Public Testing Program to begin: all registered owners of LightWave 3D version 9 invited to participate in the final testing phase of the latest Mac-based technology.

NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products, today announced that the Universal version of LightWave 3D will be available in March 2007. LightWave 3D for the new generation of Intel-based Macs takes full advantage of the advancements in the operating system and development environment from Apple, providing noticeable speed and performance improvements for Mac users. The Universal version enables LightWave to run on both the PowerPC G4 and G5 CPUs and the new Intel-based Macs. Optimized performance will be provided for Mac users natively on both series of CPUs.
“3D artists always push the limits of hardware and software,” said Jay Roth, President, NewTek 3D Division. “Running LightWave 3D on the new Intel-based Mac systems, we’ve been blown away by the results of our preliminary testing comparing the new top of the line Mac Pro versus the top of the line PowerPC series. The performance gain we’ve seen in our test is an amazing 2x improvement in render speed. LightWave is tuned for multi-core support and increased OpenGL performance making the combination of LightWave and the new Mac Pro unbelievably impressive.”

"The blazing speed of our Intel-based Macs offers a significant performance advantage for applications reliant on intense graphics," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "We're pleased that NewTek has joined the thousands of developers using XCode and other innovative Apple tools to develop Universal versions of their applications."
The move to a Universal application provides NewTek with a foundation for upcoming advancements in 3D technology for the Mac community. The first 3D application from NewTek beyond LightWave to take advantage of this new technology is 3D Arsenal, NewTek’s 3D offering specifically designed for video editors.

Pricing and Availability
LightWave for the Intel-based Macintosh is being prepared for the Open Beta phase. Participation is open to all registered owners of LightWave v9. Qualified owners may access the Open Beta download through the NewTek online registration system. LightWave v9 is available now from resellers and distributors worldwide for a suggested retail price of $795US for full units and $395US for upgrades from previous versions of LightWave. The Universal Binary version of LightWave will be provided at no additional charge to registered owners of LightWave v9 when the product ships in March 07.

www.newtek.com