Computer Graphics World articles from November 2001

Computer Graphics World archives from November 2001

Anti-terror technologies. (editor's note).(Editorial)
November 1, 2001... Psychologists tell us that after horrific events, such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, people tend to react initially with shock, fear, confusion, sadness, and anger, but then they want to take some kind of action. This urge to do...

Right application, wrong card? (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2001... The article "GeForce3: Nvidia Tackles More than Games" on pg. 60 of your September issue stirs me to respond to a mistake that many hardware reviewers seem to be making these days. In the review, you compared the GeForce3 against the Quadro2...

GeForce3 supports Mac, Linux. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2001... While I typically enjoy the non-platform based reviews that you publish, I was rather disappointed when I read the review of the Nvidia GeForce3 on pg. 60 of the September 2001 issue. You stated that the minimum system requirements for the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2001... The Liquid Faces plug-in listed on pg. 82 of the August 2001 issue runs on Windows, Linux, and Irix operating systems. The correct name of the manufacturer is Eyetronics at www.eyetronics.com.

A virtual corkboard from Alias.(PortfolioWall Server 1.5 from Alias/Wavefront)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... "Before product designers had computer technology," says Tom Wujec, PortfolioWall business manager at Alias/Wavefront, "they used to put their drawings on the walls where everyone could see them." The digital design process, however, replaced...

Automated image processing with DeBabelizer.(DeBabelizer Pro 5.0 file format conversion software)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... One of the benefits that digital imagery should offer us is the ability to "create once, deploy anywhere," but file formats, color palettes, and other particulars make it difficult for artists to use the same content for Web animation, digital...

Think3 enhances global shape modeling.(Thinkdesign 7.0 CAD software)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... Less than a year ago, think3 released Version 6.0 of thinkdesign, its flagship 3D design software. With innovations such as speech-enabled design and global shape modeling (GSM), which allows users to automate some aspects of product design,...

SceneWeaver for web 3D.(RealViz SceneWeaver, ImageModeler 3.0 and MatchMover)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... Due this fall from RealViz are a new product, SceneWeaver, and substantial updates to two existing applications, MatchMover and ImageModeler. SceneWeaver enables Web designers and multimedia artists to create photorealistic, interactive 3D...

LightWave 3D adds nonlinear animation.(now shipping Version 7b of LightWave)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... NewTek is now shipping Version 7b of LightWave, its 3D modeling and animation program. The new LightWave 3D comes with nonlinear animation, a popular feature that Softimage and Alias|Wavefront have also added to their high-end modelers....

Robert Abel & Association. (news).(passing of visual effects pioneer Robert Abel)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The industry is mourning the passing of visual effects pioneer Robert Abel, who died on September 23. His Hollywood-based studio Robert Abel & Associates produced special effects for films such as Disney's Tron, as well as for many...

Logitech (Fremont, CA) has announced a new subsidiary, 3Dconnexion, whose focus will be developing and marketing input devices for 3D motion control.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... Logitech (Fremont, CA) has announced a new subsidiary, 3Dconnexion, whose focus will be developing and marketing input devices for 3D motion control. The new company combines the resources of LogiCAD 3D and Labtec's 3D peripheral business....

Cambridge Animation Systems.(has been bought from Japanese investment bank Nomura)
November 1, 2001... Cambridge Animation Systems (Cambridge, UK) has been bought from Japanese investment bank Nomura by a digital media consortium that includes a Cambridge Animation Systems founder.

Top 10 awadvs performers. (benchmark).(Buyers Guide)
November 1, 2001... The following 10 workstation and graphics card combinations recently received the highest scores in the AWadvs-04 (Alias|Wavefront Advanced Visualizer) subset of the SPECviewperf 6.1.2 OpenGL benchmark. The AWadvs-04 benchmark consists of 10...

Riding the wavelets: a new compression and display technique gives researchers a window into some of the world's biggest science problems. (techwatch).
November 1, 2001... High-performance computing has given scientists an unprecedented ability to study complex theoretical and experimental problems. It's also given them an unprecedented number of new questions about how to archive, retrieve, transmit, visualize,...

Showcasing augmented reality: a projection-based technology gets more people into virtually enhanced worlds. (techwatch).
November 1, 2001... One of the long-standing obstacles to successful virtual and augmented reality applications is the difficulty users have of "getting into" the digital environment. Head-mounted displays (HMDs) are plagued by an unbalanced ratio between quality...

