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Covox
The Covox Speech Thing is an external audio device attached to the computer to output digital sound. It was composed of a primitive 8-bit DAC using a resistor ladder and an analogue signal output, and plugged into the printer port of the PC. The Speech Thing was introduced on December 18, 1987 by Covox, Inc of Eugene, Oregon, for about US$70 (US$79.95 as of 1989), but as its parts were much cheaper than the complete plug, and as its design was fairly simple, people soon started to build their own variants. The plug was used long into the 1990s, as sound cards were still very expensive at that time. The plug was also quite popular in the demoscene. An inherent problem of the design is that it requires very precise resistors. If normal parts are used, the values get shuffled, especially for quiet sounds, resulting in distortion. Nevertheless, the sound quality of the Covox plug is far superior compared to the PC speaker; even today, a self-built Covox plug is still an inexpens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Card
A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications. Sound functionality can also be integrated onto the motherboard, using components similar to those found on plug-in cards. The integrated sound system is often still referred to as a ''sound card''. Sound processing hardware is also present on modern video cards with HDMI to output sound along with the video using that connector; previously they used a S/PDIF connection to the motherboard or sound card. Typical uses of sound cards or sound card functionality include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation, education and entertainment (games) and video projection. Sound cards are also used for computer-ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DOSBox
DOSBox is a free and open-source emulator which runs software for MS-DOS compatible disk operating systems—primarily video games. It was first released in 2002, when DOS technology was becoming obsolete. Its adoption for running DOS games is widespread, with it being used in commercial re-releases of those games as well. DOSBox can be downloaded and used from the video game console emulator front-end RetroArch. Development Before Windows XP, consumer-oriented versions of Windows were based on MS-DOS. Windows 3.0 and its updates were operating environments that ran on top of MS-DOS, and the Windows 9x series consisted of operating systems that were still based on MS-DOS. These versions of Windows could run DOS applications. Conversely, the Windows NT operating systems were not based on DOS. A member of the series is Windows XP, which debuted on October 25, 2001, to become the first consumer-oriented version of Windows to not use DOS. Although Windows XP could emulate DO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resistor Ladder
A resistor ladder is an electrical circuit made from repeating units of resistors. Two configurations are discussed below, a string resistor ladder and an R-2R ladder. An R–2R ladder is a simple and inexpensive way to perform digital-to-analog conversion, using repetitive arrangements of precise resistor networks in a ladder-like configuration. A string resistor ladder implements the non-repetitive reference network. String resistor ladder network (analog to digital conversion, or ADC) A string of many, often equally dimensioned, resistors connected between two reference voltages is a resistor string ladder network. The resistors act as voltage dividers between the referenced voltages. Each tap of the string generates a different voltage, which can be compared with another ''voltage'': this is the basic principle of a flash ADC (analog-to-digital converter). Often a voltage is converted to a ''current'', enabling the possibility to use an R–2R ladder network. * Disadvantage: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Printer Port
In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers (personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once ( parallel communication), as opposed to serial communication, in which bits are sent one at a time. To do this, parallel ports require multiple data lines in their cables and port connectors and tend to be larger than contemporary serial ports, which only require one data line. There are many types of parallel ports, but the term has become most closely associated with the printer port or Centronics port found on most personal computers from the 1970s through the 2000s. It was an industry ''de facto'' standard for many years, and was finally standardized as IEEE 1284 in the late 1990s, which defined the Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended Capability Port (ECP) bi-directional versions. Today, the parallel port interface is virtually non-ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FastTracker 2
FastTracker 2 (also referred to as FastTracker II) is a music tracker A music tracker (sometimes referred to as just tracker for short) is a type of music sequencer software for creating music. The music is represented as discrete musical notes positioned in several channels at discrete chronological positions on ... created by Fredrik "Mr. H" Huss and Magnus "Vogue" Högdahl, two members of the demoscene, demogroup Triton (demogroup), Triton (who later founded Starbreeze Studios) which set about releasing their own tracker after breaking into the demoscene, scene in 1992 and winning several demo competitions. The source code of FastTracker 2 is written in Pascal programming language, Pascal using Turbo Pascal, Borland Pascal 7 and Turbo Assembler, TASM. The program works natively under MS-DOS. History In 1993, Triton released FastTracker. This tracker was able to load and save standard four channel MOD (file format), MOD files, as well as extended MOD files with six or eig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parallel Port
