GamesBeat 09: More great speakers lined up
As the March 24 GamesBeat 2009 games conference draws near, we’re unveiling a new list of speakers. We’re proud to say that some of the biggest names in the gaming world are joining us for the program. Tickets are still available.
Chris Taylor (right), founder of Gas Powered Games, will share the stage with me as co-emcee of the event. We picked Taylor because he has been an advocate for creativity in games and because he’s one… Continue Reading
The new Mac mini rears its backside?
Many people were surprised when the Mac mini was a no-show at last month’s Macworld event. After all, in contrast to Apple’s usual way of doing things, its miniature computer has gone a long time without a refresh of any kind. But that refresh may finally be drawing near, if a new spy shot obtained by AppleInsider is legitimate.
The shot shows the back of a new Mac mini, complete with 5 USB (presumably 2.0) ports,… Continue Reading
Android and iPhone are all over MWC (even if Google and Apple aren’t), but where are the U.S. startups?
At last year’s Mobile World Congress I learned something: Given the amount of rumors leading up to the event, you usually don’t know what the conference is actually about until it’s over. That’s why I thought I’d share what I’m actually seeing at this year’s MWC, as the conference continues.
Here are my major takeaways:
Operators may be embracing Microsoft because they want to counter-balance Apple’s rise. I’m constantly overhearing conversations on the floor asking why operators and… Continue Reading
Roundup: New Android G2 makes an appearance, layoffs hit 300,000, Apple sales slowing
Here’s the latest action:
HTC’s G2 Android phone – Sites like Gizmodo are giving the new Android phone the thumbs up based on working demos available at the Mobile World Congress.
Hacking Caller ID – A service dubbed TrapCall from TelTech Systems of New Jersey lets people figure out who is calling them, even if that caller is trying to stay anonymous by using Caller ID. Now what will obscene pranksters do to hide?
Lots of cash, but no buying… Continue Reading
Nvidia enables $99 Android/Windows CE mobile internet devices
Nvidia is announcing today that it wants to enable $99 mobile internet devices that can play high-definition graphics.
The so-called MIDs are smaller than laptop computers but less functional. Their primary purpose is to display web pages on a screen that ranges from four to 12 inches. The way Nvidia envisions them, they’ll run either Google’s Android or Microsoft’s Windows CE operating systems. They’ll also use Nvidia’s Tegra chips, which combine mobile phone and computing capabilities… Continue Reading
Tech scores in stimulus bill, Sirius XM prepares bankruptcy filing, Modu stages modular phone launch
Here’s the latest action:
Tech industry scores funding in stimulus package – Infrastructure spending includes $7 billion for expanding high-speed internet access, some $20 billion for building a so-called smart grid power network and $20 billion for digitizing health records. The New York Times has more.
Sirius XM prepares bankruptcy filing – Regulators approved the merger of the two satellite radio companies to avoid this from happening. But the combined company is planning a bankruptcy filing anyway. Echostar… Continue Reading
Nvidia scores a couple of deals with Wintel
Nvidia is announcing a couple of deals with Wintel today that show the company is making progress with its new technologies.
In an endorsement for a new mobile graphics technology from Nvidia, Microsoft said it had certified Nvidia’s Ion platform to deliver a premium Windows experience on low-cost netbooks, or low-cost web browsing computers that are cheaper and less functional than laptops.
Nvidia’s Ion combines a chip set with a graphics core in a single chip. Paired… Continue Reading
Gentlemen, start your next-generation game console rumors
The video game console wars have been kind of boring lately, with no hot rumors to talk about. But Charlie Demerjian of the Inquirer tech news site has kicked off a new round of chatter about which chips are going to be in the PlayStation 4, the Wii 2 and the Xbox3 (not the official names).
There isn’t any official information on this yet. And it’s pretty early for the console makers to lock down on… Continue Reading
What will Nathan Myhrvold do with microprocessor patents?
Intellectual Ventures, the patent-licensing firm created by technologist Nathan Myhrvold, has purchased the patent portfolio of microprocessor maker Transmeta, according to an announcement yesterday.
Intellectual Venture Funding — owned by Seattle-based Intellectual Ventures — acquired 140 U.S. patents and more patent applications owned by Transmeta, a Santa Clara, Calif. maker of low-power microprocessors. Novafora just finalized its purchase of Transmeta initiated last November, since Transmeta had largely lost its war with Intel in the battle over… Continue Reading
Graphics chip sales fall off the cliff in fourth quarter
Computer graphics chip shipments fell off a cliff in the fourth quarter, with sales dropping 34 percent from the prior quarter and 28 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Jon Peddie Research.
