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SGI Visual Workstation to run Linux by Year End

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the are-we-there-yet? dept.

Caballero writes "This article on news.com says that SGI will be supporting Linux on their visual workstation products by the end of the year. " The real key is that while current workstations can boot Linux, they aren't really optimized for it. SGI is putting the effort in to let Linux shine on their hardware. We hope.

3 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. PI anyone? by Straker+Skunk · · Score: 3

    Does anyone know if SGI plans to use Precision Insight's direct rendering pipeline (XFree86 4.0, IOW) on the VW's, when the Linux support is ready? Or will all the work be done through a custom-built X server?

    Without the pipeline infrastructure, it wouldn't be possible to render [as fast as possible] to an X window, wouldn't it?

    --
    iSKUNK!
    1. Re:PI anyone? by Oddhack · · Score: 3
      > They don't talk about it too much, but I believe that SGI is funding PI in their DRI effort.

      That's right (jointly funded together with Red Hat, actually). I've also put together a group to define compile and runtime standards for OpenGL and Mesa on Linux, so that no matter what the underlying OpenGL driver (DRI, commercial from Metro Link or Xi, etc.), apps can run cleanly. This will be important in 6 months or so, as more hardware drivers become available.

      Jon Leech
      SGI Core OpenGL Group

  2. I really hope SGI gets rockin' on this! by stryemer · · Score: 3

    I just got one of these babies, and I hope that SGI will get going on the port! Right now there's a website under SGI's domain with info on Linux for their various systems.

    http://www.linux.sgi.com/

    The good news:

    It runs (Yea!)

    It will display on the flat screen (YES!)

    The bad news:

    It needs an IDE (no SCSI)

    No X acceleration

    No OpenGL acceleration

    "Very little" PCI card support

    I'm loading it when I get my next paycheck and I can pick up an IDE drive! I'll keep you all informed...


    -Stryemer
    We are the music makers,
    and we are the dreamers of the dream.
    --
    -Stryemer

    We are the music makers,
    and we are the dreamers of the dream.