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Some visual effects for The Two Toweres were done with Maya running on KDE (Linux?). Screehshots are here.

What I'm wondering is why no one has thought to market tablet PCs to artists yet. Alias makes some fantastic tablet art software, but none of the hardware manufacturers seem to get it. Whose needs are better fulfilled by a tablet PC than an artist? As an artist myself, I'd love to be able to draw directly into my computer rather than having to scan and clean up my drawings. Yes, I have a Wacom tablet, but I really need to be able to see what I'm drawing as I'm drawing it. Gabe, from Penny Arcade got one for exactly this reason.

What I'm hoping is that Apple realises this, they have a long history with artists and designers, and designs a tablet from the ground up with artists in mind (I'm thinking a convertable design, built like an iBook for durability, contoured so it's easy to hold). I also think the OS X gui is damn near perfect for touch screen navigation, or better than XP in any case.

Oh well, just one of the many things that has been on my "I hope someone makes this some day" list for some time.

It's widely warez'd, and I think that's part of the reason it's the industry standard. So many people get their start using photoshop on a pirated copy. If that weren't the case, I don't think Adobe would have the market share that they have now.

IMO, Adobe should do something like Alias|Wavefront does with Maya - release a free, 90% functionality version so people can learn the tools. I can't tell you how many graphics classes I've been in where the instructors say "Yeah, most people just warez [insert product here] until they get their first gig and can buy it legit." I think it's ridiculous that a student should have to pay $400(!) for Adobe After Effects with the educational discount. There should be a free (or insanely cheap) learning edition for such software.

The best way to get marketshare is to get the software into the hands of the students easily and cheaply. Then when they get scooped up by some company who wants to make use of their talents, that's another copy of Photoshop/Illustrator/etc sold.

Holy sh*t. I was totally unaware that Maya had a linux version. I guess I need to keep my head above the windows sand a little more.

Early this year, I saw some fairly sophisticated interaction using a flexible input device called ShapeTape, made by Canada's Measurand. While the company is marketing it as a motion-capture and 3D modeling technology, Tovi Grossman at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project has been working under Ravin Balakrishnan to explore other applications for ShapeTape, including as a general input device. For example, you can use it in computer-assisted design or animation to make and perform some fairly complex 3D curves and manipulations in far less time than it would take with keyboards, mice or drawing tablets.

The Association of Computing Machinery's computer-human interaction publication CHI Letters' latest edition includes their paper on the use of ShapeTape (2 MB PDF), which was presented at the ACM CHI 2003 conference on human factors in computing systems along with MPEG demonstration videos. (3 min. basic - 15 MB | 15 min. complete - 190 MB)

Grossman's Web page includes links to other videos and previous papers.

Computer graphics and animation tool-maker Alias|Wavefront also has several videos that featured former chief scientist Bill Buxton demonstrating ShapeTape in use:

• 3D Tapedrawing On The Wall 4:33 min. - 11MB
• Digital Tape Drawing 2:33 min. - 8.2MB
• Modeling With Shapetape 1:14 min. 3.9MB

And, of course, ShapeTape maker Measurand also has further information and videos.

Early this year, I saw some fairly sophisticated interaction using a flexible input device called ShapeTape, made by Canada's Measurand. While the company is marketing it as a motion-capture and 3D modeling technology, Tovi Grossman at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project has been working under Ravin Balakrishnan to explore other applications for ShapeTape, including as a general input device. For example, you can use it in computer-assisted design or animation to make and perform some fairly complex 3D curves and manipulations in far less time than it would take with keyboards, mice or drawing tablets.

The Association of Computing Machinery's computer-human interaction publication CHI Letters' latest edition includes their paper on the use of ShapeTape (2 MB PDF), which was presented at the ACM CHI 2003 conference on human factors in computing systems along with MPEG demonstration videos. (3 min. basic - 15 MB | 15 min. complete - 190 MB)

Grossman's Web page includes links to other videos and previous papers.

