THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY June 11, 2003 bump mapping ______________ SPONSORED BY: Microsoft
The Quick Guide to Windows Server 2003. Get the latest information on installation, new features and training. Click here! http://WhatIs.com/r/0,,14906,00.htm?microsoft ________________ TODAY'S WORD: bump mapping See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci905729,00.html Bump mapping is a technique used in graphics programs to produce the appearance of textured surfaces. It works by altering the brightnesses of the pixels in specific patterns. The result is similar to that produced when light shines at an angle on a surface. By means of bump mapping, a sphere can be made to look like an orange. An apparently horizontal plane can be given the appearance of a pond with ripples, an asphalt parking lot, or a grassy lawn. Bump mapping is used in gaming programs to produce the illusion of relief. It is also used in such diverse applications as biology, chemistry, astrophysics, and architecture. The most sophisticated form of bump mapping is called per-pixel lighting or Phong shading. Programs that perform this version of bump mapping are expensive, and they require considerable memory and processing power in order to run. Emboss bump mapping, a less sophisticated form, is easier to emulate on the chips commonly used with personal computers. Such effects also lend themselves to transmission over Internet connections for online gaming. RELATED TERMS: pixel http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212793,00.html ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Chris Hall of 3Dlabs Ltd. has written a white paper about bump mapping. http://www.3dlabs.com/product/technology/pdf/Bump_White_Paper.pdf Paul Baker offers a bump mapping tutorial. http://users.ox.ac.uk/~univ1234/tutorials/simplebump/simplebump.htm ______________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: AT JDE SHOW, CUSTOMERS PONDER MERGER MAYHEM At J.D. Edwards' annual user show, customers wondered what the Oracle-PeopleSoft-JDE intrigue means for them and for the future of the products they use. http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid11_gci905515,00.html GARTNER: BY 2008, TAPE TO BE 'UNSUITABLE' AS A RESTORE MEDIA Tape isn't dead, but some analysts contend that, as a restore media, tape just doesn't have the longevity of disk. http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid5_gci905573,00.html CIO TRENDWATCH: UTILITY COMPUTING GOOD, SPAM BAD Utility computing makes so much sense, it's scary. Spam is just plain scary. Both topics are hot for totally different reasons. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci905648,00.html >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com/ ______________________ Information Kit | Spyware When you surf the Web, is someone monitoring your every keystroke? Is it legal? Find out more about this controversial subject, and review products designed to stop spyware. http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci905446,00.html ______________________ KNOW-IT-ALL QUESTION | Do you speak geek? In information technology, this is an adjective that means "plain" or "basic". a. vanilla b. atomic c. black d. green >> Click for correct answer http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213272,00.html ______________________ QUIZ #6 | All about servers In the client/server programming model, a server is a program that awaits and fulfills requests from client programs. How much do you know about servers? 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