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Linux at Industrial Light and Magic
Nicholas DePetrillo writes "Linux Journal has a big story about how LINUX is being used in hollywood, specificly at Industrial Light and Magic with some GREAT screenshots
and a very descriptive article with configuration details." Word has it that their rendering farms have gotten even bigger since this article was published.
Could there be some kind of anology between the light side vs the dark side and Linux vs Microsoft.
Would that make Bill Vader? Which distro is Obi Wan Kanobi?
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
Action is great!
Music isn't bad!
Acting is pathetic.
No amount of eye candy will ever make the prequels worth watching as standalone movies.
I have been pwned because my
They use GNU/Linux
'Linux Journal' no less.
we must never speak of this again
;)
2 comments and it's down already. I don't know which is worse: the old days where no one read the freaking articles, or how now the only people who get to read them are the First Post guys.
ZOMG I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ON MACINTOSH VERSUS WINDOWS, VI VERSUS EMACS, AND HOW YOU'RE NOT A DORK
They'll have to stop using Linux right after they outlaw it.
I'm assuming that would be the case, anyway.
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
Remember everybody, if you like the article then please buy the magazine! The articles, while provided free of charge, do not magically appear.
If you want more great articles like this, support Linux Journal. I know the idea of paying for something might go against some people's sensibilities (information wants to be FREEEEEEE!!! and such), but remember that in real life people need to eat. Please don't let the fine people at Linux Journal starve. Buy a magazine.
Please. Do it for the authors.
Dragging people kicking and screaming into reality since 1996.
...we'll have to start calling the company GNU/Industrial Light and Magic. :-)
Don't give in to the Dark Side. Switch away
from leenux. Come back to the light. Run FreeBSD.
Have a question for everyone: What would happen to the gaming world at large if Sony was to start developing games for Linux? Would developers support Sony? Would Linux gaming become a very viable option? How would it impact windows gaming?
-----
One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
Bwahahahaha hahaha hehe
I have been pwned because my
Here's the text from the article:
The Computers of ILM
ILM says they have rarely seen artists get excited by hardware, but artists fought to get the new Linux workstations--Dell single-CPU P4s with NVIDIA Quadra 2 Pro graphics cards. The question became, ``Where's my Linux box?''
Production Engineering Manager Ken Beyer says
More than 350 Linux boxes were deployed during Episode II. Animators and modelers got their workstations first, then compositors. The first group had flat panels because animators lack the desk space for monitors. There were problems with monitor calibration under Red Hat 7.1. We used flat panels to get Linux out there. Last to get workstations were TDs. They push the envelope of what they ask for. An issue was how quickly we could get things ported for them.
``We've changed over quite a bit of our plant here to Linux--half of our desktops and about 30% of our 2,000 CPU renderfarm is now Linux'', says ILM Director of Research and Development Andy Hendrickson. ``We've got 700-plus O2 machines'', adds Beyer. ``But it isn't affordable to replace those with Octanes.'' SGI is recognized for producing high-end workstations and servers but has abandoned competing with commodity PC hardware. SGI seems to be rebounding in the military market but less so in entertainment.
``Our renderfarm towers carry the Deathstar logo'', points out Beyer. A render tower is a stack of 1RU 2-CPU units connected together with inexpensive 100Base-TX. He says:
These are 1RU, 2-CPU P4 units. If we lose a unit it is more convenient now that it is just two CPUs rather than four or eight with SGI 2800. For Episode II we had to double available capacity and power. It's 512 processors. We use dual 225 kVA UPS systems, and have three AC systems that rotate. Power goes out often in the San Rafael area. We can run on UPS for 15 minutes then [on a] diesel generator.
An unexpected snag arose during the upgrade: all the PC fans had to be replaced because they were defective.
Systems R&D Group Manager Mike Kiernan reports a few problems with Linux:
Sometimes when I arrive in the morning a quarter of the Linux cluster is locked up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often. VM problems in the 2.4 kernel appear to be at the root of our kernel lockup problem. Recent improvements in the 2.4 kernel may resolve that. Things look promising.
But he adds that ``Linux needs work on NFS big time.''
We won't be going to Linux for our NFS servers. I wish we could replace NFS, but none of the document management systems is flexible enough. And the ones that are flexible have a rather high integration cost. When AFS is distributed natively for all the client platforms we need to support, perhaps we'll consider it.
