I had a rare opportunity to get a DreamWorks studio tour the other day, learning all about the 3-D and animation process when making a film like Monsters Vs. Aliens, which is set for a March opening. A couple of us also got to screen large portions of the movie.
I wish I could divulge more of the plot and humor in the film - it’s classic DreamWorks where kids will be enamored and laugh and us older folks will catch the ‘adult’ humor and one-liners to keep everyone entertained. There are trailers and more info here .
What struck me is the whole move to a new kind of 3-D film-making, which is a pre-cursor to a future someday where games, TVs, Internet surfing - everything will be in 3-D. When DreamWorks says they have a whole new and outstanding 3-D viewing experience, they’re not kidding. Pardon the pun, but you have to see it to believe it. Monsters will be a totally immersive 3-D experience. It’s NOT a gimmick like the old 3-D movies, where an occasional ball or laser beam or knife (or axe, Jason) shoots out from the screen. Nor is it a 2-D movie that is then retrofitted into 3-D, like some studios do today — it’s soup to nuts, integrated 3-D production.
You really feel like you’re sitting at the table with the characters, or seeing dust or water or fireballs flying in the air during the action scenes, among many other examples. Intel along with DreamWorks have a brand for this experience, ‘InTru3D.’
On top of that, the yearly advances in animation design and special effects are amazing. Viewers can see sweat beads from a nervous character, even the shape of teeth inside of mouths, not to mention incredible water, fire and environmental effects. Wait til you see the scenes in San Francisco.
The good news for Intel and the high-tech community? The shift to 3-D, and any tangible increases in special effects, requires massive processing power, and related software and hardware needs. Heck, just doing 3-D requires twice as much work since development is done so that each eye has a dedicated scene or picture frame to it.
At Intel, we often use the term inflection point. Andy Grove coined the term in a book to describe “the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end.”
DreamWorks is at the forefront of a 3-D movie-making inflection point. Filmmaking, theater equipment even the glasses are changing. I believe Intel is there, too, as the shift from single to multi to many-brained or many core processors and how people use them is already underway. In 2007 we showed a prototype 80-core processor, and in August outlined plans for our Larrabee architecture. We will deliver a future 8-core, multi-threaded processor as part of a new family of chips we unveiled a couple of weeks ago.
Don’t underestimate the major challenge for software, too. Software makers will need to shift from a single core philosophy to ones that will have 4, 8 and many more cores running at the same time. Enter Intel’s Software Solutions Group, dedicated to making software design and performance easy, fast and more affordable. I know the engineers at DreamWorks are moving as fast as they can to convert their proprietary code that makes their 3-D movies sing into solutions that can handle, and leverage, multi-core and multi-threaded processors.
More on the movie, and Intel’ efforts later. But keep an eye out for the March opening — and those new 3-D glasses.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Polyphemus Demonstration and Evaluation Kit
Every AVR programmer worth her weight in ATmegas knows about the AVR Butterfly--a ridiculously low cost ATmega169 demonstration and evaluation kit. Lamenting the lack of such a kit for the ATmega168 drove me to design my own demo/eval kit for the Arduino microcontroller family. This project became a compulsion that cost three complete redesigns, five destroyed ATmega168s, and hundreds of hours of point-to-point wiring. The result was Polyphemus--an ATmega168 demo kit that you can build from your own spare-parts box.
Named after the gorgeous giant silk moth with large, colorful "eyespots" on its hind wings (Antheraea polyphemus), as well as the gigantic Cyclops who tormented Odysseus, this Polyphemus sports several exciting features:
•ATmega 168 microcontroller (housed on a Freeduino board)
•color Nokia 6100 LCD
•two multi-state pushbuttons
•white LED
•phototransistor
•piezoelectric buzzer
•3.7V rechargeable lithium battery
•analog input connector
•FTDI USB programming connector
•compact 3x3-inch handheld form factor
By using a 3.7V battery to power Polyphemus, no additional power regulators are needed. Also, no DC-DC boost converter is needed for powering the Freeduino and white LED.
