Archive for the category Simon Solotko
You’ve Got Windows 7, Now What? | Easy Choices | Windows 7 Bridges the 64-Bit Future and 32-Bit Past
Posted by Simon Solotko in 9:26 AM
(10 votes, average: 3.60 out of 5)
Loading ...On October 22nd, 2009 when Windows 7 is available for purchase from computer retailers around the world, you can look forward to dozens of improvements and new features. The one I am most looking forward to is the fulfillment of a long-ago stated goal; a vision of easy choices, of seamless migration, of natural evolution.
In 2003, the future of x86 and its future compatibility with today’s applications was at risk. The x86 ISA had a built-in limit of 4GB of addressable DRAM and manipulated data in 32-bit increments. Without an evolutionary path, x86 would become a bottleneck in future applications that demanded more memory and the ability to manipulate more complex data. It was with that knowledge that AMD designed the now industry-standard 64-bit, AMD64 instruction set which gave x86 a new life for the day when 32-bit computing wouldn’t be enough.
The future has come. We live in an era where a movie can occupy over 10GB of storage, many games perform better when you have more than 2GB of DRAM, and PCs perform medical research on their break time using four cores and 8GB of DRAM at high utilization. Today systems with 4GB and more memory are common, ready to tackle rich media, heavy multi-tasking, and amazing games.
Now is the era for which AMD designed AMD64, a path forward for a multi-core future which retained compatibility with 32-bit applications and operating systems while defining a new evolutionary path for a 64-bit future.
So here it is. The two for one deal that makes buying Windows 7 an easy choice. Microsoft Windows 7 from Home Premium through Ultimate ship with both the 64-Bit and legacy 32-bit versions in the box.
It’s like two operating systems for the price of one, allowing you to choose when you are ready for a 64-bit operating system with included 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 versions. The 64-bit version helps you break the 4GB DRAM barrier, and includes a native 64-bit Kernel that embraces the capabilities and native instruction set of today’s microprocessors. Windows 7’s 64-bit version warps you into the future, one that AMD has been preparing for since the beginning of the Millennium and began on April 22nd, 2003:
Major operating systems such as Windows and Linux are expected to migrate to the AMD64 platform from their x86 legacy…
The AMD64 platform benefits customers by providing investment protection while removing barriers to the next level of computing. AMD64 processors provide full application performance with native execution of 32- and 64-bit code. Customers can employ AMD64 processors in an entirely 32-bit environment, in a mixed environment such as a 64-bit operating system and a mix of 32- and 64-bit applications, or in homogeneous 64-bit environments. With the AMD64 platform, users can enjoy the technical superiority of 64-bit computing without sacrificing legacy x86 application compatibility or performance…
Applications that do not immediately benefit from a port to 64-bits do not need to be ported, and will run at full performance in AMD64 processor-driven environments. A large number of applications and usage scenarios, however, are likely to benefit from an AMD64 processor-driven environment over a legacy x86 environment.
The kind of applications most likely to benefit may include those that:
• Need large memory addressing and push total system memory requirements above 4GB, such as those with large datasets (financial and scientific modeling applications), and host-based desktop applications (to run multiple instances simultaneously without reducing performance);
• Must manage a large number of concurrent users or application threads, such as large scale thin-client solutions, large databases, and data warehouse applications for solutions in customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and digital rights management (DRM) systems;
• Require real-time encryption and decryption for enhanced security, including e commerce and protection of private or classified data;
• Require mathematical precision and floating-point performance including modeling, simulation, statistics and financial analysis, imaging/video/signal processing, physics, medical research, telecommunications, encryption, and compression;
• Require large, high-power database performance including decision support, searching and indexing, document and content management, and voice recognition;
• Require the x86 compatibility or the economies of scale of x86, but the large memory addressing capabilities of 64-bit computing, including many high performance computing (HPC) cluster applications;
• Provide digital content creation capabilities such as computer aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD, CAM, and CAE), digital music production and video editing, and real-time media streaming solutions;
• Require maximum performance for realistic and cinematic consumer experiences including computer games, digital video, and real-time collaboration; and
• Migrate capabilities previously available on 64-bit workstations to the business, consumer, and hobbyist desktop, including 3D modeling, rendering, animation, simulation, and software development…
AMD will continue to provide customers with technology that is useful today and deliver cumulative benefits in the future. By protecting customer investments, simplifying platform migration, and removing barriers to future innovation, AMD64 processor technology clears a path for the future of computing..
From “The AMD64 Computing Platform – Your Link the Future of Computing” Published April 22, 2003. Christian Zdebel & Simon Solotko.
Just as I believed that AMD64 would prepare us for challenges many years into the future, I believe that open, parallel computing, innovations in display technology, and evolutionary computing environments are among today’s links to the future. For now, I plan on enjoying 64-Bit, computing on Windows 7, made possible by AMD64 technology.
