title: Tilting train

text: In Italy, the studies for a tilting train started in the mid 1960s and the concept was patented in 1967 by two engineers of Fiat railway materials, Franco di Maio and Luigi Santanera. A number of prototypes were built and tested, including an "automotrice" (self-propelled) derived from ALn 668, the ALn 668 1999 diesel car, provided with tilting seats to test the effects of active tilting technologies. The first working prototype using a tilting carbody was ETR Y 0160, an electrically powered car launched by FIAT in 1969. This was the first to be christened "Pendolino".


title: Tilting train

text: This design led to the construction of an entire EMU in 1975, the ETR 401, built in two units by FIAT. One was put into public service on 2 July 1976 on the Rome-Ancona (later extended to Rimini) line, operated by Italian State Railways. Between Roma and Ancona (km. 295), the train took 2 hours 50 minutes, while ordinary trains took 3 hours 30 minutes. The train had four cars and was mostly considered a travelling laboratory for the new technology. Initially the ETR 401 was conceived as the first of a series of four trains, but the government lost interest to the project because of financial problems, and the project was temporarily interrupted, as the service in 1983. The train was used in demonstration campaigns to foreign countries like Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. A second unit was built for service to the wide-gauge Renfe Spanish lines in 1977, under the nickname of Platanito. The service didn't last of long, because problems with Spanish tracks made Platanito of little use.


title: Tilting train

text: New interest by the Italian government in the project in the mid 1980s, and the introduction of new technologies, led to the revision of the project with the ETR 401 with electronic systems, that led to the introduction of the slightly more advanced ETR 450, the first Pendolino to enter regular service in the world. Characterized by an 8-car configuration, and a maximum tilt reduced to 8° from the 10° of the ETR 401, for safety and comfort reasons, ETR 450 could run the Rome-Milan line in under four hours, at speeds up to 250 km/h. Passenger numbers increased from 220,000 in 1988 to 2.2 million in 1993.


title: Tilting train

text: In 1989, the old technologies and concepts of some parts of the ETR 450, and the introduction of new technologies in traction, led to the development of the next generation. The result was the ETR 460, styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, a train that began service in 1996. Though plagued by technical problems, the ETR 460 introduced several innovations, such as more powerful AC asynchronous motors. The pistons actuating the tilting action were placed in the bogie instead of on the carbody sides: this permitted the reorganisation of the vestibules and passenger compartment areas, improving comfort. The bogie-to-body connection is extremely simple and easy to build, with maintenance advantages.


title: Tilting train

text: ETR 460 keeps axle load to an extremely low level (14.5 ton/axle), to allow the train to negotiate curves up to 35% faster than conventional Intercity trains (locomotive plus coaches). The body, which exploits large aluminium extrusion technology, has substantial modularity and allows for extremely low axle weight, whilst fully respecting the highest safety standards, and allows the best exploitation of the space with different loading gauges.


title: Tilting train

text: ETR 460 was built in only 10 units. Improved versions include ETR 470 for the Italo-Swiss Cisalpino company, the ETR 460 France, later called as ETR 463, used by FS to the route Milan Lione, and the ETR 480, used by Trenitalia under AC-powered Italian high speed lines. A total of 34 EMUs of the ETR 460/470/480 series were built for FS.


title: Tilting train

text: The development of the Pendolino technology continued in the Italian factories of Alstom and the next generation, the New Pendolino, was delivered to Trenitalia and Cisalpino as the ETR 600 and the ETR 610 from 2006.


title: Tilting train

text: Italian Pendolinos and their derivatives still represent the most popular solution for active tilting in passenger trains. The technology still in use today is almost the same developed by Fiat Ferroviaria in the 1960s-70s.


title: Tilting train

text: The British version of the Pendolino, the British Rail Class 390, is a electric tilting train operated by Avanti West Coast. It runs on the West Coast Main Line (London Euston to Glasgow Central, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly). Class 390s commenced operation in 2001 with only one being in a major derailment. Due to signalling constraints, Class 390s are limited to in regular service.


title: Tilting train

text: Tilting trains have long been a mainstay of express services on Japan's conventional-speed, narrow gauge network. The interurban Odakyu Electric Railway began Japan's first experiments in tilting technology in the 1960s by fitting pneumatic bogies to their electric railcars, while the Japanese National Railways pioneered their form of passive-tilt technology on their experimental 591 series EMU with commercial express services on mountain lines in mind.


title: Tilting train

text: The first commercial tilting EMU in Asia entered service in 1973 as the 381 series EMUs on "Shinano" limited express services operating on the hilly Chūō Main Line between Nagoya and Nagano, and is still in operation on the "Yakumo" service on the Hakubi Line despite its shortcomings in ride quality and increased track wear due to its tilt mechanism that allowed up to 5° of tilt.


title: Tilting train

text: During the final years of the Japanese National Railways, experimentation on mechanically-regulated passive tilt - a combination known as 'controlled passive tilt' (制御付き自然振子式), where tilt is initiated passively but controlled (and slowed) by computers through mechanical active suspension - culminated post-privatisation with the 2000 series DMU, built for JR Shikoku and introduced on the "Shiokaze" and "Nanpū" limited express services in 1990. With problems of ride nausea and track wear alleviated, the benefits of tilting trains on the country's mountainous Cape gauge (1,067mm) railway system soon became apparent and since then these 'semi-active' tilting trains have seen widespread use on limited-express trains throughout the archipelago. Particularly well-known diesel and electric examples of this generation of tilting trains include JR Hokkaido's KiHa 281 series, JR East's E351 series, JR Central's 383 series, JR Shikoku's 8000 series, and JR Kyushu's 885 series.


title: Tilting train

text: This generation of designs has seen some popularity overseas - the 8000 series serves as the basis of the Electric Tilt Train built for Queensland Rail's Cape Gauge network. The 885 series, built as part of the Hitachi A-train family, serves as the basis of the Taiwanese TEMU1000 series tilting EMU for Taroko Express services, and some non-tilting variants including the British Rail Class 395 and British Rail Class 801.


title: Tilting train

text: Later developments in pneumatic active suspension - based on the DB Class 403 (1973) built decades earlier - created a generation of trains with more limited tilt (around 2°) but are more economical to build and easier to maintain. The experimental built in 1995 developed into the N700 series, the first revenue-earning tilting Shinkansen unit in 2007. Applications to Shinkansen lines - which would not have benefitted greatly with mechanical tilting mechanisms due to their already shallow curves that allow high speeds - allowed for greater ride comfort, less track wear and slightly higher speeds leading to increased frequency. The simplicity of this technology made it possible for smaller private operators to introduce tilting trains, such as the Odakyu 50000 series VSE, a luxurious sightseeing express train with active suspension introduced not to increase speeds but to enhance ride comfort; and even cheap enough to be applied to commuter stock, such as JR Hokkaido's KiHa 201 series, which improved speeds and frequencies on Sapporo's partly non-electrified suburban railway system. This is also one of the only applications of tilting technology on 'metro-style' commuter trains to date.


title: Tilting train

text: Deutsche Bundesbahn started tests with tilting trains in Germany with its class 634 in 1967 when some class 624 DMUs were equipped with passive tilting systems. As the passengers experienced motion sickness, the tilting technology was disabled and later removed. The tests continued with the prototypes of the following class 614 units, but due to the again unsatisfying results the serial types were delivered without tilting system.


title: Tilting train

text: Another early train with tilting technology was Deutsche Bundesbahn's class 403 (today this number is used by ICE 3) high speed EMU. Following its InterCity services until 1979, it was also used for airport transfers between Düsseldorf and Frankfurt (see also: AiRail Service). Class 403 was able to tilt 4°, but the fixed pantographs limited this to 2°. Shortly after the train had gone into service the tilting technology was disabled as many passengers experienced motion sickness because the pivotal point was too low.


title: Tilting train

text: The next attempt was made with DMUs and the proven Italian hydraulic active tilting system. Between 1988 and 1990 DB commissioned 20 class 610 units for fast regional traffic. This time the results were quite satisfying and allowed a significant reduction of running times. Class 610 was followed by class 611 which basically was built for the same purpose (fast regional traffic with up to on twisting non-electrified lines). Class 611's tilting system was electric, with a maximum 8° tilt, based on military technology from the Leopard tank. After entering service in 1996 this 50-unit class experienced problems both with the newly developed tilting system as well as chassis and axles, and was judged unsuccessful. The tilting system was out of service until 2006, when hardened axles and system updates solved the problems. In consideration of these problems DB ordered a full re-engineering, resulting in the development of class 612. Starting in 1998, a total of 192 units were commissioned by DB. The tilting system was reliable. In 2004 cracks were detected in a number of wheel sets, and again wheels and axles had to be replaced. Today class 612 is back to tilting operation and forms the backbone of DB's fast regional service on non-electrified lines. Additional units were sold to Croatia, where they are used for InterCity services.


title: Tilting train

text: In 1999 DB was able to use tilting technology for its InterCityExpress services, when with class 411 and 415 an electric high-speed tilting train was commissioned. While classes 401 to 403 (without tilting technology) were to cover the newly built or modernized high speed lines at up to (ICE 3 class 403), classes 411 and 415 with maximum speed of were designed for older twisting main lines. A total of 60 class 411 and 11 class 415 (shorter version) have been built so far. Both classes worked reliably until late 2008 when cracks were found on an axle during a routine check. The tilting mechanism has been switched off since 23. October 2008 and the maintenance intervals were drastically reduced which led to major service disruptions.


