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The WAVE Report on Digital Media
3D --- Media Creation --- Shared Space ---Published by 4th Wave, Inc.--- Issue #0319------------------6/12/03 |
The WAVE Report is Searchable on
http://www.3dlinks.com
http://www.wave-report.com
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0319.1 Hot Topics
- Motorola Introduces SBG900 Wireless Cable Modem
- BFG Technologies Ships Asylum GeForce FX 5900 Ultra GPU Card
- University Library Navigation Enabled by Ekahau
0319.2 Story of the Issue
0319.3 3D
- Pixar Announces RenderMan Pro Server, with RenderMan Upgrade
- Reiss Studio BodyStudio 2.0 Integrates Poser 5 Content with
3ds max
0319.4 Fixed Wireless
0319.5 DSL
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***Motorola Introduces SBG900 Wireless Cable Modem
(June 10)
Motorola, Inc., Broadband Communications Sector, a supplier of
cable modems and digital set-tops, today introduced the Motorola
SBG900 -- the newest addition to its family of wireless cable
modem gateways.
The SBG900 builds upon Motorola's SBG1000, one of the first
wireless cable modem gateways. Designed to provide a way for
broadband users to enjoy a wireless network in their home, the
Motorola SBG900 integrates a number of features and functions
into a single unit.
Specifically, the SBG900 incorporates the following home
networking features:
- 802.11g wireless access point
- DOCSIS 2.0-compatible cable modem
- 10/100base-T Ethernet and USB ports
- Content filtering and parental controls
- Wireless security, including 64/128-bit WEP encryption
- Network security features, including a firewall
The Motorola SBG900 also offers features that are configurable by
network operator through SNMP -- or by the user through a Web- browser
interface.
Additionally, the product includes a firewall with denial of
service (DoS) attack prevention, stateful packet inspection,
intrusion detection, and DMZ support for home networks. Wireless
networks will also benefit from configurable signal coverage,
which allows an operator or consumer to adjust the signal to
cover a desired area.
***BFG Technologies Ships Asylum GeForce FX 5900 Ultra GPU Card
(June
11)
BFG Technologies, Inc, a U.S.-based supplier of 3D graphics cards
for PCs, announced today that it began shipping Asylum graphics
cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra graphics
processing unit (GPU) to gaming system builders worldwide.
Asylum GeForce FX 5900 Ultra features include 256MB memory with
256-bit memory bus, a 450MHz core clock, and full Microsoft
Direct X 9.0 support. This card also offers the multi-display
support with VGA, DVI, Video-In / Video-Out connectors, as well
as Ulead VideoStudo 7 SE editing software and NVIDIA NVDVD 2.0
multimedia software. Expected availability at major retailers by
July 4, 2003. MSRP $499.
BFG Technologies is a privately held U.S. based supplier of
ASYLUM brand 3D video cards based on NVIDIA graphics technology.
BFG Tech's ASYLUM brand 3D graphics cards are available in the
U.S. at Best Buy, CompUSA, Wal-Mart, Fry's Electronics and within
Alienware gaming systems.
***University Library Navigation Enabled by Ekahau
(June 12)
Ekahau, Inc. today announced that it has enabled a location-aware
library navigation system, deployed by the Oulu University Main
Library, Finland. A wireless PDA-based system called SmartLibrary
helps users to find books and other material from the library
collections. The help is provided in the form of map-based
guidance to the target bookshelf on a PDA. Ekahau Positioning
Engine software is used by SmartLibrary system to pinpoint the
accurate mobile client location.
The guidance is integrated with the online catalog of the
library, so that books listed in the catalog can be located.
Wireless connectivity is provided in form of a Wi-Fi (IEEE
802.11b) network. The guidance is based on dynamic Wi-Fi
positioning of the user, and static location information of
books. The service is a completely software-based solution, which
can be provisioned atop any Wi-Fi network installed for wireless
Internet access, without any additional hardware.
User evaluation with real library users showed that SmartLibrary
saves time and makes book finding easier. In the study, all male
test users and 64 % of females preferred map-based guidance over
traditional shelf classification. After evaluation, the main
library added SmartLibrary system into their standard customer
service.
SmartLibrary was developed in co-operation between the Oulu
University Main Library and the Information Processing and
Computer Engineering Laboratories of the Department of Electrical
Engineering at the Oulu University, and Ekahau, Inc.
