bryan@pi.eai.iastate.edu (Bryan Manske) (06/18/91)
Yes, that's right, you could have done that with an Amiga,
and an air-sickness bag, and too much time on your hands.
And the votes are in, folks!
Here are the responses I recieved, in order, and largely intact, so you
can judge for yourself whether or not you want an Amiga. As usual, your
mileage may vary, not valid in all states, void where prohibited, limited
user warranty applies (ie. no warranty).
My comments appear in ALL CAPS. Yes, I'm including comments where
appropriate. We all need a little feed back now and then. Whether
we like it or not. I like it, they probably won't.
--->cat mbox > comp.sys.sgi c/o The Internet---
From gavin@krypton.asd.sgi.com Tue May 21 23:20:32 1991
Well, I'm reading news and playing Tetrix on the Amiga I have at home,
dialed up to my 4D/70GT workstation at SGI.
I must admit, since I started working for SGI I almost never use my
Amiga for more than playing games and as a terminal emulator. Before
that, I was a starving college student and did a little graphics
programming on it. Having a GT available full time to work on has
really spoiled me. Unix is also addictive. Then again, maybe it
is just because I spend 8 hours a day working with computers, and when
I get home I don't really want to spend more time programming...
I think Amiga technology is getting dated. It is still better than
the IBM PC clone mentality that seems to be opressing the PC market,
though. And it still has better hardware then the Mac.
!@%$&**!###! (READ BEETLE BAILEY TO DECODE THIS SECRET MESSAGE).
From antkasx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu Wed May 22 00:30:23 1991
We have four Amigas in our "visualization lab" at Ga. State. They are rather
old and the people who use them don't know UNIX and the people who know UNIX
don't know Amiga. I have encountered various Amiga zealots in my time, but
have never bothered to learn about them since Macintoshes or UNIX usually
does the trick. I think it is a "culture gap".
My heart belongs to IRIS.
INDEED.
From dwallach@soda.berkeley.edu Wed May 22 02:57:07 1991
Well, a couple years ago I worked for a summer at Merit Technologies, Inc.,
a small graphics contractor in Dallas, TX. Some guys there were working on
a really cool tank simulator (complete with "infra-red" targeting, other
moving objects which you could hit and destroy, etc. Neat stuff.)
They had an Amiga 2000HD sitting on the side doing stereo sound! The
240GTX was busy doing all the graphics, and it would send simple commands
over the serial port to the Amiga (effectively: please play explosion #2...).
They even somehow managed to digitize real tank tread noises so it even
sounded like you were in a tank.
When I left, that was about the state of things. There was talk about
using the Amiga screen for gauges and other static 2-D things. You could
also easily see the Amiga doing things like printing statistics on the
game, keeping score, whatever. Lastly, there was talk about the Amiga
as a MIDI controller for all this MIDI sound garbage they also got.
The Iris has plenty to do without worrying about controlling MIDI stuff.
(Amazingly, these guys had software emulating VGX hardware at least a
year before you could buy it. Texture mapping looked cool but was
astoundingly slow. VGX hardware really impresses me :-)
From uunet.UU.NET!sdrc!dsschuh Wed May 22 08:54:01 1991
What do I do with my 3 Amigas?
I have a 4D25 Super Turbo at work but when it comes to doing simple still
graphics I use my Amiga and then bring the image over to the SGI. I can
render in 24 bit (at a much lower cost than on my PI... more time... less
$$$$) and then bring the image over. I am talking about images for fun
(not for profit) but I do have a much better landscape simulation system
at home (Vista Pro) and have done some pretty impressive images for the
Iris using it!
Using the Audio Engineer package (with the G-Soft digitizer), I have done
some excellent audio samples which are much higher quality than I could
get out of the PI. These have actually generated interest in audio support
for future versions of software.
Back to graphics, I have the Digi-View digitizer with a Panasonic Camera
and copy stand and a Sharp JX-300 color scanner hooked up to my A3000.
Using these I can digitize/scan color images (again at a much lower cost
that on the PI... at least to my knowledge), process the images (with
ASDG's Art Department Professional), and then send them up to the PI.
None of these things are terribly huge in magnitude, but they have been
very interesting and have actually become pretty useful.
