Siggraph Highlights for Mac Users – Part 2

Rhino at Siggraph – Mac Version Getting Closer

Robert (Bob) McNeel of Robert McNeel and Associates, Inc., has told Architosh there are nearly 12,000 beta users thus far testing out the Mac version of Rhino, currently under development and testing. The late stage build is in a private beta test mode, since early this summer, and is progressing well, McNeel reports. At Siggraph RMA will be showing new Rhino 5 features, Rhino OS X with the new advanced renderer, and other things such as Flamingo 2.0, Grasshopper and Brazil.

Architosh will have a feature interview with Bob McNeel coming up as part of our Siggraph 2008 coverage. Bob has some very interesting things to say about Rhino on the Mac, stay tuned for that interview!

Houdini 9.5 forMac

Although Maxon is claiming the new Lightwave 11 is the first full native 64-bit 3D package for the Mac it may actually be Houdini 9.5 that should claim that honor. Two weeks ago we covered the announcement of Houdini 9.5 for Mac OS X, which happens to require 64-bit Intel Macs running Leopard (10.5) in order to operate. Side Effects Software is at Siggraph 2008 showing Houdini 9.5 as well as hosting a series of seminar events and a networking and recruiting event. The advent of Houdini 9.5 for the Mac is a big deal for the Mac 3D community and show goers at Siggraph should stop by their booth and take a look at the latest Houdini version.

Autodesk Maya 2009

Autodesk has announced Maya 2009 at Siggraph for both Windows and Mac OS X. The new version focuses on several levels of improvements including something called Maya Assets which effectively let users organize, share and reference complex data assets. This is valuable on complex production pipelines. There is also a new animation layering paradigm built on technology from Autodesk’s MotionBuilder software (another application Autodesk acquired several years ago). The 32-bit version of Maya runs on Windows and Mac OS X (Leopard is required) while the 64-bit version only runs on Windows and Linux.