Wednesday, September 22, 2004
NVIDIA announces the GoForce 3D 4500 and opens to the door for more realistic 3D content on your wireless and handheld devices.
NVIDIA Corporation, a worldwide leader in graphics and digital media processors, today unveiled the GoForce 3D 4500, the world's first 3D wireless media processor (WMP).
NVIDIA's GoForce 3D 4500 WMP enables a whole new level of interactive content not previously possible on cell phones, PDAs, or other handheld devices. For the first time, mobile content developers can harness a powerful 3D medium to create rich, dynamic, lifelike worlds and characters. Additionally, mobile devices powered by the new 3D WMP will be able to synthesise amazingly realistic environments with objects that behave according to complex physics and intelligent characters with true-to-life personalities.
"Mobile phone OEMs are continuing to differentiate their products and services on multimedia capabilities and 3D graphics is one of the key new technologies going into advanced phones," said Allen Leibovitch, manager of semiconductor research for IDC. "Successful semiconductor solutions will not only include well-supported 3D graphics, but also still image and video processing while consuming a minimum of power and should drive the next evolution of multimedia for advanced handheld devices."
"We believe the NVIDIA GoForce 3D 4500 will drive a major discontinuity in the handheld market, a market already known for its staggering pace of innovation," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation. "By enabling the delivery of stunning content whether it is photos, videos or gamesחNVIDIA intends to ensure that mobile phone users enjoy the wonderful experiences that will become commonplace in the digital media era."
The unique feature set of the GoForce 3D 4500 WMP include:
-Specifically designed for handsets, the GoForce 3D 4500 features geometry processing for arcade-quality 3D acceleration and gaming.
-Programmable shaders, bilinear and trilinear texture filtering, texture compression, support for six simultaneous textures and a 40-bit colour pipeline for high-resolution detailed images.
-The revolutionary new NVIDIA nPower technology, for better battery life allowing for longer talk time.
-Support for MPEG-4 and H.263 formats for VHS-quality recording and playback.
-A 3.0 megapixel JPEG codec, for capturing and viewing sharp, crystal clear photos.
NVIDIA will support the GoForce 3D line with a content strategy of working with carriers, game developers, and publishers across the industry to enhance the delivery of rich compelling content to cell phones, PDAs, gamepad units, and other handheld devices. The GoForce 3D 4500 WMP also supports standard 3D application programming interfaces, including OpenGL-ES, D3D-Mobile, and M3G.
NVIDIA is sampling the GoForce 3D 4500 today to major phone OEMs and handheld manufacturers. The first company shipping with this new WMP will be Tiger Telematics with the Gizmondo portable game console. Phones featuring the GoForce 3D 4500 are expected to ship in the first half of 2005.
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on 09/22 at 12:54 AM
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Monday, September 06, 2004
Complete with all the tools for game development, Nurve hopes to bridge the gap between game development and learning the knowledge it takes to develop a game.
Nurve Networks LLC unveils what is undoubtedly the most unexpected kind of new video game system: one that users will learn how to design, program and build themselves.
Video games generate billions of dollars in revenue each year and game programming books occupy rows of bookstore shelf space. Video game development has made its way into college curriculums and entire game programming universities have emerged. But, video games run on advanced hardware, the design of which is a black art that few understand.
For over a decade, books by Computer Scientist and best-selling game development author Andre' LaMothe (his latest title "Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus") have taught generations of game developers to create today's cutting-edge video games. Now, his focus is changing from video game software to video game hardware with the unveiling of the XGameStation Micro Edition, a revolutionary new video game system that offers users what no PlayStation or XBOX can - knowledge. While the other systems duke it out in a never-ending battle of polygon counts and shader passes, the XGameStation is less about upgrading its own hardware and more about upgrading your grey matter.
The XGameStation Micro Edition (XGS ME) is a complete game development kit inspired by classic systems such as the Atari 2600, 800, Apple II, C64 and Nintendo Entertainment System. The XGS kit includes a fully-assembled XGS unit with all necessary cables and accessories, a full-length eBook written by Andre LaMothe on the design and programming of the XGS along with all the software necessary to create your own games, demos, and experiments. The book introduces the reader to analog/digital engineering, then gradually explores the entire design of the XGS's hardware and software.
