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Boxing Fans?
Talk about any other sports here.
Moderators: Mr. Crackerz, JREED, Guybrush, hobbes
Franchise Player
Posts: 6145
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:13 am
Location: looking down at the Warriors practice facility
Poster Credit: -7
If Olympic athletes (including boxers) who's fate is often times decided by a tenth of a second can deal with it, so can a "tough guy" like Manny. Additionally Olypmic style testing means testing for just about EVERYTHING as opposed to just testing for what is on the banned substance list which quite frankly is minimal.
Posts: 64
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:23 pm
Location: SF BAY AREA
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Larry Holmes killed boxing.
He was the best fighter for decade, but boring as hell with no charisma.
Tyson brought boxing back for a time, but after he went down hill, boxing has been dead.
70's and early 80's were a great time for boxing
As I booked into a hotel, I said to the receptionist, I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled.
"No," she says, It's regular porn, you sick bastard.
So, all of a sudden, Floyd is saying that the Nevada State Athletic Commission's testing and rules aren't good enough. But it was good enough for most of his 40 or so fights in the past, right? Also good enough for the other countless fighters and champions before him? Why now, because he's seriously concerned about someone who can actually beat him?
Anyhow, Manny has never said that he doesn't agree to these tests, but just not too close to the fight. According to info, Manny, being superstitious, agrees to taking blood right before the press conference, 30 days before, and the day of the fight—immediately after, that is, which would be the most accurate to see if anyone's on it.
Recently, Freddy Roach said 5 days before (in addition) as a possible middle ground. But, yeah, Floyd is playing mind games, and Manny can't let this get to him. This is too funny coming from Floyd's doped up family.
I'm sure everyone is aware by now that Manny is filing a big defamation lawsuit against Mayweather. I know they're trash talkers, but they really should not accuse anyone of something they have no proof of, and with someone who has always played by the rules, unlike Floyd. Mayweather is flat broke and needs the money to pay the IRS. Now, they really need the Pacquiao fight to pay the IRS and the damages, too. What a complete dope this guy and his family is.
It's well documented that Mayweather has never wanted to fight Manny. He's fought select opponents who were too slow or someone who does not pose a threat to him to protect his unblemished record. From a big name and puncher, he ran all night from De lay Hoya in a boring fight.
Now, the latest, Team Pacquaio is saying enough of the nonesense. First, we'll see you in court, and second, we'll abide by whatever the Nevada State Athletic commission's rules and guidelines—whatever they request for this fight, whenever they request it. Not something Floyd dictates.
I want to see this fight happen so Manny can knock Floyd's head off—and Mayweather Crackhead Sr., too! And let's put a condition that Mayweather forfeits his earnings if he runs all night. This is to ensure he won't rob the fans, either. P*ssy.
Franchise Player
Posts: 6145
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:13 am
Location: looking down at the Warriors practice facility
Poster Credit: -7
Oh for f*ck's sake Manny.... Oh boo hoo... someone said something bad about me... if you want to PROVE your innocent, then agree to the drug testing.
With only agreeing to blood testing no later than 30 days before the fight, he could EASILY cycle steroids and be clean by post fight. Floyd is not the only person ever to accume him of steriod use. Put it to bed by agreeing to the same testing that world class athletes do all the time.
Normal testing in boxing is a freakin joke. Time to prove yourself Manny and not taking it to court.
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Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 10:21 pm
Poster Credit: 21
(taking xbay's line)
Bada, tell us how you really feel.
There's a difference between speculation and OUTRIGHT accusation, and that's why this is now heading into court. Bottom line, NSAC rules and guidelines is the governing body, not Floyd the commissioner. These are the same rules, guidelines, and testing that have caught big names such as Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Mosely, Fernando Vargas, Tommy Morrison, and others over the years. That's more than I can say for MLB or the NFL (world class athletes?)—and their drug testing is a bigger joke, especially at their level.
And according to NSAC, it's up to date with WADA's banned substances (World Anti Doping Agency). Manny has actually been randomly tested with blood within 30 days of a fight several times before, including all other tests. Clean.
Pacquaio: "In all my years of fighting, I have never tested positive for any steroids or performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) use. I will provide any specimen, whether it be blood or urine samples, just right after the fight but not a day or two before, for obvious reasons. That should stop these clowns from asking for other drug testing procedures other than the ones already required by the NSAC."
Floyd has nothing and he knows it. With 40 million on the table and him needing the money badly, why in the world would he want to screw this up? For one, mind games. But I think Larry Merchant might be correct about something possibly having to do with Floyd's inexplicable fear of losing. He'd actually rather die than lose.
Boo hoo, he's not a hand-picked opponent and I'm seriously about to lose. Test him some more.
Posts: 64
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:23 pm
Location: SF BAY AREA
Poster Credit: 0
Damn shame the fight wont happen any time soon. Boxing just keeps shooting itself in the foot....First fight in years that I would have paid to see on PP.
Most of those 30 on 30 documentaries on ESPN are just boring, rehashing of **** we have already seen or know about(wow... golly... Miami Hurricane players were not the best students.....)
But, they did a good job with Mohammad vs Larry documentary. It shows Ali just before he completely loses his mind and Larry as the bitter (but better) fighter who never gets any respect.
They mention that every heavy weight champion has been on the Tonight Show except Larry Holmes
As I booked into a hotel, I said to the receptionist, I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled.
"No," she says, It's regular porn, you sick bastard.
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Down Scarf (out-of-stock)
Out of Stock Product Number: 28143
Muffle out the cold with Nau's Down Scarf. Like Nau's popular down shirt, the down scarf offers the warmth of down in a compressible, low-profile design. Long enough to tie in your favorite style, it conceals a hidden pocket at each end to double as hand warmers.
- Super compressible
- The scarf packs into one of two zip-closure stash pockets that double as hand warmers
- When packed, this pocket serves as a great padded stash for goggles, glasses, etc.
- Measures 72" x 8"
Gender: Unisex
Weight: 3 oz.
Material: 100% recycled polyester. Fill: Premium 650-fill down. Lining: 100% recycled polyester.
Fit: Regular
Season: F13
Vendor ProductId: 706U01
Review ProductId: 28143

