SGI / Silicon Graphics

SGI is a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, founded by Jim Clark and Abbey Silverstone in 1982. They once produced the industry's greatest graphics computers such as the Iris Indigo, Indy, Indigo2, O2, Octane and Fuel workstations, as well as many other high performance systems. They also acquired some other high end companies such as Alias, Wavefront, Cray and Intergraph, that were partly sold at a later time.
During the early 1990s Silicon Graphics was one of the worlds' most impressive high end companies, and they became well known to a larger public as their workstations and servers were used to create the special effects in movies such as Jurassic Parc for example.
But in the late 1990s everything changed. SGI confused its' existing customer base by offering Intel/WindowsNT (and later Itanium/Linux) computers and by negligating the existing IRIX/MIPS architecture as well as by many other unsuccessful strategic moves that didn't attract new customers but drove both existing customers and inhouse developers away. After a lot of struggling SGI filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2006, from which it emerged in October 2006. In September 2006 SGI announced the end of development for both the MIPS/IRIX line and the IRIX operating system.

IRIX and Indigo Magic

How to get a cool SGI workstation and what you should beware of

My own SGI workstations

I own an Indy, and Indigo 2 and an O2. I'll make photos if I find the time...




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