***NGN Ventures 2003
by John Latta
April 16-18, 2003
The NGN conferences, the Venture version in the spring and the
"
ordinary" conference in the fall, are always a sanity check on
the industry. For the last three years it has been bleak. John
McQuillan did his usual good job of laying out the stark reality.
The message that came through today, in these, the darkest days
of this industry, is that the brave are blazing new trails on the
backs of failures. Certainly one that stood out is Cogent. In
only three years since it began, it is handling 7% of all the US
Internet traffic. It has 5,000 customers in 52 markets in the US
and Canada using a 12,500 route mile inter-city fiber network
coupled with a 7,400 fiber mile intra-city network on 139 metro
fiber rings in 23 cities. It could be said that Cogent is a
scavenger, having acquired the assets of PSInet for less than a
penny on the dollar, but the customers of Cogent are not
complaining about getting 100Mb/s Ethernet connectivity for
$1,000 per month. The Cogent CEO, Dave Schaeffer, was proud to
state "We have only one product."
http://www.cogentco.com/
But even Ralph Ballart, VP, Broadband, SBC Technology Resources,
began his talk by stating, "I still have a job." There is no
escaping the reality that telecommunications is undergoing a
massive overhaul. The success of optical transmission technology
is a deflationary technology. The revenue source remains voice
but this market is in turmoil as competition arises with
cellular, voice on cable, and VoIP. As the rate of voice
disconnects increases, the ability of this cash cow to sustain
the margins of the business declines. The traffic growth is in
data but the cost per bit is a fraction of what is paid for
voice. All of this creates massive forces of upheaval. The
telecommunications industry of 5 or 10 years ago just does not
exist anymore.
At 30,000 feet one sees the fault lines on the ground, but it is
the different plate tectonic settings below the surface that
causes the earthquake. In telecommunications the analogy is that
optical, data and the economics of both are changing the
landscape of the business while the legacy companies hold on to
voice and their 1,000's of products. There was $3.1 trillion
spent in the last decade in telecommunications and most of that
has been lost. Even at WorldCom, which wrote off $80b in assets,
$40b of that was in property, plant and equipment which was now
valued at $10b. This meant that the company paid $1 for what is
now worth 25c. With this overhang of over-valued equipment,
distressed companies, and technology without anyplace to get
used, are stranded. The ILECs hold on to old business models and
regulatory protection while new companies desperately seek the
first occurrence of cash flow and to reach a cash positive
situation. Even Cogent has most of its Cisco equipment based on
loans that Cisco has made to the company for the equipment
purchase. The earthquake analogy holds - the ground is moving and
no one knows what will remain when it is over.
Industry Overview
It is bleak. There is no other way to describe the status of
telecommunications, especially venture investing. John McQuillan
provided his overview, which included the following:
- In terms of the IPO market, 2002 was awful and 2003 has
been worse. The IPOs in 2002, for this sector, were only
$266m. In 2000 the total IPOs raised $18.7B while this was
only $1.5B, less than 10%. There were 8 weeks in early 2003
without an IPO, the worst gap since 1975.
- In terms of M&A in 2000 the total, in this
sector, was
$101B, $21.5B in 2001 and $9.6B in 2002. Another 1/10
factor.
- In 2002, $106B was venture invested, which dropped to $41B
in 2001 and went to $21B in 2002. In the last quarter of
2002 it was only $4B. This marks 11 consecutive quarters of
declining investment. Equally as important, 80% of the money
is going into follow-on rounds. Only $800m went into new
deals.
- The venture investment today looks like 1995. The
investment rates are similar to 1995 and the number of
companies invested in is close to the number on 1996.
- One of the most difficult situations is the capital
overhang. That is, the venture capitalist have money which
has nowhere to go. In 2001 there was $105B. In 2002 only $6B
was raised and there was $6B in fund reductions. In 2002
$21B was invested but $75B remained, which is called the
overhang. The lack of the IPO market and no M&A's mean there
is no movement of money while large pools remain stagnant.
Overview of the Presentations
On the first day the sessions included:
- Next Generation First Mile Solutions: Broadband Access
Products
- New Directions in Metropolitan Networking: Meeting Real
Needs
- Emerging Optical Architectures: Enhancing or Replacing
SONET/SDH
- Service Provider Customer Roundtable
The talks can be summarized by the following:
- Our equipment is much less than what you paid before;
- We will save you on operational expenses; and
- Our equipment enables you to offer new services that
generate revenue quickly.
