The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th Wave, Inc.
Issue #721 8/15/97
--------------------------------------

**************************************
Notice to WAVE readers.
Our part 2 of the SIGGRAPH coverage was also too long. Thus, we had to split it into two parts again. Since we have been getting mail on the missing coverage we will send out both issues, #720 and #721 today Friday 8/15. One part will be at the beginning of the day, EDT, and one near the end of the day. Sorry for the confusion.

**************************************


CONTENTS


721.1 – Conference Report – SIGGRAPH – Part II
by John Latta

SIGGRAPH is about 3D technology. It is a unique conference because it blends the academic with business. 3D has become mainstream technology. SIGGRAPH also is a broad brush across the emerging industry – like a COMDEX of 3D. We expect that vertical and niche conferences will also be important forums for technology and market visibility. Examples include: Autofact for CAD/CAD and virtual manufacturing, E3 for entertainment and WinHEC for chips.

721.1.1 DisneyQuest Announced with a First Installation in Summer 1998
by John Latta

With one broad stroke Disney announced their entry into regional entertainment.
Disney and SGI used the SGI booth on Thursday to roll-out DisneyQuest. This entertainment concept combines innovation, design, technology and story telling. There will be 20 produced games of which three were announced. These include a virtual Jungle Cruse, a "Design Your Own" Roller Coaster and an updated Aladdin ride. 3D graphics will be done exclusively on SGI Onyx2 computers and each location will have from 20 - 25 Onyx2 computers. At the announcement Disney credited SGI with having the only system capable of the quality of story telling which they require.

In the next several weeks an announcement will be made on TeamQuest, the DisneyQuest outside developer program.

The first installation (100,000 square feet) will be in Orlando in the summer of 1998 at the Walt Disney World Resort. The second installation will be in Chicago (90,000 square feet) and open in the summer 1999. Each facility will have 5 levels. The maximum capacity of a facility will be 1,300 to 1,500 guests. Disney stated that they are sensitive to the public's lack of tolerance for waiting in line in a local venue - DisneyQuest will not be like a theme park with endless lines. Thus, they will limit the flow into the facility and the purchase of smart cards will gate the number entering. Disney stated that there will be both a gate fee, which was described as a small admission charge, and individual rides will have their own fees. It is expected that the guest will have a 2 - 3 hour experience. A premise in the design is to create circulation in the facility. A key element in both the concept and design is Disney's view that DisneyQuest is about a social experience – the concept is centered around creating a social environment. The emphasis at DisneyQuest will be on a family venue compared to a more adult oriented Dave & Busters, for example.

When entering the facility all guests pass through the Ventureport. This is a crossroads into four entertainment environments: the Explore Zone which is a virtual adventureland; the Score Zone which is a competition centered environment; the Create Zone to emulate "Imagineering" for creative self expression and invention and the Replay Zone which is like a carnival on the moon including classic rides and games. Food is provided in two venues: Wired Wonderland Cafe which has an Internet-based attraction and FoodQuest, operated by The Cheesecake Factory.

A smart card will be used which has been developed in conjunction with American Express. Hughes-JVC will provide video and graphics projection systems and Tandem the server for the smart cards and Internet-based attraction. Tandem will also be the primary content provider for the DisneyQuest web site.

Disney has created a new subsidiary, Disney Regional Entertainment, to foster this market. This subsidiary will have responsibilities beyond DisneyQuest and it already includes the family play centers called the Club Disney. The first site was opened in Thousand Oaks, CA in February 1997. Other venues are to include sports concepts and interactive entertainment venues. Disney expects to open 20 - 30 DisneyQuest locations worldwide.

----
721.1.2 SGI Lowers Prices and Contemplates a Windows NT Workstation
by John Latta

SGI came to the show high from excellent 4th Quarter results – its first $1b quarter. At SIGGRAPH it announced price cuts on Octane power desktop workstations with an entry point of $19,995. There are now 14 configurations that range in price from $19,995 to $55,495. They also announced performance improvements on the O2 workstation products. This product has 9 configurations whose price begins at $5,995 and goes to $15,495.

The show floor was abuzz with the non-announcement of SGI’s planned Windows NT workstation based on an Intel processor. There were conflicting stories when this would be rolled out, with many estimating that it would be before the end of the year. At the WAVE Report we expect that this will be one of the most important announcements the company has ever made. Such a product has the potential to directly impact the Octane product line. Thus, the positioning of the product and its 3D performance will set the stage for how the company will compete against not only its own products but others in the Windows market. Further, an SGI Windows platform is critical in maintaining its position as a single vendor supplying 3D animation solutions (both hardware and software) to professionals when Maya for NT is released.

