The collected works of Trippynet - Page 6

From what I've heard in the past, yes there is a market for something like this. Ian mentioned some time back to me that the reason all his Fuel systems skyrocketed in price (very shortly after I bought mine from him) was that he ran out of spare PSUs, and a company offered him many hundreds of pounds for one (I think it was around £800), resulting in him dismantling a working Fuel just to sell the PSU from it.

Hence, a method like this of using a normal ATX PSU - especially whilst being able to leave Environmental Monitoring enabled would be great for none-professional users (and maybe even some pros that don't mind a jury-rigged adapter in their systems).

Put it like this, if my Fuel PSU pops, I'm going to have serious trouble finding one out there which I can afford. This adapter helps solve that, so you get a thumbs up from me!

DaJuice wrote: This machine does actually have a LED modded lightbar, The LED just gave out for whatever reason.

OK, that's even stranger. I'd guess either a wiring issue (snapped core or something), or whoever did it used the wrong resistor so that the LED burnt out.

I've not really done many crazy computer bits to be honest.

Away from that, I've towed a motorbike with another motorbike before. Only a few miles, but I'm glad it wasn't any further. There's something very disconcerting about leaning round a bend and feeling the back end of your bike being pulled around in a different direction by another bike.

I've also driven across town during rush hour on my bike with no clutch (the cable snapped when I was driving to work). Changing gears wasn't so bad (albeit rather jerky to go down the box). But stopping did become a bit of a pain when you basically have to brake until the bike stalls, then start the bike such that the starter motor is both turning the engine over and moving the whole bike forwards simultaneously. It was easier than phoning for a breakdown service though!

I did once try to fix the loose charging port on a friend's mobile phone whilst very drunk and armed with only a spanner. That didn't go so well...

Looks very nice, and an intact front door as well. You just need to pop up the hinv now!

Attaching the files is usually best incidentally as sites like Photobucket are always moving/changing around, and posts otherwise become outdated and incomplete if the photo host disappears. Whereas with attaching them here, they'll last as long as this forum lasts

That is a very nice Fuel indeed! Good skins and excellent spec too.

An Octane that nice looking deserves another post. Kudos on a fine looking machine!

Well, from a simple programming perspective rather than a performance optimising perspective, you need to learn the wonders of arrays a bit more and how they can cut down on repetition of code. You've used them a bit, but you could shorten that code by a good hundred lines or more by replacing loads of your other variables with arrays and then optimising other passages of code accordingly.

If you replace:



With...



And if you do the same for the iSkip variables as well, then instead of code like this:



You can achieve the same with:



This isn't going to fix the IRIX performance of it I don't think, but it'll make it a lot more concise and easy to edit. Note that as I'm used to using a C++ compiler to do my coding, you may need to change the bool bit to an int, or use a C library if you're wanting to use pure C here.

Other bits to tidy are to replace...



with...



This one will improve performance slightly as you're not having to create a variable, initialise it to zero, set it to another value, then destroy it every time you want to grab a random value. This is for starters anyway

Jeez, that's a ridiculous difference! That was just with code tidying, not with any major algorithm change or anything?

I'm paying more attention to that crazy toolchest than the Wings screenshot. That must have taken some work to knock up!

I'm with Vishnu here. My SGIs are all firewalled and have unnecessary services turned off, but otherwise do have Internet access. So far, no problems that I'm aware of.

Overall, I think ancient copies of Firefox and a dead-end and niche OS are not really what you'd call major attack targets. Everything these days seems to focus on Windows or mobile phones where a successful attack can yield a lot more benefit for attackers.

necron2600 wrote: I never did try using the icon catalog before.. guess I found a single .auxchestrc file to be easier (esp. syncing between other IRIX systems).

So where do you store/list apps for quick access?

