Interview with team Sytech from the Imagine Cup

Joining us today are Adrian Buzgar, Calin Juravle, and Andreas Resios, who were part of the team Sytech representing Romania in the Imagine Cup 2009. All three team members were from the University of Iaşi and the team took first place in the Software Design category in that year with the project called UpCity. UpCity is an online decision support system that allows citizens to participate in the development of their cities by alerting, proposing and voting on solutions to local issues for governments and NGOs and to act upon. Through these online interactions, UpCity aims to promote competition between local governments in their ability to respond to local issues, thereby improving the quality of life of citizens.

After the competition, UpCity has been deployed at Iaşi City Hall, Romania, and the team has started their own business venture Sytech Software to future develop the project.

Adrian, Calin and Andreas shares with us some of their thoughts on UpCity and their competition experience.

First of all, how did your team come up with the idea of using the power of a social platform to enhance government efficiency?

We started work on UpCity looking for problems around us, things that were going wrong in our city (Iasi – Romania), or things that could be improved in some manner. We came to the conclusion that software in itself, no matter how smart, could never solve anything alone, but that people could use our project to help them better deal with problems. So we decided to get people more involved in community-related issues. Ideas about eDemocracy/eParticipation have been floating around for some time already. We wanted to materialize some of these ideas into a concrete product. We think that the approach and execution are what helped UpCity shine.

What background research have you done for UpCity and what were some interesting facts?

It took us quite some time to define the goals of our project, because most of the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] are very specific (e.g. universal primary education, or improving maternal health). We wanted to encompass as much as possible without losing focus. So we contacted local authorities and they were happy to sign a partnership with our team. That helped us gain some of the knowledge we needed to shape our project and make it better suited for both citizens as well as authorities (both being active players in our platform). We also looked for similar projects (and found some, loosely based on the same idea) to see what could be done better.

Both you Calin and Adrian have prior experience with Imagine Cup when you both got into the top 20s in the Project Hoshimi Programming Battle. Do you think that experience helped your team with the Software Design category?

Absolutely. Imagine Cup is an overall tough competition, so having gone through it before, and especially having tasted defeat a year before in Project Hoshimi helped us a lot. We knew from the beginning the kind of effort that we had to put into the project to make it worthwhile.

Throughout the project, how did your group manage team work?

Most of the work was done camping our homes in rotation. We’d discuss architecture stuff and argue on the best approach for this or that, and then go into development. In early stages we did a lot of pair programming, i.e. someone would write code while the other(s) gave feedback on the fly, and then switch roles. We found that this was a lot more effective than working remotely, with each one doing his separate bit and then working out the details of putting them together.

Later, when most of the things became clear, we split the work into more individual tasks.

Tell us about the experience at the Imagine Cup worldwide finals in Cairo.

It was great, we got to see the Pyramids and some of the best sights in Cairo, but the best part by far was being in that huge crowd of tech students and getting to exchange ideas and learn about the others’ cultures. Having similar academic backgrounds made it really easy to connect and chat, and even for that alone it was an amazing experience.

How do you think UpCity will shape politics?

With UpCity, we’re pushing for participation and transparency. Often times it seems that politicians live in a world of their own, to some extent oblivious to things that really matter to people who elect them. We want to bridge that gap, by bringing information more efficiently to decision-makers, as well as allowing people to assess results and give direct feedback, with all this information accumulating over time in a rating system. This should reward actual results and discredit inaction on the part of authorities, in a way that persists over an entire mandate. With such a system in place, people could ideally base their vote on statistics rather than speeches. But there’s a long way to go before we get there.

What is the progress of deploying UpCity in Iasi City Hall and what’s the response been so far?

We’re close to delivering the pilot of UpCity to the City Hall in Iasi. There have been a lot of changes from the project we showcased in Cairo, and it took some time to mature. They’ve been very supportive, giving us ideas on functionalities that would help them use it effectively.

You’ve set up the company Sytech Software. What is the company’s mission and what are its projects?

Our company is focused entirely on UpCity. Our long-term goal is to use the platform we’ve developed for positive social impact.

How does it feel like to be/become entrepreneurs?