subset: commoncrawl


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Mission Statement and History
The three coequal missions of the UNC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine are to 1) provide exceptional, comprehensive pathology and laboratory medicine clinical services; 2) teach clinical and scientific concepts of pathology and laboratory medicine, and mechanisms of disease to a wide variety of learners; and 3) advance the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine, and the knowledge of diseases and disease mechanisms through innovative research spanning the spectrum from basic to translational to clinical. Our approximately 90 faculty are roughly divided into a third who focus predominantly on clinical service, a third who focus predominantly on research, and a third who have substantial involvement with both. In addition to multiple faculty who hold endowed distinguished professorships, the Department has one Nobel laureate, Oliver Smithies. The academic accomplishments of the faculty during 2011 included >300 published articles and chapters (not counting published abstracts), ~150 national/international invited lectures, ~100 national/international leadership positions in professional societies, and 75 appointments as editors or editorial board members for professional journals.
Clinical Services: In partnership with McLendon Clinical Laboratories of UNC Hospitals, the goals of the clinical mission of the Department are to provide state of the art pathology and laboratory medicine services that are optimum for patient care and disease prevention, to facilitate operations by other clinical units, and to contribute to the financial integrity of the UNC Health Care System. McLendon Clinical Laboratories perform >6M laboratory tests per year. Clinical services include all standard anatomic and clinical pathology services, as well as more specialized services such as molecular genetic pathology, cytogenetics, human progenitor cell harvesting, histocompatibility testing, and apheresis services. Many opportunities exist at UNC for interdisciplinary clinical and translational research, some facilitated by the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute that is funded through an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA).
Teaching: As the only Department at UNC that is both a basic science and a clinical department, the teaching mission is complex and serves an extremely diverse spectrum of learners, including but not limited to medical students, dental students, clinical residents and fellows, postdoctoral research fellows, predoctoral students in the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Pathology and other graduate programs, and a variety of undergraduate students in multiple Health Affairs and Academic Affairs courses and programs. The teaching mission also includes very active participation in continuing medical education at the local, regional, national and international levels.
Research: The combined basic science and clinical expertise in the Department results in an extremely eclectic array of research ranging from fundamental basic discovery research to translational research to applied clinical research. To sustain the research mission the faculty are successful in pursuing extramural funding. Current total annual extramural research grant funding is ~$13M including ~$8M from NIH. Departmental expertise in evaluating diseases and mechanisms of disease is in ever increasing demand by clinical and basic science faculty in other departments and centers, and collaborative contributions to multidisciplinary research at UNC is considered to be an important component of the overall research mission. As custodians of fluid, cell and tissue samples utilized in the Department's clinical mission, another element of the research mission is to facilitate the proper and authorized use of this invaluable resource for research in order to benefit patients in the future. Individual projects span the breath of biomedical sciences from mechanistic studies of essential cellular processes, using model systems in vitro as well as animal models, to clinical intervention studies in human populations. Examples of some but not all areas of research are mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, thrombosis and hemostasis, cardiovascular pathobiology, pathophysiology of renal glomerular diseases, renal transplant pathophysiology, molecular genetics, tissue differentiation and regeneration, animal models of human disease, discovery of new drugs against infectious agents, and development of new diagnostic methods. Many of these investigations involve collaborations with members of other departments and centers on campus, as well as investigators at other national and international institutions. Pathology and laboratory medicine faculty are active in many of the more than 30 research centers at UNC, including the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, McAllister Heart Institute, Neuroscience Center, Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility, and Kidney Center. The UNC Chapel Hill campus provides truly extraordinary opportunities for biomedical research.
Chapel Hill: The School of Medicine and UNC Hospitals adjoin the beautiful campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which allows faculty to take advantage of numerous academic opportunities to collaborate with multiple University schools and departments, including outstanding departments of biology, chemistry and physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as departments in the Schools of Pharmacy, Public Health and many others. Chapel Hill, which has been honored with many "best places to live" awards, is a small but cosmopolitan town within 30 minutes of RDU International Airport and is part of the "Research Triangle" region delimited by three research universities: UNC, Duke (10 miles from UNC) and NC State (30 miles from UNC). At the center is the Research Triangle Park, which is home to more than 170 global companies that foster a culture of scientific advancement and competitive excellence. Chapel Hill is a quintessential college town with numerous cultural activities that are attractive for faculty and their families. It has an excellent public school system, reasonably affordable housing, a climate that allows outdoor activities year-around, and a commitment to local culture, music and food (rated "foodiest small town in America" by Bon Appetit magazine).
History of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
The Early Years (1896-1946)
Pathology has over a century of distinguished history at UNC. A medical faculty and curriculum came into existence at UNC in 1879. Dr. Richard Whitehead, as Professor of Anatomy and Pathology, gave the first course in pathology beginning in 1896. After Whitehead left in 1905, Dr. David Dolley was recruited from Western Reserve in Cleveland to be Professor of Pathology and Histology. He served from 1906-1910, and was succeeded by Dr. Wade Brown, a Johns Hopkins graduate, whose tenure was from 1911-1913.
The Brinkhous Years (1946-1973)
Dean W. Reece Berryhill recruited Kenneth M. Brinkhous, M.D., to be Chair of the Department of Pathology in 1946. During his long and illustrious career as Professor and Chair from 1946 to 1973, Professor from 1973 to 1980 and active Emeritus Professor from 1981 to 1998, Dr. Brinkhous not only brought international renown to the Department of Pathology, but also made enormous contributions to the transformation of the UNC Medical School from a rather provincial school to a world class medical institution. Dr. Brinkhous created a major research program in thrombosis and hemostasis that established UNC as an international center of excellence for the study and treatment of hemophilia. One of many notable accomplishments during this time was the invention of the partial thromboplastin time test.
The Grisham Years
Joe W. Grisham, M.D., was recruited from Washington University by Dean Fordham in 1973 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, succeeding Dr. Brinkhous. Dr. Grisham's leadership fostered substantial expansions in the breadth of research, teaching and service provided by the Department. In line with his own research interests, Dr. Grisham recruited outstanding cancer research faculty, including Dr. David Kaufman. He also strengthened or created a variety of other research areas in the Department. For example, his recruitment of Dr. Nobuyo Maeda and Dr. Oliver Smithies in 1988 markedly enhanced research using genetically modified mouse models of disease in the Department and at UNC, and greatly facilitated the growth of vascular biology and genomic research at UNC.
The Current Era
Dr. Grisham stepped down as Chair in 1999 and was succeeded by J. Charles Jennette, M.D., Brinkhous Distinguished Professor, an accomplished renal pathologist. Dr. Folds retired in 2006 and was succeed as Director of McLendon Clinical Laboratories by Mark Brecher, MD, an internationally renowned leader in transfusion medicine. Dr. Brecher left UNC in 2009 and was succeeded as Director of McLendon Clinical Laboratories by Herb Whinna, MD, PhD, an expert in coagulation and laboratory informatics. As documented on the pages of this web site, the Department continues to fulfill its primary missions to 1) provide outstanding, comprehensive, clinically effective and cost effective pathology and laboratory medicine services; 2) teach clinical and scientific concepts of pathology and laboratory medicine, and mechanisms of disease to a wide variety of learners; and 3) advance the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine, and the knowledge of diseases and disease mechanisms through innovative research spanning the spectrum from basic to translational to clinical research.


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Peplum top in stretch cady with high neck and short sleeves.
Concealed zip closure at back. Relaxed fit.
64% Viscose, 32% Acetate, 4% Elastane
Dry clean only
True to size with a relaxed fit.
Model measures 178 cm/5'10" tall, 93 cm hips, 61 cm waist and 85 cm bust.
She is wearing an Italian size 40.


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I know it's still August, but I already hung a fall wreath on my front door. I couldn't help myself. My kids are back in school and I'm sniffing fall leaves from the front porch. I also just bought my daughter a pink wig for her Halloween costume, so I've got trick-or-treating on the brain before Target has its "Halloween Headquarters" candy aisles up and running.
Since I'm way ahead of myself (and mass retailers), I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some unique Halloween candies that you may not find locally … but you will find online.
Jack-O-Lantern Truffles If you want to go highbrow this Halloween, Lindt's milk chocolate truffles wrapped in pumpkin-motif foils will get the attention of even the biggest Halloween candy snob.
Candy Corn Taffy Think outside of the box this Halloween by putting candy corn taffy in your candy dish instead of traditional candy corn. This might sound like fingernails on a chalkboard, but trust me, change is good. If you can't bare the thought, try adding roasted peanuts to your candy corn. The sweet-and-salty mix is perfect for tailgating.
Pumpkin Pie Nougat Fluff How cute are these little nougats that taste like pumpkin pie? Make a colorful party favor by putting a handful of these pretty pumpkin chews at the bottom of a clear cello bag and top with a box of Dots Candy Corn.
Black Licorice Skulls Here is another Halloween bulk item that scores a 10 on the cuteness chart …
Pop Rocks Pumpkins Pop Rocks were as popular as Dum Dum Pops and Tootsie Rolls when I was a kid, but we never got them in our trick-or-treat bags. It was probably because there was an urban legend floating around that Pop Rocks exploded in your stomach if you washed them down with a soda. Now that time has proven that these candy rocks can safely be paired with a Diet Coke, they are the perfect giveaway for modern day trick-or-treaters.
Orange & Black Mint Twists If you're gearing up for an October wedding, birthday party, baby shower, or general Halloween bash, this minty, yet festive bulk item would look killer in a tall glass candy dish.
Halloween Licorice Pastels I am a Good & Plenty fan, so I felt it necessary to include these chewy orange, black, and yellow licorice tubes in my list of unique finds. Like the Orange & Black Mint Twists, Halloween Licorice Pastels would add zing to any candy buffet table or treat bag.
Halloween Early Birds! Save 5% on Candy.com's Halloween Candy by using Coupon Code "early5." Offer applies to both wholesale and retail orders. Hurry, this offer ends August 31.


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Language Study Area
The Library & Learning Centre has a Language Study area on the second floor (LC02), full of resources for learning languages. We have a selection of materials including sections for Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
By studying between classes, you can work at your own speed and concentrate on those aspects of the language most important to you. Building confidence and practice are crucial to successful language-learning.
Here are some of the ways you can do this.
- Use DVDs and audio material to sharpen your listening skills.
- Watch live satellite TV in many of our taught languages including French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Italian (see our What's On? page for details about the channels we have available)
- Watch international films with soundtracks in eleven different languages.
- Read foreign language magazines which we subscribe to weekly and monthly.
- Choose from a range of books and materials graded and colour-coded for easy access to your language and level.
- Use dictionaries and grammar books available for reference.
- Use the 32 networked PCs offering
- over 70 interactive programmes to help you learn up to 19 languages;
- the opportunity to practise subtitling and audio description on specialist software;
- access to the Internet to catch up on the news abroad, listen to live radio broadcasts on-line; or use the links on the right to access our web pages for language learners.
Click on the link below to see our location within the Library & Learning Centre (on level 2):
Map of Level 2 including the Language Study Area
Opening Dates & Times:
Our opening dates and times are the same as the Library's so please check for details of the Library opening dates and times.
Our Help Desk is staffed Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 19.00. These times may vary during the winter and spring break.