The SGI machines are incredible (I am a very avid supporter of the SGI
systems here... the VGX machines are great!) and the Amiga doesn't hold
a candle to them in many aspects... but in the home computer arena, I am
an extremely avid Amiga supporter. If you look at what you get for the
amount of money you spend, plus the software base and its average price
when compared to Unix software in the same categories, the Amiga is one
tough little machine!
As a Note: I bought one of the first Amiga 1000's to come into the
Greater Cincinnati area and have never had an ounce of regret. I also
own an A2000, and bought the first A3000 that came into this area (My
A3000's serial # is in the low thousands so it is a very early machine)
All of these computers are used daily and have given me no trouble! I
would recommend an Amiga to just about anyone. (I also own 2 PC clones,
an Atari 800, and still have my first computer, a TRS-80 Model 1... all
collecting dust now! :-)
Hope this letter from a fanatic Amiga/SGI user helps you decide! :-)
YES. I'VE DECIDED TO STAY AWAY FROM AMIGA FANATICS.
From lara@yorgi.csd.sgi.com Wed May 22 10:45:35 1991
i purr in your general direction for all your kind words
on the TAC (technical assistance center)
WOW! SHE PURRS. AND I BET SHE'S CUTE, TOO. THANX FOR THE THANX.
(I BET 10 MBIT ETHERNET WOULD MAKE HER LOOK TALLER, WADAYA THINK?)
From robinh@harlie.corp.sgi.com Fri May 24 13:56:37 1991
Well, we use one at Foothill College to do video-taping when our gen-lock
board is broken, but is unbelievably (sp?) slow (image conversion for each
frame). And we use it as a handy-dandy plant stand when our realhardware
is working.
ARTSY, YET UTILITARIAN, I LIKE THAT.
From trb@bettysue.dallas.sgi.com Thu May 30 18:11:04 1991
Thanks for the kudos. It is nice to hear them once in a while.
I would like to hear what folks do with their Amigas. I have been wondering
the same thing for years.
From sorensen@atc.boeing.com Thu Jun 6 20:02:18 1991
We have an animation lab with 7 SGI's and an RS/6000.
We use the Amiga alot for 2d cell/character animation!!
It's great to be able to play back an animation sequence
at frame rate! We record it out one frame at a time to
a Sony BVH-2500 (single frame recording w/o pre-roll).
It makes nice signs too. We've also done a few 3D animations
on it--sometimes grainy stuff makes the right feel for the
client.
I still want an IRIS (min. 24 bit) at home though!!!
DON'T WE ALL.
From: ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU!pixar!whorfin (Remember, once you pull the pin,
Mr. Hand Grenade is no longer your friend!)
What do I do with my Amiga? Well, I sold it. I still have a 1000, and
its purpose these days is to consume space.
I have an old SGI 3130 at home, and I use that for whatever I'd use a home
computer for. Personally, I think the Amiga has very little use in a
professional production environment. Its video stinks, its OS stinks.
While the Mac OS is internally far more ugly than the Amiga's, the Finder
and Mac Apps are a beauty to behold, while the Amiga interfaces I've seen
are clunky. The Mac has some extremely useful 2D programs, an area in which
the SGI's are still lacking. But an SGI is the thing to use for 3D work.
In terms of writing code for production work, I refuse to use any system
which does not have memory management and VM. The reasons are many and
extremeley compelling. End of that.
If you are looking for titling software for your SGI, may I suggest
the titling package from Xaos Tools; you can order it from SGI Software
Express.
--Rick Sayre
AND THE WINNING ENTRY IS MR. RICK SAYRE, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL LETTER.
HE HAS A GOOD HEAD ON HIS SHOULDERS. PLEASE HOLD ON WHILST I WIPE A
TEAR FROM MY EYE.
THERE IS ONLY SGI!
BUY AN AMIGA FOR STEALTH FIGHTER, ETC., IF YOU MUST.
Anyone who still has something to say on the subject may post a reply.
Still flipping bits for a living, and loving it.
Bry.
--
Bryan Manske (515) 296-9908 . ...You cross a lawyer with the
Engineering Animation, Inc. . Godfather,baby, he'll make you an
bryan@pi.eai.iastate.edu . offer you can't understand...
#include <caveat_opinion.h> . Don Hendley
#include <standard_disclaimer.h> . Gimme What You Got