Armed with a complete understanding of how the system was built and operates, users then create their own games or play games made by their peers. The online community at xgamestation.com completes the system's appeal, providing a place for XGameStation developers to share ideas, software and even discuss hardware modifications. As the holy wars continue over which console is better, XGameStation unites gamers, hobbyists and students in a single community where the goal is not to prove who has the best specs, but to work together for a common goal of learning, understanding and pushing the system's limits.
The system plugs into any NTSC/PAL TV and supports vintage Atari 2600 controllers as well as a PS/2 keyboard. XGameStation Micro Edition games and applications are stored on internal processor Flash, allowing users to develop and download their games from a PC using the accompanying tools.
In short, by empowering hobbyists and game developers with a game platform they can truly call their own, the XGameStation Micro Edition is reviving the magic of programming and hardware hacking for systems like the Apple II, Atari 800 and Commodore 64. For the first time in history, the engineers of tomorrow's cutting edge video game systems will learn and build their skills using one from today.
Posted by
on 09/06 at 11:09 PM
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Thursday, August 26, 2004
Federal agents raided five homes and one ISP in Texas, Wisconsin and New York as part of "Operation Digital Gridlock", in search of a file-swapping group named the "Underground Network".
From CNET, "Although no charges have yet been filed, the action is a milestone in federal law enforcement's treatment of peer-to-peer technology. It could portend deeper scrutiny of casual online copyright infringement, expanding beyond the tightly organized groups typically targeted by investigators in the past."
"Like most high-profile federal actions, Wednesday's searches targeted a group suspected of being high-volume copyright infringers rather than everyday computer users who might use a mainstream program such as Kazaa or eDonkey. But unlike the secretive "warez" groups that have been the focus of earlier FBI investigations, the Underground Network appeared to have had minimal membership requirements and little organization linking its most casual users."
"According to documents provided by the Justice Department, the sting operation has been under way since at least March. Undercover FBI agents joined the network by loading two computers with copyrighted material and applying for membership with those machines. Like many other similar groups, the Underground Network required that members be able to provide copyright materials for download by other users instead of simply "leeching" on others."
"Once a part of the network, the FBI agents identified five of the most active "hubs" in the United States and downloaded a total of 72 gigabytes of copyrighted material--including 84 movies, 40 software applications, 13 games and 178 songs, according to the Justice Department documents."
Posted by
Al on 08/26 at 07:34 PM
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Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Although Monday was supposed to be the day when Microsoft began pushing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to enterprises, it changed its mind at the last minute and delayed the automatic updating for more than a week.
From CRN.com, "Based on that feedback, we have altered the delivery schedule of Windows XP SP2. The machines in your organization using Automatic Update will not receive Windows XP SP2 until Wednesday, August 25 -- at the earliest -- as long as those machines are running Windows XP Professional Edition," Microsoft said in the e-mail.
The new schedule outlined in the e-mail listed August 25, a week from Wednesday, as the date for release of SP2 to Automatic Update for users of Windows XP Professional. That's the same day Microsoft will post SP2 on Windows Update, where users can manually retrieve the massive upgrade.
Get the full story from CRN.com
Posted by
on 08/17 at 02:31 PM
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Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Don't expect to have the ability to play games -- the chips will be driving the brains of the televisions, for faster menus and processing.
From Forbes, "Sony Corp plans to install its high-performance Playstation 2 game console chips in flat-panel TVs due for release this fall, in an apparent effort to catch up with Sharp Corp and other firms in the flat-panel TV market, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing unidentified company sources."
"The chips' ability to handle detailed computer graphics will improve the TV's image-processing capacity, leading to faster on-screen control for selecting the type of TV broadcasts or viewing image data stored on digital or video cameras, the report said."
Posted by
Al on 08/11 at 10:08 AM
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