Links to both articles here:
Gamasutra: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/39461/Report_Crysis_2_named_mostpirated_game_of_2011.php
TorrentFreak: http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirated-games-of-2011-111230/

Here’s a screen capture from the latter site that I’ll be discussing: (Attributes/Thanks to TorrentFreak & Ernesto)

So let’s dissect this & put things in more context. Besides the obvious exclusion of PS3 data – what stands out to you all? …………………………. Give up? Here are the things that stand out the most to me.

1) Does anyone see any Games here that lean on Free to Play/Freemium? (w/Micro-transactions)
2) Does anyone see any MMO, or Subscriptions based Games here?
3) Does it strike anyone else that these games all appear to originate in the Western Hemisphere?
4) Aren’t most of these games still leaning heavily on the Retail fire & forget release model?
5) Most of the games listed also stand out as those that are candidates for Secondary Sales.

Ok… yes…. Before I get flamed I do realize that a few of these are dabbling in things like Online Pass, & some platform specific exclusives, Co-Op modes that lean on a great multi-player experience etc., and so forth. However; I really believe that what we’re seeing occur in Piracy is largely (but not always) a function of these ‘Pirated’ games perhaps not taking, or leveraging more fully, the full tool-set of Business Model Options, Game Design Choices, & or Current Technology that can help reduce, or even in some cases eliminate Piracy outright. I honestly don’t get it. That said, not every game might be a good candidate for say the Freemium/Free-to-Play model, or warrants a subscription; however, it seems like the Western Hemisphere’s Game ISVs – could at least consider some form of a hybrid approach to implement at least (1) of these new trends or technologies to tackle Piracy issues. The alternative is to continue to blame the PC for being a bad platform to publish your game on. However; I don’t hear this kind of story coming out of Eastern Hemisphere Games Companies such as: Nexon, TenCent, Shanda, Netease, etc. So again… I’m at a loss as to why. Also; is the PC really that bad to publish on after all? I believe the PC as a platform to bring your games to is far superior as long as one's willing to tap into some of those relatively newer game design choices, business, and distribution models; but it's going to require some changes in our thinking and playing some catch up to other parts of the world. (Note: Worth adding that localizing your content on day 1 release as globally as possible is also extremely important - especially if you want to reduce Piracy)

Last but not least we have to ask ourselves the following question. When looking at the links or the posted pic we see that PC is leading piracy rates, then it’s the Wii, then it’s the Xbox 360. Interestingly enough though, how much of this is due to the active install base of players on those respective platforms? It’s interesting to note that the higher the Install base, the higher the Piracy rates. Mere coincidence? I doubt it. Bear in mind, the volume of GPU capable PC Gamers over say the Xbox 360 platform is at least 4:1. (~250mu to ~60mu). The Wii has to be somewhere in the neighborhood of at least ~85-90mu or ~3:1 PC to Wii Gamers. Which is an extremely conservative estimate by the way for PC Gaming but I digress. So I’ll leave you with this thought. What would the Piracy rates be on the 360, Wii, or even the PS3 *if* the Active User Install base were at least comparable to that of the PC global install base? Sadly… I think what you’d see is comparable rates of Piracy; regardless of what platform a Publisher chooses. The net is this – and in my opinion it appears that: One: Consoles have failed to truly curb Piracy, and Two: As a result we’ve ended up with an experiment in Consoles that have unfortunately held back gaming and left us with sub-par gaming experiences.

Perhaps it’s time to break those shackles?!

A technical presentation has been scheduled for February 15, 2012: Future-Proof Your Application's Performance With Vectorization.  This presentation is for C, C++, and Fortran developers, and will help you get started understanding and evaluating vectorization using new technologies such as Intel® Cilk Plus, pragma SIMD and the Intel Compiler’s Guided Auto Parallelization report.

For the complete presentation abstract and registration details please visit http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-software-development-products-technical-presentations/

It’s that time of year again where I speculate on what the big technology announcements and impacts are going to be for next year 2012. The lens I use for this are those things that will in some way have a profound short or long term impact, or implications, for the various gaming ecosystems.

I also want to preface this by saying that I intentionally try to close myself off from various discussions that would implicate me from divulging anyone’s roadmaps. In instances where I do have some inside foreknowledge of what’s going on I have to remain mute on those topics. In those instances where I’m dangerously close it would be by sheer coincidence and is tied to my own predictive models.