In computing, a parallel port is a type of interface found on early computers ( personal and otherwise) for connecting peripherals. The name refers to the way the data is sent; parallel ports send multiple bits of data at once ( parallel communication), as opposed to serial communication, in which bits are sent one at a time. To do this, parallel ports require multiple data lines in their cables and port connectors and tend to be larger than contemporary serial ports, which only require one data line. There are many types of parallel ports, but the term has become most closely associated with the printer port or Centronics port found on most personal computers from the 1970s through the 2000s. It was an industry ''de facto'' standard for many years, and was finally standardized as IEEE 1284 in the late 1990s, which defined the Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) and Extended Capability Port (ECP) bi-directional versions. Today, the parallel port interface is virtually non ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Sound
Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital signal (signal processing), digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical sampling (signal processing), samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in Compact Disc Digital Audio, CD audio, samples are taken 44,100 Hertz, times per second, each with 16-bit audio bit depth, sample depth. Digital audio is also the name for the entire technology of sound recording and reproduction using audio signals that have been encoded in digital form. Following significant advances in digital audio technology during the 1970s and 1980s, it gradually replaced comparison of analog and digital recording, analog audio technology in many areas of audio engineering, record production and telecommunications in the 1990s and 2000s In a digital audio system, an analog signal, analog electrical signal representing the sound is converted with an analog-to-digital co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a number of data points, obtained by sampling or experimentation, which represent the values of a function for a limited number of values of the independent variable. It is often required to interpolate; that is, estimate the value of that function for an intermediate value of the independent variable. A closely related problem is the approximation of a complicated function by a simple function. Suppose the formula for some given function is known, but too complicated to evaluate efficiently. A few data points from the original function can be interpolated to produce a simpler function which is still fairly close to the original. The resulting gain in simplicity may outweigh the loss from interpolation error and give better performance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Custom Covox
Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a rule that is socially enforced * Customary law or consuetudinary, laws and regulations established by common practice * Customary (liturgy) or consuetudinary, a Christian liturgical book describing the adaptation of rites and rules for a particular context * Custom (Catholic canon law), an unwritten law established by repeated practice * Customary international law, an aspect of international law involving the principle of custom * Mores * Tradition * Minhag (pl. minhagim), Jewish customs * ʿUrf (Arabic: العرف), the customs of a given society or culture Import-export * Customs, a tariff on imported or exported goods * Custom house Modification * Modding * Bespoke, anything commissioned to a particular specification * Custom car * Cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AdLib
Ad Lib, Inc. was a Canadian manufacturer of sound cards and other computer equipment founded by Martin Prevel, a former professor of music and vice-dean of the music department at the Université Laval. The company's best known product, the ''AdLib Music Synthesizer Card'' (''ALMSC''), or simply the ''AdLib'' as it was called, was the first add-on sound card for IBM compatibles to achieve widespread acceptance, becoming the first de facto standard for audio reproduction. History After development work on the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card had concluded, the company struggled to engage the software development community with their new product. As a result, Ad Lib partnered with Top Star Computer Services, Inc., a New Jersey company that provided quality assurance services to game developers. Top Star's President, Rich Heimlich, was sufficiently impressed by a product demonstration in Quebec in 1987 to endorse the product to his top customers. Sierra On-Line's '' King's Quest IV'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Blaster
Sound Blaster is a family of sound cards designed by Singaporean technology company Creative Technology (known in the US as Creative Labs). Sound Blaster sound cards were the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to ''Microsoft'' Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level (eliminating the importance of backward compatibility with Sound Blaster), and the evolution in PC design led to onboard audio electronics, which commoditized PC audio functionality. By 1995, Sound Blaster cards had sold over 15 million units worldwide and accounted for seven out of ten sound card sales. Creative Music System and Game Blaster Creative Music System The history of Creative sound cards started with the release of the Creative Music System ("C/MS") CT-1300 board in August 1987. It contained two Philips SAA1099 integrated circuits, which, together, provided 12 channels of square-wave "bee-in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