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The stage was dark. The curtain, drawn. And the crowd, ready to rock. A hundred lucky fans perched on the edge of their seats waiting for the invitation-only show to begin. Suddenly, the drapes parted as the joyful opening riff of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" filled the room. The spotlight shone on a drum kit bearing the iconic black-and-white logo of the Beatles.
But the performers twisting and shouting on stage were not four young men from Liverpool. Nor were they members of any of the many Beatles tribute bands. The group performing at the Los Angeles Convention Center this past June consisted of six scruffy young geeks. A long-haired coder belted out the verse. A tattooed woman and a cheery guy added the harmonies. A stocky Asian-American played what appeared to be a tinier version of Paul McCartney's familiar Hofner bass. Another guy held a likeness of George Harrison's Gretsch guitar. And a really enthusiastic player smacked the drums.
All were employees of Harmonix Music Systems, a video-game company in Cambridge, Mass., and they weren't actually playing the song; they were demonstrating the most hotly anticipated new game of the year, The Beatles: Rock Band, which hits stores worldwide this month.
The title, to be available for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, allows gamers to perform along with the Fab Four by singing and playing instruments that work as video-game controllers. The goal is to stay in sync with the music. As a song plays, color-coded dots, representing the musical notes, cascade down the TV screen. The guitarist and bassist must press the corresponding colored buttons on their instruments, and the drummer has to hit the right drum pads. Vocalists must sing on pitch as the lyrics scroll across the top of the screen.
The game, created by Harmonix and published by MTV Games, features 45 career-spanning songs and pixelated Beatles characters performing at locations like the Cavern Club in Liverpool and Shea Stadium in New York City. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, helped Harmonix pick the songs and tweak the graphics.
But the game also stands out for all the music technology behind it. To create the separate instrument and vocal tracks the game needs, Harmonix engineers had to use special audio filters to extract every note from the master tapes. They also developed a pitch-evaluating system that can monitor three players singing harmonies—sun, sun, sun, here it comes—a key part of the Beatles' music.
Last year, word of the game's impending release generated Beatlemania-like buzz. This is the Beatles' first step into the digital entertainment domain. Apple Corps (not to be confused with the Apple of Macintosh and iPod fame), which manages the rights to the band's original recordings, has long been reluctant about selling songs through online stores. Now the video-game deal might convince Apple Corps that it needs to explore other distribution channels to keep the band relevant.


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This article, posted on MLB Trade Rumors, suggests that Texas might have an interest in Arrietta or Britton. Would you be willing to trade either of those two for 3B Mike Olt? Olt is considered an above average defender with plus power and a high OBA. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minor ... t---001mic While he's had a rough spring, I would like to point out that he is just 23 and has yet to play above AA. We don't have a clear solution for 3B in the high minors nor do we have one for 1B where Olt can also play. At some point we will have to trade pitching for position players and I doubt that this kind of quality prospect will be available very often.
I would prefer to keep Britton because he is a LH AND he is a ground ball pitcher which makes him much more valuable in Camden Yards. What do you think and WHY?
Rangers Searching For Starting Pitcher
By Zach Links [March 17, 2013 at 11:10am CST]
The Rangers are scanning the market for a starting pitcher, officials on other teams have told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Rangers have kept in contact with free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse and have also been linked to Tigers starter Rick Porcello.
Heyman points out that other starters that could be available include Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, Bud Norris of the Astros, and possibly Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton of the Orioles.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/03/r ... tcher.html


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Photo by Lisa Hubbard
YIELD: Makes 2 servings
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup Onion and Garlic Mix
- 1/2 cup Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 artichoke hearts in water, drained and quartered
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat penne, cooked
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Simmer tomatoes, chickpeas, Onion and Garlic Mix, Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Mix, salt, oregano, pepper, pepper flakes and ½ cup water in a medium pot until liquid reduces by half, about 20 minutes. Add artichokes, peas and olives; cook 10 minutes more.
Quick tip:
While cooking, make the filling for the shepherd's pie. If not eating immediately, pour into an airtight container and freeze. Otherwise, toss with penne and basil and serve.
To reheat:
Microwave on high 2 minutes; stir; microwave 2 minutes more. Mix with penne and basil.
Per serving: 380 calories, 6.4 g fat 0.7 g saturated, 69 g carbohydrates, 15 g fiber, 14 g protein
Nutritional analysis provided by Self


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30 Beats
Comedy, Romance
Paz de la Huerta, Justin Kirk, Lee Pace, Thomas Sadoski, and Jennifer Tilly headline an ensemble of New Yorkers whose lives interconnect via a string of life-changing sexual encounters during a summer heat wave. The international cast also includes Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Peruvian Jason Day, French actress Vahina Giocante, Ben Levin and Condola Rashad. 30 BEATS follows ten characters drawn into a ring of love and desire, each one caught beyond his or her control in a chain reaction of seduction, impulses and self-discovery. The screenplay was freely inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's play LA RONDE. The film was produced by Molly Conners, Carl Ford and Lloyd and executive produced by Susan Batson, Ronald Guttman and Pierre Lagrange.
Cast: Justin Kirk, Paz de la Huerta, Jennifer Tilly, Lee Pace, Ingeborga Dapkunaite
Produced by: Molly Conners, Alexis Lloyd, Carl Kwaku Ford
Directed by: Alexis Lloyd
Written by: Alexis Lloyd
Running time: 1hr 28min
Opens: Jul 20, 2012 Limited
|Theaters for Today
Pick a day
on this day.


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When Peter Falk died, one year ago today, our friends at Obit-Mag lamented the overuse of "rumpled" to describe him. Originally published July 2011 on Obit-Mag.com.
Poor Peter Falk. A titan of Broadway, a favorite of art-house directors, an icon of TV's mystery genre. And yet so many of his obits seem to come down to one word: rumpled. There it is in the Wall Street Journal's lead: "Peter Falk brought rumpled panache to television as Columbo." And there it is in Variety: "the rumpled, cigar-smoking Los Angeles police detective." The Washington Post labels Falk's character "deceptively rumpled." The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and NPR are among those to attach the R-word to Columbo's raincoat. "A squat man chewing cigars in a rumpled raincoat, he stands tall among TV's most self-assured heroes," concludes the Associated Press. Grim Reader almost feels as if the United Kingdom's Independent deserves a special prize for avoiding the word altogether. It calls him "one of television's most enduring detectives – and certainly the shabbiest."
Peter Falk as Columbo (Wikimedia Commons/Studio publicity portrait)
In this case, though, the focus on what the New York Times calls "actorly tics, prop room appurtenances and his own physical idiosyncrasies" is about more than allowing a beloved character to stand in for the person who played the role. Falk himself created Columbo's rumples, eschewing the fancy clothes picked by the studio and selecting a beat-up old car. In inverting the old role of the smartypants detective by having Columbo play-act like the dumbest guy in the room, Falk also captured the spirit of a time when icons were turning into clay everywhere. The Times also notes that as the years went on, Falk and Columbo seemed more and more alike. Take this line, from the actor's memoir: "What are you hanging around for? Just one thing. You want to know how he gets caught." The prose is most definitely rumpled.
Click Here for More from Obit-Mag.com


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|Print Page
Melvin and Joan Gilbert
Melvin and Joan Oborn Gilbert were married June 16, 1948 in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. Melvin was raised in Riverton and Joan was raised in Midvale. They were residents of Riverton, where they farmed for almost 50 years. In 1997 they moved to Huntington to pursue their love of farming. They have farmed all their married life, but they feel their real success is their family.
Parents of nine children (six living), 21 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren.
In their honor an open house will be held on Saturday, June 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the LDS Ward House at 115 S. 400 E., in Huntington. No gifts please.
|Print Page


