Alias Announces Maya Personal Learning Edition 5

Press Release

Alias Announces Maya Personal Learning Edition 5

 

Anticipated release available at SIGGRAPH as part of Learning Maya Beginner’s Guide

San Diego, CA - SIGGRAPH – July 28, 2003 – Alias Systems, a Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE: SGI) company, announced today the availability of a new version of its Maya Personal Learning Edition™ software. Based on the newest release of its Maya® software, Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 is a fully functioning version of Maya Complete™ software for non-commercial use. Maya Personal Learning Edition was first launched in February 2002 and with more than a ½ million registrations to date, Maya is proving to be the most popular 3D software in the world.

“Alias is committed to offering a complete solution to artists and hobbyists looking to experience the creative power of learning 3D software,” says Chris Ruffo, Maya industry marketing manager. “The free version of Maya Personal Learning Edition now features numerous enhancements to online help and searching, a new Beginner’s self-paced Learning Tool specifically for this version and an online user community center with tutorials, movies and user to user discussions. There has never been a better opportunity to explore the ever expanding world of 3D graphics.”

Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 Features

Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 contains almost every feature found in the full commercial version of Maya Complete including these new additions:

- A new hardware rendering option takes advantage of the power of next-generation graphics cards to produce near software-quality images at often dramatically faster speed.

- A unified rendering workflow provides easy and consistent access to the Maya renderers through a common interface.

- Animation enhancements to constraints, forward/inverse kinematics and ghosting give animators new levels of flexibility.

- Maya Paint Effects™ to polygon conversion offers a whole new range of looks, as well as more editing and output options.

- An improved polygon reduction method is valuable to users making lightweight game models and MODs.

“To be competitive in today’s job market I felt I had to go beyond learning traditional computer programming languages and found that Maya software is becoming more widely used in jobs such as web development,” says Leonard Roberts, a third year computer information systems student at Saint Mary’s University. “I downloaded the 4.5 version and have been teaching myself how to use the software through the online tutorials and just recently with some beginner learning tools books. I know that having Maya as a skill will put me ahead of the crowd when I graduate and I’m learning it for free.”

Enhanced Learning Resources Enrich the Personal Learning Edition Experience

Maya Personal Learning Edition is for everyone, from creative professionals and hobbyists who have never tried 3D to advanced professionals seeking to enhance their skill set. In addition to the Learning Maya™ Beginner’s Guide, Alias® has made learning easier than ever with enhanced resources. Improvements have been made to numerous online help features including: an improved Maya 5 online help search engine, that supports both phrase and Boolean searching; and a new guide titled, Extra Learning Resources, that presents a series of recommended steps to learning Maya and suggests self-paced Learning Tools and resources. All 3D enthusiasts are also invited to access the Maya Personal Learning Edition resource center at www.alias.com/maya/ple/resource.

In a continuing program to regionalize content, Japanese documentation is available for Maya Personal Learning Edition on both the Microsoft® Windows® and Mac® OS X platforms. The experience of learning Maya is multi-lingual as Alias presents the Learning Maya | Beginner's Guide, containing a one hour instructional DVD, an introduction to Maya booklet and a Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 CD with English, French, German, Japanese and Korean language tracks. Also new in this version of Maya Personal Learning Edition, is a one-step documentation installation in either English or Japanese.

Pricing and Availability

Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 is initially available as part of the Learning Maya Beginner’s Guide for $19.99 on the Alias online store at www.alias.com and at the Alias booth #3015 at SIGGRAPH® in San Diego, CA. A no charge download of Maya Personal Learning Edition 5 will begin in Fall 2003 at www.alias.com/mayaple. Maya Personal Learning Edition is for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
The Maya Personal Learning Edition restricts users to non-commercial applications through the display of a watermark on images as well as through the use of a special non-commercial file format. Maya Personal Learning Edition does not ship with the Maya API and cannot be used with standard plug-ins. Use of the software is restricted to personal, non-commercial applications only: use in schools and training center classrooms/labs or courses is considered commercial use. As such, educational institutions and training facilities should contact their local sales office for more information about Alias' extensive academic and training center programs.

About Alias

As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias develops award-winning software, custom development and training solutions for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, industrial design, education and visualization markets. In 2003, the company was awarded an Oscar® for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its development of Maya software, the professional 3D animation and effects package. Alias also offers a powerful range of services for new to advanced users in the most demanding environments. Learning Tools and Training, Support, and Professional Services help meet rigorous production deadlines. Entertainment customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Core Design Limited, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd.

Alias is a wholly owned, independent software company of SGI® with headquarters in Toronto and Custom Development Center in Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias website at http://www.alias.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. International contact numbers include: Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, +44 (0) 1494 441273; Germany, East & Southeast Europe, 0049 89 31 70 20; France, Spain and Portugal, +33 1 44 92 81 60; Italy, 39 039 6340011; Japan and other parts of Asia Pacific, 81 3 5797 3500 and Latin America, 770 393 1881.

* All prices quoted are in U.S. dollars. International pricing may vary.

Alias is a registered trademark and the Alias logo and the swirl logo are trademarks of Alias Systems, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited in the US and/or other countries worldwide. Maya is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., exclusively used by Alias Systems, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited and Maya Personal Learning Edition, Learning Maya, Maya Paint Effects and Maya Complete are trademarks of Alias Systems, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited in the US and/or other countries worldwide. SGI is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. in the US and/or other countries worldwide. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. SIGGRAPH is a registered trademark of the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc. All other products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.