[10320010] |<article>Google</article>
[10320020] |'''Google Inc.''' ( and ) is an [[United States|American]] [[public company|public corporation]], earning revenue from [[AdWords|advertising]] related to its [[Google search|Internet search]], [[Gmail|web-based e-mail]], [[Google Maps|online mapping]], [[Google Apps|office productivity]], [[Orkut|social networking]], and [[YouTube|video sharing]] services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the [[Google Search Appliance|same technologies]].
[10320030] |Google's headquarters, the [[Googleplex]], is located in [[Mountain View, California]].
[10320040] |As of [[June 30]] [[2008]] the company has 19,604 full-time employees.
[10320050] |As of [[October 31]], [[2007]], it is the largest American company (by [[market capitalization]]) that is not part of the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]].
[10320060] |Google was co-founded by [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]] while they were students at [[Stanford University]] and the company was first incorporated as a [[privately held company]] on [[September 7]], [[1998]].
[10320070] |Google's [[initial public offering]] took place on [[August 19]], [[2004]], raising [[United States dollar|US$]]1.67 billion, making it worth US$23 billion.
[10320080] |Google has continued its growth through a series of new product developments, [[List of Google acquisitions|acquisitions]], and [[Google#Partnerships|partnerships]].
[10320090] |[[Google#Environmentalism|Environmentalism]], [[Google.org|philanthropy]], and [[Google#Corporate affairs and culture|positive employee relations]] have been important tenets during Google's growth, the latter resulting in being identified multiple times as [[Fortune Magazine|Fortune Magazine's]] #1 Best Place to Work.
[10320100] |The company's unofficial slogan is "[[Don't be evil]]", although [[criticism of Google]] include concerns regarding the [[privacy]] of personal information, [[copyright]], [[censorship by Google|censorship]], and discontinuation of services.
[10320110] |==History== 
[10320120] |Google began in January 1996, as a research project by [[Larry Page]], who was soon joined by [[Sergey Brin]], two [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] students at [[Stanford University]] in [[California]].
[10320130] |They hypothesized that a search engine that analyzed the relationships between websites would produce better ranking of results than existing techniques, which ranked results according to the number of times the search term appeared on a page.
[10320140] |Their search engine was originally nicknamed "BackRub" because the system checked [[backlinks]] to estimate a site's importance.
[10320150] |A small search engine called Rankdex was already exploring a similar strategy.
[10320160] |Convinced that the pages with the most links to them from other highly relevant web pages must be the most relevant pages associated with the search, Page and Brin tested their thesis as part of their studies, and laid the foundation for their search engine.
[10320170] |Originally, the search engine used the [[Stanford University]] website with the domain ''google.stanford.edu''.
[10320180] |The domain ''google.com'' was registered on [[September 15]], [[1997]], and the company was incorporated as ''Google Inc.'' on [[September 7]], [[1998]] at a friend's garage in [[Menlo Park, California]].
[10320190] |The total initial investment raised for the new company amounted to almost US$1.1 million, including a US$100,000 check by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], one of the founders of [[Sun Microsystems]].
[10320200] |In March 1999, the company moved into offices in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], home to several other noted [[Silicon Valley]] technology startups.
[10320210] |After quickly outgrowing two other sites, the company leased a complex of buildings in [[Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California|Mountain View]] at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway from [[Silicon Graphics]] (SGI) in 2003.
[10320220] |The company has remained at this location ever since, and the complex has since come to be known as the [[Googleplex]] (a play on the word [[googolplex]]).
[10320230] |In 2006, Google bought the property from SGI for US$319 million.
[10320240] |The Google search engine attracted a loyal following among the growing number of Internet users, who liked its simple design and usability.
[10320250] |In 2000, Google began selling [[advertising|advertisements]] associated with search [[keyword (internet search)|keywords]].
[10320260] |The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page loading speed.
[10320270] |Keywords were sold based on a combination of price bid and clickthroughs, with bidding starting at US$.05 per click.
[10320280] |This model of selling keyword advertising was pioneered by [[Yahoo! Search Marketing|Goto.com]] (later renamed Overture Services, before being acquired by [[Yahoo!]] and rebranded as [[Yahoo! Search Marketing]]).
[10320290] |While many of its [[dot-com]] rivals failed in the new Internet marketplace, Google quietly rose in stature while generating revenue.
[10320300] |The name "Google" originated from a common misspelling of the word "[[googol]]", which refers to 10<sup>100</sup>, the number represented by a 1 followed by one hundred zeros.
[10320310] |Having found its way increasingly into everyday language, the verb "[[google (verb)|google]]", was added to the ''[[Merriam-Webster|Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary]]'' and the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' in 2006, meaning "to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet."
[10320320] |A [[patent]] describing part of Google's ranking mechanism ([[PageRank]]) was granted on [[September 4]], [[2001]].
[10320330] |The patent was officially assigned to Stanford University and lists Lawrence Page as the inventor.
[10320340] |===Financing and initial public offering=== 
[10320350] |The first funding for Google as a company was secured in 1998, in the form of a US$100,000 contribution from [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], co-founder of [[Sun Microsystems]], given to a corporation which did not yet exist.
[10320360] |Around six months later, a much larger round of funding was announced, with the major investors being rival venture capital firms [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] and [[Sequoia Capital]].
[10320370] |Google's [[IPO]] took place on [[August 19]], [[2004]].
[10320380] |19,605,052 [[stock|shares]] were offered at a price of US$85 per share.
[10320390] |Of that, 14,142,135 (another mathematical reference as [[square root of two|√2]] ≈ 1.4142135) were floated by Google, and the remaining 5,462,917 were offered by existing stockholders.
[10320400] |The sale of US$1.67 billion gave Google a [[market capitalization]] of more than US$23 billion.
[10320410] |The vast majority of Google's 271 million shares remained under Google's control.
[10320420] |Many of Google's employees became instant [[paper millionaires]].
[10320430] |[[Yahoo!]], a competitor of Google, also benefited from the IPO because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google as of [[August 9]], [[2004]], ten days before the IPO.
[10320440] |Google's stock performance after its first IPO launch has gone well, with shares hitting US$700 for the first time on [[October 31]], [[2007]], due to strong sales and earnings in the advertising market, as well as the release of new features such as the [[Google Desktop|desktop search function]] and its iGoogle personalized home page.
[10320450] |The surge in stock price is fueled primarily by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and [[mutual fund]]s.
[10320460] |The company is listed on the [[NASDAQ]] stock exchange under the [[ticker]] symbol '''GOOG''' and under the [[London Stock Exchange]] under the ticker symbol '''GGEA'''.
[10320470] |===Growth=== 
[10320480] |While the company's primary business interest is in the web content arena, Google has begun experimenting with other markets, such as [[radio]] and print publications.
[10320490] |On [[January 17]], [[2006]], Google announced that its purchase of a radio advertising company "dMarc", which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio.
[10320500] |This will allow Google to combine two niche advertising media&mdash;the Internet and radio&mdash;with Google's ability to laser-focus on the tastes of consumers.
[10320510] |Google has also begun an experiment in selling advertisements from its advertisers in offline newspapers and magazines, with select advertisements in the [[Chicago Sun-Times]].
[10320520] |They have been filling unsold space in the newspaper that would have normally been used for in-house advertisements.
[10320530] |Google was added to the [[S&P 500 index]] on [[March 30]], [[2006]].
[10320540] |It replaced [[Burlington Resources]], a major oil producer based in [[Houston]] which was acquired by [[ConocoPhillips]].
[10320550] |===Acquisitions=== 
[10320560] |Since 2001, Google has acquired several small start-up companies, often consisting of innovative teams and products.
[10320570] |One of the earlier companies that Google bought was [[Pyra Labs]].
[10320580] |They were the creators of [[Blogger (service)|Blogger]], a weblog publishing platform, first launched in 1999.
[10320590] |This acquisition led to many premium features becoming free.
[10320600] |Pyra Labs was originally formed by [[Evan Williams (blogger)|Evan Williams]], yet he left Google in 2004.
[10320610] |In early 2006, Google acquired Upstartle, a company responsible for the online word processor, [[Writely]].
[10320620] |The technology in this product was used by Google to eventually create [[Google Docs & Spreadsheets]].
[10320630] |In 2004, Google acquired a company called [[Keyhole, Inc.]], which developed a product called ''Earth Viewer'' which was renamed in 2005 to [[Google Earth]].
[10320640] |In February 2006, software company Adaptive Path sold Measure Map, a [[weblog]] statistics application, to Google.
[10320650] |Registration to the service has since been temporarily disabled.
[10320660] |The last update regarding the future of Measure Map was made on [[April 6]], [[2006]] and outlined many of the service's known issues.
[10320670] |In late 2006, Google bought online video site [[YouTube]] for US$1.65 billion in stock.
[10320680] |Shortly after, on [[October 31]], [[2006]], Google announced that it had also acquired [[JotSpot]], a developer of wiki technology for collaborative Web sites.
[10320690] |On [[April 13]], [[2007]], Google reached an agreement to acquire [[DoubleClick]].
[10320700] |Google agreed to buy the company for US$3.1 billion.
[10320710] |On [[July 9]], [[2007]], Google announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire enterprise messaging security and compliance company [[Postini]].
[10320720] |===Partnerships=== 
[10320730] |In 2005, Google entered into partnerships with other companies and government agencies to improve production and services.
[10320740] |Google announced a partnership with [[NASA Ames Research Center]] to build up of offices and work on research projects involving large-scale data management, [[nanotechnology]], [[distributed computing]], and the entrepreneurial space industry.
[10320750] |Google also entered into a partnership with [[Sun Microsystems]] in October to help share and distribute each other's technologies.
[10320760] |The company entered into a partnership with [[Time Warner]]'s [[AOL]], to enhance each other's video search services.
[10320770] |The same year, the company became a major financial investor of the new [[.mobi]] [[top-level domain]] for mobile devices, in conjunction with several other companies, including [[Microsoft]], [[Nokia]], and [[Ericsson]] among others.
[10320780] |In September 2007, Google launched, "Adsense for Mobile", a service for its publishing partners which provides the ability to monetize their mobile websites through the targeted placement of mobile text ads, and acquired the mobile social networking site, ''Zingku.mobi'', to "provide people worldwide with direct access to Google applications, and ultimately the information they want and need, right from their mobile devices."
[10320790] |In 2006, Google and [[News Corporation|News Corp.]]'s Fox Interactive Media entered into a US$900 million agreement to provide search and advertising on the popular social networking site, [[MySpace]].
[10320800] |On November 5, 2007 Google announced the [[Open Handset Alliance]] to develop an open platform for mobile services called [[Google Android|Android]].
[10320810] |On March,2008 Google, [[Sprint]], [[Intel]], [[Comcast]], [[Time Warner Cable]],[[Bright House Networks]],[[Clearwire]] together found [[Xohm]] to provide wireless [[telecommunication]] service.
[10320820] |==Products and services== 
[10320830] |Google has created services and tools for the general public and business environment alike; including Web applications, advertising networks and solutions for businesses.
[10320840] |===Advertising=== 
[10320850] |Most of Google's revenue is derived from advertising programs.
[10320860] |For the 2006 fiscal year, the company reported US$10.492 billion in total advertising revenues and only US$112 million in licensing and other revenues.
[10320870] |Google [[AdWords]] allows Web advertisers to display advertisements in Google's search results and the Google Content Network, through either a cost-per-click or cost-per-view scheme.
[10320880] |Google [[AdSense]] website owners can also display adverts on their own site, and earn money every time ads are clicked.
[10320890] |===Web-based software=== 
[10320900] |The [[Google search|Google web search engine]] is the company's most popular service.
[10320910] |As of August 2007, Google is the most used [[search engine]] on the web with a 53.6% market share, ahead of [[Yahoo!]] (19.9%) and [[Live Search]] (12.9%).
[10320920] |Google indexes billions of Web pages, so that users can search for the information they desire, through the use of [[keyword (Internet search)|keywords]] and [[operators]].
[10320930] |Google has also employed the Web Search technology into other search services, including Image Search, [[Google News]], the price comparison site [[Google Product Search]], the interactive [[Usenet]] archive [[Google Groups]], [[Google Maps]], and more.
[10320940] |In 2004, Google launched its own free web-based e-mail service, known as [[Gmail]] (or Google Mail in some jurisdictions).
[10320950] |Gmail features [[e-mail filtering|spam-filtering technology]] and the capability to use Google technology to search e-mail.
[10320960] |The service generates revenue by displaying advertisements and links from the [[AdWords]] service that are tailored to the choice of the user and/or content of the e-mail messages displayed on screen.
[10320970] |In early 2006, the company launched [[Google Video]], which not only allows users to search and view freely available videos but also offers users and media publishers the ability to publish their content, including television shows on [[CBS]], [[NBA]] basketball games, and music videos.
[10320980] |In August 2007, Google announced that it would shut down its video rental and sale program and offer refunds and [[Google Checkout]] credits to consumers who had purchased videos to own.
[10320990] |On [[February 28]], [[2008]] Google launched the [[Google Sites]] [[wiki]] as a [[Google Apps]] component.
[10321000] |Google has also developed several desktop applications, including [[Google Earth]], an interactive mapping program powered by satellite and aerial imagery that covers the vast majority of the planet.
