1994

1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (dominical letter B) of the Gregorian calendar, the 1994th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 994th year of the 2nd millennium, the 94th year of the 20th century, and the 5th year of the 1990s decade. The year 1994 was designated as the "International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.

The last Russian troops were moved out of the Baltic states this year, in August.

Events

January

My Country

"My Country" is an iconic patriotic poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 while homesick in the United Kingdom. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started writing the poem in London in 1904 and re-wrote it several times before her return to Sydney. The poem was first published in The Spectator in London on 5 September 1908 under the title "Core of My Heart". It was reprinted in many Australian newspapers, quickly becoming well known and establishing Mackellar as a poet.

Mackellar's family owned substantial properties in the Gunnedah district of New South Wales and a property (Torryburn) in the Paterson district of the Hunter Region. The inspiration for her poems undoubtedly came from the time she spent on the rural properties as a child. The poem is believed to have been directly inspired by witnessing the breaking of a drought when she was at Torryburn; "My Country" uses imagery to describe the land after the breaking of a long drought. Of ragged mountain ranges possibly refers to the Mount Royal Ranges, and the Barrington Tops.

Jason Aldean

Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, Jason Aldean has been signed to Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released six albums and 24 singles. His 2010 album My Kinda Party is certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His 2012 album Night Train is certified double-platinum, while his 2005 self-titled debut, 2007 album Relentless, 2009 album Wide Open, wand 2014 album Old Boots, New Dirt are all certified single-platinum.

Of his singles, 14 have reached number one on either the Hot Country Songs or Country Airplay charts with "Why", "She's Country", "Big Green Tractor", "The Truth", "Don't You Wanna Stay" (a duet with Kelly Clarkson), "Dirt Road Anthem", "Fly Over States", "Take a Little Ride", "The Only Way I Know" (a collaboration with Luke Bryan and Eric Church), "Night Train", "When She Says Baby", "Burnin' It Down", "Just Gettin' Started", and "Tonight Looks Good on You". Eight more of his singles have reached the top 10.

Ciara: The Evolution

Ciara: The Evolution (simply known as The Evolution) is the second studio album by American recording artist Ciara, released on December 5, 2006, by LaFace Records. The album is separated into five sections, with each showcasing a different side of Ciara's artistry. The first features crunk&B and uptempo records, which mainly deal with feminine independence, while its successor, entitled The Evolution of Music features ballads dealing with the positives and struggles of love. The Evolution of Dance features dance tracks, The Evolution of Fashion deals with self-expression, while the last, entitled The Evolution of C, features tracks that discuss how Ciara has evolved as a person since the start of her career.

The album was seen as a coming of age project for the singer, as it featured songs with more substance than her last effort. It deals with Ciara's experiences after being in the public eye for the two years prior to the album's release. The tracks are also said to be geared toward a more urban audience. Ciara was the executive producer of the album and enlisted production from Phillana Williams, Antwoine Collins, Brian Kennedy, Bryan-Michael Cox, Calvo Da Gr8, Dallas Austin, Jazze Pha, Kendrick Dean, Lil Jon, Mr. Collipark, The Neptunes, Polow da Don, Rodney Jerkins, The Clutch, will.i.am, among others, and featured guest appearances from 50 Cent and Chamillionaire. Ciara also co-wrote and co-produces most of the songs.

Mobile game

A mobile game is a video game played on a feature phone, smartphone, smartwatch, PDA, tablet computer, portable media player or calculator.

The first game on a mobile phone was a Tetris game on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device from 1994.

Three years later Nokia launched the very successful Snake, starting in December 1997. Snake and its variants, that was preinstalled in all mobile devices manufactured by Nokia, has since become one of the most-played video games and is found on more than 350 million devices worldwide. A variant of the Snake game for the Nokia 6110, using the infrared port, was also the first two-player game for mobile phones.

Now, mobile games are usually downloaded at app stores as well as via the mobile operator's network, but in some cases are also embedded in the handheld devices by the OEM or by the mobile operator when purchased, via infrared connection, Bluetooth, memory card or side loaded onto the handset with a cable.

The first downloadable content was introduced already in 2000. Many new WAP-enabled phones allowed new games to be downloaded. However, mobile games distributed by mobile operators remained a marginal form of gaming until the Apple App Store was launched in 2008. App Store, that was the first store operated directly by the mobile platform holder, significantly changed the consumer behaviour and quickly broadened the markets for mobile games, as almost every smartphone owner started to download mobile content.