Rapid manufacturing. (market outlook).
November 1, 2001... Bill Gates once said that people tend to overestimate what will happen in the next three years and underestimate what will happen in the next six. In the rapid prototyping industry, this has certainly been true. Over the past three years,...

Immersed in art: artists use caves and other VR displays to explore interactive environments. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2001... to many people who create virtual reality applications, a "cave" is nothing more than a large, immersive display system. It gives automobile designers a way to display life-size virtual prototypes of new car designs. It lets architects tour...

Moving to the beat: a performer creates music-driven visualizations in real time. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2001... No performer, past or present, has created moving music in quite the same manner as twenty-first century instrumentalist Mobius 8, whose cutting-edge sounds are being used to generate real-time interactive 3D visual effects. John Laraio, known...

Lasting impressions: off-the-shelf software gives a 3D animation its painterly look. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2001... For years animator Umesh Shukla's dream has been to see a feature animation created with 3D graphics and rendered entirely in an impressionist style. Indeed, in the opinion piece, "Beyond Realism" (see Viewpoint, December 1999, pg. 22), he...

Getting smart: knowledge-based software captures ideas and expertise from your company's engineers. (Cover Story).
November 1, 2001... While the notion of computers that can do our thinking for us will remain in the realm of science fiction for many years to come, the age of intelligent software that can manage and leverage design engineering tasks for us has already arrived....

Pixel perfect. (portfolio).(Illustration)
November 1, 2001... The goal of most digital artists is to create clean, crisp images that are free of artifacts. For Michael Wright, however, digital artifacts are part of what makes computer images intriguing. "I choose to work with a pixelated look because it...

Reptilian reproduction: with help from scientists, animators digitally clone a new species of dinosaur. (broadcast).
November 1, 2001... It's a tale that would make Indiana Jones envious: Two paleontology graduate students from the US unearth long-forgotten research by a turn-of-the-century German explorer that leads them to a unique find in the Egyptian desert--a new species of...

Setting the stage: fans get a virtual behind-the-scenes look at a popular television show. (web application).
November 1, 2001... Every Thursday evening, hardcore fans of NBC's hit television show Will & Grace tune out everything around them as they tune in to the half-hour sitcom about two close friends who would make a perfect couple if it weren't for the fact that he...

Cinema 4D XL: Maxon's mid-range system evolves. (reviews).(Software Review)(Evaluation)
November 1, 2001... MAXON GOT a late start in the 3D business. While many of the major modeling and animation packages have been around for a decade or more, Maxon's Cinema 4D XL has existed for only about five years. In this time, however, the company has created...

SketchUp 1.2: easy 3D model building. (reviews).(Software Review)(Evaluation)
November 1, 2001... ALTHOUGH COMPUTERS have changed the way architects work, architects often complain that CAD systems are not well-suited to basic design--the preliminary sketching of ideas at the earliest phases of a project. Anyone who feels this way...

SolidWorks office suite. (Design Engineering).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN SolidWorks has combined its SolidWorks 2001 3D CAD software with six of its most popular add-on applications and is calling the new application SolidWorks Office. The six add-ons include PhotoWorks, SolidWorks Animator, 3D Instant Website,...

Web-based product manager. (Design Engineering).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The bom.com application from bom.com helps users share, manage, organize, and access product data, including CAD drawings. An Internet connection and a standard Web browser are the only requirements for running bom.com. The system's latest...

New CFD tools. (Design Engineering).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... WIN UNIX LINUX The latest versions of CFX's CFX-TASCflow and CFX-TurboGrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools are designed to further improve functionality, performance, and ease of use for the analysis of fluid flows, heat, and mass...

Animating engineering models. (Design Engineering).(MathWorks WIN Virtual Reality Toolbox 2.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN Virtual Reality Toolbox 2.0, from The MathWorks is a 3D animation application that adds virtual reality visualization and simulation to the company's MatLab and Simulink applications, thereby enabling engineers to more easily demonstrate...

CAD on the web. (Design Engineering).(Actify's 3DView 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN Actify's 3DView 4.0 view, measurement, and markup software ships with the company's SpinFire desktop CAD viewer, enabling designers to send free viewable 3D designs with comments as email file attachments as well as publish designs on the...

Scene reconstruction. (Modelling And Animation).(SynaVision)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... SynaPix has announced new scene reconstruction software that streamlines the process of building textured 3D models used in game development, film and TV production, and industrial and architectural design. Called SynaVision, the...

