Home » Archives for June 2010
Big news on the GPU computing front, as Khronos has just released the specification for OpenCL1.1, the industry standard in GPGPU API’s.
“The clear commercial opportunity to unleash the power of heterogeneous parallel processing that drove multiple OpenCL 1.0 implementations has also fueled the ongoing industry cooperation to create OpenCL 1.1,” said Neil Trevett, chair of the OpenCL working group, president of the Khronos Group and vice president at NVIDIA. “The OpenCL 1.1 specification is being released 18 months after OpenCL 1.0 to enable programmers to take even more effective advantage of parallel computing resources while protecting their existing investment in OpenCL code.”
The new spec includes new data structures like 3-component vectors and new operations like multi-device control. I also hear that Nvidia already has a Conformance Candidate of their OpenCL1.1 driver to GPU Computing Registered Developers.
Read the full release after the break.
Read more…
Science gpgpu, khronos, opencl
CGRats has a great step-by-step tutorial with downloadable scenes on how to create and render Realistic Water in 3ds Max. Combining HDR with procedural textures, the end result is an amazing realistic image.
Realistic Water in 3DS Max – CGRats – Daily CG tutorials and resources.
Graphics 3dsmax, tutorial
Over at Second Effects, they have a theory on the recent Linden Labs Layoffs, relating it to the current shift in the market to ‘ultra-simplified’ computing.
This spring the iPad was introduced and it is a monstrous hit, so much so that it’s expected to be in the hands of tens of millions of people a year from now and many more after that. I'm not saying we should run SL on an iPad, but there's an interesting phenomenon taking place: the iPad has revealed that many people want ultra-simplified computing. Its amazing to watch seniors, very young children and those unfamiliar with computers to immediately use an iPad. It turns out that many people (but probably not you) just want instant on, rtouch and a reliable simple interface.
via Second Effects: Chasing the Bar: The Linden Lab Layoffs.
Science linden labs
Andy Woodruff, Robert Roth, and Zachary Johnson have a new paper in the latest issue of The Cartography Journal of the British Cartographic Society called “Value-by-alpha Maps: An Alternative Technique to the Cartogram”.
Value-by-alpha maps (hereafter shortened to VBA), like everything noble and good, have their roots in somebody complaining about something on the internet—me, about election cartograms. Seeking an alternative to what I think are ugly and unreadable election results cartograms, I worked with my Axis Maps dudes to create a 2008 U.S. election map that used transparency rather than size to vary the visual impact of map units, thinking that avoiding the distortion of these units into unrecognizable sizes and shapes would make the map easier to read.
One of the more interesting contributions in the paper is their solution to “Johnson’s Cube” where they map the 3 axes to Visual Equalisation, Topology Preservation, and Shape Preservation and show cartographic rendering techniques to illustrate the various combinations.
via Value-by-alpha maps | Cartogrammar.
Science algorithm, cartography, paper, research
The RED Epic and Scarlet still have a ways to go before they catch Duke Nukem Forever, but their legacy as a vaporware product in the video space is well-known. Finally, company founder Jim Jannard has announced what’s been holding them up, and sadly announced that the resolution may lead to even more delays. Apparently there has been a significant firmware bug compounded by manufacturer problems.
The CEO also warned that the issue was compounded by manufacturer problems. He wouldn t name the builder but said it had “significant issues” and that an attempt to build the EPIC camera in the US wasn t working. RED is now looking for a new partner and may see additional delays without a replacement arriving in time.
via RED EPIC, Scarlet hit by major bug, dropped manufacturer | Electronista.
Hardware red
Over in London, Tissot has an actual implementation of something very similar to the Nooka Augmented Reality advertising system where you wear a simple paper or plastic wrist marker, and use the display screen to see how various watches and bands would appear on your wrist.
If you can’t get to London anytime soon, then hit their website and try it out yourself.
Science advertising, augmented reality
VizWorld.com 
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