The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space
Published by 4th Wave, Inc.
Issue #723 9/02/97
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CONTENTS

724.1 Quick News
By John Latta, Jonathan Sunberg, and Malisa Burkeen
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First Disclosures of Intel & HP IA-64 Processor Coming
(September 9)

Intel and Hewlett-Packard will disclose technical details of their collaboration to create their next-generation architecture, dubbed IA-64, at the Microprocessor Forum Oct. 13-16, in San Jose, California. Intel and Hewlett-Packard architects will describe the new 64-bit instruction set and their motivations for departing from the x86 design.

http://www.MDRonline.com/mpf

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The Wall Street Journal Reports on SGI Windows NT Workstations
(September 8)

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chairman of Silicon Graphics, Ed McCracken, stated that SGI would release Windows NT workstations. The article indicates that these would be at the low end of the workstation line and not be available until the 2nd half of 1998. These machines are expected to include SGI graphics hardware and software. It was reported that Alias/Wavefront is developing applications for Windows NT.

http://www.wsj.com/

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Semiconductor Sales
(September 5)

SIA announced that worldwide chip sales increased by 13.3% to $11.6B from July 1996 to July 1997. The industry has been in a major growth trend since May 1997. Sales in Japan, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific continue to grow, however, European sales have been steady declining the past three months. Complete results can be found on SIA’s website.

http://www.semichips.org

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Assn. For Interactive Media Releases Study on Energy Utility Companies in Telecommunications
(September 8)

The Association for Interactive Media commissioned a study of the involvement of energy utility companies in the telecommunications industry. The work was done by V-TECH and is freely available on the Web.

The report describes the utility companies and their interest in interactive services. The report indicates that there has been a shift in the interests of these companies where they are relying more on "alliance partners from the telecom and interactive home systems areas…"
http://www.interactivehq.org/whitepapers/vtech/html/v tech_energy_report.html
http://www.vdashtech.com/

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National Research Council Report Calls for Better User Interfaces to the NII
(August 18)

The National Research Council released the results of a study "More Than Screen Deep: Toward Every-Citizen Interfaces to the Nation’s Information Infrastructure." The study calls for better user interfaces. Areas of priority include: determining the needs of citizens, developing speech-recognition and natural language-processing technologies, designing adaptable technologies, developing theories and architecture for collaboration and improvements in testing design and the evaluation process. The report will be available from the National Academy Press in September.
http://www2.nas.edu/cstbweb
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3Dlabs and ELSA Get Compaq Win
(September 9)

3Dlabs, Inc. announced that the new Compaq Professional Workstation 5100 will use the GLINT MX and GLINT Delta graphics processors from 3Dlabs. In selected configurations, the Professional Workstation 5100 will incorporate the GLoria-XL professional 3D graphics accelerator board from ELSA Inc. that uses the GLINT Delta and GLINT MX processors

The starting price of this system is $3,500, A system with one 300 MHz Pentium II processor, 256 MB of RAM, a 4 GB hard drive and an ELSA GLoria-XL graphics card including a 21-inch monitor is $9,754.

http://www.3dlabs.com
http://www.elsa.com
http://www.compaq.com

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STB Gets Compaq Win
(September 9)

STB Systems Inc. announced that Compaq Computer Corp. selected STB's MVP Workstation multimonitor graphics adapter for Compaq's Professional Workstation 5100 series. Compaq will incorporate STB's MVP Workstation as a standard feature on select workstations in the Professional Workstation 5100 series and as an option on other systems in that line, including the Professional Workstation 6000 and 8000. The STB MVP Workstation is based on the S3 ViRGE/DX graphics engine with 4MB of EDO.

http:// www.stb.com

http://www.compaq.com

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Compaq Brings Both DVD solution and 3D to Consumer PCs
(September 8)

Compaq Computer, in conjunction with ATI, Intel and Zoran/CompCore, today announced a DVD solution for their new Presario 4840 and Presario 4850 Mini-tower which provides a laser disc quality audio and video output from a consumer PC. This solution provides a 2X DVD-ROM drive with MPEG2 and AC-3 decode from Zoran/CompCore, with hardware acceleration components including Intel's Pentium II processor with AGP technology and ATI's 3D Rage Pro graphics chip with motion compensation.

http://www.compaq.com

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Number Nine Lands Win from Sys Workstation
(September 8)

Number Nine Visual Technology Corp. says that Sys Technology Inc. will configure PCI and AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) versions of Number Nine's Revolution 3D graphics accelerator as standard equipment in the Sys Premier line of personal computers and as an upgrade option to all Sys Workstation personal workstations.