It can be tough at times. Entrepreneurship requires a whole different set of skills than software development. But we’re learning fast and gaining this kind of experience in our early 20s feels great.

Last but not least, what advice would you give to future Imagine Cup participants?

Imagine Cup is not just a competition, it’s an adventure that will shape you in many more ways than just professionally. We encourage students with an IT background to participate and give it their best, it’s an opportunity that they must not pass!

End of Interview

Thanks Adrian, Calin and Andreas for taking the time to talk about UpCity!

Team Sytech has published a website detailing the “behind-the-scenes” of UpCity and their journey to success in the Imagine Cup. You can also watch a video overview of how UpCity works at the Imagine Cup website.

Interview with photographer Paul D. Van Hoy II

Paul D. Van Hoy II, an MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology, is the professional photographer who won the Grand Prize in the Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Competition in 2007. A wedding photography specialist, he co-founded Wedding Photography Workshop, a web portal where he shares his expertise in the field of wedding photography with new and veteran photographers for them to improve their businesses.

An entrepreneur since the age of 16, his work can be found in numerous high-profile publications including Brides and Bridal Magazine, Wedding Style, PDN, Digital Photo Pro, and Professional Photographer, just to name a few, and has worked for several well-known clients such as Forbes, Fossil Inc., Food & Wine Magazine, and Adidas. Paul was very kind to discuss with me about his entry in the competition, his work and his thought on some issues on photography. Starting with his winning entry Apocalypse.

I’m curious if that is rain or a spray of water from something else. What was happening when this photo was made?

The photo ‘apocalyptic summer’ was an image made in Rochester near the end of summer in 2006. While driving around in the city I observed a group of young children playing in a fire hydrant. Initially, I was ambivalent about pursuing a subject matter that has been so heavily exploited by others, so I challenged myself to represent this scene in a way that replaced cliche with intrigue.

Instead of contributing to the continuation of this subject’s sentimental posterity, I, chose to subtract and isolate the subject from its context/environment and make my image at an awkward moment of digression. The retreating gesture of the child combined with the sublime beauty and chaos of a scene abstracted by its stillness portends or implies rather, a consequential peril and undermines the playfulness otherwise, classically, associated with photographs of children playing in the rain or beneath the misty canopy of a geysering fire hydrant.

Do you still remember your first interaction with a camera?

I grew up poor. I was a free lunch kid and part of the ‘Coat-A-Kid’ program that provided low-income families with clothes for the winter months. Weekends were usually spent with my mother, scouting out rummage sales and sifting through other’s orphaned possessions. My first camera was the Polaroid One-Step. I was six years old at the time, and discovered the camera near the bottom of an antique latch-trunk filled with old issues of TIME magazine and vintage cookbooks. Rarely did my mother splurge on items that weren’t rudimentary, i.e. clothes, shoes, school supplies. It was a memorable occasion marked by exception; one that stayed with me for sentimental and nostalgic reasons but now one that stands distinct as a pivotal point in the development of who I am today. We couldn’t afford film for the camera, so I was content with just framing scenes and subjects and activating the flash.

Tell us how you established your first photography business when you were only 16.

I wasn’t like most other children who wanted to be presidents, police officers, or super heroes; I wanted to be a photographer. I started working at the age of 13. I mowed lawns, bussed tables at a local diner, and did telemarketing for the Indiana State Police Alliance on the weekends; by the time I was 16 I had saved a substantial amount of money. Some people chance their money in the stock market or gamble it away at a casino, I chose to bet on myself. I bought a Nikon F5, an assortment of 2.8 lenses, a portable lighting kit, and a few ad spots in a few regional bridal magazines. My age was a bit of an impediment; as it called into question my experience and competency. However, the challenges it presented me with only hastened the rate at which I excelled and outperformed my competitors. In order to win the favor of brides I had to be better than the best, and that’s precisely where I put all of my focus and energy. That ethic and awareness has never left me.

Running your own wedding photography business, what do you find most challenging about being in this industry?

