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Look up obsolescence or obsolete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service or practice is no longer wanted even though it may still be in good working order. Obsolescence frequently occurs because a replacement has become available that is superior in one or more aspects. Obsolete refers to something that is already disused or discarded, or antiquated.^[1] Typically, obsolescence is preceded by a gradual decline in popularity.

Consequences of obsolescence[link]

Driven by rapid technological changes, new components are developed and launched on the market with increasing speed. The result is a dramatic change in production methods of all components and their market availability. A growing industry sector is facing issues where life cycles of products no longer fit together with life cycles of required components. This issue is known as obsolescence, the status given to a part when it is no longer available from its original manufacturer. The problem of obsolescence is most prevalent for electronics technology, wherein the procurement lifetimes for microelectronic parts are often significantly shorter than the manufacturing and support life cycles for the products that use the parts. However, obsolescence extends beyond electronic components to other items, such as materials, textiles, and mechanical parts. In addition, obsolescence has been shown to appear for software, specifications, standards, processes, and soft resources, such as human skills. It is highly important to implement and operate an active management of obsolescence to mitigate and avoid extreme costs.^{[2] [3]}

Types of obsolescence[link]

Technical obsolescence[link]

Technical obsolescence may occur when a new product or technology supersedes the old, and it becomes preferred to utilize the new technology in place of the old. Historical examples of superseding technologies causing obsolescence include higher-quality multimedia DVD over videocassette recorder and the telephone, with audio transmission, over the telegraph's coded electrical signals. On a smaller scale, particular products may become obsolete due to replacement by a newer version of the product. Many products in the computer industry become obsolete in this manner; for example, Central processing units frequently become obsolete in favor of newer, faster units. Singularly, rapid obsolescence of data formats along with their supporting hardware and software can lead to loss of critical information, a process known as digital obsolescence.

Another complementary reason for obsolescence can be that supporting technologies may no longer be available to produce or even repair a product. For example many integrated circuits, including CPUs, memory and even some relatively simple logic chips may no longer be produced because the technology has been superseded, their original developer has gone out of business or a competitor has bought them out and effectively killed off their products to remove competition. It is rarely worth redeveloping a product to get around these issues since its overall functionality and price/performance ratio has usually been superseded by that time as well. ^[4]

Some products are rendered technologically obsolete due to changes in complementary products which results in the function of the first product being made unnecessary. For example, buggy whips became obsolete when people started to travel in cars rather than in horse-drawn buggies.

Functional obsolescence[link]

Particular items may become functionally obsolete when they do not function in the manner that they did when they were created. This may be due to natural wear, or due to some intervening act. For example, if a new mobile phone technology is adopted, and there is no longer a provider who provides service based on the old technology, any mobile phone using that technology would be rendered obsolete due to the inability to access service.

Products which naturally wear out or break down may become obsolete if replacement parts are no longer available, or when the cost of repairs or replacement parts is higher than the cost of a new item. A product may intentionally be designed to use a faster wearing component, a form of planned obsolescence.

Planned obsolescence[link]

Sometimes marketers deliberately introduce obsolescence into their product strategy, with the objective of generating long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. One example might be producing an appliance which is deliberately designed to wear out within five years of its purchase, pushing consumers to replace it within five years.

Style obsolescence[link]

Jimi Hendrix's bell-bottoms

When a product is no longer desirable because it has gone out of the popular fashion, its style is obsolete. One example is flared leg jeans; although this article of clothing may still be perfectly functional, it is no longer desirable because style trends have moved away from the flared leg cut.

Because of the "fashion cycle", stylistically obsolete products may eventually regain popularity and cease to be obsolete. A current example is "acid-wash" jeans, which were popular in the 1980s, became stylistically obsolete in the mid to late 1990s, and returned to popularity in the 2000s.

Postponement obsolescence[link]

Postponement obsolescence refers to a situation where technological improvements are not introduced to a product, even though they could be. One possible example is when an auto manufacturer develops a new feature for its line of cars, but chooses not to implement that feature in the production of the least expensive car in its product line.

Obsolescence management[link]

Obsolescence management, also referred to "Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) are defined as to the activities that are undertaken to mitigate the effects of obsolescence. Activities can include last-time buys, life-time buys and obsolescence monitoring.^[5]

See also[link]

• Disruptive technology
• Moore's law
• DMSMS
• Planned obsolescence

Further reading[link]

• Bjoern Bartels, Ulrich Ermel, Peter Sandborn and Michael G. Pecht: Strategies to the Prediction, Mitigation and Management of Product Obsolescence, 1st. Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jerseey, 2012, ISBN 1-11-814064-8, online available at google books.

