graphics

Advanced Micro Devices will release open-source driver software to improve Linux support for its ATI graphics chips and is contributing help and funding to outside programmers who are improving the driver, according to a Linux graphics expert.

AMD is sharing specifications, releasing source code of one software component, and funding programmer work on the project, said Michael Larabel of the Phoronix site, which measures Linux performance. AMD is working with Novell's Suse Linux programmers on the project, he said.

An AMD representative told CNET News.com that the company plans to release details later Thursday about its open-source driver … Read more

ATI, the graphics chip business Advanced Micro Devices acquired, is planning to release new graphics drivers for Linux, and the move should provide a much-needed performance boost and a new open-source approach, one expert said Wednesday.

"The performance overall for the past sixteen months has been stagnant," said Michael Larabel, who runs the Phoronix site to monitor Linux graphics performance. He tested the driver and said the new 8.41 version will be available within the next week. "The new driver delivers massive performance improvements."

That's handy for the graphics wonks who want fancy 3D-graphics … Read more

When Power Downloader received an e-mail from an artist friend recently, he wondered what he could do to help. Though Power knows a lot about software, he never had the type of talent needed to create art. His artist friend told Power that his work was going great, but that he was at an impasse. He wanted to get into the world of advanced 3D drawing and animation, but all of the software in the category was too expensive. That's when Power Downloader knew his friend was asking the right person.… Read more

Owners of PCs with Intel's 965 chipsets can finally download drivers that will immediately improve the performance of games running on those systems.

The 965 chipsets were supposed to be a dramatic step forward for integrated graphics performance. Most PCs come with graphics technology built right onto the chipset that connects the processor to memory and the rest of a PC. Serious gamers opt for discrete graphics made by Nvidia or AMD's ATI division, but most people save a little money and get the basic graphics.

Intel wanted to make an integrated graphics chipset with more powerful graphics … Read more

During my time at Microprocessor Report, I watched the growth of the market for 3D graphics chips grow from just a handful of seed companies (notably 3dfx, 3Dlabs, PowerVR, and Rendition) to a virtual forest. At one point, I was tracking over 50 companies, most of which never launched a product.

So in 1999, when the organizers of the Siggraph/Eurographics Workshop on Graphics Hardware (a name wisely since shortened to simply Graphics Hardware) were looking for someone to help… Read more

It's a common combat-after-dark feature on YouTube: the greenish, hot white blob--representing the human circulation system--bolts from cover and is promptly cut in half by 20mm fire.

Now that same thermal imaging technology is lighting up some even tougher foes, termites.

The Australian company Termicam presents Termibot, a thermal video equipped robot that searches out termite nests by homing in on their thermal signature--and it does it without tearing your house apart. That's right, the heat generated by these busy little buggers shows up right through the baseboards.

Thermographic devices detect infrared radiation emitted by an object based … Read more

Nvidia painted a pretty picture in the graphics market during the second quarter.

The company's market share soared by 81 percent compared with a year ago, as it overtook AMD's ATI division and erased some of Intel's lead in the market for PC graphics, according to new data from Jon Peddie Research. Intel held 37.6 percent of the market in the second quarter, while Nvidia garnered 32.6 percent and AMD had 19.5 percent.

Intel holds the lead in graphics by virtue of its integrated graphics chipsets, which ship with low-end desktops and lots of … Read more

Dave Orton came over to Advanced Micro Devices when it acquired ATI Technologies last year, but his tenure at the company will have been brief.

AMD announced Tuesday that Orton, the former CEO of ATI and an executive vice president at AMD, is stepping down at the end of this month. Orton will not be replaced; instead, the heads of AMD's graphics and consumer electronics businesses will report directly to Dirk Meyer, AMD's president, and Hector Ruiz, AMD's CEO.

ATI was a struggling business when AMD snapped it up last year for $5.4 billion, but the … Read more

Nvidia apparently has an answer to AMD's Power Xpress hybrid graphics technology. AMD announced last December that its forthcoming Puma mobile platform (due in the first half of 2008) will introduce Power Xpress, which lets laptops switch between discreet graphics when plugged in and integrated graphics when running on battery power.

According to reports, Nvidia is working on a similar but slightly different dual-graphics solution it's calling Hybrid SLI. When running on battery power, Hybrid SLI, like AMD's Power Xpress, will run solely on integrated graphics. When connected to a wall socket, however, both the discreet graphics … Read more