Known for its versatility, the Honda Jazz (Fit in some markets) has established itself as a class on its own. While essentially a subcompact hatchback given its body type, the Jazz is actually more of a small utility vehicle, because of the flexibility that it affords in terms of the seating and cargo configuration. Honda has proven the usability of its “Magic Seat” ULTR (utility, long and tall cargo and rest) modes in hauling different kinds of loads. Not that you’d want the Jazz to be your every day hauler for your construction business. But when the necessity arises, it’s sure good to have the added cargo capacity with the flick of a few levers.

The Honda Jazz retains the same utility configurations in the 2014 model,and this generation adds the R to ULT, which stands for “rest”. The third generation since the Jazz’s launch in 2001, this particular model is based on an all new platform shared with the new HR-V, and debuted in Japan in late 2013 and in the US mid-2014. The new Jazz uses a mix of monocoque and spaceframe construction, which helps in maximizing interior space and minimizing weight whilst retaining rigidity. This particular Jazz currently sells in the US as the 2015 Fit model.

VR World had the chance to take the 1.5 V CVT variant of the All New Jazz for a weekend spin around town, climbing mountain routes and cruising through highways. Plus, we were also able to put the car’s cargo utiltiy to the test with a chance trip to the hardware store.

Specifications

The All New Jazz has a slightly longer body and wheelbase, and having re-designed the rear suspension without an anti-sway bar, the ride characteristic should differ slightly from the second-generation Jazz, but this means added rear cargo width capacity. The new model comes in various engine and transmission configurations, including a 1.5 liter and 1.3 liter Earth Dreams i-DTEC engines for the North American and Japan markets. The Philippine market unit we reviewed came with a 1.5 liter i-VTEC, which comes standard across the entire new Jazz line. Some markets will also get a turbocharged 1.0 liter three-cylinder engine currently under development.

A few key specs:

• Engine: Chain Drive SOHC i-VTEC 16 valve
• Fuel supply system: Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI)
• Max power: 120 PS @ 6600 RPM
• Max torque: 14.8 kg-m @ 4800 RPM
• Transmission: CVT
• Fuel capacity: 40 liters
• Suspension: Independent MacPherson Strut with Stabilizer (front) / H-shaped torsion beam with Stabilizer (rear)
• Brakes: Ventilated disc (front) / Drum (rear)
• Turning radius: 5.1 m

The 2014 Jazz is actually shorter by about 7.6 mm, although wheelbase has been stretched by 30.5 mm, which means a marginally more comfortable ride, and some advantages in interior seating space.

Higher-spec units come with additional amenities and safety features, such as foglamps, side mirror-mounted turn signals, smart key, side curtain airbags, touch-screen stereo controls and rear-view camera. All models, except for the base MT come with a cargo tonneau cover, which is useful for keeping stored items from prying eyes and for added air conditioning efficiency.

Design, comfort and amenities

The Jazz retains the same basic design elements of the previous generations, including a cab-forward design with sloping hood, as well as small and sloped C-pillar windows. The general look echoes that of Honda’s other new launches, including the All New City, which VR World reviewed a few months ago. This includes the bold “H” grille design, and the character creases that extend from the front fender through the door handles, finally extending through the rear headlamps.

One big design discrepancy from previous Jazz models is in the headlamp. This generation eschews the bug-eyed triangular-shaped design of the old Jazz, with designers opting instead for a flatter and more wedged look that echoes the latest City and Civic models.

Being a subcompact hatch, the Jazz is designed more for utility and space rather than cruising comfort. Front and rear legroom is generous although not excessive. Compared with the outgoing Jazz, this generation increases rear legroom by about 12 cm.  Seats are quite firm, however, which can lead to driver and passenger fatigue in long drives. Our review model comes with one 12 volt power socket, a USB port and nine cupholders.

Notably absent in our review variant is a touch-screen interface, which Honda introduced in the new City. The integrated audio system does support USB MP3 playback, Bluetooth audio, as well as mobile phones. The two-line LCD screen is quite limited, however, and folks who are used to touchscreens in smartphones and tablets would be disappointed. The VX and VX+ models do come with touchscreen audio interface.

Compared with the City, however, utility is where the Jazz wins. Its 350 liters cargo capacity in normal seating mode is a 13 liter increase from the previous generation. And while the City does have a 510 liter trunk space (already class-leading for a subcompact), the Jazz’s rear seats can be folded down flat to increase cargo capacity to 906 liters. With front seats also folded flat, storage capacity goes up to 1,492 liters. The car also offers a “tall” mode, in which the rear bench can be folded up to haul taller items. The rear seat bench and backrest split is 60:40, which means the car can still accommodate passengers in various modes.

