Intel Software Network articles Feed http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/game-development/type/news/ en-us Announcing Version 3.0 of Intel® Graphics Checker Software Assessment Tool Version 3 of Intel® Graphics Checker now available for download

If you're a game developer, Intel has some great tools to help make your game "best in class"!

Intel Graphics Checker 3.0 now works together with Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers (Intel® GPA) to help you quickly create an Intel® GPA data capture file and generate a game playability report that can be uploaded to start engaging with the Intel® Software Partner Program.

The benefits are that you will better understand the playability of your game on PCs with Intel® Graphics, access tips and tools to improve your game’s acceptance in the marketplace, and access resources that can broaden the worldwide audience for your game.

If you're already familiar with the tool and want to download the latest version now, you can get it here.

What's New

Version 3.0 of the Intel Graphics Checker contains the following new features:
  • Analysis of a special data capture file generated by Intel GPA that contains approximately 600 frames of graphics data.
  • Creates an updated game playability report containing key hardware and software configuration details, plus frames per second, CPU utilization, and GPU utilization metrics.
  • Ability to upload a game playability report to the Intel Software Partner Program website and access an updated, customized Software Assessment Report that compares game playability results to Intel-suggested values, provides recommendations and next steps, and displays a Software Assessment History.

Getting Started

  • Download Intel GPA from this site.
  • Download Intel Graphics Checker from here and install on the same PC that contains Intel GPA.
  • After launching your game using the Intel GPA Monitor, use the Intel GPA System Analyzer HUD keyboard shortcut (the default is Ctrl-Shift-B) to capture approximately 600 frames of graphics data into a Intel Graphics Checker data capture file.
  • After capturing an Intel® Graphics Checker data file using the Intel® GPA System Analyzer HUD keyboard shortcut, launch Intel Graphics Checker and follow the on-screen instructions to analyze the data capture and view results such as can be seen in the following example report:
    GC1.png
  • Your Intel Graphics Checker report can then be uploaded to the Intel Software Partner Program website, to access a customized Software Assessment Report that compares game playability results to Intel-suggested values, provides recommendations and next steps, and displays a software assessment history, such as seen here (click on the image to download a sample report in PDF format):
    Untitled.png

Where to Next...

If you are interested in improving your game’s playability, you’ve now got Intel GPA at your fingertips. Intel GPA is a powerful, agile tool suite enabling game developers to utilize the full performance potential of Intel® multi-core processors and Intel® processor graphics. If you are not already familiar with using Intel GPA to identify and solve game performance problems, the Getting Started Guide is an excellent place to dive in and…well, get started!

Also, there’s a couple of brief (2-3 minute) video tutorials showing how Intel GPA and Intel Graphics Checker work together: Creating an Intel Graphics Checker Data File and Analyzing an Intel Graphics Checker Data File.

To learn more about Intel® Graphics Checker, visit the Intel® Software Partner Program Software Assessment Center. If your company is not already a member, join today – enrollment is free and takes only a few minutes. In addition to valuable development resources, members can access business resources designed to increase their product visibility with a worldwide audience.

David Valdovinos
Neal Pierman
05-15-2011
05-15-2011
Tech Articles
Intel® GPA
Performance Analysis
no
This article shows you how to use the Intel Graphics Checker tool, which is part of the Intel Software Partner Program.
]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/GPA-Graphics-Checker-3dot0/ Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/GPA-Graphics-Checker-3dot0/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/GPA-Graphics-Checker-3dot0/ ISN General Tools Visual Computing Intel SW Partner program Intel® Software Development Products Home Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers Knowledge Base Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers (Intel® GPA) Game Development Visual Computing Source Level Up 2010 Contest Categories Best Game for a Desktop
Entries in the “Best Game for a Desktop” category will be scored based on frames per second, thread scaling, and use of available cores to enhance the user experience via physics, artificial intelligence, or perceptible improvements. Innovative uses of the extra processing cores will be rewarded. Entries competing in the Best Game for a Desktop category will have their frame rate speed-up measured from two- to four-cores when running at resolutions up to 1920x1200, with and without Intel® Hyper Threading Technology active. A minimum target of 30 frames per second is recommended.

