NVidia now a permanent member of the ARB

[SirXcalibur]

omfg DELL is on the ARB??? I can just imagine the ARB meetings:

Now why are you dudes ruining a perfectly fine day by taking potshots at me? I take this personally... I am Dell's representative to the OpenGL ARB and I started our engagement over two years ago. And btw in a previous life I developed OpenGL while working for one of the permanent ARB members.

If one looks you'll see that Dell is involved in all areas of graphics (e.g. ever wonder who chairs the PCI-SIG PCI Express Graphics Workgroup?).

Anyway you can consider this my de-lurking post and I'd be happy to answer any questions that I can concerning Dell and graphics.

Dave Zenz
Dell Graphics Technology

PS - problem XYZ is out of warranty. Please buy a new computer.

LOL, Sage you just got OWNED

 

[bloodbob]

Nvidia have contributed a fair bit ( I think they would like to be the only member at times though ) I think its fair for them to get a permant positision.

 

[Sage]

Well, if Dells representative actually knows what Beyond3D is the I guess I was wrong. Also, since you obviously have at least some level of intelligence, may I assume you are not involved in customer service or upper management?

 

[Ollo]

Great to have you here dzenz. Your starting to post is greatly appruciated.

Welcome!

 

[dzenz]

Well, if Dells representative actually knows what Beyond3D is the I guess I was wrong. Also, since you obviously have at least some level of intelligence, may I assume you are not involved in customer service or upper management?

No comment... I really do like my job.

I'm an enthusiast gamer and graphics geek to the core so of course I know what Beyond3D is...

Dave Z.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Hi Dave,

May I ask - what is Beyond3D to you?



Cheers.

 

[Xmas]

Oh my, yet another Dave

 

[jb]

Actually at first glance it would not seem like Dell belongs there. Most of the other memebers have product that goes into a "dell" so they are like a 2nd rate player. However if you then factor in how big Dell is on the PC world then it makes sense to have them there. So its a good thing.

 

[Rodéric]

Why is DELL in the ARB, and what does it do there ?

Cause I've not the least idea...

 

[dzenz]

Hi Dave,

May I ask - what is Beyond3D to you?



Cheers.

Hi Dave,

You may, although it does appear to be a question I'm going to be graded on.

I'll keep it short... I share the passion for graphics that your site focuses on and which draws others with the same zeal. That makes it an ideal place to hang out (in the forums) and one to continually monitor for the latest news. As an enthusiast I like knowing what the other crazed people are up to. Given my job I need to know the pulse of our community at any give time.

Beyond3D is a site that allows me to work and play at the same time.

Dave Z.

 

[dzenz]

Why is DELL in the ARB, and what does it do there ?

Cause I've not the least idea...

Your answer will be found by asking the question: What does the ARB do?

Seriously.

Dave Z.

 

[Nite_Hawk]

Ingenu:

I imagine it's something along the lines of:

"Our workstation class customers are doing more and more work with X. It'd make sense for the GPU manufacturers and opengl to make X a priority in future development. We also have a large demographic of gamers who want Y. This accounted for 20% of our sales in desktop computers last quarter and may be worth optimizing for to increase the user base". etc etc...

Nite_Hawk

 

[Dave Baumann]

Beyond3D is a site that allows me to work and play at the same time.

Thanks for the reply Dave

I must say, its nice to have people from a heavyweight such as Dell come out of the - afterall choices that you guys make in the graphics selections will assist in shaping the types of actions developers will take in the future, its vital that you guys are informed fully! (BTW - do you know Gary Lusk? We just had a mail from him the other day as well).

Anyway, on to your speciality - the ARB....

What interest does Dell have in the ARB and the direction that OpenGL takes? Do you foresee a time where games will mainly take the DX route and OpenGL will go back to more high end / workstation environments, or do you think that now they have settled on a Shader Specification / Language and that OpenGL2.0 is coming along this will give it a stable footing such that games developers might start adopting it a little more widespread?

 

[Rodéric]

Your answer will be found by asking the question: What does the ARB do?

Seriously.

Dave Z.

Doesn't the ARB promote OpenGL and plan the future versions, which includes new features and extensions, and I fail to see how DELL which neither produce hardware or software (AFAIK) have to do with it... hence the question.

edit: Forgot to mention that's it is impolite to answer a question by a question

Nite_Hawk thanks for your answer.

 

[AzBat]

I can completely understand why Dell is a member of the ARB. It makes sense to have one of the largest(if not the largest) system vendor on the board. They may not design their own software(AFAIK) or hardware, but they probably are one of the top 3 workstation dealers. They probably want to have some say in the future of OpenGL on their systems and I bet their customers do as well(myself being one of them). Linked below is a PowerPoint slide about OpenGL from Dave back at Siggraph 2002. Gives a little perspective on Dell's involvement in OpenGL...

http://www.opengl.org/developers/code/features/siggraph2002_bof/sg2002bof_dell.ppt

DaveZ,

I hope you don't mind me linking that slide. Also, the only thing I find on Dell's status was that you were an auxiliary voting member and that was done back in Dec 2000. Has Dell's status changed since then? If it hasn't then that explains why you're still hosting the meetings in Austin from time to time.

Tommy McClain

 

[cthellis42]

I don't think anyone was taking a dig at you either, DaveZ, but I think even you've got to admit it was amusing. Tech-support digs are like lawyer jokes at this point anyway. Hehe...

Meanwhile, I'm sure you'll find EVERONE on here very attentive and appreciative to know what goes on inside the workings of ARB. ^_^

 

[dzenz]

Ingenu, I wasn't being flippant in my answer, it's critical to know the purpose of the ARB to understand Dell's involvement. That said I do understand that the industry may at times have some misconceptions about Dell in areas like this.

I was just about to post the link to my presentation at the OpenGL BOF during SIGGRAPH 2002 and I see Tommy beat me to it!!! Thanks.

Take a few minutes and read through the slides as they provide a good background.

Look at it this way, standards just don't happen by themselves, it takes a concerted effort by the industry leaders to organize the group (I'm chairing the OpenGL Bylaws workgroup), develop the technology (you'll see that I'm listed as a contributor to various OpenGL versions, including the shading language), support the standard (Dell requires, validates, and supports OpenGL on every PC), and promote the standard (OpenGL BOF presentation).

This is just the tip of the iceberg but it should give everyone a good idea why Dell is involved in *numerous* industry standard organizations.

Dave Z.

 

[dzenz]

Anyway, on to your speciality - the ARB....

What interest does Dell have in the ARB and the direction that OpenGL takes? Do you foresee a time where games will mainly take the DX route and OpenGL will go back to more high end / workstation environments, or do you think that now they have settled on a Shader Specification / Language and that OpenGL2.0 is coming along this will give it a stable footing such that games developers might start adopting it a little more widespread?

Yes I know Gary. We're actually very tight since our work does interlock from time to time.

Actually my specialty is graphics, my ARB hat is only one of many!

I'm psyched that OpenGL has an ARB approved shading language and binding extensions. Now that that journey is over I can look back and smile (mr. bill may still be in orbit).

As far as the usage of OpenGL, or DirectX for that matter, is concerned that's up to the application developer. Dell's objective is to meet our customer's graphics requirements and provide the best of both.

Dave Z.

 

[Rodéric]

Thanks for your answer dzenz.