[10321010] |Google Earth is generally considered to be remarkably accurate and extremely detailed.
[10321020] |Many major cities have such detailed images that one can zoom in close enough to see vehicles and pedestrians clearly.
[10321030] |Consequently, there have been some concerns about national security implications.
[10321040] |Specifically, some countries and militaries contend the software can be used to pinpoint with near-precision accuracy the physical location of critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, bases, government agencies, and so on.
[10321050] |However, the satellite images are not necessarily frequently updated, and all of them are available at no charge through other products and even government sources.
[10321060] |For example, [[NASA]] and the [[NGA|National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]].
[10321070] |Some counter this argument by stating that Google Earth makes it easier to access and research the images.
[10321080] |Many other products are available through [[Google Labs]], which is a collection of incomplete applications that are still being tested for use by the general public.
[10321090] |Google has promoted their products in various ways.
[10321100] |In [[London]], ''Google Space'' was set-up in [[Heathrow Airport]], showcasing several products, including Gmail, Google Earth and Picasa.
[10321110] |Also, a similar page was launched for American college students, under the name ''College Life, Powered by Google.''
[10321120] |In 2007, some reports surfaced that Google was planning the release of its own mobile phone, possibly a competitor to [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[iPhone]].
[10321130] |The project, called [[Android (mobile phone platform)|Android]] provides a standard development kit that will allow any "Android" phone to run software developed for the Android SDK, no matter the phone manufacturer.
[10321140] |In October 2007, Google SMS service was launched in [[India]] allowing users to get business listings, movie showtimes, and information by sending an [[SMS]].
[10321150] |===Enterprise products=== 
[10321160] |In 2007, Google launched [[Google Apps|Google Apps Premier Edition]], a version of Google Apps targeted primarily at the business user.
[10321170] |It includes such extras as more disk space for e-mail, API access, and premium support, for a price of US$50 per user per year.
[10321180] |A large implementation of Google Apps with 38,000 users is at [[Lakehead University]] in [[Thunder Bay, Ontario|Thunder Bay]], Ontario, Canada.
[10321190] |==Platform== 
[10321200] |Google runs its services on several [[server farm]]s, each comprising thousands of low-cost commodity computers running stripped-down versions of [[Linux]].
[10321210] |While the company divulges no details of its hardware, a 2006 estimate cites 450,000 servers, "racked up in clusters at data centers around the world."
[10321220] |==Corporate affairs and culture== 
[10321230] |Google is known for its relaxed corporate culture, of which its playful variations on [[Google logo#History of the Google Doodle|its own corporate logo]] are an indicator.
[10321240] |In 2007 and 2008, ''[[Fortune Magazine]]'' placed Google at the top of its list of the hundred best places to work.
[10321250] |Google's corporate philosophy embodies such casual principles as "you can make money without doing evil," "you can be serious without a suit," and "work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun."
[10321260] |Google has been criticized for having salaries below industry standards.
[10321270] |For example, some [[system administrator]]s earn no more than US$35,000 per year – considered to be quite low for the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] job market.
[10321280] |However, Google's stock performance following its [[Initial public offering|IPO]] has enabled many early employees to be competitively compensated by participation in the corporation's remarkable equity growth.
[10321290] |Google implemented other employee incentives in 2005, such as the [[Google Founders' Award]], in addition to offering higher salaries to new employees.
[10321300] |Google's workplace amenities, culture, global popularity, and strong brand recognition have also attracted potential applicants.
[10321310] |After the company's [[IPO]] in August 2004, it was reported that founders [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]], and CEO [[Eric E. Schmidt|Eric Schmidt]], requested that their base salary be cut to US$1.00.
[10321320] |Subsequent offers by the company to increase their salaries have been turned down, primarily because, "their primary compensation continues to come from returns on their ownership stakes in Google.
[10321330] |As significant stockholders, their personal wealth is tied directly to sustained stock price appreciation and performance, which provides direct alignment with stockholder interests."
[10321340] |Prior to 2004, Schmidt was making US$250,000 per year, and Page and Brin each earned a salary of US$150,000.
[10321350] |They have all declined recent offers of bonuses and increases in compensation by Google's board of directors.
[10321360] |In a 2007 report of the United States' richest people, [[Forbes]] reported that [[Sergey Brin]] and [[Larry Page]] were tied for #5 with a net worth of US$18.5 billion each.
[10321370] |In 2007 and through early 2008, Google has seen the departure of several top executives.
[10321380] |Justin Rosenstein, Google’s product manager, left in June of 2007.
[10321390] |Shortly thereafter, Gideon Yu, former chief financial officer of [[YouTube]], a Google unit, joined [[Facebook]] along with Benjamin Ling, a high-ranking engineer, who left in October 2007.
[10321400] |In March 2008, two senior Google leaders announced their desire to pursue other opportunities.
[10321410] |Sheryl Sandburg, ex-VP of global online sales and operations began her position as COO of [[Facebook]] while Ash ElDifrawi, former head of brand advertising, left to become CMO of [[Netshops]] Inc. 
[10321420] |===Googleplex=== 
[10321430] |Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, is referred to as "the [[Googleplex]]" in a play of words; a [[googolplex]] being 1 followed by a googol of zeros, and the HQ being a [[complex]] of buildings (cf. [[movie theater|multiplex]], cineplex, etc).
[10321440] |The lobby is decorated with a [[piano]], [[lava lamps]], old server clusters, and a projection of search queries on the wall.
[10321450] |The hallways are full of exercise balls and [[bicycle]]s.
[10321460] |Each employee has access to the corporate recreation center.
[10321470] |Recreational amenities are scattered throughout the campus and include a workout room with weights and rowing machines, locker rooms, washers and dryers, a massage room, assorted [[video game]]s, [[Foosball]], a [[piano|baby grand piano]], a pool table, and [[ping pong]].
[10321480] |In addition to the [[Recreation room|rec room]], there are snack rooms stocked with various foods and drinks.
[10321490] |In 2006, Google moved into of office space in [[New York City]], at 111 [[Eighth Avenue|Eighth Ave.]] in Manhattan.
[10321500] |The office was specially designed and built for Google and houses its largest advertising sales team, which has been instrumental in securing large partnerships, most recently deals with [[MySpace]] and [[AOL]].
[10321510] |In 2003, they added an engineering staff in New York City, which has been responsible for more than 100 engineering projects, including [[Google Maps]], [[Google Spreadsheet]]s, and others.
[10321520] |It is estimated that the building costs Google US$10 million per year to rent and is similar in design and functionality to its [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]] headquarters, including [[foosball]], [[air hockey]], and ping-pong tables, as well as a video game area.
[10321530] |In November 2006, Google opened offices on [[Carnegie Mellon]]'s campus in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]].
[10321540] |By late 2006, Google also established a new headquarters for its AdWords division in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].
[10321550] |The size of Google's search system is presently undisclosed.
[10321560] |The best estimates place the total number of the company's servers at 450,000, spread over twenty five locations throughout the world, including major [[network operations center|operations centers]] in [[Dublin]] (European Operations [[Headquarters]]) and [[Atlanta, Georgia]].
[10321570] |Google is also in the process of constructing a major operations center in [[The Dalles, Oregon]], on the banks of the [[Columbia River]].
[10321580] |The site, also referred to by the media as ''Project 02'', was chosen due to the availability of inexpensive [[hydroelectric power]] and a large surplus of [[fiber optic]] cable, remnants of the dot com boom of the late 1990s.
[10321590] |The computing center is estimated to be the size of two [[American football|football fields]], and it has created hundreds of construction jobs, causing local real estate prices to increase 40%.
[10321600] |Upon completion, the center is expected to create 60 to 200 permanent jobs in the town of 12,000 people.
[10321610] |Google is taking steps to ensure that their operations are environmentally sound.
[10321620] |In October 2006, the company announced plans to install thousands of [[Photovoltaic module|solar panels]] to provide up to 1.6&nbsp;[[megawatt]]s of [[electricity]], enough to satisfy approximately 30% of the campus' energy needs.
[10321630] |The system will be the largest solar power system constructed on a [[United States|U.S.]] corporate campus and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.
[10321640] |In June 2007, Google announced that they plan to become [[carbon neutral]] by 2008, which includes investing in energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and purchasing carbon offsets, such as investing in projects like capturing and burning [[methane]] from animal waste at Mexican and Brazilian farms.
[10321650] |===Innovation time off=== 
[10321660] |As an interesting motivation technique (usually called [[ITO|Innovation Time Off]]), all Google engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time (one day per week) on projects that interest them.
[10321670] |Some of Google's newer services, such as [[Gmail]], [[Google News]], [[Orkut]], and [[AdSense]] originated from these independent endeavors.
[10321680] |In a talk at [[Stanford University]], [[Marissa Mayer]], Google's Vice President of Search Products and User Experience, stated that her analysis showed that half of the new product launches originated from the 20% time.
[10321690] |===Easter eggs and April Fool's Day jokes=== 
[10321700] |Google has a tradition of creating [[April Fool's Day]] jokes&mdash;such as [[Google's hoaxes#2000|Google MentalPlex]], which allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web.
[10321710] |In 2002, they claimed that [[pigeons]] were the [[Google's hoaxes#2002: Pigeon Rank|secret]] behind their growing [[search engine]].
[10321720] |In 2004, they featured [[Google's hoaxes#2004: Google Lunar/Copernicus Center|Google Lunar]] (which claimed to feature jobs on the [[moon]]), and in 2005, a [[fiction|fictitious]] brain-boosting drink, termed [[Google's hoaxes#2005: Google Gulp|Google Gulp]] was announced.
[10321730] |In 2006, they came up with [[Google's hoaxes#2006: Google Romance|Google Romance]], a hypothetical [[online dating]] service.
[10321740] |In 2007, Google announced two joke products.
[10321750] |The first was a free wireless Internet service called [[TiSP]] (Toilet Internet Service Provider) in which one obtained a connection by flushing one end of a [[fiber-optic]] cable down their toilet and waiting only an hour for a "Plumbing Hardware Dispatcher (PHD)" to connect it to the Internet.
[10321760] |Additionally, Google's [[Gmail]] page displayed an announcement for [[Gmail Paper]], which allows users of their free email service to have email messages printed and shipped to a snail mail address.
[10321770] |Google's services contain a number of [[Easter egg (virtual)|Easter eggs]]; for instance, the Language Tools page offers the search interface in the [[Swedish Chef]]'s "Bork bork bork," [[Pig Latin]], ”Hacker” (actually [[leetspeak]]), [[Elmer Fudd]], and [[Klingon language|Klingon]].
[10321780] |In addition, the search engine calculator provides the [[Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything]] from [[Douglas Adams]]' ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''.
[10321790] |As Google's search box can be used as a unit converter (as well as a calculator), some non-standard units are built in, such as the [[Smoot]].
[10321800] |Google also routinely modifies its logo in accordance with various holidays or special events throughout the year, such as [[Christmas]], [[Mother's Day]], or the [[birthday]]s of various notable individuals.
[10321810] |===IPO and culture=== 
[10321820] |Many people speculated that Google's [[initial public offering|IPO]] would inevitably lead to changes in the company's culture, because of shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions and short-term advances, or because a large number of the company's employees would suddenly become millionaires on paper.
[10321830] |In a report given to potential investors, co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page promised that the IPO would not change the company's culture.
[10321840] |Later Mr. Page said, "We think a lot about how to maintain our culture and the fun elements.
[10321850] |We spent a lot of time getting our offices right.
[10321860] |We think it's important to have a high density of people.
[10321870] |People are packed together everywhere.
[10321880] |We all share offices.
[10321890] |We like this set of buildings because it's more like a densely packed university campus than a typical suburban office park."
[10321900] |However, many analysts are finding that as Google grows, the company is becoming more "corporate".
[10321910] |In 2005, articles in ''[[The New York Times]]'' and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy.
[10321920] |In an effort to maintain the company's unique culture, Google has designated a Chief Culture Officer in 2006, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources.
[10321930] |The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on in the beginning—a flat organization, a lack of hierarchy, a collaborative environment.
[10321940] |===Philanthropy=== 
[10321950] |In 2004, Google formed a for-profit philanthropic wing, [[Google.org]], with a start-up fund of US$1 billion.
[10321960] |The express mission of the organization is to create awareness about [[climate change]], global public health, and [[global poverty]].
[10321970] |One of its first projects is to develop a viable [[plug-in hybrid]] [[electric vehicle]] that can attain 100 [[fuel economy in automobiles|mpg]].
[10321980] |The founding and current director is Dr. [[Larry Brilliant]].
[10321990] |==Criticism== 
[10322000] |As it has grown, Google has found itself the focus of several controversies related to its business practices and services.
[10322010] |For example, [[Google Book Search]]'s effort to digitize millions of books and make the full text searchable has led to [[copyright]] disputes with the [[Authors Guild]].
[10322020] |Google's cooperation with the governments of [[People's Republic of China|China]], and to a lesser extent [[France]] and [[Germany]] (regarding [[Holocaust denial]]) to filter search results in accordance to regional laws and regulations has led to claims of [[censorship by Google|censorship]].
[10322030] |Google's persistent [[HTTP cookie|cookie]] and other information collection practices have led to concerns over user [[Google and privacy issues|privacy]].