Entries competing in the Best Threaded Game category must install and run on a Microsoft* Vista Ultimate 32-bit operating software and DirectX* 9.0c or DirectX* 10.1 software with:
• Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme processor QX9650 OR Intel® Core™ i7 processor
• Intel® X38 or X48 based Chipset
• 2GB DDR3-1333 memory in 2x1GB configuration
• ATI* Radeon HD3870 OR NVIDIA* 9800 GX2 graphic card

Best Game for a Laptop
Laptops provide special challenges and opportunities for games. Entries in this category will demonstrate features unique to the mobile gamer by leveraging the Intel Laptop Gaming TDK. Power and connectivity monitoring, platform changes, or peer-to-peer ad-hoc networking demonstrates a mobile-aware entry. Scores will be based on how well the mobile features are demonstrated. A minimum target of 15 to 20 frames per second is recommended. Entries competing in the Best Game for a Laptop category will be evaluated on a default Microsoft* Windows* XP operating system installation with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and DirectX* 9.0c software on a Lenovo* ThinkPad* T43 laptop with an ATI* Mobility Radeon* x300 graphics card. The Intel Laptop Gaming TDK version 2.1 will also be installed.

Best Game for a Netbook
The netbook form factor and the gaming habits of netbook users are unique within the gaming market. Entries in this category will demonstrate a compelling value proposition on a netbook. Innovative user interface; user experience designed for a mobile, always connected audience; uniqueness of application concept; quality; and visual appeal demonstrate a netbook-aware entry. Scores will be based on how well the netbook features are demonstrated.

Finalist entries competing in the Best Game for a Netbook category will be required to join the Intel® Atom Developer Program (at no cost to the contestant) and complete the validation process outlined in the Intel AppUp℠ center. Utilization of the Intel® Atom™ Developer Program Software Development Kit (SDK) will be required to submit a market-ready application for validation. The SDK currently supports C/C++ apps for Windows* and Moblin™-based operating systems. Entries completing the validation process will also be able to sell their applications in the Intel AppUp™ store after the winning entries are announced.

Judging Criteria

Judges will evaluate each finalist in the three categories (“Best Game for a Desktop, Best Game for a Laptop, Best Game for a Netbook) in the areas of:
• Achieving Category Requirements – requirements as noted in the category descriptions
• Game Play - consistency in game experience and user interface
• Originality - integration of new and unique game concepts
• Production Readiness – completeness of game elements for final production

Judge’s Choice Awards

Win recognition for the unique elements of your demo version of your gaming application. In addition to the three “Best Game for a …” categories described above, finalists will be asked to select one (1) Judge’s Choice category for additional prize consideration. The categories for additional consideration are the specialty areas of Best Art Design, Best Graphics Performance, Best Sound Design, and Best Character Design. Professional/hobbyist and student game developers who complete all submission requirements and are selected as finalists will be entered to win a Judge’s Choice prize. One professional/hobbyist and one student winner will be chosen in each Judge’s Choice category. Judge’s choice prizes will be awarded to a qualifying entry purely at the judging panel's discretion.

]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-contest-categories/ Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-contest-categories/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-contest-categories/ Visual Computing Game Development Artist Level Up 2010 Prizes Prizes
Winners will receive prizes as outlined below. All winners and their contributions, including the demo version of the gaming application, may be featured on the Intel® Software Network website and/or on third party websites.

Grand Prize
Professional/hobbyist and student game developers who complete all submission requirements and are selected by contest judges and/or Intel Community Managers as finalists will be entered to win a grand prize. One professional/hobbyist and one student grand prize winner will be chosen.

Professional/Hobbyist Prize
One grand prize winner will receive:
• An all-expense paid trip not to exceed $4,500 USD including lodging, roundtrip airfare, $100 USD per diem, and admission to the Tokyo Game Show (http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/). Travel arrangements will be made by Intel or Intel’s contracted representative.

Student Prize
One grand prize winner will receive:
• A conference pass to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) to be held in San Francisco in 2011,
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials, and
• An agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,000)

Best Game for Desktop, Laptop, and Netbook Prizes
Professional/hobbyist and student game developers who complete all submission requirements and are selected by contest judges and/or Intel Community Managers as finalists will be entered to win prizes in three categories: Best Game for Desktop, Best Game for Laptop, and Best Game for Netbook. One professional/hobbyist will be chosen at first, second, and third prize levels in each of the three categories. One student winner will be chosen in each of the three categories.

