As I described in my recent blog entries about Siggraph 2007, there's a lot of cool stuff going on in hardware and software development for graphics processors (GPUs).

GPUs are programmable devices like the more familiar CPUs, but the programing model is very different. A CPU core implements a simple linear model; programs consist of one instruction after another, though a good CPU scans the instruction stream for opportunities to execute a few instructions in parallel. A busy GPU, on the other hand, always… Read more

In 1982, I was serving in the US Air Force in Germany. My parents had come over to Europe on vacation, so I took some leave and joined them for a while. We spent some time in London, and one afternoon I went to see a movie that had recently opened: Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner."

I had been eagerly anticipating the movie based on Scott's direction of "Alien" and Harrison Ford's performances as Han Solo and Indiana Jones.

In London, I had the chance to see a 70mm print of the movie in … Read more

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open."--Frank Zappa

We all tend to like what we like--the music we know--but finding new music that breaks through can be almost impossible for some folks. I'm always on the prowl for something different, it's just that too often the new music that immediately grabs my ear bores me in a week or two. I've learned over the years the music that doesn't instantly connect is the stuff that sometimes sticks around for the long haul. I remember when … Read more

In another installment of everyone's favorite series, I had the opportunity to take a look at the new Sony Micro Home Theater System. And while it pumps out some nice sound while offering a slick interface and design, I'm still wondering why there's no HDTV integration or a Blu-ray drive. For a full hands-on, keep reading.

Design

The Sony Micro Home Theater System is one of the best looking devices you will come across. Featuring a slot-loading drive and a nice chrome outline around the said drive, the device immediately reminds you of the PS3.

The Micro … Read more

One of the last things I did at Siggraph this year was to spend about 20 minutes enraptured by the best video I've ever seen. It's called "4K" (after the number of pixels on each horizontal line), and you'll be seeing it in theaters within the next few years.

The Siggraph Computer Animation Festival included one session of video driven by a Sony SXRD SRX-R105 projector displaying 4,096 by 2,160 pixels at 24 frames per second with progressive scan (or 2160p24 for short).

That's four times the number of pixels you'll see on a home HDTV set-- or in… Read more

Paul Barton, founder and chief designer of PSB Speakers loves his job. He'd have to--over the last the last three decades he's probably logged more hours at the Canadian National Research Council's facilities in Ottawa, Ontario than any other speaker designer. There he dotes on his prototype designs in the acoustically neutral environment of an anechoic chamber, measuring and evaluating every aspect of their performance. Barton typically spends two to three years designing a new line of speakers.

I met with him in NYC a few weeks ago to check out his latest, Synchrony. After discussing the technical highlights of his new babies he handed me a Synchrony One B ($1,999/pair) bookshelf speaker to look over. PSB speakers have always sounded great, but they weren't the most gorgeous looking things. The new ones are altogether sleeker, slimmed down, and really pretty in an understated sort of way. Their heavyweight extruded aluminum front and rear baffles; and curved, seven-layer composite wood side panels display a new, more sophisticated level of fit and finish. The speakers are available in snazzy real cherry wood or black ash veneers.

The sound, especially the top of the line Synchrony One tower speaker ($4,499/pair) was spectacularly vivid. Bass was not only subwoofer deep, it was also taut, so it rendered pitches of bass with rare precision. Listen to Paul McCartney's bass on the Beatles' Sgt Pepper CD and you'll know what I'm talking about. Rock drummers came off particularly well; the sense of hearing sticks beating skins was remarkably clear and clean. Barton's new tweeter was equally astonishing when reproducing the cymbals' brassy shimmer. Livingston Taylor's folk vocals from his Ink CD had just the right combination of body and soul. That's exactly what separates "good enough" mainstream speakers from high-end models; the best ones make you feel like you're in the presence of live musicians. Ah yes, that's the point after all.… Read more

Alright, so maybe it's a little late, but the Hands-on Friday special is here to stay. And with a great product this week, the future of Hands-on Friday looks even better. So without further ado, check out the sleek and fancy Samsung LN-T2653H.

The Samsung LN-T2653H is a fine 26-inch LCD that offers a slick look and a high-quality picture in a small package. And while I enjoyed the blue light on the bottom of the device when I turned it on, the annoying Samsung chime and the amount of time it took to create a picture, made me … Read more

It seems like Charlie Hunter has always played a Novax eight string guitar, but for the new CD he slimmed the neck down and nixed a string.

Even so, those remaining seven strings never sounded better than they do on Mistico (Fantasy Records). Hunter's a major genre jumper, he teamed up with DJ Logic in 2005 to make his Longitude CD, his all-instrumental Bob Marley homage Natty Dread was a career highpoint; his funk outfit TJ Kirk exclusively played reworkings of James Brown, Thelonious Monk, and Roland Kirk tunes; and early on he covered Kurt Cobain's "Come … Read more

Before I move on to other topics for a while (next week is Siggraph, the coolest trade show of the year as far as I'm concerned), I want to describe some of the ways in which the Apple Newton fell short. I'll also explain how these deficiencies relate to today's similar devices-- PDAs, smartphones, and tablets.

As with my post yesterday, these comments are drawn from notes I made during the seven years I used a Newton MessagePad 2100.

• Very early on in my Newton experience, I made a simple comment: "Yes, it's too large." The MP2100 was huge, nearly the size of… Read more