Autodesk Maya 2011 LayoutTools 2011 update

Steven Roselle discusses the latest update of Layout Tools 2011 for Maya 2011.  Bug fix #1 - re-docking a floating window would cause layout tools to relaunch.  Bugfix#2 - a crash when you renamed prefix.  Also, he goes over a couple of feature requests such as bookmarks and mental ray support.

http://bit.ly/doBHHo

Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs!

Maya, Max, Mudbox, and Softimage Customers on the Subscription Program are in for some treats at the end of the Month!

Autodesk 3ds Max

Autodesk Maya

Autodesk Mudbox

NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference!

The conference has started , but some of  us couldn't make it to the event.

We are glad that there is plenty of online Media to get a taste of the happenings at the GPU Technology Conference.

Links:

Tuesdays and Wednesdays Key note recording available.

NVIDIA GPU Tech Page

NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference – Day 1 Video Recap and blog

Phoenix Fluid Dynamics for 3ds Max Upgrade

Chaosgroup has just released the first official upgrade for their new Fluid Dynamics plugin Phoenix. 

You can download the upgrade here (must be logged in).




Here are some of the new features and fixes you can now enjoy in Phoenix FD 1.1:


New features:

• Ability to select which channels to be affected from the sources
  
• Conservative advection (for slow motion and big scale simulations)
  
• Support of Thinking Particles systems as sources

Modified features:

• Improved multithreading of the simulation
  
• FPS indicator of the GPU preview
  
• Ability to change the channels presence during the simulation

Bugs fixed:

• Memory leak when adaptive grid is used with smoke, UVW or fuel channel.
  
• Crash when non solid object is used in brush mode
  
• Artifacts when the light cache is combined with some GI settings. 
  
• The texture modulation does not work with explicit coordinates (uvw channel)

Bringing 3dsMax assets into the Infernal Engine (Game Engine)

From GDC Europe last month. Infernal shows off 3dsMax and Infernal Engine intergration.

Link for More information: Autodesk Area

Want to see more of  Infernal Engine?

Visit: Nvidia nZone Trenches

Deal of the Week - 500GB G-Drive Mobile only $125

The G-Tech G-Drive Mobile is a super stylish and sleek portable hard drive boasting 500GB of storage, high-speed FireWire™ 800, FireWire™ 400* and USB 2.0. Also, who wants to carry around an annoying power supply? Not me, and you don't have to with the  G-DRIVE since it is buspowered through the USB 2.0 or FireWire 800 ports. With up to 500GB of Hitachi disk drive storage space for your important documents, MP3s, digital video, and digital photo files, G-DRIVE mobile is perfect for carrying all your digital content. G-DRIVE mobile also features an all-aluminum base for ruggedness and heat dissipation without the need of a noisy fan. It is also Windows & Mac compatible.

Normally $149, the G-Drive Mobile 500GB hard drive is $125 for this week only. September 6-12th.

Take advantage of this amazing deal today!

Blackmagic Design Software Updates

Blackmagic has released a few software updates to coincide with Adobe's CS 5.0.2 release.  Available releases are for DeckLink, Multibridge, and USB 3.0 Desktop Video version 7.8.1 and Intensity version 3.8.1 for Mac and Windows.




Release highlights include:

• Full support for Premiere 5.0.2 on Mac and Windows
• Major stability improvements to the Mac plug ins
• Minor bug fixes on Windows
• Adobe have also addressed a lot bugs in this release as well as adding support for more CUDA cards for Windows such as the GTX 470

The Updates can be downloaded here - http://www.decklink.com/support/software/

Don't have Adobe CS5 yet? Get it here.

Check out our large selection of Blackmagic Design products.