From: John Stone (johns_at_ks.uiuc.edu)
Date: Thu Feb 17 2005 - 16:47:20 CST

Warren,
  Thanks again for taking the time and organizing all of this
data collection.

I highly encourage _EVERYONE_ on VMD-L to help out Warren and
send this information. The ramficiations of Apple supporting Stereo
go far beyond the Mac, as it will ultimately cause ATI and NVidia
to have to put more effort into supporting stereoscopic rendering
on their laptop and desktop chips if there's significant pressure
from large chipset customers like Apple.

Even if you're a Windows maniac, I still encourage you to take
a few minuts and provide Warren with the information he's asking
for, as it will help the entire molecular visualization community.

  John

On Thu, Feb 10, 2005 at 02:50:44PM -0800, Warren DeLano wrote:
> Thank you to all who replied to my "Stereo 3D matters to me" email response
> plea!
>
> With over 600 direct responses from almost 300 organizations, Apple now has
> convincing documentation that Stereo 3D is a "make or break" issue for the
> Mac in pro-3D visualization -- a market that spans a surprising number of
> industries, from medicine to energy, and manufacturing to military.
>
> Although Apple staff have consistently provided me with assurances that
> professional-grade stereo 3D will eventually be supported under Mac OS X,
> the key question remains unanswered: Will it be soon? i.e. before the
> industry standardizes on Linux & Windows visualization systems? Or will it
> be too late?
>
> It is clear that the timeframe for Mac implementation of Stereo 3D (in a
> window) will depend on how anticipated sales are affected by the presence or
> absense of this professional 3D graphics capability.
>
> >From public Q4 figures, I guesstimate that Apple will ship several million
> high-end PowerMacs over the next two years. Based on your collective
> responses, I now believe that the pro-3D market could affect those sales by
> at least 1% UP or DOWN -- enough to make a real difference in Cupertino.
>
> But to prove that, I need solid responses to the following questions:
>
> 1. What school, company, or insitution are you associated with? What site?
>
> 2. How many people at your site make use of stereo 3D graphics at least once
> a year? (scientists, researchers, engineers, teachers, students, etc.)
>
> 3. How many computer systems at your site currently have stereo 3D graphics?
>
> 4. Over the next two years, how many computers purchased at your site will
> be used for 3D visualization tasks?
>
> 5. Would the absense of industry-standard stereo 3D support eliminate Macs
> from consideration? Likewise, would its presense be a deciding factor in a
> decision to purchase Macs?
>
> 6. Effective stereo 3D is now possible on LCDs without need of bulky CRTs or
> special 3D glasses. If such equipment becomes available at each desktop for
> under $1,000, how much of an increase in stereo 3D usage would you expect to
> see? Would stereo 3D become standard on each workstation at your site?
>
> Unofficial numbers are fine, but they must be based on your direct knowledge
> or observations, and they must be capable of standing up to some scrutiny.
> If you do not have adequate insight, then please just forward this request
> onto someone who does. Thank you for your continued help with this!
>
> Cheers,
> Warren
> --
> 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_at_delsci.com
>

-- 
NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modeling and Bioinformatics
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
University of Illinois, 405 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
Email: johns_at_ks.uiuc.edu                 Phone: 217-244-3349              
  WWW: http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/~johns/      Fax: 217-244-6078