Yet, in the Service Provider panel it was clear this was not
enough. The service providers expanded on what is missing:
- We need system solutions not boxes;
- We will buy from start-ups but we need assurance of long
term support; and
- Who are you partnered with, in terms of a long term and
established supplier, that will provide us with assurance of
support?
Thus, in spite of high bars being set for these companies to sell
to the incumbents, they need to be a part of the overall system
and supplier chain.
High Points
Here are some threads we picked up from the presentations.
There are two camps: Old and New.
The Old is represented by the ILECs, IXCs and MSOs. If
the Old is an ILEC they have the advantage of cash flow
from voice. AT&T is an IXC but with UNE-P they are a
"
new" entrant into (local) voice. From a business
perspective, the Old players are burdened with two
components: their networks and the product line. The
Old continually seek to make use of the large capital
investments they have made, almost no matter how
inefficient. Certainly one of the best examples is the
use of SONET for metro Ethernet. The burden of the
product line is also a retardant for innovation. Hardly
anyone buys Frame Relay but there is still a large
installed base of users. Thus, it is an oxymoron to
think of a "legacy free ILEC."
The New is represented by Covad and Cogent. These
companies do not care about anything but just their
product, which is usually one deep. This allows for
focus, driving cost out and very selective marketing to
achieve an ROI. From a user standpoint, if one
intersects with these companies, such as being in the
right building or geography, the gains are large. In
the case of Covad, it means getting DSL from a CLEC,
such as AT&T. In this case, AT&T has a huge value in
offering DSL and bundling all the services it can to
lower churn. For Cogent, it is being close to a fiber
ring or in a building that has fiber. If this is the
case, the gain is also huge. Your connection to the
Internet or network, is just like the rest of the LAN.
A shift in optical networking is underway. The optical
network is becoming protocol agnostic. That is, optics
provides transport only. The only purpose of switching is
for restoration. Thus, mesh topologies are valuable, even on
a national scale in that they allow for redundancy and rapid
restoration. A major cost driver is in OEO, where the
digital signals emerge. GMPLS has made significant headway
in adoption. GMPLS has an advantage for optical transport in
that it can serve as the control plane for the network. The
technology which is gaining share for optical switching is
MEMS. This has the advantage of being simple, in much the
same way as TI's DLP is to displays. MEMS switches do not
have to operate on the content of the pipes.
AT&T presented a different view of the network.
They
described a network which is PnP by the user. This fits
their concept of blending the consumer and business with the
devices they have and the network. As a result of this, AT&T
showed a network which had the users at the center, not on
the edge. Discussion ensued on the parallel between this and
the PC industry. For example, the need was cited for a Dell,
as a systems integrator, in the telecommunications industry.
As more of the network surfaces to the end users, there will
increasingly be a need for a company to "pull it all
together." As with the PC some companies and individuals
will be able to manage their network needs personally and
others will need help. I was impressed with the depth that
AT&T is bringing to the definition of where their network
will evolve to.
SBC stated that >90% of its DSL installations
are self
install. That is, SBC mails the customer a DSL modem and the
consumer brings up the service.
SBC has its first deployment of FTTH. This uses PON in the
Mission Bay planned community in SFO. There are actually two
channels on the fiber: 622Mb/s for data and a 800MHz channel
for cable emulation and video transport. SBC was also
singing its request for regulatory relief and waiting the
final rule making on UNE-P.
The Challenge of SAN
SAN is one element of the network that got a bump up from 9/11.
Storage back-up and recovery is now much more important to the
enterprise. But, the market and technology issues are deeper than
the after effects of these horrific events. In the larger context
of computing, as the network performance approaches the bus
bandwidths in the computer, the computing components
disaggregate. No longer is there a question "Do you know where
your disk drive is?" but "...is my data safe in multiple sites
so
that continuity of the enterprise assured?"
John McQuillan began by characterizing the challenges which
include:
- Need to: reduce complexity and inflexibility of
configuration, improve performance and lower the cost of
SAN;
- Need for low latency, guaranteed and deterministic
performance and high availability in SAN; and
- Need the ability to support longer distances and features
such as mirroring and back-up.
