Greetings Fellow Vendors and Software Developers!

Is stereo 3D graphics support on MacOS X something you would like to see soon?

If so, then please take just 30 seconds to respond to the following petition. We've received more than 300 compelling responses over the past 18 hours about the importance of supporting stereo 3D graphics today -- but we will need more to convince Apple, so please consider participating.

It is as easy as clicking this following link, adding a few words with your personal perspective on the issue, and then hitting send!

mailto:warren@delsci.com&subject=Stereo%203D%20Matters%20to%20Me%21

Cheers, Warren -----Original Message----- From: pymol-users-admin@lists.sourceforge.net [mailto:pymol-users-admin@lists.sourceforge.net] On Behalf Of Warren DeLano Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 5:59 PM To: pymol-users@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [PyMOL] Stereo-3D in a Window: Not in MacOS X Tiger?!!

Fellow Visualization Software Users:

My #1 gripe with MacOS X Panther has been the lack of support for industry-standard stereo-3D graphics (in a window). So far, I and others have been unable to convince Apple that this feature matters enough to their bottom line to merit implementation. Candid discussions this week at MacWorld confirmed that Tiger (OS X 10.4) will likewise ship without this essential capability at a time when the opportunity for Apple is at its peak in this market. I believe this would be a serious error, and that Apple must now hear from us on this issue.

If you agree, then please reply directly to me, RIGHT NOW (mailto:warren@delsci.com) with the words: "Stereo 3D matters to me." Your response will be printed, and I will hand-deliver them to Apple management in nearby Cupertino at the end of the month. We need AS MANY responses as we can get (ideally 1,000+), so please forward this email to all of your visualization-oriented colleagues (in any sector), and ask them to submit individual emails to me as well. Here's why:

Stereoscopic 3D visualization increasingly matters in science, medicine, and engineering. Though arguably the ultimate technical computing platform, the Mac remains hopelessly crippled in this key respect when compared to Sun, HP, Dell, or IBM workstations running Linux, Solaris, or even Windows. Dual-Xeon and dual-Opteron systems now ship stereo-3D-ready thanks to powerful nVidia/Quadro and ATI/FireGL graphics cards. Thus, the competition WILL OWN THIS MARKET if Apple doesn't support stereo-3D in a window on MacOS X, ASAP. The disruptive market opportunity created by the implosion of SGI and the stopgap adoption of "home brew" Linux systems is about to end. Professional-grade stereoscopic visualization is now a standard OpenGL capability, it is vendor-supported on a variety of hardware, and it is present on every platform EXCEPT THE MAC. None of those "amazing features" in Tiger matter one bit to technical users whose basic needs remain unmet.

Stereo-3D inadequacy is a show-stopper for many scientists and engineers. The Mac will not have a fair shot at this market unless Apple quickly follows though on it's assumed responsibility to support all OpenGL features, including quad-buffered stereo-3D graphics in a window. Case in point: my company just spent $5k on a dual-Opteron Sun workstation instead of a dual-G5 Mac solely because stereo-3D in a window is absent from MacOS X. This pattern will surely be amplified many thousand-fold if Apple does not take immediate corrective action.

Responding together, we can insure that Apple understands what this deficiency means for the future of MacOS X in scientific, medical, and technical visualization. I do not believe that Apple management has made an informed decision regarding stereo-3D, and I think this is our last best chance to change things before the issue becomes moot.

Please share your concerns by responding to this email (mailto:warren@delsci.com). It will only take a second, but the benefits could last for years to come if Apple listens well and then acts decisively.

Input from current Linux and Windows users is especially welcome, since Apple would love to sell you the visualization platform of your dreams if you're willing to help define it. Thank you for your time.

Cheers, Warren Author of PyMOL: http://pymol.sf.net (Note that MacPyMOL is currently shown on http://apple.com/science under "The Tools" -- cool!) DeLano Scientific LLC company profile: http://delanoscientific.com/about.html

PS. An alternate way to be heard is to post on the Apple SciTech or Sci-Vis mailing lists, but please CC me too to be sure that you're counted.

http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/scitech http://lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/sci-vis

-- Warren L. DeLano, Ph.D. Principal Scientist

. DeLano Scientific LLC . 400 Oyster Point Blvd., Suite 213 . South San Francisco, CA 94080 . Biz:(650)-872-0942 Tech:(650)-872-0834 . Fax:(650)-872-0273 Cell:(650)-346-1154 . mailto:warren@delsci.com

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