text:
B2B Marketers » Reach Pre-Qualified IT Decision Makers with a Custom Lead Gen Program » Get Details
TechNewsWorld > Computing > Hardware > Chips |
Apple's M1 ARM Pivot: A Step Into the Reality Distortion Field
By Rob Enderle
Nov 16, 2020 4:00 AM PT
Last week Apple announced a partial pivot away from x86 to ARM with one of those claims so outrageous it could have only come from Apple.
The company claimed its new ARM-based PCs would outperform 98 percent of those already in the market. No proof points, no material examples, no listed benchmarks. Just "trust us," this processor optimized for smartphones is magically better than processors designed to run PCs.
Apple also left out essential elements like application support, developer backing (which appears light), and even how much longer they will continue to support their x86 offerings which appear to be suddenly obsolete.
I've had several conversations with other PC OEMs, and they quietly lament that their legal teams won't let them make claims like this for fear of false advertising class action lawsuits.
Let's talk about that this week -- and we'll close with what may be the best Apple Watch killer yet: the Montblanc 2+ connected smartwatch, which is my product of the week.
Apple's Rule of 3
The experienced Apple customer knows to take Apple's claims about new products with a grain of salt. The iPod was a game-changing revolutionary product if you were, as I was, at its launch. But it took three years and three versions to mature to the point where most people would buy it.
It is interesting to note that Sony, with its Walkman, never created a viable alternative. This result was because Sony was too focused on protecting its intellectual property (the music titles they owned) and not concerned enough about making its products easy to use.
The iPhone was largely non-functioning when it was first shown and a horrid phone when launched. It wasn't even clear where the applications would run. After the third version, though, it was leading the smartphone segment in both sales and innovation.
Apple won because those that dominated the market believed that smartphones were only for business, not for individuals. This belief resulted in Microsoft and Palm killing early efforts that preceded the iPhone to do the same thing. Then, instead of defending their supposedly deep beliefs, they pivoted and tried to chase Apple.
This result was much like what happened with IBM and the mainframe in the 1980s. I should point out that IBM changed its mind and reinvested in the mainframe, turning it again into its most profitable hardware offering. This last suggests that had Research in Motion, Palm, and Microsoft moved to defend, they might still be large smartphone players.
The lesson here is to pretty much disregard a new Apple offering until it is on its third version. So buy something you'll love, not something that is still too immature for the market.
Jobs vs. Cook
When Steve Jobs would pivot, he tended to do so dramatically. He'd then use an enormous amount of marketing to convince a critical mass of folks to move with him. In efforts like this, Jobs could be frugal, but not cheap. He was one of the few CEOs who truly understood how marketing could manipulate a market -- a skill Jobs picked up when he studied India's religious leaders during his youth.
Cook doesn't seem to get the importance of marketing, is known to be cheap, not frugal, and his efforts appear primarily focused on increasing margins by reducing costs while raising prices. While Jobs seemed to learn why a closed ecosystem is a bad idea from IBM's near-collapse in the early 1990s, Cook appears to have missed that meeting and, as a result, Apple is already under an antitrust cloud.
Pertinent to this launch, Cook has tempered his pivot with some products moving to the M1 ARM chip and some remaining on x86. This bifurcation will create a marketing problem that needs to convince customers to make a pivot that Apple itself isn't willing to make.
Battles like this are not won by being tentative, and it does make Apple's performance claim about the M1 seem false. If indeed it's better than 98 percent of like products, why not fully pivot? That two percent of an already small market share would be mice nuts. Leaving the higher-performing products on x86 implies Apple knows that the M1 part isn't competitive.
We've now seen Microsoft, which has supported multiple processors in the past, struggle with its own far more limited ARM pivot. Microsoft's initial move was a failure. Then it partnered with Qualcomm, the current ARM and modem performance leader, to create a unique targeted offering. That was called the Always Connected PC and, now on its second iteration (third for Microsoft), it is a decent offering. Still, it doesn't outperform x86 on pure power, but it wins on battery life and connectivity -- two areas where ARM is naturally superior.
Meanwhile, the Always Connected PC is best as a connected product tied to an Azure back end (something that Apple lacks) and it took the combined resources of Qualcomm and Microsoft to create. On the other hand, Apple alienated Qualcomm (the company that effectively created the initial iPhone's capability) by trying to put them out of business.
Now that Apple has burned the bridge with Qualcomm, it wants folks to think it can outperform Qualcomm. Were that the case, why didn't Apple do that initially -- rather than trying first to wipe out Qualcomm so it could buy Qualcomm's technology on a fire sale?
In short, if Apple were as good with this technology as they seem to represent, why bother killing Qualcomm first?
There is an old saying that "Pioneers get the arrows, settlers get the land." This saying talks about the fact that smart buyers of new technology wait until others validate that technology before buying it.
That is my advice here, but you also don't want to buy their x86 offerings because they are likely to become prematurely obsolete, given Apple's apparent plan to move away from that platform. If you are an Apple buyer, the smart move is to hold on to the Apple PC you have until the third version of the Apple M1 technology to make sure it is mature.
This strategy will help assure that your applications will run properly on the new platform, and that Apple doesn't change its mind because of problems with both this new part and their split roll out. It could still go very badly.
Once you realize that the driver for this pivot wasn't more performance but a higher Apple margin (which doesn't benefit you at all unless you work for, or invest in, Apple), you'll know this isn't yet in your best interest and that maybe this time you should be a settler and not a pioneer. That is unless you enjoy catching arrows.
Given this is 2020, I don't think any of us need any more risks in our lives.
Montblanc Summit 2+ 4G Smartwatch
One other thing that Tim Cook and Steve Jobs disagreed about is how to bring an accessory to market. The iPod worked with both Apple and Windows PCs, which made it into the market changing success it became. But the Apple Watch, which for some time arguably has been the best smartwatch in the market, only works with the iPhone, dramatically limiting its market opportunity.
This foolish Apple strategy has given other providers of smartwatches time to catch up, and the new Montblanc Summit 2+ may have just done that. With an appearance that is, to my eye, both more attractive and more watch-like than the Apple Watch; and a rich feature set that appears to match it, this is the most impressive non-Apple smartwatch yet to hit the market.
Montblanc Summit 2+ Smartwatch
This device isn't a cheap date, with a price of around $1,000. But I've always believed it is better to create something without compromise at a high price than a compromised product at a low price -- and this watch doesn't appear compromised.
Outfitted with stress tracking, an advanced heart rate algorithm, speedometer, altimeter, barometer, compass, and GPS on top of 4G connectivity, this thing is a wearable powerhouse. With IPX8 water protection and haptics, not only can you wear it in the water; it is useful in the water.
Built as only Montblanc can build it; this watch based on Qualcomm's advanced Wear 3100 platform is the new solution for those of us not locked into Apple's ecosystem. Since I wouldn't touch an Apple product with a 10-foot pole (I don't like being a slave to any vendor), the Montblanc Summit 2+ is also my product of the week.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.
Rob Enderle has been an ECT News Network columnist since 2003. His areas of interest include AI, autonomous driving, drones, personal technology, emerging technology, regulation, litigation, M&E, and technology in politics. He has an MBA in human resources, marketing and computer science. He is also a certified management accountant. Enderle currently is president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group, a consultancy that serves the technology industry. He formerly served as a senior research fellow at Giga Information Group and Forrester. Email Rob.
Reprints More by Rob Enderle


get things up and running. And of course, if your hardware doesn't have DVI ports on one side or the other, you can't use a DVI ca ease it. 2 Purchase a wall mount that is the appropriate size for your computer screen. The back of the computer screen has four h e most suspect programs will be the last ones you were working with before experiencing the blue screen. Device drivers are usuall r Toshiba laptops are tricky when entering the BIOS. Turn the computer on while holding down the ESC key. The computer will beep milkshape 3d 2 Plug the other end of the cable into the corresponding output plug on your RCA TV. 3 Change the channel on your TV to the outpu of place. Defragging the hard drive is basically like putting all the files back where they belong. Click Start and type Disk findmymodelcar the computer's operating system, perform all required updates, as well as copy the customer's data from the original hard drive o .
s (http:www.pc-diagnostics.com) market software programs that can be run in the Windows mode, DOS mode, and even under the Linux Burn Sometimes having a problem burning a CD or DVD can be nothing more than a computing error and wouldn't necessarily be your f tled Multiple Displays. 4 Click the Multiple Displays drop-down box and select Extend these displays from the list. Click O r you've done this, you can reconnect your computer to the Internet with the confidence that the Microsoft security update and you Paleo Diet ber that computers are housed in metal cases for a reason: their components are fragile. Pins can be bent, capacitors and resistor isc that came with your computer. It will be a CD with Recovery Disc or similar wording on it. 2 Insert your recovery disc. Click findmymodelcar sfers the video signal from the computer to the monitor. If this cable is not fully inserted into the monitor and into the PC, it .
at will scan a user's computer for spyware and remove the infectious files. Anti-spyware programs will also monitor the computer a il all infections are removed. It may take a few times before you can completely remove the key-logger software from your computer M, cable connections, and expansion and controller cards, hard drive, and all storage devices. If the PC reboots normally, it is l documentation supplied with the third-party software you're trying to install and that is causing Install Shield to experience err milkshape 3d eo cable (recommended) or RF coaxial cable to connect the cable box to the TV tuner box. If you do not have a cable box, you can p bracket and then sliding the speaker down firmly.Alternately, set the speakers on the bookshelf mounts and clamp them in.1 On the findmymodelcar lish which component failed. In extreme cases, such as a hard drive replacement, a computer technician will be expected to install .


text:
Le phénotype cellulaire correspond à l'ensemble des caractéristiques cellulaires d'un organisme.

