From owner-iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Thu Mar 2 18:36:39 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx4.u.washington.edu by stein2.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.02/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA12962; Thu, 2 Mar 95 18:36:39 -0800 Received: from sgigate.SGI.COM by mx4.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW95.02/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA18395; Thu, 2 Mar 95 18:36:32 -0800 Received: (root@localhost) by sgigate.sgi.com (950215.405.SGI.8.6.10/8.6.4) id WAA01943; Wed, 1 Mar 1995 22:48:28 GMT Received: from sgihub.corp.sgi.com (sgihub.corp.sgi.com [192.26.51.188]) by sgigate.sgi.com (950215.405.SGI.8.6.10/8.6.4) with ESMTP id OAA01926; Wed, 1 Mar 1995 14:48:25 -0800 Received: from rock.csd.sgi.com by sgihub.corp.sgi.com via ESMTP (940519.SGI.8.6.9/911001.SGI) for id OAA05413; Wed, 1 Mar 1995 14:48:24 -0800 Received: from sylvan.csd.sgi.com by rock.csd.sgi.com via ESMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/940406.SGI.AUTO) for <@rock.csd.sgi.com:iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com> id OAA01058; Wed, 1 Mar 1995 14:48:23 -0800 Received: by sylvan.csd.sgi.com (940816.SGI.8.6.9/911001.SGI) for iris-on-line@sgigate id OAA03433; Wed, 1 Mar 1995 14:48:22 -0800 From: "IRIS On-LIne" Message-Id: <9503011448.ZM3431@sylvan.csd.sgi.com> Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 14:48:22 -0800 X-Mailer: Z-Mail-SGI (3.0S.1026 26oct93 MediaMail) To: iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Subject: IRIS On-Line March 1995 Vol. 3 Issue 3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: owner-iris-on-line@sgigate.sgi.com Precedence: bulk Status: OR IRIS On-Line VOL. 3 ISSUE 3 March 1995 __^__ __^__ ( ___ )------------------------------------------------------------( ___ ) | / | I R I S | \ | | / | * O n - L i n e * | \ | | / | | \ | | / | ***** | \ | |_/_| A Silicon Graphics Publication |_\_| (_____)------------------------------------------------------------(_____) ^ ^ February was an exciting month for Silicon Graphics, beginning with the announcement of our merger with Alias Research and Wavefront Technologies. This is a groundbreaking announcement for those of you in the entertainment or industrial design area. Silicon Graphics is now able to leverage leading-edge products from Alias and Wavefront and work on the development of power tools you'll need in state-of-the-art digital studios. Keep your eye on IRIS On-Line as we keep you informed of these exciting developments! And if you haven't surfed the 'net in a while, check out Silicon Surf, our virtual home on the World Wide Web, at http://www.sgi.com/. We've been working hard on giving Silicon Surf a proper facelift, and we're quite happy with the results. Let us know what you think! If you're in the medical research field, don't miss our feature story, which details how the Walter Reed Medical Museum used Silicon Graphics hardware to transform embryos into fully-interactive 3D computer images. In the near future, researchers anywhere in the world will be able use the Internet to access a database of over 200 computer embryo models. If you'd like to submit an article or announcement to IRIS On-Line, send mail with the subject "submittal" to ioled@csd.sgi.com. Please include contact information, including your address and phone number. ****** TABLE OF CONTENTS ****** Feature story ----------------------------------------- The Walter Reed Medical Museum: Using The Past To Step Into The Future Hot off the press ----------------------------------------- 1. SILICON STUDIO TEAMS WITH ROCKET SCIENCE GAMES TO CREATE NEXT GENERATION AUTHORING TOOLS (pr1) 2. SILICON GRAPHICS, ALIAS RESEARCH AND WAVEFRONT TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE MERGER AGREEMENTS (pr2) Silicon Graphics events and announcements ----------------------------------------- 1. SILICON GRAPHICS DEMO DAYS IN NORTH AMERICA (ea1) 2. THE WEBFORCE U.S. AND CANADIAN TOUR 3. SILICON STUDIO/LA OPENS IN APRIL 4. SILICON STUDIO/LA SCHOLAR CONTEST 5. SILICON GRAPHICS TO EXHIBIT AT NAB '95, APRIL 10-13 6. 1995 SYMPOSIUM ON INTERACTIVE 3D GRAPHICS, APRIL 9-12 It's hot, it's cool, and it's free ----------------------------------------- 1. 3D FILE SYSTEM NAVIGATOR FOR IRIX (fr1) 2. NEW VERSION OF THE VCG TOOL FOR COMPILER GRAPHS (fr2) 3. THE MIDNIGHT COMMANDER V2.1: UNIX FILE MANAGER AND SHELL (fr3) 4. XMCD 1.4: A CD PLAYER UTILITY (fr4) 5. MONTHLY CDMAN CATALOG UPDATE AVAILABLE ON SGI.COM What's new from third parties ----------------------------------------- 1. WORKING MODEL 2.0 FOR CAD ENGINEERS (tp1) 2. SIDE EFFECTS RELEASES PRISMS 5.5, 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION SYSTEM (tp2) 3. TIMELINE VISTA RELEASES AUDIO EDITING SOFTWARE (tp3) 4. CONVERT IMAGE FILES WITH DEBABILIZER UNIX 1.0 (tp4) 5. AVS ENTERS APP DEVELOPMENT TOOLS MARKET WITH AVS/EXPRESS (tp5) 6. I-DEAS MASTER SERIES SOFTWARE FOR CAE/CAD/CAM MARKET (tp6) 7. FREE TRIAL OF VIDI: VIDEO RECORDING AND EDITING SOFTWARE (tp7) WebWatch ----------------------------------------- 1. SILICON SURF: THE NEXT GENERATION 2. THE VISUALIZATION PROJECT AT SSEC INTRODUCES WEB PAGE 3. BIOMECHANICS, INC. OPENS NEW WEB PAGE Odds & ends ----------------------------------------- 1. HOW TO USE THE NEW MAIL SERVER 2. IRIS ON-LINE SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS 3. SILICON GRAPHICS INC. AND THIRD PARTY INFORMATION 4. IRIS ON-LINE DISCLAIMER __ \ \ _ _ ,---------------------------, \**\ ___\/ \...............