title: American Film Institute

text: AFI released a set of hour-long programs reviewing the career of acclaimed directors. The Directors Series content was copyrighted in 1997 by Media Entertainment Inc and The American Film Institute, and the VHS and DVDs were released between 1999 and 2001 on Winstar TV and Video.


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berinthia "Berry" Berenson-Perkins ( Berenson; April 14, 1948 – September 11, 2001) was an American actress, model and photographer. She was the widow of actor Anthony Perkins. She died in the September 11 attacks as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11.


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berry Berenson was born in Murray Hill, Manhattan, New York City. Her mother was born Maria-Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, better known as Gogo Schiaparelli, a socialite of Italian, Swiss, French, and Egyptian ancestry. Her father, Robert Lawrence Berenson, was an American career diplomat turned shipping executive; he was of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, and his family's original surname was "Valvrojenski".


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berenson's maternal grandmother was the Italian-born fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, and her maternal grandfather was Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor, a Theosophist and psychic medium. Her elder sister, Marisa Berenson, became a well-known model and actress. She also was a great-grandniece of Giovanni Schiaparelli, an Italian astronomer who believed he had discovered the supposed canals of Mars, and a second cousin, once removed, of art expert Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) and his sister Senda Berenson (1868–1954), an athlete and educator who was one of the first two women elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.


title: Berry Berenson

text: Following a brief modeling career in the late 1960s, Berenson became a freelance photographer. By 1973, her photographs had been published in "Life", "Glamour", "Vogue" and "Newsweek".


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berenson studied acting at New York's The American Place Theatre with Wynn Handman along with Richard Gere, Philip Anglim, Penelope Milford, Robert Ozn, Ingrid Boulting and her sister Marisa.


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berenson also appeared in several motion pictures. She starred opposite Anthony Perkins in the 1978 Alan Rudolph film "Remember My Name", and appeared with Jeff Bridges in the 1979 film "Winter Kills" and Malcolm McDowell in "Cat People" (1982).


title: Berry Berenson

text: On August 9, 1973, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Berenson, three months pregnant, married her future "Remember My Name" co-star Anthony Perkins. The couple raised two sons: actor-director Oz Perkins and folk/rock singer-songwriter Elvis Perkins. They remained married until the death of Perkins from AIDS-related complications on September 12, 1992.


title: Berry Berenson

text: Berenson died in 2001 during the September 11 attacks aboard American Airlines Flight 11 while returning to her Los Angeles home, following a holiday on Cape Cod.


title: Berry Berenson

text: At the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Berenson is memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-76.


title: Halo 4

text: Halo 4 is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. "Halo 4"s story follows a cybernetically enhanced human supersoldier, Master Chief, and his artificial intelligence construct Cortana, as they encounter unknown threats while exploring an ancient civilization's planet. The player assumes the role of Master Chief who battles against a new faction that splintered off from remnants of the Covenant, a former military alliance of alien races, and against mechanical warriors of the Forerunner empire known as the Prometheans. The game features a selection of weapons, enemies, and game modes not present in previous titles of the series.


title: Halo 4

text: Development of "Halo 4" began in 2009 and continued until September 2012. "Halo 4" is 343 Industries' first original title within the "Halo" series—previously, development of the main series was undertaken by Bungie, the creator of the franchise. In the developmental process, 343 Industries decided to explore the Forerunner fiction within the "Halo" universe, leading the team to design a new setting, enemies, and main antagonist. Existing characters and assets received visual overhauls, recreated from the ground up, and motion capture was used for animation within cutscenes. A goal for "Halo 4"s story was to incorporate more human elements; to achieve this, the developers chose to delve more deeply into the relationship between the two protagonists, Master Chief and Cortana. Several external studios assisted 343 Industries with developing "Halo 4", and over 350 people worked on the game in total.


title: Halo 4

text: The game was officially announced at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3) on June 6. Prior to launch, Microsoft stated that "Halo 4" was the most expensive video game title the company had created so far. The game was marketed with promotional events and videos, including the creation of a live-action film, "". "Halo 4" grossed  million on its launch day and $300 million in its opening week—a record for the franchise. More than one million people played "Halo 4" on Xbox Live within the first 24 hours of its release. The game was met with positive reviews by professional critics and received multiple nominations and awards from the press. It was re-released as part of "" for the Xbox One in 2014, and was followed by a sequel, "", in 2015.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" is a shooter game in which players predominantly experience gameplay from a first-person perspective; the game perspective switches to third-person when using certain weapons, abilities and vehicles. The player's head-up display (HUD) shows real-time information on the player character's armor system, such as shield status, information on current weapons and abilities, and waypoints for goals and objectives. The HUD also has a motion tracker that detects allies, enemies, and vehicles within a certain radius of the player. The game sees the return of the alien species who were formerly members of the Covenant as foes, and introduces a new type of enemy called the Prometheans, which are Forerunner A.I constructs. There are three types of Prometheans: Knights serve as leaders of the group and are considered the deadliest of the Promethean forces; Crawlers are a weaker class that often attack in packs; and Watchers offer support and have the ability to shield or revive Promethean allies.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" features updated versions of many human and Covenant weaponry from previous "Halo" games, as well as introducing new weapons for the humans, Covenant and Prometheans. The game also features reusable equipment, called armor abilities, introduced in "". New armor abilities are autosentry; the hardlight shield, which activates a protective barrier similar to a riot shield; Promethean vision, which diminishes environment detail and shows hidden players as silhouettes; a regeneration field, which heals all players in close proximity and can emit a short range kinetic blast; and finally the thruster pack, which allows the player to launch themselves several feet in a horizontal direction. Returning abilities include active camouflage; jetpack; and hologram, which creates a doppelgänger of the player running towards a target point. Sprinting returns in "Halo 4"; however, players can now use it independently of their armor ability. New gameplay mechanics introduced to the series include throwing and catching, which has been implemented into the multiplayer game modes Oddball and Grifball.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4"s story or campaign mode can be played alone or cooperatively with one other player on the same console via split screen, and up to three other players through Xbox Live. Unlike in "Halo 3" cooperative campaign where each player takes the role of a different character, in "Halo 4" all players assume the role of Master Chief. Players can enable "skulls" in the campaign menu which act as gameplay modifiers such as increasing enemy health, changing NPC behavior or removing elements of the player's HUD. The campaign also features terminals which provide the player with additional backstory via videos viewed in the "Halo Waypoint" application on the Xbox 360.


title: Halo 4

text: In "Halo 4"s multiplayer component, titled "Infinity", players assume the role of a customizable Spartan-IV super-soldier. Players can progress through ranks by earning experience points from completing matches and challenges. Gameplay items such as visual customizations, weapons, armor abilities, and various upgrades are unlocked and can be acquired by players when they gain ranks. Once players attain rank SR-50, they can enlist into a "Specialization", enabling them to unlock further cosmetic and gameplay-enhancing customizations for their Spartan. War Games is a competitive multiplayer matchmaking mode. There are various playlists with different game types ranging from standard deathmatch to objective oriented modes such as capture the flag. War Games can be played with up to sixteen players on Xbox Live and has up to four-player split screen support. In "Halo 4", players are able to join certain multiplayer matchmaking sessions while they are in progress. Spartan Ops is a story-driven episodic game mode, that can be played solo or cooperatively like the campaign mode. It serves as a replacement for the Firefight game mode that featured in "Halo: Reach" and "". Ten episodes of content were released for Spartan Ops, each featured a cinematic and five objective-based missions. The first five episodes were delivered on a weekly basis following "Halo 4"s launch, the final five episodes were released in early 2013.


title: Halo 4

text: Other game features include Forge, a map-editing tool first introduced in "Halo 3". Like War Games it has both split screen and Xbox Live support. Using the tool, players can edit default multiplayer maps by adding or modifying spawn points, weapons and items, or create new ones using canvases. Forge in "Halo 4" contains a new "magnet" feature for connecting forge pieces together. Theater mode allows players to view films, create video clips, and capture screen shots from recent matches in War Games or custom games. "Halo 4" also offers a file sharing system that allows players to upload and share video clips, screenshots, custom maps and game variants.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" takes place in a futuristic science fiction setting in the year 2557, four years after the events of "Halo 3". Backstory details that hundreds of thousands of years before the modern era, humans were one of several interstellar civilizations. Following a war with the parasitic Flood, the humans came into conflict with the Forerunners, a powerful race that upheld a policy of benevolent shepherding of other races known as the Mantle of Responsibility. After centuries of war the Forerunners defeated the humans and stripped them of their technology and empire. The Forerunners soon fought the Flood themselves; after exhausting every other strategic option available to them, the Forerunners activated weapons of mass destruction known as the Halo Array. The Array's firing killed all sentient life in the galaxy to deprive the Flood of their food. Life that the Forerunners cataloged was then reseeded throughout the galaxy.


title: Halo 4

text: In the 26th century, humanity came under attack by the Covenant, an alien collective of species that worship the Forerunners as gods. The human supersoldier Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and his artificial intelligence companion Cortana, were instrumental in stopping the Halos from being activated, sterilizing the Flood outbreak before they could menace the galaxy once again, and defeating the Covenant resulting in the end of the war. At the end of "Halo 3", Chief and Cortana were left stranded in unknown space aboard the remains of the vessel "Forward Unto Dawn".


