I posted this on my site already,
but if anyone has anymore infos about the “why’s” of this piece of news:
"plasma
Discreet has taken the decision to discontinue development of plasma, effective immediately. Plasma will be discontinued for sale as of August 31, 2004.
Discreet remains firmly committed to the belief that the mass consumption of advanced 3D on the Web is only a matter of time. We fully intend to have specific tools available to service this requirement as the Web evolves. Meanwhile, existing Discreet products such as 3ds max are easily capable of supporting the most sophisticated Web 3D content demands today."
which seems to be the only thing left over from the products bookmark I had
(http://www4.discreet.com/company/company.php?id=788)