To be honest, I mainly go with good old desktop shortcuts. My most commonly used programs (Firefox, Dillo, XMMS) are directly on the desktop, other less-used ones are in a few folders (system utils, games, etc). Admittedly it means you've got to minimise your current app in order to launch another one, but on the plus side they also sync nicely between my two machines, and from a laziness point of view they're a bit easier to edit/maintain than editing the Toolchest (which I have done for a few bits, but via .chestrc).

And it gives me an incentive to make sure the icons work

It's not the Boolean which is set to NULL, it's the return value of the function. The function is of type "objinstptr". So if forcempty is false (at this stage in the code), the function returns a objinstptr with a NULL value. Without knowing what type of object "objinstptr" is, and how it's used elsewhere, it's difficult to say what type of impact this may have.

dexter1 wrote: To get back on track. I've toyed with the idea for making a list of compile errors and how to deal with them. From the recent xcircuit discussion, i've realized that many problems in porting software comes from not reading or not interpreting the compilers error messages correctly. Getting a handle on compiler errors is vital in porting code that is correct and does what it is supposed to do.

I think that would be an excellent idea! It's not just the compiling, but also the setting up of the environment as well which could use a coherent tutorial. My recent forays into compilation with OpenTTD meant a lot of searching the forums for scraps of info, asking questions and relying on helpful people pointing things out before I could even start compiling the code.

There's plenty of info on setting up a good MIPSPro environment, but not much for the GCC equivalent. Plus of course differences with setting things up depending on whether you're using bash or tcsh. Then there were other bits of info I had to ask about, such as the 20k IRIX limit on command arguments which can be overridden with "systune -r ncargs 262144". Easy if you know how, but when .\configure is just bombing with an error message, it took time to figure out (with help from here). Also, simple methods of forcing gmake to be used instead of IRIX make.

I know the info is out there, but it's very fragmented. Hence, getting the info together can be a bit daunting, and it's easy for some people new to IRIX compiling to run into a few hurdles and just give up.

Add this with a nice list of compilation error fixes, and maybe a proper guide to debugging, and this might help a lot more people out there to start porting additional programs and utils to IRIX.

Only problem with that is that what seems to be allowed will of course depend upon each moderator's interpretation of the rules, and how much of an accommodating mood they're in.

A year ago for example, there was a discussion about the upcoming Scottish independence referendum over here in the UK which Ian started and which he did admit probably fell a bit foul of the "no politics" rule, however the debate didn't get at all heated or unpleasant, and just consisted of a few people sharing their feelings about it. As a result, it was allowed to stand and wasn't locked, which was nice to see.

There will always be big events cropping up from time to time which some people will want to discuss. We're only human and it can sometimes feel a bit robotic not to acknowledge a major world event and just keep talking about tech-only things in a community that some people have been part of for quite some time. On the other hand, some topics do attract flame-wars like nobody's business (politics being a main one), so I can fully understand why Nekochan has the "no politics" rule.

Overall, I suppose I'd like to see a careful but relaxed approach here. If threads do degenerate then warnings and lockings of course have to happen, but I do prefer when thread locking only happens as a last resort, and that conversations are allowed to continue in general so long as they're performed in a mature and sensible manner and don't clearly violate the forum's rules. As well as being a forum, this is also a community and communities tend to work best when people are able to discuss things (within reason of course).

Ultimately though, I fully appreciate that this is Neko's forum and he obviously has the final say. I also have the utmost respect for the mods and the work they do. Above is just my opinion on the matter in general...

guardian452 wrote: OOohhhhhh boy, thinkpads need to die. Lenovo is, as they say in the industry, sucking-the-big-ten-inch. They are slow to sleep/wake. There is no Fn-row (instead a touch panel whos functions need to be cycled through).

I can tell then that your IT guy bought last year's X1 Carbon. The touch row was an idiotic idea, and on the latest X1 Carbon, Lenovo have ditched it and put proper keys back. Although the multimedia functions are the default, which is stupid on a business machine, and you need to use the Fn key, or a Lenovo utility to get at the actual F options.

guardian452 wrote: The track pad has a mind of it's own

I hate buttonless trackpads, and Lenovo ones are no exception. Removing the buttons makes a trackpad look sleeker, but perform worse. And oddly enough on a business/work machine, I value functionality over "looking smooth".

guardian452 wrote: the screen itself is as good as my work mbp (13", 2560x1600).