Being a professional wedding photographer is more than just a full time job; it is, essentially, a lifestyle. Our job description encompasses many roles, from being our own business’s CEO, Marketing and Advertising Specialist, Accountant, Public Relations Officer, Consultant, Customer Service Rep, Art Director, Graphic Designer, Digital Archivist, Webmaster, to Shipping Clerk. For anyone seeking to have a career in professional wedding photography, they better be ready to sweat and bleed for it because this is a highly competitive industry. The biggest challenge is not only getting to the top – it’s being able to maintain that position once you get there.

When doing photojournalism and I suppose wedding photography as well, do you prefer your subjects to be posed or unposed?

I’m a subscriber to Judith Butler’s ideas on ‘performativity’; the concept that we are all performing the conventions of ‘reality’ i.e. gender, race, class, etc. at all times – so philosophically speaking there is no difference to me between a posed and an unposed subject. Unless you’ve mastered the art of invisibility – subjects are always camera conscious and subsequently self-aware. However, to more directly answer your question, I prefer making images of my subjects that appear to be unposed or ‘candid’.

How has the PPA membership from the award’s prize enhanced your career?

I was actually a member long before winning the Microsoft award, and have absolutely nothing but great things to say about the PPA – anyone who is even the slightest bit interested in professional photography stands to benefit tremendously from the wealth of resources the PPA offers.

A lot of your gallery images have reduced saturation. What part does color (or lack thereof) play in an image’s emotional appeal or artistic expression?

We revere black and white images as being more voracious medium than color since the first photographs made were monochromatic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Pete Turner’s work strikes me as dishonest or inauthentic in any way. However, black and white possesses a poignancy that harkens to a history of contrived actualization. Simply put, photography has unequivocally determined and defined us and our ‘reality’ – this began not with color imagery, but with black and white.

Personally, I was never really interested in color. I dream in black in white, which I found out isn’t all that rare or unusual. Black and white, resolves the distraction that color creates for me. I am most interested in shape and form and black and white allows me to meditate on these basic, but yet defining attributes.

If there is a common theme or message among your photographs, what would be it?

Making images is a very peculiar thing. As image-makers we re-present something already present in the world. We don’t take (as in taking photographs) we replace and re-present what already is. What we do is completely irrational when you stop to think about it. I consider myself an existentialist whose intentionality as an artist is fraught with contradiction. I hold firmly to the belief that man creates his own purpose and that meaning is owed entirely to construction —it is an arbitrary advent of consciousness.

The contradiction begins with having any intention/s if, in fact, it is my belief that all intellectual contributions are, in fact, equally arbitrary and meaningless. This is not an attempt to obfuscate my motives or evade the apprehension of my audience. I find myself equally perplexed and confined within the shrinking space of my own incredulity.

I am beset with beliefs that undermine my artistic passions and impulses. I attempt to make sense while all the while I am mocking sense-making. I use a constructed system of language and meaning to apprehend an existence that is entirely owed to construction. The cycle of contradiction is endless. My work for example, is never conceived for the purpose of telling my audience anything at all. The intention of my work is not to wipe away obscurity but to contribute to it.

What new and upcoming technologies in photography (e.g. camera equipment, digital workflow, etc) excite you the most?

I absolutely love digital photography, as it allows me to capture images almost as quickly as I can discern or conjure them. I’m obsessive and carnivorous when it comes to image consumption and image conceptualization; every word, sound, taste, color, scent, and remembrance exists as an image to me – without images I would be unable to speak or ascertain meaning at all. Image is my consciousness.

The new technologies that are most exciting and impressive to me are the advancements camera manufactures are making with image sensors and the incredible reduction in noise at expanded ISO’s. With acceptable ISO’s reaching 102,400, we’re suddenly seeing an aesthetic within photography that more closely resembles how the human eye sees.

Do you still work with film nowadays? Anything about film photography that you miss with digital?

I used to be a staunch formalist who mixed my own chemistry and slaved in the darkroom until my pupils practically popped – there was no question about it, I was totally enraptured with film. It’s been seven years now since I last exposed a piece of film, and I hadn’t even thought about film until I read this question. I can’t say that I’m sentimental about film, not one bit.

Have you considered exploring other forms of art medium like videography?