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
You’ve Got Windows 7, Now What? | Free Choices | Useful AMD Fusion Applications
Posted by Simon Solotko in 9:16 AM
So you’ve got Windows 7, now what? The first thing I did when I installed Windows 7 was install the latest ATI Catalyst™ Drivers and download some of the useful, free software from AMD that helps me get the most out of my hardware. I have written about Fusion Media Explorer before, but we have just added some cool features to celebrate the Windows 7 launch. Also, we have a Fusion Utility for Desktop and Fusion Utility for Mobile that help you better balance performance and energy consumption so you can get the most out of your PC.* I talked to AMD’s Wesley Faulkner, on our Fusion applications team to get the latest.
Setting up Fusion Media Explorer Explorer to view photos of Facebook friends.
Wesley, we have written about Fusion Media Explorer but I understand we have some new features including integration with Facebook. How does that work? It’s simple really. Facebook provides software tools that help integrate it into other applications. We have used these tools to add a really cool new feature to Fusion Media Explorer, the ability to see and navigate the photos from your friend’s Facebook pages as well as an easy to use Facebook upload feature.
So we can see photos from all of our friends without navigating to each one? Yes, and you can do a lot more. Since you now have access to all of your friend’s pictures at once, you can do some pretty neat things. You can sort all pictures by date or name. So you can have James’ pictures show up next to John’s, or see everyone’s September’s pictures next to October’s. We also allow for searching on top of that. If you only want to see pictures from birthday parties, it can be as simple as typing that into our search box. If I know that Selena goes to Hawaii every year with my other friends Tristan, Chris, and Lisa, I can now see all of her Hawaii pictures from all her albums in total. All I have to do is use the sort drop-down and select to order by date, then type in “Selena” in the search box. Now I can see every picture in a nice timeline. Or I can see all the Hawaii pictures from all my friends, including Selena, Tristan, Chris and Lisa, by simply searching for the word “Hawaii” in the search box. I just couldn’t do that before.
I know a lot of people have been looking forward to this feature and its’ great to see it in action. In addition, the latest version of Fusion Media Explorer has a refined, 3D interface for browsing your photo, video, and music library and it looks stunning.
Browsing music and video with many useful views with Fusion Media Explorer
If you want to download Fusion Media Explorer with Facebook integration, you can get it here. Another tool is Fusion Utility for Mobility which is designed to extend your laptop’s battery life. Wesley, how can Fusion Utility for Mobility save battery life? Computers are really smart, but they can’t read our minds. We use our laptops in many different environments and with different applications. It is more of a Swiss Army Knife than a Samurai sword. Fusion Utility for Mobility makes it easier to turn off the stuff you don’t need for the task at hand. If you are on an airplane and you want to watch a movie, you probably don’t need Windows Update trying to find an internet connection. It’s the same with a Power Point presentation. Do you really need to defragment your hard drive at the same time? These are simple choices that are obvious to you and me but aren’t to your PC. This tool from AMD helps take some of that control and puts it back in your hands.
With Fusion Utility for Mobility, you can help maximize your battery life just by using the tool to shut down functionality you don’t need at the time. It’s easy to use and you can download it here. Extending these capabilities, we also provide Fusion Utility for Desktop which allows you to increase performance and save energy.
Tell me how Fusion Utility for Desktops is different from the Mobile utility? Fusion Utility for Desktops is geared for performance and power savings. With supported hardware we can really boost the muscle of a machine. We can improve the performance of your processor and graphics card on top of shutting down what you’re not using to create a lean, mean workhorse. This enables games to run faster. Songs can rip quicker. Video can encode in less time. When you’re done, it is just as easy to bring your system back to a normal state. It saves time, power, wear and tear.
How do profiles work with Fusion Utility for Desktops? Profiles are either task oriented, like surf the web; or mode-specific, like max performance. Included with the application you will find some of the most popular tasks and mode profiles. If they don’t suit your need you can always create your own. Profiles are simple to create and use. Just check what you want to turn on or off, and you’re done.
Usage Profile Configuration with AMD Fusion Utility for Desktops.
Thanks Wesley. You can download the Fusion Utility for Desktop here. I am using Fusion Utility for Desktops to control my settings for gaming and general use and I think it’s very useful!
If you haven’t thought of it already, you can also go and download the brand new ATI Catalyst 9.10 display drivers for Windows 7. The ATI Catalyst drivers are designed to help you get the most from ATI Radeon graphics, and there is a great blog on the new ATI Catalyst 9.10 drivers here.
And if you are reading all of this and thinking you need a new PC running Windows 7, I suggest you visit a retail shop and check out the new notebooks touting Vision technology from AMD, and AMD-based desktops at retail or online. Or if you need a holiday do-it-yourself project, you may want to build a custom desktop or a home theater PC, and we have great videos that can help you through the process.
This is the second in a three part series.
<<– Read Part 1 of the series So You’ve Got Windows 7, Now What?
* These utilities may disable security/antivirus software, or adversely affect your system. Review accompanying documentation carefully before installing.
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied
Dealing With Reality | The Introduction | ATI Stream Technology and OpenCL | Part 1
Posted by Simon Solotko in 12:25 PM
Layers of abstraction always exist between man and machine. Starting with our gestures and speech, one symbolic language passes through an interface to another, ultimately translated to code.
