MAXON Announces Cinema 4D Release 17

Groundbreaking Innovation Optimizes Workflow and Elevates 3D Content Creation Experiences

FRIEDRICHSDORF, Germany. - Tuesday, August 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)--MAXON today announced Cinema 4D Release 17 (R17), a milestone release of its cornerstone 3D animation, graphics, VFX, visualization, and rendering software. Cinema 4D R17 delivers new, expanded and completely reworked features for exceptional performance allowing creatives to more easily and efficiently manage and create outstanding content. Central to Cinema 4D R17 is the new Take System that provides complete and flexible scene handling to manage render layers and animation variations. Also included are new Lens Distortion tools for improved motion tracking, and completely reworked Spline Tools for a more efficient workflow for manipulating points, lines, tangents, arcs and more.

“MAXON is committed to enriching user experience and productivity,” says Harald Egel, managing partner at MAXON Computer GmbH, “The robust new features and subtle refinements throughout Cinema 4D R17 make this a must-have release.”

Cinema 4D R17 Feature Highlights

At SIGGRAPH 2015 in Los Angeles, August 11 – 13, MAXON will preview the new features in R17. Key highlights include:

Take System: Provides new functionality and flexible scene management allowing artists to create numerous independent takes of a scene and change almost any parameter for variations – all saved in a single scene file, eliminating file management hassles and wasted disk space. The ability to maintain complete versioning and variation control also saves valuable production time.

Lens Distortion Support: Easily generate a distortion profile for any image, e.g., for curved and plunging lines when integrating 3D elements into videos or photos. The intuitive interface also improves functionality to remove distortion for tracking and scene creation, re-apply distortion at render time and offers the option of saving lens settings for future use.

Graph View for Motion Tracker: R17 has a new Graph View that highlights problem track points in a simple-to-use graph and lets users easily remove them from the calculation for improved efficiency.

New Spline Tools: The completely reworked Spline Tools in R17 provide artists with added control for manipulating points, lines, tangents and arcs more intuitively. Users can leverage Boolean operators like Intersect, Subtract, Union, And, Or for an even faster workflow.

Animation Workflow Enhancements: Cinema 4D R17 makes animation faster and more precise. Control F-Curves with weighted tangents with the option of automatically removing overshoot, eliminate Gimbal lock with Euler filtering, and define animation regions using range markers and master animation workflow with new Timeline preferences.

Sculpting Improvements: MAXON introduces dozens of new features in R17 to sculpt with precision and ease. The Sculpt to Pose Morph feature automatically creates morph targets for each sculpt layer, for a quick transition from character design to character animation. The new Edge Detection feature is designed to let users easily sculpt hard-surface models.

Houdini Engine Integration: A seamless integration for Side Effect Software’s Houdini Engine lets users load Houdini Digital Assets (HDA) such as parametric objects, simulations, etc., into Cinema 4D and manipulate them like standard Cinema 4D generators.

SketchUp Integration: Tighter integration in R17 with SketchUp – a 3D modeling program for a wide range of drawing applications – lets creative professionals quickly populate scenes by accessing free, ready-to-use objects created and made available by the SketchUp user community.

Cinema 4D R17 Pricing, Availability and Upgrade Path

Cinema 4D Release 17 is scheduled to ship September 2015. Pricing and upgrade information is available at www.maxon.net. Available for both Mac OS X and Windows. Recommended system requirements.

All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

About MAXON

Headquartered in Friedrichsdorf, Germany, MAXON Computer is a developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions. Its award-winning Cinema 4D and BodyPaint 3D software products have been used extensively to help create everything from stunning visual effects in top feature films, TV shows and commercials, cutting-edge game cinematics for AAA games, as well for medical illustration, architectural and industrial design applications. MAXON has offices in Germany, USA, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan and Singapore. MAXON products are available directly from the web site and its worldwide distribution channel. MAXON is part of the Nemetschek Group.    

