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Alias|Wavefront 'BIG NEWS'... Apple?

From Alias|Wavefront website...

I snipped some info from the Alias|Wavefront site...

OS X Exclusive Event, San Francisco
March 28, 2002, 9:00 a.m - 6:00 p.m
Location:
SFSU downtown - Multimedia Studies Program
425 Market Street, 2nd Floor,
San Francisco, CA 94105

Join us for this FREE day-long event to introduce you to various solutions available to the creative community on Mac OS X. See how OS X will improve your workflow and make you more productive. Adobe, Apple, Alias|Wavefront, procreate, Wacom and others will demonstrate their latest software and hardware available on OS X.

...End snippit

It's an event sponsored by Apple. Hmmmm.
 
Umm RTARDS!1 what proof do u have that apple will purchase A/W?? LOL! If anyone will it would be Sony with more liquid capital ready than any one. So pulleaase
 
Looks like Kela is back.

I hope do buy this company, it would make alot of sense for them to buy a 3D graphics company so they can make OSX the ultimate 3D platform.

Ensign
 
or maybe just a significant price cut...

that might fit...

arn
 
Originally posted by arn
or maybe just a significant price cut...

that might fit...

arn
Click to expand...

theres been rumblings from SGI of late, so if its not the above (or merely a new version of maya...) then I would put a bet on SGI being involved, not apple.
 
Originally posted by Ifeelbloated
You guys may damn me to hell for saying this but what if Microsoft gets a hold of Maya?
Click to expand...

Crap. That's what I'd say. That and a bunch of other strongly worded phrases with lots of four letter words.

I think we all know that when Microsoft gets software from someone else, and doesn't know how it works, and they try to mess around with it, the results are tragically disastorous. That's why the only reasonably good m$ app is Office. All of the rest suck, because m$ didn't really create them. they either stole them (windows) or they bought them.

But seriously, I doubt that m$ would want to buy a major 3d graphics software company. But if they do, I'll be dammed.
 
A couple of quotes from the original post

3D animation technology is increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives. It is fast spreading from the entertainment and design industries
into new marketplaces.

*BIG NEWS: hear how Alias|Wavefront is about to shake up the industry
Click to expand...

It seems possible that a consumer version and or severe price reduction could be in the works, but to shake up the industry, I think that would take more.

Look at who is in the game (the main players)

Lightwave - just reduced their price and they have an entry level system, Imagine 3D, originally a PC only system until v 5.0, current v 7.0b, and not all 3rd party plugins work with a Mac. Works on OS 9 and OSX.

3DMax - PC only, very wide spread

SoftImage - considered by some to be the best out there, offers lisencing at a yearly rate - you don't just buy it straight off the shelf and keep paying them on a regular basis.

A/W Maya - a seat for the Mac goes for just under $6k, and it doensn't have all the features of the PC version. But Apple has been courting them since the initial port to OSX. A/W is also offering PC users Maya Unlimited at Maya Complete Prices ($7500.00) Then there's support....

If it was just a price reduction, well, Lightwave beat them to it.

In 2 1/2 hours, the speculation will be over.
 
A few facts about A|W

I worked at Alias|Wavefront from 1989 through 1997. A|W has been owned by SGI since 1995 or so. Before that there were two separate comanies, Alias Research and Wavefront.

But seriously, I doubt that m$ would want to buy a major 3d graphics software company. But if they do, I'll be dammed.
Click to expand...

Well, you've already been damned, because MS did buy SoftImage, A|W's main competitor some time around 1996. Of course, they then sold them again, but that's beside the point. :)

Rumors of someone [*anyone*] buying A|W have been floating around ever since 1998, when SGI's stock price started going down. SGI's started doing better these days, though.

Regarding Apple's liquid capital -- they have $4 Billion in the bank, so buying companies [especially in this post-dont-com world of discounted stocks] is pretty easy for them.

My hope is that expressed by the main post -- that Apple buys A|W for Maya and discounts it to under $1k a la Final Cut. But that may just be wishful thinking on my part.

Did you know that A|W sold a 3D modeller/renderer for MacOS in 1991-1993? It was called "Alias Sketch!" [including the "!"], and sold for $699. Most of that code ended up in Maya, so it would be a long road home if this came true..
 
Re: A few facts about A|W

Originally posted by clith
My hope is that expressed by the main post -- that Apple buys A|W for Maya and discounts it to under $1k a la Final Cut.
Click to expand...

I'll be surprised if they go that low, but if it does happen, well, that would send tremors through the industry.

I'd buy a copy today!
 
SHAKE up the industry

You are all missing the reason I was excited about this and sent it in.

the line inthe release that says:
"*BIG NEWS: hear how Alias|Wavefront is about to shake up the industry"

SHAKE?

Didn't Apple buy Shake from Discreet?

Maybe they are partnering on some intergration of Shake and MAya?

-BOOMBA:D
 
Re: SHAKE up the industry

Originally posted by BOOMBA
You are all missing the reason I was excited about this and sent it in.

the line inthe release that says:
"*BIG NEWS: hear how Alias|Wavefront is about to shake up the industry"

SHAKE?

Didn't Apple buy Shake from Discreet?

Maybe they are partnering on some intergration of Shake and MAya?

-BOOMBA:D
Click to expand...

ah. clever thinking. clever thinking indeed.

:D



irmongoose
 
Re: Re: SHAKE up the industry

Originally posted by irmongoose


ah. clever thinking. clever thinking indeed.

:D



irmongoose
Click to expand...

except for the fact that Shake is made by the company Nothing Real and NOT discreet...
 
too niche...

