process
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FCC officially changes rules for formal complaints
The FCC has voted to change its rules around formal complaints from the public. Now, complainants will have to pay a $225 fee to bring their issue to the commission via the official process. Informal complaints, however, are still free.
Intel aims to conquer AI with the Nervana processor
Intel makes some pretty fast chips, but none are very efficient at the hottest thing in computing right now: Artificial intelligence (AI). Deep-learning apps that do computer vision, voice recognition and other tasks mostly just need to run matrix calculations on gigantic arrays -- something that doesn't suit general-purpose Core or Xeon chips. Now, thanks to its purchase of deep learning chipmaker Nervana, Intel will ship its first purpose-built AI chips, the Nervana Neural Processor family (NNP), by the end of 2017.
Skitch updates again, with a faster screenshot process
Evernote sends word that it has updated its Skitch app yet again, this time providing a big benefit to one of the most-used functions in the app. The Screen Snap feature has been streamlined, which means you can grab pictures from your Mac easier and quicker than ever. As far as I know, that's what most people use Skitch for anyway, so it should be much appreciated. The team has also added more precise shapes to the mix when annotating images, so you can better point out what you're trying to show off or remember. And any image you snap now has an adjustable canvas, which means you can spread it out to add extra room for annotations if needed. Skitch is free as always. You can download it directly from the Mac App Store.
Apple's two-step ID now rolling out to a worldwide release
Apple recently introduced two-step verification for your Apple ID in certain countries, and the process is now being expanded to the rest of the world. The feature, which requires two different codes for verifying your Apple ID (if you want to be extra safe) was initially only available in the US, UK, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. But Apple has now included Canada in on the feature, as well as users in Argentina, Pakistan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium and Portugal. In other words, two-step authentication is now rolling out to a more or less worldwide release. The authentication process is still optional -- if you don't think you need it, you can still stick with just your Apple ID password as a login. The process does help security, though it's still not a perfect solution. Apple only implemented this procedure earlier this year due to some security concerns on behalf of users. But it will help against some attacks, and it should work as another step to keep unwanted invaders out of your Apple ID account.
Apple wins patent rights to new curved glass process
Apple has been granted patent rights for a new process using high temperatures to shape and mold a curved glass casing, similar to the one currently on newer Samsung devcies, as opposed to the very flat screen found on the iPhone 5. This exact patent doesn't have a huge influence on Apple's actual production line, and definitely doesn't portend anything as interesting as a new iPhone design. But it does show that Apple has been researching how to make this kind of curved glass for a long time, and that the company's very interested in finding more and easier ways to make its world-famous device components. The process also covers glass of all shapes and sizes, so while the images included with the patent (as seen above) hint that it would be used to make new iPhones and other portable devices, the documents also say that the glass could be shaped for larger devices, including "displays, monitors and televisions." Apple's work on processes like this is an investment not just in determining how to create today's devices, but a look ahead to what it might create in the future as well.
Globalfoundries unveils 14nm-XM chip architecture, vows up to a 60 percent jump in battery life
Globalfoundries wants to show that it can play the 3D transistor game as well as Intel. Its newly unveiled 14nm-XM (Extreme Mobility) modular architecture uses the inherently low-voltage, low-leak nature of the foundry's FinFET layout, along with a few traces of its still-in-development 20nm process, to build a 14-nanometer chip with all the size and power savings that usually come from a die shrink. Compared to the larger processors with flat transistors that we're used to, the new technique is poised to offer between 40 to 60 percent better battery life, all else being equal -- a huge help when even those devices built on a 28nm Snapdragon S4 can struggle to make it through a full day on a charge. To no one's shock, Globalfoundries is focusing its energy on getting 14nm-XM into the ARM-based processors that could use the energy savings the most. It will be some time before you find that extra-dimensional technology sitting in your phone or tablet, though. Just as Intel doesn't expect to reach those miniscule sizes until 2013, Globalfoundries expects its first working 14nm silicon to arrive the same year. That could leave a long wait between test production runs and having a finished product in your hands.
