Manchester Informatics News
2008 Daresbury Machine Evaluation Workshop 2-3rd Dec 2008
Part of the EPSRC's Distributed Computing Support Programme, the Daresbury Machine Evaluation Workshop will be held on 2nd and 3rd December at the Holiday Inn Runcorn.
This Workshop is now established as a leading national event dedicated to distributed high performance scientific computing. The principle objective is to encourage close contact between the research communities from the Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Materials Programmes of EPSRC and the major vendors of workstations, software and peripherals.
You are invited to attend this year's workshop, which will have a format similar to that of previous years with about a dozen major vendors making 20-minute presentations on topics such as hardware, compilers, graphics, storage, networking etc. In past years the audience has been very appreciative of the technical content of these talks and we have encouraged the speakers nominated by the vendors to focus their presentations accordingly. Important components of the workshop include the availability of systems for benchmarking evaluation purposes, plus the exhibition itself. Vendors are providing Internet access to these systems prior to the event, and the availability of products on the day will help delegates evaluate the machines. We hope to make loaned systems available from the 1st December for the duration of the event.
Please confirm your attendance - using the online registration form - before 26th November 2008.
Please contact Damian Jones on +44 (0)1925 603805, Shirley Miller on +44 (0)1925 603240, or Laura Johnston +44 (0)1925 603529 (or email: machine_evaluation_workshop@dl.ac.uk) for information, or if you have any comments.
Labels: research
posted on: Monday, November 10, 2008
Developing countries benefit from online gold rush
Impatient online computer gamers have sparked a new industry in developing countries - by paying fellow gamers real cash in return for financial help in the virtual world.
The practice - known as 'gold-farming' has been ongoing for a number of years.
But ground-breaking research by Prof Richard Heeks, from the University's Institute for Development Policy and Management, has highlighted the scale of the practice for the first time.
'Gold-farming' is concentrated on online computer games - such as World of Warcraft and Runescape - that are set in complex virtual worlds.
These game worlds are so comprehensive, they include their own cities, populations, economies and even their own virtual currencies, known as 'gold'.
Although most gamers earn their 'gold' by playing the game for many hours each week, some are taking a short-cut, by paying real money outside the game to buy their gold.
In doing so they seek the help of so-called 'gold-farmers', who work within the games' virtual worlds to build up a supply of the online currency and then sell this to players all over the world through the Paypal payment system.
Prof Heeks' research suggests 'gold-farming' is now a 'cyber-industry' employing more than 400,000 people in Asia and generating trade in excess of $1billion (US).
"The workers in Asia undertake long shifts and earn about US$145 per month," said Prof Heeks, who is based in the School of Environment and Development."
"However, the image of 'virtual sweatshop' seems inappropriate: most workers are young men who would otherwise be unemployed, and they report enjoying their work. This represents an intriguing new way in which the Internet is helping to create jobs and incomes in developing countries; one that is likely to grow over time."
The impact of computer gaming in developing countries forms part of the research agenda for the new Centre for Development Informatics; a cross-university grouping that studies the role of digital technologies in international development.
For more details contact:
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
0161 275 0790
07717 881 567
michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk
Labels: research
posted on: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Textured graphics can be captured in a flash
A new technique that can reconstruct the depth of a surface simply by taking two photos of it - one with a flash and one without - has been developed by a team led Dr Mashuda Glencross from the School of Computer Science. The team worked with Gregory Ward at Dolby Canada in Vancouver to develop a quick and cheap alternative to the time-consuming process of using bulky and expensive laser scanners.
The technique is already being used to add depth and realism to the ancient carvings that will appear in "Maya Skies" - a full-dome digital projection for planetariums that tells the story of the Mayan people.
Labels: research
posted on: Monday, September 08, 2008
Creation of Manchester Informatics
Manchester Informatics, established in September 2007, is now working to bring together the informatics community across the University. Professor Chris Taylor is the Director and Professor Peter Halfpenny the Deputy Director. Carmel Dickinson will shortly take up the post of Programme Manager.
Labels: research
posted on: Saturday, May 17, 2008