Silicon Graphics, Inc. introduced WebFORCE 0² authoring and serving system, which includes Adobe Premiere and Progressive Networks RealAudio and RealVideo. The WebFORCE O² systems already include Web authoring tools, like Cosmo software suite, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Kai’s Power Tools. The WebFORCE O² 200MHZ MIPS RISC R5000 system will be available in early fall and is priced at $10,495. The WebFORCE Origin 200 system is currently available and is priced at $12,995 for the base configuration. The WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 server software is priced at $2,000 for 10 concurrent users to $50,000 for 500 current users and is currently available.

http://www.sgi.com

----
721.1.3 E&S Announces the REALimage 2000 chip set
by John Latta

E&S announced its second generation 3D chip set, the REALimage 2000. E&S will continue to be linked to Mitsubishi as the suppliers of the product. The first chip, now being sold as the 1000, was done at .5 micron process technology and with the 2000 they go to .35 micron. The 2000 is not directly available through E&S, due to the relationship with Mitsubishi. E&S indicated that the 1000 is currently selling in the $250 - $300 range and will likely remain the same with the 2000 when it is released.

We see the following as important components of the design and/or performance:

Both an L1 (on chip) and L2 (off chip) texture caches with up to 64MB of texture memory
Pixel depth of 96 bits - 32 bit RGBA, 8 bit overlay with 4 bit stencil, 4 bit window ID and 24 bit Z-buffer
Integrated 2D and 3D graphics engines
2M Primitives/sec
Pixel Rates: Trilinear MIPMapped - 30Mp/sec
APIs: OpenGL, Direct3D and Heidi
Frame Buffer in 3D-RAM
Embedded RAMDAC
PCI or AGP Interface
Screen Resolutions: 1280 X 1024 X 32 bits at 85 Hz
Frame Buffer: up to 15MB
Also shown in the booth was their Cyber Fighter. This is based on a electric 2DOF platform. The cost is $45K/seat.

http://www.es.com

----
721.1.4 E&S Entertainment Technology Installed in Six New Locations
by John Latta

The Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. has announced the installation of its CyberFighter and VirtualGlider systems in six new locations. The new locations include The United Artists Theatres Starport Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, SCORE Virtual Sportsworld in Vancouver, British Columbia and Laser Storm Family Entertainment Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. In the VirtualGlider system, players are suspended like real hang glider pilots in a virtual reality futuristic city. Players of the CyberFighter fly in a computer-generated environment where jet fighter pilots engage in aerobatics or aerial dogfights.

http://www.es.com

----
721.1.5 Quantum3D
by John Latta

Quantum3D's objective is to be the price performance leader in the advanced visual computing marketplace. The WAVE Report spoke to Ross Smith, one of the founders of 3Dfx, and now the VP of Marketing at Quantum 3D. To implement its objective Quantum3D is focused on leveraging its experience with Voodoo technology and close relationship with 3Dfx, however, the Quantum3D is not restricted to only systems that use the Voodoo chip. Quantum3D has picked up both the card market (Obsidian) and some of the systems market from 3Dfx. This has allowed 3Dfx to focus on its core market of building chips and not conflict with 3rd parties who are seeking to also build cards.

The Quantum3D both was full of 3rd party solutions from arcade games to software tool developers. Quantum3D was optimistic about the coin-op business as a new market for the PC. They see the recent efforts by Intel and Microsoft in the arcade market as having an impact. One game, Ultimate Racer, will be on sale at AMOA in one month. In the booth they also had the game Turok by Acclaim running on both a 3Dfx Voodoo Rush card using D3D and N64. The PC image quality was superior, in part, do to the non-interlaced PC display. In another example of where Voodoo was being applied, Renault was showing a 3 screen truck driving simulator.

Quantum3D is also selling software and it is the exclusive distributor for Gemini OpenGVS. At SIGGRAPH it was also announced that Quantum3D will have an exclusive agreement for RealiStormSE for the Obsidian3DS products. RealiStormSE allows users to work within products such as 3D Studio MAX, AutoCAD and MicroStation to preview and interact with models. This plug-in allows for walk throughs, AVI file recording and data import to the host application from RealiStorm.

http://www.quantum3d.com

----
721.1.6 Datapath Announces Next Version of RealiMation and Product Family
by John Latta

Datapath announced version 4.2 of RealiMation which is due at the end of August. This version will support DirectX 5.0 and VRML 2.0 import and export.

