The intelligence community was filled with Sun and Alpha and Sparc workstations, well into the early days of the 21st Century. They were virtually fetish objects.
The mass extinction of UNIX workstations – OSnews
https://www.osnews.com/story/135605/the-mass-extinction-of-unix-workstations/
@AndySocial this was a fascinating read! I have always wanted to try IRIX(I just like the name) but it’s never going to happen. I do wish people would put stuff into public domain that has absolutely zero commercial value so we can tinker and learn.
@JensHannemann @AndySocial oh, ok, so the Graphics in SGI really really there for a reason! That’s interesting!
@derickflorian @AndySocial Oh yeah. #OpenGL is #SGI‘s original design:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL?wprov=sfti1
@JensHannemann @AndySocial ok, well, then they do get major props for making that an open standard.
@derickflorian @AndySocial Yep. Ironically that and the advent of #linux doomed them.
@derickflorian @AndySocial Gosh, I feel like a #dinosaur rattling off #ComputerHistory that I actually lived through. #GetOffMyLawn
@JensHannemann @AndySocial that’s so interesting. I really love working with Linux and I’m glad I live in an era where things are easier to install. I think even in around 2006/2007 when I tried to use Ubuntu I gave up because I couldn’t find drivers to use wifi.
Still, the history to how we got here is fascinating! Thanks for giving me the background!
@JensHannemann @derickflorian I feel your pain, Jens! I got my first home computer in 1980, which makes me a dinosaur to many but a newcomer to some. 😃
@AndySocial @derickflorian #ZXSpectrum FTW. I could only afford the 16K, upgraded it manually to 48K a year later. What was yours?
@JensHannemann @derickflorian I started with the VIC-20, attached to a tiny B&W TV and using the "datasette" drive for storage. Eventually moved to C-64, before succumbing to the inevitable rise of DOS and Windows. Still use Linux at work, though!
@derickflorian @AndySocial Before that, there was #PHIGS. Different beast, but that was my first exposure to #ComputerGraphics for electromagnetic field visualization on an #IBM #RS6000 running #AIX
@JensHannemann @derickflorian @AndySocial IRIX was mostly special because of the hardware it ran on. As a Unix-variant, it was generally just kind of a PITA.
@derickflorian @AndySocial #IRIX was ok-ish. My wife’s group used it in their research. The one thing it had going for it (naturally) was superior #OpenGL performance.