Microsoft will support the development of the 3D design suite Blender.
In one announcement της η Blender αποκάλυψε ότι ο κατασκευαστής των Windows εισήλθε στο Ταμείο Ανάπτυξης (Development fund) του ιδρύματος σαν Corporate Gold member (από 1η Ιουλίου του 2020) για να βοηθήσει την εταιρεία να συνεχίσει να παρέχει το λογισμικό της δωρεάν.
Microsoft uses the Blender application to create XNUMXD models and images of people that can be used to train AI models.
For researchers, access to free high-quality / open source 3D software has proven to be of great benefit to scientific projects. You can see some of their work here (PDF).
Unlike other popular alternatives like Cinema4D and Maya, Blender is completely free and open source.
Of course Microsoft's contribution is € 30.000 according to Blender's membership page. The amount is not large for the company's expenses, but the move alone could significantly contribute to providing more reliability in the Blender application.
If you do not know the application and want to see what it can do, visit it Blender subreddit, and you will appreciate the software.
Blender may not be as widely accepted as Cinema4D (although things change very quickly), but it certainly is no less capable. The quality of the works that users share on subreddit is a very good proof of that.
Help from a brand name like Microsoft will help the company reach a new audience and continue to grow.
