I just went over to Cusious Lab's website to see what the status on Poser 6 SR1 might be (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! PLEASE RELEASE IT!!!!), and I noticed that it redirects to e-frontier.com and CL's name has been removed. Anyone know anything about this? Just kind of CURIOUS...(hah!)

As far as I know, e-Frontier is the parent of Curious Labs. Perhaps they are just consolidating the business?

Seems that way. There is a link to Poser, a link to Shade, a link to Vue, and a link to Content Paradise.

Interesting.

It might be like the company that I used to work for....

They were bought by another company. Following this, their old name was slowly phased out. And the re-naming process was accompanied by the joy of periodic layoffs, down-sizing moves, etc..

They now bear the name of the parent company. With considerably fewer people working there.

My P6 box says "Curious Labs" on it.

Perhaps it'll all say "e-frontier" in a little while.

So long as Poser has a stable corporate home, then the name doesn't matter.

Some of the best (and least demanding) poserites are Japanese.

I like more Curious labs....

Message edited on: 05/16/2005 19:02

This reminds me of when Primestar was purchased by DirecTV. All Primestar employees had to move from Philadelphia to Denver (partially paid by DTV) to stay employeed with Primestar - we're talking a complete uproot. Within two years, Primestar was absorbed by the blob, all employees were phased out, Primestar no more. The opportunity to move to and live in Japan would not bother me though. :)

Attached Link: http://www.e-frontier.com/article/articleview/1430/1/414/

Maybe they'll lose the Poser name all together. It is a lame name. I was looking at girl's underwear that had spoiled written right on the front. They were on sale probably because spoiled could be associated with something that smells bad. Plus P5 & P6 are synonymous with programs that don't work well until they are updated a few times.

"They were on sale probably because spoiled could be associated with something that smells bad." OMG. I don't know if I should laugh or puke. I think I'll laugh AND puke. LOL.

You guys are too much.

We just moved 8 miles into a brand new 10k sq ft building. All the same employee's are here and we're adding new ones all the time.

We're just changing the name to match our parent company. Thats all. We're not going anywhere.

Not exactly Philly to Denver

-Rylan

Message edited on: 05/16/2005 20:33

Attached Link: http://www.e-frontier.co.jp/poser/

Well, I liked the name "Curious Labs" and the "labrats". it indicated a company which was creating and exploring new technologies or a new way of working. "e-frontier" is fine, too. Frontiers are always exciting places where things are growing and changing. We need frontiers. I'll disagree with the probable troll above. (Evidence for trollness is new name and apparently doesn't even use the program.) Poser is not a lame name. It says what the program does: poses figures, and it does it rather well. Just like Painter is for painting, Poser is for posing. Both programs can do much more, but that is what sets them apart from the herd of modeling or rendering programs. Sometimes programs grow, though. PhotoShop started out as a simple editor for fixing bad photos. Then around version 3 it added layers and the whole application transformed into a creative program rather than an editing program. Poser is transforming. The new lights and materials go far beyond moving a body in space and snapping the picture as reference. Is a new name a reasonable step? By version 7 perhaps. But there is also a danger to consider: losing and confusing a large customer base built up over a decade. This is the sort of thing where I'd want community involvement... and the advice of a linguist familiar with the layers of meanings associated with the words set forth as possible names. A punster would be a good choice. If anyone can derail or mock a name, a punster can! Carolly

Carolly, you are wrong. I give this advice because when teaching new people about Poser they usually mock Poser's name. That is the reality. I've used Poser for many years and have been an artist even longer. Why are you so sensitive? By your long post you might be the troll. What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. -William Shakespeare

Plus P5 & P6 are synonymous with programs that don't work well until they are updated a few times. Ya mean like Windows? >> By your long post you might be the troll. Hardly ... Carolly has been around here for ages, including as a moderator of this forum. She's almost as old as dirt here. ;-D

Attached Link: http://www.e-frontier.co.jp

New Name is e frontier

Scotts Valley, CA, May 16, 2005 - Curious Labs announced today that, effective immediately, it has moved to larger offices and changed its name to e frontier America, Inc. and will do business as e frontier to align with its parent company, e frontier, Inc. in Tokyo.

CEO of e frontier America, Inc. Hiroshi Sato said, It has been a good year for Curious Labs. With our expanded staff, larger office space and support by our corporate office in Japan, we are poised for a year of aggressive growth. Sato continued, The home market, hobbyist and professional consumer will all benefit from our new products and development synergy with e frontier, Inc.

Curious Labs is known in the graphic software community as the developer of the 3D human figure software, Poser, which recently announced the release of Poser 6. Poser will use both company names during a transition period and will be called, e frontier, Curious Labs Poser. e frontier, Inc. purchased Curious Labs in Dec 2003.

The new address for e frontier, America, Inc. is 5615 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley, CA in Santa Cruz County. The main phone number of the new office of e frontier is 831-480-2000. Scotts Valley is close to San Jose and the Silicon Valley. The new web address is www.e-frontier.com though the old web address of www.curiouslabs.com will continue to be active during the transition period.

e frontier, Inc., and its subsidiary companies develop and publish a diverse range of software products worldwide, produce quality computer graphic content and publish software-related books and magazines. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information on e frontier, Inc., see www.e-frontier.co.jp.

