Appearing in the third and final series of the iconic, multicoloured adventure spoof, Craig’s portrayal of Batgirl was every bit as charming, self effacing and fun to watch as her on-screen co-stars Adam West and Burt Ward.
The creation of Craig’s iconic role was a rare example of synergy between the disparate words of television and comic book fiction. In the comics, a character called Bat-Girl (Betty Kane), who was designed as a love interest for Robin, had appeared at the beginning of the decade, but been abandoned by the series creators just a few years later. However, the new version of the character (this time with the civilian identity of Barbara Gordon), created by DC staffers Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino (at the request of editor Julius Schwartz and Batman producer William Dozier), was fresh, funky and fun, as well as an instant hit with the fanbase. The new Batgirl debuted in the comic books in January of 1967 and then in the TV show later that year.
Although the series was cancelled after season 3, Batgirl became an icon of 60’s television, as well as an integral part of the comic books, her four colour character formed, at least in part, by the spirited performance of Yvonne Craig.
The role came to define Craig and, in later years, she would admit to being surprised by the show’s enduring popularity.
"I really didn’t think we were making Gone With the Wind," she once said. "Just an episodic TV series that would be over when it was over and then it would never rerun againâ€.
Instead, millions of people around the world enjoyed Craig’s performance, especially young girls, many of whom saw the character as a brave, empowering figure in an era typified by submissive female roles in film and television.
Craig was comfortable, if slightly demure, about being a role model. When asked about the subject later in her life, she simply said, "I meet women today who tell me that they grew up viewing Batgirl as an important role model. If they choose to know me in that context, well, I’ll take it."
Initially trained as a ballet dancer, Craig worked at The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and used her skills as a dancer to perform most, if not all, of her own stunts as Batgirl.
Away from Gotham City, Craig also acted alongside Elvis Presley in two of the singer’s movies, It Happened At The Worlds Fair (1963) and Kissin Cousins (1964). She appeared in the third season of Star Trek as Marta, the Orion Slave Girl from Series 3’s Whom Gods Destroy and portrayed a ballerina in Austin Powers favorite movie In Like Flint (1967).
A prolific TV actress, Craig also appeared in episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E, The Wild Wild West, My Favorite Martian, Wagon Train, It Takes A Thief, Kojak, The Six Million Dollar Man and Starsky & Hutch, amongst (many) others.
In later life, Craig worked as an estate agent and then made a living in the prepaid phone card business, however she didn’t give up acting entirely and is perhaps best known by younger fans for lending her vocal talents to the Nickelodeon cartoon series Olivia.
In a heartfelt statement to Yvonnes many fans, Craigs family praised her resilience, sense of humour, business acumen and charity work. She will be missed.
Bluetooth technology has been designed for many different purposes and situations. Consequently, when people want to buy a bluetooth ear piece for a specific situation, there are some things that they will need to consider. Specifically, based on their specific situation and circumstances, they will need to review the best style of bluetooth earpiece that is available on the market today. Since there are different styles that have been made for for one or more reasons, it's important for each individual to do their research to see which style can accommodate their needs. It is also important to note that the kind the person purchases must be comfortable so that they can wear them for an extended period of time and they fit the devices that they will be used for. Listed below are three of the bluetooth styles that’s currently offered by manufactures all over the United States and abroad.
Bluetooth ear pieces for Mobile Phones
Most people take their mobile phones wherever they go. To work, school, church, parties and all kinds of other events that they may attend. Because these phones have become commonplace in many environments, people have a need to handle them and talk to others when their hands are free. This is also a great reason for individuals who work in certain settings to make sure that they are buying the right style that will best fit their needs.
One specific style that some people may choose is the ear cradle style of headphone. In fact, this kind of bluetooth earpiece is idea for people who want to spend their time working out and performing all kinds of other extracurricular activities. People are also encouraged to buy this kind of style because they may be driving when they receive a telephone call from a family member. Or, they may be working at the job typing a memo or walking around taking care of wide hosts of other kinds of activities that are not conducive to holding a mobile phone by hand to the ear. Whatever the situation, this style of bluetooth earpiece technology is great for many different situations and purposes.
Bluetooth ear pieces and Headsets for Music Lovers
In addition to the cradle style for mobile phones, people should also review other styles as well. One specific style that is also functional in many different settings is the DJ over the head headphones. This style has been designed for the serious music lovers, especially those who can appreciate making distinctions in sounds and beats that come from specific musical instruments like the bass, violin, trumpet and other popular instruments. For those who like and prefer this kind, they will also find that this is one of the best styles for keeping out outside noises that normally interfere with a person’s overall entertainment experience. Also, because they are wireless, they are great for people who like to stay mobile during the day instead of remaining in a sedentary position.
