Nekonomicon - SiliconClassics

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Movie Magic - CGI episode w/SGI workstations at Oct. 6, 2009, 6:02 a.m...

Ditto - these shows got me really excited about visual effects and SGI hardware back in the 90's. Too bad they haven't been re-released on DVD, because they're hard to find otherwise. Even finding information about these shows is difficult - IMDB seems to have an episode list, but doesn't go into much detail.

Here's one more episode with a good amount of Silicon Graphics exposure - this one focuses on 2D digital enhancement: wire removal, compositing, digital crowds, etc.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Movie Magic - CGI episode w/SGI workstations at Oct. 6, 2009, 3:05 p.m...

You're welcome eMGee. For some reason, crowd generation never fails to impress, even though it's one of the more mundane applications of CG, maybe because it's easy for Joe-Six-Pack to understand

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1377 notes

Wrote on the subject of Octane / Dual Head at Oct. 15, 2009, 11:51 p.m...

The Octane lightbar glows red during POST, then switches to the white incandescent bulbs afterward. Looks like your bulbs are burnt, which is a universal problem with older Octanes. Thankfully they can be easily replaced with LED lights if you're willing to do a bit of soldering - there is a full tutorial floating around.

Nice rig!

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Octane Porn at Oct. 16, 2009, 12:48 a.m...

That's pretty hot. Have you posted it in the hinv forum?

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Silicon Graphics 1600SW Monitor - $50.00 at Oct. 19, 2009, 5:36 p.m...

Wow, just a year ago a 1600SW with MultiLink would have sold on eBay for well over $300 (I know, because I sold a set). Amazing how times have changed!

Though, to be fair, the dot pitch on those 1600SW screens is just a bit too high for my tastes - I think they run native in excess of 100 DPI, which makes text really tiny.

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1378 notes

Wrote on the subject of Ayam 1.16 at Nov. 3, 2009, 4:09 p.m...

Looks like it contains a whole bunch of .hrc and .cus command files and plug-ins for modeling - definitely necessary for a working SI3D installation. It's 26MB.

To the OP: does your O2 really get you attention from women? The girls that have seen mine have been pretty indifferent toward it.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of eBay: Iris Crimson at Nov. 4, 2009, 8:34 p.m...

Yeah, for a system that's probably only good for parts, $250 is a bit much.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of eBay: Iris Crimson at Nov. 5, 2009, 10:16 a.m...

That's right, double the $250 price tag to have that Crimson shipped across even just a few states. Last summer I looked into shipping costs to transport a Crimson from Ohio to New York, and the cheapest quote I got was over $400.

The seller would probably be better off dismantling the system and selling it as parts.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of eBay: Iris Crimson at Nov. 11, 2009, 1:40 p.m...

What to do when your Crimson doesn't sell? Why, re-list it at nearly twice the price! That'll teach those stingy bidders for not buying it the first time!

(As an aside, I see this kind of behavior a lot lately. Are grade schools no longer teaching the basic laws of supply and demand?)

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of eBay: Iris Crimson at Nov. 11, 2009, 3:28 p.m...

recondas wrote: A guess might be that he found this thread and figured there might be some demand for Crimson parts.

That's certainly possible, but in that case, he should just strip down the machine and sell it in pieces. There was just as much demand for Crimson parts last week, and it didn't help the system sell for $250, so there's no reason to believe it will fetch $400 this time around.

EDIT: Especially in light of the fact that there's a similar Crimson on eBay with a sub-$100 opening bid and a $150 buy-it-now price. Who does the guy think he's kidding?

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Movie Magic - CGI episode w/SGI workstations at Nov. 19, 2009, 8:19 p.m...

Yep, that's the web site for an animated short that I made a while ago.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.? at Jan. 12, 2010, 6:05 p.m...

Well, that link points to the docket for my court and judge (S.D.N.Y., Martin Glenn). But as far as why they renamed the company, I'm not completely clear, though this link might provide a clue. Sounds like GPH is a separate entity spun-off of the SGI now owned by Rackable. I don't think this suggests any significant developments are afoot, it seems to be just some necessary corporate/bankruptcy shuffling. GPH is apparently a "debtor-in-possession" company, which means that they retain some assets (hence the "holdings" in their name) with which they probably intend to generate revenues to reimburse creditors. Nothing to get too excited about - any brilliant and innovative employees have long ago departed the company for greener pastures.