[10322040] |As of [[December 11]], [[2007]], Google, like the [[Microsoft]] search engine, stores "personal information for 18 months" and by comparison, [[Yahoo!]] and [[AOL]] ([[Time Warner]]) "retain search requests for 13 months."
[10322050] |A number of [[India]]n state governments have raised concerns about the security risks posed by geographic details provided by [[Google Earth]]'s satellite imaging.
[10322060] |Google has also been criticized by advertisers regarding its inability to combat [[click fraud]], when a person or automated script is used to generate a charge on an advertisement without really having an interest in the product.
[10322070] |Industry reports in 2006 claim that approximately 14 to 20 percent of clicks were in fact fraudulent or invalid.
[10322080] |Further, Google has faced allegations of [[sexism]] and [[ageism]] from former employees.
[10322090] |Google has also faced accusations in [[Harper's Magazine]] of being extremely excessive with their energy usage, and were accused of employing their "[[Don't be evil]]" motto as well as their very public energy saving campaigns as means of trying to cover up or make up for the massive amounts of energy their servers actually require.
[10322100] |Also, US District Court Judge [[Louis Stanton]], on [[July 1]], 2008 ordered Google to give [[YouTube]] user data / log to [[Viacom]] to support its case in a billion-dollar [[copyright]] lawsuit against Google.
[10322110] |Google and [[Viacom]], however, on [[July 14]], 2008, agreed in [[compromise]] to protect [[YouTube]] users' personal data in the $ 1 billion (£ 497 million) copyright lawsuit.
[10322120] |Google agreed it will make user information and internet protocol addresses from its YouTube subsidiary anonymous before handing over the data to Viacom.
[10322130] |The privacy deal also applied to other litigants including the [[FA Premier League]], the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation and the [[Scottish Premier League]].
[10322140] |The deal however did not extend the anonymity to employees, since Viacom would prove that Google staff are aware of uploading of illegal material to the site.
[10322150] |The parties therefore will further meet on the matter lest the data be made available to the court.
[10330010] |<article>Google Translate</article>
[10330020] |'''Google Translate''' is a service provided by [[Google|Google Inc.]] to translate a section of text, or a webpage, into another language, with limits to the number of paragraphs, or range of technical terms, translated.
[10330030] |For some languages, users are asked for alternate translations, such as for technical terms, to be included for future updates to the translation process.
[10330040] |Unlike other translation services such as [[Babel Fish (website)|Babel Fish]], [[AOL]], and [[Yahoo!|Yahoo]] which use [[SYSTRAN]], Google uses its own translation software.
[10330050] |== Functions == 
[10330060] |The service also includes translation of an entire Web page.
[10330070] |The translation is limited in number of paragraphs per webpage (such as indicated by break-tags <code>&lt;br&gt;</code>); however, if text on a webpage is separated by horizontal blank-line images (auto-wrapped without using any <code>&lt;br&gt;</code>), a long webpage can be translated containing several thousand words.
[10330080] |Google Translate, like other automatic translation tools, has its limitations.
[10330090] |While it can help the reader to understand the general content of a foreign language text, it does not deliver accurate translations and does not produce publication-standard content, for example it often translates words out of context and is deliberately not applying any [[Grammar|grammatical]] rules.
[10330100] |== Approach == 
[10330110] |Google translate is based on an approach called [[statistical machine translation]], and more specifically, on research by [[Franz-Josef Och]] who won the [[DARPA]] contest for speed machine translation in 2003.
[10330120] |Och is now the head of Google's machine translation department.
[10330130] |According to Och, a solid base for developing a usable statistical machine translation system for a new pair of languages from scratch, would consist in having a bilingual [[text corpus]] (or [[parallel text|parallel collection]]) of more than a million words and two monolingual corpora of each more than a billion words.
[10330140] |Statistical [[Mathematical model|models]] from this data are then used to translate between those languages.
[10330150] |To acquire this huge amount of linguistic data, Google used [[United Nations]] documents.
[10330160] |The same document is normally available in all six official UN languages, thus Google now has a hectalingual corpus of 20 billion words' worth of human translations.
[10330170] |The availability of Arabic and Chinese as official UN languages is probably one of the reasons why Google Translate initially focused on the development of translation between English and those languages, and not, for example, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and [[German language|German]], which are not official languages at the UN. 
[10330180] |Google representatives have been very active at domestic conferences in Japan in the field asking researchers to provide them with bilingual corpora.
[10330190] |== Options == 
[10330200] |(by chronological order)
[10330210] |*Beginning 
[10330220] |**English to Arabic
[10330230] |**English to French
[10330240] |**English to German
[10330250] |**English to Spanish
[10330260] |**French to English
[10330270] |**German to English
[10330280] |**Spanish to English
[10330290] |**Arabic to English
[10330300] |*2nd stage 
[10330310] |**English to Portuguese
[10330320] |**Portuguese to English
[10330330] |*3rd stage 
[10330340] |**English to Italian
[10330350] |**Italian to English
[10330360] |*4th stage 
[10330370] |**English to Chinese (Simplified) BETA
[10330380] |**English to Japanese BETA
[10330390] |**English to Korean BETA
[10330400] |**Chinese (Simplified) to English BETA
[10330410] |**Japanese to English BETA
[10330420] |**Korean to English BETA
[10330430] |*5th stage 
[10330440] |**English to Russian BETA
[10330450] |**Russian to English BETA
[10330460] |*6th stage 
[10330470] |**English to Arabic BETA
[10330480] |**Arabic to English BETA
[10330490] |*7th stage (launched February, 2007)
[10330500] |**English to Chinese (Traditional) BETA
[10330510] |**Chinese (Traditional) to English BETA
[10330520] |**Chinese (Simplified to Traditional) BETA
[10330530] |**Chinese (Traditional to Simplified) BETA
[10330540] |*8th stage (launched October, 2007)
[10330550] |** all 25 language pairs use Google's machine translation system
[10330560] |*9th stage 
[10330570] |**English to Hindi BETA
[10330580] |**Hindi to English BETA
[10330590] |*10th stage (as of this stage, translation can be done between any two languages) 
[10330600] |**Bulgarian
[10330610] |**Croatian
[10330620] |**Czech
[10330630] |**Danish
[10330640] |**Dutch
[10330650] |**Finnish
[10330660] |**Greek
[10330670] |**Norwegian
[10330680] |**Polish
[10330690] |**Romanian
[10330700] |**Swedish
[10340010] |<article>Grammar</article>
[10340020] |'''Grammar''' is the field of [[linguistics]] that covers the [[rules]] governing the use of any given [[natural language|natural language]].
[10340030] |It includes [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] and [[syntax]], often complemented by [[phonetics]], [[phonology]], [[semantics]], and [[pragmatics]].
[10340040] |Each language has its own distinct grammar.
[10340050] |"English grammar" is the rules of the English language itself.
[10340060] |"''An'' English grammar" is a specific study or analysis of these rules.
[10340070] |A [[reference book]] describing the grammar of a language is called a "reference grammar" or simply "a grammar".
[10340080] |A fully explicit grammar exhaustively describing the [[grammaticality|grammatical]] constructions of a language is called a descriptive grammar, as opposed to [[linguistic prescription]] which tries to enforce the governing rules how a language is to be used.
[10340090] |[[Grammatical framework]]s are approaches to constructing grammars.
[10340100] |The standard framework of [[generative grammar]] is the [[transformational grammar]] model developed by [[Noam Chomsky]] and his followers from the 1950s to 1980s.
[10340110] |==Etymology== 
[10340120] |The word "grammar," derives from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''γραμματική τέχνη'' (''grammatike techne''), which means "art of letters," from ''γράμμα'' (''gramma''), "letter," and that from ''γράφειν'' (''graphein''), "to draw, to write".
[10340130] |==History== 
[10340140] |The first systematic grammars originate in [[Iron Age India]], with [[Panini (grammarian)|Panini]] (4th c. BC) and his commentators [[Pingala]] (ca. 200 BC), [[Katyayana]], and [[Patanjali]] (2nd c. BC).
[10340150] |In the West, grammar emerges as a discipline in [[Hellenism]] from the 3rd c. BC forward with authors like [[Rhyanus]] and [[Aristarchus of Samothrace]], the oldest extant work being the ''[[Art of Grammar]]'' , attributed to [[Dionysius Thrax]] (ca. 100 BC).
[10340160] |[[Latin grammar]] developed by following Greek models from the 1st century BC, due to the work of authors such as [[Orbilius Pupillus]], [[Remmius Palaemon]], [[Marcus Valerius Probus]], [[Verrius Flaccus]], [[Aemilius Asper]].
[10340170] |Tamil grammatical tradition also began around the 1st century BC with the [[Tolkāppiyam]].
[10340180] |A grammar of [[Old Irish|Irish]] originated in the 7th century with the [[Auraicept na n-Éces]].
[10340190] |[[Arabic grammar]] emerges from the 8th century with the work of [[Ibn Abi Ishaq]] and his students.
[10340200] |The first treatises on [[Hebrew grammar]] appear in the [[High Middle Ages]], in the context of [[Mishnah]] (exegesis of the [[Hebrew Bible]]).
[10340210] |The [[Karaite]] tradition originates in [[Abbasid]] [[Baghdad]].
[10340220] |The ''[[Diqduq]]'' (10th century) is one of the earliest grammatical commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.
[10340230] |[[Ibn Barun]] in the 12th century compares the Hebrew language with [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in the [[Islamic grammatical tradition]].
[10340240] |Belonging to the ''trivium'' of the seven [[liberal arts]], grammar was taught as a core discipline throughout the [[Middle Ages]], following the influence of authors from [[Late Antiquity]], such as [[Priscian]].
[10340250] |Treatment of vernaculars begins gradually during the [[High Middle Ages]], with isolated works such as the [[First Grammatical Treatise]], but becomes influential only in the [[Renaissance]] and [[Baroque]] periods.
[10340260] |In [[1486]], [[Antonio de Nebrija]] published ''Las introduciones Latinas contrapuesto el romance al Latin'', and the first [[Spanish grammar]], ''Gramática de la lengua castellana'', in 1492.
[10340270] |During the 16th century [[Italian Renaissance]], the ''Questione della lingua'' was the discussion on the status and ideal form of the [[Italian language]], initiated by [[Dante]]'s ''[[de vulgari eloquentia]]'' ([[Pietro Bembo]], ''Prose della volgar lingua'' Venice 1525).
[10340280] |Grammars of non-European languages began to be compiled for the purposes of [[evangelization]] and [[Bible translation]] from the 16th century onward, such as ''Grammatica o Arte de la Lengua General de los Indios de los Reynos del Perú'' (1560), and a [[Quechua]] grammar by [[Fray Domingo de Santo Tomás]].
[10340290] |In 1643 there appeared [[Ivan Uzhevych]]'s ''Grammatica sclavonica'' and, in 1762, the ''Short Introduction to English Grammar'' of [[Robert Lowth]] was also published.
[10340300] |The ''Grammatisch-Kritisches Wörterbuch der hochdeutschen Mundart'', a [[High German]] grammar in five volumes by [[Johann Christoph Adelung]], appeared as early as 1774.
[10340310] |From the latter part of the 18th century, grammar came to be understood as a subfield of the emerging discipline of modern [[linguistics]].
[10340320] |The Serbian grammar by [[Vuk Stefanović Karadžić]] arrived in 1814, while the ''Deutsche Grammatik'' of the [[Brothers Grimm]] was first published in 1818.
[10340330] |The ''Comparative Grammar'' of [[Franz Bopp]], the starting point of modern [[comparative linguistics]], came out in 1833.
[10340340] |In the [[USA]], the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar has designated March 4, 2008 as National Grammar Day.
[10340350] |==Development of grammars== 
[10340360] |Grammars evolve through usage, and grammars also develop due to separations of the human population.
[10340370] |With the advent of written [[Knowledge representation|representation]]s, formal rules about language usage tend to appear also.
[10340380] |Formal grammars are [[codification (linguistics)|codifications]] of usage that are developed by repeated documentation over time, and by [[observation]] as well.
[10340390] |As the rules become established and developed, the prescriptive concept of grammatical correctness can arise.
[10340400] |This often creates a discrepancy between contemporary usage and that which has been accepted over time as being correct.
[10340410] |Linguists tend to believe that prescriptive grammars do not have any justification beyond their authors' aesthetic tastes; however, prescriptions are considered in [[sociolinguistics]] as part of the explanation for why some people say "I didn't do nothing", some say "I didn't do anything", and some say one or the other depending on social context.
[10340420] |The formal study of grammar is an important part of [[education]] for children from a young age through advanced [[learning]], though the rules taught in schools are not a "grammar" in the sense most [[linguistics|linguists]] use the term, as they are often [[prescriptive]] rather than [[descriptive]].
[10340430] |[[Constructed language]]s (also called planned languages or conlangs) are more common in the modern day.
[10340440] |Many have been designed to aid human [[communication]] (for example, naturalistic [[Interlingua]], schematic [[Esperanto]], and the highly logic-compatible artificial language [[Lojban]]).
[10340450] |Each of these languages has its own grammar.
[10340460] |No clear line can be drawn between syntax and morphology.