Notes et références

Cellule

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I drove out to the American Bottom floodplain on Saturday. On a hazy, moderately warm afternoon that was just cool enough to keep a sleepy ambiance at bay.
I hadn't been on this particular stretch for a long time. Well over two years. It's the broad, open area of farmland that lies on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River to the south of the Jefferson Barracks Bridge. Several years ago I spent a lot of time exploring this region and had become familiar with the many roads criss-crossing the fields, and as I drove I began to recall familiar sights and scenes.
A lot has happened to my photography in the intervening time. I've joined photography clubs, taken up film and medium format photography and expanded my range considerably. Yesterday, I had my Canon 5D Mark III, yes, but also my Rolleiflex plus three Canon film bodies, a 650, 620 and Elan 7E. For the first time I was going to photograph this area on film, black and white and color.
Much of the Mississippi Valley above and below St. Louis has been photographed by Quinta Scott. Including the American Bottom floodplain. She has a fine book of photographs called "The Mississippi: A Visual Biography". I borrowed the book from the library some years ago and learned a lot, but recall being underwhelmed by the subtle tones of the photography. This was the time when I was most heavily invested in the digital look and had lost an appreciation for the appearance of film. That has been regained.
Regained so much that a lot of digital photography simply looks garish and unnatural to my eyes these day. Despite the obsessive trend towards ever sharper sharpness and finer and finer pixel resolutions. Maybe because of these trends, even.
Yesterday my goal was to find an attractive scene and to photograph it in a number of different ways. Color digital, color film, black and white film using a number of differently colored filters.
These days my black and white filter collection covers yellow-green (Hoya X0), yellow (Hoya K2), orange (Hoya G) and red (Hoya 25A). You can emulate any of these filters with a digital image and Lightroom or Photoshop, and very easily too, but the look is not the same as that obtained with black and white film. Whether the difference is worth the effort of shooting film really depends on your philosophy of photography. In my case it is.
The image above, retaining a good degree of the haze of that afternoon, was shot using a yellow-green filter. A blue filter would have accented the haze even more. I'll have the results from the other filters when I get around to developing those films, but for reference here's the digital image photographed using a polarizing filter.
It's a slow day at work and I've been drifting through the photography websites, once again marveling at the ubiquity of style found in popular photography. It's so hard to stand out as original. Paradoxically, many of the most technically accomplished photographs suffer even more since they often emulate a look that has become familiar through over-promotion of similar appearing photographs. I've noted this before in similar posts on this site and so there's no surprise here. But it got me thinking about my own photography in a different way from before.
Most often the beginning photographer, to a large extent unaware of any technical or aesthetic rules, takes pictures of things that are meaningful at the time. Family, friends, places visited, vacations and celebrations. The resulting pictures are resonant with the photographer but are frequently not in the least bit interesting to an emotionally detached observer. Hence the stifled yawns at the projected slide shows of old or the smart phone photo collections of new.
The photographer, as he or she journeys into the art, begins to pick up rules and tips. All designed to lift the photograph away from the personal and into a more universal set of expectations. It's this process that teaches the photographer technique and control of the camera and the judgement required to produce such appealing work. So you get there. You can produce brightly vibrant, silky toned, entrancingly sharp, meltingly blurred, rule-of-thirds compliant mini-masterpieces. And you look at them and say – this means nothing.
Not nothing if you are seeking to sell these images or your skills as a photographer. They are the line and hook that draws custom. They also draw appreciation from the many others who too have reached or are close to reaching this level of accomplishment, acquiring likes or competition wins. All meaningful in their own way, but just how meaningful is that way?
For some, a great deal I suspect. And why not? But, me, no – there's something lacking and, again, it relates to that lack of personality. As in personal personality. That's the nothing. So I'm going backwards. I'm taking pictures of places, people and things that resonate with me. Places I visit often. Places I find contemplative or stimulating, often over and over again. Thus over the past year I've been collecting a lot of pictures of the same thing. The art of the picture, if art it is, is in reconstructing the dominant emotion I felt at the time. That can vary considerably and is a product of both my internal mood and the world I observe. It's meant moving away from certain styles and techniques that leave me cold.
My embrace of film is partly because I find the texture of film photography to be more organic and emotionally resonant than the results obtained by digital means. Partly this is tactile. Simply handling film imparts a sense of artifact that is lacking in digital up until the relatively rare stage of making a print. But even then, comparing prints from digital to prints from film, there is a strangely alluring almost-mystical quality about the film print that is not present in the digital image. For me, anyway.
Some of this is historic. I grew up with film. All of the most emotional moving pictorial records of my youth are on film. So there's an inbuilt bias right from the beginning. I spent a lot of time denying or belittling this bias during the years I threw myself wholeheartedly into the world of digital photography. I should not have. I allowed myself to be seduced by the new technology and bought into the prevailing wisdom that film was dead. A medium for has-beens.
Let's say that today I am happy to be a has-been.
Most of my posts here are concerned with my artistic development – or lack of the same – and my love/hate relationship with the world of photography. I write them as a form of therapy and clarification.
Every once in a while though, I find myself focused onto something else. In this case, a piece of camera equipment. The Canon EOS 650.
The 650. Not the 650D. This is a film camera. The first, the very first, to use the EF mount and the EOS designation. Launched in 1987 and 'an interesting historical piece' as noted by PhotoNotes.org which then goes on to dismiss it in terms of functionality to later EOS cameras.
True. Examine its specifications and they seem almost charmingly limited in terms of what had come since. A single focus point. A maximum shutter speed of 1/2000. No exposure bracketing. No E-TTL or, indeed, a built-in flash. Next to no controls, dials and buttons. No wired or wireless remote. No viewfinder exposure +/- scale. No adjustable diopter.
Yet despite all this, I really enjoy using this camera. The lack of features turns out to be freeing rather than restricting. It's the very rare circumstance where I regret not having a particular option and even then most limitations can be worked around. Instead, I find the absence of clutter refreshing. It's a layer of complexity and concern removed. Unlike today's digital cameras, stuffed with menus and fancy features, where it's so easy to get caught up in fretting about whether to use this or that when all the while all you really want to do is get the shot.
Using the EOS 650 is as close the zen-like experience I get from my Rolleiflex as I'm going to find in the Canon EOS series. There are a few even simpler EOS cameras out there – the 850 for example – but the lack of manual control in these SLRs puts them closer to point-and-shoot cameras than anything really useful. The 650 on the other hand always seems serious.
So I am often found carrying the EOS 650 with an EF lens of much more recent provenance such as the ubiquitous 24-105mm f/4L or the tiny 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. All working together in perfect harmony and giving me precisely the right sort of photographic pleasure.
Pete Shelley's writing often contains little pearls of wisdom, and never more so than during the "A Different Kind Of Tension" period. Song after song dealt with the irony of life and its contradictions, but always with a underlying philosophy of finding your own way.
For a couple of weeks, I dallied with an online photography competition site called Gurushots – I think PetaPixel turned me onto it – before exiting with a faint sense of disgust. Apart from it being yet another very obvious attempt to lure the amateur photographer into the Photoindustrialart Complex, it reeked of conformity with many other popular photography sites that peddle a certain flashy but sterile form of photography.
Another escape. Yet not so long ago I was striving for much the same type of image. Colorful, sharp, attractive in content, digitally pristine, safe.
And I found I could do them. It takes practice and skill, there is no denying that. But the achievement was unsatisfying. I felt that all I was doing was emulating a trend or fashion. The art proved to be profoundly impersonal.
Moreover, I began to realise that this art – the art of popular photography – was generating precisely the same negative emotions that I gained from a certain form of music, the flashy kind, technically perfect but soulless and unchallenging. Where was the equivalent of The Velvet Underground, The Buzzcocks or Arnold Schoenberg in this popular milieu?
There isn't one. Most popular photography is the equivalent of soft rock and jazz, guitar gods, the more sterile forms of progressive rock, easy listening classical. One only has to look at album art to see the match.
"Where in the world are we?
Why am I wasting my time? I sometimes think the best solution would be to tear myself aware from photo sites and photo clubs. But that would eliminate a social aspect from my photography, and I'm not sure I want to. What I do want to do is feel freer about doing it on my own terms.
So let's let that be, shall we? (My message to myself, this is.) No more seeking strokes, likes or acclaim and no more caring about the lack of or surfeit of the same. Just take the pictures. I know what I like.
I watched three Antonioni movies last weekend. "L'Avventura", "Red Desert" and "Identification of a Woman".
I've already touched on "Red Desert" below, and described some of the qualities that Antonioni brings to his films. Qualities that I find spellbinding as a still photographer.
Although there are many outstanding movie makers, and many outstanding films, Antonioni's work strikes me as the most purely photographic of all. Partly this is due to his predilection for long and relatively unchanging takes that force the eye to take in the scene and contemplate it much as one does a still photograph. Whatever action there is is often subtle and designed to complement the background scene, either in harmony or disharmony. The effect is always multi-leveled, one reason why Antonioni's films can be watched over and over again and new insights gathered with every viewing.
One of Antonioni's finest images is the final frame of "L'Avventura". A couple is attempting to overcome sexual betrayal, yet at no point during the lengthy interaction of the two in the preceding scenes has there really been any concrete bonding between the man and woman. Every interaction has spoken of doubt and uncertainty. So the moment of tenderness shown here, as the woman touches the man, is striking in its sincerity and genuineness. The movie ends with this moment, and the glory of this final scene lies in the vertical split between two views, a long shot of a far mountain and a bare stone wall. The long shot speaks to openness and possibility, the wall to an abrupt and final end. Each component makes up 50% of the scene, hovering like a tossed coin, with the outcome left open.
This is a masterpiece of photography. An image that, hung as a still, I could gaze at for hours. Is it any wonder that I, moved so strongly by an image such as this, find the vast majority of today's popular photography absolutely vapid?
Can you relate to this? You created what you thought was going to be the world's greatest, most stupendous, most wow inspiring landscape photograph ever- only to be disappointed when you opened it up in Lightroom… Maybe, it looked something like this? Not at all what you saw that morning… after you got up early… and hiked all that way. Flat! Dull. Lifeless. And just plain blah! But all is not lost. Because with a little bit of knowledge… Your image could be transformed into a calendar-worthy photograph of the highest caliber!
Now, I am not going to argue that the transformation here fails to change the photograph into one that is more calendar-worthy. Indeed it does. My argument is much more broad than that. It is that photographs that are 'calendar worthy' are intrinsically uninteresting in their own right. I know this attitude puts me at odds with most photographers, many of whom – with greater or lesser success – are striving precisely for this look. It's part of what is often characterized as an appearance that 'pops'. A look designed to instantly attract and to hold the attention of as many people as possible.
Maybe is my mildly misanthropic tendencies that alienate me from this trend. Perhaps it's wandering through art museums and finding greater pleasure in the deliberately understated art of photographers of the Dusseldorf school. Mostly, I think, it's the absence, to my mind, of any story or philosophy behind such work that leaves me regarding them is such a cold light.
This was brought home most forcefully to me today while watching Michelangelo Antonioni's "Red Desert". His first color film and one photographed in a deliberately painterly way. Deliberate in that Antonioni frequently paints his subjects and backdrops to reflect a coloristic way of regarding the world that is based more on psychology than realism. And very much more on an underlying philosophy of existentialism. It's a remarkable film that in almost every frame reveals an artistry that reveals the vast majority of popular contemporary photography to be conformist, vapid, materialist, emotionally empty and crudely manipulative.
Watching it, I marvel at Antonioni's vision. As exemplified by this screen grab below. The protagonist played by Monica Vitti stops to rest by a street vendor selling fruit and vegetables. Only all color except pastel grays and yellows has been removed from the shot. In this case, all the produce has been painted gray. Colors that match both the street and the clothing worn by Vitti. It's a remarkable shot, just a very brief interlude in the film, that reinforces the pale emptiness that threatens to overtake Vitti's character. An emptiness that acts as the central theme to the movie.
Undoubtedly I am helped in my appreciation of Antonioni's work by an underlying sympathy with his worldview, but even if I wasn't, it's impossible to argue with the overwhelming photographic artistry on display throughout "Red Desert". In my case, I have to go further. Because I regard work such as this as paramount, I am inevitably compelled to dismiss the manifestations found so often in popular photography. It's a rather lonely and isolating path to follow, but for me it's real. That's where I prefer to be.
It's been a long, slow, winter. Not unduly frigid or particularly snow stormy, but just long and teasing, with enough warm days to suggest a lifting of the cold only to see it slam back again the following day.
Enough to say enough is enough.
Within two days of beginning this post, the weather turned. The sun shone and the temperature rose well above freezing. Practically into the warm.
Last month (February) I took 34 digital photographs and 195 film photographs. Even allowing for the enthusiasm I expressed when I first went back to film, this is a remarkable development. Not one I would have predicted to be honest. I really did think this was going to be a fad for all my fine words at the beginning. After the thrill had worn off, surely I would return to ease and simplicity of digital photography. Well, it hasn't happened yet.
There are lots of reasons why. Perhaps the most surprising is the growing and deeply satisfying sense that by returning to an obsolete technology I have stepped off the bandwagon of endless upgrades. With the concurrent abandonment of the deep covetousness that often overtook me as I perused the camera equipment websites. This has been an enormous relief. I really was unaware how much time and effort I had been giving to tracking the latest trends and technologies. Often paying a lot of money for a beautiful but ultimately only marginal upgrade in equipment. I'm actually spending less on my photography now than I have for years, despite buying film and developing materials, simply because I am no longer chasing that $2000 lens or body. Instead I am using equipment that is decades old.
Even when using my old Canon film bodies that can support a large subset of my accumulated lens collection, I find myself falling back to very few lenses, most often my by-now quite old EF 24-105mm f4/L. With the Rolleiflex, I am restricted to the Schneider Xenotar 75mm lens built into the camera, but it doesn't feel like a restriction. For the first time ever, I am beginning to understand why some photographers never felt the need to move beyond a single fixed lens. Moreover, for perhaps the first time since I began photography as a child and really didn't care what I was using (or indeed that much about the resulting picture), I find myself thinking of the photograph first and the equipment second.
This has to be a good thing. I find myself taking far fewer photographs overall, but with a much higher satisfaction quotient from the results. Photography has not only become more fun; it has also become more rewarding. I have also learned a massive amount about film over the past months and find this knowledge bracing. I'm slowly tiptoeing into color, and will get more deeply involved with time. Whether black or white or color, I find the look of film entrancing. Yes, I could photograph digitally and process the image to mimic film. The technology to do this improves all the time. But that would remove the process element from my film photography, and that process is just as rewarding as the final result.
I found myself caught up in a world to which I do not really belong over the past few days.
It took writing this story to shake me out of it.
I am glad it did. Part of my problem (if indeed it is a problem) with photography, my own and others, is that I never really look at it as a stand alone art. Although I have taken a fair share of photographs that could be displayed on a wall, complete to themselves, they really don't satisfy me.
No, it's the photographs that can be woven into a story that appeal to me. Be the story narrative, descriptive or indeed poetry. Photographs that illustrate, accent or counterpoint.
That's the real reason I find so much popular photography uninvolving. I cannot form a narrative around these images, or if I can, I find it to be trite and clichéd.
It's a shame in a way. I am always likely to feel that I operate on the margins of the broad mainstream of photographic endeavor even as part of me craves to embrace it. But that's where I am. I'm not going to change. After all, roaming the edges of many aspects of life describes much of my personal history. I will never really be an insider.


