If you program or play computer games or even recently attempted to purchase a video card, then you will have no doubt heard the terms "Vertex Shader" and "Pixel Shader". What do they mean, other than that marketdroids will never cease to invent crappy technology jargon? Hear all the noise about "Hardware T&L" a couple of years ago? It's all related and this article will attempt to describe it all neatly for you. Warning: mathematics ahead; this devolves into a basic 3D graphics tutorial. It's nothing more complicated than what you'll see in your final year of high school (linear algebra). If you're totally non-technical, run screaming now. View: What Are These Pixel Shaders Of Which You Speak?