2015 will mark the 30th anniversary of Windows, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) iconic operating system first launched in November 1985. 2015 will also mark the year that Windows 10 will be released, the follow-up to the critically panned Windows 8.

Over the last decade customer’s computing needs have shifted. The computing landscape is dramatically different in 2015 than in 2001, when Microsoft launched Windows XP its most popular operating system and considered to be the company’s best. People compute in different ways, and Microsoft now has to compete with new operating systems that have appeared in the last decade like Android in addition to longtime rival Mac OS from Apple (NASDAQ: APPL).

Microsoft now is at a critical juncture.The success or failure of Windows 10 will be turning point for Microsoft. The exact nature of Windows 11 will depend on whether the market embraces or rejects Windows 10. If the market embraces Windows 10, it’s very likely that the follow-up will be more of the same. A failure of Windows 10 — a repeat of Windows 8 — will force Microsoft back to the drawing board with the OS, re-imagining it from the ground up.

Back to the beginning: DOS

A history of Windows needs to begin with what preceded it: DOS. DOS, later known as MS-DOS, was Microsoft’s first operating system and until Windows ME the foundation of what Windows ran on.

The birth of MS-DOS began in 1981 when Microsoft met with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to discuss making an operating system for its upcoming personal computer.

Microsoft already had a relationship with IBM, as it was licensing the BASIC language to IBM. The scope and complexity of creating an entire operating system was beyond Microsoft’s resources available at the time, but that didn’t stop Bill Gates: he bought the full rights to DOS from a small firm based in Washington called Seattle Computer Products for $50,000.

The meeting that started this deal is dramatized in the film Pirates of the Silicon Valley:

Seattle Computer Products’ owner Rod Brock was unaware of the exact nature of the deal between Microsoft and IBM. However, when he discovered the profits Microsoft was making selling DOS to IBM he tried to sell the company and all of its intellectual property to one of IBM’s rivals. This led to a lawsuit between Brock and Microsoft and the two parties settled out of court for $925,000, and Microsoft confirmed its rights and license to DOS.

The first Windows

Microsoft announced Windows, first called Windows for DOS and known by its code name of, in 1983. It was finally released in 1985. However, it was not the first operating system with a graphical user interface. That honor goes to Apple’s Macintosh.

Windows shipped with several simple programs, such as MS‑DOS file management, Paint, Windows Writer, Notepad, Calculator, and a calendar, card file, and clock.

While Windows was praised for helping change the paradigm of how people interact with computers, this first version of the world’s most important operating system largely stood in the shadow of Macintosh. Apple, however felt threatened and sued Microsoft in 1988 for copyright infringement, claiming that Microsoft copied the “look and feel” of its operating system.

However Apple itself did not invent the GUI. That honor goes to Xerox, which effectively gave it away to Apple.

Support for Windows 1.0 ended in December 2001.

The post The History of Windows appeared first on VR World.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) announced Thursday morning that it was downgrading its revenue prospects for its upcoming first-quarter earnings release due to the continued shift from desktop PCs to mobile.

Intel expects revenue to be approximately $12.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million, down from $13.7 billion, plus or minus $500 million.

“The change in revenue outlook is a result of weaker than expected demand for business desktop PCs and lower than expected inventory levels across the PC supply chain,” Intel wrote in a statement released Thursday morning. “The company believes the changes to demand and inventory patterns are caused by lower than expected Windows XP refresh in small and medium business and increasingly challenging macroeconomic and currency conditions, particularly in Europe.”

Many vendors in the PC space, including Intel, have been the victim of a prolonged upgrade cycle. Though Windows XP has been pushed to its end of life, many large enterprises are hanging on to their Windows 7-based machines. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Intel and other vendors in the space hope that the upcoming release of Windows 10 will spur demand for upgrades.

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Drugs, kids, and robots seem an unlikely mixture. However, robotics are helping kids through the stress of doctor visits, helping hospitals dispense medications more accurately, and standing in for a surgeon’s hands.

