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21 messages in this thread
Jonas & Kevin
Kevin I am convinced now that you are certifiably crazy… and wonderful. This
would be a boring forum without you…
Yes my helmet is on, both for the trenches and for flying. Its only when I land
that I have to start ducking!
I was just interested in the rules here. Not trying to cause any trouble folks,
I swear. It interests me this concept of "used software". I have never thought
about software as being 'used' before. Technically, I believe that Autodesk
products cannot be transferred to 'new' users, even if resold, according to the
license agreement. I have seen a lot of 'new, still wrapped, still qualifies
for an upgrade' stuff in this section, but, hey I think if more people get
access to it, the better in the long run for everybody. So I am NOT
complaining. I just wanted to know what the official word is. Thanks Jonas for
directing me to where I can learn about it. As a dealer, it just caught my
competitive eye. I am really trying to get some glasses to filter all this kind
of stuff out of my brain, but old habits die hard….
Angela
Hi Angela,
<< Technically, I believe that Autodesk products cannot be transferred to 'new'
users, even if resold, according to the license agreement. >>
I'll forward this directly to the Legal Department and get an official answer.
jonas[adesk]
Angela,
Regarding your recent valentine:
< Kevin I am convinced now that you are certifiably crazy… and wonderful. >
< This would be a boring forum without you…>
Angela, does Millard know about us?
< Yes my helmet is on, both for the trenches and for flying. >
< Its only when I land that I have to start ducking! >
Get ready to duck… cause you're walking all over the highway here and I
swear you're an easy target….
For the record "Jonas & Kevin" are not a team.. "John & Kevin" are a
team. That is, if John will have me. I hope he'll accept my
invitation… If he can get his stand-up buddies to keep him
supplied with a stock of good material, we might be Compuserve's
Martin & Lewis…. He would be the more handsome one…. I'll be the
clown.
And Ange… Please Take Note! Jonas wears a badge…
jonas[adesk] <——— See that thing at the end of his name
That makes him the sheriff around here. Don't you go getting him mad at me
by linking him to my foolishness. He's your direct connect for all things
official. You need an answer on what the ADESK line is… he's the man.
You need a good laugh…. see me…
Speaking of which, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch.
I keep dropping the pencil clenched between my teeth.
It's hard to pick it up with this straightjacket on.
You say:
< Not trying to cause any trouble folks, I swear. >
I'm not convinced Angela… I think you're a trouble maker thru and
thru. I think you been holdin' out on us… I saw some educational
big wig raving about something called the NAVFLYER recently here in
the forum. You didn't say nuttin about having a Cyberspace Navigator
in the Library. You better drop this newbie act and give us the real
low down.
I'm gonna download the sucker and see just exactly what kind of
cybercraft you been flying around in….
And last night I'm reading the new 3D Artist Magazine. (Another
fantastic issue from Bill Allen and team!!!) And there you are
again… You sure get around. And Bill says MicronGreen's VR
Navigator was mentioned in Issue 16 which I can't find right now…
but when I do…. we're gonna have to have a talk….
Love & Kisses
Kevin
Sorry, Kevin, you're too wacky for me, I can't dance with you.
How's your singing, John?
BTW Where did the logo come from?
The arch of black circles against a yellow field?
It was an arrangement of round magnets that were once on my refrigerator. Black
on yellow is one of the most highly contrasting and visible color pairs, that's
why they use(d) it on highway signs.
That's also why they use it on bees! <g> Acutally, it's more than visually
prominent, it's kind of a natural "danger" signal. I ssem to remember a psych
film I saw in school about putting babies on a floor where there was an open
pit covered with glass. Normally, the babies would just crawl on across, but
when it was ringed with black and yellow stripes, they would TEND (just want to
make it clear that you can't just put up striped tape around the new sofa and
expect baby to leave it alone <g>) to avoid the pit area — ie crawl around.
Dave
Angela,
I'm gettin' real concerned. I caught you hanging out with all those
mortarboard and tassle types again over in Cybercity. I'm not going
back over there 'cause they might make me sit in the corner with a dunce cap
on and I don't feel like writing "I will be a good boy." 100 times on the
chalkboard. So I'm posting this message to ya here.
You were saying that the NAVFLYER, which I must confess I haven't
downloaded yet, is:
< a DXF "player" of sorts, only with interactive on the fly motion. >
< go where you want, when you want. >
< You do NOT need CDK to run NAVFlyer.>
Good thing I don't need it. I don't even know what it is. Is this some kind
of special fuel that your cybercraft requires? Like ethanol or "no-lead?"
