3D input, comments on Jim Barton's note

[jim frost]

>>       SGI could learn a few things , correction [sic] a lot, from the
>>       microcomputer industry, concerning add on equipment and
>>       other things.
>
>Easy there.  If you think SGI is bad, maybe you should look around a
>bit.  The SUN hotline takes a week to get back to you.

This is true, and if you have a real problem they'll bounce you around
a LOT.  Once I even got a message from someone about "my SO" (service
order), which wasn't at all useful since I have (even still) about five
active ones.

Better than that, Sun shipped the 386i version of the 4.0 developer's
kit without even RUNNING the debugger; the thing absolutely refused to
work on any core, complaining about "bad text addresses".  Even my
worst experiences with SGI software pale against such incompetence.

>As for the documentation, it's better than
>most and improving.  Just compare the G Graphics Library Manual with
>the newer GT Graphics Library Manual.

Yes, the newer are certainly better, although we've found that many
functions are ambiguously documented; you actually have to play with
them to figure out some specifics.  Again, there is much worse out
there!

Basically I'm impressed with how fast SGI responds to their customers.
Look at how fast the 4Sight system has matured!  If everyone responded
so fast, my job would be a lot easier.

jim frost
madd at bu-it.bu.edu