ILM is comfortable with multiple platforms. Its 1,400 employees use a variety of operating systems. The art department has Macs, with the rotoscopers and painters transitioning to OS X. Hendrickson sees OS X as a possible player. ``What attracts us is the BSD-like Darwin core and network compatibility.'' ILM has few Windows boxes, besides those on business side. ``There's no advantage to a Windows conversion for us'', says Hendrickson. ``We're a UNIX shop and probably always will be.''
R&D Principal Engineer Phil Peterson says ILM chose the Red Hat distro because it seemed easier to go with what's popular. ``At ILM the 2.4.9 kernel is deployed, and 2.4.17 or 2.4.18 is in test. We tweak the kernel--things like shared memory size, number of file descriptors, default stack size--nothing dramatic.'' Open Motif 2.1 did a good job maintaining the look-and-feel of IRIX, so ILM didn't try LessTif. ILM workstations include limited installations of GNOME and KDE. ``No special effort was spent to strip machines down'', says Peterson. ``We just left out unused portions of the full install. We're pretty vanilla.''
An unusual aspect of the ILM Linux workstation configuration is the replacement of the MESA libs with the SGI open source, OpenGL implementation. ``MESA is behind compared to the SGI version in aspects such as libGLU'', explains Peterson. Other studios haven't experienced the best stability using Maya on Linux with NVIDIA drivers. It seems that may be due to MESA and not Maya, NVIDIA or Linux, as previously thought. ILM has replaced the MESA libraries with a combination of NVIDIA's core OpenGL and libraries from the SGI open-source sample implementation.
``Chances are you will not find solutions in any documentation'', notes Peterson.
We don't have a support line to call. We fix things and extend. It introduces a layer of maintenance we're not used to. We had to use open-source drivers with tablets. With calibrating monitors, the work is ongoing. Still, we've had an easy road. Our artists are technically savvy, able to endure pain. Having the best testers in the world around the corner from you provides quick feedback.
Hendrickson concurs that Linux support can be a problem. He says, ``As we get into Linux we're not finding one company to hand-hold. IBM and HP aren't there, yet. But, before Linux it was out of our control and out of control. [Now] we own our Linux problems.''
Is it possible for Linux to be too fast? ``Due to the speed of Linux, for the first time in my life, 15 years in the business, I'm starting to feel some RSI [repetitive strain injury]'', says Technical Director Robert Weaver. ``Usually you are working the machine, but Linux is so fast it can overwork you.'' Weaver has to remember to take breaks because with Linux he doesn't get any breaks waiting for the machine anymore.
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
Man, if the Linux world has to get down on its knees and beg for money like this, it is doomed. That's one of the most degrading posts I've ever seen. Sheesh, man, stop crying and pull yourself together.
Is it too much to ask that Linux Journal provide value in exchange for money? I don't see PC Magazine going broke. I don't see Dr. Dobbs going broke. I don't see a lot of magazines going broke.
Here is older German link with additional information.
"Microsofts recruiting rate gene could do to a wrong, because they purge in view of shrinking customer connection so obviously into panic. There as prestigious customers change as Pixar ("Toy Story") and Industrial Light & Magic ("Jurassic park ", "Shrek") its systems over course around course from Windows or SGI to Linux , and the Unterschleissheimer Dependance of the gate company breaks in nothing different one to take in than the middle class. Really pfiffig."
If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
"Linux Journal has a big story..."
Sigh. Not anymore, they don't.
I don't suppose there's some automated way that Google-cached pages could be inserted into Slashdot story headers, is there?
Not the official ILM site but has good insight and has been following the ILM ports.
If we don't fight for ourselves no one will.
i know this is offtopic but ive heard thi asked before... actually it wouldn't be hard to tell the differnece form a DOS and a good old fashioned /.ing... they could easily check the referer and see that everyone is coming from a link on /.
unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep
I remember the time when PC Mag was really a magazine. Now it's more like PC Leaflet.
Times change, dead tree magazines are dieing.
son, in the old days (and by old, I of course mean 6 or 7 months ago), we didn't have little scams going to get karma, we had to work for it, plain and simple!
I swear, you kids these days. So soft with your karma! Giving it out freely like it's...free. Makes me sick!
Zero...i just felt like asking this question! Is that OK with you Sir?
-----
One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
Not very nice comments in there about SGI. They are true enough though. The O2 is a *great* multimedia desktop machine. Lots of features, small package. Just like the Indy before it.
Compute performance is a real problem though for all but the high end SGI machines. The O2 went EOL this year for all but OEM (Medical and Video apps).
What I find interesting is that the studios are building their own tech to suit their needs. They started this process on SGI machines in order to leverage the rich toolset found in IRIX. Now they are able to build on the open tools found under Linux.