Before I completely turned myself over to photography I was an illustrator, I loved to draw. However, I couldn’t create images as quickly as they came to me so I switched to photography to satisfy my need for instant gratification. I love motion picture – I own over 2k movie titles and watch at least one movie every day. I can’t stand television however. Movies provide a lot of inspiration for many of the still images I make, but I’m not at all interested in making films. My memories, attachments, and association are all embedded in frozen moments of time, not linear motion. Even while I’m watching a film, I make photographs of what’s moving in front of me.

Do you think documentary photography and fine art photography are mutually exclusive?

No, to me there is absolutely no difference – every photograph ‘documents’ and I have yet to behold a photograph that possesses any scintilla of objectivity.

The discipline of photojournalism is a process of indoctrination. The photojournalist, if formally educated, is taught to believe that news can be reported without bias, as ‘objectivity’ and detachment are the photojournalist’s core values. Subjectivity is entirely antithetical to the aims of the photojournalist, because, for the photojournalist, news is not subjective nor should it be. Those who are fundamentalists and purists vehemently believe that a single photograph or series of photographs can represent the objective and unadulterated truth.

However, since the advent of digital photography, the genre of photojournalism has been in crisis, as the role of the photojournalist has been co-opted by every civilian in possession of a camera phone and an alert sense of interest. Digital photography has, no doubt, revolutionized the way we see, record, and report news, but it has also helped further blur the lines of distinction between, art, advertising, editorial photography, photojournalism, and even the pedestrian photograph.

I have many dear friends who work as photojournalists and, for a brief stint, I worked as a photojournalist as well. I certainly took great pleasure in challenging my friends and colleagues about their beliefs, but reserved, for my own beliefs, a degree of scrutiny from which they were spared. I have always been, and still remain, most critical of my own ideas and beliefs, which accounts for my fascination with photographers who fail or refuse to question their beliefs with regard to their medium.

One particular conversation I’ll share with you took place between a co-worker and myself while hovering over a light table at a daily paper in central Illinois. I said to my workmate, “If the objective of photojournalism is to tell the absolute ‘truth’… then why do we make images with cameras that observe and record monocularly?

I mean after all… (unless you’re a Cyclops) don’t most of us see the world with two eyes?” Additionally, I said, “We should stop shooting monochromatic film, unless our readership is predominantly color blind. And, oh yeah, we should probably sell our wide angles and telephotos and shoot exclusively with 60mm lenses?” (the focal length that most closely resembles the human perspective). The list could go on and on, but you get the point…

As successful as you are now, what is the next level that you are aiming to achieve?

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately. Last year I signed a publishing agreement with Amherst Media and will be releasing my first book on wedding photography this fall. Additionally, my close friend, and now business partner, Brady Dillsworth, and I have just recently launched a free online resource and sharing community catering specifically to wedding photographers. Wedding Photography Workshop (WPW) www.weddingphotographyworkshop.com was created with the needs and interests of aspiring professional wedding photographers in mind. It is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive and relevant online resource for those new to or already established in this profession.

Beyond my professional endeavors, I would like to get back to what I love most, creating art. Graduate school was a cruel tease; two years of immersion and total freedom and privilege to play with pictures and words day in and day out. Well, now I’ve got to pay the tab, so that means putting all of my energy and present focus on commercial work and abandoning ‘art’ for the time being. Ideally, I would love to have a career as an artist, but the reality of that hasn’t yet and may never be realized. The reality is that people would rather buy my wedding photographs rather than my art.

Paul’s story - his other works

In addition to the conversation Paul shared with us the stories behind some of his other artworks.

Coney Island Alchemist

This may sound funny coming from me, but…

this image, for me, is very spiritual… It’s as if the woman in the paper-bag colored coat is summonsing a celestial force – an inversion of the genie in the bottle myth, if you will. To me, she is not the product of theories; ‘big bang’ or biology.

Rather, she is the punctum of all creation…and with each gesture of her arm outstretched, birds and boardwalk pour from her wind rippled cuff. I like to imagine that her bag possesses magical powers, not unlike mary-poppins when she pulled the most inconceivable items from her purse.

