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Pierre-Charles Le Sueur

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (c. 1657, Artois, France – 17 July 1704, Havana, Cuba) was a French fur trader and explorer in North America, recognized as the first known European to explore the Minnesota River valley.

Le Sueur came to Canada with the Jesuits to their mission at Sault Sainte Marie, but very soon he turned himself to fur trade and became a coureur des bois. He was fluent in several Native languages, which was crucial to his success in trade. Around 1683, he received some samples of bluish clay from the middle reaches of a tributary of the Mississippi and took it back to France to be analyzed. A chemist, Alexandre L'Huillier, deemed it to be copper ore. Le Sueur returned to New France to mine this ore, but was waylayed by, among other things, a prison term for overreaching his trade privileges. He was present at the formal assertion of French sovereignty of Canada, declared in 1689 by Nicholas Perrot at Green Bay. Eventually, however, he was given a royal commission to open a copper mine (although some suggested he was more interested in "mining furs").

In 1699, he was with the group that ascended the Mississippi River from Biloxi to the "country of the Nadouessioux", stopping to overwinter at Isle Pelée or Fort Perrot above Lake Pepin. He went upstream as far as Saint Anthony Falls. After trading with the local Dakota bands (the Mdewankantons, Wahpetons and Wahpekutes) in the area, in the summer and fall of 1700 he and a group of 20 men went further up the river known to the native population as "minisota", or "cloud reflected water". This river was known to later voyageurs as the St. Pierre, but it is unclear if Le Sueur knew it by that name at the time. The group continued to the Blue Earth River, where they built Fort L'Huillier, named for the chemist who declared it to be copper ore. They overwintered at Fort L'Huillier, trading furs and other merchandise with the local Indian bands. They found the prairies full of bison, and learned to subsist largely on a meat diet. In May 1701, Le Sueur left a garrison of men at the fort under the command of d'Eraque and accompanied a large quantity of the blue earth (Dakota language: makháto) back to Fort Mobile for further analysis, which revealed that it was not copper and thus worthless. Later that year, Fort L'Huillier was attacked by Sac and Fox Indians. 3 men were killed in the attack on the fort, which was then abandoned.

Le Sueur sailed to France to secure a commission to serve as a local magistrate in what is now Alabama. "Le Sueur was supposed to leave France on the Loire in 1703 but he did not actually sail until the spring of 1704 aboard the Pélican. The ship, which was carrying nurses and women to Louisiana, stopped at Havana where Le Sueur contracted yellow fever. He had to be left behind and, after drawing up his will, he died on 17 July and was buried in the parish church of San Cristóbal."

He is the namesake of Le Sueur, Minnesota, Le Sueur River and Le Sueur County, Minnesota.

title: Pierre-Charles Le Sueur


text: Template:History of Afghanistan

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Template:History of Afghanistan


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Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli may refer to:

 * Schiaparelli (surname), an Italian surname
 * Maison Schiaparelli, an Italian fashion house
 * Schiaparelli (lunar crater)
 * Schiaparelli (Martian crater)
 * Schiaparelli EDM, a Mars lander

title: Schiaparelli


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Daniela Mercury

Daniela Mercury (born Daniela Mercuri de Almeida on July 28, 1965) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, and producer. In her solo career, Mercury has sold over 11 million records worldwide, and had 24 Top 10 singles in the country, with 14 of them reached No. 1. Winner of a Latin Grammy for her album Balé Mulato – Ao Vivo, she also received six Brazilian Music Award, an APCA award, three Multishow Brazilian Music Awards and two awards at VMB: Best Music Video and Photography.

In 1991, Mercury released her self-titled album, which was followed by O Canto da Cidade a year later, boosting her career as a national artist and taking the axé music to the evidence. Over the years, Mercury released several albums, generating great singles like "Swing da Cor", "O Canto da Cidade", "À Primeira Vista", "Rapunzel", "Nobre Vagabundo", "Ilê Pérola Negra", "Mutante", "Maimbê Dandá", "Levada Brasileira", "Oyá Por Nós", among others. She recorded a commemorative DVD of Cirque du Soleil's 25th anniversary, and was part of the Montreal Jazz Festival. In addition, Mercury was invited to participate in the Alejandro Sanz's DVD, and sing with Paul McCartney in Oslo, Norway, during the delivery of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2009 she released her album called Canibália, along with the album, Daniela launched an international tour. The album spawned three singles: "Preta" with Seu Jorge, "Oyá Por Nós" with Margareth Menezes and "Sol do Sul". That same year, writer and intellectual Camille Paglia, who had an intellectual "passion" for Madonna, said Daniela Mercury is the artist who Madonna would like to be.

In 2011 the American TV channel CBS, elected Daniela Mercury as the "Carmen Miranda of the new times". The Canibália album was released in the United States yielded a critique of The New York Times saying: "Daniela Mercury goes beyond the concepts that were stressed during her career (...) with a contemporary pop, embracing ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazil (particularly african-Brazilian culture, while Daniela Mercury is white), remembering the past and transforming it."

Early life
Daniela Mercuri de Almeida was born on July 28, 1965, in the Portuguese Hospital in Salvador, Bahia. Her mother is Liliana Mercuri, a social worker of Italian ancestry, and her father is António Fernando de Abreu Ferreira de Almeida, a Portuguese emigrant industrial mechanic. Mercury grew up in a middle class household in the Brotas neighborhood of Salvador with her four siblings: Tom, Cristiana, Vânia (who would also become a singer, billed as Vânia Abreu), and Marcos. A troublemaker as a child, Mercury was nicknamed "drip-fire". She attended both the Ana Néri School and the Colégio Baiano.

At eight years old, Mercury began taking dance lessons, particularly classical ballet, jazz, and African dances. At age 13, influenced by the work of Elis Regina, she decided to become a singer. Her repertoire consisted of bossa nova as well as the music of Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Chico Buarque. To her parents' unease she started singing in local bars in 1980. She made her trio elétrico debut soon afterward, during the 1981 carnival. Mercury's zeal for dance eventually led her to the Federal University of Bahia, where she enrolled in the Dance School in 1984. A year later she married electronic engineer Zalther Póvoas and gave birth to Gabriel Almeida Póvoas. The next year she gave birth to daughter Giovana Almeida Póvoas.

Early career (1984–1990)
From 1986 to 1988, Mercury was the lead singer for the band Cheiro de Amor. Mercury continued to pursue a career in music and, by 1988, was a backup singer for Gilberto Gil. In 1989, recorded her first two albums as the lead singer of pop band Companhia Clic. Their songs "Pega que Oh!" and "Ilha das Bananas" became minor hits in Bahia radio stations. As the 1990s began, Mercury decided to pursue a solo career.

Rise to fame (1991–1993)
Mercury's self-titled debut album was released in 1991 through independent record company Eldorado. The lead single of the album, "Swing da Cor", which features Olodum, became a number-one hit in Brazil, and the album was soon known as Swing da Cor. Another song from the album, "Menino do Pelô", which also features Olodum, became Mercury's second top-ten hit in Brazil, charting at number four. On the following year, Mercury shut off from the record company and, ever since, produces her own albums to negotiate the distribution of them later with the labels that are interested.

In 1992, she presented the project "Som do Meio-Dia" (Midday Sound) at the Art Museum of São Paulo (MASP). The show brought together over thirty thousand spectators, which eventually leave the traffic jam in the vicinity of the Paulista Avenue. After forty-minutes concert, Daniela was removed from the stage by representatives of the São Paulo tourist office, that concerned with the museum structure, obtained an order from the military police to remove it from the local.

Soon after the show, Daniela was hired by Sony Music label and through this, released her second solo album, O Canto da Cidade. The album was considered by journalist André Domingues  one of the best MPB albums ever. O Canto da Cidade is Mercury's album with most number-one songs (four in total; "O Canto da Cidade", "O Mais Belo dos Belos", "Batuque" and "Você Não Entende Nada/Cotidiano"). O Canto da Cidade is recognized as the album responsible for taking Axé Music to mainstream audiences in Brazil.

The album also yielded Mercury, a year-end special on Rede Globo channel, which were mixed with live performances in the square of Apotheosis in Rio de Janeiro, and video clips with Caetano Veloso, Herbert Vianna and Tom Jobim. Years later, the special, previously unreleased in video was released on DVD to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the release of the album. In July 1993, Mercury was one of Brazil's attractions at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Some consider O Canto da Cidade was the forerunner of the samba-reggae movement, then called Axé Music, gaining strength in all regions of the country and allowing other genre artists, were featured in the Brazilian music scene. It is believed that after this album, the Carnival of Bahia gained a massive media coverage. Mercury experienced during this period, a peak of popularity rarely seen in the history of Brazilian music industry, being dubbed "the hurricane of Bahia" and "Queen of the Axé".

Artistic development (1994–2000)
In 1994, Música de Rua was released through Sony. The album was received with lukewarm reviews, with some critics complaining about the similarities between this album and its predecessor. Nevertheless, the album was very well received by the public, producing the hits "Música de Rua", "O Reggae e o Mar" (both number-one hits), "Por Amor ao Ilê" (a top-ten hit) and "A Rosa" (top-twenty). This was Mercury's first album to produce singles which have failed to chart.

In 1996, Feijão com Arroz was released through Sony. This album was much better received by the critics than its predecessor. It is Mercury's most well rated album at Allmusic, with four and a half stars. As of today, Feijão com Arroz is Mercury's second best selling album, behind only O Canto da Cidade. It produced the hits "À Primeira Vista", "Nobre Vagabundo", "Rapunzel" (all number-one hits), "Minas com Bahia" (which features Samuel Rosa from Skank and was a top-twenty hit) and "Feijão de Corda" (a top-ten hit).