This was the first time that quarterly shipments have dropped in the fourth quarter, compared to the third quarter since 2000. The economic downturn took its toll, but not just because the PC industry was weak. Graphics chips are used in… Continue Reading
Will Intel let Jen-Hsun Huang spread graphics beyond PCs?
Nvidia chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang is on a mission to get graphics chips into everything from handheld computers to smart phones. In a dinner with reporters on Monday night, the head of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based graphics chip maker said that the company is going to invest heavily in research and development and announce some interesting hires (see announcement story) soon. We last interviewed him in August.
Nvidia had a tough 2008 because of the recession… Continue Reading
Nvidia hires Stanford’s computer science department head as chief scientist
Nvidia has named Stanford University’s computer science department chairman, Bill Dally, as chief scientist and vice president of Nvidia research.
The hire is a big one for the graphics chip maker since Dally is a well-known computer graphics pioneer. He replaces David Kirk, who held the post for a long time and is now going to be an Nvidia Fellow.
The move is consistent with Nvidia’s decision to invest heavily in research and development even in the… Continue Reading
South Korea’s Nurien raises $10 million for fashion-oriented virtual world
Nurien Software has been making a splash with its demos of virtual characters dressed as fashion models striding down runways in virtual fashion shows. This strategy has helped the company raise $10 million in a second institutional round of funding.
The funding suggests that investors are still excited about virtual worlds. According to market researcher In-stat, virtual worlds are expected to hit 1 billion registered users and $3 billion in revenues by 2012. And since Nurien… Continue Reading
Roundup: Obama’s potential Blackberry replacement, internet does not equal “To Catch a Predator” episodes, plus layoffs
Here’s the latest action:
Alternatives to Obama’s favorite Blackberry — One option for the email-addicted President-elect is an NSA-approved secure PDA, the Sectera Edge, which costs $3,350 — but hey, you can drop it four feet onto concrete repeatedly without worry (it’s waterproof and dustproof!), according to CNET.
Graphics chip maker Nvidia forecasts steep revenue drop — The company blames sagging PC sales for a drop as steep as 40 to 50 percent for its fourth quarter revenue, following… Continue Reading
CES: Are 3-D glasses moving beyond the gimmick stage? Nah
Before my trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, I predicted that TV and computer makers would be hawking 3-D options in order to differentiate themselves. Hollywood’s been trying to use 3-D glasses in theaters in an effort to make an experience not available at home, and I expected TV makers would probably be playing catch-up. And I was right. I saw LG, Samsung, Sony, Nvidia, Viewsonic, iZ3D and others pushing… Continue Reading
AMD launches new mobile graphics chips at CES
Taking a jab at rival Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices is introducing a series of new mobile graphics chips today designed for everything from low-cost laptops to high-end gaming notebooks.
The new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series is aimed at raising the bar for graphics performance in mobile computers. The company is unveiling the chips at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where AMD chief executive Dirk Meyer is giving one of the keynote… Continue Reading
Nvidia’s Ion platform will super-charge Intel’s Atom for netbooks
One of the secrets of the fast-growing category of “netbook” computers — the mini laptops meant for email or web surfing only — is that they’re being returned like hot cakes. These slimmed-down computers look sexy, but they can’t really do that much. They hang on a lot of web pages with rich media and can’t play most games.
That’s why graphics chip maker Nvidia is introducing its Ion platform, a chip set with integrated graphics… Continue Reading
Nvidia will comply with OpenCL standard for new graphics-based computing
For the past couple of years, graphics chip maker Nvidia’s big strategic thrust has been to make its chips capable of more than just graphics processing. It unveiled its own CUDA processing architecture and programming language to allow software programmers to use graphics processors to handle various parallel computing tasks beyond drawing pretty pictures on screens.
Today, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia is announcing that its CUDA architecture will be compatible with a new technical standard for… Continue Reading
Q&A with AMD’s Rick Bergman on the graphics sweet spot
Rick Bergman is the senior vice president and general manager of the graphics products group at chip company Advanced Micro Devices. His team of graphics chip designers –- formerly known as ATI Technologies until AMD acquired the company in 2006 — has scored well with the recent launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series family. The so-called “sweet spot” strategy caught rival Nvidia flat-footed. While Nvidia created a high-end graphics chip that burned a… Continue Reading
Amid iPhone success, rumors of a Microsoft phone
While Microsoft has been laughably trying (and failing) to chase down Apple’s iPod digital music player with its Zune device, a much bigger fish has risen from its rival: The iPhone. It could easily be argued that if Microsoft wants to do hardware, it should focus its efforts on the mobile market, a space where it’s only been pushing software to date — its increasingly outdated and badly outgunned Windows Mobile platform. If a report… Continue Reading