[10340470] |[[Analytic languages]] use [[syntax]] to convey information that is encoded via [[inflection]] in [[synthetic language]]s.
[10340480] |In other words, word order is not significant and [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] is highly significant in a purely synthetic language, whereas morphology is not significant and syntax is highly significant in an analytic language.
[10340490] |[[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], for example, are highly analytic, and meaning is therefore very context – dependent.
[10340500] |(Both do have some inflections, and have had more in the past; thus, they are becoming even less synthetic and more "purely" analytic over time.)
[10340510] |[[Latin]], which is highly [[synthetic language|synthetic]], uses [[affix]]es and [[inflection]]s to convey the same information that Chinese does with [[syntax]].
[10340520] |Because Latin words are quite (though not completely) self-contained, an intelligible Latin [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]] can be made from elements that are placed in a largely arbitrary order.
[10340530] |Latin has a complex affixation and a simple syntax, while Chinese has the opposite.
[10340540] |==Grammar frameworks== 
[10340550] |Various "grammar frameworks" have been developed in [[theoretical linguistics]] since the mid 20th century, in particular under the influence of the idea of a "[[Universal grammar]]" in the USA.
[10340560] |Of these, the main divisions are:
[10340570] |*[[Transformational grammar]] (TG))
[10340580] |*[[Principles and Parameters|Principles and Parameters Theory]] (P&P) 
[10340590] |*[[Lexical functional grammar|Lexical-functional Grammar]] (LFG)
[10340600] |*[[Generalised Phrase Structure Grammar|Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar]] (GPSG)
[10340610] |*[[Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar]] (HPSG)
[10340620] |*[[Dependency grammar]]s (DG)
[10340630] |*[[Role and reference grammar]] (RRG)
[10350010] |<article>Hidden Markov model</article>
[10350020] |A '''hidden Markov model''' ('''HMM''') is a [[statistical model]] in which the system being modeled is assumed to be a [[Markov process]] with unknown parameters, and the challenge is to determine the hidden parameters from the [[observable]] parameters.
[10350030] |The extracted model parameters can then be used to perform further analysis, for example for [[pattern recognition]] applications.
[10350040] |An HMM can be considered as the simplest [[dynamic Bayesian network]].
[10350050] |In a regular [[Markov model]], the state is directly visible to the observer, and therefore the state transition probabilities are the only parameters.
[10350060] |In a ''hidden'' Markov model, the state is not directly visible, but variables influenced by the state are visible.
[10350070] |Each state has a probability distribution over the possible output tokens.
[10350080] |Therefore the sequence of tokens generated by an HMM gives some information about the sequence of states.
[10350090] |Hidden Markov models are especially known for their application in [[time| temporal]] pattern recognition such as [[speech recognition|speech]], [[handwriting recognition|handwriting]], [[gesture recognition]], [[musical score]] following, [[partial discharge]]s and [[bioinformatics]].
[10350100] |== Architecture of a hidden Markov model == 
[10350110] |The diagram below shows the general architecture of an instantiated HMM.
[10350120] |Each oval shape represents a random variable that can adopt a number of values.
[10350130] |The random variable <math>x(t)</math> is the hidden state at time <math>t</math> (with the model from the above diagram, <math>x(t) \in \{x_1, x_2, x_3\}</math>).
[10350140] |The random variable <math>y(t)</math> is the observation at time <math>t</math> (<math>y(t) \in \{y_1, y_2, y_3, y_4\}</math>).
[10350150] |The arrows in the diagram (often called a [[Trellis (graph)|trellis diagram]]) denote conditional dependencies.
[10350160] |From the diagram, it is clear that the value of the hidden variable <math>x(t)</math> (at time <math>t</math>) ''only'' depends on the value of the hidden variable <math>x(t-1)</math> : the values at time <math>t-2</math> and before have no influence.
[10350170] |This is called the [[Markov property]].
[10350180] |Similarly, the value of the observed variable <math>y(t)</math> only depends on the value of the hidden variable <math>x(t)</math> (both at time <math>t</math>).
[10350190] |==Probability of an observed sequence== 
[10350200] |The probability of observing a sequence <math>Y=y(0), y(1),\dots,y(L-1)</math> of length <math>L</math> is given by
[10350210] |:<math>P(Y)=\sum_{X}P(Y\mid X)P(X),</math>
[10350220] |where the sum runs over all possible hidden node sequences <math>X=x(0), x(1), \dots, x(L-1)</math>.
[10350230] |Brute force calculation of <math>P(Y)</math> is intractable for most real-life problems, as the number of possible hidden node sequences is typically extremely high.
[10350240] |The calculation can however be sped up enormously using the [[Viterbi algorithm|forward algorithm]] or the equivalent backward algorithm.
[10350250] |==Using hidden Markov models== 
[10350260] |There are three [[canonical]] problems associated with HMM: 
[10350270] |* Given the parameters of the model, compute the probability of a particular output sequence, and the probabilities of the hidden state values given that output sequence.
[10350280] |This problem is solved by the [[forward-backward algorithm]].
[10350290] |* Given the parameters of the model, find the most likely sequence of hidden states that could have generated a given output sequence.
[10350300] |This problem is solved by the [[Viterbi algorithm]].
[10350310] |* Given an output sequence or a set of such sequences, find the most likely set of state transition and output probabilities.
[10350320] |In other words, discover the parameters of the HMM given a dataset of sequences.
[10350330] |This problem is solved by the [[Baum-Welch algorithm]].
[10350340] |=== A concrete example === 
[10350350] |''This example is further elaborated in the [[Viterbi algorithm]] page.''
[10350360] |===Applications of hidden Markov models=== 
[10350370] |* [[Cryptanalysis]]
[10350380] |* [[Speech recognition]]
[10350390] |* [[Machine translation]] 
[10350400] |* [[Partial discharge]]
[10350410] |== History == 
[10350420] |Hidden Markov Models were first described in a series of statistical papers by [[Leonard E. Baum]] and other authors in the second half of the 1960s.
[10350430] |One of the first applications of HMMs was [[speech recognition]], starting in the mid-1970s.
[10350440] |In the second half of the 1980s, HMMs began to be applied to the analysis of biological sequences, in particular [[DNA]].
[10350450] |Since then, they have become ubiquitous in the field of [[bioinformatics]].
[10360010] |<article>HTML</article>
[10360020] |'''HTML''', an [[Acronym and initialism|initialism]] of '''HyperText Markup Language''', is the predominant [[markup language]] for [[web page]]s.
[10360030] |It provides a means to describe the structure of text-based information in a document — by denoting certain text as links, headings, paragraphs, lists, and so on — and to supplement that text with ''interactive forms'', embedded ''images'', and other objects.
[10360040] |HTML is written in the form of tags, surrounded by [[Brackets#Angle brackets or chevrons .3C .3E|angle brackets]].
[10360050] |HTML can also describe, to some degree, the appearance and [[semantics]] of a document, and can include embedded [[scripting language]] code (such as JavaScript) which can affect the behavior of [[Web browser]]s and other HTML processors.
[10360060] |HTML is also often used to refer to content in specific languages, such as a [[MIME type]] text/html, or even more broadly as a generic term for HTML, whether in its [[XML]]-descended form (such as [[XHTML]] 1.0 and later) or its form descended directly from [[SGML]] (such as HTML 4.01 and earlier).
[10360070] |By convention, HTML format data files use a file extension .html or .htm.
[10360080] |==History of HTML== 
[10360090] |===Origins=== 
[10360100] |In 1980, physicist [[Tim Berners-Lee]], who was an independent contractor at [[CERN]], proposed and prototyped [[ENQUIRE]], a system for CERN researchers to use and share documents.
[10360110] |In 1989, Berners-Lee and CERN data systems engineer [[Robert Cailliau]] each submitted separate proposals for an [[Internet]]-based [[hypertext]] system providing similar functionality.
[10360120] |The following year, they collaborated on a joint proposal, the WorldWideWeb (W3) project, which was accepted by CERN.
[10360130] |===First specifications=== 
[10360140] |The first publicly available description of HTML was a document called ''HTML Tags'', first mentioned on the Internet by Berners-Lee in late 1991.
[10360150] |It describes 22 elements comprising the initial, relatively simple design of HTML.
[10360160] |Thirteen of these elements still exist in HTML 4.
[10360170] |Berners-Lee considered HTML to be, at the time, an application of [[SGML]], but it was not formally defined as such until the mid-1993 publication, by the [[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]], of the first proposal for an HTML specification: Berners-Lee and [[Dan Connolly]]'s "Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)" Internet-Draft, which included an SGML [[Document Type Definition]] to define the grammar.
[10360180] |The draft expired after six months, but was notable for its acknowledgment of the [[Mosaic (web browser)|NCSA Mosaic]] browser's custom tag for embedding in-line images, reflecting the IETF's philosophy of basing standards on successful prototypes.
[10360190] |Similarly, Dave Raggett's competing Internet-Draft, "HTML+ (Hypertext Markup Format)", from late 1993, suggested standardizing already-implemented features like tables and fill-out forms.
[10360200] |After the HTML and HTML+ drafts expired in early 1994, the IETF created an HTML Working Group, which in 1995 completed "HTML 2.0", the first HTML specification intended to be treated as a standard against which future implementations should be based.
[10360210] |Published as [[Request for Comments]] 1996, HTML 2.0 included ideas from the HTML and HTML+ drafts.
[10360220] |There was no "HTML 1.0"; the 2.0 designation was intended to distinguish the new edition from previous drafts.
[10360230] |Further development under the auspices of the IETF was stalled by competing interests.
[10360240] |Since 1996, the HTML specifications have been maintained, with input from commercial software vendors, by the [[World Wide Web Consortium]] (W3C).
[10360250] |However, in 2000, HTML also became an international standard ([[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]/[[International Electrotechnical Commission|IEC]] 15445:2000).
[10360260] |The last HTML specification published by the W3C is the HTML 4.01 Recommendation, published in late 1999.
[10360270] |Its issues and errors were last acknowledged by errata published in 2001.
[10360280] |===Version history of the standard=== 
[10360290] |====HTML versions==== 
[10360300] |'''July, 1993:''' [http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/draft-ietf-iiir-html-01.txt Hypertext Markup Language], was published at [[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] working draft (that is, not yet a standard).
[10360310] |'''November, 1995:''' [http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1866 HTML 2.0] published as IETF [[Request for Comments]]: 
[10360320] |* RFC 1866,
[10360330] |* supplemented by RFC 1867 (form-based file upload) that same month,
[10360340] |* RFC 1942 (tables) in ''May 1996'',
[10360350] |* RFC 1980 (client-side image maps) in ''August 1996'', and
[10360360] |* RFC 2070 ([[internationalization and localization|internationalization]]) in ''January 1997'';
[10360370] |Ultimately, all were declared obsolete/historic by RFC 2854 in ''June 2000''.
[10360380] |'''April 1995''': [http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html3/ HTML 3.0], proposed as a standard to the IETF.
[10360390] |It included many of the capabilities that were in Raggett's HTML+ proposal, such as support for tables, text flow around figures, and the display of complex mathematical formulas.
[10360400] |A demonstration appeared in W3C's own [[Arena (web browser)|Arena browser]].
[10360410] |HTML 3.0 did not succeed for several reasons.
[10360420] |The pace of browser development, as well as the number of interested parties, had outstripped the resources of the IETF.
[10360430] |Netscape continued to introduce HTML elements that specified the visual appearance of documents, contrary to the goals of the newly-formed W3C, which sought to limit HTML to describing logical structure.
[10360440] |Microsoft, a newcomer at the time, played to all sides by creating its own tags, implementing Netscape's elements for compatibility, and supporting W3C features such as Cascading Style Sheets.
[10360450] |'''[[January 14]], [[1997]]:''' [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html32 HTML 3.2], published as a [[W3C Recommendation]].
[10360460] |It was the first version developed and standardized exclusively by the W3C, as the IETF had closed its HTML Working Group in September 1997.
[10360470] |The new version dropped math formulas entirely, reconciled overlap among various proprietary extensions, and adopted most of Netscape's visual markup tags.
[10360480] |Netscape's [[blink element]] and Microsoft's [[marquee element]] were omitted due to a mutual agreement between the two companies.
[10360490] |The ability to include mathematical formulas in HTML would not be standardized until years later in [[MathML]].
[10360500] |'''[[December 18]], [[1997]]:''' [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40-971218/ HTML 4.0], published as a W3C Recommendation.
[10360510] |It offers three "flavors": 
[10360520] |* Strict, in which deprecated elements are forbidden,
[10360530] |* Transitional, in which deprecated elements are allowed,
[10360540] |* Frameset, in which mostly only [[Framing (World Wide Web)|frame]] related elements are allowed;
[10360550] |HTML 4.0 (initially code-named "Cougar") likewise adopted many browser-specific element types and attributes, but at the same time sought to phase out Netscape's visual markup features by marking them as [[deprecation|deprecated]] in favor of style sheets.
[10360560] |Minor editorial revisions to the HTML 4.0 specification were published in 1998 without incrementing the version number and further minor revisions as HTML 4.01.
[10360570] |'''[[April 24]], [[1998]]:''' [http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-html40-19980424/ HTML 4.0] was reissued with minor edits without incrementing the version number.
