Technology demo
Encyclopedia
A tech demo is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a product, put together with the primary purpose of showcasing the idea, performance, method or the features of the product. They can be used as demonstrations to the investor
s, partners, journalists or even to potential customers in order to convince them of the viability of the chosen approach.
Computer technology demos should not be confused with demoscene
-based demos
, which, although often demonstrating new software techniques, are regarded as a stand-alone form of computer art.
industry, emerging as an important tool in response to short development cycles, in both software and hardware development.
Computer technology demos should not be confused with demoscene
-based demos
, which, although often demonstrating new software techniques, are regarded as a stand-alone form of computer art.
, but can come some of the way to showing how a business project may be justified. Large companies with tens or hundreds of Sales Engineers will often have a team who specialize in the production of Demo systems and plans.
s can be presented as the product, a demo of Internet
Quality of Service
software can be done on a LAN with manually-regulated traffic, and pre-rendered videos or pictures with notably higher-quality models can be presented as actual game footage.
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
s, partners, journalists or even to potential customers in order to convince them of the viability of the chosen approach.
Computer technology demos should not be confused with demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
-based demos
Demo (computer programming)
A demo is a non-interactive multimedia presentation made within the computer subculture known as the demoscene. Demogroups create demos to demonstrate their abilities in programming, music, drawing, and 3D modeling...
, which, although often demonstrating new software techniques, are regarded as a stand-alone form of computer art.
Computers and gaming
Tech demos are often used in the computerComputer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
industry, emerging as an important tool in response to short development cycles, in both software and hardware development.
- Computer game developers use technology demos to rouse and maintain interest to titles still in development (because game engineGame engineA game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
s are usually ready before the art is finished) and to ensure functionality by early testing. Short segments using finished game engines may be presented as game demoGame demoA game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
s. Critics are also fond of calling certain complete games technology demos, due to the emphasis of the designers solely on the game's technology, severely lacking content in the process. id SoftwareId SoftwareId Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
in particular has garnered its share of such criticism.
- Graphics cards manufacturers use tech-demos to showcase the performance of their cards even before there are any games that can deliver that performance or before the product is ready to be used outside of the development labs. In November 2002, NVIDIANVIDIANvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
started the practice of featuring realistic female characters in graphics card technology demos, by releasing DawnDawn (demo)Dawn is both the name of Nvidia's technology demo and its main character constructed for performance by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The eponymous demo is called "the dawn of cinematic computing", and was used to showcase the capabilities of the GeForce FX series of video cards.-Overview:Dawn is a...
for its GeForce FXGeForce FXThe GeForce FX or "GeForce 5" series is a line of graphics processing units from the manufacturer NVIDIA.-Overview:...
card. The demo featured a scantily-clad forest fairyFairyA fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
with semi-realistic short hair and beautiful wings. Later NVIDIA followed with similar, new demos and ATI TechnologiesATI TechnologiesATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
joined the race.
- Being by nature much less complex than complete games (that have to include dynamic physics modelling, audio engines, etc.), technology demos for graphics can deliver substantially better image quality, making the general look of games lag several years behind video card technology demos. For example, the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
demos Namco Girl (a lifelike female character from Ridge RacerRidge RacerRidge Racer may refer to:*Ridge Racer , an arcade game first released by Namco in 1993, later ported to the PlayStation*Ridge Racer , a series of sequels and spin-offs based on the arcade game...
winking flirtatiously at viewers) and old man used all the processing power to produce a high-quality single character model, in a static environment. XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
trailers also showed Raven, a buff woman and her robot, showing off martial art moves.
Computer technology demos should not be confused with demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
-based demos
Demo (computer programming)
A demo is a non-interactive multimedia presentation made within the computer subculture known as the demoscene. Demogroups create demos to demonstrate their abilities in programming, music, drawing, and 3D modeling...
, which, although often demonstrating new software techniques, are regarded as a stand-alone form of computer art.
Google Tech Demo
Demo Slam, a website from Google Inc., as launched with the slogan "Bring your creativity. Bring your tech. Just bring it in general, fool! Demo Slam is here!", is a large collection of technology demos uploaded by users, and some of the Google executives as well, which will go to the 'Contender'Sales Engineering Tech Demo
Sales Engineering staff, often bearing the title Sales Engineer or Presales Consultant, will prepare Tech demos for business meetings or seminars to show capabilities of business products. This can include both software and hardware products, and can show multiple products integrating together. Usually a Demo is less than a Proof of conceptProof of concept
A proof of concept or a proof of principle is a realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle, whose purpose is to verify that some concept or theory that has the potential of being used...
, but can come some of the way to showing how a business project may be justified. Large companies with tens or hundreds of Sales Engineers will often have a team who specialize in the production of Demo systems and plans.
Fakes
Occasionally, technology demos prove out to be rigged or even completely fake. For example, an empty case with some blinking LEDLEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
s can be presented as the product, a demo of Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
Quality of Service
Quality of service
The quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
software can be done on a LAN with manually-regulated traffic, and pre-rendered videos or pictures with notably higher-quality models can be presented as actual game footage.
See also
- Deployment
- Game demoGame demoA game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
. A game demo is usually distinguished from the full game not by being unfinished or untested, but by deliberately including only a portion of the full game's content (released to advertise the game and prove its quality to prospective players). - Research and developmentResearch and developmentThe phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
External links
- The mother of all demos - Douglas Engelbart's demonstration
- 5 easy steps How to do a Great Tech Demo - How to do a Great Tech Demo!