MEDi is yet another of those cute robots that interact with people. You’ll find him in medical settings where his specific task is to be a companion to children, educate them, and be a pain coach. He’ll greet a child as they come for a vaccination or other injection. He explains the procedure saying that the alcohol swab the nurse uses to clean their skin at the injection site “feels wet like a puppy licking your arm”. You can see the interaction between MEDi and a child in their YouTube segment.

MEDi is child height, slightly less than two feet tall. His 25 degrees of movement, eight pressure sensors, nine tactile sensors, two cameras, and four directional microphones make his interactions lifelike. To distract and entertain, he tells stories, plays games and dances. Together with built in cognitive behavioral skills, the robot is clinically proven to reduce children’s pain and anxiety by 50 percent. His explanations help kids understand and anticipate what a procedure will entail.

MEDi dances to entertain, but mostly to keep a child’s mind off a medical procedure they may be undergoing.

Rx Robots says their mission is to transform pediatrics through robotics. The Canadian based company first put MEDi to work at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. MEDi’s programs are specific to various medical procedures, such as blood tests or vaccinations. The MEDi Kits which contain an NAO Robot, a battery pack and charger, choreographe software and applications can be ordered individually. The University of Calgary with Setareh Aghel Manesh, Tanya Beran, Ehud Sharlin, and Saul Greenberg are credited with MEDi. Beran was providing information and demonstrating their little guy at CES 2015.

Robots have been used in medical settings for some time. The first in 1985 was PUMA 560 which performed a neurosurgical biopsy. It had only six degrees of movement controlled by six brushed DC servo motors. In 1990, the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) got into the picture, approving the AESOP system  for an endoscopic surgical procedure.

More recent is the da Vinci robot typically used in cardiac valve repair, hysterectomy, and prostatectomy procedures. The surgeon controls the robot remotely from a console. Interactive Surgical, the company behind da Vinci, claims that its 3D high definition vision system with magnification up to 10, special instruments, and computer software help the surgeon operate with enhanced vision, precision, dexterity and control. However, their website warns that “Patients should understand that risks of surgery include potential for human error and potential for equipment failure. To emphasize the potential problems, in 2013 the company recalled the da Vinci units because of defective Hot Shears where cracks allowed electrosurgical energy to leak to patient tissue.

Robotic equipment helps with drug inventory and dispensing as well. Robot-Rx, not to be confused with the child-focused Rx-Robots, is an automated medication dispensing system. Medications are placed in envelopes or cassettes with bar-codes that links to the computer record of the patient. It updates the drug inventory as prescriptions are filled.

Medicines are stored and dispensed via bar code to the related patient by Robot-Rx.

The vault-like appearance of this robotic system which stores as well as dispenses drugs is far removed from MEDi, the cute humanistic robot.

The Robot-Rx complex stores, dispenses, and inventories medications.

McKesson Corp. sold their hospital pharmacy automation unit Robot-Rx over a year ago to the newly named Aesynt Corporation. The system runs under Windows 7 and provides real time inventory control as well as bar code medication administration.

Whether addressing kids, drugs, or surgery, robots are here to stay in the field of medicine and health care.

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ATI’s poor performance in Folding@Home client was mostly due to different hardware capabilities of Radeon X1K, Hd2000, HD3000 and HD4000 series. But after couple of months of hard work on code optimization, ATI managed to crack into the big league, performance-wise.

Today we received the answer a lot of Folding enthusiasts awaited for so long… after making multi-GPU possible on Catalyst 9.2, the latest 9.3 version brings new version of ATI Stream and AMD Display Library SDKs, significantly raising the performance of F@H client.

If you fold and use an ATI card, don’t think – go and download them. If you are enjoying yourself with Windows 7 Beta (for some odd reason, version 7033 works better on my system than RC 7058 – why Microsoft, why you always have superb betas and then SNAFU the final verson?), you’ll be pleased to hear thatas of this month, Catalyst for Windows 7 are entering monthly refresh schedule.

Now, if there is one person who believes Microsoft that Windows 7 is coming out next year, wake up and start preparing for this summer. ; )

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Leo is on course for being late the whole year...

