Martin Ecker writes "With the advent of powerful, programmable GPUs in consumer graphics hardware, an increasing number of shading languages to program these GPUs has become available. One quite interesting language that - in many ways - has a very different approach than other mainstream shading languages (such as Cg or the OpenGL Shading Language) is Sh. The recently released book "Metaprogramming GPUs with Sh" by Michael McCool and Stefanus Du Toit, both major contributors to the Sh project, explains the basics of the Sh high-level shading language and the corresponding API and also goes into some of the details of the implementation. The book is intended for an audience that is already familiar with traditional shader development for programmable GPUs. Also, a firm background in 3D graphics programming and C++ is a must for the interested reader." Read on for the rest.

B1-66ER writes "Matrixfans.net has a report on the launch of TMO. 'Sega of America's new massively multi-player online game, Matrix Online, now has a ship date set. That date is January 18, 2005. The release date change from November is to coordinate the US launch with the European publisher.'"

Roland Piquepaille writes "Chips holding 10 terabits of data? Copper as strong as steel? Ceramics tough enough to be used in car engines? All this will be true in five years, thanks to two new methods to create self-assembling 3D nanostructures. These methods used pulsed laser deposition to create layers of nanodots organized in a matrix. These arrays of nanodots are consistent in shape and size -- 7 nanometers with nickel for example. But the real beauty of these methods is that they can be applied to almost any material, like nickel for data storage or aluminum oxide for ceramics. These methods also reduce drastically imperfections, leading to future superstrong materials. Read more here for other details and an image of a single nickel nanocrystal, or nanodot."

Daniel Shefer writes "If you want to make money by selling your software, it has to be marketed, promoted and then sold to the customer. Doing this is not as easy as it may sound. The Product Marketing Handbook, 4th Edition details the ins and outs of the aspects of software product marketing needed to make this happen." According to Shefer, "this is a great book if you want to market your product and get it sold"; read on for the rest of his review. Even if your software is free (as in speech, or as in beer), this book may offer insights in persuading people to try it out.

Steve Silberman writes "I was the first reporter to see the inside of a new battle-simulation system designed by the Institute for Creative Technologies, a 'military-entertainment' think tank sponsored by the Defense Department. Starting in September, Marines, infantrymen, and Air Force pilots will train for war in Matrix-like rooms in Oklahoma simulating urban and desert environments, with surround sound and photorealistic rendering of bombing runs and other scenarios. It may or may not be the future of military training, but it's certainly the future of home gaming. My article, 'The War Room,' will appear in the September issue of Wired."

NeoCode writes "Gamespot is reporting that Warner Bros has bought the developer Monolith Productions. Monolith, in the past, has produced games like Tron 2.0, No One Lives Forever 1 and 2, Aliens vs. Predator 2 and Blood 1 and 2. Currently, Monolith is working on The Matrix Online (aka MxO), the WB-produced, Sega-published MMORPG which is undergoing Beta testing right now." We've previously reported on current WB game boss Jason Hall, who was formerly the CEO and co-founder of Monolith.

An anonymous reader writes "GameMethod reports that for the fiscal 2004 first quarter, Atari announced that net revenues and income were down from last fiscal year, but still positive. Strong sales of [the somewhat controversial] Driv3r for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox are being cited as the main success, but the dip in comparative figures is being attributed to last year's release of Enter the Matrix, Atari's commercially successful (over 5 million units sold), yet critically jeered game. [Atari's Bruno Bonnell commented on the loss of the Unreal license that Epic's proposed deal was 'not acceptable from a profit point of view for our strategy.'] On the flip side, despite a net loss of $3.9 million for the fiscal first quarter of 2005, THQ announced a positive outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year. Full Spectrum Warrior for Xbox drove sales for the quarter, ranking as the top selling Xbox game and the second best selling title for the month of June."

nusratt writes "Associated Press: 'The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange combines state vehicle and crime records with commercial databases owned by a private company, Seisint, covering half the U.S. population,' but there were 'questions about the legality of sending state-owned records to Seisint'. The solution? "Each state will maintain its own records . . . Software will search each state's records as necessary.' 'The new setup is designed to get around obstacles in some states' data laws.'"