It helps that the Jazz’s fuel tank is located below the front seats. This means items can also be stowed under the rear bench, and this gives way to the “tall” mode, which enables cargo from floor to ceiling height. And one clear advantage over the competitors: the Jazz’s rear seats fold full flat, unlike other hatchbacks with seats that only fold forward with a big slope.

The post Honda Jazz is a Cute Ute That Can Fit Almost Any Lifestyle appeared first on VR World.

Makalot to expand its business in Vietnam

Makalot Industrial Co (TPE: 1477), a Taiwanese diversified garment manufacturer for brand names and major clothing retailers, announced on Dec. 16 a three-year plan of an investment between US$10 million and US$15 million per year in Vietnam, where the company is planning to build new textile plants.

Frank Chou (周理平), chairman for Makalot, said during an investors’ conference that the company has its eye on the potential zero-tariff benefits brought by Vietnam’s free-trade talks with the EU and its involvement in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“As of November, Vietnam has surpassed Indonesia to become Makalot’s largest production area, accounting for 32% of the company’s total capacity,” he said.

Indonesia accounted for 30% of the firm’s total capacity, while Cambodia accounted for 24% and China and The Philippines accounted for 6% each, Chou said.

Between January and last month, Makalot posted a revenue of US$615.4 million, up 15.9% from a year earlier. With full-year sales expected to top US$666 million, Chou said that its employees can be expecting an annual bonus of more than 12 months.

V Air to launch eight to 10 new routes next year

V Air, TransAsia Airways Group’s budget carrier, said that another eight to 10 new flights will be launched in 2015, while it launched its maiden flight from Taipei to Bangkok on Dec. 16.

In addition, V Air is also planning to launch a chartered flight service to Siem Reap in Cambodia since Jan. 6, and begin to operate its second regular route to Thailand on Jan. 7, which will fly from Taipei to Chiang Mai.

“Aside from our service network, we also plan to expand our fleet. We aim to have five aircraft covering eight to 10 routes by the end of next year,” said Vincent Lin (林明昇), chairman for V Air.

He said that flights to Northeast Asia, such as major cities in Japan and South Korea, are V Air’s next potential market, with the company seeking to launch flights to destinations in that area in the first half of 2015.

Lin said that the expansion plan is aimed at helping V Air reach economies of scale and allow the airline to break even and start generating profit in 2016.

Tencent to stream Sony Music artists in China

Tencent (HKG: 0700) signed an agreement with Sony Music Entertainment on Dec. 16 to exclusively manage online distribution of Sony’s music library in China.

The alliance came on the heels of Tencent’s announcing other distribution deals with Warner Music Group and HBO, as Tencent sought to build up its entertainment portfolio to compete with online rivals Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) in using entertainment as a hook to attract more than 600 million internet users in China.

Honda to recall more than half million vehicles in China due to air bag malfunction

Honda (TYO: 7267) said on Dec. 16 that it will recall 569,769 cars it sold in China due to potentially defective air bags that were made by Japan’s Takata Corp (TYO: 7312).

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement that the damaged airbags could cause “shell fragments to fly” that may hurt passengers.

Almost 20 million vehicles have been recalled globally since 2008 due to defective Takata inflators, which have been linked to five deaths.

A Beijing-based Honda spokesman said that there had been no injuries or malfunctions reported in China so far.

Taiwan’s Academia Sinica raises GDP growth forecast to 3.42%

The Academia Sinica raised its GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.42% on Dec. 16, from the 3.31% estimated in July.

“The pace might decelerate to 3.38% next year, as China’s economic slowdown could dampen external demand and government spending is set to contract further from this year,” said Ray Chou (周雨田), a Academia Sinica research fellow.

China, however, may not see aggressive economic growth in the future because of an increasingly large base and continued economic reform, although it accounts for approximately 40% of Taiwan’s exports, Chou said.

“The trend, together with disappointing showings in Europe and Japan, is unfavorable for Taiwan’s export-reliant economy,” Chou said.

Uncertainty emerged last quarter and has become more evident this quarter, with GDP growth likely ebbing to 2.83%, weaker than the 3.64% expansion in the first three quarters of the year, the research institute’s semiannual report said.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 17 appeared first on VR World.