Best Game for a Desktop: Professional/Hobbyist

First prize:
• $5,000 USD (five thousand U.S. dollars)
• Desktop machine with Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor; 9GB DDR3 SDRAM; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 1TB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $1,500 USD value
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Robust agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,500 USD)

Second prize:
• $2,500 USD (two thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Moderate agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,000 USD)

Third prize:
• $1,500 USD (one thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)


Best Game for a Desktop: Student

• $1,000 USD (one thousand U.S. dollars)
• Desktop machine with Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor; 8GB DDR3 memory; DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 1TB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $1,000 USD value
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)


Best Game for a Laptop: Professional/Hobbyist

First prize:
• $5,000 USD (five thousand U.S. dollars)
• Laptop machine with Intel® Core™ i7-720QM processor; 6GB DDR3 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with Blu-ray Disc support; 18.4" widescreen; 500GB hard drive;
or comparable machine available locally up to $1,500 USD value
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Robust agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,500 USD)

Second prize:
• $2,500 USD (two thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Moderate agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,000 USD)

Third prize:
• $1,500 USD (one thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)

Best Game for a Laptop: Student

• $1,000 USD (one thousand U.S. dollars)
• Laptop machine with Intel® Core™ i5-430 processor; 4GB DDR3 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 17.3" widescreen; 500GB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $1,000 USD value
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)


Best Game for a Netbook: Professional/Hobbyist

First prize:
• $5,000 USD (five thousand U.S. dollars)
• Netbook machine with Intel® Atom™ processor N450; 1GB DDR2 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; 10.1" widescreen; 250GB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $500 USD value
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials to help bring the game to market
• Robust agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,500 USD)

Second prize:
• $2,500 USD (two thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials to help bring the game to market
• Moderate agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $1,000 USD)

Third prize:
• $1,500 USD (one thousand and five hundred U.S. dollars)
• Intel® Software Partner Program co-marketing materials to help bring the game to market
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)

Best Game for a Netbook: Student

• $1,000 USD (one thousand U.S. dollars)
• Netbook machine with Intel® Atom™ processor N450; 1GB DDR2 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; 10.1" widescreen; 250GB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $500 USD value
• Foundational agency engagement package to market and promote the game (value not to exceed $750 USD)


Judge’s Choice Prizes

Best Art Design: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Wacom* Cintiq 21UX digital pen tablet or equivalent model. Up to $2,100 USD (two thousand one hundred US dollars) retail value.
Best Art Design: Student
 • Wacom* Cintiq 12WX digital pen tablet or equivalent model. Up to $1,100 USD (one thousand one hundred US dollars) retail value.

Best Graphics Performance: Professional/Hobbyist
 • One (1) Boxed Intel® Core™ i7-940 Processor (8M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI) FC-LGA8 or equivalent model. Up to $1,000 USD (one thousand US dollars) retail value.
Best Graphics Performance: Student
 • One (1) Boxed Intel® Core™ i7-940 Processor (8M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI) FC-LGA8 or equivalent model. Up to $1,000 USD (one thousand US dollars) retail value.

Best Sound Design: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Cakewalk SONAR 8.5 Studio software package. Up to $400 USD (four hundred US dollars) retail value.
Best Sound Design: Student
 • Cakewalk* SONAR 8.5 Studio software package. Up to $400 USD (four hundred US dollars) retail value.

Best Character Design: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Wacom* Intuos4 Extra-Large digital pen tablet or equivalent model. Up to $850 USD (eight hundred fifty US dollars) retail value.
Best Character Design: Student
 • Wacom* Intuos4 Large digital pen tablet or equivalent model. Up to $600 USD (six hundred US dollars) retail value.


In addition to the above prizes, residents of India submitting contest entries will be eligible for these additional judge’s choice awards:

Best Overall Game - India: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Dell™ Alienware M15x, Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Mobile Processor, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit 4GB Dual-channel 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB), 500GB 7200RPM SATA RAID 0 (2 x 250GB), 
15.6” High Definition + WLED (1600x900) Display with TrueLife™, 1GB GDDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability, Integrated 2.0 mega pixel webcam, 
AlienFX® Illuminated Keyboard,Dell™ Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.0) mini-card,7-in-1 Memory card reader or comparable machine available locally up to $900 USD value
Best Overall Game - India: Student
 • All expenses paid trip to Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2011, San Francisco not to exceed $2,500 USD including roundtrip airfare, lodging and admission to GDC (http://gdconf.com/). Travel arrangements
will be made by Intel or Intel’s contracted representative.