Alias Wavefront (owned by SGI) used to package and sell critical technology to the Studios along with a number of services delivered under NDA. They still do this, but their days are numbered.
Open Source is enabling a new trend toward in-house technology development. Given the high cost of A|W and SGI toolsets plus the added services and consulting required to make them work in creative ways, I am not surprised to find the studios able to just build what they want cheaper. They also are able to create the features that make their workflow better.
Seems like the studios want nothing to do with any sort of lock in with any vendor. Talk about lowering TCO!
Not only does their in-house development allow them to make the most of their time and creative energy, but they get to take advantage of new platforms in the future --without having to re-purchase tools.
They are smart enough to develop common tools that they (and us) can all use while keeping those things that make them special in-house. Too bad more of the mainstream businesses are not able to see this yet. When they do --look out!
So SGI moves back into their niche with IRIX, high end visualization, and parallel computing and serving. What of Alias Wavefront?
They look doomed to me. Maya now is cheap and runs on Linux. Its users develop their own tools with it so A|W maybe gets consulting, but little else. On the Industrial Design side, their Studio Tools package really only appeals to the high end Automotive styling group. Everyone else can use either MCAD tools, or tools like Rhino to get their work done.
This was a great article that does a lot to illuminate just how computing can change under an open platform.
Blogging because I can...
"How is this big news? Just because the word "LINUX" is in it??? "
Ummmm... Yes??
Why are you complaining that the biggest pro-linux newsite on the internet is reporting on a huge win for linux?
I think you may have logged into the wrong website.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
Gimme a break!
Remember the short film "The 405" that was all over the net a year or two ago, about the airliner landing on an empty freeway? If two guys working nights and weekends for 3 months with a PC can make one of the busiest freeways in LA look empty, it doesn't make sense that a professional effects crew with a multimillion dollar budget can't simulate Sydney deserted. This has to be either a publicity thing or some unbelievable ego trip.
ILM is comfortable with multiple platforms. Its 1,400 employees use a variety of operating systems. The art department has Macs, with the rotoscopers and painters transitioning to OS X. Hendrickson sees OS X as a possible player. ``What attracts us is the BSD-like Darwin core and network compatibility.'' ILM has few Windows boxes, besides those on business side. ``There's no advantage to a Windows conversion for us'', says Hendrickson. ``We're a UNIX shop and probably always will be.''
Nice to see ILM is keeping with the times. When Phantom Menace came out, SGI had promotional info up about SGI [origin?] servers and EP I. Fast forward three years and we have come upon another case of Linux and [relativel] commodity hardware changing the heart of a big Iron SGI all-star. ILM did have a JEDI Pact with SGI not too long ago, but as was inferred in the article, its really hard to compete with free (as in beer) in the shrinking-margin world of SFX.
FWIW, On the Ep I DVD Making of Documentary, OS 9 was visible durinag a photoshopping session, Windows (or a GUI clone) for Motion capture and unix (presumably IRIX) for the rest.
Wait, I thought ILM was "bad" because CGI sux, Jar Jar sux, George Luca$$$ sux.
Now ILM is "good" because they use Linux?
Jesus, which is it? Tell me what I'm supposed to think here.
I have actually used this analogy, by casting Richard Stallman as the champion of light side, and Bill Gates representing the dark side. Personally I prefer the "grey" area between those two :-)
It wasn't that long ago that seeing anything related to linux -was- big news because you didn't see it hardly at all. Even more rare was hearing of a big shop, unix, windows, or otherwise, making a large switch to linux. So yeah, it was big news, and still feels like it to an extent. Combine that with it being ILM, makers of Star Wars, and you've got some double-geek factor going on.
Though since you mention the performance gain... It sounds like they were mostly switching from O2s running IRIX to Linux... And Linux was presumeably running on some new (likely x86-based) machines. Now, if I'm not mistaken the O2 is a pretty old SGI machine, so I would be surprised if the new computers were many times faster. It probably had nothing to do with Linux, other than it being a free unix that runs on fast commodity x86 hardware.
The enemies of Democracy are
Perhaps Nathan Myhrvold as Billy Dee Williams?
I have been pwned because my
Yeah, that's because Apache isn't the fastest kid on the block, especially under a heavy load - I'd love to find out how various web servers handle being slashdotted.
More stuff here.
Amen.
/Linux/ fails. Companies fail, Linux companies being no different. Except Linux companies have tended to be .com companies, and .com companies tend to have stupid unworkable business plans. Like, say, trying to annoy your customer into paying you to stop annoying them.
