Alias/Wavefront To Make 3D Graphics More Accessible Through ''Maya Personal Learning Edition''; New Offering to Provide Free, Non-Commercial Access to Maya Complete.

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 7, 2002

Alias/Wavefront(TM), an SGI (NYSE:SGI) company, today announced that it is developing the Maya Personal Learning Edition(TM) which will provide users of Microsoft(R) Windows(R) and Mac(R) OS X with unlimited, free access to Maya(R).

Maya Personal Learning Edition will give 3D graphics and animation students, current industry professionals, and those interested in breaking into the world of computer graphics (CG) an opportunity to explore the award-winning Maya Complete(TM) software, in a non-commercial capacity. Maya Personal Learning Edition will be available in February of 2002.

"For the first time in history, 3D computer graphics will become truly accessible to everyone," stated Alias/Wavefront President, Doug Walker. "CG professionals, students and aspiring 3D animators will be able to realize creative aspirations that might otherwise lie dormant. As the leaders in 3D graphics technology we are excited about engaging a whole new 3D community and equipping them with the tools, skills and support necessary to move ahead in the age of digital communication."

"Education is at the heart of ACM SIGGRAPH's mission and goals," states Judy Brown, president of ACM SIGGRAPH and a co-founder of the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee. "As an initiative that removes learning barriers and fosters the growth of the computer graphics community, Maya Personal Learning Edition contributes greatly to our goals."

Maya Personal Learning Edition

Maya Personal Learning Edition grants anyone with the desire to learn more about Maya, or 3D computer graphics in general, a free seat of Maya for non-commercial use -- registration renewable yearly. Those using the Personal Learning Edition will have full access to the toolsets of Maya Complete including NURBS modeling, animation, inverse kinematics, Maya Artisan(TM), Maya Paint Effects(TM), particles, dynamics and Maya's advanced rendering capabilities. The Maya Personal Learning Edition restricts users to non-commercial applications through the display of a watermark on images as well as through the use of a special non-commercial file format. Moreover, Maya Personal Learning Edition cannot be used with industry-standard plug-ins.

Alias/Wavefront has also committed to supporting the Maya Personal Learning Edition community with a web-based user center. This center will provide access to learning materials, discussion forums, content exchanges where users can share work and galleries in which Maya Personal Learning Edition users may exhibit their projects.

Pricing and Availability

Maya Personal Learning Edition will be available for free download beginning in February 2002 at www.aliaswavefront.com/freemaya. CD copies may also be ordered from this site at a cost of USD $5 plus shipping and handling.

About Alias/Wavefront

As the world's leading innovator of 3D graphics technology, Alias/Wavefront develops software for the film and video, games, web, interactive media, industrial design, and visualization markets.

Entertainment customers include Blue Sky, Cinesite, CNN, Digital Domain, Disney's The Secret Lab, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd.

Alias/Wavefront is a wholly owned, independent software company of SGI(TM) with headquarters in Toronto and technical centers in Seattle and Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias/Wavefront website at www.aliaswavefront.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. International contact numbers include: Europe, 00 800 4125 4125; the Middle East and Africa, 00 353 1 890 2244; Japan, 0120 764 088; other parts of Asia Pacific, 81 3 3470 8282 and Latin America, 770 393 1881.

The Alias/Wavefront logo is a registered trademark and Alias/Wavefront is a trademark of Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited in the United States and/or other countries. Maya is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., exclusively used by Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited, and the Maya logo, Maya Personal Learning Edition, Maya Complete, Maya Paint Effects and Maya Artisan are trademarks of Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. SGI is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation, in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the US and other countries. Lucasfilm is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. All other products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Alias/Wavefront, 210 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5A 1J7, Tel: [phone], FAX: [phone].

For screenshot and press images: http://www.aliaswavefront.com/entertainment/press

Note to Editors: There should be a pipe symbol between "Alias" and "Wavefront" -- the pipe symbol was changed to a forward slash ("/") for transmission purposes only.