The product family now includes the following:

RealiMation VSG Developer Tools $9,900
Tools for the creation of real time 3D applications

RealiMation Space Time Editor – Designer Edition $$1,495
The professional CAD Visualization Tool w/RealiStorm

RealiMation Space Time Editor – Professional Edition $499
VRML and 3D scene creation and authoring tool

RealiView Free
Viewer program for RealiBases the data base format of RealiMation

The company also announced the opening of RealiMation, Inc. which is the US representative for DataPath. This office begins with Vince Robinson as VP for Sales and Marketing.

RealiMation Inc.
2880 Zanker Road
Suite 203
San Jose, CA 95134
(408)432-7221
(408)432-7235 FAX

http://www.datapath.com
http://www.realimation.com

----
721.1.7 Kinetix Announces Release 2 of 3D Studio Max with 1,000 New Features
by John Latta

Kinetix had its worldwide debut of 3D Studio MAX R2 at SIGGRAPH. It is a 3D animation and modeling solution that supports Microsoft’s implementation of OpenGL as well as the Direct3D graphics API. New features of 3D Studio MAX R2 include NURBS modeling, rendering advances like raytracing and lens effects, flexible, real-time Inverse Kinematics and the MAX plug-in development kit. Enhancements of MAX R2 include mesh modeling, baycentric morphing and the ability to manipulate UV mapping assignments directly. Other companies contributed to the MAX R2 technology as well. Included in the list is Blur Studio’s ray-tracer, Digimation’s LenZFX and John Wainwright’s MAXScript technology. 3D Studio MAX R2 is scheduled to be available this fall with a list price of $3,495 for a single-user license.

We regard this software as one of the highlights for the conference. It was only 2 years ago that 3D Studio MAX was announced at SIGGRAPH. Slightly over a year after it was shipping R2 is coming with 1000 new features. At the news conference announcing the product, Kinetix described how it polled MAX users and came up with 1,000 requested features. Proudly they claimed all were included. A significant accomplishment. Kinetix claimed that MAX is the "best at any price and on any platform." Max is being targeted at the broadcast and film markets.

Kinetix also stated that its unit shipments, of all products, are up 52% and the revenues up 37%. Last year Kinetix contributed $30m in revenue to Autodesk, its parent company. In March 1997 Kinetix announced that 25,000 units of MAX had shipped and since that time the number of units has risen significantly (no unit numbers were given).

http://www.ktx.com

----
721.1.8 3Dlabs Targets New Price Point for Professional 3D Cards and Announces Design Wins and Partnerships

by John Latta

3Dlabs announced a new GLINT TX Gold processor based on a bundle of the 500TX and Delta processors. Two companies announced boards based on the chip set: Leadtek with the WinFast 3D L2500 and STB with the Glyder TX Gold, both for under $995.

3Dlabs also announced design wins and partnership development with its customers. Included on the list was Gateway, who plans to enter the personal workstation market in the fourth quarter of ’97 with AccelGraphics. They will manufacture and develop graphic sub-systems and related software based on 3Dlabs technology. Diamond Multimedia introduced their Fire GL 1000 Pro which is based on the 3Dlabs PERMEDIA 2 graphics processor. ELSA’s introduction of its Gloria XL was based on 3Dlabs’ GLINT MX and GLINT Delta. The Omnicomp Graphics Corporation line of 3Demon MX and 3Divine graphics systems were all based on 3Dlabs’ GLINT MX and GLINT Delta. In addition, their 3Divine entry-level workstation line was based on the PERMEDIA 2 graphics processor. Finally, Sony Corporation demonstrated "T3Dsfx", a prototype product of 3D and video technologies which was based on GLINT MX and GLINT Delta as well.

http://www.3dlabs.com
http://www.gateway.com
http://www.accelgraphics.com
http://www.diamondmm.com
http://www.elsa.com
http://www.omnicomp.com
http://www.sony.com