And, like a weight used to keep important papers from scattering in a wind, her stance and gate are solid and absolute. To her right, further down on the boardwalk, a once patriotically painted trash receptacle stands faded and anchored in the illusion of this accidental allegory. This image reminds me that god (the god concept) is real, but no less a construct than man himself.

the view

I suppose with the parking lot photo (which was shot through the glass window of my hotel room) I was confronting the symmetry and banality of a life without a view – the constancy of yellow lines indicating the ‘parked’ status of something stationary… I was full of
fear and sorrow, self-loathing and loss. To me, the photo was about construction and complacency – about the way we build walls…

Unremarkable walls, walls that could easily be destroyed or scaled, and how we literally park ourselves outside of those walls (most, for the entirety of our lives) gazing at obstruction as if it were a scenic view or vista, some sight to behold, something sublime. But, the only thing sublime in the view is the lack thereof, the imposition of our own confinement, self-incarceration…

End of interview

Thanks Paul for sharing your thoughts and your time here! I’m sure readers will appreciate the story about your winning photograph and the photographic knowledge you have shared here.

Readers wishing to learn more about Paul D. Van Hoy II can refer to his biography at Wedding Photography Workshop, his blog at fotoimpressions.com and also his documentary on YouTube.

All images courtesy of Paul D. Van Hoy II © Paul D. Van Hoy II

Interview with Microsoft Student Partners Albert Ong and Michael Quandt

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP)? Recently I’ve had the great opportunity to discuss with both Albert Ong and Michael Quandt who are students of the University of Technology, Sydney (Australia) about their experiences with the program and a bit about themselves. Here’s a transcript of the discussion:

So let’s start by telling us about what you’re studying and why you chose to study it.

Michael: I am studying for a Bachelor of Engineering in ICT Software. I have always been interested in programming, and started well before Uni, so it was only natural to continue doing that. I guess one of the big reasons I chose this particular course was the addition of an internship component. We receive a Diploma as well for completing a one year internship.

Albert: I currently study the combined degree; Bachelor of Engineering Bachelor of Biotechnology, majoring in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Coming from a long family history in medicine, I believed that it was crucial to find ways to help save lives. However, contrary to my family’s opinion, I also believed that becoming a medical practitioner was neither the most efficient, nor the most elegant way of doing this – I may have been able to save lives in the short run, but was helpless about the long run. I chose to study this combined degree because of my deep passion in both robotics and medicine.

Originally, when I first enrolled in this degree, I majored in ICT (Software). It was only last year when I realized that where I was heading was not where I wanted to be.

At the time, I was also the first batch of students to undertake the newly developed ICT major. This meant that my degree was neither recognized by industry or Engineers Australia. This, and recommendations from PhD students and lecturers, resulted with my transfer to major in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, which I hope will get me to where I want and need to be.

How did you find out about the MSP program and how you joined in?

Albert: I found out about the MSP program through Michael Quandt, a high school friend who attended the same university.  He told me he was part of the Microsoft Student Partners program, and at the time I had no idea what he meant. He asked me to attend an event that he and Chris (who was an MSP at the time) were running.  That’s where I met Karo, who coordinates the program. I then decided to join the MSP program. I filled out an application form on the MSP website student-partners.com and sent it to Karo. He later gave me an over-the-phone interview, and I became accepted into the MSP program.

Michael: I attended an event run by the Academic DPE (Developer Platform Evangelism) team at UTS, called MIX on Campus. It was an event aimed at students, and designed to mimic the session/conference feel of TechEd or MIx, but on a smaller scale.

I actually attended that in my final year of High School, and when I started at UTS the next year, I applied for a MSP position at UTS. I guess one of the key reasons aside from the benefits would be to spread awareness of cool events like MIX on Campus, and the benefits students get, like DreamSpark.

How aware are students in your university of the MSP program and events and how do you try to increase it?

Albert: There are quite a few students, clubs and societies that are aware of the MSP program, but not yet as much as we would like there to be. However, we continuously strive to work as a team to help improve student awareness about all the benefits that Microsoft has on offer. We primarily hold talks at UTS about Microsoft offers, competitions and technologies. The big ones that we talk about are DreamSpark, the Imagine Cup competition, “It’s Not Cheating” and XNA.