Google probably has far more info on this, I just don't have time to dig for it right now.

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of "Unlimited Detail" - new rendering technology at March 11, 2010, 3:47 p.m...

While the claims sound somewhat exaggerated (there's definitely a good amount of puffery in here), if there's even a modicum of truth to this video then it could be the biggest leap forward in computer graphics ever conceived.

It claims to be a major advance on voxel-based graphics that somehow sorts massive volumes of point-cloud data in a super-efficient manner. According to the narrator and the web site, it's entirely software-based.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of O_o at April 8, 2010, 3:25 p.m...

Wow

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Back in the day (well, for you older people) Youtube videos at April 25, 2010, 6 p.m...

Sybrfreq and I could be a potent mix - we could do a Crimson/Onyx double feature, with helpful hints about loading and transport of the systems

I feel quite badly about not having posted any more videos in recent months - school really has eaten up most of my time, but I should be able to get the Color Classic review up by late May, and then hopefully can do a nice O2 video later this summer. The CC review should be fun, and I'd like to show it connecting to Glenn Chase's Color Classic web server over the internet - two 16Mhz machines exchanging web pages is a sight to behold!

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Back in the day (well, for you older people) Youtube videos at April 27, 2010, 6:12 p.m...

Here's a very cute video - had no idea how powerful the 420 VGX was!

And here's some more interesting footage of SGI stuff from the 1994 SCES (not my videos BTW).

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Are we all 99% space? at May 6, 2010, 9:04 p.m...

Totally naive question: if most matter is predominantly empty space, why don't objects pass through each other?

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Are we all 99% space? at May 7, 2010, 7:41 p.m...

I'd like to think that the space between the nucleus and the electrons is filled with creamy, caramel nougat.

Thanks for the explanations, though I'm not sure how quantum uncertainty explains why objects don't pass through each other. Granted that electrons are more akin to clouds or fields than particles, and that in reality clouds of smoke (naive, I realize) and fields (magnetic, electric) can overlap and pass through each other, why then can't electrons pass right through each other?

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1378 notes

Wrote on the subject of Blender 2.48 - Alpha rev c - "Yafray, FFmpeg, 64 threads" at May 27, 2010, 7:11 a.m...

I've never used Matador in production, but I have toyed around with it. It has a very unique interface - reminds me of 3D Studio for DOS. There's a full-size screenshot in my gallery section.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Quick simple ocean model at June 23, 2010, 7:30 a.m...

Cool. What was the render time?

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of SGI o2 with a RED LED? at June 24, 2010, 2:45 p.m...

So you've tried re-seating every component, including the RAM, CPU, any accessory cards, etc? When seating the CPU, you really need to squeeze it against the motherboard to ensure that it firmly grabs the signal risers. You need to squeeze from both the CPU side and from the opposite side of the motherboard to ensure a good fit. You should also try cleaning all the ram contacts (both on the DIMMs and on the motherboard) with alcohol.

As others have mentioned, O2 systems love to play dead, especially after being jostled in shipping. You should exhaust every troubleshooting possibility before looking for a replacement motherboard.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of SGI o2 with a RED LED? at June 25, 2010, 1:11 a.m...

curtjr4 wrote: No CD drives for it, floppy drives, and no other SGI system to remotely install from (Well, theres the o2 but thats dead). Any ideas with the Indy>

Remove the CD-ROM drive from your O2 and connect it to your Indy's internal SCSI connector (you'll obviously need to remove the Indy's skin to do this). I've done this on several occasions - it's relatively easy, you just have to rest the CD-ROM drive on the right front corner of the Indy's chassis. Just make sure the CD-ROM and hard drive are using different SCSI IDs.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of SGI o2 with a RED LED? at June 27, 2010, 3:28 a.m...

curtjr4 wrote: I've tried that before with my Sun's Toshiba SCSI CD-ROM drive (As the o2's doesn't work. The rubber band thing in it snapped oddly when I got it)

If your O2's CD-ROM tray refuses to open, it probably means that a small white gear has popped off the tray motor and is loose in the drive. This is a common problem and easily repairable - just search these forums and you'll find plenty of prior posts documenting this issue. The basic solution is to open the drive and pop the gear back in place with a dab of glue.

