Celebs rally to the visual computing cause

AFTER STRUGGLING TO find anything relevent or new to say during the first Nvision keynote yesterday, Nvidia execs came to the conclusion it was all too much like hard work and that it would probably be best to turn the stage over to a host of random celebrities tooting the visual computing trumpet instead.

Not that the celebrity Nvision cast had anything particularly N-lightening to say either, other than the bog-standard and expected 'virtual computing is way cool dudes'.

First up was astronaut Eileen Collins, the first ever woman to command the Space Shuttle. Discussing visual technology in space, Collins explained how graphical computing had revolutionised aeronautics, especially in when it c0mes to things like flight simulation. Collins revealed how visual software was also changing the way NASA thought about moon missions and the exploration of Mars, especially with regard to applying certain software tools for virtual reality modelling to equipment like the Mars Rover, which also uses 3D stereoscopic imaging to calculate heights and distances.

Giving the mandatory Nvidia plug, Eileen finished up by gushing praise for the firm, who she said had contributed so much to the technology that made it possible to explore space.

Next out, declaring that, in fact, "we are all 3D lovers", came Bernard Charlès, the CEO of Dassault Systèmes, a firm which makes 3D design software. Talking about how visual computing is now enabling a much more collobarative approach to graphic design, Charlès noted that soon, "there will be no limit between the virtual world and the physical world".

A year after IDF conference goers ridiculed Intel CTO, Justin Rattner, for rambling on about virtual 3D shopping, Charlès brought the subject up, this time eliciting nods of approval and agreement from the audience. Charlès also declared that consumers were becoming increasingly influential in product design processes, getting themselves involved and working in conjunction with professional designers, using a multitude of new, often free, visual tools to customise their worlds. "What is missing is smelling", said Charlès, who concluded, "I want to be Da Vinci, not Gutenberg".

Showcasing some digital art, Lorne Lanning, creator of Oddworld, wowed the audience with images of what, in most cases, looked more like massive, complex, multicoloured bacteria than anything else, but don't get us wrong, it was spectacular.

Driving the point home, so to speak, Nvidia's final celeb turned out to be Kyle Busch, 23 year old NASCAR racer extraordinaire. Admitting that he played computerised racing games at home in his garage in his free time, Busch also added his two cents about how visual computing was changing race car design, before sitting down to give the audience a backseat demo. Exhausting. µ