AI Analytical Thinking

AI Analytical Thinking — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

Cloem

Cloem is a company based in Cannes, France, which applies natural language processing (NLP) technologies to assist patent applicants in creating variants of patent claims, called "cloems". According to the company, these "computer-generated claims can be published to keep potential competitors from attempting to file adjacent patent claims." == Technology == According to Cloem, dictionaries, ontologies and proprietary claim-drafting algorithms are used to draft alternative claims based on a client's original set of claims. In particular, the original set of claims is subject to various permutations and linguistic manipulations "by considering alternative definitions for terms as well as “synonyms, hyponyms, hyperonyms, meronyms, holonyms, and antonyms.”" == Possible uses == Cloem can optionally publish one or more created texts, as electronic publications or as paper-printed publications. These can potentially serve – through a defensive publication – as prior art to prevent another party for obtaining a patent on the subject-matter at stake. In other words, after an initial patent filing, an "improvement" patent (adjacent invention) can be applied for by another party, such as a competitor. By publishing variants of a patent claim, the risk of adverse patenting may potentially be decreased (improvement inventions may no longer be patentable). Cloems may also be potentially patentable. One of the issues of patentability, however, is that only a natural person can be a listed as an inventor on a patent. Since cloems are produced by a computer based on a person's input, it is not clear if the computer or the person is the inventor. The inventorship of Cloem texts is an open question.
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Protocol Builder

Protocol Builder is a tool in programming languages to generate code to build protocols in a fast and reliable way. Network programming for all kinds of protocols (such as TCP, UDP, and SNMP) includes converting data to be transferred to raw bytes in the sending side and parsing these bytes in the receiving side. Protocol builders facilitate this stage, usually by automatically generating the code. Protocol Programming has many components to be developed, these are: server listener, server connection, client connection, packets, and loggers. Most protocol builders implement these components automatically so developers save time and money. Currently, there are two Protocol Builders in the market, one for C++ from UpRedSun which is for TCP and UDP protocols. The second one is for .Net languages which generates the code in C# for TCP Protocols, this tool is called .Net Protocol Builder.
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SAP BTP

SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) is a platform as a service developed by SAP SE that offers a suite of services including database and data management, AI, analytics, application development, automation and integration all running on one unified platform. == Overview == SAP BTP is made up of four components: Application development and automation: to create applications or extend existing applications. Data and analytics: to access and analyze data across SAP and third-party systems using multi-cloud architecture. Integration: to integrate and connect applications and data. Artificial Intelligence (AI): to access large language models (LLMs) to develop AI. == History == SAP BTP was introduced as part of the SAP strategy to unify its portfolio and cloud offerings under a single platform. The platform was evolved from earlier initiatives such as SAP Cloud Platform and now serves as the central hub for cloud, data, analytics, integration and AI technologies. Initially unveiled as "SAP NetWeaver Cloud" belonging to the SAP HANA Cloud portfolio on October 16, 2012 the cloud platform was reintroduced with the new name "SAP HANA Cloud Platform" on May 13, 2013 as the foundation for SAP cloud products, including the SAP BusinessObjects Cloud. Adoption of the SAP HANA Cloud Platform in 2015 stood at over 4000 customers and 500 partners. In 2016, SAP and Apple Inc. partnered to develop mobile applications on iOS using cloud-based software development kits (SDKs) for the SAP Cloud Platform. On February 27, 2017, SAP HANA Cloud Platform was renamed "SAP Cloud Platform" at the Mobile World Congress. On January 18, 2021, the name "SAP Cloud Platform" was retired from the SAP product portfolio to support SAP BTP. As of October 2024, SAP states that SAP BTP is used by more than 27,000 customers and more than 2,800 partners. Recently, SAP Business One has worked on improving the functionalities of BTP to cater for the demands of digital transformation. The platform offers comprehensive services in AI, application development, automation, integration, data management, and analytics.
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Report generator

A report generator is a computer program whose purpose is to take data from a source such as a database, XML stream or a spreadsheet, and use it to produce a document in a format which satisfies a particular human readership. Report generation functionality is almost always present in database systems, where the source of the data is the database itself. It can also be argued that report generation is part of the purpose of a spreadsheet. Standalone report generators may work with multiple data sources and export reports to different document formats. Information systems theory specifies that information delivered to a target human reader must be timely, accurate and relevant. Report generation software targets the final requirement by making sure that the information delivered is presented in the way most readily understood by the target reader. == History == An early report writer was part of NOMAD developed in the 1970s. The evolution of reporting software has a rich history dating back to the mid-20th century, driven by the increasing need for businesses to efficiently analyze and present data. Initially, manual extraction and tabulation were commonplace, but the advent of computers in the 1960s marked a transformative phase with the emergence of basic reporting tools. The 1980s saw the widespread adoption of database management systems, laying the groundwork for more sophisticated reporting capabilities. Notable dedicated reporting software, such as Crystal Reports and BusinessObjects, gained prominence in the 1990s amidst the growing demand for business intelligence. The 21st century witnessed a paradigm shift towards web-based reporting solutions and the rise of self-service BI tools, empowering users to create reports independently. Presently, reporting software continues to evolve with a focus on data visualization, integration of artificial intelligence, and the imperative for real-time analytics in decision-making.
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Text-to-video model