Best Casual Game - India: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Dell™ Inspiron 14 New Laptop, Intel® Core™ i3-330M (2.13Ghz, 4Threads, 3M cache), Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic - 64bit, Intel® GM45 Chipset, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2x1GB), 250GB 5400RPM SATA 
Hard Drive, 14.0” High Definition (1366x768) LED Display with TrueLife™ Internal 10/100 Fast Ethernet, Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability,
Integrated speakers or comparable machine available locally up to $900 USD value

Best Art Design - India: Professional/Hobbyist
• Dell™ Inspiron 14 New Laptop, Intel® Core™ i3-330M (2.13Ghz, 4Threads, 3M cache), Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic - 64bit, Intel® GM45 Chipset, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2x1GB), 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive,
14.0” High Definition (1366x768) LED Display with TrueLife™ Internal 10/100 Fast Ethernet, Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability, 
Integrated speakers or comparable machine available locally up to $900 USD value

Best Social Networking Game - India: Professional/Hobbyist
 • Dell™ Inspiron 14 New Laptop, Intel® Core™ i3-330M (2.13Ghz, 4Threads, 3M cache), Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic - 64bit, Intel® GM45 Chipset, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2x1GB), 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive,
14.0” High Definition (1366x768) LED Display with TrueLife™ Internal 10/100 Fast Ethernet, Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability,
Integrated speakers or comparable machine available locally up to $900 USD value

Best Content App Idea - India: Professional/Hobbyist
• Netbook machine with Intel® Atom™ processor N450; 1GB DDR2 memory; 6-cell lithium-ion battery; 10.1" widescreen; 250GB hard drive or comparable machine available locally up to $500 USD value


Incentive Prizes
In addition to the contest and Judge’s Choice awards, bi-weekly prizes will be awarded to professional/hobbyist entrants determined by random drawings. Prizes consist of one $100 USD (100 U.S. dollars) gift card per entrant selected by random drawing every two weeks. Entrants may win multiple times by submitting new game descriptions (with optional screen shots and/or video). See dates above in the “key contest dates” section.


People’s Choice Awards
Awards based on voting by conference or event attendees or the public via online voting may be included in 2010. The prize will be one $500 USD (500 U.S. dollars) gift card for each winner and awarded to the entrant who receives the most votes in a pre-determined voting period.

Values of prizes for hardware and software products are based on the average retail prize in the U.S. at the time of the start of this contest. The value of the prizes may be higher or lower in the country of a winner’s residence and prize value may be adjusted accordingly. If a prize is not commercially available in the winner’s country of residence, Intel reserves the right to replace and substitute this prize in its sole discretion.
]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-prizes/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-prizes/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-prizes/ Visual Computing Game Development Level Up 2010 FAQs Level Up 2010 Frequently Asked Questions

Am I eligible to enter?
If you are 18 years or older, you are eligible to enter the contest. This is a worldwide contest, with some restrictions. See the official rules.

I've changed my approved entry and it disappeared. What happened?
When you update or modify your entry, it will need to go back through our approval process before we post it. Be patient—it will reappear after our approval!

How are winners selected?
Judges' selections will determine the ten finalists in each of the three categories: Best Game for Desktops, Best Game for Laptops, and Best Game for Netbooks that meet the criteria of the categories based on their detailed game demo abstract, screenshots and short movies of their game demo. For final judging, a panel of Intel and game industry judges will review finalists and grade them according to playability, originality, and overall assessment of how well the game demo was done. For more details, please refer to the criteria outlined in the official rules.

Do I have to provide the source code for my game? Who owns the Intellectual Property (IP) for the game and the demo?
We want you to have a successful business model with your game, which is why this is a game DEMO contest. You retain all rights to your intellectual property, and you do not have to send us the source code. Finalists will assign to Intel the right to distribute their game demos—we'll post them on the contest website, show them at trade shows, conferences, etc. These are all great ways to increase the exposure of your demo, and hopefully drive sales of your full retail product.

