RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
vishnu - 04-07-2023
Not to sway off the technical topic here, but I guess I will anyway. I always think back to the lengthy thread at Nekochan, where the consensus was, why would you want to run anything other than IRIX on one of these incredibly unique machines? The IRIX kernel and its compiler(s) are fine-tuned to within half a heartbeat to their underlying MIPS processors and graphics. But hey, if you really want to run BSD on one of these beasts, more's the power! 😝
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
Raion - 04-07-2023
While I share that opinion Vishnu I don't think that stating the obvious is really helpful here.
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
vishnu - 04-07-2023
(04-07-2023, 03:26 PM)Raion Wrote: While I share that opinion Vishnu I don't think that stating the obvious is really helpful here.
Well hey, I wasn't trying to help! I think I made it pretty clear I was off-topic... 😝
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
johnnym - 04-07-2023
(04-07-2023, 02:47 PM)vishnu Wrote: Not to sway off the technical topic here, but I guess I will anyway. I always think back to the lengthy thread at Nekochan, where the consensus was, why would you want to run anything other than IRIX on one of these incredibly unique machines? The IRIX kernel and its compiler(s) are fine-tuned to within half a heartbeat to their underlying MIPS processors and graphics. But hey, if you really want to run BSD on one of these beasts, more's the power! 😝
I understand your point. I believe my position is mainly driven by the fact that I never really found IRIX too interesting apart from some parts of it or some specific software running on it (like e.g.
fsn). And maybe that I love to experiment with my machines and try things the vendor never had in mind (like specific hardware support). And surely to have options.
I hope I'm not kicked of the forums now for my IRIX blasphemy...
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
vishnu - 04-07-2023
If all I had on my SGI's was IRIX, I would never bother to turn them on. The software I have on them, though by no means the most recent versions of any, when new cost tens of thousands of dollars; Maya, Shake, Pro/ENGINEER, bunch of others; Unigraphics for example, Adobe stuff. I don't have anything near the equivalent of any of those on my PC's. Yes, these are all coming up on being 25 years old, but when Maya 6.5 Unlimited came out, the US price was 50,000 dollars! Same price for my Tezro when it was new. 😁 All this stuff still works great, and if you look at the forums, everything that's been added to most of them over the last two decades is little more than fluff. 😎 It's kind of the Microsoft development model: Does it compile? If yes: Ship. If no: Add more features. 😆
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
Raion - 04-07-2023
Johnny, you're totally fine and I support your presence and efforts 100%. I think that there are benefits of a free and open source software OS for IRIX, if only because we can use it as a reference whenever we get around to reverse engineering the entire IRIX OS.
It's not blasphemy and for the record I think it's important to have a space for people to talk about this this is why I have this sub forum set up.
Yes we're not entirely just focused on hardware here but primarily on what specifically supports IRIX and derivatives. This isn't quite as inclusive as our previous incarnation but ultimately it exists that way because support for other oses is not fantastic.
That being said I have learned a lot from your posts here and I think it's really important for you to continue participating in any capacity that you see fit. So I would ask in the future that people would keep the commentary of what OS to run on your systems out of this specific thread. Unless you have something that's helpful or a testimonial regarding running it or a question about support I think it's really important to keep this thread focused on people who want to run OpenBSD, even if it's just one or two people.
Carry on gentlemen.
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
johnnym - 04-08-2023
(04-07-2023, 09:33 PM)Raion Wrote: Johnny, you're totally fine and I support your presence and efforts 100%. I think that there are benefits of a free and open source software OS for IRIX, if only because we can use it as a reference whenever we get around to reverse engineering the entire IRIX OS.
It's not blasphemy and for the record I think it's important to have a space for people to talk about this this is why I have this sub forum set up.
Thanks a lot and don't worry, it was more meant like a joke. I didn't really expect to be expelled for it. You know, we Germans are not that good at joking - sometimes.
(04-07-2023, 09:33 PM)Raion Wrote: That being said I have learned a lot from your posts here and I think it's really important for you to continue participating in any capacity that you see fit. So I would ask in the future that people would keep the commentary of what OS to run on your systems out of this specific thread. Unless you have something that's helpful or a testimonial regarding running it or a question about support I think it's really important to keep this thread focused on people who want to run OpenBSD, even if it's just one or two people.
Carry on gentlemen.
I understand you, but actually I don't see a need to exclude each and every "off-topic" post here. I am totally fine if my monologue here is "interrupted" from time to time with some sort of off-topic but still related posts - especially from vishnu - long live we graybeards!

- and especially as vishnu
didn't tell me what to do with my machines in his posts, as if there's only one way to use them. So I'm thankful for vishnu's posts as they allowed me to provide my point of view and I learned some more about his.
All fine for me! Let's carry on...
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
vishnu - 04-08-2023
(04-08-2023, 07:47 AM)johnnym Wrote: I understand you, but actually I don't see a need to exclude each and every "off-topic" post here. I am totally fine if my monologue here is "interrupted" from time to time with some sort of off-topic but still related posts - especially from vishnu - long live we graybeards!
- and especially as vishnu didn't tell me what to do with my machines in his posts, as if there's only one way to use them. So I'm thankful for vishnu's posts as they allowed me to provide my point of view and I learned some more about his.
All fine for me! Let's carry on...
I apologize, I tend to be much less succinct than I should be. Anything our members can do to learn more about these unique machines is valuable. SGI, just like Sun with Sparc, IBM with Power, and basically every vendor who wrote their own version of Unix and made their own processors motherboards and cases, kept everything intensely secret and to themselves. That's really why Unix lost, the Unix vendors were doing EVERYTHING themselves, Their own processors, their own motherboards, their own operating system, their own cases, no one in the Windows world ever tried to do that.
With Windows, Microsoft wrote the operating system, Intel and AMD designed the processors, everybody else made motherboards and cases, and that specialization defeated commercial Unix. So yeah, the BSD's and Linux are thriving, because that's all they do, is their operating systems.
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
johnnym - 04-08-2023
(04-08-2023, 10:44 AM)vishnu Wrote: I apologize, I tend to be much less succinct than I should be.
Why would you, vishnu? There's no need for an apology. I thought I made that clear above, maybe reread it - but well, I'm not a native speaker. As said: all's fine.
RE: OpenBSD/sgi -
vishnu - 04-08-2023
(04-08-2023, 10:55 AM)johnnym Wrote: (04-08-2023, 10:44 AM)vishnu Wrote: I apologize, I tend to be much less succinct than I should be.
Why would you, vishnu? There's no need for an apology. I thought I made that clear above, maybe reread it - but well, I'm not a native speaker. As said: all's fine. 
Well once again, I've been insuccinct. I'm not apologizing for what I said I am just apologizing for dragging the thread off-topic. There was no reason for me to say what I did in a thread about your exceptional effort to port our, admittedly weirdly bizarre and unique SGI's, to a different operating system. I wish I had the enthusiasm for such an ambitious effort. 😎