Oblast

An oblast is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine, and the now-defunct Soviet Union and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The term is analogous to "state" or "province".

Official terms in successor states of the Soviet Union differ, but some still use a cognate of the Russian term, e.g. voblast (voblasts, voblasts', [ˈvobɫasʲtsʲ]) is used for provinces of Belarus, and oblys (plural: oblystar) for Regions of Kazakhstan.

The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region". The last translation may lead to confusion, because "raion" may be used for other kinds of administrative subdivision, which may be translated as "region" or "district", depending on the context.

Bulgaria

Since 1997, Bulgaria has been divided into 28 oblasts, usually translated as provinces. Before, the country was divided into just nine units, also called oblast.

Russian Empire

Going East

Goin' East is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. The album was arranged by Bobby Martin, Lenny Pakula and Thom Bell.

Reception

Released in 1971, this would be Paul's Philadelphia International Records debut after recording his first two albums for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Neptune and Gamble labels. Gamble recalled:

Paul's 10:21 live version of "East" appears on the 2011 Legacy CD Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia Live in San Francisco 1973 - a record company event recorded on 27 June 1973 at the Fairmont Hotel. Paul and other PIR acts were backed by MFSB which featured 35 musicians including Leon Huff on organ. Paul's performance of "Me and Mrs. Jones" (8:34) from the event also appears on the album.

Track listing

Software release life cycle

A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software: ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix bugs still present in the software.

History

Usage of the "alpha/beta" test terminology originated at IBM. As long ago as the 1950s (and probably earlier), IBM used similar terminology for their hardware development. "A" test was the verification of a new product before public announcement. "B" test was the verification before releasing the product to be manufactured. "C" test was the final test before general availability of the product. As software became a significant part of IBM's offerings, the alpha test terminology was used to denote the pre-announcement test and beta test was used to show product readiness for general availability. Martin Belsky, a manager on some of IBM's earlier software projects claimed to have invented the terminology. IBM dropped the alpha/beta terminology during the 1960s, but by then it had received fairly wide notice. The usage of "beta test" to refer to testing done by customers was not done in IBM. Rather, IBM used the term "field test".