Before we get started though, I’d like to recap some of my 2011 predictions; of which a few came true. I was only 4 for 10; and am kicking myself for not posting so you’ll have to take my word for it. Some of the things I didn’t accurately predict I’ll actually ‘carry-over’ into 2012. What I did predict accurately for 2011 was:

1) Microsoft would sign some major deals with additional content providers & pipelines. (In this case Comcast, Verizon, and a host of other TV networks)
2) Microsoft would pitch Xbox 360 as an Entertainment System (Expect even more of this)
3) Knew that GameStop had to buy some digital distribution partner. (Impulse)
4) Free to Play would start hitting the Western Hemisphere’s shores like a sledge hammer. (Too many games to list)

So what’s in store for 2012? Let’s get started. Some of these may seem painfully obvious, but there are often some things taking place between the lines that may not be so apparent. (Note: These are stack ranked in ‘my-view’ of importance)

1) Voice and Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Bucket I’ll use for things like Apple’s Siri, Personal voice assistant)
There are big implications here and I expect this to be a huge battlefield for the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Will be very fun to watch! Will obviously be used by Games in the future. I’m hoping this sparks a new renaissance in voice recognition software coupled with artificial intelligence. Doesn’t everyone want a protocol droid? Oh wait… that’s just a few more years off… before becoming more affordable. This does however; segue into a stronger #2 below:

2) Cloud Services: Sure, this may sound painfully obvious but I truly believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg here. The biggest implications come back to more and more content that can be digitally delivered or consumed. So expect things like the DECE Ultraviolet initiative. Things like Ultraviolet could very easily be extended to also include the various gaming devices. The big players here will continue to be: Apple with iCloud, Valve with Steam, Sony with PSN, Xbox with LIVE, and so forth. However; expect Amazon to come on very strong. I also predict we’ll see a few more *Uber* consortium pacts formed as well. Where does it settle? I’m not sure it does. However; the first partner that delivers something on the order of ‘Jarvis’ from Iron Man, my own ‘personal cloud’, will be who I crown the winner.

3) iPad and Slate/Tablet mania begins to wear off: By the end of 2012 we’ll likely see Microsoft spend more on Windows 8 and “Project Denver” marketing than what’s left in the Federal Reserve. However; what I find more fascinating is that the form-factor is already evolving beyond a simple ‘slate’ like form factor. (e.g. Asus Transformer) We also have Amazon playing in this space with the Kindle. How many more 100’s of knock-offs will we see in the meantime? Don’t get me wrong I think they’re nifty and cool little devices. Perfect for easy to do tasks and some PC usages. However; it’s a device that I’m likely to buy in addition to a PC; and not as a replacement for. Given that the #1 peripheral bought for these are the keyboard – why not just get a thin and light laptop? (e.g. Ultrabook, Macbook Air?) IF I were a Console Mfg… this is the form-factor I’d adopt for a next gen console. Why? Tough to crack the case open.

4) Smart’er TVs and All in One’s converge: I was hoping to see more of this in 2011 and it didn’t happen. However; I’m still hoping for at least (1) of the big HD TV Mfg’s, like Samsung, or LG, to offer a compelling All in One in the 42” range or greater. I’m hoping for moderate upgradeability, WHDI/WiDi; and an integrated Kinect/Primesense-like sensor in the bevel or stand. I’ll keep that on my wish-list for Holiday 2012 if the Mayan calendar proves to be incorrect.

5) China lifts it’s Console ban? Perhaps… however; as a PC Gamer I’m hoping not. For their culture’s sake I hope not. Otherwise they can suffer along with our W.Hemisphere’s culture of fostering more PC illiteracy. Yes… I feel it’s extremely important for our kids to understand the inner workings of any form factor a Personal Computer has evolved into.

6) CES News (Project Denver on multiple Form Factors/TVs?): I think the biggest news splash for the 2012 CES will likely be around Windows 8 and Xbox LIVE services, new partners, form factor announcements. My best guess here, and I could be wrong, would be around the Project Denver stuff from Nvidia running Windows 8. The conspiracy side of me expects a bait & switch; so expect to see Win 8 Metro running on a host of devices and screens. In other words, not just Slate like devices, but mobile SmartPhones, HandHeld Devices, PC Form Factors, and last but not least - TVs. This would all dovetail well into Microsoft’s long term vision of attaining the 3-Screen, now Multi-Screen initiative.