Candera stated its product, in beta testing now, is a network
storage controller that works with all the data, switches,
storage and servers. The result is a single interface to all the
storage on the system. The objective is to achieve an SLA storage
utility model.
Akara took a very different approach in that they are building a
hardware software solution of carriers, assumed to be ILECs and
IXCs which allows for SAN over SONET. This seemed odd but the
speaker stated that SONET's advantages of high bandwidth, low
latency, high availability and security made SONET a logical
choice. Contrary to much of the current thinking, the comparison
was with IP based SAN, which the speaker described as ineffective
compared to SONET based SAN.
Lastly ONStor described an approach which uses a box called a SAN
filer that lies between the customer equipment and the SAN. These
filers essentially normalize the SAN storage so that a single
point of management contact is enabled along with unified access
control.
The board level discussion, which included VCs that have invested
in this space and these companies, was interesting.
- The dominant company in storage is EMC. The opportunity is
based on the speed with which these start-up companies can
move into this space before EMC does.
- One of the major challenges is that EMC is very customer
focused. A parallel was drawn with Cisco, which is also
customer focused. Thus, it is seen that these companies
dominate their respective markets because they are agile to
the demands of the customers. For a challenger in SAN the
new companies must find niches in the market not being
exploited and drive a solution faster than the dominant
players.
Given that the only exit model for VCs today is M&A
this gave
rise to a discussion on the climate for M&As.
- For a long period the M&A environment was poisoned
by the
poor success of acquiring companies. An example held out for
how not to do this was IBM's acquisition of Rolm, a PBX
company, in 1984.
- Yet, the view of acquisitions has changed with the success
of 3Com in acquiring companies and most recently Cisco.
Thus, the ability to manage an acquisition is seen as an
important strategic advantage.
The role of acquisitions, as a means of acquiring business,
talent and core competency, has become more favorable based on
the qualities of the acquiring company and how well they manage
the process.
VoIP
Based on the VoIP session today one would conclude this is a done
deal - VoIP has won. However, other conferences we have gone to
indicate quite the opposite as VoIP struggles in making a
compelling ROI case to the enterprise. Converged voice and LAN
networks spell a disaster waiting to happen for many IT managers
and thus the only way to implement them is another wired LAN
infrastructure. Hardly cost effective.
Yet, in our discussion with the President and CEO of Netrake, it
is clear that VoIP is fundamentally an arbitrage play which goes
well beyond today's implementation. If data traffic costs 1/10 of
voice traffic, the arbitrage argument goes, why not use data
pipes for voice also? It remains to be seen if these economics
preserve themselves when the data network is used for voice. From
a market perspective, the ILECs live in fear of a VoIP service
provider rolling into a Fortune 100 enterprise with a compelling
service proposition, especially for CENTREX users. When I asked
"
...who is pushing this bypass strategy" the answer was: both
emerging VoIP carriers and some enterprises. Thus, the potential
is for VoIP to disrupt the existing revenue streams of the ILECs
from some of their major customers. Now that is real competition.
The industry is facing the prospect of making IP a telephony
transport, which it was never designed to do. It is one thing to
make a SIP phone call and something much more expansive to handle
10,000 phones in an enterprise over the LAN infrastructure and
handle all the media and calling functions. From this need has
arisen the requirements for a session controller. The board level
discussion which followed provided context. The market question
is:
Can these start-up companies define a market and execute on
that market faster than the companies supplying VoIP
products today? For example, Cisco is a major player in the
VoIP enterprise space and they certainly see the need for
session controllers. Thus, to many it is a race to market.
A session controller is basically a Layer 5 router. In the IP
network, session communications takes place in Layer 5, such SIP
and H.323, while the media which includes voice, video and date
happens at Layer 3. The session controller provides QoS
management, security management for both SIP and H.323, protocol
conversion and interoperability between vendors. As we have heard
at VON, VoIP has problems passing firewalls and the session
controllers are to address this. Further, due to the
characteristics of the internet and peering it is possible for
one VoIP service provider to look into the network structure of a
competitor to see what network that competitor has built - a
session controller blocks this. Another function of the session
controller is to circumvent DoS attacks that could block
telephone service.
Because the session controller must do deep packet analysis and
billing on a micro scale it has the potential to do much more.
