when was the Playstation 5 announced? Context: The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea, and was released worldwide one week later. The PS5 is part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, along with Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles, which were released in the same month. The base model includes an optical disc drive compatible with Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. The Digital Edition lacks this drive, as a lower-cost model for buying games only through download. The two variants were launched simultaneously. The PlayStation 5's main hardware features include a solid-state drive customized for high-speed data streaming to enable significant improvements in storage performance, an AMD GPU capable of 4K resolution display at up to 120 frames per second, hardware-accelerated ray tracing for realistic lighting and reflections, and the Tempest Engine for hardware-accelerated 3D audio effects. Other features include the DualSense controller with haptic feedback, backward compatibility with the majority of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR games, and the PlayStation VR2 headset. History Development Mark Cerny, the PlayStation 5's chief architect The lead architect of the PlayStation console line, Mark Cerny, implemented a two-year feedback cycle after the launch of the PlayStation 4. This entailed regularly visiting Sony's first-party developers at two-year intervals to find out what concerns they had with shortcomings in Sony's current hardware and how such hardware could be improved in console refreshes or for the next generation. This feedback was fed into the priorities for the console development team. In the development of the PlayStation 5, a key issue was the length of loading times for games. Cerny said several developers, including Epic Games' Tim Sweeney, told him that standard I/O speed of hard disk drives was now a limiting factor in pushing game development. Slow data rates placed limits on the size of data being loaded into the game, the physical location of data on the storage medium, and the duplication of data across the medium in order to reduce load times. An important goal was to find ways to reduce loading time, particularly in games that stream or dynamically load new game areas as the player moves through the game world. Jim Ryan, the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, stated that Sony had researched the feasibility of a "low priced, reduced spec" version of the PlayStation 5, like what Microsoft had done with its Xbox Series X and its lower-power counterpart the Xbox Series S; and concluded that they believed such consoles do not fare well, becoming obsolete too fast. Marketing and release Cerny first publicly described the new console in an interview with Wired magazine in April 2019. In early 2019, Sony's financial report for the quarter ending March 31, 2019, affirmed that new next-generation hardware was in development but would ship no earlier than April 2020. In a second Wired magazine interview in October 2019, Sony said it intended to ship its next-generation console worldwide by the end of 2020. The current hardware specifications were revealed in October 2019. At CES 2020, Sony unveiled the official logo for the platform, which follows the similar minimalist styling of the previous PlayStation consoles and brand. Full specifications were given in an online presentation by Cerny and published by Sony and Digital Foundry on March 18, 2020. Digital Foundry spoke with Cerny in detail and published a "deep dive" on April 2. A major game library showcase had been planned for June 4, 2020, but was postponed until June 11 due to the George Floyd protests. This presentation was also the premiere of the console's external hardware design. Event lighting being set up at SIE headquarters on the evening of November 8, four days before the launch on November 12, 2020. Sony planned to launch the PlayStation 5 by the 2020 end-of-year holiday period. The date and pricing was confirmed as part of a game showcase presentation on September 16, 2020; the release date in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea was confirmed for November 12, 2020, and for most of the rest of the world on November 19, 2020. PlayStation 5's release in India was delayed, leading to speculation that a trademark dispute was the reason; the name "PS5" was briefly trademarked by a different person; eventually the dispute was resolved and the system released there on February 2, 2021. The console launched in Indonesia on January 22, 2021. The system launched in China on May 15, 2021. The console launched with two models: a base version with an Ultra HD Blu-ray compatible optical disc drive for retail game support alongside online distribution via the PlayStation Store, and a lower-cost variant lacking the disc drive and retaining digital download support. Following the September 16, 2020, presentation, Sony stated that pre-orders for the console were to open at various retailers on the following day. However, several retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom launched pre-orders that evening, causing a rush on pre-orders, including scalping as many stores' inventories were quickly sold out, and creating confusion. Sony apologized for the incident on September 19, 2020, and promised to increase more pre-order deliveries over the coming days and stock through the end of the year. Worldwide supply of the console has remained low due to a global chip shortage since 2020. Sony expects a short retail stock until 2023. In August 2022, Sony announced a price increase by up to 20% in most of its markets except the US, citing global economic, inflationary, and supply chain pressures.
When was The Palpable Leprosy of Pollution released? Context: Infant Annihilator are an English deathcore band formed in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire in 2012 by drummer Aaron Kitcher and guitarist Eddie Pickard. The band are known for their technical, eclectic and extreme musical style; parodistic and satirically graphic lyrical content and shock humour; and music videos that feature ribald themes. Their debut album The Palpable Leprosy of Pollution, which features the American vocalist Dan Watson, was released in late 2012. After replacing their vocalist with Massachusetts-native Dickie Allen, their second album The Elysian Grandeval Galèriarch was recorded and mixed by Jesse Kirkbride at his home studio Kirkbride Recordings and was released in 2016. Their third album, The Battle of Yaldabaoth, was released on 11 September 2019. Infant Annihilator were described by the Hysteria Magazine as an internet band and even though they have stated that touring is a possibility, they have performed only as a studio project so far.