title: Tilting train

text: Much of the technical layout is derived from the ICE 3. Austria's ÖBB has purchased three units in 2007, operating them jointly with DB for services from Germany to Austria. Even though DB assigned the name "ICE-T" to class 411/415, the "T" originally did not stand for "tilting" but for "Triebwagen" (self-propelled car), as DB's marketing department at first deemed the top speed too low for assignment of the InterCityExpress brand and therefore planned to refer to this class as "IC-T" (InterCity-Triebwagen).


title: Tilting train

text: Rather luckless was class 411/415's adaptation for diesel services. In 2001 a total of 20 units were commissioned for use on the Dresden–Munich line, but these class 605 (ICE-TD) units experienced trouble from the start. After breaking an axle in 2002, all remaining 19 units (one fell off a working platform) were taken out of service. Even though one year later the trains were admitted to service again, DB judged their operation to be overly expensive. In 2006 those trains were used for amplifier trains and since 2008 they run on the Hamburg–Copenhagen route.


title: Tilting train

text: In 1966, a consortium of Canadian industrial firms began considering a conventionally-powered competitor to the TurboTrain, eventually emerging as the LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) in the early 1970s. This design also used an active-tilt system, but one of very different form than the ATP. The carriages rode on two C-shaped channels mounted across the top of the bogies. Tilt was accomplished by rams that pushed the bottom of the carriage side to side along these channels.


title: Tilting train

text: Amtrak experimented with the LRC in 1980, but retired it seven years later. In Canada, it entered service in 1981, beating the ATP into service and becoming the first operational active-tilt system. The LRC carriages remain in use today, although the tilt mechanisms are being removed to reduce weight and maintenance costs.


title: Tilting train

text: Bombardier has since used updated versions of the LRC carriages for Amtrak's Acela, the third generation of tilting ICE, the new generation of fast British trains (Super Voyager) and the experimental JetTrain.


title: Tilting train

text: The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was initially an experimental project by British Rail, with the train entering service in 1984. Although eventually abandoned, the train was the pioneer of active tilt to negotiate tight curves at higher speeds than previous passive tilting trains. For various reasons, political and technical, after running in service for a year, the train was withdrawn.


title: Tilting train

text: In the 1970s and 1980s, British Rail wanted an advanced fast train to negotiate the UK's twisting and winding Victorian-era rail system. Conventional trains were limited in speed due to the curvature of the network.


title: Tilting train

text: Engineers at the research division, opened in 1964, had done fundamental work on vehicle dynamics, with the APT to a degree an extension of this. The existing Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineers department was overlooked by the new project, creating resentment with its engineers. The work included experimentation with aluminium bodies, turbines, suspension and bogies, and active tilt.


title: Tilting train

text: The APT-E (E for experimental) was powered by gas turbines; the APT-P (P for prototype) was electric. With no tilting, the train was developed to break the British rail speed record. Tilting trains using passive tilt were not new, but it was uncommon and not widely implemented. The engineers decided that active tilt was the key to negotiating curves at much higher speeds.


title: Tilting train

text: The train had hydro-dynamic brakes and lightweight articulated bodies, with two power cars in the centre of the train. When the prototypes were built, worked and proven, the engineering development team was disbanded and the trains handed over to British Rail's in-house engineering department to build. The developing engineers moved on to different fields while British Rail engineered the train into a production model. The BR engineers, who had little to no involvement in the development of the train, changed some of the prime and proven engineering aspects. For example, they changed the active tilt mechanism to pneumatic, rather than the well-developed and proven hydraulics.


title: Tilting train

text: The trains were introduced in 1981, but almost immediately taken out of service. During initial tests, some passengers complained of being nauseous due to the tilting motion. Subsequently, it was learned that this could be prevented by reducing the tilt slightly, so that there was still some sensation of cornering. The APT-P trains were quietly reintroduced to service in mid-1984 and ran regularly for a year, the teething problems having been corrected. The political and managerial will to continue the project by building the projected APT-S production vehicles in numbers, had evaporated under an in-house engineering management who felt slighted and by-passed in a project they did not develop. Despite being an eventual success, the project was scrapped by British Rail in 1985, more for political reasons than technical.


title: Tilting train

text: Much of the technology developed for the power cars was subsequently used in the InterCity 225 Class 91 locomotives and Mark 4 carriages which were designed to be retrofitted with tilting eqioment, which run on the East Coast Main Line route from London to Leeds and Edinburgh.


title: Tilting train

text: In 1990 Swedish railways introduced a high speed service called X 2000. The train uses an active tilting system enabling higher speeds of () on standard track.


title: Tilting train

text: In 1998 SNCF bowed to political pressure (the tilt-train was a credible threat to the TGV dedicated high-speed line network) and put in service an experimental TGV pendulaire. Only the passenger trailers were tilting while the two heavy power cars kept non-tilting bogies. Following the test program, it was converted back to a TGV-PSE train.


title: Tilting train

text: Switzerland got its first tilting train ever in its territory (discounting the Cisalpino, which entered Switzerland in 1996) on May 28, 2000. The ICN ("InterCity Neigezug", or InterCity Tilting Train) was made by Bombardier, including a tilting-system designed by SIG (today ALSTOM). It began service on the line from Geneva via Biel/Bienne and Zürich to St Gallen. It was a major carrier in the national exhibition Expo.02.


title: Tilting train

text: Foutry-four diesel-electric powered Class 221 "Super Voyagers" were ordered by Virgin CrossCountry to operate in tilt mode on the West Coast Main Line and between Oxford and Banbury. After the fleet was split between Arriva CrossCountry and Virgin Trains West Coast in 2007, the former disabled and later removed the tilting equipment from its 221s.


title: Tilting train

text: Many of the problems with motion sickness are related to the fact that traditional servo systems respond inappropriately to the changes in trajectory forces, and even small errors, whilst not being consciously perceivable, cause nausea due to their unfamiliar nature. The original Fiat ETR 401 used individual gyroscopes in each carriage so there was a lag, even though nausea had not been a major problem with this train. The APT was supposed to overcome this problem by using gyroscopes at the ends of the train and a leader/follower control system which defined a "tilting curve" for the whole train. It would appear that the technology of the era was unable to properly implement this technique.


title: Tilting train

text: Modern tilting trains profit from state-of-the-art signal processing which senses the line ahead and is able to predict optimal control signals for the individual carriages. Complaints about nausea have largely become a thing of the past.


title: Tilting train

text: Some tilting trains run on narrow gauge railways. In Japan there are many narrow gauge lines in mountainous regions, and tilting trains have been designed to run there. In Australia, the service between Brisbane and Cairns by the QR Tilt Train claims to be the fastest narrow-gauge train in the world, running at . The Electric Tilt Train also holds the record for the fastest narrow-gauge train by maximum test speed, reaching 210 km/h.


title: Tilting train

text: With tilting EMU's, consideration is required on keeping the pantographs within the railway gauge. When mounted on top of a tilting car, the pantograph usually sways in the opposite direction in order to counter for the degree of tilting. This is done mechanically on for instance the British Class 390 Alstom Pendolino. On the German class 411 and 415, the pantographs are however mounted on a separate non-tilting frame within the cars.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'Science University of Malaysia'; abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is among the oldest institutes of higher learning in Northern Malaysia. It has three campuses: a main campus on the island of Penang, a health campus in Kelantan, and an engineering campus in Nibong Tebal. There is currently an overseas collaboration with KLE University, India offering the Doctor of Medicine (USM) undergraduate degree. USM plans to open a Global Campus (Kuala Lumpur Campus) in Kuala Lumpur Education City (KLCE).


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: With around 28,300 postgraduate and undergraduate students in 2009, USM is one of the largest universities in terms of enrollment in Malaysia. The number of lecturers is about 1,479, which leads to a student-lecturer ratio of around 19:1.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM is the only Accelerated Programs for Excellence (APEX) government-funded autonomous university in Malaysia.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The idea of a university in Penang was first mooted by D. S. Ramanathan in 1959 in the State Assembly and later crystallised when he was nominated chairman of the Penang University Project committee. The acquisition of a piece of land in Sungai Ara was then followed by the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Y.T.M Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj on 7 August 1967.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM was established as a statutory body in 1969 as the second university in Malaysia. It was first known as the University of Penang (). The university operated on borrowed premises at the Malayan Teachers' Training College at Gelugor. In 1971, it moved to its present 239-hectare site at Minden (formerly Minden Barracks of the British Far East Command) in Gelugor, 10 kilometres from the city of Georgetown.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Apart from the main campus, there are two other USM campuses: one at Kubang Kerian in Kelantan, known as the Health campus, and the other at Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal in Penang, known as the Engineering campus. The former houses the School of Medical Sciences, the School of Health Sciences and the School of Dental Sciences, while the latter houses the six engineering schools.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Universiti Sains Malaysia offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as conducting research in the fields of Pure Sciences, Applied Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Building Science and Technology, Social Sciences, Humanities and Education.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: On 3 September 2008, the Ministry of Higher Education under Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin selected USM to implement the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (APEX), a fast track development programme created to enable institutions of higher education to be recognised as world class entities.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The coat of arms of Universiti Sains Malaysia features a crescent moon and a fourteen-pointed federal star, two tigers holding palm fronds, a shield and a motto. The shield itself contains an open book, a pair of kris (Malay dagger) and the national flower – a "Hibiscus rosa-sinensis" flower.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Shield: Purpure in base a "Hibiscus rosa-sinensis" flower and in chief an open book superimposed on a pair of kris all proper.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The management of the university is carried out through the executive power of the Board of Directors, made up of members chosen from the university, representatives from government departments and those appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education. There are three Deputy Vice-Chancellors led by the Vice-Chancellor.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: In August 2011 USM created a new role of Ombudsman to deal with staff issues and protect whistleblowers. The USM Ombudsman is Prof. Dato' Seri Dr. MD. Salleh Yaapar, who is a former staff of the USM and is on a rolling 2-year contract.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: In July 2012, following a presentation by the Chief of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the VC of USM promises to create a new role of Chief Integrity Officer to cultivate academic integrity among students, lecturers and staff.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The current Chief Integrity Officer is Dr. Khairul Anuar Che Azmi, the university's first ombudsman and is also the Legal Advisor.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM is a pioneering, transdisciplinary research intensive university that empowers future talents and enables the bottom billions to transform their socio-economic well-being.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Knowledge, The Future, Uniqueness, Sustainability, Humanity, Universality, Change, Sacrifice, Wellness


