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Autodesk brings Alias to Mac OS X [u]

updated 10:15 pm EST, Tue February 24, 2009

Autodesk Alias on Mac


Autodesk has finally brought its Alias design and rendering suite to Macs. Though well-known, the software was previously only available for the Windows platform, limiting its practical application in an industry where Mac software is relatively common. A senior product marketing manager at Autdoesk, Rob Hoffmann, is however known to have said the Mac is no more or less important than Windows or Linux.

The Mac port of Alias was under development for well over a year, with a focus on creative professionals, digital modelers and automotive or transportation designers. The software is also said to incorporate new rendering technologies and STL output, as well as new materials and tools, including extended control over surfaces.


by MacNN Staff

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TAGS :

 software, Graphics/Web Design, Autodesk, Alias

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  1. ccrider

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Mar 2001

    +2
    02/24, 11:06am | report spam | Reply |

    max

    Bring us MAX!

  1. SMacSteve

    Mac Enthusiast

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +1
    02/24, 11:42am | report spam | Reply |

    Auto Cad?

    When will this ever get ported?

  1. UberFu

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2002

    +2
    02/24, 11:43am | report spam | (1 reply) Reply |

    first of all MacNN...

    ...the software title from AutoDesk is called AliasStudio NOT Alias. Alias was a company that AutoDesk purchased that made a Sketch-oriented Studio Suite and also Maya and many other products.

    @ccrider - I do concur to them bringing Studio Max to the Mac as the same reasoning in the article applies.

    Secondly MacNN - your quote referencing Rob Hoffmann kind of goes against what your article speaks of. the Mac isn't anymore important than other platforms meaning that it may not be in development and that this is all hearsay and speculation at best.

  1. Guest

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 1999

    +4
    02/24, 12:05pm | report spam | Reply |

    Do your research please..

    Autodesk has no capital D. It is Autodesk.

    Alias on the Mac was announced on February 18th via press release and Webcast...

    Press Release: http://pressreleases.autodesk.com/index.php?s=pressreleases&item=531

    Webcast: http://www.thomson-webcast.net/us/dispatching/?event    id=fbb24df0cf9fd9026496edfb61350ad7&portal_id=e8d6b2435410f82d299c3ce1bae6f1f3

  1. shawnde

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2008

    +1
    02/25, 03:40am | report spam | Reply |

    re: Max & AutoCAD

    I know a lot of people would love to have these on the Mac, but I would rather not. Both of them, especially AutoCAD, are the weakest products in the category. The only reason people ask for them is for compatibility.

    Max is a really moot point, since creative professionals rarely have trouble for file exchange. With AutoCAD it's a little different, because AutoDesk owns all the municipalities in North America, and file exchange is a b****.

    Nevertheless, I'd rather see innovative products like Alias Studio, and the Discreet products that AutoDesk bought, such as Flame, Flint, Luster, etc.

  1. Roehlstation

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +1
    02/25, 09:27am | report spam | Reply |

    AutoCAD?

    AutoCAD will be dead before we see a port to the Mac, Autodesk is really pushing Revit to replace AutoCAD anyhow. And really the only reason we see AliasStudio for the Mac is because Maya already existed for the Mac, so the foundations of the code for Mac OS X was already there. I'm curious to see if they roll 3D StudioMax into AliasStudio, or if they will continue to develop separately. I've always found Autodesk's best software was stuff they bought from someone else.

  1. CorDog

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Mar 2006

    +1
    02/26, 12:32am | report spam | Reply |

    Alias & AutoCAD

    Alias was a software company that wrote software for Silicon Graphics and Macs in the early 90's than later ported to Windows. Autodesk ported DOS AutoCAD to the Mac in the early 90's before Windows was big. It was poorly rec'd in the Mac community because it did not use the Mac's UI properly it was too DOS like. I think Autodesk got a bad taste of the Mac because of it and I'm guessing they drop Alias for the Mac when they bought it.

  1. maccad

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2009

    +1
    02/26, 12:55pm | report spam | Reply |

    AutoCAD & Macs

    AutoCAD is not a weak program. It is a powerful, complex 2D and 3D CAD program. However, because of its 2D drafting roots, it will never become a BIM program. Revit is a wonderful BIM program, but it has the same defect that AutoCAD does--it doesn't run on Macs. For this reason alone I am migrating to ArchiCAD (BIM) and Vectorworks (AutoCAD-like) because they run on both platforms.

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