References[link]

MC Solaar
MC Solaar
Background information
Birth name	Claude M'Barali
Born	(1969-03-05) March 5, 1969 (age 43)
Origin	France, Chad, Senegal
Genres	French hip hop, jazz-rap, pop-rap
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Phonogram, Elektra

MC Solaar (born Claude M'Barali, March 5, 1969) is a francophone hip hop and rap artist. He is one of the most internationally popular and influential French rappers.^[1][2]

MC Solaar is known for his complex lyrics, which rely on word play, lyricism, and inquiry. In the English-speaking world, Solaar was signed by London acid jazz label Talkin' Loud and recorded with British group Urban Species and the late Guru, member of the acclaimed New York duo Gang Starr. He has since released seven studio records and one live album and currently lives with his wife, French actress Chloé Bensemoun, their son Roman and daughter Bonnie.

Biography[link]

Early life and debut[link]

Claude M'Barali was born in Dakar, Senegal to parents of Chadian origin. When he was six months old his parents emigrated to France where they eventually settled in the Paris suburb of Villeneuve-Saint-Georges. At age twelve he went to Egypt for nine months where he discovered the Zulu Nation and became fascinated with the rapping styles of Afrika Bambaataa.^[3] Upon his return he began to focus perhaps more on music but still studied enough to pass the baccalauréat. It has been said that his constant support from his mother was one of the reasons that he was able to pass the baccalauréat and still create music. He coined the stage name MC Solaar in his teens from his graffiti tags "SOAR" and "SOLAAR".^[1]

MC Solaar describes his early influences before a London gig in 2011, to radio producer Pete Shevlin.

He studied languages at the Jussieu university campus and was a post-graduate in philosophy.^[1] He released his first single in 1990. MC Solaar went to Paris in the summer of 1991 with his friend Jimmy Jay in hopes of succeeding in the music industry. Success came quickly when his first single, Bouge de là ("Move Out of My Way"), based on a sample from Cymande's song The Message (1973) became a hit in early 1990s. This song was all about brushing people to the side and not having time for them; this is evident in the lyrics, of which an excerpt follows (translated to English):

Directly I went to Lucy's
Who loves dogs, cats and TV pet's shows
She says 'Do you love beasts, you my super MC'
I said 'Yeah, lov'em, with salt and well cooked'
She said 'Move out my way'. ^[4]

Many rappers who came out of Africa at the time spoke a lot about slavery and other topics in order to bring the history of their people into light.^[5] Nevertheless, the song went platinum in France and ascended to number five on the national charts.

[edit] 1991–1997: Early success and Prose Combat breakthrough

After the success of Bouge de là, Solaar went on to support the famous American rap group De La Soul when they performed at the Olympia in Paris in September 1991. At the close of 1991 Solaar released Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo which went on to sell over 400,000 copies in France.^[1] With the success of his début album in France, the French rapper embarked upon extensive tours of Poland and Russia. In December 1992 he performed in twelve countries in West Africa, where his French rap style proved extremely popular with African music fans.^[6]

MC Solaar returned to the studio in 1994, recording the album Prose Combat. It sold 100,000 copies in the first week of its release and became a best seller in 20 other countries. He was rewarded for his efforts when in February 1995 he received an award for Best Male Singer of the Year at the 10th edition of the French "Victoires de la Musique" awards. Also in 1994, MC Solaar appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as Album of the Year by Time.

Solaar went back to the studio in 1997 with longtime friend and producer Jimmy Jay to record his third album, Paradisiaque. The album was another success, which led to an extensive European tour starting on January 9 at the Zénith in Paris. His talents led to international interest from places such as Germany in Europe and all the way to Japan and the United States not long after. He was even included as a guest on American rapper Guru's "Jazzmatazz" project and one of his songs was included in the Tommy Boy rap compilation in the States.^[1]

Early on in MC Solaar's career it was important for him to share the struggles and the different hardships for Black people that migrated to France and tried to make a living. Most of his music was dedicated to enlightening the population of a specific deeper message that connected to him in his life. "...he addresses the conditions under which Black people have migrated to and settled in France. In the piece 'Leve-toi et rap,' he describes his Chadian parents' migration from Senegal to a Parisian suburb, the main stages of his teenage years and how he finally came to discover rap."^[5] In an interview MC Solaar described the feeling of making a song and the thought process while just writing any part of lyrics that go into his music. "I write quickly, because of the music, he tells me. It’s much easier if you have the music, the rhythm, but I am fast. First, I have taken in “everything.” Do you never write before the music? Ah. I used to, he admits. But when I met the music, I changed."^[2]