The fundamental language or instruction set of an x86 central processor evolves slowly, balancing new features and compatibility. Today, applications are generally written and compiled directly for the CPUs low level instructions.
ATI Stream technology from AMD is a set of AMD technologies that allow the hundreds of parallel Stream cores to accelerate general purpose applications. It embraces open, standards-based approaches to accelerated, highly parallel processing on ATI RadeonTM HD general purpose GPUs. This technology is well suited to operations performed on massive data sets undergoing rapid and consistent processing. The applications have the potential to transform how we use computers.
Unlike an x86 processor, a GPU employs a software interface allowing it to evolve rapidly while retaining compatibility. Improvements in performance can be delivered by software drivers that take better advantage of the underlying hardware, and allow applications to have a predictable interface to such hardware. With the addition of standards-based interfaces, a GPU is now able to serve the dual purpose of specialized graphics processing and accelerated computation.
AMD is developing general purpose GPUs and the software technology that translates these standardized interfaces into fast, efficient, parallel code. Innovation in the underlying silicon and low level instruction sets can continue while maintaining code stability through an abstraction layer. AMD supports both Microsoft’s DirectX 11 featuring DirectCompute and now OpenCL.
Developed in an open standards committee with representatives from major industry vendors, OpenCL gives users what they have been demanding: a cross-vendor, non-proprietary solution for accelerating their applications on their CPU and GPU cores.
ATI Stream technology can excel in applications where the underlying data is a representation of physical reality. An abundance of visual information. The interaction of forces of nature. Physical representations in space and time. With ATI Stream, OpenCL, and DirectCompute we now have new tools to face the ultimate challenge, the one that useful and “intelligent” machines must learn to face – how to deal with reality.
For more on the introduction of the ATI Stream SDK 2.0 with OpenCL support check out Nigel Dessau’s new blog.
If you are interested in learning how OpenCL works, read on for Part 2, where Ben Sander and I discuss the power of ATI Stream technology and the elegant, standards-based interface now available with OpenCL for GPU. We explore the relationship between, OpenCL, AMD’s traditional support for industry standards, and the new ATI Stream SDK v 2.0.
Read On -> Dealing With Reality | The Introduction | ATI Stream Technology and OpenCL | Part 2
Be sure to check out Simon’s ongoing series on The Digital Nexus.
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
ATI Eyefinity’s Panoramic Future | Keep Watch
Posted by Simon Solotko in 2:21 PM
I was sent forth through the power and I have come to those who contemplate me.
I was found by those who sought after me.
Look upon me, you who contemplate me and you listeners, listen to me.
Those of you who pay heed to me, take me to yourselves.
And do not banish me from your sight, and do not cause your voice to imprecate me, or your hearing.
Do not be ignorant of me any place or any time. Keep watch!
From the Ancient Egyptian Poem The Thunder | Perfect Mind
ATI Eyefinity is a new technology from AMD that transforms the relationship of the PC and the display. It opens the door to entirely new avenues for home computing and simplifies the deployment of many commercial solutions. In the existing home computing paradigm, one user employs one PC with one workspace spanning one or two monitors. In the age of ATI Eyefinity, the paradigm evolves.
A computer of the future with a combination of entertainment, video productivity, and internet applications spanning multiple monitors.
There are at least three new use models availed or expanded by ATI Eyefinity. They modify the single-session | single person | single screen paradigm of old. The first I call Immersive, Panoramic Computing. Many displays for one person. The second and third I call Crowd Computing. Many displays for many people.
Immersive, Panoramic Personal Computing
The first model is single-session | single-person | multi-screen. One user surrounded with many displays creating an immersive reality or information environment. One user can enjoy information or visual simulations or real-time experiences, which were previously possible only with high-end workstations or simulators. Commercial or technical applications include simulation, design and analysis; equities trading, graphic design, intelligence analysis, and more. Consumer applications include gaming, advanced productivity, and impressing your friends.
In this video technology demonstration, ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor technology is driving an immersive, panoramic gaming experience. AMD’s Lauren Larose is playing Tom Clancy’s Hawks at an amazing 5760x2400 resolution spanning six monitors employing the Display Port 1.1 interface.
This video from the launch showces ATI Eyefinity with a combination of 3,6,and a whopping 24 display wall. You can see how multiple displays can bring people together and encourage collaboration and shared entertainment, which brings us to the next model.
Crowd Computing
The second model is single-session | multi-person | multi-screen. Many users enjoying the experience provided by a single computer with the added benefit of multiple-displays. For example, one user enjoying dual monitor productivity, and a second user or group of users enjoying a movie or game on a third or fourth screen. The central premise of this model is that it is a single session, one person is “driving” the visual environment -- one keyboard, one mouse -- kind of like a PC experience DJ who can launch applications for many to see. Adding the ability of each screen to have its own I/O and support for a separate user session, you arrive at the third model…
A computer of the future with panoramic 3D gaming, multiple video playback, and access to “cloud-based” resources on the internet on multiple displays.