We also organize joint events with other groups and organizations in the university such as AISEC, where we give out information to students about Microsoft internships. On top of that, we also give out tonnes of freebies and prizes to students who attend and participate at events, and help connect students who are interested in getting more information to people who can help them, including Microsoft staff.

Michael: That is a tough question to answer. The MSP program at UTS has had difficulties running events and to be honest I am not happy with the reach we currently have.

I would say a reasonable amount of students in their 3rd-4th years of Engineering at UTS know about us, however beyond that, and in other faculties, I am not sure. I know the Law and Business faculties have not been an area we have been able to get into, however I think with the help of AIESEC we have been able to start in those faculties. Combine the physical distance between Engineering/IT and Law/Business, with the fact that all of the MSPs at UTS are technical students who would give technical presentations, and you can see it is a challenge to target those students. Generally we only have certain products we can promote to them, however all of the MSPs have been working on ways to reach out to other faculties, so I hope we can start targeting not only Law/Business, but also everyone else.

We primarily try to increase our awareness by promoting the UTS MSP blog at events, and whatever other avenues of advertising we have. The start.it portal has been an excellent place to advertise events, however even that only targets IT students. Aside from that we also rely on word of mouth, posters, flyers, etc.

What are some of the skills you’ve learned from your time as an MSP?

Michael: I think one of the main skills I have picked up, is how to present to students, and how to market a product to them. We need to speak to many students at each event, generally far more than what you would normally do during an assignment presentation for a tutorial group at uni.

As a technical student, even the assignment presentations are about technical topics, and these are done differently than if you were to market a product or service to others. I think this has been a major area of improvement. When it comes to the marketing side of the MSP presentations, when we are promoting offerings like ItsNotCheating or DreamSpark, we need to be able to essentially sell these offers, without looking like a devoted fan.

Another lesser, but equally important skill I have improved is to be able to connect with Students, Faculty and Business (mostly Microsoft) and to be able to combine those connections to help any of those groups.

One thing that is crucial for getting ahead is networking, and if you can involve yourself in helping your contacts out, they will be grateful. As a MSP I have been able to connect with people at Microsoft, and staff at UTS, and those contacts can really help in the future.

Albert: During my time in the MSP program, I’ve been able to greatly improve my organization and coordination skills, especially in the avenue of running events. Being an MSP, I’ve also learnt about making and maintaining connections with professional bodies, and by efficiently communicating with these bodies, holding successful joint events. The MSP program has also reinforced my confidence and boosted my skills in presentations, public speaking and resource management.

What things do you enjoy most about being an MSP?

Albert: Besides the benefits I currently receive from Microsoft, I have a lot of fun being part of the MSP program.  The people I meet and work with are great, and being an MSP keeps me interested and up to date with the latest in gadgets and technology. Being an MSP also gives me the rare chance to meet some famous and highly influential people, both inside and Microsoft, such as Steve Ballmer.

Michael: I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy the benefits. Being able to attend expensive conferences like TechEd, or receiving full MSDN subscriptions are huge benefits that have helped me out with my own programming.

But monetary benefits aside, gaining the contacts I mentioned previously, and being invited to cool events like the Steve Ballmer “Power to Developers” event, or the Robbie Bach talk on the future of interaction. Getting to attend these VIP/Partner/Press events as a student is really cool, and helping other students attend is even better. Nothing beats giving away tickets, or even prizes from Microsoft.

What support and assistance does Microsoft provide you with for your activities?

Michael: Microsoft actually provides quite a lot of support. Each MSP has a budget they can use to spend on whatever they need to run an event, and alongside that Microsoft provides MVP experts to do the presentations, as well as plenty of prizes.

We can connect with experts at Microsoft, or partners of Microsoft to get the information we need, and the MVP (Microsoft Valued Professional) program has plenty of specialists who are happy to come and talk to students about a particular Microsoft product.

Albert: Microsoft gives each MSP an annual budget to work from to host events. Even though the budget is small in my opinion, it is reasonably sufficient to run events with during the year. Microsoft also helps out by supplying advertising material, freebies and prizes, as well as equipment for events.