Computer graphics and animation tool-maker Alias|Wavefront also has several videos that featured former chief scientist Bill Buxton demonstrating ShapeTape in use:

• 3D Tapedrawing On The Wall 4:33 min. - 11MB
• Digital Tape Drawing 2:33 min. - 8.2MB
• Modeling With Shapetape 1:14 min. 3.9MB

And, of course, ShapeTape maker Measurand also has further information and videos.

Early this year, I saw some fairly sophisticated interaction using a flexible input device called ShapeTape, made by Canada's Measurand. While the company is marketing it as a motion-capture and 3D modeling technology, Tovi Grossman at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project has been working under Ravin Balakrishnan to explore other applications for ShapeTape, including as a general input device. For example, you can use it in computer-assisted design or animation to make and perform some fairly complex 3D curves and manipulations in far less time than it would take with keyboards, mice or drawing tablets.

The Association of Computing Machinery's computer-human interaction publication CHI Letters' latest edition includes their paper on the use of ShapeTape (2 MB PDF), which was presented at the ACM CHI 2003 conference on human factors in computing systems along with MPEG demonstration videos. (3 min. basic - 15 MB | 15 min. complete - 190 MB)

Grossman's Web page includes links to other videos and previous papers.

Computer graphics and animation tool-maker Alias|Wavefront also has several videos that featured former chief scientist Bill Buxton demonstrating ShapeTape in use:

• 3D Tapedrawing On The Wall 4:33 min. - 11MB
• Digital Tape Drawing 2:33 min. - 8.2MB
• Modeling With Shapetape 1:14 min. 3.9MB

And, of course, ShapeTape maker Measurand also has further information and videos.

Early this year, I saw some fairly sophisticated interaction using a flexible input device called ShapeTape, made by Canada's Measurand. While the company is marketing it as a motion-capture and 3D modeling technology, Tovi Grossman at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project has been working under Ravin Balakrishnan to explore other applications for ShapeTape, including as a general input device. For example, you can use it in computer-assisted design or animation to make and perform some fairly complex 3D curves and manipulations in far less time than it would take with keyboards, mice or drawing tablets.

The Association of Computing Machinery's computer-human interaction publication CHI Letters' latest edition includes their paper on the use of ShapeTape (2 MB PDF), which was presented at the ACM CHI 2003 conference on human factors in computing systems along with MPEG demonstration videos. (3 min. basic - 15 MB | 15 min. complete - 190 MB)

Grossman's Web page includes links to other videos and previous papers.

Computer graphics and animation tool-maker Alias|Wavefront also has several videos that featured former chief scientist Bill Buxton demonstrating ShapeTape in use:

• 3D Tapedrawing On The Wall 4:33 min. - 11MB
• Digital Tape Drawing 2:33 min. - 8.2MB
• Modeling With Shapetape 1:14 min. 3.9MB

And, of course, ShapeTape maker Measurand also has further information and videos.

Early this year, I saw some fairly sophisticated interaction using a flexible input device called ShapeTape, made by Canada's Measurand. While the company is marketing it as a motion-capture and 3D modeling technology, Tovi Grossman at the University of Toronto's Dynamic Graphics Project has been working under Ravin Balakrishnan to explore other applications for ShapeTape, including as a general input device. For example, you can use it in computer-assisted design or animation to make and perform some fairly complex 3D curves and manipulations in far less time than it would take with keyboards, mice or drawing tablets.

The Association of Computing Machinery's computer-human interaction publication CHI Letters' latest edition includes their paper on the use of ShapeTape (2 MB PDF), which was presented at the ACM CHI 2003 conference on human factors in computing systems along with MPEG demonstration videos. (3 min. basic - 15 MB | 15 min. complete - 190 MB)

Grossman's Web page includes links to other videos and previous papers.

Computer graphics and animation tool-maker Alias|Wavefront also has several videos that featured former chief scientist Bill Buxton demonstrating ShapeTape in use:

• 3D Tapedrawing On The Wall 4:33 min. - 11MB
• Digital Tape Drawing 2:33 min. - 8.2MB
• Modeling With Shapetape 1:14 min. 3.9MB

And, of course, ShapeTape maker Measurand also has further information and videos.

