Friday 20 July 2012


What You See Is What You Get: The New Version of MAGIX Photo app Camera MX for Android smartphones
UK, July 19th 2012, MAGIX AG, One of the leading international providers of software, online services, and digital content, has released its latest version of their popular photo app – Camera MX.

If you take a look at Facebook these days it is difficult to find photos that haven't been optimized with some kind of effect. Photo effects have become the standard and the photo app Camera MX allows users with Android smartphones to keep up with the times. This free app has over 50 realtime effects, looks and frames that can turn any photo into a real work of art. Users can apply specific effects or use the "magic cube" to add effects randomly. The thing that makes this app really special is the realtime application of effects which means they can be set up before the photo is taken and instantly applied when the pic is snapped.

New features include HDR, tilt shift, little planet and colour splash.

Camera MX is available now in the Google Play Store and is compatible with all Android versions starting with 2.2 "Froyo". Every registered user also receives a MAGIX Online Album with 500 MB webspace absolutely free.

Apply and combine effects before the shot with Camera MX

Various effects, frames and image textures can be combined and saved as presets and the effect level can be adjusted when they are applied to photos. Images can be displayed according to location by using the integrated GPS map or arranged as a slideshow with background music. And because Camera MX optimizes and applies effects in realtime, they can be shared instantly on Facebook, Twitter or FickR with a single click. But why stop at photos? Camera MX is also great for editing videos and adding them to the free MAGIX Online Album!


Reallusion Unleashes Ultimate Indie Toolbox at SIGGRAPH 2012

Real-Time Character Animation, Motion-Capture and 3-D Assets for Independent Game Developers, Filmmakers and CG Pros with the iClone Animation Pipeline, August 7-9, Booth #1109

Los Angeles, CA, July 19th, 2012—Reallusion, developers of award-winning digital storytelling, facial animation and 3D real-time filmmaking software, today announced the public debut of The iClone Animation Pipeline, a creative suite that answers the prayers of independent game developers, filmmakers and CG Pros everywhere by giving them a complete real-time production and development solution. The iClone Animation Pipeline can be experienced first-hand at SIGGRAPH 2012, August 7-9, booth #1109

The iClone Animation Pipeline brings the power of Reallusion’s what-you-see-is-what-you-get iCone5 production environment to game developers and video producers. iClone5 features a real-time viewport with pixel-shader preview during creation of character animation and motion capture.  Buy or sell royalty-free game-ready content in the new Reallusion 3DXPortal marketplace to access professional 3D characters, props, motions and more assets for video games, television and film.  

The iClone Animation Pipeline is a trio of character creation, facial and body-motion animation production and motion capture with exportable results for use with game engines like Unity3D or UDK and easily opens in Autodesk Max or Maya, Cinema4D or other 3-D production environment that supports FBX.

"Reallusion provides independent studios with a total character creation and animation solution with motion capture enabled by Microsoft Kinect for Windows," said John Martin II, VP of Product Marketing, Reallusion. "Reallusion iClone5 records and simultaneously previews motion-capture on your selected actor.  Captured motion is able to be cleaned with the assistance of HumanIK and iClone’s motion-layer editing."

WHY IT MATTERS?:

"Reallusion's iClone5 is an impressive character creation, animation and motion capture toolbox for Unity developers. Unity welcomes Reallusion as a showcase partner for GDC 2012, " said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies

Character animation with iClone5 is a new approach to animation and offers short-cuts to creating walk-cycles or basic human gestures using the Motion Puppet tools and library of various emotional and action based character puppeteering modes. 

Custom 3D content comes to life with iClone’s animation tools through the import capability of 3DXchange 5. Characters in FBX format may import and rig to iClone’s HumanIK rig with ease. Once rigged with 3DXchange your custom content may work in iClone and be able to animate with iClone’s motion capture, puppeteering and motion library of animation.

The iClone Animation Pipeline is also a gateway to Reallusion’s massive library of 3D game-ready content. Characters with WASD-ready animation and more; along with props and scenes are able to be purchased and exported though the iClone Animation Pipeline.

Reallusion is connecting the various 3-D communities with a content exchange solution. 3DXchange imports content in 3DS, OBJ, SKP, BVH and now FBX.  The industry-standard 3D assets exchange format, FBX allows iClone to be a serious production option for animators, game developers and video producers. 