SGI systems are very picky when it comes to CD-ROM drives, especially for booting IRIX installation discs. That might be why your Sun is giving errors. Search the forums on this as well - you'll find plenty of documentation.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of List of SGI CDs at June 30, 2010, 7:40 a.m...

I'd be happy to contribute to the Wiki if someone can get a page started.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of List of SGI CDs at July 1, 2010, 7:24 a.m...

There are a lot of duplicate entries between those two lists in the wiki - can somebody consolidate them? I'd like to add a few entries but don't want them to get lost in the shuffle.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of List of SGI CDs at July 1, 2010, 8:01 p.m...

Ok, I've made some entries and cleaned it up a bit.

Noticed something interesting: the CD jewel case part numbers start with 813, while the actual discs inside start with 812. Guess SGI used separate numbers for the discs and their cases. I included both numbers in my entries for the sake of completeness. The jewel case P/N could be useful because if the disk is still shrink-wrapped, a seller must refer to the jewel case P/N rather than the number printed on the disc inside.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Personal IRIS 4D20, 12MHz R2K/R3K, 32MB, 36GB/15K, GR1.2/Z at Oct. 18, 2010, 7:58 p.m...

Very cute! Hope to see pics if you get a chance to post some.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Light Bar for Octane at Oct. 21, 2010, 6:48 p.m...

I second the recommendation to do it yourself - it's a relatively easy job if you know how to use a soldering iron, and it's much less expensive to spend $5 on parts than to buy a replacement LED lightbar.

Cybercow is correct in his approach - white LEDs most closely approximate the color of the original incandescent bulbs, and the outward angle of each LED helps distribute the light evenly across the bar.

This is actually a fun job if you've got the tools.

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of Indigo2 Impact R10K crashing at Nov. 17, 2010, 6:25 p.m...

I've got an R10K Impact I2 system that's having issues. Frequent, replicable crashes while browsing certain directory windows on the desktop (non-fatal, the system stays up but the desktop, icon catalog, and file manager windows disappear, and logging-out and back in again restores them). Also, it's suffering segmentation faults and similar errors when starting Maya, the same errors every time. These problems occur identically with fresh installs of both IRIX 6.5.13 and 6.5.22. I've tried several different video board sets, from Solid to High to Max Impact, with no effect.

Oddly enough, the system seems pretty stable otherwise: no kernel panics or crashes when running typical programs, and running the IDE from the boot menu does not reveal any obvious errors. I'd like to read the detailed results of the IDE - is there a way to read them from within IRIX by opening a text file?

Any ideas what this might be?

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of Indigo2 Impact R10K crashing at Nov. 18, 2010, 7:43 a.m...

Haha, good guess Sybr! Shuffling the memory sticks around seems to alter the nature of the crashes, though they still occur in similar ways. For example, with the memory in one configuration, Maya crashes with a segmentation fault; in another configuration, Maya crashes with a bad system call. Both of these crashes occur upon trying to rotate the viewport by holding ALT+mouse button.

At this point, I'm concerned that the problem lies somewhere on the motherboard - a memory controller perhaps, or somewhere in the CPU cache memory, though IDE reports no memory-related errors.

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of Indigo2 Impact R10K crashing at Dec. 3, 2010, 2:30 p.m...

Update: The mystery deepens. I replaced the motherboard and even the midplane, and the same errors still occur - random crashes in X and crashing of Maya upon orbiting the viewport. I've now swapped video boards, RAM, motherboard, and midplane, with absolutely no effect. At this point, what else could it be other than either the CPU or the power supply?

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Help identifying some SGI boards at Dec. 8, 2010, 1:33 p.m...

Welcome to Nekochan! So you're affiliated with "the" Goodwill, then? Is your inventory largely derived from donations? Sounds like a great source for vintage stuff.

As for identifying boards, each major component (boards, power supplies, skins, etc) should have a 10-digit SGI part number on it, either silkscreened or on a sticker. The part number should be in the following format: XXX-XXXX-XXX, often followed by a revision level (Rev. A, Rev. D, etc). A quick Google search by part number will reveal exactly which boards you've got, and some deeper digging should reveal which other boards are meant to accompany them (ex: geometry engine, raster manager, and display generator boards for an Onyx graphics board set).