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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Mar 25, 2010
|Filing date
|Aug 5, 2009
|Priority date
|Aug 23, 2000
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Timothy J. Van Hook, Farhad Fouladi
|Original Assignee
|Nintendo Co., Ltd.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Referenced by (1), Classifications (6), Legal Events (1)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/398,531, filed Apr. 6, 2006, now allowed, is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/082,854, filed Mar. 18, 2005, is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/722,380, filed Nov. 28, 2000, which was filed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. �119(e)(1) and claims the benefit of the provisional application Ser. No. 60/226,910 filed on Aug. 23, 2000, entitled "Graphics System With Embedded Frame Buffer Having Reconfigurable Pixel Formats."
This application is related to the following co-pending applications identified below (by title and attorney docket number), which focus on various aspects of the graphics system described herein. Each of the following applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to computer graphics, and more particularly to interactive graphics systems such as home video game platforms. Still more particularly this invention relates to a graphics system having a reconfigurable embedded frame buffer which advantageously enables the selection of particular pixel formats on a frame-by-frame basis for data stored therein.
Many of us have seen films containing remarkably realistic dinosaurs, aliens, animated toys and other fanciful creatures. Such animations are made possible by computer graphics. Using such techniques, a computer graphics artist can specify how each object should look and how it should change in appearance over time, and a computer then models the objects and displays them on a display such as your television or a computer screen. The computer takes care of performing the many tasks required to make sure that each part of the displayed image is colored and shaped just right based on the position and orientation of each object in a scene, the direction in which light seems to strike each object, the surface texture of each object, and other factors.
Because computer graphics generation is complex, computer-generated three-dimensional graphics just a few years ago were mostly limited to expensive specialized flight simulators, high-end graphics workstations and supercomputers. The public saw some of the images generated by these computer systems in movies and expensive television advertisements, but most of us couldn't actually interact with the computers doing the graphics generation. All this has changed with the availability of relatively inexpensive 3D graphics platforms such as, for example, the Nintendo 64� and various 3D graphics cards now available for personal computers. It is now possible to interact with exciting 3D animations and simulations on relatively inexpensive computer graphics systems in your home or office.
A problem graphics system designers confronted in the past was to provide a powerful yet inexpensive system which enables various data formats to be stored and processed thereby in a efficient and advantageous manner. Graphics chips used in graphics systems have included a local or on-chip memory for storing data as it is rendered by the graphics pipeline. When data is generated by the graphics chip it is transferred from the local memory to an external memory, where it can be used by, for example, a video interface unit to display the data on a display device. This external memory is typically part of the main memory of the graphics system and is referred to as the external frame buffer (XFB). The processing path of the data between the local memory and the external frame buffer may be referred to as the copy pipeline.
The local memory and the external frame buffer can have a variety of data formats for achieving various functionality in the graphics system. One problem that graphics system designers have faced in the past is to determine what format(s) of data to support in the local memory and the external frame buffer to enable advantageous and efficient use thereof by applications running on the system. Various solutions to this problem were offered. For example, graphics systems have used a variety of data formats in an attempt to improve or maximize the overall operation of the system. While some work has been done in the past in connection with such memories and data formats, further improvements are desirable. Specifically, further improvements are desired for high performance, low cost graphics systems, such as home video game systems.
The present invention addresses this problem by providing techniques and arrangements for use in connection with an embedded frame buffers in graphics systems. The invention provides a combination of pixel formats for an embedded frame buffer that is particularly advantageous when used in systems designed for playing interactive 3D video games. The invention enables the embedded frame buffer to be reconfigured to and efficiently used in a variety of modes, including an anti-aliasing mode, a deflicker mode and a YUV (i.e. luma/chroma) mode, thereby increasing the flexibility of the system to support a variety of applications. The desired pixel format for each mode can be selected using, for example, a command to the graphics hardware on which the embedded frame buffer is provided.
In accordance with the invention, the copy pipeline is advantageously used to further process the data from the embedded frame buffer prior to storing the data in the external frame buffer. For example, the copy pipeline can be used to convert the data between a variety of useful formats to, for example, reduce the amount of memory needed to store the data, and/or provide the data in desired format for use in further processing by the graphics system. The copy pipeline can also be used to further process the frame data in a manner that improves the display quality and/or modifies the display characteristics.
In accordance with one aspect provided by the invention, the graphics processor includes pixel processing circuitry for producing pixel data, and an embedded frame buffer which receives pixel data, wherein the embedded frame buffer is selectively configurable to store the received pixel data in any of the following formats:
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the RGB color and depth is a 48-bit format which includes 24 color bits and 24 depth (Z) bits. The embedded frame buffer is further configurable such that the 24 color bits selectively include either 8 bits for red, 8 bits for blue and 8 bits for green (RGB8) or 6 bits for red, 6 bits for green, 6 bits for blue and 6 bits for alpha (RGBA6). Preferably, super-sampled RGB color and depth is a 96-bit format which includes 16 bit color and 16 bit depth data for three super-sample locations for each pixel. The 16 bit super-sample color data preferably includes 5 bits for red, 6 bits for green and 5 bits for blue (R5G6B5). The YUV format is preferably a YUV 4:2:0 format. The embedded frame buffer (EFB) may be a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In one embodiment of the invention the EFB is a 1T SRAM, such as provided by Moses, which is a DRAM that acts as an SRAM.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of using an embedded frame buffer in a graphics system is provided. The method includes providing an embedded frame buffer that is selectively configurable to store point sampled pixel data including color and Z, super-sampled pixel data including color and Z, and YUV format data, and providing an interface, such one or more API commands, to the graphics system which enables the particular configuration of the embedded frame buffer to be established by a programmer on a frame-by-frame basis.
These and other features and advantages provided by the invention will be better and more completely understood by referring to the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, of which:
In this example, system 50 is capable of processing, interactively in real time, a digital representation or model of a three-dimensional world. System 50 can display some or all of the world from any arbitrary viewpoint. For example, system 50 can interactively change the viewpoint in response to real time inputs from handheld controllers 52 a, 52 b or other input devices. This allows the game player to see the world through the eyes of someone within or outside of the world. System 50 can be used for applications that do not require real time 3D interactive display (e.g., 2D display generation and/or non-interactive display), but the capability of displaying quality 3D images very quickly can be used to create very realistic and exciting game play or other graphical interactions.
To play a video game or other application using system 50, the user first connects a main unit 54 to his or her color television set 56 or other display device by connecting a cable 58 between the two. Main unit 54 produces both video signals and audio signals for controlling color television set 56. The video signals are what controls the images displayed on the television screen 59, and the audio signals are played back as sound through television stereo loudspeakers 61L, 61R.
The user also needs to connect main unit 54 to a power source. This power source may be a conventional AC adapter (not shown) that plugs into a standard home electrical wall socket and converts the house current into a lower DC voltage signal suitable for powering the main unit 54. Batteries could be used in other implementations.
The user may use hand controllers 52 a, 52 b to control main unit 54. Controls 60 can be used, for example, to specify the direction (up or down, left or right, closer or further away) that a character displayed on television 56 should move within a 3D world. Controls 60 also provide input for other applications (e.g., menu selection, pointer/cursor control, etc.). Controllers 52 can take a variety of forms. In this example, controllers 52 shown each include controls 60 such as joysticks, push buttons and/or directional switches. Controllers 52 may be connected to main unit 54 by cables or wirelessly via electromagnetic (e.g., radio or infrared) waves.
To play an application such as a game, the user selects an appropriate storage medium 62 storing the video game or other application he or she wants to play, and inserts that storage medium into a slot 64 in main unit 54. Storage medium 62 may, for example, be a specially encoded and/or encrypted optical and/or magnetic disk. The user may operate a power switch 66 to turn on main unit 54 and cause the main unit to begin running the video game or other application based on the software stored in the storage medium 62. The user may operate controllers 52 to provide inputs to main unit 54. For example, operating a control 60 may cause the game or other application to start. Moving other controls 60 can cause animated characters to move in different directions or change the user's point of view in a 3D world. Depending upon the particular software stored within the storage medium 62, the various controls 60 on the controller 52 can perform different functions at different times.
In this example, main processor 110 (e.g., an enhanced IBM Power PC 750) receives inputs from handheld controllers 108 (and/or other input devices) via graphics and audio processor 114. Main processor 110 interactively responds to user inputs, and executes a video game or other program supplied, for example, by external storage media 62 via a mass storage access device 106 such as an optical disk drive. As one example, in the context of video game play, main processor 110 can perform collision detection and animation processing in addition to a variety of interactive and control functions.
In this example, main processor 110 generates 3D graphics and audio commands and sends them to graphics and audio processor 114. The graphics and audio processor 114 processes these commands to generate interesting visual images on display 59 and interesting stereo sound on stereo loudspeakers 61R, 61L or other suitable sound-generating devices.
Example system 50 includes a video encoder 120 that receives image signals from graphics and audio processor 114 and converts the image signals into analog and/or digital video signals suitable for display on a standard display device such as a computer monitor or home color television set 56. System 50 also includes an audio codec (compressor/decompressor) 122 that compresses and decompresses digitized audio signals and may also convert between digital and analog audio signaling formats as needed. Audio codec 122 can receive audio inputs via a buffer 124 and provide them to graphics and audio processor 114 for processing (e.g., mixing with other audio signals the processor generates and/or receives via a streaming audio output of mass storage access device 106). Graphics and audio processor 114 in this example can store audio related information in an audio memory 126 that is available for audio tasks. Graphics and audio processor 114 provides the resulting audio output signals to audio codec 122 for decompression and conversion to analog signals (e.g., via buffer amplifiers 128L, 128R) so they can be reproduced by loudspeakers 61L, 61R.
Graphics and audio processor 114 has the ability to communicate with various additional devices that may be present within system 50. For example, a parallel digital bus 130 may be used to communicate with mass storage access device 106 and/or other components. A serial peripheral bus 132 may communicate with a variety of peripheral or other devices including, for to example:
3D graphics processor 154 performs graphics processing tasks. Audio digital signal processor 156 performs audio processing tasks. Display controller 164 accesses image information from main memory 112 and provides it to video encoder 120 for display on display device 56. Audio interface and mixer 160 interfaces with audio codec 122; and can also mix audio from different sources (e.g., streaming audio from mass storage access device 106, the output of audio DSP 156, and external audio input received via audio codec 122). Processor interface 150 provides a data and control interface between main processor 110 and graphics and audio processor 114.
Memory interface 152 provides a data and control interface between graphics and audio processor 114 and memory 112. In this example, main processor 110 accesses main memory 112 via processor interface 150 and memory interface 152 that are part of graphics and audio processor 114. Peripheral controller 162 provides a data and control interface between graphics and audio processor 114 and the various peripherals mentioned above. Audio memory interface 158 provides an interface with audio memory 126.
Command processor 200 receives display commands from main processor 110 and parses them—obtaining any additional data necessary to process them from shared memory 112. The command processor 200 provides a stream of vertex commands to graphics pipeline 180 for 2D and/or 3D processing and rendering. Graphics pipeline 180 generates images based on these commands. The resulting image information may be transferred to main memory 112 for access by display controller/video interface unit 164—which displays the frame buffer output of pipeline 180 on display 56.
Command processor 200 performs command processing operations 200 a that convert attribute types to floating point format, and pass the resulting complete vertex polygon data to graphics pipeline 180 for rendering/rasterization. A programmable memory arbitration circuitry 130 (see
Transform unit 300 performs a variety of 2D and 3D transform and other operations 300 a (see
Setup/rasterizer 400 includes a setup unit which receives vertex data from transform unit 300 and sends triangle setup information to one or more rasterizer units (400 b) performing edge rasterization, texture coordinate rasterization and color rasterization.
Texture unit 500 (which may include an on-chip texture memory (TMEM) 502) performs various tasks related to texturing including for example:
Texture unit 500 outputs filtered texture values to the texture environment unit 600 for texture environment processing (600 a). Texture environment unit 600 blends polygon and texture color/alpha/depth, and can also perform texture fog processing (600 b) to achieve inverse range based fog effects. Texture environment unit 600 can provide multiple stages to perform a variety of other interesting environment-related functions based for example on color/alpha modulation, embossing, detail texturing, texture swapping, clamping, and depth blending.
Pixel engine 700 performs depth (z) compare (700 a) and pixel blending (700 b). In this example, pixel engine 700 stores data into an embedded (on-chip) frame buffer memory 702. Graphics pipeline 180 may include one or more embedded DRAM memories 702 to store frame buffer and/or texture information locally. Z compares 700 a′ can also be performed at an earlier stage in the graphics pipeline 180 depending on the rendering mode currently in effect (e.g., z compares can be performed earlier if alpha testing is not required). The pixel engine 700 includes a copy operation 700 c that periodically writes on-chip frame buffer 702 to main memory 112 for access by display/video interface unit 164. This copy operation 700 c can also be used to copy embedded frame buffer 702 contents to textures in the main memory 112 for dynamic texture synthesis effects. Anti-aliasing and other filtering can be performed during the copy-out operation. The frame buffer output of graphics pipeline 180 (which is ultimately stored in main memory 112) is read each frame by display/video interface unit 164. Display controller/video interface 164 provides digital RGB pixel values for display on display 102.
As generally shown in
In this example, the embedded frame buffer (EFB) has a memory capacity of approximately 2 MB. The maximum pixel width and height of the frame buffer is determined by the size of each pixel. In accordance with the invention, and as shown in
The 48-bit format for the embedded frame buffer (EFB) is preferably intended for non-anti-aliasing, and has the following features:
In this non-anti-aliasing mode, the 48-bit format can, in this example, support a maximum resolution of 640�528. Thus, the width must be between 0-640 and the EFB stride is fixed at 640 pixels. This non-antaliasing mode is based on a single point sample within each pixel. As indicated above, the point sample of each pixel is given a 24-bit color value and a 24-bit Z value. The color value may have 8 bits each for red, green and blue values when no alpha is used, or it may have 6 bits each for red, green, blue and alpha.
The 96-bit super-sampling pixel format is preferably used for anti-aliasing and has the following features:
This 96-bit format can support a maximum resolution of 640�264. The width is preferably between 0-640 and the stride is fixed at 640.
In this example, the 96-bit format is used for anti-aliasing. However, this format may be used to achieve functionality other than anti-aliasing where three supersamples per pixel are desired. In other words, the 96-bit format provides the ability to store three samples (super-samples) for each pixel, as opposed to the single point sample per pixel as used in the 48-bit configuration.
As can be seen from the above, there are inherent tradeoffs between the 48-bit and 96-bit pixel formats. While the 96-bit anti-aliasing format enables an increase visual quality on the polygon edges and intersections, it does cost performance and Z quality. The 96 bit super-sampling EFB format requires twice as much memory as 48-bit point sampled pixels. This mode also reduces Z buffering precision to 16 bits rather than 24 bits in other formats. In this example, anti-aliasing also reduces peak fill rate from 800 Mpixels/s to 400 Mpixels/s. However, if more than one stage is employed in the texture environment unit (TEV), this reduction is hidden, in that, in this example, using two TEV stages also reduces the fill rate to 400 Mpixels/s.
In one embodiment, the rendering rate with anti-aliasing activated drops down to two pixels/clock due to the embedded frame buffer 702 bandwidth limitations. However, if two or more textures are turned on, the rate at which pixel quads are sent to the pixel engine 700 drops down to less than or equal to one pixel quad every two clocks in this particular embodiment. In this case, turning on anti-aliasing will not impact fill rate. Thus, if a particular scene is geometry-limited, then anti-aliasing will not adversely impact rendering performance. On the other hand, if a particular scene is fill-limited, rendering performance may be substantially adversely impacted by activating anti-aliasing as opposed to using the point sampled mode. The same application can activate and deactivate anti-aliasing for different scenes and different images depending on whether the scenes or images are geometry-limited or fill-limited—or depending upon the image quality required in a particular scene or image. The ability to dynamically change the pixel format in the frame buffer to, for example, activate and deactivate anti-aliasing, on a frame-by-frame basis provides great flexibility in allowing an application programmer to make tradeoffs between image quality and speed performance.
The particular and preferred anti-aliasing methods and arrangements for use in connection with the instant invention are disclosed in commonly owned and co-pending application Ser. No. 09/726,226, filed Nov. 28, 2000 and entitled "Method and Apparatus For Anti-Aliasing In A Graphics System", which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. A brief explanation of this anti-aliasing is provided below, in order to give a more complete understanding of the 96-bit pixel format for the embedded frame buffer.
In accordance with the anti-aliasing embodiment, anti-aliasing is performed in two main phases. In the first phase, data is loaded into the embedded frame buffer using three supersamples per pixel and the 96-bit pixel EFB format. In the second phase the data is read (or copied out) from the embedded frame buffer and further processed by the copy pipeline. The 96-bit format is particularly advantageous for achieving the first phase of anti-aliasing, however, it can be used for any other suitable purpose as well.
In this example anti-aliasing use of the 96-bit format, the first anti-aliasing phase occurs when the rasterizer is performing edge rasterization into the embedded frame buffer (EFB) 702. Preferably, this rasterizer is an edge and z rasterizer which generates x, y, z and coverage mask values for programmable super-sample locations within every visible pixel quad contained by the current triangle or other primitive being rendered. The pixel quads have three programmable subpixel locations within each pixel. The pixel quad includes 4 pixels in a 2�2 configuration. Within each pixel in the quad, three super-sample locations are programmably selected and specified. Preferably, the programmer can set the subsample locations by writing global registers. Since the location of each of the super-samples in each pixel is programmable in the example embodiment, the particular sampling locations for each quad can be changed as desired for the particular application. On the other hand, in alternative embodiments, a particularly optimal multisample location values could be fixed (e.g., set in hardware) so the application programmer does not need to worry about it. Thus, while the locations are programmable in the example embodiment, a hardwired optional pattern could be used in lieu of programmability. Whatever pattern is selected, it can be repeated across a certain number of neighboring pixels in a frame.