According to original plans, AMD’s platform challenge was consisted out of Spider, Leo and Python. When K10 (Barcelona/Agena) hit delays, AMD introduced Dragon to the roadmap, combination of 790FX/GX chipset with DDR3-compliant Socket AM3. When AMD realized that they are unable to launch Phenom II with DDR3 at first, Dragon was named 7-series chipset, Radeon 4000 series GPU and Phenom II – thus putting AM2+ chipsets in the frame as well. “Original” Dragon platform debuted yesterday, with the introduction of AM3 processors, and our sources were implying that AMD is doubtful about launching the Leo platform in time.

According to the story mentioned above, motherboard makers were skeptical with a reason, since AMD decided to postpone Leo to Q4’2009. This is a slippery slope, because there is inherit danger that Leo misses the design phase for HP, Dell and others – all those Windows 7 powered computers for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Christmas may go without AMD Phenom II + Leo if company misses the boat. In 2007, AMD missed the Q4 design window and decided to launch Phenom+Spider in channel alone, limiting the platform’s potential. In 2008, everything was about fixing the Phenom II and chipset guys couldn’t finish Dragon platform because the CPU was missing out, and it looks like 2009 is a year of issues on the chipset site. We wish AMD all the best and hope that for once, every piece of the puzzle will fit in place with Leo or Python (Bulldozer+DDR3+DX11). AMD needs to get following right for Leo:

• New Phenom II processors
• DirectX 11 GPU – mainstream and high-end discrete parts
• RD890/SB850 – update the SB with USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0 spec

This would be a money maker for AMD. If they get 3 out of 3, AMD can be forgiven for being a full year late with Leo.

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• W7 Starter Edition – 199.95 vs. 99.95
• W7 Home Premium – 259.95 vs. 159.95
• W7 Professional – 299.95 vs. 299.95 (Vista Business)
• W7 Ultimate – 319.95 vs. 399.95

If we compare the launch prices for two operating systems, we can see that Microsoft jacked up Starter Edition by $100 when compared to Vista Starter Edition, Home Premium is jacked up by the same amount. Professional (Business) Edition remained the same, while Ultimate got cheaper by 80 bucks. The differences become even more interesting if we take a look at current situation – roughly a year ago, Microsoft cut the Vista prices by as much as 20%.

Following is a comparison between actual prices:

• W7 Starter Edition – 199.95 vs. 52.99
• W7 Home Premium – 259.95 vs. 129.95
• W7 Professional – 299.95 vs. 299.95 (Vista Business)
• W7 Ultimate – 319.95 vs. 319.95

Now, the differences are even greater. You will pay almost $150 more for W7 Starter Edition, exactly twice the much for Home Premium (single W7 Home Premium box equals two Vista Home Premium boxes), while Professional (Business) and Ultimate remain the same.

Judging by what we are seeing now, the wave of positive PR should yield in additional hundreds of millions dollars, since Starter and Home Premium are most sold versions with netbooks and notebooks. This will put additional pressure on notebook manufacturers and you can expect that those manufacturers will be forced to offer cheaper components inside their computers in order to meet up for these jacked up prices. OEM pricing will differ, but don’t expect wonders.

The value of good PR for Windows 7? One Benjamin Franklin.

If you ever wanted to know what is the value of positive reviews from journalists around the world – the answer is somewhere between $80-150 per retail box. Looking it from othe other side, this can also be interpreted into the cost of negative reviews.

UPDATE: February 9, 2009, 15:02 CET – ArsTechnica posted a retraction of this rumor. As usuall, I will state that this story was a rumor to begin with, and we won’t know the truth until Microsoft officialy release the prices. You can expect MSFT to disclose pricing when W7 enters RC-1 stage.

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New benchmark/system utility offers plethora of information...

New feature is also Alert – sensor monitoring utility that triggers audio visual alert on overheating, voltage drop, overvoltage or cooling fan failure. This might prove quite useful in checking is your power supply good enough. Standard features include support for the latest processors and chipsets, such as  Core i7, Atom, Phenom II and others. Support for OpenAL and High Definition Audio were also added. UI also underwent some changes – Windows 7 users should be happy, and if you use Vista Sidebar, you should like the newly designed information “widget”.

