I don't think you really need to wait to do that. Some of what you are talking about is already possible. You might want to look up NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). It essentially allows you to run C programs on the video card.
It's also important to note that an NVIDIA 8800GTX has somewhere between 200-300 GFLOPS of power, which IIRC is about what the Cell has too. By comparison, I think a Core 2 Quadro has something like 50 GFLOPS. So, if raw processing power is what you are after, CUDA is something you might want to look into. Unfortunately, I only have minimal experience with it and have not tried to run both a game engine and a CUDA program at the same time, so I don't know how well you could swap back and forth between the two.
The NVIDIA has also guaranteed that CUDA will run on all future boards, so anything that's a Gefore 8XXX and later should run your CUDA program. I know some of the Quadro and "workstation" boards also run CUDA, but I can't recall which models.
money can improve a plot but it can not in its self make a good movie
I agree with you 100% on that point, but I would also point out that a lack of money could also take away from a plot. Try to imagine what some of your favorite movies would have been like with out the capital required for many of the special effects that were integral to the plot.
Technology and the various forms of special effects in a movie walk a fine line, too much and it distracts from the plot and too little prevents the viewer from seeing the plot correctly, but, just the right amount enables a movie to tell a story. If you see a movie with terrible production quality, you'll likely sit in your seat more focused on the terrible effects rather than the story.
I would summarize by saying that all that money is there to support the story/plot, so you need both money and a story. Some movies certainly require more support/money than others because of their nature, so I don't think we can completely discount the role of big production studios.
My father drives a semi and he couldn't agree with you more! His favorite object of complaint are the large motor homes that people drive and he makes a good argument: How can a person drive something that is potentially bigger then his semi (compared to when he's pulling a short trailer) do so without any special treatment, especially when they are more likely to be old.
It probably doesn't help that we live in the retirement state (Florida).
No, plugging these new numbers in makes the cars *appear* much less cost effective. The fact of the matter is that plenty of hybrid owners were actually reaching their posted fuel efficiency ratings, unlike gas-only cars which do not. Just like most generalizations, you aren't completely correct. My car is listed as 21 city, 29 highway. I don't do much city driving, but on the highway, I get 29mpg doing 85mph. I've reached as much as 34mpg doing the sweaty grandma routine (AKA: slow with no AC).
I suppose it all balances out though (as far as ratings "honesty" at least)... I "lost" 12 hp when the SAE standards changed and Acura had to redo the rating for my TL. At least they were correct on the mpg one (which is more important in my opinion).
So does this mean I go to download a picture of anyone, say Jennifer Aniston, I might get a picture of a monkey, just because they are 99% (or whatever) the same genetically.
I think I speak for all males when I say: Not cool man... not cool!
This player uses microSD, not miniSD. The max capacity for a microSD chip last I checked was 1gb.
Pros of this player over a nano:
Twice the capacity
Memory expansion (although limited)
No hacks to play video
larger screen
battery cam be replaced
FM Radio and recording
microphone (though I could care less)
competition for the nano
Cons:
a little thicker
not as slick (ie the mechanical scroll wheel)
not as many accessories (just try to find an arm strap and case!)
I'm told the video compression it uses when stored on the player isn't that good.
can only store music on the microSD card, not pictures or movies
All the user reviews I've read seem positive on the whole and a lot of people like it better then nano's they've owned or bought for the wife/girlfriend, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think you really need to wait to do that. Some of what you are talking about is already possible. You might want to look up NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). It essentially allows you to run C programs on the video card.
It's also important to note that an NVIDIA 8800GTX has somewhere between 200-300 GFLOPS of power, which IIRC is about what the Cell has too. By comparison, I think a Core 2 Quadro has something like 50 GFLOPS. So, if raw processing power is what you are after, CUDA is something you might want to look into. Unfortunately, I only have minimal experience with it and have not tried to run both a game engine and a CUDA program at the same time, so I don't know how well you could swap back and forth between the two.
The NVIDIA has also guaranteed that CUDA will run on all future boards, so anything that's a Gefore 8XXX and later should run your CUDA program. I know some of the Quadro and "workstation" boards also run CUDA, but I can't recall which models.
*I have seen different GFLOPs reported for the 8800GTX, with an NVIDIA provided graph stating ~300GFLOPS (I think). This article stats that it has 512 GFLOPS of power: http://www.digital-daily.com/video/geforce_8800/index03.htm
Technology and the various forms of special effects in a movie walk a fine line, too much and it distracts from the plot and too little prevents the viewer from seeing the plot correctly, but, just the right amount enables a movie to tell a story. If you see a movie with terrible production quality, you'll likely sit in your seat more focused on the terrible effects rather than the story.
I would summarize by saying that all that money is there to support the story/plot, so you need both money and a story. Some movies certainly require more support/money than others because of their nature, so I don't think we can completely discount the role of big production studios.
... UPS dropped all NASCAR sponsorship citing technical difficulties with their in-car GPS systems which caused too many cars to crash into the wall.
The world record for the men's 1500m is held by Grant Hackett at a time of 14:34.56 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progress ion_1500_metres_freestyle.
l es&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
h +to+knots&btnG=Search
1500m = 0.932056788 miles http://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=1500m+to+mi
so that's a speed of about 3.8 miles per hour.
3.8mph is 3.3 knots http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en&q=3.8mp
My father drives a semi and he couldn't agree with you more! His favorite object of complaint are the large motor homes that people drive and he makes a good argument: How can a person drive something that is potentially bigger then his semi (compared to when he's pulling a short trailer) do so without any special treatment, especially when they are more likely to be old.
It probably doesn't help that we live in the retirement state (Florida).
I suppose it all balances out though (as far as ratings "honesty" at least)... I "lost" 12 hp when the SAE standards changed and Acura had to redo the rating for my TL. At least they were correct on the mpg one (which is more important in my opinion).
So does this mean I go to download a picture of anyone, say Jennifer Aniston, I might get a picture of a monkey, just because they are 99% (or whatever) the same genetically.
I think I speak for all males when I say: Not cool man... not cool!
Thank goodness this was just a joke! For a second I thought we wouldn't be able to have flame wars over which one was better!
The only thing worse would be a linux plugin for windows.
Pros of this player over a nano:
Cons:
- a little thicker
- not as slick (ie the mechanical scroll wheel)
- not as many accessories (just try to find an arm strap and case!)
- I'm told the video compression it uses when stored on the player isn't that good.
- can only store music on the microSD card, not pictures or movies
All the user reviews I've read seem positive on the whole and a lot of people like it better then nano's they've owned or bought for the wife/girlfriend, etc.Looks worth a look though.
Techincally, I don't think that would be a feature, but more of a bug.