A text-to-video model is a form of generative artificial intelligence that uses a natural language description as input to produce a video relevant to the input text. Advancements during the 2020s in the generation of high-quality, text-conditioned videos have largely been driven by the development of video diffusion models. == Models == There are different models, including open source models. Chinese-language input CogVideo is the earliest text-to-video model "of 9.4 billion parameters" to be developed, with its demo version of open source codes first presented on GitHub in 2022. That year, Meta Platforms released a partial text-to-video model called "Make-A-Video", and Google's Brain (later Google DeepMind) introduced Imagen Video, a text-to-video model with 3D U-Net. === 2023 === In February 2023, Runway released Gen-1 and Gen-2, among the first commercially available text-to-video and video-to-video models accessible to the public through a web interface. Gen-1, initially released as a video-to-video model, allowed users to transform existing video footage using text or image prompts. Gen-2, introduced in March 2023 and made publicly available in June 2023, added text-to-video capabilities, enabling users to generate videos from text prompts alone. In March 2023, a research paper titled "VideoFusion: Decomposed Diffusion Models for High-Quality Video Generation" was published, presenting a novel approach to video generation. The VideoFusion model decomposes the diffusion process into two components: base noise and residual noise, which are shared across frames to ensure temporal coherence. By utilizing a pre-trained image diffusion model as a base generator, the model efficiently generated high-quality and coherent videos. Fine-tuning the pre-trained model on video data addressed the domain gap between image and video data, enhancing the model's ability to produce realistic and consistent video sequences. In the same month, Adobe introduced Firefly AI as part of its features. === 2024 === In January 2024, Google announced development of a text-to-video model named Lumiere which is anticipated to integrate advanced video editing capabilities. Matthias Niessner and Lourdes Agapito at AI company Synthesia work on developing 3D neural rendering techniques that can synthesise realistic video by using 2D and 3D neural representations of shape, appearances, and motion for controllable video synthesis of avatars. In June 2024, Luma Labs launched its Dream Machine video tool. That same month, Kuaishou extended its Kling AI text-to-video model to international users. In July 2024, TikTok owner ByteDance released Jimeng AI in China, through its subsidiary, Faceu Technology. By September 2024, the Chinese AI company MiniMax debuted its video-01 model, joining other established AI model companies like Zhipu AI, Baichuan, and Moonshot AI, which contribute to China's involvement in AI technology. In December 2024 Lightricks launched LTX Video as an open source model. === 2025 === Alternative approaches to text-to-video models include Google's Phenaki, Hour One, Colossyan, Runway's Gen-3 Alpha, and OpenAI's Sora, Several additional text-to-video models, such as Plug-and-Play, Text2LIVE, and TuneAVideo, have emerged. FLUX.1 developer Black Forest Labs has announced its text-to-video model SOTA. Google was preparing to launch a video generation tool named Veo for YouTube Shorts in 2025. In May 2025, Google launched the Veo 3 iteration of the model. It was noted for its impressive audio generation capabilities, which were a previous limitation for text-to-video models. In July 2025 Lightricks released an update to LTX Video capable of generating clips reaching 60 seconds, and in October 2025 it released LTX-2, with audio capabilities built in. === 2026 === In February 2026, ByteDance released Seedance 2.0, it was noted for its impressive realistic generation, motion and camera control and 15 second generation, however the model faced huge critiscism from Motion Picture Association for copyright infringement. After viewing a viral clip of a fight between actors Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, Rhett Reese, who is the co-writer of Deadpool & Wolverine and Zombieland announced that on social media "I hate to say it. It’s likely over for us," further stating that "In next to no time, one person is going to be able to sit at a computer and create a movie indistinguishable from what Hollywood now releases." == Architecture and training == There are several architectures that have been used to create text-to-video models. Similar to text-to-image models, these models can be trained using Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) such as long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, which has been used for Pixel Transformation Models and Stochastic Video Generation Models, which aid in consistency and realism respectively. An alternative for these include transformer models. Generative adversarial networks (GANs), Variational autoencoders (VAEs), — which can aid in the prediction of human motion — and diffusion models have also been used to develop the image generation aspects of the model. Text-video datasets used to train models include, but are not limited to, WebVid-10M, HDVILA-100M, CCV, ActivityNet, and Panda-70M. These datasets contain millions of original videos of interest, generated videos, captioned-videos, and textual information that help train models for accuracy. Text-video datasets used to train models include, but are not limited to PromptSource, DiffusionDB, and VidProM. These datasets provide the range of text inputs needed to teach models how to interpret a variety of textual prompts. The video generation process involves synchronizing the text inputs with video frames, ensuring alignment and consistency throughout the sequence. This predictive process is subject to decline in quality as the length of the video increases due to resource limitations. The Will Smith Eating Spaghetti test is a benchmark for models. == Limitations == Despite the rapid evolution of text-to-video models in their performance, a primary limitation is that they are very computationally heavy which limits its capacity to provide high quality and lengthy outputs. Additionally, these models require a large amount of specific training data to be able to generate high quality and coherent outputs, which brings about the issue of accessibility. Moreover, models may misinterpret textual prompts, resulting in video outputs that deviate from the intended meaning. This can occur due to limitations in capturing semantic context embedded in text, which affects the model's ability to align generated video with the user's intended message. Various models, including Make-A-Video, Imagen Video, Phenaki, CogVideo, GODIVA, and NUWA, are currently being tested and refined to enhance their alignment capabilities and overall performance in text-to-video generation. Another issue with the outputs is that text or fine details in AI-generated videos often appear garbled, a problem that stable diffusion models also struggle with. Examples include distorted hands and unreadable text. == Ethics == The deployment of text-to-video models raises ethical considerations related to content generation. These models have the potential to create inappropriate or unauthorized content, including explicit material, graphic violence, misinformation, and likenesses of real individuals without consent. Ensuring that AI-generated content complies with established standards for safe and ethical usage is essential, as content generated by these models may not always be easily identified as harmful or misleading. The ability of AI to recognize and filter out NSFW or copyrighted content remains an ongoing challenge, with implications for both creators and audiences. == Impacts and applications == Text-to-video models offer a broad range of applications that may benefit various fields, from educational and promotional to creative industries. These models can streamline content creation for training videos, movie previews, gaming assets, and visualizations, making it easier to generate content. During the Russo-Ukrainian war, fake videos made with artificial intelligence were created as part of a propaganda war against Ukraine and shared in social media. These included depictions of children in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fake ads targeting children encouraging them to denounce critics of the Ukrainian government, or fictitious statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the country's surrender, among others. === Movies === Kaur vs Kore is the first Indian feature film made using generative AI which features dual role for the AI character of Sunny Leone, set to release in 2026. Chiranjeevi Hanuman – The Eternal is an Indian movie made entirely using Generative AI created by Vijay Subramaniam which is set for theatrical release in 2026. The movie was widely criticised by the Film makers in the Bollywood industr
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MetroHero