In 1998, Mercury's first live album, Elétrica was released through Sony. It produced the top-ten hit "Trio Metal", which charted at number eight.

Experimentation with electronica (2000–2004)
In 2000, Mercury released her fifth studio album, Sol da Liberdade, through BMG. It produced two number-one singles ("Ilê Pérola Negra" and a cover of Antonio Marcus' "Como Vai Você"). The album, which was produced by Suba, was innovative in Mercury's career for its fusion with electronic music sounds.

The following year, Mercury released Sou de Qualquer Lugar through BMG. The album sold half of its predecessor, but was able to produce the number-one single "Mutante", a cover of Rita Lee. In this album, Mercury also experimented with electronic sounds.

In April 2003, Mercuy's second live album, MTV ao Vivo – Eletrodoméstico, was released through BMG. It was recorded on January 23 and 24 of that same year at the Castro Alves Theater in Salvador for MTV Brasil. It was also released in the DVD format, Mercury's first. Among the artists who performed with the singer were Dulce Pontes, Rosario Flores, Jovanotti, Carlinhos Brown and Olodum. The sales were very inferior to Mercury's previous and it only produced one top twenty hit ("Meu Plano").

In 2004, Carnaval Eletrônico was released through BMG. For the recording of this album, Mercury invited DJs and producers of electronic music in Brazil, as well as Gilberto Gil, Carlinhos Brown, and Lenine. It is a commemorative disc celebrating the five years of her having formed TrioTechno, the first trio elétrico of electronic music in Bahian Carnaval. The disc received a Latin Grammy nomination for best pop album of the year and Mercury was nominated for a TIM Award for best female pop/rock vocalist. Internet users voted Carnaval Eletrônico the best pop album of the year online in one of Brazil's most important weekly magazines Revista Isto É.

Back to basics (2005–2007)
In 2005, Clássica was released through Som Livre on both CD and DVD. Recorded from a concert Mercury gave the year before at São Paulo's Casa de Espetáculo, the album is a sampler of bossa nova, jazz, and some of her biggest MPB hits. The record signaled a new phase for Mercury, who chose independence from record companies to gain full control of her work. Mercury was in London, during the July 7 bombings.

That same year, Mercury's eighth studio album, Balé Mulato, was released, but through EMI. The album was very well received by the critics, with some even saying it was Mercury's best album since Feijão com Arroz (1996). It was not, however, very well received by the public, with none of the singles being able to chart on the top-ten; a large part due to lack of record company support. The next year, the Latin Grammy Award-winning live version of Balé Mulato, was released. Daniela Mercury has completed her newest release, Canibália. Canibalia was launched in October 2009.

Reinventing popular culture with Canibália and working with Cabeça de Nós Todos (2007–2013)

On November 19, 2007, the singer released "Preta", which features Seu Jorge. The song, which is strongly influenced by samba, was one of the most played in the country during the carnival. For the 2009's Carnival, Mercury recorded the song "Oyá Por Nós", who wrote with Alfredo Moura and Margareth Menezes. The theme, based on the song "Ketu de Iansã" was first used by Moura in the doctoral ceremony honoris-cause of Gilberto Gil at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. After that, Moura used the theme in a play in Vienna, Austria, at the University of Musicology. A year later, he showed the theme for Daniela, who did not know and she immediately wanted to record it to launch in the Carnival. In 2009, Rolling Stone Brasil magazine named Daniela as one of the 100 greatest artists of Brazilian music of all time. The names chosen by the expert jury, only 16 were women.

Finally in November 2009, Daniela released the album entitled Canibália. The album marks her return to the studio after five years. The recording sessions for the album takes almost three years to be done, Canibália hit stores with five different covers – a Gringo Cardia project. And five different track lists for the album, according to the singer, is an extensive project that combines music, dance, video and plastic arts – various expressions of art covered by it.

Daniela Mercury has said that "Canibália is an embrace, a swallow of Tropicália, the Clube da Esquina and everything that has since been created in the arts in Brazil since the – ‘Semana de 22’ [‘Semana de Arte Moderna de 1922 ’-The Week of Modern Art] – I yearn for the liberty that comes from this anthropophagic movement, of the Cannibalist Manifesto by Oswald de Andrade and its practice by Mario [de Andrade), who spoke that these mixtures reinforce our [Brazilian] identity".

José Oswald de Andrade Souza (1890 – October 1954) was a Brazilian poet and a controversial thinker. Born in São Paulo, Andrade was one of the founders of the Brazilian Modernist movement and a member of the Group of Five, including Mário de Andrade, Anita Malfatti, Tarsila do Amaral Oswald de Andrade]. Andrade is recognized by his nationalist, Manifesto Antropófago (Cannibalist Manifesto), published in 1928. The manifesto argues that based on the premise that the history of Brazil has, as its greatest strength, the power to cannibalize others and simultaneously plays with the idea of cannibalism as a modern primitivism; like a presumed tribal rite. Cannibalism then, becomes a way for Brazil to reaffirm itself against the cultural domination of Post Colonial Europe. The iconic phrase of the manifesto "Tupi or not Tupi" is as much a celebration of the Tupinamba, a documented tribe of cannibals, as it is an act of genius cannibalizing Shakespeare's, "To be or not to be".

In 2009, her tour named by the album title started in São Paulo, and traveled to several Brazilian cities and abroad. The work pays tribute to Carmen Miranda, at her centenary, with songs like "Tico-Tico no Fubá" and "O Que É Que A Baiana Tem?".

For 2010's Carnival, Daniela Mercury recorded "Andarilho Encantado", song released officially in the special project of the singer called Pôr do Som (Sunset Sound), the show that brings Mercury as headliner each year on the first day of the year at the Farol da Barra, in Salvador, Bahia. The song was written by Mercury and Marcelo Quintanilha. Also in 2010, the year that the Electric Trio celebrates 60 years and Axé Music 25 years, the singer reaches 20 years of solo career – with significant-selling records. To commemorate the date, the media raised the possibility it make a documentary film about this invention of Bahian carnival, the axé music, praising percussionists.

In February 2013, the singer was invited to be interviewed in the Leading Women program of CNN International, and was announced by the issuer as the "Brazilian Madonna". The attraction highlights the most influential women in the world in their fields. Already in 2012, the Bahian singer had attracted the attention of American writer and feminist Camille Paglia, who declared to the British newspaper The Independent, that had a "crush" by the Bahian star. Since she had been in the country, for a conference in Bahia, Paglia has written enthusiastic articles about Mercury, saying that Daniela Mercury is the artist who Madonna wanted to be. Paglia said, a Canadian television station, which is "in love with a Brazilian superstar. I'm watching her work. She is Daniela Mercury. In fact, this has been very important. This is the point where I am in my life". In an interview with the Brazilian magazine Veja, intellectual revealed her plans to write two books about the Bahian singer.

At the end of 2013, released the album Daniela Mercury & Cabeça de Nós Todos, a partnership with the Brazilian group Cabeça de Nós Todos, with songs like "Couché", "Alma Feminina", "Paula e Bebeto", "Aquele Abraço" and "Cheia de Graça" are some of the tracks are presented in this work. It is an urban and pop-rock album, which does not show Daniela's rhythmic signature; it was launched with a book called "Daniela and Malu, A Love Story", a partnership with her wife Malu Verçosa. The book tells the story of their relationship, from the moment of friendship to marriage.

The Voice Kids and Vinil Virtual (2014–present)
In 2014, she was mentor on The Voice Kids (the version for children of the traditional show The Voice) of Portugal, because of her popularity in Portuguese lands. In the same year she released the single "A Rainha do Axé (Rainha Má)", an electronic ijexá that speaks about the strength of women, love and faith which was sung by revelers during the 2015's Carnival of Salvador. The single is the first single to the fifteenth studio album by the singer titled Vinil Virtual, released November 27, 2015 by the label Biscoito Fino.

Personal life
In 1984, at 19, Mercury married electronic engineer Zalther Portela Laborda Póvoas, her high school boyfriend. The next year, on September 3, 1985, she gave birth to their first child, Gabriel (who is also a singer and songwriter). The following year, she gave birth to a girl named Giovana (who is now a dancer in Mercury's ensemble). In 1996, Mercury and Póvoas divorced. That same year, she was pointed as the reason for the split between Chico Buarque and Marieta Severo. In an interview to ISTOÉ magazine, Mercury said that "it was a levity what they did, an irresponsibility that caused an uproar in my life and in the lives of both of them". In April 2013 Daniela Mercury used social media to make public her relationship with the journalist Malu Verçosa, saying that "Malu is now my wife, my family, my inspiration to sing." Daniela Mercury and Malu Verçosa married on October 12, 2013, in a civil ceremony in Salvador da Bahia, both dressed in all white. Her father, initially critical about their relationship, was present.

Controversies
At late 2005, Mercury, a devout Catholic, was uninvited from a Christmas concert in the Vatican City due to her endorsement of a Ministry of Health campaign encouraging young people to use condoms. Church officials feared she would use the occasion to promote the use of condoms.

In 2006, Mercury openly opposed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reelection. This drew criticism from other artists, such as Zeca Baleiro, who accused her of being favored by the late Antônio Carlos Magalhães, a controversial oligarch from Bahia (which she denied vehemently). Later that same year, in an interview with Folha de S.Paulo, Mercury declared she was against reelections in general. She also said that she voted for Lula four times and that she was disappointed "by his first term (...), shocked with all these scandals". However, she said that she hoped that "Brazil would now have the four years of Lula that we hoped for in his first term."

Philanthropy
Mercury has performed at a large number of charitable events. She is the second Brazilian honored as an ambassador for UNICEF (Renato Aragão was the first). She is also an ambassador for UNAIDS and UNESCO. She has performed at Rede Globo's annual charity Criança Esperança for fifteen consecutive years (1992–2007). She also represents various non-profit organizations including Caravana da Musica which has spawned her own Instituto Sol da Liberdade.

