Software is a 1982 cyberpunk science fiction novel written by Rudy Rucker. It won the first Philip K. Dick Award in 1983. The novel is the first book in Rucker's Ware Tetralogy, and was followed by a sequel, Wetware, in 1988.

Plot summary

Software introduces Cobb Anderson as a retired computer scientist who was once tried for treason for figuring out how to give robots artificial intelligence and free will, creating the race of boppers. By 2020, they have created a complex society on the Moon, where the boppers developed because they depend on super-cooled superconducting circuits. In that year, Anderson is a pheezer — a freaky geezer, Rucker's depiction of elderly Baby Boomers — living in poverty in Florida and terrified because he lacks the money to buy a new artificial heart to replace his failing, secondhand one.

As the story begins, Anderson is approached by a robot duplicate of himself who invites him to the Moon to be given immortality. Meanwhile, the series' other main character, Sta-Hi Mooney the 1st — born Stanley Hilary Mooney Jr. — a 25-year-old cab driver and "brainsurfer", is kidnapped by a gang of serial killers known as the Little Kidders who almost eat his brain. When Anderson and Mooney travel to the Moon together at the boppers' expense, they find that these events are closely related: the "immortality" given to Anderson turns out to be having his mind transferred into software via the same brain-destroying technique used by the Little Kidders.

Software was a German electronic duo active between 1984 and 2000, comprising Peter Mergener (born 1951) and Michael Weisser (born 1948). Formerly the duo used the name Mergener&Weisser.

History

The group released their records under the IC (Innovative Communication) label, which also released a number of other electronic musicians, including Klaus Schulze and the Neue Deutsche Welle group Ideal.

From 1990 to 1992 Weisser produced, during a temporary break with Mergener, four albums under the Software name with a different group composition: Fragrance with Klaus Schulze and Georg Stettner (born 1970), and Modesty-Blaze I / II and Cave with Billy Byte (Stephan Töteberg).

After the dissolution of Software in 1999, the two musicians went their separate ways: Peter Mergener continues to compose and play electronic music, while Michael Weisser first founded the group G.E.N.E. (Grooving Electronic Natural Environments), and is currently, among other things, active as a media artist.

Software 2.0 is a term derived from Web 2.0 used to describe a second generation of software development methodologies. Analogous to the term Web 2.0, Software 2.0 refer to hosted services which aim to facilitate users creativity to develop and share their own software applications online.

The term includes open source projects -where many developers collaborate in a software project and make the source code available to the end user- and generative programming and automatic programming - where software tools assist users to build customized software applications.

Following Web 2.0 design patterns, Software 2.0 services allow users to share their software applications on web-based communities such as GitHub.

Related concepts

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References

Ocean was a sailing ship built in 1808 at Whitby, England.

Under the command of Samuel Remmington she sailed from Spithead, England, on 21 August 1817, and arrived at Port Jackson on 10 January 1818. She transported 180 male convicts, none of whom died on the voyage.

Ocean left Port Jackson on 15 February bound for Batavia.

Under the command of William Harrison, Ocean sailed from Portsmouth on 24 April 1823, and arrived at Port Jackson on 27 August 1823. She transported 173 male convicts, six of whom died on the voyage.

Ocean left Port Jackson in February 1824 bound for London. While en route she encountered a large gale and she lost her live stock overboard. She also rescued the crew of the whaler Arab, before Arab sank. Ocean went to Saint Helena to undertake repairs and buy provisions. She arrived in London in 1825.

Citations and references

Ocean was an East Indiaman, launched in 1800, that made four trips for the Honourable East India Company. She is most famous for her participation, in 1803, in the battle of Pulo Aura. She foundered in 1811 while on her fifth trip.

Career

Captain Andrew Patton sailed Ocean for Bombay and China. He had been captain of the company's previous Ocean, which had wrecked in 1797. Because the French Revolutionary Wars were still on going, Patton received a letter of marque, which was dated 10 December 1800.

Ocean left Portsmouth on 9 January 1801 and reached on 22 May. From there she sailed for China. She reached Whampoa on 6 October. On the return leg she crossed the Second Bar on 7 December. She arrived at Saint Helena on 12 April 1802, and The Downs on 10 June.

On Ocean's second voyage, Patton was again her captain and he left The Downs on 13 October 1802 for the Cape of Good Hope, Madras, Bombay and China. After the resumption of war with France in 1803, Patton posthumously received a new letter of marque dated 1 July 1803 for the same vessel, with a crew of 140 men and 36 guns. Patton died at Bombay in June 1803; Ocean's first lieutenant, John Christian Lochner, became captain and it was he that commanded her at the battle of Pulo Aura. Ocean reached Britain on 15 August 1804.

"Ocean" (stylized as "OCEAN") is the 37th Japanese single by South Korean pop duo Tohoshinki. It was released on June 12, 2013 by Avex Trax as the first single from their seventh Japanese studio album, Tree (2014). Written and produced by Shinjiroh Inoue, "Ocean" was released in three editions – a CD+DVD version, a CD-only version, and a Bigeast Board edition.

The single sold 88,428 copies on its first day of release, and 116,782 copies by its second, breaking a new record for the group. "Ocean" landed at number two on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart by selling 140,872 copies, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Charting for over nine months, "Ocean" has reported sales of 159,163 according to the Oricon.

"Ocean" was used as the June monthly theme song for five different Japanese variety shows, which include the daytime show PON!, the music show Music Dragon (ミュージックドラゴン), the game show Sore Ike! Game Panther! (それいけ!ゲームパンサー!), and Futtonda (フットンダ). The B-side track "Wedding Dress", written by Shirose and Shimada of White Jam, was used as the theme song for BeeTV's mobile drama, The Greatest Proposal (最上のプロポーズ).