Thursday, February 28, 2008

Intel Touts Larrabee At GDC

Intel Touts Larrabee At GDC

Theo Valich

February 21, 2008 11:52

San Francisco (CA) - Intel's multi-billion dollar project is slowly gaining traction, and this year's GDC conference is the last one where Larrabee is not going to be the key topic of conversations between game developers and like.

During a very interesting presentation by Daniel Pohl of Quake 4: Ray-Trace fame, The L-word (not the TV show Lost for those of you stuck in a cave for the past few years) was not just mentioned, but a slide was published for world to see.

As you can see now, Intel is using all of resources from the Folsom Prison, Houston bull-riding bar to a Biergarten in Braunschweig to get the chip done. Given the fact that description calls for "highly parallel, programmable architecture" that is targeting "Scientific Computing, Recognition Mining & Synthesis, Financial Analytics, Health applications and Graphics", it is not a very hard thing to guess what Intel is working on - a cGPU, GPGPU chip that is set to start its life with a 12 mini-core setup, that will expand to 16 and 24 mini-cores in the future. We hope that putting huge-ass cache (4MB) in the chip is going to solve the branching issues that GPU chips have today.

Oh yeah, it is supposed to be a great chip for IntelRT, or simply - great for Ray-Tracing. If all things go as planned, silicon should be done by year's end, and the release date should be by the end of 2009, probably 2010. frame.

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Posted by Augustine at 9:24 AM

Garmin's Nuvifone comes under fire for trademark violations

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/242357225/

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Garmin probably thought getting into the mobile phone game would just be smooth sailing, but it looks like they've made a deadly miscalculation. Okay, that might be over-dramatizing the situation, but the PND-maker is facing a new lawsuit over its upcoming 3G wonder-device, the Nuvifone. Apparently, internet telephone provider Nuvio Corp. feels that Garmin has crossed trademark boundaries just a smidge, alleging the nav company is stepping all over its good name. "Our customers commonly refer to our service as the Nuvio phone," said Jason P. Talley, the company's CEO. Not only is the provider calling for a cease-and-desist on the use of "Nuvifone," but it also wants kickbacks for past infringement, and termination of the word "Nuvi" on any device made by Garmin. Garmin spokesman Ted Gartner says the company has been using the Nuvi name since early 2006 in North America, and earlier in Europe. He went on to add that they don't discuss pending litigation -- though we understand to friends and family he was like, "Pfft, whatever."

 

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Posted by Augustine at 9:03 AM

Intel lays out roadmap for Montevina-based Centrino 2 platform

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/242369013/

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We've already gotten wind of Intel's not-so-surprising branding choice for its Montevina platform, but it looks like the company's just now gotten a whole lot more specific about things, with it laying out its roadmap for the newly-named Centrino 2 product line. As Daily Tech reports, the new platform will make its debut in June of this year, and will include separate "Performance" and "Small Form Factor" lines. On that former front, you can expect processors ranging form 2.26GHz to 2.8GHz, with a TDP rating of either 25W or 35W and prices from $209 to $530. The Small Form Factor line, on the other hand, is considerably more over the map, boasting processor speeds from 1.2GHz all the way up to 2.2GHz, and TDP ratings ranging from a mere 5.5W to 25W (prices will be between $262 to $316). Needless to say, this bit of news has also already set the latest MacBook rumor mill into full swing, with DailyTech reporting that "Apple insiders" say the company will refresh its laptop line alongside the platform's launch in June, not that you likely needed "insiders" to tell you that.

[Via MacRumors]

 

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Posted by Augustine at 9:03 AM

Asus U2E gets unboxed

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/242394411/

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Although we'd been told that the hot Asus U2E ultraportable was delayed so the company could launch several products at once, it looks like the crew at PC Perspective managed to get their hands on one and do the requisite unboxing. No word on how the lil' scamp runs with that ULV Core Duo, but it looks just as slick as ever, and we're digging that satchel case it comes with -- check it all out at the read link.

[Thanks, Ryan]

 

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Posted by Augustine at 9:01 AM

Mini projectors spark worries about "visual pollution"

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/242438139/

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Texas Instruments and others have been touting mini (or pico) projectors without hesitation as of late, but it seems that not everyone is quite so excited about them, with some folks now even warning about a number of potential dangers. One of those naysayers is Future Laboratory founder Martin Raymond, who told the BBC that while the projectors (likely to be used primarily in cellphones) are "appealing initially," he has concerns about the devices causing "visual pollution," adding that there could be "inappropriate showing of things that maybe other people shouldn't be seeing." Needless to say, he also foresees new laws and legislation controlling the use of the technology. No matter how things shake out, however, the one thing that seems clear is that the humble laser pointer will soon be about as antiquated as the spitball when it comes to juvenile means of public embarrassment.

[Via About Projectors]

 

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Posted by Augustine at 8:53 AM

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