text:
Posts Tagged 'Ekurhuleni Golf Union'
GolfRSA Rising Star: Introducing Filip Sakota
October 2020 – Filip Sakota takes center stage this October as we continue our Rising Star series. This ERPM Golf Club standout was honoured as Ekurhuleni Golf Unions' Under-15 Player of the Year in 2019 and in June, the talented 15-year-old was selected to the GolfRSA National Squad. We caught up with Filip during lockdown…
Roses claim historic first SA IPT victory
20 September 2019 – Ekurhuleni fulfilled their destiny with a historic first time victory in the 59th South African Inter-Provincial, sponsored by Tempest Car Hire, at Mbombela Golf Club on Friday. Groomed for success by former Ekurhuleni President Martin Saaiman since 2012, the youthful side defeated 2016 champions Southern Cape 8 – 4 on day…
All-Africa Junior team announced
4 February 2019 – The South African Golf Association (SAGA) has tasked GolfRSA National Squad members Martin Vorster, Christo Lamprecht and Casey Jarvis, and Sam Simpson to chase a 21st consecutive victory for South Africa in the prestigious All-Africa Junior Golf Challenge in Botswana in March. The winning team and the runners-up of the Africa…
Ekurhuleni goes back-to-back in Benoni
BENONI, 21 December 2018 – It took them nearly 30 years to break a winning drought in the South African Under-19 Inter-Provincial and Ekurhuleni wasn't about to give the trophy back this year, especially not in their own back yard. While the usual mix of upsets and jostling for position went on around them, the…
Gauteng North shows huge heart in SA IPT opener
GEORGE, 17 September 2018 – Central Gauteng and Southern Cape's first round clashes unfolded much the way one expected, but Gauteng North showed huge heart in the opening round of the 58th South African Inter-Provincial Tournament, sponsored by Tempest Car Hire, at Oubaai Golf Club on Monday. The Daisies were on the back foot after…
Lions ready for Free State onslaught at SA IPT
GEORGE, 16 September 2018 – Defending champions Central Gauteng fully expect to come under fire from Free State at Oubaai Golf Club in Monday's opening round of the South African Inter Provincial, sponsored by Tempest Car Hire. "Free State earned a hard-fought for promotion last year. They will want to prove that they belong with…
Schaper returns to winning form at North & South
15 August 2018 – Former number one ranked junior Jayden Schaper made a welcome return the winner's circle when he claimed the Nomads North and South title on Wednesday. The Ebotse golfer ended a 12-month winning drought on the national circuit on a dramatic final day at Country Club Johannesburg, showing all his experience under…
Jarvis charges to Africa Junior Open victory
12 August 2018 – In July, GolfRSA National Squad player Casey Jarvis eclipsed the leaders to lift the Nomads SA Boys Under-17 Championship title with a final round eight-under-par 64 at Middelburg Country Club. On Sunday, the 15-year-old from Boksburg lived up to his billing as one of the best closers on the junior circuit…
SA juniors set to strike in Italy
27 July 2018 – Five of the country's most promising young talents will travel to Europe in early September to represent South Africa in the 12th Reply Italian International Under-16 Championship. The South African Golf Association (SAGA) named Martin Vorster, Yurav Premlall, Casey Jarvis, Samuel Simpson and Kian Rose to fly the national flag in…
Hall, Telfer hold firm in Sanlam SA Amateur charge
10 July 2018 – Casandra Hall and Kaleigh Telfer are still on track for the elusive South African amateur double after making in through to Wednesday's semi-finals of the Sanlam SA Women's Amateur Championship. Both players had two tough matches on Tuesday for a spot in the final four at Umhlali Country Club. Reigning SA…
Red-hot Jarvis enjoys Nomads SA Boys bliss
6 July 2018 – Winning multiple Nomads SA Boys Championships is a rare feat. In fact, only one junior has managed to win all four SA Boys titles in South African golf history. Jayden Schaper achieved this exceptional accomplishment with his double triumph in the Under-19 Championship at Langebaan Country Club last year. Now GolfRSA…
Two share lead as Stevens chases in Middelburg
5 July 2018 – Martin Vorster from Southern Cape and Ekurhuleni's Ryan van Velzen will go into the final round of the 2018 Nomads SA Boys Under-17 Championship neck and neck on seven under par after a roller-coaster second round on Thursday. The duo had fluctuating fortunes as the wind got up in at Middelburg…
Solid Saturday showing for GolfRSA in England and Ireland
3 June 2018 – Wilco Nienaber will start this morning's third round of the Brabazon Trophy in England within striking distance of the lone leader at Frilford Heath Golf Club, while Christo Lamprecht and Therion Nel finished in a seven-way tie for the lead in Saturday's opening round of the East of Ireland Open Amateur…
Jubilant GolfRSA Juniors conquer at SA Challenge Cup
18 May 2018 – The GolfRSA Juniors closed out an unbeaten run at Irene Country Club to sweep to a fourth victory in the SA Challenge Cup after beating Western Province on Friday. Over the last four years, the popular team event had gone right down to the wire. In 2014, Central Gauteng beat the…
GolfRSA honours top 2017 achievers
18 March 2018 – Ekurhuleni amateur Kyle McClatchie scooped three trophies at the GolfRSA and Sunshine Tour Awards Ceremony held at the Maslow Hotel on Sunday night. The former number one-ranked amateur took home GolfRSA's Open Amateur of the Year Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award for his triumph in the 2017 English Amateur Stroke…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