7) E3 News (New Console Splash): I’m hoping to see an announcement for at least (1) of the Next, 8th Generation of Consoles. Good luck! My bets are on Sony. If they’re smart about it they’ll go with a cross device, cross platform play. If for any reason it helps the Game Publishers/Developers get to a better ‘buy once, plays anywhere’ scheme.

8) Google goes big in 2012: I expect Google to do bigger things in 2012. Especially along the lines of some things I’ve previously mentioned. 1) Imagine a Google-voice(Siri) offering couple with Google Search? 2) What Google Android did on SmartPhones will likely be attempted to be duplicated on the Slate/Tablet form-factor. Sure.. they’re there now, but I expect it to be much finer tuned for 2012. It has to be fine-tuned given Microsoft’s push, with Metro, on that form factor. Google and a bigger push towards gaming. Not sure if that will entail an acquisition or not. We’ll have to wait & see.

9) Large name Game Engine Company gets acquired by a bigger fish: Well… I keep expecting to see this happen and it doesn’t. However; I’m keeping it on my list.

10) Globalization and Economic Climate continues to remain flat: Believe me when I say I hope I’m wayyyyy off on this one and dead wrong. There is however always the random act of nature, or conflagration in the Middle East, that we can almost bank on. So domestically speaking, continue to pay off those credit cards, keep your debt to income ratio down, expect taxes to go up. The implications here, if I have to spell them out, for technology are: 1) Continued ASP erosions, 2) Lower disposable income rates, 3) Discerning and savvier buyers. This all translates into smart business leaders will want to ensure they can offer more compelling content at low rates; and may require or warrant another look at new business models. Proprietary devices with lower Total Available Markets (TAMs) will be very unattractive places to be.

So there you have it, my predictions for 2012. I hope you enjoyed this. I have other predictions for 2012. Some others that frankly I can’t post. I’d love to hear if you have anything to add to my above predictions.

Hope you all have a great Holiday!

Matt

During this webinar discussion we’ll be outlining a couple of key proposals that should not only help PC Gaming, but most other gaming ecosystems as well. A couple of the key trends we’re seeing in the research from the PC Gaming Alliance, and in discussions with Game Developers, is an increased desire to support and adopt various ‘Cloud gaming’ scenarios that are accessible across a wide spectrum of devices and displays. (aka. Compute Continuum, 3 screens, etc). This ‘Cloud Gaming’ movement is critical to comprehend in tandem with another key trend as games increasingly move towards a games-as-a-service (aka GAS) model. Due to the global popularity, massive install base, and extensibility of Personal Computers as gaming devices, the PCGA’s set of proposals will be largely targeted at addressing the PC Ecosystem.

I’m very excited and looking forward to this webinar, as it ties into my previous roots working for Microsoft Game Studios in the early 2000’s determining Minimum System Requirements for the PC Games we were shipping during that era. It also culminates a near eleven year journey’s worth of conversations with Game Developers, and collected research for more than a decade.

If you’d like to join us for this Webinar, or know of someone that would like to join, details for the Webinar can be found here:

http://www.pcgamingalliance.org/NEWSEVENTS/Events/tabid/384/Default.aspx

Press Release: ">Here

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Matt

Paul Young exhibits in his gallery what is commonly called ,”video art” and “other media based art”, perhaps for lack of a better way of categorizing it. In one conversation Paul said he liked the term they used in the 90's, “time-based art”

What you will find is that most of the work in the galleries is projected either onto, through something or shown on a video screen. Video mapping is often employed. Sometimes the work will be projected through things such as sculptures and onto other surfaces. Sometimes mirrors are used to bounce a projection from place to place. A lot of the work he shows is digitally created.

In one of his recent shows an artist, Robert Seidel had created beautiful paper sculptures onto and through which the video was projected. I must admit it gave me ideas for projections I would like to use with a dance company.

In one of the 2 current shows, “Mechanical Bride” there is an interactive piece that would also go nicely with dance. It is a piece by John Carpenter, “Fields” in which a field of beautiful reeds moves as if the wind was blowing through them in response to your body motion. I found myself (when no one was looking) dancing in front of the piece.

