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Electic interview
I know this is yet another thread, but nevermind 
Just thought I'd re-word Dan Woods' answers in the interview.
It was a very 'matrox are great' interview with no real answers, I know, but there were some very interesting points made.
The writing in Italics are my own interpretation of Dan Woods' answers.
We're Matrox, we're great, we'll never go bust because we're rich. Oh, did I mention we're great?
Oh, I just thought I'd re-iterate that we're great, and we have loads of awards
A bit of a cover-up answer here. You should replace every 'we' in his answer with 'I'.
I can't be hassled with a difficult task, I know, I have a good idea, lets make a card called the 'G450' and pretend it's fantastic. In
the process of doing this, I'll delay all progress on any new hardware for a few months. Hey - at least I'm releasing a new graphics card!
(Shame that's it's crap)
Puuurrlleeaassee drop the 'Matrox has poor OpenGL' line! OK, Our OpenGL is almost perfectly working at long last. We don't worry about the
gamers too much, but we please our big spending OEMs so that's OK.
We've been number one before for gaming, and we'll do it again. YOU'LL just have to wait and see what we've got lined up to make us
numero uno again!
Ha! so there! Just have to say it again: We rule! (And IBM think so too, and that makes us rich
We like new technologies, and we know how to do them all. All we need to do is decide which ones Marketing can hype up to sound great. We
can do ANYTHING that our competitors can only dream of... we need to find which new technologies we know our competitors haven't a hope in
hell of doing themselves (And end up stealing: Dualhead - TwinView, anyone?)
Marketing blurb on showing off how fantastic Matrox is.
Oh, did I mention Haig (and his team) RULE!?
mmmmmm Tile based rendering, we like that. Just have to slip in that I'm great as I made us use PowerVR's tilebased rendering first for
matrox. Imagination Technology are peanuts to us, we can do it oh so much better if and when we want to
Now there's a good idea! I might just do that after we finish what we're doing next
Let me just say something I may have mentioned before: We rule, we rule, we rule! We can do anything, and we can do it properly, without
skimping at all, or copying anyone else, like another company, not mentioning any names *cough* *cough* Nvidia. Our fan base is not
comprised of 'l33t ha><0rz' who eat drink and sleep Quake 3. We actually think that there are one or two businessmen out there who want to be
able to stare at a screen all day and not develop eye strain. We also realised that people might want to edit video without using an awful
system like an all-in-wonder.
Oh, and can I say something else too: we have hundreds of people working on (a) new (series of?) graphics cards as we speak? Wait and see
what we have up our sleeve!
That last answer from Dan was nicely worded.
------------------
Cheers,
Steve
"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"
Just thought I'd re-word Dan Woods' answers in the interview.It was a very 'matrox are great' interview with no real answers, I know, but there were some very interesting points made.
The writing in Italics are my own interpretation of Dan Woods' answers.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] With economic indicators pointing down, how has Matrox faired so far? In particular, how has Matrox's G450 lines
performed for their target audience?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is feeling the overall marketplace slowing down, but our focus on the commercial desktop and the multi-display market has
allowed us to weather the storm reasonably well. At a time when consumers need to watch every penny they spend, they want to be sure they are
getting value and solutions that matter today. With the G450 series we are giving our consumers exactly that and this is what has helped make
us a reliable and dependable company for home and office users worldwide.
</font>
performed for their target audience?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is feeling the overall marketplace slowing down, but our focus on the commercial desktop and the multi-display market has
allowed us to weather the storm reasonably well. At a time when consumers need to watch every penny they spend, they want to be sure they are
getting value and solutions that matter today. With the G450 series we are giving our consumers exactly that and this is what has helped make
us a reliable and dependable company for home and office users worldwide.