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Twenty four academic schools, 14 centres and 7 units have been established. Of the schools, 12 are applied science and technology-based schools: Civil Engineering, Aerospace Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Housing, Building and Planning; Industrial Technology; Medical Sciences; Dental Sciences; Health Sciences; and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The three liberal arts schools are Educational Studies, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The pure science schools are Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Computer Sciences, and Physics, all of which offer courses that are similar to those available in other universities. There is offshore collaboration with KLE University, India offering the Doctor of Medicine(USM) undergraduate degree. This offshore five-year M.D. programme is conducted at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (Belgaum), KLE University, Belgaum, India. In India, USM also has a collaboration with the James Lind Institute for conducting Translational Medicine programs.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: In December 1989, the School of Management was set up, having evolved from the Management program within the School of Social Sciences. As part of its continuing expansion, the university established the School of Computer Sciences and the School of Communication as of March 1995.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: In 2008, Professor Maqsudul Alam, set up the Centre for Chemical Biology (CCB) where he became its first Chief Executive Officer and Director, and sequenced the genome for rubber in Malaysia.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The centres and ancillary services include the Centre for Languages and Translation, the National Poison Centre, the Doping Control Centre, the Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia, the Centre for Educational Technology and Multimedia, the Computer Centre, the Centre for Knowledge, Communication and Technology and the Islamic Centre. There are research centres, namely the Centre for Policy Research, the Centre for Drug Research and the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies. The distance education program offered through the School of Distance Education was adopted by the university in 1971.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM is one of five universities in Malaysia that have been identified as research-intensive universities, with the other being University of Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The Main campus has the name of a German city (Minden) because the campus was built on the territory of the former British Minden Barracks, which themselves were named after the Battle of Minden.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Besides the main campus in Minden, USM has one at Kubang Kerian in Kelantan known as Health Campus and another at Seri Ampangan, Nibong Tebal in mainland Penang known as Engineering Campus.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Started as a USM hospital in 1982, the Health campus has expanded after the School of Medical Science was moved from the main campus to the present site which is 73 hectares. The School of Medical Science was moved from the main campus in June 1984. There are two other schools in the health campus — the School of Dental Science and the School of Allied Health Sciences.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The Engineering Campus was originally located at Tronoh, Perak, and named Perak Branch Campus (KCP). After operating in the state for 15 years (1986–2001), the Engineering Campus moved to the present site in Nibong Tebal, Penang.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: <mapframe text="Location of the main campus in Penang" width=300 height=300 zoom=14 latitude=5.3563 longitude=100.3002>


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM is the one of the Malaysian public universities to use the term school (in Malay; "Pusat Pengajian") instead of the term faculty that is used in other Malaysian public universities.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: All located at the Engineering Campus except the School of Housing, Building and Planning (main campus) and The School of Industrial Technology (main campus).


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: All located at Health Campus, Kelantan except The School of Pharmacy (located in main campus) and Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (located in Bertam outside Penang Island AMDI) which is more commonly referred to using its Malay acronym IPPT (Institut Perubatan dan Pergigian Termaju) Bertam.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The Science Fund funding is the main source of R&D for USM. However, to promote research, the university allocates money from its operating funds annually as incentive and for short-term research purposes. External funds, mainly in the form of research grants, awards and consultancies won by individual academic staff members, also feature prominently. There are external sources of funding as well, but these are largely ad hoc and do not, as a rule, result in the development of major research facilities. Some external research links have been established through individual and through institutional networking arrangements.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Research areas at USM include brain and neuroscience, environmental science, aquaculture, biomedical and pharmaceutical studies, natural language processing and computer aided translation, information technology, food technology, polymer science and technology, biotechnology, distance education, geographical information system, structure analysis, materials science, engineering, surface chemistry, and robotic vision. Penang has research facilities for collaborative search, particularly in coastal pollution, mangrove ecosystem and marine aquaculture.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM offers three modes of study for the graduate programmes, i.e., by research, by a combination of coursework and research (mixed mode), or by coursework. In 2009, there were 9,011 students in the master's and doctoral level programmes with 24.9% of them nationals from more than 40 countries. The majority of the foreign students are from other parts of Southeast Asia as well as the Middle East.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Almost all undergraduate degree programs at the university require a minimum full-time residence of three years. Degrees in engineering, health sciences, pharmacy, medicine and dentistry require minimum periods of study between four and five years. Most undergraduate courses are taught in English, especially in science courses, except for humanities and social science. International students have to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the national language as part of the entrance criteria. However they will be taught as one of compulsory subjects once they enroll as a student.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM has programmes for foreign students, and they can undertake one or two semesters. These students are considered full-time and enjoy the benefits of USM's academic and physical facilities.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The School of Distance Education was established in 1971 to provide opportunities for local working adults to obtain a tertiary qualification. These students are able to undertake undergraduate courses while they are in full-time employment. At present four undergraduate degree programmes are available through distance learning: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Social Science, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Management.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The University and the University of Indonesia (UI) collaborates with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on SUSS's BA Malay Language and Literature, University of Glasgow, Institute Technology Bandung (ITB) and many more to come.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM has facilities for student accommodation, sporting and recreation. The university offers housing for approximately 75% of its students. They are known as student villages or hostels ("Desasiswa" in Malay), and they are on campus. Cafeterias can be found all around the university area.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM provides sporting facilities such as archery range, cricket, football field, badminton courts, tennis courts, hockey ground, rugby field, softball, squash courts, and basketball courts. Its ground was used for the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: Other activities include cultural activities, leadership programs, community service programs and excellence programs with the co-operation of the Student Advisory and Development Unit, the Sports Unit, the Arts and Cultural Development Unit, Hostel Management. Activities are realised through societies, clubs, sports and cultural activities, motivation workshops and debate competitions. Among others, USM has a jazz orchestra called the USM Jazz Band that is composed of student musicians from various schools in the university.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: There are annual activities such as forums, workshops and programs in conjunction with the National Day celebrations such as the Ambang Merdeka Night and the Merdeka Campus Walk, and religious activities such as Qur'an Recitation and Ramadhan Appreciation Month in the holy month of Ramadhan.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The hostels known as student villages or ("Desasiswa" in Malay) under the property of the University of Science Malaysia are as follows:


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The names of the hostels indicate a merger between formerly separate hostels. For example, "Aman Damai Fajar Harapan" was formerly four separate hostels, each having its own administration under a hostel warden ("Penggawa" in Malay) and assistant warden.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The university was ranked 111th in the World University Rankings 2004 published by the "Times Higher Education Supplement". However, it dropped out of the list of top 200 universities in the world in 2005.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: In 2019, however, the University placed 601–800th in the World University rankings. It also placed 49th in University Impact Rankings and 151 – 200th in the Young University Rankings.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: USM's then vice-chancellor Prof Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said that the addition of new criteria such as the employer survey could have contributed to the sharp drop in the university's integrity: "Our poor standing could also be attributed to the fact that we are a relatively young university compared to UM which is 100 years old. They have built up a stable reputation in that time." Prof. Dzulkifli also cited the poor staff-student ratio in Malaysian universities: "Over the past years we have doubled our intake. USM now has 35,000 students including 28,000 undergraduates but the number of lecturers, about 1,400 has not increased in tandem."


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: On 3 September 2008, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was declared the Apex (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) University by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia. In 2010, USM achieved the position of 123 under the category of Life Sciences and Biomedicine ("Times Higher Education" QS World University Rankings).