HEAVY-DUTY PARTNERSHIP:

Reallusion has partnered with Microsoft Kinect for Windows to enable real-time motion capture animation for PCs. Reallusion iClone5 and Kinect for Windows is a complete and affordable motion-capture solution for casual video creation, virtual actors or pro animation.  Motion capture for 3D character animation has long been a costly and highly technical endeavor requiring multiple cameras, large spaces and other specialized equipment.  iClone5 and Kinect for Windows is changing the world of animation by making it easy, fun and very fast.

“Reallusion’s real-time motion-capture is a great example of the imaginative innovation achievable with Kinect for Windows,” notes JP Wollersheim, Kinect for Windows Group Product Manager at Microsoft. “The Kinect-enabled iClone5 makes character animation simple, fast and fun.”

"iClone (& 3DXchange5) is a potentially monumental tool for the indie community. I've been asking for this since its release and finally a company has created it. Motion capture using the Kinect. When Reallusion gave a presentation at GDC 2012 I was blown away..." added Jordan Thompson, Indie Games Studio.

BOTTOM LINE:

FBX Animation & Content PipelineThe iClone Animation Pipeline provides the key to importing your custom 3D models in FBX format and then animating your characters in real-time with fast motion capture using Kinect for Windows and speedy clean-up with iClone’s motion editing. Quickly generate characters and motion for games and be able to export 3D content back to your game-engine or cg software environment in FBX or OBJ format.
  
3DXPortal Professional 3D content marketplaceCharacters, motions and props fill a marketplace of royalty-free content ready for use in game development, filmmaking or interactive entertainment.  Reallusion 3DXPortal features pro 3D content and assets from Reallusion and 3D industry partners like Mixamo. The 3DXportal is the largest library of real-time assets featuring human and non-human characters in assorted styles, theme-based motions for action, adventure, fantasy and sports, and props for scene and set design.  Make money with your custom 3D assets as a Reallusion 3DXPortal vendor.

The 1st Mocap-to-Animation Total Solution:
iClone is first in-house Kinect mocap studio that allows you to directly bring in motion data to control virtual actors without the burden of complex motion pipelines or tedious conversion issues. Get everything you need in this tightly packaged mocap studio solution!

Real-time Character Control & Interaction:
With iClone5's Kinect motion capturing system, now you can control live characters with accessories, particle effects and physics interactions. No more hassles from traditional motion data capturing now you can capture any motion with real-time physics properties like playing a Xbox game.

New 5.1 Mocap Features Using Kinect for Windows:
iClone 5.1 mocap plug-in includes enhanced APIs, providing better calibration, more articulate motion data and stability. It allows you to do head and wrist movement, mirror capture, half-body capture, and remote body commands. One of the most exciting feature should be the floor detection and alignment which makes some movements like kick, jump or turn around more believable.

Smart Human IK Layering and Post-Editing:
The best part of iClone5 motion capture is that you may also adjust and refine your motions once you have finished capturing them. The enhanced HIK (human inverse kinematics) Motion Editor can help you adjust captured motions naturally by layering existing motions on top of each other.

Cost-Effective Production:
iClone users include students, first-time animator and media professionals like the recent $100k funded Kickstarter project and motion picture, “The UnderWater Realm,” a project utilizing iClone5 and Kinect for Windows as a previsualization tool. The crew saved time and money by being able to get a good idea of how a scene will best be setup and shot from their work with iClone and Kinect. 

The Most Affordable Mocap Studio:
iClone5 offers the most affordable and intuitive motion capturing solution in the industry. You no longer need expensive or annoying marker suits. Just launch iClone5 and any depth camera and turn your PC into a professional filmmaking studio.

"Venturing out into a field of industry heavy-weights... is a challenging affair. That's why seeking out leading-edge tools is the key to achieving success. A critical component to our launch, is Reallusion's recent introduction of iClone 5 and 3DXchange 5. These powerful tools provide fast, high-quality character creation and facial animations; all done with un-paralleled ease. Not only does this bring intuitive tools to the masses, but also at an amazingly affordable price. The team behind this suite of tools, provide excellent support as well!" said Mike Bastien, Executive Producer, Virtual Ascension. 

SEE FOR YOURSELF:

In addition to being showcased at SIGGRAPH 2012, Game Developers, Animators and CG Pros can also check out the iClone Animation Pipeline online: http://www.reallusion.com/iclone/pipeline/Default.aspx

The iClone Animation Package is available in the following packages:
Bundle 1: iClone 3DXchange5 Pipeline Version cost £399.99 inc
Bundle 2:  iClone5 Pro,iClone3DX5 Pipeline, Mocap Plugin, DA20,000 (for content export) cost £599.99 inc
Bundle 3: iClone5 Pro,  iClone3DX5 Pipeline, Mocap Plugin, DA50,000 (for content export) cost £799.99 inc

Thursday 19 July 2012

Auslogics Software Achieves a Microsoft Gold Independent Software Vendor Competency

Auslogics demonstrates best-in-class capability and market leadership through demonstrated technology success and customer commitment.

