IRIX Operating SystemSilicon Graphics In this review I intend to introduce you to another excellent Microsoft operating system alternative called IRIX. Many people will not be able to run this though - IRIX is limited to the MIPS family of processors used on Silicon Graphics (SGi) computers. Silicon Graphics workstations are easily available on eBay and the like for very reasonable prices. If you find what this review has to say about IRIX interesting, get on eBay and see what you can pick up. Since first using IRIX late last year, my opinion of it has changed a great deal. The first time I actually sat down at the workstation I had just bought, my head was slightly clouded by the fact I had managed to pick up a decent workstation for an absolute bargain. I was also more interested in seeing how fast I could knock up graphical renderings - after all, it was "one of the computers they used to make Terminator 2." But after a few weeks of rendering metallic cows and brick cars, I actually started to look at the Operating System and what it really had to offer. Despite the fact you can only get IRIX when you buy an SGi machine (i.e. you cannot order it separately), it clearly offers so much more than Windows ever will. The current IRIX distribution comes on 10 CD's - that's around 6.5GB of quality software, for about half the price of Windows 2000 Professional's one disk. And that's not all. Every 6 months, SGi releases a Freeware CD - packed full of all the most popular utilities, tweaked, recompiled, and packaged for your convenience. And if you are unable to get hold of the CD, they publish all the files online. When I got my SGi, it came with only a 1GB disk - looking at IRIX's monstrous 10 CD's I began to think that 1GB just wasn't going to cut the mustard. But after playing around on the desktop, I was quite surprised. In 800MB (that's around the same as a Windows 2000 install, where you get Microsoft's usual bundle of rubbish, including the ancient Notepad and Solitaire...) I found Rendering Tools, a whole archive of media utilities (DAT drive manager, imaging software, tonnes of graphical demos), Internet software like Netscape, and lots of server software like the NCSA Web server. Also installed are mountains of helpfiles with information for both Newbies and Gurus alike. So how is using IRIX? A background in UNIX really is a prerequisite - I had been using Linux for about 2 years prior to running IRIX, and I am still not quite familiar with all its functions. Apart from that, I would say its a fantastic system - amazingly reliable, very fast even on my 133MHz Indy and actually quite interesting to use. I would strongly advise anyone with a bit of money and an interest in UNIX to invest in something like an SGi Indy (one can be picked up on eBay for $400-$500 with a 20 inch monitor) and to have a dabble with what I have found to be a far superior system to Microsoft Windows. PLUSES: Reliable, powerful, and fast; comes with everything but the kitchen sink on 10 CDs. MINUSES: Future support questionable; not available without proprietary SGi hardware. Overall Ranking: (Three 1/2 out of Five) Find it on eBay   PUBLISHER: Silicon GraphicsVERSION: N/ALICENSE: Bundled Commercial HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: RX MIPS CPU; 1.5GB HD; 32MB RAM (Proprietary) ALTERNATIVE TO: Windows XP Professional, Windows Servers ADDITIONAL INFO: Official Site Reviewed by James Taylor, November 2000.

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