Well, since I live in Mexico, and I'm still studying, I don't get a lot of mone from where I work at. I've been saving for a bit and I've gathered enough money to get me the student version of Softimage|XSI OR a SONY 19 inch monitor... right now I just got my hands on Maya 3 but I've still got a 14 inch monitor (which actually sucks). So I need a bit of advice on the matter... which one would be best right now?
On the hardware side, I have plans of upgrading maybe next year, since I already have 2 Piii's 700, 320 RAM, and an Oxygen VX1 (32MB).
Ahh, Id say go with the monitor, it will be way more helpful than softimage xsi, unless you really don't like the usability of maya. I dropped my student license of maya after alias screwed me by first saying they WOULD transfer my student license from sgi to nt, and then saying they wouldn't after I sold my o2. I got xsi instead thinking I could learn it and all would be good. I so far hate xsi, seeing as it has virtually no modeling tools and doesn't seem to run very stable, even on dual 800eb's and 512 mb ram. The monitor will save your eyes for sure, and probably give you a good workout just moving it onto your desk. 0_o