AFRICA Albida Tourism (AAT) says the country's tourism industry is "turning a very positive corner" and the growing optimism is encouraging the group to continue investing in new and upgraded products.
AAT chief executive Ross Kennedy last week indicated that in addition to the group's $3 million investment in 2012, further upgrades were budgeted for this year, including the refurbishment of all 72 rooms at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
"There is no question that Victoria Falls has renewed and regained its status as a major African tourism hub," Kennedy said.
"All the signs are that Zimbabwe tourism is turning a corner and this is reflected in many varied ways.
"Our own AAT group occupancies, across four properties, grew in 2012 and 2013 forecasts and our forward books show continued growth.
Kennedy said positive developments in the sector were mirrored by the arrival of international airlines Emirates and Dutch KLM back into Harare, the ongoing upgrading of the Victoria Falls International Airport and the general improvement of product and property in the resort town.
"Some of this is on the back of the massive boost that will flow with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly in Victoria Falls and Livingstone in August — a supreme vote of global confidence in our extraordinary and world-class destination," he said.
The AAT chief predicted that the Victoria Falls Airport would, in the near future, see the arrival of international airlines on a direct basis and would make a significant impact on the tourism industry.
"Other parties are also sensing the moment and are investing in infrastructure, not only in Victoria Falls, but elsewhere in Zimbabwe and this boosts confidence all round," he said.
Apart from restyling all rooms at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, AAT plans to improve the Boma restaurant and also upgrade the outdoor areas of all eight luxury suites at the five-star Ngoma Safari Lodge in Chobe, Botswana.
"We're on a growth path," said Kennedy. "We have a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline that will unfold this year.
"We intend to cement our position as one of the foremost tourism operators in Zimbabwe and the key factors will be to continue to drive standards, quality, training and investment in people.
"If you have the right skills and attitude in place, the success of your business and service delivery follow.
"We also maximise our sales and marketing spend and get out on the road to source new markets, but always ensuring we drive service and product quality to the highest level," he said.
AAT is a hospitality group offering the cream of Southern African tourism products, with the award-winning Victoria Falls Safari Lodge as its flagship property. It operates three divisions namely hospitality, restaurants and parks.


The Colvin Center was named one of the six best collegiate sports centers in the United States by the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association. The association, which represents almost every public and private university in the nation, awarded the Colvin Center the Facility of Merit Award. The award is given based on excellence in several categories, including functionality, adaptability to students and use of budget.


text:
Major fire damages Vermont Country Store warehouse
A fire Saturday night caused major damage to the Vermont Country Store warehouse.
Updated: 7:25 PM EDT Oct 22, 2018
Ross Ketschke
WEBVTT TALKING WITH AUTHORITIES WERE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THIS HAPPENED. >> IT WAS A LOSS IN BUILDING AND INVENTORY AND THE REALITY IS WE CAN REORDER INVENTORY. WE CAN REBUILD THE BUILDING AND WE ARE SET UP FOR A GREAT CHRISTMAS. ROSS: SILV LININGS IN A SEA OF CHARGE INVENTORY. >> A SIGNIFICANT SETBACK BENONI WAS INJURED. ROSS: AND OVERHO WAREHOUSE FOR THE VERMONT COUNTRY STORE IN CLARENDON GOING UP IN FLAMES. >> A LOT OF COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS. STEC FAIRLY HIGH FULL OF STOCK. THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF FIRE LOAD. ROSS: 11 SURROUNDING FIRE DEPARTMENTS CAM TO HELP OUT THE BLAZE. THEY'VE NARROWED DOWN THE IGNITION POINT TO A HANGING PROPANE HEATER IN THE HOUSE. >> THE METHODICAL SEARCHING. WE WORK OUR WAY IN. FOR LEAST AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO THE MOST AMOUNT DAMAGE. ROSS: 5% OF VERMONT COUNTRY STORE'S HOLIDAY SEASON INVENTORY. JIM HALL SAYS THE COMPANY NEEDS ADDITIONAL WORKERS AT THEIR MAIN FACILITY TO CLOSE THE GAP. >> WE WILL NEED ABOUT 30 MORE PEOPLE THAN WE HAVE LINE
A fire Saturday night caused major damage to the Vermont Country Store warehouse.The fire in Clarendon was reported around 10:45 p.m. Vermont Route 7B Central was closed for about 12 hours between Vermont Route 103 & U.S. Route 7.Vermont State Police and multiple fire crews responded to the scene.They were released around 5 a.m. Sunday.The 16,000-square-foot building was previously home to a Pepsi distribution center.Investigators have linked the start of the fire to an area of the warehouse around a hanging propane heating unit. No injuries were reported.About $2 million worth of products were destroyed in the fire.The original Vermont Country Store opened in Weston in 1946. There is another store in Rockingham, and the company has a large mail-order business.Despite the fire, Vermont Country Store posted on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon that its two locations were open as usual.The company's CEO said the fire destroyed about 5 percent of its holiday season inventory.The company is planning on hiring about 30 additional seasonal workers to help handle the workload of replacing the inventory in a short time frame.
CLARENDON, Vt. —
The fire in Clarendon was reported around 10:45 p.m.
Vermont Route 7B Central was closed for about 12 hours between Vermont Route 103 & U.S. Route 7.
Vermont State Police and multiple fire crews responded to the scene.
They were released around 5 a.m. Sunday.
Rutland Fire Dept.
The 16,000-square-foot building was previously home to a Pepsi distribution center.
Investigators have linked the start of the fire to an area of the warehouse around a hanging propane heating unit.
No injuries were reported.
About $2 million worth of products were destroyed in the fire.
The original Vermont Country Store opened in Weston in 1946.
There is another store in Rockingham, and the company has a large mail-order business.
Despite the fire, Vermont Country Store posted on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon that its two locations were open as usual.
The company's CEO said the fire destroyed about 5 percent of its holiday season inventory.
The company is planning on hiring about 30 additional seasonal workers to help handle the workload of replacing the inventory in a short time frame.
VERMONT STATE POLICE


Tradjenta (Linagliptin) is a medication that is prescribed to patients to help lower blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is when the body doesn't produce or use insulin properly. The medication along with a healthy diet and exercise can be effective. Tradjenta (Linagliptin) is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4 inhibitor). It increases the body's level of incretin hormones, which naturally lowers blood sugar levels. The active medicinal ingredient in Trajenta is Linagliptin.
To buy Tradjenta online a prescription is required to place an order with our Canadian Pharmacy. Tradjenta 5mg cost for 90 tablets is $375. There is no generic Tradjenta available on the market. The tablets are round shaped and red in colour and have the marking "D5" on one side of the tablet. Boehringer Ingelheim is the manufacturer of Tradjenta.
There currently is no Tradjenta coupon available but be sure to check our Rx Coupon page for future updates.
Tradjenta (Linagliptin) should be taken as directed by your physician. It comes in tablet form and may be taken with or without food. It is recommended to take the tablet by mouth at the same time each day. Do not take more or less than prescribed.
If you or someone else is experiencing an overdose or a suspected overdose, contact an emergency health professional or the poison control.
Take Tradjenta (Linagliptin) as soon as you remember, if you miss a dose. If by the time you remember, it is close to the next dose, skip the missed one. Do not take more than one dose of Tradjenta (Linagliptin) at one time.
Do not use Tradjenta (Linagliptin) if you have Type 1 Diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis happens when high blood sugar is left untreated.
Tell your medical health professional or dentist bore you have any medical procedures, especially surgery.
This medication can help stabilize high blood sugar; it will not cure Type 2 diabetes.
Even if you start to feel better, continue to take Tradjenta (Linagliptin). Do not stop taking Tradjenta (Linagliptin) without the direction of your doctor.
Learn about the symptoms of both high and low blood sugar to know if you are experiencing them. This medication affects your blood sugar levels.
There are a few things that can cause changes to your blood sugar levels, which include: injuries, unusual stress and illnesses.
You will likely need to get regular checks of your blood sugar and urine sugar levels while taking Tradjenta (Linagliptin). Do not skip laboratory or doctor appointments while taking this medication.
Always wear a diabetic ID bracelet.
Tradjenta (Linagliptin) is not prescribed alone as a treatment. Effective treatment includes exercise, weight control and a healthy diet.
This medication is not known to harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor immediately if you become or plan to become pregnant while taking Tradjenta (Linagliptin).
The effects of Tradjenta (Linagliptin) on a breastfeeding baby are unknown. Speak to your doctor before breastfeeding.
If you are taking any medications, be advised to make a list of them to provide your doctor before you take Tradjenta (Linagliptin). This list should include prescription and nonprescription drugs, vitamins and herbal remedies to help you avoid interactions.
Prior to taking Tradjenta (Linagliptin), tell your physician if you currently or have previously consumed large amounts of alcohol. Taking Tradjenta (Linagliptin) may increase your risk of developing pancreatitis. There are studies that show a link between Tradjenta (Linagliptin) and pancreatic cancer.


