Busch Gardens

There have been three other Busch Gardens parks which have closed:. Some consider the PDA to be a form of appliance, since most consumers do not make use of them as genetral purpose computing platforms. The Busch Gardens parks were spoofed in The Simpsons as the Duff Gardens. Some examples of computer functions that are often available as appliances are:. For 15 years running, Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been voted "The Most Beautiful Theme Park in America" by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. A home applicance may have a motor, but the motor can only be used within the appliance's function, and not for other purposes; computer appliances that use a general purpose computer platform hide the operating system commands and functions from the user, and only expose the application interface. The park is divided into seven sections, each themed to a different European country. Home appliances usually have a button or dial interface designed to allow the user to adjust its functions within a limited set of parameters; computing appliances have a limited user interface to configure the device within parameters allowed by the vendor, while underlying aspects of the device that support its function are only configurable by vendor technicians.

The park was originally tagged "The Olde Country." Attractions at this park include Curse of the DarKastle, Alpengeist, Escape from Pompeii, Apollo's Chariot, Loch Ness Monster, and Big Bad Wolf. Home appliances are generally "closed and sealed" -- not serviceable by the owner; in computer appliances, the hardware box is usually sealed and not repaiarable or upgradable to the user. Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened on May 5, 1975, and has a European theme. The term "appliance" came to be applied to these devices because of their similarity to home appliances. The theme park is located away from the downtown area in the northern part of the Tampa city limits; it borders the town limits of Temple Terrace. Again, the two methods might be mixed -- an ASIC print server might allow an optional hard drive for job queueing, or a Linux-based device may encode Linux in firmware, so that a hard drive is not needed to load the operating system. Attractions include: Rhino Rally, Montu, Kumba, Python, Scorpion, Gwazi, Edge of Africa, and the new vertical dive coaster SheiKra. Some appliances are solid state, while others use a hard drive to load an operating system.

The park was originally tagged as "The Dark Continent." The theme park is one of America's largest zoological institutions, with more than 2,500 animals in its collection. For example, a VPN appliance might contain a limited access software firewall running on Linux, with an encryption ASIC to speed up VPN access. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the first theme park opened by Busch Entertainment Corp., opened on March 31, 1959, and has an African theme. Sometimes, these three techniques are mixed. One of the parks is in Tampa Bay, Florida and the other is in Williamsburg, Virginia. Linux, and BSD to a lesser degree, has become the operating system of choice for this type of appliance. Busch Gardens is the name of two theme parks in the United States owned and operated by Busch Entertainment Corporation, the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch. Since the underlying computing architecture is locked down and essentially invisible, it becomes difficult to discern that the device really functions on top of general purpose hardware and operating systems.

. 3) Off the shelf computers and operating systems are used, but the user interface and "box" are designed so the user cannot access anything on the computer, except for the application interface that the vendor has created. Houston, Texas (1971-1972). The more this "locked down" approach is carried out, the closer this type of device comes to appearing like an ASIC device. Van Nuys, California (1964-1979). The consumer may also be restricted to a small group of configuration commands, while the more deatailed and lower level functions of the operating system are only available to the vendor. Pasadena, California (1905-1937). Sometimes, the device is also sealed, so the consumer has no access to reinstall the operating system or replace it with another operaing system.

Cisco's IOS is an example; the Unix-like operating system has firewall functions and network/firewall configuration commands built into it. 2) The vendor uses or creates a general-purpose computer, and designs a new operating system that integrates the application into the operating system. The manufacturer often has some way of accessing deeper configuration mechanisms. The device has a limited interface, usually terminal console or web-based, to allow some basic configuration by the consumer.

1) The vendor builds an ASIC, so there is no separate "software" or operating system. This has taken three forms:. Instead of installing firewall software on top of a general purpose computer/operating system, the engineers have built computers that are designed specifically for the task. Specialized applications have recently started to use a different model.

An e-mail server was just an e-mail application running on top of Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, or some other opearting system, on a computer that was not designed specifically for that application. The consumer (whether home computer user or the IT department of a company) bought a computer, installed the operating system or configured a pre-installed operating system, and then installed one or more applications on top of the operating system. Traditionally, all computing functions were written as software applications running on top of a general-purpose operating system. Or, a washing machine and dryer may share information about load characteristics (gentle/normal, light/full), and synchronize their finish times so the wet laundry does not have to wait before being put in the dryer.

For instance, energy distribution can be managed more evenly so that when the washing machine is on, the oven can ge into a delayed start mode, or vice versa. There is an increasing trend to network home appliances together, and combine their controls and key functions. The word appliance has several different areas of meaning, all usually referring to a device with a narrow function:. Google sells a search appliance incorporating its search technology for use with corporate computing networks and databases).

search engines (e.g. GPS map/driving direction devices, especially when installed in a car. Unitrends sells a data protection appliance incorporating its bare-metal restore software). backup (e.g.

file servers (network attached storage, or NAS). e-Mail filters for spam and viruses, or S/MIME message management. VPN. encryption.

firewall. A fire engine or fire truck (British English). A certain class of computer products, where the device is has a specific function, and limited ability to configure. Such items as toilets and sinks are not appliances, but plumbing fixtures, because they operate only with water and not with energy input.

These are grouped into two categories: small appliances and major appliances. Another class of objects includes items that accomplish routine household tasks, using electricity or some other energy input. One class of objects includes items that are custom-fitted to an individual for the purpose of correction of a physical problem, such as prosthetic and orthotic appliances.