In a move to make its professional 3D animation software more accessible, Alias|Wavefront has introduced Maya Personal Learning Edition, a full-featured version of the complete Maya package for Mac OS X for use in a non-commercial capacity. Maya Personal Learning Edition will provide access to the entire suite of toolsets of Maya Complete, including NURBS modeling, animation, inverse kinematics, Maya Artistan, Maya Paint Effects, particles, dynamics and Maya’s advanced rendering capabilities. Use of the free software is restricted to non-commercial use through the display of a watermark on images, the use of a non-commercial file format, and disabled support for industry-standard plug-ins. The company has also committed to supporting users of the learning edition with a Web-based user center, complete with learning materials, discussion forums and content exchanges. Maya Personal Learning Edition will be available as a free download in February; CD copies may also be ordered for US$5.