drag2share: Watch filmmakers render realistic CG on the fly using $14k of graphics cards

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/11/construct-cg-rendering-nvidia/

A new short film teaser has taken digital character rendering to a new level, making real time motion capture a lot easier for animators. While working on "Construct" (see the stunning video after the break) filmmakers captured the movements of real actors in a studio, similar to how James Cameron did for Avatar. Instead of seeing the performer, however, the director saw a ray-traced version of the animated character on his screen. Though heavily pixelated, freezing the scene instantly gave animators a clear idea of the final result, something that can normally take hours in post-production. The system used custom software from ray-tracing outfit V-Ray powered by three top-of-the-line NVIDIA K6000 GPUs -- not exactly a home setup. Still, it's not hard to see how such tech could eventually power ultra-realistic gaming, though at $4,500 a pop or so for the graphics cards, we're not there yet.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, NVIDIA

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Via: CNET

Source: Construct Films (Vimeo)

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drag2share: Google Expands Android's Built-In App Scanning Security

Source: http://lifehacker.com/google-expands-androids-built-in-app-scanning-security-1561828851

Android: Today, Google announced that it's expanding its Verify Apps system to continually scan all apps installed on a phone to determine if they're malicious or harmful.

Previously, the Verify Apps system would only kick in if you installed an app from outside the Play Store, and it would only scan an app as its being installed. However, not only can apps change their behavior once they have permission to run, as we've learned recently, you can find crap software on the Play Store too.

The new system is rolling out via Play Services, so any device running higher than Android 2.3 should benefit. If an app is scanned and found to be potentially harmful, you'll receive a warning to either block installation or remove it from your system. You can also check out our guide on how secure Android really is for more information on how to protect yourself.

Expanding Google's security services for Android | Official Android Blog

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drag2share: Sadapter Adapts Micro- and Nano-SIMs to Different Sizes

Source: http://lifehacker.com/sadapter-adapts-micro-and-nano-sims-for-to-different-s-1561801476

Being able to swap your SIM card into a different phone is great—until you find out it isn't the right size. If you need to fit your Nano-SIM into a Micro-SIM slot, the Sadapter can help.

I recently broke my phone, and promptly pulled out my old iPhone 4 as a temporary replacement—only to find my Nano-SIM card wasn't compatible with its Micro-SIM slot. If you're getting a new phone, you can always just get a new SIM card, but this doesn't work if you just need it for a few days. (Similarly, you can always trim a card down, but you can't trim it back up).

Enter the Sadapter: a pack of three small SIM adapters that fit your Nano-SIM into a Micro-SIM or regular SIM slot, or fit your Micro-SIM into a regular SIM slot. It's a bit more expensive ($13) than other adapters on the market ($1-2), but unlike the cheap ones, it's less likely to get stuck or break, which can mean costly repairs to your phone.

I tested it in my iPhone 4 and it worked great: just snap your SIM in the slot, then stick it into your phone. You may not think you need one now, but it's one of those tools that will probably come in handy one day—so buy one and stick it in your toolbox now.

Sadapter Three Adapter Pack | Amazon

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drag2share: The Performance Benefits of Discrete Video Cards (Even for Non-Gamers)

Source: http://lifehacker.com/the-performance-benefits-of-discrete-video-cards-even-1561794672

If you're a PC gamer, you know that upgrading your computer's video card will give you the best gaming performance boost. PCWorld argues, however, that a discrete graphics card belongs in most people's desktop PCs—not just gamers.

AMD's and Intel's integrated graphics (graphics technologies coupled with the processor) are pretty capable these days, but they're still far less powerful than discrete video cards when it comes to performance—and not just in games, either:

Games aren't the only applications that benefit from the power of a discrete GPU. AMD's and Nvidia's GPUs are made up of thousands of processors that can carry out multiple operations simultaneously. Any application that benefits from such parallel processing—be it an image-editing program like Photoshop, data-encryption software, or a distributed-computing project like Folding@Home or Seti@Home—will run faster with the assistance of a more powerful GPU.

PCWorld's tests show performance boosts of 3% to 19% on PCMark's productivity benchmarks when using discrete graphics cards (a ~$300 AMD Radeon R9 XFX card) versus integrated ones in the same systems. The greatest boosts were for the home suite than the work suite.

Even casual, browser-based games like Farmville and Angry Birds would have significant performance gains (about 1.5 to 2X the performance) from a discrete video card upgrade. The only place they didn't seem to help was in video playback.

Of course, plunking down hundreds of dollars for a new video card won't be worth it if the rest of the system is a bottleneck (an older processor or not enough memory). And there are other upgrades that will give you more bang for your buck, depending on your usage.

The tests suggest, though, that a discrete video card might not be just for gamers. Keep that in mind if you have the cash and are upgrading or building your own desktop PC to future proof it.

Tested: Why almost every desktop PC could use a video card upgrade | PCWorld

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Article: The first Quad HD AMOLED screen is here, but it's not from Samsung

Samsung is the engine of the AMOLED industry, but it’s not the only player developing organic LED technology for mobile devices. Competitors in China and Taiwan especially are making bi …

http://www.androidauthority.com/quad-hd-amoled-au-optronics-367542/

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