Sydney, Australia — July 19th, 2012 — Auslogics Software Pty. Ltd., a leading publisher of computer maintenance and optimization software, today announced it has attained a Gold Independent Software Vendor competency, demonstrating a “best-in-class” ability and commitment to meet Microsoft Corp. customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment and distinguishing itself within the top 1 percent of Microsoft’s partner ecosystem.

To earn a Microsoft gold competency, partners must successfully complete exams (resulting in Microsoft Certified Professionals) to prove their level of technology expertise, and then designate these certified professionals uniquely to one Microsoft competency, ensuring a certain level of staffing capacity. They also must submit customer references that demonstrate successful projects (along with implementing a yearly customer satisfaction study), meet a revenue commitment (for most gold competencies), and pass technology and/or sales assessments.

Millions of PC users worldwide trust Auslogics products and use them to optimize, speed up and maintain their systems. Auslogics’ achieving the Gold ISV status in the Microsoft Partner program will give the company’s existing and new customers the added assurance that they are dealing with a reliable and competent software publisher.

“This Microsoft Gold ISV competency showcases our expertise in and commitment to today’s technology market and demonstrates our deep knowledge of Microsoft and its products,” notes Anna Lind, Auslogics PR Representative. “We plan to continue to serve our customers by constantly improving our existing products, as well as developing new software to meet PC users’ changing needs.”

“By achieving a gold competency, partners have demonstrated the highest, most consistent capability and commitment to the latest Microsoft technology,” said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp. “These partners have a deep expertise that puts them in the top 1 percent of our partner ecosystem, and their proficiency will help customers drive innovative solutions on the latest Microsoft technology.”

Attaining the Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV)/Software competency demonstrates partner expertise in developing applications based on Microsoft solutions. Equipped with exclusive training, the latest software, and support on Microsoft SQL Server, Windows Server, Windows 7 and Microsoft cloud services, these partners are equipped to develop innovative solutions to meet their customers’ needs.

The Microsoft Partner Network helps partners strengthen their capabilities to showcase leadership in the marketplace on the latest technology, to better serve customers and, with 640,000 Microsoft partners in their ecosystem, to easily connect with one of the most active, diverse networks in the world.

Thursday 12 July 2012


NEW MAGIX Photostory on DVD MX*

First - Class Multimedia Slideshows For TV, PC, Web, Blu-ray and Mobile Devices

UK, July 11th, 2012, MAGIX AG, One of the leading international providers of software, online services, and digital content, has announced the release of Photostory on DVD MX* and PhotoStory on DVD MX* Deluxe.


With MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX (Version 11) you can effortlessly transform your photos and video clips into fascinating slideshows with text, music and spectacular effects. Create interactive DVDs and experience your greatest memories over and over again on TV or PC. In addition, you can export your shows to USB sticks, SD cards, and share online.

Photostory on DVD MX Main Features:

  • Slideshows for your TV, PC & the Web
  • Complete with your pictures, videos, music, text & effects
  • Automatically create & customize
  • A variety of templates for interactive disc menus
  • Export as video to USB sticks, SD cards, private networks and share online

MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX Deluxe (Version 11) is the multi-award winning solution for creating multimedia slideshows! With over 50 additional deluxe extras! photos, or business presentations you can easily transform your photos and video clips into fascinating slideshows featuring text, music, and spectacular effects.  Create interactive DVDs and experience your greatest memories over and over again on TV. Or export your slideshows for other media (e.g. USB stick, SD card, PC, projector, Internet, digital picture frames, mobile players).

Photostory on DVD MX Deluxe Main Features:

  • Slideshows for TV, PC, Web, Blu-ray, projectors & mobile devices
  • HD Quality
  • 3D movie theatre look
  • Travel route animation
  • Advanced design options, templates & effect library
  • Customized zooms & panning shots
  • Dynamic effect changes
  • Special features for video clips
  • Embed media directly from the Internet
  • Powerful audio dubbing (e.g. images that change to the beat of the music)
  • Disc authoring with advanced menu design
  • Additional extra tools
*MX allows for the fast exchange of media with other MAGIX programs, online services, and mobile devices. Post your slideshows online to share them with friends and family or transfer your project media to other MAGIX programs to edit in more detail.
You can find all of the great MX features in the program menu under "Share" or by right-clicking the mouse over the media you've just created and in other slideshow functions. Each program can also be set up with customized connections by adjusting the settings in the file menu.