title: Halo 4

text: "Forward Unto Dawn" drifts towards an unknown Forerunner planet, later revealed to be the shield world Requiem. Cortana wakes Master Chief from cryonic sleep shortly before forces from a newly formed Covenant splinter faction board the vessel. The remnants of "Forward Unto Dawn" are caught in Requiem's gravity well and pass through an opening to crash-land on its interior. As Chief and Cortana explore Requiem, fighting hostile forces from the new Covenant faction and mechanical warriors called "Promethean Knights", Cortana malfunctions. She reveals that she is experiencing "rampancy", a declining mental state faced by smart AIs past their usual seven-year life span. Chief promises to get Cortana to Earth, believing that Cortana's creator, Doctor Catherine Halsey, can fix Cortana's condition. Chief and Cortana pick up garbled transmissions from a human ship, UNSC "Infinity", who have picked up the "Dawn"s distress call. Cortana attempts to warn "Infinity" away from Requiem's gravity well and directs the Chief to deactivate what she believes are communications jammers. Instead, the Chief unwittingly releases the Didact, an ancient Forerunner warrior, from imprisonment. The Didact, who deems Man unworthy of the Mantle of Responsibility, takes control of the Prometheans and the Covenant faction, then attacks "Infinity" after it is dragged into Requiem.


title: Halo 4

text: Chief makes contact with "Infinity" and helps repel the Didact's attack. Chief and Cortana recommend attacking the Didact while he is vulnerable, but "Infinity" captain Del Rio orders them to destroy the gravity well so their ship can escape. In the process, Chief is contacted by a Forerunner known as the Librarian—the wife of the Didact, as well as ancient humanity's protector. She explains that the Forerunners were divided on how best to combat the Flood. After failing to discover a way to immunize biological beings from the parasite, the Didact used a device called the Composer to convert the warriors under his command into Promethean Knights immune to infection. Requiring more soldiers, the Didact forcibly converted captured humans into Prometheans, before being stopped and imprisoned by the Librarian. The Librarian, who has guided humanity's development, accelerates the Chief's evolution to grant him immunity to the Composer.


title: Halo 4

text: After destroying the gravity well, Del Rio orders a retreat back to Earth, doubting the Chief and Cortana's testimony. The Master Chief disobeys orders to stand down and relinquish the malfunctioning Cortana, and stays behind to oppose the Didact. Chief and Cortana attempt to sabotage the Didact's ship before he leaves, but are unsuccessful. They follow the Didact to a Halo ring, Installation 03. The Composer has been moved from the ring onto the nearby Ivanoff Research Station, which the Covenant faction attacks. The Chief defends Ivanoff, but the Didact retrieves the Composer and uses it on the station, composing every individual save Chief.


title: Halo 4

text: Chief and Cortana use a fighter to follow the Didact's ship to Earth. Aided by "Infinity" and the home fleet, the Chief boards the Didact's ship with a nuclear warhead. Cortana inserts copies of herself into the Didact's computer systems to overwhelm the Didact's shield, but not before the Didact directs the Composer at Earth. With the help of Cortana, the Chief defeats the Didact, who falls into a portal underneath the Composer. The Master Chief activates the bomb but is saved by Cortana, who sacrifices herself. The Chief is found by a rescue team and is taken back to "Infinity", where he mourns the loss of Cortana. In a post-credits cutscene, the Didact proclaims the Forerunners' role as custodians of the galaxy having to bear the Mantle of Responsibility, and humanity as the greatest threat in the galaxy. Master Chief removes his armor aboard "Infinity"; if the player completes the game on Legendary difficulty, the Chief's heavily scarred face is briefly shown.


title: Halo 4

text: Spartan Ops take place six months after "Halo 4"s campaign. "Infinity" returns to Requiem, where the Prometheans and the Covenant splinter faction—led by Jul 'Mdama, who styles himself as "the Didact's Hand"—are still active. Sarah Palmer, commander of the Spartan-IVs, deploys Spartan squads to clear out Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and Promethean forces in Requiem's interior in order to set up research bases. Fireteam Crimson recovers a mysterious artifact excavated by 'Mdama's Covenant; "Infinity" scientist Doctor Glassman disappears after studying the device. Catherine Halsey is brought to "Infinity" due to her knowledge of Forerunner technology. She is kept under guard by marines and Spartans including Gabriel Thorne, who lost his family during the Didact's attack on Earth. While studying the artifact, Halsey begins receiving messages on her computer from an anonymous sender. The source of the transmissions is 'Mdama, who captures Glassman and forces him to work on a Forerunner device that supposedly contains the Librarian. Palmer arrests Halsey for communicating with 'Mdama, but Halsey uses an override code to force "Infinity"s AI, Roland, to assist her. Halsey contacts 'Mdama to try and strike a deal, as they both want to find the Librarian; Roland breaks free of Halsey's control and summons guards to apprehend Halsey. Promethean forces invade "Infinity", capture Halsey, and teleport her to 'Mdama's base. Serin Osman, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), orders "Infinity" captain Thomas Lasky to kill Halsey, but he is reluctant to do so. Palmer sets off to Requiem to kill Halsey; Lasky tells Fireteam Majestic to intervene and rescue Halsey from 'Mdama.


title: Halo 4

text: Halsey steps into the Forerunner device and makes contact with the Librarian. The Librarian gives Halsey the two pieces of the "Janus Key", an instrument that provides the location for all Forerunner technology in the galaxy, and instructs Halsey to use the key to advance humankind. Upon receiving the key, Halsey exits the device and 'Mdama takes half of the key from her. Halsey passes the second piece to Fireteam Majestic. Palmer wounds Halsey in the arm just before a Promethean teleports 'Mdama and Halsey from the base. 'Mdama sets Requiem to collide with the nearby sun and his forces evacuate the planet. Fireteams Crimson and Majestic disable devices that anchor "Infinity" to Requiem, allowing the ship to escape before the installation is destroyed. Meanwhile, Halsey, who has lost her arm, offers to ally herself to 'Mdama.


title: Halo 4

text: In October 2007, shortly after the release of "Halo 3", "Halo" developer Bungie split off from parent company Microsoft. Microsoft retained the intellectual property and rights to "Halo", and Bungie continued developing "Halo" games until 2010. During this period of time Microsoft formed an internal division, 343 Industries, to manage the franchise and develop future games.


title: Halo 4

text: In 2008, while 343 Industries was still in formation, Microsoft approached Starlight Runner Entertainment to help assemble the ""Halo" bible". Starlight Runner is a New York-based company that specializes in creating and producing transmedia franchises. Their job was to examine all content of the "Halo" universe, clean it up, and make it coherent and understandable for the people involved with the creation of "Halo" games and media. Frank O'Connor, a content manager at Bungie, assisted the team with the creation of the ""Halo" bible" before moving to 343 Industries to become "Halo" franchise development director. Unlike the original trilogy, the story for "Halo 4" was designed to be part of a multi-game arc from the beginning. In addition, 343 Industries aimed for "a more complete connectivity between all of their future media than before"; relating "Halo 4"s story to the "Forerunner Saga" and "Kilo-Five Trilogy" novels as well as using terminals in "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary" to introduce background knowledge on the Forerunners.


title: Halo 4

text: 343 started with a staff of roughly a dozen people, but grew to nearly 200 through development. "Halo 4"s development team included former employees of more than 25 triple-A studios. Prospective employees could not be told they were going to be working on "Halo 4". "We had people who we hired who hated "Halo" because of 'X,'" said Frank O'Connor, 343 Industries' franchise development director. "But what that really meant was, 'I feel like this game could be awesome because of 'Y input' that I'm going to bring into it. I want to prove it, and I'm passionate about proving it.' So we ended up with a bunch of people who were genuinely passionate about the product. That is a huge advantage, and that helped in hiring and forming our team." This rapid hiring and growth occurred during development of the game, creating issues; because the team was committed to a delivery date, "Halo 4" executive producer Kiki Wolfkill said that the team was forced to make "necessary mistakes", with production difficulties and a team inexperienced with working together contributing to development difficulties. Nine months before shipping, the developers restructured the game's production pipeline and gave individual teams more control due to bottlenecks in development. With so many developers from different backgrounds, forging a common goal and company culture was different. Creative director Josh Holmes recalled that an "epiphany moment" that proved the team was headed in the right direction was early in development, when the team completed a section of the game that was "very traditional ["Halo"]". Despite positive feedback from testers, 343 Industries discarded the prototype as too traditional, but felt that it showed the team could work together.


title: Halo 4

text: Including contractors, 350 people worked on the game. 343 Industries contracted Certain Affinity, an independent video game development studio, to help with the development of "Halo 4"; they started work on the game in early 2011. Certain Affinity has worked alongside Bungie and 343 Industries on producing multiplayer content for previous "Halo" titles. The studio developed the Forge mode, co-developed War Games and created a number of maps and multiplayer modes for "Halo 4".