Discography
Studio albums
 * Daniela Mercury  (a.k.a. "Swing da Cor")  (1991)
 * O Canto da Cidade (1992)
 * Música de Rua (1994)
 * Feijão com Arroz (1996)
 * Sol da Liberdade (2000)
 * Sou de Qualquer Lugar (2001)
 * Carnaval Eletrônico (2004)
 * Balé Mulato (2005)
 * Canibália (2009)
 * Daniela Mercury & Cabeça de Nós Todos (2013)
 * Vinil Virtual (2015)
 * Perfume (2020)
 * Baiana (2022)

Tours

 * Swing da Cor Tour (1991–1992)
 * O Canto da Cidade Tour (1992–1994)
 * Música de Rua Tour (1995–1996)
 * Feijão com Arroz Tour (1996–1997)
 * Elétrica Tour (1998–1999)
 * Sol da Liberdade Tour (2000–2001)
 * Sou de Qualquer Lugar Tour (2002)
 * Eletrodoméstico Tour (2003)
 * Carnaval Eletrônico Tour (2004)
 * Balé Mulato Tour (2006–2009)
 * Canibália Tour (2009–2012)
 * Couché Tour (2013)
 * Pelada Tour (2014)
 * Baile da Rainha Má Tour (2015–2017)
 * O Axé, a Voz e o Violão Tour (2016–2017)

title: Daniela Mercury


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Dennis Rickman

Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's central protagonists from 1 May 2003 up until his last appearance in the episode broadcast on 30 December 2005, when the character was fatally stabbed at the start of the New Year Fireworks.

He originally came to Walford - a fictional borough in East London - in 2003 as a new member of the Watts family who had a difficult past and rough childhood, though his identity was unknown for almost thirty years. Dennis soon became a regular presence in Walford's market town Albert Square, and in the summer of that year he murdered his former gangland boss Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett) after discovering that the latter was responsible for the apparent death of Dennis's illegitimate father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) in February 1989. Before he killed Dalton, however, Dennis discovered that Den had actually survived the shooting and - thanks to the help of his father's old mistress Jan Hammond (Jane How) - partly contributed to Den's eventual return in September 2003. The follow-up of Den's comeback saw him and Dennis compete against each other in a longstanding conflict that eventually came to an end in 2005 when Den was ultimately killed off on the show's twentieth anniversary episode dated 18 February 2005; Dennis later discovered his father's fate on 29 August 2005, the same day he finally married his adopted sister Sharon (Letitia Dean) after the couple managed to repair their once-forbidden romance.

During his time on the show, Dennis established an intense feud with his alpha-male rival and the square's undisputed top-dog kingpin Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) - also Sharon's on-off boyfriend. He also bonded with his and Sharon's half-sister Vicki Fowler (Scarlett Alice Johnson); formed a mutual friendship with Dalton's right-hand mobster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs); embarked on an initial relationship with his brief girlfriend Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan); developed a warm companionship with local gossip Dot Cotton (June Brown); slept with his acquaintance Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny) during her marriage prospects with Phil; instituted major interactions with Sharon's family friend Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) along with fellow neighbour Pat Harris (Pam St Clement) and Zoe's surrogate father Charlie (Derek Martin); temporarily clashed with Phil's brother Grant (Ross Kemp) over the latter's previous marriage with Sharon; and later teamed up with the Mitchell brothers, along with their mother Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) and cousin Billy (Perry Fenwick), to help their family bring Sharon's stepmother Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) to justice for killing Den and framing Peggy's daughter Sam (Kim Medcalf) for his murder.

In his exit storyline towards the climax of 2005, Dennis became enemies with the square's reigning crime lord Johnny Allen (Billy Murray). This came to an unfortunate end when Dennis brutally attacked Johnny for threatening him and throttling Sharon into leaving Walford, as well as killing Andy on the night Den died earlier on. Subsequently, Johnny survived the attack and arranged for his henchman Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) to kill Dennis in retribution; Dennis was later stabbed on that night amid the New Year fireworks celebrating 2006 and he ultimately died in Sharon's arms.

Nearly three months after the character's death, Dennis became the posthumous catalyst for the Get Johnny Week storyline in which Phil and Grant sought to help Sharon avenge his death by bringing Johnny to justice; in the end, Dennis's death was avenged when his killer Danny was shot dead by his brother Jake (Joel Beckett), while Johnny was forced by his daughter Ruby (Louisa Lytton) to surrender himself to the police after she discovered that her father was responsible for Dennis's murder. Later on, Dennis's death ends up getting avenged by Ruby's boyfriend Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky), when he causes Johnny to die of a heart attack, following the latter's sentencing to life imprisonment for Dennis's murder. Sharon later gave birth to her and Dennis's son, Denny. In early January 2014, Sharon finally learned the truth about Dennis's death from Phil, and the subject is raised again after Denny dies in February 2020, following a quarrel with the show's protagonist Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) in the programme's 35th anniversary special.

The character of Dennis Rickman quickly became established as the show's leading man and a "soap sex-symbol", with Harman noted for his "dark good looks" and "fantastic" physique. In 2003, Harman won the "Best Newcomer" award at the National Television Awards, and for two years straight (in 2004 and 2005) won both "Best Actor" and "Sexiest Male" categories at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards.

Storylines
Dennis Rickman makes his first appearance in handcuffs in April 2003, as he is on day release from prison to attend his mother's funeral. It soon transpires that he was the product of a fling between his teenaged mother Paula, and her adult ex-lover Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). The discovery of his existence comes after Sharon discovers that she has a brother through her adoptive father Den Watts and another woman during the 1970s. Sharon was aware that her brother was called Dennis Rickman and that he too grew up in Walford. Charlie Slater (Derek Martin) informs her that there was a Mr. Rickman who lived locally and worked as a taxi driver, but he and his wife had both died and their daughter was living alone in their house. Sharon soon locates the house but learns from a neighbour that Paula has just died.

It is gradually revealed that he was neglected as a child by his mother and abused by a succession of her boyfriends, ultimately spending some time living in a children's home. Den was unaware that he had a son, and by the time Dennis meets Sharon and Vicki, 14 years have passed since Den disappeared and supposedly died as a result of a shooting on a canal towpath.

Dennis first makes an impact in Walford in May 2003, when he floors Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) in a fight in the Queen Vic. This launches a rivalry with Phil, which a few months leads to a meeting between the pair in Phil's garage, when several of Phil's friends turn up and give Dennis a severe beating when Phil walks out. Dennis infuriates Phil by seducing his sister Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), his wife-to-be Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny) (who is a former flame of Dennis's) and his daughter's nanny Joanne Ryan (Tara Lynne O'Neill).

Dennis sees East End gangland lord Jack Dalton (Hywel Bennett) as a father figure as he worked for him since his teens, collecting debts amongst other things, and his prison stint is due to an act of GBH which was committed while working for Jack. After Dennis's release, Jack orders Phil to kill Dennis after he becomes independent of him. However, Dennis ends up killing Jack in a shooting next to a railway line, but not before Jack reveals that Den survived the 1989 shooting, and that the body found in the canal a year later was in fact that of another local gangster who had been murdered on Dalton's orders for failing to kill Den. Dennis later tracks down Den's former mistress Jan Hammond (Jane How) and finds out that Den fled to Spain. He flies out to Spain and finds the address where Den is now believed to be living, but lacks the courage to knock on the door and find out. He later reveals all to Sharon, but she refuses to believe that her adoptive father is still alive.

The rivalry with Phil is concluded by Den himself when he returns from Spain in September 2003, confirming the theory which Dennis had uncovered two months earlier. Den and Dennis trick Phil into committing an armed robbery at a local factory. They then abscond with the escape ladder and most of the cash, though Den leaves Phil with a few stolen notes and a gun to incriminate him. The feud brings Dennis closer to his father. After killing Jack, Dennis remains friends with Dalton's second-in-command Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), and is left the bookmakers in Andy's will after Andy's death at the hands of Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) in February 2005. However, Andy's death was believed to have been suicide at the time, which buys Johnny an extra year of freedom - as Dennis will find out to his cost.

Dennis has a passionate fling with Den's adopted daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) on the eve of Den's return but finds himself rejected when Den re-establishes himself on the Walford scene. They resume their affair in secret but Den cannot accept a relationship between his children and plots to split them up. Den taunts Dennis with the suggestion that someone had sexually abused him while he was in a children's home, successfully provoking Dennis into accidentally hitting Sharon. A guilt-ridden Den later apologises and explains his reasons for not wanting his son and daughter together, because he wants both of them in his life and he cannot have that if they are sleeping together. Den then tries to explain to Dennis that his feelings for Sharon are simply misguided due to the abuse he supposedly suffered as a child, which leaves Dennis confused and so he decides to break up with Sharon in the hope of having a proper father-son relationship.

Meanwhile, the Watts family reform their strong bond, which includes the introduction of Den's new wife Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), who follows him back to England from Spain a few months after his return to Walford. Dennis moves in with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) but cannot reciprocate her love and Sharon seduces him again. They continue their affair in secret behind Zoe and Den's backs, and feel unable to continue their secretive relationship, and plan to leave on Christmas Day.

However, Den had spotted them kissing on Christmas Eve. When they announce that they are in love and going to America together on Christmas Day, Zoe announces that she is pregnant. Dennis does not want to be an absent father to the baby, so Sharon leaves without him. He stays with Zoe but refuses to sleep with her. Zoe, who has feigned the pregnancy in order to prevent Dennis from leaving. She is desperate to get pregnant for real and resorts to sleeping with Den, who had told her to feign the pregnancy in his own attempt to split Sharon from Dennis.

