Re: Fwd: Re: Is Unix dying--or even dead?

[Jordan Pollack <pollack@cs.brandeis.edu>]

  Unix isn't dead, but SGI is going.
  
  I talked with a senior SGI guy last summer, pointing out
  that my $4k generic pentium pro 200 was a tad faster than my $11k SGI O2. 
  
  "Nobody is willing to pay that much more for better software!
  Please release a cheap Irix for PPro boxes with 
  support for running win31 apps," I said, "Instititutions
  with caste systems will flock to it so the peons and
  can run msword on pentiums and the elite can have their high octane perq's."
  
  He said:  "Naw, we are trying to get NT to run on all our boxes."
  
  I said "But MS can simply decide one day to not support your
  boxes, and you'll die like hercules graphics did when
  Windows3 did not include HGC support."
  
  The MS website says:
    * See your reseller for a list of compatible RISC systems and
  peripherals. 
  
  But as far as I know, NT is running only Dec Alpha's (which
  will be manufactured by Intel, following the buyout of DEC's fab
  plant), not really supported on MIPS or SPARC.
  
  So since VRML isnt as hot as JAVA, SGI is in a bad place and had to
  make a deal.  Once all the entertainment industry applications are
  sucked onto the directx/OpenGL migration with microsoft, SGI will have
  no mindshare at all, and become a service shop for old boxes.
  
  Professor Jordan B. Pollack   DEMO Laboratory, Volen Center for Complex Systems
  Computer Science Dept, MS018  Phone (617) 736-2713/Lab x3366/Fax x2741
  Brandeis University           website: http://www.demo.cs.brandeis.edu
  Waltham, MA 02254             email: pollack@cs.brandeis.edu