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" and "" were both officially announced on June 6, 2011, at the E3 2011. "Halo 4" is the first installment in the Reclaimer Saga of "Halo" games. The studio's creative team, which included nearly 200 people led by creative director Josh Holmes, started developing the game as early as 2009. Prior to the release of the game, Microsoft Studios Vice President Phil Spencer stated that the "Halo" franchise is the "most important entertainment product in the company" and that "Halo 4" was the most expensive game that Microsoft had made. A demonstration of the game's campaign was first shown at E3 2012. The developers described it as a pivotal moment in development, as it was the first time the game had been shown publicly. The positive reaction was a morale boost for the team, who were unsure how the public would react. On July 7, 2012, a pre-release build of "Halo 4"s Forge mode was showcased by 343 Industries and Certain Affinity at RTX which took place at the Austin Convention Center. On September 26, 2012, O'Connor announced that the game's development was complete.


title: Halo 4

text: Following "Halo 4"s announcement, O'Connor reported that both Master Chief and Cortana would undergo "radical" changes in appearance for the game, some of them attributed to better graphics and others to story elements. The studio wanted Master Chief's appearance to convey an imposing mass and weight, to show that one of his characteristics is his armor. They studied the armor changes that were made for the Spartans in "Halo: Reach", which were much bulkier than renditions in previous "Halo" games. Character and concept artists began redesigning the Master Chief by creating sketches; these sketches would be rendered into 3D models so the team could analyze the design from every possible angle. The team would then return to creating sketches to make adjustments, and repeat the process until the main structure for the Master Chief was created. The team then worked on the finer details of his appearance.


title: Halo 4

text: During the concepting process of "Halo 4", O'Connor decided it would be best for the franchise to explore the Forerunner fiction of the "Halo" universe, which had remained largely a mystery before 343 Industries' involvement in the franchise. This ultimately led to the creation of a new race of enemy, the Prometheans, warriors of the Forerunner empire. Given that the Forerunners themselves had never been featured in previous "Halo" games, the design process for the appearance of the Prometheans was long and tedious. The art team produced a large number of sketches, which were presented to other members of the studio to get feedback and reactions. Many variations of different character models were considered before the team decided on a final design. The main goal when designing their appearance was to make them resonate with the player, and evoke the image of the Forerunner architecture and language that had been portrayed in previous "Halo" media. Upon death, the Promethean Knight dissolves from the point where it was last shot; this visual effect also occurs when certain enemies are killed by Promethean weapons. From a gameplay standpoint the design for the Prometheans also needed to fit in well with the sandbox so they would be suitable enemies to fight. A goal when designing their behavior was to make them highly adaptive from a tactical standpoint. For example, the Promethean Knight can phase in and out of space, allowing it to retreat or charge the player at any given moment; this changes the way that a player engages in a combat encounter.


title: Halo 4

text: Holmes explained that one of the goals for "Halo 4"s campaign was to incorporate more human elements into the story. To accomplish this the team wrote a B story that explored Master Chief's relationship with his AI partner, Cortana, who would break down into a dementia-like state. The development team realized that "Halo 4"s narrative could be dense and hard to approach, making it inaccessible for new players. They found incorporating such a storyline into an action game to be extremely challenging and considered dropping it during development. Holmes was adamant about including it; he took inspiration from his mother's battle with dementia, which she was diagnosed with near the start of the game's development. This led Holmes to want to capture the emotion and tell "a perfect story".


title: Halo 4

text: The senior art director for "Halo 4" is Kenneth Scott; he described the visual style of "Halo 4" as being more ingrained in the expanded universe fiction, and more "mature" than before. With the game's increased focus on the Forerunners, the artists invested heavily into the look and feel of Forerunner technology. The game also features more diversity in Forerunner structures, including fully active Forerunner technology as opposed to the mostly inert and abandoned structures seen in the earlier games. The majority of the game is lit statically using lightmaps; this allowed the art team to achieve realistic lighting effects with full global illumination and ambient occlusion. Image-based lighting is also used to ground scenes and make everything fit together better.


title: Halo 4

text: The cooperative Spartan Ops mode originally began as a Firefight-type mode, similar to that featured in "Halo: Reach", but was composed of different objective-oriented mission types. Over the course of development, changes were made to Spartan Ops to include a narrative that would tie "Halo 4"s multiplayer together. The missions were designed primarily for four player co-op. The Spartan Ops development team worked with the narrative team to use ideas and storylines to shape the mode such that the cinematics would tie in with the missions.


title: Halo 4

text: Glasgow based animation studio, Axis Animation, assisted 343 Industries on the creation of CGI cinematics for the Spartan Ops game mode. Axis have produced animations for numerous video games, including the award-winning announcement trailer for "Dead Island". To make each Spartan Ops episode as engaging as possible the team at Axis shot and edited episodes in live action using performance capture. The team then used the reference cameras at the live action shoot to create a performance edit, before shooting with CG cameras to provide more coverage of all scenes and a greater selection of shots for the editorial team. The shading team at Axis made use of the 3D animation package, Houdini, to procedurally generate the environment in the cinematics. Axis worked with Glasgow-based audio post production company Savalas on sound design and the final mix for the Spartan Ops cinematics. Facial motion capture was also utilized to take the movements and facial expressions from actors and apply them to the in-game cinematics for both Spartan Ops and campaign. Performance capture for both campaign and Spartan Ops cutscenes was directed and recorded at Giant Studios. Axis worked in conjunction with Giant Studios and Cubic Motion to develop a special facial motion capture solution that would retain facial expressions from the actors when creating the animation.


title: Halo 4

text: Visual effects house The Sequence Group, who had previously developed animation for "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary"s terminals, returned to create additional animation for "Halo 4". The Terminals feature a painterly artistic style, which Sequence president Ian Kirby felt appealed to gamers familiar with the style of concept art. In addition to creating the visuals for the "Halo 4" terminals, their work appeared in one of the game's main cinematics. To save time and expense using traditional motion capture methods to animate the 3D characters, The Sequence Group used twin Microsoft Kinect infrared sensors to create a home-made solution.


title: Halo 4

text: The game utilizes much of the "sandbox" that has been featured across all six prior "Halo" games and other media, in addition to introducing new characters, weapons, vehicles, and other elements. The game engine used is a heavily modified version of the engine established by Bungie. Unlike previous games in the "Halo" series, "Halo 4" runs natively in 720p resolution. The game itself comes on two discs and requires 4GB of available storage space either on an 8GB USB flash drive or Xbox 360 hard drive to play the multiplayer component. Disc two is used to install the multiplayer content and disc one is used for launching the game. Due to rendering issues and significant engine changes, Theater support for "Halo 4"s campaign and Spartan Ops was not featured in the game on launch; however 343 Industries expressed that this feature may be implemented in the future.


title: Halo 4

text: As with previous "Halo" titles, 343 Industries provides a statistic tracking service for players of "Halo 4". Player data such as game history, character progression, and various statistics can be accessed in game or via the Halo Waypoint website. The web services team at 343 Industries utilized the Windows Azure Service Bus messaging infrastructure to relay data from the Xbox Live network to back-end databases, where player data and information is stored. "Halo 4" player data can also be accessed via the Xbox SmartGlass application.


title: Halo 4

text: British record producer and composer Neil Davidge wrote the music for "Halo 4". Davidge is best known for his work as a co-writer and producer for the band Massive Attack, and also composed the scores for numerous films. Davidge intended to add "a touch of romance" to the score as well as adding more electronic sounds while keeping "Halo"s style.


title: Halo 4

text: Sotaro Tojima, best known for his work on Konami's "" and "", served as "Halo 4"s audio director. The team performed many live audio recording sessions, several of which occurred in Tasmania, Australia. Some of these recording sessions took place in generally inhospitable environments, such as underwater, in fire, and in ice, through the use of specially designed microphones; other recording sessions have utilized "home made" explosives. Tojima intended for the game's audio to be clearly grounded in the "Halo" universe, while also having a more realistic quality than in past titles.


title: Halo 4

text: Music composer Kazuma Jinnouchi, also formerly from Konami, joined 343 Industries during the production of "Halo 4" in 2011. He contributed several additional tracks for the game. He would later go on to be the sole composer of the game's sequel, "", in 2015.


title: Halo 4

text: Voice actors returning to reprise their roles in "Halo 4" include Steve Downes as Master Chief, and Jen Taylor as both Cortana and Halsey. The two actors recorded together for the first time, as Downes actually flew to 343's Washington headquarters instead of recording in his hometown of Chicago. Voices for new characters include Mark Rolston as Captain Andrew Del Rio, Darren O'Hare as Thomas Lasky, Jennifer Hale as Sarah Palmer, Adrienne Barbeau as Dr. Tillson, Keith Szarabajka as the Didact, Travis Willingham as Jul 'Mdama, and Lori Tritel as the Librarian. Additional voices provided include Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, and Jason Bradbury. Employees of Rooster Teeth Productions' have cameo roles in Spartan Ops, as characters from the "Halo" machinima "Red vs. Blue". Bruce Thomas was the performance capture actor playing the role of Master Chief and actress Mackenzie Mason played the performance role of Cortana. Taylor served as the motion capture source for Halsey.


title: Halo 4

text: On January 19, 2012, McFarlane Toys announced that they would be creating action figures for "Halo 4", bringing new characters, weapons and vehicles from the video game to the fans. McFarlane Toys CEO and founder, Todd McFarlane said that he was "really excited to be working with the all-star team of 343 Industries". McFarlane also stated that they would continue and expand their previous figure line which would be rebranded as "Halo Universe". On February 14, 2012, toy company Mega Brands revealed a new product series in their Mega Bloks "Halo" Universe collector's line. Both McFarlane Toys and Mega Brands revealed their figures at the 2012 American International Toy Fair. Jada Toys launched a new line of "Halo 4" die-cast toys in August 2012; Sideshow Collectibles also revealed a "Halo 4" Premium Cortana Figure. Toy manufacturer Funko released Master Chief, Cortana and Spartan-IV figures for their Pop! Vinyl toyline on November 8, 2012. On June 11, 2012, video game console peripherals manufacturer, Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced that they had signed a deal with Microsoft Studios to create a "Halo 4"-branded gaming headset; the product shipped on October 30, 2012.


title: Halo 4

text: 343 Industries and Microsoft also created a "Halo 4" art book, titled "Awakening: The Art of Halo 4"; it was published by Titan Books and released on November 6, 2012. The book contains a collection of concept art and sketches accompanied by commentary from the artists at 343 Industries. A limited edition version of the book was also released with only a thousand copies available worldwide. Another book, "Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide" was created by 343 Industries in collaboration with DK Publishing and was released September 24, 2013. It contains annotated artwork and profiles on characters, items, and locations within the "Halo" universe.