MetroHero is a semi-defunct real-time transit tracking and performance analysis application for the Washington Metro rapid transit system. Originally available on iOS, Android, and the web, it allows users to view live maps of all trains on a specific line, summary statistics relating to real-time system performance, and user feedback on current Metro conditions. The app launched in 2015, followed by ARIES for Transit, a related project from the same developers, and continued functioning until its original developers shut it down in 2023. Afterwards, forks of the application went live to allow for its continued public use, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Metro's operator, announced that it would launch a similar app. The app has been described by local news media as popular and well-liked among Washington, D.C.-area residents. == History and main development == MetroHero was initially developed by James and Jennifer Pizzurro, who both attended George Washington University and studied computer science. They said that they were inspired to create the app after experiencing train delays and searching for an app to track a train after boarding; such an app did not exist for the Washington Metro. The development of the app was not endorsed by WMATA, but it did use publicly available data from the agency. MetroHero launched as an Android application in September 2015, followed by the release of an iOS-compatible web app in December of that year. A standalone iOS app launched in April 2018, but the web app remained supported. By April 2018, MetroHero had approximately 13,000 monthly active users. James Pizzurro has stated that the app's intended audience was regular Metro commuters who wanted to communicate with each other about active problems, as opposed to tourists and riders who only wanted train time data. Throughout the application's development, the Pizzurros had been advocates for Metro's transparency with riders and the community by providing more high-quality data and taking on the feedback of developers. In particular, they criticized Metro's reluctance to uniquely identify individual train trips and its decision to obscure data under certain circumstances, which have posed problems for MetroHero's data collection. In addition to their work on MetroHero, the app's developers led or participated in other initiatives related to transit in the Greater Washington area. In 2019, MetroHero partnered with a local transit group to analyze Metrobus data and publish a "Metrobus Report Card", along with proposed goals and recommendations based on the report's findings. Based on this experience, MetroHero's developers began a sister project, the Adherence + Reliability + Integrity Evaluation System for Transit (ARIES for Transit), which displays data and issues grades for Washington- and Baltimore-area transit systems. Separately, James Pizzurro used MetroHero data to inform Rail Transit OPS, an independent Metro oversight group, and assist in its documentation of Metro system incidents. == Application == The MetroHero application uses several interfaces, including an overall dashboard and a live map, to display data to its users. On the dashboard, system-wide train summary data, such as the number of operating trains and headway adherence, is visible. The map offers a visual representation of all trains' positions throughout the system, filtered by line. Individual stations and trains can be selected to see ratings and comments provided by other users, including both positive and negative notes like cleanliness and crowdedness. Additionally, a list of train wait times is given, along with aggregate data like average wait time. Any train delays or service incidents are visible in the app. MetroHero uses several data sources for the various components of its application. Train positions and other operational data are provided by WMATA as part of its initiative to release open data for third-party developers. However, MetroHero's developers noted that the Metro-provided information is sometimes inaccurate and incomplete, thereby limiting the accuracy of MetroHero. The app also collects crowdsourced data from its users, who can report conditions in train cars and stations and add to reports sent by other people. Additionally, MetroHero parses data from Twitter feeds to learn about system incidents, including delays and fires. In addition to the web app, Android app, and iOS app, MetroHero's initial developers maintained automated social media accounts that alerted customers about Metro service; these accounts were discontinued upon the original app's eventual shutdown. MetroHero also hosts archived performance data for later review, a feature that is sometimes used after major incidents. == Shutdown and future == In February 2023, James Pizzurro announced that MetroHero would be shut down on July 1, 2023, citing "positive changes ... in the app landscape and in WMATA's data management and communication" and the costs and time associated with maintaining the app. Shortly before the application's end date, the Pizzurros shared MetroHero's source code on GitHub, which prompted others to fork the code and begin maintaining new instances of MetroHero to succeed the original app. The original website went offline on July 1, as planned. Historically, WMATA has not offered its own real-time map or similar service, citing other apps from third parties which accomplished the same task. However, on June 30, 2023, Randy Clarke, WMATA's general manager, announced that Metro would begin offering a similar service as MetroHero did. The app, initially named MetroMeter, was planned to begin operating in early July and would provide real-time information on trains, headways, and service schedules. Metro also noted its intentions to extend this service to Metrobus and MetroAccess. On July 20, Metro announced that the app had been renamed to MetroPulse and launched it in beta. MetroHero's other project, ARIES for Transit, was not affected by the shutdown. == Reception == MetroHero was generally well-received and has been recognized for its usage among Washington-area commuters. DCist called it one of the "most praised" Metro tracking apps, and WMATA publicly acknowledged its popularity when announcing its decision to establish MetroPulse. Chris Barnes, a member of the Metro Riders' Advisory Council, said that the app is considered important among riders because it fulfills a need for riders to have reliable and transparent transit information, albeit somewhat hindered by flaws in WMATA's data.
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Yahoo Mail