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for its interview with 3D Realms' Scott Miller about turning films into good videogames, in which "the man of many game credits -- including 'Duke Nukem 3D' and 'Max Payne' -- and many opinions" argues: "Look, movies and TV are storytelling media. And while games can be a storytelling medium, they are really about interactivity and gameplay. What makes a movie or a TV series successful may or may not make for a good interactive experience." He goes on to discuss the top movie licenses: "The absolute best IP is 'Star Wars.' It has the whole idea of the Force, which translates well into gameplay. It also has a very compelling universe to explore... Then comes 'Lord Of The Rings'... and then James Bond because of all the gimmicks he uses. Then there's Indiana Jones. If I were to make a game based on Indiana Jones, I'd focus on his whip, which can be his unique gameplay hook." Miller also muses: "I'm on the fence with 'The Matrix.' It does have a unique gameplay hook, but 'Max Payne' beat it to the punch with the whole slow-mo bullet thing."

Eli Singer writes "I'm writing to recommend The Power of the 2x2 Matrix , the best book on decision-making I've seen in a long time. The book presents 55 decision matrix models by some of the best minds out there including Stephen Covey ( 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ) and Geoffrey Moore (Crossing the Chasm). Although the book is primarily for business decision-making, the matrices really force you to think about your own personal and professional life." No bones about it, Singer is not a disinterested party: he helped with research that went into it. Read on for the rest of his review, below; there's also a link to a sample chapter of the book. (The Globe and Mail recently reviewed this book as well.)

squishey writes "The Matrix trilogy is to be released as part of a special ten-disc DVD boxset in time for Christmas, according to the DVD Times. Out on December 12 and with an RRP of 44.99." Includes a lot of stuff you probably already own, and a few things you might want... like a version of Reloaded with the Enter the Matrix footage included.

Thanks to Yahoo! for reprinting a press release revealing Atari has shipped 2.5 million copies of long-awaited PS2/Xbox title Driv3r, with Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell reassuring: "The global Driver fan base is as robust and passionate as ever, as indicated by retail reaction in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and other key territories." However, some of the initial reviews are decidedly mixed, in a similar vein to Atari's big 2003 title Enter The Matrix, with GameSpot lamenting of the third Driver title: "Driver 3 is full of the sorts of glitches and problems that final retail products shouldn't have", and IGN complaining that the game "...plays like a bigger, prettier version of Driver 2 with band-aids, but no real solutions to the problems that riddled it." Most of all, Eurogamer were previously skeptical about a late preview version, and are even more scathing regarding what they see as a "class-A disaster" final product. Fair, or not so fair?

TheAlchemist writes "Tree Wave, a two piece band from Texas that makes pop songs using obsolete computer and video game equipment as instruments, has released their first music CD, Cabana EP+. Paul Slocum, creator of the Atari 2600 Synthcart, Testcart, and upcoming Homestar Runner RPG, codes the music primarily on an Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Compaq 286, and Epson dot matrix printer, and Lauren Gray adds lush vocals. You can listen to two of the Cabana EP+ tracks, and visit the Tree Wave web site to learn more about the band."

Dozix007 writes "The human body, like any other machine requires energy to operate. However, during operation we release residual heat which can be used for power. Many people who rely on pacemakers and other artifical devices in their bodies may recieve 'upgrades' to avert the many surgeries per. year to replace dead and dying batteries. Not quite the Matrix yet, but we are getting there."

Comte writes "About three hundred charter members, local sci-fi cognoscenti and assorted geeks got a sneak peek last night of Paul Allen's $22 mm Science Fiction Museum prior to its official grand opening this Friday." Comte peeked, and contributes his impressions of the museum -- read on below to see what it's like. If you're in Seattle with a few hours, he says it's worth dropping in. (The rest of the text is his.)