http://www.nine.com

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NEC Creates Card with Tseng Lab for both 2D and 3D
(September 4)

NEC has created an OEM reference design that integrates their PowerVR PCx2 accelerator with the Tseng Lab ET6100. This design and card is available to OEMs. Further, VideoLogic has an Apocalypse 5D board that is based on this design and this is widely available.

http://www.nec.com
http://www.tseng.com

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Gateway 2000 Selects PowerVR 3D Graphics Accelerator for Destination Big Screen PC/TV
(September 4)

Gateway 2000 will use the PowerVR 3D graphics accelerator in its D6-300 Destination Big Screen PC/TV and D6-266 system. The Destination system uses a 266MHz Pentium and a 31" monitor. The PowerVR technology, from NEC and VideoLogic, delivers up to 60 frames per second at 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 pixels for realistic game play. The Destination system will come installed with the Apocalypse 3Dx add-in card based on the NEC PowerVR PCX2 graphics accelerator.

http://www.gateway.com

http://www.nec.com

http://www.destination.com

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Diamond Multimedia Reduces Price on Monster Sound
(September 9)
Diamond Multimedia announced that the company's award-winning Monster Sound PCI-based audio accelerator driver set is included on the Microsoft DirectX version 5.0 CD. Utilizing Aureal Semiconductor's 3D interactive audio technology (A3D), Monster Sound is capable of distinctly positioning audio effects, including up/down, left/right and front/back positions around the computer user, in real-time. Monster Sound includes game bundle of Outlaws by LucasArts, SimCopter by Maxis and Tiger Shark by GT Interactive. The card is now available for an estimated retail price of $149.95.

http://www.diamondmm.com

http://www.microsoft.com/directx/

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S3 Gains Design Win from Toshiba
(September 8)
Toshiba in its latest notebook, the Tecra 750CDT, is using the S3 ViRGE/MX accelerator. This provides both 2D/3D and TV-out. Also supported is DuoView, which is S3’s technology for multiple displays. It is possible to support both the LCD display on the portable and external monitor simultaneously.
 
http://www.S3.com
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Integrated Circuit Systems gets Reference Design Win from 3Dfx for Quantum3D Cards
(September 4)
Integrated Circuit Systems, Inc., has announced that its ICS5342 GENDAC, is part of the 3Dfx reference design for Voodoo, and is being used on the Obsidian family of high-performance real time 3D graphics accelerator cards from Quantum3D. The Obsidian implementations can use two, three or six Voodoo Graphics chip configurations, and one or two ICS GENDACs. The GENDAC provides two phase-locked loop clock signals, a color palette stored in RAM, and Video DAC (Digital/Analog Converter.)
 
http://www.icst.com
http://www.quantum3d.com
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Lycos Gets Microsoft Channel Guide Win
(September 9)

Lycos, Inc. announced that it has been selected as the exclusive provider for the Microsoft Active Channel Guide in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. Lycos will produce and host the Active Channel Guide designed to guide Internet Explorer 4.0 users to channels that meet their topics of interest when IE 4.0 launches on September 30. The Active Channel Guide will provide users of IE 4.0 with access to the rich world of Internet channels including news, sports, business, entertainment, and lifestyle. By using Lycos' search technology, the Active Channel Guide will enable users to locate specific channels of interest from many being developed for Internet Explorer 4.0. The Active Channel Guide will prominently display the Lycos logo. Lycos also will be the exclusive provider of search services to the greater World Wide Web from within the Active Channel Guide by providing users direct access to www.lycos.com.
 
http://www.lycos.com
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TGS Acquires Yonowat
(August 5)
Template Graphics Software Inc. announced at SIGGRAPH that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Yonowat S.A., maker of the Yonowat Amapiā 3D modeling program. Under the terms of the pending acquisition, TGS will obtain the French company and all its assets under a pooling of interest accounting treatment. TGS will sell and support the entire Amapi product line, and retain key developers, management, sales and marketing personnel. Yonowat offices in Europe and the U.S. will be consolidated into TGS operations in Bordeaux and San Diego.
 