Bluetooth Ear Pieces for IPODs
In some situations, people may want to use bluetooth technology with their IPODs. Therefore, they should consider buying an additional popular style bluetooth earpiece technology. This style is known to be very popular, specifically because it is similar to an actual earbud. An ear bud is also another excellent choice for people who want to remain both active and hassle free. Though this is a great choice for people who like to remain mobile in a wide variety of different situations, one of its main draw backs is that they tend to fall out of the individuals ear. Which means, they can also be lost since it lacks additional support to keep them stabilized inside the ear.
Entrusting security of a large bluegrass music festival to volunteers is an act of faith; handing us 2 way radio equipment gave us the power and connection to do the job right. For the price of a few day shifts and at least one overnight watch until sunrise, we security volunteers got to enjoy some of the finest concerts and classes in a beautiful mountain setting. When disaster struck -- twice -- we didn't need extensive training to be effective, just a fully charged battery.
First Challenge: Nice Guys Slide Off Dirt Roads
The first disaster was minor but challenging. A courteous pickup truck driver had moved over for oncoming traffic on a hillside dirt access road and slid off the edge just enough to get stuck. Calling for a tow was a perfect use of our radios that otherwise would have required sending a runner back down to the main tent. As the tow truck positioned itself to lift the truck back onto the road, we found a second radio use: solving problems by committee remotely!
Since no one outranked another, we wound up addressing the problem from several angles: "the road is blocked," said one, "halt the cars coming up." "I don't have authority to control traffic," said another. "There's no turning around, so they'll all be stuck if you don't," said the first. In the end, with quick radio communication instead of breathless runners doing a relay, a dead-end country traffic jam was avoided and the truck was rescued.
Second Challenge: Set Them Up and Blow Them Down
As if that wasn't excitement enough, on another festival day a mountain thunderstorm descended with hurricane-force winds. By the time the blow was over, camping and performance tents were scattered and destroyed, the entire area was drenched, and nearly every portable restroom was knocked over. The practical people running the event organized crews, called the restroom vendor, and went about setting everything right.
The festival proceeded with minimal interruption from the storm: the radios not only made recovery possible, but made getting back on track effective and timely. It's a good thing we had plenty of radios and volunteers to coordinate the activities. We got updated information to performers and attendees, and responded to issues requiring executive decisions or medical assistance as quickly as possible.
In addition to keeping the festival going, ensuring everyone's health and safety, and streamlining decision processes, using radio gave the festival a professional appearance with a large contingent of lightly trained volunteers. Event attendees could enjoy their week of mountain music and head home feeling that the organizers had great acts on stage and a team they could trust behind the scenes. Our teamwork contributed to a solid event reputation and growing attendance numbers year to year.
In a remote area where cell phone users had to find a good spot to get a connection, 2 way radios were the perfect solution for making festival volunteers efficient and effective. Bad luck and bad weather was no match for a dedicated crew that could work together over the airwaves. For the lonely overnight watchman role, the radio was a reassurance that he wasn't alone watching over the festival fans under the starry mountain sky.
This article was originally posted on thestage.co.uk and they highlight that the use of earpieces for prompting actors is increasing, this very simple technology used in this way makes people uncomfortable. But why? Earpieces these days are so small that people standing really close to the wearer would have literally be standing on top of them to see it, let alone be 15m away. Maybe it’s the thought that the actor should be able to remember their lines? or that bringing undue technology into the theatre would decrease the value of it?
Car crash theatre. That's how a colleague described Al Pacino's return to the Broadway stage in David Mamet's new play, China Doll.
For those who may not have been following the story, Pacino's return to Broadway has been blighted with problems â€" most notably, reports that he cannot remember his lines. Teleprompters have been installed around the stage and Pacino wears an earpiece, even after the production's opening was delayed.
Pacino is not the only star on Broadway this season getting help with his lines. If reports are to be believed, Bruce Willis in Misery is also being given a helpful prompt or two through an earpiece, as are Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones in The Gin Game.
However, Pacino seems to be the main focus of press criticism and a large part of me feels sorry for him. Undoubtedly, he is under intense pressure â€" despite past success on Broadway, he is in danger of being remembered best, if not most fondly, for China Doll.
The sign outside the Schoenfeld Theater quotes a line from Pacino’s character in the play: “Can you just tell me what’s happening?†In the circumstances, it seems both ironic and ill-judged. Meanwhile, around the corner at the St James Theatre, the comedy musical Something Rotten has put up a cheeky, if somewhat venomous, sign on its canopy, saying: “All actors promise to memorize most of their linesâ€.
