4 ms·

I agree, and I think that is a common problem with purely technical people. They don't include all of the other important factors: affordability, support (by th

by eggy 10y ago

I agree, and I think that is a common problem with purely technical people. They don't include all of the other important factors: affordability, support (by the company and number of people around you familiar with the system), and many others. The Amiga sound and graphics chips blew other systems out of the water technically, and did good with the consumer offerings like the A500, but aside from a niche in the video editing market (Toaster on A1000/A2000), Macs and PCs swamped it in sales numbers. I have had a lot of systems starting in 1978 with an all-in-one CPM PET with a cassette drive to load programs, a very small green text terminal, and 8K RAM. I paid $800 for it used, and another $850 for a 32K Ram upgrade the year after. You could 'pop the hood' like an old American muscle car, and check the board inside, and install the RAM card. I wrote a horse racing game in 1979 using just ASCII characters with random trots, and an odds and bettings system for my two horse-loving, OTB-visting parents. I have only really lusted after three machines: A Lisp Machine, Silicon Graphics workstation, and the NeXT machine, again all technically brilliant, but not the biggest sellers. Pricey because of that. The best tech doesn't always win by default, and that's not always a bad thing (as I once thought).

Keyframe 10y ago
Funny memory. We bought an SGI machine for when clients were around (doing 3D graphics and video compositing). In the backroom we did it all on Amigas and Lightwave. Clients thought it was all done on SGI/Softimage - so it must be good! It would've been (better) if we could afford as much workstations and application seats as we would've wanted. I still have two SGI's that work. It feels like owning a vintage Ferrari or something, even though nowhere near the monetary value.
- eggy 10y ago
  Where was this? I worked in NYC, and I landed a non-paying, non-intern learning position at a 3D animation company using SGI with Prisms, which is now Houdini. I loved the design, and Irix was great! I recall thinking that the screens were so hi-res ;)
  - Keyframe 10y ago
    It was in Croatia, Europe. Same story all over the world though (at least where I was at). And, they were so "high-res". At the time, I believe only screen I saw on a workstation that had such a high resolution was on one HP-UX machine. They were also a great sight. Shame about later models (Octane) being such loud beasts though. Not really for desks.
    - eggy 10y ago
      Yeah, I would not be able to read the print on my SGI today without my reading glasses! Prisms had some many little windows and parameters. The CHOPs(?), procedural animation stuff, a terminal, etc...

by eggy 10y ago

Keyframe 10y ago

Funny memory. We bought an SGI machine for when clients were around (doing 3D graphics and video compositing). In the backroom we did it all on Amigas and Lightwave. Clients thought it was all done on SGI/Softimage - so it must be good! It would've been (better) if we could afford as much workstations and application seats as we would've wanted. I still have two SGI's that work. It feels like owning a vintage Ferrari or something, even though nowhere near the monetary value.

eggy 10y ago
Where was this? I worked in NYC, and I landed a non-paying, non-intern learning position at a 3D animation company using SGI with Prisms, which is now Houdini. I loved the design, and Irix was great! I recall thinking that the screens were so hi-res ;)
- Keyframe 10y ago
  It was in Croatia, Europe. Same story all over the world though (at least where I was at). And, they were so "high-res". At the time, I believe only screen I saw on a workstation that had such a high resolution was on one HP-UX machine. They were also a great sight. Shame about later models (Octane) being such loud beasts though. Not really for desks.
  - eggy 10y ago
    Yeah, I would not be able to read the print on my SGI today without my reading glasses! Prisms had some many little windows and parameters. The CHOPs(?), procedural animation stuff, a terminal, etc...