Dennis eventually begins to feel love for Zoe and looks forward to a life with her and the baby. However, when Dennis catches her and Den in bed and discovers she was never pregnant at all, he leaves but not before informing Chrissie about her and Den.

Dennis and Sharon return to Walford in the summer of 2005, and demand to see Den. Dennis has his doubts about Chrissie's story that Den had left her a few months before in favour of another woman, but drops the matter to spare Sharon's feelings. Dennis and Sharon go on to marry soon afterwards, and following this, they learn that Sam Mitchell had exhumed their father's body from his grave in the cellar of The Queen Victoria public house. Den had been murdered by Chrissie in February 2005 after she, Zoe and Sam confronted him about his manipulation and lies regarding the three of them - which had started just before Christmas 2004, when Den had tricked Sam into selling him The Queen Vic with the pretence that Phil needed money while still on the run from the police. Chrissie had also lured Sharon back to overhear Den's confessions so that Den would lose the one person in his life that he truly loved - which she achieved when Sharon disowned Den and left Walford again. Den had then walked back into the pub and attacked Chrissie before Zoe hit him with a doorstop and supposedly killed him. Den then regained consciousness and grabbed Chrissie, who delivered a fatal blow, but left Zoe to believe she had killed him. The three women then buried his body in the basement, with Chrissie being able to avoid suspicion for the next few months by inventing a story that Den had left her for another woman. With the help of Phil and his brother Grant, Dennis and Sharon soon bring Chrissie to justice and sell The Queen Vic back to the Mitchells, apparently concluding the lengthy feud between the Watts and Mitchell families. Having stayed away from his funeral, Dennis later visits Den's grave and tearfully mourns the father he never had.

On Christmas Day 2005, Sharon is admitted to hospital with suspected food poisoning, but finds out she is pregnant, despite the previous belief that she was infertile following an abortion 10 years earlier. After Dennis interferes with Johnny and condemns his treatment of his teenage daughter Ruby, Johnny attacks Sharon, but upon finding out she is pregnant, he relents and tells Sharon that if she and Dennis are gone by midnight on New Year's Eve, he would not kill Dennis. He also admits that he murdered Andy Hunter nearly a year earlier.

After much insistence from Sharon, they prepare to leave on New Year's Eve to start a new life in the United States. Sharon does not tell Dennis that Johnny has threatened to kill him, but she confides in Phil, who then uses Dennis as a weapon against Johnny, who is also an enemy of his. Phil tells Dennis about Johnny threatening Sharon, and also that Johnny had murdered his friend Andy. Although Dennis knows what Phil is doing, he takes the bait anyway and beats Johnny to the brink of death. Johnny begs for help as he fears he is dying, so Dennis tosses him a mobile phone and says if he can reach it, he will live. Johnny is able to reach the phone and instead of calling for medical assistance, he contacts a henchman to murder Dennis as revenge for his beating.

After cleaning his hands of Johnny's blood, Dennis makes his way towards the Albert Square gardens, where the locals are setting up fireworks ready to welcome in 2006. As he and Sharon lock eyes, Dennis is stabbed in the chest by a mysterious passer-by and collapses. He dies in Sharon's arms seconds into the new year. His last words are "we did it" in reference to their unborn son, who is born six months later and named Dennis "Denny" in honour of his father. It is later revealed that Dennis was stabbed by Johnny's henchman Danny Moon (Jake Maskall) on the night of his murder. Towards the end of March 2006, Phil and Grant confront Johnny in their bid to get justice for Sharon by avenging Dennis's death. The brothers are nearly killed when Johnny captures the two and orders Danny to kill them, but Phil and Grant are saved when Danny is shot dead by his brother Jake (Joel Beckett), who merely attempted to stop Danny, thus partly avenging Dennis's death in the process. As Phil and Grant use this opportunity to race back to Johnny's house, Ruby learns that her father is responsible for Dennis's murder and calls the police about her father's actions, threatening to disown him unless he turns himself in. Johnny ultimately relents at his daughter's urging and when the police arrive, he admits to murdering killing Andy and ordering the murder of Dennis, along with his other criminal activities. Seven months later, Johnny dies in hospital after suffering a heart attack in prison, which struck him down when he was attempting to order the death of Ruby's boyfriend Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky), upon discovering his plan to extract their assets, the result of which ultimately avenges Dennis's death. This plan, however, fails to materialise and Sean escapes intact.

In October 2012, soon after Sharon returns to Walford with a six-year-old Denny in tow, Phil's latest enemy, Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman), mentions that Dennis was murdered, not knowing that Sharon's six-year-old son overheard him. Denny is upset after learning the truth of his father's death, as he was told by Sharon that his father was a helicopter pilot and died while saving others. Sharon admits to her son that she lied to protect him, and although he is angry, he eventually forgives her. In January 2014, Phil finally confesses to Sharon that he had played a part in Dennis's death - having goaded him into attacking the man who went on to order his death - as Phil's conflict with Johnny ultimately led to Dennis being murdered. Sharon is furious, but then goes to visit Dennis's grave for the last time. It is at that point that Sharon realises she needs to leave Dennis in her past, as Phil is now her future. Months later, Sharon marries Phil and he later adopts Denny in the subsequent years. However, over five years later, on Christmas Day 2019, they end up splitting, after Phil discovers that Sharon had an affair with his daughter's fiancé, Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). Soon afterwards, Phil seeks revenge on Keanu and they end up fighting each other in a boat on the River Thames, which ends up crashing as a result. Denny is among the passengers on the boat, and, although everyone else survives the crash, he consequently loses his life after suffering a cardiac arrest from drowning in the ensuing carnage.

Introduction
Dennis Rickman was created by the show's producers as the hardman successor to the character of Steve Owen, who had bowed out during the previous year. It was also part of a move to bring the Watts family back to the forefront of EastEnders, with the re-introduction of Vicki Fowler occurring at the beginning of 2003, and the highly anticipated return of Den Watts in September. Executive producer Louise Berridge was also keen to rectify what she felt was a gender imbalance in the cast, commenting after his arrival that Dennis had "provided a surge of testosterone in a show that was rather female-heavy since the arrival of the Slaters."

Casting
Harman was working as a lorry driver for supermarket chain Sainsbury's when he was cast in the role of Dennis Rickman: "They said: 'You've got the job.' I was sitting there in my Sainsbury's fleece, with Mrs Bloggs's groceries in the back, and I just laughed my arse off." However, Harman revealed in a 2003 interview that he actually auditioned for a character called "Tim", and had no idea that he was set to join the Watts family as the unknown son of the soap's most "iconic" figure, Den Watts. Part of Harman's appeal lay in his dark good looks and appealing physicality. EastEnders executive producer Louise Berridge noted: "We cast Nigel for his tremendous acting ability and his screen presence, but there's no question he's also a very sexy young man." In an interview with The Independent in 2003 he commented on his character's status as a sex symbol: "It's Dennis, not me... I am a bit embarrassed... I don't get off on it. I walk into the living-room in the morning in my jogging pants, with my hair all over the place, and my flatmates say: 'So, you're supposed to be one of the sexiest men in the country?' And I go: 'I know. I don't get it either.'"

Characterisation
Dennis is characterized by his roguish manner, a "bad boy" cast in the mould of a "young Dirty Den". Harman described his character as "a bit of a rough diamond" but with "a sensitive side". During his time on the show, Dennis often butted heads with various alpha-males, including hardman Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and crime boss Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), but was friends with mobster Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs) and developed a warm relationship with local gossip, Dot Cotton (June Brown).

The representation of Dennis as "smouldering thug" was apparent from his first appearance in Walford, when he hit resident top dog Phil Mitchell. In an interview with the Daily Mirror Harman declared, "He is a total bastard and if I met him in real life, I'd be bloody scared. [But] that's why he's such a brilliant part." According to the official EastEnders website, "Dennis may well be able to turn on the charm with the ladies, but he has a certain sinister edge."

Reception
Dennis Rickman was described in a 2004 article as the show's "bad boy pin-up character". The character of Dennis Rickman quickly became established as the show's leading man and a "soap sex-symbol", with Harman noted for his "dark good looks" and "fantastic" physique. In 2003, Harman won the "Best Newcomer" award at the National Television Awards, and for two years straight (in 2004 and 2005) won both "Best Actor" and "Sexiest Male" categories at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards.

In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed Dennis 58th on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him a "bed-hopping criminal" who was "a chip off the old block" from his father.

title: Dennis Rickman


text:
Prestel

Prestel (abbrev. from press telephone), the brand name for the UK Post Office Telecommunications's Viewdata technology, was an interactive videotex system developed during the late 1970s and commercially launched in 1979. It achieved a maximum of 90,000 subscribers in the UK and was eventually sold by BT in 1994.

The technology was a forerunner of on-line services today. Instead of a computer, a television set connected to a dedicated terminal was used to receive information from a remote database via a telephone line. The service offered thousands of pages ranging from consumer information to financial data but with limited graphics.

Initial development
Prestel was created based on the work of Samuel Fedida at the then Post Office Research Station in Martlesham, Suffolk. In 1978, under the management of David Wood the software was developed by a team of programmers recruited from within the Post Office Data Processing Executive. As part of the privatisation of British Telecom, the team were moved into a "Prestel Division" of BT.

Database
A Prestel database is commonly referred to as having a 'tree structure'. The structure is shown pictorially as an inverted tree with the data considered as 'leaves' of the tree, accessed via 'branches' which serve as a means of classifying the information. There exists quite a lot of jargon regarding such structures but in order to appreciate the concept it is necessary to mention just the node, page and frame. Nodes are the junction pages in the tree at which a number of choices can be made leading to other nodes or to the information itself. Pages are the final levels in the tree and contain the actual data-these may be divided into frames which are really screenfuls of information.

