[rescue] SGI files for bankruptcy

[Bryan Gurney]

On Mon, 08 May 2006 12:07:05 -0400, Caleb Shay <caleb at webninja.com> wrote:

> On 5/8/06, Ethan O'Toole <ethan at 757tech.net> wrote:
>> > <*sob*>
>>
>> We all knew it was coming....
>
> Yeah, I know, but it's still sad.
>
>>
>> It's ALL LINUX'S FAULT!!!
>
> No, it's SGI's fault for...a number of reasons, including resting on
> their laurels instead of actually making some kind of attempt at
> keeping up with the rest of the industry.  If they hadn't effectively
> abandoned IRIX and MIPS I'd still be using SGI hardware for all of my
> needs instead of going to Linux on my servers and desktop (though I
> recently made the switch to OSX on the desktop with my new Intel 20"
> iMac and my 17" MacBook Pro is arriving today according to
> FedEx.com!).


In my opinion, the big bet on Itanium had a bit to do with it.  Intel had touted it as the Next Big Thing (TM), and it fizzled.  Of the three big X86 server makers (HP, IBM, and Dell), the number of them producing Itanium systems has gone down from three to one, and the only one remaining is also the origin of the Itanium itself.  Meanwhile, SGI was apparently trying to obsolete Irix on MIPS in favor of Linux on Itanium.  I don't think their Itanium yearly sales broke over 1000 units; I'd like to search for the 2005 total Itanium sales figures, but I'm busy stripping shingles off of a roof right now (ugh).

6 months from delisting from the NYSE to Chapter 11.  Here's hoping that someone big and good picks them up and does something meaningful with their IP, instead of just pigeonholing it and collecting royalties.  I'd like to see Sun make a move, but it may be a while, because all the players probably want the carcass to rot a little bit more before swooping down.