In prior entries I have employed the term “digital nexus” or “central home computer” to describe the multi-session | multi-person | multi-screen model. This model requires a multi-session operating system, one aware of multiple inputs and multiple users, which can map a separate set of inputs (keyboard, mice, remotes, game controllers) to each user and each screen. Imagine the possibilities of a fully configurable I/O environment where a computer can support many keyboards, mice, and free-motion controllers. Dad can be in the den playing Tom Clancy’s Hawks (against his son) while his daughter is doing homework in her room and mom is managing finances in the office, all on the same, centrally managed PC. You can think of this model as multiple, simultaneous instances of single-session | single-person | single screen. The central computer would be capable of juggling multiple user sessions, multiple screens, and multiple input / output peripherals throughout the home.
I believe that we are on an inevitable path toward Crowd Computing. Many people, computing together, using many screens in many rooms with uniform and easy access to their user-settings, information, applications and powerful compute resources. The multi-monitor capability provided by ATI Eyefinity is an important piece of the puzzle, a powerful display adapter which can extend the computer to multiple separate displays in multiple positions or nearby locations.
In the meantime, the immersive, panoramic views offered by ATI Eyefinity will impress with panaramic, immersive, multi-screen 3D graphics, video and information. I believe ATI Eyefinity has a bright future. It’s the kind of innovation that encourages re-thinking the potential of a single computer. If you are looking for new directions for the PC, I would keep watch on ATI Eyefinity.
This is the fourth in a multi-part series.
<<-- Click Here For Prior Entry
More information on ATI Eyefinity is available on the ATI Eyefinity technology page.
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
The Home Central Computer | A Hypothetical Inteview
Posted by Simon Solotko in 9:56 PM
When a personal computer comes to exceed the capacity required by a single person, machines will “seek” new ways to spend their leisure time. And leisure time is not to be underestimated as either a cultural or an evolutionary force.
The first is to take on more complex tasks enabling a new kind of user experience.
The second is to serve many persons at once. Combined with the first, we now have persons who are sitting, standing and moving while working, interacting, and enjoying.
The first and second could consume many years of exponential improvements in computing capacity while serving humankind in new and compelling ways.
The third is for machines to idly dream of the day when they will divine their own purpose…
- “Inez Drew”
Q: Could you define the hypothetical home central computer?
A: A multi-user computer which supports several users at once, employing a single pool of computational resources and applications, from multiple locations. Applications may be installed once and used by each user. Settings may be set once and used in each location. User profiles can be customized and each user enjoys their own, separate usage session. The full computing experience is available in multiple locations and computing resources are shared by the group.
Q: What are the envisioned characteristics of a central computer versus a personal computer?
A: The personal computer is personal, being for one user at a time, on a single desktop, in one personal session, in one room. The central computer is designed for several users, each on their own screen, running multiple concurrent, but private sessions, anywhere in the home or beyond. Each user would own a session which encapsulates executing applications, each session mapped to a screen, each screen mapped to its input devices such as a pointer or video camera. Common resources including processing capability, software, data, and media and rich interaction would be available to each user.
Q: From a hardware perspective, how would a central computer differ from a personal computer?
A: A central computer requires additional general purpose computation to support multiple users, high peak-usage behavior to support demanding multimedia tasks while supporting multiple users, capability to accelerate and deliver 3D graphics and video to multiple screens, and multi I/O connectivity to support multiple screens and surfaces in multiple locations throughout the home and beyond.
Q: How might a central computer impact today’s digital home?
A: In today’s digital home a network binds together heterogeneous devices, which in turn are connected to screens, using common protocols such as TCP/IP, HTML, UPnP, and many media formats. In the central computing home, a single computer could be connected to many screens with local input devices. The central computer could be configured to see network devices, peripherals, or the web in a way that provides a personalized experience and uniform access on multiple screens. The benefits of centralized management are as described in prior entries in this series.
Q: How would the operating system of a central computer differ from that of a personal computer?
A: A central computer would require an OS with support for multiple concurrent user sessions on multiple screens, and able to manage personal and shared devices and storage. The OS could allow multiple instances of the same application to run in accordance with the license rights of each application. Concurrent user sessions might be fully virtualized for additional robustness. User settings, device connectivity, and web access could be centrally configured and customized for each user. Access could be restricted protecting private data or blocking unwanted or inappropriate content on a user by user basis.
Q: How would the applications of a central computer differ from those of a personal computer?
A: Applications could support environments from the living room to the desktop to the handheld. Imagine applications which provide a different interface depending on the screen size and its associated usage. We could manage our movie rental services while sitting at our desk, then browse and enjoy them while sitting in front of the big screen with an appropriate interface for each. We could install a game once and use it on each screen, in the living room, bedroom, or office. We could configure our and social media software at our desk and enjoy updates and shared photos and video in our living room. The central computer could benefit from standardized living-room appropriate input devices to provide a better interface to big-screen applications.
Q: How is the central computer concept different from a home file or media server?
A: A home server stores, serves and streams files to heterogeneous devices using standard protocols. It does little computing. A central computer could provide all of the compute capability and connectivity required to deliver a complete and powerful experience on each screen without those heterogeneous devices required to play back content on the remote screen. A central computer in this example is not a media server, it is a complete media and productivity experience delivered to each connected screen. Home storage could still benefit from a media server which intelligently and securely stores, archives and shares with the central computer and remote, web-based users.