The public Prestel database consisted of a set of individual frames, which were arranged in 24 lines of 40 characters each, similar to the display used by the Ceefax and ORACLE teletext services provided by the BBC and ITV television companies. Of these, the top line was reserved for the name of the Information Provider, the price and the page number, and the bottom line was reserved for system messages. Thus there remained 22 lines (of 40 characters each) in which the IP could present information to the end user.

A page should be considered as a logical unit of data within the database and the frame a physical unit. Unfortunately the terms node, page and frame are often used synonymously which may lead to some confusion. To the user of course a node is the same as a page and they are both identified by a 'page' number. To access a particular item of information, a simple progression down through the nodes to the page is all that is required, and then the frames of that page can be stepped through. This is facilitated by each node displaying up to ten choices, one of which may be taken by the user responding with the appropriate digit from 0 to 9. This simple method of access may be thought of as a question and answer session: the computer displays a question 'Which of the ten choices do you want to make?’ and the user replies with the appropriate digit. A choice of 9 at node 17 moves the user to page 179. The flexibility of this logical access method is increased firstly by allowing cross-referencing from one branch of the tree to another and secondly by providing a few simple commands available to the user for accessing certain pages directly. While this principle had considerable advantages in user simplicity and computer efficiency over the "keyword/thesaurus principle" used in many other systems, it has two very real disadvantages which have now been recognized: lack of flexibility; slowness.

Page numbers were from one to nine digits in length, i.e., in the range 0 to 999999999 created in a tree like structure, whereby lower level pages could only exist if the higher numbered "parent" pages had already been created. Thus creating page 7471 required pages 747, 74 and 7 to exist, but generally the three digit node 747 would have been created in order to register the relevant main IP account. Single and double digit pages were special pages reserved by Prestel for general system information purposes, as were the 1nn-199nn sets of three digit nodes e.g. page 1a was the standard Prestel Main Index. Pages starting with a 9 were for system management functions, and were limited to three digits in length. e.g., page 92 showed details of the users Prestel bill, and page 910 gave IPs access to online editing facilities.

Available characters consisted of upper and lower case alphanumeric characters as well as punctuation and simple arithmetic symbols, using a variant of ISO 646 and CCITT standard. This layout was later formalised in the 1981 CEPT videotex standard as the CEPT3 profile. By embedding cursor-control characters within the page data, it was also possible to encode simple animations by re-writing parts of the screen already displayed. These were termed "dynamic frames" and could not be created online using conventional editing terminals, but required specialist software and uploading via the "bulk update" facility. No timing options were available beyond that imposed by the available transmission speed, usually 1,200 baud.

The IP logo on line 1 occupied at least 43 bytes, depending on the number of control characters, so the space available for the IP's data is 877 characters at most. Lines could either occupy the full forty character positions, or be terminated early with a CR/LF sequence. Each control character took up two bytes, despite displaying as a single space, so the more complex a page, the less actual information could be presented. It was almost impossible, therefore, to display a right hand border to a page.

Routing from page to page through the database was arranged by the use of numbered items on index pages, which used the space in the frame routing table to map the index links directly to other page numbers. Thus an index on page 747 might have links requiring the user to key 1 for "UK Flights", key 2 for "Flights to Europe", or key 3 for "Hotels" which represented links to page 74781, 74782, and 74791 respectively. The routing table for a particular frame only allowed specification of routes for digits 0–9, so double digit routes would typically be sent via an "intermediate" frame, usually a spare frame elsewhere in the IP's database, to which the first digit of all similarly numbered items would link. Since pressing a number would interrupt a page that was currently being displayed, the keying of a double digit route would not generally inconvenience the viewer with the display of the intermediate frame.

Pages did not scroll, but could effectively be extended by the use of frames, which required alphanumeric suffixes to be appended to the numeric page numbers. Thus keying page *7471# actually resulted in the display of frame 7471a which could be extended by use of follow-on frames 7471b, 7471c etc. each of which was accessed by repeated use of the "#" key. Because the Prestel system was originally designed to be operated solely by means of a simple numeric keypad it was not possible to access frames other than the top level frame directly (i.e., in this case pages other than "7471a").

This follow-on frame facility was exploited extensively by the implementation of telesoftware on Prestel whereby computer programs, notably for the BBC Micro, were available for download from Prestel. Generally speaking, the first two or three frames acted as header pages. For example, one such program was described on frame 70067a, and 70067b, while frame 70067c gave the number of subsequent frames containing the program, and a crosscheck sum. Special software enabled this crosscheck sum to be compared with a value calculated from the result of downloading all the required frames in order to verify a successful download. The actual telesoftware program was contained from frame 70067d onwards, in this case for a further ten frames. In the event that the check failed it was necessary to download the entire program again starting from the beginning.

Each frame had a single-character type code associated with it. Most frames would be "i" (for "Information" types) but other types included response frames, mailbox pages, or gateway pages. Special frame types could also be specified which caused the follow-on frame to be automatically displayed, with or without the usual clear-screen code, as soon as the current frame had finished being transmitted. These were mainly used by "dynamic frames", as it provided a mechanism to continue animations which would not otherwise fit within the number of characters available in a standard frame.

Information providers
There were two levels of information provider (IP) – firstly a "Main IP" who rented pages from Post Office Telecommunications (PO)/British Telecom (BT) directly, and thus owned a three-digit node or "master page" in the database. This required an ongoing investment, consisting of a minimal annual payment to become an information provider. The price of this basic package was £5,500 per annum in 1983, equivalent to around £29,000 in 2021. The charge included: Additional frames were available in batches of 500 for £500 per annum (over £2,600 in 2021 ) while Closed User Groups and Sub-IP Facility cost respectively £250 (over £1,300 in 2021 ).
 * the facility to enter and amend information and to retrieve response frames
 * 100 frames
 * capacity to store 10 completed response frames
 * editing training for staff (two-day seminar)
 * copy of IP editing manual;
 * annual print-out of frames in use (if required)
 * bulk update facilities (if required).

Those with smaller requirements or budget could rent pages from a main information provider rather than from the Post Office/British Telecom. The main IP had to pay an additional £250 to obtain the privilege but could then rent out individual pages at a market rate. Unlike the main IP, sub-IPs had to pay a per-minute charge for editing online, 8p per minute at Monday-Friday 8 am-6 pm or 8p per 4-minute in all other times for sub-IPs in 1983 (over 35p as at end 2014 ). Sub-IPs were restricted to pages under a 4 or more digit node within a Main IP's area, and could only edit existing pages. Sub-IP accounts were unable to create or delete pages or frames themselves.

Editing of pages was possible in one of two ways, either directly by creating or amending pages using special editing keyboards whilst connected online to the main Update Computer, or by creating pages offline and updating them in bulk to the main Update Computer. Bulk update required that pages be created offline by the use of editing terminals which could store pages, or by micro-computers such as that provided by Apple or Acorn. The pages were then transmitted to the UDC online in bulk via a special dialup port and protocol, or sent via magnetic tape to the Update Centre (UDC) where they were uploaded by Network Operations (NOC) staff.

Using the online editor facility, IPs were also able to view information about their pages which was hidden from the ordinary end user, such as the time and date of the last update, whether the frame was in a Closed User Group (CUG), the price to view the frame (if any) and the "frame count" or number of times the frame had been accessed. The frame count was not accumulated over all IRC's but related only to the computer which was being viewed at the time so gaining national access counts was a manual exercise.

IPs and sub-IPs accessed the Edit computer using their normal ID and password, but had a separate password to access the editing facility. Bulk uploads only required the edit password and the IPs account number.

Users
Having logged on, each user was taken direct to their default main index page, known as the Welcome Page. For standard users, this would be page 1a, the general top level index to the whole of Prestel. However, if a user signed up through, or later joined, products or services from major IPs, such as Club 403, Micronet 800, Prestel Travel, CitiService, etc., they would be given a different welcome page, so that after logon they were routed directly to 800a, 403a, 747a etc.

From the Welcome Page it was possible for any user to find pages of information in several different ways, or a combination of them. Printed directories were available which gave the full page numbers corresponding to the items in an alphabetical index. Pages were accessed directly by keying "*page number#". Individual pages often had links to related pages which could be accessed by use of one or two digit routing codes. This feature was widely used on sets of index pages which were commonly grouped by subject heading, provided both by the Post Office/BT and by individual IPs. Because of the numerical limitation, it was often necessary to go through a series of index pages in order to reach the desired page. Extension frames which might be required to view further information on a topic could be only accessed by use of the "#" key. From 1987 onwards, it became possible to use access Prestel pages via use of special alphabetic codes, provided that the IP who owned the page set up a special keyword mapped onto that page. Thus, by keying *M NEWS#, it was possible for a user to route directly to page *40111# to obtain news about micro-computers.

Many standard mailbox frames were available offering various designs for greetings cards or seasonal messages such as Valentine Cards. Messages could only occupy a single frame, so the main message text field could typically take up to a maximum of 100 words, depending upon how many other fields were required and what graphics were used on the frame. Mailbox frames were completed by entering relevant details and pressing the # key on each field. Completing the last, or only, of which lead to the request to "KEY 1 TO SEND KEY 2 NOT TO SEND". Assuming all went well, this led to a subsequent final screen confirming successful dispatch, or if there were problems (such as a mistake in entering the Mailbox number) then an appropriate error frame was displayed. If it was desired to send the message to more than one recipient then it was necessary to re-key the message text into a fresh message frame, although some popular micro-computers of the time provided the facility to store the message so that it could be copied and pasted into a new message. Special commands were also available. For example, to facilitate movement around the database it was possible to step back through a maximum of 3 frames or pages by use of the special key combination "*#". In the event of corruption of a page in transmission it was possible to refresh the page by means of the code *00, which had the advantage of avoiding any page charge being raised again. Alternatively, if the user wished to update a page to see the latest information, for example of flight arrival times, the *09 command would retrieve the latest updates, at the same time re-billing any page display charge. If all else failed, a user could simply return to the first page which he saw after logging onto the system by use of the *0# combination, which brought up their default Main Index. Exceptionally, information could be hidden on a frame by an IP which could only be revealed by use of the 'Reveal" key of the keypad (e.g., to show an answer to a quiz). The same 'Reveal' key was also used to hide the data once more.

