New & Noteworthy: Lotus Notes; Maya for free; VPC update; OS X praise

Lotus Software to provide support for OS X in Lotus Notes Lotus Software from IBM today announced support for Mac OS X in the next version of Lotus Notes, code-name "Rnext."

Maya for free Alias|Wavefront has announced that it is developing the Maya Personal Learning Edition which will provide users of Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows with unlimited, free access to Maya. Maya Personal Learning Edition will give 3D graphics and animation students, current industry professionals, and those interested in breaking into the world of computer graphics (CG) an opportunity to explore the award-winning Maya Complete(tm) software, in a non-commercial capacity. Maya Personal Learning Edition will be available in February of 2002.

Virtual PC 5.0.1 is a free update to the Windows emulator.

Getting to know OS X and liking it more Dan Gillmor, a Mercury News columnist, writes: " I'm increasingly convinced that OS X, still very much a work in progress, has a great future."