Software

No disabled AMD GPUs in Dell XPS’

Move along, nothing to see here Well actually there’s quite a lot to see. One of the first companies to come to market with Intel’s new Kaby Lake multi-chip processor with HBM and an AMD GPU was Dell. With its thin, light, powerful as hell, and reasonably priced, pen-based XPS 15 2-in1sporting a 360-degree hinged 15-in 4K screen. A story … Read more

HTC unveiled Vive Pro and a wireless adapter at CES 2018

At CES 2018, HTC announced latest version of its Vive VR headset. The Vive Pro boasts dual-OLED displays with a resolution of 2880 × 1600, integrated audio, and 78% increase in pixel count. HTC also announced a wireless adaptor that uses Intel's WiGig technology and operates on the interference-free 60 GHz band. Pricing and availability for the products are not … Read more

AI-Intel, Nvidia, and Google mimic each other

Learning one size does not fit all In May 2017, Nvidia introduced its mega-chip Volta GPU on its Tesla V100 AIB. Volta, as you may know, has a dedicated neural processor in it which Nvidia calls Tensor Cores, 640 of them in fact.  In 2016, Intel purchased, for $400 million, Nervana Systems who was developing both a GPU/software approach in … Read more

Does the demise of TechShop (maybe) spell doom for makers?

The grass roots of the maker movement are green and flourishing. TechShop, a franchise of fabrication storefronts, founded by Jim Newton and Ridge McGhee in 2006, which offers makers the tools and training they need to create DIY projects, build prototypes, or pursue their hobbies, announced in November 2017 that it was going into bankruptcy. Just as we barely digested … Read more

LG UltraGear VR HMD

LG showed a prototype integrated display, tethered PC-based HMD at GDC 2017. It featured two 3.64-in OLED displays with a resolution of 1440 × 1280 pixels (540 ppi) a wide 110-degree field of view, and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which was a higher quality display at the time. The prototype also featured pass-through holes that could be used … Read more

Scott Belsky named Adobe’s chief product officer

Returns to a fulltime role in Adobe executive offices Scott Belsky came to Adobe with the acquisition of his company Behance in 2012 for a reported $100-150 million. Behance, founded in 2006, is a site that allows people to share their portfolio and work in progress. It serves as a job site where people can find creative people, but the … Read more

Intel Extreme Masters eSports Tournament, Oakland CA

From time to time, we attend eSports tournaments from time to time to take the pulse of this burgeoning phenomenon. eSports are not new to the world however and date back to the 1970’s when people would organize small tournaments around arcade games. Since then eSports slowly gained momentum but not until the maturation of streaming technology and the evolution … Read more

AI: In search of softer, less scary assistants

As the wedding between GPUs and AI move from the honeymoon to the serious setting up of a household and becoming a member of society, it will have to find a new name for itself. The term artificial intelligence, and AI, strikes fear into the psyche, heart, and groin of most of the people beyond its developers. Morgan, Ava, David, … Read more

FutureWrite Conference: New Input

New announcements, technologies, and alliances announced at FutureWrite conference for digital ink technologies are a portal to the future of human centric computing. There are a lot of people who think you should be going back to the pen for note taking. At the recent FutureWrite conference held in Santa Clara several speakers spoke up about the advantages of handwriting … Read more

Free at last—HTC cuts the wires that bind

Now you can walk away from your computer—maybe HTC has announced the Vive Focus, which they say is an all-in-one mobile device free from any connections to PCs or smartphones.   HTC’s wireless VR HMD     Through the power of that amazing Qualcomm 835 super SoC, HTC has been presumably able to do all the processing in the Vive … Read more

Got too much money, want a gaming board?

Line up at the nearest Nvidia store to get a TitanX Collector’s Edition Coming soon—Nvidia’s Titan X Collectors Edition AIB (Nvidia) Blinking lights, anybody’d guess what’s in it?  HBM2 maybe, a la Volta. A big fat GPU with a lot of shaders?  A collector’s item for the rich? Only from Nvidia—no partners need apply. Remember the Founder’s edition last year? … Read more