title: Halo 4

text: Microsoft once again partnered up with PepsiCo, having done so previously while promoting "Halo 3". In the United States players were able to earn double experience in "Halo 4" by purchasing Mountain Dew and Doritos and then redeem product codes found on the packaging using an iOS and Android app game called "Halo 4: King of the Hill Fueled by Mountain Dew". Players were able to redeem product codes from October 15, 2012, on websites that PepsiCo set up for the promotion. In the United Kingdom, a promotion ran from September 24, 2012, until December 4, 2012, where purchasers of Mountain Dew were able to redeem codes to have a chance of winning copies of "Halo 4", Xbox 360 avatar items and a trip to Seattle to attend a tour around the studio of 343 Industries. Microsoft also partnered with Pizza Hut branches in the United Kingdom; people who entered the contest via an official website had a chance of winning "Halo 4"-themed prizes. The contest was open from October 22, 2012, until December 30, 2012; entering participants also received a free code for a "Halo 4" Xbox 360 avatar outfit. Microsoft partnered with American Express to offer a promotion for eligible card holders in the United States and United Kingdom. Card holders who sync their American Express card with their Xbox Live account receive coupons and credits and are also rewarded with additional credits and coupons for obtaining achievements in "Halo 4". Microsoft also offered "Halo 4" armor, for Xbox Live avatars, to people who watched at least thirty minutes of footage from the 2012 United States presidential debates on their Xbox 360.


title: Halo 4

text: On October 31, 2012, Microsoft and government-owned organization Liechtenstein Marketing transformed the countryside of Liechtenstein for a special live action event for fans and members of the press. The Gutenberg Castle was transformed into a military fortification where guests tried out "Halo 4" for the first time. A nearby countryside had a United Nations Space Command military camp installed and Balzers Quarry was transformed into a battleground where fifteen actors played out a two-hour-long adventure.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" was announced with a trailer at E3 2011, titled "Awakening". It was directed by Joseph Kosinski and visual effects were created by animation company Digital Domain. Kosinski and Digital Domain had collaborated previously on the "Halo 3" "Starry Night" commercial. The trailer is set on the UNSC frigate "Forward Unto Dawn" during the opening events of "Halo 4". It depicts the Master Chief being awakened from cryonic sleep by Cortana, as the remnants of the frigate drift towards Requiem. The trailer was short-listed in the Visual Effects and Design categories at the 2012 AICP Show and NEXT Awards.


title: Halo 4

text: On April 30, 2012, it was announced that a web series, titled "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn", would play on Machinima Prime and Halo Waypoint during the weeks leading up to the release for "Halo 4". The series debuted on October 5, 2012, and contained five 15-minute live action shorts. It was directed by Stewart Hendler and the project was Microsoft's largest investment in a live action promotion. The series is set in 2526, 31 years before the events of "Halo 4" at the beginning of the Human-Covenant War. The plot is centered around the character Thomas Lasky, who appears in the video game, he is primarily portrayed by Australian actor Tom Green in the live action series. The series also ties in with the plot of the "Halo 4" campaign and Spartan Ops mode. The Master Chief is featured in the latter part of the series, and is played by actor Daniel Cudmore.


title: Halo 4

text: At E3 2012, the presentation of "Halo 4" was preceded with a live action segment called "The Commissioning". The video was directed by Nicolai Fuglsig and filmed over two and a half days, with four weeks of post-production and visual effects were added by Method Studios. Music in the trailer was scored by Neil Davidge. The video shows the UNSC "Infinity" vessel being pulled within the confines of the planet Requiem. Mark Rolston portrays Captain Andrew Del Rio in the live action video.


title: Halo 4

text: On October 18, 2012, the "Halo 4" launch trailer, titled "Scanned", premiered on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". The trailer was produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller. The trailer was filmed in Prague and features both CGI and live action sequences. It shows Master Chief, bound by a force shield, being approached by an enemy. The enemy moves toward John, scanning his mind to find the source of his strength and search for weaknesses. A live action sequence proceeds with flashbacks of John's past; showing him being kidnapped as a child, the Spartan-II augmentation procedure, and him being suited into his MJOLNIR armor. The trailer then shows John attacking Promethean Knights, before returning to the scene of him bound and being faced by his enemy, the Didact. On October 23, 2012, the "Halo 4" launch gameplay trailer was revealed; it featured segments of gameplay footage from the campaign and multiplayer.


title: Halo 4

text: In October 2012, visual effects company Framestore assisted advertising agency McCann London in producing live TV adverts for "Halo 4". The adverts aired on November 9, 2012; they featured live data on how many people were playing "Halo 4" online, correct to within five minutes of the broadcast.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" was released in all territories except Japan on November 6, 2012; the Japanese version was released on November 8. Microsoft initially released the game in two separate retail versions, branded as "Standard" and "Limited" editions. The Limited Edition includes digital items for Xbox 360 avatars and in-game Spartan-IVs, as well as access to future downloadable content in the form of three competitive multiplayer map packs, containing a total of nine maps. It also includes a 90-minute extended version of the live action digital series, "" and a UNSC "Infinity" Briefing Packet. At launch, two Specializations were available to all players; only owners of the "Halo 4" Limited Edition had access to all eight Specializations. However, 343 Industries later granted access to players, in certain countries, who participated in an online multiplayer match during the opening fortnight. For the remaining players, the Specializations were gradually unlocked in the months following launch.


title: Halo 4

text: Microsoft produced an Xbox 360 Limited Edition "Halo 4" console bundle that launched alongside the game. The bundle features two custom designed controllers, a standard edition of "Halo 4", a wired headset, exclusive downloadable content and a "Halo 4"-themed Xbox 360 containing a 320GB hard drive. It was also announced that Microsoft would be releasing a standalone Xbox 360 "Halo 4" Limited Edition wireless controller featuring a different design to the one included in the console bundle.


title: Halo 4

text: Microsoft reported that their security teams and law enforcement were investigating the possibility of "Halo 4" content being leaked on the internet in October 2012. Jessica Shea, Community Manager at 343 Industries, warned fans to be wary of "Halo 4" spoilers that were posted on the internet. O'Connor stated at New York Comic Con that leaks of the game and footage would not have any impact on how the game is released or marketed and that unlicensed uploading of high-profile games is inevitable.


title: Halo 4

text: Over ten thousand stores across forty countries opened for the midnight launch of "Halo 4". On the evening before the release of the game, a fifty-foot diameter illuminated Didact glyph was flown by a helicopter over the River Thames in London, from the Greenwich Peninsula to Tower Bridge. The glyph was created by a team of over fifty designers, engineers and fabricators and took approximately eight weeks to design and construct. Following the release of the game, New Zealand censors declared many copies of "Halo 4" illegal, after deciding to label it with an R13 rating, restricting it to buyers aged 13 and over. Many copies of the game had already gone on sale with an unrestricted M certificate, but these copies are in breach of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.


title: Halo 4

text: On February 5, 2013, a digital version of the game was released via the Xbox Live Games on Demand service. A game of the year edition of "Halo 4", featuring the season pass and Champion's Bundle DLC, pre-order bonuses, special avatar prop and the entire first season of Spartan Ops, was released on October 8.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" grossed US$220 million on its launch day and $300 million in its opening week. The gross was a new record for the franchise, surpassing "Halo: Reach"s $200 million first-day gross. More than one million people played "Halo 4" on Xbox Live within the first 24 hours of release. While "Halo 4" debuted at the top of the UK Video Games Chart and became the eighteenth biggest launch ever in the UK, it failed to beat the week one sales records of "Halo 3" and "Halo: Reach". U.S. retail tracking firm NPD reported that "Halo 4" was the second most sold retail video game of November 2012, the third most sold retail video game of December 2012, and the third most sold retail video game of the year. In the United States "Halo 4" became the best-selling Microsoft Studios title for sales counted during respective launch years. In 2012, "Halo 4" was the third most played game on Xbox Live based on average unique users per day.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" supports downloadable content (DLC), which is available to download via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Three War Games map packs, each containing three maps, can be purchased individually, or bought together with the "Halo 4" War Games Pass. The pass is included in the Limited Edition version of the game and is available to purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The first map package, the "Crimson Map Pack", was released on December 10, 2012. Players who were awarded early access to Specializations received complimentary access to the Crimson Map Pack for a limited time. The "Majestic Map Pack" was released on February 25, 2013, followed by the "Castle Map Pack" on April 8. Forge Island, a map designed for Forge mode creations was made available at no cost to Xbox Live users on March 29. Microsoft released additional DLC on August 20 that could be purchased together as the Champions Bundle or separately. The three DLC packs include: the "Bullseye Pack" containing two multiplayer maps and early access to the Ricochet gametype; the "Steel Skin Pack", which offers steampunk-themed skins for weapons; and the "Infinity Armor Pack", which includes new armor for customizing the player's Spartan.


title: Halo 4

text: Aside from map packs, the game is supported by regular matchmaking playlist updates. These updates make playlist and balance changes, sandbox tweaks and fix minor glitches. A title update to fix various game issues and glitches was released in December 2012. Spartan Ops went on a mid-season break that December and resumed on January 21, 2013; the back half of the season was made available as a free download from the Xbox Live Marketplace. On January 29, an in-game search feature was implemented for "Halo 4"s file sharing system; a web version of the "Halo 4" file browser was made available on February 27, 2013. On April 8, 343 Industries launched a competitive skill ranking system akin to that featured in "Halo 2" and "Halo 3".


title: Halo 4

text: During Spartan Ops' mid-season break, a free-to-enter "Halo 4" tournament, titled "Halo 4 Infinity" Challenge, was launched by Microsoft in partnership with Virgin Gaming. Players could register on the "Halo 4 Infinity" Challenge website to participate in the tournament, giving them the opportunity to win various prizes. On July 3, 2013, 343 Industries announced a second tournament in partnership with Virgin Gaming, titled "Halo 4" Global Championship. The tournament spanned a period of five weeks with a grand prize of $200,000. The tournament began on July 5 at RTX 2013, and on July 15 on Xbox Live. The tournament finals took place on September 1 at the 2013 Penny Arcade Expo; the event was streamed live and was hosted by Larry Hryb, Blair Herter, and Jessica Chobot.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" was re-released as part of "" for the Xbox One on November 11, 2014, and for Microsoft Windows on November 17, 2020. A sequel, "", was released for the Xbox One on October 27, 2015.


