Blender, the free 3D software package that had been available through Dutch company Not a Number (NaN) until March 2002, when the company declared bankruptcy, is now making a comeback, thanks to Blender creator Ton Roosendaal. Roosendaal founded NaN in June of 1998, and the company offered the Blender Creator animation software free through their Website. Since the demise of NaN, Roosendaal has been working with shareholders to come up with a possible way to make Blender available to the 3D community as an open source development project. On July 15, 2002, the shareholders of NaN agreed to allow the creation of a non-profit organization (the Blender Foundation) to execute the development of Blender as a free software, as long as the Foundation can raise 100,000 Euro (US$98,000) to support the effort. Roosendaal and the Blender Foundation have established the Free Blender Fund to raise the money. For more information about the Free Blender Fund, visit www.elysiun.com. Roosendaal will be on hand to discuss the future of Blender at the Blender "Birds of a Feather" meeting at SIGGRAPH on Monday, July 22, 2002 between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, Room: 003A.