Once all of the primitives have been rendered for a frame, the embedded frame buffer will contain super-sampled pixel information for an entire frame. Due to the fact that three supersamples are provided for each pixel, and each sample includes 16 bit color values and a 16 bit z value, each pixel is represented by 96-bits in the embedded frame buffer. The embedded frame buffer is then ready for use by the copy pipeline, wherein the second phase of anti-aliasing can be performed. This second phase will be described in more detail below in connection with the copy pipeline. Further details regarding anti-aliasing are provided in the co-pending applications identified above.
The preferred location of the images are shown in
As explained above, the embedded frame buffer 702 can be selectively configured to support two RGB(A) pixel formats (48-bit and 96-bit) and a YUV format. The desired pixel format can preferably be set on a frame-by-frame basis using the API. An example API function for this purpose is as follows:
//Sets pixel format for frame buffer
//Sets compression format for 16 bit z
//Z compare before texture
This function sets the format of the embedded frame buffer. The function is called before any drawing operations are performed. The pixel format cannot be changed in the middle of a frame in the example embodiment. The 16 bit Z values (in multisample or anti-aliasing mode) can be uncompressed or compressed. The compressed values give a better precision and range. The Ztop flag can be used to perform depth comparisons before texture mapping (Z-before-texture). This can improves the texture bandwidth because less texels need to be fetched and filtered.
An exemplary interface between the pixel engine 700 and the embedded frame buffer 702 is shown in
PE - EFB Interface
za_addr (16:0)
Z channel A quad address. There are 3 subfields:
3:0 column(3:0) valid range is 0 to 9
10:4 row(7:0) valid range 0 to 127
16:11 bank(5:0) valid range is 0 to 32
Z change A read enable (active low).
Z channel A write enable (active low).
Z channel A quad read bus. 4x24 bit Z for a quad.
(23:0) Z for the upper left pixel in the quad
(47:24) Z for the upper right pixel in the quad
(63:48) Z for the lower left pixel in the quad
(95:64) Z for the lower right pixel in the quad
zdout (95:0)
Z channels A and B quad Z write bus. 4x24 bit Z
for the quad
Refer to za_din for pixel locations on the bus
zb_addr (16:0)
Z channel B quad address (refer to za_addr for
Z channel B read enable (active low)
Z channel B write enable (active low)
zb_din (95:0)
Z channel B quad read bus (refer to za_din for
pixel locations)
ca_addr (16:0)
C channel A quad address. There are 3 subfields:
3:0 column(3:0) valid range is 0 to 9
10:4 row(7:0) valid range 0 to 127
16:11 bank(5:0) valid range is 0 to 32
Color channel A read enable (active low)
Color channel A write enable (active low)
ca_din (95:0)
Color channel A quad read bus. 4x24 bit color for
a quad.
(23:0) color for the upper left pixel in the quad
(47:24) color for the upper right pixel in the quad
(63:48) color for the lower left pixel in the quad
(95:64) color for the lower right pixel in the quad
Cdout (95:0)
Color channels A and B quad color write bus.
4x24 bit color for the quad
Refer to ca_din for pixel locations on the bus.
cb_addr (16:0)
Color channel B quad address (refer to ca_addr
for bit-fields)
Color channel B read enable (active low)
Color channel B write enable (active low)
cb_din (95:0)
Color channel B quad read bus (refer to ca_din
for pixel locations)
Copy out operations, implemented in this example through what is referred to as the copy pipeline, is used to further process the pixel data from the embedded frame buffer (EFB) and to ultimately write the frame data in a selected format into the external frame buffer (XFB) 113 of main memory 112 as display data for display by the video interface or as texture data for later use by the graphics pipeline (see
A general block diagram of the copy pipeline, as it mainly relates to the processing of data from the EFB when in either of the two RGB(A) pixel configurations, is shown in
A more complete block diagram of the copy out pipeline for all EFB configurations (i.e. RGB(A) and YUV) is shown in
Referring now more particularly to
If the embedded frame buffer is configured for and contains data in any of the RGB(A) formats describe above, the copy pipeline performs anti-aliasing/deflickering operations, preferably using a programmable 7-tap vertical filter, as illustrated by block 628 in
If the embedded frame buffer is configured for and holds data in YUV420 format as described above, the copy pipeline has a slightly different operation as shown by the lower portion of
Textures can be created by copying the Embedded Frame Buffer (EFB) to main memory using the GXCopyTex function. This is useful when creating dynamic shadow maps, environment maps, motion blur effects, etc.
All non-color index texture types except compressed textures (GX_TF_CMPR) can be created during the copy. The texture copy operation will create the correct tiling and formatting of the texture so it can be read directly by the hardware. Optionally, a box filter can be applied to the image in the EFB in order to create a lower level of detail (LOD) texture. The box filter can be used to create mipmaps from the EFB data. The following table shows exemplary texture copy formats and conversion notes.
RGB −> (Y)UV, AA and non-AA pixel
RGB −> (Y)UV, AA and non-AA pixel
A (6 bits) −> A (8-bits, 2 MSBs replicated in
LSBs), only with pixel format
RGBA −> (Y)UV(A), if pixel format is not
GX_PF_RGBA6_Z24, then A = 0xf
RGBA −> (Y)UV(A), if pixel format is not
GX_PF_RGBA6_Z24, then A = 0xff
RGB −> RGB, bits truncated for non-AA
pixel formats.
RGBA −> RGBA, if pixel format is not
GX_PF_RGBA6_Z24, then MSB = 1. i.e.,
RGBA −> RGBA, if pixel format is not
GX_PF_RGBA6_Z24, then A = 0xff
Z (24 bits) −> Z (32 bits), only when pixel
format is non-antialiased,
GB_PF_RGB8_Z24 or
Normally, the source and destination rectangles would have the same size. However, when copying small textures that will be composited into a larger texture the source and destination rectangles may differ. The format GX_TF_A8 is used specifically to copy the alpha channel from the EFB into a GX_TF_I8 formatted texture. The GX_TF_I8 will copy the luminance of the EFB into a GX_TF_I8 texture. When reading a texture, GX_TF_A8 and GX_TF_I8 are equivalent. When color textures are converted from an GX_PF_RGB8_Z24 pixel format to a lower-resolution color format, like GX_TF_RGB565, the least significant bits (LSBs) of the 8-bit colors are truncated. When color textures are converted from a lower resolution pixel format, such as GX_PF_RGB565_Z16, to a higher resolution texture format, such as GX_TF_RGB8, the most significant bits (MSBs) of each pixel are replicated in the LSBs of each texel. This conversion process distributes the estimation error evenly and allows each texel to represent the minimum or maximum value. In general, one should only copy textures containing alpha from an EFB with format GX_PF_RGBA6_Z24. When copying texture containing alpha from an EFB without alpha, alpha will be set to its maximum value. The GX_TF_Z24�8 format can be used to copy the 24-bit Z buffer to a 32-bit texture (equivalent format to GX_TF_RGBA8). To copy a texture, the application preferably first allocates a buffer in main memory the size of the texture to be copied. This size can be determined using, for example, a GXGetTexBufferSize function. This function preferably takes into account texture padding and texture type in its calculations.
As can be seen from the above description, the copy out process in accordance with the instant invention enables various data formats to be used and various conversions/operations to be performed such that significant flexibility and functionality is provided thereby. By supporting YUV formats and enabling copy out as a texture, the copy pipeline line can be used to, for example, assist the main processor in performing motion compensation. The copy out process as described above can be used not only to efficiently move and process data from the embedded frame buffer to the external frame buffer for display or as texture, but it also enables, for example, streaming video to be superimposed on a polygon by using the texture copy feature based on MPEG data which uses the YUV color space.
Each of the copy pipeline operations described above are explained in greater detail below.
As briefly explained above, when anti-aliasing is desired and the embedded frame buffer is configured for the 96-bit anti-aliased pixel data (e.g. R5G6B5 and Z16), a second stage of anti-aliasing can be performed during copy out. Specifically, the second stage of anti-aliasing is performed by the anti-aliasing/deflicker section 622 during copy-out from the embedded frame buffer (EFB) 702 to the external frame buffer (XFB) 113.
The anti-aliasing/deflickering section 622 of the copy pipeline preferably applies a 7 tap vertical filter 628 (see
In order to avoid the use of full line buffers, the copy operation preferably uses anti-aliasing (AA) buffering, wherein the copy is performed in strips of 32 pixels wide (X axis). The data-path for the strip-buffers in this exemplary AA buffering is shown in the block diagram of
It is noted that additional details regarding anti-aliasing/de-flickering techniques and arrangements are provided in the commonly owned and co-pending application identified above. Inasmuch as this invention is directed to the embedded frame buffer and the overall copy out operation, regardless of the specific anti-aliasing operation used, further details regarding anti-aliasing are not provided herein.
The same vertical filter can be used during copy-out in a non-anti-aliasing mode to achieve a de-flickering function using point sampled pixels. In this mode,
the sample patterns are not programmable. As shown in
A luma/chroma (YUV) format stores the same visual quality pixel as RGB, but requires only two-thirds of the memory. Therefore, during the copy operation, the RGB(A) format in the EFB is converted to a YUV format in the XFB, in order to reduce the amount of main memory used for the external frame buffer (XFB). This conversion is done by the RGB to YUV section 624. An illustration of the conversion operation is shown in
The Y scale section 626 in the copy pipeline enables arbitrary scaling of a rendered image in the vertical direction. Horizontal scaling is preferably done during video display. A Y scale factor is defined in the API and determines the number of lines that will be copied, and can be used to compute the proper XFB size. A block diagram for the preferred vertical scaling in accordance with the instant invention is shown in
The gamma correction section 623 is used to correct for the non-linear response of the eye (and sometimes the monitor) to linear changes in color intensity values. Three choices of gamma may be provided (such as 1.0, 1.7 and 2.2). The default gamma is preferably 1.0 and is set in, for example, a GXInit command in the API.
RGB to YCrCb(4:4:4) Conversion
This conversion is used to reduce the amount of external frame-buffer needed by ⅓. The following equations are used for the conversion:
Four pixels in a scan-line are converted in one cycle.
YCrCb(4:4:4) to YCrCb(4:2:2)
An illustration of the YUV444 to YUV422 conversion is shown in
YCrCb(4:2:0) to YCrCb(4:4:4)
This conversion is done in two parts, as illustrated in
c′(m,n)=�*c(m,n−0.5)+�*c(m,n+1.5) for n=odd
c′(m,n)=�*c(m,n+0.5)+�*c(m,n−1.5) for n=even
The second part of this YUV420 to YUV444 conversion, as shown in
c′(m,n)=c(m,n) m is odd
c(m,n)=�*c(m−1,n)+�c(m+1,n) m is even
YcbCr (4:4:4) to RGB conversion
MPEG2 operates in YCbCr (YUV) color space. This conversion can be used to convert the YUV data to RGB data during copy out. The following equations are used for this conversions:
Four pixels in a scan-line are converted in one cycle.
The EFB source and destination of the display copy operation is specified using an exemplary API function as follows:
//Upper-Left coordinate of the source rectangle
//Width, in pixels, of the source rectangle
//Height, in pixels, of the source rectangle
//Address of destination buffer in memory
//Stride, in multiple of 32B, of destination buffer
//enable clearing color and Z frame buffers
This function copies the contents of the embedded frame buffer (EFB) to the display buffer 113 in main memory. By the term "copy out" we don't mean simply a transfer of all the information; rather, we mean that the contents of the embedded frame buffer are read out, further processed (e.g., filtered, resampled, scaled, etc.) and that the resulting data is then sent elsewhere (e.g., to an external point sample type frame buffer). The origin of the rectangle is defined by SrcLeft (X) and SrcTop (Y). The Clear flag enables clearing of the color and z buffer to the current clear color and z values. The clearing of the embedded frame buffer preferably occurs simultaneously with the copy operation.
The following exemplary function can be used to set controls for the copy operations:
//Clamping flags for framebuffer filtering.
//Format of texture (i.e. destination)
//Display buffer is interlaced (YUV422).
//Gamma correction on display buffer
//vertical 1/scale value (1.8 format).
// Apply mipmap filter (texture copy only).
This function sets the controls used during copy from the embedded frame buffer to the display buffer. These controls are set once and then multiple copy commands can be issued.
The following is an exemplary API command for copying data out of the embedded frame buffer as a texture:
//Upper-Left coordinates of the source rectangle.
//Width, in pixels, of the source.
//Height, in pixels, of the source rectangle.
//Address of destination buffer in memory (32B
//Stride, in multiple of 32 B, of destination buffer.
//Enable clearing color and z framebuffers.
This function copies the embedded frame buffer to a texture image buffer in main memory in order to generate texture images for subsequent use by the graphics pipeline.
The following lists exemplary parameters that can be designated using the exemplary API commands above:
//Clamp top edge of image for filtering.
//Clamp bottom edge of image for filtering.
//Interlace is off.
//Interlace even lines.
//Interlace odd lines.
//Linear 16 bit z. No compression.
//14e2 floating point format.
//13e3 floating point format.
//Gamma 1.0
//Gamma 1.7
//Gamma 2.2
//Intensity 4 bits
//Intensity 8 bits
//Intensity-Alpha 8 bit (44)
//Intensity-Alpha 16 bit (88)
//Color Index 4 bit
//Color Index 8 bit
//Color Index + Alpha 8 bit (44)
//Color Index + Alpha 8 bit (62)
//Color Index + Alpha 16 bit (88)
//RGB 16 bit (565)
//RGB 16 bit (5551)
//RGB 32 bit (8888)
//Compressed 4 bits/texel. RGB8A1.
//used for z buffer copy (diagnostics only)
//used for YUV copy.
Control Register Bits:
2:0 pixtype
011: Z (for copying Z buffer as texture
100: Y8 or U8 or V8
101: YUV 420 (only used for copy operation)
5:3 zcmode
000: linear z compression for 16 bit Z
001: 14e2 z compression for 16 bit Z
010: 13e3 z compression for 16 bit Z
011: 12e4 z compression for 16 bit Z
100: inverted_linear z compression for 16 bit Z
101: inverted_14e2 z compression for 16 bit Z
110: inverted_13e3 z compression for 16 bit Z
111: inverted_12e4 z compression for 16 bit Z
6: ztop
0: z at the end of the pipe
1: z buffering before texture mapping
Bits 0-2 designate the pixel type for the copy operation. Writing to this control register causes the graphics pipe stages between the edge rasterizer (RAS0) and the pixel engine (PE) to be flushed. In this example, this will can take a minimum of 90 cycles. Writing to this register can also be used to sync up copy texture with rendering a primitive that uses the texture.
Texture Copy Register Bits:
1:0 src_clamp
x1:clamp top
1x:clamp bottom
2 color conversion
0:no color conversion
1:convert RGB to YUV
6:3 tex_format
pixtype: rgb8,rgba6,rgb_aa
yuvsel: x
ccv_mode : OFF
(red as intensity and Green as alpha)
8:7 gamma (only where arc_format is any of the RGB formats)
00: gamma = 1.0
01: gamma = 1.7
10: gamma = 2.2
11: reserved
9: mip_map_filter
0: no filtering (1:1)
1: box filtering (2:1)
11: clr (should be set to 0 for rgb_aa)
0: do not clear Z and Color efb
1: clear Z and color efb
13:12 intlc
00: progressive
01: reserved
10: interlaced (even lines)
11: interlaced (odd lines)
16:15 ccv_mode
0x: automatic color conversion, based on pixtype and texture format
10: color conversion off (rgb to yuv)
11: color conversion on (rgb to yuv)
The pixel types allowed for this operation are RGB8, RGBA6, RGB_AA (i.e. anti-aliasing (R5G6B5)), YUV8 and YUV420. Bits 3-6 determine the format of the texture stored by the copy command in texture buffer. In this example, this texture formatting is done in the texture format section 640 shown in
Display Copy Register Bits:
1:0 src_clamp
x1: clamp top
1x: clamp bottom
8:7 gamma (only when src_format is any of the RGB formats)
00: gamma = 1.0
01: gamma = 1.7
10: gamma = 2.2
11: reserved
0: no vertical scaling
1: vertical scaling
11:clr (should be set to zero for rgb_aa)
0: do not clear Z and Color efb
1: clear Z and color efb
13:12 intlc
00: progressive
01: reserved
10: interlaced (even lines)
11: interlaced (odd lines)
The pixel types allowed for this operation are RGB8, RGBA6, RGB_AA (anti-aliasing) and YUV420. Clr is not supported for pixel type YUV420 and should be set to 0. Gamma correction is also not supported for pixel type YUV420 in this example.
Certain of the above-described system components 50 could be implemented as other than the home video game console configuration described above. For example, one could run graphics application or other software written for system 50 on a platform with a different configuration that emulates system 50 or is otherwise compatible with it. If the other platform can successfully emulate, simulate and/or provide some or all of the hardware and software resources of system 50, then the other platform will be able to successfully execute the software.
As one example, an emulator may provide a hardware and/or software configuration (platform) that is different from the hardware and/or software configuration (platform) of system 50. The emulator system might include software and/or hardware components that emulate or simulate some or all of hardware and/or software components of the system for which the application software was written. For example, the emulator system could comprise a general purpose digital computer such as a personal computer, which executes a software emulator program that simulates the hardware and/or firmware of system 50.
Some general purpose digital computers (e.g., IBM or MacIntosh personal computers and compatibles) are now equipped with 3D graphics cards that provide 3D graphics pipelines compliant with DirectX or other standard 3D graphics command APIs. They may also be equipped with stereophonic sound to cards that provide high quality stereophonic sound based on a standard set of sound commands. Such multimedia-hardware-equipped personal computers running emulator software may have sufficient performance to approximate the graphics and sound performance of system 50. Emulator software controls the hardware resources on the personal computer platform to simulate the processing, 3D graphics, sound, peripheral and other capabilities of the home video game console platform for which the game programmer wrote the game software.
As one example, in the case where the software is written for execution on a platform using an IBM PowerPC or other specific processor and the host 1201 is a personal computer using a different (e.g., Intel) processor, emulator 1303 fetches one or a sequence of binary-image program instructions from storage medium 62 and converts these program instructions to one or more equivalent Intel binary-image program instructions. The emulator 1303 also fetches and/or generates graphics commands and audio commands intended for processing by the graphics and audio processor 114, and converts these commands into a format or formats that can be processed by hardware and/or software graphics and audio processing resources available on host 1201. As one example, emulator 1303 may convert these commands into commands that can be processed by specific graphics and/or or sound hardware of the host 1201 (e.g., using standard DirectX, OpenGL and/or sound APIs).
An emulator 1303 used to provide some or all of the features of the video game system described above may also be provided with a graphic user interface (GUI) that simplifies or automates the selection of various options and screen modes for games run using the emulator. In one example, such an emulator 1303 may further include enhanced functionality as compared with the host platform for which the software was originally intended.
A number of program modules including emulator 1303 may be stored on the hard disk 1211, removable magnetic disk 1215, optical disk 1219 and/or the ROM 1252 and/or the RAM 1254 of system memory 1205. Such program modules may include an operating system providing graphics and sound APIs, one or more application programs, other program modules, program data and game data. A user may enter commands and information into personal computer system 1201 through input devices such as a keyboard 1227, pointing device 1229, microphones, joysticks, game controllers, satellite dishes, scanners, or the like. These and other input devices can be connected to processing unit 1203 through a serial port interface 1231 that is coupled to system bus 1207, but may be connected by, other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port Fire wire bus or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor 1233 or other type of display device is also connected to system bus 1207 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1235.
System 1201 may also include a modem 1154 or other network interface means for establishing communications over a network 1152 such as the Internet. Modem 1154, which may be internal or external, is connected to system bus 123 via serial port interface 1231. A network interface 1156 may also be provided for allowing system 1201 to communicate with a remote computing device 1150 (e.g., another system 1201) via a local area network 1158 (or such communication may be via wide area network 1152 or other communications path such as dial-up or other communications means). System 1201 will typically include other peripheral output devices, such as printers and other standard peripheral devices.
In one example, video adapter 1235 may include a 3D graphics pipeline chip set providing fast 3D graphics rendering in response to 3D graphics commands issued based on a standard 3D graphics application programmer interface such as Microsoft's DirectX 7.0 or other version. A set of stereo loudspeakers 1237 is also connected to system bus 1207 via a sound generating interface such as a conventional "sound card" providing hardware and embedded software support for generating high quality stereophonic sound based on sound commands provided by bus 1207. These hardware capabilities allow system 1201 to provide sufficient graphics and sound speed performance to play software stored in storage medium 62.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 30, 2011
|Oct 6, 2011
|Design & Test Technology, Inc.
|3d video processing unit
|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification


text:
Open World Forum
The OW2 Community will be this year again actively represented at OWF .
October 3-5, 2013
Community Panel
- Schedule: Day 1 in the plenary session after keynote presentations.
* Theme: The future of open source foundations.
* Moderator: Cédric Thomas, OW2 CEO.
* Speakers: list tbc.
Community Summit:
For the sixth year running we, at OW2, are organizing the Community Summit at the Open World Forum (October 3-5, Paris). The Open World Forum Community Summit is an annual open workshop focusing on the growth and management of open source communities.
This year, leaders and practitioners from free and open source software communities will discuss the opportunities and challenges of open source as a collaborative innovation platform. With no cumbersome IP negotiations, no costly contracts, and rules of engagement simply defined by the license attached to the code, open source software is a fantastic mechanism for sharing innovation efforts. Open source creates value and drives innovation in emerging markets such as cloud computing, big data, embedded systems, Internet of things, machine to machine, etc. But in these areas, the industry is increasingly characterized by the raise of complex, highly capital-intensive systems and multi-year innovation programs. Is the game changing for open source communities?
Open Source as a Collaborative Innovation Platform, Opportunities and Challenges
The list of confirmed speakers include: Gabriele Ruffatti (Engineering,Italy) / Lars Kurth (Xen/Citrix, UK/Germany) / Bertrand Delacretaz (Adobe/Apache, Switzerland) / Stefano Maffuli (OpenStack, US/Italy) / Jim Ahtes (Atos, Spain) / Dana Petcu (Rumania) / Louis Suarez-Potts (Canada) / John Mertic (SugartCRM, US) / Roberto Di Cosmo (IRILL, France/Italy) / Peter Ganten (Ennovation, Germany) / Frederic Aatz (Microsoft, France) / Simon Phipps (UK) Detailed description of the session here
OW2 Conference Track proposal: "Open Source on Clouds"We are proposing 6 presentations based on OW2 projects and their cloud deployments.
- An OpenStack Federation with CompatibleOne
- OW2 ProActive on OpenStack (title TBC)
- The OW2 Sirocco multi-cloud management framework
- Leveraging OpenStack for high performance clouds
- It's not cloud, it's clouds
- A global network of OpenStack Testbeds


