[Gort]

Hey everyone - I spotted this article going through the morning routine. Looks like it might be fo' real:
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/news/story.asp?newsFeature=31628

-tc

[tyron]

"A new way to learn Maya that's fun, fast and free!*

*Download at no charge. CDs available at nominal charge."

what's the cd's for? the 'complete' version?

[Dekard]

http://www.aliaswavefront.com/freemaya/

Those using the Personal Learning Edition will have unrestricted access to the full feature set of Maya Complete including NURBS modeling, animation, inverse kinematics, Maya Artisan, Maya Paint Effects, 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. Maya Personal Learning Edition cannot be used with industry-standard plug-ins.

[ceenda]

There'll probably be a file converter as soon as someone works out how the file goes together.

[Gort]

So you may have watermarked output, but it's a good move by Alias. Those wishing to learn the software can at least do so without having to spend a big ole bag of money. It's a real "try before you buy". Learning to exercise some proficiency with this "learning" edition can make spending the big money easier on the commercial version. Now if only more of the other software companies would follow along.

[Sukhoi]

well, you can get a fully functional version of XSI 1.5 form their website for free.
It is also "watermarked".

Sukhoi