For any actor, it is terrifying to think that one day, no longer being able to remember your lines, you may not be able to work. The interesting point about this situation is that the media have been far more forgiving of other actors: Tyson and Jones have been treated as beloved national treasures. At 90 and 84 years old respectively, they have a few years on 75-year-old Pacino and therefore it's may be understandable that they require prompts. A similar response greeted Angela Lansbury who, in Blithe Spirit on Broadway and in the West End, wore a cleverly designed hat which incorporated ear pieces.
Despite criticism of Pacino's use of prompting devices, China Doll has not seen a slump at the box office. Audiences seem to be happy to pay top-dollar ticket prices to see their favourite stars on stage whether they know their lines or not. Does this mean we accept that teleprompters and earpieces will become inevitable in theatres? Has a precedent now been set for Hollywood actors to slip into a play during a gap in their moviemaking schedules believing they don’t need to spend time learning lines? Will audiences continue to tolerate this because of that star’s status and the opportunity to see them live?
I hope not: knowing lines is a fundamental skill in the craft of acting. I want to see star actors on stage but I also want to see and remember them at their best. And the reporting of apparent production problems does nothing to help a theatre industry already faced with an audience which may expect or hope for a disaster on stage to tweet about; the resulting social media noise overshadows anything else to do with the play itself.
China Doll is â€" on paper â€" a hit show, with its headline star bringing in high weekly grosses that will likely see the play recoup. But in the long term that should not be the only way to judge the success of a production.Teleprompters and earpieces are changing theatre, and not necessarily for the better
The BBC are on of the most trusted news sources on the planet, Â so when stories fly around about the next iphone dropping it's 3.5mm jack plug and moving to using their own lightning port or bluetooth. We think this is one of the usual stories that flies around before they release any new apple product, but when the BBC picks it up we take note! and this brilliant article shows that the common 3.5mm jack plug has a more of a history than we knew.
After rumours that Apple was going to get rid of the headphone jack in its imminent iPhone 7, more than 200,000 people have signed a petition asking them to reconsider. This humble plug is a rare example of technology that has stood the test of time, writes Chris Stokel-Walker.
For what remains an unconfirmed rumour, a lot of people are upset about the new iPhone. It's alleged that Apple will be scrapping the 3.5mm socket, instead leaving headphones to be plugged into the "Lightning" port - the company's own design of socket.
Cynics have pointed out that while this might enable iPhones to be slightly thinner, it will render many headphones useless and force manufacturers to pay Apple a fee to use their Lightning plugs on products.
The petition says Apple's purported move would "singlehandedly create mountains of electronic waste".
Image copyrightiStockIt will also be a blow for a piece of technology that has been remarkably resilient. The 3.5mm headphone jack is essentially a 19th Century bit of kit - it is a miniaturised version of the classic quarter-inch jack (6.35mm), which is said to go back as far as 1878.
Both sizes of plug have a nubbin of metal that nips in before flaring out just before the tip. "It needed to be something that could be inserted and removed very easily, but still make a secure connection," says Charlie Slee, a member of the Audio Engineering Society.
Initially the quarter-inch jack was used by operators in old-fashioned telephone switchboards, plugging and unplugging connections. "The standard has always been quarter-inch jacks," says Dr Simon Hall, head of music technology at Birmingham City University.
Image copyrightGetty Images
Image caption1919: Switchboard operators at the telephone switchboard of the House of Commons, London"Professional headphones in studios, guitar leads - they all run off quarter-inch jacks."
Of course, as miniaturisation changed audio equipment, so the plug had to have a smaller alternative.
The 3.5mm version quickly became popular, spread by the use of personal headsets on transistor radios in the middle of the 20th Century.
The jack is known as a tip, ring, sleeve - or TRS - connection. The "tip" transfers audio into the left-hand earplug of a stereo headphone set, and the "ring" the right. The "sleeve" is the ground or "shield". This set-up is stereo - the original mono plugs had only tip and sleeve. Certain modern plugs have a second ring to allow control of a headset microphone or volume.
Image copyrightiStock/BBC"Technically speaking, it's not a bad design," Slee says of the utilitarian, adaptable design. "If the parts are made cheaply they can break and lose contact, but ultimately it does the job it was designed to do."
And yet, if the rumours - which Apple is not commenting on - are true, it bodes ill for the 3.5mm jack.
Apple has a track record of being early to abolish things which then start to disappear from rival products too. It killed the 3.5 inch floppy disk early. It also was among the first to remove optical drives.
But those signing the petition on the Sum of Us site and social media users have suggested that Apple's motive is greed.