Yahoo! Mail (also written as Yahoo Mail) is a mailbox provider by Yahoo. It is one of the largest email services worldwide, with 225 million users. It is accessible via a web browser (webmail), mobile app, or through third-party email clients via the POP, SMTP, and IMAP protocols. Users can also connect non-Yahoo e-mail accounts to their Yahoo Mail inbox. The service was launched on October 8, 1997. The service is free for personal use, with an optional monthly fee for additional features. It is also available in several languages other than English. == History == === 1997–2002 === On October 8, 1997, Yahoo announced its acquisition of online communications company Four11 for $92 million in stock. As part of the purchase, Yahoo received Four11's RocketMail webmail service. Yahoo Mail, based on the RocketMail technology, launched at the same time. Yahoo! chose acquisition rather than internal platform development, because, as Healy said, "Hotmail was growing at thousands and thousands users per week. We did an analysis. For us to build, it would have taken four to six months, and by then, so many users would have taken an email account. The speed of the market was critical." On March 21, 2002, Yahoo! eliminated free software client access and introduced the $29.99 per year Mail Forwarding Service. Mary Osako, a Yahoo! Spokeswoman, told CNET, "For-pay services on Yahoo!, originally launched in February 1999, have experienced great acceptance from our base of active registered users, and we expect this adoption to continue to grow." === 2002–2010 === During 2002, the Yahoo network was gradually redesigned, including the company website, Yahoo Mail and other services. Along with the new design, new features were implemented, including drop-down menus in DHTML and keyboard shortcuts. On July 9, 2004, Yahoo! acquired Oddpost, a webmail service which simulated a desktop email client. Oddpost had features such as drag-and-drop support, right-click menus, RSS feeds, a preview pane, and increased speed using email caching to shorten response time. Many of the features were incorporated into an updated Yahoo! Mail service. ==== Competition ==== On April 1, 2004, Google announced its Gmail service with 1 GB of storage, although Gmail's invitation-only accounts kept the other webmail services at the forefront. Most major webmail providers, including Yahoo! Mail, increased their mailbox storage in response. Yahoo! first announced 100 MB of storage for basic accounts and 2 GB of storage for premium users. However, soon Yahoo Mail increased its free storage quota to 1 GB, before eventually allowing unlimited storage from March 27, 2007, until October 8, 2013. === 2011–2021 === In May 2011, Yahoo Mail rolled out a new interface. It included updated design, enhanced performance, and improved Facebook integration. In 2013, Yahoo! redesigned the site and removed several features, such as simultaneously opening multiple emails in tabs, sorting by sender name, and dragging mails to folders. The new email interface was geared to give an improved user-experience for mobile devices, but was criticized for having an inferior desktop interface. Many users objected to the unannounced nature of the changes through an online post asking Yahoo! to bring back mail tabs with one hundred thousand voting and nearly ten thousand commenting. The redesign produced a problem that caused an unknown number of users to lose access to their accounts for several weeks. In December 2013, Yahoo! Mail suffered a major outage where approximately one million users, one percent of the site's total users, could not access their emails for several days. Yahoo!'s then-CEO Marissa Mayer publicly apologized to the site's users. China Yahoo Mail announced in April 2013 that it would shut down that August as part of Yahoo ceasing services in China since acquiring a stake in Alibaba in 2005. Users with email address suffixes @yahoo.com.cn and @yahoo.cn could transfer their accounts to AliCloud to continue receiving messages through the end of 2014. In January 2014, an undisclosed number of usernames and passwords were released to hackers, following a security breach that Yahoo! believed had occurred through a third-party website. Yahoo! contacted affected users and requested that passwords be changed. In October 2015, Yahoo! updated the mail service with a "more subtle" redesign, as well as improved mobile features. The same release introduced the Yahoo! Account Key, a smartphone-based replacement for password logins. The app also added support for third-party mail accounts. In 2017, Yahoo! again redesigned the web interface with a "more minimal" look, and introduced the option to customize it with different color themes and layouts. In 2019, Yahoo released a redesigned Yahoo Mail app to organize user inboxes, introducing features including a one-tap unsubscribe tool, package tracking, and travel updates. In 2020, Yahoo Mail users were able to fill Walmart shopping carts directly from their inboxes, an industry first. Yahoo! also added a feature to view NFL matches. === 2022–present === In 2022, updates to the Yahoo Mail mobile app added tools to help manage receipts, gift cards, and subscriptions. AI-based additions in 2023 included a feature that automates tracking coupon codes and credits for online shopping, as well as updates to search suggestions, message summaries and AI writing assistance. In 2024, updates to the desktop interface added more AI-based features, including a "priority inbox" tab with automatically generated summaries of important messages and automated suggestions of next actions based on message contents. In February 2025, Yahoo aired its first Super Bowl ad since 2002, in which Bill Murray invited viewers to contact him at his Yahoo Mail email address ([email protected]). The address received nearly 150,000 emails in the first two hours after broadcast. In June 2025, Yahoo Mail introduced a "Catch Up" feature that provides AI-generated summaries and email previews and prompts users to choose to delete or retain each one. As part of the feature's launch, Yahoo Mail collaborated with streetwear brand Anti Social Social Club on an apparel release. == User interface == As many as three web interfaces were available at any given time. The traditional "Yahoo! Mail Classic" preserved the availability of their original 1997 interface until July 2013 in North America. A 2005 version included a new Ajax interface, drag-and-drop, improved search, keyboard shortcuts, address auto-completion, and tabs. However, other features were removed, such as column widths and one click delete-move-to-next. In October 2010, Yahoo! released a beta version of Yahoo! Mail, which included improvements to performance, search, and Facebook integration. In May 2011, this became the default interface. Their current Webmail interface was introduced in 2017. == Spam policy == Yahoo! Mail is often used by spammers to provide a "remove me" email address. Often, these addresses are used to verify the recipient's address, thus opening the door for more spam. Yahoo! does not tolerate this practice and terminates accounts connected with spam-related activities without warning, causing spammers to lose access to any other Yahoo! services connected with their ID under the Terms of Service. Additionally, Yahoo! stresses that its servers are based in California and any spam-related activity which uses its servers could potentially violate that state's anti-spam laws. In February 2006, Yahoo! announced its decision (along with AOL) to give some organizations the option to "certify" mail by paying up to one cent for each outgoing message, allowing the mail in question to bypass inbound spam filters. Few mailers used it and, Goodmail, the company running the certification process, shut down in 2011. === Filters === In order to prevent abuse, in 2002 Yahoo! Mail activated filters which changed certain words (that could trigger unwanted JavaScript events) and word fragments into other words. "mocha" was changed to "espresso", "expression" became "statement", and "eval" (short for "evaluation") became "review". This resulted in many unintended corrections, such as "prevent" (prevalent), "revalidation" (evaluation) and "media review" (medieval). When asked about these changes, Yahoo! explained that the changed words were common terms used in their privacy dashboard and were blacklisted to prevent hackers from sending damaging commands via the program's HTML function. Starting before February 7, 2006, Yahoo! Mail ended the practice, and began to add an underscore as a prefix to certain suspicious words and word fragments. === Greylisting === Incoming mail to Yahoo! addresses can be subjected to deferred delivery as part of Yahoo's incoming spam controls. This can delay delivery of mail sent to Yahoo! addresses without the sender or recipients being aware of it. The deferral is typically of short duration, but
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Elastic cloud storage

An elastic cloud is a cloud computing offering that provides variable service levels based on changing needs. Elasticity is an attribute that can be applied to most cloud services. It states that the capacity and performance of any given cloud service can expand or contract according to a customer's requirements and that this can potentially be changed automatically as a consequence of some software-driven event or, at worst, can be reconfigured quickly by the customer's infrastructure management team. Elasticity has been described as one of the five main principles of cloud computing by Rosenburg and Mateos in The Cloud at Your Service - Manning 2011. == History == Cloud computing was first described by Gillet and Kapor in 1996; however, the first practical implementation was a consequence of a strategy to leverage Amazon's excess data center capacity. Amazon and other pioneers of the commercial use of this technology were primarily interested in providing a “public” cloud service, whereby they could offer customers the benefits of using the cloud, particularly the utility-based pricing model benefit. Other suppliers followed suit with a range of cloud-based models all offering elasticity as a core component, but these suppliers were only offering this service as an element of their public cloud service. Due to perceived weaknesses in security, or at least a lack of proven compliance, many organizations, particularly in the financial and public sectors, have been slow adopters of cloud technologies. These wary organizations can achieve some of the benefits of cloud computing by adopting private cloud technologies. An alternative form of the elastic cloud has been offered by vendors such as EMC and IBM, whereby the service is based around an enterprise's own infrastructure but still retains elements of elasticity and the potential to bill by consumption. == Description == Elasticity in cloud computing is the ability for the organization to adjust its storage requirements in terms of capacity and processing with respect to operational requirements. This has the following benefits: Operational Benefits - Services can be acquired quickly, meaning that the evolving requirements of the business can be addressed almost immediately, giving an organization a potential agility advantage. A properly implemented elastic system will provision/de-provision according to application demands, so if a particular business has activity spikes then the provision can be enabled to match the demand and the capacity can be re-allocated. Research and Development (R&D) Projects - R&D activities are no longer hindered by a requirement to secure a capex budget prior to a project starting. Capability can simply be provisioned from the cloud and released at the end of the exercise. Testing and Deployment - With most large-scale projects a size test needs to be performed prior to final rollout. By taking advantage of the elasticity of the cloud and creating a full-scale avatar of the proposed production system, realistic data and traffic volumes can be provisioned and released as needed. Expensive Resources Allocated - This will normally apply only in the context where a customer is applying at least some of their own servers as part of a cloud infrastructure, specifically where a business (for performance reasons) has decided to invest in solid-state storage as opposed to spinning platters. There are instances when, due to activity spikes, a less critical process may need to be moved from the high-performance resources to more traditional storage. Server Specification - When a customer has elected to own/lease hardware, they can select and specify servers that are specifically tuned to meet the likely needs of their operation (i.e., directly controlling the cost/benefit equation). Utility Based Payments - There is, of course, a key cost driver in this process, and the notion that you should pay for what you consume is acceptable for many organizations. When hardware capacity is sourced internally, organizations need to over-provision. This applies just as much to traditional outsourcing as it does to capex-related expenditure on in-house servers. Cloud Platform – At the heart of any cloud storage system is the ability to manage hyperscale object storage and a Hadoop Distributed Files System (HDFS). Elastic storage capability is particularly well suited to hyperscale and Hadoop environments, where its capability to rapidly respond to changing circumstances and priorities is essential
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RemObjects Software