The user interface for Polyphemus is displayed on the color Nokia 6100 LCD. Using one pushbutton to move the menu and the other to "pick" a selection, you can choose from three built-in functions:
•Flashlight - turn ON/OFF the white LED
•Light sensor - sample ambient light readings in milliamp units
•Voltmeter - test power connections (< 5VDC)
Named after the gorgeous giant silk moth with large, colorful "eyespots" on its hind wings (Antheraea polyphemus), as well as the gigantic Cyclops who tormented Odysseus, this Polyphemus sports several exciting features:
•ATmega 168 microcontroller (housed on a Freeduino board)
•color Nokia 6100 LCD
•two multi-state pushbuttons
•white LED
•phototransistor
•piezoelectric buzzer
•3.7V rechargeable lithium battery
•analog input connector
•FTDI USB programming connector
•compact 3x3-inch handheld form factor
By using a 3.7V battery to power Polyphemus, no additional power regulators are needed. Also, no DC-DC boost converter is needed for powering the Freeduino and white LED.
The user interface for Polyphemus is displayed on the color Nokia 6100 LCD. Using one pushbutton to move the menu and the other to "pick" a selection, you can choose from three built-in functions:
•Flashlight - turn ON/OFF the white LED
•Light sensor - sample ambient light readings in milliamp units
•Voltmeter - test power connections (< 5VDC)
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Intel News Release
Singapore Medical Device Maker for Neurological Patients Wins Silicon Valley Entrepreneurial Award
Intel Awards $25,000 to Winning Team in the Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge
Technologies of Singapore won the 4th Annual Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC) last night. The neurological medical device company was judged by a team of venture capitalists from the San Francisco Bay Area. Criteria for the win were the best new technology with the greatest potential for a positive impact on society backed by a sound business plan. Intel Corporation awarded the winning team $25,000.
In addition, Polyskin of India was awarded second place for its wound-treating membrane technology. Third place was awarded to SCU Panda Park of China for a new, more environmentally-friendly and ecologically-sound clean leather technology. A team from the United States, Nano Precision Medical, was named "audience favorite" for its novel technology, which improves patient outcomes and lowers side effects through a high-precision and low-cost delivery of a wide variety of therapeutic molecules.
"The approaches to solving worldwide challenges these teams have taken are inspiring, " said William A. Swope, Intel Corporation vice president and general manager, Corporate Affairs Group. "Intel believes a strong education drives the innovation that fuels our economy, and this is strong evidence that higher education has a major role to play in expanding possibilities."
The competition was held at the Haas School of Business, in Berkeley, Calif., and hosted 22 teams from 15 countries. The program is designed to spur young entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies that solve real world challenges, build viable business models, and move that technology out of university labs and into the market for a positive impact on society. Not only does the winning team receive $25,000 and the winning title, but its members, along with the other participants, also get direct visibility and interaction with more than 20 leading venture capital firms.
Founded in 2005 by UC Berkeley and Intel, IBTEC seeks to support and promote entrepreneurship globally, predominantly in developing countries. This year, business plans included ground-breaking topics such as alternative fuel, a medical device enabling the precise and low-cost delivery of therapeutic molecules to improve patient outcomes, and eco-friendly musical instruments.
As part of Intel's Higher Education Program, The Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Education Program encourages and prepares students everywhere to become tomorrow's technology entrepreneurs. Teams are judged on their ability to make the greatest impact through the deployment of emerging and innovative technology products and services. Judges are selected from Bay Area venture firms with a global focus.
From local schools to global universities, Intel works to help improve the quality of education and drive innovation around the world. Over the past decade alone, Intel has invested more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions to help teachers teach, students learn and universities innovate. To learn more about Intel's commitment to education, visit www.intel.com/education and get inspired at www.inspiredbyeducation.com.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.
Intel Awards $25,000 to Winning Team in the Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge
Technologies of Singapore won the 4th Annual Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC) last night. The neurological medical device company was judged by a team of venture capitalists from the San Francisco Bay Area. Criteria for the win were the best new technology with the greatest potential for a positive impact on society backed by a sound business plan. Intel Corporation awarded the winning team $25,000.
In addition, Polyskin of India was awarded second place for its wound-treating membrane technology. Third place was awarded to SCU Panda Park of China for a new, more environmentally-friendly and ecologically-sound clean leather technology. A team from the United States, Nano Precision Medical, was named "audience favorite" for its novel technology, which improves patient outcomes and lowers side effects through a high-precision and low-cost delivery of a wide variety of therapeutic molecules.