Congrats to the folks at "the company formerly known as CL" - e-Frontier. Here's to a successful future with Poser! Wahoo!

Attached Link: http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

"Poser" has name recognition in the 3D community so changing it now would be ridiculous. In addition it seems like a pretty accurate name to me...you pose your figures and then render. Perhaps the people who are upset with the name are the real poseurs... (bad pun) Poser has gone through many hands in the past few years. From Metacreations to Curious Labs. Now e-Frontier. I remember when DAZ split from Zygote. If you've been around long enough you'd know there's been a lot of changes in the forums and splinter forums as well too. No biggie if you can just accept that sometimes changes occur while the community basically has stayed the same.

It has been a good year for Curious Labs. With our expanded staff, larger office space...." No excuse for not releasing Poser 6 SR1 'soon' as promised then...! Get some of the 'expanded' staff to work on SR1. But... do they mean 'expanded' as in numbers, or... 'expanded' as in waist size...? Maybe... they needed the larger office space to accommodate all the larger tummies.

I'm glad that it is going so well for them. The building they were in was charming, but hard to get to, and the entrance was in back and up the stairs... past the lumpy asphalt (where the bodies of pirates are paved over after being flattened) and over the bridgeless moat (bring rope and jumars) and between clashing gateways guarded by maniacal programmers (easily bribed with chocolate). Once inside, an adventurer was made to feel warm and welcome, though. Hmm... I will have to sit on a dome in Yosemite in order to feel young again! ;^) Carolly

Great to hear that everything is going well for you guys, CL......uh, I meant to say "EF".

...

Ooooh, Scotts Valley, what a beautiful area. But then, Santa Cruz County in general is God's Country. One of many, that is. I used to live in the mountains in Aptos ... reading about the company makes me miss that region. Curious Labs was a great name. Long live Curious Labs by any other name! y viva Poser! LOL Anyone else remember the punk rock store called "Poseur" ?

'Wonder if they've moved the cave as well? you know, the one where all those CL operatives are beavering away, drinking scotch whisky and trying to sort out SR1? LOL

What they did, not to alarm or arouse suspicion, is to wait till they were all drunk asleep and transported them to a local cave simulation that identically matches their environs. Keep the scotch whiskey flowing and they'll never find out! :) Just had to add that, as a developer, my beverage of choice (other than coffee, obviously) is Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale. How can anyone resist a beer with a scene from Hieronymous Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights" triptych on the label!

Message edited on: 05/17/2005 01:36

Ohhhh, I liked the name CuriousLabs :-( But as long as you continue to develop Poser and release new versions in the future you might call yourself whatever you want ;-)

Attached Link: http://www.e-frontier.co.jp/poser/

Heh. I love the japanese pic :)

Message edited on: 05/17/2005 08:15

Really ... well reconsidered ;)

Whatever the name, I wish all the employees well. Takeovers and name changes are often viewed with suspicion by staff - and there's often justification for this. I'd hate to see anyone lose their job due to "rationalisation" or "consolidation" or any other kind of manager-speak bollocks. As fopr the app itself. It's a well established name, now in its 6th incarnation so I can't really imagine them changing the name unless everyone suddenly stops using it. lanaloe - don't be calling Carolly a troll. Disagreement with your point of view does not make someone a troll.

EGISys never bothered to really meld with CL/Poser to this degree so I'd say it's a positive sign that they're really committed to the product. Let's see, Germany, Japan...If WWII history is any indication, Poser's next owners will probably be headquartered in Rome or Florence.

Sam, actually carolly started the use of the word troll...

I think Curious Labs was not a good name -- it conflicts with Curious Software, anyway. E-frontier is a worldwide company, and I know their Japanese parent has invested heavily in making them successful. best regards, chikako

Actually, I guess it is logical if CL was purchased by e-frontier, for it to be renamed eventually. I am glad they have more office space (what would that be in sq m? Japanese use meters more than feet, as well as I do). As we can see in Nissan which merged/was acquired/something with Renault, lots of exciting things happens with cross cultural exchanges. And Japanesea are usually thinner (excluding sumo wrestlers) than "westerns" so actually maybe the diet at ther new offices will be good for them in the long run. Anyway, good luck, keep the good work, and let us hope we get the much anticipated fix for the memory bug soon! And a sumo wrestler morph for James would be absolutely cool in CP freebies!

"I think Curious Labs was not a good name -- " Curiosity killed the cat

what would that be in sq m? 10000 sq ft = 929 sq meters

Here in America poser is a negative term that kids use to describe someone who lacks integrity or is a hack. Ist impressions are in important so sales would increase if the name was more inspiring. Of course older generations have different meaning for words but the children are the future. My question is e-frontier part of e-on?

No e-on makes Vue d Esprit etc, and is I believe, wholly owned by themselves and a US company.

Mmmm I thought the problems was more with Curious being misinterpretated than Poser, but e-frontier I believe has no double meaning, does it?

Mmmm I thought the problems was more with Curious being misinterpretated than Poser, but e-frontier I believe has no double meaning, does it? Poser...or rather Poseur (pronounced the same) generally a derogatory term referring to some one who pretends to be something he is not. Sometimes used as in insult to someones abilities. The name may, in some ways, contribute to the idea that Poser is not a real 3D program and anything done in Poser isnt real art. I dont see how Curious Labs could be taken negatively.