Amapi is a 3D modeling program that offers a different approach to 3D modeling by making it easy to create and edit models with complex geometric shapes. Since 1993 Amapi has provided a modeling technique that supports many advanced features, such as NURBS, Gordon surfaces and polygon-level tools. Other products in the Amapi product line include AmaPicture, AmapiWeb, Amapi Studio and plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk 3D Studio MAX , MicroScribe and a SoftImage translator.
http://www.yonowat.com
http://www.tgs.com

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LightWorks Renderer Ships with New Microspot 3D World Plug-in
(September 4)

Microspot USA is now shipping LightWork Design with their new Designer plug-in. The LightWorks renderer brings anit-aliasing, shadows, and transparency capabilities to 3D World.

http://www.lightwork.com

http://www.microspot.com

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Optibase to be Included with SGI’s WebForce MediaBase 2.0
(September 8)

Optibase announced that its MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 encoders and decoders are now fully integrated into the Silicon Graphics WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 media streaming solution. These products use Optibase's MPEG ComMotion UDP streaming and multicasting solution. Users of WebFORCE MediaBase can capture, archive and stream video and digital audio to Web clients across a broad range of IP and ATM networks. Output from Optibase encoders can be scaled to fit a variety of transmission, resolution and playback needs with bit rates from as low as 50 Kilobits per second (Kbps) for Internet-based video streaming to broadcast quality satellite transmission with bit rates up to 15 Megabits per second (Mbps). The Optibase real-time encoders optimized for the Silicon Graphics WebFORCE MediaBase include MPEG Forge, MPEG Fusion and MPEG MovieMaker. Optibase decoders optimized for WebFORCE MediaBase 2.0 also include VideoPlex and the Videoquest.

http://www.optibase.com

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StereoGraphics Gains HP Support
(September 8)

StereoGraphics, the leading developer of stereoscopic 3D viewing peripherals, announced that Hewlett-Packard's new VISUALIZE fx4 and fx6 OpenGL graphics engines directly support CrystalEyes stereoscopic 3D visualization products from StereoGraphics.

http://www.stereographics.com

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"RTIME Rocks!" Named Best Multi-player Game in Silicon Graphics Creator Program Games Contest
(September 2)
RTIME Rocks! was announced as the best multi-player game in the SGI Creator Program Games Contest. RTIME Rocks! entertains up to 100 simultaneous players and spectators with this fast-paced space game that provides smooth and fluid Internet play.
In addition, to help developers create games for the Internet, RTIME has released the source code and a "how to" tutorial for RTIME Rocks! Developers can also get a free Software Development Kit from RTIME.

http://www.rtimeinc.com

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Interplay Helps Start New Game Company
(September 8)


Interplay Productions has announced the establishment of a new development company named Confounding Factor to be headed up by Toby Gard and Paul Douglas, the two members of the Tomb Raider development team. The deal between Interplay and Confounding Factor is a multi-title world- wide exclusive publishing agreement. The firm is establishing offices in the west of England and their first game, under the working title of "Leviathan", is slated for release in 1999.

http://www.interplay.com

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Eidos Interactive Ships Terracide
(August 27)

Eidos Interactive is now shipping Terracide, a multi-player 3D shooting game. The game supports all major 3D accelerator cards and has such features as smooth, bilinear filtering effects, translucency, real-time lighting effects, and distance fogging. The game won 3Dfx’s "Best Use of Special Effects" award at this year’s Computer Game Developers Conference.

http://www.eidosinteractive.com

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Intergraph to Supply 3D to DEC
(August 5)

Integraph will provide its Intense 3D Pro2200, RealiZm and RealiZm II 3D graphics technology for use in DEC’s Intel and Alpha based workstations. First systems are to be available in Q4 1997.


http://www.intergraph.com/ics

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Real3D Pulls LIGHTING/110
(September 3)

Real3D has announced the LIGHTING/110 board will not be brought to market.

http://www.real3d.com
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Systems & Computer Technology and Asymetrix announce SCT Aspire
(September 8)

Systems & Computer Technology Corporation (SCT) and Asymetrix Corporation announced SCT Aspire for the delivery of online training based on Asymetrix's ToolBook II. SCT Aspire makes it possible to provide a World Wide Web-based training product including courses created from clients' content; learner registration; course catalog, selection, and delivery; online billing and payment; student progress tracking, and Web site services and management.


http://www.sctcorp.com
http://www.asymetrix.com

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Guideware Introduces Java Agent Tools That Help Developers Move Business Applications to an Intranet or Extranet
(September 2)


Guideware has announced the Guideware Software Developers Kit, which is an agent system for Java that allows developers to plug process management features into corporate intranet and extranet applications. The software is being targeted towards the sales automation, customer help-desk support, human resources and other business application sectors. The fully platform independent agent is priced at $349 per developer and will be available in October.