Segway dancing, thousands of Japanese schoolgirls, and a continuous shot taken by a drone-mounted camera…

… It must be the newest music video by OK Go.

Alternative Pop band OK Go, masters of the viral music video, just released a new flick for their “I Won’t Let You Down” single.

Every time the band seems to have outdone themselves, they push the envelope with something new. Directed by Morihino Harano, the four men glide around the Longwood Station Studios courtyard on Honda Uni-Cub segways, joined by hundreds of synced dancers, for fantastic visuals from all angles.

Like OK Go’s “This Too Shall Pass” & “The Writing’s On the Wall” one-takers, there is a sense that we are watching raw footage, with only the ends trimmed off. When crew members (actually a cameo of Japanese pop group Perfume) prepare the shot in the beginning, their actions are fast forwarded, which means the action/music were performed at half-speed for safety. This was a crucial production decision for operating a complicated drone shot, while choreographing almost 2500 cast, crew, and extras.

As the drone ascends upward for the finale, the array of dancers turn into an unbelievable LED-like marquee, shaping the band members’ faces, and the occasional “アイ　ウォント　レッチュー　ダウン”, phonetic Japanese for “I Won’t Let You Down”.

Whether or not you like their music, OK Go will continue to wow audiences worldwide with visually impressive music videos.

The post OK Go's New Drone Music Video appeared first on VR World.

It looks like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has continued to gain momentum with its automotive division with today’s announcement that Honda’s newest Android-powered Honda Connect will be powered by Nvidia’s Tegra SoC. Today’s announcement marks yet another major design win for Nvidia’s Tegra SoC, even though Nvidia isn’t quite saying which Tegra chips are going to be used in Honda’s 2015 model year vehicles, starting in Europe.

2015 Honda Civic with Honda Connect

What we do know is that Honda’s new Honda Connect infotainment system will be using Nvidia’s Tegra mobile SoC chips and those new Honda Connect systems will be in Honda’s new 2015 Civic, Civic Tourer and CRV. Nvidia states that with Honda, Nvidia has marked down its 19th design win with Nvidia technology, but do not say exactly how many are using Nvidia Tegra SoCs (and not combining Intel + GeForce). According to Nvidia there are 6 million cars on the road today with Nvidia Tegra inside of them and they expect that number to balloon to 25 million within the next five years, a very confident and solid growth figure.

Honda Connect with Nvidia Tegra inside

The Tegra-powered Honda Connect is comprised of a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display for satellite navigation and backup camera as well as AM/FM/DAB and vehicle information. Honda will have its own application store, as seen above, called Honda App Center where developers and Honda can work together to bring their Android apps to the car. This may solve the problem that most automotive systems have right now, which is a complete and utter lack of relevant automotive applications.

The post Honda Connect Now Powered by Nvidia Tegra appeared first on VR World.

Even amid the rising concern for eco-friendliness and reduction of carbon footprints, cars seem to be outgrowing their respective classes in the recent years. Take for instance sub-compact sedans, which have started to overtake autos a class above in terms of space, trim and even price. The same goes for the sixth generation Honda City, which we have had the chance to review upon its launch in the Philippines domestic market. The City has certainly grown bigger in size and space, and the equipment easily outclasses even bigger sedans in the market.

Launched in November 2013, the sixth-generation Honda City had its ASEAN debut in January of this year, reaching markets like the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and the like starting second half of the year. Based on the third-generation Honda Jazz (Honda Fit in Japan) platform, the City now sports the company’s new “Exciting H” design language, which is evident in almost everything, from the front grille, front profile, dashboard and more. Whereas the previous arrow-like design evoked maturity, this particular generation’s styling evokes excitement.

The Philippines market variant of the City comes in the base E, mid-range VX and top-spec VX+ trims. Philippine-spec models come with L15Z1 1.5 liter SOHC i-VTEC engines outputting 117 horsepower, although some international variants ship with a more advanced 99 hp 1.5L Earth Dreams engine. Manual transmission cars have been the norm in this country for so many years, although Honda has decided to go with the current trend of releasing most of its City variants with automatic transmission. Only one model in the E spec comes with stick-shift. The automatic variant E spec comes with 5-speed traditional (torque converter) AT, while VX and VX+ variants come with 7-speed continuously variable transmission (CVT), ensuring optimal power output and fuel economy throughout the rev range.