[10360580] |'''[[December 24]], [[1999]]:''' [http://www.w3.org/TR/html401 HTML 4.01], published as a W3C Recommendation.
[10360590] |It offers the same three flavors as HTML 4.0, and its last [http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html4-updates/errata errata] were published [[May 12]], [[2001]].
[10360600] |HTML 4.01 and ISO/IEC 15445:2000 are the most recent and final versions of HTML.
[10360610] |'''[[May 15]], [[2000]]:''' [https://www.cs.tcd.ie/15445/15445.HTML ISO/IEC 15445:2000] ("[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]] HTML", based on HTML 4.01 Strict), published as an ISO/IEC international standard.
[10360620] |'''[[January 22]], [[2008]]:''' [http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/ HTML 5], published as a Working Draft by W3C.
[10360630] |====XHTML versions==== 
[10360640] |XHTML is a separate language that began as a reformulation of HTML 4.01 using XML 1.0.
[10360650] |It continues to be developed: 
[10360660] |* [http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/ XHTML 1.0], published [[January 26]], [[2000]] as a W3C Recommendation, later revised and republished [[August 1]], [[2002]].
[10360670] |It offers the same three flavors as HTML 4.0 and 4.01, reformulated in XML, with minor restrictions.
[10360680] |* [http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/ XHTML 1.1], published [[May 31]], [[2001]] as a W3C Recommendation.
[10360690] |It is based on XHTML 1.0 Strict, but includes minor changes, can be customized, and is reformulated using modules from [http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-modularization Modularization of XHTML], which was published [[April 10]], [[2001]] as a W3C Recommendation.
[10360700] |* [http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2/ XHTML 2.0] is still a W3C Working Draft.
[10360710] |XHTML 2.0 is incompatible with XHTML 1.x and, therefore, would be more accurate to characterize as an XHTML-inspired new language than an update to XHTML 1.x.
[10360720] |* XHTML 5, which is an update to XHTML 1.x, is being defined alongside [[HTML 5]] in the [http://www.w3.org/html/wg/html5/ HTML 5 draft].
[10360730] |==HTML markup== 
[10360740] |HTML markup consists of several key components, including ''elements'' (and their ''attributes''), character-based ''data types'', and ''character references'' and ''entity references''.
[10360750] |Another important component is the ''document type declaration''.
[10360760] |HTML [[Hello world program|Hello World]]: <source lang="html4strict"> <html> <head> <title>Hello HTML</title> </head> <body> <span>Hello World!</span> </body> </html> </source>
[10360770] |===Elements=== 
[10360780] |:''See [[HTML element]]s for more detailed descriptions.''
[10360790] |Elements are the basic structure for HTML markup.
[10360800] |Elements have two basic properties: attributes and content.
[10360810] |Each attribute and each element's content has certain restrictions that must be followed for an HTML document to be considered valid.
[10360820] |An element usually has a start tag (e.g. <code><element-name></code>) and an end tag (e.g. <code></element-name></code>).
[10360830] |The element's attributes are contained in the start tag and content is located between the tags (e.g. <code><element-name&nbsp;attribute="value">Content</element-name></code>).
[10360840] |Some elements, such as <code><nowiki></nowiki></code>, do not have any content and must not have a closing tag.
[10360850] |Listed below are several types of markup elements used in HTML.
[10360860] |'''Structural''' markup describes the purpose of text.
[10360870] |For example, <code><nowiki><h2>Golf</h2></nowiki></code> establishes "Golf" as a second-level [[heading]], which would be rendered in a browser in a manner similar to the "HTML markup" title at the start of this section.
[10360880] |Structural markup does not denote any specific rendering, but most Web browsers have standardized on how elements should be formatted.
[10360890] |Text may be further styled with [[Cascading Style Sheets]] (CSS).
[10360900] |'''Presentational''' markup describes the appearance of the text, regardless of its function.
[10360910] |For example <code><nowiki><b>boldface</b></nowiki></code> indicates that visual output devices should render "boldface" in bold text, but gives no indication what devices which are unable to do this (such as aural devices that read the text aloud) should do.
[10360920] |In the case of both <code><nowiki><b>bold</b></nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki><i>italic</i></nowiki></code>, there are elements which usually have an equivalent visual rendering but are more semantic in nature, namely <code><nowiki><strong>strong emphasis</strong></nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki><em>emphasis</em></nowiki></code> respectively.
[10360930] |It is easier to see how an aural user agent should interpret the latter two elements.
[10360940] |However, they are not equivalent to their presentational counterparts: it would be undesirable for a screen-reader to emphasize the name of a book, for instance, but on a screen such a name would be italicized.
[10360950] |Most presentational markup elements have become [[Deprecation|deprecated]] under the HTML 4.0 specification, in favor of [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] based style design.
[10360960] |'''Hypertext''' markup links parts of the document to other documents.
[10360970] |HTML up through version [[XHTML]] 1.1 requires the use of an anchor element to create a hyperlink in the flow of text: <code><nowiki><a>Wikipedia</a></nowiki></code>.
[10360980] |However, the <code>href</code> attribute must also be set to a valid [[Uniform Resource Locator|URL]] so for example the HTML code, <code><nowiki><a&nbsp;href="http://en.wikipedia.org/">Wikipedia</a></nowiki></code>, will render the word "<span class="plainlinks">[http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]</span>" as a [[hyperlink]].To link on an image, the anchor tag use the following syntax: <a href="url"><img src="image.gif" /></a>
[10360990] |===Attributes=== 
[10361000] |Most of the attributes of an element are name-value pairs, separated by "=", and written within the start tag of an element, after the element's name.
[10361010] |The value may be enclosed in single or double quotes, although values consisting of certain characters can be left unquoted in HTML (but not XHTML).
[10361020] |Leaving attribute values unquoted is considered unsafe.
[10361030] |In contrast with name-value pair attributes, there are some attributes that affect the element simply by their presence in the start tag of the element (like the <code>ismap</code> attribute for the <code>img</code> element).
[10361040] |Most elements can take any of several common attributes:
[10361050] |* The <code>id</code> attribute provides a document-wide unique identifier for an element.
[10361060] |This can be used by stylesheets to provide presentational properties, by browsers to focus attention on the specific element, or by scripts to alter the contents or presentation of an element.
[10361070] |* The <code>class</code> attribute provides a way of classifying similar elements for presentation purposes.
[10361080] |For example, an HTML document might use the designation <code>class="notation"</code> to indicate that all elements with this class value are subordinate to the main text of the document.
[10361090] |Such elements might be gathered together and presented as footnotes on a page instead of appearing in the place where they occur in the HTML source.
[10361100] |* An author may use the <code>style</code> non-attributal codes presentational properties to a particular element.
[10361110] |It is considered better practice to use an element’s son- <code>id</code> page and select the element with a stylesheet, though sometimes this can be too cumbersome for a simple ad hoc application of styled properties.
[10361120] |* The <code>title</code> attribute is used to attach subtextual explanation to an element.
[10361130] |In most browsers this attribute is displayed as what is often referred to as a [[tooltip]].
[10361140] |The generic inline element <code>span</code> can be used to demonstrate these various attributes:
[10361150] |::<source lang="html4strict"><span id="anId" class="aClass" style="color:blue;" title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</span></source>
[10361160] |This example displays as <span id="anId" class="aClass" style="color:blue;" title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</span>; in most browsers, pointing the cursor at the abbreviation should display the title text "Hypertext Markup Language."
[10361170] |Most elements also take the language-related attributes <code>lang</code> and <code>dir</code>.
[10361180] |===Character and entity references=== 
[10361190] |As of version 4.0, HTML defines a set of [[List of XML and HTML character entity references|252]] [[character entity reference]]s and a set of 1,114,050 [[numeric character reference]]s, both of which allow individual characters to be written via simple markup, rather than literally.
[10361200] |A literal character and its markup counterpart are considered equivalent and are rendered identically.
[10361210] |The ability to "escape" characters in this way allows for the characters <code>&lt;</code> and <code>&amp;</code> (when written as <code>&amp;lt;</code> and <code>&amp;amp;</code>, respectively) to be interpreted as character data, rather than markup.
[10361220] |For example, a literal <code>&lt;</code> normally indicates the start of a tag, and <code>&amp;</code> normally indicates the start of a character entity reference or numeric character reference; writing it as <code>&amp;amp;</code> or <code>&amp;#x26;</code> or <code>&amp;#38;</code> allows <code>&amp;</code> to be included in the content of elements or the values of attributes.
[10361230] |The double-quote character (<code>"</code>), when used to quote an attribute value, must also be escaped as <code>&amp;quot;</code> or <code>&amp;#x22;</code> or <code>&amp;#34;</code> when it appears within the attribute value itself.
[10361240] |The single-quote character (<code>'</code>), when used to quote an attribute value, must also be escaped as <code>&amp;#x27;</code> or <code>&amp;#39;</code> (should NOT be escaped as <code>&amp;apos;</code> except in XHTML documents) when it appears within the attribute value itself.
[10361250] |However, since document authors often overlook the need to escape these characters, browsers tend to be very forgiving, treating them as markup only when subsequent text appears to confirm that intent.
[10361260] |Escaping also allows for characters that are not easily typed or that aren't even available in the document's [[character encoding]] to be represented within the element and attribute content.
[10361270] |For example, the acute-accented <code>e</code> (<code>é</code>), a character typically found only on Western European keyboards, can be written in any HTML document as the entity reference <code>&amp;eacute;</code> or as the numeric references <code>&amp;#233;</code> or <code>&amp;#xE9;</code>.
[10361280] |The characters comprising those references (that is, the <code>&amp;</code>, the <code>;</code>, the letters in <code>eacute</code>, and so on) are available on all keyboards and are supported in all character encodings, whereas the literal <code>é</code> is not.
[10361290] |===Data types=== 
[10361300] |HTML defines several [[data type]]s for element content, such as script data and stylesheet data, and a plethora of types for attribute values, including IDs, names, URIs, numbers, units of length, languages, media descriptors, colors, character encodings, dates and times, and so on.
[10361310] |All of these data types are specializations of character data.
[10361320] |===The Document Type Declaration=== 
[10361330] |In order to enable [[Document Type Definition]] (DTD)-based validation with SGML tools and in order to avoid the [[quirks mode]] in browsers, HTML documents can start with a [[Document Type Declaration]] (informally, a "DOCTYPE").
[10361340] |The DTD to which the DOCTYPE refers contains machine-readable grammar specifying the permitted and prohibited content for a document conforming to such a DTD.
[10361350] |Browsers do not necessarily read the DTD, however.
[10361360] |The most popular graphical browsers use DOCTYPE declarations (or the lack thereof) and other data at the beginning of sources to determine which rendering mode to use.
[10361370] |For example:
[10361380] |:<code><nowiki><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"></nowiki></code>
[10361390] |This declaration references the Strict DTD of HTML 4.01, which does not have presentational elements like <code><nowiki><font></nowiki></code>, leaving formatting to Cascading Style Sheets and the <code>span</code> and <code>div</code> tags.
[10361400] |SGML-based validators read the DTD in order to properly parse the document and to perform validation.
[10361410] |In modern browsers, the HTML 4.01 Strict doctype activates standards layout mode for [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] as opposed to [[quirks mode]].
[10361420] |In addition, HTML 4.01 provides Transitional and Frameset DTDs.
[10361430] |The Transitional DTD was intended to gradually phase in the changes made in the Strict DTD, while the Frameset DTD was intended for those documents which contained frames.
[10361440] |==Semantic HTML== 
[10361450] |There is no official specification called "Semantic HTML", though the strict flavors of HTML discussed [[#Current flavors of HTML|below]] are a push in that direction.
[10361460] |Rather, semantic HTML refers to an objective and a practice to create documents with HTML that contain only the author's intended meaning, without any reference to how this meaning is presented or conveyed.
[10361470] |A classic example is the distinction between the emphasis element (<code>&lt;em&gt;</code>) and the italics element (<code>&lt;i&gt;</code>).
[10361480] |Often the emphasis element is displayed in italics, so the presentation is typically the same.
[10361490] |However, emphasizing something is different from listing the title of a book, for example, which may also be displayed in italics.
[10361500] |In purely semantic HTML, a book title would use a different element than emphasized text uses (for example a <code>&lt;span&gt;</code>), because they are meaningfully different things.
[10361510] |The goal of semantic HTML requires two things of authors:
[10361520] |# To avoid the use of presentational markup (elements, attributes, and other entities).
[10361530] |# To use available markup to differentiate the meanings of phrases and structure in the document.
[10361540] |So for example, the book title from above would need to have its own element and class specified, such as <code>&lt;cite class="booktitle"&gt;The Grapes of Wrath&lt;/cite&gt;.</code> Here, the <code>&lt;cite&gt;</code> element is used because it most closely matches the meaning of this phrase in the text.
[10361550] |However, the <code>&lt;cite&gt;</code> element is not specific enough to this task, since we mean to cite specifically a book title as opposed to a newspaper article or an academic journal.
[10361560] |Semantic HTML also requires complementary specifications and software compliance with these specifications.
[10361570] |Primarily, the development and proliferation of [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] has led to increasing support for semantic HTML, because CSS provides designers with a rich language to alter the presentation of semantic-only documents.
