Category: HDXPRT

I discussed in my previous blog how weighing the tradeoffs between real science and real world in benchmark is a real art. One person felt it was more akin to sausage making than art! In truth, I have made that comparison myself.

That, of course, got me thinking. Is the process of creating a benchmark like that of creating sausage? With sausage, the feeling is that if you knew what went into sausage, you probably wouldn’t eat it. That may well be true, but I would still like to know that someone was inspecting the sausage factory. Sausage that contains strange animal parts is one thing, but sausage containing E. coli is another.

We are trying with the Development Community to use transparency to create better benchmarks. My feeling is that the more inspectors (members) there are, the better the benchmark will be. At least to me, unlike making sausage, creating benchmarks is actually cool. (There are probably sausage artisans who feel the same way about sausage.)

What do you think? Would you prefer to know what goes into making a benchmark? We hope so and hope that is why you are a part of this community. If you are not part of the Development Community, we encourage you to join at http://hdxprt.com/forum/register.php. Come join us in the sausage-making art house!

Bill

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While talking with people at CES about HDXPRT and the upcoming touch benchmark, I encountered the same question a few times—Who are the current members of the Development Community? My answer was something along the lines of “About 10 PC hardware vendors, about the same number of press people, and a few other folks from companies around the world.” I was, however, itching to name the companies because the list is really pretty impressive. We haven’t asked for permission from the Development Community members, though, so I left my answer vague.

Given our goal of expanding the Development Community, I find myself weighing two possible outcomes if we were to make public the names of the companies represented. On the one hand, it could encourage others to join us (“All the other cool kids are doing it, I guess I will too!”). On the other hand, it could discourage others from joining us (“Not sure how my company would feel about this. Should I ask Legal? I’m too busy, never mind.”)

My best plan for now is to email each member individually and ask where he or she stands on company anonymity. And to give all new members the option of keeping their affiliation off the record. Rest assured that we will definitely not reveal this information without your permission.

We’d like to know what you think. Would you have joined the Development Community if doing so required identifying your company and allowing us to share it? Would you now be willing to let us say that someone from your company is a member?

Bill

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