Even with the rising obsession for lower-displacement engines, Honda chucked the 1.3-liter engine in the City retaining 1.5L configurations throughout all models, perhaps opting for the bigger engine configuration to ensure the car is not underpowered.

I got to take the VX variant for a spin through city, suburbs and mountain routes for a week, courtesy of Honda. I can say that, compared with the fifth-generation City which I reviewed a couple years back, this particular model has matured enough, in terms of features, driveability and comfort.

Design and First Looks

The previous generation City was a world apart over its predecessor in terms of design language, but the same may not necessarily be said for this current iteration, as the sixth-gen Honda City does retain the wedged form of the model it replaces. However, it does get the benefit of character creases that extend from the front doors toward the rear fender and which continue through the brake lamps, perhaps geared toward improving aerodynamics. Also, instead of the usual mesh- or honeycomb-type front grille, the City’s front has more chrome wrapped around the “H” Honda logo, extending toward the headlamps.

The interior is where one would be surprised at a car in this class. Whereas the fifth-generation City came with plasticky interiors that evoke “cheap”, this generation City has more refinement in its interiors. Silver-trimmed soft-touch plastics wrap around the dashboard. The steering wheel has also been upgraded to a design similar to that found on the City’s bigger brethren, the Accord and CR-V.

“Touch Tomorrow” is the focus of this generation City, and the dashboard does certainly conform to this standard. Replacing the usual 2-DIN stereo system is an integrated touch-screen that controls the car’s audio and accessories via a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen. The screen also converts to the rear-view camera when reversing. The same capacitive touch interface is also employed by the climate control below the main touchscreen, which reduces the visual and tactile clutter that traditional rotary dials or levers will usually result in. The touch-heavy interface comes standard in the VX and VX+ trims, which gives the City a more premium feel than even cars bigger than B segment.

The VX and VX+ also offer push-to-start, paddle shifters and bigger, 16-inch alloy wheels, compared with the base E class. Honda also offers Modulo utility and Mugen sports packages and body kits, for those inclined towards the after-market look without having to settle for non-Honda parts.

Comfort and Amenities

Size-wise, the City has, indeed grown in terms of length and height. At 4,440 mm length and 1,497 mm in height, it is 25 mm longer and 7 mm higher, respectively. The wheelbase has also grown by 50 mm to 2,600 mm, which should improve ride quality in bumpy roads. Width remains the same at 1,695 mm. The City comes with class-leading trunk storage space at 510 liters — bigger than most cars in the B- and even some in the C-segment. At this size, the City is the biggest subcompact by far, relative to its class competitors like the Toyota Vios, Nissan Almera, Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2, among others.

Ride is comfortable with adequate NVH reduction. Cabin is comfortable enough for four adults, and is spacious enough for five. You get two cupholders, four bottle holders and a bevy of outlets for gadgets, including three (three!) 12V power sockets, a USB outlet and even an HDMI outlet. Still, if you’re coming from a bigger car (like an SUV, midsize sedan or minivan), you will still feel it’s a subcompact sedan, though.

The touchscreen interface also comes with smartphone connectivity. You can interface your iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth. The car’s steering wheel has mobile phone controls for voice dial, “call” and “end”, as well as audio controls for the car stereo.

Performance and Driveability

When it was originally launched in ASEAN, the City was meant as a city car, and the sixth-generation City certainly feels at home in the stop-and-go traffic of the city. The car has spacious interiors, but is still compact and maneuverable enough to  go about in city traffic and fit tight parking spots. The 1.5-liter engine is driveable in stop-and-go traffic, and you won’t find yourself lagging behind at the green light.

On a weekend, my family and I took the City for a spin via the South Luzon Expressway-Sta-Rosa-Tagaytay route, and found the city to handle well in the highway. On winding mountain passes, the suspension handles well — Honda tunes its suspension with adequate stiffness, after all, at least compared with other popular local subcompacts from Toyota and Nissan.

The only trouble is that with its smooth CVT acceleration and comfortable seats (for a compact sedan) is you might find yourself fighting sleep while cruising. Not that there is no excitement that comes with this zippy car, of course. You can do some spirited driving via the steering column-mounted paddle shifters. Pull the left lever to downshift, and the right to upshift. You can manually select “gears” in drive, but you can also switch to the “S” sport mode in the tranny selector to go manu-matic full-time.