Process is a clever and able photo editing app for iOS
There's no shortage of photo editing apps for iOS, and I am constantly amazed at the quality and the creativity of the offerings. Process (US $2.99 universal app) has some unique features that can breathe some new life into your photos. The app features non-destructive editing, so you can apply multiple filters with one layer for each effect. It feels a bit like using Adobe Photoshop on my desktop Mac, but Process is much simpler to use. Photos are saved in full resolution, unlike the somewhat disappointing Adobe Photoshop Touch app for iOS. You can save your effects to use again, or share with others. If you use the app on both an iPhone and an iPad you can transfer the effects between devices via the cloud. The app supports the new Retina Display on the latest iPad. Process is a pleasure to use. The app has many presets and they are quite good. At first glance, they are not as varied or extreme as some of the other filter apps out there, but frankly, that is what I like about them. There's nothing over the top, and your pictures stay naturalistic, which is my processing style. You can certainly push the effects quite a bit, but they never look like a bad LSD trip. The app doesn't have some of the more popular effects, like tilt-shift, but again, that's not what this app is about. You can add layer after layer of effects, remove any of them to see how your processing is going, and try different combinations, all without destroying the original image. Help is built-in and is comprehensive. If you want to do more dramatic filtering and processing, I still like Snapseed from NIK software, but I think Process is very well thought out, extremely flexible, and can improve your images without turning them into Andy Warhol type art. iPhoto is also an excellent choice for photo editing, but it has a higher learning curve. You can check the gallery for some screenshots. %Gallery-152562%
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Process
Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We at Joystiq believe no one deserves to starve, and many indie developers are entitled to a fridge full of tasty, fulfilling media coverage, right here. This week, Denis Tambovcev of Russian developer TrainYard Interactive asks for 20 minutes of your time with his free game, Process, and all you have to do is step foot on a speeding train bound for certain disaster. Interested? What's your game called and what's it about?The game is called Process. It's a game project in the adventure genre; its story takes place in several subway train cars. In 20 minutes a disaster will happen -- the train will jump the tracks at full speed. The gameplay takes exactly the time designated before the crash. During this period in grim, dimly lit interiors, combining cyberpunk and industrial aesthetics, the player is to figure out the situation, try all possible means of rescue and in the end take a brand new look at the portrayed events. It's a game about predetermination of events and the subjectiveness of perception of the surrounding world.Technologically it's a classic first-person adventure: panoramic locations with the capability of free, 360-degree view and discreet movement between the panoramas through a point-and-click interface.
EnerJ power-saving system prioritizes CPU voltage, may reduce energy consumption by 90 percent
It takes a lot of energy for computing systems or data centers to patch up critical errors, but what if we devoted less power to fixing less urgent issues? That's the basic idea behind EnerJ -- a new power-saving system that could cut a chip's energy consumption by 90 percent, simply by prioritizing critical problems over those that are less threatening. Unlike, say, liquid cooling techniques, the University of Washington's framework focuses exclusively on the programming side of the equation and revolves around two interlocking pieces of code: one that handles crucial, precision-based tasks (e.g., password encryption), and another designed to deal with processes that can continue to function, even when facing small errors. The system's software would separate the two codes, meaning that energy from one section of the chip would never be used to fix a major problem that the other should address, while allowing engineers to more efficiently allocate voltage to each region. The system has already cut energy usage by up to 50 percent in lab simulations, but researchers think the 90 percent threshold is well within their reach, with computer engineering professor Luis Ceze (pictured above) predicting that the system may even be able to increase battery life by a factor of ten. The team is hoping to release EnerJ as an open-source tool this summer, but for now, you can find more information in the PR after the break.
RiTdisplay begins producing inexpensive a-Si AMOLED displays for smartphone makers
Sure, you'd expect to find an amorphous silicon backplane behind your LCD, but RiTdisplay has now begun producing a-Si AMOLED displays that, according to the company, are a world's first. Developed in conjunction with Ignis Innovation, the 3.5-inch panel was first unveiled at last month's SID Display Week, where it beamed images in 320 x 480 resolution. RiT says its a-Si-based AMOLED screens are relatively inexpensive to produce, potentially posing an alternative to its LTPS-backplaned brethren. The company has already begun manufacturing the displays for undisclosed smartphone makers, though there's no word yet on when we can expect to see them pop up in commercial devices. But if the technology proves to be as cost-effective as RiT claims, it could go a long way toward patching up that AMOLED shortage -- as long as you're not too picky about resolution. Brief PR after the break.