"The approaches to solving worldwide challenges these teams have taken are inspiring, " said William A. Swope, Intel Corporation vice president and general manager, Corporate Affairs Group. "Intel believes a strong education drives the innovation that fuels our economy, and this is strong evidence that higher education has a major role to play in expanding possibilities."
The competition was held at the Haas School of Business, in Berkeley, Calif., and hosted 22 teams from 15 countries. The program is designed to spur young entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies that solve real world challenges, build viable business models, and move that technology out of university labs and into the market for a positive impact on society. Not only does the winning team receive $25,000 and the winning title, but its members, along with the other participants, also get direct visibility and interaction with more than 20 leading venture capital firms.
Founded in 2005 by UC Berkeley and Intel, IBTEC seeks to support and promote entrepreneurship globally, predominantly in developing countries. This year, business plans included ground-breaking topics such as alternative fuel, a medical device enabling the precise and low-cost delivery of therapeutic molecules to improve patient outcomes, and eco-friendly musical instruments.
As part of Intel's Higher Education Program, The Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Education Program encourages and prepares students everywhere to become tomorrow's technology entrepreneurs. Teams are judged on their ability to make the greatest impact through the deployment of emerging and innovative technology products and services. Judges are selected from Bay Area venture firms with a global focus.
From local schools to global universities, Intel works to help improve the quality of education and drive innovation around the world. Over the past decade alone, Intel has invested more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions to help teachers teach, students learn and universities innovate. To learn more about Intel's commitment to education, visit www.intel.com/education and get inspired at www.inspiredbyeducation.com.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.
New security information
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Getting an RSS feed is easy and requires only that you have a news reader on your computer. To learn more about RSS and find links to news readers, see the box to the right.
If you already have an RSS news reader, use this URL to receive our content feed:
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The Goal of Computer Security or What's Yours is Yours Until You Say Otherwise!
Computer security has been, is, and will continue to be a hot topic for discussion. Newspapers frequently chronicle computer security breaches and estimates of lost revenue. Bookstores carry books that describe how to secure your home and work computers against would-be intruders. Television news features depict high-profile computer security incidents and show interviews with computer system owners and sometimes even those who broke in. We're being barraged by computer security information that includes recommendations about software that we should install and other steps we should take to secure our home and office computer systems.
But when all is said and done, do we really know the problem we're trying to solve? That is, do we really know the goal of computer security?
Simply stated, the goal of computer security is this: keep your computer-based possessions-your computer system (CPU cycles, memory, disk space, and Internet connectivity and speed), the software you've purchased, and the files and folders you've created-yours unless and until you explicitly give them to others. As you'll soon see, most mitigation strategies discussed in those books and self-help articles on the Internet are ultimately aimed at keeping what belongs to you yours.
And this concept isn't new. It's what you've been doing for years with most all of your other possessions. For example, the doors on your house have locks and you use them. So do the windows and so does your car, and you use them too. You don't give the keys to anyone who asks for them without a really good reason, or perhaps never at all. You don't leave your CD player and your CDs out for all to use and perhaps take. You don't store your financial or your personal medical records on your front porch.
Why then are we so willing to give up our computer possessions to anyone who wants to take them?
Back in the days before the Internet became popular and affordable, we could treat our personal computer possessions much like anything else we owned. The computer was in a room in our house and we locked our doors. The intruder who wanted access had to come to the house, break in, and take what they wanted.
We knew how to deal with that situation. We had locks and deadbolts on our doors and security systems to notify the police when someone tried to break in. Yes, there were break-ins and yes, computer assets were stolen. But the incidents were few and the signs of a break in were well understood by law enforcement. Just watch CSI or any other television programs of that genre to see how well-understood they really are.
These days, with widespread and inexpensive access to the Internet, the only thing that's changed is that intruders can literally be anywhere in the world and still gain access to your computer possessions. They don't need to be where your computer is. It's like giving your credit card to the waiter or waitress at a restaurant to pay your bill and discovering that the whole world is waiting in the kitchen, prepared to make a copy of the information on your card.