From June 22 to July 11, 2010, what principles will be followed to evaluate entries to determine the ten finalists in each category?
All contestants must upload detailed descriptions (with optional screenshots and movies) of their game demo to the contest website by June 22, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. U.S. Pacific Standard Time (PST). From June 22-July11, 2010 Intel Community Managers and/or other Intel experts will select finalists based on originality of idea as well as the concept of the game play based upon the description and optional files provided by entrants.

Can my group or educational class submit an entry together?
Yes, but only one person or corporate entity will be awarded prizes, for tax purposes. Plan ahead and consult a financial advisor if you require tax advice.

What are the deadlines for the competition?
Full details are in the official rules. Contest registration and game descriptions (with optional screen shots or video) are due by June 22, 2010. Finalists will be notified by July 11, 2010. Detailed game demo abstracts and game executables are due by August 31, 2010, 3:00 p.m. U.S. Pacific Standard Time (PST). Winners will be notified by October 4, 2010 and announced at the Austin Game Developer’s Conference on October 5, 2010.

Considering that there are a lot of professional game developers out there, what are the chances that an indie/student/hobbyist like me will win?
The chances are very good! AAA developers often have exclusive deals for distribution of their game demos, or they have an existing technology relationship with Intel which would disqualify them from the contest. We expect that the vast majority of our entries will be from small developers and student groups. Check out the winners from 2009 for an idea of the types of games that will win.

Can members of the Intel® Software Partner Program enter this contest?
Registered or Associate members of the Intel® Software Partner Program are eligible to enter the contest, however if your company is a Premier or Premier Elite member, you have access to direct assistance from Intel engineers and you are not eligible to enter. We cannot directly help you compete in our own contest.

Can you provide any additional resources that can help me develop my game demo?
Yes! This was a common request from last year's contest. Visit the contest site throughout the coming months for links to gaming resources and developer communities. You should also bring items you’d like to discuss into the discussion forum we’ve set up especially for our contest participants. Get feedback from your peers and Intel Engineers. Also, be sure to see the Intel® Software Development Products designed especially for developers working on Intel® platforms.

Can we use an Open Source game engine to create the game?
Yes, the only requirement is that you have the right to distribute the finished product. If the Open Source code also requires distribution of source code, make sure you are in compliance.

Who is eligible to participate in LevelUp 2010 Contest for India?
Only residents of India are eligible to participate in the LevelUp 2010 Contest for India and win the specific Judge's Choice Awards designated for residents of India.

What are the prize categories to be won under the LevelUp 2010 Contest for India?
Residents of India participating in the Professional/Hobbyist category are also eligible for prizes for Best Overall Game, Best Casual Game, Best Art Design, Best Social Networking Game, and Best Content App Idea.  Residents of India participating in the Student category are also eligible for prizes for Best Overall Game.

Will entries from Indian developers be eligible to win the other LevelUp 2010 prizes?
Yes, entries from Indian developers will also be eligible to win other LevelUp 2010 prizes apart from the judge’s category prizes for India.

Who can I contact for further questions?
Post to the contest forum, or send e-mail to us at isn.support@intel.com.

]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-faqs/ Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-faqs/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/level-up-2010-faqs/ Visual Computing Game Development ISN at SIGCSE 2010 sigcse+intel.png 

 

 

Intel Academic Community at SIGCSE 2010.

Intel Academic Community was at SIGCSE 2010 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 10-13, 2010. Dr. Michael Wrinn did the keynote address on Saturday, March 13, 2010:

Suddenly, All Computing Is Parallel: Seizing Opportunity Amid the Clamor, Dr. Michael Wrinn, Intel Corporation

 

Intel also presented the following during the conference, to help teach about about new technology and education. Intel also presented demostrations of the new Cloud scalability system available for research and teaching, the smoke demo, embedded demos and other interesting topics.

sigcsetalk.png

See below the Videos from SIGCSE 2009.

 


 

 Here are some pictures of the Intel Booth at SIGCSE 2009:



Siggraph+Booth+09.jpg






Here are some other Videos and activities from SC09 which are interesting:

2009 SC Student Programming Challenge
Professor Ada Gavrilovska, Georgia Tech.

Andrew Fitz-Gibbon,Instructor, SC Education.
Dr. Shannon Steinfadt, Los Alamos National Labs.