Sony's new OLED display promises higher quality images, glitch-free brightness
It may not be as flexible as some of the other displays we saw at last week's SID conference, but Sony seems confident that its new OLED panel will deliver high quality images with enhanced, glitch-free brightness. The 9.9-inch screen transmits images in 960 x 540 resolution, boasts a ninety-six percent color gamut, and is powered by a Self-Aligned Top-Gate TFT (in which the gate material is placed above the insulator) that reduces disparities in luminosity. To achieve this, Sony developed a new, four-part manufacturing process that lowers the parasitic capacitance between the gate electrode and the TFT. The top-gate structure, moreover, shortens the TFT's channel length, making it easier to adapt the technology to larger, high-resolution displays. No word yet on when the prototype will hit the market, but when it does, it'd be nice if it's priced as reasonably as some other OLEDs from Sony.
Biodiesel can be harvested from leftover food, kids no longer have to clear their plates
The best dishes always contain 30 per cent fat minimum. This doesn't merely ensure a level of hearty satisfaction (Windows 7 Whopper anybody?), it also means the leftovers contain plenty of the greasy good stuff, which can be cleverly harvested and metamorphosed into biodiesel. The technology behind this process has been around for a while, but now British firm Greenergy claims it is ramping up commercial production. The firm's CEO reckons each of his new £50million ($80million) biodiesel plants will digest a sufficient volume of waste pies, fries and taramasalata to "fill out a cruise ship every year". Mmmm, pie.
SanDisk and Toshiba announce world's smallest NAND flash memory chips for tinier gadgets
20 nanometer manufacturing processes, you say? We say pshaw, be gone luddite. Sandisk and Toshiba just announced the latest product from their joint venture: a 19nm 64Gb (8GB) X2 memory chip; aka, the smallest NAND flash memory chip in the world. At least it will be when it hits production in the second half of the year. They are, however, sampling the monolithic chip this quarter in case you're interested in stacking a batch of 16 into an ultra-high density 128GB SSD. Anyone?
Toshiba and Apple working together on a display manufacturing plant
Toshiba and Apple are reportedly working together on a brand new manufacturing plant in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, specifically to build "low-temperature polysilicon LCD panels," to be used in Apple's iPhones. Toshiba will spend about $1.9 billion on the project, which is scheduled to start building in a month or so, and be done in time to start production by the end of next year. Toshiba already makes some 8.55 million units in its current manufacturing plant, but that production is supposed to double with this new facility. We've posted before about the incredible scale of Apple's production process, and even with all of these plants churning out parts and units, Apple is only barely able to keep up with demand. In some places it's still not even able to keep up. The other benefit is that the more of its production process Apple moves under its own purview, the more of an advantage it can have against competitors, some of which use the same manufacturers and distributors that Apple uses right now. The more plants Apple invests in, the more unique production locations it will be able to take advantage of later on. [via 9to5Mac]
The Daily Grind: Leveling, the playing field
They might be called security levels, they might be split between ranks and levels, they might disguise themslves as skill grinds. But in pretty much any MMO you care to name, there will be levels of some kind. (The only exception that springs to mind is Second Life, and even that can be argued.) Generally, it's accepted that the most meat to the game will come after you've made it to the apex of the leveling curve, whether it's a low cap or a high one. But that's not when you started liking the game -- no, even though most players see it as an impediment to getting to the good part, the leveling game is what first hooks you on the game as a whole. So today, we ask a simple question -- what game have you played where you most enjoyed the leveling process? Forget all of the endgame nonsense, whether you had a broad endgame or a fairly narrow one. When did you just enjoy the path toward the endgame, perhaps even enough to be a bit saddened when it was over? Or have you always wanted to just get to the end without bothering with the whole "journey" element?
AMBER Alert appmaker not happy with submission process
Jonathan Zdziarski, who has appeared on this pages before for other iPhone-related hijinx, has written an open letter to Apple about the AMBER Alert iPhone app he's written. Apparently he's worked in conjunction with government agencies to set up an iPhone app that can easily and quickly send sighting reports of children gone missing in the United States. And he's unhappy with Apple, because they haven't yet approved it.His letter, which you can read in full over here, complains that we've got tons of fart apps already approved on the store, but his app still sits in approval purgatory. He actually sounds kind of selfish in the letter to me -- he says he doesn't care about how the App Store works, and that he just wants someone to "pick up the phone" and push his app, which could save children's lives, through.We've got nothing against the AMBER Alert system, of course, and if it's true that this app can get more reports in and possibly help kids who are in danger, then great. But do we really want Apple picking and choosing which apps get kicked to the front of the line?Update: looks like the app has been approved. The question remains: what was the holdup?