http://www.guideware.com

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HT Medical Systems, Inc. and Cine-Med Announcement Partnership
(September 3)

HT Medical Systems, Inc. and Cine-Med have announced that they will co-develop and co-market virtual reality based procedural simulation modules for surgical training. Cine-Med will create training simulation titles which will run on HT Medical’s VR simulators.

http://www.ht.com

http://cine-med.com

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HT Medical Systems, Inc. Extends Plug-Ins for T-VOX 1.1
(September 3)

HT Medical Systems, Inc. has announced four new plug-ins for its interactive volume rendering software, Teleos Voxel Visualizer (T-VOX). The new plug-ins are:
T-Views – generates animation files in MPEG or QuickTime Formats
T-Explorer – Positions the camera precisely where the user wants it
T-Reports – generates html documents to be shared on an intranet or
the Internet
T-Analyze – imports ANALYZE data files
The software runs on several SGI platforms. There is a demo version available on HT’s web site.

http://www.ht.com
 
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Netscape offers Netcenter, "Virtual Community" for Business Users
[September 3]
The Washington Post announced that Netscape will offer a new service, "Netcenter", that will include business related news feeds and discussion groups as well as an electronic store for corporate software. The site, which has begun operation at www.netscape.com, is free and is the company’s attempt to increase the 4 million visitors the site registers each day.
 
The report stated that "Netscape said the service will have about 1 million members at its outset, largely because the company will transfer memberships from a program it already runs to send personalized news reports to users’ electronic mailboxes."
http://www.netscape.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com
 
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OZ Interactive and Ericsson Develop 3D Multi-User Product Showcase
(September 8)
 
OZ Interactive and Ericsson have teamed to bring a real-time, interactive, 3D, multi-user product showcase to the Internet. The site allows users to actually experience Ericsson’s products as a part of a virtual showcase. There are two versions, an Internet version and a broadband version that uses ANX compatible streamed media.

http://www.oz.com
http://www.ericsson.com
 
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3Dlabs and AccelGraphics Gain Gateway Win
(September 10)
 
Gateway 2000 introduced the E-5000 series of Windows NT workstations that support both dual Pentium II processors and Intel's 440LX AGP chip set. The systems come with AccelGraphics Permedia 2 AGP graphics cards. An E-5000 configuration priced at $3,599 and will include one Intel Pentium II 266MHz processor, 64MB ECC SDRAM, 8MB and an AccelGraphics Permedia 2-based AGP card, 4GB SCSI hard drive, 12x SCSI CDROM, 3COM 10/100 PCI network card, 18-inch viewable monitor and Windows NT. Availability is late September. The AccelGraphics card to be used is the unannounced AccelSTAR II (WAVE Report Exclusive).
http://www.accelgraphics.com
http://www.gateway.com
 
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Trident Sells 3D Chip to Philips for Home Theater
(September 10)
 
Trident Microsystems stated that the 3Dimage 975 3D graphics accelerator will be in the Philips DVX 8000 Multimedia Home Theater. Video features include a television tuner, a video line doubler and a DVD player for movies, DVD-ROMs, CD-ROMs and CD-audio. Audio capabilities include a FM tuner, a Marantz-designed pre-amplifier and support for Dolby Digital and Dolby PRP surround sound. The 8000 is also a complete PC.
http://www.tridentmicro.com
 
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724.2 Conferences
by John Latta
 
Call for Papers - Virtual Reality World@New Media'98
(September 8)
 
VR Exhibition & Conference at New Media '98 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Toronto Canada. The theme is Virtual Human Technology. New Media'98 (formerly Multimedia'9x) is the annual event in Canada for the professional Multimedia / New Media industry. Now in its 7th year, there will be over 400 exhibitors, a 90 speaker track conference series and 200,000+ attendees.
Show days are Wednesday May 13 to Friday May 15, 1998 while the Conference Series runs Tues. May 12 to Fri. May 15, 1998.
 
For VRW98 exhibitor information and speaker submissions contact Paul Kelman.
 
email: pkelman@ilap.com
http://www.newmedia.ca
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724.3 PC Magazine Publishes 3D Benchmark Results
by John Latta
 
The 23 September 1997 issue of PC Magazine published benchmark results for 8 systems, 3 workstations and 5 high-end PCs. The benchmark results provide both insights and food for thought on the state of the 3D industry. All are based on 300MHz Pentium II processors. We offer the following observations.
 
The division between the high-end PC and a workstation is largely artificial other than the operating systems they run and the disk drives and its interface. In fact, none of the workstations had an AGP interface because they all used the older Intel 440FX chip set or another non-AGP chip set.
 