Program Number: 2977 Presenter: Cassie Murphy, Esq.
**** CD's are pre-order only and not available until after the program date - Online Programs are not available until after the program date. If the online purchase button is not showing, then the on-demand program is not yet available. **** The topic will be an overview of domestic violence laws in New Jersey. This includes the acts that constitute domestic violence; the procedures for obtaining a Temporary Restraining Order and Final Restraining Order; the remedies available to a Court when entering a Final Restraining Order; recent decisions concerning domestic violence in New Jersey; and alternatives to Final Restraining Orders as a method of relief.
Program Number: 2957 Presenter: Bari Weinberger, Esq.
Program Number: 2956 Presenter: Bari Weinberger, Esq.
Program Number: 2955 Presenter: Bari Weinberger, Esq.
Program Number: 2922 Presenter: Julie Colton, Esq.
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act helps determine which court will hear a custody matter, as well as, how custody order are enforced in other jurisdictions. The act has been adopted by 49 states. Not only does it determine which state has jurisdiction can be used in some instances to determine which county has jurisdiction. Use of the uniform act for jurisdiction and enforcement will be review. This will include the registration of orders in other states.
Program Number: 2915 Presenter: Michael A. Mosberg, Esq., Peter R. Stambleck, Esq.
This program is designed for non-family attorneys who represent individuals that require or may require guidance as to issues involving the practice of family law. The program will provide an overview of the major family law topic areas which shall be taught in a lecture format and supported with comprehensive materials.
Program Number: 2914 Presenter: Madeline Marzaon-Lesnevich, Esq., Francesca O'Cathain, Esq.


Pace Law School Professor and an expert on rights of prisoners, Michael B. Mushlin, weighs in on a proposed New York regulation, I.D. No. CMC-14-13-00010-P regarding inmate access to legal reference materials. The notice of the proposed regulation was published on April 3, 2013 and is available here starting on page 5. Public comment will be received until 45 days after publication of the notice.
Now, however, the Commission proposes to abandon this simple requirement by amending its rule to eliminate the requirement that these legal materials be on site. Under the proposed amendments people who are held in these local facilities that choose to eliminate these small libraries will be limited to submitting written requests for material from other libraries with no guarantee the material will be delivered until the passage of three days following the request. (Alternatively, and less harshly, jails could establish computer terminals with online access but this would be limited only to New York state case law digests). To make matters worse in a little noticed addition to the proposal, the Commission seeks to eliminate the obligation that inmates be given access to typewriters on which to prepare legal papers. In its place the Commission would only require that inmates be given access to "black ink pens" with which to write their legal submissions. It is obvious, however, that typed or printed papers are more accessible to the judiciary than are handwritten document. See, e.g. United States ex rel. Wolfish v. Levi, 439 F. Supp. 114 (S.D.N.Y. 1977) (noting that typed papers "leap more vividly than handwritten ones to the watery judicial eye."). These limitations on essential rights of incarcerated persons are imposed to achieve a small savings of a mere $5,000 per year per jail. The price tag for deprivation of constitutional rights has rarely been set so low. One can only hope that the Commission will on reflection abandon this proposal to limit the right of access to the courts.


text:
Lessons from Baton Rouge: How to storm-proof your home insurance
By Quentin Fottrell
Published: Aug 23, 2016 8:40 a.m. ET
Consumers should plug holes in their insurance policies now
QuentinFottrell
Personal Finance Editor
The flooding in Baton Rouge, La. is the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Sandy battered the east coast in 2012, according to the Red Cross, with thousands of people seeking refuge from their flooding. Over 40,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed and 4,000 people sought out shelter. The Federal Emergency Management Agency registered 95,576 claims for assistance, and has either approved or dispersed $16.8 million in assistance, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal.
For those in the path of the most recent flooding, it will be too late if they didn't already have insurance. For those who have had a near-miss in the past, this is a good time to examine your home insurance policy before it's too late.
And this year it's especially important to be prepared. For those on the East Coast, the hurricane season has three months to go: The hurricane season in the Atlantic region begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30, and in the Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15 and also ends Nov. 30, according to the government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Hurricane Sandy, the last major hurricane to hit the east coast, caused nearly $19 billion in private insurance claims and $7 billion in federal flood insurance claims, according to risk assessment firm Verisk Analytics, making it the third costliest natural catastrophe in the U.S. after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
One common mistake: Policyholders who don't report home improvements to their insurance company may be underinsured. As a general rule, most experts say that significant improvements should be reported. "That's a big deal right now," says Charlotte Edmonston, national niche managing director at Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Co. in Baton Rouge, Fla. "We found that many customers during Sandy were underinsured because they had upgraded their kitchen, added a room or even changed their floors."
Another little-understood aspect of policies that has historically created headaches: Standard policies may or may not cover wind damage that is a direct result of such storms, depending on the location, and most standard home insurance policies don't cover flood damage, says Michael Barry, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, a non-profit funded by the industry. Some 18% of consumers said they didn't know that flood insurance was not included in their policies, according to a 2013 survey by financial website BankRate.com. "This was an issue after Sandy," Barry says.
Hurricane deductibles — extra money consumers must pay if their property is damaged by a hurricane — are included in most policies in 19 states and Washington, D.C., as there is a higher risk of a hurricane in those states, and prices can vary dramatically depending on proximity to the coast, and insurers in coastal states and the Gulf of Mexico charge percentage deductibles for hurricane damage rather than dollar amounts to limit their exposures to losses, Barry says.
Deductibles can range from 1% to 5% of the total policy; the closer to the coast, the higher the deductible. That could mean paying $15,000 for a hurricane deductible on a house insured for $300,000 for a standard deductible.
Those deductibles typically kick in with 74 miles per hour wind or when the storm makes landfall as a Category 1 hurricane — even if it's downgraded to a tropical storm when it hits a home. In fact, the last two major hurricanes — Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 and Irene in August 2011 — were actually downgraded to tropical storms before they made landfall. Therefore, policyholders whose homes experienced wind damage should not have had to pay out a hefty hurricane deductible after the storm.
Also read: What to put in a hurricane 'go bag'
Some households don't even bother with insurance. Although about 60% Americans say they own life insurance, the same percentage of renters lack renter's insurance, according to two separate surveys by Princeton Survey Research Associations International on behalf of personal finance site Bankrate.com. The building owner — or building owner's insurance company — is responsible for paying for damage to an apartment building or condo, but that doesn't cover tenants if there is damage to their belongings.
A common pitfall for consumers when it comes to home insurance: A standard homeowner or flood insurance policy will not cover valuables beyond a certain amount. Policyholders will have to "schedule" (or itemize) them and pay an extra premium. "People may not think to appraise and itemize a particular rug," Edmonston says. "That could lead to questions from the adjuster like, 'Was it a $12,000 rug or a $1,200 rug?'" she says. Standard homeowner or flood insurance may not fully cover certain jewelry, family silver, cameras, fur or even Louis Vuitton luggage, she says.
Similarly, some parts of the house may not be included in the overall valuation, but could be worth scheduling as a separate item on an insurance policy. "If you have an antique Italian door, for instance, make sure you tell the adjuster you have researched the price," says Robert Berg, partner at Michelman and Robinson law firm in San Francisco. Photographing and appraising your belongings now will save time later, he says, as will professional valuations of artwork and other collectibles. "Be very careful of the policy you buy if it's a lot cheaper than the competition," Berg says. And store this information in a safe deposit box at a bank, so it doesn't also get destroyed if it's hit by a storm.
(This story was updated with details from the flooding in Baton Rouge, La.)
Quentin Fottrell
Quentin Fottrell is MarketWatch's personal-finance editor and The Moneyist columnist for MarketWatch. You can follow him on Twitter @quantanamo.


text:
Q: Typescript: number type can be assigned to string type using Omit, Optional, Intersection Types Could you please tell me why the following code does not cause an error?
Playground Link
type NumberType = {
  field?: { id: string; numberOrString?: number }
};
type StringType = Omit<NumberType, "field"> & {
  field?: { id: string } & { numberOrString?: string }
};

const test = (s: StringType) => {
  // `numberOrString?: number` can be assigned to `numberOrString?: string`
  const n: NumberType = s; // no error
};

A: This is a known bug in TypeScript, see microsoft/TypeScript#19927.
Your Omit<NumberType, "field"> type evaluates to the equivalent of {[K in never]: ...}, and apparently intersections of such never-keyed mapped types and other object types with optional properties are not checked correctly.  This bug has been open for a long time so it's not clear when or even if it will be fixed; presumably people don't run into it very often?  If you care a lot you might want to give that issue a  or describe your actual use case, but I don't know if it will have any effect.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Minneapolis was born along the Mississippi, on land the Sioux and Ojibwe people long called home. Around 1680, Father Louis Hennepin christened scenic St. Anthony Falls -- the only water fall on the river -- which, centuries later, would give the city enormous industrial power. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the construction of Fort Snelling in the 1820s ushered more Europeans into this pristine region for trading, trapping and settlement. The cultural influences of the city's first settlers –Scandinavian, Irish, German, Italian, French-Canadian, Greek, Polish, Jewish and people of many nationalities – can be seen in neighborhood churches, businesses, architecture and events. From the 1880s to the 1930s, St. Anthony Falls fueled the lucrative flour milling industry, making Minneapolis the milling capital of the world, and establishing modern corporate giants such as Cargill, General Mills and Pillsbury. Rightfully, Minneapolis never lost touch with its source, preserving and developing the Mississippi riverfront to combine restaurants, nightclubs, galleries and shops with antique buildings and natural wonders.


text:
Q: Scrapy - extract nested 'img src' using xPathSelector I am relatively new to using Scrapy or python for that matter. I am looking to extract the  from a few different links and I am having issues using a HTMLXPathSelector expression (syntax). I have looked at extensive documentation for the proper syntax but have yet to figure out a solution.
Here is an example of a link I am trying to extract the 'img src' from:
Page I am trying to extract the img src url from
from scrapy.spider import BaseSpider
from scrapy.selector import HtmlXPathSelector

class GeekSpider(BaseSpider):
    name = "geekS"
    allowed_domains = ["geek.com"]
    start_urls = ["http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/kindle-fire-hd-8-9-on-sale-for-50-off-today-only-20121210/"]

    def parse(self, response):
        hxs = HtmlXPathSelector(response)
        imgurl = hxs.select("//div[@class='article']//a/img/@src").extract()
        return imgurl

