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SplutterFish have released the hugely popular BlurBeta plugins recompiled for Max 9 (32-bit and 64-bit). Thanks guys!

Neil Blevins has added a new script to his collection, uVPlacer, which lets you modify the positions of selected UVs using a handy dialog box. As always, the scripts are available from Neilblevins.com.

Autodesk have released 2 hot-fixes for 32-bit Max 9. Hot Fix 1 replaces the missing Shockwave Exporter, and Hot Fix 2 fixes the DX Material only using UV channel 1.

Spiral Graphics Inc. has released the third installment of its popular line of free seamless texture packs. The new pack comes with over 150 materials, bringing the total number of available royalty-free textures to about 450. (more...)

There are several dozen copies of "Model, Rig, Animate with 3ds max 6" available for donation to high schools, colleges, or any other non-profit organization. The majority of the book is still valid in the current version, the modeling section in particular. (more...)

Iloura have just posted a 'making of' montage of their work on Charlotte's Web. The beginning shows the work in context, then the film shows sample shots in layers. It includes Wilbur, Ike (the horse) and some of their matte work.

After nearly 6 years, ScriptSpot is celebrating the launch of an entirely new user driven community for script developers. Go and visit the new site, participate in the community, contribute content and best of all - keep going back for the weekly "RE-launch" raffles! (more...)

Boomer Labs has announced the release of MAX2AE Version 2.0. The plugin has been expanded to further improve the workflow between Max and After Effects. On top of exporting a large amount of information from Max, you can now also import After Effects compositions into Max. MAX2AE also supports Max 9 (both 32-bit and 64-bit). You can read the whole press release here (PDF).

A series of commercials for TV and the web produced for the Irish National Lottery by Brown Bag Films are the target of claims of plagiarism. It has to do with similarities in look and style of animation of the three main bear characters. Long-time Max artists Matt Everitt and Matt Clark produced a series of short animations for Ricky Gervais a couple of years ago, and the similarities are striking. We'll keep our eye on this story and let you know of any updates.

Autodesk have posted the Maya 8.5 help files online. Although it has nothing to do with 3ds Max, we thought it might be interesting for users of both packages, or for people thinking about migrating to Maya.