Because of the divisions between the operating systems, OpenGL on Windows NT and Direct3D on Windows 95, the benchmark results are not comparable. This is very unfortunate because it would be highly desirable to compare the performance of each against the same measures. There are many factors that impede this including the lack of a benchmark that will test both Direct3D and OpenGL – a prospect that we see as remote. Given that, the most likely case will be the ability to run Direct3D tests on both Windows NT 5.0 and Windows 98 when these OS’s are released. Another factor is the lagging support of an OpenGL ICD by many of the leading mass-market 3D accelerators. Thus, Direct3D is likely the only API that can be used for a common benchmark across NT and 95.
 
From a cost standpoint the investment in 3D acceleration for the workstations tested is problematical. Two benchmark tests were set up with AutoCAD and Pro/Engineer. However, the 2D nature of AutoCAD resulted in slower performance for every 3D accelerator over the standard 2D accelerator on the lower cost version of the workstation. With Pro/Engineer, which uses OpenGL, the results were not much better. The Dell Workstation 400 only showed a slight performance improvement when the configuration went from a Matrox Millennium II to an ELSA Gloria-L/MX (from 3:32 to 2:47 [min:sec]). After spending $3,300 for the addition of an Intergraph Intense 3D Pro 1000/T, the results were nearly the same on the IBM IntelliStation M Pro. However, in the case of the Mitsubishi 3D Pro/2MP, the Pro/Engineer performance actually went down after adding $1,000 to the price of the system [2:33 to 3:00]. PC Magazine points out that some of these performance variations can be due to other systems factors such as the speed of the disk system.
 
The NVIDIA RIVA 128 chip was on 3 of the 5 high end PCs and left the other chips in the dust. It scored 244 and 255 3D Winmarks compared to 144 for the ATI Rage II Pro and 128 for the Number Nine Revolution 3D.
 
The ability of OEMs to buy 3D cards has an impact on the pricing being paid for 3D. The delta for 3D was $1,000 to add an ELSA Gloria-L/MX on the Dell Workstation 400, it was $1,560 to get a Mitsubishi 3D Pro/2MP 16MB on the Micron Powerdigm XSU but $3,300 to get an Intergraph Intense 3D Pro 1000/T on the IBM IntelliStation M Pro. Street price of the Mitsubishi 3D Pro/2MP 16MB is $3,100.
 
These results point out a critical industry shortfall, the lack of an OpenGL application level benchmark. To fairly judge system performance all OEMs and card and accelerator companies should have the same benchmark target, in advance of being evaluated by the press. We are beginning to see the impact of 3D WinBench and this is good for both the industry and buyers. The same is needed for OpenGL.
Much has been made about the need for a balanced system design when 3D is integrated into systems, be they home PCs or workstations. These early 3D systems clearly show how critical this is. It hardly makes sense to pay more and get less.
http://www.pcmag.com/
 
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724.4 HP Makes Major Thrust into 3D on Workstations
by John Latta
 
On September 9, HP announced its Visualize series of graphics accelerators. There are three products whose prices are bundled with HP workstations:
 
fx2 fx4 fx6
Lit Gouraud Z Buffered Triangles
1.9m 3.5m 4.7m
Texture Fill Rate (p/sec)
N/A 70M 140M
3D Vectors
6.2M 10.6M 17M
Max. Resolution
1280 X 1024 1280 X 1024 1280 X 1024
Z-Buffer 24 bit HW 24 bit HW 24 bit HW
Texture Memory SW 16MB Opt. 16MB Opt.
 
The fx2 is only available in Unix systems on the model B180L with prices starting $16,500. The fx4 is available on both Windows NT and Unix workstations. The Windows product is the HP Kayak XW PC Workstation and sells from $13,760 to $18,000 and the Unix version is the model C200 and it begins at $29,500. The fx6 is only available in Unix configurations in the model C240 with pricing at $60,500.
 