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4" received positive reviews from critics, with aggregate review website Metacritic assigning it an average score of 87 out of 100, based on 87 reviews. Many reviewers were impressed by 343 Industries' debut effort and considered it a worthy addition to the series. Ryan McCaffrey of IGN gave "Halo 4" a very positive review, considering it to be the best game of the series to date and the best Xbox 360 game of 2012; he called it "a bar-raising triumph for the entire first-person shooter genre." Wesley Yin-Poole of "Eurogamer" remarked that although he was initially skeptical of changes being made to the formula, 343's greatest achievement was managing to stay true to what "Halo" is. He was enthusiastic to see what the developer would do with "Halo 5" and expected them to deviate further while retaining the series' "magic".


title: Halo 4

text: "Halo 4"s campaign received a mixed reception from critics. Reviewers enjoyed Master Chief's return as the protagonist, and the emotional connection between Master Chief and Cortana was highly praised. Mike Mahardy of "Game Informer" complimented the characterization improvements of Chief and Cortana, calling their evolved love story more "focused" and "relatable" to the player, in comparison to the "cloudy and impersonal" stories from the prior games of the franchise. GameSpot editor, Chris Watters, described the "thrilling and emotional return of Master Chief and Cortana" as the highlight of the game. GamesRadar maintained that the narrative was enthralling and the campaign's structure was much better than its predecessors. IGN's McCaffrey praised the game's lighting, movements, animations, and lauded the campaign for its pacing, "deftly mixing on-foot combat, vehicle sequences, quiet story moments, and key Chief-and-Cortana interactions." Although Neil Davidge's work on the musical composition was noted as a "bold shift", McCaffrey claimed the music seemed "complementary rather than additive."


title: Halo 4

text: "1UP.com" reviewer Jose Otero was critical of "Halo 4"s story, writing that the ending of the game "doesn't make a lot of sense". He also remarked that while the narrative tied the main plot lines together well, it was disappointing to see some of the smaller story points were ignored entirely. Both G4 and "Official Xbox Magazine" agreed that the plot became convoluted on occasions and might be difficult to understand for new players of the franchise. G4 reviewer, Adam Rosenburg, also stated that while the soundtrack had some memorable moments, he was disappointed that composer Neil Davidge had chosen to ditch the familiar theme of previous games. Michael Gapper of "Computer and Video Games" drew a comparison between "Halo 4" and "Halo 2". He stated that the hardware limitations of the Xbox 360 had negatively impacted "Halo 4"s campaign, in the same way that they had throttled Bungie's ambitions for "Halo 2" on the original Xbox. He explained that although the game was visually stunning, this had detracted from the scale and spectacle that was present in "Halo 3"s campaign. He found the spaces within the campaign to be narrow and constrained which led to a lack of tactical options in encounters.


title: Halo 4

text: Competitive multiplayer received a mixed reception by critics. Chris Watters of GameSpot welcomed the new armor abilities and gameplay tweaks introduced in multiplayer. He praised the continuing robustness of Custom Game options and the accessibility of level editing in Forge. CVG's Gapper stated that the new scoring system alone made "Halo 4" multiplayer the best in the series, emphasizing that recognition for assists and completing objective tasks was a positive change. "Polygon" writer, Arthur Gies, said that the new game mode Dominion was the best addition to "Halo" multiplayer since the introduction of Xbox Live. He also thought that the multiplayer component was more approachable to people outside of the core player-base without dumbing anything down.


title: Halo 4

text: Reception towards Spartan Ops was mixed to negative; some reviewers expressed their disappointment in Spartan Ops replacing the cooperative Firefight mode. Criticisms were aimed at the brevity of missions and lack of replay value. Despite any shortcomings, IGN said the mode was a must-play for the "incredible pre-episode cinematics" which open up "a number of interesting narrative possibilities for future episodes and seasons." Martin Robinson of Eurogamer complained about the repetition of environments within the first half of the season and noted that missions quickly become a chore. He felt that Spartan Ops was a "weak, bloated alternative" compared to Firefight. "1UP.com" found that while the short length felt odd initially, the mode was still fun to play and offered more opportunities to play "Halo" cooperatively.


title: Corn snake

text: The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a species of North American rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the southeastern and central United States. Though superficially resembling the venomous copperhead ("Agkistrodon contortrix") and often killed as a result of this mistaken identity, the corn snake lacks functional venom and is harmless. The corn snake is beneficial to humans because it helps to control populations of wild rodent pests that damage crops and spread disease.


title: Corn snake

text: The corn snake is named for the species' regular presence near grain stores, where it preys on mice and rats that eat harvested corn (maize). The "Oxford English Dictionary" cites this usage as far back as 1675, whilst other sources maintain that the corn snake is so-named because the distinctive, nearly-checkered pattern of the snake's belly scales resembles the kernels of variegated corn.


title: Corn snake

text: As an adult the corn snake may have a total length (including tail) of . In the wild, it usually lives around ten to fifteen years, but in captivity can live to an age of 23 years or more. The record for the oldest corn snake in captivity was 32 years and 3 months. The corn snake can be distinguished from a copperhead by the corn snake's brighter colors, slender build, round pupils, and lack of heat-sensing pits.


title: Corn snake

text: Until 2002, the corn snake was considered to have two subspecies: the nominate subspecies ("P. g. guttatus") described here and the Great Plains rat snake ("P. g. emoryi)". The latter has since been split off as its own species ("P. emoryi)", but is still occasionally treated as a subspecies of the corn snake by hobbyists.


title: Corn snake

text: "P. guttatus" has been suggested to be split into three species: the corn snake ("P. guttatus"), the Great Plains rat snake ("P. emoryi", corresponding with the subspecies "P. g. emoryi)", and Slowinski's corn snake ("P. slowinskii", occurring in western Louisiana and adjacent Texas).


title: Corn snake

text: "P. guttatus" was previously placed in the genus "Elaphe", but "Elaphe" was found to be paraphyletic by et al., leading to placement of this species in the genus "Pantherophis". The placement of "P. guttatus" and several related species in "Pantherophis" rather than in "Elaphe" has been confirmed by further phylogenetic studies. Many reference materials still use the synonym "Elaphe guttata". Molecular data have shown that the corn snake is actually more closely related to kingsnakes (genus "Lampropeltis") than it is to the Old World rat snakes (genus "Elaphe") with which it was formerly classified. The corn snake has even been bred in captivity with the California kingsnake ("Lampropeltis californiae") to produce fertile hybrids known as "jungle corn snakes".


title: Corn snake

text: In the wild, the corn snake prefers habitats such as overgrown fields, forest openings, trees, palmetto flatwoods, and abandoned or seldom-used buildings and farms, from sea level to as high as . Typically, the corn snake remains on the ground until the age of four months but can ascend trees, cliffs, and other elevated surfaces. It can be found in the Southeastern United States ranging from New Jersey to the Florida Keys.


title: Corn snake

text: In colder regions, the corn snake brumates during winter. However, in the more temperate climate along the coast, it shelters in rock crevices and logs during cold weather. It also can find shelter in small, closed spaces, such as under a house, and come out on warm days to soak up the heat of the sun. During cold weather, the corn snake is less active; so it hunts less.


title: Corn snake

text: Often called the "American corn snake", "P. guttatus" is a proscribed pest in much of Australia. There are active extermination campaigns and advice for the public in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.


title: Corn snake

text: It has been found that corn snakes (along with other colubrids) reach sexual maturity by means of size, as opposed to age.


title: Corn snake

text: Corn snakes are relatively easy to breed. Although not necessary, they are usually put through a cooling (also known as brumation) period that takes 60–90 days to get them ready for breeding. Corn snakes brumate around in a place where they cannot be disturbed and with little sunlight.


title: Corn snake

text: Corn snakes usually breed shortly after the winter cooling. The male courts the female primarily with tactile and chemical cues, then everts one of his hemipenes, inserts it into the female, and ejaculates his sperm. If the female is ovulating, the eggs will be fertilized and she will begin sequestering nutrients into the eggs, then secreting a shell.


title: Corn snake

text: Egg-laying occurs slightly more than a month after mating, with 12–24 eggs deposited into a warm, moist, hidden location. Once laid, the adult snake abandons the eggs and does not return to them. The eggs are oblong with leathery, flexible shells. About 10 weeks after laying, the young snakes use a specialized scale called an egg tooth to slice slits in the egg shell, from which they emerge at about 5 in long.


title: Corn snake

text: Reproduction in captivity has to be done correctly so the clutch's mortality rate decreases. This includes accurate sexing, establishing proper pre-breeding conditioning, and timely pairing of adults. Corn snakes are temperate zone colubrids, and share a reproductive pattern where females increase their feeding during summer and fall. This only applies to corn snakes that are sexually mature, which typically indicates the snake is around 75 cm (30 inches) in length or weight 250 g.


title: Corn snake

text: Like all snakes, corn snakes are carnivorous and, in the wild, they eat every few days. While most corn snakes eat small rodents, such as the white-footed mouse, they may also eat other reptiles, or amphibians, or climb trees to find unguarded bird eggs.