Although the resolution will be lower, and the screen will feel more cramped as the MBP uses a better 16:10 screen, whereas Lenovo sticks with TV-friendly 16:9 on its laptops because it's cheaper. The Windows 7 bit doesn't surprise me, as the Thinkpads are aimed towards businesses, and businesses do not generally use Windows 8 or Windows 10 at the moment, so I can understand that one. Windows 7's DPI scaling is poor, but I guess that 5-6 years ago this was less of an issue.

guardian452 wrote: Finally.. .the icing on the cake... they can't even read a fucking PDF anymore.

Ahh, the wonders of bloatware. NitroPDF isn't actually that bad a program, we use it hear as it can create and edit PDFs pretty much as well as Adobe Acrobat Pro, but costs less than half the price. However, using a trial program as a reader is typical stupidity from Lenovo. All because it brings in a bit more cash for them.

This is my main problem with so many of the laptop manufacturers out there. Their kit isn't set up to provide the best experience for the user, it's done to maximise their profits - regardless of how much it actually spoils things for the user. No company was worse for this (IMO) than Sony. I've had to clean up a couple of crapware-infested Vaios in my time and it was a painful experience.

Still here myself, albeit a tad busy the last couple of days (typing this from Heathrow departure lounge heading back home after a business trip). Still, I agree that it has gone rather quiet unfortunately.

Edit: One thing I would say (if hamei is still lurking) is that I'd urge him to reconsider. Granted I don't know what's gone on behind the scenes (if anything), and I do wonder if there's more to this than just one thread he's disgruntled about. However, Nekochan needs its community - even if people don't necessarily see eye to eye with absolutely all others.

There's few enough SGI fans around these days as it is without people leaving over a squabble. Hence for the good of the community, can't we all just get along? If hamei were to return after a short break and admit that leaving for good was maybe a slight overreaction, I personally would respect him for having the balls to come back and say so.

Like I say, I imagine there's more to this than meets the eye, so I fully appreciate I may be missing some of the situation, but that's my 2 cents anyway...

Many thanks for the info and the great guide! I'm fortunate that both my two monitors support SoG and work fine via my old Belkin KVM with eBay bought adapters. However, always good to understand these a bit more, and this may well come in handy if my monitor pops and I have to replace it with a none-SoG one at some point. Great work!

Not encouraging. Just to check, do we have an online mirror of this that can be easily accessed in case the plug is pulled completely?

Fifthed or Sixthed, or whatever number we're now up to

Very nice system, especially with the 800MHz CPU! If you say yours is quiet, you either mean "in comparison to an Octane", or a previous owner has already done some fan replacement. My own Fuel always sounded nice and quiet when I first turned it on, but was making certainly a fair amount of noise 10 minutes later as it warmed up (and the fans span up accordingly).

uunix wrote:

Oskar45 wrote: but I'm glad X-mas is over.

Xmas is OVER?? What Time Zone are you living in .. Planet Neptune?

Different places, different Christmases. I'm in Germany with the wife at the moment, and they celebrate Christmas on the 24th (and open the presents then). 25th is just a day for eating too much...

Nice! That's a seriously maxed out (and very nice looking) Octane!

Devil Master wrote: 5) Is Ian's SGI Depot ( http://sgidepot.co.uk/sgidepot/ ) a good place to buy an SGI machine?

If you're happy with the price, then yes!

Ian is a great chap, sells very nice systems (with plenty of software on them), and the quality of his packaging is legendary. If you want a higher-end system though, be prepared to pay for it as he does charge commercial prices for higher-end bits of kit, however his low-mid range systems are priced more at enthusiast prices.

