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| NVIDIA Reveals First DirectX 10 GPU, Virtual Celebrities 11/8/2006 7:19:00 PM NVIDIA today introduced the GeForce 8800 graphics processing unit, the first to support DirectX 10, the next-generation programming interface that will be introduced with Microsoft Vista. “We set out to build the ultimate platform for PC gaming and high-definition video,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA. “There is no better way to experience Windows Vista, DirectX 10, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray than with a PC powered by GeForce 8800 and nForce 680i SLI. Our announcement today is the culmination of four years of research and development and represents the biggest technological leap we have ever made. Gamers are going to be blown away." The GeForce 8800 GPUs feature a number of new technologies including: -A new unified shader architecture delivering teraflops of raw floating-point processing power -128-parallel, 1.35GHz stream processors and NVIDIA Quantum Effects physics processing technology -Simultaneous 16x anti-aliasing and 128-bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting NVIDIA touts that more than 20 next-generation titles will use DX10, including Crysis, Hellgate: London, World in Conflict, Company of Heroes, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, and Age of Conan. NVIDIA plans to use this new power for gaming, but also for something they’re calling “virtual celebrity licensing.” The company says the program will be great for adapting celebrity characters into newly developed video games, virtual modeling and endorsements; digital appearances in film and television; and virtual hosting on Web sites or traditional broadcast media. Virtual Adrianne Curry The first celebrity showcased was Adrianne Curry from shows like America’s Next Top Model and The Surreal Life. “I am honored to have been selected as the first celebrity for this project”, said Adrianne Curry. “The Digital Adrianne is so realistic, it’s really trippy. Lara Croft, eat my shorts!” -Bryan Vore |