[edit] 1997–2003: Cinquième As and Mach 6

Solaar's career continued to evolve throughout the late nineties and into the new millennium. He released Cinquième As in 2001 to critical acclaim and Mach 6 in 2003. In the album's third track, "Lève-Toi et Rap", Solaar describes his parents' Chadian emigration as well as his own roots growing up in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and Cairo.^[5] Towards the beginning of the song he says: Puis trip en Egypte, Ecole Française du Caire/ Pour parfaire mon flow et mon vocabulaire/ Là j'ai appris l'humilité, la peur des cartouches/ Pur style de sniper camouflage paw-mouche, which, translated, roughly means he spent time at a French school in Cairo, perfecting his rapping style and learning how to survive a dangerous lifestyle. Critic Dan Gennoe attests to Solaar's "flow et vocabulaire" by noting "the flow of his words is staggering, as are the low-slung grooves that they roll to; deftly vaulting all language barriers." ^[7]

The cover of Cinquieme As depicts Solaar topless, and draws comparisons to captives about to be taken onto a slave ship. However, a look at the inside cover reveals Solaar to be in a wrestler's costume, along with the other men in the picture.^[8] As Veronique Helenon discusses in her article concerning the French hip hop scene, references to Africa and "blackness" are a very important part of Solaar's music. Solaar recognizes and pays tribute to the African presence in France by using boxing and wrestling references. Senegalese boxer Battling Siki is referenced in the album's booklet. Although Siki won the light heavyweight boxing championship in 1922, he still faced racism from journalists.^[5] This image combined with songs concerning colonial oppression and the migration experience from Africa to France show Solaar's "blackness," something that is extremely important in France's hip hop scene. For example, in his song 'Les Colonies', Solaar discusses the similarities between the oppression of Africans by colonialists to the modern day exploitation of "third world" countries. "Cinquième As" includes lyrics in French, English, and Spanish, which represents his ideals that rap should be inclusive of all people.^[2]

[edit] 2004–Present: Chapitre 7 and international acclaim

"Da Vinci Claude", the first single from Solaar's album Chapitre 7, was launched in March 2007. The album was released June 18, 2007. In early 2004, his 2001 song "La Belle et Le Bad Boy" was featured on the final episode of the popular television series Sex and the City. The MTV series "The Hills" featured the song as well. MC Solaar is best known outside of France for his work on Guru's Jazzmatazz project and as a guest rapper on the Missy Elliott track "All N My Grill". Collaboration with Elliot propelled him to higher popularity in the American market. The single "Le Bien, Le Mal" (The Good, The Bad) has been a Hip Hop/Dance crossover hit and has received playtime on MTV, which characterizes his work this way: "His fluid phrasing makes up for his lack of English, and the production on his solo work (by DJ Jimmy Jay and Boom Bass of La Funk Mob) surpasses that of most of his hip-hop contemporaries."^[9]

MC Solaar is one of the few French rappers having success in the English-dominated American hip hop culture. Solaar has appeared in many Bollywood movies like Hum Tum. MC Solaar has released a few songs which never appeared on albums, including "Comme dans un film" (falsely known as "John Woo") and "Inch'Allah". He has criticized people for illegal downloading and producing altered versions of his albums Mach 6 and Chapitre 7.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

On December 7, 2003, MC Solaar married Chloé Bensemoun and on May 7, 2004, she gave birth to the couple's first child, Roman.^[6] In 2007, she gave birth to a girl named Bonnie.

Discography[link]

• Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo (1991)
• Prose Combat (1994)
• Paradisiaque (1997)
• MC Solaar (1998)
• Le Tour de la Question (2 CD) (1998)
• Cinquième As (2001)
• Mach 6 (2003)
• Chapitre 7 (2007)
• Magnum 567 (2011)

References and footnotes[link]

Ken Jennings
Ken in March 2008.
Born	Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (1974-05-23) May 23, 1974 (age 38) Edmonds, Washington, U.S.
Residence	Mountlake Terrace, Washington, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Computer scientist Author
Known for	74-time Jeopardy! champion All-time game show winnings leader

Kenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows. In 2004, Jennings won 74 Jeopardy! games before he was defeated by challenger Nancy Zerg on his 75th appearance. His total earnings on Jeopardy! are $3,172,700, consisting of $2,520,700 over his 74 wins, a $2,000 second-place prize in his 75th appearance, a $500,000 second-place prize in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, as well as half of a $300,000 prize in the IBM Challenge.