Q: What are your assumptions about media access and digital rights management?
A: Two models: Local content and web-based content. I personally believe that services which provide online, web based viewing will supplant broadcast models, save for remote locations which lack broadband. Web content may be streamed, rented, or downloaded. Digital terrestrial and Satellite content could provide a good and adequate baseline of broadcast content. The central computer could provide full access to complex and evolving web-based content and be well prepared to support evolving media standards because, like today’s PC’s, it employs the flexibility of software to accomplish these tasks.
Q: Tell us about “uniform access” to content? Why is it important?
Today’s set -top media players and media-enabled game consoles have their own interfaces, their own ways of organizing content, and their own content support limitations. With a central computer, content access could be uniform. If you like a particular media environment, you could run it consistently on each screen in your home. Media compatibility might be limited only by the capabilities of the broad offering of media playback software available. Local content could be stored wherever, on network attached devices for example, but the central PC could provide uniform access and recognize that storage in a uniform fashion.
Q: How does a central computer change the gaming experience?
A: A central computer will be ready to play games and share them throughout the home, unlike today’s consoles and PCs which are bound to a single location. My sense is that gaming is moving quickly to digital content distribution – no need to buy duplicate hardware to run a game on each screen when we can purchase it once and run it on every screen. Also, with a central computer we might have ready access to games rendered remotely, on the web, providing a state of the art gaming experience without state-of-the art gaming hardware. PC games need no longer be bound the desktop – they could be available on every screen, big or small, sitting or standing.
Q: What is the relationship between central computing and cloud computing?
A: A central computer could provide uniform access to the cloud from many rooms in our home. It could provide the ability to ingest and interact with rich content from the web expanding the possibilities for the richness of the experience we enjoy from the cloud. Essentially, powerful web-browsers, media players, and plug-ins could be configured once and extended throughout the home, providing a powerful interface to the web and the resources in the cloud.
Yet, by having a powerful local resource, I could create my own local outpost for “the cloud” – a “home cloud.” I could serve games to my friends far away and play against them simultaneously in more than one room. Receive, store and manipulate information from the cloud from any room knowing that the data is in the same physical location, but easily accessed wherever I am. If I am away from home, I might easily access my information or even applications on my central computer which has been configured once for the task. My data could either be in the cloud or on my central computer. It could always be available.
Q: When do you believe we will see the first central computers? Why?
A: I think we are closer than we think. I believe there are a combination of likely events that will bring us to the verge, and some software and solution development which will then push us over the edge. I believe that the date range for these innovations and solutions is 2010-2015. This will be the subject of future entries. Much of the proof of concept already exists in the homes of today’s enthusiasts who endeavor to bring the worlds of computing, electronics, and entertainment closer together.
This is the third in a multi-part series.
<<– Click Here For Prior Entry Click Here For Following Entry–>>
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Digital Nexus | An Evolution
Posted by Simon Solotko in 1:39 PM
There are two “personal” computing devices whose evolution is taking place as you sip coffee. The first is the decentralized personal assistant which holds and guards our personal experiences and our connections to society. We will carry it close to our bodies and employ it as a second mind and as a primary interface to the AI network. Its future is secure.
The fate of the second is tenuous and at risk. It is the centralized group assistant. It resides in our homes and offices, unifying the interfaces and screens therein. It is a repository of everything shared and will offer high intelligence, connectivity, and interactivity without the strict size, power, and ergonomic constraints of our smaller decentralized assistant. It is the “central computer” asserted by Futurists of the 20th century and it is at risk of a priori [before the fact] extinction. A fascination with aggressive, small and highly impendent devices is depleting the intellectual effort needed to advance powerful, shared, stationary ones. The fate of the central computer is in your hands.
- ”Inez Drew”
Inez suggests that we may have a choice, an opportunity to fulfill the promise of a powerful, shared computer that brings into harmony the people, screens, surfaces, and interfaces of our home. The evolution of today’s “desktop PC” into the “central computer” of the future is a high charge. But if it does not occur soon, the desktop PC risks losing its relevance in Darwin’s race to smaller and more nimble devices.
I offer a metaphor for the evolution of the PC. It was invented to make the power of computing useful to the individual. It succeeded. But individuals move around, so it shrank so that it could fit into our pocket or backpack. It developed a powerful wired network. Later, it learned how to speak over the airways so that as we moved from place to place it could retain access to the shared knowledge and social structures of humankind. These portable devices evolved along several paths each filling specific needs – the media player, the smart phone, the laptop – but they are converging and ultimately will converge to a single device, if we are to believe Inez.
The challenge is to undo the digital knot, an ease-of-use chasm created by computing devices which do not share common services, configurations, interfaces, capabilities, or network status. Inez suggests a centralized group assistant which is able to provide a uniform and powerful experience which can be shared within and outside the home. I suggest that the PC is poised to take on this role of the central computer, sooner than we may think. This evolutionary path is not without challenges and dangers, yet I have come to believe, after much thought, that this idea is a catalyst of change.
