Alias SketchBook Pro Now Available for Tablet PC.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 2003

New Tool Turns Tablet PCs into Digital Sketchbooks for

Business and Graphics Professionals -

Free, Limited Version Receives More Than 13,000 Downloads

Alias/Wavefront(TM), an SGI (NYSE:SGI) company, today announced the availability of Alias SketchBook Pro(TM), an intuitive, pen-based software application that transforms the Tablet PC into a digital sketchbook. Leveraging Alias/Wavefront's industry-leading paint technology, the software empowers business users and artists alike to annotate images and documents, sketch ideas and present them anywhere, at anytime, using the power of the Tablet PC. The application is especially useful for professionals who must develop and present a majority of their work in meetings away from their PC, such as insurance inspectors, educational instructors, law enforcement and government officials, engineers and architects, among others.

Alias SketchBook Pro is a defining application for visual collaboration, a new class of software that combines and connects the essential features of paint, image processing, image viewing, image organization, annotation and presentation. Since the launch of the Tablet PC on November 7, 2002, there have been more than 13,000 downloads of the free limited-feature version of Alias SketchBook Pro.

Must-have for any Tablet PC User

Alias SketchBook Pro brings technology that is used by thousands of automotive stylists, industrial designers and creators of films, videos and games to the corporate world. The software is designed for casual users as well as experts. Alias SketchBook Pro features fast, high-quality pens and pencils, markers and airbrushes that make sketching feel as natural as real pens and paper. Using a gesture-based user interface it allows users to switch brushes electronically, quickly undo and redo, manipulate image layers and integrate digital sketches into the Windows(R) XP world. Alias SketchBook Pro extends the power and versatility of the Tablet PC to become a perfect complement to the note-taking features of Microsoft Journal(TM).

"While Alias/Wavefront traditionally has been associated with the graphic and industrial design markets, the launch of Alias SketchBook Pro provides us with the perfect opportunity to bring our award-winning technology to a new set of users," said Tom Wujec, Product Manager, Alias/Wavefront. "As Tablet PCs continue to grow in popularity, we believe the innovations in Alias SketchBook Pro have the potential to change the way people collaborate. Alias SketchBook Pro empowers users to think visually and enables them to sketch and present ideas anywhere they take their Tablet PC, from the office hallway to the coffee shop and the boardroom. And equally important, Alias SketchBook Pro is flexible enough to create simple whiteboard sketches as well as high-quality production art."

Easy-to-Use Functionality

Some of the key features in Alias SketchBook Pro include:

-- Patented, pen-driven UI: Tried and tested interface, designed specifically for the pen-based Tablet PC significantly improves the feel and performance of working with a pen. Marking Menus(TM) software allows remarkably fast access to key tools, such as colors, brushes, zoom and pan.

-- Production quality drawing tools: Realistic, high quality and responsive pencils, pens, markers, brushes and airbrushes come in millions of colors. Create and save custom brushes, erasers, airbrushes or smear brushes, varying their size, transparency, roundness, slant and stamp spacing.

-- Layers: Control editing by writing over images without damaging them, to compare or explore variations, or to build up complex drawings. Layers are preserved in the industry standard TIF file format.

-- Screen Capture: One button screen capture allows users to quickly take a snapshot of any application screen, from business documents and e-mails, to web pages and high-resolution technical drawings and open them in Alias SketchBook Pro for instant annotation.

-- E-mail integration: After marking up an image, screen capture, or document, annotations can be e-mailed back and forth with colleagues directly from Alias SketchBook Pro.

-- Sketch management and presentation: Create collections of sketches that can be viewed, organized and distributed easily. Deliver impromptu and formal presentations of sketches and images and record any feedback instantly on annotation layers.

Pricing and Availability

Alias SketchBook Pro is designed for pressure-sensitive Tablet PC devices running the Microsoft(R) Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. The software also runs on computers equipped with Wacom pressure-sensitive pen tablets. Alias SketchBook Pro is available today at the introductory price of $129 US(a) for the downloadable version at www.aliaswavefront.com/sketchbookpro. A CDROM version of the software can be purchased online at www.aliaswavefront.com/sketchbookpro or $149 US(a) starting January 30, 2003.

(a) International pricing may vary.

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. In 2003, the company was awarded an Oscar(R) for Technical Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its development of Maya(R) software, its professional 3D animation and effects package. Entertainment customers include: Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., CNN, Core Design Limited, Digital Domain, Disney, Electronic Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Factor 5 LLC, Midway Games, Nintendo, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Square Co., Ltd., Warner Feature Animation and Weta Ltd. The company's design customers include: AT&T, BMW, Boeing, Fiat, Ford, Honda, General Motors, Italdesign, Kodak, Mattel, Renault and Timex.

Alias/Wavefront is a wholly owned, independent software company of SGI(R) with headquarters in Toronto and custom development center in Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias/Wavefront web site at http://www.aliaswavefront.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. International contact numbers include: Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa, [phone]; Germany, East & Southeast Europe, 0049 89 31 70 20; France, Spain and Portugal, [phone]; 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 the Alias SketchBook Pro logo, the S Book logo, Alias/Wavefront, Alias SketchBook Pro and Marking Menus are trademarks of Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. Maya is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., exclusively used by Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. SGI is a registered trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Microsoft Journal and Windows XP are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Oscar is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited 210 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5A 1J7, Tel: [phone], FAX: [phone].

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.