VizWorld.com

I came across an article on ComputerWorld by Agam Shah that is so schizophrenic and self-conflicting that I can’t tell how much of it is Agam’s opinion and how much of it is internal strife at AMD.  It starts off:

Advanced Micro Devices will put more focus on tightly integrating graphics processor cores into mainstream servers starting 2012 as it tries to increase system performance, a company executive said.

Great, GPU acceleration is really picking up steam in a wide variety of markets so it only makes sense for AMD, parent of ATI, to integrate it into their servers.  But then they say:

Over the next two years, computing using a GPU will remain a relatively niche area, so AMD’s focus will be on CPUs and adding cores to it, Longoria said.

Ok, so are they going to focus on it or not?  They don’t seem to really know.

“As GPU becomes more relevant, that’s a better way of getting performance than [CPU] cores,” Longoria said.

AMD currently has a 16-core server CPU code-named Interlagos planned for release in 2011, and it will be based on a new chip architecture.

I think I like the view of Dan Olds, principal analyst at Gabriel Computing Group, the best:

“I’m glad they are addressing the market, but perhaps they should push ahead and develop the market more,” Olds said. AMD is more of a spectator and not a major player like Nvidia, which is aggressively pushing its software and hardware for heterogenous computing, he said.

And then to top it off, they talk about their upcoming CPU+GPU Fusion processor called “Llano” at ISSCC in San Francisco.

The “Llano” processor that AMD described today in an ISSCC session is not a CPU, and it’s not a GPU—instead, it’s a hybrid design that the chipmaker is calling an “application processor unit,” or APU. Whatever you call it, it could well give Intel a run for its money in the laptop market, by combining a full DX11-compatible GPU with four out-of-order CPU cores on a single, 32nm processor die.

Definitely a case of the Left Hand not knowing what the Right Hand has just announced to the world.

AMD aims for GPUs in mainstream servers starting 2012 – Computerworld.

Hardware amd, ati, gpu

In an interview with Physxinfo.com, Mir Vadim talks about his amazing RayFire shatter and destruction simulation tool for 3dsMax and how it has grown from a simple idea into quite possibly the most powerful destructive simulation tool in the industry.

One and a half of the year has passed since that moment and now RayFire Tool became a default plugin for artists who need to create dynamic simulation, demolition, explosions or just prebreak objects. A lot of famous companies purchased it and use now in their production: first one and it will be here always is Blur Studio, among others are Blizzard, Disney, Fox, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, Ubisoft, Codemasters, Crytek, Rocksteady, Sega, Boeing and even US Military.

Towards the end he also discusses future directions of RayFire, and admirably denies adding in features that he considers “outside” of the focus of RayFire in favor of keeping it small, lean, and fast.

via PhysX From Inside Out: RayFire Tool | PhysXInfo.com – PhysX Articles.

Graphics, Science 3dsmax, interview, physx, rayfire

This is a great shot of how infographics placards can be used in the real world. In case you did not know where the various items were on a Boeing 737, now you do. While this shot came from Cool Inforgraphics, there are more pictures of the place on Flickr showing it taking off.

This is a great new infographic paint job on a Kulula Airlines (a South Africa airline) Boeing 737, informative and humorous. With labels detailing many of the plane’s features, this looks like a a training plane.

via : Cool Infographics
via : Boeing 737 with incredible letterings

Graphics infographic

Sequence Magazine follows on the success of their epic 45-minute “Behind the Scenes of Avatar” video with a 15-minute Behind the Scenes of this weekend’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians.

Unlike our previous experience with Avatar, which had wealth of video footage to work with freely available on the Internet, Percy Jackson and The Olympians was a hard one. After two days of browsing, we finally had enough video material to start editing.  Hint, why there were almost no updates this weekend.

Check it out on their site.

Exclusive: Exploring the World of Percy Jackson and The Olymians | Sequence Magazine.

Graphics makingof, movie, percyjackson, vfx

Visual Economics has posted an infographic which they call Planet Google. They list the market share of Google for much of the world, with Google having a 98% market share in Latvia. Unfortunately, they leave off the entire continent of Africa. I wonder why they left off such an important part of the world. Surely if they can find data for Latvia, they can find data on Egypt.

via : Planet Google: From Philosophies to Market Shares

Graphics google, infographic

Avatar took 3D movies from Gimmick to Cash Cow, and left theaters looking for the next big gimmick to keep them coming back.  Korea seems to be leading the charge with their new “Avatar in 4D” promotion underway.  What makes a movie translate from 3D to 4D youask?

Besides surround sound and 3D visual effects, Avatar 4D features added effects such as moving seats, laser lights and/or wind, and a host of other more “physical” features to immerse viewers into the film even more.

All in all, 30 different “real-life” effects combine to turn Avatar in 4D.  The cost of the “immersive” experiences: $15.80 per ticket.

Koreans get the best of everything: Avatar in 4D « Gadgetsteria.

Graphics avatar, movie

Retrevo, an electronics marketplace, randomly surveyed 1,000 of its users before the iPad announcement and then again after the iPad announcement. They then took this data and graphed it using a few pie charts. Apparently Retrevo users have changed their minds from before the announcement to after the announcement. Fewer are willing to buy the iPad, or even think that they need it. Since they only surveyed their users, the data may not be indicative of the general population of the United States. Such mistakes have been made before, with hilarious results.

via : Apple iPad Hoopla Fails to Convince Buyers

Hardware apple, infographic, ipad

BillShrink has posted an infographic on the history of tipping. There is always a bit of controversy around tipping. For me it seems that tip jars are appearing everywhere. I follow the simple rule that where a person does me a service above and beyond the call of duty, they get tipped more. At a local restaurant, our waitress knows us by name, and provides good service. She routinely gets tipped 30% or more. Here is another tidbit from the infographic:

One simple method of increasing tips, drawing a smiley face on the bill, increases a waitresses tips by 18% but decreases a waiter’s tip by 9%.

I will have to check next time to she if our waitress draws a smiley face on the check. I have never noticed. Hit the link below for more.

via : The History of Tipping

Graphics BillShrink, infographic

A clever use of augmented reality is making an appearance in a Takashimaya department story in Shinjuku.  The “Digital Cosmetic Mirror” by Shiseido uses some advanced image processing and facial recognition software to augment video of yourself with various cosmetics and mascara in real time.

All you do is sit down and let the camera scan your face. The terminal then gives you tailored recommendations. Pressing a few buttons on the touch-screen paints make-up onto your image in realtime, allowing you to see the results instantly. You also try out make-up that is currently making waves, along with printing out before and after photos with product information for you to go make the purchase of whichever colors caught your eye the most.

A powerful use of “tryvertising”, I would love to know just what impact this has had on sales.  See video of it in-action after the break.

via Augmented Reality Cosmetic Mirror in Tokyo.

Read more…

Science advertising, augmented reality, image processing, japan

Twitter has just started a new blog where they talk about some of the challenges that have faced, and new features that are coming down the road. As part of the kick off for the blog, they have created a visualization using CodeSwarm. From the article:

Icons represent developers, and particles represent files added or modified. It doesn’t cover prototypes or contributions to open source, so it isn’t exactly scientific, but it still goes to show Twitter’s explosive growth mirrored in engineering.

Take a look at the embedded after the break, then hit the site for more news.

Read more…

Graphics code swarm, twitter, visualization