Linux at Industrial Light and Magic 285
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.
anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:3, Funny)
Would that make Bill Vader? Which distro is Obi Wan Kanobi?
Re:analogy - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:1)
Re:analogy - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:1)
SGI? (Score:2)
My thinking: Lando. They've got soul, you're not really sure whose side they're on and they'll never find more work. =)
Re:anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:2, Funny)
Re:anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:2)
Re:anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:4, Funny)
Re:anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:2)
Obi-wan never told you, who rendered your father....
Re:anology - Star Wars -- Linux (Score:2)
Graphics are great (Score:4, Insightful)
Music isn't bad!
Acting is pathetic.
No amount of eye candy will ever make the prequels worth watching as standalone movies.
Re:Graphics are great (Score:2)
The acting was pretty piss poor in those too.
Re:Graphics are great (Score:2)
slashdotted after 2 comments (Score:5, Funny)
we must never speak of this again
;)
dead already! (Score:2)
Re:dead already! (Score:1)
Nowadays, everybody's got to be running a fancy-pants database-driven site, and consequently their server chokes under even a moderate load.
Back to the days of copy-and-paste templating, I say!
Re:dead already! (Score:2)
chrisd
They'll have to stop using Linux (Score:4, Funny)
I'm assuming that would be the case, anyway.
Re:They'll have to stop using Linux (Score:1)
Re:They'll have to stop using Linux (Score:2, Funny)
Support Linux Journal (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
ROTFLMAO (Score:1)
Re:Support Linux Journal QWZX (Score:1, Insightful)
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.
Re:Support Linux Journal QWZX (Score:1, Offtopic)
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.
Re:Support Linux Journal (Score:1)
Sorry, I'm peeved with them. I had subscribed for two years, but had to cancel mid-stream due to some financial constraints (yeah, it got tight). I never got a refund. I called up, and was told that I hadn't paid yet. I said I did, and referred back to my credit card statement, and the lady sneeringly told me, "no you haven't!" Boy, was I surprised at that! So I said to myself, "I am never dealing with LJ again." I took the thirty dollar loss, figuring it was worth avoiding dealing with LJ.
Not that I'm suggesting anyone _not_ buy it. I'm just saying, _I_ ain't buying.
Re:Support Linux Journal (Score:2)
Re:Support Linux Journal (Score:2)
Have to say, someone from LJ posted on this thread, and I contacted him, and it's getting straightened out. Props to LJ, especially since this happened four years ago.
Re:Support Linux Journal (Score:2)
I buy Linux Journal and Linux Magazine every month. Journal can be a bit dry sometimes, but it is worth a read.
I do recommend them to newcommers. They often have some very good articles that are just perfect for those getting into the game.
I've read some complaints where the focus is too great on code snippets and programming... but you will never hear me saying such ardasities!
Buy em, enjoy em and lend em to your friends!
Re:Support Linux Journal (Score:2)
Re:Subscription help (Score:2)
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?
And soon... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:And soon... (Score:1)
Re:And soon... (Score:1)
Re:And soon... (Score:1)
Great News (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Great News (Score:4, Insightful)
If I had to guess, nothing major would happen except there'd be a few more games for Linux and there'd be a lot of articles about it on Linux Games [linuxgames.com].
Would developers support Sony?
Probably, but it depends on what you mean by developers. Hardware (read as video and sound card) developers may try and throw Linux gamers a bone in the driver arena (but it'll be a small, closed source one). Since nvidia already does this and most (if not all) Linux gamers opt for their cards because of it, impact would be minimal. Software developers could care less about what Sony does in the software market. It would probably go down as follows:
1.) Sony develops games for Linux.
2.) Other developers develop games for Linux thinking that Sony had some special information.
3.) Sales aren't immediately stellar, other developers back out and snicker behind Sony's back thinking that they're superior.
Would Linux gaming become a very viable option?
IMHO, and don't take this as a flame because I'm a supporter and user of Linux, but I don't think it'll be really great until a brand new/standarized API (a la direct X - so shoot me) is developed (or a current one is seriously overhauled). There's something to be said in an all-in-one multimedia package that doesn't depend on a bunch of other things. Or until there's a working alternative to X which will never happen. *shrug* I'm probably wrong, but that's just my 2 cents.
Re:Great News (Score:1)
1. Sony Releases its PlayStation Development Kit to the public (with some restrictions of course...don't want MS getting its hands on it).
2. Sony starts shipping PCs that have Linux pre-installed.
3. Sony encourages game developers to develop games for both Linux and PC at the same time with little to no extra development time (ala Windows and XBox style).
4. Sony encourages other hardware manufactures with incentives to ship Linux drivers and desktop systems.
5. Sony makes money as a publisher.
Can this be done and besides money what are the obstacles to this idea?