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Finally posted the next Silicon Classics episode at Dec. 29, 2010, 10:16 a.m...

It took almost a year, but I finally found time to make the retrospective on the Mac Color Classic that I promised at the end of my ThinkPad video. This time, my friend Jason did the voiceover, and I spent more time on the lighting and editing to create a more professional look (I hope!).

Hope you enjoy. After the Gateway 2000 video, I'll probably do one about the SGI O2.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Finally posted the next Silicon Classics episode at Jan. 1, 2011, 5:28 a.m...

Thanks! In retrospect, I wish I had included some info about the Sonnet Presto Plus, an add-on accelerator board that includes a 68040, 32MB RAM, and an ethernet port. Probably a much better alternative to a Mystic upgrade.

Happy New Year to all.

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of Indigo2 Impact R10K crashing at Jan. 4, 2011, 4:43 p.m...

UPDATE: Just to put a cap on this thread, it turns out that it was a bad CPU module after all. I replaced it with an equivalent R10K 195MHz and all symptoms have disappeared. Unfortunately I swapped out almost every single other component before trying the CPU!

Not sure what exactly was wrong with the processor module, but it's going to the recycler. Thanks to all who offered assistance, and to Mike K for sending me parts until we found the culprit!

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Random Collecting of Things at Feb. 8, 2011, 9:22 a.m...

I've got a minor obsession with old UT Models die cast Porsche 993 collectibles. They are very nicely detailed and they look great on a shelf. Rare ones sell for a premium ($150+ on eBay for a Porsche 911 Turbo S model). In addition to these seven models, I've got a couple of AutoArt models, a BMW M3 and a Ford Mustang.

And it was my youthful obsession with 3D animation that led me to become an SGI enthusiast. I've got quite a few old professional animation packages - here are just a couple of them, I've also got boxed sets of Softimage 3.9, Maya 3, 3D Studio MAX 2.5, ElectricImage, and a bunch of other apps. I've also got a bunch of old Computer Graphics World magazines dating back to the late 1980's - CG was really exciting then because it was growing by leaps and bounds. Someday I'll put all this stuff on display in a "studio" room.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Bake your graphics card! at Feb. 22, 2011, 5:04 a.m...

I tried the Easy Bake technique with a V12 that was displaying colors improperly. It didn't have any effect, but it did melt the plastic bits of the compression connector, so beware.

However, I recently baked an L2 cache SIMM from an old Gateway 2000 486 computer, and it cured the machine's instability problems, so it's worth a shot.

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Motocycle owners at June 16, 2011, 4:16 a.m...

Very nice Recondas! I'm planning a similar route for a road trip in July, the only difference is I'll be departing & returning from/to New York. Want to see San Fran, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Crater Lake, etc. Will be driving a Nissan Pathfinder. Any recommendations regarding route or attractions?

Very impressed that you packed all that into 11 days - you really covered a lot of ground!

SiliconClassics
From New York
Who joined April 11, 2004, 5:07 p.m.

Wrote on the subject of Motocycle owners at June 25, 2011, 4:29 a.m...

recondas wrote: I'd suggest making a north-to-south loop...

Yes, I definitely want to do a loop. I've already seen most of the beautiful places you mentioned in the southwest via motorcycle - did a 17-day tour back in 2003. This time, I'd like to see the northern half of the country, so I'll probably head due west to San Fran, then go north along the coast to Seattle, then head eastward through Montana. It just dawned on me that I need to add Mount Rushmore to the list. On the way back, I need to pick up a rack of stereo equipment in Wisconsin that my father bought on eBay (otherwise, I'd be taking a much smaller car, or perhaps a motorcycle). A few pics from 2003:

SiliconClassics
Who joined April 11, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
and authored 1374 notes

Wrote on the subject of "Unlimited Detail" - new rendering technology at Aug. 3, 2011, 3:01 a.m...

Hmm.. more grandiose claims backed by zero technical information. The creator of Minecraft has weighed in here , giving their claims a thumbs-down.

The collected works of SiliconClassics - Page 2