</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] I see. nVidia, among others, is starting to turn up the heat on the business arena with products designed for business
applications. What is your company doing to reinforce and expand your presence in the corporate sector?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is the only company that is serious about satisfying the demanding needs of business professionals. We have had the fastest
2D acceleration in the industry for about the last seven years. We introduced the concept of unified drivers and we are still the only
company that offers rock solid, high quality analog output at high resolutions and high frequency. Adding interesting new technologies like
DualHead and eDualHead makes us the leader in this area.
</font>
applications. What is your company doing to reinforce and expand your presence in the corporate sector?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is the only company that is serious about satisfying the demanding needs of business professionals. We have had the fastest
2D acceleration in the industry for about the last seven years. We introduced the concept of unified drivers and we are still the only
company that offers rock solid, high quality analog output at high resolutions and high frequency. Adding interesting new technologies like
DualHead and eDualHead makes us the leader in this area.
</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] Many believe that the G400 was your last viable gaming platform. What where the reasons for leaving the gaming
community?
[Dan Wood] I'll interpret the question as referring to the hard-core gamer given that the current G450 is running Quake3 at over 30fps, which
satisfies the bulk of users outside the hard-core gaming market. The bottom line is that we had to make decisions about what to do with our
design resources and we decided that the development of products embodied in the G450 was the best place to put our energy. And if this past
year is any indication, we feel it was the right business move as OEM's have found our approach very attractive and as such, design wins,
critical to a successful business model, continue to be signed.
</font>
community?
[Dan Wood] I'll interpret the question as referring to the hard-core gamer given that the current G450 is running Quake3 at over 30fps, which
satisfies the bulk of users outside the hard-core gaming market. The bottom line is that we had to make decisions about what to do with our
design resources and we decided that the development of products embodied in the G450 was the best place to put our energy. And if this past
year is any indication, we feel it was the right business move as OEM's have found our approach very attractive and as such, design wins,
critical to a successful business model, continue to be signed.
</font>
I can't be hassled with a difficult task, I know, I have a good idea, lets make a card called the 'G450' and pretend it's fantastic. In
the process of doing this, I'll delay all progress on any new hardware for a few months. Hey - at least I'm releasing a new graphics card!
(Shame that's it's crap)
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] The G450 line has OpenGL performance figures far below that of the G400 line. Do you have plans of improving performance
in regards to OpenGL to compete with other video cards on the market?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is working closely with vendors of professional applications who use the OpenGL API. Providing stable, quality support for
all of the different and demanding applications in the workstation space is a project that we are committed to and we will continue to
improve our offering in this area.
</font>
in regards to OpenGL to compete with other video cards on the market?
[Dan Wood] Matrox is working closely with vendors of professional applications who use the OpenGL API. Providing stable, quality support for
all of the different and demanding applications in the workstation space is a project that we are committed to and we will continue to
improve our offering in this area.
</font>
gamers too much, but we please our big spending OEMs so that's OK.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] Hopefully, those numbers will come up in the next product...keeping my fingers crossed. Do you have any plans to return
to the gaming arena?
[Dan Wood] Matrox has brought really cool technology to the gaming community many times over the years from the first Millennium, which
accelerated Nascar Racing from Papyrus (by using a 2D blitter) to the G400 Max's list of over 30 titles that support Environment Mapped Bump
Mapping. Today's 3D technology is so compelling and offers so many advantages over what we have seen in the past, that it would be foolish
for a company not to embrace it. So will we ever return to the hard-core gaming market...you'll have to wait and see.
</font>
to the gaming arena?
[Dan Wood] Matrox has brought really cool technology to the gaming community many times over the years from the first Millennium, which
accelerated Nascar Racing from Papyrus (by using a 2D blitter) to the G400 Max's list of over 30 titles that support Environment Mapped Bump
Mapping. Today's 3D technology is so compelling and offers so many advantages over what we have seen in the past, that it would be foolish
for a company not to embrace it. So will we ever return to the hard-core gaming market...you'll have to wait and see.
</font>
numero uno again!
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] What kind of support will Matrox bring to newer, high performance, LCD monitors like IBM's Roentgen hi-res LCD monitor
(2048 x1536) in its upcoming products?