iPhone rumor roundup: New handsets in June, background tasks, and more
Possibly thanks to a chatty Emirates Telecom/Etisalat executive, we have some more details about when we might see a new iPhone handset: June. While not directly attributed to Mark Davis, iPhone program director at Etisalat, a quote in the report reads that the "next version of the device, which is due out in June, will be launched in the UAE at the same time." Analysts had been hoping for a new iPhone handset sometime during the first half of the year. [Via AppleInsider.] Nokia is apparently readying smartphones that contain touch technology, advanced 3G connectivity, and multimedia functions in a bid to regain control of the mobile phone market. The devices, so far named "IP08" and "Eitri" will have touch capability, but it's unclear if either device will raise Apple's ire when it comes to protecting its intellectual property surrounding multi-touch gestures. The "Eitri" model will allegedly feature haptic feedback, as well. [Via Electronista.] Finally, MacRumors.com has some tidbits about what Apple is doing to replace the so-far-missing Push Notification System that Mike mentioned this morning. Instead, Arnold Kim hears that Apple may allow one or two "user-selectable background processes" on current hardware with a software update, and more processes on new hardware (thanks to hardware improvements). [Via MacRumors.]
Blizzard's CG team talks about making those epic cinematics
Blizzplanet's got the tip on a great interview over at CG Channel with the Blizzard CGI team, responsible for, among many other great cinematics, putting together the Wrath intro trailer. We heard from this team back at BlizzCon, and here they give a little more insight into the thinking behind their process, rather than the process itself.One of the first questions that comes up is one that everyone would like to ask: Why haven't we seen a longer feature from these guys? But they say that, as always, their first priority is making great games, not great features, and as much as people would want to see a 60 or 90 minute cinematic from this team, they work for a game company. They also talk about something they've been working more on lately: in-game cinematics. I saw this at work in Starcraft II back at BlizzCon -- while most of Blizzard's cinematics so far have been completely separate from the in-game art, Starcraft II introduces models that are high-quality enough to be rendered cinematically, so much of the actual cutscenes are in-game rather than in separately rendered CGI. But as the team points out, their goal is to make them no less awesome.Finally, they do get into the nitty-gritty of designing their cinematics, and 3D animators will enjoy the ins and outs of how Blizzard made Arthas summon that Frostwyrm. We're just in awe of how much great work this team does -- hopefully we'll be seeing lots more of it in the future.
Apple introducing new manufacturing process, MacBook 'Brick'?
The Apple rumor mill has really cooked up a doozy this time. According to 9to5mac -- a site with a fairly good track record -- Apple's next big thing isn't just a laptop or an iPod... it's an entirely new manufacturing process. If you believe the site's sources, an as-yet-unannounced event on October 14th will herald in a new iteration of the MacBook dubbed the "Brick," but the big news won't actually be about the laptop. Apparently, Apple has created a brand-new process to sculpt casings for products out of aircraft-grade aluminum, using a system that carves the pieces out of a single block of metal using "3D lasers" and water-jet cutting. The new technique will supposedly allow for seamless components which require no bending or folding, won't use screws to join together, are ultra-light but also "super strong," and will enable the company to rapidly prototype and produce new designs. Of course, not a single word of this is confirmed or even acknowledged by Apple, though we have been hearing whispers of the "Brick" for a few weeks now. Ultimately, everyone should approach this news with extreme skepticism, but if these rumors get magically transmuted into reality, there's no telling what kind of new gear Apple might have up its sleeve.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Inside the mind of Metzen
Cecil Vortex has a long interview up with none other than Azeroth's rockstar mastermind, Chris Metzen. He actually describes himself as a "world creator," and that's about right -- he's the guy (along with everyone else at Blizzard, obviously) who's come up with the entire universe that the World of Warcraft exists in -- from Orcs to Dwarves to Titans and Old Gods, Metzen is the guy who dreamed it.And for a guy who's created everything in this gigantic universe, he's remarkably "geeked" about it -- he still talks like he's a guy sitting at his basement table creating D&D quests (which, don't lie now, we've all done at one point or another). The second part of the interview is even more interesting -- Metzen talks about his creative process and just how much of a group process it is at Blizzard. Since they're all in the target audience, every group member censors each other and pushes each other to bigger and better heights of storytelling.Metzen also mentions a non-Blizzard project called Soldier: 76, about a guy making his way through a second American Civil War. It came out a while ago, apparently, but would definitely be interesting to see what Metzen does outside of Blizzard continuity. And as if there was any doubt that Metzen was a rock star, he ends the interview exactly the way you'd expect a creative superstar to end it: when "you've tapped into something beyond the individual," then "it's off to the races."[Via Blizzplanet]
