Win • Mac NewTek has announced Light-Wave 3D Version 8.2, a software update with roughly 150 new and enhanced features. LightWave 8.2 sports a redesigned UV mapping engine, which provides UV Map Inter-polation modes and a UV tear-off function. Enhancements to the render core include Pixel Lattice Deformation antialiasing technologies, image reconstruction filters, and a Mosaic render mode for the Viper preview system. The SDK boasts 22 new capabilities and improvements, whereas the IK Booster System gains new DopeTrack functions that support IK Booster and IK Booster Ghost Mode, a user-selectable onion-skin feature. The 8.2 update is free to Version 8 users. LightWave 3D Version 8 is priced at $1595 for the full version and $495 as an upgrade.
NewTek;
www.newtek.com
Win • Mac Curious Labs has announced the latest upgrade to its flagship product, Poser 6. Version 6 boasts such new features as image-based lighting, OpenGL hardware acceleration, and shadow rendering options with Ambient Occlusion, Soft Raytraced Shadows, Shadow Catcher, and Shadow Only renders. Production render support is improved by Area Rendering, Reusable Shadow Maps and Pre-Loaded Textures, and RenderWipe render comparison. Poser 6 will ship this spring for Macintosh and Windows platforms at a cost of $249, or $109 as an upgrade.
Curious Labs;
www.curiouslabs.com
Win Anark has upgraded Anark Studio to Version 3.0. This latest version of the company’s 3D visualization authoring environment aids users in designing and producing 3D applications-such as multimedia presentations and communications-for game development, interactive training, marketing communication, and product visualization. Version 3.0 is enhanced with support for large-scale 3D applications with thousands of interactive objects, an increase in productivity of up to 80 percent over previous versions, and improved integration with existing data sources. Priced at $3499, the upgrade offers text, actions, support for XML, and such drag-and-drop components as prebuilt buttons and menus.
Anark;
www.anark.com
Mobile Graphics
Turbo Squid and Face2face Animation have introduced a series of 3D mobile content delivered in a real-time streaming format to mobile phones. Coinciding with the release of its AniTones Mobile Character Player, available via the Turbo Squid Mobile Content Portal, Face2face presents its first 3D animated comedy series for mobile phones. Face2face’s 3D content, created with the company’s AlterEgo video analysis software, is delivered over the air in small packages for playback on mobile phones equipped with the Mobile Character Player and Internet access.
Turbo Squid;
www.turbosquid.com
Displays
Wacom Technology has unveiled the Cintiq 21UX, an interactive pen display that features a 21.3-inch color-accurate LCD. In the new Cintiq 21UX, Wacom combines the functionality of its cordless pressure-sensitive tablets with a UXGA (1600x1200) resolution display. The company’s tablet technology offers 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity, 5080 lines-per-inch resolution, and pen-tilt sensitivity. The professional-quality display features 24-bit color, a 170-degree viewing angle, anti-glare and hard-texture coatings, and a 400:1 contrast ratio. The Cintiq 21UX begins shipping this month at a price of $2499.
Wacom Technology;
www.wacom.com
Pelican has unveiled the GameGlass monitor for Sony’s slimmer PlayStation 2 game console. The GameGlass is a portable audio/visual system equipped with a high-resolution, 7-inch TFT LCD. Designed to transform the PS2 into a mobile entertainment system, the GameGlass is priced at $139 and features speakers, headphone output jacks, and more.
Pelican;
www.pelicanperformance.com
Workstations
BOXX Technologies has begun shipping its latest workstation, the Boxx 3200. Designed for professionals involved in 3D graphics or digital video editing, the new desktop system is based on AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processors and the Nvidia nForce4 chipset. The Boxx 3200, the first release in a new series of high-performance workstations, features dual PCI Express x16 SLI-capable slots, as well as 3Gb/sec SATA and an internal storage capacity of up to 4
tb. Pricing for the Boxx 3200 Personal Work-station starts at $1698 and varies according to the specific configuration.
Boxx Technologies;
www.boxxtech.com
Sun Microsystems has announced upgrades to its Sun Blade 1500 and Sun Blade 2500 workstations, based on the UltraSparc processor. Both models offer a 40-percent increase in performance, as well as twice the memory and improved graphics capabilities, over previous-generation Sun Blade systems. The Sun Blade 1500 and 2500 models take advantage of the new Solaris 10 OS and such features as predictive self-healing, DTrace, and Solaris Containers. Now available, the upgraded workstations also benefit from increased storage capacity and industry-standard optical media options. The Sun Blade 1500 and 2500 are priced at $3195 and $7195, respectively. In a new promotion, customers purchasing an UltraSparc-based Sun Blade 1500 or 2500 can buy the SunPCi IIIpro card for $1. The SunPCi IIIpro, normally priced at $695, enables users to run Windows or Linux natively on the Solaris OS.
Sun Microsystems;
www.sun.com
ATI Technologies has announced that its Mobility Radeon X300 and X600 PCI Ex-press mobile graphics processors have been selected to power two new lines of high-performance, multimedia notebook PCs from Hewlett-Packard. The HP Pavilion zd8000 Notebook PC and the Compaq Presario X6000 Notebook PC come equipped with ATI graphics processors, designed to deliver DirectX 9 graphics, low power consumption, up to 256
mb of onboard graphics memory, and high-definition-quality video processing.
ATI Technologies;
www.ati.com
Stock Options
Dosch Design has released Dosch 3D: Cars 2004, a collection of 3D car models for use in CG artwork and animations, as well as architectural visualizations. The offering includes 15 detailed, textured models of US-brand cars provided in multiple file formats: 3DS, 3ds max (Version 4 and above), LightWave (Version 6 and higher), OBJ, Maya (Version 4 and above), Softimage XSI, VRML, and Cinema 4D (Version 7 and higher). Among the US cars featured are the Chevrolet Avalanche, Pontiac Aztec, PT Cruiser, Jeep Liberty, and Ford’s F-150, Thunderbird, and Expedition. Compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems, Dosch 3D: Cars 2004 is available via the company’s Web site at a cost of $119.
Dosch Design;
www.doschdesign.com