RemObjects Software is an American software company founded in 2002 by Alessandro Federici and Marc Hoffman. It develops and offers tools and libraries for software developers on a variety of development platforms, including Embarcadero Delphi, Microsoft .NET, Mono, and Apple's Xcode. == History == RemObjects Software was founded in the summer of 2002. Its first product was RemObjects SDK 1.0 for Delphi, the company's remoting solution which is now in its 6th version. In late 2003 RemObjects expanded its product portfolio to add Data Abstract for Delphi, a multi-tier database framework built on top of the SDK. In 2004, Carlo Kok, who would eventually become Chief Compiler Architect for Oxygene, joined the company, adding the open source Pascal Script library for Delphi to the company's portfolio. Initial development began on Oxygene (which was then named Chrome) based on Carlo's experience from writing the widely used Pascal Script scripting engine. Towards the end of 2004, RemObjects SDK for .NET was released, expanding the remoting framework to its second platform. Chrome 1.0 was released in mid-2005, providing support for .NET 1.1 and .NET 2.0, which was still in beta at the time - making Chrome the first shipping language for .NET that supported features such as generics. It was followed by Chrome 1.5 when .NET 2.0 shipped in November of the same year. 2005 also saw the expansion of Data Abstract to .NET as a second platform. Data Abstract for .NET was the first RemObjects product (besides Oxygene itself) to be written in Oxygene. Hydra 3.0, was released for .NET in December 2006, bringing a paradigm shift to the product, away from a regular plugin framework, and focusing on interoperability between plugins and host applications written in either .NET or Delphi/Win32, essentially enabling the use of both managed and unmanaged code in the same project. In Summer 2007, RemObjects released Chrome 'Joyride' which added official support for .NET 3.0 and 3.5. Chrome once again was the first language to ship release level support for new .NET framework features supported by that runtime - most importantly Sequences and Queries (aka LINQ). Development continued and in May 2008 Oxygene 3.0 was released, dropping the "Chrome" moniker. Oxygene once again brought major language enhancements, including extensive support for concurrency and parallel programming as part of the language syntax. In October 2008, RemObjects Software and Embarcadero Technologies announced plans to collaborate and ship future versions of Oxygene under the Delphi Prism moniker, later changed to Embarcadero Prism. The first of these releases of Prism became available in December 2008. Over the course of 2009, RemObjects software completed the expansion of its Data Abstract and RemObjects SDK product combo to a third development platform - Xcode and Cocoa, for both Mac OS X and iPhone SDK client development. RemObjects SDK for OS X shipped in the spring of 2009, followed by Data Abstract for OS X in the fall. In 2011, Oxygene was expanded to add support for the Java platform, in addition to NET. In 2014, RemObjects introduced a C# compiler which runs as a Visual Studio 2013 plugin, that can output code for iOS, MacOS (Cocoa) and Android, in addition to .NET compatible code. In addition, an IDE called Fire was introduced for macOS which works with their C# and Oxygene compilers. Together, the compiler supporting both Oxygene and C# was rebranded as the Elements Compiler, with CE# having the Code name "Hydrogene". In February 2015, RemObjects introduced a beta version of a Swift compiler called Silver as part of its Elements effort. Silver, too, could create code that will execute on Android, the JVM, .NET platform and also create native Cocoa code. Silver added new features to the Swift language, such as exceptions and has a few differences and limitations compared to Apple's Swift. In February 2020, support for the Go programming language was introduced with RemObjects Gold, including the ability to compile Go language code for all Elements platforms, and a port of the extensive Go Base Library available to all Elements languages. In 2021, Mercury was added to the Elements compiler as the sixth language, providing a future for the Visual Basic .NET language recently deprecated by Microsoft. Mercury supports building and maintaining existing VB.NET projects, as well as using the language for new projects both on .NET and the other platforms. == Commercial products == Elements is a development toolchain that targets .NET runtime, Java/Android virtual machines, the Apple ecosystem (macOS, iOS, tvOS), WebAssembly and native and Windows/Linux/Android NDK processor-native machine code in conjunction with a runtime library that does automatic garbage collection on non-ARC environments and ARC on ARC-based environments, such as iOS and MacOS. Because Java, C#, Swift, and Oxygene all can import each other's APIs, Elements effectively functions as Java bonded together with C# bonded together with Swift bonded together with Oxygene as a confederation of languages cooperating together quite intimately. Oxygene, a unique programming language based on Object Pascal, which can import Java, C#, and Swift APIs from the runtime of the target operating system; RemObjects C#, an implementation of C# programming language, which can import Java, Swift, and Oxygene APIs from the runtime of the target operating system and which is intended as a competitor of Xamarin, but Hydrogene's C# targets JVM bytecode instead of Xamarin's C# compiling to only Common Language Infrastructure byte code and needing the accompanying Mono Common Language Runtime to be present in such JVM-centric environments as Android; Silver, a free implementation of the Swift programming language, which can import Java, C#, and Oxygene APIs from the runtime of the target operating system; Iodine, an implementation of the Java programming language. Gold, an implementation of the Go programming language. Mercury, an implementation of the Visual Basic .NET programming language. Fire an integrated development environment for macOS. Water an integrated development environment for Windows. Data Abstract Remoting SDK, a.k.a. RemObjects SDK Hydra Oxfuscator Oxidizer, an automatic translator from Java, C#, Objective-C, and Delphi to Oxygene, from Java, Objective-C, and C# to Swift, and from Java and Objective-C to C#. == Open source projects == Train is an open-source JavaScript-based tool for building and running build scripts and automation. Internet Pack for .NET is a free, open source library for building network clients and servers using TCP and higher level protocols such as HTTP or FTP, using the .NET or Mono platforms. It includes a range of ready to use protocol implementations, as well as base classes that allow the creation of custom implementations. RemObjects Script for .NET is a fully managed ECMAScript implementation for .NET and Mono. Pascal Script for Delphi is a widely used implementation of Pascal as scripting language. == Involvement of other projects == The Oxygene Compiler Oxygene is a language based on Object Pascal and designed to efficiently target the Microsoft .NET and Mono managed runtimes; it expands Object Pascal with a range of additional language features, such as Aspect Oriented Programming, Class Contracts and support for Parallelism. It integrates with the Microsoft Visual Studio and MonoDevelop IDEs.
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Tradeshift

