Remember SGI? They Still Want To Be Hollywood's Star

Computers

from the they're-still-around? dept

A few weeks back I ran into an acquaintance who had taken a job at SGI back in 1997. I asked her what she was up to now, and was shocked to find out she still worked at SGI. You never hear about SGI any more, and it almost makes you wonder if they’re still around. It turns out that, yes, they’re still around, and they’re embarking on a strategy to win back Hollywood. For a while SGI was the darling of Hollywood. Anyone who wanted to add digital effects to movies used SGI machines. But, as cheaper Linux-machines became much more powerful, the reasons for going with an SGI box no longer made sense. But, now SGI is back with a Linux-based box themselves. They’re still targeting the very high-end, and they’re hoping that folks in Hollywood still see the value of using an SGI box. If it doesn’t work out this time, though… it’s unlikely the company will survive. The article also includes a history of what’s happened at SGI over the past few years for those of you (like me) who pretty much forgot about their existence.