In response to a WAVE Report inquiry H-P stated that the fx4 CDRS benchmark is >100 on Windows NT and >130 on Unix. When fx4 is operated in immediate mode the Unix workstation performance is nearly 2X that of the NT workstation. The fx2 is not being offered on NT because the chip has no hardware texture mapping, a requirement that H-P feels is essential for the NT market. The reason that the fx6 is not being offered on Intel workstations is that the combined Windows NT and Intel workstation platform cannot support the performance capabilities of the card. These same performance limitations are not present in their Unix based workstations that can be tuned to support high performance graphics. H-P is working with both Microsoft and Intel so that a tuned platform is available to support the needs of the market.
http://www.hp.com/go/technical
 
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724.5 Points to Ponder – How important is 3D Chip technology – Will the tail wag the dog?
by John Latta
 
3D chip technology is on a march to match the complexity and density of microprocessors. At 4th Wave, parent to the WAVE Report, we estimate that it could cost $66m to develop a 3D chip by the year 2000. As companies such as Intergraph, H-P and Intel march into the 3D chip business one has to ask the question what is the most important business? Will the dog wag the tail or the tail wag to dog? Take Intergraph for example. It builds systems, sells software, and sells 3D both at retail on its own systems and to other workstation companies (DEC and IBM). Yet, both are workstation competitors. What is more important – a company’s own internal workstation division or the 3D technology, as a business, which is being sold to competitors? This issue is made all the more complex as the workstation business spirals to commodity status using X86 microprocessors and Windows NT.
 
Intel could well find itself in the same situation. That is, the 740 is clearly targeted to support its motherboard and microprocessor business. The visual computing initiative is certainly focused on consuming more CPU cycles and driving the demand for faster systems. Yet, as 3D chip complexity continues to increase and the cost of the technology increases – it could well find itself selling 3D to its competitors in other business areas. It may sound strange to think of the 74X being sold to AMD or National Semiconductor but stranger things have happened in the PC industry.
 
By the same token H-P has just announced its 3D chip technology that leverages it strength in RISC and floating point processing. This certainly supports its already strong position in the MCAD market. However, one wonders how H-P can continue such an investment in 3D and not seek larger outlets for its chip technology. Just as Intergraph, H-P may eventually find itself selling 3D technology to its workstation competitors. 3D is about complexity, growth markets, time-to-market and business shifts. At the same time 3D creates these dilemmas that causes companies to think about what are their core businesses and priorities.
 
How big is your dog’s tail?
http://www.fourthwave.com/
 
724.6 Asymetrix Announces Bundling Deals
(September 8)
by John Latta
 
Asymetrix Corporation announced that it has agreements with many computer OEMs. These include Intel, IBM, Compaq, Sony Electronics, 3Com Corporation, Diamond Multimedia Systems, Creative Labs, Matrox, Intergraph Systems, Chromatic Research, STB Systems, Inc., IXMICRO, and Miro Computer Graphics. The tools allow users to add video, sound, and 3D graphics to the courseware. In addition, Web developers, business, and home users can include 3D graphics and videos in Web pages, business presentations, and home videos.
 
The Digital Video Producer 5.0 (DVP) with:
 
IBM (ThinkPad),
Compaq,
Sony (VAIO Tower Personal Computers)
Intel (Smart Video Recorder III)
3Com Corporation (U.S. Robotics) (3Com Bigpicture)
IXMICRO (TurboTV)
Alaris Inc. (QuickVideo Transport)
Hauppauge Computer Works (WinCast/TV Intercast TV Tuner Board)
The Web3D, DVP and 3D/FX products on:
Diamond Multimedia,
Miro Computer Graphics (video conferencing solution),
STB Systems, Inc. (TV PCI TV Tuner),
Chromatic Research (video editing solution to OEM's),
http://www.asymetrix.com
 
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724.7 IntelliQuest Reports Surge In Internet and Online Use Including Shopping
(September 4)
 
IntelliQuest Information Group, Inc. reported on its most recent survey of the U.S. use of Internet and online services. It shows that 51m adults, age 16 and older were online in the second quarter of 1997. This represents a 46% growth from the 35m users reported one year ago. Although growth of the online population slowed in 1997, the market is far from saturated. An additional 8.5m adults intend to begin accessing the Internet or online services by the end of the year. If these people follow through with their intentions, the number of wired U.S. residents could reach 60m by year-end. The most startling new result is in the emergence of online shopping.
 
With 17% of users (8.6m adults) who claimed to be online purchasers, with a median monthly expenditure of $50, this would put the online commerce market at a $5.1b annualized rate. These results are more than three times the levels found one year ago, when a projected 2.6m individuals were purchasing at a $1.6b annual rate. While online buying is still done by a minority of users, over half of those online (54% or 27.6m people) use the medium for shopping; researching the prices or features of products, locating where to purchase products, and selecting products. Online shopping is, at this point, dominated by males, which constitute 62% of shoppers and 70% of purchasers.
 