Infrastructure
With a view to supporting the planned major expansion programme, a new Prestel infrastructure was designed around two different types of data centre: Update Centre (UDC), where IPs could create, modify and delete their pages of information, and Information Retrieval Centre (IRC), which mirrored copy of the pages is provided to end-users. In practice there only ever was one Update Centre, and this always housed just one update computer, named "Duke", but within six months of public launch there were in addition two dedicated information retrieval computers.

In those early days of the public service all the live Prestel computers were located in St Alphage House, a 1960s office block on Fore Street in the City of London. At the time the National Operations Centre (NOC) was located in the same building on the same floor. The computers and the NOC were later moved to Baynard House, (on Queen Victoria Street, also in the City of London) which acted as a combined UDC and IRC. Both types of machine, together with other development hardware, remained in service there until 1994 when the Prestel service was sold by BT to a private company.

Each IRC normally housed two information retrieval computers, although in some IRCs in London just a single machine was present. IRCs were generally located within major telephone exchanges, rather than in BT Data Processing Centres, in order to give room for the extensive communications requirements. Exchange buildings were ideally suited to housing the large numbers of rack mounted 1200/75 baud modems and associated cabling as well as the racks of 16-port Multi-Channel Asynchronous Communications Control Units (MCACCUs) or multiplexors from GEC which gave the modems logical access into the computers.

In the new infrastructure, IRCs were connected to the UDC in a star network configuration, originally via leased line permanent (not packet switched) connections, based on the X.25 protocol, operating at 2.4 kilobits per second (kbit/s). By mid 1981, these private circuit links had been replaced with dedicated 4-wire X25 circuits over the new public Packet Switch Stream (PSS) network operating at 4.8 kbit/s.

By June 1980, there were four singleton retrieval computers in London, plus six other machines installed in pairs at IRC sites in Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester. Fully equipped IRC machines had a design capacity of 200 user ports each but these first ten machines were initially only capable of supporting approximately 1,000 users between them, expandable later to 2,000 users.

By September 1980, there were five IRC machines in London plus pairs of machines at Birmingham, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and Belfast offering a total of 914 user ports. Further IRC's were planned at Luton, Reading, Sevenoaks, Brighton, Leeds, Newcastle, Cardiff, Bristol, Bournemouth, Chelmsford and Norwich by the end of 1980. In some of these locations where there was insufficient Prestel traffic to warrant siting an IRC computer, the plans were to site multiplex equipment in a suitable exchange building from where connections were made over X25 to the nearest proper IRC. As at the end of 1980, there was actually a total of 1500 live computer ports available and by July 1981, the number of IRC computers has been expanded to 18, increasing the coverage of the telephone subscriber population from 30% to 62%.

In 1982, using the multiplexor technique described above, a virtual IRC was created in Boston, Massachusetts giving access to a machine in the UK known as Hogarth in order to provide Prestel services to subscribers from across the United States via the Telenet packet switching network.

The Prestel Mailbox service was originally launched on Enterprise computer to support messaging solely between users on that machine and by 1984, the facility had been rolled out nationwide. This required a further type of Prestel computer dedicated to the exchange of messages. The only example of this type, which became known as Pandora, was co-located with the UDC in Baynard House, London.

Originally Prestel IRC computers were directly dialled by means of an ordinary telephone number (e.g., the Enterprise computer in Croydon was accessed by dialling 01 686 0311. By 1984, the special short dialling codes 618 and 918 were in use in order to give access to the nearest IRC at local telephone call rates, at least across most parts of the UK.

In 1987, the entire local access network was being overhauled and shared with other Dialcom Group companies – users connecting and not automatically logging into Prestel would be greeted with a menu allowing access to Prestel, Telecom Gold, etc.

Hardware and software
Prestel computers were based on GEC 4000 series  minicomputer  with small differences in the accumulation according to the function of the machine. IRC main machines were originally GEC 4082 equipped with 384 Kbytes memory core store machines, six 70 Mbyte HDD and 100 ports for 1500 initial users. The network grew to the point that in June 1980 there were four stand-alone retrieval computers in the London area with six other computers installed in pairs in Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester. The ten computers could output to approximately 1000 user ports, expandable to 2000. The GEC 4082 computer with 512 megabyte capacity will interconnect to the 10 and later to 20 retrieval computers to handle the data files. The initial data base consists of approximately 164,000 information pages (June, 1980) with planned update capacity of 260,000 pages. A page consists of a maximum of 960 data characters (5x7 bits each, suggesting approximately 35,000 bits per page).

This arrangement effectively limited the size of the public service database to around 250,000 frames so in order to cope with planned growth by 1981 the IRC machines had been expanded by the addition of two further data drives.

Each IRC computer was configured with 208 ports and so was able to support 200 simultaneous Prestel users, the remaining 8 ports being used for test and control functions. Access for the ordinary user was provided via the duplex asynchronous interface provided by banks of GEC 16-port multi-channel asynchronous control units (MCACCU) known more simply as multiplexers. These devices in turn were accessed via banks of standard Post Office Modems No. 20 operating at 1200/75 bit/s, which were connected directly to the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

As seen in 1979, it had important strengths and weaknesses: "The strengths of viewdata include its visual attractiveness, its ease of use, low cost and its wide range of applications. Its weaknesses include its small information window, unsophisticated search methods, its limited storage capacity and its lack of computer power for users. How rapidly viewdata will become established, and the exact role it will fulfil, is as yet a matter of speculation."

By 1981, this configuration had changed with memory doubled to 768 kbytes but with data discs reduced to six, corresponding to the number at the IRC machines and with just a single transaction disc.

In addition to the MCACCU units required to support 1200/75 dial up access, the Update Centre machines were also connected to special modems provided to support online bulk updating by IPs. Banks of 300/300 bit/s full duplex asynchronous V.21 modems supported computer to computer links for the more sophisticated IP while 1200 bit/s half duplex V.23 modems supported so called intelligent editing terminals (i.e. those capable of storing a number of frames offline before uploading to the UDC). In addition twin 9-track NRZI tape decks of 800 bytes/inch capacity were provided in order to support bulk offline updates.

Although technically categorised as minicomputers, these GEC machines were physically very large by today's standards, each occupying several standard communications cabinets, each standing 6 ft high by 2 ft wide. The CDC 9762 hard disc drives were housed separately in large stand-alone units, each one about the size of a domestic washing machine. (See images in the photo of the GEC Computers' Development Centre). The 70 Mbyte capacity hard discs themselves were in fact removable units, each consisting of a stack of five 14-inch platters, standing 4 in high, that could be lifted in and out of the drive unit.

The GEC machines cost in excess of £200,000 each at GEC standard prices, in addition to which there were the costs of all the associated communications equipment. Putting together all of the computer and communications equipment required for a single IRC was a major undertaking and took some 15 months from order placement to commissioning.

GEC 4000 series computers were capable of running a number of operating systems but in practice Prestel machines exclusively ran OS4000 which itself was developed by GEC. This in turn supported BABBAGE, the so-called high level assembler language in which all the Prestel software for both IRC and UDC machines (and later the messaging machine) was written.

In 1987, a Prestel Admin computer was introduced which supported the user registration process: the capture of user details from the paper Prestel Application Form (PAF), the transfer of data to the relevant Prestel computer, and the printing of the welcome letter for users. This machine, also based upon GEC 4082 equipment, was the first to be equipped with 1 Mbyte of memory which was required to support the Rapport relational database. This product from Logica was an early example of deployment of a system written in a 4GL database language which supported all features of the Prestel Admin application.

Monitoring equipment
In order to proactively manage the potentially large numbers of user connections to Prestel computers, special monitoring equipment was developed by Post Office research and development engineers. This was known by the acronym VAMPIRE, short for Viewdata Access Monitor and Priority Incident Reporting Equipment – a title which more or less describes its function. The device used private circuits to connect modem ports on each computer or remote IRC multiplexor node, with a display on a television screen at the Prestel Regional Centre responsible for the administration of IRC. The VAMPIRE screen consisted of a matrix of small squares, so arranged that all ports for a single IRC computer could be displayed on a single television with each square representing the state of a port simply by means of the colour. Free ports were shown as green, occupied ports as yellow, incoming calls as pale blue and faulty ports as red, such that the state of a whole Prestel machine or concentrator node could be determined at a glance.

It was apparently planned to extend this facility via a system designated the Data Recording and Concentrator Unit for Line Applications known as DRACULA, which would generate a summary view so that the state of multiple computers could be displayed on a single screen. This device was never deployed since the number of VAMPIRE sets needed to monitor every Prestel computer and concentrator never got beyond a couple of dozen, spread over many Regional Prestel Centre offices.

Messaging
In 1983, the Prestel messaging service known as "Prestel Mailbox" was launched, initially hosted on the computer known as "Enterprise", and later available from all IRC computers by means of a centralised messaging computer known as "Pandora". This facility extended the original day one concept of "Response Frames" whereby an end user could send a message back to the IP who owned the page via special pages, for example to order goods or services. The user's name, address, telephone number, and date could be added automatically to the message when the IP set up the response frame by means of codes which triggered extraction of key data from the users account held on the IRC computer. Initially response frames were ingathered by an IP from each IRC individually, but later the facility to collect messages from all IRCs at the UDC from where they could be ingathered centrally was implemented, and with the introduction of Mailbox, they could be retrieved from any IRC.