I think I have figured out the syntax for the x.select statement but, since I am new to this syntax/method I am not sure.
Here is my items.py file, basically followed the scrapy tutorial for this:
from scrapy.item import Item, Field

class GeekItem(Item):
    imgsrc = Field()

To clarify: What I am looking to do is extract the img src url that is on the page. I dont need to extract all image src's which I have already figured out(much easier).
I am just looking to narrow it down and only extract that particular url of the img src. (I will be using this across multiple pages on this site)
Any help is greatly appreciated!
EDIT - Updated Code I was getting some syntax errors with geek = geek() So I changed it slightly to hopefully be easier to understand and function

A: I believe your xpath expression should be more like this. I tested it on another page (the Amazon shipping center article) and it returned all ten of the clickable images.
geek['imgsrc'] = x.select("//div[@class='article']//a/img/@src").extract()

To fix your other issue, you need to import GeekItem into your GeekSpider code.
from scrapy.spider import BaseSpider
from scrapy.selector import HtmlXPathSelector
from geekspider.items import GeekItem # I'm guessing the name of your project here

class GeekSpider(BaseSpider):
    name = "geekS"
    allowed_domains = ["geek.com"]
    start_urls = ["http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/kindle-fire-hd-8-9-on-sale-for-50-off-today-only-20121210/"]

    def parse(self, response):
        item = GeekItem()
        hxs = HtmlXPathSelector(response)
        item['imgsrc'] = hxs.select("//div[@class='article']//a/img/@src").extract()
        return item


text:
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

namespace Fungus
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Material variable type.
    /// </summary>
    [VariableInfo("Other", "Material")]
    [AddComponentMenu("")]
    [System.Serializable]
    public class MaterialVariable : VariableBase<Material>
    {
        public static readonly CompareOperator[] compareOperators = { CompareOperator.Equals, CompareOperator.NotEquals };
        public static readonly SetOperator[] setOperators = { SetOperator.Assign };

        public virtual bool Evaluate(CompareOperator compareOperator, Material value)
        {
            bool condition = false;

            switch (compareOperator)
            {
                case CompareOperator.Equals:
                    condition = Value == value;
                    break;
                case CompareOperator.NotEquals:
                    condition = Value != value;
                    break;
                default:
                    Debug.LogError("The " + compareOperator.ToString() + " comparison operator is not valid.");
                    break;
            }

            return condition;
        }

        public override void Apply(SetOperator setOperator, Material value)
        {
            switch (setOperator)
            {
                case SetOperator.Assign:
                    Value = value;
                    break;
                default:
                    Debug.LogError("The " + setOperator.ToString() + " set operator is not valid.");
                    break;
            }
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Container for a Material variable reference or constant value.
    /// </summary>
    [System.Serializable]
    public struct MaterialData
    {
        [SerializeField]
        [VariableProperty("<Value>", typeof(MaterialVariable))]
        public MaterialVariable materialRef;

        [SerializeField]
        public Material materialVal;

        public MaterialData(Material v)
        {
            materialVal = v;
            materialRef = null;
        }

        public static implicit operator Material(MaterialData materialData)
        {
            return materialData.Value;
        }

        public Material Value
        {
            get { return (materialRef == null) ? materialVal : materialRef.Value; }
            set { if (materialRef == null) { materialVal = value; } else { materialRef.Value = value; } }
        }

        public string GetDescription()
        {
            if (materialRef == null)
            {
                return materialVal.ToString();
            }
            else
            {
                return materialRef.Key;
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
// Copyright 2012 Netflix, Inc.
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

namespace Elders.Hystrix.NET.Strategy.Properties
{
    using System;
    using Elders.Hystrix.NET.ThreadPool;

    /// <summary>
    /// Interface providing factory methods for properties used by various components of Hystrix.
    /// </summary>
    public interface IHystrixPropertiesStrategy
    {
        IHystrixCommandProperties GetCommandProperties(HystrixCommandKey commandKey, HystrixCommandPropertiesSetter setter);
        string GetCommandPropertiesCacheKey(HystrixCommandKey commandKey, HystrixCommandPropertiesSetter setter);

        IHystrixThreadPoolProperties GetThreadPoolProperties(HystrixThreadPoolKey threadPoolKey, HystrixThreadPoolPropertiesSetter setter);
        string GetThreadPoolPropertiesCacheKey(HystrixThreadPoolKey threadPoolKey, HystrixThreadPoolPropertiesSetter setter);

        IHystrixCollapserProperties GetCollapserProperties(IHystrixCollapserKey collapserKey, HystrixCollapserPropertiesSetter setter);
        string GetCollapserPropertiesCacheKey(IHystrixCollapserKey collapserKey, HystrixCollapserPropertiesSetter setter);
    }
}


Today, Saturday, October 20th, hundreds of dogs and their owners meet at the Tompkins Square Park to celebrate the 22nd Halloween Dog Parade. Spectators of all ages watch as hundreds of families with their dogs show off their creative costumes in the biggest off-leash park of Manhattan.
This event, that has been gathering more and more followers each year, is a great opportunity for dog lovers to share a day of fun and to keep the spirit of halloween alive in the children's hearts as well as the adults'.
Thank you Lara! They look adorable, don't they?


The print industry has been using the CMYK method of printing for over a hundred years – it's commonly referred to as "four-color" printing as they use four ink colors in various intensities and combinations to create a full-color graphic. The four ink colors are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK (CMYK); the print shop will use a printing press with four units, one for each color ink, to produce four-color work, laying each ink color on the paper in succession, building the image. It's really cool to watch!
Okay, we now have CMYK, and PMS spot colors. Now we'll get to black. Quite often a nice deep black on a printed piece wasn't just black ink, but is rather "rich black." Plain black ink can be made even darker if you add in some cyan, magenta, and yellow inks – each adds density to the black. (If you mix a little black with yellow, you get a darker yellow. If you mix a little yellow with black, you get a darker black.) So I'll often build a rich black color using 35% cyan, 20% magenta, 15% yellow, and 100% black, and will use that color swatch to make nice deep blacks in my designs.
I use gradients quite often in my designs because, well, I like 'em. A color gradient is when you have one color merge into another color – like when you have a box (for example) that goes from red at the top to black at the bottom. Black is again more problematic than one would think when you do gradients. Due to the way print shops use CMYK, every graphic, every color is made up of tiny little dots of color (remember how comic books had dots large enough you could see?), and each of the colors has their dots running at a different angle (a "line screen"), a gradient can sometimes have banding – strips in the smooth transition from one color to another that look awkward. In order to avoid this, I'll often mix black with whatever color I'm blending into the gradient. If I have a box that's red at the top and black on the bottom, I'll create a swatch that's 100% spot red amd 100% black, convert it to CMYK, and use THAT as the black in the gradient.
It sometimes gets complicated. Some of my designs I'll have three or four different swatches of black. Imagine how excited I get when we use, say, blue. My little brain boggles. And I also need to know what kind of paper a job will print on – there's a completly different set of colors from coated (glossy) paper than there is for uncoated!
Thankfully for my wondrous customers I take care of all this gobblty-gook behind the scenes, and I only work with print shops who are consumate pros at this sort of thing.
But here's what my customers DO need to know: what you see on your computer screen when you proof a job may be drastically different than what I see on mine, which may vary just a little bit from the final product that ships from the print shop. The pressmen at the print shops I use contantly calibrate their equipment to ensure very precise colors. I have a special tool and professional software to color-calibrate my computer monitors and take half an hour or forty-five minutes each week to make sure all my monitors are accurate. But chances are that when I send a proof to my customer, they're looking at it on an uncalibrated monitor, which may vary greatly from mine. And to make matters worse, computer monitors do not use CMYK – they convert it to RGB (more on that in just a moment).
Thankfully there aren't as many issues with web colors as there are with print. Computer monitors don't see colors in CMYK, but rather in RGB (Red Green Blue). Light mixes together differently than ink mixes together, so using those three colors a computer monitor can mix them together into millions of shades and hues.
So instead of thinking of CMYK, spot color, rich black, and using PMS colors, the web uses a "hex" color scheme. To be honest, I don't have the foggiest clue how they came up with the protocol, but every color has its own six-character code. Black is #000000. White is #FFFFFF. What's good is that the software I use can translate CMYK to RGB to PMS to hex with unnerving ease and precision.
The main problem I run into with web colors is, again, unless you have the proper equipment and software, your monitor probably isn't color-calibrated – so what I see on my screen when I design your website may look a bit different on your screen. And different yet from your tablet or phone!
This kinda stuff keeps me up at night.


An unused attic presents an incredible opportunity for you to elevate the utility of your home in East Ham, a suburban district of London. Your empty loft can be matched to a blank canvas upon which you can easily visualise your individuality and lifestyle demands. At Marken Builders, our East Ham loft conversion specialists will work with you at every stage of the home extension project to make certain that your concept of your new loft becomes a reality.
Transformation of a loft can be stressful, and we understand the unique characteristic aspects of your loft that must be addressed while converting your loft in East Ham E6, part of the London Borough of Newham. Therefore, instead of encouraging you to choose from several pre-designed loft extension plans, at Marken Builders, we invite you to analyse the available choices and pick the best option, both value-oriented and bespoke to suit your distinct demands and specifications. Once you decide on a conversion model, our East Ham loft conversion professionals will get to the task of putting together your preferred extended living space, making it up to your expectations while not ignoring the style factors.
What makes Marken Builders different?
Added to this, we stand behind our professionally and neatly executed East Ham loft conversion or extension service, with a 10-years work guarantee. Get in touch with us on 0800 111 4883 or send us an email to office@markenbuilders.co.uk to know more about our innovative home extension and home renovation solutions or to receive a free quote based on the unique size and structure of your property. When you partner with Marken Builders, one thing is sure that we'll do whatever it takes to guarantee your optimal satisfaction.
See for yourself, ask to visit one of Marken's many show homes to see real life examples of their capabilities.