 


  

 

Intel @ SIGCSE 2010 blogs:

 

Intel Academic Community Black Belts at SIGCSE 2010:


 

Additional Links:

 

 

]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/isn-at-sigcse-2010/ Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:00:00 -0800 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/isn-at-sigcse-2010/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/isn-at-sigcse-2010/ ISN General Code & Downloads Game Development Are High School Whiz Kids Ready to "Think Parallel?" SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE

Can 15 technical high school students solve complex parallel programming challenges, typically reserved for advanced university courses? A three-day boot-camp hosted by the Intel® Academic Community and the Brooklyn Technical High School with industry experts and executives will put top programming students in New York City to the challenge through real-life experiences and interactive exercises.  32-core server technology will be provided by IBM and networking by BLADE Network Technologies.

Jeffrey M. Birnbaum, Managing Director, Global Head of Platform Solutions at Bank of America, has spent a considerable time exploring and implementing lock-free and parallel programming techniques for low latency high throughput messaging systems used in financial services applications, and knows there are not enough skilled programmers to meet industry demand. As a participant on the US Council on Competitiveness High Performance Computing Initiative, he noted the U.S. is falling behind in computer programming education, impacting U.S. competitiveness in the technology sector. Upon reading Threading Building Blocks by James Reinders, the idea of developers needing to change their mental approach to ‘think parallel’ resonated with Jeffrey. Shortly thereafter, he met with a talented high school student interested in software development who took an immediate interest to parallel programming concepts. From this, Jeffrey had the idea to introduce complex parallel programming techniques  -- typically reserved for advanced college or graduate coursework -- to high school students.

"If students start thinking parallel when they are first introduced to software development, it opens the door to new creative solutions that more experienced programmers might not attempt. In essence, the student minds have not been spoiled by old serial programming methodologies and experimentation when multi-core multi-socket systems did not exist," says Mr. Birnbaum.  “We are at the beginning of a new age in programming where the exploitation of advanced multi socket multicore systems to solve new and interesting problems requires developers who combine a "think parallel" mindset with the skill to execute."

Parallel processing is the simultaneous execution of the same task (split up and specially adapted) on multiple processors in order to obtain faster results. The parallel nature can come from a single machine with multiple processors or multiple machines connected together to form a cluster. Intel, IBM and BLADE have teamed up to demonstrate the power of parallel processing through single computers with multiple processors – or cores.  Parallel processing is used in a wide variety of applications, including space exploration, calculating business risk, molecular modeling, weather forecasting, galaxy modeling, oil and gas operations, evaluating financial derivatives, designing wireless networks, and in games.

Mr. Birnbaum asked Intel for help in implementing his vision.

Bob Chesebrough, Senior Course Architect with the Intel Academic Community built a collaborative team, with Jeffrey M. Birnbaum, and Randy Asher, Principal of the Brooklyn Technical High School and Vice President of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science & Technology to implement the clubhouse with top technical high school students in New York.

The 3-day boot-camp kicks off with interactive exercises using real world experiences (such as standing in lines at a store) to introduce students to parallel programming concepts including race conditions and for loops (see video guide to these challenges). Each day, students will also be given a Parallel Programming Puzzle to ponder, and discuss a real-world software developer solution the following day.

Instruction for the boot camp is being provided by Intel engineers and executives, using the latest software development tools, including Intel® Parallel Studio; and concludes with Jeffrey M. Birnbaum presenting on advanced lock-free programming techniques showcasing database applications running on a 32-core server system on loan from IBM, with high-performance Ethernet connectivity provided by BLADE Network Technologies. BLADE is hosting the servers in its world-class data center networking lab in Silicon Valley.

The curriculum is adapted from undergraduate and graduate materials created by the Intel Academic Community currently being implemented by professors at 1350 universities in 72 countries. This is the first time the curriculum has been adapted to the high school level.

“The coursework for this bootcamp is very challenging. We are giving the students exposure to real industry challenges, to plant the seed on how to approach programming in the future,” says Jeffrey M. Birnbaum.

Today’s high performance desktop computers are empowering a new generation of developers to employ parallel processing to solve complex problems without the need for multi-million dollar supercomputers or having to divide tasks across PC clusters. The confluence of lower cost, high performance computers and networks is a paradigm change in parallel processing engineering.

Fifteen students were hand selected by Randy Asher, Principal of the Brooklyn Technical High School -- the largest technical high School in the US -- based on the student's software programming focus and high achievement at the school. An additional student from Hunter Science High School will participate, as well as 6 selected teachers.