Tradeshift is a cloud based business network and platform for purchase-to-pay automation, supply chain payments, marketplaces, virtual cards and supply chain financing. Its 2018 round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs, raised US$250 million at a valuation of $1.1 billion, giving the company unicorn status. Tradeshift is headquartered in San Francisco, California and has offices in London, Copenhagen, Bucharest and Kuala Lumpur. Tradeshift has reprocessed over $1 trillion USD through transactions on its network. == History == Tradeshift was founded in 2010 by Christian Lanng, Mikkel Hippe Brun, and Gert Sylvest. Inspiration for Tradeshift came after they created the world's first large scale peer-to-peer infrastructure for an e-business called NemHandel. The founders also had leading roles (Governing board member, Technical Director) in the European Commission project PEPPOL inside the European Union. In 2010, the Tradeshift platform launched in May in Copenhagen. Tradeshift won the European Startup Awards in the category of "Best Business or Enterprise Startup." In 2011, Tradeshift made its app marketplace available. In 2012, Tradeshift moved their headquarters from Copenhagen to San Francisco. In 2013, Tradeshift opened an R&D center in Suzhou, China. Tradeshift opened an additional office in London. And LATAM e-invoicing capabilities were added through partnership with Invoiceware. In 2014, Tradeshift expanded with offices in Tokyo, Paris, and Munich. The EU Commission officially approved the Universal Business Language (UBL) data format – a format Tradeshift supports – as eligible for referencing in tenders from public administrations. In 2015, Tradeshift won the Circulars "Digital Disruptor" Award at the WEF conference in Davos, Switzerland. Tradeshift also acquired product information management company Merchantry, and launched e-procurement and supplier risk management solutions. In 2016, Tradeshift acquired Hyper Travel and secured a $75 million series-D round funding. In 2017, Tradeshift acquired IBX Business Network and launches Tradeshift Ada. In 2018, Tradeshift secured a $250 million series-E round funding. and launched Blockchain Payments, the latter as part of Tradeshift Pay. In December 2018 Tradeshift acquired Babelway, an online B2B integration platform. The acquisition added three new office locations to Tradeshift (Salt Lake City, Louvain-la-neuve, Belgium, Cairo Egypt). In Q3 2018, Tradeshift reported year-over-year revenue growth of 400%, new bookings growth of 284%, and gross merchandise volume (GMV) growth of 262%. New total contract value also grew by US$47 million. Additionally, it added 27 new customers including Hertz, Shiseido, ECU and multiple Fortune 500 companies. In July 2023, HSBC and Tradeshift announced an agreement to launch a new, jointly owned business focused on the development of embedded finance solutions and financial services apps. As part of the agreement, HSBC made a $35 million investment into Tradeshift and joined its board. The agreement was part of a funding round which is expected to raise a minimum of $70 million from HSBC and other investors. The new joint venture will allow HSBC and Tradeshift to deploy a range of digital solutions across Tradeshift and other platforms. This includes payment and fintech services embedded into trade, e-commerce and marketplace experiences. In September 2023, CEO Lanng was fired for "gross misconduct on multiple grounds," including "allegations of sexual assault and harassment." Tradeshift was alleged to have fired his accuser after she complained to the company's human resources department, its co-founders and members of its board of directors about his abuse. == Financials == The company's valuation as of May 2018 was $1.1 billion. Tradeshift is now considered a unicorn, and, according to Bloomberg, will not need any further funding. Jan 14, 2020, Tradeshift announced that they had raised $240 million in Series F finance. == Acquisitions == In 2015, Tradeshift acquired product information management company Merchantry. Merchantry is a retail product information management (PIM) software for multi-vendor ecommerce retailers. In 2016, Tradeshift acquired Hyper Travel. Hyper Travel is a travel management service that allows customers to access travel agents via its native messaging apps, SMS, and email. In 2017, Tradeshift acquired IBX Group. In 2018, Tradeshift acquired Babelway, an online B2B integration platform.
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Zamzar

Zamzar is an online file converter and compressor, created by brothers Mike and Chris Whyley in England in 2006. It allows users to convert files online, without downloading a software tool, and supports over 1,200 different conversion types. Since its formation, the service has converted over 510 million files for users from 245 different countries. The service supports the conversion of documents, images, audio, video, e-Books, CAD files and compressed file formats. Users can type in a URL or upload one or more files (if they are all of the same format) from their computer; Zamzar will then convert the file(s) to another user-specified format, such as an Adobe PDF file to a Microsoft Word document. Once conversion is complete, users can immediately download the file from their web browser. Users can also choose to receive an email with a link to download the converted file. In February 2021 Zamzar expanded their tool and announced a new file compression service. The compressor is visually similar to the conversion tool with a drag and drop download feature. As with the converter, users have the option to subscribe for a paid plan if they wish to compress multiple or larger files than the free service permits == File conversion API == in 2015 Zamzar launched a file conversion API, allowing users to integrate file conversion capabilities into their own websites and applications. Sample code is provided to allow users to integrate file conversion capabilities in C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python and cURL. Zamzar also maintains a project on GitHub which allows users to perform file conversion from the command line on Linux, MacOS or Windows systems. == Email file conversion == It is also possible to send files for conversion by emailing them to Zamzar. Zamzar launched this capability in 2012, allowing users to email files to dedicated email addresses for the file to be automatically converted to a different format. A link is then emailed back to the end user to allow them to download their converted file. == User privilege levels == Zamzar is currently free to use, but there is a limit of two conversions per hour for files up to 100MB. Users can pay a monthly subscription in order to access preferential features, such as unlimited file conversions, online file management, shorter response and queuing times and other benefits. == Name == Its name comes from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Its main character is called Gregor Samsa and it is from his surname that Zamzar is derived. The founders of the service considered three other names – Konvertieren, Khamailen and Obrogo – before settling on Zamzar.
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IWork

iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website. iWork includes the presentation application Keynote, the word-processing and desktop-publishing application Pages, and the spreadsheet application Numbers. Apple's design goals in creating iWork have been to allow Mac users to easily create attractive documents and spreadsheets, making use of macOS's extensive font library, integrated spelling checker, sophisticated graphics APIs and its AppleScript automation framework. The equivalent Microsoft Office applications to Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, respectively. Although Microsoft Office applications cannot open iWork documents, iWork applications can open Office documents for editing, and export documents from iWork's native formats (.pages, .numbers, .key) to Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.) as well as to PDF files. The oldest application in iWork is Keynote, first released as a standalone application in 2003 for use by Steve Jobs in his presentations. Steve Jobs announced Keynote saying "It's for when your presentation really matters". Pages was released with the first iWork bundle in 2004; Numbers was added in 2007 with the release of iWork '08. The next release, iWork '09, also included beta access to iWork.com, an online service that allowed users to upload and share documents on the web, now integrated into Apple's iCloud service. A version of iWork for iOS was released in 2010 with the first iPad, and the apps have been regularly updated since, including the addition of iPhone support. In 2013, Apple launched iWork web apps in iCloud; even years later, however, their functionality is somewhat limited compared to equivalents on the desktop. iWork was initially sold as a suite for $79, then later at $19.99 per app on OS X and $9.99 per app on iOS. Apple announced in October 2013 that all iOS and OS X devices purchased onwards, whether new or refurbished, would be eligible for a free download of all three iWork apps: after device setup, the user can "claim" the apps on the App Store, after which they are permanently linked to the user’s Apple ID. iWork for iCloud, which also incorporates a document hosting service, is free to all iCloud users. iWork was released for free on macOS and iOS (including older or resold devices) in April 2017. In September 2016, Apple announced that the real-time collaboration feature would be available for all iWork apps. == History == The first version of iWork, iWork '05, was announced on January 11, 2005 at the Macworld Conference & Expo and made available on January 22 in the United States and on January 29 worldwide. iWork '05 comprised two applications: Keynote 2, a presentation creation program, and Pages, a word processor. iWork '05 was sold for US$79. A 30-day trial was also made available for download on Apple's website. Originally IGG Software held the rights to the name iWork. While iWork was billed by Apple as "a successor to AppleWorks", it does not replicate AppleWorks's database and drawing tools. However, iWork integrates with existing applications from Apple's iLife suite through the Media Browser, which allows users to drag and drop music from iTunes, movies from iMovie, and photos from iPhoto and Aperture directly into iWork documents. iWork '06 was released on January 10, 2006 and contained updated versions of both Keynote and Pages. Both programs were released as universal binaries for the first time, allowing them to run natively on both PowerPC processors and the Intel processors used in the new iMac desktop computers and MacBook Pro notebooks which had been announced on the same day as the new iWork suite. The next version of the suite, iWork '08, was announced and released on August 7, 2007 at a special media event at Apple's campus in Cupertino, California. iWork '08, like previous updates, contained updated versions of Keynote and Pages. A new spreadsheet application, Numbers, was also introduced. Numbers differed from other spreadsheet applications, including Microsoft Excel, in that it allowed users to create documents containing multiple spreadsheets on a flexible canvas using a number of built-in templates. iWork '09, was announced on January 6, 2009 and released the same day. It contains updated versions of all three applications in the suite. iWork '09 also included access to a beta version of the iWork.com service, which allowed users to share documents online until that service was decommissioned at the end of July 2012. Users of iWork '09 could upload a document directly from Pages, Keynote, or Numbers and invite others to view it online. Viewers could write notes and comments in the document, and download a copy in iWork, Microsoft Office, or PDF formats. iWork '09 was also released with the Mac App Store on January 6, 2011 at $19.99 per application, and received regular updates after this point, including links to iCloud and a high-DPI version designed to match Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina Display. On January 27, 2010, Apple announced iWork for iPad, to be available as three separate $9.99 applications from the App Store. This version has also received regular updates including a version for pocket iPhone and iPod Touch devices, and an update to take advantage of Retina Display devices and the larger screens of recent iPhones. On October 22, 2013, Apple announced an overhaul of the iWork software for both the Mac and iOS. Both suites were made available via the respective App Stores. The update is free for current iWork owners and was also made available free of charge for anyone purchasing an OS X or iOS device after October 1, 2013. Any user activating the newly free iWork apps on a qualifying device can download the same apps on another iOS or OS X device logged into the same App Store account. The new OS X versions have been criticized for losing features such as multiple selection, linked text boxes, bookmarks, 2-up page views, mail merge, searchable comments, ability to read/export RTF files, default zoom and page count, integration with AppleScript. Apple has provided a road-map for feature re-introduction, stating that it hopes to reintroduce some missing features within the next six months. As of April 1, 2014 a few features—e.g., the ability to set the default zoom—had been reintroduced, though scores had not. Due to using a completely new file format that can work across macOS, Windows, and in most web browsers by using the online iCloud web apps, versions of iWork beginning with iWork 13 and later do not open or allow editing of documents created in versions prior to iWork '09, with users who attempt to open older iWork files being given a pop-up in the new iWork 13 app versions telling them to use the previous iWork '09 (which users may or may not have on their machine) in order to open and edit such files. Accordingly, the current version for OS X (which was initially only compatible with OS X Mavericks 10.9 onwards) moves any previously installed iWork '09 apps to an iWork '09 folder on the users machine (in /Applications/iWork '09/), as a work-around to allow users continued use of the earlier suite in order to open and edit older iWork documents locally on their machine. In October 2015, Apple released an update to mitigate this issue, allowing users to open documents saved in iWork '06 and iWork '08 formats in the latest version of Pages. In 2016, Apple announced that the real-time collaboration feature would be available for all iWork apps, instead of being constrained to using iWork for iCloud. The feature is comparable to Google Docs. == Versions == === Major releases === === Updates === iWork '09 received several updates: iWork 9.0.3 DVD (for Mac OS X 10.5.6 "Leopard" or newer; released August 26, 2010) iWork 9.0.4 (for Mac OS X 10.5.6 "Leopard" or newer; released August 26, 2010) iWork 9.1 (for Mac OS X 10.6.6 "Snow Leopard" or newer; released July 20, 2011) iWork 9.3 (for Mac OS X 10.7.4 "Lion" or newer; released December 4, 2012) The Mac App Store version of iWork was updated on October 15, 2015 for 10.10 "Yosemite" or newer. It is the final release to support 10.10 "Yosemite" and 10.11 "El Capitan". Keynote 6.6, Pages 5.6 and Numbers 3.6 are included. iWork received a major update again on March 28, 2019 with Keynote 9.0, Pages 8.0 and Numbers 6.0. == Components == === Common components === Products in the iWork suite share a number of components, largely as a result of sharing underlying code from the Cocoa and similar shared application programming interfaces (APIs). Among these are the well known universal multilingual spell checker, which can also be found in products like Safari and Mail. Grammar checking, find and replace, style and color pickers are similar examples of design features found throughout the Apple application space. Moreover, the applications
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Unspent transaction output