The majority, 66%, of users accesses from home, but the population of users accessing from work is large and growing fast. In the second quarter of this year, 23.3m people were going online while at work, a 57% increase from the same period in 1996. With a relatively small proportion of extremely active users, 20%, who spend 10 hours or more per week online the survey found that nearly 40% of all users said they were spending more time online than they did a month ago. Where are they finding the time? Most said by watching less television.
 
It was also found that the online population continues to grow towards the mainstream with females accounting for 47% of Internet and online service users, compared with 36% a year ago. This trend should continue, as females make up 58% of non-users who intend to go online in the future. The survey also evaluated user satisfaction, which showed the medium continues to be rated low. User's overall satisfaction with their experience was most highly correlated with their degree of satisfaction with their Internet or online service provider. What would they most like to see improved? Speed of access, followed by reliability of connection.
http://www.intelliquest.com
 
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724.8 New Study Highlights No PC TV Convergence
(September 8)
by John Latta
 
From the announcement by Media Metrix.
 
Despite the availability of TV tuners for PCs for almost 10 years and despite the current hype of PCTV, U.S. home PC users are more likely to have a separate TV in the same room they have their PC. Furthermore, nearly 40% of all home PC households will have the TV on at the same time they are using their PC. The acceptance of the PCTV, the ability of a single device to operate as a TV and a PC, appears to be unlikely as U.S. home PC users are much more likely to have both devices running simultaneously.
 
A quarterly study of 15,000 U.S. households from Media Metrix, HomeTech, indicates that out of the 38.4 million households that have working PCs in their households, 17.7 million have their PCs in the same room as a TV. Furthermore, 15.2 million households have the TV on at the same time the PC is in use in the same room at least sometimes. In fact, 8.1 million households use their PC and have the TV on at the same time often or always.
 
"Convergence of the PC and TV may be but a pipe dream of the computer industry," says Bruce Ryon, Vice President and Chief Technology Analyst, Media Metrix. "This new Media Metrix data suggests that people will follow the already established technology usage trend of purchasing and using multiple devices rather than a single merged device. It isn't just computers that multi-task."
This is part of an annual subscription service that costs $30,000. A single quarterly report is $10,000.
http://www.mediametrix.com
 
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724.9 Animation Science Ships OUTBURST for 3D Studio MAX
(September 9)
 
Animation Science has begun shipping OUTBURST, a plug-in module for 3D Studio MAX. OUTBURST enables animators to produce realistic particle effects quickly, easily and affordably on the PC. At a list price of $495.00, OUTBURST is now available at Digimation and CADCrafts.
 
OUTBURST features include:
Particle interaction options for simulating internal, external and complex collisions;
Particle mutation options for effecting transformation, decay and turbulence (random motion);
Global force fields for simulating natural forces such as gravity, wind and electric or magnetic fields;
Particle trails for creating fibers, grass or to quickly add simulated motion-blur; pre-defined effects that users can edit which include: fire, snow, sparks, fireworks, explosions, smoke, rain and dust; and a MAX expression controller to enable users to custom design unique effects.
 
http://www.anisci.com
http://www.cadcrafts.com
http://www.digimation.com
 
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724.10 Eidos Interactive Enters into Publishing Arrangement with Flight Unlimited
(September 9)
 
Eidos Interactive has announced that it the publish the titles from Looking Glass Technologies. Last month Looking Glass Technologies merged with Intermetrics, best known for its development of high-end, complex systems for NASA, military, and government applications. Previously, Eidos and Looking Glass partnered in a distribution only agreement, however, the newly formed Intermetrics/Looking Glass LLC adopted a development studio model to focus on the creation of titles and shift the publishing efforts to Eidos. The first title scheduled for release this Fall is Flight Unlimited II, a general aviation sequel to the best-selling aerobatics flight simulation. This version of Flight Unlimited focuses on civil aviation and features five distinct civilian craft, as well as 11,000 square miles of high resolution photo-accurate San Francisco Bay Area terrain to explore. Flight Unlimited II offers a new level of experience with its rendering engine, accurate flight models, interactive air traffic control, and weather effects.
 
http://inmet.com
http://www.eidosinteractive.com
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724.11 Genoa Systems Announces Phantom AGP Blitz and Phantom AGP Blitz Pro
by Jonathan Sunberg
 
Genoa Systems, one of the original founders of the VESA Committee, has announced the introduction of its Phantom AGP Blitz and Phantom AGP Blitz Pro accelerator boards. The boards will use Trident’s 3Dimage 975 and 3Dimage 985, respectively and provide 3D graphics, TV-Out, and S-video.
WAVE recently spoke with both Thomas E. Wolf, Senior Vice President of Sales, and Sheridan M. Tatsuno, New Business Development Manager, about the new cards.
 
