NVIDIA to Acquire AGEIA Technologies -- PhysX PPU on Future GeForce GPUs ?

sprite scaler writes:
SANTA CLARA, CA -- FEBRUARY 4, 2008--NVIDIA the world leader in visual
computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, today announced

Geez, I know that press releases are 90% meaning-free bullcrap, but
"inventor of the GPU"?!?

-Miles

--
Omochiroi!

Back in the Geforce1 days, nVidia's marketing dept was the first to brand
its graphics chip a "GPU". Of course, to keep up, ATi subsequently
"invented" the VPU.

I think video card marketing has matured a bit since the days of the
Hercules Terminator Beast...

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."

"Miles Bader" wrote in message
...
sprite scaler writes:
SANTA CLARA, CA -- FEBRUARY 4, 2008--NVIDIA the world leader in visual
computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, today announced

Geez, I know that press releases are 90% meaning-free bullcrap, but
"inventor of the GPU"?!?

-Miles

On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 20:43:11 -0500, "First of One"
wrote:

Back in the Geforce1 days, nVidia's marketing dept was the first to brand
its graphics chip a "GPU". Of course, to keep up, ATi subsequently
"invented" the VPU.

I think video card marketing has matured a bit since the days of the
Hercules Terminator Beast...

As evidenced by new graphics cards with pictures of stippers and
lunatics on them.

sprite scaler wrote:
On Feb 4, 7:05 pm, Miles Bader wrote:
sprite scaler writes:
SANTA CLARA, CA -- FEBRUARY 4, 2008--NVIDIA the world leader in visual
computing technologies and the inventor of the GPU, today announced
Geez, I know that press releases are 90% meaning-free bullcrap, but
"inventor of the GPU"?!?

-Miles

--
Omochiroi!


I absolutely agree with your questioning Nvidia as "inventor of the
GPU". Nvidia invented their definition of the GPU. Their only "leg
to stand on" so to speak, is that they were the first to introduce a
*consumer* 3D graphics
chip with on-chip geometry processor / T&L. There were professional /
industrial / arcade / etc. graphics cards/boards with on-board polygon
processors / geometry engines / T&L since the early to mid 1990s
(probably in the 80s even). It's not unlike say, 3Dfx before them
claiming they invented desktop 3D graphics. Yeah I am sorry I didn't
edit-out the bullcrap.

I'll go further and give the credit to Jim Clark of SGI way back in
1982. Their chip had the first geometry set up engine, which is the
essence of what we call 3D graphics.

The programming language of those early SGI chips was polished and
revised and is in use still today, but we know it as OpenGL.

If Nvidia wishes to lay claim of "inventor of the GPU" they might be
referring us to their legal department, whereas holders of the defunct
3Dfx intellectual property patents (3Dfx was SGI's and the consumer
markets love-child), they might have a stamped certificate that bestows
that title on their business indirectly. Somewhat like buying an Academy
Award on ebay.