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65th Anniversary
View-Master® set Introduced at 2004 Toy Fair
Mattel is selling a specially created set to celebrate
the 65th anniversary of the View-Master®.
The 65th Anniversary View-Master® set was introduced
at the 101st annual American International Toy Fair, which
ran from Feb. 15-19, 2004. At the four-day show, more than
1,500 toy manufacturers showed off their latest playthings
to 20,000 toy buyers from around the world.
3-D Review Online Magazine interviewed Dana Marciniak
at View-Master® to find out about the behind-the-scenes
production of the anniversary set.
What went into choosing the images featured on the reels
for the 65th anniversary set?
[Dana Marciniak] Our main goal was to choose images that
really reflected the 65 years View-Master® has been
documenting history, events and pop culture. We wanted to
ensure that each image really "spoke" to what
the era was all about and would resonate with our audience.
It was important to us to also choose images from past View-Master®
reels. For example, when choosing an image to represent
Disneyland, we wanted the image to be authentic with View-Master®
photography, therefore it was imperative that the image
reflected Disneyland in the 1950s as a popular tourist attraction,
not an image from today.
How many sets will be produced for collectors?
[Dana Marciniak] We are producing 65,000 box sets in total
and sending six to be auctioned/raffled off at the National
Stereoscopic Association Show in July. One of those sets
will be signed by a member of our View-Master® team.
Any behind-the-scenes information about the specially
designed viewer in the set?
[Dana Marciniak] We tested the viewer with consumers and
the red "L" viewer was the most recognizable model.
It really sparks that nostalgic feeling in people when they
see it. The metallic finish is simply unique and gives this
viewer a premium look.
Any other unique information about the set?
[Dana Marciniak] It also comes with a display base that
will allow consumers a place to display the viewer and the
eight reels.
Ft.
Worth Star-Telegram in 3-D
 On
April 1, The
Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, a Texas newspaper, printed
a special section of anaglyphic 3-D photos taken around
Tarrant County featuring animals, culture, people, scenery
and sports. The newspaper also printed all advertisements
in the special section in 3-D.
The 18-page 3-D section was distributed in the Thursday,
April 1 issue to all subscribers, including Sunday-only
customers. In addition to the special section, 3-D glasses
were inserted with the newspaper.
Some of the 3-D images are conversions from 2-D originals.
The newspaper's Web site posted some of the 3-D photos.
(Editor's Note: It took a long time to download the Flash
3-D images using a dial-up modem.) Reader's could enter
an online contest to pick a favorite 3-D advertisement.
Hal
Lifeson's 1966 Music CD
 The
cool companion compact disk to the book Hal Lifson's
1966! features 23 audio tracks to enjoy from the year
1966, "the coolest year in music history!"
The CD's cover art uses a View-Master® reel design
to depict 14 music icon images from 1966.
According to Lifeson, "My goal is to prove that 1966
may have been the best year ever. Looking back at my life
as a kid in the safe, suburban confines of Encino, California,
I was exposed at a very young age to the best pop and rock
music of the 20th Century, all via the low-fidelity of a
Thrifty Drugs transistor radio. The sounds of '66 changed
my life forever. I went to sleep with the radio under my
pillow as I didn't want to miss a beat."
Music Tracks
1. These Boots Are Made for Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
2. Lies - The Knickerbockers
3. Batman - Main Title - Neal Hefti
4. Our Man Flint - Main Theme - Jerry Goldsmith
5. Magic Town - The Vogues
6. Double Shot (of my Baby's Love) - The Swingin' Medallions
7. The Big T.N.T. Show - Commercial
8. Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees
9. Secret Agent Man - The Ventures
10. The Dating Game - TV Theme
11. Cool Jerk - The Capitols
12. If I Were a Carpenter - Bobby Darin
13. Who Am I? - Petula Clark
14. The Newlywed Game - TV Theme
15. Shapes of Things - The Yardbirds
16. Great Shakes - Commercial - The Yardbirds
17. The Time Tunnel - TV Theme - John Williams
18. You Baby - The Turtles
19. All Strung Out - Nino Tempo and April Stevens
20. Dark Shadows - Commercial
21. Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
22. Star Trek - Main Title and Closing Theme - Fred Steiner
and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
23. Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
Find out more at www.hallifson.com.
Nanosaur
II: Hatchling Video Game Hatches in Two 3-D Formats - Anaglyphic
and LCD Shutter Glasses
 Nanosaur
II: Hatchling is the only game for MacOS X that supports
the use of stereo 3-D glasses for a truly immersive experience.
Mac users can now play a 3-D game the way it was meant to
be played, in real 3-D! Two different types of 3-D glasses
are supported: Anaglyph and LCD Shutter glasses.
Nanosaur II: Hatchling is in final development and will
be available March 10, 2004. The game is a continuation
of the original Nanosaur storyline, yet this time you get
to fly a pteradactyl who's loaded with hi-tech weaponry
and the game is much larger than the original 1998 game.
In addition to the adventure mode where you blast enemy
dinos and save eggs, there are also six two-player levels
including racing, capture-the-flag and battle.
The minimum system requirements for Nanosaur II: Hatchling
are
- MacOS 10.2.8
- iMac G4/700mhz
- 512 MB RAM
- Radeon or GeForce 2 graphics acceleration with at least
32MB of VRAM
The game might run in only 256MB of RAM, but the load
times will be extremely long and the game may run a little
choppy. The game will not run on older iMac's with Rage
128 accelerators. This includes All pre-flat-panel iMacs.
Only flat-panel iMac's come with Radeon, GeForce or better
video accelerators.
Shutter glasses are amazing because there is no color distortion
in the image, so it’s like looking through a glass
window into a 3-D universe. However, it is more difficult
to use 3-D shutter glasses because they only work with CRT
displays, not LCD displays. For the best results, the CRT
must be capable of at least 85hz.
There are several types of shutter glasses out there, but
the only kind that will work with OpenGL on Mac OS X is
the “blue-line sync” type. Before purchasing a
pair of shutter glasses be sure it is the blue-line sync
type.
3-D Review Online Magazine Receives
Monster Kid Cool Site Award
 The
staff of 3-D Review Online Magazine is proud to announce
that the Web site is the recipient of the Monster Kid Cool
Site Award.
Monster Kid is modeled after the classic monster
magazines of the 1960s, such as Famous Monsters of Filmland.
Editor Kerry Gammill (Count Gamula) presents great information
and entertainment through Monster Kid. Kerry Gammill
is a talented artist whose work has appeared in both Marvel
and DC comics. Some of his work can be seen on his Gammillustrations
Web site.
The staff and management of 3-D Review Online Magazine
appreciate this honor.
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