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Workstations For Poor 3D-artists
Peter writes: "Ace's hardware has written an 'article for the creative people, who are searching to build or buy an affordable number cruncher to run their favorite workstation application. Maybe you already have an Athlon Thunderbird/XP and you are wondering if a dual Thunderbird/Athlon XP workstation might make sense for you. Or you might be interested in an affordable dual Athlon MP 1800+ workstation.' Included are benchmarks based on almost all available 3D-animation packages."
FP by ankit!
Cheap things are good!
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
hi.
I just heard some distressing news on the radio - author Stephen King was found dead in his Maine home this morning. It was just a little news flash without any more details. I'm sure the slashdot community will miss him - even if you don't like his books or movies, you can't deny his contributions to american pop culture. Truly the passing of an icon.
John Madden can kiss my ass. I went down there with a paint chip and they were all like, "Sure! We can computer match that!" So they did and I bought a gallon of that crap, took it home, and patched some areas in my house. Well, to make a long story short, it dried and it didn't match at all. It looked like crap. So I went back and tried to get my money back but there is no way in hell I'm going to get computer advice from these mofos.
Thank you,
Cmdr Tuna Taco
I'm putting together my list for a 3D workstation/renderer and occasional game playing (but not the Quake variety, think Scorch15 or whatever that really cool EGA risk-type game was years ago (if anyone know what this was and where to find it I'd be in your debt, maybe even order you a pizza delivery if you find the right one))
Leaning toward Athlon MP, 1 processor at first, then add second later. Primary OS will be some flavor of Linux. Shopping list will include:
SCSI drives, CD burner
DVD burner (when prices gets down there)
Pile o' memory
19" monitor
Gyro mouse (providing there's a linux driver for it, if not looking for another wireless mouse)
Decent video card, not necessarily the Game type, but professional graphics quality
Powersupply, case, keyboard, etc.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
What you say is true, if you happen to have a work visa good for the early 1990s.
What were you expecting?
Advantages of the Hurd
The Hurd is not the most advanced kernel known to the planet (yet), but it does have a number of enticing features:
It's free software
Anybody can use, modify, and redistribute it under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
It's compatible
The Hurd provides a familiar programming and user environment. For all intents and purposes, the Hurd is a modern Unix-like kernel. The Hurd uses the GNU C Library, whose development closely tracks standards such as ANSI/ISO, BSD, POSIX, Single Unix, SVID, and X/Open.
It's built to survive
Unlike other popular kernel software, the Hurd has an object-oriented structure that allows it to evolve without compromising its design. This structure will help the Hurd undergo major redesign and modifications without having to be entirely rewritten.
It's scalable
The Hurd implementation is aggressively multithreaded so that it runs efficiently on both single processors and symmetric multiprocessors. The Hurd interfaces are designed to allow transparent network clusters (collectives), although this feature has not yet been implemented.
It's extensible
The Hurd is an attractive platform for learning how to become a kernel hacker or for implementing new ideas in kernel technology. Every part of the system is designed to be modified and extended.
It's stable
It is possible to develop and test new Hurd kernel components without rebooting the machine (not even accidentally). Running your own kernel components doesn't interfere with other users, and so no special system privileges are required. The mechanism for kernel extensions is secure by design: it is impossible to impose your changes upon other users unless they authorize them or you are the system administrator.
It exists
The Hurd is real software that works Right Now. It is not a research project or a proposal. You don't have to wait at all before you can start using and developing it.
The nvidia drivers on OSX are absolutely _STUNNING!_
I have a Mac with an ATI Rage-128 somethingorother and a GeForce 2 MX board. The GeForce 2 MX _blows away_ everything else!