----
721.1.9 OpenGL and SGI Focuses on the Windows Platform
by John Latta

SGI announced its commitment to OpenGL on both Widows 95 and Windows NT. It will be supplying a Device Driver Kit (DDK) for OpenGL acceleration on both Windows OSs. This is equivalent of the ICD being supplied by Microsoft on Windows NT. In response to a question, Shawn Hopwood, Manager of Product Marketing for Graphic APIs indicated that no decision has been made on an MCD for Windows 95. It is their strong preference that this be done in conjunction with Microsoft, however, if it become necessary SGI will do an MCD. The key point that SGI wants to make with its Windows OpenGL initiative is that OpenGL should be about choice and not market segmentation. Developers should be able to use OpenGL based on the value it has to their application, even if this includes games, and not be forced to make a choice that is driven by how Microsoft seeks to segment the market. SGI stressed it is their desire to work with Microsoft to make OpenGL widely available.

http://www.sgi.com

----
721.1.10 Ndimension Shows a New Real Time 3D Application - SimStudio
by John Latta

NDimension Simulations showed for the first time its product SimStudio. This is a tool for the construction, testing, execution and maintenance of real time 3D simulations. They have extended the Windows interface to simulator model development including drag and drop functionality. The mouse and window integration was excellent. The software runs on Windows 95 and NT and supports OpenGL, Direct3D and Glide. The suite of tools includes: an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), a C++ API and the Real Time Simulation Executive (RTSX). Model formats of 3D Studio and Multigen OpenFlight are supported. The software has mechanisms for integrating fuzzy logic, neural networks and rule execution systems. The software comes with standard plug-ins that support both sophisticated dynamics and AI agents. Some of the features included are: model conversion, model optimization, an auto-build facility to automatically update models, data storage and security features, levels of detail, constraints, materials and texture processing, scenario construction, user defined state models for dynamics and AI, lights, viewpoint control, collision detection, picking and ranging, rendering, performance management, DIS support and sound including support for spatial sound via the Microsoft DirectSound API.

The software will ship by the end of September and cost $3,995.

e-mail: simstudio@ndimension.com

----
721.1.11 Dell Moves into the Workstation Market with 3D
by John Latta

Just before the conference Dell announced its entry into the workstation market. The company has become one to fear in its ability to combine the direct sales model with on-line sales and build-on-demand capability. Dell has 75% of its business in corporate America. At SIGGRAPH they highlighted their entry into the workstation business. Dell is setting up a work force to support this market and the needs of the vertical market segments. Dell stated at the news conference - they see a huge upside in the workstation market by combining Intel based systems with 3D. Their target is to underprice other Intel based workstations by 20% to 30% and the traditional UNIX RISC machines by 50% to 70%. In a dig at the rest of the exhibitors Dell stated that most of the exhibitors do not openly discuss pricing "we pass out sheets with our prices." 3Dlabs got the design win with Elsa Gloria-M Glint MX cards. They intend to have only a 10 day lead time on systems.

Their 2D CAD workstation is priced at $3899, the next level up is a 300MHz Pentium II priced at $7,079 and the high end 3D system goes for $8,279.

http://www.dell.com

----
721.1.12 Hitachi America Introduces 3D Graphics Subsystem for Windows NT
by John Latta

Hitachi American announced the availability of its SPHERIX 3D graphics subsystem for Windows NT. The performance specifications include:

Polygon Rate: to 3mp/sec
Fill Rate: to 320mp/sec
Geometry Processing - Based on DEC Alpha Chips
API Support: OpenGL
Geometry Processors: 1 - 4
Rendering Managers: 1 - 4 (80Mp/s to 320Mp/s)
RGBA: 8 bits each
Texture Memory: up to 16MB
Display List Memory: 64MB to 128MB
Resolution Output: 1024 X 768 to 1920 X 1080 or 1600 X 1200

A configurable tower subsystem, the SPHERIX accelerates and enhanced graphics performance of Digital Alpha NT, Pentium Pro and Pentium II systems running OpenGL and Windows NT applications. Hitachi and Sense8 have a marketing relationship to deliver the Windows NT 3D graphics platform.