Ignas Krunglevivius of Norway did another piece I found very intriguing, a police interrogation of a woman who had murdered her pastor husband. Paul Young had created a separate room for the piece which was projected onto 3 of the 4 walls.   The interview answers and questions were projected consecutively as in the interview. Besides the type there were color changes and flashes at appropriate moments. The whole effect made me feel like I was inside the mind of the 2 people, the interrogator and the woman. It was very powerful.

I always appreciate the appeal of the sensory, especially the visual and the work of Kurk Ralske was not only theoretically interesting, but beautiful to behold as well. Work that appealed to my mind and heart.  Kurk Ralske based his work on the recently uncovered Futurist films of Eugen Schufftan from the 1920's. To quote from the Young Projects gallery website, “To Ralske's surprise, Schuffan's experiments turned out to be the closet representation of Cubism ever committed to film, with multiple points of view being presented simultaneously.”

With the exception of several pieces in the 2 shows I found all of the work to be on a range from engaging to brilliant. All of it thought provoking and presented in a way that enhanced the meaning of the work. The shows run through November 11, 2011 at the Young Projects Gallery, Pacific Design Center, and West Hollywood, California. They are well worth going to.

Before I go to the interview with Paul Young I should mention how I found out about the gallery. Paul actively goes out and seeks the artists and works he wants to exhibit. So I was very happy and surprised several years ago when he found one of my works on the internet and contacted me about showing it. I have since shown several times at his gallery and have gained a great respect for the care, thought, and work that goes into each show he puts up. He strives to create museum quality shows. With Paul the cliché, “it is a labor of love” certainly applies.

Below are a few questions I asked Paul and his answers to them.

Conversation with Paul Young

Question: Paul you are on the forefront of exhibiting cutting edge work. As such you are shaping what is considered to be art and perhaps the critical history of art. How did you find and choose some of the work in the current shows? What kind of criteria do you use in the selection of the work?

Answer: I don’t have a set method for choosing work, other than listening to what connects with me. Sometimes I start with a general idea, such as I did with Mods & Hackers, which was designed to explore the current state of post-simulation works, avatars and internet works. When I explore an idea like that, I’m doing it because I feel that it’s central to our age and our way of communicating, and stands at the forefront of art making practices. Other shows, such as Savage Transparence start with one or two works, in this case, works by Daniel von Sturmer from New Zeeland and Ann Lislegaard from Copenhagen. I found a similar approach to their works and both of them made me think of Wallace Stevens in their singular, minimal approach. So that led to me finding more works that I thought would work in concert with them… that’s no different than how any curator works, or course. And then there are simply artists who I’m dying to work with, so I’m trying to work as many of them as I can. And when I do, I try to do my best to give them the best space that I can, with the best equipment that I can get, and help them realize their vision. But in terms of ‘how do I find work,’ people always ask me that. I hear that all the time, and it seems to be the first question on their lips. Maybe that’s because they walk into my gallery and they always see great work and yet they have this perception that ‘video art’ is terrible or boring or whatever. Yet there is so much great work out there it’s ridiculous. All you have to do is look on line, look at gallery websites, read art reviews, go to art fairs, talk to other artists and look at any of the dozen or so websites that feature video work on a regular basis. It’s all there. all you have to do is look.

Question: Why do you consider the current work up in your gallery to be important work that should be exhibited?