Others have mentioned Maya PLE but there are free / learning editions of most of the top commercial 3D apps these days:

SoftImage XSI|EXP

Lightwave Discovery Edition (takes a while for them to mail it, though)

Houdini Apprentice (a lesser known but very powerful 3D app used by major studios.)

What you're looking for, my friend, is Maya 4.5 Personal Learning Edition. Can't use it for commercial work, and it puts a (rather obtrusive, unfortunately) watermark in renderings and hardware-rendered viewports (i.e. anything but wireframe), and it's purposely gimped to disallow importing/exporting between itself and the real Maya or MEL scripts, but hell if it isn't the whole damn Maya Complete package.

Enjoy - Maya blows the competition out of the water. Also the prices have dropped down to reasonable levels, with Maya Complete for $1,999, so once you get to the point that you need to buy a real copy, your family won't have to starve for more than a week or so.

MAYA PLE - personal learning edition. Gives you all features, but puts watermarks on everything.
AW

graphics programs (photoshop, etc) are a dead loss without a mouse and keyboard shortcuts.

It has been my experience that 3D programs have pioneered quite a bit in interface. Just putting all the buttons in a three button mouse to use is a huge start (like XSI). Looking at Maya is a good example of gestures used very very effectivly, but as a lone source of input it doesn't work. A combinations of customizable buttons, using all the inputs available, and prioritizing (assume a certain hand position on the keyboard and put the most inportant keys under it, and work your way out). Using contex creates a very tightly accesible interface. Not everything needs to be available all the time.

I think that using a keyboard is not that far from gestures. How much different is pressing a key than making a gesture, which one has less room for error? How different is holding shift then pressing a key with the same hand?

I think that basically gestures are already how we use computers, and a different input device based on that principal wouldn't be very different, so I don't think that it would be very efficient, because there would be such a switch. I think that mouse gestures are a great tool, it just needs to be implemented thoughtfully and be an accpeted interface tool so that people will stop thinking it is something experimental, and eventually it will get more standardized and consitent, which is half the battle in interface design anyway. So I don't think that for the current state of computers (ie not 3D) the interface really can't, won't, and shouldn't change very much. I think it is more of a software problem than a hardware problem. I also think that truly 3D interfaces are a very bad idea, and should be reserved for the very few obvious applicaitons of them (moving a character around in 3D, etc.). We try to put every interface we have into a 2D space (look at something physical like a reciever, microwave, sound mixing board, oven, combination locks). Only special situations, most of them because of a direct elegant physical connection, have something not deliberatly two dimensional (toilet handle, ice machine from a refrigerator, door handles, faucets).

How does this relate to the article? I think that vastly improved ergonomics is one of last big things we can do to polish off the current state of computer interfaces for some time. The hardware and software have evolved pretty well together.

I use Maya on a Win2k box at work, and I found it unreasonably difficult to use with a regular wheel mouse. I ended up getting an old-school Logitech 3-button ball mouse. The problem is that in Maya, you're constantly holding down various combinations of the 3 mouse buttons to zoom, pan, and rotate the 3d views. (This interaction scheme was developed on the SGI, which presumed a traditional 3-button mouse.)

While the wheel is a great feature, it isn't suitable for applications which require the third button to be held down for extended periods (rather than just *clicked*.)

There are two fairly interesting ten year old user interface techniques from (formerly Xerox) PARC: Toolglasses and Magic Lenses that make effective use of see-through windows. A hardware advance that makes it easy/economical to widely deploy this UI technique is a Very Good Thing.

As it is, only a few companies Alias|Wavefront comes to mind) actually uses this rarely seen interaction technique.

I'm sure part of the reason TG/ML is rare is due to Software Patent issues.

The realtime images aren't -final- renders of the scene. They're just rough drafts. The scene still has to be rendered in full res/texture, which still takes hours per frame.

