MacResearch

In this episode we cover some questions regarding function calls from kernels and the use of clFinish. Also, we'll discuss basic GPU architecture, memory layout, shared memory. Thread blocks, warps and efficient data loading will also be discussed.

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Episode 4 - Memory Layout and Access (Desktop/iPhone/iPod touch)
Episode 4 - Memory Layout and Access (PDF)

The crew over at Red Artisan has posted a nice introduction to MacRuby on their site. Some of you may know that MacRuby is a version of Ruby scripting language interpreter, ported to run directly on top of Mac OS X core technologies. MacRuby allows one to access much of the functionality in Core OS X frameworks from Ruby, and even the ability to write native Cocoa UI application using the Ruby scripting language. MacRuby could play an important role in science by opening the world of Cocoa-based application development to those who are more comfortable working in a high-level scripting language — which includes many scientist-programmers.

Despite there being few new major features Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6) has a number significant upgrades under the hood. Whilst many sites highlight issues with software I thought it would be very useful to have a list of scientific applications and problems or not.

So to start.

Spartan and ChemDraw are reported to have no issues under Snow Leopard.

In this episode we cover some questions that were asked on the forums and via email about double-precision arithmetic, object oriented programming, clarification on global and local work groups and types of scientific calculations that are amenable to GPU computing. In addition, we'll go over in more detail how to query devices for specific information and features and walk through an example of an OpenCL calculation in Xcode.

In iTunes, you can subscribe to the podcasts by going to:

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URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/opencl

Episode 3 - Building an OpenCL Project (Desktop/iPhone/iPod touch)
Episode 3 - Building an OpenCL Project (PDF)
Source code for Episode 3

Since Snow Leopard is coming soon, and the first episode of the series was well received I'm releasing the second episode earlier than I was planning. Lot's of excitement around Snow Leopard and OpenCL it seems. So something to keep you busy until Snow Leopard Friday and the weekend of pure bliss we'll all be in.

In Episode 2 of the OpenCL tutorial series we'll cover some OpenCL fundamentals. This is a little more in-depth than the last one, and discusses general concepts that are important for understanding how OpenCL works. OpenCL address spaces are covered as well the basics of executing an OpenCL program (abstractly).

Also, thanks to everyone who gave feedback. I'm still working out a few things in producing these. But if there are comments, questions or suggestions, please let me know (either by email or via this site).

In iTunes, you can subscribe to the podcasts by going to:

Advanced -> Subscribe to podcast
URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/opencl

Episode 2 - OpenCL Fundamentals (Desktop/iPhone/iPod touch)
Episode 2 - OpenCL Fundamentals (PDF)

With the launch of Snow Leopard this Friday, now is the time to start getting revved up for some of the new technologies coming with this release. One of them, OpenCL, is near and dear to my heart. And this tutorial series will hopefully help getting many of you acquainted with the technology and what it can do. Instead of doing text tutorials, I've decided to present these as video tutorials.

I'm still working on getting these syndicated in iTunes.

In iTunes, you can subscribe to the podcasts by going to:

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URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/opencl

I hope you find them useful:

Episode 1 - Introduction to OpenCL (Desktop)
Episode 1 - Introduction to OpenCL (iPhone/iPod touch)

X11 2.4.0
Released: 2009.08.14
This release contains Xquartz-1.5.3-apple14.
Download X11-2.4.0.dmg, and open it to install with Leopard's Installer. As of 2.2.0, you do not need to have Leopard's X11 package installed (but it is alright if you do).

At iChemLabs, we just launched a new open source (GNU GPL v3) project called ChemDoodle Web Components, web.chemdoodle.com. ChemDoodle Web Components are pure javascript objects derived from ChemDoodle to solve common chemistry related tasks on the web, leveraging the technology of the HTML 5 specification's canvas tag. These components are native browser applications, and you don't need to worry about installing applets or applet related security issues. This library will also replace all images, as now you only need molecular data, and you define a style sheet for the drawings to be displayed on your pages. This allows you to quickly conform entire websites and make small changes instantly without remaking images.

Author: Lance
Web Site: www.vvi.com

A longstanding feature of Vvidget is its use of shared components, including shared frameworks and a distributed server architecture. Although those features are consistent with good development practices on Mac OS X they also present some concerns including the use of launchd services, lack of revision control and perceived security issues. That was most notably mentioned in the first article that appeared on MacResearch, Vvidget: Chart and Graphing System for OS X, in the comments where Vvidget was called invasive.

One of the bloggers at SmallBiz Resource has posted a brief survey of PDF Tools for the Mac. Although the article is aimed at small business users, we all know that PDFs are no less important to scientists. The list doesn't contain obvious picks like Acrobat, focusing instead on some of the more obscure, but useful free and commercial applications for PDF that can be found in the wild.