During his first run of Jeopardy! appearances, Jennings earned the record for the highest American game show winnings. His total was surpassed by Brad Rutter, who defeated Jennings in the finals of the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions (first aired on May 25, 2005), adding $2,000,000 to Rutter's existing Jeopardy! winnings. Jennings regained the record after appearing on several other game shows, culminating in an appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (first aired on October 10, 2008), though Rutter retains the Jeopardy! record.

After his success on Jeopardy!, Jennings wrote of his experience and explored American trivia history and culture in his book Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs, published in 2006.

Early life[link]

Born in Edmonds, Washington, Jennings grew up in Seoul, South Korea (1981–1992) and Singapore (1992–1996), where his father worked for an international law firm and then as Asia Pacific Division Counsel of Oracle Corporation.^[1] He watched Jeopardy! on American Forces Network television while growing up.^[2]

Jennings graduated with a degree in Computer Science and English at Brigham Young University, where he played on the school's quizbowl team for three and a half years. He graduated from Seoul Foreign School where he completed an International Baccalaureate diploma, and achieved honors at Brigham Young.^{[citation needed]} Jennings attended the University of Washington during his freshman year.^[3]

Family and personal life[link]

He and his wife Mindy (née Boam)^[3] have a son, Dylan, born in 2003, and a daughter, Caitlin, born in 2006.^[4]

Jennings is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a member of the Democratic Party.^[5][6]

Jennings currently resides in the Seattle metropolitan area. He has stated that he is an avid comic book and movie buff with a website listing his top 4,000 favorite movies. He also writes questions for, edits the literature and mythology categories of questions of, and is otherwise active in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT), a quiz bowl organization;^[7] in particular, he moderated (i.e., read questions) at the 2005, 2006, and 2009 NAQT National High School Tournaments in Chicago.

During his Jeopardy! winning streak, Jennings was a software engineer for CHG Healthcare, a healthcare-placement firm in Holladay, Utah.^[8]

[edit] Streak on Jeopardy!

Before 2003, Jeopardy! contestants were limited to five consecutive games. At the beginning of the show's twentieth season (in 2003), the rules were changed to allow contestants to remain on the show as long as they continued to win.^[9] After this rule change, and until Jennings' run, the record winning streak was set by Tom Walsh, who won $186,900 in eight games in January 2004.

Before his Jeopardy! appearance, Jennings was a member of BYU's Quiz Bowl Team.^[10] Jennings' run began during Jeopardy!'s 20th season with the episode aired on Wednesday, June 2, 2004, in which he unseated two-time returning champion Jerry Harvey, and continued into season 21. Jennings' run was interrupted by the 2004 Kids' Week, the Tournament of Champions (aired from September 20, 2004 through October 1, 2004), and the College Championship (aired from November 10, 2004 through November 23, 2004). He did not participate in the Tournament of Champions, as invitations are only extended to champions who have already been defeated (with the exception of the winner(s) of the College Championship), which Jennings had not yet been.

End of the streak[link]

On November 30, 2004, Jennings' reign as Jeopardy! champion ended when he lost his seventy-fifth game to challenger Nancy Zerg.^[11] Jennings responded incorrectly to both Double Jeopardy! Daily Doubles, causing him to lose a combined $10,200 ($5,400 and $4,800, respectively) and leaving him with $14,400 at the end of the round. As a result, for only the tenth time in 75 games, Jennings did not have an insurmountable lead going into the Final Jeopardy! round.^[12] Only Jennings and Zerg, who ended Double Jeopardy! with $10,000, were able to play Final Jeopardy! as third-place contestant David Hankins failed to finish with a positive score after Double Jeopardy!.

The Final Jeopardy! category was Business & Industry, and the answer was "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year". Zerg responded correctly with "What is H&R Block?" and wagered $4,401 of her $10,000, giving her a $1 lead over Jennings with his response still to be revealed. Jennings incorrectly responded with "What is FedEx?", and lost the game with a final score of $8,799 after his $5,601 wager was deducted from his score. He was awarded $2,000 for his second place finish, which gave him a final total of $2,522,700 for his run on Jeopardy!. Zerg, whom Jennings called a "formidable opponent," finished in third place on the next show.