I don't give a crap if any company goes under. They're companies, and if they don't sell me something that I think is worth it, screw them. I don't care what market it is, I'm not going to be providing corporate welfare. It's not like if some Linux company fails, then
Though this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Linux Journal, since I don't think that guy represents them in any way.
The enemies of Democracy are
Debian, of course. Fighting for freedom and democracy, against the tyrranic Galactic Software Empire who ruthlessly conquer other companies.
Am I the only one who thinks it's rather odd that movie companies are pursuing a law that would effectively outlaw Linux -- while that's the operating system running most of their kick-ass render farms?
-------------------------------------------------
hee
I especially liked the hypebole about Linux being so fast it causes RSI. Er?? I didn't know Linux had some magical CPU performance enhancement system that makes it run software so much faster than other operating systems on the same hardware...
Full article mirror. Produced with:
wget -p --convert-links http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6011
While the power of LINUX is well known as a power-full OS, adequate for most jobs. There are some jobs that require the flair and power of UNIX to do the job right.
I must cite the extensive use of SUN Systems used in many other movies, like Jurrasic Park and Terminator 2, and wonder what would prompt ILM to pick LINUX above an obviously proven set of tools?
Hm, so where does ILM's old standby (SGI) fit into this whole deal?
My thinking: Lando. They've got soul, you're not really sure whose side they're on and they'll never find more work. =)
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Is this the same Hollywod that sues to deny Linux & the open source community a DVD player?
What's up with that?
You know I just thought about that a little. The way the laws are intended to work are subtle indeed.
For you and I, Linux would be outlawed. For the Studios, things would work just fine. They have the lawyers to back them up, and they can just use Linux inside their firewalls.
Since they create the content, it is easy for them to say Linux is ok. Nobody is watching unauthorized copies.
They just don't want Joe citizen to have a user programmable system that allows programs they don't like.
Irony indeed.
Blogging because I can...
Ignorance knows no bounds. 'Movie Companies?' The MPAA is pursuing laws that would make it difficult if not impossible for an operating system to be completely open source. The biggest thing to remember though, is that ILM is a visual effects and post production company, not a fucking giant movie studio, and not part of the MPAA or associated with it. They aren't even in Hollywood they are a 6 hour drive north. Get a clue and stop with this nonsense.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
big article + screen shots = slashdotted = so posted
Since my DSL upload (a puny 15 k/s) is flooded right now, have a shot at my school's fractional T1 (60 k/s).
Here.
Hopefully your karma loss why make you do anything rash, like exit this world.
Taco's primary motivation for Slashdotting Linux Journal are obvious:
To convince the world that PERL is superior to PHP.
(-1, Lame)
Do you like German cars?
In the original SW movies (Ep4-6) when a jedi died, their body disappeared. (Yoda, Obi Wan).
They also turned into a ghost. (Yoda, Obi Wan, Anakin)
How come this didn't happen to Qai gon jinn in episode 1? And they burnt his body at the end of the movie? Apparently this was meant to be made clear in Episode 2, but i didn't see how or where.
Just curious.
D.
You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
I've tried to give them my money, but they wouldn't take it. I said, "I'll pay the subscription fee, but don't send me the dead trees. I'll just read it online." They told me I had to accept the dead trees. I told them to call me when I could pay them and just view the online version. It's been over a year since I had that conversation and have yet to hear from them.
....and fairness to call it GNU/Star Wars then. Or there might be some dirty deal going on, like we get to see a Master Stallmann in GNU/Episode3. Who knows...
I feel so sig.
The Computers of ILM
ILM says they have rarely seen artists get excited by hardware, but artists fought to get the new Linux workstations--Dell single-CPU P4s with NVIDIA Quadra 2 Pro graphics cards. The question became, ``Where's my Linux box?''
Production Engineering Manager Ken Beyer says
More than 350 Linux boxes were deployed during Episode II. Animators and modelers got their workstations first, then compositors. The first group had flat panels because animators lack the desk space for monitors. There were problems with monitor calibration under Red Hat 7.1. We used flat panels to get Linux out there. Last to get workstations were TDs. They push the envelope of what they ask for. An issue was how quickly we could get things ported for them.
``We've changed over quite a bit of our plant here to Linux--half of our desktops and about 30% of our 2,000 CPU renderfarm is now Linux'', says ILM Director of Research and Development Andy Hendrickson. ``We've got 700-plus O2 machines'', adds Beyer. ``But it isn't affordable to replace those with Octanes.'' SGI is recognized for producing high-end workstations and servers but has abandoned competing with commodity PC hardware. SGI seems to be rebounding in the military market but less so in entertainment.