Re:Great News (Score:2)
This is getting super off-topic, but what the hell. The most obvious obstacle (to me) is that there's no reason for Sony to do this. Why would they? Financially there isn't a good reason for them to push ahead with this kind of steam. It's not as if they have as much of a reason to try and cripple Microsoft's iron grip on the desktop market as other companies do, so inane corporate vengeance is probably out of the picture. Destroying competition? Well, Sony doesn't have a Linux distro and the X-Box is killing itself for the most part.
While this is a nice thought, I doubt it'll happen. The more likely path is a company like Bioware really stepping it up and announcing complete support for Linux on all future releases. That would make a dent and an impression on the industry, but I also find it slightly less likely than me getting laid tonight.
Re:Great News (Score:5, Funny)
I would remove my Windows partition.
This has been in the works! (Score:2, Insightful)
"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."
The "Unofficial" Story on the ports et al. (Score:1)
Re:The "Unofficial" Story on the ports et al. (Score:2)
Pretty please don't slashdot me ;-). Too bad I didn't mirror the article, didn't expect it on Slashdot. I also collected the other articles that came out yesterday. Probably the other two inetersting ones are from VFXPro and CGW:
Episode 2 VFX Work Discussed Around the Net [ilmfan.com]
Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:1)
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
I am seeing a lot of smaller design firms shy away from A|W though and they *are* using Rhino and MCAD. For class 'A' surfaces, Studio is a very nice tool. In recent times though, MCAD toolsets include most of what one needs to get there. For the high-end automotive like markets, MCAD does not yet cut it. For most everyone else, MCAD can and does do the job now.
A|W is playing another game that is hard to play. They charge *lots* for a select few features needed by the high-end. This makes their product unattractive to the low end because without those select few features, the lesser products or a smart combination of them can do the job.
Why not lower the price? In my mind they should, but they have waited too long. Lower the price and they lose the revenue from the big boys while only gaining some back from the low-end.
Someone is going to do this and take a *lot* of market and mind-share from A|W, or they will continue to wither away quietly.
Remember, I am a little off topic because I am talking about ID, not CG in this particular case.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
1) Most of their gear is really, really expensive.
2) The advantages of their stuff is hard to explain to cost-sensative pointy-hairs.
They do have other issues, of course, one of which is a serious lack of follow-through. Still, they've done some pretty neat stuff, and it sucks to see them plow into the ground 'cause they can't seem to adapt to a new bid'ness model. That empty building on 101 and Shoreline seems to me like a constant reminder of the recession and tech bust.
SGI blurbs... building on 101 & Shoreline (Score:2)
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.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:3, Interesting)
Everybody in the industry uses it. We would not be able to function with out it. Being in a medium sized studio, we need to have some solutions come pre-packaged and others to be built in-house.
I do worry for SGI though. They are loosing (or maybe lost) the high end desk top war. People are picking up dual Xeons and even after PC manufacturer's suport contracts, it is cheaper than a stand alone SGI that runs at half the speed.
We have been migrating to linux for the last two years, first as a render solution and then as a desktop solution. When we get a linux compositing tool in house, we will be completely free of SGI systems for production work.
-Tim
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
It is an interesting time for them in either case.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
They are gravitating towards open source, because it allows them to do what they want to do, faster and in house not because it is cheaper. The only people in Hollywood who care how much a movie costs are the ones making them on their own dime who had to get a second mortgage on their house to do it. Folks like Lucas care about making the movie exactly the way they want it, and they LOVE when they have to create the tools to do it. How many times have you seen director on press junkets saying something like, "No one had ever done this before so we had to invent the technology ourselves . You really have to see it." You'll never hear, "We used off the shelf hardware and stock footage to make this scene, and saved a few dollars."
This is not a good example of Linux and open source lowering TCO. This is an example of people who have unlimited money, need extreme flexibility, and insist on controlling all of the smallest details finding a tool that meets their needs.
If Hollywood really wanted to save money they'd stop supplying craft services to the extras.
effects aren't just for Lucas and Spielberg (Score:2)
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.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
What interests me though is the concept they are following. The technology investments they are making right now will last them a *long* time. (Building both common and in-house tools under Linux.)
This shows the promise that OSS has for everyday business. Most of their basic computing needs can and will (if they let them) be addressed with OSS tools. They will have to invest some to make that happen, but once the investment is made, they are set for a very long time.
That will affect TCO in a good way.
Re:Looks bad for Alias Wavefront and SGI (Score:2)
Anything that the core OS environment needs to improve will go public. They have no real reason not to. If they hold that stuff back, their in-house burden will grow until they are basically building their own OS. Why not just make the OS a notch better and forget about it?
These guys can't do a 405 ?? (Score:1, Offtopic)
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 OSes (Score:4, Informative)
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 [sgi.com] 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.
