Chris Johnston

Okay, this is a few days late, but I just noticed it.

“Softimage today announced the availability of a free version of the industry’s leading 3-D nonlinear production environment specifically designed for training purposes, the SOFTIMAGEÒ|XSIÒ EXP v.3.0. A successor to the popular SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 Experience CD, this software introduces a range of new abilities that make it easier for everyone, from professionals to 3-D novices, to learn and enhance their animation and effects creation skills. Available as a free download from the Softimage website or as part of a complete CD-based training kit available for purchase, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP v.3.0 software also provides users the ability to save files and take advantage of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI Net View feature to access a wide range of tutorials, tools, user forums and new features videos, while creating within the SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP environment.”I downloaded the free Experience version and installed it in Windows, no Linux version yet, although there are rumours circulating around the forums that one is in the works.

However, back to the download. The file is about 150 megs in size, so this is not for the broadband challenged of you out there. And even for those with a cable modem the download can be very, very slow. I was getting as low as 5.4 kbps at different times. The speed picked up considerably later in the evening though.

The install is basically painless, although you will need to make sure you have the right gear to run the program. The two biggest things that you will need are a monitor that can support 1280×1024 and a video card with rock solid OpenGL drivers. In this, I would recommend a GeForce 2 GTI or higher running the NVidia Detonator drivers and not the drivers from the card manufacturer.

Once installed, which takes a little bit, I fired up the program and it is very nice. For those of you who have never seen XSI, it probably has one of the nicest looking UIs of any programs I have ever seen with the possible exception of Lightwave.

I haven’t done anything in the program except load up a few of the demo files. But these loaded nice and quickly on my machine.

The biggest news about this release is that for the first time you can save. Yes, that is right. You can now save your XSI Exp files and work on them later instead of keeping them open and hoping that your computer doesn’t crash.

The only downside to this release, beside the dreaded watermark — which is no way near as annoying as the one in Maya PLE — is that fact that you can only render at 400×300. There are a few other limitations as well. Here is the complete list.

So for those who want to play around with one of the best all round animation tools on the planet here are some links to more information:

Full Press Release
Download Page – You will have to register before you can download though
Softimage|XSI Exp v3.0 Page
Community Centre

“This article compares the Microsoft client/server architecture to the Unix approach in terms of systems decisions facing a university faculty. To put this in context, imagine that you are being interviewed for a job as the faculty’s systems manager. The chairman of the selection committee asks you to come in to discuss whether the faculty would be better served if it went all-Linux instead of staying all-Microsoft.”

Here is a somewhat long article discussing things to look for and things to remember when going out and buying a laptop that you want to install Linux onto.

“In this guest column at DesktopLinux.com, former SCO evangelist and Samba.org team leader John H. Terpstra weighs in on market perceptions about Linux and its suitability for the desktop. Interviewing a sample group �- that included 30 people evenly split in the Linux and MS camps — Terpstra discovered each group cited the very same arguments in defending their OS of choice! The author sought definitive answers about the state of Desktop Linux and reasons for and against a switch to Linux. The results, and key factors, were not as expected . . . ”

“You may or may not have heard of Ruby–it is only now gathering steam outside of Japan–but you would do well to familiarize yourself with it, since it is rapidly gaining popularity among open source programmers and in enterprise settings.”

Link

“What most of you have probably already noticed is that Linux lacks commercial “professional” applications (e.g. Photoshop, flash MX) and commercial games. And that is the main reason why most “dual-booters” and potential Linux users don’t (fully) migrate to this astounding OS. And why doesn’t the Linux community get any greater confirmation from the commercial industry? Because they think that we, the Linux users, wouldn’t pay money for their software and are afraid that we aren’t really interested in their applications.”

Link

This is a link to a post on PCLinuxOnline that lists a series of tutorials/classes that people can take for free (free registration required) to prepare for the Linux Certification. They are on the IBM website and look like an excellent set of tutorials for anyone wanting to learn more about Linux.

“By the end of this series of tutorials , you’ll have the knowledge you need to become a Linux Systems Administrator and will be ready to attain an LPIC Level 1 certification from the Linux Professional Institute. Even for those not preparing for the certification exam, these tutorial are useful for Linux users who want to build stronger Linux skills.”