Answer: I consider all the shows I put together to be important for the simple fact that they always seem to open people’s eyes. Whether it’s average gallery goers or artists, people always seem blown away by the work. And occasionally, it really connects with someone and they’re deeply moved. I’ve seen that happen time, and time again, and that’s why I keep doing what I’m doing. I had an eighty year old man walk in one day and he couldn’t even get past the first screen. He was so blown away by what he was seeing. He kept saying, “This is it! This is the future! This is the future of painting! It’s here!” Reactions like that make it all worth it, all the time, all the energy, all the money. More importantly, I want to inspire other artists and create a dialogue between them and artists working in other countries. Occasionally, I’ll present a work that uses a different method or approach, and artists come in and get so excited by it that they go out and try something different. And that’s how history gets made. That’s how great art moves forward. All the great experimental film movements for example, worked that way, whether it was 1920s Paris or 1960s New York. In each of those periods artists fed on each other’s work and pushed each other, and that’s particularly important for this medium since it really needs to be seen in a proper space and properly projected. YouTube may expose a lot of works to people, but if you don’t feel it’s impact, it won’t inspire you, no matter how innovative it is. In Savage Transparence for example, I have a work by an Irish artist who uses words to convey a narrative. Just words, tones, and light. Yet when installed correctly, as it is in my space, it produces a very dramatic, powerful experience, which has in fact, inspired a few local artists. But as far as historical relevance goes, I believe that some of the work in Mechanical Bride has particular relevance. Kurt Ralske, a professor at RISD, has moved cinematic collage forward by creating his own software that can present entire films at once, yet in a highly space and painterly manner. We might see Ozu’s Early Summer for example, all at once. The film plays in its entirety, but his program selects certain moments to highlight, so it ebbs and flows in a very unique way. So unlike the film collage from previous years, which always existed over time, from shot to shot, this work presents itself in the same way as a painting or photograph. And yet it moves. People may not make that leap when they see it in person. But in terms of history, it really means something. Ralske has also found a kind of cinematic cubism through the work of Eugen Schufftan, who was Murnau’s cinematographer, which is unlike any filmic cubism that I’ve ever seen before. It’s truly extraordinary. It’s actually a masterpiece if you ask me. I had a woman in the other day who was a painter and she was so moved by it that she couldn’t get up out of her chair. She kept saying how she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. (She also kept raving about how sexy and sensuous it was!) So I see Ralske’s practice as an important step forward as well. And then there’s the interactive work of John Carpenter, a young artist based in LA. His work uses cameras to read the room and change accordingly. Yet rather than using montage, he presents ever shifting shadows, often of natural forms. So for me, it reminds me of Calder in its simplicity and elegance, yet it’s at the cutting edge of what this medium can do. So I think the work will be regarded as historical important because there will come a time when “canned” video experiences will be a thing of the past. We may very well see a time when all of this kind of work will be interactive. And when it does, people will look back at John’s work, and all the artists working in that manner, like Camille Utterback and others, as being essential.

Question: I know you might not want to answer this, but are there one or 2 pieces in your show that speak to you personally more than the other works and if so why?

Answer: All the work I just mentioned speaks to me personally, whether that’s because of my film background or because I’ve always been excited by things I’ve never seen before, by the unknown, by anything that breaks barriers, breaks with convention and does something to you physically and mentally. But I’m also fond of the works that I can participate in as a curator, where I can bring out something in the work by the way I display it or present it. Edith DeKynt’s work for example, came on a dvd, and I could have easily screen them on a wall. But that would have diminished their impact greatly. So instead I built simple sculptural forms, or simple wooden boxes, added a screen surface to one side, placed them on the floor and projected onto them. That gave the image a physical presence that brings out that sculptural quality that was already within Edith’s work. (Her images are of simple gestures that seem to defy natural physics, like a piece of string that seems to flat in the air much longer than it should. So it’s partly gestural, partly magical, and very physical) So by building this space I believe that the work has a much greater physical presence, at least that’s what everyone tells me!

In any case thank you for asking. I’m happy that you were able to see the show.

Who Is Paul Young ?

Paul Young  besides owning and curating the Young Projects Gallery is a journalist and curator based in Los Angeles. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Elle, Variety, Angeleno, Dwell, Surface, Artnews, Art & Auction and many more. His weekly column, “Untitled,” which covered contemporary art issues, ran in the Los Angeles Times for two years, and his “City Art” column ran in Angeleno for nearly five. He is also the author of Art Cinema (Taschen), which explores ways in which art practices converge with moving imagery, and he curates video programs and exhibitions worldwide. Recent exhibitions include VideoRoam at Honor Fraser Gallery (A series on one person shows with Guy Ben-Ner, Fabien Giraud, Tobias Yves Zintel, Driessens & Verstappen and more); Cineloop at ARCO, Madrid (2010); Portugal Arte ‘10 (Lisbon's first biennial) and an upcoming show at the Parpallo Museum, Valencia Spain. He is also the director of Young Projects, a contemporary art gallery devoted to contemporary video art and film. Recent shows include Breathless with Jennifer Levonian and Sari Carel; Supervention: Exploring extreme Body Performance Work of the 1980s; and Surface/Ground with Gary Hill, Michael Snow, Ori Gersht and William Lamson