| IRIS On-Line | X*#####*+~~\_\ `---------------------------' o/\ \ \__\ Feature Story ----------------------------------------- THE WALTER REED MEDICAL MUSEUM: USING THE PAST TO STEP INTO THE FUTURE by Lance Simons The Walter Reed Medical Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the largest medical museum in the country. Its collection of historical as well as pathological materials comprise a fascinating display. Thus, it was no surprise when they were able to acquire the Carnegie Human Embryology Collection in 1991--the largest collection of human embryos in the world. With embryos dating back as early as 1884, the collection totals over 10,000. Of these embryos, 660 were serially sectioned and placed onto slides. "One of these preparations is rare, to have over 600 of them in the same room is unique to the world," said Adrianne Noe, Assistant Director, Collections and Research. In keeping with their motto, "To support qualified scholarly research of biological materials," the Walter Reed Medical Museum and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) saw the importance of creating a national center where qualified researchers could take advantage of this rare collection. The question then arose, "How do we make this information available?" This is where SGI stepped in. With funding from the National Center for Research Resources, the Office for Research of Women's Health, and the National Institute For Child Health and Human Development, the Walter Reed Medical Museum acquired an Onyx RealityEngine, a Personal Iris and an Indigo from SGI. The SGI equipment allows researchers at Walter Reed to transform various serially sectioned embryos into fully-interactive 3D computer images. A camera takes a picture of each section contained on a glass slide. Software is then used to trace around the part of the image needed-- nervous system, skeleton or ectoderm. These outlines are positioned, stacked and stored as a file and then sent to the SGI Onyx RealityEngine for display. "Because of the level of detail, each embryo takes between two to three gigabytes of disk space," said William Fischer of Walter Reed 3D reconstruction. In the past, there was no good way to to get an idea of the relative changes within an Embryo in the first eight weeks of gestation; with 24 stages, researchers were missing too much. Walter Reed plans to create approximately 200 computer embryo models, with two or three models per stage, leading to an entire animated sequence which shows each developmental stage. Even seasoned embryologists are finding the work startling. Researchers are now able to rotate the object, make the ectoderm transparent, watch various organs as they form, and even zoom in and out on certain structures. "The Visible Embryo" library will soon be accessible to any researcher, anywhere in the world. Ultimately, all computer sequences will be integrated into the database which will include all of the documentation and photos. Various distribution methods, via the Internet, are already being explored. The only cost to researchers will be for reproduction of the program. The dataset will continually grow as other scientists use their material and add their own input. This particular research project is just one of many at Walter Reed which currently uses SGI equipment. Learning to use the SGI equipment has not been a problem for the "Visible Embryo" team. The SGI graphics system is much more intuitive than other equipment we have in the office," commented Discher. When asked if they plan to continue using SGI equipment...the answer, "Absolutely!" For more information, go to URL: http://visembryo.ucsf.edu/ - end - HOT OFF THE PRESS ----------------------------------------- 1. SILICON STUDIO TEAMS WITH ROCKET SCIENCE GAMES TO CREATE NEXT GENERATION AUTHORING TOOLS (pr1) Silicon Studio and Rocket Science Games announced they will join forces in the development of Silicon Studio's Firewalker(tm) suite of authoring tools, which Rocket Science will use to create next-generation games. Under the terms of the agreement, Rocket Science will develop its next-generation 3D games using Silicon Graphics' computer systems and Silicon Studio's Firewalker development environment. Rocket Science engineers will work with Silicon Studio as part of the Firewalker development team, and the team will support game development efforts at Rocket Science. The announcement enhances Silicon Graphics' and Silicon Studio's existing alliances with key partners to ensure the development of the best hardware and software solutions for customers. Some examples include the JEDI initiation with Lucas Films, Walt Disney Imagineering for leading-edge interactive entertainment and Time Warner Cable in creating its Full Service Network interactive television system. For the complete article, go to: URL: http://www.sgi.com/Headlines/1995/Mar/rocket.html OR send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 pr1" in the body of the message. - end - 2. SILICON GRAPHICS, ALIAS RESEARCH AND WAVEFRONT TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE MERGER AGREEMENTS (pr2) Silicon Graphics, Inc., Alias Research, Inc., and Wavefront Technologies, Inc. have entered into definitive merger agreements. The combined organizations bolster Silicon Graphics' commitment to the entertainment and