In order to use the new Prestel Mailbox service, the user went to page *7# which gave access to a set of frames where new "free format" messages could be created, or pre-formatted messages filled out and stored messages could be retrieved, and other related facilities were hosted. Many standard mailbox frames were available offering various designs for greetings cards or seasonal messages such as Valentine Cards. In order to compose a new message, a blank message frame, which could also be accessed directly via *77#, was displayed with the sender's mailbox number pre-filled, leaving space for the recipient's mailbox number and the text of the message itself. Messages could only occupy a single frame, so the main message text field could typically take up to a maximum of 100 words, depending upon how many other fields were required and what graphics were used on the frame. Mailbox frames were completed by entering relevant details and pressing the # key on each field. Completing the last, or only, of which lead to the request to "KEY 1 TO SEND KEY 2 NOT TO SEND". Assuming all went well, this led to a subsequent final screen confirming successful dispatch, or if there were problems (such as a mistake in entering the Mailbox number) then an appropriate error frame was displayed. If it was desired to send the message to more than one recipient then it was necessary to re-key the message text into a fresh message frame, although some popular micro-computers of the time provided the facility to store the message so that it could be copied and pasted into a new message.

Prestel Mailbox numbers were generally based upon the last 9 digits of the user's telephone number, without spaces or punctuation. For example, the Prestel Mailbox number for Prestel Headquarters which had the telephone number 01-822 2211 would be simply 018222211, while that for a user in Manchester with telephone number 061-228 7878 would be 612287878. In keeping with the established telephone number practice, but unlike the convention with today's internet mailboxes, Prestel Mailbox numbers were published by default, and were available via the Prestel computers in a dedicated directory accessible from page *486#. On request, ex-directory mailbox numbers were available, usually employing a dummy telephone number format such as the series 01999nnnn, and later the series 01111nnnn.

Every time a user logged into Prestel, a Mailbox banner on their Welcome page, usually flashing, would alert them if they had any new messages waiting. Similarly, upon the user's request to sign off the system via *90#, a warning would appear if any new messages had arrived, with an option to read them, before the user was allowed to disconnect. Messages were retrieved from page *930#, where they were presented to the recipient in chronological order. After reading a new message, the user had to choose between deleting the message, or saving it, before the next message was presented. Initially only three messages could be saved at any one time, and these stored messages were accessible via page *931#.

Use of the basic Mailbox service was free, that is to say there were no registration charges for owning a mailbox, or for sending new messages or for storing received messages, although even by 1984 only five messages could be saved once they had been read.

By 1984 the basic Mailbox service had been extended to give automatic access to the Telex service which at the time was still relatively common in business and was the standard way to reach remoter parts of the globe. Using a special Telex Link page, the message was composed in the usual way and then the destination country chosen and the Telex number entered before sending just like a standard message. Telex Link added the necessary Telex codes as required and tried to send the message as many times as required before positively confirming receipt by means of a special Mailbox message. Telexes could be sent to Prestel Mailbox users from a standard Telex terminal by using Telex Link number and inserting "MBX" and the relevant mailbox number as the first line of the telex message itself. The incoming telex message appeared to the Prestel recipient just as an ordinary Mailbox message but with the telex number inserted at the top of the frame.

Because of the charges inherent in use of the Telex service, messages sent via Prestel Telex Link were chargeable, in 1984 at the rate of 50p for destinations in the UK, £1.00 for Europe, £2.00 for North America, £3.00 for elsewhere and even £5.00 for sending to ships via INMARSAT. There was no charge to Prestel users for receiving Telex messages.

In the same year, when there were some 70,000 users registered, up to 100,000 mailboxes and telexes were sent each week via Prestel Mailbox.

From July 1989, a new mailbox system was introduced which allowed for single messages of up to five frames in length, storing of messages prior to sending, sending to multiple recipients, either individually or via a mailing list, forwarding of messages, and requesting an acknowledgment of receipt. Whilst sending a simple mailbox using none of the new facilities remained free, all of the new options were charged at 1p per use per recipient. For the first time, the sending of spam was accounted for and permitted, albeit at 20p per recipient. In addition, the stored message facility was replaced by a summary page, which listed all the messages, both new and old, that were waiting. The user could then pick which message to view, rather than being required to read through them all in chronological order. As only the first 20 could be accessed, this effectively allowed for up to 19 messages to be stored while allowing the continued reception of new mail.

A security breach of the Prestel mailbox of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and subsequent trial led to the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Public take-up
While teletext services were provided free of charge, and were encoded as part of the regular television transmissions, Prestel data were transmitted via telephone lines to a set-top box terminal, computer, or dedicated terminal. While this enabled interactive services and a crude form of e-mail to be provided, gaining access to Prestel also involved purchasing a suitable terminal, and arranging with a Post Office engineer for the installation of a connection point known as a Jack 96A. (From the early 1980s, the "New Plan" sockets were fitted as standard on new lines and on any change of rented handset, and terminals or modems then required no special connections.)

Thereafter it was necessary to pay both a monthly subscription and the cost of local telephone calls. On top of this, some services (notably parts of Micronet 800) sold content on a paid-for basis. Each Prestel screen carried a price in pence in the top right-hand corner. Single screens could cost up to 99p.

The original idea was to persuade consumers to buy a modified television set with an inbuilt modem and a keypad remote control in order to access the service, but no more than a handful of models were ever marketed and they were prohibitively expensive. Eventually set-top boxes were made available, and some organisations made these available as part of their subscription, for example branded Tandata terminals were provided by the Nottingham Building Society for its customers, who could make financial transactions via Prestel.

Because the communication over telephone lines did not use any kind of error correction protocol, it was prone to interference from line noise which would result in garbled text. This was particularly problematic with early home modems which used acoustic couplers, because most home phones were hard-wired to the wall at that time.

Regardless of the hardware choice Prestel was an expensive proposition, and as a result, Prestel only ever gained a limited market penetration among private consumers, achieving a total of just 90,000 subscribers, with the largest user groups being Micronet 800 with 20,000 users and Prestel Travel with 6,500 subscribers.

The costs for businesses interested in publishing on Prestel were also expensive. This ensured that only the largest or most forward thinking companies were interested in the service.

During the daytime, when business usage was high, there was a per-minute charge to use Prestel, but in the evenings and weekends, traditionally the quiet times, it was free apart from the telephone call. With Micronet being so popular, suddenly the quiet times became fairly busy.

The BT Prestel software development team developed a number of national variants of Prestel, all of which ran on GEC Computers. They were sold to the PTTs of other countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Hong Kong, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Yugoslavia. Italy was the largest system with 180,000 subscribers. The Singapore system had a notable technology difference in that pages were not returned over the modem connection, but were returned using teletext methods over one of four television channels reserved specially for the purpose, which had all scan lines encoded in teletext format. This higher bandwidth enabled use of a feature called Picture Prestel which was used to carry significantly higher resolution pictures than were available on other Prestel systems. It was also demonstrated at the 1982 Worlds Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The original Prestel system, designed for cost effectiveness and simplicity, employed a rudimentary graphic capability known as serial mosaics. Through juxtaposition of the special mosaic characters, crude but recognizable graphic representations could be made on the screen. This graphic scheme had its limitations. To change colours between two mosaic graphic characters or between any two characters in general, a colour change command was required. This command signal, however, physically occupied a blank space on the screen.The French sought to overcome this limitation when they joined the videotex world in the mid-1970s. They called their system Antiope. While based on the same mosaic graphics that were employed by the British, Antiope added a new feature, parallel attributes, or the ability to change the colour from one cell to another without the need for a blank space. At approximately the same time, the Canadians adapted standard computer graphic commands into a set of functions called alphageometrics. These alphageometric functions did away with the block mosaic graphics used by the British and French and replaced them with drawing instructions, such as: DRAW LINE, DRAW ARC, DRAW POLYGON, etc. Through use of these geometric commands much higher resolution could be achieved than with the mosaic commands. This alphageometric scheme was integrated into the Canadian videotex system which the Canadians referred to as "Telidon".

Having developed Prestel as a way of maximising usage of existing telephone lines, the British Post Office and subsequently British Telecom sought to "provide only the framework" for the service, delegating the provision of information to information providers. Nevertheless, considerable investment was required in the infrastructure to provide such a service. With information providers needing to pay rental charges and with users needing to pay installation and rental fees, such an investment was considered likely to pay off handsomely for BT and that they would be "cleaning up" by providing an interactive service that, in contrast to teletext services such as Ceefax and Oracle, could support a range of commercial activities. A "mass public service" was envisaged, with considerable public take-up, but a lack of compelling content and services gave domestic users in particular the impression of Prestel being something that "would cost them a lot for relatively little". Thus, Prestel became more like "a fragmented series of computer-linked private systems" used and run by various companies such as American Express and Thomas Cook, for whom adoption of the technology made sense operationally. Nevertheless, it was predicted that eventually, "Prestel - or another viewdata system - will be ubiquitous".

Successes
In contrast to the demise of the British system, the French equivalent of Prestel, Teletel/Minitel, received substantial public backing when millions of Minitel terminals were handed out free to telephone subscribers (causing Alcatel huge financial problems). As a consequence the Teletel network became very popular in France, and remained well used, with access later also possible over the Internet. After a short postponement, Minitel closed finally on 30 June 2012.

In 1979 the New Opportunity Press launched Careerdata, an interactive graduate recruitment service, It was supported by GEC's Hirst Research centre in Wembley, London, who provided 12 terminals which were installed in the largest UK university careers advisory services. This was the first commercial application on the new medium and was featured in the Prestel Road Show which toured the UK and some European centres. A closed-access videotex system based on the Prestel model was developed by the travel industry, and continues to be almost universally used to this day by travel agents throughout the country: see Viewdata. The Prestel technology was also sold abroad to several countries, and in 1984 Prestel won a UK Queen's Award to Industry both for its innovative technology and use of British products (it largely ran on equipment provided by GEC Computers).