Jennings' 75 matches took place over a span of 182 calendar days, which included stoppages for the show's summer break, one Kids Week series of episodes, the 2004 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, and the 2004 Jeopardy! College Championship.

[edit] Impact of the streak on Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! implemented some backstage changes during Jennings' run. Normally, players only get a short time to practice, but more rehearsal time was added so that the new players could get comfortable with the buzzers. Additionally, the person who managed the buzzer system was changed.^[13]

On December 1, 2004, the day after his defeat, Jeopardy! broke with tradition by having Jennings make a "guest appearance" at the start of the broadcast, during which host Alex Trebek acknowledged his success and enumerated the various game show records he had broken.

Jennings appeared in The Guinness Book of World Records under "Most cash won on a game show."

Ratings impact[link]

According to the Nielsen TV National People Meter, Jeopardy!'s ratings were 22% higher during Jennings' run than they were during the same period the previous year. For several weeks of the winnings streak, Jeopardy! was ranked as TV's highest-rated syndicated program.^[14] By the end of Jeopardy!'s 20th season several weeks later, the show had surpassed Wheel of Fortune in the ratings (the first time any show had displaced Wheel as the highest-rated syndicated television show since 1984),^{[citation needed]} but Wheel, which is usually paired with Jeopardy! in programming, also benefited from Jennings' streak.^[15]

Media appearances and coverage during the streak[link]

Jennings has received a good deal of American media coverage. After his 38th win on Jeopardy!, during the summer break between tapings, Jennings made a guest appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly. There Jennings revealed that he had failed to qualify for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, once hosted by Regis Philbin. During that guest appearance, Jennings said, "Jeopardy! is a man's game... it's not like Millionaire."^[16]

Jennings appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to present Letterman's "Top Ten List" (Top ten ways to irritate Alex Trebek). He appeared again on the program on the night his final show was televised, in addition to interview segments airing that night on local late evening news programming and on Nightline. Barbara Walters selected Jennings as one of the "Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004" for her twelfth annual ABC News special, which aired on December 8, 2004. While on his media tour following his final game, Jennings taped a segment for Sesame Street. TV Guide featured a segment of "The Top Ten TV Moments of 2004", in which Ken Jennings' loss placed third. On December 1, 2004, A&E aired an episode of Biography on Jennings and other Jeopardy! notables, including Frank Spangenberg and Eddie Timanus.

Ultimate Tournament of Champions[link]

On December 28, 2004, Sony announced a 15-week, 75-show Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. It featured Tournament of Champions, College Championship, and Teen Tournament winners from the show's 21-year run, as well as over 100 five-time champions. Jeopardy!'s executive producer, Harry Friedman, explained:

"The 2003 rule change, which allows Jeopardy! players to keep playing until they're defeated, raised the question about how other five-time champions might have played under this rule. This tournament is an opportunity to give those past champions another chance to shine."

The field totaled 145 players including Jennings, who, unlike the other competitors, was automatically placed in the finals. The Ultimate Tournament of Champions offered substantial cash prizes; with a grand prize of $2,000,000 to the winner, $500,000 for the first runner-up, and $250,000 for the second runner-up. Guaranteed prize money was offered to all contestants.

In the final round of the Ultimate Tournament, Brad Rutter decisively defeated Jennings and Jerome Vered, with respective final scores of $62,000, $34,599, and $20,600. Jennings won the $500,000 prize for second place, but as a result of the Ultimate Tournament, Rutter temporarily displaced him as the highest overall winner of money on a game show. Jennings has said he is still happy with his second-place finish. (Jennings and Rutter returned to Jeopardy! in February 2011 to challenge IBM's Watson computer, to which they both lost.)

[edit] After Jeopardy!

Ken Jennings in 2005.