Everest 5.0 is available now at www.lavalys.com.

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After spending last couple of days offline, I logged on today and learned that two sites posted news that Microsoft does not want for people to download the beta version of Windows 7.  This was surprising to me, since only thing that Microsoft did was put the 2.5 million user cap. Their servers melted down and people downloaded 2.5 million ISO images. Well, Microsoft decided to show that the company really turned the corner and became more user-friendly than any software vendor out there (yes, brave words from me about MSFT, but facts are facts).

The company removed 2.5 million download cap http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/01/10/here-s-where-we-stand.aspx , hired additional hosting services outside MSFT campus to cope with the load and prolonged the beta download until January 24th. The only caveat was how to get the keys if you’re not TechNet/MSDN subscriber.

Well, friends at Neowin posted a great article about how to legally get a key to Windows 7 Beta http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/01/10/psstheres-how-to-get-your-windows-7-beta-key . And the way is really easy. All you have to do is have Windows Messenger account and log in on the TechNet’s page http://technet.microsoft.com/ . Then, copy&paste one of addresses from down below and voila – keys will be generated for you (yes, copy and paste in the same window/tab).

• 32-bit Windows 7 DVD Key Generating Page
• 64-bit Windows 7 DVD Key Generating Page

My keys... in nice, shortened version :-P

Ain’t life great? Go, download the ISO images and enjoy in next gen of operating systems from Microsoft. Honestly, I am thinking about ditching 64-bit Vista Ultimate and putting W7 B1 as my default 64-bit OS (I use 32-bit XP, 64-bit Vista + 64-bit Ubuntu).
You can download the images by clicking here:

• 32-bit Windows 7 Beta 1 ISO Image – direct download from Microsoft MSDN site
• 64-bit Windows 7 Beta 1 ISO Image – direct download from Microsoft MSDN site

The post Microsoft invites everybody to download and try Windows 7 Beta! appeared first on VR World.

Most popular sites like The Pirate Bay, isoHunt and ArenaBG are peaking with requests from users that are dying to see what Windows 7 is all about. Colleagues at ZDnet also didn’t stay astray; they downloaded the latest version (6.1.7000.0.081212-1400) as well, and posted a very detailed preview. Judging by their feedback, this beta is so stable that Microsoft does not need to work on W7 anymore. Given by sour taste left by Vista, I could not agree more. C’mon Microsoft, release this baby as soon as possible.

When it comes to release date, it seems that my sources were dead right and that this operating system is on track with release in August 2009, in time for Back to School. Will we see 22 and 24″ touch screens from Dell, HP and others in tandem with W7? That remains to be seen.

Oh right, if you want to download the beta version of Windows 7, you have to have bit-torrent client installed. Personally, I prefer to use µTorrent (microtorrent). Be warned, as with all beta software, I am not responsible if you mess up your computer in any way. But if you don’t have at least two partitions (dedicated one for the OS, other for data and apps), chances are that you are not the best candidate to evaluate beta software.

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Dual-die GPU is a good idea, but can TSMC pack the chips like Intel can?

It will be interesting to see can TSMC pack two RV870s on the same substrate, or that idea will go the way of do-do birds. We’ll see.
Oh yeah, cooling will be vapor chamber, and we should see some really interesting cooling designs. AMD already got its feet wet with vapor-chamber technology (both 4870X2 and Sapphire’s Atomic 3870 and 4870 come with vapor chamber cooling).
According to the story, the codename for the 5800 board is Lil’ Dragon. However, claim about DX11 being ready in summer of 2009 is something that I would take with a big grain of salt. During PDC’08, held last week in LA, there were talk that Microsoft will even send Windows 7 to manufacturing without DirectX 11, putting 10.1 until DirectX 11 shows up at later date. My sources compared the situation for 2009 equal to the one in 2002, when ATI shipped DirectX 9 part five months before DX9 came out.
As it stands right now, both Nvidia and ATI will have their DX11 parts ahead of actual API, giving developers enough time to optimize their respective drivers. Let’s hope for the best.