"There is a high level of enthusiasm and excitement from students who are participating in the Clubhouse. They are hungry for this type of training to give them a competitive advantage over their peers and a jump start at new programming techniques and developer tools. Our hope is these students will challenge university professors and old software development methodologies by developing scalable coding techniques and breakthrough parallel patterns," says Randy Asher.

Agenda Highlights:
7/21: Introducing Parallel Programming, Recognizing Parallelism, Open MP, Puzzle du Jour
7/22: Threading Building Blocks, Thread Correctness, Thread Performance, Puzzle du Jour
7/23: Game Threading, Jeffrey M. Birnbaum presentation on lock-free programming and Big Iron Demo

Presenters:
  • Randy Asher - Principal, Brooklyn Technical High School
  • Jeffrey M. Birnbaum - Managing Director, Global Head of Platform Solutions, Bank of America
  • James Reinders - Chief Evangelist + Director of Marketing & Sales Development at Intel, Twitter: @JamesReinders, James' Blog
  • Scott Apeland - Director, Intel Software Network, Scott's Blog
  • Bob Chesebrough - Senior Course Architect, Intel Academic Community, Bob's Blog
  • David Mackay, Ph.D. - Manager, Consulting and Technical Support Performance, Analysis and Threading, David's Blog
  • Amit Jindal - Intel Application Engineer
  • Brad Werth - Intel Application Engineer, Brad's bio
Following the boot-camp, the students are invited to participate in the Intel Thread Like Wildfire development contest to continue testing their knowledge and understanding of parallel programming, based upon Intel's Smoke Demo code sample. The high school students who participate in the Thread Like Wildfire contest will be eligible for netbook awards in addition to the regular contest prizes.

Based on the success of the boot camp pilot, the Intel Academic Community and Randy Asher will determine best practices for teaching high school student's parallel programming, and the potential of expanding the curriculum to other technical high schools and magnet schools through National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Math, Science & Technology. Hopefully, by offering an accessible course of study to High School computer science teachers Intel, IBM and BLADE Network Technologies be able to help expand the pipeline of future software developers who can "Think Parallel."

Each year Intel invests USD 100 million to help teachers teach, students learn and universities around the world innovate-particularly in the areas of math, science and technology. Intel believes students everywhere deserve to have the tools needed to become the next generation of innovators.  To learn more, go to http://intel.com/thinkparallel.


SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCES:

LINKS:




Watch the Teach Parallel! interview with Randy Asher and Jeffrey M. Birnbaum recorded live from Clubhouse Parallel Universe.  Watch other Teach Parallel videos here.

ADDITIONAL VIDEOS:

To understand race conditions and other parallel programming challenges, watch this 14 minute video from Intel’s Dr. Clay Breshears:

 

Three Things You Must Teach Video Series --  Part I: Recognizing Parallelism:

 

 

More Academic Videos:  http://software.intel.com/en-us/videos/category/academic/1/1/

 



]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/clubhouse-parallel-universe/ Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/clubhouse-parallel-universe/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/clubhouse-parallel-universe/ Parallel Programming ISN General Financial Services Industry Academic Events Intel® Parallel Studio Home Intel® Thread Checker Game Development Intel Software Network TV Goes Live June 9th Social Media Release:

Intel® Software Network TV - Live, Interactive TV for Developers - Launches June 9, 2009.


On June 9, Intel® Software Network TV, a new 24/7 live, interactive TV channel for software developers will go "on the air" at the Intel Software Network.

http://intel.com/software/tv/

Intel Software Network TV launches with a lineup of regularly-scheduled live interactive shows on software and developer topics including Parallel Programming and Visual Computing, along with "behind the scenes" access and special event coverage. Additional shows are planned for later in the year. For live shows, you can interact with the show hosts and with other viewers via the chat feature. If a live show isn't currently on air, you'll see encore presentations of previous shows, and you can always browse the On Demand area to watch any past episode.

Here is a sample of a previously recorded show, Visualize This!


Subscribe to the RSS feed in iTunes (or your podcaster of choice) to automatically receive high-quality downloads of new show episodes as they become available. Watch them whenever and wherever you want.

Follow @isntv on Twitter to be alerted when a show or special live event is about to go live. Don't miss out!


Come join us live for our big launch day on June 9!

