Dallas - QuakeCon 2

This is my second post on my trip to Dallas, TX. I'm attending/sponsoring/speaking at QuakeCon. For an explanation of this particular event, check out my last post (here).

While at QuakeCon, I had a chance to showcase some of the latest computer graphics technology to an enthusiastic crowd. I don't have any pictures, as I haven't mastered the ability to speak in public and take my own picture at the same time. Let me know if you have any tips on that, OK? Here are some shots taken right before I took the stage:

The crowd will go crazy...as long as you give something away for free

I also worked with my colleagues from AMD to give select conference attendees a "sneak peek" at our next-generation graphics chips. We set-up some computers in a hotel suite and invited only 100 of the 4,000 folks to see the exclusive preview. I love getting a chance to talk directly to our consumers. People that actually save their money and buy these products are fun to talk to - particularly when it comes to videogaming. Here's a shot from someone's cel phone:

Let me try to explain what you're seeing...

Back at our booth, we showed a demonstration of "overclocking". Hang in there, as I'll explain. This is another part of the uber-geek culture that requires an explanation. Computers run using computer chips. They run at a particular "speed". That's what makes fast - and slow - computers (most people tell me that their machine falls into the latter category). For the avid computer nerd, there is a great interest in trying to increase the speed of the computer's chips. They weren't quite designed to do that, so that's half the fun ; ) You try to increase the speed and electrical current that passes through the computer. The downside? You can break your computer by doing this the wrong way. Only experts should attempt this. The other problem, when you have chips running at a high speed, they generate a LOT of heat. That's why you have fans inside your computer. How do you solve this heat problem? Liquid nitrogen. Yeah, you read that right:

Large containers of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium, at our booth

I know, I know...you're feeling a little smarter and a little cooler, as you learn more about the geek culture ; ) You pour the liquid nitrogen on top of the computer chips, to cool things down, and let the chips fly!

That thermos is holding liquid nitrogen, for this experiment.

Moving along - another big part of this conference is bringing your own computer (BYOC) and playing games with/against a ton of other people. Imagine a huge ballroom filled with nothing but high-end computers and gamers:

Here's a little video clip, panning across the huge room that contains all these computers (there's very little light, as that makes it hard to see the screens, when you're playing).

Some of the attendees are creative. They make their own cases (to hold the guts of the computer). Here are some examples of custom-made computers:

Great use of a Craftsman tool cabinet!

This guy used his legos well

Computer in a box!

This is actually 4 computers in one "structure"...crazy use of lights

It was a great show - fun to give away prizes (mouse pads, t-shirts, key chains, hard drives, graphics cards, etc). You can get a crowd to do just about anything for this stuff. Fun to watch:

Scene from one of the workshop sessions