So it was a real treat to attend an inspiring event, one full of attendees and speakers that were intent on using the arts to promote and do good things. I attended one panel discussion populated with people who were successful in doing just that. The event was, “State of the Arts:producing Change” put on by the Center for Conscious Creativity and co sponsored by The Producers Guild of America and the Millennium Project.   Kate McCallum the Co founder of C3:Vision Lab played a big part in organizing the event. I have known Kate for a number of years and I am always impressed with the strength of her vision and her ability to pull people and finances together to create an organization that puts on successful, inspiring seminars and conferences. On the C3 website this conference is described as, "very special event that explores the world of E-lanthropy -- a place where art, storytelling, philanthropy, technology, science, social networking and more come together in new and exciting ways to make the world a better place. Learn from some of the most influential people in the industry".

The first person to speak on the panel I attended was Jerome Glenn, the Executive Director of the Millennium Project a global futurist think tank. It is an impressive non profit organization of futurists, scholars, business planners and policy makers. Besides outlining the challenges facing mankind Jerome Glenn wanted everyone to know that there was hope, that in many areas of trouble mankind was winning. For example he said there are less wars now than any other time in recent history. He emphasized that we must remain vigilant because there were still many ways in which mankind could be derailed.

 Marc Levy, Creator and Producer of “Circle Up Now”,  was a particularly impressive speaker showing a series of aerial photography shots from all over the globe of crowds of people in formations creating art images.

Recent images include people forming a portrait of Martin Luther King with the words, keep the dream alive. 1200 people showed up in Santiago Chile to create a human whale. The formation of these human images creates a spirit of activism in the participants and well as serving to publicize a cause. Art is thus mixed with activism and education. Industry specialists figure out the best ways to promote these causes and images across a wide spectrum of platforms. A number of wonderful human images can be found on their website.

Another speaker who talked about using multiple platforms now available to us for activism and raising funds for good causes was, Tim Kring the creator of the Heroes TV series. He talked of building libraries and creating scholarships with multi platform story telling. His latest project was “ Conspiracy for Good”. He described it as creating a narrative using the archetypes of good and evil that people could insert themselves into in a variety of ways. It was an “augmented reality drama” game funded and technologically- enabled by Nokia. It involved over 100 people in production teams in 5 different countries. It culminated with 4 weeks of live events and game play in the streets of London.

Other panelists were Richard Cummings Jr., Kathy Eldon and Elizabeth Huttinger all also doing amazing things with the arts for social good and change.

The venue was held at the Center Studios downtown Los Angeles. Afterward Ed Lantz, owner of Vortex Immersion Studios and one of the participants in the event hosted a music and art showing in his  Vortex Dome on a roof patio at the Center Studios. On a regular basis Ed has been providing his dome to artists hoping to create a creative community of artist and musicians inspired by immersive environments such as the Vortex domes. This is a real service to the artistic community. Mary Duda, CEO and president of Virtue Play a company that produces positive games for people also provided the opportunity for people to try out a new interactive game that involved navigating around the surface of the moon.

COMING EVENTS

I will be participating in an event "Migrations" at the Vortex Dome in the Center Studios on Nov. 6, 2011.  I will be creating the art projected onto the dome while composers, singers and musicians perform. For more information go to where you can find out about the event.

A bonus portion of the lab was the opportunity to run the Intel® PBB lab code on the Intel® Many Integrated Core Architecture (Intel® MIC). After testing one of the programming models, a select few went the extra mile and learned how easy it was (little or no code changes required) to port specified computations over to an Intel® MIC-enabled platform.

The other big part of the lab was a contest to win an Internet TV for putting together a video or written statement about how the programming model tested would benefit the participant in their daily work. A panel of judges looked over the entries that came in and awarded a prize to one contestant from each of the four lab choices. The winners are:

Intel® Array Building Blocks: Dick Brown

Intel® Cilk Plus: Tom Ratcliffe

Intel® Threading Building Blocks: Emmanuel Lopez

Intel® Many Integrated Core Architecture: Joe Dougherty

Congratulations to all of the winners! And a big "Thank You" for all the other lab/contest participants. I hope you got something out of your chance to test some of the PBB programming models (even if it wasn't a big prize).

