05.30.07
Havok physics videos
Havok physics with nvidia:
Havok Behavior Demo at GDC:
Hellgate: London - Havok Physics Engine 2:
Havok Behavior Demo at GDC:
Hellgate: London - Havok Physics Engine 2:
24,604 points in 3DMark 06
Marcus ‘Kinc’ Hultin and last year’s Price/Performance winner Jon ‘Elmor’ Sandström has been playing with NVIDIA’s latest monster card GeForce 8800 Ultra this weekend. As usual when these two are at it we’re talking extreme overclocking and cooling of the same league. An Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700, one ASUS Striker Extreme and two ASUS GeForce 8800 Ultra SLI was equipped with liquid nitrogen container, Vaseline and was then overclocked. Unfortunately, not all of the components wanted to play along, which limited Marcus and Jon somewhat, but they still managed to reach rather respectable 24604 points. This is the highest registered score at the ORB, but Kingpin has reached just more than 25,000.
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Motorola patents self-powered displays
Schaumburg (IL) - Motorola has received a patent for LCD that can display images as well as create energy. Patent 7,206,044 was granted on April 17th 2007 and outlines the company’s “Display and Solar Cell Device”. The new displays could increase run times in future mobile phones and Motorola claims the displays could even eliminate the need for conventional charging.
The displays use embedded color filters that allow sunlight to reach the underlying solar cell. Motorola claims this technique transmits light 75% better than traditional screens that use polarizing and reflective layers. According to the patent, normal screens only let 6% of sunlight through to the bottom layer.
Other companies have tried putting solar cells in addition to a display, but modern mobile phones have very little surface real estate to spare. Motorola says its new technique wastes no space because the display can serve a “parallel purpose” as a light collecting device for the solar cell.
Motorola claims OLED displays can also benefit from color filters and solar cells.
Nanotube textile could make super-light armour
A lightweight material made from carbon nanotubes that is stronger than steel, and conducts almost as well as aluminium, has been unveiled by a start-up company in the US. The material could lead to lighter bulletproof clothing, wiring for aircraft and more efficient power-transmission lines, the company claims.
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Float like a robot butterfly
In 1804 the English aviation pioneer George Cayley installed a bizarre machine at the top of his staircase. He attached wings of various shapes to a whirling arm atop the device, and as it spun the wings would either climb or descend depending on their ability to generate lift. This helped Cayley to develop the aerodynamic theories that led to his successful manned glider flights, and ultimately to the Wright brothers’ powered aircraft.
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IBM’s Power6 architecture goes down the Itanic route
UNTIL ABOUT 15 years ago, most CPUs processed one instruction at a time. Then, if the design was pipelined, like in the Motorola 68040 or Intel 80486, they could have different execution phases of different instructions processed at the same time.
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OC Team Italy does it again: 8180MHz !
It wasn’t all that long ago we reported about the first result over 8GHz. It was OC Team Italy that had managed to push its golden Pentium 4 631 to 8001MHz. Well apparently they weren’t happy with that as they’ve now managed to push another 179MHz to 8180Mhz. Since the multiplier is locked they had to work with the FSB and push it to an incredible 545MHz. That’s a 173% overclock, with a Pentium 4! During our Swedish Overclocking Championship we have similar results, but they are with Celerons running at 1.4-1.5Ghz stock. We congratulate ThuG and OC Team Italy for their amazing result and start to wonder if there perhaps is more than one golden Pentium 4 631…
Tomb Raider: Anniversary demo out now
The demo of Lara Croft’s upcoming adventure “Tomb Raider: Anniversary” is out now. The game is a complete re-make of the first Tomb Raider game which was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation. It’s powered by an advanced version of the previous hit game’s (Tomb Raider: Legend) engine and takes you on a quest to Peru where you have to find the mysterious artifact known as the Scion.
Microsoft launches Surface Computing
The launch of Microsoft Surface marks the beginning of a new technology category and a user-interface revolution. Surface, Microsoft’s first surface computer, provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural hand gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface computing breaks down traditional barriers between people and technology, changing the way people interact with all kinds of everyday information — from photos to maps to menus.
Key features demonstrated in the videos included:
- Multi-touch ability.
- Recognition and syncing of wireless devices by placing on touch panel
- Ability to identify non-digital devices, such as a drink glass, based on shape.
- Hand gesture system to further interact with the touch panel.
- New, non-windows based interface.
The videos really speak for themselves. According to the website, Surface technology will be
available in Winter 2007.
Watch video here.
Source: www.techpowerup.com Microsoft Surface