Contacts

MAXON Computer

Bärbel Buck

press_de@maxon.net

+49-(0)6172-5906643









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/15318/en

SkyTouch Technology Announces New Chief Executive Officer

PHOENIX. - Tuesday, August 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SkyTouch Technology today announced the appointment of Jonah Paransky as the new chief executive officer of SkyTouch Technology, provider of the most widely used cloud-based hotel operating system. With over 20 years of experience in B2B software general management, product management and marketing, Paransky has an impressive track record at both global Fortune 500 and startup companies, bringing new products to market and generating growth opportunities.

“This is an exciting time for SkyTouch and I’m honored to help strengthen our position as a leader in hotel property management solutions,” said Jonah Paransky, chief executive officer, SkyTouch Technology. “We’re committed to putting a stake in the ground as technology innovators, and I’m dedicated to driving SkyTouch’s strategic vision to help expand our flagship customer accounts and take the portfolio to the next level.”

Paransky most recently served as the vice president and managing director of product management at LexisNexis for the company’s Business of Law software solutions and Managed Technology Services group. During his tenure, he also served as vice president and general manager for LexisNexis CounselLink, the company’s cloud-based enterprise legal management software. Prior to joining LexisNexis, he served as the Vice President of Marketing for StackSafe, Inc., a software development firm and as Director of Product Management at Symantec Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise SaaS information security solutions. Paransky graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degrees.

About SkyTouch Technology

SkyTouch Technology provides a cloud-based hotel operating system that allows hotel companies to help meet their most important strategic objectives: to achieve growth, to advance operating performance and to improve the guest experience – all while evolving with changing customer needs. Accessible from anywhere, SkyTouch provides visibility and control of operations through real-time, impactful business analytics that can improve hotel guest experience, decision-making and results at the property, owner, management company and brand level. For more information about SkyTouch Technology, visit http://www.skytouchtechnology.com.

SkyTouch, SkyTouch Technology, SkyTouch Hotel Operating System and SkyTouch Hotel OS are proprietary trademarks and service marks of SkyTouch Solutions, LLC.

©2015 SkyTouch Solutions, LLC All rights reserved.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=51155547&lang=en

Contacts

Media

Doug Hogan, Sr. Director, Operations

Office: 602-337-2916

Mobile: 202-701-0824

press@skytouchtechnology.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/15316/en

Discussing Preparations for ISNR‎ 2016 Inauguration Ceremony

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, August 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Higher Organizing Committee of the 2016 International Conference for Security and National Resilience (ISNR) has discussed the action plan of the sub-committees, in addition to the preparations and ideas  for the inauguration  ceremony of the exhibition and conference, which will be held from the 15 to the 17 of March next year at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Center.

The Higher Organizing Committee recently held its fourth meeting at Al Ittihad Hall at the Ministry of Interior’s headquarters. The meeting, which was chaired by H.E Major General Staff Dr. Obeid Al Ketbi, Head of the Higher Organizing Committee of the exhibition and the conference, tackled the implementation of the strategy, action plan and achievements of the sub-committees in preparation for this major mega international event. Attendees also discussed the need to enhance equipment and reviewed the plan that was prepared by the 911 Fire Fighting Company for organizing the 2nd UAE World Firefighter Challenge, which will be held alongside ISNR.

The meeting was attended by members of the Higher Committee, heads of the sub-committees, and representatives of Reed Exhibitions Company.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/15322/en

ADP use Smart Devices to Rescue Trapped Traffic Accident Victims

To Provide Safety and to Avoid Aggravating Injuries

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Sunday, August 2nd 2015 [ME NewsWire]

The Abu Dhabi Police have introduced a smart device system to the Emergency and Public Safety Department. The new system is used in rescue missions for traffic accident victims who are injured or trapped inside vehicles by utilizing the CRS program, which includes a sophisticated database of every type of car.

