This really makes me sad for some reason...

[Sawyer]

http://i.nl02.net/netline000s/?msg=msg.NAcust.txt&_m=1n%2e00d4%2e1%2eqv08g00coa%2e1

 

DISCREET BECOMES AUTODESK MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

 

We are pleased to announce that as part of our continued effort to provide you with industry-leading creative solutions, and to better serve the rapidly changing markets in which you do business, Discreet has more closely aligned with our parent company of six years, Autodesk, Inc. As of March 24, 2005, we will officially go to market as a division of our parent company, and under a new name, Autodesk Media and Entertainment.

 

Going to market as a significant part of a $1.2 billion diversified software company, with Media and Entertainment as a key vertical, enables your existing Discreet sales, support and product development teams, which remain unchanged, to take full advantage of incremental global resources in R&D, training, marketing, and support. Our goal is to provide you with continuous product innovation, incremental end-user training, and new support solutions.

 

Ultimately, this will help ensure that our creative toolset empowers artists to continue to solve the most complex of production challenges facing the industry and that your business can be as profitable as possible.

 

As part of this change, the Discreet name, with its rich heritage of providing artists with the best solutions to realize their creative visions, will become a part of a family of individual systems product names. Systems products such as flame®, inferno® and lustre®, smoke®, and fire® will now be identified as Discreet Flame, Discreet Inferno, Discreet Lustre, Discreet Smoke and Discreet Fire. Our leading software products such as 3ds Max® and Combustion® will be identified as Autodesk products.

 

At NAB 2005 we will showcase some exciting new additions to our existing products and solutions resulting from this change, and we look forward to sharing them with you in person. Your local sales representative is available to provide you with further details and to answer questions.

 

We look forward to a continued partnership in pioneering digital content creativity and helping you realize your ideas.

 

Best regards,

 

Martin Vann

 

VP, Worldwide Sales,

Marketing and Support

 

 

Marc Petit

 

VP, Product Development

[Hazdaz]

Meh.

 

Ofcourse the rumor with this name change of the company is that 3DS MAX is also going to have a name change also - to supposedly correspond with the fabled re-write.

 

We'll see about that.

 

But losing Discreet is no big loss... its just a name and actually going full circle BACK to being called AutoDesk. (AutoDesk>Kinetix>Discreet>AutoDesk)

[mak_designs]

makes me sad too, for some strange odd reason, but no matter, still great quality stuff.

[3dp]

whats in a name anyway

[Jim Mann]

whats in a name anyway

 

Ask Ford why they hang on to Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover etc or instead ask Sony why Columbia Pictures aren't now Sony pictures. Similarly we have Paul Smith Jeans but we also have Paul Smith! Seiko/Epson? Consignia anyone???

 

I guess its all a bit superficial but if we are paying out for truckloads of money for software packages why shouldn't we be able to tell our clients that we use the products of an Academy award winning software company rather than something from the same company that sells that overpriced piece of CAD software they have in their office.

 

Besides, Autodesk bought Lightscape merely to kill it and that didn't help me in my work. So, if we believe all the PR about Max being an industry standard for games and the movie industry, why are they ejecting it from that part of the business and pulling it over to the CAD side???

 

Oh yeah and something about white Fiat Uno's, grassy knolls and crashed weather balloons in New Mexico...

 

JM

[luckytohaveher]

I heard back in the day, around 1992 or so, that the Kinetix division was set up so that there would not be any appearance of a monopoly. I remember hearing that the Canadian government had put Autodesk on notice that they shouldn't be too big, or at least appear too big. This later became Discreet through merger and acquisition. This of course is 'rumor milling' and all, but that was the story I heard back then.

 

I think with the U.S. vs. Microsoft Settlement, the E.U. backing down (relatively), the shrinking new sales, the maturity of the general software market, the buyout of REVIT (buy what you can't crush), and with the REAL LACK OF ANYTHING NEW LATELY, the writing is on the wall for both software manufactures and users.

