NVIDIA's CUDA Helps Improve Apollo 11 Videos

Although GPGPU (general-purpose computing on GPUs) is growing in popularity, we're still a little ways away from it becoming totally mainstream, and used by many. Over the course of the past year, though, NVIDIA is one company who has actively been pushing GPGPU, along with their CUDA technology, in order to get applications and scenarios in front of consumers to show them the benefits that their speedy graphics cards can offer.

One area where GPGPU can drastically improve performance is with video encoding, especially where filters are concerned. In some cases, the performance can increase upwards of 100 times over a CPU, and it's for this reason that NVIDIA focuses on pushing the technology so hard. The company has just experienced a nice thumbs-up from a company called Lowry Digital, as well, as that company is the one which is responsible for enhancing the film footage of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.

As you'd imagine, video footage from almost fifty years ago can't hold a candle to today's HD video, but even considering the time it was recorded, it still looks pretty bad given the circumstances. As you can see in the sample below, though, the image is drastically improved (there are more samples at the below link). In the  press release, it notes that on typical CPUs, each frame being dealt with would take upwards of 45 minutes to process, but with GPGPU, it takes seconds.

Maybe this is the kind of news that NVIDIA and GPGPU as a whole needs to get consumers excited about such technology, especially given that many people don't realize they can do similar processing in their own homes.

“Lowry Digital’s restoration process has brought out details in the Apollo 11 videos that were never visible before,” said Andy Keane, general manager of the Tesla business unit at NVIDIA. “You can now see the faces of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin behind their visors, the stars on the U.S. flag when it is being raised and amazing details of the moon surface. We’re proud that NVIDIA has made such an important contribution to this historic project.”

Microsoft Releases "Windows XP Mode" Release Candidate

One of the more touted features of Windows 7 has got to be the "Windows XP Mode", which aims to tackle an issue that some found themselves with when moving to Windows Vista... incompatibility. With Windows XP, compatibilities existed, but they usually weren't a major issue. Vista was the stark opposite though, with many peripherals simply not working, and applications as well. While XP Mode could only be considered an unbelievable workaround, it should do well to please anyone who'll need to use it.

Last week, we posted an article taking an introductory look at virtualization, and how it works. Windows XP Mode uses the same technology, through Microsoft's Windows Virtual PC application. With Windows 7 (and any current version of Windows for that matter), anyone can go and download the application for free. But if you want to use "Windows XP Mode" as Microsoft calls it, you'll need to be using either the Professional or Ultimate version of 7. If you're on Home Basic or Home Premium, you'll have to provide your own copy of XP.

For those with Professional or Ultimate installations, you're now able to download the RC version of Windows XP Mode and get to work right away. If all goes well, it should be simple, and everything should work as hoped. The RC features some updates worth noting, such as USB sharing. This means that your XP installation can utilize your USB devices such as printers and flash drives without issue.

To make use of the Windows XP Mode, you need a processor that supports either AMD's "AMD-V" or Intel's "Intel VT". Most recent CPUs support these, but to make sure, you should look up your respective CPU model on the vendor's website. To read more about Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode, check out Microsoft's site here. If you happen to take this for a spin, post in our forums and let us know how you made out!

Windows XP Mode provides what we like to call that "last mile" compatibility technology for those cases when a Windows XP productivity application isn’t compatible with Windows 7. Users can run and launch Windows XP productivity applications in Windows XP Mode directly from a Windows 7 desktop. I also strongly recommend that customers install anti-malware and anti-virus software in Windows XP Mode so that Windows XP Mode environment is well protected.

Tech Roundup - August 5, 2009

Motherboards & Processors
• ASUS Maximus II GENE - Overclock3D
• ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo - Hardware Logic
• MSI AMD 785GM-E65 - PC Perspective

Displays & Video Cards
• Sapphire Vapor-X HD 4890 2GB - Motherboards.org
• Zotac GTX295 Single PCB - Hardwareoverclock

Memory & Storage
• Kingston Series V 128GB SSD - Motherboards.org
• PhotoFasts G-Monster V5 256GB SSD - TweakTown
• Transcend Ultra 120GB SSD - PureOverclock

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Beats by Dre Tour Headphones - Digital Trends
• D-Link DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router - ThinkComputers

Cooling
• Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit - Legit Reviews
• GELID Solutions GC-2 Thermal Compound - techPowerUp

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Cooler Master 922 HAF Chassis - Overclocker Cafe
• Cooler Master Sileo 500 Mid-Tower Chassis - TweakTown
• Maxcube Amoris 6010 Gaming Chassis - Pro-Clockers
• Thermaltake Element G Chassis - Pro-Clockers

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Boost Your PC's Performance for Free - Digital Trends
• Canon PowerShot SX1 IS - Digital Trends
• GIGABYTE Booktop M1022 Netbook - TweakTown
• Phoronix Test Suite 2.0, PTS Desktop Live 2009.3 Released - Phoronix