The rescuer is able to rely on the program to access information regarding hazardous areas of the vehicle, such as areas where the car may have airbags, sensors, or cylinders. The program also specifies the rescue tools that are needed for the operation, the strength and quality of vehicle’s steel equipment, the type and distribution of the frame, and the presence of any high-voltage electrical connections or automatic seatbelt retractors. Additionally, the program provides locations for the fuel tank, engine, and the main and spare batteries.

Rescuers have been trained to use the devices and the CRS program in order to be fully knowledgeable regarding the methods needed for rescue missions. Additionally, the training focused on improving the rescuers’ skills in accurately and safely cutting vehicles in the event of a severe accident; which results in saving both time and effort in the facilitation of efficiently evacuating an injured person from a vehicle.

According to Brigadier Eng. Hussein Ahmed Al Harithi, Director General of Central Operations at Abu Dhabi Police, the new technology falls within the framework of implementing the Smart Government’s vision. This vision promotes the Abu Dhabi Police strategy and services in order to maintain the reputation of Abu Dhabi as a safe community, and to continue developing police services. He stressed that the police are keen to keep pace with technological developments in order to better serve society.

“The Abu Dhabi Police are the first in the region to adopt the use of smart devices like the CRS program in rescue operations,” he said. “This step falls within the scope of developing work and raising the efficiency and professionalism of rescuers when handling traffic accidents. Our rescuers have received training in accordance with the best international methods for delivering exceptional services to the public. Their training also covered prevention methods to deter the level of risks involved with carrying out their job duties, which is important when the rescuers are dealing with vehicles that run on sources of alternative energy, such as electricity, natural gas, or solar power.”

Colonel Mohammed Al Ameri, Head of the Emergency and Public Safety Department, noted that the system has been installed on iPad devices. Some of these devices have been designated for training, while others have been installed in rescue vehicles in order to support the work of the rescuers when dealing with dangerous accidents that involve trapped persons. The highest levels of proficiency are needed for such accidents, hence the smart devices will supplement rescuer operations in order to maintain the safety of the operation, and ensure the safety for the rescuers and the victims.

Lt. Colonel Omar Ahmed Al Dhaheri, Head of the Training Section of the Emergency and Public Safety Department, stressed that the program is important in promoting the efforts of the rescue teams during rescue operations. He pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Police have sent 12 officers and non-commissioned officers of trainers at the Emergency and Public Safety Department to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Head of the Training Section said that they received training on the CRS system, which improved their competencies in responding to emergencies related to traffic accidents. The adoption of the program comes in implementation of the Smart Government initiative, and corresponds to the strategy of the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters which aims to optimize the use of human resources.

For more information about:

The Ministry of Interior, please click HERE

Abu Dhabi Police, please click HERE

Follow us and check our Social Media feeds on: YouTube, Facebook and Twitter

The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media

Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317

E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/15286/en

YPO: African Business Confidence Slips to Six-Year Low

JOHANNESBURG - Tuesday, August 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Confidence amongst business leaders in Africa fell to its lowest level since October 2009 in the second quarter of 2015. The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for Africa, which tracks CEO confidence levels in the region on a quarterly basis, slipped 3.2 points to 57.4, on the back of a sharp drop in confidence in South Africa.

After rebounding 1.3 points in the first quarter of 2015, confidence in Africa now trails the global composite reading of 60.9 by 3.5 points. Africa is the world’s second-most pessimistic region, with only CEOs in Latin America less positive.

“African economies are being severely challenged by both internal and external factors. Slow growth, weak agricultural production and commodity prices, extremely high levels of unemployment and electricity supply issues, in many countries, particularly South Africa, are clearly having an impact on confidence amongst business leaders in the region,” said Gabriel Malan, group managing director of Unlimited Group (Pty) Ltd and the chair of YPO‘s Africa Region. “CEOs across Africa will be looking for signs of growth and stability over the second half of the year and closely watching key economic indicators over the coming months as they plan for 2016.”