But, Angela, what really got me was when you said:
< If you think 3DS support is a good idea, we would put it in. >
< We have not had much response back from 3D Studio users yet, however, >
< several have downloaded it. Hopefully when we get the faster version here, >
< they will show more interest?
Ange, ARE YOU KIDDING? Look I don't believe in fairy tales as much as I
used to. But your remarks remind me of a particularly sappy movie.
The line of dialogue that comes to mind is "BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME."
Get with the program, Ms. Pate. The whole world will soon be importing and
exporting .3DS files making one function of my friend John's utility
kinda useless. The sooner you incorporate 3DS into yer dang Cyberspace
Navigator the sooner ya gonna get the kind of response ya lookin' for.
< Anyone else out there interested in getting 3DS files supported? >
Ange, nobody's reading that stuff over there except you and your diploma-
carrying friends. You wanna know what I think? ("NO! says some fool sitting
at the next table. ) Well, I'm gonna tell ya anyway. I think you should
get busy. That's what I think.
Kevin Gibson
Animation Nation <tm> -=It's a state of alert.=-
Maybe you are right Kevin, maybe you are right….
I tell you what, we are just getting the faster version of this DOS version of
NAVFlyer finished up here to replace the one that is there now. When it gets up
here, hopefully this week, you download it and take a look at it and tell me
what you think OK? Until then, I am going to stay over there in Cyberland. It
just makes sense to wait until its right to start making lots of noise don't
you think? The version that is there is fully functional, just slow. It took me
some time to figure out how to offer the faster stuff that we are doing in
NAVIGATOR for free in shareware, but I think (hope?) that it is worked out now.
Business always gets in the way of creativity it seems to me…….
Thanks for noticing and please do hang in there and keep an eye on us. We're
flying straight out of hanger on a lightening fast flight these days, all just
hangin on together trying not to get blown off! So don' t blink! Thanks again
for the looksee and PLEASE do join us in the CDK section! We need more folks
trying to figure out what is going on over there so speak up you lurker you!
Now everyone, lets take a poll… Can you say CDK? that's right C…D…K
stands for Cyberspace Development Kit a product from a great company called
Autodesk. How many people reading this know what the CDK is? How many people
have never heard of it? How many people have any opinion about it so far, good
or bad? Please come over to the CDK section and speak up if you do! I have had
a lot of such discussions on other forums, but this one, the home of the CDK,
is the most quiet one of all!
Just to throw out a few sample topics I would love to hear some opinions on
over in the CDK section…
Autodesk is just about to ship CDK Release 2 for Windows. Why does a company
like Autodesk do such things? What is their thinking to be involved in
Cyberspace? What will it mean to animation over the next decade? Will it mean
more jobs for modeler/animators or less jobs? What is real-time interactive
graphics doing to the character animation market? To the medical animation
market? To architectural animation? How bad are graphics in real-time anyway?
Why are real-time graphics so unrealistic compared to 3D Studio animations?
What good is inferior rendering as an end product, even if it is real-time?
What is going on that will change the quality of real-time graphics and how
long will it take?
Any interested folks, please join in… I feel kind of silly here talkin' to
myself like this Kevin, see what I mean? Maybe as we get something faster
goin' on in NAVFlyer, it will draw more attention from this awesome group of
world builders…..Keep your eyes open….
Angela
P.S. My coworker here, Alicia caught your message to me and threatened to tell
Millard about us 😮 …. So we've got to stop meeting like this.. ;-}
!!!!!!
Oh Angela… Ya got me all excited now….
Alicia???? Is she single??? Does she have her own NAVFLYER???
Maybe she and I could swap stories about virtual reality and Florida life and
I wouldn't have to worry about no husband named Mallard, er, Millard. 😉
This could be the best of both CyberWorlds.
Can you set me up Ange???
You could continue to hang out with those PHDs, the edumacated ones, and
and Alicia and I can sit over here in the Korner Kafe, drinking java,
reading the news and watching the mail runs.
And Ange, you said:
" I have had a lot of such discussions on other forums, but this one, the
home of the CDK, is the most quiet one of all!"
I knew you were just playin' me for the fool I am!!!
I knew you had more experience than you were lettin' on.
I knew it. I knew it. I KNEW IT. I feel so STOOOPID.
By the way…. You sure ask a lot of questions Ms. Pate.