The post Some Radeon 5870 rumours are BS… some aren’t ;) appeared first on VR World.

Amazon

All in all, I’ve been playing around with Amazon’s new web interface, and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with what this guys did. It reminds me of CoolIris a lot (formerly known as PicLens) and I am just in love with it.
It will be a great add-on to Windows 7 touch-screen interface, or on an iPod. Congrats to the Amazon call on this one. You should go and check the Amazon’s Windows Shop.

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GPU Physics unleashed
Theo: The PhysX pack had an excellent response since its launch in August. Recently, 178.24 drivers were released, containing a new PhysX library (btw, installation of the driver can occasionally hang due to PhysX v8.09.04.exe not loading up). Did Nvidia positioned a limit or at least recommended what would be the minimum GPU would be for decent acceleration of physics effects?

Roy's uncanny tongue recently deserved a spot in art's gallery. Guess where the piece of art is exhibited? ;-)

Roy: The experience will vary in the same way it varies with graphics. Some users are able to put in more AntiAliasing, more filtering, enhance image quality… and others less. Same is true with PhysX. In terms of minimum spec, I don’t think we have one. I know that we didn’t plan to [impose any limits]. It is a case of try… users should try for themselves. Every system has a level of settings where users should be comfortable with, that being graphics or physics. Upcoming Big Bang II will offer even more choice in configuring what levels of PhysX can be used by physics engine.

Theo: So, any GeForce 8 product will do?
Roy: Yeah.

Theo: When it comes to developers, how do you feel about developers reacting to all of the changes that are now happening with the expansion of GeForce line, implementation of GPU-accelerated Physics… can you share what is coming from the content side?
Roy: You asked couple of questions. First one is “How are they reacting to [GPU-accelerated PhysX]?” The answer is simple: they love it. We are preparing a lot of big announcements right now. Over the next couple of months, you are going to see more really wonderful announcements.
The reason why developers are so excited over Physics is being so successful is couple of things. First is our announcement to them that we are supporting PhysX on all platforms they’re working on. We are supporting consoles in the same way we’re supporting PC platform. Our PS3 performance on PhysX is now excellent. It’s fantastic. We optimized PhysX API for Cell processor and only recently, got an excellent jump in performance. And we are supported directly by Sony. That is a big deal for us, because if we take a look at recent market data [I advise you to check NPD Group market research, VGchartz.com is also a good source of information], Xbox 360 is starting to decline a bit, Wii is leading the pack and now PS3 woke up. PlayStation 3 is definitely picking up and we’re heading into a very interesting Christmas season. The fact that we have a physics solution for PS3, which is fast a well supported, is just by itself important. Also, you should not forget the fact that we have native PhysX implementation in Xbox 360, and with those two truly high-end consoles, we have excellent coverage of the console market.
If we discounted every other factor, we would be successful just from that (PS3 share). But PS3 is just one of the platforms we support.

Theo: Care to elaborate a bit more on the developer support side?
Roy: Of course. Developers have always liked Nvidia’s DevRel and DevTech support. The fact that they can now get that [support] for the consoles as well is really popular. We’re investing heavily in helping developers to develop the content in best possible manner and squash bugs as they come along.
If we move back from the console world back to the PC, we have GeForce GPU leading market share and that is a really big deal for developers. Let me explain why – most of the developers and publishers will sell anywhere between 2-7 million copies of a good console game. They will sell on average anywhere between 0.5-1.2 million copies of the PC version… they do that because the PC version is very profitable (its cost of development is already paid for). All they believe is that the GPU Physics gives them a second bite at the apple. It is those additional effects in the PC version, which means that the PC version might now sell in two million copies more, because if offers effects consoles just cannot process. Or even more. Those are estimates publishers are telling us about.
So, the value of GPU-accelerated physics can add the differentiating factor between the console and the PC version, giving gamers reasons to opt and buy the PC version. If you have Physics levels on consoles, only thing you do is add additional graphics and physics features or scale them for the PC version. It is worth to be straight-forward. That’s the big deal for them.
First of all, they have the console support. Second of all, they like the fact that because of PhysX accelerates on the GPU, they can ultra-easy and straight-forwardly add functionality and features to the PC version which will add reality and help sell additional copies.

