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For a moment I wondered what was Microsoft's purpose in acquiring a movie special effects software , which is not their usual business...

The Narnia team used Massive running Red Hat.

uhh why would they and why are you modded as insightful??(think carefully before you answer, most CGI farms are custom built solutions and Microsoft has very little to do in that area.. see Pixar etc)
Lord of the Rings was most likely done on RedHat or Fedora btw: http://www.massivesoftware.com/requirements.html

Besides, don't you think Microsoft would have already gotten it leaked to the press and spun it to say how much more superior their software was?
This is just typical /. Microsoft hate-mongering.. is that tin-foil hat nice and tight or do you have anything to support such a rumor?

Hmm sounds like the same kind of crap /. was spewing around the time it was announced Microsoft was buying Bungie about how this meant that no version of Halo would EVER appear on the Mac after that...
Guess we know how that all turned out..

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000 06IQTH/103-7401908-0239846?v=glance

Okay, I'll retract the 3D apps comment since the commercial apps all apperently are getting available by now.

Not even that is true. There is a lot of 3D software available for Linux, where you simply can't get a Windows or MacOS version. For example Massive (software requirements)

Just check the list.

You're obviously not up-to-date and I suggest, you should check the facts first, before you make statements like "where's the Maya/3DS/LW/Softimage alternative? It doesn't exist (dont be a bone head and suggest Blender here, its like comaring a 79' VW to a Ferrai). where's the video editing solutions? We have one decent one, but all with haggid no-useable interfaces (seen from a non-linux-fanboiii perspective)."

Okay, I'll retract the 3D apps comment since the commercial apps all apperently are getting available by now.

Not even that is true. There is a lot of 3D software available for Linux, where you simply can't get a Windows or MacOS version. For example Massive (software requirements)

Just check the list.

You're obviously not up-to-date and I suggest, you should check the facts first, before you make statements like "where's the Maya/3DS/LW/Softimage alternative? It doesn't exist (dont be a bone head and suggest Blender here, its like comaring a 79' VW to a Ferrai). where's the video editing solutions? We have one decent one, but all with haggid no-useable interfaces (seen from a non-linux-fanboiii perspective)."

You may be thinking of Massive, which was written by devlopers at Weta to drive the crowd behaviour in Maya, and has since been spun off to its own product.

yeah, MASSIVE isn't going to run on your p4 unless maybe you are playing checkers, but then it would be pointless wouldn't it?

They don't mention it in the article but Massive, the software used to do the battle scenes (amongst other things), won a Scientific and Engineering award:

http://radio.weblogs.com/0102385/2004/01/29.html#a 509
http://www.oscars.org/scitech/2003/winners.html

I'm holding out for the version driven by Massive.

a bit off topic I realize, but just the thought of possibilities of creating virtual worlds much like someone would mod a game just makes me want to dive right into my simulation books... well right after I play a bit more MOO III.

From the FAQ

Q: How do I get a demo license of Massive?
A: Massive is being beta tested at selected studios and will be available for sale soon. Demo licenses are not currently available.

Q: Is there a free version of Massive?
A: There are no plans to make a free version of Massive.

It's the software's homepage.

Massive Ltd.

For those interested, you can purchase Massive. Stephen Regelous, the brains behind this app, showed it last SIGGRAPH. You can check their website here:

Massive Software

Softimage also just announced their own system:

SOFTIMAGE ANNOUNCES SOFTIMAGE®|BEHAVIOR

Massive is a commercial product. See http://www.massivesoftware.com. Perhaps you could negotiate with that company to see if they are willing to provide source.