What is an Aeolosaurini? Context: Aeolosaurini is an extinct clade of titanosaurian dinosaurs known from the Cretaceous period of Argentina and Brazil. Rodrigo M. Santucci and Antonio C. de Arruda-Campos (2011) in their cladistic analysis found Aeolosaurus, Gondwanatitan, Maxakalisaurus, Panamericansaurus and Rinconsaurus to be aeolosaurids. Aeolosaurini is characterized by several synapomorphies of the caudal vertebrae, such as angled centra, elongate prezygapophyses, and neural arches shifted anteriorly relative to the centra. In life, their tails may have been strongly curved downward as a result of these traits, which may have increased the force exerted by the caudofemoralis longus muscle in retracting the hindlimb. Some aeolosaurins, such as Shingopana and Overosaurus, were relatively small compared to other titanosaurs, whereas others, such as Aeolosaurus maximus, were large.
Which trophy was Frost able to keep and why? Context: Frost became interested in sport at a young age and was an all-round athlete. He won medals for running and swimming and was a prominent member of the Winchester Harriers sports club. He particularly excelled as a cyclist, entering competitive events at an early age and holding several amateur cycling records. In 1898, Frost won, within the space of a fortnight, Britain's two leading cycle racing trophies, the Bath Road 100 and the Cawardine Challenge Cup, as well as the national championship. By the time he retired he had won every important amateur cycling trophy in the nation. He is particularly remembered for winning the Carwardine Challenge Cup, a 100-mile race held annually at the Herne Hill race track. This huge cup was donated by the vice-president of the Anerley Bicycle Club in 1895 and was made from 650 ounces of silver, with ornamentation of solid gold. The tradition at the time was that if someone won a trophy three times they could keep it. Frost, riding for the Bath Road club in Hayes, first won it in 1896, repeated the victory in 1898 and was victorious for the third time in 1900. The cup is occasionally exhibited in Winchester.
What are some defining qualities of authoritarianism? Context: Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting. Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military. States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have some times been characterized as "hybrid democracies", "hybrid regimes" or "competitive authoritarian" states. The political scientist Juan Linz, in an influential 1964 work, An Authoritarian Regime: Spain, defined authoritarianism as possessing four qualities: Limited political pluralism, is realized with constraints on the legislature, political parties and interest groups. Political legitimacy is based upon appeals to emotion and identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat "easily recognizable societal problems, such as underdevelopment or insurgency." Minimal political mobilization, and suppression of anti-regime activities. Ill-defined executive powers, often vague and shifting extend the power of the executive. Minimally defined, an authoritarian government lacks free and competitive direct elections to legislatures, free and competitive direct or indirect elections for executives, or both. Broadly defined, authoritarian states include countries that lack civil liberties such as freedom of religion, or countries in which the government and the opposition do not alternate in power at least once following free elections. Authoritarian states might contain nominally democratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures and elections which are managed to entrench authoritarian rule and can feature fraudulent, non-competitive elections. In contexts of democratic backsliding, scholars tend to identify authoritarian political leaders based on certain tactics, such as: politicizing independent institutions, spreading disinformation, aggrandizing executive power, quashing dissent, targeting vulnerable communities, stoking violence, and corrupting elections. Since 1946, the share of authoritarian states in the international political system increased until the mid-1970s but declined from then until the year 2000.
What is the Nintendo Switch? Context: The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a hybrid console. Its wireless Joy-Con controllers, with standard buttons and directional analog sticks for user input, motion sensing, and tactile feedback, can attach to both sides of the console to support handheld-style play. They can also connect to a grip accessory to provide a traditional home console gamepad form, or be used individually in the hand like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, supporting local multiplayer modes. The Nintendo Switch's software supports online gaming through Internet connectivity, as well as local wireless ad hoc connectivity with other consoles. Nintendo Switch games and software are available on both physical flash-based ROM cartridges and digital distribution via Nintendo eShop; the system has no region lockout. A handheld-focused revision of the system, called the Nintendo Switch Lite, was released on September 20, 2019. A revised higher-end version of the original system, featuring an OLED screen, was released on October 8, 2021.
What did Ralph Agas did as a profession? Context: Ralph Agas (or Radulph Agas) (c. 1540 – 26 November 1621) was an English land surveyor and cartographer. He was born at Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, in about 1540, and lived there throughout his life, although he travelled regularly to London. He began to practise as a surveyor in about 1566, and has been described as "one of the leaders of the emerging body of skilled land surveyors". Agas is particularly known for his large-scale town map of Oxford (surveyed 1578, published 1588). Early maps of London and Cambridge were also formerly attributed to him, but these attributions are no longer upheld.