3dlabs Inc., Ltd.

Intellectual Pixels Limited

Creative Technology Corporation

Ziilabs Inc. Ltd.

Nicholas J N Murphy

David Robert Baldwin

Osman Kent

Jonathan Bloomfield

Andrew Bigos

Andrew Peter Maund

Paul Pontin

Peter Daniel Collins

Steve Cooper

An image display system with one or more client computers in selective communication with a visual server having image processing capabilities. The client computer generates image-modifying data corresponding to a generated image, and transmits the data to the visual server. The visual server receives the image-modifying data, generates a modified image based upon the image-modifying data, and transmits the modified image as compressed data to the client. The client decompresses the modified image data and displays the modified image. In the system, the visual server and client can provide a sequential display of modified frames on client to support animation with complex 3-dimensional graphics.

Image display system with visual server

The write-access control line for an RTC is combined with a clear line for an RTC signature register, so that changes to the RTC will cause subsequent reads to return an invalidity flag.

Systems, methods, software, and components using tamper-proof real-time clock

A method of presenting content on the user interface display screen of a portable electronic device includes the presentation of a plurality of icons. The icons scale in size in accordance with a position of the respective icons along a curved path.

User interface with variable sized icons

An image display system with one or more client computers in selective communication with a visual server having image processing capabilities. The client computer generates image modifying data corresponding to a generated image, and transmits the data to the visual server. The visual server receives the image-modifying data, generates a modified image based upon the image-modifying data, and transmits the modified image as compressed data to the client. The client decompresses the modified image data and displays the modified image. In the system, the visual server and client can provide a sequential display of modified frames on client to support animation with complex 3-dimensional graphics.

A graphics memory architecture in which row addresses are permuted, in a basically tile-oriented storage architecture, so that fast parallel access is provided both by scanlines (for video operations) and also by tiles (for graphics operations).

Planar byte memory organization with linear access

A specialized processing chip (e.g. a graphics accelerator) in which the host interface provides access to the diagnostic registers in most of the complex logic on the chip, except for the host interface itself. This advantageously permits the host CPU to obtain direct access to register contents in the specialized chip.

In-circuit test using scan chains

A graphics rendering system and method utilizing a unified memory space for a depth-buffer and the back framebuffer. To provide very high resolution with a limited memory, each primitive is rendered once to provide depth values, to determine which pixels of each primitive are displayed, and a second time to store the color values of pixels which are to be displayed. A flag bit is used to ensure that depth data and color data, which coexist in a common memory space, cannot be confused or interchanged.

Graphics system with optimized use of unified local and frame buffers

A system and method for computer graphics generation which uses a local library of graphics textures. When an application, run either locally or over a communications system, requires texture-mapped graphics, texture data is retrieved from the local library instead of transmitted to the system.

Method and apparatus for texture transmission and storage

A system and method for improving the efficiency of DMA transfers. In particular, a &ldquo;continue&rdquo; command is provided for DMA block transfers. In practice, this command allows the system to begin a DMA transfer before the entire size of the transfer block is known and to continue the transfer, avoiding an additional setup time, by simply instructing the DMAC to continue sending data in the same manner. Transfer continuation is accomplished by resetting the DMA transfer count register to a new value without ever stopping the transfer. Each time the transfer count runs down, the system resets it to a higher value and continues the transfer rather than initializing a second transfer.

Growing community of inventors

Surrey, United Kingdom

Nicholas J N Murphy