In 1979 Michael Aldrich developed an online shopping system, a type of e-commerce, using a modified domestic colour television equipped with the Prestel chipset and connected to a real-time transaction-processing computer via a domestic dial-up telelphone line. During the 1980s he sold these online shopping systems to large corporations mainly in the UK. All the terminals on these systems could also access the Prestel systems. Aldrich installed a travel industry system in Thomson Holidays in 1981.

Other implementations
The Prestel system was customised and resold by GEC Computers to several other countries, including: Austria, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the former Yugoslavia.

Telecom Australia re-branded their system Viatel, with the centre of operations in Windsor, Melbourne, Australia. During the Black Monday stock market crash the system's stock trading system was highly used. The system in Italy run by SIP was heavily used during the 1990 FIFA World Cup for reporting the match progress and scores. The Singapore system provided a much higher receive bandwidth than was available over dial-up modems at the time by broadcasting the return frames using the Teletext technique of embedding them in broadcast television signals. Four VHF TV channels were dedicated to this with all the scan lines used for Teletext encoding, which enabled the system to provide a feature called Picture Prestel to convey higher resolution images. The Yugoslav system was based in Zagreb, with additional IRCs located in Rijeka, Ljubljana, and Split.

The American Viewtron videotex service was modelled after Prestel.

Homelink
In 1983 the UK's first online banking service opened with Homelink, which was a cooperation between the Nottingham Building Society and the Bank of Scotland.

title: Prestel


text:
Tomislav Ladan

Tomislav Ladan (25 June 1932 – 12 September 2008) was a Croatian essayist, critic, translator and novelist.

Ladan was born in Ivanjica, Serbia, and spent his formative years in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina (Travnik, Bugojno), where he graduated from the Philosophical Faculty at Sarajevo. Since he couldn't get permanent employment in the then Serbs-dominated Bosnian cultural life because of his sometimes ostentatious Croatian identity, Ladan worked intermittently as a private tutor, translator and journalist — until the Croatian doyen of belles letters, Miroslav Krleža, found him a job at the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute in Zagreb. Ladan was the director of the same institute and the editor-in-chief of an eight-language parallel dictionary.

Ladan wrote several books of essays that cover diverse fields such as cursing in Croatian, voluminous polygraphy playing with etymological meanings of the words that define human culture, from God to globalization (Riječi, "Words"), and nuances of medieval spiritual culture (Parva medievalia).

Ladan's only novel, Bosanski grb ("Bosnian coat of arms") (1975) is a postmodernist fiction written as a combination of Rabelaisian linguistic feast and a treatise on the historical destiny of Croats in central Bosnia.

As a critic over more than four decades, Ladan surveyed virtually all works written in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian — not infrequently to the consternation of the "objects" of his criticism. Follower of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and Frank Kermode, Ladan didn't pay much attention to the deconstructionists (Derrida) or Foucault, both of whom he found arid and sterile. His best critical essays also evaluate such writers as William Faulkner and Robert Musil.

Ladan was also a noted translator from Greek, Latin, English, German, Swedish and Norwegian.

title: Tomislav Ladan


text:
Honda ST series

The Honda ST series, also known as the Pan-European in Europe, is a duo of Sport Touring motorcycles comprising the ST1100 and the later ST1300.

Following the launch of the Gold Wing, which was very successful in the US, Honda's marketing team perceived that the European market (hence the "Pan European" moniker) would appreciate a lighter, sportier, and more manoeuvrable motorcycle. Introduced in 1990, the ST1100 was given a water-cooled 90-degree V4 engine mounted inline, instead of a flat-four engine (as in the Gold Wing). The ST1100 gained most of the Gold Wing's other characteristic engineering elements, such as shaft drive, a full fairing and integral panniers. Introduced to the European market a year before it was available in the United States, the ST1100 supplied within a sportier package the features required by touring riders, thereby filling a niche between the Honda VFR750F sports tourer and the larger Gold Wing.

Its successor, the ST1300, (also called the "Pan-European" in Europe), was introduced in 2002, becoming available in the US in 2003. Production continued through the 2012 model year. In November 2013, following deletion of the ST1300 from the model line, Honda announced the CTX1300, a cruiser motorcycle powered by a version of the ST1300's engine modified for better fuel economy and increased torque at low RPMs.

ST1100
The ST1100  had a 1,085 cc longitudinal 90-degree V4 engine. The fuel tank was located below the saddle (the tank at the usual location is actually the cover for the air filter) to lower the center of gravity and thus improve the handling. It was manufactured by Honda between 1990 and 2002. A police variant, the ST1100P, was available for several more years.

The ST1100 was optimized for long-distance touring with the following features:
 * A longitudinal V-4 engine layout with low maintenance shaft drive
 * Optional antilock brakes (ABS) and traction control system (TCS). ABS model years from 1992 through 1995 have conventional separate front and rear braking systems. After 1996, ABS-equipped bikes have front-rear linked brakes (LBS).
 * An exceptionally large 28 L (7.4 US gallon) fuel tank, giving a range of about 300 highway miles (480 km).
 * A large 40 amp, air-cooled alternator to power multiple accessories such as auxiliary lighting and electrically heated clothing (Early models had a problematic 28 amp alternator which could be upgraded to the 40 amp version)

Weighing around 290 kg, the ST1100 was no lightweight. The bike was fitted with wing-shaped tipover protectors projecting from the side of the lower part of the fairing. These would not only protect the bike and cylinder heads in a crash, but, should the rider drop the bike on its side, would prevent this very heavy bike from leaning over so far that it would be nigh impossible to pick up again; the panniers also helped in this matter. The ST1100 low-mounted rear-view mirrors were particularly effective.

ST1300
The ST1300 1,261 cc V4 engine had a cassette-type five-speed transmission and a two-element fuel-tank. The engine forms a stressed member in a lighter aluminum frame, the layout giving a low centre of gravity. Just like the ST1100 that it superseded, the ST1300 features a standard riding posture, a liquid-cooled longitudinal V4 engine with shaft drive and a fully faired body with integral hard panniers as standard.

During the 2000 bike show season, Honda presented a prototype sport tourer called the X-Wing, featuring a 1,500 cc V6 engine, single-sided front and rear suspension and an automatic transmission. Speculation in the press that the X-Wing was the ST1100's replacement was partially confirmed when Honda introduced an all-new ST1300 Pan European in Europe and Australia for the 2002 model year. For the U.S. market, the new bike would be imported in limited numbers (about 2,200 per year ) starting in 2003 as the ST1300. Motor Cycle News reported in 2009 that Honda would replace the ST1300 with a new touring bike powered by a V4 engine mounted transversely, similar to the Honda VFR1200F layout. In 2011, Honda announced that development of the next generation Pan European motorcycle was on hold.

The ST1300 incorporates many of the X-Wing's lines but none of its running gear. Power comes from a lower-slung 1,261 cc V4 engine mounted as a stressed member in a lighter aluminum frame. A major difference from the ST1100 is the use of balance shafts for smoothness, allowing the engine to be directly mounted to the frame. The revised engine layout and a split fuel tank shift some of the weight downward, making the ST1300 less top-heavy than its predecessor. The rear wheel is driven through a cassette-type five-speed transmission and shaft drive.

Honda's ABS and linked brake package is an option for all years on the ST1300 in the United States, but became standard on the European ST1300 Pan European 2004 (A4 models). Unlike the ST1100, the ST1300 does not include a traction control system. In 2002 and 2003, models with ABS included an electrically adjustable windscreen. The electrically adjustable windscreen became standard equipment on all bikes in 2004. A long list of minor differences improved upon the ST1100's comfort, handling and performance.

Pan weave
Evidence indicates the ST1300 can exhibit a weave instability mode at high speed – known in the case of the ST1300 as Pan Weave.

In April 2007, subsequent to the death of a police motorcyclist riding a single seat ST1300, the emergency service version of the ST1300, a British coroner announced he would warn all Chief Constables in England and Wales of the "serious threat" to riders' lives posed by the ST1300 and the "catastrophic result" of the high speed weave. Later safety checks resulted in one examiner sustaining several broken bones in a similar incident. UK police forces subsequently withdrew the ST1300 from police service; London Ambulance Service continue to operate the ST1300.

RiDE Magazine reported in October 2007 that a team replicated weave instability mode with a civilian Honda ST1300 – reproducing the instability at a speed of 110 mph under certain loading conditions. The rider noticed a rear wheel maximum yaw of 11 degrees per second, described as "a consistent and alarming sideways movement." The editors named the behavior "Pan weave". The intent of the testing was not to determine the cause of the weave, but to confirm its existence. Also, the article reported that 43% of surveyed ST1300 owners had experienced the weave.

Honda's response
American Honda published an advisory in August 2007 on the proper selection, installation, and use of equipment on the ST1300PA police motorcycle. They made a strong recommendation to have "qualified personnel evaluate a motorcycle fitted with all intended equipment under the anticipated speeds and conditions before the vehicle is placed into service." The advisory also contained guidelines for the selection and installation of attachments, including:
 * Place equipment as low and close to the center of the motorcycle as possible;
 * avoid exceeding the maximum load limit for the vehicle;
 * comply with weight limits for each saddlebag and fairing pocket;
 * ensure attachments and equipment are balanced on both sides of the vehicle.

By 2010, the ST1300PA was again popular with police departments in the UK and in the US, competing with police bikes from Harley-Davidson, BMW, Kawasaki and Yamaha on both price and performance. The Automobile Association and other groups providing roadside assistance or emergency services have also chosen the ST1300 for their motorcycle fleets since 2010.

title: Honda ST series