Some of the applications include gaming support, VoIP push to
talk (VoIP IM), and multimedia security.
Netrake has a carrier class session controller which handles
Carrier to Carrier VoIP and Carrier to Enterprise VoIP. It claims
to have a very high call rate and thus fits the carrier
requirements.
NexTone has a session controller that supports multi-protocol
signaling. It uses the SIP "b2bua" or back to back user agent.
This allows for gateway call signaling, which are channelized
through one or more centralized b2bua's. In order to provide
isolation, this session controller actually terminates the call
and then regenerates it on the output. NexTone makes the
distinction between a Core Session controller and a Border
Controller.
I asked the CEO of Netrake why the term was border controller and
not edge, and in response what I got was - new terms get defined
as markets evolve. Put in another way a border controller is an
edge device.
Kagoor Networks suggested that its border controller replace a
route controller, NAT, QoS probe, firewall, and traffic shaper.
Ambitious.
We take the emergence of these new devices as a sign that the
VoIP market is getting serious. Yet, in the follow-on enterprise
roundtable it was clear that the enterprises still have major
questions on the ROI of VoIP. The recurring issues of enterprise
transport still are of concern. One speaker spoke of the need to
completely redo the LAN infrastructure of the enterprise in order
to avoid performance degradations to either data or voice traffic
when they are both supported.
Wireless Enthusiasm Abounds
It is incredible what a 30%+ growth market will spawn. In a
conference where survival is a daily activity, the emergence of
an exciting market in wireless, including Wi-Fi and 802.11, has
the entrepreneurs coming out of the walls. 3 months ago there
were 7 wireless switch companies and now there are 10.
The four talks we heard are but a sample of what is taking place
in this market and technology.
Flarion
The CEO, Ray Dolan, gave the presentation. Flarion is
seeking to fill the data gap left by the poor performance,
both market and technology, of 3G as a data delivery medium.
Flarion has a proprietary chip technology for mobile
devices, specifically targeted to carriers to offer wireless
IP data services. It uses 1.25MHz of FDD radio spectrum and
OFDM modulation, which they call OFDM-flash. Downlink is
claimed to be 3.4Mb/s with the uplink at 1Mb/s. It was
interesting that Flarion called voice just a thin
application on the network and radio.
Today there are four products: RadioRouter, a base station,
FlashView, the element management system, PC 1000, a
wireless network card, and FLR 1500, the Mobil Baseband
Chipset. The system is claimed to operate in any spectrum up
to 3.5GHz.
Flarion touted its 40/40 rule. The users pays $40 for
unlimited use and all the players in the food chain get 40%
gross margins - OEMs and operators - on a nationwide
network. The $40 unlimited usage was limited in the total
data that could be sent in a month, however, the amount
seemed reasonable. They claim the system is in 3 trials in
Korea and all the major wireless operators in the US are
looking at it.
Apparently the 802.20 working group has been launched which
addresses this technology. However, Ray stated that at the
last meeting the 3G crowd showed up and this may slow the
works.
Aruba Networks
Pankaj Manglik, President and CEO of Araba, stated that the
future of Wi-Fi was based on his wireless switch. This
switch is to be the parallel to the first RJ-45 Ethernet
multi-port hub, which allowed a hub-and-spoke implementation
of Ethernet--the foundation of today's successful
implementation of plug and operate Ethernet. The Aruba
switch offers security, detection of rogue access points,
self-healing, and load balancing. The functions claimed to
be inside the box are: site survey, PoE switch, intrusion
detection, mobile security and terminal server.
At 802.11 Planet we found that the needs of the enterprise
in 802.11 would drive their own requirements and thus the
equipment suite. This wireless switch is the first example
of that. During the boardroom discussion several points were
raised.
- It is not clear the switch will exist as a stand
alone box or as a feature in other Ethernet switches,
in fact, Nortel claims it has such an enhanced switch
which supports wireless needs; and
- In order to be effective all the AP must be plugged
into the same switch which could mandate wiring
changes.
In conclusion, Pankaj showed the mobile network world and at
the center was his switch - not surprising. The points of
service include: enterprise mobile networks, public WLAN hot
spots, mobile applications and then public mobile networks.