``Our renderfarm towers carry the Deathstar logo'', points out Beyer. A render tower is a stack of 1RU 2-CPU units connected together with inexpensive 100Base-TX. He says:
These are 1RU, 2-CPU P4 units. If we lose a unit it is more convenient now that it is just two CPUs rather than four or eight with SGI 2800. For Episode II we had to double available capacity and power. It's 512 processors. We use dual 225 kVA UPS systems, and have three AC systems that rotate. Power goes out often in the San Rafael area. We can run on UPS for 15 minutes then [on a] diesel generator.
An unexpected snag arose during the upgrade: all the PC fans had to be replaced because they were defective.
Systems R&D Group Manager Mike Kiernan reports a few problems with Linux:
Sometimes when I arrive in the morning a quarter of the Linux cluster is locked up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often. VM problems in the 2.4 kernel appear to be at the root of our kernel lockup problem. Recent improvements in the 2.4 kernel may resolve that. Things look promising.
But he adds that ``Linux needs work on NFS big time.''
We won't be going to Linux for our NFS servers. I wish we could replace NFS, but none of the document management systems is flexible enough. And the ones that are flexible have a rather high integration cost. When AFS is distributed natively for all the client platforms we need to support, perhaps we'll consider it.
ILM is comfortable with multiple platforms. Its 1,400 employees use a variety of operating systems. The art department has Macs, with the rotoscopers and painters transitioning to OS X. Hendrickson sees OS X as a possible player. ``What attracts us is the BSD-like Darwin core and network compatibility.'' ILM has few Windows boxes, besides those on business side. ``There's no advantage to a Windows conversion for us'', says Hendrickson. ``We're a UNIX shop and probably always will be.''
R&D Principal Engineer Phil Peterson says ILM chose the Red Hat distro because it seemed easier to go with what's popular. ``At ILM the 2.4.9 kernel is deployed, and 2.4.17 or 2.4.18 is in test. We tweak the kernel--things like shared memory size, number of file descriptors, default stack size--nothing dramatic.'' Open Motif 2.1 did a good job maintaining the look-and-feel of IRIX, so ILM didn't try LessTif. ILM workstations include limited installations of GNOME and KDE. ``No special effort was spent to strip machines down'', says Peterson. ``We just left out unused portions of the full install. We're pretty vanilla.''
An unusual aspect of the ILM Linux workstation configuration is the replacement of the MESA libs with the SGI open source, OpenGL implementation. ``MESA is behind compared to the SGI version in aspects such as libGLU'', explains Peterson. Other studios haven't experienced the best stability using Maya on Linux with NVIDIA drivers. It seems that may be due to MESA and not Maya, NVIDIA or Linux, as previously thought. ILM has replaced the MESA libraries with a combination of NVIDIA's core OpenGL and libraries from the SGI open-source sample implementation.
``Chances are you will not find solutions in any documentation'', notes Peterson.
We don't have a support line to call. We fix things and extend. It introduces a layer of maintenance we're not used to. We had to use open-source drivers with tablets. With calibrating monitors, the work is ongoing. Still, we've had an easy road. Our artists are technically savvy, able to endure pain. Having the best testers in the world around the corner from you provides quick feedback.
Hendrickson concurs that Linux support can be a problem. He says, ``As we get into Linux we're not finding one company to hand-hold. IBM and HP aren't there, yet. But, before Linux it was out of our control and out of control. [Now] we own our Linux problems.''
Is it possible for Linux to be too fast? ``Due to the speed of Linux, for the first time in my life, 15 years in the business, I'm starting to feel some RSI [repetitive strain injury]'', says Technical Director Robert Weaver. ``Usually you are working the machine, but Linux is so fast it can overwork you.'' Weaver has to remember to take breaks because with Linux he doesn't get any breaks waiting for the machine anymore.
Render well, these workstations do
Now, why would they be comparing linux on a mystery x86 box to an old O2.
I'm sure it's faster, but this 5x faster crap is rather annoying when there is no mention of relative configurations.
hell, I should hope linux on a p4 be fast.
Hi. Thanks for hosting a mirror. Now I can truly appreciate using my current linux 2.4.18 for everyday use.
(using Mozilla as I post this)
hey, a few weeks ago you could win money for a great idea, how to extend google in an attractive way. here is mine: every time, an article is posted to slashdot, google will be automaticly informed a few seconds before (with SOAP) to fetch the links. This would be a great cowork between google and slashdot and i could finaly read all the articles ;)
ciao, Hermi
Of course, performance doesn't suffer when you upgrade from a 5 y/o processor to a new top-of-the-line processor.