[Dan Wood] IBM has already demoed a special version of our G200 MMS card, used in the financial trading market, which will work with all of
their high res flat panels (even up to 3840x2400). This was at the last Comdex. As the only company doing a quad DVI output we are the only
one able to support such high resolutions.
</font>
(2048 x1536) in its upcoming products?
[Dan Wood] IBM has already demoed a special version of our G200 MMS card, used in the financial trading market, which will work with all of
their high res flat panels (even up to 3840x2400). This was at the last Comdex. As the only company doing a quad DVI output we are the only
one able to support such high resolutions.
</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] Nice. What does Matrox think about hardware acceleration of the Voxel rendering technique and is Matrox considering
implementing the 48 bit rendering in their future products?
[Dan Wood] There are many differing technologies that we are currently evaluating. The key is to get them to work fluidly and with the least
bandwidth restrictions. Whether it is Voxel rendering or the move to 48 bit colour it all depends on how the technology fits in with the
needs of our users and the viability of the approach.
</font>
implementing the 48 bit rendering in their future products?
[Dan Wood] There are many differing technologies that we are currently evaluating. The key is to get them to work fluidly and with the least
bandwidth restrictions. Whether it is Voxel rendering or the move to 48 bit colour it all depends on how the technology fits in with the
needs of our users and the viability of the approach.
</font>
can do ANYTHING that our competitors can only dream of... we need to find which new technologies we know our competitors haven't a hope in
hell of doing themselves (And end up stealing: Dualhead - TwinView, anyone?)
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] I am sure business users would like Voxel rendering. We have heard many users complain about poor customer support,
especially in the Matrox forums. What are your current plans about improving customer service?
[Dan Wood] This is a BIG surprise to me as we have received numerous comments of praise from users worldwide that say we have the best tech
support bar none. Not only is our tech support team professional and courteous, but they really go out of their way to make sure that any
issue is dealt with. So much so that we even have a "tips and tricks" section on the forums for various un-supported apps. Our tech support
team routinely stays after work to engage in Quake matches with other clan's, all on their own time. They are a top-notch team who
continually improve their service and support to clients whether through the forums, on the phone or on our extensive FAQ section on our
site.
</font>
especially in the Matrox forums. What are your current plans about improving customer service?
[Dan Wood] This is a BIG surprise to me as we have received numerous comments of praise from users worldwide that say we have the best tech
support bar none. Not only is our tech support team professional and courteous, but they really go out of their way to make sure that any
issue is dealt with. So much so that we even have a "tips and tricks" section on the forums for various un-supported apps. Our tech support
team routinely stays after work to engage in Quake matches with other clan's, all on their own time. They are a top-notch team who
continually improve their service and support to clients whether through the forums, on the phone or on our extensive FAQ section on our
site.
</font>
Oh, did I mention Haig (and his team) RULE!?
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] Tile based rendering is very efficient. Imagination Technology has a tile based rendering processor that, although
underpowered compared
To offerings from nVidia, it can hold its own due to a very efficient use of memory bandwidth. Will Matrox be using something similar to tile
based rendering in an upcoming product?
[Dan Wood] We are watching the Imagination Technology offering with interest. I was the Matrox product manager who was responsible for
"productizing" one of the previous PowerVR technologies in a board called the Matrox m3D, so I know that tile based rendering can produce
some good performance benefits. The challenge for Imagination Technology is going to be to prove that full application compatibility is
achieved with their solution. Outside of fear mongering, the price/performance of their solution with existing game titles looks pretty good.
</font>
underpowered compared
To offerings from nVidia, it can hold its own due to a very efficient use of memory bandwidth. Will Matrox be using something similar to tile
based rendering in an upcoming product?
[Dan Wood] We are watching the Imagination Technology offering with interest. I was the Matrox product manager who was responsible for
"productizing" one of the previous PowerVR technologies in a board called the Matrox m3D, so I know that tile based rendering can produce
some good performance benefits. The challenge for Imagination Technology is going to be to prove that full application compatibility is
achieved with their solution. Outside of fear mongering, the price/performance of their solution with existing game titles looks pretty good.
