April 12, 1999 - ELSA, a world leader in computer graphics add-on and peripheral solutions, today announced it is optimizing its workstation solutions for the AutoCAD 2000 product family with enhancements to ELSAview 3D and POWERdraft 14 as part of the current ELSA Software Advantage for AutoCAD R14. When combined with the award-winning ELSA GLoria and Synergy cards, the ELSA Software Advantage provides optimum price/performance for multimedia and CAD users of Autodesk products with unique performance and productivity advantages.
The recently announced ELSA Synergy II 2D/3D professional accelerator will be demonstrated at the Autodesk One Team Conference this week.
The ELSA Software Advantage for AutoCAD 2000
The ELSA Software Advantage provides users with an array of unique, high-performance drivers and utilities that enable ELSA GLoria and Synergy accelerator boards to achieve maximum 2D/3D graphics performance.With implementations of specific extensions for AutoCAD 2000, ELSA delivers a 100% OpenGL® driver optimized for AutoCAD 2000 users working in Windows NT®. The high performance ELSA driver allows AutoCAD 2000 users to take advantage of AutoCAD 2000's 3D modeling and MDI (Multiple Document Interface) capabilities with ELSAview 3D and POWERdraft 14.
ELSAview 3D, an integrated 3D viewing and editing tool, adds to the 3D modeling functionality with productivity features that allow AutoCAD 2000 users to view large assemblies; utilize stereoscopic viewing; handle MDI updates; edit material, texture and color; output to VRML and OpenInventor; and take advantage of multiple processor systems. ELSAview 3D also allows users to directly take advantage of ELSA hardware for superior graphics acceleration. The current release of ELSAview 3D can be downloaded from the ELSA web site for a 30-day evaluation on any graphics card.
POWERdraft 2000 allows users the productivity advantages that they have come to expect from ELSA in AutoCAD R14. POWERdraft functionality such as easy-to-use visual pan and zoom utilities with Cockpit, a screen space saver, and a virtual drawing browser gives users extensive flexibilility while working in AutoCAD 2000. In addition, ELSA graphic configurations can be optimized for AutoCAD 2000 with a click of a button with ELSA Application Settings.
"Our research indicates there are over 2.3 million AutoCAD users and one million of them are using Release 14," said Dr. Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Associates (Tiburon, CA), the leading graphics market research firm. "With the proliferation of NT into the design centers and drawing rooms, and OpenGL being added to AutoCAD, we expect the demand for high-performance display controllers to increase dramatically. ELSA has world class AutoCAD drivers and early tests indicate their AutoCAD 2000 POWERdraft drivers are exceeding expectations. We expect to see ELSA's new driver/viewer suite rapidly accepted keeping ELSA in a market leader position."
The ELSA Software Advantage
The ELSA Software Advantage, included with ELSA graphics boards, provides professionals with performance and productivity advantages for 3D OpenGL and 2D applications, and bundled software drivers and utilities for AutoCAD and 3D Studio MAX/VIZ. Exceeding a mean score of 9 on the ProCDRS tests, ELSA's POWERdraft for AutoCAD 2000 offers unbeatable performance. ELSA POWERdraft is the only driver worldwide delivering hardware acceleration for both AutoCAD R13 and R14. ELSAview 3D is a real-time 3D editor and viewer tightly integrated with AutoCAD R14, AutoCAD R13, MDT and ADT. The ELSA Software Advantage also includes ELSA MAXtreme to deliver 3D graphics performance with a customized driver combining OpenGL, HEIDI, and ELSA technology. ELSA leverages experience in CAD and high-end graphics to create high-quality drivers to accelerate professional applications such as AutoCAD or 3D Studio MAX. ELSAs custom drivers and tools are available to customers free-of-charge and are standard components with every ELSA GLoria and Synergy graphics board. The latest drivers are available online from the ELSA Web site (http://www.elsa.com), and are regularly updated on the ELSA WINNERware CD-ROM.
| ELSA AG develops, manufactures and markets PC hardware and software components for the data communications and computer graphics sectors. Its product range includes modems, ISDN adapters, videoconferencing systems, ISDN routers, graphics boards and monitors. ELSA was founded in 1980 and today has more than 550 employees. In addition to its headquarters in Aachen, Germany, it also maintains subsidiaries in Santa Clara, California, as well as Taipei, Taiwan and Tokyo, Japan. Since June 1998, ELSA AG shares are traded on the "Neuer Markt" trading segment of the Frankfurt stock exchange in Germany. |
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