Let me start out by saying that I’m keeping extremely close tabs on the Build conf this week. What we’ll get out of Build this week will hopefully be able to confirm or deny my own personal suspicion’s & hunches on the implications for PC Windows gaming. So I’ll skirt around this a bit by positioning all the following statements from the perspective of “What I’m hoping for out of Windows 8” fully well knowing what we’re likely going to end up seeing. This should be a fun exercise…

In no particular order here are the big ticket items of what I’m hoping for out of Windows 8:

1) Win 8 Gaming UI, quick to launch, access & buy Windows PC Games, from a Tile; and or integrated via Live with it’s own ‘channel’.
2) Win 8 Gaming in the Win 8 App Store!
3) Win 8 Gaming kept separate & unsullied by Xbox branding or titles
4) Win 8 Gaming fully integrated into the UI for the 1’ to 10’ experience.
5) Win 8 Gaming launches with a self or soft certification that’s easier on developers; with a compelling spec., target.
6) Win 8 Gaming marketed as being the innovation platform for the Kinect moving forward.
7) Win 8 Gaming SDK’s include enhancements for: Touch, Gesture, Facial Recognition, et al.
8) Win 8 Gaming co-marketed with several key OEMs & or Partners.
9) Win 8 has seamless games integration across devices allowing me to play my PC Games on varying form-factors. (TVs, Slates, SmartPhones, Laptops, etc) Includes saved states and device pairing. <-- Ah.. what a dream!
10) I have about 20 more I could list but by now I’m sure you all get where I’m going with this….

Hopefully at least a few of my wish list items are fulfilled. My guess is that we’ll see some additional FUD factors coming out of Build contributing to the misnomer that is “Post PC Era”.

So.. lets all stay tuned for Windows 8. My next blog will be about dissecting the above vs. what was announced in Win 8 this week.

• Hands-on Lab: Create a Custom Embedded Linux* OS for Any Embedded Device using the Yocto Project - Wednesday (9/14) at 1:05PM, repeated at 3:20PM, Room 2012 - This is a fantastic opportunity to get your hands on the Yocto Project software to see how easy it is to set up and build your own custom Linux OS for an embedded device.  Here is the abstract:

Audience: Embedded Device OS System Architecture Developers, Embedded Application Developers, or Technical Hobbyists: Moderate/Advanced technical experience with device OS or firmware development

Create your own custom embedded Linux* using an industry supported, open source infrastructure designed for embedded use – the Yocto Project* (www.yoctoproject.org). Test your Linux* on an Intel® Atom™ processor based development platform and other emulated platforms. Learn an alternative to wasting your time and money hacking apart and testing components from a huge, non-embedded Linux distribution when you build an OS for your prototype or product.

• Poster Chat: Finally, a Great Set of Tools to Create a Custom Embedded Linux using the Yocto Project -12:00PM and 2:30PM Tuesday, Poster Chat Station 5 - this is an unstructured way to connect with both business and technical folks to engage, ask questions and find out how to get involved.

Are you responsible for, or interested in easily building a custom embedded Linux* OS for a prototype or product? Are you tired of using some huge, non-embedded Linux* distribution that you have to hack apart and then re-test and validate for your device? Learn about the Yocto Project*, an open source collaboration project that provides templates, tools and methods to help you create custom Linux-based systems for embedded products regardless of the hardware architecture. Be introduced to the process of developing your own custom embedded Linux distribution for an embedded product or prototype using an Intel® Atom™ processor based development platform and other emulated platforms, how single instruction porting from architecture to architecture is possible, automatic application SDK creation, and the ease of upgrading to a commercially supported open source Linux* such as Wind River Linux*. Come learn how appropriate these tools may be for your project and how to quickly get started saving time and money. If you like what you hear and want to try it out, attend the Hands-on Lab: Create a Custom Embedded Linux* OS for Any Embedded Device using the Yocto Project*.

I highly recommend that you check these out. I will try to be there as much as possible... I would love to meet you.

Are you going to the Intel Developer Forum next week (13-15 SEP 2011)? If so, you should check out the "Faces of Parallelism" lab that is being held on Wednesday afternoon. This event will be a self-paced lab on parallel programming with the Intel® Parallel Building Blocks. If you have some experience with one of the programming libraries, this will give you a chance to experience features of one of the others. For example, you may know how to code with Intel® Threading Building Blocks, so you can try Intel® Array Building Blocks or Intel® Cilk Plus.

(OK, OK. Stifle that yawn. You've been there and done that. I get it.)