</font>
matrox. Imagination Technology are peanuts to us, we can do it oh so much better if and when we want to
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">
[Electic.com] Notebook computers have been so far very limited in their graphics capabilities but are now showing signs of increased
functionality and even viable 3D game performance. Does Matrox have any plans to enter the mobile market?
[Dan Wood] All I can say is that at present we are a PC only company.
</font>
[Electic.com] Notebook computers have been so far very limited in their graphics capabilities but are now showing signs of increased
functionality and even viable 3D game performance. Does Matrox have any plans to enter the mobile market?
[Dan Wood] All I can say is that at present we are a PC only company.
</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">[Electic.com] Aren't we all. Matrox seems to have a rather large and loyal fan base on the Internet but the lack of a high
performance, next generation chip since the G400, has scared many of those loyal users away towards your rivals. If Matrox could say one
thing to these users, what would it be?
[Dan Wood] I think that our loyal fan base is due to the exceptionally high quality of our graphics cards. We know that there are a lot of
sophisticated graphics users on the market who know more than to judge a graphics card simply by its Quake3 score. The photo-editing
professionals, the business desktop user, the financial professionals and those that care about cutting edge analog output quality know that
we are the world leader in providing solutions. With our Marvel line of products we are appealing to a whole new gamut of PC user. We are
helping to make the PC the multi-media hub for the home and office. Whether it is capturing and editing video to be broadcast on a website or
watching TV on your PC and using our time shifting and picture-in-picture features, Matrox saw the convergence happening in the industry when
we released our original Marvel line. We were innovators then and we will continue to innovate. As long as there is a PC, we will work with
our partners to make products that provide a dynamic way of computing. Whether in the home or office, consumers can continue to look to
Matrox for quality solutions that make sense today.
The last thing I would say to our loyal fan base is that we are a quiet company but we have over 400 engineers devoted to cutting edge
graphics research and we will continue to lead and bring innovative new products to market.
</font>
performance, next generation chip since the G400, has scared many of those loyal users away towards your rivals. If Matrox could say one
thing to these users, what would it be?
[Dan Wood] I think that our loyal fan base is due to the exceptionally high quality of our graphics cards. We know that there are a lot of
sophisticated graphics users on the market who know more than to judge a graphics card simply by its Quake3 score. The photo-editing
professionals, the business desktop user, the financial professionals and those that care about cutting edge analog output quality know that
we are the world leader in providing solutions. With our Marvel line of products we are appealing to a whole new gamut of PC user. We are
helping to make the PC the multi-media hub for the home and office. Whether it is capturing and editing video to be broadcast on a website or
watching TV on your PC and using our time shifting and picture-in-picture features, Matrox saw the convergence happening in the industry when
we released our original Marvel line. We were innovators then and we will continue to innovate. As long as there is a PC, we will work with
our partners to make products that provide a dynamic way of computing. Whether in the home or office, consumers can continue to look to
Matrox for quality solutions that make sense today.
The last thing I would say to our loyal fan base is that we are a quiet company but we have over 400 engineers devoted to cutting edge
graphics research and we will continue to lead and bring innovative new products to market.
</font>
skimping at all, or copying anyone else, like another company, not mentioning any names *cough* *cough* Nvidia. Our fan base is not
comprised of 'l33t ha><0rz' who eat drink and sleep Quake 3. We actually think that there are one or two businessmen out there who want to be
able to stare at a screen all day and not develop eye strain. We also realised that people might want to edit video without using an awful
system like an all-in-wonder.
Oh, and can I say something else too: we have hundreds of people working on (a) new (series of?) graphics cards as we speak? Wait and see
what we have up our sleeve!
That last answer from Dan was nicely worded.
------------------
Cheers,
Steve
"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"
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