When asked what he intended to do with his streak winnings, Jennings said that he intended to tithe ten percent to his church, donate to public television and National Public Radio, go on a trip to Europe, and invest the rest for his family.^{[citation needed]} Jeopardy! contestants typically receive their winnings approximately 120 days after their last game airs in the form of a check.^{[citation needed]} Taking advantage of the notoriety that Jennings's losing Final Jeopardy! answer afforded, H&R Block offered Jennings free tax planning and financial services for the rest of his life.^[17] H&R Block senior vice president David Byers estimated that Jennings would owe approximately $1.04 million in taxes on his winnings.^[18][19]

In 2004, Democratic politicians Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid unsuccessfully asked Jennings to run for the United States Senate from Utah. Jennings observed, "that was when I realized the Democratic Party was f@#$ed in '04."^[20]

Jennings has written three books. Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (2006, Villard, ISBN 1-4000-6445-7, trade paperback ISBN 0-8129-7499-9) details his experiences on Jeopardy! and his research into trivia culture conducted after the completion of his run.^[2] Ken Jennings's Trivia Almanac: 8,888 Questions in 365 Days, a hardcover book (2008, Villard, ISBN 0-345-59997-2), is a compilation of trivia questions—with 3 categories and about 20 questions per day of the year. Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks (2011, Scribner, ISBN 1-4391-6717-6) explores the world of map and geography enthusiasts.^[21]

Jennings also had a column in Mental Floss magazine called "Six Degrees of Ken Jennings", in which readers submit two wildly different things and he has to connect them in exactly six moves, much in the same vein as the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.^[22] The column ran from November 2005;^[23] to the September–October 2010 issue.^[24]

According to Variety.com, Jennings and television producer Michael Davies teamed up as executive producers on a new game show format for Comedy Central. According to Comedy Central execs, it was planned that Jennings would co-host and participate.^[25] The series was planned to premiere late in 2005 or in the first quarter of 2006; as of April 2006, development had stalled, and the show's future remained uncertain. Jennings explained on his website that "Stephen Colbert's show was doing so well in its post-Daily Show spot that Comedy Central decided they weren't in the market for a quiz show anymore." However, as of mid-2006, he was still shopping a potential game show titled, Ken Jennings vs. the Rest of the World.^[26]

Jennings appeared on The Colbert Report on September 14, 2006. During the interview, Colbert discussed Jennings's book, Brainiac, and mocked him not knowing the number of pages the book contained. After Colbert coined a word to describe intellectual nerdiness, "poindexterity", Jennings was going back and forth of what is the correct noun for "poindexter." Jennings noted, as he had done earlier that day on NPR's Talk of the Nation, that since his streak, people "seem to have an extra-hard trivia question" in case they run into him.^[27]

He also appeared twice on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! program. In his Feb. 25, 2006 appearance on the "Not My Job" segment, he answered all three questions correctly, winning for a listener Carl Kasell's voice on that person's answering machine. Jennings stated, "This is, this is the proudest moment of my game show life."^[28]

Other game show appearances[link]

Ken Jennings appeared on the first two episodes of the NBC game show 1 vs. 100 on October 13 and 20, 2006 as a mob member. He incorrectly answered the question, "what color is the number 1 space on a standard roulette wheel?" as "black" instead of "red" in his second episode, eliminating him from the game. (He explained that he did not know the answer because his Mormon faith prohibits gambling.)^[29] He left the show with $714.29, his share of a $35,000 prize shared among 49 Mob members. Jennings returned to the show for a special "Last Man Standing" episode aired on February 9, 2007. He was eliminated on the final question, which asked which of the three options had been married the most times; he answered King Henry VIII, while the correct answer was Larry King. This episode was the first time Jennings had a chance at a rematch against rival Brad Rutter, who was also part of the mob and was eliminated before Jennings.

Ken Jennings in 2007.

In 2007, Jennings was invited to be a contestant on the game show Grand Slam hosted by Dennis Miller and Amanda Byram, also a Sony Pictures production. The show debuted on GSN on August 4, 2007, and featured sixteen former game-show winners in a single-elimination tournament. Jennings, seeded second behind Brad Rutter, won the tournament and became the 2007 Grand Slam Champion after defeating Ogi Ogas (a second-round winner against Rutter) in the finals. He earned $100,000 for his victory.

Jennings was a contestant on an episode of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? that aired on October 10, 2008, which held the possibility of exceeding fellow Jeopardy! winner Brad Rutter's total game show winnings. After winning $500,000, enough to surpass Rutter's total, Jennings chose not to attempt the final $1,000,000 question, which would have deducted $475,000 from his winnings if he missed it. As is customary on the show, Jennings was then shown the question to see what would have happened, and he provided the correct answer. Had he risked his winnings and correctly answered the question, he would have become the show's second $1,000,000 winner.

As of October 31, 2008, Ken is appearing on GSN on Fridays for the trivia game Stump the Master. Home viewers send questions via the GSN website. Four callers are put on hold and Ken selects from one of the categories. The category for the caller he picked comes on the line and reads the question. If Ken does not answer or is incorrect, the caller wins $1,000 or more. Anytime Ken is right, the jackpot is increased by $1,000. All callers are given a small prize, whether or not they participated on the air themselves.