Sample pricing for 2 Geometry Processors, 2 Rendering Managers with 8MB of Texture Memory and 64MB of OpenGL display list memory for $38,230. Performance is quoted as 1.5mp/s and 160Mp/s.

http://www.hitachi.com
http://www.sense8.com

----
721.1.13 Trimension Shows Displays for Immersive Environments
by John Latta

Tucked away in the lower floor of the convention center was Trimension. This firm, headquartered in England, and with offices in Avondale, PA, has a range of products for 3D displays. Their products include a Reality Room and Virtual Domes. The focus of these products is to allow multiple individuals to work cooperatively on a single display. The booth had a small Reality Room whose image was formed by three projectors that was curved and covered approximately 180 degrees in the field-of-view. The result was impressive. A typical room for 3 - 4 costs $200,000. Application markets include: technical communications, oil/gas, automotive and design for entertainment. Displays that support up to 200 to 500 individuals have been built. Trimension describes their displays as best suited for collaborative interaction where multiple individuals participate. In contrast to the Cave and Desk products that operate in stereo and typically include tracking the Trimension products are focused on visually immersive design where the image surrounds the participants. The volume of the Trimension products is approximately 3 units/month and 70% of the sales are in the US.

http://www.trimension-inc.com

----
721.1.14 Multigen Announces Creatorm, SmartScene 1.2 and MultiGen GO
by John Latta

Extending its core real time 3D modeling technology Multigen has announced a Windows NT product Creator. This is a modeler intended for the real time 3D market and it includes an open API to allow others to extend the product. At the WAVE Report we see this as an important extension to the MultiGen suite of products in that it extends the leading real time 3D modeler into the Windows NT market. Included is the source code for a Direct 3D viewer. The cost is $9,500 and will be available in November. A Power Option costs $3,000, a BSP option is $2,500 and Terrain Option is $10,000.

Smart Scene, the 3D assembly application program has been upgraded to version 1.2. It runs only on the SGI platform. This new version includes support for Plug-Ins. The upgraded version is shipping now at prices beginning at $10,000.

MultiGen, Inc. has announced MultiGen GO, an integrated solution for real-time image generation on SGI workstations. The tool features a large-area database manager that allows high-speed traversal over limitless areas. It also offers lightpoints; supported outputs options; and an environmental feature, which includes cloud types, fog, celestial objects, and more. MultigenGO will be available in September of 1997 for $15,00 per graphics pipe for SGI Onyx platforms and $10,000 for SGI Octane and O2 systems.

http://www.multigen.com/

----
721.1.15 GPC Moves into Multimedia and 3D Application Level Benchmarks
by John Latta

The Graphics Performance Characterization Group (GPC) announced that the Multimedia Benchmark Committee (MBC) has been accepted as a official project group. The plan is to have a range of benchmark suites in multimedia performance. The end of 1997 expects an Alpha version of the first benchmark for measuring MPEG-2 decoder performance.

An application Performance Characterization (APC) project group has been formed to develop benchmarks based on graphics intensive applications. It is felt by the GPC that there exists an void in this benchmarking area. They will focus on applications in MCAD/CAM/CAE, data visualization, visual simulation, industrial design, animation, architecture and games. It was also announced that the APC is working with user groups, publication testing labs, and application developers to meet the needs of this type of benchmark.

Initial results from the GLperf benchmark are available on the GPC web site. GLperf is a script based test with many options. It is claimed that the standardized testing format of GLperf allows users to test many cards in a uniform way. Thus, this benchmark is superior to primitive-level benchmarks.

e-mail for APC: gpcapc@pro.specbench.org

http://www.specbench.org/gpc

----
721.1.16 Visible Decisions Announces In3D Developer Toolset
by John Latta

In3D is a toolset for developing 3D desktop and Internet business applications. The difference with In3D is that instead of describing the scene it describes the underlying data model, the views and the mapping logic to bind views to data. Features include drill-down brushing, filtering and level of detail control. Applications include real time data acquisition and displays for back office financial applications including trading, network control monitoring, data mining, and process control. The displays can be very graphic and dynamic. The toolkit costs approximately $30,000 with interfaces to various financial data sources. Runtime libraries can cost from $3,000 to $5,000.

http://www.vdi.com

----
721.2 Points to Ponder – SIGGRAPH in Contrast
by John Latta

721.2.1 DisneyQuest in Perspective

We were impressed by the DisneyQuest concept. Of the many new entertainment center designs that have been announced and/or installed in the last 2 years, two stand out: Sony at Yerba Buena in San Francisco and now DisneyQuest.

Why are we positive about DisneyQuest?

It has all the elements of Disney quality and economic potential. DisneyQuest is about the guest social experience first and technology second. Third party developers can bring value to the experience outside of Disney. The installation roll-out is conservative and will be tuned based on experience.

We look forward to reviewing the first installation in Orlando next summer.