Will the PC still tethered, sitting watching the evolutionary progress of its portable offspring, have a second successful evolutionary path? That, Inez states, is in our hands. Her hypothesis is that in a future state, a central computer will bind our home together, joining together the technology deployed throughout and the occupants living therein. It will be secure, reliable, connected, powerful, able to rescue the information of our decentralized clients lost in a cafe in Bali. It will be our local outpost for the “cloud” and serve as a powerful but secure shared computing resource cataloging and interconnecting our shared digital memories from the present to the distant past.
Without such a change, I fear the digital home will stagnate while the desktop PC becomes a candidate for the endangered species list. I believe that the evolved PC must evolve into a digital nexus, a centralized group assistant instrumental in simplifying ease of use for our entire home computing and entertainment experience. The data is a flashing red light – the smaller devices are rapidly out-competing the desktop for share of wallet and share of mind. I suggest that a shared objective, a future state which directs our thought, our design and engineering will help speed the transformation before it is too late.
This is the second in a multi-part series.
<< –Click Here For Prior Entry || Click Here For Next Entry–>>
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Gordian Knot 2.0 | A Prequel
Posted by Simon Solotko in 4:32 PM
There was fair warning. That increasingly capable yet complex technology would form the Gordian knot of your age. The ancient legend reminds us that a knot too complex cannot be untied, it must be felled with a single, original stroke. By the fable, Alexander the Great sliced in two a yarn knot so complex it could never be untied, fulfilling a prophecy and beginning a new age. Your “digital home” has become a cacophony of complex, independent devices which I believe have become your “digital knot.” Alone each is capable, but together they challenge even the most technical minds to manage and navigate; to harmonize, to use and enjoy. Where is your sword? Where is your catalyst of change?
-”Inez Drew”
Has the muse told us no more, and no less than exactly what we needed to hear? Seeking out a catalyst of change, let us put aside today’s reality and ask how the ideal digital home should be experienced by ourselves, our families and friends?
In a departure from the “anytime, anywhere” vision of the internet, I suggest we focus on “experienced by anyone with ease”. While I wish to access stored knowledge and entertainment whenever and wherever, I want a daily experience that is simple and fluid, not diluted with the navigation of different technologies, interfaces, and navigational paths. When I enter my home, all applications and information are available on every screen, available to everyone in my home. Our experience – the consistent way in which we interact with stored knowledge, entertainment, social spaces, and applications – is configured once, in one place, accessed and enjoyed in every place. I want a singular compute resource able to power my experience wherever we are, with a consistent connection and navigational path to personal, shared, and web resources. I want to customize my experience so it is different from others, and create capabilities that can be shared with family and friends, broadcast to wherever we are. I wish to maintain privacy while blocking unwanted content and threats, creating an environment that is secure and safe regardless of which room, screen, or interface employed.
Information and Services are Secure and Available
Configuration is Uniform and Ubiquitous
My Experience is Personalized and Portable
A Shared Experience Creates Community Knowledge and Entertainment
Here are concrete examples of the experience that I seek. Any video can be played on any screen. Any application I own needs to be installed only once, configured once, and available to my entire family. We can navigate to information and applications by the same path no matter where we are, independent of device or physical location. If we have a new peripheral such as a printer or drive, I can install it and we can access it, in the same manner, from anywhere. When my child walks up to any screen, they have access only to the subset of data, applications, and the web that we have designated. When I walk into the home, my portable devices and my home devices act as one, fully synchronized. We can play all of our games on every screen, big or small.
Now that we have the technical means to solve usage problems individually, we can focus on how to make them work together in daily life. Easier to setup, share, and extend. Customizing our experiences and extending that experience wherever we are. Yet, the proliferation of devices, software, and web applications has moved in the opposite direction, each device with its own user interface, settings, capabilities – its own experience.
To turn the tide in the digital home may require a breakthrough innovation, or a novel evolutionary turn which tends toward the unification rather than the fragmentation of our everyday experience. Where is our sword? Our catalyst of change? Are they close at hand and close to home, or far from reach?
This is the first in a multi-part series. The second has now been published and you can continue by clicking here –>>
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Simplifying Video Conversion With The ATI Video Converter In Catalyst 9.5
Posted by Simon Solotko in 11:04 AM
“The ultimate dilemma for entertainment will be the decision whether or not to directly implant the entertainment into the neuro-biological path. The step preceding will bring entertainment directly to the sensory interface, on the eyes, in the ears, and on our skin. The experience will be multi-layered. I will be able to modify my experiences by transposing synthetic images and sounds on top of real ones. I will be able to modify the world I see much like wearing rose-colored glasses. To counter-balance our desire to live in a modified dream-world, society will impose habits and rules which prevent over-indulgence. Until then, I suggest you enjoy your relatively benign home theater and personal media players. They are only a whisper of what is to come.”