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: For the 2010 QS Asian University rankings, USM was at 69th place. For particular subjects, the rankings were as below:


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: On 2015, USM was ranked 87th in Best Global Universities for Engineering of U.S. News & World Report College and University Ranking.


title: Universiti Sains Malaysia

text: The alumni of Universiti Sains Malaysia include politicians such as Tun Seri Setia Haji Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca, Chow Kon Yeow, current Chief Minister of Penang, Dato' Sri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, current Menteri Besar of Pahang, Dato' Seri Haji Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, current Menteri Besar of Kedah and Yusril Ihza Mahendra, current general chairman of the Indonesian Crescent Star Party.


title: Liberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas)

text: Liberty Christian School is a private, college preparatory, Christian school located in Argyle, Texas. Liberty offers Christ-centered education from Preschool (age 3) through Grade 12, and provides state championship programs in academics, fine arts, and athletics.


text: Liberty Christian is part of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS). Liberty's mascot is the Warrior. In 2020 the school made headlines when it announced the hiring of former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten as its head football coach.


text: Established in 1983, Liberty moved to its current location in Argyle in 2005. It was formerly located in Denton, Texas.


title: Julio Franco

text: Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach, who is a hitting coach for the farm team of the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He spent most of his playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), entering the major leagues in and last appearing in , at which time he was the oldest active big league player. During that stretch, Franco also spent two seasons playing in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and one season playing in the KBO.


title: Julio Franco

text: While Franco was an All-Star and posted above-average hitting statistics throughout his career, he is best known for being the oldest regular position player in MLB history. Franco was the all-time hits leader among Dominican-born players until surpassed in 2011 by Vladimir Guerrero. He made his MLB debut as a shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies. During his long career, Franco saw significant time as a shortstop, second baseman, first baseman, and designated hitter. At the time of his final game, he was the last MLB player born in the 1950s.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco was born in Hato Mayor in the Dominican Republic. As a child, he lived in Consuelo, San Pedro de Macorís, a poor municipality 50 miles east of Santo Domingo. He attended Divine Providence School in Consuelo.


title: Julio Franco

text: Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organization on April 23, 1978, as an amateur free agent, Franco reported to the Rookie-level Butte Copper Kings. In each of five minor league seasons, he hit for a batting average of at least .300. Franco was promoted through the Philadelphia minor league system each year, reaching the Class AAA Oklahoma City 89ers in 1982 and batting .300 and hitting 21 home runs in 120 games.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco debuted in the major leagues in 1982, playing 16 games for the Phillies. That December, Franco was part of a five-for-one trade between the Phillies and the Cleveland Indians. The Phillies received highly regarded prospect Von Hayes in exchange for Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Jerry Willard, and Franco.


title: Julio Franco

text: In June 1986, Franco received a two-game suspension from the Indians after he arrived at the ballpark but then left before the game started. Indians manager Pat Corrales said that Franco left due to a personal problem, but he said that Franco had left without permission and that he had already been given a warning after missing a game in 1985.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco hit over .300 in every season from 1986 to 1989. He also averaged over 20 stolen bases per season from 1983 through 1991. When he switched from shortstop to second base in 1988, he won four straight Silver Slugger Awards. Franco batted with a long whip-like swing with the heaviest bat allowed. Because of his batting style, Franco twice led the American League in grounding into double plays and was in the top-ten in that category seven times in the 1980s. He is seventh on the all-time list in ground-ball double plays and has just over 300.


title: Julio Franco

text: In December 1988, during baseball's Winter Meetings, Franco was traded from Cleveland to the Texas Rangers, who were in need of an everyday second baseman. The Rangers gave up first baseman Pete O'Brien, and two prospects, Oddibe McDowell and Jerry Browne. The Rangers had acquired first baseman Rafael Palmeiro the day before, and "The New York Times" said that the Rangers' lineup might allow Franco to bat fifth, a batting order slot that could increase his number of runs batted in (RBI).


title: Julio Franco

text: With Texas, Franco was named to all three of his All-Star teams: in 1989, 1990 and 1991, and he won the Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award in 1990. In the 1990 All-Star game, Franco came to bat in the 7th inning against Rob Dibble of the Cincinnati Reds. Franco drove a 101 mph fastball to the right-center field fence for a double, scoring the only runs of the game.


title: Julio Franco

text: In 1991, Franco had his only 200-hit season and won the American League batting title. His .341 average was nine points higher than that of future Baseball Hall of Fame member Wade Boggs. A 1992 knee injury limited him to 33 games that season and fundamentally ended Franco's time as a middle infielder, playing only 35 more games at 2B the remainder of his career. Franco later said that the injury helped him to realize the importance of taking care of his physical condition. He spent 1993 as a designated hitter before opting to become a free agent and signing with the Chicago White Sox.


title: Julio Franco

text: In 1994, as a member of the Chicago White Sox, Franco had already hit 20 home runs for the only time in his career and was on pace to reach 100 runs batted in for the only time in his career when the remainder of the season was canceled by the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. Franco went on to win his fifth Silver Slugger Award and first as a Designated hitter. On December 28, 1994, Franco signed to play in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Pacific League. Chiba Lotte had the best season in its history in 1995, and Franco won the Japanese equivalent of the Gold Glove Award as a first baseman.


title: Julio Franco

text: After the 1995 season in Japan, Franco signed with the Cleveland Indians, where he was a fan favorite. In 1996, he batted .322 with 76 RBIs even in an injury-shortened season, and played in his first postseason. Early in the 1997 season, Franco hit a hard line drive back to the pitcher's mound which struck Detroit Tigers pitcher Willie Blair; the pitcher missed four weeks of the season with a broken jaw. In August 1997, the Indians released Franco. He quickly signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.


title: Julio Franco

text: In 1998, Franco was back in Japan playing for Chiba Lotte. The following year, he returned to North America, in the Mexican League with a .423 average in 93 games (and also a strikeout in his only MLB at bat with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays). In 2000, Franco was back in Asia but, this time, in South Korea to play for the Samsung Lions. He returned again to the Mexican League in 2001.


title: Julio Franco

text: In September 2001, Franco was a 43-year-old who had just one major league at bat in the previous three seasons. Despite his lengthy absence, the Atlanta Braves, after seeing his success in the Mexican League, purchased his contract from the Angelopolis (Mexico City) Tigers. Franco played well defensively as a first baseman and was a good hitter against left-handed pitchers. The Braves re-signed him after that season and each of the next three.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco was talking in the weight room in August 2003 with Jason Marquis, when he leaned on a stand and an 80-pound weight rolled over his finger, breaking it. "When the weight started to roll," Franco said, "I said, 'Uh-oh.'"


title: Julio Franco

text: In 2004, Franco passed Cap Anson as the oldest regularly playing position player in MLB history. (A few regularly playing pitchers, including knuckleballers Phil Niekro and Hoyt Wilhelm, were older than Franco, and Leroy “Satchel” Paige was reportedly 57, and a few non-pitchers, like Minnie Miñoso and Jim O'Rourke, appeared as publicity stunts at old ages but did not play regularly.)


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco had been the oldest player in the major leagues from 2004 to 2007, and was the last active player who was born in the 1950s. On April 20, 2006, pinch-hitting with one out in the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres, Franco hit a go-ahead two-run home run, becoming the oldest player in Major League history to hit a home run. Franco hit a three-run homer on September 30, 2006, in Washington to extend his own record. It was one of three hits in the game for Franco, who fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle. Franco yet again bested himself on May 4, 2007, when he homered into the swimming pool at Chase Field against Arizona Diamondbacks lefty Randy Johnson — a game in which he also stole a base.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco was also the oldest player ever to hit a grand slam, a pinch-hit home run, two home runs in one game, and to steal two bases in a game. On April 26, 2006, Franco became the second-oldest man in MLB history to steal a base, behind only Arlie Latham, who accomplished the feat in a token appearance at age 49 with the New York Giants in 1909. On July 29, 2006, against the Atlanta Braves, Franco became the oldest player ever to pinch run, when he came in for Carlos Delgado after Delgado was hit by pitch. On September 19, 2006, a day after the Mets clinched the division title, Franco started at third base in a game against the Florida Marlins. This was Franco's first start at the position since his rookie year, marking 24 years between starts at the position.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco struggled with the Mets in 2007, achieving just a .200 batting average (in only 50 at-bats in half a season). Franco grew unhappy with insufficient playing time before being designated for assignment on July 12. He subsequently re-signed with the Atlanta Braves on July 18 and was placed on the team's active roster. In his first game since re-signing with the Braves, he went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and received two standing ovations in a Braves 10–1 rout of the Cardinals. On August 1, just 13 days after the Braves signed him, the Braves designated Franco for assignment after the team acquired Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers. He accepted a minor league assignment on August 8 and was called back up as promised on September 1.


title: Julio Franco

text: He declared free agency on October 29, 2007. Franco began the 2008 season — his 31st in professional baseball — as a first baseman for the Tigres de Quintana Roo (Cancún) in the Mexican League.


title: Julio Franco

text: On May 2, 2008, Franco officially announced his retirement from baseball to his Mexican League team, the Quintana Roo Tigers. An official announcement was released the next day. Franco said that retiring was the hardest decision he had ever made, but he pointed to his decreasing production as a player and said that he felt like it was time to retire.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco was hired in March 2009 as the manager of the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets. In Franco's only season managing the team, they posted a record of 22 wins and 34 losses. In 2010–2011, Franco managed a winter league team, the Caribes de Anzoátegui, in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He led the team to its first league championship in 20 years. He returned to the team the following season, but he was fired after the team started with a 28–28 win–loss record. Soon thereafter, Franco was hired as the manager of the Pericos de Puebla for the 2012 Mexican League season. In two seasons with Puebla, he led the team to 110 wins and 104 losses.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco appeared on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 2013. Paul White of "USA Today" wrote that while Franco was a consistent player over a long career, he was rarely dominant. White wrote that Franco's statistics were inferior to other Baseball Hall of Fame second basemen. Franco received six Hall of Fame votes (1.1% of the total ballots), an insufficient total to appear on the next year's ballot.


title: Julio Franco

text: On May 16, 2014, the Fort Worth Cats of United League Baseball announced that Franco had been signed for the 2014 season. He went 6-for-27 in seven games.


title: Julio Franco

text: On February 8, 2015, Ishikawa Million Stars of the professional Japanese Independent baseball league Baseball Challenge League announced that Franco had been signed as a player-manager for the 2015 season. Franco said that he did not think he would appear often as a player, but 14 games into the season, Franco had played in ten games owing to an injury to a key player.


title: Julio Franco

text: On February 5, 2022, Franco returned to the Mexican League as he was named hitting coach of the Acereros de Monclova.