Facial animation application. (Modelling And Animation).(LipSinc's AniMeter)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN New from LipSinc, AniMeter is a metered batch-processing application that uses prerecorded voice, supplied by the animator, to generate facial animation data, including lip sync and corresponding speech gestures for 2D and 3D talking...

A new universe. (Modelling And Animation).(Electric Image's Universe 4.0)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN MAC SOLARIS New character animation tools, interface enhancements, and modeler updates highlight the list of new features in Electric Image's Universe 4.0 3D animation system. Specifically, the new version boasts a new constraint system,...

HDR tool. (Modelling And Animation).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2001... The Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) at the University of Southern California has unveiled HDR Shop, a full-featured image manipulation program that supports high-dynamic-range (HDR) images, or images whose brightness levels correspond...

Generating faces. (Modelling And Animation).(Digimation's FaceGen)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN A head generator for Discreet's 3ds max 3 and 4, Digimation's FaceGen is built around a series of published anatomical metrics for real-life male and female heads. The plug-in offers a set of Custom Mesh components, so users can create...

Not just for movies. (Modelling And Animation).(AIST Movie3D)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN A new solution for modeling, designing, and animating 3D objects for applications including film, TV, games, and architecture, Movie3D from AIST comes with a variety of tools for designing virtual models and everyday objects, as well as for...

Events.
November 1, 2001... november 7-8 Computer Animation 2001, held in Seoul, Korea. Contact: CA 2001 secretariats; www.ca2001.org 13-15 Digital Media World, conference and exhibition, and LEAF (The London Effects and Animation Festival), held in...

Jewelry design tool. (Modelling And Animation).(Calagari Corp.'s JewelSpace1)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN Caligari Corp. has released a version of its trueSpace 3D modeling and animation program customized for the jewelry design market. Boasting an easy-to-use 3D interface, the new JewelSpace1 software enables users to output finished designs...

Maya shockwave enhanced. (Web Development).(Maya Shockwave 3D Exporter plug-in 1.1)
November 1, 2001... WIN With version 1.1 of Alias|Wavefront's Maya Shockwave 3D Exporter plug-in, users can optimize and export 3D Maya scenes into Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio software, while taking advantage of Maya's effects animation capabilities,...

Intuitive tablet. (Input/Output).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN IRIX SOLARIS Wacom Technology's Intuos2 graphics tablet system incorporates several technology and hardware improvements. For instance, the cordless, pressure-sensitive Grip Pen is reportedly easier to hold and provides 1024 levels of tip...

Creating a mirage. (Input/Output).(Christie Digital Systems Mirage 2000 and 5000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... According to Christie Digital Systems, its Mirage projection systems are the world's first three-chip DLP projectors to offer bright imagery, color purity, and true digital processing in a stereo output signal. Both the Mirage 5000 and Mirage...

Ultra-bright LCDs. (Input/Output).(Solarism Display LM1503)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... According to Solarism Display, its LM1503 15-inch TFT-LCD monitor is built with patented backlight technology known as ABT (Advanced Brightness Technology). This, the company says, provides the non-industrial monitor with such features as...

Ultra 160 RAID for the Mac. (Miscellaneous).(MAC LaCie TX12000)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... MAC LaCie is now shipping its new RAID system, the TX12000, for Mac environments. Able to be attached to virtually any SCSI host computer with no need for special device drivers or software, the TX12000 can achieve transfer rates of up to...

Mocap for the masses. (Motion Capture).(Meta Motion Gypsy Jr.)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN Gypsy Jr., the newest addition to Meta Motion's Gypsy 3 series of motion capture systems, boasts a capture rate of up to 120 frames per second in real time and computer serial port plug-in capability that allows for easy laptop or desktop...

Mocap alternative. (Motion Capture).(DSM Computer Nemotion)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 1, 2001... WIN IRIX New from DSM Computer, the Nemotion interactive input device provides animators with interactive, real-time control of the parameters in a 3D scene. The device combines an ergonomically designed user control panel with software...

Insight.(Researchers at University of Minnesota develop filter technique for computational fluid dynamics simulations)
November 1, 2001... THE INTERACTION OF FIRE with its environment is a complex, highly transient hydrochemical phenomenon. Because the concentration of chemicals within a flame changes during each time step in the combustion process, the chemical reactions are...