Abu Dhabi, UAE: Masdar City, Abu Dhabi's flagship sustainable urban community, has launched Tech Park, a new destination for start-ups focused on technology, sustainability and the digital economy.
The Catalyst is a Masdar and BP jointly organized, startup technology accelerator based in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. With a clear vision is to help build a robust startup ecosystem focused on sustainability in Abu Dhabi, the Catalyst supports innovative seed ideas with startup value that are focused on using technology to make our world more sustainable. Through funding, training, one-on-one mentorship, and access to the support of the award-winning Masdar City Free Zone and the state-of-the-art research facilities of Masdar Institute, now part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, the Catalyst offers a distinct advantage over other business accelerators.


Low Self Control from Christopher Doulgeris on Vimeo.
There is nothing more satisfying than watching Mirah reinvent herself. She has been a mainstay in the Pacific NW indie rock scene since the late-90s, when 'indie rock' was a genre defined by financial and artistic independence in the form of DIY. Whether or not Mirah maintains independence from the major label model, her brand of indie rock is independent from expectation. While fans largely don't want their favorite artists to change, Mirah's evolution never alienates. She continues to draw people in, challenge then wow them.


text:
"""SQLAlchemy models for App data"""

from oslo.config import cfg

from sqlalchemy import Column, ForeignKey
from sqlalchemy import Integer, String, Text
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base

from example.openstack.common.db.sqlalchemy import models

sql_opts = [cfg.StrOpt('mysql_engine', default='InnoDB', help='MySQL engine')]
cfg.CONF.register_opts(sql_opts)

class ExBase(models.TimestampMixin,
                  models.ModelBase):

    metadata = None

    def as_dict(self):
        d = {}
        for c in self.__table__.columns:
            d[c.name] = self[c.name]
        return d

Base = declarative_base(cls=ExBase)

class Ex(Base):
    """Represents a ex on App."""

    __tablename__ = 'exs'

    id = Column(Integer, primary_key=True)
    uuid = Column(String(36))
    title = Column(String(255), nullable=True)
    content = Column(Text, nullable=True)


Double bracelet fits for 15,5 – 16 cm wrist. Butterfly pendant is handmade carefully by me from synthetic silk, finished with brass details and gemstone beads.
Jewelery is easy to care – if the buttefly gets dirty, you can clean it with a damp make-up cleaning napkin or gently wash with hair shampoo (important is not to humid brass details!).


A casual but distinctive daytime scent from the iconic Burberry, Burberry Brit cologne for men is a spicy, moderate fragrance that carefully balances an expanse of citrus notes with woodsy undertones. First introduced in 1988, Burberry Brit has a rich, appealing construction that combines notes of green mandarin, ginger, bergamot, wild roses and cedarwood with nutmeg and oriental woods. This appealing and resonant fragrance is the perfect choice for a broad variety of daytime events.
I have been using burberry brit for a long time. I think the product is well made and I enjoy the fragrance. However, I can't find the the same scent in aftershave balm. Is that available?
Nice but Burberry Touch better.
I've used Burberry Brit for years and it's nice to see I can order it in larger sizes and reasonable prices !!!!


Grabbing images from Google is one of the easiest things there is to do. You simply search, copy, paste. A no-brainer. However, when using someone else's photos, how do you know if you have permission? Students need to be taught about copyright and how to find royalty-free images that are ok to use in projects. Below are four great sites that I use with my students.
Pics4Learning, as the site says, "Is a safe, free image library for education. Teachers and students can use the copyright-friendly photos and images for classrooms, multimedia projects, web sites, videos, portfolios, or any other project in an educational setting." It's easy to use and all of the copyright information is available in a simplistic bibliography underneath any chosen photo.
flickrCC is a good place to start for Creative Commons images. The panel on the left of the original displays the first 36 photos matching your search term. Click on any of these thumbnails to get a slightly larger image and the attribution details displayed in the right hand section. Right-click the image and 'save image as' if you want to use this size, or click on the link in the attribution text to go to flickr and chose a different sized image. Don't forget to include the attribution text in any work you produce using the picture.
Flickr Storm is similar to flickrCC. You simply run a search, click on a thumbnail and the photo appears on the right. Make sure to have your students click on the advanced search feature which allows them to limit their searches to Non-Commercial and Share Alike photos. One nice feature about Flickr Storm is the "Add to Tray." You can add several photos to your tray and then when you open your tray, all the photos are there in large sized format along with the attributions.
Awesome links. I've taught my students to use the Google "advanced search", choosing only photos licensed for reuse.
My students are often disappointed in the variety of results. These sites give me more options.
Another awesome creative commons resource is search.creativecommons.org. It searches multiple sites for creative commons work and pulls the results into a single place. It is also a great a helpful resource for students because it explains different elements of copyright, public domain, creative commons, etc.


text:
Home/Headlines/You probably know some of Tingal Graphics' customers!
Business ProfilesHeadlines
You probably know some of Tingal Graphics' customers!
Denis and Lorraine McKay at Tingal Graphics have seen almost everything change in the world of printing and copying since the business was launched back in 1987.
Prior to starting the business Denis had an eighteen year career with Xerox and then Océ. This background inspired Denis to become one of the first people in Australia to recycle printer cartridges. He built his own machinery, which he sold worldwide.
Denis and Lorraine also built a business removing old photocopiers and printers from locations in Australia, refurbishing them and shipping them over to organisations in Vietnam, Singapore and India that weren't in a position to buy new ones. At one point they were sending off one shipping container a month filled with photocopiers!
Lorraine came from a completely different background. Banking and finance gave Lorraine a solid business foundation, but the move to sales was what changed everything. For over eight years she worked with a team of salespeople, placing the World Book Encyclopedia in homes and schools. During that time Lorraine was amongst the highest achieving salespeople both in Australia and internationally.
Together, Denis and Lorraine established their own franchised business with many successful franchisees, recycling printer cartridges.
But times change and Inkjet and Laser Solutions morphed into Tingalpa Print and Copy, which in turn morphed into Tingal Graphics. They now provide graphic design services (Amanda is their graphic designer) and for a majority of their clients are a one-stop shop, providing the whole suite of items, from logos to flyers to business cards to corflute signs to magnets and vehicle graphics (and lots of other things).
You will most likely have seen plenty of their work around the local area, like the kids room at Wynnum Manly Leagues Club, Fielders, Fun, Fit, Play (logo pictured left), The Health Hub and new logos and artwork in Wynnum Central that are still under wraps.
Tingal Graphics also works closely with many local schools – they are not only big supporters, but have also done a fair amount of work for them – for example the logo and design for Brisbane Bayside State College came from this local design team. They design and print work for Wynnum West, Belmont and Tingalpa State Schools, to name a few.
Looking back over the years, the message from this successful business is… we all have to move with the times or be left behind on the scrapheap.
Main image: Lorraine, Amanda and Denis.
Tingal Graphics is a member of Wynnum Business and supporter of WynnumCentral.
Check out Tingal Graphics here.
Facebook Twitter Pocket Share via Email Print
New date announced for cinema operator announcement party


Earth Milk is the ultimate guide for creating delicious, creamy, and smooth dairy-free milks, creamers, and shakes in the comfort of your own kitchen. This comprehensive guide will help you discover the amazing benefits of plant-based milks that are good for you and for the planet!
With 35 healthy, easy to follow, and energizing recipes using seeds, nuts, fruits, and grains, you will quickly realize how easy it is to satisfy the needs of everyone in your family.
Welcome to the next white wave. Welcome to Earth Milk.
Earth Milks are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and health promoting properties. They also have a clean and enjoyable taste. Along with explanations about the health benefits of the many types of nuts, seeds, and grains used in the recipes, Earth Milk empowers you to make more informed decisions that are kinder to the animals, the Earth, and yourself.
Included in this guide are kid-friendly Earth Milk recommendations along with suggested uses for baking, coffee, and tea. Detailed instructions are offered for preparation, storage, and ingredient purchasing. All you need to get started is a blender.
NOTE: This is a digital product available for download only. You will have immediate access to the download link after purchase.


text:
Resident Evil Zero, conocido en Japón como Biohazard Ø (バイオハザードØ) es un videojuego del género videojuego de terror desarrollado y publicado por Capcom. Es la quinta entrega principal de la serie Resident Evil y se lanzó originalmente en el año 2002 en exclusiva para Nintendo GameCube. Se trata de una precuela de Resident Evil (1996) y su remake (2002), que narra las traumáticas experiencias en las montañas Arklay del Equipo Bravo, la unidad especial de fuerza policial de S.T.A.R.S.

La historia sigue a la oficial Rebecca Chambers y al criminal convicto Billy Coen mientras exploran un centro de capacitación abandonado para los empleados de la compañía farmacéutica Umbrella. La jugabilidad es similar a la de otros juegos de Resident Evil, pero presenta un nuevo sistema de juego llamado Partner Zapping donde el jugador controla a Rebecca y Billy, cambiando el control entre ellos para resolver acertijos y usar las habilidades únicas de cada uno.