Most of the descriptions about speed up seem to be directly attributable to Intel, not Linux...
It takes more than an attractive 30 year old daemon woman to get me use FreeBSD
PC Magazine will never go broke since they are MS weenies. Yea, a clueless/light reply to a clueless/light flamebait.
Insightful?!?
the Unterschleissheimer Dependance of the gate company breaks in nothing different one to take in than the middle class. Really pfiffig
Man, either that's really deep, or there's a stoned moderator.
Someone can steal a copy of the magazine, scan in the pages and post them onto their favourite P2P service. That IS the Linux way, after all!
If you get used to stuff for free suddenly everything becomes worthless!
ILM is in San Rafael, CA (near San Francisco)
That might explain something, no?
As long as they don't make the traditional mistakes about computers (see Computers in Movie's and Userfriendly's Movie OS).
Google cache
A bit slow, but at least it's accessible.
I'm informing you in this message that your use of decimal is disturbing to geeks. I think it likely that you do not know what radices mean, or else you would be using hexadecimal. Read about hexadecimal at intuitor and repost your comment using hexadecimal. You may use "0x" as a prefix or "h" as a suffix for the numbers. Intelligent people despise decimal--so try to show some intelligence. Perhaps you are just too stupid to get it. Please reply using this subject--I'll check for replies by it.
Personalized message:
Is linux hexadecimal?
Now that Linux is increacingly becoming the flavour of ILM, does that mean we'll be seeing Star Wars trailers watchable on Linux in the near future?
(moreover, does that mean ILM linux users can't currently watch the trailers?)
.
-
I'm informing you in this message that your use of decimal is disturbing to geeks. I think it likely that you do not know what radices mean, or else you would be using hexadecimal. Read about hexadecimal at intuitor and repost your comment using hexadecimal. You may use "0x" as a prefix or "h" as a suffix for the numbers. Intelligent people despise decimal--so try to show some intelligence. Perhaps you are just too stupid to get it. Please reply using this subject--I'll check for replies by it.
Personalized message:
Um, hi.
doesnt anyone else find it a bit hypocritical that
"hollywood" is making use of opensource and free software while petitioning for its hobbling with the current legislation regarding digital "rights"?
I don't give no stinkin' head cheese up for no body!
Oh - head cancer.
Well, Tough tits kid.
Could anybody explain to me why this is a result of switching to Linux rather than the result of changing hardware etc. I mean, I am quite ready to accept that there could be a speed increase under Linux but a factor of five is quite a lot.
And how much could they gain by using icc instead of gcc. This should be something that could give an important perfomance boost (though not a factor five, I guess).
Any insight would be appreciated.
virve
--
Everybody knows ILM and George Lucas. Them saying that Linux is 5 times faster than some other extra special plattform they've used up 'till now - without even wasting a breath on 'doze - is what convinces Execs and Deciders that Linux is a top notch OS and really cool. :-)
This article is one hell of a drumming for Linux (and Python for that matter)- I'm gonna translate it into german and show it to the people who aren't convinced yet.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
"Sometimes when I arrive in the morning a quarter of the Linux cluster is locked up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often. VM problems in the 2.4 kernel appear to be at the root of our kernel lockup problem. Recent improvements in the 2.4 kernel may resolve that. Things look promising. " I thought only windoze had problems...
Straight out of the box installs??? Give me a break
--
I can almost see why many companies have problems
with benchmarks.
But ILM gets paid for making parts of movies and those get distributed by the big movie companies (like FOX) who pay money to the MPAA. They ARE in the movie business and money from there does go to the MPAA. They may not be a "movie company" but they get hired by movie companies to help make movies.
Best. Comment. Ever. Enjoy!
It's interesting to hear about the challenges they faced in calibrating monitors etc., but clearly the performance advantage comes from current PC hardware being faster than their old SGIs, not linux being faster than irix on equivalent hardware.
The multimedia series Linux Journal has been running since 2001 seems to be driving most of their readership, not the embedded systems, web applications stories or the security series that comprise 95% of the magazine. It's the least popular topic for publishers yet it's the most popular thing for readers. Movie making on Linux is part of a growing number of cult hobbies. No-one talks about all these uses for Linux besides embedded systems and servers. They're not regarded as the intended purpose of Linux, but everyone does them in their private time.
I seem to recall an article in Wired several years back about ILM. What impressed the heck out of me was their Cray abuse, er, *modification*. As I remember it, they had a deal with whoever owned Cray at the time (probably SGI) that basically gave them free Crays every so often. So, they outgrew their current Cray, got a new one, gutted the old one, moved it to the basement, and installed beer taps ;) I just kept thinking "That poor, poor Cray. Could they have found *nothing* worthwhile to do with a freakin' supercomputer?"
