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It is getting kind of hard to keep up with all of the leaks about the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580. I have been wondering if NVIDIA was going to do a paper launch to steal some of the thunder from AMD’s Cayman series of GPUs (6900 series). I hate paper launches. I have also been wondering if maybe NVIDIA was going to launch with just a few cards at a $499 price point, which would mean retailers would turn around and sell them for much more due to the high demand.

It looks like I am wrong on both points. The latest rumor is that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 will be a hard launch and will be priced at $599. Just to recap the specifications, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 will have all 512 streaming processors enabled, have a 128 texture mapping units (TMUs), have 2 GB of GDDR5 memory, is using the GF110 chip, and will have a thermal design power (TDP) of 244 Watts.

At present, there has been much speculation that NVIDIA is announcing the GeForce GTX 580 on the 8th of November in a bid to make enthusiasts and gamers ‘think twice’ about buying Radeon HD 6900 Series cards, which are slated for a late November release. The general consensus is that, the GeForce GTX 580, despite being unveiled on the 8th, will be no more than just a paper launch.

via NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 priced at US$599, to be available November 9th by VR-Zone.com

Hardware gtx 580, nvidia

A new fun little augmented reality game from Zugara for Nestle allows the user to fill little bottle of their favorite flavored drinks, while avoiding an ‘I Love Lucy’-ish backlog disaster.  Working with a Webcam, it’s an augmented reality experience that’s completely marker-free, simply detecting the user’s face and hands as input.

“Nesquik Factory” was developed to be a social gaming experience. To help players share the fun with friends and family a “snapshot” is automatically taken at that exact instant they lose. Then, if they choose, players can easily share their snapshot (and their score) on Facebook.

It’s a simple little game and somewhat fun to play.  I am impressed how well the recognition seems to work.

via Augmented Reality Software : E-Commerce : Gaming : Video Conferencing.

Graphics advertising, augmented reality, zugara

We begin today with Focus analyzing the Fortune 100 best Companies to work for, followed by Mindflash‘s overview to how the Web is reinventing Employee Training. Masters Degree Online asks if a Major degree is worth the investment, the Empowered E-Patient is brought by Path of the Blue Eye, and we finish with some staggering identity theft statistics, from Credit Repair.

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Graphics, Science design, economy, environment, infographic, infoviz, Visual Loop, visualizations

The Foundry has just released a new version of their digital painting system Mari, version 1.1, that adds a few new features like Ambient Occlusion rendering and support for FBX camera imports.  The biggest feature however, is the support for Windows 7.

You can hit their website right now and download a free trial, or upgrade your registered version.  Full release notes are also online for download and includes new features, a lengthy list of bug fixes, and a few issues to be aware of if you use the newest Quadro features.

MARI | Downloads | The Foundry.

Graphics foundry, mari, software

Last week at the  Adobe MAX event they announced “Project Molehill”, a collection of 3D Acceleration APIs that take advantage of GPUs for high-speed and high-quality rendering.

Today, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, renders thousands of non z-buffered triangles at approximately 30 Hz. With the new 3D APIs, developers can expect hundreds of thousands of z-buffered triangles to be rendered at HD resolution in full screen at around 60 Hz. Using the new 3D APIs in Flash Player and AIR will make it possible to deliver sophisticated 3D experiences across almost every computer and device connected to the Internet.

While this will open up a new world of flash-based Gaming to the masses, it compete directly against existing WebGL functionality, which Adobe addresses as such:

In terms of design, our approach is very similar to the WebGL design. However, we offer a consistent, browser-agnostic solution that will enable advanced 3D experiences on almost every computer and device connected to the Internet. Additionally, GPU-accelerated 3D in Flash Player will build on all the expressiveness features that exist today in Adobe Flash Player.

They will also be integrated into Adobe’s desktop solution Adobe AIR, possibly opening the route to cross-platform gaming via Adobe AIR (something many companies have tried and failed to pull off).  At the event, they demonstrated a racing game built with an updated version of Alternativa Platform.

While they surely don’t hit the performance of native solutions, massive improvements in processor and GPU speeds may not make that necessary. Who knows, maybe Doom 4 will run in Adobe AIR?

One thing’s for sure, it won’t be on the iPhone.

via Adobe Labs – 3D APIs for Adobe Flash Player and Adobe AIR.

Graphics 3d, adobe, flash

aeScripts has a new plugin available that will let you take a UV or ST map (texture coordinate map) from your 3D Package of choice, and use it to retexture models in AfterEffects.

The process is simply enough, stretching and warping the texture to match the desired UV or ST coordinates, but opens up a lot of capabilities in the final stages of compositing.  Things like rendering a blank car model with the UV map, then using AfterEffects to map multiple color schemes or paint jobs onto it.

ft-UVPass.

Graphics aftereffects, plugin

Craft Animation, makers of some great vehicular animation tools for several applications, has just announced a new ‘Annual Licensing Program’ where you can get the software at a whopping 75% discount for a full year, and it’s renewable.

“We realize that when it comes to creating an efficient production pipeline, our customers need a flexible, cost-effective solution,” says Deborah Lygonis, Craft Animations founder and CEO. “With our CDS Annual Licensing Program, artists, designers and production studios – operating on any budget – now have an opportunity to utilize our highly complex tools at a competitive price point for trial, specific project use or infinitely.”

This is a great option for larger studios who need dozens of licenses, and smaller studios that don’t have the deep pockets of their competition.  Personally, I love their stuff and I’m glad to see the improved pricing options!

Get the full details after the break.

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Graphics craft, software

How do Americans feel, after all, about the recession? Is it over? That’s the question Mint poses, and Used Cars Chicago 101 shows us the used car economy and its relation also with the recession. Credit Score takes a look at what could be bought with $ 1 Trillion, followed by an overview of the Coupon Study 2010, by Deals.com. Finally, The Grasshopper Group‘s enlightening post about the top myths about Entrepreneurs.

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Graphics, Science design, economy, environment, infographic, infoviz, Visual Loop, visualizations

Infographic: Bedbug facts to make your skin crawl | NJ.com.

infographics

Views: StateOfTheONA.

infographics