title: Corn snake

text: Seasons play a large role in the thermal regulation patterns of corn snakes, which is the main mechanism of digestion for snakes. During the fall season corn snakes maintain a body temperatures that was 3.0 degrees Celsius higher than the surrounding environment after consuming a meal. While corn snakes in the winter were seen to not thermoregulate after digestion. Captive snakes do this by using heat mats as an underneath heat source replicates their natural conditions. Corns snakes demonstrate nocturnal patterns, and use the warm ground at night to thermoregulate, therefore heat mats replicate this source.


title: Corn snake

text: American "rat snakes", such as "P. guttatus", had venomous ancestors, which lost their venom after they evolved constriction as a means of prey capture.


title: Corn snake

text: Behavioral / chemosensory studies with corn snakes suggest that odor cues are of primary importance for prey detection, whereas visual cues are of secondary importance.


title: Corn snake

text: However; a study conducted by Dr. David Holzman of the University of Rochester in 1999 found that snakes' cognitive abilities (in specific regards to spatial learning) actually rival that of birds and rodents. Holzman challenged the typical testing method that was being used by biologists to examine snakes' navigational abilities, claiming the structure of the arena itself was biologically in favor of rodents. He hypothesized that if the typical arena being used to test the animals was modified to cater to snake's innate biologically driven goals, thus providing them with problem sets that they would likely encounter in their natural environment, this would give a more accurate view of their intelligence.


title: Corn snake

text: The study involved testing 24 captive-bred corn snakes, placing them in a wide-open tub with walls too high for them to climb out. Eight holes were cut out underneath, with one hole leading to a shelter. An intense light was positioned to shine directly on the arena, exploiting the snake's natural aversion to bright open spaces. This provided a biologically meaningful objective for the snakes: to seek out cozy dark shelter.


title: Corn snake

text: Not only did they find that, when given proper incentive, the snakes exhibited an acute ability to learn and navigate their surroundings. They also found snakes rely on their sense of vision much more than many herpetologists had previously assumed. They did, however, find that younger snakes were able to more quickly locate the holes than older snakes, as the younger snakes were more resourceful in their application of senses – where the older snakes more heavily relied on their sense of sight.


title: Corn snake

text: Corn snakes are one of the most popular types of snakes to keep in captivity or as pets, second only to the ball python. However, they are the most popular pet snake in Brazil. Their size, calm temperament, and ease of care contribute to this popularity. Captive corn snakes tolerate being handled by their owners, even for extended periods.


title: Corn snake

text: After many generations of selective breeding, captive bred corn snakes are found in a wide variety of different colors and patterns. These result from recombining the dominant and recessive genes that code for proteins involved in chromatophore development, maintenance, or function. New variations, or morphs, become available every year as breeders gain a better understanding of the genetics involved.


title: Corn snake

text: There are tens of thousands of possible compound morphs. Some of the most popular ones are listed here.


title: Corn snake

text: Hybrids between corn snakes and any other snake is very common in captivity, but rarely occurs in the wild. Hybrids within the genera "Pantherophis", "Lampropeltis", or "Pituophis" so far have been proven to be completely fertile.


title: Corn snake

text: When hybrids of corn snakes are found in the wild, they have usually hybridized with other "Pantherophis" species whose ranges overlap with corn snakes.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera "The Wall," written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a children's choir. At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: "Part 2" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It sold over four million copies worldwide and topped singles charts in fourteen countries, including in the UK and United States. It was nominated for a Grammy Award and was ranked number 384 on "Rolling Stone"s list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The three parts of "Another Brick in the Wall" appear on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera album "The Wall". They are essentially one verse each, although Part 2 sees its own verse sung twice: once by Floyd members, and the second time by the guest choir. During "Part 1", the protagonist, Pink, begins building a metaphorical wall around himself following the death of his father. In "Part 2", traumas involving his overprotective mother and abusive schoolteachers become bricks in the wall. Following a violent breakdown in "Part 3", Pink dismisses everyone he knows as "just bricks in the wall".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Bassist Roger Waters wrote "Part 2" as a protest against rigid schooling, particularly boarding schools. "Another Brick in the Wall" appears in the film based on the album. In the "Part 2" sequence, children enter a school and march in unison through a meat grinder, becoming "putty-faced" clones, before rioting and burning down the school.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: At the suggestion of producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd added elements of disco, which was popular at the time. According to guitarist David Gilmour:


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Gilmour recorded his guitar solo using a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar with P-90 pick-ups. Despite his reservations about Ezrin's additions, Gilmour felt the final song still sounded like Pink Floyd. When Ezrin heard the song with a disco beat, he was convinced it could become a hit, but felt it needed to be longer, with two verses and two choruses. The band resisted, saying they did not release singles; Waters told him: "Go ahead and waste your time doing silly stuff."


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: While the band members were away, Ezrin edited the takes into an extended version. He also had engineer Nick Griffiths record children singing the verse at Islington Green School, close to Pink Floyd's studio. Griffiths was instructed to record only two or three children; inspired by a Todd Rundgren album featuring an audience in each stereo channel, he suggested recording an entire school choir. The school allotted only 40 minutes for the recording.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Alun Renshaw, head of music at the school, was enthusiastic, and said later: "I wanted to make music relevant to the kids – not just sitting around listening to Tchaikovsky. I thought the lyrics were great – 'We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control' ... I just thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids." Renshaw hid the lyrics from the headteacher, Margaret Maden, fearing she might stop the recording. Maden said: "I was only told about it after the event, which didn't please me. But on balance it was part of a very rich musical education." Renshaw and the children spent a week practising before he took them to a recording studio near the school. According to Ezrin, when he played the children's vocals to Waters, "there was a total softening of his face, and you just knew that he knew it was going to be an important record". Waters said: "It was great—exactly the thing I expected from a collaborator."


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: For the single version, a four-bar instrumental intro was added to the song that was created by looping a section of the backing track. The single fades out during the guitar solo. The version included on the compilation "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" combines the single version's intro and the LP version's ending. (Later compilations such as "" and "" instead include the album version prefaced by "The Happiest Days of Our Lives".)


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: In exchange for performing vocals, the children of Islington School received tickets to a Pink Floyd concert, an album, and a single. Though the school received a payment of £1,000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties for the children. Following a change to UK copyright law in 1996, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts. After royalties agent Peter Rowan traced the choir members through the website Friends Reunited and other means, they successfully lodged a claim for royalties with the Performing Artists' Media Rights Association in 2004.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" was released as a single, Pink Floyd's first in the UK since "Point Me at the Sky" (1968). It was also the Christmas number one of 1979 and the final number one of the decade in the UK. In the US, it reached number 57 on the disco chart. The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide. "Cash Box" described it as a "catchy but foreboding selection, with its ominously steady drum work and angry lyrics."


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The song won Waters the 1983 British Academy Award for Best Original Song for its appearance in the "Wall" film. "Part 2" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group. It appeared at number 384 on "Rolling Stone"s 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The lyrics attracted controversy. The Inner London Education Authority described the song as "scandalous", and according to Renshaw, prime minister Margaret Thatcher "hated it". Renshaw said, "There was a political knee-jerk reaction to a song that had nothing to do with the education system. It was [Waters'] reflections on his life and how his schooling was part of that." The single, as well as the album "The Wall", were banned in South Africa in 1980 after it was adopted by supporters of a nationwide school boycott protesting instituted racial inequities in education under apartheid.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The song featured in most Pink Floyd live gigs since its release (the only notable exceptions being the Knebworth 1990 appearance and the Live 8 reunion gig).


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: During the 1980/1981 Wall tour, the song was performed close to the original recording (with the children's singing played from tape), except that the ending was markedly expanded. As can be heard on "Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81", Gilmour's solo was followed by another guitar solo (played by Snowy White in 1980 and Andy Roberts in 1981) and finally an organ solo by Richard Wright.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The song was differently arranged on both tours after the departure of Roger Waters. On all shows of the Gilmour-led Floyd, Gilmour sang the lead vocals in unison with Guy Pratt, the children's vocals were augmented by live singing from the female backing vocalists, and the song incorporated a second guitar solo (by Tim Renwick) but no keyboard solo. Aside from this, the overall arrangements in 1987-1989 and 1994 were different. On the A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, the two guitar solos were adjoined by a short piece of jamming. The song now started with an intro similar to the single version but with a 'teaser break' before the start of the vocals, and ended with a fadeout drowned out by children's voices (not dissimilar to the album version). This arrangement can be heard on Delicate Sound of Thunder".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: The 1994 tour, instead, saw a different and longer version that combines elements of all the songs's three parts. On "Pulse", the song opens with the phone signal (which originally bridged Part 2 with "Mother"), then a helicopter is heard (from "The Happiest Days of Our Lives"), before the band starts playing a short instrumental excerpt of Part 1. The bombastic ending of "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" leads into Part 2 (as on the album), and the ending incorporates the keyboard arpeggio of Part 3, the return of helicopter noises before the song comes to a full stop (as opposed to a fade-out). On the version from the video, the final minute also includes a sample of the vocal echo of "Dogs".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: From 1988 onwards, Pink Floyd utilized additional sampled parts of the kids' choir, which were triggered by Jon Carin. Most notably, the space between the second verse and David Gilmour's solo was always filled with the shout "Hey, teacher!". In addition, on 1988 and 1989 shows, Carin also triggered the same sample in a 'stuttering' manner over Guy Pratt's short bass solo bridging Gilmour's and Renwick's solo. On the original releases of "Delicate Sound of Thunder" and "Pulse" however, this effect was muted (even though the DVD of "Pulse" still shows the stage LEDs spelling out "HEY TEACHER" at the appropriate moments). The 2019 remix of "Delicate Sound of Thunder" restores the first "Hey, teacher" and even brings the second sampling up in the mix, despite it being relatively quiet on all bootlegs of the era and inaudible on the mix of the Venice concert, which however has the first "Hey, teacher" intact.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: A live version of "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" with Cyndi Lauper on vocals, recorded on 21 July 1990 at Potsdamer Platz, was released as a single on 10 September 1990 to promote "The Wall – Live in Berlin". The B-side was the live version of "Run Like Hell" performed with Scorpions at the same concert.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: In promotion of "The Wall – Live in Berlin" a new studio version was recorded by Roger Waters & The Bleeding Heart Band that was released on promo compilation titled "The Wall Berlin '90" featuring Pink Floyd and Roger Waters solo recordings.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Another live version appeared on Waters' album "In the Flesh – Live", integrated between "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" and "Mother" as on the original album, but with a reprise of the first verse ending the song.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: For later shows, Waters usually employed local school choirs to perform the song with him (as can be seen on ""). From 2011 to 2013, Waters added an acoustic coda called "The Ballad of Jean Charles de Menezes".


