I think back then MS mostly invested to have something to leverage NT as a workstation platform. I don't think satellite or offset markets were of any interest, or at least not as much as having a high prestige brand to requalify a major investment and break into an entire market segment that they knew would have grown and led to others (and time proved them right for a while, before NT 3.5.1 they were the cheap-arse consumer mass diffused thing, after NT and despite the win95 blunders they were projected to new heights).
Avid defintely went all in for a big DS scare, and the 3D side of things was kind of this thing they didn't quite know how to deal with. On Wed, Jul 31, 2013 at 11:18 AM, Emilio Hernandez <[email protected]>wrote: > Hmmm but Softimage DS came out when it was already Microsoft as I > remember. Eddie was the comp from Softimage and Toonz for 2D cell > animation at the moment Microsoft acquired it. Unless of course DS was in > development which I don't know, at the moment Microsoft bought it. > > As many of you I never felt in home with AD as I felt in those good old > days. Even with Avid that was trying to do: I don't know what... > > I stopped paying my suscription since 2013. I was waiting to see the new > incredible team that it was said to bring new blood to Softimage. But all > I can see is AD adding more corpse parts to the Frankenstein that is Maya. > > And new Softimage wizkids that as far as I read here, don't know how to > properly increment a version number with no backward compatibility. > Needing to compile all the plugins again in order to work with 2014sp2. > > Something I have never seen before in Softimage. > > Better tools have been developed by the SI Community by far. > > Just wondering... If the people of Greenbay owns its football team... > > $10 million is not that much to get Softimage out of the dungeon... > > > > > > 2013/7/30 Matt Lind <[email protected]> > >> Let’s review the past:**** >> >> ** ** >> >> In 1994, Microsoft acquired Softimage Co. for an amount which I used to >> know but currently escapes me. I would say north of $300 million USD. >> Microsoft bought the company for Softimage Digital Studio to promote their >> webTV intiative.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> In 1998, Avid paid roughly $200 million to acquire Softimage from >> Microsoft – mostly as a defensive move fearing being killed by DS and >> backlash from their own customers.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> In 2008, Autodesk paid roughly $37 million to acquire Softimage from >> Avid, but that only included the 3D half of the company. The DS stuff >> remained with Avid.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> Today with reduced market share, downsized development, a core built on >> near obsolete technology of COM/OLE and dependencies on other technology >> with strings attached, and no game breaking features released since the >> last acquisition (but many enhancements to ICE), I would guess you could >> buy Softimage for under $10 million. But I’m sure Autodesk would ask for a >> lot more.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> At this point you’d be paying for a name…..one which many people >> mispronounce.**** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> Matt**** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> *From:* [email protected] [mailto: >> [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Emilio Hernandez >> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 30, 2013 5:35 PM >> *To:* [email protected] >> *Subject:* Re: Why did I pay support?? Why did I buy a suite ? I want my >> money back!**** >> >> ** ** >> >> How much money will it be needed to buy Softimage from AD?**** >> >> ** ** >> >> 2013/7/30 Greg Punchatz <[email protected]>**** >> >> I was just reading between the lines... >> >> I've read your mails and posts for years, lets just say you have a knack >> for foreshadowing future happenings by putting things a certain way... >> >> Like the time you wrote the post on the Softimage forum, "so what if you >> guys finally had to bite the bullet and switch to Maya what would you miss >> the most?" >> >> Only time will tell if I read your tea leaves correctly . >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Jul 30, 2013, at 6:48 PM, Luc-Eric Rousseau <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> > On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 6:23 PM, Greg Punchatz <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> I am also hugely disappointed in Mudbox... The only thing I ended up >> using >> >> in the whole suite is SOFTIMAGE.. Zbrush and Mari got my personal >> dollars >> >> because they delivered while AD promised. Now Luc Eric is all but >> saying >> >> Mudbox is going into Maya on Softimage forums.... >> > >> > I never wrote or implied anything of the sort about mudbox. I replied >> > to a statement made that an app like zbrush or mudbox couldn't be >> > built in another app instead of standalone, if it is a platform that's >> > designed well enough and provides good SDK services. there is no need >> > to mindlessly re-create UI, manipulators, opengl viewports, from >> > scratch all the time when all the base is similar. we've all wasted >> > time in apps that have weird navigation or stuff we've used to with >> > manipulators. it's pointless, and Softimage itself has always been >> > about using the same tools and UI in all modules.. >> >**** >> >> >> >> >> -- >> **** >> > > > > -- > > -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!