And unfortunately those computer assets are not protected like your house. That is, they don't always come with locks, and those that do can sometimes be too easily "picked" by an intruder. In fact, in many cases, though the number is getting smaller, your computer assets are shared automatically to anyone who comes knocking, and you have to do something to lock them. One of the challenges of using a computer is and will continue to be finding the locks that keep intruders out and making sure they work correctly and appropriately.
Another challenge, which may be even more significant, is keeping these locks working correctly. Again, we know how to deal with this type of situation. For example, if your house needs to be painted, you'd paint it after first scraping off what's loose and doing any other necessary preparatory steps. But you know that paint job won't last forever. In a few years, you'll need to do it all again. You accept this as part of the responsibility of home ownership.
With your home and office computer system, it's the same thing. You first install a piece of software, a firewall, for example, as described in Task 4 below, and then you tune it to match your Internet usage patterns. Over time, your patterns may change, as may the programs you use to access the Internet. You'll need to tune the firewall program again. Unfortunately too many home computer system owners and users get frustrated by the attention that some software requires. Rather than mastering it, they remove it. They don't accept this as part of their responsibility of home computer ownership.
Let's now return to this goal of home computer security-keeping what belongs to you yours-and look at one set of recommendations to see how they support this goal. The recommendations are taken from the Home Computer Security Guide, which is available from http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity.
But when all is said and done, do we really know the problem we're trying to solve? That is, do we really know the goal of computer security?
Simply stated, the goal of computer security is this: keep your computer-based possessions-your computer system (CPU cycles, memory, disk space, and Internet connectivity and speed), the software you've purchased, and the files and folders you've created-yours unless and until you explicitly give them to others. As you'll soon see, most mitigation strategies discussed in those books and self-help articles on the Internet are ultimately aimed at keeping what belongs to you yours.
And this concept isn't new. It's what you've been doing for years with most all of your other possessions. For example, the doors on your house have locks and you use them. So do the windows and so does your car, and you use them too. You don't give the keys to anyone who asks for them without a really good reason, or perhaps never at all. You don't leave your CD player and your CDs out for all to use and perhaps take. You don't store your financial or your personal medical records on your front porch.
Why then are we so willing to give up our computer possessions to anyone who wants to take them?
Back in the days before the Internet became popular and affordable, we could treat our personal computer possessions much like anything else we owned. The computer was in a room in our house and we locked our doors. The intruder who wanted access had to come to the house, break in, and take what they wanted.
We knew how to deal with that situation. We had locks and deadbolts on our doors and security systems to notify the police when someone tried to break in. Yes, there were break-ins and yes, computer assets were stolen. But the incidents were few and the signs of a break in were well understood by law enforcement. Just watch CSI or any other television programs of that genre to see how well-understood they really are.
These days, with widespread and inexpensive access to the Internet, the only thing that's changed is that intruders can literally be anywhere in the world and still gain access to your computer possessions. They don't need to be where your computer is. It's like giving your credit card to the waiter or waitress at a restaurant to pay your bill and discovering that the whole world is waiting in the kitchen, prepared to make a copy of the information on your card.
And unfortunately those computer assets are not protected like your house. That is, they don't always come with locks, and those that do can sometimes be too easily "picked" by an intruder. In fact, in many cases, though the number is getting smaller, your computer assets are shared automatically to anyone who comes knocking, and you have to do something to lock them. One of the challenges of using a computer is and will continue to be finding the locks that keep intruders out and making sure they work correctly and appropriately.
Another challenge, which may be even more significant, is keeping these locks working correctly. Again, we know how to deal with this type of situation. For example, if your house needs to be painted, you'd paint it after first scraping off what's loose and doing any other necessary preparatory steps. But you know that paint job won't last forever. In a few years, you'll need to do it all again. You accept this as part of the responsibility of home ownership.
With your home and office computer system, it's the same thing. You first install a piece of software, a firewall, for example, as described in Task 4 below, and then you tune it to match your Internet usage patterns. Over time, your patterns may change, as may the programs you use to access the Internet. You'll need to tune the firewall program again. Unfortunately too many home computer system owners and users get frustrated by the attention that some software requires. Rather than mastering it, they remove it. They don't accept this as part of their responsibility of home computer ownership.
Let's now return to this goal of home computer security-keeping what belongs to you yours-and look at one set of recommendations to see how they support this goal. The recommendations are taken from the Home Computer Security Guide, which is available from http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity.
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