Theo: What is Nvidia’s target when it comes to number of titles that you guys want to push? Ageia’s PhysX was adopted by 100-150 titles, mostly on consoles. What is the “sweet spot” that you would like to capture?
Roy: We want every single PC title going forward, to have Physics from now on. On average, throughout The Way It’s Meant to Be Played program, we support about 150 PC titles a year. In couple of years, we expect to have 500-600 titles. So, going forward, every title we work and support on will have Physics on. We hope that in all of those cases, physics API will be our PhysX.

Theo: How do you actually see Physics effects balancing themselves out in a mix between PC, Xbox and PlayStation 3? GPU can obviously do much more than any CPU in distant future, so how are you going to evolve the Physics-scaling? How do you rank the performance for PhysX?
Roy: What we have today is a rough equivalent of 3D world in 1992. Everything that we see is very rudimentary. Imagine the year 1992 and you were trying to guess where 3D is going to go from there. We cannot have any concept or idea how fast Physics is going to take off in the next 10-15 years, but it is likely to have as dramatic influence on the market as 3D graphics had and still has. All physics effects that exist today are very rudimentary and the key phrase is what we call “fixed state”. What that means is that if you can blow up an object, you can blow up a car in 10 pieces on Xbox 360. Well, you can blow up the same car into 10 pieces on PS3 and you can blow it up in 10 pieces on the PC [using a CPU]. But with the release of our driver last month, we introduced GPU-scaling physics, which means now you can blow up that car in hundreds of pieces, if you have the right GPU. So, we are seeing a transition from fixed-state physics into a fully blown scalable physics. Biggest problem today are faces, since model animation is only animated through fixed-state physics. And PhysX is very scalable physics [API].