title: Julio Franco

text: In 2,527 games over 23 major league seasons, Franco posted a .298 batting average (2,586-for-8,677) with 1,285 runs, 407 doubles, 54 triples, 173 home runs, 1,194 RBI, 281 stolen bases, 917 bases on balls, .365 on-base percentage and .417 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .978 fielding percentage playing primarily at shortstop, second and first base. In 31 postseason games, he batted .224 (22-for-98) with nine runs, two home runs, six RBI and six walks.


title: Julio Franco

text: Franco is a practicing Christian. In a 2005 interview with the "Baptist Press", he said, "I’ve been a Christian for 15 years," and added, "I want to play until I’m 50 years old. I know that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and I want to keep my body healthy. I believe the key to that is discipline and obedience.”


title: Shelly Kishore

text: Shelly Kishore is an Indian film and television actress. She is known for her role Shalini in "Kumkumapoovu" and in "Thanga Meenkal" and Usha in "Minnal Murali". She received a Kerala state television award for best actress in 2006.


title: Shelly Kishore

text: Her father, J. Nabu Kumar, is a civil engineer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Her mother Sheela is a homemaker. She has an elder brother and a sister. Shelly's brother is married and lives in the US. Her sister, Shibily works as a teacher.


title: Shelly Kishore

text: Shelly studied in Muscat and in New Indian Model School, Dubai. She has a diploma in mass media and communication from Singapore and another diploma in sociology. Shelly has completed her Post Graduation in E-Governance.


title: Shelly Kishore

text: Shelly Kishore received the Government of Kerala's award for the best actress in 2006 for her role in the serial "Thaniye", telecasted in Amrita TV. Shelly's first Malayalam movie was "Kerala Cafe", directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan. Shelly's first Tamil movie was "Thanga Meenkal", directed by Ram. Shelly appeared the Hindi movie "The Waiting Room", directed by Maneej Premnath. She learned classic Indian dance forms, including Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Bharatanatyam.


title: Shelly Kishore

text: Shelly was selected as the second runner up for the Miss Flower Show contest held at Kanakakunnu, Trivandrum. Shelly acted in the Malayalam movie "Kanalkannadi" directed by Jayan Poduval, although it was never released. Kishore is famous in Malayali households for her portrayal of Shalini Rudran in "Kumkumapoovu". After finishing that production, she took a break from television. In 2017 she came back through the portrayal of Balasuda in "Sthreepadam".


title: Supermarionation

text: Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and "animation") is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. The productions were mostly science fiction with the puppetry supervised by Christine Glanville, art direction by either Bob Bell or Keith Wilson, and music composed by Barry Gray. They also made extensive use of scale model special effects, directed by Derek Meddings.


title: Supermarionation

text: The term "Supermarionation" was first used during the production of "Supercar", whose final 13 episodes were the first to be credited as being "filmed in Supermarionation". Some sources consider its precursor, "Four Feather Falls", to be the first Supermarionation series because it saw the introduction of the electronic lip-syncing mechanism that featured in all of APF's later puppet productions.


title: Supermarionation

text: The term was coined by Gerry Anderson, who regarded it as APF's trademark. In later life, he said that he invented the term to increase the "respectability" of puppetry, a medium that he had not originally intended to work with. According to Sylvia, the productions were described as "Supermarionation" to distinguish them from traditional puppet theatre. Noting that a major disadvantage of APF's marionettes was their inability to walk convincingly, commentators have argued that the term expressed Gerry's preference for artistic realism and his wish to make the company's puppet techniques more lifelike.


title: Supermarionation

text: The term was coined in 1960 by Gerry Anderson. Sources describe Supermarionation as a style of puppetry, a production technique or process, or a promotional term. Emma Thom of the National Science and Media Museum defines it as APF's use of electronics to synchronise puppets' lip movements with pre-recorded dialogue. According to Jeff Evans, it "express[es] the elaborate style of puppetry" used in APF's productions. Anderson denied that the term referred to a process, stating that he coined it as a promotional tool to separate APF's output from other children's puppet series like "Muffin the Mule" and "Flower Pot Men". This was motivated by his embarrassment in working with puppets as opposed to live actors, and his wish to dispel the notion that APF's marionettes were "the sort of puppets that were used in pre-school programmes". He also likened Supermarionation to a "trademark". According to Sylvia Anderson, the term was used to "distinguish the pure puppetry of the stage from our more sophisticated filmed-television version". Lou Ceffer of the website Spy Hollywood calls Supermarionation a "marketing term".


title: Supermarionation

text: A 1960s supplement of the British trade newspaper "Television Mail" described Supermarionation as a "technical process" whose main features, besides electronic puppet control, were use of 35 mm colour photography, -scale filming stages, back projection, live-action inserts and live action-style special effects, and video assist to guide the crew. According to Chris Bentley, the term encompasses "all of the sophisticated puppetry techniques" used by APF – the foremost being the automatic mouth movement – "combined with the full range of film production facilities normally employed in live-action filming" (such as front and back projection, location shooting and visual effects). Other commentators have cited the complexity and detail of the puppets, models and sets as aspects of Supermarionation. Marcus Hearn states that the term reflected Gerry Anderson's desire to "promote his company's collective ingenuity as a proprietary process" and "[ally] his productions with Hollywood photographic techniques such as CinemaScope and VistaVision." He adds that it "encompassed the full panoply of APF's expertise – production values in model-making, photography, special effects, editing and orchestral music that had never been so consistently applied to any type of children's programme, let alone those featuring puppets."


title: Supermarionation

text: Gerry Anderson's first experience with puppet filming was in 1956, when Pentagon Films – a group of five filmmakers including Anderson and his friend Arthur Provis – was contracted to make a series of Noddy-themed TV advertisements for Kellogg's breakfast cereal. Around this time, Pentagon also produced a 15-minute puppet film called "Here Comes Kandy". These early efforts were noticed by children's author Roberta Leigh, who had written a collection of scripts titled "The Adventures of Twizzle" and was looking for a film company to turn them into a puppet TV series. By this time, Anderson and Provis had left Pentagon to form their own company, Anderson Provis Films (AP Films or APF). They accepted the commission, disappointed not to be working with live actors but realising that they needed Leigh's investment to stay in business. Before starting production, Anderson and Provis hired three staff: continuity supervisor Sylvia Thamm (former secretary at Pentagon and Anderson's future wife), art director Reg Hill and camera operator John Read. All three would later be made co-directors of the new company and play a significant role in the development of its productions.


title: Supermarionation

text: The puppets of "Twizzle" had papier-mâché heads with painted eyes and mouths and were each controlled using a single carpet thread. Speech was indicated by nodding the heads. Somewhat embarrassed to be making a children's puppet series, Anderson and Provis decided to produce "Twizzle" in the style of a feature film, incorporating dynamic shooting and lighting in the hope that the results would bring them bigger-budget commissions with live actors. To add to this more sophisticated look, the series often used three-dimensional sets instead of traditional flat backgrounds, while puppeteers Christine Glanville and her team operated the marionettes not from the studio floor but from a bridge above it.


title: Supermarionation

text: Following the completion of "Twizzle", APF was unsuccessful in securing new clients, so accepted another puppet commission from Leigh: "Torchy the Battery Boy". This series used puppets with heads of "plastic wood" (a mixture of cork dust, glue and methylated spirit) and wooden bodies. The heads incorporated moveable eyeballs and a hinged jaw that was opened and closed with a string. In practice, jaw movement was difficult to control due to the bobbing of the puppets' heads. By now all puppet sets were three-dimensional. They had also become more detailed, being made mostly of cardboard with fibreglass props.


title: Supermarionation

text: After "Torchy", APF severed ties with Leigh and produced its first independent series, "Four Feather Falls", with funding from Granada. The puppets' heads were now made as hollow fibreglass shells, the strings had been replaced with fine tungsten steel wires and the hinged jaw had given way to an electronic lip-sync mechanism designed by Hill and Read. Lip-syncing was a key step in the development of Supermarionation, and as such "Four Feather Falls" is regarded by some sources as the first Supermarionation production. The mechanism made it easier for the puppeteers to operate the marionettes in time with their dialogue as it was no longer necessary to learn the characters' lines. According to Anderson, as exaggerated movements were no longer needed, the puppets were finally able to speak "without their heads lolling about a like a broken toy." By now the puppeteers' movements were guided using a basic form of video assist: a TV camera mounted directly behind the film camera, which relayed footage to various monitors around the studio.


title: Supermarionation

text: The term "Supermarionation" was coined during the production of "Supercar", APF's first series to be made for Lew Grade's distribution company ITC Entertainment. Its final 13 episodes were the first to be credited as being "filmed in Supermarionation".


title: Supermarionation

text: The puppets and puppet sets of Supermarionation were built in scale, the former being roughly tall. Each marionette was suspended and controlled with several fine tungsten steel wires that were between and of an inch () thick, replacing the carpet thread and twine strings that had been used prior to "Four Feather Falls". To make the wires non-reflective, they were at first painted black; this made them thicker and more noticeable, so manufacturers Ormiston Wire devised a method of chemically darkening them to maintain their thinness. During filming, the wires often needed to be concealed further with "antiflare" (grease mist) spray or various colours of paint so that they would blend in with the sets and backgrounds. Balancing the weight was crucial: puppets that were too light would be difficult to control; too heavy and their wires would not bear the load. Inserts of real human hands, arms and legs were used to show complex actions that the puppets could not perform, such as operating machinery. In a 1965 interview, Reg Hill estimated that the Supermarionation productions contained "three or four times" as much cutting as live-action features because the puppets' lack of facial expression made it impossible to sustain the viewer's interest "for more than a few seconds" per shot.


