I actually finished building my rig last week, but I got caught up with RL stuff so I hadn’t posted it up yet. So far its running great. I’ve been playing Crysis on very high! Oh yeah! I’ll be honest, I had to drop the resolution to 800×600 to get playable framerates on very high settings, but it still looks great. Thinking about getting another video card, maybe running SLI so I could get to higher resolutions. Aside from that, all the other games and demos run great. Playing Unreal Tournament 3 getting above 100fps at 720P on a 32″ LCD. Its pretty sweet. Not only that but boy does it look sexy with all that metal and blue LEDs. Check the video after the break.

[Read more →]

Tags: Hardware, Ramblings // 3 Comments »

John Nilsson has come up with a really great tool for immersion in PC gaming. He’s dubbed his creation the J-Dome and already has a patent on the design. Basically its a 180 degree hemisphere with back projection. I imagine it would be possible to combine this device with a 3d-ready DLP projector and get some active-stereo 3d action like IMAX 3D. A pretty simple concept thats been done, yet something that hasn’t been brought to market yet. There’s a similar product called the Z-Dome, which was shown at the GDC 08, but those guys want like $15k for it!

[Read more →]

Tags: Hardware, Video Games, Virtual Reality // Add Comment »

I’m almost done putting this rig together, though the process turned out a little more rocky than expected. After much ado, I have finally mounted the motherboard onto the chassis tray. The Coolermaster Aquagate water-cooler was left running for 3 straight days, not a leak in sight. Since the cpu water-block needs to be mounted from the back of the board it was necessary to do the thing in one shot. It took some elbow grease but I managed without damaging anything (I hope). I even used an anti-static wrist-strap just for that extra peace of mind. Pretty much all the parts are in there now, the main stuff at least. A 3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (E8400), the GeForce 8800GTS 512MB, EVGA nForce 780i mainboard, and 4GB of some Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM. Continue reading for some shots of the progress…

[Read more →]

Tags: Hardware, Ramblings // Add Comment »

After some initial confusion, things are going a lot smoother building my new rig. This is the first computer I’ve built from the ground up in probably like 5 years. I’ve just been upgrading my trusty Pentium all this time, but its starting to show its age. So I really want to take my time and do this right. I’ve been reading all the manuals from cover to cover and planning out how everything is going to connect. Now that I know what I’m working with I just need to snap it all together. Read on for some more photos…

[Read more →]

Tags: Hardware, Ramblings // Add Comment »

Some folks at the New York based Eyebeam have created an open-source multi-touch platform to rival Microsoft’s $10,000+ Surface. The project, called Cubit, includes plans (or kits) to build the cube-like device and a software platform to develop applications for it. You must add your own web-cam and projector, which the creators say can run about $500-$1000 for all necessary parts. The software uses the webcams to detect infrared light reflected when a user touches their finger to the “screen”. This is the the same technique MS used for Surface, their own proprietary multi-touch technology. However Eyebeam’s open-source solution clocks in at about 1/10th of the price.

Although Apple seems to gather a lot of praise for their multi-touch “innovation” on the iPhone, this technology has been around for a while. One such product that I’ve owned was the iGesture Pad which was released back in 2003. It looked like an over-sized touchpad and supported all types of gestures. Wave your hand to close a program, pinch a file and drag it to copy and paste, use both hands to resize windows, etc. It worked pretty well, and had more advanced programmable multi-touch options 5 years ago than the iPhone/iTouch have today. Yet it floundered on the market and now its discontinued and the company’s gone. The lesson for today: its not how good your idea is. Its all how you market it.

link: Open-Source, Multitouch Display [TechnologyReview] // via: KurzweilAI

Tags: Hardware, Human Interface, Open-Source // Add Comment »

I’ve finally got all the parts I need to start building my brand new gaming rig. This thing is going to be a beast when its complete. Its got a 3GHz Core 2 Duo processor, from the new 45nm Wolfdale line, the WD RaptorX 10,000RPM HDD, an 8800GTS 512MB factory-overclocked GPU, 4GB of RAM, 1,000W PSU, water cooling, the works. All housed in a Coolermaster Stacker 830 Special Edition case. I’ve tried not to get too excited, because I know how shit likes to go wrong, so I prepared for the worst. And of course, Murphy’s Law kicks in on cue…