Theo: How do you plan to develop PhysX in the future? While AGEIA was running the show, I got the opportunity to see their future roadmap and things that they want to develop. You know, neither PhysX or Havok are complete physics engines by a mile, there is a lot of things that need to be implemented to have a very compelling and realistic physics experience. What is Nvidia doing to enhanced future implementation of PhysX? We can call if PhysX 1.5, or 2.0 or something like that…
Roy: Yes, there are two parts of the answer. First one is of course, the actual hardware. For obvious reasons, we cannot disclose what are we working on in the future GPU parts, nor we can comment on unannounced products, but you don’t need to own a crystal ball to see that we are going to implement even more PhysX-optimized units in the future. And yes, we are going to add more cores to our processors. What cores – that remains to be seen. From the hardware point of view, we are going to see greater levels of parallelism, and Physics is a massive parallel problem. From hardware standpoint, we’re going to add more hardware acceleration to solve complex parallel mathematical problem which is physics.
In terms of software problems, things are going extremely well, and we’re really satisfied with the way how PhysX is expanding. What we are going to do are two things: firstly, we’re going to enhance the implementation of effects that we already do well. This will of course, be done with our APEX – Advanced Physics EXtensions. APEX is going to be a big deal. Secondly, we’ll develop tools that will enable developers to implement PhysX more easily, and put much more physics effects into the game. What we need for that is a very strong tool-chain. We now have hundreds of engineers working on PhysX. Literally, we’re not fooling around. We have hundreds of engineers that extended Manju’s (Manju Hegde, co-founder of AGEIA) original team of engineers and the APEX Tool is another reason why we are being successful with the developers. It will put the power into artists’ hands, not limitations. By using APEX, you are able to apply physical attributes to a number of different elements. That can be vegetation, or destruction or vehicles, or whatever element or object in the game you want to apply PhysX attributes to.
The APEX itself, APEX Tool and ApPerfMon are doing wonders for tweaking the PhysX performance and that is really important for the success of Physics. We are going to have a number of announcements about the tool chain coming up in the near future. Our roadmap is built upon APEX, ApPerfMon and some other to be announced tools that are aiding in the introduction of greater physics into the existing environments.
Key to adding more physics is also further separation of Physics development are two stages: first one stage is PhysX Effects, second stage is PhysX gameplay. Let me give you couple of examples. Water in Crysis is beautiful, but you can’t splash anyone. Nor can you go to a river and scoop some water into your water-canister. You can’t pour water on anyone. In terms of weather, we have some really cool weather effects coming in STALKER: Clear Sky and Far Cry 2, but there are still some limitations. You cannot stand in the water and wash your hair, for example. You could not have the rain flood the river… you cannot have lightening strike a straw hut and catch it on fire.
So, there are some limitations that game developers are facing. What we are going to do is remove those limitations. Good example is also destruction. We have destruction in games today, but it is really rudimentary. We were all impressed with the fact that you can shoot a tree in Crysis, but you cannot take a machete and start chopping down the vegetation to clear your path. These are just some examples of physics effects that developers want to see implemented in their games.
Physics Gameplay is whole another ballgame. This requires a lot of work on developer side, so we expect that it will take time to implement. Physics Gameplay is introducing the in-game physics at a higher level, so that you can entirely change the game. For instance, if we take the game Hitman, you noticed that he never-ever changes his suit. Don’t you think that if someone is assassin, assassin should be able to change the clothes quickly and blend with the regular crowd? In physics gameplay effects, you’re going to able to change your clothes. Or, rip your clothes. Or even, put hat on. Have you ever noticed that you cannot put a hat on a character in a game? Or put a beard on… there are plenty of games where you can shoot off a hat from the head of a soldier…but you never see a soldier put that helmet back on. In physics gameplay, these dynamic changes will enable a change how characters interact with environment.
We’ll be able to destroy clothes, burn them, rip them off… getting them soiled and dirty. Also, let’s talk about racing games. There are plenty of car games on the market, and you see cars crashing into each other. For example, you’re in a racing game, and you lose a wheel. In a game, that might be the end. But in reality, or in physics gameplay, it might be that the wheel is just damaged and you can continue to drive the car in a way… or you might be able to spin the car over and over and over and still keep driving it. Or you might have some components coming off from the car.
Let’s give another example – how about, in terms of physics gameplay, that you go into the city and you can go into every building, see through every window, open every door? Imagine trying to find a sniper when the shooter can move inside the whole building… and if every single window could be opened? We might end up with a game that has no locked doors…or if the doors are locked, you have the ability to open them up, either by lock picking or just kicking them down.
These [effects] are what we call physics effects, and these were just the examples coming from the games we’re working on. And they’re just limited by your imagination.

Theo: Yes, I am aware of several titles that feature physics in a whole new light. Just like with the appearance of 3D, we would expect that there are game developers out there that will use physics effects in a ways we did not expect…
Roy: When people think about gameplay, what they really think about is interactivity. Gameplay means interactivity. The more I can do inside the game, more I can interact with [the virtual world]… the more fun I find it. If I can drive any vehicle, or any plane, or interact with any object, it’s fun. And that interactivity is physics. So equation to me is: Gameplay = Interactivity = Physics.

Theo: You’ve mentioned game developers and publishers that are enabling physics in games. Can you tell my readers a bit more about those developers?
Roy: All of the announcements are left for partners, but we’re working closely with them and very soon, we will have some very exciting announcements. Examples I gave are just a small taste of what’s coming…

Roy issues an open invitation to developers

Roy thinks that PC games can take much larger chunk of overall game sales than is the case right now... current situation is demonstrated in this picture

Theo: AGEIA used to support development of free games such as Warmonger, Cell Factor: Revolution. Will Nvidia support teams like these ones in the future, or just focus on bringing the PhysX to market with big guns?
Roy: Absolutely. We are supporting some small guys. We’re supporting developers like Ascaron in Germany (Sacred II), we’re supporting Metropolis (Day), Black Lion (Shadow harvest)… in fact, any developer which reads your article, I am happy to print an open invitation to any… you can put my e-mail address in your article, it is rtaylor @ nvidia.com (please remove two spaces between before sending). I am using this space to invite any game developer out there who is interested in using physics. Any developer can send me an e-mail and I guarantee you that I will return that e-mail to every single developer.