Fuel consumption is 9-10 Km per liter in the city, 19-20 Kpl highway and about 14 Kpl mixed. And yes, it comes with the usual “ECON” mode found on the Civic, Accord and CR-V. Activate it and you will feel a little drag in accelerating, but it might be worth the fuel savings whilst in stop-and-go traffic.

Verdict

The all-new 2014 City is more high-tech than the latest-generation Toyota Vios, which it competes squarely against. The City’s VX and VX+ variants come standard with a touch-screen interface, reverse camera, push-to-start, touch-sensitive door handles, CVT and paddle shifters — features that are commonly found in higher-spec and higher-priced cars. Those used to Honda’s sportier/firmer ride will not be disappointed, as the City can tackle curves and corners with ease. The 1.5 liter engine is adequate in city and highway driving, although CVT sometimes struggles in uphill drives — you might find yourself down-“shifting” using the paddle shifters during these instances.

At least in the Philippines, the City comes with a premium in terms of price and financing. Toyota, for example, has come up with ultra-low down payment schemes for its Vios (starting at PhP 19,000), likewise with attractive lease-to-own packages. To address the popularity of the ultra-compact sedan, even Honda has launched its A-segment Brio and Brio Amaze, which is smaller and cheaper than the City.

Even with this price and financing premium, the Honda City is great for a daily driver for commuting to work. Its size is adequate for city driving and will be a good first car for singles, young couples or starting families.

Prices and Specs (Philippine / ASEAN market)

• City 1.5 E PhP 756,000 (MT) / PhP 796,000 (5 speed AT)
• City 1.5 E Modulo Utility PhP 821,000 (5 speed AT)
• City 1.5 VX PhP 880,000 (CVT)
• City 1.5 VX Aero Sports PhP 935,000 (CVT)
• City 1.5 VX+ PhP 970,000 (CVT)

The post Auto Review: Touch Tomorrow with the 2014 Honda City VX appeared first on VR World.

Based on his article, which speaks about the death of high-end PC computers (neatly, some years after Rahul sold his own boutique PC manufacturer to HP for a large sum of dead presidents), the world is going to evolve into small and neat things. And that is a nice pitch to launch a product like the upcoming Blackbird 003, as insinuated in a follow-up post.

And this is where it hit me. The perception of human species is that we’re an exclusive kind. One cannot co-exist with another, starting in kindergartens, throughout school, rivalry between brothers/sisters in a family or nations – does not matter, we all think of ourselves as God/Allah/Manitou-given right to exterminate the opponent because “we’re better”. However, when we look at the world in general, we see that everything is inclusive, even our position in the food chain. We cannot be different, because we would belong to a different position in the food chain, not on top of it. We are predators (Orca the killer whale is also a mammal, so don’t pull that argument that we’re cute as dolphins), we take all the best qualities, them being good or bad, and use them for our own interests. However, we do not cancel each other out. It is the competition that drives us to the best or worst of our potentials, and it does not matter who comes second, it is the matter of who makes the best product, that being your performance in a family, or a company.

The IT industry – error in global economy DNA
Factor of inclusiveness comes to life the moment you walk into the world of IT industry. This industry is best described as “disruptive”, because it continuously shakes up the world order, like it or not. We change the level playing field in every industry that we touch, that being weapons of our own destruction, or tools of our own creation. Now, why all of a sudden this industry is turning into an exclusive one, or just keeps talking about exclusiveness?

For starters, a lot of my mainstream colleagues are now writing about Apple products like nothing else exists in the world. For starters, Apple did not invent multi-touch nor does it own the technology. But, Apple is the first company that took the existing technology and did a brilliant job to create currently the best interface between humans and machines.

Tomorrow brings a whole another ballgame of alternative interfaces that will change the way how we communicate with the digital world. Perceptive Pixel, Dragon Systems/Nuance, Google Voice-activated search, and E-Plus Speech-to-Text (SMS) technologies – all of these companies are bringing technologies that are utterly brilliant, but in the end, they will be adopted by other companies. Following exclusive logic, all of these companies will keep technologies to themselves, regardless of Google being an American company, E-Plus a German mobile operator, Dragon a small UK company that exchanged more hands (corporations) than Microsoft has employees… but all of these companies bring stuff that will be adopted by other companies and they will deliver their stuff.

At the end of the day, we all will benefit – smaller and big companies, but only those that think outside the box.

