Slashdot Mirror
Maya now Free for Personal Use
TeknoBilim writes "Alias
announced today that their leading software, Maya has become a free download for non-commercial applications. Thanks a lot, Alias. Now I can record the video for my next game. :)" This makes me wish I had talent. At least now I (and many like me) won't have to pay any money just to dabble with Maya.
Alias has offered this personal learning edition version of Maya for years now; they're just announcing that the latest release of Maya, 5.0, is also available in the PLE form.
Don't get me wrong--it's great that they do this. There's just no real news here.
The PLE version has a few limitations compared to the version you pay for, but they're really amazingly small in the grand scheme of things.
What happened with the linux version? AFAIK Maya have a version for Linux, but don't seem to be included in the "for free" offer.
It watermarks all your images, and even some of the UI panels, making it next to useless.
Send lawyers, guns, and money!
"At least now I (and many like me) won't have to pay any money just to dabble with Maya. "
Like you ever paid for Maya just to dabble with it. That's the biggest crock of shit I've heard in.....
Well, since that 24 hours for Windows patches article.
At least several months ago, I downloaded Maya PLE... the free version, for those who want to learn how to use this powerful tool. Basically, the only thing that has changed in the past several months - aside from the upgrade from 4.5 to 5.0 - is that there's a neato newspaper article about it!
:D
Strangely enough, I downloaded v5.0 last night from the kind folks at Alias... no slashdot effect for me
-agent oranje.
I think some other features are missing too, but those are the two biggest that I can remember seeing. The other biggest "feature" you lose is the ability to render without a "watermark" or to model without a "watermark" on the screen at all times.
Basically, this edition is exactly what it says it is: a version for learning Maya on. It's "shareware" in the commercial world - try it before you decide to buy it. Learn on it and then convince your boss to buy it, I guess.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
This is only a bit more open version of what many companies have done for years.
Ever notice how Dreamweaver and Photoshop never really came with much anti-piracy measures beyond the basic serial-number?
The idea is self-training specialization. A million people pirate Photoshop, and train themselves in it's use. They then get hired by companies for those skills. the company is then obligated to go with Photoshop because "Everyone knows how to use it". Ka-ching. Instant secured licenses.
Sure, you're not gonna make Cash off of the end-users who can't afford the triple-digit licensing fee, but you have companies who will order a seperate license for Each user on the Graphic Arts team, their laptops, their desktop computers, and a few extra in case they want to hire a few more people.
It's a beautiful business plan that involves the users, sets a standard and guarentees a secured market for -years-, and in the end, makes everyone happy!
Useless? Its called PERSONAL LEARNING EDITION, Not the personal profit edition. There is absoltely nothing preventing an interested user from learning the basics and beyond of Maya. It's not like a nag box pops up EVERY time you want to open hypershade or outliner.
Watermarking is annoying of course but if this product is intended to give users a free method to LEARN, a watermark isnt going to interfere with that. You will still see accurate results of your render.
If you claim it is useless I really need to ask what it is you are trying to do with it? If you want to use it for billable hours, yes it is uselss and this product is not for you.
On the other hand, If you are trying to put together some work for a demo reel to get a real job in the business this PLE will do just fine.
As someone who receives and views artist reels every week, the watermark does NOT bother us. We are judging the quality of your work which will shine even through a watermark. In fact If I saw a reel come through that was watermarked to shit, it would tell me that this artist chooses to use legal software rather than cracked copies like everyone else. I would admire that kind of integrity in a prospective employee.
When I was teaching myself 3d animation it was with an educational edition of 3dsmax which I actually had to pay for from the University bookstore. When I later got into the business and I expanded our CG dept, we stuck with 3dsmax because it was what I knew. Had Maya Personal Learning Edition been around during my self teaching days, I would have given it a shot. If that were the case perhaps I would have a shelf full of Alias software now where all our Discreet boxes are.
Alias knows that the future 3d artists of tomorrow are young kids with no money. They choose to embrace them and provide free software and tutorials and learning resources. They are expecting a return on that investment and will probably get it. It also stregthens the community, now many more people can write "maya for beginners" books or publish online tutorials because maya is available to everyone, the audience grows.
Brilliant scheme that is so simple. Try before you buy, get em hooked while they're young. Win their loyalty now and they will come back as paying customers in the future.
Everyone wins in this situation.
Do you think all those great marble statues of the Ancient World and the Renaissance were made with undo enabled? :) Undo is for wimps!
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
You know what? When you buy the licensed version, I bet you can just reopen the file you have saved.
As far as I know the watermark is dynamically created everytime you render, NOT in the Maya scene description files themselves - otherwise you can edit them away easily, because it's format is so well understood.
So your concern is a non-concern.