Yes, but does the caterer for the crew is part of the MPAA cartel? What about the nurse, or animal trainers? If you look at many credits, the FX people most of the times come at the very bottomo. After all they are contractors. Lots of people get contracted out for making a movie, it's just a job, doesn't mean they have anything to do with with all the bad things Valenti and friends are trying to push.
These are all IRIX screenshot with gnome instead of 4DWM.
the linux buzzword strike again
Do you watch movies by any chance? Or TV? If so, then shut up, because you're helping to fund these guys...
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
National
Oceanographic and
Atmospheric
Administration
They do Climate Research for the gov. (I expect their funding will probably be chopped by the current admin like many other useful organizations...)
So for an example of what they do...
They try to simulate the entire planet (and then some---solar flares, orbits, etc) to attempt to predict when it's going to rain, and when it's going to rain Lava.
Definitely one of the cooler websites for the sheer Scientifically curious geek in all of us...
http://www.noaa.gov/
Sig currently under construction. Mind the gap....
Please don't let the fine people at Linux Journal starve
Have you seen a copy of LJ on the newsstand lately? I think they are already starving...
It's all Hood
I see the difference being that the caterers and nurses can work for other people. What can ILM do outside of the realm of movies and TV?
But I see your point that you have to cut it off someplace.
Best. Comment. Ever. Enjoy!
I do watch some TV, but I decided to stop going to the movies and to stop buying CDs/tapes. I don't steal them either (despite what people say about distributing mp3's as not being stealing...it is). I do know that the industry has a point that people steal their stuff and they have to do something about it but I can't see how to stop piracy without destroying freedom. They would have to confiscate all current electronics or make them illegal to use to do what they want to do. I also think their real reason for doing all this is to stop competition machines that will make it cheap and easy to make good entertainment (given a creative story).
Best. Comment. Ever. Enjoy!
Afterall, don't you know what our new mantra around here is?
"Tough. Adapt or die."
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
Do you watch movies by any chance? Or TV? If so, then shut up, because you're helping to fund these guys...
This fallacy has been rebutted numerous times.
The long and short of it is: just because circumstances constrain you to operate within particular boundries, doesn't mean you are in any way wrong or hypocritical in criticizing those boundries, or anything unjust or wrong you find within those boundries. Many of the folk, black and white alike, who criticized apartheid in the United States and South Africa still paid taxes to those governments, watched the television and listened to the radio put out by those governments (or the private corporations profiting from those apartheid systems). Those who advocated communism or socialism still had jobs within those systems, and bought their food, clothing, and housing within those very same systems they so disapproved of. This did not in any way make their criticisms less valid, or make them hyporcrits for having the courage and moxy to stand up and criticize those systems. Quite the contrary.
Indeed, had reformers throughout history been required to operate within the parameters your troll implies ('you cannot legitimately criticize anything that is a part of your lifestyle!') we would be living no differently from people a thousand years ago. In other words, no reform would have been possible, because no criticism would have been possible.
I suspect that, were someone who doesn't watch television or movies to criticize the Hollywood Copyright and Media Cartels, you would be the first to say something to the effect of "That's easy for you to say, you don't use their product anyway!" which is, of course, the flipside of the very same logical fallacy you've indulged in here.
So it is you, not the person you responded to, who really ought to shut up.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
can you install Linux on it?
"The two most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity." -Harlan Ellison
Linux is not solely responsible for the five-fold increase in speed. Linux allows ILM to leverage the very high price/performance ratio of the x86 microprocessors produced by AMD and Intel. If SGI ported IRIX to x86, then they might not be using Linux. Of course Linux is free, but ILM had to spend many man hours to port their software.
I consider it a major triumph for Richard Stallman lovers in general to see that GNOME desktop being used to scuplt Yoda!!! HAHAHA!~!! Microsoft Trolls BItE That one!!!
The Good: They used Linux.
The Bad: They used Linux to create Jar-Jar!
I saw a neat demo at a Maya seminar last week. They're looking to take panoramas to the next level--not only can you rotate the camera, but you can translate it. Combine this with some effects (e.g., moving water) and low-end compositing, and you can put together a passable demo reel with little or no video footage.
As for production, we're seeing subtle effects in main-stream films. I was amazed by the behind-the-scenes footage of Cast Away, because I had no idea the extent to which CGI was used. This will eventually filter down even to the million dollar or less films. The difference between Linux and proprietary Unix will make a difference, there.