title: Supermarionation

text: The puppets' distinguishing features were their hollow fibreglass heads and the solenoids that powered their automatic mouth movements. Character dialogue was recorded on two tapes. One of these would be played during filming to guide the puppeteers and later provide the basis of the soundtrack; the other would be converted into a series of electrical signals. Each marionette had two electrified wires that conducted the signals into its head; this contained a solenoid which, when operated by the signals, caused the puppet's lower lip to open and close with each syllable. The heads of regular characters were entirely fibreglass; proto-heads were sculpted in clay or Plasticine and then encased in rubber (or silicone rubber) to create moulds, to which fibreglass resin was applied to create the finished shells. Guest characters were played by puppets called "revamps", whose faces were Plasticine sculpted on featureless fibreglass heads. This allowed the revamps to be re-modelled from one episode to the next and play a wider range of characters. Many regulars were modelled on contemporary Hollywood actors. The puppets' eyes were moved by radio control.


title: Supermarionation

text: The placement of the lip-sync mechanism dictated the puppets' body proportions. For all Supermarionation series up to "Thunderbirds", the solenoid was located in the head. This meant that the head was oversized in relation to the rest of the body; the latter could not be scaled up to match as this would have made the puppets too bulky to operate effectively, besides requiring all of the set elements to be enlarged accordingly. According to commentator David Garland, the disproportion was influenced partly by "aesthetic considerations ... the theory being that the head carried the puppet's personality". It resulted in many puppets developing caricatured appearances, though Anderson stated that this was not intentional.


title: Supermarionation

text: Between "Thunderbirds" and "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons", the development of miniaturised electronic components prompted APF – now called Century 21 Productions – to create a new type of puppet. The option to downsize the components in the head was rejected in favour of moving the entire lip-sync mechanism to the chest, where it was connected to the mouth by a cable that ran through the neck. This made it possible to shrink the heads and make the puppets of "Captain Scarlet" and later series in natural proportions. Around this time, Century 21 also tried to make the puppets' faces more lifelike by crafting them in a new, flexible material, but the results proved unsatisfactory and the idea was abandoned. As the reduced head size made it harder to sculpt faces in Plasticine, guest characters were now played by a group of permanent, all-fibreglass puppets that were made to the same standards of workmanship as the regular characters. Likened to a "repertory company", these puppets could be superficially altered from one appearance to the next – for example, by adding or removing facial hair.


title: Supermarionation

text: In a 2002 interview, Anderson said that during the production of "Captain Scarlet" he was hoping to move into live-action television and that he endorsed the new puppets as a compromise for his inability to use live actors. In 2006, he recalled that Century 21 had been "typecast" for its puppetry: "[S]o, knowing it was the only thing I could get finance for, I desperately wanted to make the thing look as close to live action as possible. And I think it was that that drove me on to bring in all the improvements and techniques." Thom believes that the re-design reflected Anderson's desire for greater "realism and spectacle".


title: Supermarionation

text: Not all of Anderson's colleagues welcomed the change. Puppet sculptor and operator John Blundall pejoratively referred to the new puppets as "little humans" that lacked the personality of their precursors, also stating that the increased emphasis on realism hampered the puppeteers' creativeness. Fellow sculptor Terry Curtis believed that the re-design took away the puppets' "charm". According to director Desmond Saunders, APF was trying "anything to get [the puppets] to look like ordinary human beings. But they are not ordinary human beings! ... I often wonder it if would have been better to make them "more" like puppets, not less like puppets." A drawback of the smaller heads was that they upset the weight distribution; this made the puppets harder to control, to a point where they would often have to be fixed to G-clamps to be kept steady. In addition, problems achieving realistic depth of field made it considerably harder to film close-up shots.


title: Supermarionation

text: A major limitation of the marionettes was their inability to walk convincingly. This was due to their low weight and the fact that the legs of each puppet were controlled by only two strings, which made complex articulation impossible. According to Sylvia Anderson, the re-design exacerbated the puppets' core deficiencies: "The more realistic our puppets became, the more problems we had with them ... It was just possible to get away with the awkward moments in "Thunderbirds" because the proportions of the characters were still caricature. It was later when we had developed a more realistic approach ... that the still imperfect walk was [all] the more obvious." To limit the need for leg movement, many scenes featuring walks were filmed from the waist up, with motion implied by a puppeteer holding the legs out of shot and bobbing the marionette up and down while pushing it forward. Other scenes showed puppets standing, sitting or driving vehicles. Tex Tucker, the hero of "Four Feather Falls", avoids walking by riding a horse called Rocky, while the characters of "Fireball XL5", "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds" achieve the same through use of personal hovercraft. "Supercar" and "Stingray"s focus on their eponymous car and submarine, as well as "Stingray"s depiction of Commander Shore as a paraplegic confined to a futuristic "hoverchair", are examples of other devices used to overcome the puppets' lack of mobility.


title: Supermarionation

text: In a 1977 interview, Gerry Anderson said that the steps taken to make the puppets more lifelike were an attempt to "make the [puppet] medium respectable". On the preparations for "Supercar", APF's first science-fiction production, he remembered "[thinking] that if we set the story in the future, there would be moving walkways and the puppets would be riding around in the car for much of the time, so it would be much easier to make them convincing." According to interviewer Kevin O'Neill, this use of future settings for greater realism "almost accidentally" ensured that all of APF's subsequent series would be science fiction. In 2006, Anderson stated that the transition to this genre "wasn't a conscious move at all", but rather a natural progression given the basic deficiencies of the puppets. Sylvia said that the reasons were budgetary, due to the fact that APF could not yet afford to work with live actors: "... we were picking subjects that we could easily do in miniature scale."


title: Supermarionation

text: David Garland calls character movement Anderson's "" and states that the puppets' limited mobility resulted in "vehicle-heavy science fiction" becoming his "preferred genre". He considers the use of marionettes – the kind of puppet "perhaps most unsuited" to an action format – to be "one of the most striking paradoxes" of the Anderson productions. Carolyn Percy of the "Wales Arts Review" comments that the inclusion of "futuristic vehicles" like "Supercar" allowed APF to devise "more exciting and imaginative scenarios" and "work around the limitations of the puppets ... to give their 'acting' the integrity to match the material."


title: Supermarionation

text: The final Supermarionation series, "The Secret Service", used footage of live actors to such an extent that the result according to Stephen La Rivière was "half-way between live action and Supermarionation". Its protagonist, Stanley Unwin, was modelled on the comedian of the same name, who both voiced the puppet character and served as its human body double in long shots and other scenes where the puppet was impractical to use. According to Anderson, this was another way of avoiding the problem of lack of mobility: "I came up with the idea of getting Stanley Unwin to do all the walking shots, and driving shots in this Model Ford T [the character] had. If, for example, you had a sequence where Stanley Unwin would arrive at a building in his Model T, he would ... get out, walk down the path, and as soon as he opened the door, you'd cut to the reverse angle and that would be the "puppet" of Stanley Unwin ... I used Stanley Unwin, married to his own puppet, to enable him to do all the things that the puppet couldn't do."


title: Supermarionation

text: Special effects were created with miniature models and sets in a range of scales. A wide variety of materials were used in their construction – for example, rock faces were made from painted blocks of polystyrene, while miniature vehicles incorporated recycled household objects and parts from toy model kits. The lighting used for effects shooting was five times as strong as that normally used on a live-action production. Effects were typically shot at high speed (72 to 120 frames per second) with the footage slowed down in post-production to give a sense of greater weight or steadiness, thus making the sequences look more realistic. High-speed filming was essential for shots on water in order to make the small ripples inside the filming tank look like ocean waves. As sets were built to scale, it was often hard to maintain a realistic sense of depth.


title: Supermarionation

text: Underwater sequences were filmed not in water, but on dry sets with a thin aquarium between the set and the camera to distort the lighting. Bubble jets and small fish were added to the aquarium to create forced perspective. Beginning with "Stingray", shots of aircraft in flight were filmed using a technique called the "rolling sky", which was devised by effects director Derek Meddings to allow filming of dynamic shots in confined space. It involved painting the sky background on a canvas, which was then wrapped around a pair of electrically driven rollers, and creating an impression of movement by running the canvas around the rollers in a continuous loop as opposed to moving the miniature aircraft itself. "Thunderbirds" saw the introduction of the "rolling road", an adaptation of the technique whereby foreground, middleground and background elements of road sequences were created as separate rolls of looped canvas and spun at varying speeds.


title: Supermarionation

text: In the pursuit of realism, newly built models and sets were deliberately "dirtied down" with paint, oil, pencil lead and other substances to give them a used or weathered look. Jetex propellant pellets were fitted to the undersides of miniature ground vehicles to emit jets of gas resembling dust trails. Over time, the effects used for puppet gunfights became more elaborate: whereas gunshot effects in "Four Feather Falls" were created by simply painting marks on the film negative (which showed up as white flashes on the finished print), for later series the puppets' miniature prop guns were fitted with small charges that were fired using a car battery.


title: Supermarionation

text: The Andersons' puppet work also included "The Investigator" (1973), a pilot for an unmade Supermarionation series. This featured both marionettes and live actors but did not include the term "Supermarionation" in the credits.


title: Supermarionation

text: Noting that Gerry Anderson would have preferred to make live-action productions instead of puppet series, Percy argues that his style of filming was developed to "make the puppet film as 'respectable' as possible". She also comments that APF's filming techniques "would not only result in a level of quality and sophistication not seen before in a family show, but also give birth to some of the most iconic series in the history of British children's television."