[10361580] |With the development of CSS, the need to include presentational properties in a document has virtually disappeared.
[10361590] |With the advent and refinement of CSS and the increasing support for it in Web browsers, subsequent editions of HTML increasingly stress only using markup that suggests the semantic structure and phrasing of the document, like headings, paragraphs, quotes, and lists, instead of using markup which is written for visual purposes only, like <code>&lt;font&gt;</code>, <code>&lt;b&gt;</code> (bold), and <code>&lt;i&gt;</code> (italics).
[10361600] |Some of these elements are not permitted in certain varieties of HTML, like HTML 4.01 Strict.
[10361610] |CSS provides a way to separate document semantics from the content's presentation, by keeping everything relevant to presentation defined in a CSS file.
[10361620] |See [[separation of style and content]].
[10361630] |Semantic HTML offers many advantages.
[10361640] |First, it ensures consistency in style across elements that have the same meaning.
[10361650] |Every heading, every quotation, every similar element receives the same presentation properties.
[10361660] |Second, semantic HTML frees authors from the need to concern themselves with presentation details.
[10361670] |When writing the number two, for example, should it be written out in words ("two"), or should it be written as a numeral (2)?
[10361680] |A semantic markup might enter something like <number>2</number> and leave presentation details to the stylesheet designers.
[10361690] |Similarly, an author might wonder where to break out quotations into separate indented blocks of text: with purely semantic HTML, such details would be left up to stylesheet designers.
[10361700] |Authors would simply indicate quotations when they occur in the text, and not concern themselves with presentation.
[10361710] |A third advantage is device independence and repurposing of documents.
[10361720] |A semantic HTML document can be paired with any number of stylesheets to provide output to computer screens (through Web browsers), high-resolution printers, handheld devices, aural browsers or braille devices for those with visual impairments, and so on.
[10361730] |To accomplish this, nothing needs to be changed in a well-coded semantic HTML document.
[10361740] |Readily available stylesheets make this a simple matter of pairing a semantic HTML document with the appropriate stylesheets.
[10361750] |(Of course, the stylesheet's selectors need to match the appropriate properties in the HTML document.)
[10361760] |Some aspects of authoring documents make separating semantics from style (in other words, meaning from presentation) difficult.
[10361770] |Some elements are hybrids, using presentation in their very meaning.
[10361780] |For example, a table displays content in a tabular form.
[10361790] |Often such content conveys the meaning only when presented in this way.
[10361800] |Repurposing a table for an aural device typically involves somehow presenting the table as an inherently visual element in an audible form.
[10361810] |On the other hand, we frequently present lyrical songs&mdash;something inherently meant for audible presentation&mdash;and instead present them in textual form on a Web page.
[10361820] |For these types of elements, the meaning is not so easily separated from their presentation.
[10361830] |However, for a great many of the elements used and meanings conveyed in HTML, the translation is relatively smooth.
[10361840] |==Delivery of HTML== 
[10361850] |HTML documents can be delivered by the same means as any other computer file; however, they are most often delivered in one of two forms: over [[HTTP]] servers and through e-mail.
[10361860] |===Publishing HTML with HTTP=== 
[10361870] |The [[World Wide Web]] is composed primarily of HTML documents transmitted from a [[Web server]] to a Web browser using the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP).
[10361880] |However, HTTP can be used to serve images, sound, and other content in addition to HTML.
[10361890] |To allow the Web browser to know how to handle the document it received, an indication of the [[file format]] of the document must be transmitted along with the document.
[10361900] |This vital [[metadata]] includes the [[MIME]] type (<tt>text/html</tt> for HTML 4.01 and earlier, <tt>application/xhtml+xml</tt> for XHTML 1.0 and later) and the character encoding (see [[Character encodings in HTML]]).
[10361910] |In modern browsers, the MIME type that is sent with the HTML document affects how the document is interpreted.
[10361920] |A document sent with an XHTML MIME type, or ''served as application/xhtml+xml'', is expected to be [[XML#Well-formed documents|well-formed]] XML, and a syntax error causes the browser to fail to render the document.
[10361930] |The same document sent with an HTML MIME type, or ''served as text/html'', might be displayed successfully, since Web browsers are more lenient with HTML.
[10361940] |However, XHTML parsed in this way is not considered either proper XHTML or HTML, but so-called [[tag soup]].
[10361950] |If the MIME type is not recognized as HTML, the Web browser should not attempt to render the document as HTML, even if the document is prefaced with a correct Document Type Declaration.
[10361960] |Nevertheless, some Web browsers do examine the contents or URL of the document and attempt to infer the file type, despite this being forbidden by the HTTP 1.1 specification.
[10361970] |===HTML e-mail=== 
[10361980] |Most graphical [[e-mail]] clients allow the use of a subset of HTML (often ill-defined) to provide formatting and [[semantic web|semantic]] markup capabilities not available with [[plain text]], like emphasized text, block quotations for replies, and diagrams or mathematical formulas that could not easily be described otherwise.
[10361990] |Many of these clients include both a [[GUI]] editor for composing HTML e-mail messages and a rendering engine for displaying received HTML messages.
[10362000] |Use of HTML in e-mail is controversial because of compatibility issues, because it can be used in [[phishing]]/privacy attacks, because it can confuse [[E-Mail spam|spam]] filters, and because the message size is larger than plain text.
[10362010] |===Naming conventions=== 
[10362020] |The most common [[filename extension]] for [[computer file|files]] containing HTML is <tt>.html</tt>.
[10362030] |A common abbreviation of this is <tt>.htm</tt>; it originates from older operating systems and file systems, such as the [[DOS]] versions from the 80s and early 90s and [[File Allocation Table|FAT]], which limit file extensions to three letters.
[10362040] |Both forms are widely supported by browsers.
[10362050] |==Current flavors of HTML== 
[10362060] |Since its inception, HTML and its associated protocols gained acceptance relatively quickly.
[10362070] |However, no clear standards existed in the early years of the language.
[10362080] |Though its creators originally conceived of HTML as a semantic language devoid of presentation details, practical uses pushed many presentational elements and attributes into the language, driven largely by the various browser vendors.
[10362090] |The latest standards surrounding HTML reflect efforts to overcome the sometimes chaotic development of the language and to create a rational foundation for building both meaningful and well-presented documents.
[10362100] |To return HTML to its role as a semantic language, the [[World Wide Web Consortium|W3C]] has developed style languages such as [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] and [[Extensible Stylesheet Language|XSL]] to shoulder the burden of presentation.
[10362110] |In conjunction, the HTML specification has slowly reined in the presentational elements.
[10362120] |There are two axes differentiating various flavors of HTML as currently specified: SGML-based HTML versus XML-based HTML (referred to as XHTML) on the one axis, and strict versus transitional (loose) versus frameset on the other axis.
[10362130] |===SGML-based versus XML-based HTML=== 
[10362140] |One difference in the latest HTML specifications lies in the distinction between the SGML-based specification and the XML-based specification.
[10362150] |The XML-based specification is usually called XHTML to distinguish it clearly from the more traditional definition; however, the root element name continues to be 'html' even in the XHTML-specified HTML.
[10362160] |The W3C intended XHTML 1.0 to be identical to HTML 4.01 except where limitations of XML over the more complex SGML require workarounds.
[10362170] |Because XHTML and HTML are closely related, they are sometimes documented in parallel.
[10362180] |In such circumstances, some authors conflate the two names as (X)HTML or X(HTML).
[10362190] |Like HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0 has three sub-specifications: strict, loose, and frameset.
[10362200] |Aside from the different opening declarations for a document, the differences between an HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 document&mdash;in each of the corresponding DTDs&mdash;are largely syntactic.
[10362210] |The underlying syntax of HTML allows many shortcuts that XHTML does not, such as elements with optional opening or closing tags, and even EMPTY elements which must not have an end tag.
[10362220] |By contrast, XHTML requires all elements to have an opening tag or a closing tag.
[10362230] |XHTML, however, also introduces a new shortcut: an XHTML tag may be opened and closed within the same tag, by including a slash before the end of the tag like this: <code>&lt;br/&gt;</code>.
[10362240] |The introduction of this shorthand, which is not used in the SGML declaration for HTML 4.01, may confuse earlier software unfamiliar with this new convention.
[10362250] |To understand the subtle differences between HTML and XHTML, consider the transformation of a valid and well-formed XHTML 1.0 document that adheres to Appendix C (see below) into a valid HTML 4.01 document.
[10362260] |To make this translation requires the following steps: 
[10362270] |# '''The language for an element should be specified with a <code>lang</code> attribute rather than the XHTML <code>xml:lang</code> attribute.'''
[10362280] |XHTML uses XML's built in language-defining functionality attribute.
[10362290] |# '''Remove the XML namespace (<code>xmlns=URI</code>).'''
[10362300] |HTML has no facilities for namespaces.
[10362310] |# '''Change the document type declaration''' from XHTML 1.0 to HTML 4.01. (see [[#The Document Type Definition|DTD section]] for further explanation).
[10362320] |# If present, '''remove the XML declaration.'''
[10362330] |(Typically this is: <code><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?></code>).
[10362340] |# '''Ensure that the document’s MIME type is set to <code>text/html</code>.'''
[10362350] |For both HTML and XHTML, this comes from the HTTP <code>Content-Type</code> header sent by the server.
[10362360] |# '''Change the XML empty-element syntax to an HTML style empty element''' (<code>&lt;br/&gt;</code> to <code>&lt;br&gt;</code>).
[10362370] |Those are the main changes necessary to translate a document from XHTML 1.0 to HTML 4.01.
[10362380] |To translate from HTML to XHTML would also require the addition of any omitted opening or closing tags.
[10362390] |Whether coding in HTML or XHTML it may just be best to always include the optional tags within an HTML document rather than remembering which tags can be omitted.
[10362400] |A well-formed XHTML document adheres to all the syntax requirements of XML.
[10362410] |A valid document adheres to the content specification for XHTML, which describes the document structure.
[10362420] |The W3C recommends several conventions to ensure an easy migration between HTML and XHTML (see [http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/#guidelines HTML Compatibility Guidelines]).
[10362430] |The following steps can be applied to XHTML 1.0 documents only: 
[10362440] |* Include both <code>xml:lang</code> and <code>lang</code> attributes on any elements assigning language.
[10362450] |* Use the empty-element syntax only for elements specified as empty in HTML.
[10362460] |* Include an extra space in empty-element tags: for example <code>&lt;br&nbsp;/&gt;</code> instead of <code>&lt;br/&gt;</code>.
[10362470] |* Include explicit close tags for elements that permit content but are left empty (for example, <code>&lt;div&gt;</code><code>&lt;/div&gt;</code>, not <code>&lt;div /&gt;</code>).
[10362480] |* Omit the XML declaration.
[10362490] |By carefully following the W3C’s compatibility guidelines, a user agent should be able to interpret the document equally as HTML or XHTML.
[10362500] |For documents that are XHTML 1.0 and have been made compatible in this way, the W3C permits them to be served either as HTML (with a <code>text/html</code> [[MIME type]]), or as XHTML (with an <code>application/xhtml+xml</code> or <code>application/xml</code> MIME type).
[10362510] |When delivered as XHTML, browsers should use an XML parser, which adheres strictly to the XML specifications for parsing the document's contents.
[10362520] |===Transitional versus Strict === 
[10362530] |The latest SGML-based specification HTML 4.01 and the earliest XHTML version include three sub-specifications: Strict, Transitional (once called Loose), and Frameset.
[10362540] |The Strict variant represents the standard proper, whereas the Transitional and Frameset variants were developed to assist in the transition from earlier versions of HTML (including HTML 3.2).
[10362550] |The Transitional and Frameset variants allow for [[presentational markup]] whereas the Strict variant encourages the use of style sheets through its omission of most presentational markup.
[10362560] |The primary differences which make the Transitional variant more permissive than the Strict variant (the differences as the same in HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0) are: 
[10362570] |* '''A looser content model'''
[10362580] |** Inline elements and plain text (#PCDATA) are allowed directly in: <code>body</code>, <code>blockquote</code>, <code>form</code>, <code>noscript</code> and <code>noframes</code>
[10362590] |* '''Presentation related elements'''
[10362600] |** underline (<code>u</code>)
[10362610] |** strike-through (<code>del</code>)
[10362620] |** <code>center</code>
[10362630] |** <code>font</code>
[10362640] |** <code>basefont</code>
[10362650] |* '''Presentation related attributes'''
[10362660] |** <code>background</code> and <code>bgcolor</code> attributes for <code>body</code> element.