Theo: Consider it done, though bear in mind that I cannot promise that this e-mail address will not be picked up by a lot of spam bots that are hovering around popular websites
Roy: I would be only too happy to anyone that wants to use physics and enhance his virtual world. We all need new level of interactivity inside games and entertaining applications.

Theo: At the end of the day, we’re bound by the world we live in. That world has its limitations we all have to endure. But, every time someone pushes those boundaries, regardless of that being skaters or bikers pulling incredible stunts, racing cars, pilots undergoing insane G forces for fun [Red Bull Air Race], those are experiences that matter. Seeing a game and not being able to destroy a trash can with a tank really demoralizes the player.
Roy: Exactly. This is why I said that we’re living in 1992 when it comes to physics in games. The new world of physics started last month, with the introduction of our beta driver that did GPU-accelerated physics scaling. Now, developers are going to have a whole new world to think about when it comes to physics development. We need new levels of interactivity, and we strongly believe that physics is the only viable way to enhance interactivity.

Conclusion
In the end I wish to thank Roy for this interview; I know it’s been a while since we made it. It looks like Nvidia is betting a lot of things on the adoption of physics engine, and in all honesty, we need it. Upcoming touch-screen and 3D glasses will change the way we play and experience computing, regardless of that being Windows 7 UI, 3D game or a movie. Physics is an integral part of enhancing computing experience, removing a lot of limitations that we have in our current configuration, consisting mostly out of a keyboard and a mouse.

Disclaimer: Photos were “borrowed” from Facebook in terms with FB’s EULA ;-). Roy Taylor was not hurt during shooting of these images

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Just like during PDC 2008 conference, Microsoft will be giving away pre-beta build of Windows 7. What makes this conference announcement important is the following tagline:

WinHEC is the only chance for you to engage with the team at this level – there is not another WinHEC planned before Windows 7 is released.

This statement confirms that Microsoft is dead-set on releasing Windows 7 before November 2009, and contacting moles at Microsoft was a given. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get a hold of my otherwise down-right reliable moles within Windows group, but one mole surfaced at Redmond campus and told me that product planning meetings are constantly taking place at accelerated pace when compared to the 2006 and 2007. The source contributed this to Ray Ozzie and the way how the team reshuffled. This mole was filled with praise for Ray, citing his eternal dedication and enthusiasm. People are highly motivated and want to send the message that Microsoft is not “dead in the water”, but “show who’s the boss”. But guys, without compelling experience, forget it.

What makes the matters interesting are things learned from development of Vista – it seems that Microsoft gave too much to the Hollywood mob, MPAAfia and others, and the “cost of hardware passed to the consumer” was never compensated. DRM mechanisms included things such as 5 read/write checks whenever video overlay is included (as well as specific game scenes – cut scenes, for example), which killed the performance of already limited integrated graphics.

When it comes to the release date, Long Zheng caught the message first. However, we might have conflicting sources, since my source is much more optimistic when it comes to release dates. His ninjas are talking about Windows 7 in Q4’09, but my mole claims that the target is – shipping a quarter earlier!

We should see a launch of official beta in Q1’09, followed by first public beta (B2) in Q2 and RTM version in time for Back-to-School shopping spree in 2009. If all things fall into place, of course. If they fall into place, Windows 7 are August go-go. If not, shipping in October is a must in order to get into systems for Black Friday/Cyber Monday (Thanksgiving) and Christmas shopping sprees.

Given the DirectX 11 hardware that both ATI and Nvidia are preparing for end of Q2’09, you don’t need to be a wizard to understand that big things will happen in 2009.

The post Microsoft to release Windows 7 in August ’09 for “Back-2-School”!? appeared first on VR World.

Welcome Windows 7

This name was confirmed by Mike Nash, VP for Windows Product Management. You can read more on TG Daily.

The post Microsoft abandons Vista name, welcome Windows 7 appeared first on VR World.