Personally...I think the 3D market is much too small a niche for Apple to tackle. FCP works because video is a huge market; my guess is that 3D is perhaps 1/30th the size of video.

iMovie works because everyone can imagine a use for video. Everyone has video cameras with footage they know not what to do with.

i3D? Very few people ever think "I need a simple way to do 3D!" It just doesn't happen.

The PRO 3D market, again, is too small a field for Apple to go after.

I'd more readily believe that they would go after the Pro Audio Market long before they would go after the Pro 3D market. They'd leave that to Pixar.

I think this is a rumor manufactured out of thin air.
 
Wow. This IS interesting.

First off, I have a feeling this announcement could be HUGE, or it could be tiny. Somehow I doubt there will be much of a middle ground. If Apple does buy A|W, it will be a first step in making 3D accessible to everyone for a small amount of money. But dont forget people, 3D is still amazingly expansive, huge, complicated, and more high-end than most of us can realize (a'la marrionette and renderman, both very code-y programs Pixar made). It can also be amazingly simple. (a'la Cinema4D by Maxon) However, Maya kind of sits in the fray as a quasi-simple, yet very high-end program, used widely by animation studios.

So where does Apple sit in all this? Not in Hollywood. I doubt ANY studio in their right mind will take up Apple as their #1 system for animation and rendering, especially when SGI and SUN control the market for animation and rendering respectively. I mean, a 2500.00 dollar PowerMac can simply NOT do what a 17grand O2 can do made by SGI, and Apple doesnt make a quad-processor, rack-mount server designed specifically for rendering like Sun does. There are highly specialized, expensive systems designed to do these jobs for studios who need this type of performance. An Apple couldnt keep up the workload, at least not yet. They dont even have a 64 bit chip yet, whereas SGI has had 64 bit chips available for years. Their computers are just faster.

HOWEVER, I think it is possible that Apple could be aiming at personal, or small-business animation studios (or students), and are devising ways to bring Maya to the masses.

And that only brings up one more dilemma: Why would Alias|Wavefront NEED Apple to do this for them?
 
P.S.

...Some of the featured products include Illustrator 10, InDesign 2,
Maya, Painter, KnockOut 2, KPT Effects and Wacom graphic
tablets, including the new Cintiq LCD graphic tablet. You will see
how these solutions work on the latest Apple hardware, like the new
G4's, iMac's, Titanium PowerBook's and software like the iPhoto,
iDVD, QuickTime, WebDAV and more.

Play with all these solutions and others like Dantz Software's
Retrospect and Xerox printers in our Exhibition area. Interact with
the experts and know why OS X is right for you!

Agenda
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Explore OS X
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. procreate: Painter, KnockOut 2,
KPT Effects
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Exhibition
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Adobe: Publishing Workflow
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Alias|Wavefront: Maya on the Mac
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Apple Digital Workflow
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Exhibition

This is what wasnt included in one of the posts above about the OSX sponsored event on alias|wavefronts site. I am beginning to suspect that this is just an OSX demo/learning event, nothing more.
 
A while back there was a simillar post talking about an Apple - Alias/Wavefront buyout. One of the things Apple could use 3D for is integrating it with FCP - like Newtek does with their Video Toaster and Lightwave. Adding 3D transistions, 3D text, mapping image/video to 3D objects is done all the time. Putting it in at the consumer level would be great. I have lightwave now and if I want to put a movie in a 3D scene I have to do the work in FCP, export it as a quicktime movie, load it into Lightwave, render...., then bring it back to FCP for post production. This is not the best workflow, so by putting it all together, well, it just makes sense.

And then add Shake in the mix, well it starts to get even better. The only problem is taking all these programs and getting them to work together. Even if it did all happen, Shake, Maya and FCP, it would quite some time before we actually saw a hybrid system available.

30 min. and we know more.
 
Yep. Leave it to us Mac people to get all our hopes up. We always get so excited, and then its always a price cut, or less than what we expected. (Im horrible at doing this)

However, Maya Unlimited for 6,900 is a bargain beyond bargains! Good for Alias|Wavefront!! I hope they increase sales.
 
Alias/Wavefront to debut new product; cut prices
March 28 - 09:17 ET  3D graphics developer Alias/Wavefront is expected to announce a new product later today and at the same time make drastic price cuts on two of its most popular products. USA TODAY is reporting the company will cut the price of Maya Complete to US$2,000 from $7,500 and Maya Unlimited to $7,000 from $16,000. Details of the new product have not been released and a press conference is scheduled for later today.


(From MacMinute)

Ensign
 
Damn that was lame

Actually it ISN'T lame, that price cut is VERY big news.
Not anything revolutionary, though, other than more people will have access to it.
But DAMN I wanted Apple to buy Maya so badly.
Oh well.
I doubt Apple will buy Lightwave now, because if they did, there would be no reason for Maya to keep supporting OSX. Apple would make Lightwave work better than Maya on the Mac.

This also means Lightwave could be in serious trouble.

I think the big name of Maya at Lightwave prices could cause some people to switch...
 
Since when...

Originally posted by dongmin
Enlighten me here but I don't know what'd be so great about Apple buying out Maya. It's a limited market. At best, Apple could turn it into a nice little niche app that generates some cash. But I don't see much potential for turning it into a consumer app like Apple did with FCP and iMovie. I want killer consumer apps and added market share.
Click to expand...

...is FCP a consumer app? iMovie (free) is a consumer app, FCP ($999) is a pro app. Sorta like Bryce 5 ($300) is a consumer app, and Lightwave/Maya/3D Studio Max (>$2500) are pro apps. Also, Shake (which Apple just bought) is a pro app ($10,000).
 
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