What ILM has is a supercharged 'preview' button. Just like when you switch to wireframe mode in Lightwave or Maya and see a 'realtime' preview of the animation you're working on. But I'm sure ILM's version looks little bit better.

D

I do think this is a novel concept. Several of the posts/replies to this article are mentioning they would miss the mechanical keyboard. I believe this would be best suited for an external USB keyboard and "onscreen touch keyboard" when necessary or travelling.

I think this would be a boom for audio & photo/video professionals. Toolbars on one screen, preview/waveforms on the other, plus onscreen tracing/editting/erasing. If you are a photo/ad pro then you you haven't had value until have tried a Cintiq from Wacom. They are VERY expensive but VERY worth it!

According to their website, it is available for Windows, IRIX, Linux and Mac OS X. And the unlimited package is only $6999! Go buy it now! :)

"Movie-quality" rendering is done in software, often by render farm nodes that don't even have a 3D video card. High-end video cards are used during content creation.

You won't find a GeForce or Radeon on Maya's list of qualified hardware, 3ds max's list of tested graphics cards, or Softimage's list of certified graphics cards. That's not to say that a consumer card won't work, but after spending $2,000+ on the software, plus maintenance, you want supported hardware.

Well this explains the interface from hell.

ingenious but nonstandard user interface

That's one way to put it...

Look, I work with a bunch of 3d apps to make a living, and all I can say about blender's interface is that it sucks. Whoever designed this hodgepodge of icons and textboxes should be dragged out into the street and shot.

Good interfaces are more along the lines of what Maya or XSI have to offer. Blender seems to be another example of crappy open source ui syndrome. It doesn't matter how wonderful the tools are. If the interface is slowing the artist down, then the app is just not viable for production use, and ultimately is nothing more than a toy for hobbyists.

There was a small app for MacOS 7.1 back in the day that would allow you to submit DOS style commands: mkdir, rename, copy, move. Basically an experiment in API calls. I haven't owned a mac since '94, so I don't really know if this little app still exists.

This recommendation comes with a proviso, the PL edition brands everything with an obvious watermark and isnt as fast in rendering images as the full product. But its more than sufficient to play about with.

Another item which may be of interest is Learning Maya | Beginner's Guide, A DVD tutorial with a copy of Maya PL edition upon it, $20 or so. Looks a rather handy introduction, however the plain Maya PL edition comes with good tutorials and a pdf version of a book introducing CG animation.

This recommendation comes with a proviso, the PL edition brands everything with an obvious watermark and isnt as fast in rendering images as the full product. But its more than sufficient to play about with.

Another item which may be of interest is Learning Maya | Beginner's Guide, A DVD tutorial with a copy of Maya PL edition upon it, $20 or so. Looks a rather handy introduction, however the plain Maya PL edition comes with good tutorials and a pdf version of a book introducing CG animation.

I'd argue that the software has come a long way, perhaps not in handwriting accuracy, but in integration with modern software.

And hot-damn if I'm not impressed with Alias Sketchbook, designed for Tablet PCs in particular. Just look at what Gabe threw together, this sketch. Looks real, doesn't it?

Have to agree. Check here to see why the industry considers it the best. Period. Why go with sub-standard? No other program comes even close in the wide world of Holywood digital effects creation. Ever been wowed by some scene in Spiderman, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Final Fantasy? All of these movies used Maya as the basic rendering engine. That's quite the portfolio, if you ask me.

Here's a direct link: http://www.aliaswavefront.com/freemaya

You can get the 'personal learning edition' of Maya for free from the Alias|Wavefront web site. I can't direct-link it, because Slashcode is being a jerk about the ultra long link. But it's there under "Free Downloads" on the left side.

It watermarks your renderings, if I recall correctly, but as far as I know it's otherwise fully featured. This should be enough to give you an idea of whether or not it suits the work you need to do.