Of course, the likes of Fleabay or Craigslist are where you are most likely to pick up a super-cheap bargain (or here in fact if someone is selling), but then there's a lot of question as to how good the kit is, what condition it's in, what software is included etc. If you just want to spend money and know you'll get a solid system with no problems, Ian's site is a good bet.

Both the main systems in my signature came from him...

Devil Master wrote: Is the O2 included among the "least capable" platforms? Because I searched for a picture of its rear, and there does not appear to be an obvious way to connect shutterglasses.

This thread might be of use to you. In short, you need the Presenter card for the O2.

I *think* that's the one, although I'm not 100% certain as I haven't used one myself before. I believe the round connector is the one for the glasses. If you do go for that option, Ian sells the adapter for £20...

Welcome! As foetz says, always nice to see an ex-guy here!

Just a quick one, but can you not still download the IRIX 6.5.21m overlays from the SGI support site? Of course, this depends upon whether strlcpy and strlcat were added to the maintenance release or not.

On the other hand, given that Rackable are in the process of killing off the IRIX support pages, the IRIX images might have been removed.

One last query (out of interest), does the Octane look any different from the release ones? We do like to see some of the prototype bits here, such as Neko's transparent O2 and jan-jaap's blue Fuel for example.

Ahh, that same old cycle. I've seen numerous forums torn apart over one moderator decision. Mod makes a decision to lock a thread, some people disagree (vocally), someone flounces, supporters of the flouncee have a further moan, the mod in question (who of course is a volunteer trying to do his or her best) takes offense at the barrage of criticism and reacts, and one we go with the mess.

Let's not have this here. Discussing the issue calmly in the aftermath (as vishnu did) is fine. But please let's keep things civil everyone!

skywriter wrote: Times three!

Yu're gonna shoot your eye out with that thing!

You need to update your sig some time

My Fuel runs at 1600x1200 through a similar Dell display. IRIX looks nice at that res doesn't it! I can get the Indigo2 to output at 1600x1200 as well, but then it won't handle any 3D, which kind of defeats the object.

How are you finding big red now you've had it a couple of weeks?

I have:

Mac Mini (PowerPC 1.42GHz, 1GB RAM, MacOS X 10.5) - system in storage, was my media centre machine until last year.
Mac Mini (Core 2 Duo 1.66GHz, 4GB RAM, MacOS X 10.5 and Windows XP) - system in daily use.

That's it...

I've sometimes thought about buying a newer one, but to be honest Apple's recent obsession with glueing and soldering everything down puts me off.

Looking forward to giving this a try at some point! I always enjoy playing a few retro bits on my SGIs.

Will report back with feedback once I can download and try it out.

Thanks! Must give this a try some time

Right now I should be working on an important presentation for work next week. However instead, I'm attempting to recover the bloody data RAID array in my PC which has failed. Seems one drive has packed in, and the other switched to offline. Booting into Windows to be told that your primary data drive is offline is not nice.

Managed to get the working drive back online, and am now doing an emergency backup of my most important data from it. I did have a backup already, but it's a fair few months old, and losing several sets of holiday photos (plus other important work) isn't part of the plan.

Then I guess I have to replace the dead drive next week and enjoy my PC grinding for about 6 hours whilst it re-builds the array.

All this happened when I was in the middle of replacing the system drive in my Mac Mini and working out how to clone the contents of my old one across. So right now my office is a mess of hard drives, dis-assembled computers, USB to SATA adapters and the likes.

Fun and games

Managed to back up all the pictures and other important stuff, and got the array back online in degraded state. Seems as if the Intel RAID controller can spot when a disk has problems and can degrade the array accordingly and warn, but after a reboot it forgets this, sees two disks in different states, and so offlines the pair of them. Solution is to physically disconnect the faulty drive and reboot. However, having both disks disappear on me did result in a bit of a brown-trousers moment as I quickly checked how old my last backup was!

I've got a replacement drive now, so will be popping that in when I get home so the array can rebuild itself. Hopefully it'll be all sorted then.

