graphics

MemeCode's i.Mage is a compact, flexible image-editing tool that's designed to handle a variety of common tasks quickly, much like simple pixel editors such as DPaint from the Days of DOS. That's prehistory to most users, but i.Mage is actually up to date. What sets it apart is its speed: instead of starting bloated out of the box and then being loaded down with plug-ins, i.Mage launches and loads images quickly. It's got quite a full assortment of tools plus some interesting options.

Launching i.Mage calls up the program's interface in … Read more

For about as long as there's been a Windows, developers have been targeting the disk defragmentation utility for improvement. JkDefrag is a free, open-source defragmentation utility; JkDefrag GUI is a graphical user interface version that makes the powerful tool as easy to use as the built-in Windows feature and its many competitors.

JkDefrag GUI opens with a compact properties dialog that serves as a primary control interface. We selected what Actions we wanted JkDefrag to perform and which of our drives to check from drop-down menus and started the program. A compact view opened, displaying the program's progress … Read more

Do you know where that swoosh on your shoes came from? And just who, exactly, might be responsible for that plummeting ad man who magically avoids a messy death just before the start of your favorite TV show? How about that half eaten apple that may well be on the other side of the screen you're looking at right now? How did that come about?

"Designers do a lot of work in the shadows," says John Fiorelli. "The audience generally doesn't know where all this beautiful work comes from."

Five years ago, Fiorelli set … Read more

Nissan and Original Wraps today launched Nissan Graphics for the Cube, and soon for the Juke, Frontier, and other models.

The decorative wraps come in graphics for side, front, and hood. The decorations are all printed on automotive-grade 3M Scotchprint On-Demand vinyl and are fade-resistant.

The catalog features stars, stripes, polka dots, and flowers, so the images should appeal to tastes ranging from subtle to bold.

Prices range from $100 to $300 with installation.

Over the last few months, we've seen quite a few Nvidia Optimus laptops. Optimus automatically switches between discrete and integrated graphics, powering the horsepower down when not used in order to save a little battery life. It's a similar idea to what's also included on the spring 2010 15-inch MacBook Pro, except Apple never created any branding for the concept.

And there's the rub: it's basically invisible tech, yet Nvidia has branded the concept for greater visibility. Really it amounts to something we'd obviously prefer to have in any laptop with dedicated graphics. Right … Read more

It turns out there was more to Google's WebM technology than just a plan to revolutionize Web-based video. The company also wants to revolutionize still images on the Web with a new format called WebP.

Google plans to announce the new WebP graphics format today along with its research that indicates its use could cut image file sizes by 40 percent compared to today's dominant JPEG file format. That translates to faster file transfers and lower network burden if Google can convince people to adopt WebP.

WebP, like JPEG, lets its users trade off image quality for file … Read more

ImageKlebor from Shoran Software is a free tool that combines multiple image files into a single image. It has a command-line option that makes it useful for automation and pipeline integration, and it's free to use, even commercially. However, most folks will find that ImageKlebor is best suited for assembling multiple images into one picture, such as scans of LP album covers; they're too big for all but the largest scanners, and most folks end up scanning covers in two passes and then trying to put the two together in an image editor. With ImageKlebor, putting chunks of … Read more

Apple has released a knowledgebase article outlining a problem with the ATI X1900XT video cards that were included as CTO options in some Mac Pro systems between August 2006 and January 2008. People using these cards have experienced distorted video output and other visual artifacts, and it appears the problem was in the manufacturing of the video cards instead of an issue that could be addressed by a software or firmware update. Apple is offering those affected by the problem a replacement graphics card, but only if the card matches a specific serial number range by having "V6Z" … Read more

Sandy Bridge is the culmination of a major Intel design effort to achieve a respectable level of graphics performance and make it a standard feature in all Intel mainstream processors going forward. This week at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel engineers were fairly candid in explaining what Sandy Bridge can and can't do.

First, some background. A number of technical sessions at IDF were devoted to discussing Sandy Bridge's graphics technology and the design teams that came together to take this critical feature out of the chipset--a separate companion chip--and put it, for the first time, in the main processor, or CPU.

Intel integrated graphics silicon started appearing in many mainstream laptops about six years ago. And since then has shipped in the lion's share of PCs sold worldwide. While this has made Intel the leading graphics chip supplier, it has also made it the perennial target of criticism from gaming devotees, who claim--rightfully so in many cases--that Intel graphics fall woefully short in handling a number of mainstream games. In turn, this has led to Intel rebuttals and corresponding primers on Intel integrated graphics.

And Nvidia, a leading graphics chip supplier, has always offered its two cents on Intel's graphics technology. "Today's visual computing applications--like photo and video editing, playing games, and browsing the Web--use a GPU for the best experience," Nvidia said in a statement just prior to IDF. Standalone graphics processing units from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices almost invariably offer better performance, particularly on games, but can add cost and, in the case of laptops, can up power consumption requirements.

At IDF, Intel engineers described the markets they can, and cannot, address with Sandy Bridge's graphics. Sandy Bridge technology will be part of Intel Core i series mobile processors to be introduced into laptops early next year, with the first Sandy Bridge laptop announcements expected at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

"We're not trying to target the most high-end discrete (standalone) card. We don't have the bandwidth, we don't have the power budget. We're trying to do the best experience for the mobile platform," said Opher Kahn, senior principal engineer on the Sandy Bridge design team. … Read more