Image copyrightAlamyThe potential grief in a switch to Apple's proprietary Lightning connector is obvious.
"It feels painful because you've got hundreds of millions of devices out there that are using the old standard," says Horace Dediu, a technology analyst with in-depth knowledge of Apple.
If you're using £1,000 headphones with your iPhone at the moment, you're going to be slightly cross.
And Charlie Slee thinks consumers are also concerned about ceding control to Apple. "People are mainly upset because they like to think they're in control of their technology," he says.
But this sense of the consumer in control is misplaced, Slee says. "Actually, the contrary is true: The big technology companies have always been in control of how you listen to music and watch videos."
The headphones in history
Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionScientist Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931) listens to his phonograph through a primitive headphoneThe "primitive headphones" (as above) used for listening to early phonographs were simple acoustic tubes.
Headphones are really just ordinary telephone receivers adapted to fit a headset, says John Liffen, Curator of Communications at the Science Museum. The headset usually had just one receiver for a single ear.
The first headsets with a receiver for each ear were just called "telephones". The name was supplanted by "headphones" by the beginning of the 1920s when they were being widely used to listen to broadcasting via crystal sets.
For many years headphone receivers were the simple "Bell" type with permanent magnet, coil and diaphragm. Today's high-end 'phones are considerably more sophisticated, similar to miniature loudspeakers.
"I think it's a storm in a teacup," adds Simon Hall. His reasoning? Having a standardised headphone jack on mobile phones and MP3 players is only a relatively recent luxury.
"If you look at the previous generation of phones, things like Nokia phones, you had to have an adapter," he reasons. "If you want to connect headphones to professional equipment, you also need a professional adapter."
As recently as 2010, Samsung phones came equipped with a proprietary headphone port not dissimilar to Apple's rumoured replacement for the 3.5mm socket, the "Lightning" port.
This isn't the first time Apple has aroused ire. Way back in 2007, with the first iPhone, it received complaints that the headphone jack was sunk into the casing.
One technology wag called it "a great business plan - break an important device function, and sell the solution for fun and profit." The problem was fixed when Apple released its second iPhone model in 2008.
But Apple is known for evolving technology: "They got rid of DVDs, they got rid of the floppy disk drive; they got rid of parallel ports, they're eventually getting rid of USB. This is how they move," says Dediu, the Apple-watcher. He reckons the switch to Apple's proprietary connection augurs a planned move to headphones that are akin to the Apple Watch.
Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionMick Jagger of The Rolling Stones in a London recording studio in 1968Owners of "old" headphones may find themselves having to buy adapters.
Dediu forecasts a rapid change. "What Apple does is catalyse transitions," he says. "It would have happened anyway, but if it wasn't for Apple it'd have taken 10-15 years, but now it'll happen in 5-7 years."
That the time may have come for the 3.5mm jack to be replaced shouldn't come as such a shock, believes Dediu. "Studying Moore's Law and the history of technology, it's clear we're not going to stick around with something analogue for long," he says. "It's almost puzzling that it's taken so long."
We will see a huge change in the way we access the the internet in the future when 5G is here, at speeds that only big businesses and high level internet companies see at the moment, we will have this to hand on our smart phones and tablets. When 5G is hundreds of times faster than any of the UK's broadbands, households will be looking to the mobile phone companies to supply their home broadband.
A 5G future is no longer a distant one, but an upcoming reality. High quality videos of more than 10Mbps can be served simultaneously to 100 users even in a train running at up to 500km/h. People can experience data rates that are 100 times faster than currently available technologies.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of Korea will hold a "5G technology demonstration" on the 18th December, 2015. It will demonstrate future SNS (social network service) and several 5G core technologies such as "millimeter wave", "Mobile Hot-spot Network", "in-band full duplex" and so on.
5G is the next generation wireless technology that would provide even faster data rates, even lower delays, and even more devices connected than 4G. Accordingly, distinct and differentiated applications are expected in 5G.
ETRI's "future SNS" is a kind of trial service model to apply 5G technologies that provides dynamic user-centric connection to neighboring people, things and spaces. It is characterized by instant content-sharing between users, communication with neighboring things, and Giga-bps(Gbps)-grade video applications in vehicles.
5G core technologies demonstrated by ETRI include the following:
-- MHN (Mobile Hot-spot Network) is a mobile backhaul technology that provides high-speed Internet access of Gbps in vehicles at speeds of up to 500 km/h (e.g. KTX in Korea). Almost 100 passengers can watch videos of high quality simultaneously.
-- ZING is a near-field communication technology that enables mass data to be transmitted with 3.5 Gbps data rate between neighboring devices within the radius of 10cm.