creative design markets, and allow the company to architect the foundation necessary for software partners and customers to build the digital studio of the 21st Century. As a result of the mergers, Silicon Graphics will form a wholly owned, independent software subsidiary that will focus on developing the world's most advanced tools for the creation of digital content. This new subsidiary will team with Silicon Studio, a subsidiary Silicon Graphics formed last year to focus on the entertainment market, to develop the world's most advanced system-level tools for creating digital content. This collaboration is expected to result in an open architecture that will provide significant benefits to customers who use multiple applications. The two organizations will also work together to accelerate development and delivery of FireWalker, a set of tools from Silicon Studio that will allow filmmakers and other entertainment authors to take original digital source materials and use them to create interactive titles. For the complete article, go to: URL: http://www.sgi.com/Headlines/1995/Feb/merger_info.html OR send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 pr2" in the body of the message. - end - SILICON GRAPHICS EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ----------------------------------------- 1. SILICON GRAPHICS DEMO DAYS IN NORTH AMERICA (ea1) Silicon Graphics is offering FREE seminars for prospective and existing customers to see the latest in SGI solutions and technology. Silicon Graphics and/or its partners will demonstrate Indy, the Indigo Magic user environment, and additional hardware and software solutions. TO REGISTER, send an e-mail to request@eternity.corp.sgi.com with the following information. (This information will help us tailor the seminar to meet your needs.) Name: Organization: Phone number: Fax number: Existing hardware platform(s): Preferred Location: Preferred Date: Current or planned application area: CASE Publishing CAD Medical Imaging Scientific Visualization Multimedia Other (Please list) For a complete list of cities, dates, and locations, go to URL: http://www.sgi.com/Misc/events/demo_days.html OR send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 ea1" in the body of the message. - end - 2. THE WEBFORCE U.S. AND CANADIAN TOUR Silicon Graphics, Inc. and local Internet providers are jointly offering a two and one-half hour long World Wide Web (WWW) seminar in various U.S. and Canadian metropolitan areas. The seminar tour begins on Tuesday, March 21 and runs through Friday, April 14. (See the tour schedule below). The seminar will focus on the Internet as it is used today and how it will be utilized in the future. Silicon Graphics will also introduce their perspective of the Web and the authoring solutions that Silicon Graphics products offer. Live demonstrations of SGI's newly announced WebFORCE product suite will be given, as well as success stories from Internet users. The seminar will demonstrate how the new WebFORCE systems allow businesses and individuals to build a presence on the Web and to improve information access within their enterprise. The WebFORCE product line includes a set of pre-installed Web authoring and serving software which enable you to author images, digital video and audio on the Silicon Graphics hardware. To register and receive detailed information about the location and time of a seminar near you, please call the Silicon Graphics hotline at: 1-800-800-7441, Department D430. You may also e-mail your registration and request for further information; along with your name, company name, address, telephone, fax and e-mail address; to: request@eternity.corp.sgi.com (Please reference Department D430). WebFORCE Tour Schedule Date City 3/21 Redwood City, CA 3/22 Los Angeles, CA 3/22 Orange County, CA 3/23 San Diego, CA 3/24 Seattle, WA 3/27 Ottawa, ONT 3/27 Albuquerque, NM 3/28 Chicago, IL 3/28 Vancouver, BC 3/29 Orlando, FL 3/29 Calgary, ALB 3/30 Atlanta, GA 3/30 Salt Lake City, UT 4/3 Rochester, NY 4/4 Boston, MA 4/4 Detroit, MI 4/5 New York, NY 4/5 Montreal, QUE 4/6 Philadelphia, PA 4/6 Toronto, ONT 4/7 Washington, DC 4/7 St. Louis, MO 4/14 Harrisburg, PA For more information, go to URL: http://www.sgi.com/Misc/webtour.html - end - 3. SILICON STUDIO/LA OPENS IN APRIL Silicon Studio/LA provides a hands-on training experience for creative professionals, studio engineers, and project managers or business executives. This is a great opportunity for you get the technical training you need to take advantage of the new entertainment authoring tools. The training program is driven by instructors and industry experts who bring real-world experience and practical case studies of film, video, broadcasting, game development, and CD-ROM creation to the classroom. The classrooms and student lab are equipped with over $3 million of Silicon Graphics hardware and content creation software. Over 30 courses are offered in the following areas: Studio Technology 2D Imaging and Paint 3D Modeling and Animation Editing and Compositing Silicon Graphics' Technology For more information, go to URL: http://www.studio.sgi.com/StudioLA.html - end - 4. SILICON STUDIO/LA SCHOLAR CONTEST In honor of the opening of Silicon Studio/LA, Silicon Studio will present a free Silicon Studio/LA course to three qualified students. To enter the competition, you must submit an essay and original works of computer-generated art. The deadline for the contest is April 30, and winners will be announced June 15, 1995. To enter the contest, write an essay of 100 words or less on the topic, "Why I should be a Silicon Studio/LA Scholar." We encourage you to include information about your educational and professional background. You also need to submit 1-3 works of original computer-generated art (such as video, audio, creative imaging, animation, or 3D modeling) in digital form (such as diskette, DAT tape, SyQuest cartridge, or VHS and Beta videotapes). Silicon Studio must receive your entry by 11:59 p.m., PST, April 30, 1995. Winners will be announced June 15, 1995. Entries are limited to one per person. Send submissions via mail or courier service to: Silicon Studio Attn: Silicon Studio/LA Scholar Contest M.S. 101 2011 N. Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA, 94043-1389 For more details about the contest, go to URL: http://www.studio.sgi.com/ContestRules.html OR call 1-800-S-Studio (U.S.) or 415-390-4300 (international). - end - 5. SILICON GRAPHICS TO EXHIBIT AT NAB MULTIMEDIA WORLD NAB Multimedia World Conference: April 9-13; Exhibition: April 10-13 Las Vegas Hilton - Las Vegas, Nevada Silicon Graphics, along with Silicon Studio and its Keystone software initiative members, will be at NAB Multimedia World to demonstrate the technology that is revolutionizing film, video and broadcast production. Stop by Silicon Graphics' Silicon Studio booth in the Main Hall (Booth #15779) as well as the software vendor booths on the show floor to see demos of end-to-end solutions, including server applications, post-production solutions, on-air graphics and interactive television. Silicon Studio will also debut Silicon Live, an online support, training and industry information service. For more information about NAB Multimedia world, call 1-800-342-2460 (U.S.) or 202-775-4970 (international). - end - 6. 1995 SYMPOSIUM ON INTERACTIVE 3D GRAPHICS, APRIL 9-12 Co-sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH and the Naval Postgraduate School April 9-12 Hyatt Regency - Monterey, California You are invited to register for the 1995 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics. This symposium will stimulate research in interactive 3D graphics by bringing together many of the outstanding researchers from academia, industry and government. A variety of advanced work will be covered, with the focus on the topic "Where is the frontier today in real-time, interactive 3D graphics?" One of the short papers presented at the conference will be "Interactive Full Spectral Rendering" by Silicon Graphics' Mark Peercy, Benjamin Zhu and Daniel Baum. The registration fee for the symposium is $350 and $100 for students. To facilitate closer participation and encourage better sharing of ideas, the symposium will be limited to 250 participants. To register, go to URL: http://siggraph.org/conferences/I3D95/I3D-advprog.html OR call 408-656-2305. - end - 7. MARCH/APRIL ISSUE OF PIPELINE Understanding Multi-pipe Graphics Configurations Introducing IRIX 5.3 Introducing IRIX 5.3 with XFS (Almost) All About SCSI IRIX Dynamically Loadable Kernel Modules Introducing IRIX 6.0.1 New MIPS R8000 Systems Frequently-Asked Questions about Programming Frequently-Asked Questions about Graphics Frequently-Asked Questions about IRIX Frequently-Asked Questions about Multi-Media Pipeline is Silicon Graphics' technical newsletter that is offered to customers with support contracts. If you'd like to obtain a support contract for your system, contact your local sales or support offices. For a list of sales offices, go to URL: http://www.sgi.com/Overview/whereis.html - end - IT'S HOT, IT'S COOL, AND IT'S FREE ----------------------------------------- 1. 3D FILE SYSTEM NAVIGATOR FOR IRIX 4.0.1 (fr1) You saw it in Jurassic Park! fsn (pronounced fusion) is a file system navigator in cyberspace. It lays out the directories in a hierarchy with each directory represented by a pedestal. The height of the pedestal is proportional to the size of the files in the directory. The directories are connected by wires, on which it is possible to travel. On top of each directory are boxes representing individual files. The height of the box represents the size of the file, while the color represents the age. Keep in mind that fsn is a prototype and an experiment. It is neither a full featured product nor a replacement for a filesystem manager such as Workspace. Fsn is available via anonymous ftp from our ftp server ftp.sgi.com in the directory ~ftp/sgi/fsn. There are 2 files in this directory: -r--r--r-- 1 root 0 4718 Apr 8 1992 README -r--r--r-- 1 root 0 WORKING MODEL 2.0 FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS304484 Mar 27 1992 fsn.tar.Z fsn.tar.Z is a compressed tar file containing all the files needed to install and run fsn. README contains instructions for uncompressing, installing, and running fsn. To obtain fsn via anonymous ftp, use user name "anonymous" and your email address as a password:- > ftp ftp.sgi.com Enter user name: anonymous Password: me@myhost.edu ftp> cd sgi/fsn ftp> get README ftp> get fsn.tar.Z ftp> quit For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 fr1" in the body of the message. For more information, e-mail joel@sgi.com. - end - 2. NEW VERSION OF VCG TOOL FOR COMPILER GRAPHS (fr2) The VCG tool is a tool that allows users to visualize large graphs that are automatically generated by programs, such as debuggers of data structures. It reads a textual and readable specification of a graph and visualizes the graph. The specification language of the VCG tool is nearly compatible to GRL, the language of the edge tool, but contains many extensions. The VCG tool allows folding of dynamically or statically specified regions of the graph. It uses colors and runs on X11, and has been tested on Silicon Graphics (IRIX 5.2). The software is available by anonymous ftp at ftp.cs.uni-sb.de (134.96.7.254) in the directory /pub/graphics/vcg. This site is in Germany. Authors: Georg Sander and Iris Lemke, University of Saarland, 66041 Saarbruecken, Germany. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 fr2" in the body of the message. For more information, send e-mail to Georg Sander at sander@cs.uni-sb.de - end - 3. THE MIDNIGHT COMMANDER V2.1 UNIX FILE MANAGER AND SHELL (fr3) The Midnight Commander (previous name: Mouseless Commander) is a user-friendly yet powerful file manager and visual shell for Unix systems. For the Unix neophyte it provides a clear, user-friendly, and somewhat protected interface to the complexities of a Unix system. For the expert user, it can make many frequent operations more efficient: shifting large groups of files around and many other common file managing tasks. Although it was originally a Linux application, now it has been ported to many systems, including IRIX. It is available by FTP from the following sites: sunsite.unc.edu and mirrors: Linux/utils/file/managers/mc-2.1.tar.gz or ftp.nuclecu.unam.mx: /linux/local/mc-2.1.tar.gz (the official site). There is a Midnight Commander page on the World Wide Web containing screen snapshots of the program, links to some relevant FTP sites, archives of the mailing lists, etc. The URL is: http://stekt.oulu.fi/~jtklehto/mc/ For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 fr3" in the body of the message. - end - 4. X M C D VERSION 1.4, A CD PLAYER UTILITY (fr4) xmcd version 1.4, a package including xmcd, an X11/Motif(tm)-based CD player utility, and cda, a command- line driven, non-graphical CD audio player, has been released. The source code of this version of xmcd and cda supports IRIX. Xmcd uses the Motif toolkit to achieve a pleasing appearance, such that it actually looks and feels like a real CD player for all basic functions, yet takes advantage of the GUI and window system to make programming and CD database functions easy. Currently, the cda utility offers almost the same functionality as xmcd except the FF, REW, Sample and A->B features are not available. Also, the CD database is read-only via cda (no updates). In addition, a visual mode is available that turns cda into a screen-oriented (curses-based) CD player. The source code release of xmcd/cda version 1.4 is available via Internet anonymous FTP. Location: (Instructions) ftp.x.org:/contrib/applications/xmcd/xmcd-1.4.README (gzip'd tar archive) ftp.x.org:/contrib/applications/xmcd/xmcd-1.4.tar.gz An xmcd CD database is also available via anonymous FTP: (Instructions) ftp.x.org:/contrib/applications/xmcd/xmcd-cddb.README (gzip'd tar archive) ftp.x.org:/contrib/applications/xmcd/xmcd-cddb.tar.gz For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 fr4" in the body of the message. Send e-mail to ti@amb.org for more information. - end - 5. MONTHLY CDMAN CATALOG UPDATE AVAILABLE ON SGI.COM The monthly update to the cdman and cdplayer music catalog is now available for public ftp from sgi.com. The files are in the directory sgi/cd-catalog. The music catalog stores titles, artists and program information for Compact Discs. When a CD is inserted in the CD-ROM drive, CDman searches the music catalog for an entry containing catalog information for that recording. If it finds one, it displays the information in its large display panel. Data from the CD's table of contents is used as the key for searching the music catalog. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 fr5" in the body of the message. For more information, send e-mail to msc@engr.sgi.com - end - WHAT'S NEW FROM THIRD PARTIES ***************************** PLEASE NOTE: Articles appearing in WHAT'S NEW FROM THIRD PARTIES are written by our partners. Any questions you might have about the content of these articles should be directed to the article's author. Contact information is included at the end of each article. 1. WORKING MODEL 2.0 FOR CAD ENGINEERS (tp1) Knowledge Revolution will demonstrate its Working Model 2.0 kinematic/dynamic simulation software during the National Design Engineering Show, part of National Manufacturing Week '95, March 13-16 at the McCormick Place Complex in Chicago. Attendants are encouraged to visit Booth #2219 in the North Hall to see this product in action, particularly CAD/CAM users in search of a more efficient method for examining the performance interaction of a design's components or for troubleshooting their existing automated manufacturing systems. Working Model revolutionizes the CAD process by giving users and analysts the tools they need to build and analyze complex mechanical systems on desktop computers with minimal training. Because Working Model's primary purpose is to apply the laws of physics to a virtual design or to analyze the motion of specific components, engineers can test a mechanism in its earliest stages and know with a high degree of accuracy whether the design is feasible to build or worth the time to refine. This powerful capability shortens the design cycle. The mechanical simulations and data provided by Working Model 2.0 can be loaded into finite element analysis programs, providing CAD/CAM users with information that once was only available after prototypes were created. Working Model 2.0 makes "virtual prototyping" a reality with a state-of- the-art simulation engine and a kinematic editor that allows users to build models within Working Model, or import geometry from their own CAD programs. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp1" in the body of the message. For more information, contact: Knowledge Revolution at 415-574-7777. - end - 2. SIDE EFFECTS RELEASES PRISMS 5.5, 3D COMPUTER ANIMATION SYSTEM (tp2) Side Effects Software Inc. has announced PRISMS 5.5, a high-end 3D computer animation and image manipulation system. Key additions to the software include support for the CINEON(tm) film format and Sony Playstation(tm), and the Beatbox performance capture system. To satisfy filmmakers' demands for high resolution images with increased color depth, PRISMS' image composite and effects software, ice, now supports user-selectable 8 or 16-bit color channels. Users can load, manipulate, and save files like Cineon and 16-bit TIFF without losing color information. Side Effects has also re-engineered ice to offer intelligent memory management, which increases performance when using large film sequences. Beatbox is a second generation performance capture system that goes beyond traditional motion capture by exploiting keyboard and mouse functions, providing real-time control of performance input directly into the PRISMS animation system and often eliminating separate and costly motion capture sessions. PRISMS 5.5's support for game makers includes export geometry, textures, and images to the new Sony Playstation, 3D texture unwrapping, Quicktime support, and color space reduction. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp2" in the body of the message. For more information, contact Side Effects Software at 416-504-9876. -end - 3. TIMELINE VISTA RELEASES AUDIO EDITING SOFTWARE (tp3) Timeline Vista, Inc. has released Mediasound, a multitracking editing package that runs exclusively on Indy, Indigo, and Indigo2 workstations. Mediasound will also finish qualification for Onyx with the Audio/Serial option soon. Mediasound provides cut and past editing on six tracks of audio, intuitive sound editing controls, auditioning and playback on each track, multitrack editing facilities, synchronization capability, and final stereo output. It supports digital and analog I/O, and conforms to Avid's Open Media Framework (OMF) protocol. Mediasound can also lock up to an external time code source for professional editing by using a Micro Lynx synchronizer, which is also available from Timeline. The Micro Lynx can synch up to any audio, video, or film transport using all leading time code standards, as well as any leading communications standard. Mediasound also offers cross-fading capability, allowing smooth mixing and transitioning between audio segments, as well as additional audio tracks. Mediasound provides an excellent expansion path for any user seeking increased audio functionality from an SGI workstation. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp3" in the body of the message. For more information, contact Mediasound at 619-727-3300. - end - 4. CONVERT IMAGE FILES WITH DEBABILIZER UNIX 1.0 (tp4) Equilibrium is shipping Debabilizer UNIX 1.0 for Silicon Graphics workstations. The new version of this software quickly helps convert image files between any of twenty different Silicon Graphics, Sun, Macintosh, PC and Amiga file types, features motion file compatibility, and now offers creators of multimedia content essential tools using Accom WSD video disks with SGI MovieMaker(tm) and Quicktime formats. Debabilizer UNIX also allows users to do batch and animation conversions while offering preview, resizing, resampling and compression features. A measurement cursor and waveform monitor tools also permit precise image measurements and a PostScript language-compatible interpreter has advanced anti-aliasing capabilities and low memory usage for output to any resolution up to 32,000 by 32,000 DPI. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp4" in the body of the message. For more information, contact Equilibrium at 415-332-4343. - end - 5. AVS ENTERS APP DEVELOPMENT TOOLS MARKET WITH AVS/EXPRESS (tp5) Advanced Visual Systems Inc. (AVS), a developer of 3D visualization and software development products, has entered the application development tools market with AVS/Express(tm), a multi-platform application development environment that provides broad-based application building capabilities in combination with state-of-the-art component technology. AVS/Express was created for technical computing applications that require advanced visualization and presentation features. Using an object-oriented visual programming environment, called the Visual Network Editor, developers rapidly prototype and build data-extensive, interactive graphics applications. The primary benefits of this development environment include easy construction and maintenance of multi-platform applications and integration of component technology for user interface, graphics, imaging, and visualization. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp5" in the body of the message. For more information, contact Advanced Visual Systems at 617-890-4300 or email info@avs.com. - end - 6. I-DEAS MASTER SERIES SOFTWARE FOR CAE/CAD/CAM MARKET (tp6) Structural Dynamics Research Corp. (SDRC), has announced the availability of the second release of its I-DEAS Master Series(tm) software. The new release further extends SDRC's technological lead within the mechanical CAE/CAD/CAM industry by providing one of the easiest-to-use, highest functionality, team-oriented software solutions for mechanical design automation. New features, enhancements, and new product modules include: * Unprecedented ease-of-use: User interaction, real-time graphical feedback and variational geometry capabilities have been extended through more widespread of SDRC's Dynamic Navigator(tm) technology. * Simulation: New simulation capabilities in I-DEAS Master Series 2 address the needs of both the design engineer and dedicated analysis specialist. * Manufacturing: With I-DEAS Master Series 2, users are given improved capabilities for machining more types of parts directly from the master model. * Test: New test application modules have been introduced with I-DEAS Master Series 2 that extend SDRC's capabilities in the areas of transient data handling and acoustic intensity measurement. * Team Engineering: I-DEAS Master Series serves as a core system for mechanical design automation, by helping customers implement an effective concurrent engineering process. Master Series 2 supports the GL graphics library, with OpenGL available as an option. Master Series 2 runs on the Indigo product family as well as Onyx and Challenge systems with IRIX 5.2. Analysis (Solver), has been optimized in Master Series 2 to take full advantage of multiple CPU's. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp6" in the body of the message. - end - 7. FREE TRIAL OF VIDI: VIDEO RECORDING AND EDITING SOFTWARE (tp7) The Center for Visualization of Dynamic Systems has announced the availability of VIDI, designed for the simultaneous control of a videodisk recorder, a videotape recorder and an arbitrary computer graphics program. VIDI can replace the time-consuming methods of recording and editing computer movies and increase the quality of copies. The software works on SGI workstations under operating system IRIX 4.0.5 and above. VIDI allows direct control of the SONY laser videodisk recorder LVR-5000\6000 (or compatible) and almost all types of professional videotapes via MINIVAS-2 (or compatible) videorecorder controller. If only one of these devices is available, all related functions of VIDI can still be used. The system VIDI allows: - Recording movies from a UNIX workstation to a predefined region of disk or tape in real time or frame-by-frame modes with full synchronization between execution of the graphic program and disk or tape recording. - Recording a section of movie from a predefined region of disk to a predefined region of tape with any possible disk speed and full synchronization between disk and tape motions. - Writing and running scripts describing any number of recording sessions mentioned above. For this purpose, a special language has been developed, which describes each recording session. VIDI allows two types of recording control: direct control using a panel displayed on the computer screen or control by means of a script. To get a copy of VIDI, fill out the following form and send it to vidi@voland.cc.huji.ac.il. You will then get access to the ftp site which contains the software and the documentation. Date: Institution: Name: Address: Country: E-mail: You may use the system free for two months. If you decide to continue using it, inform us and we'll provide you with a license at a cost of $600. For the complete article, send mail to info-server@sgi.com with "IOL 3/95 tp7" in the body of the message. For more information, send e-mail to vidi@voland.cc.huji.ac.il. - end - WEB WATCH ----------------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE: Articles appearing in WEB WATCH (except for Silicon Surf information) are written by our partners. Questions about the content of these articles should be directed to the article's author. Contact information is included at the end of each article. 1. NEW SILICON SURF HITS THE WORLD WIDE WEB It's new. It's cool. It's Silicon Surf, SGI's virtual home on the World Wide Web. On Monday, Feb. 13, a new--entirely redesigned--version of "The Surf" was released. The new version features: a radical new look, featuring rich 3D-graphics, advanced search and table-of-contentS, a new easier-to-navigate structure, new content, downloadable software, images and movies, and much more! But don't just take our word for it--check it out for yourself! On the World Wide Web, we are located at the following URL: URL:http://www.sgi.com/ We also have a new European Silicon Surf Site, available at http://www-europe.sgi.com/. This site mirrors the original Silicon Surf Site in Mt. View, California. Look for additional Surf Sites coming soon to Australia and Japan. Do you have any questions or comments about Silicon Surf? Send an e-mail to webmaster@www.sgi.com - end - 2. THE VISUALIZATION PROJECT AT SSEC INTRODUCES WEB PAGE The Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) has a new home page for their SSEC Visualization Project at: http://ssec.wisc.edu/~billh/vis.html The Visualization Project focuses on making advanced visualization techniques useful to Earth scientists in their daily work. We