- Inez Drew
I don’t think that we will need to consciously think about converting video in the far future. I expect that PCs and media players will dynamically recognize, convert, shuttle, and play our media with fantastic, automated ease. Today, however, the process does not have the same fully automated ease but thanks to the ATI Video Converter, it’s getting simpler. The tool is a free part of the ATI CatalystTM 9.5 driver designed for PC’s with ATI RadeonTM HD graphics. To see how to use the tool in media workflow, read on. You can also check out my “how-to” video for the ATI Video Converter.
Most people start with video from a few sources and play it back on just a few devices. We start with something and convert (which I have notated with “→”) to something else compatible with our target use. My most frequent conversions are listed below.
Digital Camcorder → DVD | Portable Media Player | HDTV
Original 720P HD Video → DVD | Portable Media Player | Digital Media Adapter for HDTV
Windows PC Video → Portable Media Player
And here again, this time with the native formats for each:
Digital Camcorder [Standard definition MPEG2] → DVD [MPEG2] | Portable Media Player [DIVX & H.264]| Home Theater PC for HDTV [720P or 1080P H.264 or MPEG2]
Original 720P HD [MPEG2 and H.264] → DVD [Standard definition MPEG 2] | Portable Media Player [DIVX & H.264] | Digital Media Adapter for HDTV [720P H.264]
Windows PC Video [Windows Media 9] → Portable Media Player [DIVX & H.264]
With the free ATI Video Converter, I can complete all of these conversions by simply stepping through the tool.* The ATI Video Converter supports my major conversion tasks and more, supporting these and many other format conversions. Customized settings for portable media players such as the PSP and iPod can be selected directly as an output format. This list is not comprehensive but shows how the capability of the tool maps to my video conversion tasks:
MPEG2 → 720P H.264, 1080P H.264, DIVX and others
720P MPEG2 → DVD Sized MPEG2, DIVX, 720P H.264, 1080P H.264 and others
Windows Media 9 → DIVX, DVD Sized MPEG2, DIVX, 720P H.264, 1080P H.264 and others
The tool works quickly and in my own tests on an AMD PhenomTM II X3 or AMD PhenomTM II X4 based PC kept more than half of the systems resources free for other tasks. On my PC with AMD PhenomTM II X4 940 with ATI RadeonTM HD 4870 graphics I was able to convert a 720P MPEG2 video to iPod H.264 format in about half the full length of the video, and I then converted the content to H.264 video in about the same time as the length of the video, all in the background while my PC had plenty of resources for other tasks.
AMD is working with independent software makers like Cyberlink to implement ATI Stream technology in their tools. ATI Stream technology is the underlying software technology in the ATI Video Converter which helps to balance the video conversion tasks across the central processor and graphics processor to speed performance and keep more system resources free for multitasking. More on ATI Stream technology and these applications in a future entry.
The ATI Video Converter is included in the new ATI Catalyst drivers version 9.5 which can be downloaded at www.amd.com. Also, be sure to check out Nigel’s new blog on ATI Stream technology. If you are interested in more great software from AMD you can read about Fusion Media Explorer here.
* Use of the ATI Video Converter requires a system containing an ATI RadeonTM HD 4600 series or ATI RadeonTM HD 4800 series graphics card
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Our Memories Close at Hand with AMD Fusion Media Explorer
Posted by Simon Solotko in 11:24 AM
“The citizens of my day live with their place in history always in mind, and always at hand. Their memories and those of their ancestors are recorded in amazing detail and their interconnections have been mined to show the interwoven personal histories of all of human kind. In retrospect, “recorded history” began with records in stone and paper; “retained history” began with the digital record. The new archeology of my time is the ongoing effort by all to reclaim and bind together human history through digitization and final integration with the ultimate record of time.”
- “Inez Drew”
There are two things to know about me. First, I have a muse, who I call Inez. Second, Inez has seen the future.
I have been enjoying the new beta of the AMD Fusion Media Explorer and thinking about a future where we can explore the digital memories of our distant past. Imagine the digital record potentially available to our descendants, browsing photos a thousand years old, connecting their knowledge of the past and the present to all of human kind. Imagine if we had a window to our past, a camera on thousands of ancestors from our distant past? A living history that showed a personal connection to the people and history of the last thousand years?
With the AMD Fusion Media Explorer I cannot synthesize images of my distant past, but I can enjoy digital memories and browse them in a way which makes me feel like a citizen of the future. The ribbon invokes a “fabric of time” and with it I can view my entire history or probe just a piece of it. I can quickly browse images and preview videos using a thoroughly modern interface that complements the functionality of Windows. I can search for family members or places. Even recall a specific week or a specific day. My friends can share photos on Facebook and I can see them at once without navigating online to each friend and each album, seeing them as an integral part of my own history.
The technology of Fusion Media Explorer is a glimpse into the future. The interface is rendered in 3D using the graphics engine of an ATI graphics processor. This allows images to bend on the ribbon, the use of reflections on the black mirrored surface beneath, and accelerates playback while improving the quality of high definition video. For search of local media, the AMD Fusion Media Explorer integrates the powerful file indexing engine of Windows Vista.
With AMD Fusion Media Explorer I have been able to retrieve memories lost on my hard drive and to better organize them by putting them in a proper place. It gathers my photos and videos and feels like a natural extension of my visual memory, reminiscent of the future proposed by Inez.