What a Ferrari F1 car has to do with my car?
In order to be able to draw parallels with current situation, let’s compare computers to cars, since both share emotional similarities. There is a world crisis in car sales, as a consequence of recession. But, let’s take a deeper look into numbers, shall we? Big Three in US are in trouble, because they have millions (sadly, not exaggerating) of unsold cars. Why? Because people don’t want to buy them. Car industry missed the way what car drivers’ desire and that was punished with a dramatic decrease in sales… from makers of bog standard automobiles.

No wonder, you might add – because these cars don’t give us that buzz, that emotion. Now, let’s take a look into the world of supercars… are the sales down? Judging by the appearance of numerous supercars manufacturers, the answer is a very loud – NO. Ferrari increased its production from 4999 cars/annum in 2005 to 6700 cars in 2008, followed by 7500 cars in 2009. Current leadership of the company told yours truly that they won’t increase production for more than 10,000 cars a year, because they want to keep the exclusivity. Then again, they told me the same thing back in 2005, so don’t hold your breath. Porsche makes 80,000 cars/year, and they plan to pass the 100,000 mark with the introduction of baby SUV and a four-door limo. Crisis? What crisis?

I won’t even explain how start-ups companies like Tesla, Carbon Motors and many others are preparing the stage for either a takeover, or big ones “stealing” a lot of ideas from their 2010 cars. Let’s move forward. In the past five years, more supercar manufacturers appeared than in 10 years between 1990 and 2000. Whoever heard about companies such as British Atom or German Gumpert? Yet, these manufacturers are finding their customers than GM or Ford. Different volume? Certainly. Profitability? Well… if GM was any smart and produced real sport versions of their cars, they would not be in such a doodle. Honda Type-R was a stuff legends were made from, yet their current Civic Type-R is a heavy and non-responsive PoS of a car. What happened to sales? You’ve guessed it. In today’s world, we’re pampered by dream visions wherever we go. These marketing visions make our emotions work and make us want things. In all honesty, can a Chevy Tahoe make us drool? Hardly. It’s a workhorse, regardless how you like present it. Range Rover Sport or chrome alloys on Tahoe are nothing else but “pig with a lipstick”.

Getting back to the world of computers, did Dell, IBM, HP, Gateway and others really thought they could continue to sell beige boxes forever? The answer is very simple – NO.

HP had to buy VoodooPC, Dell had to buy Alienware, and Acer had to buy Gateway, eMachines. Why? Because all of these companies need to generate buzz around their products. Raise hands who want to buy “beige or maybe grey” PC with “ultra-interesting” 19″ LCD display (connecting to PC with analog D-SUB connector, DVI cable is more expensive) and a beige PS/2 keyboard (still have on stock) that will change color the moment you touch it?

What happened after these acquisitions? HP launched all-carbon fiber Envy 133 and more importantly, All-in-One PC with a massive 22″ or 25.5″ touchscreen. Dell implemented Alienware DNA in its XPS series while keeping the company intact (and learned to live with the fact that there are tens of thousands of people want to buy their screens, but not interested in their computers). Gateway launched a sold out notebook which specs are now emulated by ASUS, Toshiba and others. The list goes on.

How to create an industry – sandboxes anyone?
At the dying years of 20th century, the need for better coolers created a whole new industry – premium cooling that became premium cases. Could you imagine Antec Skeleton, Cooler Master Stacker, Cosmos Black Edition, and Blackbird 002 – or imagine that a Ferrari-designer Pininfarina worked with Spire to create a design case for 70 greenbacks. And all of that happened because a small group of people went nuts and overclocked Celeron 300A to 450 MHz and Duron 650 to 1.1 GHz and started to build systems around it (sorry, omitted Athlon 550 and 650 to 950 courtesy of legendary “Gold Finger” device).

This grassroots movement turned into an industry of premium components, yielding companies such as Corsair, OCZ, Mushkin from the world of system memory, BFG, Diamond, EVGA, XFX, Sapphire in the world of graphics cards, Extreme Edition and FX processors from Intel and AMD and completely changed the way how Dell, HP, Acer, ASUS and others market their computers.

Tesla Supercomputer is the latest example of taking an underground movement and creating an industry. Five years from now, every scientist will have a minimum of 100 TFLOPS on his desktop, and supercomputers will become 10-20-40 PFLOPS machines capable of solving world’s greatest problems. Because of who? Because a group of young doctors of science took four gaming cards and turned a gaming machine into a processing monster for computational topography http://fastra.ua.ac.be/en/specs.html and inspired Nvidia to launch an ecosystem around Tesla cards for aspiring scientists.

