smooc - Slashdot User

DX11 Tested Against DX9 With Dirt 2 Demo 201

Posted by Soulskill on Thursday December 03, 2009 @02:20AM from the shadows-with-shadows dept.

MojoKid writes "The PC demo for Codemasters' upcoming DirectX 11 racing title, Dirt 2, has just hit the web and is available for download. Dirt 2 is a highly-anticipated racing sim that also happens to feature leading-edge graphic effects. In addition to a DirectX 9 code path, Dirt 2 also utilizes a number of DirectX 11 features, like hardware-tessellated dynamic water, an animated crowd and dynamic cloth effects, in addition to DirectCompute 11-accelerated high-definition ambient occlusion (HADO), full floating-point high dynamic range (HDR) lighting, and full-screen resolution post processing. Performance-wise, DX11 didn't take its toll as much as you'd expect this early on in its adoption cycle." Bit-tech also took a look at the graphical differences, arriving at this conclusion: "You'd need a seriously keen eye and brown paper envelope full of cash from one of the creators of Dirt 2 to notice any real difference between textures in the two versions of DirectX."

Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child 331

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday November 24, 2009 @07:07PM from the snack-is-going-to-be-on-the-floor-today dept.

Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."

Comment Re:Good for apple (Score 1) 1078

by smooc on Saturday November 21, 2009 @12:36PM (#30185178) Attached to: Apple Voiding Smokers' Warranties?

However, the very expensive treatment a smoker receives in hospital, the effect it has on second hand smokers (possibly also receiving treatment) and the loss of productivity of smokers negates easily any cost savings by moving over to the other side.

Comment Re:Social networking is the new fashion (Score 1) 122

by smooc on Wednesday November 18, 2009 @04:27PM (#30148154) Attached to: Drupal 6 Social Networking

Although I think will right I also think it won't take off in any company. Putting it in a artificial boundary of an organization actually defeats the whole idea of social networking. My social network is not limited to my colleagues so why would I participate on a "platform" which is limiting my social network to those boundaries while I can find all my colleagues and others outside?

And while I am at it, when will we get that in the end social media is not about the functionality it provides but about the possible depth of the relationships?

Windows 7 RCs Shut Down To Force Updates 414

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday May 11, 2009 @11:38AM from the please-resume-download dept.

nk497 writes "The release candidate for Microsoft Windows 7 will expire June 2010, and the software giant will let users know they need to pay to upgrade by shutting down the system every two hours for three months. According to Microsoft: "The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You'll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.""

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