In cryptocurrencies, an unspent transaction output (UTXO, often capitalized as UTxO) is a distinctive element in a subset of digital currency models. A UTXO represents a certain amount of cryptocurrency that has been authorized by a sender and is available to be spent by a recipient. The utilization of UTXOs in transaction processes is a key feature of many cryptocurrencies, but it primarily characterizes those implementing the UTXO model. UTXOs employ public key cryptography to ascertain and transfer ownership. More specifically, the recipient's public key is formatted into the UTXO, thereby limiting the capability to spend the UTXO to the account that can demonstrate ownership of the corresponding private key. A valid digital signature associated with the public key must be included for the UTXO to be spent. In the UTXO model, each unit of currency is treated as a discrete object. The history of a UTXO is documented only within the blocks where it is transferred. To ascertain the total balance of an account, one must scan each block to find the latest UTXOs linked to that account. While all nodes within a blockchain network must consent to the block history, the blocks relevant to an account's balance are unique to that account. UTXOs constitute a chain of ownership depicted as a series of digital signatures dating back to the coin's inception, regardless of whether the coin was minted via mining, staking, or another procedure determined by the cryptocurrency protocol. The UTXO model was invented for Bitcoin. Cardano uses an extended version of the UTXO model known as EUTXO. == Origins == The conceptual framework of the UTXO model can be traced back to Hal Finney's Reusable Proofs of Work proposal, which itself was based on Adam Back's 1997 Hashcash proposal. Bitcoin, released in 2009, was the first widespread implementation of the UTXO model in practice. == UTXO model vs. account Model == Cryptocurrencies that utilize the UTXO model function differently compared to those using the account model. In the UTXO model, individual units of cryptocurrency, termed as unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), are transferred between users, analogous to the exchange of physical cash. This model impacts how transactions and ownership are recorded and verified within the blockchain network. The account model preserves a record of each account and its corresponding balance for every block added to the network. This setup enables quicker balance verification without the need to scan historical blocks, but it increases the raw size of each block (though data compression techniques can be utilized to alleviate this). However, both models necessitate the inspection of past blocks to fully authenticate the origin of coins. In the UTXO model, each object is immutable - units of coins cannot be 'edited' in the same way an account balance is modified when a transaction occurs. Rather, the balance is computed from the transaction history dating back to when the coins were first minted. This simplicity enhances security, as a UTXO either exists in its anticipated form or it does not. In contrast, the account model requires meticulous verification of the account's status during transactions, which can lead to oversights if not conducted correctly. In valid blockchain transactions, only unspent outputs (UTXOs) are permissible for funding subsequent transactions. This requirement is critical to prevent double-spending and fraud. Accordingly, inputs in a transaction are removed from the UTXO set, while outputs create new UTXOs that are added to the set. The holders of private keys, such as those with cryptocurrency wallets, can utilize these UTXOs for future transactions.
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Teamwork (project management)

Teamwork.com is an Irish, privately owned, web-based software company headquartered in Cork, Ireland. Teamwork creates task management and team collaboration software. Founded in 2007, as of 2016 the company stated that its software was in use by over 370,000 organisations worldwide (including Disney, Spotify and HP), and that it had over 2.4m users. == History == Peter Coppinger and Dan Mackey founded a company, Digital Crew, in 2007. This company built websites, intranets and custom web-based solutions for clients in Cork, Ireland. Frustrated by whiteboards and software management tools, Coppinger wanted a software system that would help manage client projects and which would be easy to use and generic enough to be used by different types of companies. Originally 37signals Basecamp users themselves, Coppinger and Mackey were frustrated by the limited feature set, and by Basecamp's apparent inaction on their feedback. In October 2007, Coppinger and Mackey launched Teamwork Project Manager, nicknamed TeamworkPM. In March 2015, this was renamed as Teamwork Projects. In 2014, after two years of negotiations, TeamworkPM bought the domain name 'Teamwork.com' for US$675,000 (€500,000). At the time this was one of the most expensive domain name purchases by an Irish company, and involved the transfer of a domain name which had been dormant since it was first acquired by the original owner in 1999. In 2015, Teamwork.com was named by Gartner to be one of their "Cool Vendors" in the Program and Portfolio Management Category. This was followed by the launch of a new real-time messaging product, Teamwork Chat, in January 2015. In June 2015, the company announced a drive to recruit for 40 positions by the end of the year. This was followed by the announcement that the company was investing more than €1 million in a new office, and had leased office space in Park House, Blackpool. In June 2016, Teamwork.com undertook a further recruitment drive to entice developers to Cork. In July 2021, the company announced that it had raised an investment of $70 million (€59.1 million) from venture capital firm Bregal Milestone to fund further growth. == Products == Teamwork markets a number of cloud-based applications, including Teamwork, Teamwork Desk, Teamwork Spaces, Teamwork CRM and Teamwork Chat. Teamwork was launched on 4 October 2007, at which time it had time management, milestone management, file sharing, time tracking, and messaging features. Teamwork's platform reportedly integrates with martech software like HubSpot, as well as other productivity tools like Slack, G Suite, MS Teams, Zapier, Dropbox and QuickBooks. == Awards == In 2016, Teamwork was awarded Cork's Best SME in the Cork Chamber of Commerce "Company of the Year" awards. In 2016, Teamwork was named number 7 in Deloitte's Fast 50 tech companies hit €1.6bn turnover. In 2015, Teamwork was identified as a Gartner "Cool Vendor" in the Program and Portfolio Management Category.
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Foveated rendering

Foveated rendering is a rendering technique which uses an eye tracker integrated with a virtual reality headset to reduce the rendering workload by greatly reducing the image quality in the peripheral vision (outside of the zone gazed by the fovea). A less sophisticated variant called fixed foveated rendering doesn't utilise eye tracking and instead assumes a fixed focal point. == History == Research into foveated rendering dates back at least to 1991. At Tech Crunch Disrupt SF 2014, Fove unveiled a headset featuring foveated rendering. This was followed by a successful kickstarter in May 2015. At CES 2016, SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) demoed a new 250 Hz eye tracking system and a working foveated rendering solution. It resulted from a partnership with camera sensor manufacturer Omnivision who provided the camera hardware for the new system. In July 2016, Nvidia demonstrated during SIGGRAPH a new method of foveated rendering claimed to be invisible to users. In February 2017, Qualcomm announced their Snapdragon 835 Virtual Reality Development Kit (VRDK) which includes foveated rendering support called Adreno Foveation. == Use == According to chief scientist Michael Abrash at Oculus, utilising foveated rendering in conjunction with sparse rendering and deep learning image reconstruction has the potential to require an order of magnitude fewer pixels to be rendered in comparison to a full image. Later, these results have been demonstrated and published. In December 2019, fixed foveated rendering support was added to the Oculus Quest SDK. A number of VR headsets have included on-board eye tracking to provide support for foveated rendering, including HTC's Vive Pro Eye (2019), Meta Quest Pro (2022), PlayStation VR2 (2023), and Apple Vision Pro (2024). In 2025, Valve announced the upcoming Steam Frame headset, which applies a variation of the technique known as "foveated streaming" for wireless streaming from a PC to the headset; the method similarly uses variance in bit rate, and is performed at the encoder level rather than the software level.
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