Aaron asks: "I write the crossword for the student newspaper at my university (McGill, in Montreal). For the last issue of the year I like to go all-out and do something special. Usually I just make a super-big one, but I had a brainstorm - a crossword is essentially a 2-dimensional matrix where set intersections are judged as valid if they test positive as real words out of a dictionary. Of course, the decision to limit the matrix to 2 dimensions is just pragmatic so if you wanted you could make crosswords of 3 or more dimensions (though a 4-dimension crossword might have to be done in pencil first). Any ideas on how to actually do this?" This would be interesting on a computer, but would be fairly hard to do in print. If you were of a mind to make a 3D crossword puzzle on paper, how would you do it?

securitas writes "Total Information Awareness is alive and thriving. eWEEK's Caron Carlson reports on a new General Accounting Office study that says TIA-style data mining programs are rampant in federal agencies with 199 projects at 52 of 128 agencies. The Defense Intelligence Agency/DoD is the single largest user of these data mining projects (eg. Verity K2 Enterprise). The story was first reported by Reuters' Andy Sullivan (ZDNet UK mirror) and the NYT's Robert Pear, who wrote that at least 122 projects used personally identifying information like names, e-mail addresses, Social Security and driver's license numbers. The 'actual numbers are likely to be much higher' because the report excludes classified projects. Wired News' Kim Zetter writes that, in addition to government databases, federal agencies mine private databases of credit rating agencies, bank account numbers, student loan applications, etc. This week the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a report with privacy guidelines for data mining technology (PDF) development and use. Guidelines include data anonymization, government data access authorization and audit trails. Cynthia (Cindy) Webb's 'Total Information Dilemma' at the Washington Post is an excellent survey of media coverage of TIA, MATRIX and the GAO report 'Data Mining: Federal Efforts Cover a Wide Range of Uses' (mirror, both in PDF format). More at GCN, GovExec and the Guardian/AP."

Thanks to the New York Times for its article (free reg. req.) discussing the relative unpopularity of licensed videogames based on recent films. The piece notes: "Of the nation's 10 top-selling games for video consoles last year, only one was based on a film, a television show or a book: Enter the Matrix", before arguing: "The problem seems to arise from basic differences between films and games as forms of media. Films, like books, are obviously linear, with a specific, tightly defined story arc and specifically defined characters." Are there ways film adaptions can break free of these constraints?

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for its article discussing Warner Bros. Interactive's decision to use average review scores in calculating the royalty rates videogame makers must pay to WB. The article explains: "Games based on Warner Bros. licenses must achieve at least a 70% rating [calculated via GameRankings.com and similar services], or incur an increase in royalty rates", with WB's Jason Hall commenting: "An escalating royalty rate kicks in to help compensate us for the brand damage... the further away from 70% it gets, the more expensive the royalty rate becomes... If the publisher delivers on what they promised -- to produce a great game -- it's not even an issue." However, Bruno Bonnell, CEO of Atari, makers of Enter The Matrix, which didn't include this contract clause, comments: "We sold four million copies. That's $250 million worldwide... and Warner Bros. would penalize us because we didn't achieve 70%? Are they joking?"

unassimilatible writes "From the Department of Pre-Crime, the AP reports: before helping to launch the criminal information project known as Matrix (Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange), a database contractor gave U.S. and Florida authorities the names of 120,000 people who showed a statistical likelihood of being terrorists - sparking some investigations and arrests. The 'high terrorism factor' scoring system also became a key selling point for the involvement of the database company, Seisint Inc., in the Matrix project. According to Seisint's presentation, dated January 2003 and marked confidential, the 120,000 names with the highest scores were given to the INS, FBI, Secret Service and Florida state police. Seisint and the law enforcement officials who oversee Matrix insist that the terrorism scoring system ultimately was kept out of the project, largely because of privacy concerns."