 

We are past the growth and innovation phase of the viz (killed too?) market. It is much like the 1930s for the U.S. market of Automobiles. The top three software makers will probably still be running the show 80 years from now. That is just the business cycle.

 

If you haven't seen the latest ADT with its integrated render, check it out. I think it is more of a business model issue. The arch VIZ market will be integrated in the CAD software at some point. When it is the whole MAX arena will be left to games, movies, and other artistic endeavors.

[William Alexander]

When it is the whole MAX arena will be left to games, movies, and other artistic endeavors.

 

 

Just some imho thinking at this moment...

 

The real issue is it is no longer the 'Max Arena', and never will be again. Consumer level and user oriented software/pricing will change the face of how and where Max goes. Innovation will be in the areas of connectivity, low footprint and usability. It's a gamble and a large undertaking to take a behemonth like Max and re-write/organize to make it work better. Dramatic changes in the interface will piss off long time users and that's what has kept Max going in the face of change.

 

Games is a solid footing, at this moment. Movies, there is killer competition-Maya, XSI and the slightly lighter but powerful C4D. With a great deal of using the best functions of multiple apps to comp it all together-that may very well become a unix/OSX based world for interpolarity between apps. The next generation of artisits are looking for ease of use and cost (C4D Modo). Max is neither, comapred to those two, from an artisits standpoint. Max is what it was designed to be an all in one tool with full capabilities, the Caddilac (with the price tag). XSI could be the jaugaur of apps, easy portable scripting, built in nodal compositing, the proper implementation of MR (even more fun to understand than Max's, but parrallel to MR's code/application)

 

It's saddening yes. Intelligent move, only if the changes are in development sctructure and focus. But it looks like they are preparing for change and the possibility that Max may just become more of an Architectural (viz) and 'Industrial strength' VFX Production app for those who can afford or a retial consumer product only. The shift to the AutoDesk Resellers.

 

My thoughts

WDA

[Sawyer]

I think these are good points. Really I was just thinking of the name AUTODESK MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT makes me feel like I am a cog in the wheel working for the man. A name is just what you make of it but this isn't a name but a division apparently I sit behind the 3241 door on the right, I share a table with the guy in the other room.

[William Alexander]

It sounds like Max and combustion are now just AutoDesk Programs, add a couple zeros to the room number, LOL.

 

If you were working with the AutoDesk MultiMedia and Entertianment programs; flame®, inferno® and lustre®, smoke®, and fire® you'd be a "cash cow" a vegas high roller with all the perks hehehehe penthouse suite time LOL But I think that really illustrates how the CG/Vfx market/s are becoming segragated.

 

What once was unique and highly skilled is now becoming common place commodity market stuff, thats what makes me sad. This shift seems to embody those feelings to me.

 

But that's the way of the world, to paraphrase Garth - "no time to sit by the side of the river". Even Ernest is moving on LOL and he has the 'real' skills.

 

Learn or perish ;(

 

rgrds

Rm# 1,987,683

[Fran]

Painter used to be a product of Fractal Design. Then it was Metacreations. Then it was Corel. Then it was Procreate. Now, if I haven't lost count, it's Corel again.

 

Not sure what my point is. Time for more coffee, I guess.

[Chad Warner]

Fran-

 

Your point could be that Painter is still a pretty good program even though it did go through all of those companies. So maybe there's nothing to worry about Max doing the same thing...especially becuase Discreet is a part of Autodesk already.

 

I do however agree with Sawyer on this one. I never did like the Name "AutoDesk VIZ 2005." I liked simple "3D Studio Viz."

[luckytohaveher]

the name AUTODESK MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT makes me feel like I am a cog in the wheel working for the man.

 

Upon reflection, you couldn't be more right! For a company that supposably makes 'creative' software the names is incredibly unimaginative and convoluted. Anytime you need an ‘AND’ to connect two totally desperate concepts in a name you’ve done something wrong… It could be a company that makes blank CDs/DVDs/Videotapes and Feature Length Movies.