721.2.2 Real Time 3D Software Desert

Accelerated 3D is moving into 1997 with significantly higher performance levels than last year. The beginning of an installed base is happening for many applications outside of games, in large part because 3D is replacing 2D only graphics adapters. At 4th Wave we continue to get asked about mainstream business applications which leverage 3D. Unfortunately there are very few focused on real time. At SIGGRAPH we saw important forward movement. A significant announcement was the Windows NT version of MultiGen, called Creator. This has been the leading 3D real time modeling tool. In the assembly of environments SimSudio impressed us by Ndimension because of its intuitive interface and powerful functionality. DataPath’s RealiMation continues to be the leading real time software package with a continuous string of improvements. Yet, in spite of these advances we still feel the current real time 3D software is like a lone tree in a vast desert of software nothingness.

What is the problem? One that we lay squarely on the ISV community is the source of the software emerging for real time applications. That is, virtually all the software comes from a workstation heritage. As a result it grossly overpriced for the PC market. Examples include MultiGen's Creator at $10,000 and with options that can raise the cost to more than $20,000, 3D Studio MAX R2 at $3,495, Softimage NT at $9,000, NDimension SimStudio at $4,000 and Visible Decisions In3D Toolkit for $30,000. This is all based on a market model of high prices low volume. The corporate market, i.e., non-full time professional user, will not grow at these prices. It is often argued that such tools are too sophisticated for the corporate desktop but the same argument could have been made for Photoshop but it did not apply. Thus, the software industry has failed to recognize the potential of 3D and remains firmly entrenched in an antiquated business model. It is time for the current suppliers to wake up that the foundation for a significant market lies ahead. If the players today do not respond they could likely be left behind by new companies who see the potential of water in the desert.

This is also a market hole that the VRML companies may have an opportunity to exploit. The software in this segment is low priced and network centric. However, VRML has not been leveraging acceleration and focused on object and scene complexity. By expanding the scope of the market for what VRML addresses it is possible that a market in mainstream 3D tools and applications could emerge.

We strongly believe that the potential of high performance real time 3D will come when both software and hardware at reasonable prices are present. The leading role of hardware in establishing the foundation platform is very consistent with the evolution of the PC and even multimedia and CD-ROM drives. In the case of multimedia the market was continually frustrated until a critical mass of CD-ROM drives were available which provided a low cost delivery platform for multimedia content. The same applies to 3D but where the chips and the software are both required. What we see today is that the 3D chip and its performance are the same as the CD-ROM drive. There remains a fundamental problem – 3D accelerators being installed on today’s PC’s have little to be used for (other than games).

One response to this dilemma is the observation that programs such as 3D Studio MAX and MultiGen’s Creator are not suited to a large market. Some feel that these are niche products and to lower the price to Photoshop levels will only decrease a company’s income level and not stimulate any additional sales. We see the issue as being more complex. That is, this is not just a pricing and software target market issue. Pricing; user interface, product design and distribution are all linked and unless all are addressed in the definition and marketing of the product it is likely that it will be no more than a niche product. That is, to have a complex 3D program without an effective interface that hides complexity to the advantage of the user only means few sales. Thus, we see the market potential as a significant one that is open to start-up companies. If the current players do not adapt other companies will sprout who can.

We find it curious that 3D enables more natural user interfaces, allows for greater interaction with objects and spaces and is becoming omnipresent on new PCs using 3D accelerators but much of the software which leverages the technology is just the opposite. Today, as the installed base builds there are few applications to leverage the technology. Seen in a different way – there is a market but today’s products are blinded by the safe haven of low volume and high prices. These conditions create an opportunity for others ready to capitalize on it.

http://www.fourthwave.com

--------------------------------------
Copyright 1997 4th WAVE, Inc.

To subscribe to WAVE, send an email message with "subscribe wave <your name>" in the body of the message to listproc@listserver.com, not using the <> or "" characters, and replacing <your name> with your real name.

To unsubscribe, send a message to the same address with "unsubscribe wave" in the body of the message (again, not using the "" characters).

Previous issues of WAVE, as well as other info can be found at http://www.fourthwave.com

Comments on or questions about WAVE: wave@fourthwave.com

John Latta jnl@fourthwave.com

May be redistributed in full for individual readership and posted to newsgroups, Web, and FTP sites. May not be reprinted or redistributed for profit. Short quotes are permitted but must be attributed to the WAVE Report on Digital Media.