SGI: Discussion

I noticed a trend at work where, time after time, a new clown makes his way in to the office who's steadily trying to convince me of their "leet skillz" and professional attitude but you mention the name "SGI" and they have absolutely no clue who you're talking about... Now I can take in to consideration the situation that SGI is now.. but 10 years ago it was SGI, IBM, MSFT...etc. We're talking about a company that pioneered the "workstation" and all but coined "virtual reality".

A sharp *pain" hits my cerebral cortex time after time I hear "SGI?" Who's that?!!

Yeah, I can remember a time when everyone I knew was using Macs at home and SGIs, Suns and NeXTs for work... and PCs were the systems used by the secretarial staff.

What is strange is that was less than 10 years ago. But that long ago computers were still both a mystery and a luxury for most people.

Still, you would think people would at least know what SGI or Silicon Graphics is if they were interested enough in computers to try to make it their profession.

I guess the graphical people would use SGI at work and Mac at home, but I certainly couldn't see Unixy people using SGI at work and a Mac at home (at least in pre-osx days)

Stonent wrote: I guess the graphical people would use SGI at work and Mac at home, but I certainly couldn't see Unixy people using SGI at work and a Mac at home (at least in pre-osx days)

True. Why would you want to?

"IT" now sadly more than often means Microsoft Certified...

yeah, i second unixmuseum's statement. these days, you're hard pushed to find people who know what hp/ux / irix / aix etc are. if they know unix, it's either linux (and i'm not so sure that should qualify) or solaris.

but then again, soon we'll all be sequestered as mindslaves by the redmond monstah!!! aaaaargh...

<frantically tries to emigrate to siberia>



nah, seriously, i know quite a few people here in belgium that are moderately or quite unix savvy and when i tell them about IRIX their eyes go WIDE!!

And why should they. The world has moved on.

As late as two years ago I was putting my first film together exclusively on the Octane but now I use a laptop for 95% of the post and the Octane only for some retouching and compositing stuff. It's just too cumbersome to get footage in and out of it and in the end the result looks the same most of the time.

assyrix wrote: And why should they. The world has moved on.

As late as two years ago I was putting my first film together exclusively on the Octane but now I use a laptop for 95% of the post and the Octane only for some retouching and compositing stuff. It's just too cumbersome to get footage in and out of it and in the end the result looks the same most of the time.

Right but an IT pro shuld know their computer history... film editing is a different field completely.

"IT" now sadly more than often means Microsoft Certified...

so true, so true!

Today, it's like this (and sadly, in professional engineering and IT world too):

IT = Microsoft
text document = .doc file
Internet = IE
Mail = Outlook
CAD = Autocad
spreadsheet = Excel
programming = visual basic and NET
compiler = "what is that?"
operating system = "what is that?"
computer = PC with Microsoft XP "program"
Unix, BSD, Linux = "you're criminal hacker? Making viruses? You're not serious and we don't wan't to have anything in common with you!"

..and so on. Those are just a few of my experiences from the last 6 months.
I used to ask when I completed my projects, for example:
Q: "so would you like it in IGES format or any other specific?"
..and the answer would be:
A:"..umm, I don't know anything about that, I have Autocad"

..or:
Q:"do you want me to write a script so that gnuplot will read and plot the array data"
..and the answer would be:
A:"..umm, I don't know anything about that, I have Excell"

..and so on and on.

Today, it's like this (and sadly, in professional engineering and IT world too):

IT = Microsoft
text document = .doc file
Internet = IE
Mail = Outlook
CAD = Autocad
spreadsheet = Excel
programming = visual basic and NET
compiler = "what is that?"
operating system = "what is that?"
computer = PC with Microsoft XP "program"
Unix, BSD, Linux = "you're criminal hacker? Making viruses? You're not serious and we don't wan't to have anything in common with you!"

So ture. Sometime ago I was on the net reading a blog and they are complaining about how cheap that his school is cheap because they have Macintosh Computers. When did Macs become "cheap"? Our School is replacing our macs in the newspaper room with PCs. I hate when people say they know more about computers then me. And they only use PCs and think they can turn down the main volume on a computer using the volume control on the cd-rom. We also have a class called Computer technology and its just all pc software. There are mac posters in the room but no macs. Nothing else about other type of computers in the class. Just all PC.

I hate when people say they know more about computers then me. And they only use PCs and think they can turn down the main volume on a computer using the volume control on the cd-rom.

People that use Windows based computers think they know everything about computers. In the pass there was a kid that told me that he know more about computers then me, because he can sell viruses. Another day at school this girl said her mom knows more then I do (because she uses a pc). One day at my friends, I was on the net playing a game and pissing this kid off (my friends neighbor). So I was calling him computer stupid because he siad his bothers computer is runescape powered (runescape is a online rpg made using java). I said what the hell, are you stupid. Then his mom got on and told us she is no computer stupid. I wasnt even talking to her at the time. She said she knows more about computers then I do. What the hell is up with people here in nebraska that thinks they know more then I do! So I tested her and ask her "What is a SGI computer?". She replieda there is no such thing. What the Hell? She is computer stupid.

i like this kind of discussion,....
there are two kind of people...
* the profis: WinXP+peecee with watercooling and overclocked 5000+Mhz +Emule
*the idiots(like me) digging around with end of live hard and software and "exotic" OSes

...but if just one little problem occurs to that so called profs, they call me(idiot) to solveve their shit.
...its ok, i charge them euro 80.- per hour for now.

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I blame the unix folks.

All the nice OSes have always been for a small elite that could afford them. No on could afford an SGI or Sun or DEC or HP Workstation when they were new.

On the other hand there was Bill "a pc on every desk" Gates, and that was clearly the way to go, as we can see now. But the big unix vendors did not see that and now they are dead and the loss is theirs and ours.

Stonent wrote: I guess the graphical people would use SGI at work and Mac at home, but I certainly couldn't see Unixy people using SGI at work and a Mac at home (at least in pre-osx days)

A fair number of Unixy people would have used Indys for workstations and Challenges or O2ks as compute farms.

And for some reason I've always had the idea that unixy people were more likely to like the Mac than a PC. After all, Clifford Stoll wasn't exactly a graphics guy (at the time admining BSD Unix on Vaxen), but he made mention of having a Mac at home in "The Cockoo's Egg". I've heard many other reports of unixy people buying Macs of the MacII, IIFX and SE/30 variety for speed reasons, not to mention A/UX or MachTen from Tenon Intersystems.

unixmuseum wrote: "IT" now sadly more than often means Microsoft Certified...

Or as a current Radio ad playing here says:

"Microsoft we put the IT in productivity"