Game Developers Conference - End movie and final credits

Subject: General Tech | March 31, 2006 - 12:09 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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ExtremeTech stuck around the GDC 2006 until the very end, to tell you about all the really cool things they saw, and you missed becuase you couldn't take a week off to go game in San Fran.  Prepare to be jealous, as there were quite a lot revealed there.

"This year's Game Developers Conference had its share of controversy, terrific sessions,

competing parties and chance interactions.

When gaming goes to your head

Subject: General Tech | March 30, 2006 - 06:28 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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TECHGAGE has let the games get to their head.  After spending way too much time in the simulated cockpit of a Lear jet, they purchase the new NaturalPoint TrackIR 4:PRO, and started looking out the side windows while flying to Hawaii.  The TrackIR tracks your head movements and translates it to the computer screen.  You get to change the direction you are looking, without changing your mouse aim, and while it isn't CounterStrike compatible yet, be assured there are many people working on making it so.

"The

Find out what DSP really does

Subject: General Tech | March 30, 2006 - 03:13 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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You have probably seen the term Digital Signal Processing before, but you may not know what it is.  To add to the confusion, it is an often misused term, but Digital Grabber will set you straight on this process of making analog sound better on digital setups.

"It happens that many people have no idea what Digital Signal Processing means, although they

hear more and more often these words, today.

Why not go for a cool 100,000 cores

Subject: General Tech | March 30, 2006 - 11:44 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Cray is working on the first computer to break the petaflop boundary, and what they are putting together to do that is just amazing.  Read more about the stats of this machine at The Inquirer.

"IT LOOKS LIKE Cray is starting to come back a bit, this time with a box made from 24,000 quad

core 2.6GHz Opterons.

That said, it is aiming at 187 or 400TB of memory, claimed to be cost related, but I think it

gets a volume discount after 100TB. It is also putting 11 petabytes of disk space on the beast.

Another try at wearable computing

Subject: General Tech | March 29, 2006 - 11:54 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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CoolTechZone spotted a concept wrist computer from Eurotech.  At 200 grams, and sporting a 72x55 mm TFT screen, it certainly won't be mistaken for an oversized watch, but is it something you want to wear on your wrist?

'Remember the cartoon Futurama, and how Leela always sported a wrist computer/sensor device? Now,

would you believe me if I told you such a machine was in the works? Well, believe it or not, it

does exist.

Get a keyboard on your keyboard

Subject: General Tech | March 28, 2006 - 06:21 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Hardware Zone has a preview of a very musical keyboard, the Creative Prodikey PC-MIDI.  Why sit at your computer learning to type, when you can be learining to play the piano?

"The Prodiky PC-MIDI is an innovative device that combines keyboard with piano keys. With it,

anyone can work and learn how to play a piano in front of the computer without having to buy

separate input devices.

Intel Establishes $50 Million Venture Capital Fund For Brazil

Subject: General Tech | March 28, 2006 - 01:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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SAO PAULO, Brazil, March 28, 2006 — Recognizing Brazil's position as South America's largest economy and its increasing importance as a technology leader, Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel Corporation, has created a US$50 million venture capital fund to promote technology growth in Brazil.

'Intel Capital's investments will help stimulate technological innovation and growth of Brazil's rapidly developing entrepreneurial community,' said Intel Corporation CEO

Molecular Circuitry: Coming soon?

Subject: General Tech | March 27, 2006 - 12:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Researchers in the US have built the first logic circuit on a molecular scale (18 µm) according to this story on nanotechweb.  This seems to reinforce the idea that circuits will not always be etched out of existing material, but grown one molecule at a time.  Small Form Factor indeed!

Researchers at IBM, the University of Florida and Columbia University, all in the US, have

created a logic circuit on a single-walled carbon nanotube.