[10362670] |** <code>align</code> attribute on <code>div</code>, <code>form</code>, <code>paragraph</code> (p), and heading (<code>h1</code>...<code>h6</code>) elements
[10362680] |** <code>align</code>, <code>noshade</code>, <code>size</code>, and <code>width</code> attributes on <code>hr</code> element
[10362690] |** <code>align</code>, <code>border</code>, <code>vspace</code>, and <code>hspace</code> attributes on <code>img</code> and <code>object</code> elements
[10362700] |** <code>align</code> attribute on <code>legend</code> and <code>caption</code> elements
[10362710] |** <code>align</code> and <code>bgcolor</code> on <code>table</code> element
[10362720] |** <code>nowrap</code>, <code>bgcolor</code>, <code>width</code>, <code>height</code> on <code>td</code> and <code>th</code> elements
[10362730] |** <code>bgcolor</code> attribute on <code>tr</code> element
[10362740] |** <code>clear</code> attribute on <code>br</code> element
[10362750] |** <code>compact</code> attribute on <code>dl</code>, <code>dir</code> and <code>menu</code> elements
[10362760] |** <code>type</code>, <code>compact</code>, and <code>start</code> attributes on <code>ol</code> and <code>ul</code> elements
[10362770] |** <code>type</code> and <code>value</code> attributes on <code>li</code> element
[10362780] |** <code>width</code> attribute on <code>pre</code> element
[10362790] |* '''Additional elements in Transitional specification'''
[10362800] |** <code>menu</code> list (no substitute, though unordered list is recommended; may return in XHTML 2.0 specification)
[10362810] |** <code>dir</code> list (no substitute, though unordered list is recommended)
[10362820] |** <code>isindex</code> (element requires server-side support and is typically added to documents server-side)
[10362830] |** <code>applet</code> (deprecated in favor of object element)
[10362840] |* '''The <code>language</code> attribute on script element''' (presumably redundant with <code>type</code> attribute, though this is maintained for legacy reasons).
[10362850] |* '''Frame related entities'''
[10362860] |** <code>frameset</code> element (used in place of body for frameset DTD)
[10362870] |** <code>frame</code> element
[10362880] |** <code>iframe</code>
[10362890] |** <code>noframes</code>
[10362900] |** <code>target</code> attribute on <code>anchor</code>, client-side image-map (<code>imagemap</code>), <code>link</code>, <code>form</code>, and <code>base</code> elements
[10362910] |===Frameset versus transitional=== 
[10362920] |In addition to the above transitional differences, the frameset specifications (whether XHTML 1.0 or HTML 4.01) specifies a different content model: <source lang="html4strict"> <html> <head> <title></title> </head><frameset><frame></frame> <noframes> <body></body> </noframes></frameset> </html> </source>
[10362930] |=== Summary of flavors === 
[10362940] |As this list demonstrates, the loose flavors of the specification are maintained for legacy support.
[10362950] |However, contrary to popular misconceptions, the move to XHTML does not imply a removal of this legacy support.
[10362960] |Rather the X in XML stands for extensible and the W3C is modularizing the entire specification and opening it up to independent extensions.
[10362970] |The primary achievement in the move from XHTML 1.0 to XHTML 1.1 is the modularization of the entire specification.
[10362980] |The strict version of HTML is deployed in XHTML 1.1 through a set of modular extensions to the base XHTML 1.1 specification.
[10362990] |Likewise someone looking for the loose (transitional) or frameset specifications will find similar extended XHTML 1.1 support (much of it is contained in the legacy or frame modules).
[10363000] |The modularization also allows for separate features to develop on their own timetable.
[10363010] |So for example XHTML 1.1 will allow quicker migration to emerging XML standards such as [[MathML]] (a presentational and semantic math language based on XML) and [[XForms]] &mdash; a new highly advanced web-form technology to replace the existing HTML forms.
[10363020] |In summary, the HTML 4.01 specification primarily reined in all the various HTML implementations into a single clear written specification based on SGML.
[10363030] |XHTML 1.0, ported this specification, as is, to the new XML defined specification.
[10363040] |Next, XHTML 1.1 takes advantage of the extensible nature of XML and modularizes the whole specification.
[10363050] |XHTML 2.0 will be the first step in adding new features to the specification in a standards-body-based approach.
[10363060] |== Hypertext features not in HTML == 
[10363070] |HTML lacks some of the features found in earlier hypertext systems, such as [[typed link]]s, [[transclusion]], [[source tracking]], [[fat link]]s, and more.
[10363080] |Even some hypertext features that were in early versions of HTML have been ignored by most popular web browsers until recently, such as the [[Hyperlink|link]] element and in-browser Web page editing.
[10363090] |Sometimes Web services or browser manufacturers remedy these shortcomings.
[10363100] |For instance, [[wiki]]s and [[content management system]]s allow surfers to edit the Web pages they visit.
[10370010] |<article>IBM</article>
[10370020] |'''International Business Machines Corporation,''' abbreviated '''IBM''' and nicknamed '''"Big Blue,"''' , is a [[multinational corporation|multinational]] [[computer]] [[technology]] and [[consulting]] [[corporation]] headquartered in [[Armonk, New York]], [[United States of America|USA]].
[10370030] |The company is one of the few [[information technology]] companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century.
[10370040] |IBM manufactures and sells computer [[computer hardware|hardware]] and [[computer software|software]], and offers infrastructure services, [[Internet hosting service|hosting services]], and [[consultant|consulting services]] in areas ranging from [[mainframe computer]]s to [[nanotechnology]].
[10370050] |IBM has been known through most of its recent history as the world's largest computer company; with over 388,000 employees worldwide, IBM is the largest [[information technology]] employer in the world.
[10370060] |Despite falling behind [[Hewlett-Packard]] in total revenue since 2006, it remains the most profitable.
[10370070] |IBM holds more [[patent]]s than any other U.S. based technology company.
[10370080] |It has engineers and consultants in over 170 countries and [[IBM Research]] has eight laboratories worldwide.
[10370090] |IBM employees have earned three [[Nobel Prize]]s, four [[Turing Award]]s, five [[National Medal of Technology|National Medals of Technology]], and five [[National Medal of Science|National Medals of Science]].
[10370100] |As a chip maker, IBM has been among the [[Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders]] in past years, and in 2007 IBM ranked second in the list of largest software companies in the world.
[10370110] |==History== 
[10370120] |The company which became IBM was founded in 1896 as the Tabulating Machine Company by [[Herman Hollerith]], in [[Broome County, New York]] ([[Endicott, New York]], Where it still maintains very limited operations).
[10370130] |It was incorporated as [[Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR)]] on [[June 16]], [[1911]], and was listed on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] in 1916.
[10370140] |IBM adopted its current name in 1924, when it became a [[Fortune 500]] company.
[10370150] |In the 1950s, IBM became the dominant vendor in the emerging [[computer]] industry with the release of the [[IBM 701]] and other models in the [[IBM 700/7000 series]] of [[mainframes]].
[10370160] |The company's dominance became even more pronounced in the 1960s and 1970s with the [[IBM System/360]] and [[IBM System/370]] mainframes, however antitrust actions by the [[United States Department of Justice]], the rise of [[minicomputer]] companies like [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] and [[Data General]], and the introduction of the [[microprocessor]] all contributed to dilution of IBM's position in the industry, eventually leading the company to diversify into other areas including personal computers, software, and services.
[10370170] |In 1981 IBM introduced the [[IBM Personal Computer]] which is the original version and progenitor of the [[IBM PC compatible]] hardware [[platform (computing)|platform]].
[10370180] |Descendants of the IBM PC compatibles make up the majority of [[microcomputer]]s on the market today.
[10370190] |IBM sold its PC division to the Chinese company [[Lenovo]] on [[May 1]], [[2005]] for $655 million in cash and $600 million in Lenovo stock.
[10370200] |On [[January 25]], [[2007]], [[Ricoh]] announced purchase of IBM Printing Systems Division for $725 million and investment in 3-year joint venture to form a new Ricoh subsidiary, [[InfoPrint Solutions Company]]; Ricoh will own a 51% share, and IBM will own a 49% share in ''InfoPrint''.
[10370210] |===Controversies=== 
[10370220] |The author [[Edwin Black]] has alleged that, during [[World War II]], IBM CEO [[Thomas J. Watson]] used overseas subsidiaries to provide the [[Third Reich]] with [[Unit record equipment|unit record]] [[data processing]] machines, supplies and services that helped the [[Nazis]] to efficiently track down European Jews, with sizable profits for the company.
[10370230] |IBM denies that they had control over these subsidiaries after the Nazis took power.
[10370240] |A lawsuit against IBM based on these allegations was dismissed.
[10370250] |In support of the Allied war effort in World War II, from 1943 to 1945 IBM produced approximately 346,500 M1 Carbine (Caliber .30 carbine) light rifles for the U.S. Military.
[10370260] |==Current projects== 
[10370270] |===Eclipse=== 
[10370280] |Eclipse is a platform-independent, [[Java (programming language)|Java]]-based [[software framework]].
[10370290] |Eclipse was originally a [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] product developed by IBM as a successor of the [[VisualAge]] family of tools.
[10370300] |Eclipse has subsequently been released as [[free software|free]]/[[open source]] software under the [[Eclipse Public License]].
[10370310] |===developerWorks=== 
[10370320] |developerWorks is a website run by [[IBM]] for [[software developer]]s and IT professionals.
[10370330] |It contains a large number of how-to articles and tutorials, as well as software downloads and code samples, discussion forums, podcasts, blogs, wikis, and other resources for developers and technical professionals.
[10370340] |Subjects range from open, industry-standard technologies like [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[Linux]], [[Service-oriented architecture|SOA]] and [[web services]], [[web development]], [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]], [[PHP]], and [[XML]] to IBM's products ([[WebSphere]], [[Rational Software|Rational]], [[Lotus Software|Lotus]], [[Tivoli Systems, Inc.|Tivoli]] and [[IBM DB2|DB2]]).
[10370350] |In 2007 developerWorks was inducted into the Jolt Hall of Fame.
[10370360] |===alphaWorks=== 
[10370370] |alphaWorks is IBM's source for emerging software technologies.
[10370380] |These technologies include: 
[10370390] |*'''Flexible Internet Evaluation Report Architecture''' - A highly flexible architecture for the design, display, and reporting of Internet surveys.
[10370400] |*'''[[IBM History Flow tool|IBM History Flow Visualization Application]]''' - A tool for visualizing dynamic, evolving documents and the interactions of multiple collaborating authors.
[10370410] |*'''IBM [[Linux]] on POWER Performance Simulator''' - A tool that provides users of Linux on Power a set of performance models for IBM's POWER processors.
[10370420] |*'''Database File Archive And Restoration Management''' - An application for archiving and restoring hard disk files using file references stored in a database.
[10370430] |*'''Policy Management for Autonomic Computing''' - A policy-based autonomic management infrastructure that simplifies the automation of IT and business processes.
[10370440] |*'''FairUCE''' - A spam filter that verifies sender identity instead of filtering content.
[10370450] |*'''Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA) SDK''' - A Java SDK that supports the implementation, composition, and deployment of applications working with unstructured information.
[10370460] |*'''Accessibility Browser''' - A web-browser specifically designed to assist people with visual impairments, to be released as open-source software.
[10370470] |Also known as the "A-Browser," the technology will aim to eliminate the need for a mouse, relying instead completely on voice-controls, buttons and predefined shortcut keys.
[10370480] |===Semiconductor design and manufacturing=== 
[10370490] |Virtually all modern [[video game console|console gaming systems]] use [[IC design|microprocessors developed]] by IBM.
[10370500] |The [[Xbox 360]] contains the [[Xenon (processor)|Xenon]] tri-core processor, which was designed and produced by IBM in less than 24 months.
[10370510] |Sony's [[PlayStation 3]] features the [[Cell microprocessor| Cell BE microprocessor]] designed jointly by IBM, [[Toshiba]], and [[Sony]].
[10370520] |[[Nintendo]]'s [[History of video game consoles (seventh generation)|seventh-generation]] console, [[Wii]], features an IBM chip codenamed [[Broadway (microprocessor)|Broadway]].
[10370530] |The older [[Nintendo GameCube]] also utilizes the [[Gekko (microprocessor)|Gekko]] processor, designed by IBM.
[10370540] |In May 2002, IBM and Butterfly.net, Inc. announced the Butterfly Grid, a commercial [[grid computing|grid]] for the online video gaming market.
[10370550] |In March 2006, IBM announced separate agreements with Hoplon Infotainment, Online Game Services Incorporated (OGSI), and RenderRocket to provide on-demand content management and [[blade server]] computing resources.
[10370560] |===Open Client Offering=== 
[10370570] |IBM announced it will launch its new software, called "Open Client Offering" which is to run on [[Microsoft]]'s [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Linux]] and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[Macintosh]].
[10370580] |The company states that its new product allows businesses to offer employees a choice of using the same software on Windows and its alternatives.
[10370590] |This means that "Open Client Offering" is to cut costs of managing whether Linux or Apple relative to Windows.
[10370600] |There will be no necessity for companies to pay Microsoft for its licenses for operations since the operations will no longer rely on software which is Windows-based.
[10370610] |One of Microsoft's office alternatives is the Open Document Format software, whose development IBM supports.
[10370620] |It is going to be used for several tasks like: word processing, presentations, along with collaboration with [[Lotus Notes]], instant messaging and blog tools as well as an [[Internet Explorer]] competitor – the [[Firefox]] web browser.
[10370630] |IBM plans to install Open Client on 5 percent of its desktop PCs.
[10370640] |===UC2: Unified Communications and Collaboration=== 
[10370650] |'''UC2''' (''Unified Communications and Collaboration'') is an IBM and [[Cisco]] joint project based on [[Eclipse (software)|Eclipse]] and [[OSGi]].
[10370660] |It will offer the numerous Eclipse application developers a unified platform for an easier work environment.