I'd be using it in Mac OS X

So, um, did any of you guys recommending 3DSMax read this part of his initial query? Um... anyway, if OS X is to be your platform, the only software you need to bother with is Cinema 4D. Get r8 and a nice openGL card (whatever the newest nVidia card Apple will sell you), and you will not be disappointed.

I've been using C4D since version 5, and have been using it in OS X since it has been possible to do so. Cinema is a wonderful piece of software: the modelling workflow puts 3DSMax to absolute shame, the animation system (while still lacking in some areas) is rapidly, and I mean rapidly catching up to the big dogs (check out this site (Mash is a C4D developer) for some really beautiful examples of the leaps and bounds r8 has made in the soft-IK department), and you simply will not find a faster renderer (as far as single workstation rendering goes--I'm sure Pixar's n-cpu PrMan farm offers serious competition).

The biggest downfalls for C4D are a lack of n-sided polys and a lackluster implementation of boolean modelling. These weaknesses, when weighed against the outrageous strengths displayed in nearly every other area, make C4D the obvious choice for Mac users. Shit, I've found the environment to be even more work-condusive than Maya's sometimes... now if only Maxon could figure a way to incorporate something like A|W's marking-menus without legally stepping on some toes...

Be wary, though. If you're thinking of getting into professional modelling, it is not going to be cheap. Heh, if you thought Photoshop cost too much, wait until you get quotes for 3ds Max. ;p~

"I don't know a graphic artist that has like the precision of any previous TabletPC models (yes this isn't the first TabletPC, sorry microsoft), unless they dramatically improved the imput resolution (and pen weight detection) I doubt these will be hits umoung the graphic artists either."

I figure this is a good time to mention this. Alias|Wavefront (of Maya fame) is working on a 'sketchbook' program for Tablet PC's. It works on regular PC's too. You can check it out here. You can even download a free limited feature version of it as well.

I'm itching to use Photoshop on a TabletPC. Right now, it kinda stinks having to scan every drawing I do. I'd rather draw straight to screen, and in color to boot!

actually you're probably right about CAD, but for 3D animation, Maya doesn't run on Solaris - just Irix, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows NT/2000/XP and Lightwave is only available for MacOS and Windows. Softimage, incidentally, is also available for only Windows, Linux, and Irix, which means you'll be stuck using Houdini. Too bad Houdini's so hard to use.

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/en/Community/Support /qualified_hardware/QUAL/maya_40_linux.html

Yes, Liquid only allows you to connect (seamlessly) Maya to a RenderMan renderer. PRMan is U$5000 per license. RAT is even more expensive. Maya Complete now is U$2000, but Unlimited is U$7,000:

As you can see from the list prices with Liquid you are partially subsituting RAT, which is $8,500. Specifically you are substituting MTOR which is the bridge between Maya and PRMan, You would still miss on things like Alfred, Slim and It.

Why it does matter is that now small studios or even artists can afford a Maya to RenderMan bridge. Potentially they could combine it with cheaper alternatives like RenderDotC, AIR or 3Delight on the renderer part, and something like Smedge for distributing the rendering jobs. So potentially it could be easier to save the cost of RAT for artists workstations. Also if a studio has in house tools, they could potentially integrate them easier since the code for Liquid will be available.

Ok this is only tangenitally on-topic, but...

I have been (no more than) a 3d-tinkerer ever since Quake was released, periodically fooling around with whatever 3d packages I can find to learn and experiment with, for my enjoyment only, and maybe producing something I can shoot. When blender was GPL'd, I took a look at it, and with today's story, I have downloaded the non-commercial version of Maya. I have about a bagillion questions.

- Are the tools discussed today (Aqsis, Liquid) compatible with the NC version of Maya, or do they require the Pro version? Will I even need them for less than professional rendering?

- Are there things that blender cannot yet do that Maya can that I might conceivably use as a hobbyist?

- Is the level of user support, tutorials, manuals, etc. for blender comparable to that of Maya? From a cursory examination, it appears that Maya has several tutorials and discussion forums on the Alias Community website, and tons of active community websites.

