[nintendoeats]

One of my goals with my SGIs is to do a little bit of light youtubing. Specifically, I want to show off the different software that was available (starting with demos and media utilities, then moving on to the more esoteric/elaborate) with high-quality recordings that demonstrate everything that these programs could do. Most of my experimenting with these machines is centered around reaching a point where I am able to do that in a way that is informed and engaging. I have some primary sources to go through, but my main source of information is really the information included with the demos themselves. Since I was 4 when my Indy was manufactured, I don't really have any first-hand information about what was impressive, how these demos changed, or any other interesting history around them.

Hence, my question for: What are your memories of the Ideas and Amesh demos? Where they relevant to your use-case? Were they impressive to you? Are there any secret details about them you would like to share?

Thanks!

[hamei]

Hence, my question for: What are your memories of the Ideas and Amesh demos? Where they relevant to your use-case? Were they impressive to you? Are there any secret details about them you would like to share?

Is that I-DEAS from CSRG that you speak of, or a different one ? If so, where hides this demo, white man ? I've never seen it (in my defense, I don't haunt the demo worlds that much. Mostly they are flashy but boring.)

[nintendoeats]

I'm not familiar with the I-DEAS demo. The ideas demo is installed by default, and features a 3D SGI logo rising out of a page.

I believe the demos are historically interesting, because they tell you a lot about what the hardware was meant to do and what SGI believed would be important to their customers. amesh, for example, demonstrates real-time data analysis and 3D visualization. Because amesh can load the users own audio files, or analyze audio played into the system's line-in port, the user is left in no doubt that the analysis is happening in real time (as well as showing off the system's audio features, which were impressive in themselves).

In fact, it's hard to think of a better way to demonstrate these capabilities, since virtually all users will have some way to play their own source into amesh. Also, it looks cool.

[chulofiasco]

Ideas was also included as a demo with the IRISVISION graphics subsystem that SGI developed for the PC.

[nintendoeats]

That's interesting. I suppose it would have been easy, since it was written in OpenGL, but it wasn't exactly flashy at that point.