X terminals, gl terminals

[Robert K. Stodola]

In article <1991May31.155111.3039 at zola.esd.sgi.com> karlton at sgi.com writes:
>In article <1991May30.123330 at crocus.medicine.rochester.edu>,
>    ajp2o at crocus.medicine.rochester.edu (Anthony J. Persechini) writes:
>
>    I will soon need another terminal for work on the 4D20G I have.
>    I would ideally like something that can be used for both
>    dgl and X applications.
>
>The only devices that currently do both X and GL rendering are SGI
>workstations.
>
>    I would like to find out what kinds
>    of X terminal/dgl terminals are to be recommended for use
>    with the 4D.
>
>The closest you could come would be to purchase a diskless workstation.
>For a fully competent X implementation, you would be best to wait until
>Irix 4.0 is shipping.

Just how competant will it be?  Leaving aside how good an implementation of the
X-server will the SGI head have, will the applications normally used to deal
with the SGI run under X (as opposed to a GL window pasted into the spot
left vacant by an empty X-window)?  I have an X-terminal on my desk.  I have
this vision of connecting to the SGI system and seeing a lot of black windows
there.

>    I would like to do this for <= $2000, so perhaps I will be limited
>    to a monochrome X terminal.
>
>Bitonal (1 bit deep) X terminals will never be able to do GL rendering.

Does this imply that 8 (or greater) bit X-terminals (defined as anyone's
X-terminal, not one with proprietary extensions), will be able to?

>SGI has no current workstations in the $2K range. :-)

I really didn't intend my comments to sound as strident as they appear
on re-reading, but this is really the central issue guiding us to avoid GL
(and hence SGI) in everything for which there is an alternative available.

We do not intend to put a GL-terminal (diskless workstation or other construct
which we are forever bound to purchase from SGI or SGI licensed source) on
everybody's desk.  So far, it appears to me that SGI is bringing X into the
SGI world, rather than moving SGI into the X world.  I'd be thrilled to hear
arguments to the contrary.