The collected works of IAMNOTDEFECTIVE

Is anyone else having problems getting onto MaxxDesktop's website? Because I've been trying for 2 days to get into it to get a respotitory link but this is all I get:


I don't know if this is because I live in the UK or it's something else but it's now really bugging me I cannot try the UI out... =\

uunix wrote: Not really related since you have been trying for two days, but related because you are in the UK as am I.. but.. BT have gone tits up this afternoon.. in fact so bad it was announced on the News.. thank the lordy I have Virgin line also..

Anyway I can acquire what I'm looking for w/out the website? I'm curious on trying the IRIX interface out for myself...

Hello everyone!
So I actually only found out about SGI last Saturday and I've been frantically getting all the info I need about SGI. Now before I go into the main reason of this post I want to say: Daaaamn! These machines are beautiful! 0_0

Now I'm a 3D Animator that only recently decided to move from SFM to Maya, I have been using Maya 2016 as I've been learning how to rig and how to do "pose-to-pose" animation. I want to use Renderman as the renderer and render at 5k resolutions... I know Maya 6.5 is the last version for IRIX but how different is that to 2016? Also I could not find a version of RM for IRIX! =P

I model in Blender, everything from set building to character modelling, it's all done inside this program for my workflow. I know that IRIX has a version of Blender available as well, but it's at 2.49 which I absolutely cannot grasp the interface like I've grasped the revamped version. It also does not feature the "Cycles Renderer" in this version, So even though I don't render through Blender usually, me setting up texture maps is a lot easier using the nodes in this renderer then Blender's default.

There's nothing wrong with my brand new Hackintosh, but I've read that SGI was known for their performance in 3D Applications. So hypothetically, if I had the money should I take the dive with a V12 or v12 ? or is my workflow to incompatible to work in IRIX and I should stick with Mac OS X or Linux (With MaXX installed if I can ever get that working)

If it is the latter then I do have a cool build idea with the case I want to do at some point!

vishnu wrote: The Maya coders take pride in the fact that they've never changed the user interface, if you know 2016 you'll instantly be able to be productive with 6.5. I have never used a version newer than 6.5, but members here who have have said the new features are "cruft." If you're happy with what Blender gives you you'll be fine with 6.5.

Maya 6.5 Unlimited also comes with Mental Ray which in my humble opinion is better than any other Irix renderer, but obviously you can export to any Mac - Linux - Windows renderer.

Now, for hardware I would say you'd want a V12 2-processor Octane (or a 4-processor Tezro) rather than a Fuel, the extra processors make a big difference if you want to run Mental Ray while you're modeling or in particular if you're playing back scenes.

So if I do go with an IRIX workstation, I should consider more towards an Octane... interesting... =)

Also I noticed I derped in the original post, I forgot to mention my display is actually a Ultrawide Monitor... Whoops! XP

ClassicHasClass wrote:

but my Dad actually has a RiscPC SA as his main workstation to get things done...

I'm impressed. Does he do this in RISC OS or something else?

Yep! RISC OS 4.39! And it's still going strong!

Trippynet wrote:

IAMNOTDEFECTIVE wrote:

Trippynet wrote:

IAMNOTDEFECTIVE wrote: Also I noticed I derped in the original post, I forgot to mention my display is actually a Ultrawide Monitor... Whoops! XP

However, in the end I found it easier to run my SGI machines through a conventional 20" 4:3 monitor and use my 16:10 monitor for my Windows machine and my Mac Mini - means I can interact with both SGIs and my PC at the same time too.

I said I had an Ultra Wide monitor, IE 21:9, so that would be a problem if you had a problem getting a 16:10 display working all honky dory.

Not necessarily. Either way you have to create a custom VFO if the resolution isn't supported natively by IRIX. That's the case for a lot of 16:10 and 16:9 monitors, so the same would hold for a 21:9 screen. So long as the graphics hardware can physically handle it, creating a custom VFO should be possible.

As I said, I was able to get my O2 to run at 16:10 resolutions, but not the Indigo2. However, the Indigo2 is a much older machine. With newer systems like Fuels and Octanes with the later graphics cards (V10/V12), compiling widescreen VFOs is not too much of a problem. Hence, getting your screen working is certainly a possibility!

I see... That'll be interesting to fiddle around with... XD

uunix wrote: With the above in mind, which is my favourite machine.... Octane2 obviously (until I get my hands on a certain Onyx Rack).

I wish you the best of luck with that!

So basically the facts I'm getting is:
If I do get a SGI Workstation, I should consider getting the Fuel if I want less sound emitting from the unit (as well as to not have it dramatise the electricity bills ), These things are old (which I already knew) and I should seriously consider not using one as a daily driver, I should feel right at home with the Maya 6.5 interface and finally I would need to do some tweaking if I want to try to get the native aspect ratio of my display to work properly

Very interesting...

foetz wrote: if noise and power comsumption are major factors for you then an sgi or any other "real" workstation (or even bigger) is just not the right thing for you.