- blender may eventually rival the community size, but I don't think it has yet. The blender "documentation"
appears to be incomplete or incorrect, and comes with this disclaimer: This document is at the current state meant as a example how a possible way of organising and writing documentation could look like. It contains many old and obsolete information especially in terms of license and publishing rights. I have found a few tutorial sites. I have heard that the learning curve is steep, and without a lot of documentation, that kind of worries me.

So, to all who have some experience with one or both of the packages, which do you think will provide the most satisfying hobbyist experience? Power to do the things I will probably want to do, useful learning of 3d modelling, and usefulness of produced files (I noticed the Maya non-commercial version of the "Kompleet" package watermarks its files and is not compatible with the commercial version file-formats), and especially overall enjoyment of the activity.

If you know of any good learning resources for any of the tools, please post them. Thanks from all us 3d newbies...

Ok this is only tangenitally on-topic, but...

I have been (no more than) a 3d-tinkerer ever since Quake was released, periodically fooling around with whatever 3d packages I can find to learn and experiment with, for my enjoyment only, and maybe producing something I can shoot. When blender was GPL'd, I took a look at it, and with today's story, I have downloaded the non-commercial version of Maya. I have about a bagillion questions.

- Are the tools discussed today (Aqsis, Liquid) compatible with the NC version of Maya, or do they require the Pro version? Will I even need them for less than professional rendering?

- Are there things that blender cannot yet do that Maya can that I might conceivably use as a hobbyist?

- Is the level of user support, tutorials, manuals, etc. for blender comparable to that of Maya? From a cursory examination, it appears that Maya has several tutorials and discussion forums on the Alias Community website, and tons of active community websites.

- blender may eventually rival the community size, but I don't think it has yet. The blender "documentation"
appears to be incomplete or incorrect, and comes with this disclaimer: This document is at the current state meant as a example how a possible way of organising and writing documentation could look like. It contains many old and obsolete information especially in terms of license and publishing rights. I have found a few tutorial sites. I have heard that the learning curve is steep, and without a lot of documentation, that kind of worries me.

So, to all who have some experience with one or both of the packages, which do you think will provide the most satisfying hobbyist experience? Power to do the things I will probably want to do, useful learning of 3d modelling, and usefulness of produced files (I noticed the Maya non-commercial version of the "Kompleet" package watermarks its files and is not compatible with the commercial version file-formats), and especially overall enjoyment of the activity.

If you know of any good learning resources for any of the tools, please post them. Thanks from all us 3d newbies...

so all of you fan boys who say "oh my $900 dollar linux boxen is as good" can shut the hell up cause you have obviously never layed your hands on a real workstation.

if i could afford the price tag, there would be no way that i would even consider buying a mac or a pc, i would go straight to SGI, and im seriously thinking about taking out a loan for an SGI fuel.

but anyways, relevent links are here
sgi octane 2
sgi fuel
studiotools

Alias|Wavefront provides a free Personal Learning edition of their Maya product.

It has some limitations (e.g. source files not interchangeable with paid-for version, watermark on each image, no plug-ins, resolution limits), which would inhibit its use in a commercial environment but allows you and I to get valuable hands-on experience.

Still... A more expensive tool won't make you a better artist.

--

What specificly would you like added/fixed in Blender to make it more competative? (besides a friendlier interface) BTW, Maya is something like 5 grand a pop IIRC. The Blender site is being restructured or something so they don't have much info on the latest greatest features of Blender, but the question is much like asking "How can I make truespace like maya. I don't see many examples of Blender animation so I assume the animation tools are lacking. How bout adding full IK/FK support with easy skinning? A dope sheet editor to mess around with keyframes? A graph editor? BTW, I don't know if any of this is currently there since I haven't looked at Blender in awhile so I'm just talking about what's generally important for me. Also, you can't just dismiss a friendlier interface - that's the NUMBER ONE thing that Blender developers should be working on. In ANY art based application, if you want actual artists using your software instead of software engineers and hobbyists, you have to make it practically invisible... this is ESPECIALLY true for something as complicated as a 3d modelling/animation package since there's enough to learn about working in a 3d environment itself without having to futz around with the interface of the program you're using. If I can't figure out how to rotate and pan and zoom around the 3d space in the first 5 min of opening the software without resorting to a tutorial (and this is after some experience using 3d software), then the interface is no good. Also, Maya used to be around 17 grand a pop or so and people still bought it. When you're making 30 grand off of each project, 5 grand for your software isn't much. I'm not telling people to go rushing out to buy Maya, just making a point that high end software is an investment.