Argumento

Después de una serie de asesinatos cuyo principal componente son unas tendencias caníbales que ocurrían en el área de las montañas Arklay, el departamento de policía de Raccoon City envía al equipo Bravo de S.T.A.R.S a investigar y posiblemente detener a los criminales, pero el helicóptero UH-1 que los transportaba sufre una avería en el motor y se ven en la necesidad de realizar un aterrizaje forzoso. Ya en tierra, el equipo, menos el piloto policial Kevin Dooley, que se queda en el helicóptero para avisar de la emergencia, investiga los alrededores, encontrando una camioneta de la policía militar estadounidense volcada con sus ocupantes muertos. Hurgando en los restos del vehículo, Rebecca Chambers, oficial médico del equipo y la más reciente incorporación encuentra la documentación del prisionero Billy Coen, exteniente 2° del cuerpo de Infantería de Marina de los Estados Unidos, sentenciado a muerte por el asesinato de 23 personas. Suponiendo que fue el prisionero quien mató a los policías militares para luego huir, el capitán Enrico Marini ordena que Coen sea encontrado y arrestado.

El equipo se separa para cubrir más terreno y así encontrar a Billy de manera más rápida, haciendo eso, Rebecca se topa con el Expreso Ecliptico, un tren privado perteneciente a la corporación Umbrella, una de las industrias farmacéuticas más grandes del mundo, parado en la mitad del bosque. Tras entrar y explorar el convoy, la oficial se topa con zombis que la atacan, tras librarse de ellos, Coen se encuentra con ella, Rebecca, haciendo uso de su autoridad le dice que está bajo arresto, pero el ex-marine le responde sarcásticamente que ya tiene esposas (que están colgando de su muñeca izquierda) y la deja, pero al momento de querer perseguirlo, Edward Dewey, copiloto del equipo, entra al vagón a través de una ventana, herido de gravedad, le dice a Rebecca que el bosque está lleno de zombis y otras monstruosidades antes de morir. Al llegar al coche comedor, Chambers vuelve a toparse con Billy, pero esta vez, él intenta convencerla de que cooperen para así poder sobrevivir, pero Rebecca le contesta de que no confía en un criminal buscado a lo que Billy le dice que avance sola a ver qué le pasa.

Al subir las escaleras, la joven policía encuentra a un hombre sentado cerca de una mesa que al parecer está dormido, al querer despertarlo, descubre que no es un ser humano, sino un monstruo hecho de cientos de sanguijuelas, pero al querer huir, las sanguijuelas intentan consumirla por completo, Billy, al oír los gritos sube a ayudar a Rebecca, asustando a las criaturas con unos disparos de pistola. Mientras las criaturas huyen del tren, los dos pueden ver a un hombre en la cima de un risco que al parecer está cantando, de súbito, el tren comienza a moverse, no teniendo más opción, Rebecca acepta cooperar con Billy pero lo amenaza con dispararle si intenta cualquier cosa.

Los responsables de que el tren haya reanudado su marcha, el equipo Delta del Servicio de Seguridad de Umbrella (U.S.S), reportan su situación a Albert Wesker, persona a cargo de la recuperación del centro de entrenamiento ejecutivo de Umbrella y capitán del equipo Alpha de S.T.A.R.S. Mientras se comunica con los comandos, William Birkin, científico de la empresa, comienza a preguntarse cómo pudo haber comenzado una epidemia de virus-T, contaminando el laboratorio y mansión Arklay, y también el tren que se encontraba a casi 5 kilómetros de dichas instalaciones, pero Wesker lo interrumpe diciendo que nadie debe saber de la epidemia, por lo que le ordena al equipo Delta destruir el tren, pero antes de terminar de darles las órdenes, las sanguijuelas atacan, matando a los dos comandos.

Ya en la cabina, Billy y Rebecca revisan el panel de control, descubriendo que el tren amenaza con descarrilarse si no bajan la velocidad, con los frenos principales desactivados, uno de los dos debe ir al último vagón y activar el control manual de los frenos de emergencia. Ya activos, el convoy logra bajar la velocidad, tomando un desvío que lo lleva al centro de entrenamiento ejecutivo de Umbrella, al llegar al hall del centro ven el retrato del primer gerente general de la instalación y uno de los fundadores de la corporación, el doctor James Marcus. Siendo vigilados por Wesker y Birkin, el científico pregunta quienes son ellos, pero alguien interrumpe la señal de la cámara, preguntando quien es, el hombre responde confesando que fue él quien inició la epidemia de virus-T, motivado por venganza en contra de Umbrella debido al asesinato de Marcus bajo órdenes del Ozwell E. Spencer, gerente general de Umbrella y uno de sus fundadores, hace 10 años.

Rebecca, después de ser rescatada por Billy de caer al vacío en el sótano del centro de entrenamiento, le pregunta si realmente asesinó a 23 personas, a lo que Billy le cuenta que en 1997, su unidad fue enviada a África a intervenir en una guerra civil. Descendiendo en paracaídas muy lejos del lugar de aterrizaje predeterminado, su unidad sufrió bajas considerables intentando encontrar un escondite de guerrilleros debido al calor y las acciones del enemigo, tras mucho tiempo de caminar, solo 4 llegaron vivos al supuesto escondite, que terminó siendo una pequeña aldea que no albergaba guerrilleros. En un ataque de ira, el oficial al mando ordenó la matanza de civiles desarmados, Billy no participó, pero aun así, solo él fue culpado de los asesinatos. Mientras tanto, Albert y William debaten la posibilidad que si ese hombre misterioso podría ser James Marcus, Wesker no le da mucha importancia al asunto, diciendo que se apegara al plan original de llevar al equipo Alpha a la mansión para probar las muchas armas bio-orgánicas que se habían liberado debido a la epidemia y reunir datos de combate, por su parte, Birkin decide que activará la autodestrucción del centro de entrenamiento para borrar todo rastro de Marcus.

Rebecca y Billy por fin están cara a cara con el hombre misterioso, al preguntarle quien es, transforma su rostro al de Marcus, diciendo que él fue asesinado por Umbrella hace 10 años, con Birkin y Wesker tomando su investigación y llevándose el crédito, pero al momento del ataque nadie se dio cuenta de que uno de los especímenes en los que el doctor estaba trabajando, la sanguijuela reina, que había desarrollado una inteligencia colectiva, escapa de su contenedor, encontrando el cuerpo de Marcus, la sanguijuela se introduce en este y comienza a resucitar sus células y a adquirir sus recuerdos, proceso que tomó 10 años en completarse, al momento de terminar el relato y jurar venganza a Umbrella y al mundo por la muerte de su creador, la sanguijuela reina muta en una gigantesca aberración humanoide dispuesta a matar a los dos sobrevivientes. Tras matar a la reina, Rebecca y Billy suben a la superficie en un ascensor de carga mientras suena la alarma de autodestrucción, pero la victoria dura poco al ver como la reina asciende velozmente por el hueco del ascensor, viendo que el mutante es sensible a la luz solar, Billy distrae a la reina mientras Rebecca abre las mamparas metálicas, ya abiertas, la criatura comienza a disolverse, pero Billy le da el tiro de gracia con una Magnum y sus restos caen por el hueco del ascensor mientras una bola de fuego sube por este, incinerandola.

Ya fuera del peligro, Rebecca le quita sus placas de identificación a Billy para fingir su muerte, afirmando él de manera irónica que ahora es un zombi. Ya para despedirse se saludan de manera militar y Rebecca da media vuela, dirigiéndose a una mansión cercana. Mientras ella se aleja, Billy le agradece.

Desarrollo

El desarrollo de Resident Evil Zero comenzó originalmente para la Nintendo 64 en 1998. El sistema de cambio de compañero fue creado para aprovechar los cortos tiempos de carga posibles con las capacidades de la Nintendo 64 Game Pak. El formato de cartucho también proporcionó limitaciones, ya que la capacidad de almacenamiento era significativamente menor que la de un CD-ROM. El equipo tuvo que abordar el diseño de manera diferente a los juegos anteriores de la serie para poder conservar espacio de almacenamiento. Resident Evil Zero fue diseñado para ser más difícil que los juegos anteriores de Resident Evil.

Inspirado por el videojuego Sweet Home (1989), el equipo decidió eliminar los baúles de almacenamiento presentes en juegos anteriores e introdujo una nueva mecánica que permitía arrojar los objetos del inventario. El desarrollo se ralentizó cuando el equipo encontró problemas de almacenamiento de memoria, por lo que decidieron trasladar el desarrollo al Nintendo GameCube, que había sido recientemente anunciado. El juego tuvo que ser rehecho desde cero, dejando solamente el concepto y la historia general.

Adaptaciones

Recibió una adaptación para Wii en el año 2008 bajo el título de Resident Evil: Archives, ofreciendo un nuevo sistema de control, y en 2016 se lanzó una versión remasterizada llamada Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster para PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One y PC.

En las versiones de PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox One y Xbox 360 hay la posibilidad de jugar el "Modo Wesker", donde este sustituye a Billy en la historia y tiene 2 habilidades especiales que matan con gran rapidez a los enemigos.

Recepción

Crítica

Resident Evil Zero recibió críticas generalmente positivas, donde elogiaron los gráficos y el audio al crear una atmósfera inquietante, sin embargo, las opiniones sobre el nuevo sistema de cambio de compañero y arrojamiento de objetos fueron mixtas. Algunos consideraron que los cambios fueron una mejora y agregaron nuevas capas de estrategia; mientras que otros creían que dichos cambios eran incómodos o sin mucha innovación. Los controles tipo tanque del juego se consideraron obsoletos y Capcom también fue criticado por no darles una evolución.

Ventas
Resident Evil Zero tuvo éxito comercial, ya que vendió más de 3.5 millones de copias en todas las plataformas.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

 Sitio web oficial para Japón (en japonés)
 Sitio web oficial para Europa
 Sitio web oficial de Resident Evil (en inglés)

Videojuegos para GameCube
Videojuegos para Wii
Videojuegos para Nintendo 64 cancelados
Videojuegos de Resident Evil
Videojuegos de Capcom
Videojuegos de 2002
Videojuegos de terror
Videojuegos desarrollados en Japón
Videojuegos con protagonistas femeninas
Videojuegos para Nintendo Switch
Videojuegos de horror de supervivencia
Videojuegos de supervivencia
Obras ambientadas en trenes
Videojuegos ambientados en los años 1990
Videojuegos ambientados en 1998