Jennings also appeared on two other Sony Pictures Television game shows, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, as a frequent expert for the lifeline "Ask the Expert" (his appearances were after Sony acquired Millionaire packager 2waytraffic in 2008), and also taped a pilot for the proposed 2009 CBS revival of Sony's The $25,000 Pyramid.^[30]

[edit] Blog entry misinterpreted as critical of Jeopardy!

Jennings made the news in July 2006 when an article in the New York Post written by Michael Starr was published claiming that Jennings had been critical of Jeopardy! on his blog.^{[31][dead link][32]} Citing statements that Jennings wrote on it, Starr's article focuses on Jennings's "criticism" of the show and host Alex Trebek.

Jennings responded on his own personal blog (at http://ken-jennings.com/blog/?p=83), saying, "...there’s no way I was genuinely calling for angry bees and ventriloquist’s dummies to be added to the Jeopardy! format. It’s a humor piece, and one which gets its laughs from the outrageous non sequiturs it proposes, not the ripeness of its target for criticism."^[33] Jennings had already posted a more serious comment defending Trebek that remains on his website.^[34]

Entertainment Weekly put his performance on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Answer: A software engineer from Utah, he dominated the quizfest for a record 74 shows in 2004, amassing $2,520,700. Question: Who is Ken Jennings?"^[35]

American Crossword Puzzle Tournament[link]

Jennings won the rookie division of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) in 2006.^[36] In his first time competing, Jennings placed 37th overall. He also served as the award's presenter, becoming the first contestant to present an award to himself. He has not competed in the tournament since.

[edit] Return to Jeopardy!

From February 14–16, 2011, the IBM Challenge featured IBM's Watson facing off against Jennings and Rutter in two matches played over three days.^[37] The winner of the competition was Watson, winning $1 million for two charities, while Ken Jennings took second place with Brad Rutter falling in a close third, receiving $300,000 and $200,000, respectively. Jennings and Rutter each pledged to donate half of their winnings to charity.

This was the first ever man-versus-machine competition in Jeopardy!'s history. At the end of the first episode, in which only the first match's Jeopardy! Round was aired, Rutter was tied with Watson at $5,000, while Jennings was in third with $2,000. After the second episode in which the first game was completed, Jennings remained at third with $4,800 while Rutter at second had $10,400.^[38] The competition ended with Watson in clear first with $77,147, Jennings with $24,000, and Rutter with $21,600.^[39] Underneath his response during the Final Jeopardy! Round, Jennings wrote on his screen "I for one welcome our new computer overlords", an allusion to an oft-repeated line from The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer".

Jennings wrote about his experience playing against Watson for the online magazine Slate.^[40]

Records[link]

During his streak, Jennings broke the following records:

He also tied the following records:

The following records, having been set by Ken Jennings, have now been broken by others:

Jennings was not eligible for the 2006 Tournament of Champions. By accepting a bye into the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Jennings was guaranteed $250,000. This bye also required that he give up his right to play in the 2006 Tournament of Champions.^{[citation needed]} Rutter's total of $3,255,102 includes $55,102 in his five days and $3,000,000 in special tournament play, but does not include his two Chevrolet Camaros he won on the game.

Endorsements[link]

Jennings agreed to a deal with Microsoft to promote its discontinued Encarta encyclopedia software. He is also engaged in speaking deals through the Massachusetts-based speakers agency, American Program Bureau.^[41] Cingular Wireless (now AT&T) featured Jennings in commercials portraying Jennings as having lots of "friends and family" (coming out of the woodwork, because he is now "stinking rich") in 2005.

University Games produced a Can You Beat Ken? board game, in which players vie against each other and Jennings in an attempt to earn $2.6 million first. Each question in the game was asked to Jennings, and his answers are recorded on the cards.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• American game show winnings records

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ken Jennings

• Ken Jennings official web site
• Jeopardy! web site
• Ken's Top 2000 Favorite Movies Page
• Ken Jennings at the Internet Movie Database
• 2006 IMNO Interview with Ken Jennings

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (May 2010)

Andreya Triana
Andreya Triana performing live at The Sage, Gateshead
Background information
Origin	England
Genres	Soul, Downtempo Acoustic
Labels	Ninja Tune