While game designers are using tools like Maya and 3DS MAX to develop more complex models for games, the engines and technologies that are used to power these games are written by entities that have closer connections to the hardware manufacturers. Also, Maya is owned by SGI, which in turn has a huge role in Open GL. "Designed for $os", should actually read, "Designed for DirectX $version"

Alias/Wavefront's Maya has some advanced pie menus, and they suposedly make using the program a lot faster, especially once you know the movements by heart.

I saw them demonstrated, and they were pretty impressive (the menus and the application).

A PS3 cluster would be great as Maya/Blender render farm.

If Sony is going to ship PS3 machines in 1U/2U 19" rack, I know my company would be interested in a PS3 cluster for rendering and other heavy stuff.

Already is free for non-commercial use check out their download page for details.

Its an interesting point but Maya is an example of a company that has already thought of this....

Alias|Wavefront have already picked up on this with Maya - they've produced Maya Personal Learning Edition, which is free, and provides all the features of Maya Complete, but it saves to it's own format and has render resolution restricted (I think).

Which is a good thing, because Maya is the most painfully hard-to-use program I have ever encountered, although the results it gives are really stunning.

Maya PLE requires a 3-buton mouse. Not made by apple, but not exactly weak sause either.

The other problem is OSX is sluggish with everything! its not A|W's fault its slow. Hopefully 10.2 will clear up the second problem with added speed.

mow i really wish A|W would port studio tools to OSX as well, i much prefer it to Maya, which i only use for modeling anyways.

Yes, Linux on the desktop is no threat to MS. (Neither for apple I would guess).

But the lack of games (and unfortunately games equal 3D performance nowadays) is one thing that keeps Linux from advancing on the desktop.

For sure the overclocker/FPS-tweaking/frag-loving/power-using-i s-soo-cool crowd make potential linux-on-the-Desktop users. They like to tweak, the do it on Windows, the could do it even more with Linux, but the apps (= games) are not there.

Plus, with one of the most powerful professional 3D apps being available on Linux, and more to come, crippling Linux-compatible 3D acceleration does make sense.

Also because professional Graphics apps seldomly use DirectX...

Yes it's mainly Maya and RenderMan. A good source of info is the Cinefex article. As another poster said, Shake is their main compositing app. They do develop propietary solutions, like complete apps like Massive that hook up to Maya to the standard use of MEL and plugins.

There will be some discussion of the work in 2 weeks at SIGGRAPH:

Course 30: Character Setup From Rig Mechanics to Skin Deformations: A Practical Approach
Maya Master Classes

Blender itself was easy enough to use. Don't let the vast array of buttons get you down. It's really not that hard to learn. It will take you an hour. Two tops.
The real problem arose when I started getting serious about my 3d art. Don't get me wrong, Blender is a nice program for beginners. But for anyone who is serious about 3d art or animation, Blender doesn't cut it by a long shot. Even Bryce 5 produces nicer effects.

I really hope the OSS community can do something for the program. Afterall, look at POVray. That was one sweet program, considering that it too was free.
In the end, though. My employers demand the best. So I'm sitting here hammering out models in Maya 4 with the Renderman plugin, or 3d Studio Max with Cebas Final Render.
Check out the girl on the Final Render site, or the Gallery sections and you'll see what I mean.
Blender was a pretty sweet program(And you can't beat the price), but it still has a long way to go before professionals will even begin to take it seriously.