I cannot argue with that logic! XD

The website is finally back up again! Although the DL's are for the DR2 release... I don't know what's up with that...

EDIT: nvm, this seems like old news! XD

When is the Spring Release gonna happen? It's the middle of Summer just to let you know...
Also your website address has expired, just in case you weren't aware...

foetz wrote: you should call him woody

EDIT: actually, i could just as well join this "made with an sgi" show off thread
a while ago the legendary resident evil 1.5 has been released and some time later autodesk dumped softimage. so i figured i could combine both (since capcom used softimage for the resi games) and make a related scene. i picked the lobby where the game starts and what has also been one of the best known screenshots over the years.

That looks really cool! well I like it!

Kinda shows that SGI's are still capable machines even today!

Also sorry for reviving a dead thread...

Hello there,
A little while ago I bought a Acorn Archimedes A5000 keyboard:

So I could use it in my primary setup to replace the magic keyboard I'm currently using. With the aid of kbdbabel's open A5000 -> PS/2 protocol ( http://www.kbdbabel.org ), I hoped to get this working in El Capitan. But I've hit a snag on the last line of the instructions on how to compile the code ("write kbdbabel_a5000_ps2_8051.bin on an empty 27C256 or AT89C2051") I get the following error "usage: write user [tty]" which I don't understand what this means in the context I'm trying to use the command. Currently the keyboard is plugged into my Hackintosh's PS/2 port right now...

Does anyone have a suggestion on what to do or know any other way I can use this protocol? I would really appreciate any help that maybe given!
Thanks in advance!

ClassicHasClass wrote: I think they meant use whatever appropriate tool you have to write that BIN to the controller or EPROM, not to literally type that command.

Any tools you can suggest?

So I've been looking on google for "tools that can write bin files to controllers", expecting that putting that in the search-bar would give me what I'm looking for... Naturally it has not so I'm still looking for a tool to do the suggested action...

jpstewart wrote: The instructions in your first message say to write the .bin file to a 27C256 (or equivalent). That's the part number for a pretty common EPROM chip. So you need both an EPROM programmer (a.k.a. EPROM burner; i.e., a suitable piece of hardware) and the software to drive it, which might well be specific to your hardware. (Which is what I think ClassicHasClass meant when he mentioned an "appropriate tool".) So the exact details of writing to the chip will vary, which is why the instructions are vague. Googling for EPROM programmers will lead you in the right (and write! ) direction.

Your questions suggest that you're not familiar with the process, so it might be easier/cheaper/quicker to find somebody with a suitable EPROM burner to make the chip for you rather than getting an EPROM burner and trying to figure out how to use it.

So it's not as simple as flashing something on the keyboard? Okay... I need find one extremely local to me...

robespierre wrote:

write kbdbabel_a5000_ps2_8051.bin on an empty 27C256 or AT89C2051

The AT89C2051 is a microcontroller that uses parallel programming. So it also needs a device programmer with a socket, like the 27C256 EPROM does.

So these are inside the keyboard then?
Does anyone local to Chelmsford have a EPROM burner?

Honestly this is starting to sound like a problem for the summer holiday!

I think I gotcha now: it's for an adapter board! The only trouble being this is outside my technical knowhow. I'm pretty tech-savvy but building boards is way out there! I'm just getting confused just looking at the schematics.

I don't know anyone who does do this sort of thing... ah well, it seems like using this keyboard is not mean't to be...

spiroyster wrote: Shame, that keyboard has one of the nicest tactile feedbacks I have ever used.

Indeed it is... I would be more then happy to get someone to create the board in question... I just don't anyone like that or how I would go about finding one...

Okay I'm going to look for PCB fabricators/assembly and see what I can find... Based on the schematics I downloaded from kbdbabel.org, what price should I be realistically looking at?

I've deleted the old post because of reasons...
I have done a fresh install of Fedora and tried again, this time I have got MaXX working properly and it looks so cool! I can't wait to properly use the interface...

So I think what I might end up doing is buying the components and with the aid of my dad, try to build this adapter board in-house... I'm genuinely looking forward on seeing how this will blowup in my face!

uunix wrote: Email Chris Curry (Ex Acorn), he was a nice guy.

While I like this idea (it's really outside the box ), I just don't see what this will do for me or how I would write such an email...

uunix wrote: I actually have no idea if he's a nice guy really, there is a docudrama called Micro-Men that shows the story of the British 8bit computer industry in the early 80s. Quite a good program, anyway Chris curry is played by Martin Freeman(?) of the UK Office.
certainly worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I especially like the the part he is attacked by Sir Clive Sinclair with a rolled up newspaper.

I see... Well that doesn't really matter as I can't get ahold of his email! XD