Why Trident for your new cars?
 
We evaluated all the chips and looked at 6 or 7 companies. We liked Trident because they believe in the emerging markets. It is also my (Mr. Tatsuno) belief in the importance of management versus technology (which he sees as a percentage of importance 70:30). We saw that Trident offered the most aggressive roadmap and the clearest one to DVD integration and sound applications.
Note: Genoa also has a good working relationship with Trident Mr. Tatsuno explained that Frank Lynn, President of Trident, actually used to work at Genoa as did 2 or 3 other Genoa executives.
 
When will the cards be available and at what memory?
 
We are putting out a 4 MB version because it offers the most reasonable price (~$300). In the advent the market calls for more memory we can upgrade as needed.
 
The cards will be primarily focused on the OEM market, with no plans as of yet for a retail version. We expect to launch sometime in the 4th Quarter.
 
Do you have any OEM wins as of today?
 
We do not at this point, but we will make several announcements in the next 45 days. We have been surprised by the amount of OEMs who are calling for DVD. Many of our customers are afraid of obsolescence and want DVD-ROMs.
 
Do you have WHQL certification or any plans to get it?
 
We do not currently, but are talking to IC vendors. One vendor who is WHQL certified and one who is not.
 
I see your cards offer video-out, what do you see in the video-conferencing market?
 
There isn’t a great deal of excitement. About 10-15% of corporate users want or need video-conferencing. There is too much worry about video-conferencing bandwidth being too burdensome. Thus we see a lot of video-conferencing systems being allocated to only people who truly need it.
 
http://www.genoasys.com
http://www.tridentmicro.com
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724.12 SGI and Netscape Announce Server Collaboration
by Jonathan Sunberg
 
Silicon Graphics (SGI) and Netscape Communications Corp. announced they would collaborate on an effort to provide the world’s fastest, most scaleable Web server. Ed McCracken, Chairman and CEO of SGI, and Marc Andreessen, Co-founder and Executive Vice-President of Netscape, held a teleconference to describe a two-year initiative, "Everest", which will address the issue of web server scalability using Netscape communications and SGI expertise.
 
SGI will invest $250M/year into "Everest" for the next two years, while Netscape will license its source-code and provide collaboration in the engineering of the new servers. Mr. Andreesen stated, "it will be a joint development effort, since both Netscape and SGI are located in Mountain View (CA). Since Netscape plans on spending $250M on total R&D for the entire company (Netscape), their financial investment in this initiative will not be close to SGI’s."
 
Mr. McCracken explained that the new servers would utilize Netscape software with SGI’s NUMA technology. He further declared that, "the initiative is very much focused on meeting the needs of the larger ISP’s. We want to meet the needs of the super-sites." One such super-site is Netscape’s own corporate site, which Mr. Andreesen explained, "receives about 140 to 150 million hits per day." The Netscape VP predicted that "Everest" would create new servers, which would allow the company to reduce its current system of between 50 to 100 different machines down to between 10 to 15 machines.
 
Rob Bernall, Senior VP of SGI Scalability who moderated the call, announced "newer high performance servers, with the first available in late 1997 or early 1998. The configuration will be based on our (SGI) Origin 200 and 400 lines via UNIX or IRIX software."
 
So what is the major difference between SGI’s current servers and the server that this initiative will supposedly release between late 1997 and early 1998? Mr Bernall answered the question by stating, "the new server will have an enhanced version of the Netscape source code. 6 months after we will come out with major new functionality." Announced were three goals of the initiative"
 
Increased management, monitoring capabilities
Increased scalability
Order of magnitude increase in response time
(especially for newer, more demanding apps)
 
The server, who Mr. Bernall feels, will not carry a huge premium over what is presently available, will continue to use MIPS architecture.
 
The final two questions of the teleconference were posed directly at Mr. McCracken. When asked if he saw an advantage of UNIX over NT, Mr. McCracken stated, "There is a an absolute advantage of a 64 bit server over a 32 bit one. You cannot have scalability without 64 bits. Even if NT goes to 64 bits it would still take 2-3 years to work out all the technicalities." He was then asked, if he felt that SGI had the lead in the web server market because of this. Mr. McCracken simply replied, "Absolutely!"
 
http://www.netscape.com
http://www.sgi.com

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Copyright 1997 4th WAVE, Inc.

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