SGI: Development

You guys and your alternative browsers. Don't you know the NSA is keeping special track of you?

I remember when mozilla decided to create their own cross platform toolkit, they said that by that point in their history it was taking two engineers two weeks to add "a button" to the user interface across all the platforms they were then supporting. The XfeWidget library that Ramiro Estrugo wrote to make their Motif-based Unix interface look just like Windows and Mac was impressive. And as far as I know no one else is using that library for anything. Of course, it's been reinvented by a bunch of other vendors. PTC is still using their own hacked version of Motif for Pro/Engineer, and it's pixel by pixel equivalent to the way their Windows version looks. Welcome to the Not Invented Here contest, step right this way and kick the dead horse right in the colorwheel...

vishnu wrote: PTC is still using their own hacked version of Motif for Pro/Engineer, and it's pixel by pixel equivalent to the way their Windows version looks.

Really ? Are they trying for first place in the stupidity contest or something ? I stopped at Wildfire 2, as that was the last one for Irix. And it's 64-bit, too, ugh, but you gotta take what you can get ...

Yeah I avoid GPL when reasonable alternatives exist. If I had to choose between IRIX GPL or closed I'd choose closed.

TeamBlackFox wrote: Yeah I avoid GPL when reasonable alternatives exist. If I had to choose between IRIX GPL or closed I'd choose closed.

If you carry on like this, your pet troll will have to go on a crash diet...

TeamBlackFox wrote: Yeah I avoid GPL when reasonable alternatives exist. If I had to choose between IRIX GPL or closed I'd choose closed.

This is the way SGI typically protected the source code that they made available to the world at large:

hamei wrote:

vishnu wrote: PTC is still using their own hacked version of Motif for Pro/Engineer, and it's pixel by pixel equivalent to the way their Windows version looks.

Really ? Are they trying for first place in the stupidity contest or something ? I stopped at Wildfire 2, as that was the last one for Irix. And it's 64-bit, too, ugh, but you gotta take what you can get ...

Keep in mind that the only platform Pro/E existed on for years was SGI, for the simple reason that no one else built computers that could do what SGI's did. And in those days there were no alternative toolkits, except maybe Athena (and that's a big maybe), other than that it was Motif or nothing...

vishnu wrote: Keep in mind that the only platform Pro/E existed on for years was SGI, for the simple reason that no one else built computers that could do what SGI's did. And in those days there were no alternative toolkits, except maybe Athena (and that's a big maybe), other than that it was Motif or nothing...

I do like the way that the interface is totally configurable. You can put whatever you want wherever you want, and every user can arrange all the parts to suit themself. And it's a simple manually-edited text file, not some steenking xml shit.

The newer interfaces have gone towards a more Windows-ish paradigm but at least, starting from a Motif beginning the program is straightforward to customize. If it had started life as a Windows program I fear we'd have got : "This is how it is, if you don't like it go start your own company. And by the way, don't try to use lines or arcs, we have those patented."

hamei wrote: I do like the way that the interface is totally configurable. You can put whatever you want wherever you want, and every user can arrange all the parts to suit themself. And it's a simple manually-edited text file, not some steenking xml shit.

The newer interfaces have gone towards a more Windows-ish paradigm but at least, starting from a Motif beginning the program is straightforward to customize. If it had started life as a Windows program I fear we'd have got : "This is how it is, if you don't like it go start your own company. And by the way, don't try to use lines or arcs, we have those patented."

Maya is the same story, got it's start on SGI's, used Motif from the very first day, and is infinitely configurable. You know what they say though, 90 percent of users don't customize and use less than 10 percent of the products features. Then again, I don't think the professionals who use Maya or Pro on a daily basis fit the category of your average user. I know I don't...

Pro did get more Windows-ish in an attempt to compete with their lower-end rivals like Solidworks. It backfired though in that people said "well Pro is just like Solidworks so might as well buy Solidworks instead and save a bundle." The dreaded marketing double cross - when your stategy does the exact opposite of what it was intended to do...