs, teachers are now able to provide a collaborative learning experience for their students. They are also preparing their students for possible practical uses of mobile computing upon their graduation.
PDAs and handheld devices have recently allowed for digital note taking. This has increased student's productivity by allowing individuals to quickly spell-check, modify, and amend their class notes or e-notes. Educators are currently able to distribute course material through the use of the internet connectivity or infrared file sharing functions of the PDA. With concerns to class material, textbook publishers have begun to release e-books, electronic textbooks, which can be uploaded directly to a PDA. This eliminates the exhausting effort of carrying multiple textbooks at one time.
To meet the instructive needs sought by educational institutes, software companies have developed programs with the learning aspects in mind. Simple programs such as dictionaries, thesauri, and word processing software are important to the digital note taking process. In addition to these simple programs, encyclopedias and digital planning lessons have created added functionality for users.
With the increase in mobility of PDAs, school boards and educational institutes have now encountered issues with these devices. School boards are now concerned with students utilizing the internet connectivity to share test answers or to gossip during class time, which creates disruptions. Many school boards have modernized their computer policies to address these new concerns. Software companies such as Scantron Corp. have now created a program for distributing digital quizzes. The quiz software disables the infrared function on PDAs, which eliminates the element of information sharing among individuals during the examination.[2]

Educational uses
PDAs are used by glider pilots for pre-flight planning and to assist navigation in cross-country competitions. They are linked to a GPS to produce moving-map displays showing the tracks to turn-points, airspace hazards and other tactical information.

Sporting uses

Technical details
Many PDAs run using a variation of the ARM architecture (usually denoted by the Intel XScale trademark). This encompasses a class of RISC microprocessors that are widely used in mobile devices and embedded systems, and its design was influenced strongly by a popular 1970s/1980s CPU, the MOS Technology 6502.

Personal digital assistant Architecture
The currently major PDA operating systems are:

Palm OS - owned by PalmSource
Windows Mobile (Pocket PC), (based on the Windows CE kernel) - owned by Microsoft
BlackBerry OS - owned by Research In Motion
Many operating systems based on the Linux kernel - free (not owned by any company) These include

  • Familiar (comes in three flavours: GPE, Opie and barebone)
    OpenZaurus (for Zaurus PDAs)
    Intimate (for PDAs with an exceedingly large amount of memory)
    Symbian OS (formerly EPOC) owned by Motorola, Panasonic, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson
    Windows Vista - owned by Microsoft; has seldom use on PDAs; but may become more common on them if the OQO Model 2 sells well. Increasing popularity
    Perhaps, more than any other computer devices, the PDA lacks the fully-blown infrastructure of a Wireless Broadband network. This could be offered in future by WiMax. Nowadays prices of laptops are coming down. Though somewhat bigger in size, laptops have better visibility and are more powerful. However, the OQO Model 2 has been released as an IBM-PC compatible PDA with a USB port so that people can play computer games from ubiquitous operating systems such as Windows XP and connect typical PC peripherals.

    Shortcomings

    HP iPAQ
    Psion
    Abacus PDA Watch
    Acer N Series
    AlphaSmart
    Amida
    BlackBerry
    Casio Pocket Viewer
    Dell Axim
    Fujitsu Siemens Loox
    GMate Yopy
    High Tech Computer Corporation's series of Windows Mobile PDA/phones
    Palm, Inc. (Tungsten E2, TX, Treo and Zire)
    OQO Model 2; the only IBM PC compatible in the form factor of a PDA.
    PocketMail (email PDA with inbuilt acoustic coupler)
    Sharp Wizard and Sharp Zaurus Popular consumer PDAs

    hp Jornada Pocket PC (phased out/merged with iPAQ line in 2002)
    Sony CLIÉ (discontinued)
    Tapwave Zodiac (discontinued)
    LifeDrive(discontinued)
    Apple Newton (discontinued)
    Dell Axim (discontinued) Rugged PDAs for business, government and military applications

    Automotive navigation system
    Danger Hiptop
    Desknote
    Graffiti (Palm OS)
    Hipster PDA
    Information appliance
    Laptop
    Mobile software
    Mobile learning
    Mobile web
    PADD (Star Trek PDA)
    Personal area network
    Personal Communicator
    Personal information manager
    Smartphone
    Sony Clie
    Subnotebook
    Tablet PC
    Ultra-Mobile PC
    Wearable computer
    Sena Cases
    Timex Datalink

Thursday, September 13, 2007


Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton OBE (born on January 9, 1956) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress. She is best-known for playing the title role in Vera Drake and Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Personal life
Staunton trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then spent six years in English repertory, including a period at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter where she had the title role in Shaw's Saint Joan (1979), before moving back to London.
She was awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2006 New Year's Honours List for her services to drama.

Career
One of her first films was an appearance in the 1992 movie Peter's Friends. Other early roles include performances in Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1995) Twelfth Night (1996) , Chicken Run (2000), Another Life (2001) and Bright Young Things (2003).
Staunton shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love. In 2004, she received the Best Actress honours at the European Film Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Venice Film Festival for her performance of the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, which also won Best Picture. For the same role, she received Best Actress nominations for the 2005 Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Staunton portrayed Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). The Guardian described her as the "perfect choice for the part" and "one of the film's greatest pleasures," "coming close to stealing the show."

Imelda Staunton Theatre career
In 1993 she appeared on the small screen alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If You See God, Tell Him. She has had other television parts in The Singing Detective (1986) and the comedy drama series Is it Legal? (1995-8). She was a voice artist on Mole's Christmas (1994). She had a guest role playing Mrs. Mead in Little Britain in 2005.
On radio, she has appeared in the title role of detective drama series Julie Enfield Investigates, as the lead, Izzy Comyn, in the comedy Up the Garden Path (which later moved to ITV with Staunton reprising the role), as Mrs. Blatherwick, the vile cook in Nanny McPhee, and in Diary of a Provincial Lady (from 1999) and Acropolis Now.