InsideHPC’s John West just finished a review of “Programming Massively Parallel Processors: A Hands on Approach” by David Kirk and Wen-mei Hwu, and now that the book is read, what to do?
Easy, give it away. Hit his site for the details, but basically just send him an email and you are automatically entered to win.
Win a free copy of Programming Massively Parallel Processors | insideHPC.com.
Rene Schulte has just released SLARToolkit, a toolkit designed for bringing augmented reality to Silverlight-powered applications with ease, and is now proud to announce it is available at CodePlex. The library description:
SLARToolkit is a flexible Augmented Reality library for Silverlight with the aim to make real time Augmented Reality applications with Silverlight as easy and fast as possible. It can be used with Silverlight’s Webcam API or with any other CaptureSource or a WriteableBitmap. SLARTookit is based on the established NyARToolkit and ARToolkit. SLARToolkit uses a dual license model and could be used for open or closed source applications under certain conditions. See the License page for details.
He provides sample markers and a demonstration application at his site. See an example video below.
SLARToolkit – Silverlight Augmented Reality 3D projection sample from Rene Schulte on Vimeo.
GOOD Magazine has announced their next Infographic contest, with the details on their site:
As you may know, our next issue is the Neighborhoods issue. We’ve asked for and received tons of help from you all in thinking of ideas. But we’ll be honest, we’re having a hard time thinking of topics for our infographics to be included in the issue. There will be some, but we’re turning to you for support. Can you make an infographic—locally or nationally focused—that sums up something interesting about the contrast between different neighborhoods (say, ethnicity, income, education level, anything else), or what makes your individual neighborhoods so special?
So if you have an idea, now’s your chance! Publicity and a free subscription could be yours, if you can conjure up your submission by March 9th.
via Project: Create an Infographic About Neighborhoods – GOOD Blog – GOOD.
FlowingData has an article on the Fritz Kahn poster, Man as Industrial Palace. Now, this poster has been made into a video. Hit the site below for a link to the video.
In 1926, Fritz Kahn illustrated man as a working factory in his famous poster, Man as Industrial Palace. Tiny guys in each body system perform their own specific job. A camera man controls the eyes, groups of thinkers sit up top, and the guys at the bottom handle the dirty work.
Designer Henning Lederer brings the poster to life in animated and interactive form (below). I love the little guys working the switchboards.
With SecondLife in the news, releasing a new and improved ‘Viewer’ tool and scoring keynote at the IEEE VR 2010 conference, today’s recommended resource is Byron Reeves’ and J. Leighton Reed’s “Total Engagement: Using Games & Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete“.
Every week, millions of people including many of your employees spend hours playing multi-player online games with a level of engagement they don t bring to work. These aren’t just adolescent video games we re talking rich narrative quests with 3-D environments, cool avatars, and compelling goals and rewards. Imagine the value if you could transfer key ingredients of game design and the gamer excitement and focus that come with it to the office. What if your employees could solve customer problems, design new software, or configure better shipping routes working inside a game environment at work?
This isn’t just possible, say Byron Reeves and J. Leighton Read; it s inevitable. As global competition intensifies and employee productivity and engagement become more critical, the user experience provided by game technology offers a tantalizing solution for business. This is far more than a quaint metaphor for business and it s way beyond training tools. Implemented in the workplace, elements of games can solve a host of business problems with morale, communication, and alignment all while honing skills like data analysis, teamwork, recruitment, leadership, and more.
Disclosure: The publisher sent me a free copy of this book which I am reading now. Expect a review later.
You can find this book and several others in the VizWorld.com Store, Powered by Amazon.
Another great entry at the OnlineSchools.org website, this time chronicling the history of LEGO, my favorite childhood toy. Covering the original business founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932 through the recent 50th anniversary of the brick in 2008.
I remember getting the Legoland Castle for Christmas one year (1984 I guess by the chart). Still my favorite set of all time. What was yours?
