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With regard to OpenGL vs. DirectX, the competing standards push each other to keep improving. I suspect that graphics APIs and thus hardware would have really

by jdboyd 9y ago

With regard to OpenGL vs. DirectX, the competing standards push each other to keep improving. I suspect that graphics APIs and thus hardware would have really stagnated without the competition.

cr0sh 9y ago
There's more to the history of DirectX and OpenGL than you may be aware of. Personally, I believe Microsoft helped to engineer the downfall of SGI, via the whole Fahrenheit graphics "co-operation" - which also led to SGI making Windows NT workstations (in place of Irix). That isn't to say that SGI didn't have some bumbling management of the time, but I do think that Microsoft took advantage of the situation to get them to chase a red herring to accelerate their demise, while also gaining a lot of new knowledge and IP via the sharing agreements they had for Fahrenheit. Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today...
- kuschku 9y ago
  > Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today... nvidia is basically one of the worst actors in the market, though. Artificially increasing prices and artificially segmenting the market, using anticompetitive methods to gain an advantage (oh how everyone loves gameworks), etc.
- Theodores 9y ago
  Microsoft also bought SoftImage and didn't do much with it except make sure it worked on NT. This breaking of the SGI toolchain was not a friendly move. You are right about fahrenheit, it doomed everything.
- justin66 9y ago
  > That isn't to say that SGI didn't have some bumbling management of the time Understatement of the century. > Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today... That gets the timeline all wrong. Nvidia is a much older company than you are probably aware of, and might have been quite successful (and quite capable of attracting top talent) had SGI managed to stagger along for quite a bit longer. SGI never, ever had a shot at making the mass-market stuff that let Nvidia grow as quickly as they did. It wasn't in their DNA.

by jdboyd 9y ago

With regard to OpenGL vs. DirectX, the competing standards push each other to keep improving. I suspect that graphics APIs and thus hardware would have really stagnated without the competition.

cr0sh 9y ago

There's more to the history of DirectX and OpenGL than you may be aware of. Personally, I believe Microsoft helped to engineer the downfall of SGI, via the whole Fahrenheit graphics "co-operation" - which also led to SGI making Windows NT workstations (in place of Irix). That isn't to say that SGI didn't have some bumbling management of the time, but I do think that Microsoft took advantage of the situation to get them to chase a red herring to accelerate their demise, while also gaining a lot of new knowledge and IP via the sharing agreements they had for Fahrenheit. Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today...

kuschku 9y ago
> Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today... nvidia is basically one of the worst actors in the market, though. Artificially increasing prices and artificially segmenting the market, using anticompetitive methods to gain an advantage (oh how everyone loves gameworks), etc.
Theodores 9y ago
Microsoft also bought SoftImage and didn't do much with it except make sure it worked on NT. This breaking of the SGI toolchain was not a friendly move. You are right about fahrenheit, it doomed everything.
justin66 9y ago
> That isn't to say that SGI didn't have some bumbling management of the time Understatement of the century. > Then again, had SGI not imploded, we wouldn't have NVidia today... That gets the timeline all wrong. Nvidia is a much older company than you are probably aware of, and might have been quite successful (and quite capable of attracting top talent) had SGI managed to stagger along for quite a bit longer. SGI never, ever had a shot at making the mass-market stuff that let Nvidia grow as quickly as they did. It wasn't in their DNA.