title: Supermarionation

text: Garland describes the underlying theme of Anderson's work as a "self-reflexive obsession with an aesthetic of realism (or more accurately a surface realism often associated with naturalism) borne of an unfulfilled desire to make live-action films for adults", further commenting that Anderson's typecasting as a puppet TV creator "led him on a lifelong quest to perfect a simulation of reality". He notes that Anderson's involvement with puppets began at a time when Western puppet theatre "had become increasingly marginalised to a niche, to an association with children's entertainment", and that APF's productions used an "aesthetic of incremental realism" to appeal to children and adults alike (a target audience that the Andersons referred to as "kidult"). Garland suggests that this drive towards increased realism echoed "19th-century marionette theatre's own attempts to distinguish itself from other forms of puppetry (especially glove puppets), which also involved a tethering to the newly-emergent realist aesthetic across the arts".


title: Supermarionation

text: In 1983, Gerry Anderson returned to puppetry with his independent science-fiction TV series "Terrahawks". The characters of this series were made as rubber hand puppets, operated from the studio floor in a process called "Supermacromation". This was similar to the techniques employed by American puppeteer Jim Henson.


title: Supermarionation

text: In 2004, Anderson created a "Captain Scarlet" remake titled "New Captain Scarlet", which was produced using computer-generated imagery (CGI) and motion-capture techniques. Motion capture was used heavily for action sequences as it provided more convincing character movement. As a nod to Supermarionation, the series was credited as being "created in Hypermarionation". According to Anderson, Hypermarionation was not simply animation, but a "photo-real" production method combining CGI, high-definition picture and surround sound. Garland suggests that through Hypermarionation, Anderson sought to achieve a "hyperreal simulation of his live-action film utopia".


title: Supermarionation

text: In 2014, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund a remake of the anime series "Firestorm", to be produced using a technique called "Ultramarionation".


title: Supermarionation

text: In the 2010s, Stephen La Rivière and his production company Century 21 Films began a revival of Supermarionation. Their productions are listed below.


title: Supermarionation

text: Century 21 Films also worked on "Apollo", a 2019 episode of "Endeavour" that is set partly in a TV studio which is making a puppet series called "Moon Rangers". The episode features story-within-a-story marionette sequences that were written and filmed as a tribute to Supermarionation.


title: Supermarionation

text: The puppet series "Space Patrol", created by Roberta Leigh and Arthur Provis and filmed by Leigh's company National Interest Picture Productions, used marionettes similar to those of APF's early series (including the use of automatic mouth movement). However, they were made in natural body proportions.


title: Supermarionation

text: The Japanese series "Aerial City 008" (1969) and "X-Bomber" (1980) also featured Supermarionation-style puppets, with the latter of the two referring to its filming style as 'Supermariorama' in reference to Supermarionation. In South Africa, similar techniques were used to make "Interster" (1982–86). The American puppet series "Super Adventure Team" (1998) was created in imitation of Supermarionation but with more adult themes and suggestive situations.


title: Supermarionation

text: "", a 2004 puppet film by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, was inspired by "Thunderbirds" and has been described as an imitation or spoof of Supermarionation productions. Stone and Parker dubbed their filming process "Supercrappymation" (or "Supercrappynation") as the wires were deliberately left visible.


title: Supermarionation

text: A "Stargate SG-1" episode, "200" (2006), features a self-parody in which the characters are played by Supermarionation-style puppets.


title: The Room (video game)

text: The Room is a puzzle video game developed by Fireproof Games. The game was originally developed for the iOS platform and released in September 2012. The Android version debuted as part of a Humble Bundle in March 2013 and was subsequently released on Google Play. A free expansion for the title was released in August 2013. An enhanced version of the game was released for Microsoft Windows in July 2014, and for the Nintendo Switch in October 2018.


title: The Room (video game)

text: At the time of "The Room"s creation, Fireproof had been providing art assets for other publishers, and "The Room" reflects the studio's first attempt to make their own game, but with limited finances, focused on a mobile title with the goal of taking advantage of the platform's unique interface aspects. "The Room" presents the player with a series of strange puzzle boxes that feature a number of physical mechanisms. The player is challenged to figure out how to open each one – typically by undoing a series of locks – to access another puzzle box within it. The game uses a variety of motions enabled by mobile device touchscreens to simulate actions in real life, such as looking around the device, turning keys, and activating switches. Through the game, a story involving the research of an unnamed person into the fifth classical element, "null," which is described in notes found through the various box puzzles.


title: The Room (video game)

text: "The Room" has received positive reception, and the iOS version received several awards. The game has sold more than 6.5 million copies. Fireproof Games have since released four sequels to "The Room", with total collective sales of 11.5 million by 2016.


title: The Room (video game)

text: "The Room" is a three-dimensional puzzle game. The game has a minimal story, in which the player is told by letters of a mysterious box in a room in a house; as the player solves the puzzles around the box, more notes from the same author – one who previously had solved the mystery of the box – are found, describing the box's use of an ethereal material called "Null", as well as showing the author slowly descending into madness.


title: The Room (video game)

text: On starting the game, the player is presented with the first of four puzzle boxes. The first box is offered as a tutorial to the game's controls, which demonstrate how to move around the box and interact with the features of the box. The player has a small inventory for items like keys found in compartments in the box. A key inventory element is a special lens that, in-game, allows the player to see things made from the Null element that compose parts of the box. The lens can generally be equipped at any time to see these secrets, often requiring the player to manipulate the view to align secrets into a coherent symbol. The goal is to fully unlock each puzzle box, extracting a smaller but increasingly complex box within it.


title: The Room (video game)

text: Fireproof Games is a British development firm born out from six developers that had been working at Criterion Games on the "Burnout" racing series; together they decided to quit to form their own small team to provide outsourceable artwork to other developers. Their work was included in both "LittleBigPlanet" games, "DJ Hero", and other racing titles like "Split/Second" and "Blur". They desired to get into developing their own game around 2012, but at that time, they found the costs of developing for a console or personal computer title were too high, and opted to go into mobile gaming which was cheaper to develop for; they also recognized that many mobile games developed by teams with experience in consoles and computers did not make great mobile games, often simply porting or cloning existing titles, and set out to prove that it was possible to make a good mobile game, something that "fit for this piece of hardware, for this audience", according to Fireproof Games cofounder Barry Meade. With "The Room", the goal was "to make the best iOS game we could, not just try to make a big console game for iOS", according to Meade. They wanted to emphasise the use of the touchscreen of mobile devices in its own unique way, similar to the success of "Cut the Rope" and "Angry Birds". At the same time, they wanted to create a game that would be immersive for the player, and had devised the appropriate touch controls to provide tactile responses that worked alongside their art and music assets to help towards this.


title: The Room (video game)

text: Fireproof hired a programmer in January 2012 to create their own title, "The Room"; during its development, the game only took two of Fireproof's team, the rest of the company continuing to work on other outsourcing jobs. The game was developed in the Unity game engine, mostly due to its very low costs, a financial limitation Fireproof had at the time. Total development costs for the initial iPad version were estimated to be . They early on hit on the idea of Asian puzzle boxes, which may have had hundreds of steps to be performed to open while having a degree of art and beauty in their creation. Meade compared this to an early successful mobile title, "Zen Bound", which, while it was a simple game without any challenge, "was really pleasant and beautiful to look at", according to Meade. Initially planning on calling the game "Puzzle Box", they crafted a playable demonstration within a few weeks of the idea, and then built out from there. To achieve the tactile nature they wanted for the game, they made sure to include a physics engine so that all the moving parts of each puzzle had some type of weight, as Meade felt that simulated physical responses to direct touchscreen controls, "you've automatically wiped out this massive barrier to entry that people have", in contrast to using a game pad or controller.


title: The Room (video game)

text: The game was initially created for Apple's iPad (compatible with iPad 2 upwards) and released in September 2012. Fireproof also ported the game to work on the Apple iPhone 4s and newer models; however, at the time of its release, there was no way to indicate to users of the Apple App Store that the game would not work on the iPhone 4. For this reason, they created a free-to-play version, "The Room Pocket" on 3 December 2012, which included the first puzzle of "The Room" and the option to buy the rest of the game so that they would not draw ire of iPhone 4 users. Meade said that as of 2018 "The Room Pocket" had more sales than "The Room".


title: The Room (video game)

text: An Android version of "The Room" was created for mobile devices as part of the Humble Mobile Bundle which was released on 26 March 2013. A free expansion to "The Room" was released in August 2013 which updated the game with a new level and links the end of the first game to the sequel. Fireproof developed a Microsoft Windows version that was released on 28 July 2014, providing support for mouse controls. The Windows version was only planned once they had found the game successful on mobile, and it had to be rebuilt from the ground up, requiring a larger team, about half of their 14-person staff at the time, with a risk of how popular this version would be.


title: The Room (video game)

text: A version of "The Room" was released for the Nintendo Switch on 18 October 2018 with publishing support of Team17, making its console debut. The game supports the same touchscreen controls from the mobile game, but uses the Switch's Joy-Con for playing the game in television mode. The Switch version includes improved graphics and the original game's DLC.


title: The Room (video game)

text: "The Room" was met with "generally favorable reviews" for the iOS and Nintendo Switch, and "mixed or average" for PC, according to Metacritic.


title: The Room (video game)

text: Fireproof Games broke even on the first week of release for the iPad version, allowing them to plan for the expansions and sequels, and to start to consider other projects. As of March 2013, "The Room" on iPad has sold over 1.4 million copies and near its initial release, ranked as one of the top-selling games on several iOS lists. The free pocket version has been downloaded over 2.4 million times. By October 2016, "The Room" has sold more than 6.5 million units, and collectively, the three games in the series have sold more than 11.5 million copies.