[Read more →]

Tags: Hardware, Ramblings // Add Comment »

Arcstream, makers of totally extravagant and innovative display solutions, recently demoed their “Living Image” installation. The setup, consisting of a 6,500 lumens projector pointed at the ground and an array of infrared sensors, allows multiple users to walk on top of and interact with the imagery displayed below. Similar setups have been shown at many conventions, this isn’t the first use of the concept, but its very well executed never-the-less. Video included after the break…

[Read more →]

Tags: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality // Add Comment »

An associate professor at the University of Houston has recently released a study showing the therapeutic applications of virtual reality for treating addictions. Participants included about 40 self-professed alcoholics who were not currently in treatment. Each person was hooked up to a custom VR rig consisting of a standard HMD (presumably with head-tracking and in stereo 3d) in addition to a vibrating chair and some sort of “smell-o-vision” device. This device can spray scents into the air, such as the smell of cigarette smoke or certain alcoholic beverages. What the professor, Patrick Bordnick, found was that patients addictions could be triggered by the virtual environment in such a way that the addicts could practice controlling their urges.

“What we found was that the VR environments were real enough that their cravings were intensified. So, now we can develop coping skills, practice them in those very realistic environments until those skills are working tools for them to use in real life,” Bordnick said.

An interesting angle on this research would to see how this effect could be used on the opposite side of the spectrum. For example, what if beer companies could advertise in say a Second Life bar? “Click here to get a six pack delivered in 30 minutes”! I believe Pizza-Hut did a similar promotion in WoW, so its definitely a possibility. Could big alcohol and tobacco companies use this to get people to stay hooked, or better yet, have they been doing this the whole time? I don’t know about you, but every time I’m watching a movie and an actor sparks up a cigarette, I almost always get the urge to light one up in tandem. Not to mention how this could affect government-sponsored “rehabilitation” if used in the wrong ways ala A Clockwork Orange.

link: Virtual World Therapeautic For Addicts [ScienceDaily]

Tags: Virtual Reality // Add Comment »

I’m not one to be easily swept up on the hype-train, but I have to say that the new Grand Theft Auto is really something else. After waiting on line for almost 2 hours last night, I was beginning to question whether the game would be worth it. But within the first 15 seconds of the intro I knew I was in for a wild ride. Although not quite a perfect game, its surely up there on the list (although still not as good as Shadowrun on the SNES which was like the best game EVER!). On a pure graphical standpoint, the game really shines. All the cars are beautifully rendered and the backdrops are simply breath-taking. Best of all, its modeled after my hometown, New York City. Although not a 100% accurate model, the developers managed to get pretty close to the real thing.

What really strikes a chord with me is the social and political commentary interspersed throughout the world via the radio and television. Hell, they even have an internet *in the game*! Simply amazing. But there was some real thought put into some of this commentary. I don’t want to ruin any surprises, but I don’t think Rockstar really supports the war. Which is surprising since most politicians are so quick to blame video-games for the plight of modern youth, yet have no problems sending real kids into a real war. Its somewhat refreshing to find some intelligent irony in a game most of America would consider degenerate. Although the GTA series has always had some of these anti-establishment themes, the latest title really takes it to another level. Just try watching the in-game tv for bit: comedy gold!

Bottom line, if you own an Xbox360 or a PS3 you simply must buy this game. Its a shame its not out for the PC, because I’d like to be able to play it on my soon-to-be brand-new gaming rig, but here’s to hoping there will be a port. By the way, I’ve already obtained the “Warm Coffee” achievement. With extra cream and sugar, I might add. Just the way I like it!

Tags: Ramblings, Video Games // 3 Comments »

The new defacto standard in 3d benchmarking has released by Futuremark. Dubbed Vantage, this new 3DMark benchmark utility will push your DirectX10 card further than thought possible. Keep in mind Vista and a modern Dx10 video card are required to run the program. I would write a review (and post the score), but unfortunately my rig is not yet up to snuff, so I have yet to see the demos in real-time. I’ll revisit this topic once my new rig is complete, but damn do those screen-shots look pretty.

If anyone happens to own the Zalman Trimon 3D monitor, please post a comment and let me know how it runs with stereo 3d.

link: 3DMark Vantage

Tags: Graphics // Add Comment »