Of the major African economies, South Africa, which has the highest weighting in the YPO survey, tumbled 5.1 points to 58.5, its lowest level since October 2009. Kenya slipped 2.6 points; although with a score of 64.5, business leaders in the country remain firmly optimistic. Nigeria confidence climbed 2.3 points to 53.7, despite continued low oil prices. Zimbabwe also reported increased confidence, gaining 6.0 points to land at 48.5, although still in pessimistic territory.

Globally, the YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index slipped 0.6 point to land at 60.9, its lowest level since October 2013. This decline in confidence was evident in all of the major economic regions, with the United States falling 0.5 point to 62.8, Asia dropping 1.6 points to 62.0, and the European Union slipping 0.9 point to 61.6.

Confidence levels amongst African business leaders dropped across the survey’s key indices — sales, employment and fixed investment. Even so, there were still some signs of encouragement. The YPO Global Pulse Sales Index for Africa dropped 1.0 point to 68.8, still an extremely positive reading. Two-thirds (67%) of CEOs in Africa expected to increase revenues over the next year, with only 7% predicting a decline.

Interestingly, there were mixed feelings in regards to the short-term expectations in the region. Thirty percent of CEOs said business and economic conditions would improve over the next six months, 31% expected conditions to deteriorate and 39% believed that conditions would remain the same.

YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index

The quarterly electronic survey, conducted in the first two weeks of July 2015, gathered answers from 2,127 chief executive officers across the globe, including 181 in Africa. Visit www.ypo.org/globalpulse for more for more information about the survey methodology and results from around the world.

About YPO

YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) is a not-for-profit, global network of young chief executives connected through the shared mission of becoming Better Leaders Through Education and Idea ExchangeTM. Founded in 1950, YPO today provides 23,000 peers and their families in 130 countries with access to unique experiences, extraordinary educational resources, access to alliances with leading institutions, and participation in specialised networks to support their business, community and personal leadership. Altogether, YPO member-run companies employ more than 15 million people around the world and generate US$6 trillion in annual revenues. For more information, visitwww.ypo.org.

Contacts

YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization)

Linda Fisk, +1-972-207-4298

press@ypo.org









Permalink: http://www.me-newswire.net/news/15297/en

Moody’s Analytics Releases New Version of RiskOrigins™ Credit Risk Lifecycle Solution for Commercial Lenders

NEW YORK. - Monday, August 3rd 2015 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Moody’s Analytics, a leader in credit risk management, today announced that it has enhanced its RiskOrigins solution, which provides credit decisioning and monitoring for commercial lenders. Among the enhancements are a new collaborative workflow model and deal structuring functionality, which help lenders make smarter credit decisions, streamline the complex process of assessing credit risk, improve efficiency and comply with regulations.

“In today’s environment of low margins and increased competition, banks need to work smarter and more efficiently than ever – especially when it comes to evaluating credit,” says Keith Berry, Managing Director of Credit Assessment and Origination at Moody’s Analytics. “We’ve enhanced our RiskOrigins solution to go beyond traditional loan origination and help lenders make smarter credit decisions, which can help improve underwriting quality, increase deal throughput and boost profitability.”

Used by some of the world’s largest financial institutions in over a dozen countries, the RiskOrigins solution gives lenders greater insight into deals on their books, or in their pipeline, and illuminates potential impact on an institution’s overall credit profile.

The solution’s new workflow model streamlines the credit risk lifecycle by improving and automating error-prone manual procedures, such as spreading and risk grading, monitoring covenants and managing the bank’s risk appetite. In addition, its deal structuring functionality addresses the challenges that financial institutions face in efficiently capturing deal data and defining risk mitigants at loan origination.

Moreover, the RiskOrigins solution helps standardize information from disparate sources to enhance data integrity and governance, which are becoming hot-button issues with banking regulators. By enforcing transparent, repeatable and auditable processes, the RiskOrigins solution helps lenders incorporate best practices into their operations and meet compliance challenges with confidence.