title: The Room (video game)

text: Upon its release "The Room" was featured as Apple's Editors choice across the world, going on to receive the coveted "Apple iPad Game of the Year 2012" and the BAFTA for best British video game. It won the following awards:


title: The Room (video game)

text: "The Room" was followed by several sequels: "The Room Two", was released on iTunes on 12 December 2013 and on Steam.


title: The Room (video game)

text: In 2014, Fireproof Games announced a third title, "The Room Three" which was released for mobile platforms in November 2015 and on Steam.


title: The Room (video game)

text: A spin-off title, "The Room VR: A Dark Matter" was released exclusively for VR platforms on 26 March 2020.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Many characteristics of a particular model of Acer Aspire One are dictated by the CPU platform chosen. Initial models were based on the Intel Atoms. Later, models with various AMD chips were introduced. Newer versions of the Atom were adopted as well.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Early versions were based on the Intel Atom platform, which consists of the Intel Atom processor, Intel 945GSE Express chipset and Intel 82801GBM (ICH7M) I/O controller, and is available in several shell colors: seashell white, sapphire blue, golden brown, onyx black, and coral pink.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Higher end models were released in June 2010 consisting of the AMD Athlon II Neo processor and ATI Radeon HD 4225 graphics controller. These are available in onyx black, antique brass, or mesh black shells depending on model. Also released was a version of the Aspire One 521 with an AMD-V105 processor running at 1.2 GHz, an ATI Radeon 4225 graphics controller, and equipped with a HDMI port.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: A range of later models were powered by AMD Brazos APUs (combined CPU/GPU chips). The AMD chips had much more powerful video capabilities but consumed more power.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: In January 2013, Acer officially ended production of their Aspire One series due to declining sales as a result of consumers favoring tablets and Ultrabooks over netbooks.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The line was originally manufactured for Acer Inc. by Quanta Computer.; Quanta was phased out as a supplier to Acer, and production of the Acer Aspire One line shifted to other manufacturers in 2009. Also starting in 2009, eSobi Inc. partnered with Acer to preload the eSobi News Center on Acer Aspire One netbooks beginning in the first quarter of 2009.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Windows XP Home Edition SP3 is installed on the models with a name ending in "X", or ending in "B" followed by another letter denoting color.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: It is also possible to install and run Windows Vista or Windows 7 on the earlier model laptop. In high-end versions appearing during 2009, Windows Vista is pre-installed. The lack of a DVD-ROM drive requires creating a bootable USB flash drive (the on-board card reader slots are not bootable) using a USB external DVD drive or PXE boot network install.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Windows 7 Starter is installed by default on models with a name starting in "D" such as D255E and D257 as well as other later Aspire models.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Models with names starting in "L", or ending in "A" followed by a letter for color, are shipped with Linpus Linux Lite, which is based on Fedora 8. This offers a simplified user interface, with default applications like the Firefox 2 browser, OpenOffice.org 2.3, "Acer One Mail" and "Acer One Messenger" available directly on the main screen. The default desktop environment has been designed to hide advanced features from the user and to prevent modification. It is possible to modify the system to present a more traditional Xfce 4 desktop, enable more advanced features such as context menus, or install additional software.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: It is possible to install and run other Linux distributions on the Acer Aspire One, and some specially customised Linux distributions have been designed to offer out-of-the-box functionality. These include:


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Through the OSx86 project, an Aspire One can boot and run a modified version of Mac OS X, including "iAtkos", "iDeneb", "XxX" and "Kalyway" distributions. This procedure is not supported by Apple or Acer.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: FreeBSD v. 8.2 is known to run on the Acer Aspire One, although some limitations apply: lid close not starting a hibernate, and power management which works to a very limited degree.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: OpenBSD releases ranging from 4.4 to 6.4 are known to run on some of the many models of Aspire One, with some limitations based on BIOS and other variations.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Some models are dual boot (e.g. D250, D260), with Android 1.6 and Windows 7 Starter. The computer boots up into Android first, with a tab to select Windows. The Android-x86 OS has limited apps available to it.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: It is possible to install FreeDOS on even the earliest models. Some peripherals, like a USB mouse or Ethernet port, will not be detected by the standard setup and may require manual tweaking.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The A110 model ships with an 8 GB or 16 GB solid-state drive (SSD), although some models do not come with one. Early 8 GB models come with the Intel Z-P230, model SSDPAMM0008G1. This SSD has been criticized for its slow read and write speed. Intel lists the drive's maximum speeds as 38 MB/s read and 10 MB/s write. Later models come with the slightly faster Samsung P-SSD 1800.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The hard disk is a regular 2.5-in 5400 rpm SATA drive with 80, 120, 160, 250, 320, 500 or 750 GB. A number of different drives from different manufacturers have been reported to be included. Newer-model Aspire Ones take a 7 mm thick drive, as opposed to the usual 9.5 mm thickness that makes up most 2.5-inch form factor hard drives and SSDs.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: There is also an SD/SDHC storage expansion slot on all models for additional storage (the 533 model does not support SDHC as verified by Acer support UK). On Linux versions this automatically expands the space of the SSD or HDD using aufs. Windows XP models treat it as a normal removable drive.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Some models have a second slot that functions as a standard multi-in-1 flash memory card reader. The 110 BIOS does not allow one to boot an operating system from this slot, but the 150 BIOS is capable of booting from an SDHC card in the slot. (Note: with Linux, it is possible essentially to boot from HD or USB by using a /boot partition on the regular boot device and an initrd that loads the real OS from the slot).


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The Intel Atom platform has a specified maximum TDP of 11.8 W. Individual figures are 2.5 W for the N270 processor, 6 W for the 945GSE chipset and 3.3 W for the 82801GBM I/O controller. The AUO B089AW01 LCD panel is rated at a maximum power consumption of 3 W. Typical read–write power consumption for the SSD is around 0.3 W, and 0.01 W when idle. The different HDDs are rated at about 1.5–2.5 W for read–write operations and around 0.7 W when idle.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The official ratings for the battery are up to 3 hours for the three cell, and up to 8 hours for the six cell. Linpus Linux Lite has been optimized by Acer for lower power consumption. Battery life is shorter on HDD configurations with Windows XP, at approximately 2.5 hours for the three cell. Although the standard three cell battery is 2.2 Ah, some users have reported 2.4 Ah and 2.9 Ah batteries from the factory. Various suppliers online now carry aftermarket batteries, including the six cell. Aftermarket nine cell batteries are available though they are quite heavy, and also protrude out of the back, reducing the aesthetics but improving airflow.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: An Acer AOD model (10.1" screen) product comparison guide, in the form of a spreadsheet file download, is available from increa.com.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Since November 2008 the 3G-enabled model Aspire One A150X-3G is available in Europe, while models with 3G modems began shipping in the United Kingdom in December of the same year and were denoted by the letter "G" in their model number. The first generation Aspire One webcam is an Acer Labs International M5608 camera controller with attached 0.3 MP SuYin or 1.3 MP LiteOn CMOS sensor.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: Some models of the Aspire One use an Intel 945GSE chipset which only supports 2 GB of RAM. Installing memory modules larger than 2 GB has caused the Aspire to fail the power-on self-test. Model 522, featuring the AMD Fusion C-50 chip, has been reported to work with 4 GB installed (although the included Windows 7 Starter edition has an artificially imposed 2 GB limit).


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The AO751h has the larger 11.6" screen with an LED backlit display and a 1366x768 native resolution. It includes a 1 GB/667 MHz DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM memory option (2 GB being the maximum), a 160 GB HDD option, Bluetooth option, Intel northbridge US15W, and an OS option for Windows Vista Home Basic edition or Windows XP Media Center Edition. All AO751h units are powered by an Intel Atom Z520 processor running at 1330 MHz (or 1240 MHz in first version). The US15W system controller incorporates a GMA500 video core. The AO751h has a dual power (AC/DC) option. The six cell battery provides the working time of about 8 hours. Besides the mentioned specifications of the AO751h it supports 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet interface, 802.11g Wi-Fi card Atheros, Bluetooth 2.1, standard VGA-out jack, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a Memory Card reader 5:1 (xD-Picture Card, SD card), as well as Microphone In jack 3.5 mm (1/8" Mini), Headphone Out jack 3.5 mm (1/8" Mini). One of the cons is the relatively small TouchPad and mouse buttons. Large and comfortable keyboard is one of the distinguishing features of the device.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: There have been reports of some AO751h units randomly freezing, which has led to recalls in Denmark. Some users have reported that having their motherboards replaced by Acer solved the problem and Acer officially reporting that the fix is to install an updated BIOS.


title: Acer Aspire One

text: The 8.9" models have an improperly designed speaker location that causes vibration to the internal hard drive, causing it to be problematic. The right speaker is especially prone to this. Audio frequencies around 1 kHz cause the hard drive to almost stop responding. Full volume MP3/audio playback easily causes these models to run extremely slowly, or crash because of unresponsive disk I/O. This problem also causes bad sectors, crashed hard drives and corrupt Windows partitions in the long term. Even sound from an external speaker with 1 kHz tone test causes this hard drive behaviour. SSD drives do not suffer from this problem. Workarounds identified are: listening to music at a lower volume, using only the left speaker, using a software equalizer to tone down the 1 kHz frequency, replacing the hard drive with an SSD, and trying to install soft sound dampening material around the speakers and the hard drive.