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|2008 NAMI Convention: Day One Highlights
Support NAMI to help millions of Americans who face mental illness every day.Donate today
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Science Friday® is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Science Friday® and SciFri® are registered service marks of Science Friday, Inc. Site design by Pentagram; engineering by Mediapolis.
Researchers are studying how we interact with the devices around us -- and how, at times, they interact with us. Such a device could be as simple as a pillbox that reminds and encourages a patient to take a needed medication, or as complicated as the design of a Facebook computer application that encourages you to return to the site, interact with it, and tempt your friends and associates to do the same. In this segment, we'll talk about the field of 'persuasive technology,' and the design of devices, computer programs, and spaces.


text: Miss Gardner | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information Official Broadway League sites: - sites - broadway.org broadwayleague.com broadwayfanclub.com kidsnightonbroadway.com stagespecs.org tonyawards.com Quick Search For: In This Category: All Show People/Org. Theatre Season Miss Gardner Performer Female Productions ProductionsDate of ProductionsThe Golden Butterfly[Musical, Comedy, Opera, Original] Performer: Miss Gardner [Society Girl, Ballet Girl, Butterfly Girl, Peasant Girl]Oct 12, 1908 - Nov 21, 1908 Find out where Miss Gardner and are credited together © 2001-2015, The Broadway League, All Rights Reserved. (Copyright and Disclaimer)


