Thursday, February 28, 2008

    Is Assembly Language Obsolete?

    Jack Ganssle has an interesting post on Embedded.com regarding the relevance of assembly-language programming in today's world. It's in response to comments regarding a recent posting on Slashdot about unneeded abilities. Read what he has to say on embedded.com. I take a little offense to his comment about "brain-dead low-end PICs", but I supposed he didn't mean it to be negative.

    Wednesday, February 27, 2008

    VR Head Tracking using only a camera

    At the Game Developers Conference, Sony was showing off a head-tracking system that uses only the PS3's EyeToy camera. The system definitely has a lot of potential but no games using the technology have yet been announced.

    First, here's a look at a more conventional head-tracking technique presented by Johnny Lee.


    Now, Sony's camera-only system.

    [via Joystiq]

    Monday, February 25, 2008

    Video Game Technical Demos from GDC

    The 2008 Game Developers Conference wrapped up last week. There are some interesting videos of some of a few of the more impressive technical demos floating around in Cyberspace.

    Epic Games -- Unreal Engine Tech Demo


    LucasArts -- Star Wars: Force Unleashed - Tech Demo


    Eden Games -- Alone in the Dark 5 - Real World demo

    New and updated PIC32 documentation on microchip.com

    In case you haven't noticed, there's an updated PIC32MX Datasheet as well as several new application notes up on the Microchip website. Hop on over to microchip.com/pic32 for the new docs.

    Monday, February 18, 2008

    BSG Season 3 coming to DVD next month

    Battlestar Galactica - Season 3 is coming to DVD on March 18. I'm pretty much addicted to this show and I can't wait to get caught up on season 3. It's the best show on television (or on DVD). My copy is already pre-ordered at amazon.com. If you haven't watched the show, I recommend renting or buying the disc set ASAP. Seriously, it's great.

    Microchip's Graphics Software Library Named Finalist in EDN Innovation Awards

    You may have read in the February 7 issue of EDN that Microchip's Graphics Software Library has been named a finalist in the 18th Annual EDN Innovation Awards. Congratulations to the Microchip Graphics Software Library team. The polls are now open until February 29 at http://www.edn.com/innovationballot.asp (scroll down to the Software category).

    Thursday, February 14, 2008

    Netflix to Stream Movies to your TV via Xbox Live?

    A recent survey on Netflix.com seems to indicate that the company may be considering streaming movies on Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming service for the Xbox 360. They already offer both DVD quality and 720p quality movies for rent via their Xbox Live Video Marketplace, but the new streaming movie service could potentially add Netflix's library of over 7,000 of streaming videos to the Xbox Live service.

    Go to the survey and tell Netflix that you'd like to see their videos on Xbox Live.

    I'm Getting a New Job

    I've decided to make the jump from Microchip's Development Tools Test group, where my primary responsibility for the past year has been test engineering for the MPLAB C32 C Compiler for PIC32, over to the Language Tools group. I'll be on the MPLAB C32 development team.

    Once my transition period is complete, I imagine that I won't be following all of the version-to-version changes in MPLAB IDE and tools other than the C32 compiler, so I won't be posting to all of the Development Tool forums as much. I'll definitely check the C32 compiler subforum all the time looking for useful suggestions and feedback. (I'll also drop by the PIC32 forum from time to time, but I'm more comfortable contributing to the Development Tools forums.)

    Monday, February 11, 2008

    Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition available from Amazon.com


    Amazon.com's MP3 Download store has Michael Jackson's Thriller 25 Super Deluxe Edition available as DRM-free 256 kbps MP3 files. I prefer Amazon.com's MP3 Download store because I don't have to worry about DRM when I move between computers or MP3 players. (I love my iPhone but the iTunes FairPlay DRM is a pain.) Click here to visit Amazon.com's MP3 download store.

    Monday, February 04, 2008

    Webware offering Hulu Beta Invites

    Hulu, the video site started by NBC Universal and News Corp, is offering beta invites to webware.com readers. If the thought of watching episodes of The Simpsons or The Office that you forgot to Tivo excites you, you can watch them on the surprisingly useful and entertaining hulu.com. Who would have thunk that the TV networks could come up with a streaming video site worth using? Last I checked, there were fewer than 1000 invites left, so click the link below and grab one soon. http://www.hulu.com/beta/webware

    Behind the Scenes of the Ford F-150 Centrifuge Commercial

    During the Super Bowl, you may have seen Ford's commercial promoting their "Built Ford Tough" ethos by showing an F-150 hooked up to a giant centrifuge. The giant contraption spins the truck at six Gs and therefore subjects the looped hooks to six times the truck's weight.

    Follow this link for the behind the scenes videos:
    http://www.fordvehicles.com/f150behindthescenes/

    Saturday, February 02, 2008

    Emotiv to Unveil Consumer Neurosystem Headset

    Emotiv Systems plans to unveil a consumer version of their impressive neurosystem headset at the upcoming Game Developers Conference.

    According to the literature, the headset is described as containing "a high fidelity neuro-system that redefines the realm of human-computer interaction", and a special presentation showing its applications in creating "a new horizon for interactive gameplay" is promised.

    The company's website also adds that licensed developers will have access to the Emotiv SDK in March 2008, and it consists of The Expressiv suite, which can identify facial expressions in real-time, the Affectiv suite, which measures players' discreet emotional states, and the Cognitiv suite, which detects players' conscious thoughts.

    Via [Gamasutra.com]