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Nu metal band Korn covered all three parts along with "Goodbye Cruel World" in 2004 for the compilation album "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1". The cover was released as a promotional single, peaking at number 37 on the Modern Rock chart and number 12 on the Mainstream Rock chart. A live music video was released to promote the single, directed by Bill Yukich.


title: Another Brick in the Wall

text: Will Levith of "Ultimate Classic Rock" called Korn's cover "one of the worst covers of a classic rock song of all time". Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic described it as "overwrought, yet enticingly so".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Charade is a 1963 American romantic comedy mystery film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The cast also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin. It spans three genres: suspense thriller, romance and comedy.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: "Charade" was praised by critics for its screenplay and the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn. It has been described as "the best Hitchcock movie [that] Hitchcock never made". It was filmed on location in Paris and contains animated titles by Maurice Binder. Henry Mancini's score features the popular theme song "Charade".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: While on holiday in the French Alps, Regina "Reggie" Lampert, an expatriate American working as a simultaneous interpreter, tells friend Sylvie that she is divorcing her husband, Charles. She also meets Peter Joshua, a charming American.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: On her return to Paris, she finds her apartment stripped bare. A police inspector says Charles sold off their belongings, then was murdered while leaving Paris. Their money is also missing. Reggie is given her husband's small travel bag, containing a letter addressed to her, a ship ticket to Venezuela, four passports in multiple names and nationalities, and other miscellaneous personal items. At Charles' sparsely attended funeral, three men show up to view the body. One sticks a pin into the corpse to confirm Charles is really dead.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Reggie is summoned to meet CIA administrator Hamilton Bartholomew at the American Embassy. She learns that the three men are Herman Scobie, Leopold W. Gideon, and Tex Panthollow. During World War II, they, Charles, and Carson Dyle were assigned by the OSS to deliver $250,000 ($ million in current dollar terms) in gold to the French Resistance, but instead stole it. Carson was fatally wounded in a German ambush, and Charles double-crossed the others, taking all the gold. The three survivors are after the missing money, as is the U.S. government. Hamilton insists Reggie has it, even if she does not know what or where it is—and that she is in great danger.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Peter locates Reggie and helps her move into a hotel. The three criminals separately threaten her, each convinced she knows where the money is. Herman then shocks her, claiming that Peter is in league with them, after which Peter confesses he is Carson Dyle's brother, Alexander, and is trying to bring the others to justice, believing they killed Carson.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: As the hunt for the money continues, Herman and Leopold are murdered. Hamilton tells Reggie that Carson Dyle had no brother. When she confronts Peter, he claims he is Adam Canfield, a professional thief. Although frustrated by his dishonesty, Reggie still trusts him.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Reggie and Adam go to an outdoor market where Charles' last known appointment was. Spotting Tex, Adam follows him. At the stamp-selling booths, Adam and Tex each realize that Charles bought some extremely valuable stamps and affixed them to the envelope found in his travel bag. Both men race back to Reggie's hotel room, only to discover the stamps missing from the envelope. Reggie, who gave the stamps to Sylvie's young son, Jean-Louis, suddenly realizes their significance. She and Sylvie locate Jean-Louis, but he has already traded the stamps to a dealer. They find the dealer, who says the rare stamps are worth $250,000 in total. He returns them to Reggie.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Reggie returns to the hotel and finds Tex's body with the name "Dyle" scrawled next to it. Convinced Adam is the murderer, a frightened Reggie telephones Hamilton, who says to meet him at the Colonnade at the Palais-Royal. Adam sees her and gives chase. At the Colonnade, Reggie is caught out in the open between the two men. Adam claims Hamilton is really Carson Dyle: surviving the German ambush, he became obsessed with revenge and reclaiming the treasure. Reggie runs into an empty theater and hides in the prompt box. Carson is about to shoot her, but Adam activates a trapdoor under him, and Carson falls to his death.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: The next day, Reggie and Adam go to the embassy to turn over the stamps, though Adam declines going in. Inside, Reggie discovers that Adam is really Brian Cruikshank, a U.S. Treasury agent responsible for recovering stolen government property. With his true identity now revealed, he proposes marriage to Reggie.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: The film ends with a split-screen grid showing flashback shots of Cruikshank's four identities; Reggie says she hopes they have lots of boys, so they can name them all after him.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: When screenwriters Peter Stone and Marc Behm submitted their script "The Unsuspecting Wife" around Hollywood, they were unable to sell it. Stone then turned it into a novel, retitled "Charade", which found a publisher and was serialized in "Redbook" magazine, as many novels were at the time. The series caught the attention of the same Hollywood companies that had passed on it earlier. The film rights were quickly sold to producer/director Stanley Donen. Stone then wrote the final shooting script, tailored to Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, with Behm receiving story co-credit.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Hepburn shot the film in the fall of 1962, immediately after "Paris When It Sizzles", which was filmed that summer in a number of the same locations in Paris, but difficulties with the earlier production caused it to be released four months after "Charade".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: When the film was released at Christmas time, 1963, Audrey Hepburn's line, "at any moment we could be assassinated", was dubbed over with "at any moment we could be eliminated" due to the recent assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The dubbed word stood out quite clearly, so official video releases of the film have since restored the original dialogue, though some public domain videos taken from original release prints still carry the redubbed line.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: At the end of the film, Hepburn lists Grant's aliases, concluding, “I hope we have a lot of boys and we can name them all after you.” In the Criterion Collection's 1999 commentary, Stone laments the fact that the music swells to mask his “best closing line”. Donen tells him he can say it now and get his own back. It is not clear whether they were not aware of the change—on the same commentary, Donen denies the restoration of “assassinated”—or if the soundtrack was altered after the commentary was recorded. Other discrepancies in the commentary include both men recalling that Grant was 60 at the time.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: Cary Grant, who turned 58 during filming, was sensitive about the 25-year age difference between Audrey Hepburn (33 at the time of filming) and himself, and was uncomfortable with their romantic interplay. To address his concerns, the filmmakers agreed to add dialogue that has Grant's character comment on his age, and Regina — Hepburn's character — being portrayed as the pursuer.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: "Charade" receives generally positive reviews, from 21st-century critics as well as contemporaries. The film has a 94% approval rating based on 50 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.40/10 and the consensus: "A globetrotting caper that prizes its idiosyncratic pieces over the general puzzle, "Charade" is a delightful romp with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn's sparkling chemistry at the center of some perfectly orchestrated mayhem." On Metacritic the film has a score of 83% based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: In a review published January 6, 1964, in "The New York Times", Bosley Crowther criticized the film for its "grisly touches" and "gruesome violence", but also praised it for its screenplay with regard to its "sudden twists, shocking gags, eccentric arrangements and occasionally bright and brittle lines" as well as Donen's direction, said to be halfway between a 1930s screwball comedy and "North by Northwest" by Alfred Hitchcock, which also starred Grant.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: In a "Time Out" review, the film was rated positively, with the assertion that it is a "mammoth audience teaser [...] Grant imparts his ineffable charm, Kennedy (with metal hand) provides comic brutality, while Hepburn is elegantly fraught". While reviewing the blu-ray DVD version of the film, Chris Cabin of "Slant Magazine" gave the film a three-and-a-half out of five rating, calling it a "high-end, kitschy whodunit" and writing that it is a "riotous and chaotic take on the spy thriller, essentially, but it structurally resembles Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" as well as describing it as "some sort of miraculous entertainment".


