Apple today announced the immediate availability of Shake 3, the new version of its industry-leading compositing and visual effects software featured in the production of over a hundred motion pictures, including the Matrix Reloaded, Finding Nemo, Lord of the Rings and X-Men 2. Shake 3 offers new Mac OS X only features such as Shake Qmaster network render management software that allows visual effects artists to easily distribute rendering tasks across a cluster of Apple Xserves or Power Macs. The update also brings film grain simulation and tracking on paint strokes. Shake 3 is available with unlimited render licenses for Mac OS X for US$4,950, while Linux and IRIX licenses sell for $9,900 with annual maintenance of $1,485.