Here are the shows and specials we have lined up:

June 9, 8 AM Pacific: Parallel Programming Talk with hosts Aaron Tersteeg, Dr. Clay Breshears and special guest David Patterson of UC Berkeley and UPCRC. Aaron, Clay and David will be discussing the challenges developers face in Parallel Computing today. The radio version of this show has been broadcast since July 2008, with over 14,000 cumulative listeners. Parallel Programming Talk can be seen live every Tuesday at 8AM Pacific on Intel Software Network TV or via podcast .



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Hosts Aaron Tersteeg and Dr. Clay Breshears

Special guest David Patterson of UC Berkeley

June 9, 10 AM Pacific: Teach Parallel, a new show for parallel programming in academia. Hosts Paul Steinberg and Professor Tom Murphy of Contra Costa College will tackle the challenges of teaching Parallel Programming in academia and computer science. Teach Parallel can be seen live on alternate Tuesdays at 10AM Pacific on Intel Software Network TV.

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Professor Tom Murphy

Paul Steinberg

 

June 9, 12 PM Pacific: A special chat with guest and Intel Software Network blogging hero, Doug Holland.

June 9, 2:30 PM Pacific: Visualize This! Show host and Intel Software Network Game Development Community Manager Arti Gupta will talk to Visual Computing Community Manager, Steve Pitzel. Steve will introduce the new Artists/Animators community and showcase resources available. This show will focus on what is new and exciting in the world of graphics, animation, and game development. Visualize This! can be seen live on alternate Tuesdays at 2:30PM on Intel Software Network TV.

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Steve Pitzel

Arti Gupta

 

June 9, 4:00 3:30 PM Pacific: A chat with special guest David Stewart on the recently released Moblin 2.0 beta, with hands on demos.

Links:

Intel Software Network TV: http://intel.com/software/TV

Short URL (for Twitter, etc.): http://bit.ly/isntv

Parallel Programming Talk show episodes: http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/author/aaron-tersteeg/

Teach Parallel show episodes: http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/author/paul-steinberg/

Visualize This show episodes: http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/author/arti-gupta/

Intel Software Network Parallel Programming and Multicore Community: http://www.intel.com/software/multicore

Intel Software Network Visual Computing Community: http://software.intel.com/en-us/visual-computing/

Intel Software Network Academic Community: http://software.intel.com/en-us/academic/

Intel Software Network Manageability Community: http://software.intel.com/en-us/manageability

Intel Software Network Mobile Community: http://software.intel.com/en-us/mobility

Intel Software Network Main Home Page: http://intel.com/software/

 

SUGGESTED TAGS: Intel, software, developer, code, community, live, video, tv, shows, ISNTV, parallel programming, multicore, visual computing, graphics, manageability, moblin, mobile, academic, podcast


Producer:

Josh Bancroft - joshua.bancroft@intel.com, @jabancroft on Twitter


Media Resources:

Intel Software Network TV RSS feed (subscribe to high quality downloads of show episodes) - http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ISNTV

Intel Software Network TV Twitter Account: http://twitter.com/isntv

Intel Software Network Bloggers:

Aaron Tersteeg - Multicore and Parallel Programming Community Manager, @tersteeg on Twitter

Clay Breshears -Content Concierge for the Intel Developer Network Organization

Arti Gupta - Community Manager, Game Development, @artigupta on Twitter

Steve Pitzel - Community Manager, Visual Computing Community

Paul Steinberg - Academic Community Manager @psteinb on Twitter

Amy Barton - New Media Communications, @amybarton on Twitter

 

Additional pre-recorded Intel Software Network Videos:

Take Five Videos: www.intel.com/software/videos

Take Five Video YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/intelswnetwork

]]> http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-network-tv-goes-live/ Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-network-tv-goes-live/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-network-tv-goes-live/ Mobility Parallel Programming ISN General Intel® AppUp(SM) Developer Community Visual Computing Intel Software Network communities Events Intel® Software Network TV Software News Game Development Free Download of the Havok physics and animation middleware for PCs game development. http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/free-download-of-the-havok-physics-and-animation-middleware-for-pcs-game-development/ Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:31:17 -0700 http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/free-download-of-the-havok-physics-and-animation-middleware-for-pcs-game-development/#comments http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/free-download-of-the-havok-physics-and-animation-middleware-for-pcs-game-development/ Parallel Programming Visual Computing Game Development