Get Better Gear!
- Madden NFL 10: The Grizzled Veteran from Electronic Arts, US$9.99
- NFL 2010: Rookie of the Year from Gameloft, US$2.99
- UNIEA Intrecciato, U-Pouch and U-Hip Pop iPhone Cases from UNIEA, $34.95, $22.95, $29.95
- Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle for iPhone from Kensington, $39.99
- SigFx Energy iPhone Case Contains Smart Battery from SigFx Energy, US$69.95
Top 5 Free Apps
iTunes New Music Releases
Top 5 Paid Apps
Discover New Music
- Barenaked Ladies
- These guys know how to put on a live show, and whomever recorded this knows how to capture one. Rock Spectacle is one of the warmest-sounding recordings I've ever heard, and totally fills a room at a
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
When I first got hooked to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the only place I could get their debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, was through the band's Web site. I listened to the two tracks a
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling
- Various Artists
Most musical episodes of TV shows frankly stink. They are usually little more than ill-conceived vehicles intended to let the stars show off what musical talent they have. Once More, With Feeling,
- Goldfrapp
On their latest CD, Supernature, Goldfrapp has put together a successful mix of 1980-era New Romanticism, German cabaret, and T. Rex glam that leaves you riveted even through the album's lulls. It's a great amalgam that sounds current without sounding at all dated.
Reader Specials
Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!
News
An iPhone Performance Secret: LLVM
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 at 2:00 PM - by John Martellaro
Apple has found a way to achieve amazing graphics speed a shirt pocket device, the iPhone, by using a special form of code optimization called "Low Level Virtual Machine," (LLVM) according to graphics and algorithms specialist Charles Ying.
Mr. Ying wrote Thursday that Apple has taken the approach of using its expertise in Mac OS X, OpenGL, and code optimization via LLVM in the development in the iPhone.
Small personal electronics that can fit in your pocket are always short of the electrical power required for fast video processing. And yet Apple has demonstrated very impressive graphics capabilities with the iPhone. The key is extensive code optimization at every stage, from the CPU to the graphics system, from compile to runtime, and that can be done with LLVM.
Because the iPhone is running "OS X," a variant of Mac OS X, Apple can take advantage of their expertise in OpenGL graphics used by Mac OS X to achieve the amazing scrolling feature and finger resizing of graphics of the iPhone. But any interpreted interface, like OpenGL would have to be highly optimized to achieve that kind of performance in a small device. With LLVM, the programmer can enable program optimization in every realm: compile, link, and even at runtime.
Apple has taken several steps to achieve this. Apple has quietly contributed ARM enhancements to LLVM. Secondly, LLVM has been integrated with Apple's primary compiler in Xcode, called gcc.
When all is said and done, Apple has achieved a highly optimized OS X and Open GL code base that can exploit Core Animation on an ARM processor.
This is very likely why Apple chose to use "OS X" in the iPhone and how Apple can achieve amazing graphics in a shirt pocket device with limited electrical power.
Recent Headlines
- EA Publishes Original Monopoly for iPhone
- New iPhone Games: Secret of the Lost Cavern Ep 1, New DJ Nights, More
- Musée du Louvre, Art Lite, SketchBook Mobile X and More.
- GelaSkins Intros Tim Burton, Bettie Page, WETA iPhone Skins
- iPhone Gets the Green Light in South Korea
- Qualcomm Hopes to Get In On the iPhone Action
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Lands at App Store
















Post Your Comments