Vivato
The CTO, William "Skip" Crilly gave the
presentation on this
innovative antenna technology. This is called a switch but
is really a beam forming phased array antenna. The key is
that the antenna is used to form beams on a packet by packet
basis. As a result the effective power to a device is
higher. Vivato states that the FCC has approved this and it
is the basis for their first products. The advantages
include: multiple Wi-Fi transmissions simultaneously, ranges
in the km, no changes in the clients and the ability of one
switch to serve a building from the outside.
The antenna has 3 beams of Wi-Fi that are 7 to 9 degrees
horizontal and 12 degrees vertical, which are distributed
over 100 degrees of horizontal FOV. There are 128 elements
in the phased array antenna. The gain is 25dBi. Input to the
antenna is 2 1000BaseT and 2 10/100 BaseT ports. Range for
the indoor antenna is 300m and the outdoor unit up to
4,000m. The antenna handles rogue detection and multiple
VLAN security including PPTP and IPSEC,
The two products are the indoor unit for $9,000 and the
outdoor unit for $14,000. An outdoor deployment can be used
to radiate a building and thus get building coverage. In a
building one antenna is claimed to cover a whole floor.
This product is an interesting combination of antenna design
and underlying switch silicon to handle the switching. This
is a competitor to Aruba but it also carves out a unique
space by implementing the switch within the antenna.
Airgo
It was not clear exactly what the product is they are
offering. However, the technical thrust is MIMO antennas
with DSP to negate multipath effects in Wi-Fi for buildings.
This is apparently also a switched beam approach. The client
does not change. However, they claim 18Mb/s at 100m in a
mini-PCI card.
Boardroom Discussion
This was interesting and with the following points:
When asked why none of these speakers discussed mesh
networks it was stated that the success of meshing is
open. For example, 4 years ago Nokia bought a mesh
topology company called RoofTop and they worked some 3
years on the technology, ran tests in California and
released the product in 2001. It appears to have gone
nowhere.
It was strongly suggested that an implementation with
one antenna, such as what Vivato has, is not the best
way to go. The key disadvantage is the lack of
redundancy.
From a carrier perspective, the value of Wi-Fi comes
not in hot spots but geographic areas - a complete
shopping mall or a full campus. We are just now seeing
the technologies that could make this happen.
Nortel: At Nortel we intend to use mesh networks in our
products. There is high value in having intelligence in
the AP. This means that the network is self configuring
and self healing. Networks must be able to adjust
themselves.
Headend Approach to the Last Mile with DSL
Celite Systems takes a very different approach to broadband to
the home. Basically they use DSL as a delivery technology to the
node near the home, in this case the SAI (Serving Area Interface)
box. With this they claim to provide 10Mb/s Ethernet to the home.
Note that this is shared bandwidth. The panel needs to be within
6,000' from the home. The striking element is that the CPE, which
is an Ethernet bridge costs only $50. The technology details were
light, however.
What was quite important is that Celite claims to address the
price problem with DSL. Only by driving the prices for DSL
service significantly lower, to $30 and less, will the
penetration continue to rise. It is their premise that the early
adopters have been reached and only with price reductions will
penetration continue. Right on.
However, we wonder if the message that Celite has will ring with
the ILECs. The reason being, is that the incumbents must change
the way they do business. Just plugging DSLAMs into a rack is not
adequate to increase penetration. To think that another approach
would be required may not fly. It should be noted that Celite
appears to have the early customers overseas, possibly in Asia.
***Pixar Announces RenderMan Pro Server, with RenderMan Upgrade
(June
9)
Pixar Animation Studios today announced RenderMan Pro Server, a
new software package featuring an upgraded version of Pixar's
RenderMan 3D rendering software. RenderMan Pro Server bundles
several tools frequently used in film and video productions. The
new release, priced at $3,500, showcases recent Pixar engineering
efforts focused on increased rendering performance. The company
states that complex scenes using subtle lighting effects will see
gains, and a new rendering mode will automatically harness the
full power of modern multi-processor systems.
RenderMan 11.5 will be released in July 2003 and is entering
beta-testing immediately.
Pixar's RenderMan Pro Server Components
-- PRMan, Pixar's photo-realistic RenderMan renderer
-- Irma, shading and lighting development re-rendering tool
-- AlfServer, enables distributed parallel rendering on server
farms and idle desktops
-- Additional utilities formerly bundled in the RenderMan
Toolkit
New Features in Pixar's RenderMan Release 11.5
New Features
-- Multi-processor rendering allows multiple CPUs on the same
machine to work on the same frame in parallel for faster
throughput.
