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Archive:Philebus

2009-01-10T21:43:21Z

128.205.73.127:

{{Dialogues of Plato}}
The '''''Philebus''''' is among the last of the late [[Socratic dialogue]]s of the ancient Greek philosopher [[Plato]]. [[Socrates]] is the primary speaker in ''Philebus'', unlike in the other late dialogues. The other speakers are Philebus and Protarchus.

The dialogue's central question concerns the relative value of [[pleasure]] and [[knowledge]], and produces a model for thinking about how complex structures are developed. Socrates begins by summarizing the two sides of the dialogue:

<blockquote>Philebus was saying that enjoyment and pleasure and delight, and the class of feelings akin to them, are a good to every living being, whereas I contend, that not these, but wisdom and intelligence and memory, and their kindred, right opinion and true reasoning, are better and more desirable than pleasure for all who are able to partake of them, and that to all such who are or ever will be they are the most advantageous of all things.<ref>Jowett, Chapter 5.</ref>
</blockquote>

But he then goes on to dismiss both as unsatisfactory; reasoning that the truly good life is one of a measured and sensible mixture of the two (pleasure and knowledge).

The dialogue is generally considered to contain less humor than earlier dialogues, and to emphasize philosophy and speculation over drama and poetry.<ref>Jowett, Chapter 1.</ref><ref>Schofield.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Plato (tr. B. Jowett). ''[http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/phil/ancientmedievalorientalphilosophy/Philebus/toc.html Philebus]''.
* Schofield, Malcolm. (1998, 2002). "[http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A088SECT16 Plato.]" In E. Craig (Ed.), ''[[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]].'' London: Routledge. Retrieved September, 2006.

== External links ==
{{Wikisource}}
*[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plat.+Phileb.+11a Full text - Greek and English] (Harold N. Fowler, 1925) - [[Perseus_Project|Perseus Project]]
*[http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=768&layout=html Full text and Introduction] ([[Benjamin Jowett]], 1892)
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1744 Overview at Gutenberg]

[[Category:Dialogues of Plato]]

[[de:Philebos]]
[[fr:Philèbe (Platon)]]
[[is:Fílebos (Platon)]]
[[hu:Philébosz (dialógus)]]
[[fi:Filebos (dialogi)]]

Software industry

2008-04-22T17:45:37Z

128.205.63.93: no supporting facts given for dublin being home to worlds largest software companies

{{globalize}}
{{Expand|date=January 2007}}
[[Image:Packagedsoftwareatretail.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Starting in the 1980s, application software has been sold in mass-produced packages through retailers]]

The '''software industry''' comprises businesses involved in the [[software development|development]], maintenance and [[software publisher|publication]] of [[computer software]]. The software industry started in the mid-1970s at the time of the personal computer revolution. The industry also includes software [[Service (economics)|service]]s, such as training and consultancy. The largest and most profitable of software companies are located in the [[United States]]. However, Dublin, Ireland is the second largest producer of software and is home to 5 of the top ten software companies in the world{{fact}}. As of 2006, the client software industry is dominated by [[Microsoft]]{{Fact|date=March 2008}}. [[Software Magazine]]'s 500 list in 2005 shows the total amount of revenue brought in by software companies per locale, with the highest being [[California]] due to [[Silicon Valley]] and the amount of [[Fortune 500]] software companies residing in that area. <ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/SW500/index.cfm?StartRow=1&RowsPer=50&BusCat_Search=&PrimBus_Search=&PrimBusCat_Search=&RankSort=ASC&CompSort=&trk=n&id=5 Software Magazine 500] (2005)</ref>

== Overview ==
There are mainly two types of businesses in the software industry; those developing [[proprietary]] software such as [[Microsoft]], and those developing [[open source]] software. Developing proprietary software is costly and involves software licensing and the need to protect the software from [[cracking]] and [[piracy]].

The main financial return on open source comes from selling services, such as training and support, rather than the software itself. Many contributors to open source software (especially those developing software tools) also feel that there is a significant long-term return in the form of improved resources and capabilities within the software industry. Despite doing much business in properietary software, some companies like [[Sun Microsystems]] and [[IBM]] participate in developing free and open source software to deter from [[monopoly|monopolies]] and take a portion of their [[market share]].

== Sectors ==
=== Freeware ===
[[Freeware]] is [[copyright]]ed computer [[software]] which is made available for use free of charge, for an unlimited time, as opposed to [[shareware]] where the user is required to pay (e.g. after some trial period or for additional functionality). Authors of freeware often want to "give something to the community", but also want credit for their software and to retain control of its future development. Sometimes when programmers decide to stop developing a freeware product, they will give the source code to another programmer or release the product's source code to the public as [[free software]].

=== Shareware===
[[Shareware]] is a [[marketing]] method for [[computer software]]. Shareware software is typically obtained free of charge, either by downloading from the Internet or on magazine cover-disks. A user tries out the program, and thus shareware has also been known as "try before you buy". A shareware program is accompanied by a request for payment, and the software's distribution license often requires such a payment.