Now to make a mental note to do backups more frequently

Given that there's a copy of it in Nekoware current, I'd say it's very possible to port it

Well, have a go at compiling it then

Sounds good! Emulators are nifty tools if we can get some working well, as it instantly opens up a new catalogue of usable software/games, so I'm in favour of it! It'll help to keep the bits together anyway.

I'm finishing off upgrading the hard drive in my Intel based Mac Mini (one of the early Core 2 Duo ones). And I'm also remembering how much of a PITA Apple stuff can be at times - mainly because of their "one way of using it" approach. Do everything exactly as Apple expect, and no problems. Deviate at all, and it'll just not work.

On a PC, it's a doddle. Boot from an Acronis boot disk, mirror the drive across using a USB -> SATA adapter, and it takes care of all the partitions and different sizes for you. On a Mac with a BootCamp partition, it's a bleeding nightmare.

Connected the new drive via USB and told Disk Utility to partition into a 40GB partition (for BootCamp), and the rest for MacOS. Use Disk Utility to easily mirror the MacOS partition (took 8 hours), then realise that Disk Utility screwed up the partition sizes. Re-do with the correct partitions, then find out that Disk Utility can't mirror a BootCamp partition, so had to get WinImage for it.

WinImage demands me to use BootCamp utility to set the partition up, and the BootCamp utility refuses to touch an external drive, so did a drive swap (primary drive now connected via USB). Now, BootCamp utility refuses to use an existing partition - it needs a drive with just one partition. So, repeat the above partitioning/mirroring AGAIN, only for the BootCamp utility to now decide that if it's running from an external drive, it cannot be used. Reboot from newly imaged drive and run BootCamp utility again, to now be told that the new drive has a Master Boot Record partition table, and it only supports GUID partitions.

So yep, re-partition the bloody drive yet again, finally get the BootCamp utility to create the correct partition, then run WinImage and create the image. Try to restore to new drive, only to be told image is larger than the new partition, and WinImage cannot shrink it. Instead, you have to shrink the original BootCamp partition with WinImage, then create an image of it, then restore that to the new partition.

So, finally all done, but bloody hell I want to go back to the simple flexibility of Acronis TrueImage next time.

Still liking PCs here, but I do agree about the faults of many of the newer ones. The touchpads on recent Thinkpads are awful, I hate that almost all laptops these days have nasty 16:9 screens on them, and I'm not a fan of Windows 10 either. Hence, my laptop is an old X201 Thinkpad (16:10 screen, and a touchpad with proper buttons, Windows 7).

However for most my Windows stuff, I just use my main PC. It's also a few years old, but with a proper mechanical keyboard and a 28" 16:10 monitor, it's actually pleasant to use. And it has a decent graphics card for pushing around Fallout 4 and the likes

Oddly enough, I've never got into tablets at all. If I want to look up something quickly, I'll use my phone. If the phone is too small/restrictive, I'd rather use a laptop or PC than a tablet, but maybe that's just me.

Sitting in Heathrow after a training course, waiting for my flight to Aberdeen, and browsing Nekochan via a tethered connection from my phone to my laptop (never been a fan of browsing forums on a phone, and couldn't get Heathrow's wireless to work for some daft reason).

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

Widescreen monitors are a bit more difficult under IRIX, but not impossible. What you may need to do is to look at compiling a custom VFO file for the monitor. Recondas and a few here can help with that. I had some success with widescreen VFOs for my O2, but not my Indigo2. 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.

Best of luck with an SGI, but do remember that whilst they were superb machines for their time, that time was quite a while ago. Don't expect even a top-end Tezro to beat a modern PC/Mac in terms of 3D performance, or even come close for that matter, because it wont.

What you do get however is a snappy and responsive OS that is genuinely different to Windows/MacOS/Linux. If you like IRIX, that's worth a lot. And of course SGIs do look cool

Whatever you do though, keep expectations realistic. The OS is from the mid 90s, and the hardware technology even in a Tezro is still 15+ years old. Of course, the fact that you can still do neat and genuinely useful work with them is a good testament to how good they were back in the time.