Here are images of AMD Fusion Media Explorer navigating my recent past…
Be sure to check out Casey’s introduction to Fusion Media Explorer and the free download. And you can also see my prior blog “Virtual Purgatory on the Path to the Cloud”
Simon Solotko is a Senior Advanced Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
Virtual Purgatory on the Path to the Cloud?
Posted by Simon Solotko in 2:38 PM
The client must have an individual domain and secure personal knowledge. The Cloud will have a global domain, aggregating the sum of knowledge. The interaction of the Client and the Cloud must abide by strict rules to protect the individual while enabling universal knowledge. Shared intelligence through time will be available on the Cloud and accessed by the Client. At the age of intellectual maturity, each of us will receive and keep our client with us allowing it to know us and to provide access to the collective knowledge of mankind without the burden of screens or socially disruptive interaction with technology in everyday life. When each of us passes, our Client will pass our knowledge, our being, to the Cloud. And we will live forever. – “Inez Drew”
There are two things to know about me. First, I have a muse, who I call Inez. Second, Inez has seen the future.
I understand the utility of ubiquitous data access, a user-friendly, fully synchronized online and offline existence. It may be too much to ask.
Some of today’s most popular applications, including enterprise email applications and web browsers, threaten to condemn users to “virtual Purgatory.” These applications attempt to synchronize increasingly large amounts of media rich data. The result is complex synchronization that is slowing clients to a crawl. Complex archive solutions are constantly struggling to encrypt, compress, archive, synchronize and recall data. The ensuing data smashup robs client PCs of free cycles, rendering them momentarily unresponsive, leaving me and thousands like me with millions of useless, small, utterly idle moments. With the rush toward multi-client data ubiquity, it looks like we are being condemned to Purgatory.
An entire generation of applications that attempt to host content simultaneously online/offline is coming. Software Titans are deploying browsers and client-compiled applications that speed the deployment of online/offline applications. Software architectures designed to provide data and application integrity while having to live in many places at once may drive our clients into virtual self destruction.
A leap to a complete and fully integrated Cloud may avoid virtual Purgatory.
The Cloud can more easily extend functionality to a very broad set of clients. Today’s clients are heterogeneous development environments with an abundance of client-specific code and widely varied capabilities. Try to find a phone that that can play a flash video? Or a television that can surf the web? Or a game that can be played on any client? Or a stereo that can play FLAC? Now imagine a singular client that can enable all of these usages on all of these platforms! That is the potential of the Cloud – application portability yielding rich application experiences on almost any form factor.
A Render Cloud is a layer of capability which helps complete the vision. Render Clouds employ server technologies to render complex scenes in direct response to user input allowing the entirety of the application to reside in the Cloud. By rendering a scene remotely, the client is simplified, needing only to “play” the rendered scene, analogous to playing back video. Smaller, lower bandwidth clients receive scenes rendered at their resolution, while better connected clients on faster connections with large screens receive high resolution experiences.
Rendering in the Cloud can solve the bandwidth problem by capping the bandwidth problem. All I need to do is refresh a screen with data at a particular resolution appropriate to the client’s screen and available bandwidth. No additional bandwidth needed between the client and the server, ever - only three variables, screen size, interface visual integrity, and upstream user input. Peak bandwidth requirements become fixed and predictable.
The vision of rendering in the Cloud brings new meaning to What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG). If I just typed the letter Q, and I see the letter Q, then the letter Q is in my document somewhere far away on a well managed server in the Cloud. We can finally edit critical documents like spreadsheets online because we have visual confirmation that our critical keystrokes were received, not just sent.
The fully integrated Cloud can solve the multi-client problem. If the client can assemble the pixels and provide input, it can be as powerful as the most powerful super-computer. And once again, no complex client side applications and synchronization, with the added benefit of a cap on the bandwidth problem. Cell phones become supercomputers, capable of running the same applications I can run on any client, regulated by ergonomics and screen size.
The online Titans will work to deploy from the web down to the client, as the client software Titans move in the opposite direction. By deploying in the Cloud, both can avoid the painful intermediate step of trying to deploy complex online/offline applications. Both can avoid punishing users.
Inez suggests a more radical vision; partitioning the Cloud and the Client, suggesting that our data portability and privacy problem is an artifact that will soon disappear as we come to possess a powerful and omni-present client. Our Client will have strict rules for exchanging data with the Cloud, maintaining data integrity for both the Cloud and the Client. A topic for another day.
Learn more about Cloud Computing from AMD on our Virtualization blog.
Simon Solotko is a futurist and strategist who has lived in service of the extreme user community for his six year tenure at Advanced Micro Devices. Simon has been a creative force behind AMD64 technology and commercial, value, and extreme desktop processors and platforms. Simon previously spent 5 years in Strategic Planing for Raytheon’s Intelligence Information Systems Division focused on High Performance Computing systems integration. Simon’s interests include The Future and The Distant Past. Simon has attended Kent State University, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and The University of Texas studying Computer Science, Finance, Mathematics, Social Science, and Marketing.
Simon Solotko is a Senior Brand Marketing Manager at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.