NVIDIA Corporation today announced that Bill Gates, chairman and chief software architect, Microsoft Corp., demonstrated cutting-edge NVIDIA-based technology in his keynote address yesterday at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC).
Gates’ speech was titled “Seamless Computing: Hardware Advances for a New Generation of Software.” During his address, Gates demonstrated the concept of “Personal Supercomputing.” The demonstration featured a real-time fluid dynamics simulation running on a cluster of 64-bit servers. NVIDIA Quadro®-based workstations then drove a stereoscopic display with high-powered DLP (digital light processing) projectors.
The 2,500+ attendees, wearing 3D glasses supplied by NVIDIA, were able to observe the real-time analysis of water flowing through a turbine as it was calculated and then displayed in 3D on a thirty-foot screen. In real life, such an application can provide scientists with a better representation of their research and convey complex data in new and innovative ways.
Also at WinHEC, Jim Allchin, vice president, Platforms Group, Microsoft, showcased “Always Ready,” a technology demo developed by Microsoft with NVIDIA and First International Computer, Inc. (FIC).
“Always Ready” technology allows a PC-based system to appear as if it is “shut down”—with fans turned off and chip components slowed down. Computers in this state consume approximately 30 – 40% less power.
An “Always Ready” system delivers three important features required to bring the PC into the living room:
—It is silent—It is instantly responsive—It is designed to complement other components of the home entertainment system.
Additionally, Brad Carpenter, director, Windows Hardware and Driver Quality, Microsoft, discussed high-definition audio and Universal Audio Architecture (UAA), a Microsoft-led initiative to provide a transparent “it just works” consumer experience and to improve the quality of audio on Windows-based PCs. In his demo, Carpenter played for the audience a song in a standard two-channel system followed by the same song in a surround-sound, seven-channel system—illustrating a dramatic difference in quality. NVIDIA is a backer of the UAA initiative.