Andreya Triana is a singer-songwriter, originally from London,^[1] and currently based in Brighton.^[2] Triana's debut single Lost Where I Belong, taken from the album of the same name, was released on 6 April 2010^[1] on Ninja Tune. The album was produced by Simon Green, better known as Bonobo,^[3] and was released on the 23rd of August 2010.^[4]

History[link]

Triana grew up in a multicultural atmosphere, and began singing at age seven, influenced by the sights and sounds of inner-city London. Her early passion for music would see her locked in her bedroom for hours on end writing poetry, making homemade mix tapes and recording tracks - utilising two battered cassette decks to record harmonies.^[1] She moved to Worcester in her teens, and at age 17 started performing at an open-mic night, through which she met Bootis, a local musical collective, who formed the benchmark for her subsequent musical education.^[2] Triana has contributed her vocal talents to tracks such as Tea Leaf Dancers by Flying Lotus, Hold On by Mr Scruff, and several tracks on Black Sands, the latest album from fellow Ninja Tune artist Bonobo. In 2009, Triana performed at Glastonbury festival on the BBC Introducing stage.^[5]

Discography[link]

• Lost Where I Belong (Ninja Tune, 2010) (UK #191)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Official MySpace
• Ninja Tune Page
• Last.fm Page
• Official Twitter feed

Bjarne Stroustrup
Bjarne Stroustrup
Born	(1950-12-30) December 30, 1950 (age 61) Aarhus, Denmark
Occupation	College of Engineering Chair in Computer Science Professor, Texas A&M University
Known for	Creating C++
Website
Personal Page

Bjarne Stroustrup (Danish pronunciation: [ˈbjɑːnə ˈsdʁʌʊ̯ˀsdʁɔb]);^[1] born December 30, 1950 in Århus, Denmark) is a Danish computer scientist, most notable for the creation and the development of the widely used C++ programming language. He is currently Professor and holder of the College of Engineering Chair in Computer Science at Texas A&M University.^[2]

Stroustrup began developing C++ in 1979 (then called "C with Classes"), and, in his own words, "invented C++, wrote its early definitions, and produced its first implementation... chose and formulated the design criteria for C++, designed all its major facilities, and was responsible for the processing of extension proposals in the C++ standards committee."^[3] Stroustrup also wrote what many consider to be the standard textbook for the language, The C++ Programming Language, which is now in its third edition. The text has been revised twice to reflect the evolution of the language and the work of the C++ standards committee.

In a 2010 interview with Big Think, Stroustrup stated that he felt C++'s predecessor language C was now obsolete, and also that the two languages (C and C++) should have been merged into one uniform language in which to program.^[4]

Education and academic work[link]

Stroustrup has a master's degree in mathematics and computer science (1975) from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, and a Ph.D. in computer science (1979) from the University of Cambridge, England, where he was a student at Churchill College. His thesis advisor in Cambridge was David Wheeler. He was the head of AT&T Lab's Large-scale Programming Research department, from its creation until late 2002. Stroustrup was elected member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2004. He is a Fellow of the ACM (1994) and an IEEE Fellow. He currently works at Texas A&M University, United States, as a Distinguished Professor where he holds the College of Engineering Endowed Chair in Computer Science.^[5][6]

Awards[link]

Bjarne Stroustrup giving a talk at Kent State University on C++0x in 2007.

• 1992 – ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award
• 2004 – IEEE Computer Society 2004 Computer Entrepreneur Award
• 2005 – William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement
• 2008 – Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming award.

Books[link]

• Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup – Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (December 29, 2008); ISBN 0-321-54372-1
• The C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustrup – Addison-Wesley Pub Co; 3rd edition (February 15, 2000); ISBN 0-201-70073-5
• The Design and Evolution of C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup – Addison-Wesley Pub Co; 1st edition (March 29, 1994); ISBN 0-201-54330-3
• The Annotated C++ Reference Manual by Margaret A. Ellis & Bjarne Stroustrup – Addison-Wesley Pub Co; (January 1, 1990); ISBN 0-201-51459-1

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bjarne Stroustrup

• Bjarne Stroustrup's homepage
• Bjarne Stroustrup's Texas A&M homepage
• Meet Bjarne Stroustrup (Video)
• List of interviews with Bjarne Stroustrup
• A hoax interview transcript with IEEE's Computer magazine.
• The real Stroustrup Interview with IEEE's Computer magazine, June 1998 (alternative)
• Computerworld Interview with Bjarne Stroustrup
• Bjarne Stroustrup's FAQ, Class