=== Open source ===
[[Open source]] describes the principles and methodologies to promote open access to the '''production''' and '''design''' process for various goods, products, resources and technical [[conclusions]] or advice. The term is most commonly applied to the [[source code]] of software that is made available to the general public with either relaxed or non-existent [[intellectual property]] restrictions. This allows users to create [[user generated content|user-generated software content]] through either incremental individual effort, or [[collaboration]].

=== Commercial ===
Commercial software is [[computer software]] sold for [[commerce|commercial]] purposes or that serves commercial purposes. Commercial software is most often [[proprietary software]], but [[free software]] is also used as commercial software.<ref>[[Free Software Foundation]]. ''Categories of Free and Non-Free Software''.[http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/categories.html]</ref> All or parts of software packages and services that support commerce are increasingly made available as free software, including products from [[Red Hat]], [[Apple Computer]], [[Sun Microsystems]], and [[Google]]. [[Microsoft Corporation]] uses "commercial software", rather than "proprietary software", to describe their [[business model]].<ref>http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/craig/05-03sharedsource.mspx</ref>

== Size of the Industry ==

[[Software Magazine]]s' ''Software 500 survey'' can be used to gauge the value of the commercial software industry. The ''Software 500 survey'' consists of data of the top 500 software companies, as ranked by [[Software Magazine]]. Total worldwide revenues in 2006 for companies in the ''Software 500'' list were $394 billion, representing a growth of 3.5% from 2005, when total Software 500 revenue was $381 billion.<ref>[http://www.softwaremag.com/L.cfm?Doc=984-10/2006 Software Magazine - 2006 Software 500: Deep Concerns Over Security]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Professional open-source| Professional Open Source Business Model]]
* [[Software]]
* [[Software development]]
* [[Software publisher]]
* [[Software engineering]]
* [[Software engineering economics]]
* [[World's_largest_software_companies]]

== References ==
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

== External links ==
* [http://www.sao.org/ Software Association of Oregon website]
* [http://www.siprofessionals.org/ Software Industry Professionals website]
* [http://www.siia.net/ Software and Information Industry Association website]
* [http://www.softwaremag.com/ Software Magazine website]
* [http://unisoft-technologies.blogspot.com/ Software Development News]

[[Category:Industries]]
[[Category:Software industry|*]]

[[es:Industria del software]]

Wolf pack

2005-11-03T18:32:26Z

128.205.163.96: /* References */

:''This article describes the system of submarine warfare. For other meanings, see [[wolfpack]].''

The term '''wolf pack''' refers to the mass-attack tactics against [[convoy]]s used by the [[submarine]]s of the [[United States Navy]] against [[Japan]]ese shipping in the [[Pacific Ocean]] and by the [[U-boat]]s of the [[Kriegsmarine]] during the [[Second Battle of the Atlantic|Battle of the Atlantic]] in [[World War II]].

[[Karl Dönitz]] used the term ''Rudel'', which means "pack" or group of animals, to describe his strategy of submarine warfare. In [[English language|English]] it became ''wolfpack'' which gave it a more ominous sound.

U-boat movements were controlled by the ''[[Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote]]'' much more closely than American submarines, which were given tremendous independence once on patrol. Accordingly, U-boats usually patrolled separately, only being ordered to congregate after one located a convoy and alerted BdU, so a ''Rudel'' consisted of as many [[U-boat]]s as could reach the scene of the attack. American wolf packs, on the other hand, usually comprised three boats that patrolled in close company, organized before they left port under the command of the senior captain of the three. [[Charles Momsen|"Swede" Momsen]] devised the tactics and led the first American wolf pack to sea in October [[1943]].

Wolf packs fell out of use during the [[Cold War]]; modern submarines being so much more maneuverable and destructive than those of [[World War II]] that there is no need for them to hunt in packs. Instead, the [[United States Navy]] deploys its attack submarines on individual patrols, with the exception of one or (rarely) two attack submarines in each carrier group. American ballistic missile submarines have always operated alone. (Soviet ballistic missile submarines operated in well-protected [[bastion (submarine)|bastion]]s.) However, with the opening shots of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] in March 2003, the term "wolf pack" was brought back into use to describe the fleet of American and British [[nuclear submarine]]s which operated together in the [[Red Sea]] to fire [[BGM-109 Tomahawk|tomahawk missiles]] at [[Iraq]]. [[USS Providence (SSN-719)|''USS Providence'' (SSN-719)]] was the first boat to fire its entire load of missiles and earn the nickname "Big Dog of the Red Sea Wolf Pack."

== References ==
* Karl Dönitz, ''Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days'' (New York: World Publishing Company, 1958)

* Peter Maas, ''The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History'' (HarperCollins New York, 1999)

* E. B. Potter and Chester W. Nimitz, eds; ''Sea Power: A Naval History'' (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1960)

[[Category:Naval warfare]]

[[de:Wolfsrudeltaktik]]