Launch pad

A launch pad is an above-ground platform from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. A spaceport (or launch complex) is a facility which includes, and provides required support for, one or more launch pads. A launch pad generally contains a fixed or mobile service structure, which provides one or more access platforms to inspect and maintain the vehicle, and an umbilical structure which provides the vehicle with propellants, cryogenic fluids, electrical power, communications, and telemetry prior to launch. The service structure also provides access to the crew cabin for vehicles carrying humans. The pad may contain a flame deflection structure to prevent the intense heat of the rocket exhaust from damaging the vehicle or pad structures, and a sound suppression system spraying large quantities of water may be employed. The pad may also be protected by lightning arrestors.

A launch pad is distinct from a missile launch facility (or missile silo), which also launches a missile vertically but is located underground in order to help harden it against enemy attack, or conceal it from surveillance.

Battle Royale

Battle Royale (Japanese: バトル・ロワイアル, Hepburn: Batoru Rowaiaru) is a novel by Japanese writer Koushun Takami. Originally completed in 1996, it was not published until 1999. The story tells of junior high school students who are forced to fight each other to the death in a program run by the authoritarian Japanese government, now known as the Republic of Greater East Asia.

It was previously entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition but was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content. The novel became a surprise bestseller. It was ranked fourth by the 2000 Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, an annual mystery and thriller guidebook, and sold over a million copies.

In 2000, one year after publication, Battle Royale was adapted into a manga series, written by Takami himself, and a feature film. The film was also controversial and successful, with it being condemned by Japan's National Diet, yet becoming one of the country's highest-grossing films. The film spawned a sequel, and two more brief manga adaptations were also created.

Ableton Live

Ableton Live is a software music sequencer and digital audio workstation for OS X and Windows. The latest major release of Live, Version 9, was released on March 5, 2013. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for composing, recording, arranging, mixing and mastering. It is also used by DJs, as it offers a suite of controls for beatmatching, crossfading, and other effects used by turntablists, and was one of the first music applications to automatically beatmatch songs.

History

Ableton Live is written in C++, with the first version released in 2001 as commercial software. Contrary to popular belief, Live itself was not prototyped in Max/MSP, although most of the audio devices were.

Features

Much of Live's interface comes from being designed for use in live performance as well as for production. As such the interface is more compact than most sequencers and clearly designed for use on a single screen. There are few pop up messages or dialogs. Portions of the interface are hidden and shown based on arrows which may be clicked to show or hide a certain segment (e.g. to hide the instrument/effect list or to show or hide the help box).

Launch pad (disambiguation)

A launch pad is an above-ground platform from which rocket- missiles or space launch vehicles take off vertically.Launch pad may also refer to something

Computing

Other

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is the name given to a series of non-linear video editing software programs - first developed by Macromedia Inc. and later Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X 10.2, runs on Intel-based Mac OS computers powered by OS X version 10.10 or later. The software allows users to log and transfer video onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it can be edited, processed, and output to a wide variety of formats. The fully rewritten and re-imagined Final Cut Pro X was introduced by Apple in 2011, with the last version of the legacy Final Cut Pro being version 7.0.3.

Since the early 2000s, Final Cut Pro has developed a large and expanding user base, mainly video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. It had also made inroads with film and television editors who have traditionally used Avid Technology's Media Composer. According to a 2007 SCRI study, Final Cut Pro made up 49% of the United States professional editing market, with Avid at 22%. A published survey in 2008 by the American Cinema Editors Guild placed their users at 21% Final Cut Pro (and growing from previous surveys of this group), while all others were still on an Avid system of some kind.