The latest issue of ‘Dazed & Confused’ magazine is cashing in on the Augmented Reality craze with several markers inside the issue, each connected to a short film.
Holding the March issue up to a webcam sets Dazed’s Augmented Reality fashion in motion, with five exclusive fashion films showcasing the best of the spring collections. Contributors include the likes of supermodel Jessica Miller and photographer David Armstrong, working with the Dazed fashion editors on stories ranging from avant-garde performance pieces to a chilling horror short.
You can view a short 30s trailer showing clips of all the videos, and a chance to see another interesting feature: Pause the video at any point and see the designers of the various clothing overlaid on the video.
The issue is available in stores now.
At next month’s IEEE VR2010 conference in Waltham MA, the Senior Vice President of Customer Applications at Linden Labs Howard Look will be giving a keynote presentation entitled “Breaking Down the Walls: The Future of Second Life”. His abstract:
Is it possible for 3D Virtual Worlds to be as ubiquitous and relevant as the 2D Internet? Will a broad consumer audience find as much social connection and value in a 3D world as it does in the 2D experiences of Twitter and Facebook? Will conducting business in virtual meeting rooms or attending virtual conferences be as natural and valuable as in real life? Will consuming virtual goods be as commonplace as commerce on Amazon or Ebay? Will standards emerge that enable scalable and interoperable experiences between Virtual Worlds?
At Linden Lab, we certainly think that all this, and more, will happen. In this talk, I'll describe what we’re doing to make the vision a reality. From our humble startup beginnings a decade ago, through a hype-fueled expansion, Second Life continues to grow. We’re now undergoing a substantial transformation, renovating our platform and experience as we grow beyond our early adopter roots. I’ll take you behind the scenes and describe what we’re up to, the technology that we’re banking on, and hopefully inspire you with some of the incredible experiences our residents have created.
Sounds interesting! Second Life is getting some great press again recently, let’s hope the momentum continues to grow.
via Program | Keynote.
Did you know that there was a fifty-foot, blood-red waterfall in Antartica? Did you know that it was discovered in 1911? The Australian geologist, Griffith Taylor, who discovered the falls thought that the water was colored by red algae. However the true answer is even more amazing. Take a look at the picture, and notice the tent in the lower left-hand corner. That gives a scale for the size of the waterfall.
Roughly 2 million years ago, the Taylor Glacier sealed beneath it a small body of water which contained an ancient community of microbes. Trapped below a thick layer of ice, they have remained there ever since, isolated inside a natural time capsule. Evolving independently of the rest of the living world, these microbes exist without heat, light, or oxygen, and are essentially the definition of “primordial ooze.” The trapped lake has very high salinity and is rich in iron, which gives the waterfall its red color. A fissure in the glacier allows the subglacial lake to flow out, forming the falls without contaminating the ecosystem within.
via Blood Falls | Taylor Glacier, Antarctica | Atlas Obscura.
Mint has published an infographic on the housing recovery. Looking at their map it appears that everything is wonderful again. Unfortunately, just this one map does not tell you the entire story.
For one thing, the cause of the economic downturn was not just the mortgage meltdown, it was excessive debt. The mortgage meltdown was just the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.
Secondly, and even more importantly, all real estate decisions are local. In other words, in real estate, the most important item is location, location, location. Looking at things on a national level does not help when decisions must be made on a local level.
Finally, things always look better when you are coming off a bottom. It all depends on where you measure from.
The government will tell you that we are coming out of recession and economic recovery is right around the corner. Since the mortgage meltdown could be considered the root cause of the economic downturn, it’s helpful to look at the current housing market to get a sense of whether the recovery is hitting close to home. As prices have continued to drop in cities across the nation, the number of home sales has been increasing in many areas. Especially profound was the dramatic percentage increase year-over-year between Q3 and Q4 in total properties sold. Our latest map may not be able to tell you when to buy and when to sell but it will give you some strong data with which to make an informed decision.
via Mint Map: Housing Sales | MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice.
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With SecondLife in the news, releasing a 
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