What areas of IT are you most interested in and why?

Albert: I have always had a deep interest in robotics, though I’ve also recently been curious about augmented reality. Robotics and its potential applications in life have always inspired me to reach new heights, and has also been one of my life’s greatest passions. It was like “life without anything living”.  Robotics was also the driving force in making me choose my degree, and change my university major.  It was the major influence for me to undertake my ongoing research into the design of artificial organs.

Augmented reality was something that I’ve learned about recently, thanks to the recent MSP Summit.  It impact on my curiosity was almost like robotics, primarily because it made what seemed impossible, possible. The implications of augmented reality are boundless, and that’s what attracts my interest.

Michael: I am particularly interested in Computer Graphics, not only in the game space, but also film. I am really interested in the techniques used to make the ever improving graphics you see in modern games and film, and so I spend most of my hobby time learning about these techniques and trying to implement them myself.

I find it is an area of programming that ends up being very satisfying. I guess having an image as a final product, and knowing how just numbers can turn into a 3D image is really fascinating. Plus knowing how that cool new technique you see in a game works, and knowing you could implement it is really pleasing. (also knowing why that game is lagging, and what to tweak to fix it, can really help with some PC games)

Any ambitions after uni?

Michael: I would like to apply my passion and enter the Computer Graphics industry, whether it be games or film. I am not sure if I will go the indie route, but that will depend on what happens in the future.

Albert: I plan on diving into robotics research for a while after I graduate. After that, I hope I can move into developing medical robots, including viable artificial organs.

End of Interview

Thanks very much Albert and Michael for joining us and getting us to know about the MSP! Hope you both enjoy the rest of your time at university!

You can learn more about Microsoft Student Partners and its events at the University of Technology, Sydney at its official website. Michael (twitter link) also has a personal website where he shares his interests in XNA and other computer topics.

Update: added Michael Quandt’s responses

Resolving the PCI-E x16 @ x1 graphics card issue

Not too long ago I’ve encountered a strange and random issue with my graphics card. I’ve noticed some slowdowns in 3D applications and some games as well. Thinking that the quality settings were misconfigured I dialed down the settings but to no avail. It wasn’t hard disk access latency either. The amount of slowdown depends on the application, but in most cases it was slight but noticeable. In other cases, the slowdowns were dramatic and immediately obvious. Another symptom of the problem was that the BIOS POST (boot up) would take longer than usual and the card would spin up its fan several times during this step.

It wasn’t until I opened up GPU-Z that I realized that the card was running at the slowest interface speed possible – PCI-E x 16 @ x1, which translates to 250 MB/s. This is technically even slower than the first AGP specification speed of 266 MB/s (AGP 1x) introduced over a decade ago in 1997. I took out the card and re-inserted it back and booted it up. To my surprise, PCI-E x16 @ x16 came back again! The boot up process went back to normal also. I think it was just some loose contact in the PCI-E lanes so if you ever encounter this rare problem, give this procedure a try first. Afterall, it’s unlikely a driver problem could change the lane settings.

[Update: In the BIOS, you can also check whether Force PEG x1 is enabled which also makes your card run at PCI-E x16 @ x1 - disable it if it is enabled.]

Program in screenshot is GPU-Z by TechPowerUp

NVIDIA demonstrates DirectX 10 tessellation

Illustration courtesy of NVIDIA Corporation

I suppose everyone appreciates an innovative solution to a problem. And the problem for NVIDIA was this: how do you emulate Direct3D 11′s tessellation using only Direct3D 10 techniques?

NVIDIA showed that by using the then-newly introduced Geometry Shader and Instancing 2.0 in Direct3D 10, one could approminate the results generated by a Direct3D 11 tessellator. It’s a given that the technique required to accomplish it is quite complicated and the change in level of detail or tesellation rate is coarse and abrupt as you get closer or further away from the object, but it’s still impressive nevertheless to see it work on the tessellation-unaware Direct3D 10. They even have a working demo for you to see it in action.

You can also get to read the technical details of this technique.