You ever think about becoming a reporter?
Why does a company like Autodesk do such things?
What is their thinking to be involved in Cyberspace?
What will it mean to animation over the next decade?
Will it mean more jobs for modeler/animators or less jobs?
What is real-time interactive graphics doing to the character animation market?
To the medical animation market?
To architectural animation?
How bad are graphics in real-time anyway?
Why are real-time graphics so unrealistic compared to 3D Studio animations?
What good is inferior rendering as an end product, even if it is real-time?
What is going on that will change the quality of real-time graphics and how
long will it take?
Yep, Ange. Just playin' me for a fool. And now your making me feel even
more stooopid by asking all these questions I can't answer.
No, I don't think I'm going to show my face over there with the mortarboard
and tassle set for some time. I need to bone up on all of this stuff
before I subject myself to more humiliation from the crowd you hang with.
( I feel kind of silly here talkin' to myself like this Kevin, )
( see what I mean? )
Hunh? Ange? You talkin' to me? I thought you was talkin' to yourself.
( It just makes sense to wait until its right to start making lots of noise )
( don't you think? )
Sheeez! Ange… What are ya gonna use? Megaphones?
Seems like you been making all kinds of noise already…
As for that crack about whether or not I think..
I guess I ain't been thinking enuff. But I'm gonna start. Right now.
You say you got something faster than you're already scooting about in?
You better believe I'm gonna keep an eye on you. I think you're dangerous!
I'll give you an example. We've been chattin' about navigating virtual
worlds in a thread you started titled "Want Ads." You're plain dangerous, Ange.
Kevin Gibson
Animation Nation <tm> -=A state of readiness.=-
People have been predicting that InterChange will be useless in the
future since at least 1987. 🙂
John,
I wasn't so much predicting your product's demise, as much as I was
proclaiming the fact that more and more software manufacturers
(the smart ones) are building into their products the ability to import
and export .3ds files. And why not?
As for the future of InterChange, who better to know what the viability of
your product will be tomorrow than you? You are obviously a very intelligent
man, witness your comment to Jonas about the Pentium compatibility of
3D Studio, it is therefor apparent that you would also be aware of the way
the market is changing and how it will impact your company and it's various
products.
I'm certainly not rooting for InterChange to disappear. How else would you
be able to continue to afford our interactive road show? I need you to remain
economically viable, if only because your disappearance would mean the loss of
my favorite straight guy.
Thanks for the explanation regarding the origin of the logo.
As always, I remain genuinely fascinated by how the names and icons that
we use to represent ourselves in the marketplace have come into existence.
Kevin Gibson
Animation Nation <tm> -=Black and gold are the colors of our Aints.=-
Don't forget, some of those companies end up licensing Syndesis
technology. We were the first company (outside of Autodesk, natch)
to support the 3DS file format, and I'm sure we won't be the last.
Even if every 3D company out there supported the import of 3DS files,
I doubt they'd all bother to implement 3DS export as well, which
means you still need InterChange if you want to get back to 3DS. Can
you name a package that exports 3DS?
Yo John,
You said:
< Don't forget, some of those companies end up licensing Syndesis technology. >
Can't forget something I never knew, John. But this is exactly why I like
talking with you man. I continue to learn. Even if I have to blunder my
way through it.
You later added…. < I'm sure we won't be the last. >
Dang right about that Yank.
Then you inquired… < Can you name a package that exports 3DS? >
To which I reply: Sure.
Autodesk 3D Studio – The leader in 3D Graphics and Animation Desktop Packages.
As for who else may be doing it now or in the future….let them find
another mouthpiece….
Kevin Gibson
Animation Nation <tm> -=Looeeeeezeanna, Looeeezeanna It sure gets…=-
There's another assumption I hold in the foundation of Syndesis.
There's always going to be a demand for 3D data conversion. Programs
come and go, companies merge, companies go out of business. Users are
crafty and come up with seemingly crazy requests…
It's sad but true that adding support for new file import/export is
not high on the list of "things to do" for omst 3D developers. It's
much more cost-effective to add new rendering features, for example.
The incremental effort to support one new format may be considerable
and probably only benefits or attracts a few users. If anything,
they'll import the format, but not export it. In my experience, the
decision often gets the thumbs-up or the thumbs-down from one person,
a CEO or product manager of some kind, who either says "we need to
support format X, only because it's so popular" or "we're not going
to support format X, because that would be acknowledging that our
competitor is successful, and we're not going to do anything to help
them."