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: The film includes a notice reading "MCMLXIII BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES COMPANY, INC. and STANLEY DONEN FILMS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" but omitting the word "Copyright", "Copr." or the symbol "©". Before 1978, American law required works to include the word, abbreviation or symbol in order to be copyrighted. Because Universal failed to properly display the copyright notice, the film entered into the public domain in the United States immediately upon its release. As a result, copies from film prints of varying quality have been widely available on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. The film is also available for free download at the Internet Archive. However, while the film itself is in the public domain, the original music remains under copyright if outside the context of the film. The film remains fully protected by copyright outside the U.S.


title: Charade (1963 film)

text: The soundtrack album for the film, featuring Henry Mancini's score, was released in 1963 and reached No. 6 on "Billboard" magazine's pop album chart.


title: Ocean current

text: An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents are primarily horizontal water movements.


title: Ocean current

text: An ocean current flows for great distances and together they create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of Earth’s regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel. For example, warm currents traveling along more temperate coasts increase the temperature of the area by warming the sea breezes that blow over them. Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes northwest Europe much more temperate for its high latitude compared to other areas at the same latitude. Another example is Lima, Peru, where the climate is cooler, being sub-tropical, than the tropical latitudes in which the area is located, due to the effect of the Humboldt Current. Ocean currents are patterns of water movement that influence climate zones and weather patterns around the world. They’re primarily driven by winds and by seawater density, although many other factors – including the shape and configuration of the ocean basin they flow through – influence them. The two basic types of currents – surface and deep-water currents – help define the character and flow of ocean waters across the planet.


title: Ocean current

text: Ocean dynamics define and describe the motion of water within the oceans. Ocean temperature and motion fields can be separated into three distinct layers: mixed (surface) layer, upper ocean (above the thermocline), and deep ocean. Ocean currents are measured in sverdrup (sv), where 1 sv is equivalent to a volume flow rate of per second.


title: Ocean current

text: Surface currents, which make up only 8% of all water in the ocean, are generally restricted to the upper of ocean water, and are separated from lower regions by varying temperatures and salinity which affect the density of the water, which in turn, defines each oceanic region. Because the movement of deep water in ocean basins is caused by density-driven forces and gravity, deep waters sink into deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.


title: Ocean current

text: Surface oceanic currents are driven by wind currents, the large scale prevailing winds drive major persistent ocean currents, and seasonal or occasional winds drive currents of similar persistence to the winds that drive them, and the Coriolis effect plays a major role in their development. The Ekman spiral velocity distribution results in the currents flowing at an angle to the driving winds, and they develop typical clockwise spirals in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise rotation in the southern hemisphere.


title: Ocean current

text: In addition, the areas of surface ocean currents move somewhat with the seasons; this is most notable in equatorial currents.


title: Ocean current

text: Deep ocean basins generally have a non-symmetric surface current, in that the eastern equator-ward flowing branch is broad and diffuse whereas the pole-ward flowing western boundary current is relatively narrow.


title: Ocean current

text: Deep ocean currents are driven by density and temperature gradients. This thermohaline circulation is also known as the ocean's conveyor belt. These currents, sometimes called submarine rivers, flow deep below the surface of the ocean and are hidden from immediate detection. Where significant vertical movement of ocean currents is observed, this is known as upwelling and downwelling. Deep ocean currents are currently being researched using a fleet of underwater robots called Argo.


title: Ocean current

text: The thermohaline circulation is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective "thermohaline" derives from "thermo-" referring to temperature and "" referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep Water). This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters (with a transit time of around 1000 years) upwell in the North Pacific. Extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the Earth's oceans a global system. On their journey, the water masses transport both energy (in the form of heat) and matter (solids, dissolved substances and gases) around the globe. As such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the Earth. The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt. On occasion, it is imprecisely used to refer to the meridional overturning circulation, (MOC).


title: Ocean current

text: Ocean currents are important in the study of marine debris, and vice versa. These currents also affect temperatures throughout the world. For example, the ocean current that brings warm water up the north Atlantic to northwest Europe also cumulatively and slowly blocks ice from forming along the seashores, which would also block ships from entering and exiting inland waterways and seaports, hence ocean currents play a decisive role in influencing the climates of regions through which they flow. Cold ocean water currents flowing from polar and sub-polar regions bring in a lot of plankton that are crucial to the continued survival of several key sea creature species in marine ecosystems. Since plankton are the food of fish, abundant fish populations often live where these currents prevail.


title: Ocean current

text: Ocean currents are also very important in the dispersal of many life forms. An example is the life-cycle of the European Eel.


title: Ocean current

text: Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing costs of shipping, since traveling with them reduces fuel costs. In the wind powered sailing-ship era, knowledge of wind patterns and ocean currents was even more essential. A good example of this is the Agulhas Current (down along eastern Africa), which long prevented sailors from reaching India. In recent times, around-the-world sailing competitors make good use of surface currents to build and maintain speed.


title: Ocean current

text: Ocean currents can also be used for marine power generation, with areas of Japan, Florida and Hawaii being considered for test projects.


title: Mac Mini

text: Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. , it is positioned between the consumer all-in-one iMac and the professional Mac Studio and Mac Pro as one of four current Mac desktop computers. Since launch, it has shipped without a display, keyboard, and mouse. The machine was initially branded as "BYODKM" (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse) as a strategic pitch to encourage users to switch from PCs running operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Linux.


title: Mac Mini

text: In January 2005, the original Mac Mini was introduced with the PowerPC G4 CPU. In February 2006, Apple announced the second-generation lineup. It featured more advanced components and internal software updates, and it switched the CPU to the Intel Core Solo. The third-generation, which was unveiled in June 2010, had a thinner, unibody aluminum case and an HDMI port, and was more readily positioned as a home theater device and an alternative to the Apple TV.


title: Mac Mini

text: The 2018 fourth-generation Mac Mini model has Thunderbolt, an Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU, and also changed the case's default silver for space gray. This model also has solid-state storage and replaces most of the data ports with USB-C sockets. The fifth-generation lineup, featuring Apple Silicon, was introduced in November 2020 in the original silver style. The fourth-generation model has remained available alongside this. A server version of the Mac Mini that is bundled with the Server edition of the OS X operating system was offered from 2009 to 2014. The Mac Minis received generally tepid reviews except for the fifth-generation model, which was praised for its compatibility, performance, processor, price, and power efficiencies, though it drew some occasional criticisms for its ports, speaker, integrated graphics, non-user-upgradable RAM and storage, and the expensive cost to buy associated accessories and displays.


title: Mac Mini

text: The Mac Mini was modeled on the shape of a standard digital media player, and runs the macOS operating system (previously Mac OS X and OS X). It was initially advertised as "BYODKM" (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse), aiming to expand Apple's market-share of customers using other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and Linux. Mac Mini was the company's only consumer computer that shipped without a paired display, keyboard, and mouse since its original release in 2005.


title: Mac Mini

text: A removable panel was attached to the bottom of the chassis of the Mac Minis to allow for Random Access Memory (RAM) upgrades for the third and the fourth models. The cases does not void the product warranty and broken pieces were not covered. Since the third generation revision in 2010, the Kensington Security Slot and the optical drive were removed from all models, leaving internal storage spaces for either a second internal hard drive or an SSD, which can be ordered from Apple or as an upgrade kit from third party suppliers.


title: Mac Mini

text: Apple's release of a small form factor computer had been widely speculated upon and requested before the Mac Mini. In January 2005, the Mac Mini G4 was introduced alongside the iPod shuffle at the Macworld Conference & Expo; Apple CEO Steve Jobs marketed "The cheapest, and most affordable Mac ever". The machine was intended as an entry-level computer for budget-minded customers. In comparison to regular desktops, which use standard-sized components such as 3.5-inch hard drives and full-size DIMMs, the Mac Mini G4 uses low-power laptop components to fit into small cases and avoid overheating.


title: Mac Mini

text: The aluminum case, the top and bottom of which is capped with polycarbonate plastic, has an optical drive slot on the front, and the I/O ports and vents for the cooling system on the back. It has an external 85W power supply. Mac Mini G4 has no visible screws, reflecting Apple's intention the computer may not be upgraded by the user. Some Mac Mini owners used a putty knife or a pizza cutter to open the case to install third-party memory, which could be obtained less expensively than Apple's offering.


title: Mac Mini

text: The Mac Mini G4 is based on a single-core, 32-bit, PowerPC CPU with 512 KB of on-chip L2 cache. The processor, running at 1.25, 1.33, 1.42, or 1.5 GHz depending on the model, accesses memory through a front-side bus clocked at 167 MHz. The CPU can be overclocked to higher frequencies by either soldering or desoldering certain zero-ohm resistors on the logic board.


title: Mac Mini

text: An ATI Radeon 9200 graphics processor (GPU) with 32 megabytes (MB) of DDR SDRAM was supplied as standard; in the final 2005 model, Apple added a high-end option of 64 MB VRAM. In Apple's early marketing of the Mac Mini G4, it touted the superiority the discrete graphics board over the integrated graphics in many budget PCs.


title: Mac Mini

text: The machine uses 333 MHz DDR SDRAM and has one desktop-sized DIMM slot for RAM, allowing a maximum of 1 gigabyte (GB) of memory, a relatively small amount that often forced the system to page against the hard drive, slowing operation considerably. The Mac Mini G4 uses a single 2.5-inch Ultra ATA/100 hard drive that offers a maximum transfer rate of 100 megabytes per second (MB/s). It is not possible to open the sealed enclosure to upgrade the hard drive without possibly voiding the warranty of the system. The Mac Mini G4 also contains a second ATA cable that connects to the optical drive. A Combo drive was included as standard while a SuperDrive that could write to DVDs was also an option.


title: Mac Mini

text: The Mac Mini G4 has two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port. Networking is supported with 10/100 Ethernet and a 56k V.92 modem, while 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were additional, build-to-order options. External displays are supported via a DVI port, and adapters for VGA, S-Video, and composite video output were available. The system contains a built-in speaker and an 1/8-inch stereo mini jack for analog sound output. The new Wi-Fi card no longer used an MMCX-Female connector for the antenna, as do prior models, but rather a proprietary Apple one.


title: Mac Mini

text: The Mac Mini G4 was initially supplied with Mac OS X 10.3, then later with Mac OS X 10.4, and can run Mac OS 9 applications, as long as a bootable copy of the OS 9 system folder is installed from which to run the Classic environment (although the Mac Mini G4 cannot natively boot to Mac OS 9). As of Mac OS X 10.5, the ability to run the Classic environment was removed. Later, Mac OS 9 was able to run on the Mac Mini G4 through an unofficial patcher, though this was not supported by Apple. It is compatible with operating systems designed for the PowerPC architecture. Users can install the AmigaOS-compatible MorphOS, OpenBSD, and Linux distributions such as Debian and Ubuntu.