The doomed splendor of the Maya unfolded against the backdrop of the rain forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Here, Classic Maya civilization reached improbable heights. To chart a culture whose Preclassic roots reach back 3,000 years, we begin with new evidence suggesting that the arrival of a warlord from central Mexico ushered in an age of magnificence and masterpieces such as the death mask of Palenque's King Pakal.

UVLayout is a stand-alone application for the creation and editing of UV coordinates for 3D polymeshes and subdivision surfaces. Used by professionals in the games and visual effects industries, by hobbyists of all ilks and by students, UVLayout's unique approach gives texture artists the tools they need to produce high quality low distortion UVs in significantly less time than they would by traditional methods.

Starting with the basics, the book builds from the ground up, combining straightforward text with practical examples that make it fun and easy to learn Maya's core features while introducing new Maya 8 elements such as improved polygon tools and enhanced rendering with mental ray. Clear-cut, engaging lessons let you experiment using the wealth of files provided on the CD-ROM. You'll also find an abundance of instructional and inspirational Maya creations in the full-color insert.

Game animation is a demanding art. Not only do you have to deliver realistic, beautiful animations, but you have to do so under strict real-time, video-game constraints. The Game Animator's Guide to Maya is your focused resource for using Maya to create professional-level game animations for console and PC games. Written by a game industry veteran and featuring interviews with professional animators and artists from around the country, this focused book features specific, detailed, real-world game animation techniques. It's the perfect reference and tutorial for those looking to develop or refine their game animation skills.

Ashampoo Magical Snap 2 is a screen capture tool with powerful and intuitive editing capabilities. It enables you to capture virtually anything on your screen – all or part of program windows, websites, the desktop and anything else displayed on your computer’s monitor. Then you can use the editing tools to enhance the screenshot and turn it into a really attractive image.

Privacy-Gateway Company has just released its latest products designed to provide online anonymity and privacy. Its products, Anonymity Gateway and Anonymity Shield protect Internet users from the growing problem of online tracking and assure a safer surfing experience, by concealing the IP address.

WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of RAR Archiver, an archiver and archive manager. RAR files can usually compress content by 8 percent to 15 percent more than ZIP files can.