So come on, name those programs that export .3DS files. 3D Studio and
AutoCAD R13 don't count. 🙂
Jonathan,
In your last post to me you offered up this tidbit:
< … I hold in the foundation of Syndesis.>
What a nice turn of a phrase. See why I like chatting with you.
You're so dang literate.
I'll agree with your assertion that "Users are crafty and come up with
seemingly crazy requests… " Although I don't think David Camp's request of
you was either crafty or crazy. And I think you should reconsider your
answer. What's it going to cost you? What do you stand to gain?
Yeah, I know, you get lots of requests. But not all of them, perhaps not most
of them, come from people who hang out at the same watering hole you frequent.
How 'bout some goodwill? How 'bout some P.R. sense?
You want crazy requests? I've got a crazy request for ya….. :-] <BG>
< It's sad but true that adding support for new file import/export is >
< not high on the list of "things to do" for most 3D developers. >
< It's much more cost-effective to add new rendering features, for example. >
< The incremental effort to support one new format may be considerable and >
< probably only benefits or attracts a few users. >
Sheesh, John. Is this the sales pitch you use to get software producers to
license your product. Spare me… I'm not in the market. ;^)
< If anything, they'll import …. a CEO or product manager … who says…>
< "we need to support format X,…. because …. >
Because we're going to steal their customers.
We'll offer their users our product for the cost of an upgrade.
And we'll ensure that they can use the work they've already produced by
allowing them to import their existing data into our spiffy program.
Golly, John. I ain't no CEO.. How would I know what goes on in their minds?
You challenge me to: < … name those programs that export .3DS files. >
Something tells me you already know the answer, Johnnie.
I guess when I spill it out, you'll get to say…
"They're licensing Syndesis' InterChange."
Is that what you're shooting for here, Northerner?
( I know of at least four other programs that export .3ds files…so what? )
You say: < 3D Studio and AutoCAD R13 don't count. >
Does AutoVision count, Johnnie me boy? hehe 🙂
Lissen, Mr. Foust. I'm really enjoying all of this, but feel kinda goofy
carrying on under the title "Want Ads." Why don't you join me for a cup
of coffee and some beignets over at the Korner Kafe. Post your next
message to me as a reply to Message #135809 and we can continue the fun and
games while we watch the cyberjocks make their touch and go landings on the
runways here. Whaddya say? I'll save a place for you at the table.
Kevin Gibson
Animation Nation <tm> -=Rebel with a cause.=-
Right now, I'll just jump on the business about sending out freebie
"review" copies. I've seen this from both sides: I derive a fair
amount of income from my writing, too, and that sometimes means
asking for review software. I also take the phone calls from
j-random people asking for free 3D-ROMs or InterChanges.
Of course the people doing the asking always have the greatest
justifications for the donation: they're important, they can read and
write and speak English, they can operate a computer. 🙂 They're
utterly confident that this freebie will cause a dramatic increase in
sales, make my whites whiter and my brights brighter, shine my shoes
and bring home the bacon. They never consider that their particular
publishing venue might have little to no effect on the world, or that
we might've already reached their customers before.
(Hey, I've seen Jerry Pournelle drunk at 8 am COMDEX press briefings,
complaining that he doesn't get enough free computers and software,
that he can't pile the stuff higher or deeper, and that he's running
out of camp follower friends to give the excess to. This is what
endless freebies can do: warp your brain, disengage the value of
software from its price, etc., and otherwise encourage suck-ups.)
Please at least allow me to exercise some discrimination in handing
our freebies! No, I'm not going to hand over stuff to any transient
net denizen who claims to be writing a newsletter or magazine. At
least let me wait to see if they can deliver one issue! I'm not going
to make money by handing out two copies for every one sold. (And
this discussion has nothing to do with the size of Autodesk's
advertising budget for 3DS versus the sales revenue from 3DS. 🙂
My how you do go on, John. Tsk. Tsk. Transient net denizen… hehe
I'm going over to the Kafe for a cup. Hope you'll join me.
We can talk about all manner of things… the relevance of yellow and black,
how many people I know make a living doing just animation and not model
building, "freebies" in the marketplace, drunkeness at COMDEX, <g>
and your career as a writer.
PMJI, but Envisage 3D/Soft FX from Byte by Byte does and does a nice job of it
too. It also imports and exports DXF files. I use it mainly for tweaking
models because of some of the nice modeling tools it has.
Craig.