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<h2>FreeBSD Used to Generate Spectacular Special Effects</h2>

<p><b>Concord, CA, April 22, 1999</b>:
32 Dual-Processor FreeBSD systems were used to generate a large number of
special effects in the cutting edge Warner Brothers film, <em>The
Matrix</em>.</p>

<p>Manex  Visual  Effects  used  32  Dell  Precision  410  Dual  P-II/450
Processor systems running FreeBSD as the core CG Render Farm.  Charles
Henrich, the senior systems administrator at Manex, says, "We came to a
point in the production where we realized we just did not have enough
computing power on our existing SGI infrastructure to get through the
3-D intensive sequences.  It was at that point we decided on going
with a FreeBSD based solution, due to the ability to get the hardware
quickly as well as the reliability and ease of administration that
FreeBSD provides us.  Working with Dell, we purchased 32 of these
systems on a Wednesday, and had them rendering in production by
Saturday afternoon.  It was truly an amazing effort on everyone's
part, and I don't believe it would've been possible had we chosen to
go with any other Operating System solution."</p>

<p>The FreeBSD operating system is a powerful, completely open-source
system based on the Berkeley Software Distribution of UNIX.  It is
available free of charge from numerous Internet websites and also on
CD-ROM from Walnut Creek CDROM, and includes thousands of ported
applications including 3-D graphics rendering and many other equally
powerful tools.  FreeBSD is optimized for use on the Intel x86
processor line that is the heart of today's versatile commodity
personal computers.  Infinitely customizable, FreeBSD is at the heart
of such Internet powerhouse applications as Yahoo! and U.S. West
because it is unencumbered by commercial license restrictions and can be
copied and modified freely.</p>

<p>For more information on FreeBSD, visit <a href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/">
http://www.FreeBSD.org/</a> and <a href="http://www.wccdrom.com/">
http://www.wccdrom.com/</a>.  For more information about Manex Visual
Effects, please visit <a href="http://www.mvfx.com/">http://www.mvfx.com/
</a>.</p>

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