“The banks we talk to expect to increase spending for commercial lending technology more than for other systems, and are focusing on adopting modern, integrated commercial lending platforms like RiskOrigins to standardize and simplify operations,” says Joanne Pollitt, Executive Advisor at CEB TowerGroup, which provides counsel to financial services leaders on the technology issues that are most important to their businesses. “We foresee strong, sustained growth in demand for these systems in the years ahead.”

For more information about the RiskOrigins solution, please visit www.moodysanalytics.com/riskorigins.

About Moody’s Analytics

Moody’s Analytics helps capital markets and risk management professionals worldwide respond to an evolving marketplace with confidence. The company offers unique tools and best practices for measuring and managing risk through expertise and experience in credit analysis, economic research and financial risk management. By providing leading-edge software, advisory services and research, including proprietary analyses from Moody’s Investors Service, Moody’s Analytics integrates and customizes its offerings to address specific business challenges. Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO), which reported revenue of $3.3 billion in 2014, employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide and has a presence in 33 countries. Further information is available at www.moodysanalytics.com.

Contacts

Moody’s Analytics

PRANITA SOOKAI, 212-553-4181

Associate Communications Strategist

pranita.sookai@moodys.com









Permalink: http://me-newswire.net/news/15278/en

Mandilicious Opens Second Outlet in Jeddah to Cater to Growing Demand

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Tuesday, August 4th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

Mandilicious, the world's first restaurant chain to serve the slow-cooked ‘Cuisine of Arabia’ in a food court setting, has opened a new outlet in the Al Salaam Mall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The launch comes following the agreement between Raddah Investment and Mandilicious to expand the restaurant’s development to Saudi Arabia, with a total of three outlets before end of this year. The newly opened outlet is the chain’s second in Jeddah following the launch of its first outlet in May, with a third expected to be launched in the Aziz Mall before the end of August.

“The response so far has been incredible,” said Fayez Al Nusari, CEO and Founder of Mandilicious. “We are the first to conveniently serve the traditional slow-cooked ‘Cuisine of Arabia’ in a quick-service fashion in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - and from the overwhelming success of our first outlet with locals and residents, it’s clear that we have chosen the perfect locations to do so. Among our already famous dishes that have proved popular in the UAE and other outlet locations, we have additionally added the local Saudi delicacy; Kabli, to show our appreciation for our Saudi customers.”

The next outlet planned for the restaurant chain, will be in the Aziz Mall and will be included in the many outlets opening with the Al Hokair Malls in the Kingdom to cater to the demand and growing market.

Established in the beginning of 2013, Mandilicious provides the traditional, slow-cooked ‘Cuisine of Arabia’ in a quick service, setting. Mandilicious, a home-grown company born in Dubai, is rapidly becoming a global brand - now with 16 outlets in just two short years.

-End-

About Raddah Investment

Raddah Investment is the strategic investment SPV of Raddah Holdings, which was established in 2013. The company’s vision focuses on investing in SMEs that have strong and viable business activity in the fields of food and beverage, healthcare, and real estate. With a diversified area of expertise, it aims to become a pioneer for brands by having the most successful brands onboard. Ultimately, and by the end of 2016, Raddah Investment will be amongst the top five businesses ranked for rapid growth in Saudi Arabia.

About Mandilicious

Mandi is known as the original ‘Cuisine of Arabia’. Mandilicious is the first-ever quick service restaurant (QSR) in the world to serve traditional, authentic Mandi. Mandilicious offers its customers Arabian cuisine prepared to the highest international standards of quality. All ingredients are fresh; none are frozen, processed or artificial. With choice ingredients, a multitude of menu options, authentic cooking methods, experienced chefs, superior outlet design and overall quality, Mandilicious delivers the ‘Cuisine of Arabia’ to the world.

Contacts

Fayez Al Nusari, CEO and Founder of Mandilicious

Email: Fayez@mandilicious.net

0097150-451 0887