Rebuilding the Sphinx with PC's

Article Abstract:

Mark Lerner, the Egyptologist of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, uses computer-aided design (CAD) technology to create a photo-realistic rendering of how the Great Sphinx looked upon its completion around 1279 BC. With the help of Thomas Jaggers, a CAD expert, Lerner used microcomputers running Autodesk's Autocad software and a digitizer to produce a three-dimensional (3-D) wireframe model of the Sphinx. To make the model look more realistic, the team used Schreiber Instruments' Quicksurf, a software package designed for purposes like mapping the ocean floor. Graphics Software Inc's Big D, a complex rendering package, was used to add texture and color to the model. The entire project cost about $13,000 for equipment and software. Its significance lies in the practical applications the techniques and software could spawn for architecture, civil engineering and other fields. Computer modeling also allows archeologists to monitor the erosion of antiquities and determine how they will look like in 50 to 100 years.

Colleges and universities, Research, Microcomputers, Egypt, Remodeling and renovation, Archaeology, Graphics software, Monuments, Three dimensional graphics, Microcomputer, Three-Dimensional Graphics, Image Reconstruction, Chicago, University of. Oriental Institute, Great Sphinx, Lehner, Mark, Jaggers, Thomas, University of Chicago. Oriental Institute

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Lotus net down 41% in quarter

Article Abstract:

Lotus Development Corp reports 1st qtr 1993 earnings of $12.3 million, 41 percent less than the $21 million it earned in the similar quarter 1992. Officials say the figure represents a 42 percent sales decline of its products that are based on MS-DOS, notably its Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Lotus, just like any publisher of DOS-based software, is feeling the pain of the computer industry's shift to Microsoft Windows. Many software companies did not anticipate the rush; Lotus itself came out with the Windows version of its flagship Lotus 1-2-3 in the fall of 1991, after an 18-month delay. The initial product was not well received but Lotus recovered with an improved version and other Windows-based applications. The company, however, continues to try to catch up with the market.

Prepackaged software, Computer software industry, Software industry, Software, Finance, Lotus Development Corp., Spreadsheets, Spreadsheet software, LOTS, Market Penetration, Financial Report, First Quarter

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New on computers: easy designs

Article Abstract:

Computer-aided product design, which once was the province of engineers and technicians, is increasingly being used by industrial designers. Design systems built around microcomputer workstations can cut development cycles by months. A new generation of 'friendly' computer-aided design (CAD) systems does not require that a design engineer be computer literate. Designs are easy to do, and designs can even be transmitted to computer-controlled lasers that mold preliminary models or to machines that make working prototypes. Computer scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology foresee a time when 'virtual reality' simulations will allow testing of virtual models that seem real.

Product development, Industrial design, Virtual reality, Computer simulation, Stereolithography, Industrial engineering, Design Continuum Inc., Prototype

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