Exluna have put a 15-day evaluation version of their Entropy renderer available for download.

VirtuaLight, a global illumination renderer, has been updated (and so has the website).
Many new goodies in this release, here's 3 highlights :

Project Changer v0.8 by Unai - Lets you set up different projects without restarting max, use different map paths, etc. If you're interested in this utility, take a look also at Borislav Petrov's Project Manager script.
finalRender Script Utility v1.15 by Matthew Clementson - utility for adjusting finalRender settings on groups of materials or objects.
NRB Material ID Paint v1.0 by Antero Pedras - This script was made to turn the task of adding material ID to a mesh faster (and not so boring).
Anipose v2.0 by Chuggnut

Johan Thorngren has posted new images on his website showing off Brazil's caustics (created using photon maps), area lights and subsurface light scattering techniques . Also take a look at his explanation for his caustics animation.

Looks like Internet Computing Services' (a part of Intel Corp.) Screamline Rendering Services is screaming its last screams, as the service is to be cancelled well before 3ds max 4 users could fully use it.
"Due to a deteriorated funding climate for Internet-based businesses and unfavorable market conditions, Internet Computing Services, part of the Intel New Business Group, has decided to exit the outsourced rendering services business. This service will be unavailable effective October 31, 2001." (more...)

New pictures at Raph.com. Check 'em out! Also take a look at Richard Rosenman's and Robin Konieczny's websites to see some very nice demo reels and character animation.

" The Morpher modifier might not have seen any enhancement in the latest release of max, but as Darren Brooker discovers, a new plug-in called Morph-O-Matic brings improvements that will be welcomed by serious users of this feature...
Read the full review here

Di-O-Matic announced the availability of 'Teach-O-Matic : Update to 3ds Max 4',  the new interactive training cd-rom that makes the learning process of what's new in Discreet 3ds Max 4 easy and affordable to everyone. The cd-rom include more than 2 hours of interactive training tutorials created by Laurent M. Abecassis, a Discreet Training Specialist. Teach-O-Matic : Update to 3ds Max 4, is designed for both the novice and the advanced user. The cd  is available in English or French for $149.00. Read the press release here.