March 20th, 2009 (random)

[Fat.Clown]

just some random things I found interesting

Microsoft has now official launched its own clothing line, Softwear by Microsoft.

official product page: Softwear by Microsoft, A Clothing Line

NVIDIA branches out into venture capitalism

Much of NVIDIA's public messaging over the past year could be distilled down to one statement: the GPU is becoming more important than the CPU.

There are many people, not least Intel, who may well disagree with this, but NVIDIA's betting its future on GPUs being used for a lot more than just allowing PC users to play the latest games. This is why we've heard so much about CUDA and GPU acceleration of applications like Adobe's Creative Suite.

NVIDIA's proactivity on this matter took a step further today as it announced the launch of the GPU Ventures Program, which is designed to support and directly invest in early stage companies whose focus is the use of the GPU for computing applications.

source
wow, seems like AMD is getting pressure on both CPU and GPU fronts

NVIDIA has announced a licensing agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, which will allow developers to download and use for free its PhysX technology software development kit (SDK.)

The SDK consists of a full-featured API and robust physics engine, designed to give developers, animators, level designers, and artists unprecedented creative control over character and object physical interactions by allowing them to author and preview physics effects in real time.

"Nvidia is proud to support PlayStation 3 as an approved middleware provider," said Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at Nvidia, in a statement.

Most recently, games that currently feature PhysX support include Mirror's Edge and Gears of War 2. It's going to be interesting to see which PS3 developers take an interest in NVIDIA's free technology and whether their games will harness its potential.

source
and wow again, physx on 7 series video card?

Few weeks ago, you probably have seen ASRock SLI board running the ATIâ„¢
CrossFireXâ„¢ cards on Cebit ASRock booth. Today, we have another great news!
Not only you can install 2 ATIâ„¢ CrossFireXâ„¢ cards on SLI board, you can also
install 3 ATI™ CrossFireX™ cards on NVIDIA® SLI X3 board.

source
I am at a loss of words... good job ASRock?

 

[Trotter]

I am at a loss of words... good job ASRock?

Yeah, I saw that about ASRock getting Crossfire to work on their SLI boards. Good job for them. i wonder how long until Big Green puts a kabosh on it?