ILM is at the Skywalker Ranch just north of San Francisco - a very long way from Hollywood.
It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
So Linux is being used at ILM. Could this be why The Phantom Menace and especially AOTC suck ass?
They need to go back to CP/M or whatever they used back in the day.
It was "explained" in Ep II, you just missed it. As Anikan begins to slaughter the Tusken raiders, you hear a disembodied voice saying "Anikan, Anikan No!"...That voice was Qui-Gon's.
Liberal (adj.): Free from bigotry; open to progress; tolerant of others.
That's just the typical Linux user hypocracy. They all do it all the time. Fucking sickening isn't it? An entire software hippie movement that can't even put their own morals and philosophies on the line. Pathetic.
An unexpected snag arose during the upgrade: all the PC fans had to be replaced because they were defective.
I guess all those PC fans were replaced with linux advocates...
Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org
I don't know when that happened, but we do handle our own subscription fulfillment now and if anyone has/had a problem with their subscription we'd really like to hear from you and get it straightened out.
e-mail me the details at scott@ssc.com and let me help.
Thanks,
Scott at LJ
Send me an e-mail with the details and I can get that fixed for you.
Scott at LJ
scott@ssc.com
Ant they are using my favorite FLTK toolkit for new stuff!
I saw that one too. It had to do with the ECAD industry. They did a straight port of one of their solvers. Got a 5x increase using Linux.
That article was comparing SUN SPARC to INTEL Linux though so there may be other factors.
5X is still good though. Something is being done right.
Blogging because I can...
That's ok. It never appeared on my credit card bill either, so I didn't loose anything, except for a possible subscription.
I don't know what happened, but I got a mail saying:
"SSC Linux Journal thanks you for your order. Please allow 4-6 weeks for new subscriptions to arrive.
(10-12 weeks for foreign orders)"
After that, nothing... Maybe a bug?
...Jar-Jar Binks powered by Linux.
"The old system is so slow that the clones firing lasers appear to be throwing javelins. We've seen about a five times speed improvement with Linux, which is appreciated! ... Our renderer hasn't been ported yet but will be by the summer. That's all that's keeping me on the O2."
It is not Linux that is making your damn software faster! It's the new hardware bozo. It is not really fair to compare a 6 year old computer with a new one. The O2 was fast in its day but of course any new PC will run rings around it in _most_ applications. Where the O2 still shines is in real time on-air graphics, large textures, built-in video and ICE, reliability, and it looks like a freaking blue toaster.
The O2 is entering End of Production (EOP) in October. It first went on sale in 1996. It will be End of Lifed (EOL) in 2007.
http://www.riaa.org/About-Members-1.cfm
is a convienient list of labels to avoid. there are plenty of musicians who have nothing to do with them. of course the RIAA is doing everything in thier power to make it hard to musicians to get anywhere without them. thankfully there is alot of good music outside of thier controll.
your right about them trying to take power from us. with the new technology people can make movies without them. people can distribute music without them. musicans can make a living without them controlling it or getting money from it. thats what they dont like. this non sense about piracy is a blatant lie. (if you dont believe me look at record sales when napster was popular, i have other reasons to believe these things, but mostly it just makes sense when you look at what they are doing.)
That was just their (former outsource agent) autoresponse.
At some point your order must have failed a check, like the bank software declined the authorization for whatever reason (sometimes that just happens) and your order dropped and they didn't try and contact you. Which is unfortunate because you didn't get your subscription and we didn't get a subscriber. Another reason why we are handling subscription fulfillment ourselves now.
If you give it another go, drop me a line and I can confirm the order and get you your subscriber ID and so forth.
Scott at LJ
scott@ssc.com
... a bewolf cluster of these ?
I have a modern sport bike that will greatly out perform a 1959 Ferrari Testa Rossa. And my bike only cost $13K compared to the $2M price tag on the Ferrari. I guess the Ferrari is crap. Nice logic.
FIRSTUS  POSTUS , BEEEEOTCHAE!
I r #1! All others are #2 or lower!
(You may touch my ewok!)
pleeeease?!!!
It's GNU/ Troll!
I keep hearing that ILM used all AMD machines to render ep2
is this true?
SGI's follow-through in recent years has been pretty good. The NT and IA-32 Linux experiments didn't go too well, but they've been supporting IRIX on MIPS better than I could have ever asked.
The funky SGI building on the corner of Shoreline and 101 is *old*. Drive down the street a ways towards their funky newer buildings... built just a couple years ago.
the right hand doesnt know what the left is doing.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.