[10370670] |The software based on UC2 platform will provide major enterprises with easy-to-use communication solutions, such as the Lotus based [[Sametime]].
[10370680] |In the future the Sametime users will benefit from such additional functions as [[click-to-call]] and [[Voicemail|voice mailing]].
[10370690] |===Internal programs=== 
[10370700] |[[Extreme Blue]] is a company initiative that uses experienced IBM engineers, talented interns, and business managers to develop high-value technology.
[10370710] |The project is designed to analyze emerging business needs and the technologies that can solve them.
[10370720] |These projects mostly involve rapid-prototyping of high-profile software and hardware projects.
[10370730] |In May 2007, IBM unveiled [[Project Big Green]] -- a re-direction of $1 billion per year across its businesses to increase energy efficiency.
[10370740] |==IBM Software Group== 
[10370750] |This group is one of the major divisions of IBM.
[10370760] |The various brands include: 
[10370770] |* [[IBM Information Management Software|Information Management Software]] &mdash; database servers and tools, text analytics, content management, business process management and business intelligence.
[10370780] |* [[Lotus Software]] &mdash; Groupware, collaboration and business software.
[10370790] |Acquired in 1995.
[10370800] |* [[Rational Software]] &mdash; Software development and application lifecycle management.
[10370810] |Acquired in 2002.
[10370820] |* [[Tivoli Software]] &mdash; Systems management.
[10370830] |Acquired in 1996.
[10370840] |* [[IBM WebSphere|WebSphere]] &mdash; Integration and application infrastructure software.
[10370850] |==Environmental record== 
[10370860] |IBM has a long history of dealing with its environmental problems.
[10370870] |It established a corporate policy on environmental protection in 1971, with the support of a comprehensive global environmental management system.
[10370880] |According to IBM’s stats, its total hazardous waste decreased by 44 percent over the past five years, and has decreased by 94.6 percent since 1987.
[10370890] |IBM's total hazardous waste calculation consists of waste from both non-manufacturing and manufacturing operations.
[10370900] |Waste from manufacturing operations includes waste recycled in closed-loop systems where process chemicals are recovered and for subsequent reuse, rather than just disposing and using new chemical materials.
[10370910] |Over the years, IBM has redesigned processes to eliminate almost all closed loop recycling and now uses more environmental-friendly materials in their place.
[10370920] |IBM was recognized as one of the "Top 20 Best Workplaces for Commuters" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ([[EPA]]) in 2005.
[10370930] |This was to recognize the Fortune 500 companies that provided their employees with excellent commuter benefits that helped reduce traffic and air pollution.
[10370940] |However, the birthplace of IBM, [[Endicott, New York|Endicott]], suffered IBM's pollution for decades.
[10370950] |IBM used liquid cleaning agents in its circuit board assembly operation for more than two decades, and six spills and leaks incidents were recorded, including one 1979 leak of 4,100 gallons from an underground tank.
[10370960] |These left behind volatile organic compounds in the town's soil and aquifer.
[10370970] |Trace elements of volatile organic compounds have been identified in the Endicott’s drinking water, but the levels are within regulatory limits.
[10370980] |Also, from 1980, IBM has pumped out 78,000 gallons of chemicals, including trichloroethane, Freon, benzene and perchloroethene to the air and allegedly caused several cancer cases among the villagers.
[10370990] |IBM Endicott has been identified by the Department of Environmental Conservation as the major source of pollution, though traces of contaminants from a local dry cleaner and other polluters were also found.
[10371000] |Despite the amount of pollutant, state health officials cannot say whether air or water pollution in Endicott has actually caused any health problems.
[10371010] |Village officials say tests show that the water is safe to drink.
[10371020] |=== Solar power === 
[10371030] |Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd. (TOK) and IBM are collaborating to establish new, low-cost methods for bringing the next generation of solar energy products to market,this is, [[CIGS]] (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide) [[solar cell]] modules.
[10371040] |Use of [[thin film]] technology, such as CIGS, has great promise in reducing the overall cost of solar cells and further enabling their widespread adoption.
[10371050] |IBM is exploring four main areas of photovoltaic research: using current technologies to develop cheaper and more efficient [[silicon]] [[solar cell]]s, developing new solution processed [[thin film]] photovoltaic devices, [[concentrator photovoltaics]], and future generation photovoltaic architectures based upon [[nanostructures]] such as [[semiconductor quantum dot]]s and [[nanowire]]s.
[10371060] |Dr. Supratik Guha is the leading scientist in IBM photovoltaics.
[10371070] |==Corporate culture of IBM== 
[10371080] |'''Big Blue''' is a nickname for IBM; several theories exist regarding its origin.
[10371090] |One theory, substantiated by people who worked for IBM at the time, is that IBM field reps coined the term in the 1960s, referring to the color of the mainframes IBM installed in the 1960s and early 1970s.
[10371100] |"All blue" was a term used to describe a loyal IBM customer, and business writers later picked up the term.
[10371110] |Another theory suggests that Big Blue simply refers to the Company's [[logo]].
[10371120] |A third theory suggests that Big Blue refers to a former company dress code that required many IBM employees to wear only white shirts and many wore blue suits.
[10371130] |In any event, IBM keyboards, typewriters, and some other manufactured devices, have played on the "Big Blue" concept, using the color for enter keys and carriage returns.
[10371140] |===Sales=== 
[10371150] |IBM has often been described as having a sales-centric or a sales-oriented business culture.
[10371160] |Traditionally, many IBM executives and general managers are chosen from the sales force.
[10371170] |The current CEO, [[Sam Palmisano]], for example, joined the company as a salesman and, unusually for CEOs of major corporations, has no MBA or postgraduate qualification.
[10371180] |Middle and top management are often enlisted to give direct support to salesmen when pitching sales to important customers.
[10371190] |===The uniform=== 
[10371200] |A dark (or gray) suit, white shirt, and a "sincere" tie was the public uniform for IBM employees for most of the 20th Century.
[10371210] |During IBM's management transformation in the 1990s, CEO [[Lou Gerstner]] relaxed these codes, normalizing the dress and behavior of IBM employees to resemble their counterparts in other large technology companies.
[10371220] |===IBM company values and "Jam"=== 
[10371230] |In 2003, IBM embarked on an ambitious project to rewrite company values.
[10371240] |Using its ''Jam'' technology, the company hosted Intranet-based online discussions on key business issues with 50,000 employees over 3 days.
[10371250] |The discussions were analyzed by sophisticated text analysis software (eClassifier) to mine online comments for themes.
[10371260] |As a result of the 2003 Jam, the company values were updated to reflect three modern business, marketplace and employee views: "Dedication to every client's success", "Innovation that matters - for our company and for the world", "Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships".
[10371270] |In 2004, another Jam was conducted during which 52,000 employees exchanged best practices for 72 hours.
[10371280] |They focused on finding actionable ideas to support implementation of the values previously identified.
[10371290] |A new post-Jam Ratings event was developed to allow IBMers to select key ideas that support the values.
[10371300] |The board of directors cited this Jam when awarding Palmisano a pay rise in the spring of 2005.
[10371310] |In July and September 2006, Palmisano launched another jam called [https://www.globalinnovationjam.com/ InnovationJam].
[10371320] |InnovationJam was the largest online brainstorming session ever with more than 150,000 participants from 104 countries.
[10371330] |The participants were IBM employees, members of IBM employees' families, universities, partners, and customers.
[10371340] |InnovationJam was divided in two sessions (one in July and one in September) for 72 hours each and generated more than 46,000 ideas.
[10371350] |In November 2006, IBM declared that they will invest $US 100 million in the 10 best ideas from InnovationJam.
[10371360] |===Open source=== 
[10371370] |IBM has been influenced by the [[Open Source Initiative]], and began supporting [[Linux]] in 1998.
[10371380] |The company invests billions of dollars in services and software based on [[Linux]] through the IBM [[Linux Technology Center]], which includes over 300 [[Linux kernel]] developers.
[10371390] |IBM has also released code under different [[open-source license]]s, such as the platform-independent software framework [[Eclipse (software)|Eclipse]] (worth approximately US$40 million at the time of the donation) and the [[Java (programming language)|Java]]-based [[relational database management system]] (RDBMS) [[Apache Derby]].
[10371400] |IBM's open source involvement has not been trouble-free, however (see ''[[SCO v. IBM]]'').
[10371410] |== Corporate affairs == 
[10371420] |=== Diversity and workforce issues === 
[10371430] |IBM's efforts to promote workforce diversity and equal opportunity date back at least to [[World War I]], when the company hired disabled veterans.
[10371440] |IBM was the only technology company ranked in ''Working Mother'' magazine's Top 10 for 2004, and one of two technology companies in 2005 (the other company being Hewlett-Packard).
[10371450] |On [[September 21]], [[1953]], [[Thomas J. Watson]], the CEO at the time, sent out a very controversial letter to all IBM employees stating that IBM needed to hire the best people, regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or gender.
[10371460] |In 1984, IBM added sexual preference.
[10371470] |He stated that this would give IBM a competitive advantage because IBM would then be able to hire talented people its competitors would turn down.
[10371480] |The company has traditionally resisted [[trade union|labor union]] organizing, although unions represent some IBM workers outside the United States.
[10371490] |In the 1990s, two major [[pension]] program changes, including a conversion to a cash balance plan, resulted in an employee [[class action]] lawsuit alleging [[age discrimination]].
[10371500] |IBM employees won the lawsuit and arrived at a partial settlement, although appeals are still underway.
[10371510] |IBM also settled a major overtime class-action lawsuit in 2006.
[10371520] |Historically IBM has had a good reputation of long-term staff retention with few large scale layoffs.
[10371530] |In more recent years there have been a number of broad sweeping cuts to the workforce as IBM attempts to adapt to changing market conditions and a declining profit base.
[10371540] |After posting weaker than expected revenues in the first quarter of 2005, IBM eliminated 14,500 positions from its workforce, predominantly in Europe.
[10371550] |In May 2005, IBM Ireland said to staff that the MD(Micro-electronics Division) facility was closing down by the end of 2005 and offered a settlement to staff.
[10371560] |However, all staff that wished to stay with the Company were redeployed within IBM Ireland.
[10371570] |The production moved to a company called Amkor in Singapore who purchased IBM's Microelectronics business in Singapore and is widely agreed that IBM promised this Company a full load capacity in return for the purchase of the facility.
[10371580] |On [[June 8]] [[2005]], IBM Canada Ltd. eliminated approximately 700 positions.
[10371590] |IBM projects these as part of a strategy to "rebalance" its portfolio of professional skills & businesses.
[10371600] |[[IBM India]] and other IBM offices in [[China]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Costa Rica]] have been witnessing a recruitment boom and steady growth in number of employees due to lower wages.
[10371610] |On [[October 10]] [[2005]], IBM became the first major company in the world to formally commit to not using [[genetic testing|genetic information]] in its employment decisions.
[10371620] |This came just a few months after IBM announced its support of the [[National Geographic Society]]'s [[The Genographic Project|Genographic Project]].
[10371630] |==== Gay rights ==== 
[10371640] |IBM provides employees' same-sex partners with benefits and provides an anti-discrimination clause.
[10371650] |The [[Human Rights Campaign]] has consistently rated IBM 100% on its index of gay-friendliness since 2003 (in 2002, the year it began compiling its report on major companies, IBM scored 86%).
[10371660] |===Logos=== 
[10371670] |[[Logo]]s designed in the 1970s tended to be sensitive to the technical limitations of photocopiers, which were then being widely deployed.
[10371680] |A logo with large solid areas tended to be poorly copied by copiers in the 1970s, so companies preferred logos that avoided large solid areas.
[10371690] |The 1972 IBM logos are an example of this tendency.
[10371700] |With the advent of digital copiers in the mid-1980s this technical restriction had largely disappeared; at roughly the same time, the 13-bar logo was abandoned for almost the opposite reason it was difficult to render accurately on the low-resolution digital printers (240 dots per inch) of the time.
[10371710] |===Board of directors=== 
[10371720] |Current members of the [[board of directors]] of IBM are: 
[10371730] |*Cathleen Black President, [[Hearst Corporation|Hearst Magazines]]
[10371740] |*[[William Brody]] President, [[Johns Hopkins University]]
[10371750] |*[[Ken Chenault]] Chairman and CEO, [[American Express]] Company
[10371760] |*Juergen Dormann Chairman of the Board, ABB Ltd
[10371770] |*[[Michael Eskew]] Chairman and CEO, [[United Parcel Service]], Inc.
[10371780] |*[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] President, [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]]
[10371790] |*Minoru Makihara Senior Corporate Advisor and former Chairman, [[Mitsubishi Corporation]]
[10371800] |*Lucio Noto Managing Partner, Midstream Partners LLC
[10371810] |*[[James W. Owens]] Chairman and CEO, [[Caterpillar Inc.]]
[10371820] |*[[Samuel J. Palmisano]] Chairman, President and CEO, IBM
[10371830] |*Joan Spero President, [[Doris Duke]] Charitable Foundation
[10371840] |*Sidney Taurell, Chairman and CEO, [[Eli Lilly and Company]]
[10371850] |*[[Lorenzo Zambrano]] Chairman and CEO, [[Cemex]] SAB de CV