-- Single-RF-Chain compact MIMO technology enables a single antenna to simulate the effect of multiple antenna. It can reduce antenna volume and cancel inter-antenna interference in a multi-antenna system.
-- Millimeter wave (mmWave) beam switching technology provides fast switching of radio beams to mobile users, and therefore allows seamless Gbps-grade service in mobile environments.
-- Mobile Edge Platform (MEP) is a mobile edge cloud server on vehicles that enables passengers to enjoy customized Gbps-grade content and connects them with neighbors, things and spaces. It provides user-centric services.
-- In-band Full Duplex technology can transmit and receive signals simultaneously over the same frequency band. It can increase spectral efficiency by up to two times.
-- Small cell SW technology is designed for AP(Access Point)-sized small cell base stations that can reduce communication dead zones and improve data rates per user in a hot-spot area.
"With this demonstration event, we are officially introducing our R&D results on 5G. We will continue to lead the development of 5G technologies. Also, we are trying to develop commercialization technologies needed by businesses, and to construct a 5G ecosystem." said Dr. Hyun Kyu Chung, vice president of ETRI Communication & Internet Lab.
In January, 2016, ETRI will demonstrate Giga internet service and future SNS in a Seoul subway train installed with MHN and ZING kiosks. ETRI will also introduce hand-over technology on a millimeter wave mobile communication system and 5G radio access technology that satisfies 1 millisecond radio latency.
About ETRI
Established in 1976, ETRI is a non-profit Korean government-funded research organization that has been at the forefront of technological excellence for about 40 years. In the 1980s, ETRI developed TDX (Time Division Exchange) and 4M DRAM. In the 1990s, ETRI commercialized CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) for the first time in the world. In the 2000s, ETRI developed Terrestrial DMB, WiBro, and LTE-A, which became the foundation of mobile communications.
Recently, as a global ICT leader, ETRI has been advancing communication and convergence by developing Ship Area Network technology, Genie Talk (world class portable automatic interpretation; Korean-English/Japanese/Chinese), and automated valet parking technology. As of 2015, ETRI has about 2,000 employees where about 1,800 of them are researchers.
A 2 way radio earpiece is an accessory which can receive and transmit unlike the broadcast receivers which only receive content. 2 way radio earpieces allow the user to engage in conversations with other such radio earpieces that are operating on a similar radio frequency. 2 way radios are readily available in hand held, mobile and stationary base configurations. The hand held radios are usually known as walkie talkies or handie-talkies.
2 way radio systems normally operate in 1/2 duplex mode; this basically means that the user can listen or talk, but cannot do both at a go. A PTT (also known as press to transmit) button usually activates the radio's transmitter. When the button is released, its' receiver becomes active. For 2 way radio earpieces, a push to talk button is included on a wire that runs up the arm of the user, with an acoustic tube up to the ear.
There are 2 wires which run independently from the 2 way radio; one ends at the PTT and mic, while the other ends at the radio's earpiece. The 2 wire kits are worn under the clothing, running one cable from the 2 way radio, up to your ear. The other cable runs from the 2 way radio, up your back and down your sleeve to the cuffs of your long sleeved shirt or clipped by a lapel on the front of your shirt. 3 wire kits separate the Mic and PTT with one cable running down the arm, connected to the PTT, another connected to the mic, with normally includes a microphone which is clipped to the jacket or shirt and the third has the acoustic tube to go into the ear.
How to Hide a Radio Earpiece
You can run the wires underneath the shirt; hiding the wires from the 2 way radio to the earpiece underneath your clothing, offering more discreetness. If you aren't too concerned with discreetness, you can leave the wires outside of your clothing. The radio will work either way. Here are the steps on how to hide a radio earpiece;
Take the wires of the radio earpiece and run them inside your shirt. Now take the wires out from your shirt's top; this way the wires will be well hidden. Take your earpiece and then put it in one ear. Ensure, the earpiece fits tightly and wont fall when walking, you can put the earpiece in either ear.
Once you're comfortable with your earpiece, it is now time to fit the wires that go into the radio. Take the wire that connects the earpiece and the radio, and fit it inside the shirt. Take this wire out from your shirt's bottom. Put it in your radio, and then clip the radio properly on your belt. Once all the wires are properly fitted inside your shirt, you can now tuck in the shirt to hide them completely.
Once everything is properly fitted, switch on your 2 way radio and test it. Now, you can use your 2 way radio earpiece covertly
The real benefit of using a hidden radio earpiece, is that other people will not notice when you're talking on your earpiece, remember to never share radio earpieces; this is for health and sanitary purposes. You can also buy radio earpieces, along with your own personal ear tips and clear coils.