Price & Availability:

MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX and MAGIX PhotoStory on DVD MX Deluxe are available now for SRP £39.99 inc VAT and £69.99 in VAT respectively from Amazon and PC World. For more information, please see: http://www.magix.com/gb/photostory-on-cd-dvd/

Auslogics Releases Antivirus vers.15


London, UK –July 12th  2012, Auslogics Software has released a new version of its award-winning Antivirus product that has been updated to add more levels of protection and a means to make the program even less noticeable on your computer.

Auslogics Antivirus vers. 15 keeps all of the valuable features from the previous version, such as 'Active Virus Control' to catch both known and newly released viruses, 'Privacy Protection' to allow for safe online banking and shopping, 'Game and Laptop Modes' to save system resources ‘Vulnerability Scan’ to detect security holes and others.

At the same time, the newly released version packs an even greater punch in the fight against malware and makes it easy for all users to keep their PC’s protected. No matter if you are into games, music or movies, or if you use your computer for work or study, Auslogics Antivirus can be configured to fit your usage style.

Some of the most prominent new features in Auslogics Antivirus version 15 are:

·         Auto Pilot mode, which lets you forget that you have an active antivirus program on your computer. The software will configure the settings for optimal protection and work silently in the background without interrupting you with popup notifications or requests for input.

·         Rescue Mode, which makes cleaning up severe malware infections easier by working in the non-Windows environment. When the operating system is rendered unbootable due to a virus infection, you do not have to give up on your computer or take it in for expensive repairs anymore. As long as Auslogics Antivirus had been installed on your PC prior to this happening, you can boot your computer into Rescue Mode to clean up the infection and restore your operating system.

·         Browser Sandbox Mode, which creates an extra layer of protection by isolating the internet browser from your OS to prevent online threats from invading your system. An indispensable tool that is easily accessed at a click of a button and that can give you peace of mind when browsing unfamiliar areas of the World Wide Web.

Most of the old functions have been improved and/or upgraded to make the program more convenient and easy to navigate:

·         Scanning algorithms have been improved to make for faster processing of files and other items, and therefore shorter scan times.

·         Privacy control functionality has been updated to make your personal data even more secure and protected from hacker attacks.

·         Application behaviour analysis algorithms have also been improved to make the program even more capable of identifying and blocking threats that have not been classified yet.
These and other new features, along with the updated user interface and the fact that this software has placed among the top 10 AV’s in Virus Bulletin tests, make Auslogics Antivirus one of the best security solutions available on the market today.

Antivirus vers.15 is available now at £19.99 from: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/antivirus/download/

For more information, please see: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/antivirus/

Wednesday 11 July 2012


STM BAGS RELEASES FLIGHT SHOULDER BAG

Protect Your Laptop, Tablet and Other Necessities for Travelling at Subsonic Speed!


London, UK,11th July 2012, Leading Australian bag manufacturer, STM Bags has announced the release of the flight shoulder bag.

“Our aim with these new and updated styles was to introduce an element of retro styling whilst making sure the digital devices our customers are carrying are well protected and organised.” Explained co-founder Adina Jacobs. “Computing power and screen sizes are getting sleeker and we wanted to make sure our bags compliment that trend.”

Taking its design cues from a pilot’s bag of old, the flight suspends your laptop in the high density padded compartment. The back slip pocket provides room for your paperwork or reading materials, and the main compartment also provides extra space for books.

The front zippered pocket organises your accessories and the soft brushed nylex lined iPad/tablet pocket provides protection for your tablet throughout the day. The removable, adjustable and padded shoulder strap ensures for a comfortable carry no matter how full the flight is.

The flight is available in olive and black and small and medium sizes to fit most 13” and 15” laptops.

Learn more by visiting http://www.stmbags.com

Features

  • Front organisational pocket for accessories
  • Padded, removable shoulder strap
  • Back slip pocket for paperwork or reading materials
  • Suspended laptop compartment surround in high density padding
  • Main compartment for books, paperwork etc
  • Soft brushed nylex lined iPad/tablet pocket

Price & Availability:

The STM flight is available now at the following prices:

Small         SRP £49.95 inc
Medium    SRP £59.95 inc

For stockist information please go to: www.stmbags.com.au