Steve Jobs a Traitor?
From article: IBM makes play for 'next-generation Pixar'
... Pixar, run by Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs (news - web sites), has reigned as the undisputed king of computer-generated (CG) films.
... Early this year, Pixar dumped its longtime tech supplier Sun Microsystems in favor of Intel-based computers running the Linux (news - web sites) operating system.
If the updated to Intel/Linux earlier this year, that seems to imply that Mr. Jobs doesn't plan to incorporate the G5 in a major way for some time to come. Booo.
... Pixar, run by Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs (news - web sites), has reigned as the undisputed king of computer-generated (CG) films.
... Early this year, Pixar dumped its longtime tech supplier Sun Microsystems in favor of Intel-based computers running the Linux (news - web sites) operating system.
If the updated to Intel/Linux earlier this year, that seems to imply that Mr. Jobs doesn't plan to incorporate the G5 in a major way for some time to come. Booo.
Comments
How about "smart businessman"?
You use the right tool for the right job. There's no reason to blow a much larger stash of money on brand new, very unoptimized systems like the G5s.
Pixar *has* been testing G5s for some time, though. It's also worth noting that Renderman now runs on Mac OS X.
Just seems strange.. Price must have been MUCH more for him not to consider it.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Just seems strange.. Price must have been MUCH more for him not to consider it.
Doesn't seem strange to me. I think the only potential Apple product that would have fit the bill would have been a G5 Xserve -- something that doesn't exist yet. Pixar bought what they thought was the best solution available, when they needed to have that solution. They aren't going to put off the release date of their next movie 6-12 months waiting for Apple to have what they need.
I'm sure Steve's itching to get some heavy-duty Apple hardware into Pixar, but he's got to treat Pixar as an independent entity, and do what's best for Pixar when he's got his Pixar hat on. When the G5 Xserve finally exists, and when it's been given a little time to prove itself, render farms at Pixar consisting of racks full of Apple equipment will be very likely I think.
Bottom Line. Intel/Linux combos are the cheapest Renderboxes you can buy/build.
OSX may get work on the Frontend but the Backend will be dominated by X86 Linux for sometime.
Originally posted by shetline
Doesn't seem strange to me. I think the only potential Apple product that would have fit the bill would have been a G5 Xserve -- something that doesn't exist yet. Pixar bought what they thought was the best solution available, when they needed to have that solution. They aren't going to put off the release date of their next movie 6-12 months waiting for Apple to have what they need.
I'm sure Steve's itching to get some heavy-duty Apple hardware into Pixar, but he's got to treat Pixar as an independent entity, and do what's best for Pixar when he's got his Pixar hat on. When the G5 Xserve finally exists, and when it's been given a little time to prove itself, render farms at Pixar consisting of racks full of Apple equipment will be very likely I think.
You're right, of course. But that suggests that G4s are out of the question.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
But that suggests that G4s are out of the question.
Then that suggests correctly.
I think the G4 Xserves have their place... but demanding render farm duty isn't it, especially when you've got plenty of über-geeks around to handle the less-than-user-friendly aspects of Linux for you.
Steve wants Apple in Pixar's industry, badly, so he's absolutely doing the right thing here. If Pixar doesn't buy Apple products, that means Apple needs new or better products to appeal to that industry, and it means that Steve knows in no uncertain terms what needs to be different or better. If he put the cart before the horse, as so many people are tempted to do, he'd never get where he wanted to go.
Isn't there a appropriate phrase about walking a mile in someone else's shoes before you criticise their actions? or something like that ?
G
Originally posted by Gargoyle
Yeah you got to remember that Steve is CEO of BOTH companies... I bet he works damn hard ad trying to do what is best for both companies.
Isn't there a appropriate phrase about walking a mile in someone else's shoes before you criticise their actions? or something like that ?
G
I don't think it was a criticizm... or maybe it seemed like it... But I would gladly walk in his shoes for a mile ($$$$$$)
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
... Early this year, Pixar dumped its longtime tech supplier Sun Microsystems in favor of Intel-based computers running the Linux (news - web sites) operating system.
Even though CNet wrote about it earlier this year, the installations of Intel based rendering farms happened over a year ago - before the Xserve was shipping.
Originally posted by Baron von Smiley
So Pixar, whose boss is extremely attached to Apple, doesn't buy Apple computers, why should anyone else? Everyone mentions price is the number one motivating factor here. I thought Apple's big thing was that their product may cost a little more buy you get a lot more quality for that. Pixar not buying their own boss's brand is really a slap in the face for Apple and really negative advertising.
Take a look at an Intel based blade and take a look at a Power Mac G4 which was what Apple had to offer at the time. Notice the difference?
Originally posted by Baron von Smiley
So Pixar, whose boss is extremely attached to Apple, doesn't buy Apple computers, why should anyone else?
Because not everyone else needs a render farm?
Everyone mentions price is the number one motivating factor here. I thought Apple's big thing was that their product may cost a little more buy you get a lot more quality for that.
Price is a strongly motivating factor in render farms because all you need is the CPU, RAM, and a fast network connection. All the value-adds Apple stuffs into the PowerMac are irrelevant for this particular use, which is simply to tear through as many computations as possible as quickly as possible.
Simply put, Apple had nothing whatsoever to offer to address this market when this purchase was made. Not even the Xserve. So Pixar went with the best choice available at the time. Blades are cheap. Linux is cheap (if you have the know-how to install and support it).
At any rate, this is a technological decision, and it should remain a technological decision. You seem to be suggesting that Steve should saddle his employees with a decidedly non-optimal solution just to keep up appearances, but that always leads to utter disaster. What would happen if, with that decision made, Pixar started falling behind schedule, or running over budget? What would that do for Apple?
The sky is not falling, here.
Originally posted by Placebo
I bet they use Macs for the actual animation/design. At least the Xeons aren't running Windows, eh?
Well, they did make a Mac OS X version of RenderMan that they may or may not release commercially.
Oh and, pixar are looking for MacOS X Systems Administrators.
Guess that answers part of the questions then
Originally posted by Gargoyle
There is a guy from pixar on the G5 promo video.
Oh and, pixar are looking for MacOS X Systems Administrators.
Guess that answers part of the questions then
Very cool. I want a mac. Someday. As part of that I'm only buying software that has PC/Mac support included on the CD. That way, when the time comes, I've got my software... The tough one is going to be my Digital Audio software.