accomplish this goal by making two scientific visualization systems, named Vis5D and VisAD, freely available over the Internet, and by using these systems as testbeds for exploring and evaluating new techniques. This page includes links to our Vis5D and VisAD systems, links to several publications and references to others, links to our work with the BLANCA gigabit network and to our work with the Electronic Visualization Laboratory's CAVE, and links to daily US weather forecasts available in Vis5D-viewable form. For more information, contact Bill Hibbard via e-mail at whibbard@macc.wisc.edu - end - 3. BIOMECHANICS, INC. OPENS NEW WEB PAGE Biomechanics, Inc. is a research and development company specializing in capturing, analyzing and manipulating three dimensional motion. Our motion capture studio utilizes advanced techniques for capturing detailed motion from one or more subjects. By using the movements of live actors, we can produce synthetic computer characters that move naturally and realistically. Our proprietary optical motion capture system can capture the motions of multiple actors simultaneously to produce realistic interactions. Our web page contains sample animations generated using this process. Go to URL: file://ftp.crl.com/users/ro/biomech/biomech.html For more information, send e-mail to biomech@crl.com. - end - ODDS & ENDS ----------------------------------------- 1. HOW TO USE THE NEW MAIL SERVER We have added a new feature to our mail server - now you can easily access all of our back issues of IRIS On-Line! The mail server includes all issues from July 1993 to the most current issue. To receive a particular back issue, send a message to our mail server (info-server@sgi.com). Requests for back issues should appear in the BODY of the email message using the following format: iol 00/year month EXAMPLE: iol 00/94 july => retrieves the July '94 issue IOL 00/94 JULY => Same as above, the system is NOT case sensitive iol 00/94 ALL => Retrieves all of the issues from 1994 To receive the full text of an article from the current issue, send a message to our mail server (info-server@sgi.com). Requests for specific articles should appear in the BODY of the email messages using the following format (optional items are in [square brackets]): iol [date] ([all] or [article key, article key ...]) iol => Iris On-Line date => xx/yy ( xx -> month, yy -> year) all => all will send you all articles that have an expanded version in the current issue article key => appears in parenthesis as part of the title of each article that has an expanded version in IRIS OnLine e.g. NEW APPLICATIONS ON THE SILICON GRAPHICS PLATFORM (EA4) Requests are NOT case sensitive. IOL is the same as iol is the same as ioL. Requests can run over multiple lines. EXAMPLE: 3/95 => Retrieves all expanded information for the March '95 issue iol 3/95 PR1 => Retrieves the first press release from the HOT OFF THE PRESS section in the March '95 (this) issue IOl 3/95 pr1 => Same as above, the system is NOT case sensitive 2. IRIS ON-LINE SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS To subscribe to IRIS On-Line, send a message to: list-manager@sgi.com and in the BODY of the message type: subscribe iris-on-line. Your return email address will be added to the subscription list. If you wish to receive IRIS On-Line at an address other than that from which you are sending your request, send email to iris-on-line-editor@sgi.com. Include your email address in the message. You may also subscribe on-line through Silicon Surf, Silicon Graphics' World Wide Web server at URL http://www.sgi.com. 3. SILICON GRAPHICS INC. AND THIRD PARTY TRADEMARK INFORMATION Silicon Graphics and IRIS are registered trademarks, and CHALLENGE, Firewalker, Indigo2, INDY, IRIX, Keystone, Moviemaker, Onyx, Personal IRIS, RealityEngine, and Silicon Studio are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Alias is a trademark of Alias Research, Inc. AVS/Express is a trademark of Advanced Visual Systems, Inc. I-DEAS Master Series is a trademark of the Structural Dynamics Research Corporation. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Motif is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation. Rocket Science is a trademark of Rocket Science Games, Inc. Sony Playstation is a trademark of Sony Corporation. Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation. Sun is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Wavefront is a trademark of Wavefront Technologies. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 4. IRIS ON-LINE DISCLAIMER All products, services, and other statements regarding Silicon Graphics or third parties are subject to local availability and policies. Please contact your local Silicon Graphics or third party sales representative for information and details in your location. IRIS On-Line is published as an information service to users of Silicon Graphics Computer Systems. Descriptions of, or references to, products or publications within this publication do not imply endorsement of that product or publication by Silicon Graphics. Silicon Graphics makes no warranty of any kind with respect to the subject matter included herein, the products listed herein, or the completeness or accuracy of this catalog. Silicon Graphics specifically disclaims all warranties, express, implied or otherwise, including without limitation, all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. *******