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- Northern New York Newspapers
- Watertown
- Ogdensburg
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WADDINGTON The Waddington Town Council says it will not reverse its position on St. Lawrence Countys proposal to raise its sales tax to generate more revenue.
Board of Legislators Chairman Jonathan S. Putney, D-Waddington, sent a letter to the town dated Jan. 21 encouraging towns and villages to support the increase.
The county has prepared a five-year plan showing how it could reduce property taxes if it had a sales tax of 4 percent. With a sales tax hike, officials say, the tax levy could drop by about 14 percent in 2014.
Under the current distribution formula at 3 percent, the town of Waddington annually collects approximately $200,400. At 4 percent, the total would increase by $18,368.
But Town Supervisor Mark Scott said the 2013-2018 projections are dependent on too many factors.
For all of this to work, their assumptions have to be true, Mr. Scott said. They show pension costs would decrease significantly. I dont see that happening.
The increase in sales tax would also help rebuild the countys fund balance from 1 to 3 percent of the total budget.
But that is not going to make a difference if they are not going to control their spending, Councilor Robert Dalton said.
Instead, the Town Council supports the recommendation of Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, to form a task force of business leaders to come up with possible cost-cutting solutions.
If you analyze the average numbers, the sales tax for an average family would be more than the increase in the property tax that we saw this year, Mr. Scott said. The solution is the state has to provide more funding for programs that are currently mandated, and the county needs to take a closer look at cutting costs wherever possible, such as auditing their utility bills and health care costs.
While the increase in the sales tax would increase the amount of revenue allocated to the towns and villages, the Town Council fears the impact it will have on small businesses.
We know that merchants could be hurt by the 1 percent increase, Mr. Scott said. On larger ticket items such as boats and cars, that extra 1 percent could mean a few extra hundred dollars for buyers. We do have people in Waddington who sell larger ticket items. We obviously dont want to see their sales decrease. We want to see them increase.
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|Print Page
|Testing is an important part of the schools obligations, but there is much more than just learning that goes on on campus'. Over the years the schools role in the lives of students has changed dramtically.
It's easy for people to remember the good old days. But when they do it with education, it tends to be a tainted memory that paints things with a rosy hue.
Comparing today's education system with that of 30 to 40 years ago is like trying to compare satellite radio in a car with an eight-track tape player. It's like putting a slide rule up against a graphing calculator. It's like using a typewriter instead of a desktop computer.
"Education has changed a great deal in the last three or four decades," pointed out Debbie Blackburn, a member of the Carbon County Board of Education. "People just don't realize how different it is from when they went to school."
Many people think school is easier and education is not what it was.
But based on information from the state and Utah School Boards Association, teachers, administrators and students have a lot more rope to pull than they did in 1970.
"Many things have changed, including the requirements for credits and graduation," said Blackburn.
In 1970, high school graduation requirements in Utah included three credits in English, one in math with algebra as a minimum, one in science and two in social studies.
Students could substitute speech, drama or debate for English classes.
Today, Utah students must have three credits in English with no substitutions allowed, two in math with geometry being the minimum, two in science and two in social studies in order to graduate from high school
While the state requires three English credits, most of local school districts require four for graduation.
In 1970, the only advanced placement courses offered by the majority of high schools were in English and United States history.
Today, the districts offer up to 32 AP classes.
In addition, career and technical education has taken a higher priority.
In the late 1960s, counselors downplayed technical education and tried to funnel students into four-year university academic tracks.
And the advanced placement classes include courses in subjects that would never have been considered for public education 35 years ago. Examples include classes in art history, calculus, computer science, economics, environmental science, human geography and psychology.
Another thing that is different for many students in the Carbon area is concurrent enrollment at the high school and college levels.
More students are taking the concurrent enrollment track, gaining a good grip on a college education before finishing high school.
One of the most important factors in education has been the changing role of the public school system in the last half of the 20th century.
It has evolved from primarily teaching the three Rs to becoming a support system for students and even families.
Public education systems currently delve into many types of support and school services that would have been unheard of several decades ago.
Beyond the newest types of requirements (No Child Left Behind and the Utah Basic Skills and Competency Testing) are many other services schools must provide. They now provide adult education programs, allow early graduation, must teach English as a second language, must provide special education, must adhere to Title IX equalization and have to provide translation and interpreting services, along with many other responsibilities.
In areas related to education, but not directly connected to it they must deal with the Americans with Disabilities act, must do asbestos abatement, provide transportation, provide CPR training, must comply with health regulations, do vision and hearing screening and follow up, provide staff training and take care of health insurance mandates and Medicaid services, along with many other programs.
The above responsibilities, along with the things like securing funding and block grants, working to provide choice/charter schools and dealing with the legalities and technology of a more advanced, modern world, have made education more complicated than ever.
And each year it gets ever more so.
During the past four legislative sessions, 176 education bills have passed.
And those increasing demands on education have come at a time when per pupil spending is at it's lowest point ever in the state of Utah.
Editors note: Today's story is the second in a series of three articles highlighting the facts and misconceptions about public education.
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A nice and simple chalkboard theme that utilizes an uncommon circular design. It is a nice looking introduction page that comes off as friendly and informal.Posted in Web Design → Design
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We do not see many painter portfolios so I wanted to feature this one. There is some really nice work on display and the site is fairly well designed. I particularly like the Apple-like 3D display of the art pieces near the bottom.Posted in Web Design → Portfolio
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A fantastic portfolio that utilizes a dark theme and has a lot of solid design work on display. There are a lot of interesting hover effects throughout the site. When you hover over objects, they take on a digitized effect that is quite nice.Posted in Web Design → Portfolio
A great looking page that serves as the portfolio for an icon designer. I like the cloud theme, the smooth slider and how the moon in the logo changes to a house on hover. Lots of great design work here.Posted in Web Design → Portfolio