Computer Graphics Potpourri

Dated Jan 3, 2021; last modified on Sun, 12 Feb 2023

Retained Mode vs. Immediate Mode

In retained mode, the graphics library exposes an API to the application for building/updating a scene. However, the graphics library is in charge of issuing drawing commands. In contrast, an immediate-mode API allows the application to issue the drawing commands. Retained-mode APIs abstract away initialization, state maintenance and cleanup, but uses more memory. Immediate-mode APIs allow for more targeted optimizations.

https://reactjs.org/ is one of the more popular retained-mode web APIs.

Parallel Reality™ Pixel

Conventional pixels output only a single color at any moment. Parallel Reality™ pixels can simultaneously output up to millions of controllable rays of different colors and brightness.

Parallel Reality™ display at DTW Airport. Obtained from Baskas2022. Passengers opt in, and then motion sensors in ceiling track them around. The display can serve up to 100 people in a designated viewing area. Everyone else gets generic info.
Parallel Reality™ display at DTW Airport. Obtained from Baskas2022. Passengers opt in, and then motion sensors in ceiling track them around. The display can serve up to 100 people in a designated viewing area. Everyone else gets generic info.

At some point, there were TVs which could show different content depending on the viewing angle. What happened to them? Samsung was in the news with one back in 2012 , but that TV requires special polarizing glasses. Naïvely put, the OLEDs rapidly flicker back and forth between the two views .

References

  1. Retained Mode Versus Immediate Mode - Win32 apps | Microsoft Docs. docs.microsoft.com .
  2. The Parallel Reality Technology. www.misappliedsciences.com . Accessed Jul 16, 2022.
  3. Detroit's new personalized flight information board is straight out of a sci-fi novel. Harriet Baskas. thepointsguy.com . Jul 16, 2022. Accessed Jul 16, 2022.