Would that ever happened if there weren’t for gamers who demanded more and more realistic graphics in computer games, forcing companies to turn regular video processing chips with some texturing power into TFLOPS monsters that eat CPUs for breakfast in any stream-like application?

The answer is very simple. NO. Liked it or not, it all started with bilinear filtering of textures. 3Dfx had it, S3 and Matrox didn’t. Games looked awesome even on Pentium 100 machine, looked like crap on Matrox and Pentium 233 MMX. ATI and Nvidia came later and with wiser moves, moved ahead. End of story.

Personally, I consider that the most important product that HP has in its complete PC lineup is its TouchSmart series. Yet, I don’t see HP advertising this system wherever you go, I don’t see discussions about how controlling the computer by our own fingers is changing the world. No, that’s left to Apple and be honest; iMac does not come close to level of interactivity offered by HP’s system. Apple’s buyers used to be consisted out of dreamers, visionaries and people that don’t want to live in bog standard world. Judging by the rate of market share growth, people want to dream, live the vision and they don’t want to live in a bog standard world. That’s why Apple stuff sells like hotcakes – not to enthusiasts, but to grandmas and grandpas that want to own something beautiful. This is the place where CE industry missed the boat completely and it will get eaten by IT industry (not getting “destroyed”, but adopting IT technology to a point where you can’t tell a difference). Your telly in the living room will have a complete computer inside, or just connect to a home server that will become more important than ever. Is it a Sony TV or Sony Vaio with a larger screen? Wait and see.

High end PC – what can we make of it?
Here comes the ultimate failure of PC industry as such – it lacks people that will spark that creativity, all in the name of cutting costs, even if $2 means the difference between PoS product that nobody wants to buy or will buy only when forced (enterprises tied into their own cycles).

The problem of high-end PCs does not lie in the fact that there is no market between ultra-high end PCs and mainstream crowd. The problem, as some like to see it – actually does not exist. There will always be a market for those 300.000 people (Steam Hardware survey November 2008). That number accounts to 300 million greenbacks of revenue for graphics subsystem alone. Even in five years spread, that’s a hefty number to overlook for anyone, and this exlcuded rest of components that also belong to premium world. Most of motherboard manufacturers now focus on catering overclockers, spend hundreds of thousand of dollars on organizing overclocking competitions… all in the name of better products.

Is this market something that is going to disappear? Nope and yes, I will shave my head if I am wrong. This industry also has its heroes, like Shamino who came from overclocking world to help EVGA design ultimate motherboards, Macci who helped AMD to create an attack on Intel and change the way company markets its CPUs… examples are numerous. And no, these people will not go away, they will actually – get company.

Conclusion
In conclusion, boutique vendors like Biohazard Computers, HyperSonic-PC, SolidWavePC, Smooth Creations, YOYOTech and others will not just continue to exist, but expand their line-ups and put their DNA into more volume products. I won’t make a distinction between Biohazard and McLaren Group, or stop to mention similarities between VoodooPC/HP, Alienware/Dell and AMG/Mercedes relationship.
This industry is huge, there is more than enough room for everybody and guess what? AMD, Intel and Nvidia are not making enough chips to satisfy world’s need for computing. Once that this trio starts making 3-5 billion chips a year, we can start saying that the industry is saturated.

Then, we can start talking about exclusiveness – until then, whenever you hear an industry leader saying that users “don’t need that”, with “that” being TV-out on 3dfx Voodoo cards (Alex Leupp, 3dfx CEO), “that” being 64-bit instruction set (Patrick Pat Gelsinger, Intel’s CTO at time)… is setting its company for the fall or a hefty portion of humble pie.

The new site will have open discussions with the industry leaders outside of this industry, and then it will be interesting to see what IT industry leaders will say. Bear in mind that everybody is talking about netbooks today. First netbook in present form was a computer that a lot of industry executives and journalists claimed that it is impossible to make. Nicholas Negroponte, AMD and Quanta created netbook; ASUS came with Intel platform and created EEE. The rest is history.

And again, this would not happen if there wasn’t for Ferraris and Lambos of this industry. The future is bright for high-end PC manufacturers, but not just that. The future is bright only for open minded manufacturers that will push the envelope in their respective market.
Slow giants will be overrun, regardless of how you look at it. It is the real evolution and exclusiveness in the all-inclusive world.

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