-- Sub-sample resolution z-stencil buffers enable new types of
geometry blending and clipping effects.
Aggressive Acceleration
-- Improvements in scene analysis reduce the time spent in shader
execution for scenes with complex geometry and shaders.
-- New algorithms accelerate indirect illumination, ambient
occlusion, and other effects associated with global illumination.
-- The shader compiler performs new code analysis to improve
memory usage and rendering performance.
Enhancements
-- The quality of indirect illumination and ambient occlusion has
been improved, especially for animation.
-- Particle effects render faster and with fewer artifacts due to
improved RiPoints.
-- Motion blur has been enhanced for fast moving objects in
scenes with a high depth of field.
-- Subdivision surfaces handle textures more accurately due to
"
facevarying" interpolation improvements.
"Deep Shadow" Improvements
-- More efficient for larger images
-- New API for custom control
***Reiss Studio BodyStudio 2.0 Integrates Poser 5 Content with
3ds max
(June 12)
Reiss Studio, in cooperation with Curious Labs, the publisher of
Poser, has developed and released BodyStudio 2.0 for Windows.
BodyStudio integrates Poser 3D character animation technology
into Discreet 3ds max. This plug-in software allows Poser users
to render and play back Poser animations directly inside of 3ds
max. Reiss Studio is a developer of 3D plug-ins for Poser
translation software.
Reiss Studio stated that artists who work with 3D software will
notice the improvements that have been made from the original
version of the popular Pro Pack plug-in for 3ds max. Some of the
new features of BodyStudio 2.0 are:
-- Playback of Poser characters
-- Playback of Poser 5 dynamic cloth
-- Support for the latest versions of Poser and 3ds max
-- Translation of Poser base shaders to Max shaders
-- Scale conversion between Poser and 3ds max
-- Importation of Poser Lights
-- Access to a source of pre-built 3D characters and props
BodyStudio is used by professionals for web, game, television and
video production. For a limited time, BodyStudio is available at
the introductory price of $179.00.
http://www.reiss-studio.com
http://www.curiouslabs.com
***WiMAX Announces 18 New Members, Selection of First System
Profiles
(June 10)
WiMAX, a non-profit organization dedicated to the realization of
IEEE 802.16 and ETSI HiperMAN wireless broadband standards for
last-mile access, today announced 18 new member companies and the
completion of initial system profiles for the interoperability of
products operating in the 2 to 11 GHz bands. The goal WiMAX is to
allow operators worldwide to build cost-effective wireless
broadband networks on a wide scale, to be on par with wireline
broadband access technologies including cable modems and DSL. The
operators will deliver broadband data, voice and video services
to both residence and business customers, as well as serving as
backhaul infrastructure for WiFi "hot spots" and mobile cellular
deployments.
WiMAX's new members are:
- Andrew Corporation
- Atheros
- China Motion Technologies
- Compliance Certification Services
- LCC International
- News IQ
- Powerwave Technologies
- Redline Communications
- RF Integration
- RF Magic
- SiWave
- SiWorks
- SR Telecom
- Stratex Networks
- TowerStream
- TurboConcept
- Wavesat Wireless
- Winova Wireless.
These communications component and equipment manufacturers,
operators, and industry consultancies join current members-- Airspan
Networks, Alvarion, Aperto Networks, Ensemble
Communications,
Fujitsu, Intel, OFDM Forum, Nokia, Proxim and Wi- LAN--to
comprise the wireless broadband industry's standards
interoperability and compliance organization.
As the first step to ensuring interoperable IEEE 802.16 and ETSI
HiperMAN-based products, WiMAX determined that it will initially
focus its conformance and interoperability test procedures on
equipment that supports the 256 OFDM physical layer and operates
in 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz licensed bands and 5.8 GHz unlicensed
band.
WiMAX will continue its education program of the communications
industry at the WCA's 2003 Convention in Washington, DC, July 8- 11.
Wireless market research firm Visant Strategies recently
published a report projecting that the market for WiMAX equipment
will exceed $1.6 billion by 2008.
The WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)
Forum, is an industry-led, non-profit corporation formed to help
promote and certify the compatibility and interoperability of
broadband wireless products using the IEEE 802.16 and ETSI
HiperMAN wireless MAN specifications. WiMAX's goal is to
accelerate the introduction of these devices into the
marketplace. WiMAX certified products will be fully interoperable
and support Metropolitan Broadband Fixed, Nomadic and Portable
Applications.
***Atheros Joins WiMAX Forum
(June 10)
Atheros Communications today announced that it has joined the
World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) Forum, a non-
profit
corporation that was formed in January 2003 to help
promote the IEEE 802.16a standard and certify the compatibility
and interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment.
Atheros is working with several WiMAX members that are developing
broadband wireless access (BWA) products using Atheros
technology. Commercial wireless broadband solutions based on
Atheros technology have already been demonstrated over long
distances. Atheros stated that during an outdoor wireless trial,
its technology delivered a 36 Mbps link rate over a distance of
greater than 16 kilometers.
A major component of the recently amended IEEE 802.16a technical
standard is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).
Atheros is a provider of OFDM technology, with 802.11a, 802.11g
and 802.11a/b/g chipsets for wireless LANs. The Company is now
leveraging its OFDM experience to deliver a host of last-mile
wireless broadband products.
As a WiMAX principal member, Atheros has full voting rights and
will immediately be able to make contributions to the marketing
and technical groups of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 technical standard. Atheros
supports WiMAX efforts for 802.16a product certification and
interoperability testing.
Other industry-based organizations that Atheros is a member of,
and regularly contributes to, include the Wi-Fi Alliance, joined
in May 2000, and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA),
joined in April 2002.
The WiMAX Forum is a nonprofit corporation formed to help promote
and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband
wireless access devices. Established in April 2002, the group's
founding members include Airspan Networks, Alvarion Ltd., Aperto
Networks, Ensemble Communications Inc., Fujitsu Microelectronics
America, Intel Corporation, Nokia, OFDM Forum, Proxim
Corporation, and Wi-LAN Inc. The group intends to help accelerate
the introduction of wireless broadband equipment that adheres to
the IEEE 802.16 technical standard. The 802.16 standard, which
the IEEE modified this January in its 802.16a amendment covering
the 2GHz to 11GHz frequencies, is a wireless metropolitan area
network (MAN) technology.
***Infineon and Metalink Announce VDSLPlus
(June 11)
Infineon Technologies and Metalink today announced they are each
developing VDSLPlus, which introduces a fifth-band extension of
standard VDSL technology. VDSLPlus is intended to enable service
providers to offer scalable DSL services ranging from short range
applications at data rates up to 150 Megabits per second (Mbps),
to long reach applications that allow for more than 4Mbps rates
over distances of 4km (13,200 ft) using the same line-card and
Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) designs.
VDSLPlus will use a new frequency "band" above
the current 12 MHz
limit, as defined by international VDSL standards, to achieve the
high speed data transmission over standard twisted-pair copper
wire. The benefits of the extended QAM VDSL technology include:
-- Delivery of over 150 Mbps aggregated bandwidth over single-
pair
copper wire - at more than 300m (1000 feet).
-- Reach of over 4km (13,200 feet) at speeds exceeding 4 Mbps.
-- Compliance with relevant VDSL standards' requirements
including: Band Plan 998, 997, and those defined by the Chinese
CTSI as well as any proprietary band plans.
-- Spectral compatibility and co-existence with narrowband and
legacy DSL services including POTS, EuroISDN, TCM-ISDN and ADSL.
-- Support for both Ethernet and ATM over VDSL.
Metalink and Infineon stated that they are committed to teaming
with other QAM PHY and system companies to promote VDSLPlus
standardization in the various standardization bodies, and to
extend the companies' interoperability to the new technology. The
two companies have demonstrated interoperable, commercially
available VDSL products, using the QAM line code.
Metalink Ltd. is a developer of VDSL, SHDSL and HDSL chipsets
used by telecommunications and networking equipment makers, and
telecommunications service providers. Founded in 1992, Metalink,
a fabless semiconductor company, is headquartered in Yakum,
Israel and has offices in Folsom, CA. Infineon Technologies AG,
Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for
the automotive and industrial sectors, for applications in the
wired communications markets, secure mobile solutions as well as
memory products.
http://www.infineon.com
http://www.metalinkDSL.com
--------------------------------------
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