Re:ILM OSes (Score:3, Insightful)
That's really not a great position to be in, is it Andy?
I mean, they bought the workstations from fucking Dell but obviously Dell tech support is in no position to aid them on the technology of the OS. Or anything beyond installing a ethernet driver or scanner on Windows, if even that. So about this time I am wondering
Pennywise so often is pound stupid.
Re:ILM OSes (Score:2)
Re:ILM OSes (Score:2)
Of course, with the money they are saving, changing a few fans and having a few hot spare workstations in a closet may be very well worth it.
Re:ILM OSes (Score:2)
Re:ILM OSes (Score:2)
I can only guess that they probably used such machines for their motion cameras; in any case, I'm sure SGI wasn't the only hardware platform sitting around ILM back then.
Cool stuff (Score:1, Funny)
Plus, they've GOT Beowulf cluster of these!!!
cool picture... (Score:2)
http://www.linuxjournal.com/modules/NS-lj-issue
Linux, Yoda, Gnome... very nice.
Re:cool picture... (Score:2)
Of course I like GNOME but WindowMaker is my choice.
That pic as a background and a WindowMaker theme is born.
OS or Hardware? (Score:1)
Re:OS or Hardware? (Score:2)
My favorite quote (Score:5, Interesting)
CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2)
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2)
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2)
A fallacious argument, yet again (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:A fallacious argument, yet again (Score:2)
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2)
But I see your point that you have to cut it off someplace.
Re:CBDTPA .... Linux ... the irony... (Score:2)
Mirror with pictures (Score:3, Informative)
wget -p --convert-links http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6011
Alternate mirror (better bandwidth) (Score:3, Informative)
Here [tjs.org].
thought process of the /. editors (Score:2, Funny)
All this jargon... (Score:2)
Another great idea for google ... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Another great idea for google ... (Score:2)
Given that it's not the ad server that gets slashdotted into the ground, I think everyone involved would like it. Google could wrap everything in their own frame and sell a text ad at the top, the page would still attract viewers, and the ads would be served. (At least, unless you filter them.)
Linux or Intel? (Score:5, Interesting)
Most of the descriptions about speed up seem to be directly attributable to Intel, not Linux...
Re:Linux or Intel? (Score:3, Insightful)
Most of the descriptions about speed up seem to be directly attributable to Intel, not Linux...
I think part of the point, though, is that it is _because_ Linux is extremely flexible in terms of the wide variety of hardware it will run it that makes it very easy to upgrade your systems and still run the same system. This way, ILM doesn't have to wait for the next SGI systems to come out; if they need more, they can just go out and get it and intergrate it with the systems they are already running since it's all running the same thing.
Google Mirror (Score:2)
A bit slow, but at least it's accessible.
free software and drm (Score:2, Insightful)
"hollywood" is making use of opensource and free software while petitioning for its hobbling with the current legislation regarding digital "rights"?
The cult hobby (Score:2)
Intel/AMD deserves more credit than Linux (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Intel/AMD deserves more credit than Linux (Score:2)
I agree, in part. While it took many man hours to port, it took much less than it would to port to Windows. Remember, hardware is useless without software. Linux makes the cheap commodity Intel/AMD systems useful by providing a stable, efficient and full-featured platform that's largely compatible with what they're used to. I think you're selling Linu show to say the CPUs deserve more credit; there should be an even share for both.
PC Fans (Score:2)
I guess all those PC fans were replaced with linux advocates...
But they don't use LINUX (Score:1)
Article Text (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Re:Article Text (Score:2)
I found the link down too (at least it didn't raect in a reasonable time), so the repost was most definitely useful.
Re:Boy howdy... (Score:1)
Re:what is the big news? (Score:1)
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.
New here? (Score:2)
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.
Re:New here? (Score:2)
I think you probably already understand this but in may ways that is the point. If they had $X to buy new workstations they probably could buy 5 P4s for the price of each SGI workstation.
For me the article is interesting not because they started using Linux but becuase they are using Open Source tools and libraries. 2 or 3 years ago they would have had to build apps, libraries, evertyhing from scratch. Now they bascially use Red Hat.
That is news.
Re:Er. (Score:2)
If you:
a) use an OS with a good scheduler
b) tune the kernel to the computer you are using
c) use only the drivers you need
d) don't run software you don't need.
You will see quite a speed increase. The last 3 are things you have a hard time doing on most closed/proprietary operating systems.
Re: Linux speed. (Score:2)
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.
Re:Linux compatible StarWars trailers? (Score:2)
Re:Linux making it faster (Score:2)
At one point I heard that ILM had several Alpha machines with Linux to run their simulations, to take over some of the stuff done on the Origins, but I never could confirm it.