No need to worry about getting out of your depth, either, since each lab will have three levels based on programmer experience. You will be able to participate even if you've never touched a thread in your code before.

If you're an expert in one or more of these models, there is still something new we can offer to you. Once you've gone through the PBB labs, there will be an opprotunity for you to do a  fourth programming lab that you will just have to attend the lab to see. However, you will watch the latest Intel® silicon features be unlocked via Intel’s optimized Software Tools.

(Do I have your attention, now? Good, 'cause I'm about to turn it up to "11").

That's not the best part, though. The title "Faces of Parallelism" isn't just a catchy phrase. There is a reason for the choice. After you've spent some time working through some of the interesting exercises, we want to know what you think about the programming model you've just used and how you think that technology would be useful to you. To preserve your comments and ideas, we will have a video crew standing by to tape your testimonial. (And show your face as a "face of parallelism".)

After the event is over, a squad of experts will be reviewing the comments submitted by participants and choosing the best submission in each of the four programming areas. Those with the best submissions will be awarded a great prize!

So, if you've got a face (like one of these clowns pictured here) and an interest in parallel programming at any level of experience, this promises to be a fun and informative event. I hope you'll want to join me and the other proctors (each an expert in the programming models being featured) to try something new that can be added to your parallel programming repertoire.

When you get your IDF material, look for the "Faces of Parallelism" lab on Wednesday afternoon. It is scheduled for 4 hours, but you can drop by anytime you have 20-30 minutes free; there's no strict start time after the event gets underway. Join us and you, too, could be one of the next faces of parallelism.

Off we went with our camera, put it in front of one of their demo computers and let Steve show us the nice things you can do with Havok's tools and technologies like Cloth, Distruction and other funny things. Come and learn all about animation and simulation, rendering and texturing. Have fun with this very interesting 6:30 min video clip!

BTW: If you want to know more about Havok's tools just visit this very informative web page.

Exactly about this tool suite Philipp talked in front of the camera where he gave some insights into this analyzing application. You can learn whether you need this tool suite, which new features Intel has implemented into Intel GPA 4.1 and how it can be compared to Intel GPA 4.0. And the best of it: Philipp will reveal how you can get this helpful graphics analyzer tool for an appealing price!

So please come and watch our short questions and Philipp's interesting answers...

One of their representatives is Andrew Bowell who is manning the demo  and knows a lot about Havok's products as he is Head of Product Management. So we set-up our camera, turned it on, switched on the mic and chatted with him about Havok as a company, their rendering and texturing solutions, the meaning of GDC for Havok and about their partnership with Intel.

So, click, watch and listen!

Right after his session I had the chance to have a chat with Levent about his lecture and I wanted to know more about the following topics:

• What do software developers need to know about Sandy Bridge and its requirements?
• What's the idea behind AVX?
• Why should software developers use Intel VTune Amplifier 2011 XE?

Ok, click the picture, start the show and listen to his replies!

After yesterdays's tech session where Leigh Davies talked about Morphological Anti-Aliasing, Levent Akyil entered the stage this morning and showed where and how to find hotspot flops and micro-ops. This session was packed with excellent programming tips regarding Sandy Bridge and more so that all kind of developers could benefit from his speech. So come on and read, what Levent had to share with all attendees.

The first thing developers could learn from Levent are the major changes in the current micro-architecture called Sandy Bridge which offers faster and integrated GPU, faster data caching and thus a lot of performance boost when running optimized applications. But also special features like AVX will accelerate your games by "turbo-ing" the rendering and other tasks. Do you remember: AVX means broader floating point registers which are capable executing new SIMD instructions in parallel. This is extra horsepower with nearly no work to do!

But although Sandy Bridge changed a lot, some issues are still the same: how can data be transferred into cache in order to speed-up the whole execution process? And how can I detect and eliminate hotspots and latencies in my code? The answers are quite easy: optimize your algorithms and work close to the hardware (AVX)! With the help of the right tools programmers will achieve these goals at least with less effort.

For this kind of tasks Levent recommends Intel VTune Amplifier XE, which is part of Intel Parallel Studio XE and which is able to optimize the whole source code by detecting hotspots, slow frames and bad call stacks. And this is an important basis for running your application faster and more secure.

We filmed two minutes of Levent's session so you can enjoy watching him work :-)  Have fun!