🚀 go-pugleaf

(Note: A PostScript version of our newsletter is available on the WWW.
 See the URL below.)


             ###########
              #### ####
             ####  ####
             ####  ####       #####     ###    ##     #####
            ####   ####      ##  ###   ###     ##    ##  ##
            ####   ####      ###       ###     ##   ##
           ############       ###     ###     ##   ##
           ############        ###    ###     ##   ##  ###      
          ####     ####    ###  ##     #######     ##   ##
          ####     ####     #####       #####       #####
         ####      ####
        ######    ######


                 Atlanta Silicon Graphics User's Group

             +------------------------------------------+
             |            asug@cc.gatech.edu            |
             |  http://www.cc.gatech.edu/services/asug  |
             +------------------------------------------+


  Speaker:    Pam Coffey
              Silicon Graphics

  Topic:      IRIX 6.2 - SGI's 64-bit Operating System

  Date/Time:  Wednesday, March 20, 1996
              7pm - 9pm

  Where:      Georgia Institute of Technology
              College of Computing
              Room 201
              801 Atlantic Drive
              Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0280
              (404) 894-5218

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our March Meeting...

  Our March meeting will be held at the Georgia Institute of Technology's
  College of Computing.  Pam Coffey , from Silicon Graphics, will present
  IRIX 6.2 - SGI's 64-bit Operating System.  Based on UNIX System V Release 4,
  IRIX 6.2 provides exceptional desktop multimedi a functionality, with
  performance networking and advanced data management for servers, plus
  extensive support for industry standards (XPG4 Base 95 Profile brand from 
  X/Open).  IRIX 6.2 provides industry-leading scalability across the Silicon
  Graphics product line, from entry-level Indy workstations up to 36
  processors on the CHALLENGE�XL server.  It preserves your software
  investment by providing binary compatibility with IRIX 5 or 6.1
  applications.  Optionally recompiled 32-bit applications can take full
  advantage of the latest MIPS microprocessor performance features. 
  
  Some of the new features of IRIX 6.2 that distinguishes it from previous
  releases are: 
  
      - 1 terabyte virtual memory addressing,
      - 9 terabyte files, 18 terabyte filesystems on 64-bit platforms
      - 32-bit ABI compatibility with IRIX 5 releases 
        (older applications need to be recompiled for full  
        R4x00/R5000/R8000/R10000 performance)
      - Full support for X11R6 server, clients and libraries
      - The enhanced OSF/Motif 1.2.4
      - X double-buffering extension and CID fonts
      - FLEXlm - now maybe developers will use a common version!
      - IRIX Pro - user-friendly setup and system administration tools
      - Large UIDs, up to 2 billion unique values
      - Extended Accounting, bill compute time to separate  projects 
      - IRIS FailSafe, an optional high-availability product
      - Only supports R4000 and above SGI systems
      - COFF binaries are no longer supported
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Directions to Georgia Tech's College of Computing...
  
  Take I-85 or I-75 toward downtown Atlanta.  If you are driving north, take
  Exit #101 (10th Street/14th Street/Ga Tech).  Take a left onto 10th Street
  at the light at the end of the ramp.  Take a left onto Atlantic Ave. after
  you pass the basketball arena.  Take a left onto Ferst Street, at the first
  light.  Take a right onto Plum Street, at the first stop sign.  The College
  of Computing is the second building on your right.  If you are driving south,
  take Exit #26 (Techwood Dr/10th/14th Streets).  Do not change lanes (do not
  go toward 16th Street).  Go straight through first stop light (you will be
  crossing over 14th Street).  Follow sign to Tenth St. West/Georgia Tech.
  Take a right onto 10th Street (at the stop sign).  Then, take a left onto
  Atlantic Ave. after you pass the basketball arena.  Take a left onto
  Ferst Street, at the next light.  Take a right onto Plum Street, at the
  stop sign.  The College of Computing is the second building on your right.
  Headlines
  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headlines

  SGI and Cray Research Announce Merger 
  -------------------------------------
  
  In February, Silicon Graphics and Cray Research announced that they have
  entered into a merger agreement, pursuant to which Silicon Graphics will
  acquire the outstanding shares of Cray Research.  The combined
  organizations will unite Silicon Graphics' commitment to scalable,
  deployable supercomputing and 3D visualization with Cray's global
  leadership in large-scale supercomputing.  The two companies have a
  combined revenue run rate of nearly $4 billion.  The transaction is
  expected to be closed in Silicon Graphics' quarter ending in June 1996. 
  
  Over the past 18 months, Cray Research has restructured and refocused its
  business on the most demanding segments of the high-performance computing
  market.  With the introduction of powerful new products like the CRAY T90
  parallel vector system and the CRAY T3D and CRAY T3E highly scalable
  products, Cray Research returned to profitability in the quarter ending
  December 31, 1995, and closed that quarter with an all-time high year-end
  order backlog of $437 million. 
  
  Silicon Graphics is continuing to revolutionize high-performance computing
  among systems priced at less than $1 million by leveraging its open
  CMOS-based MIPS RISC microprocessor technology into its POWER CHALLENGE. 
  

  "Moving Worlds" Proposes to be new VRML 2.0
  -------------------------------------------
  
  In February, Silicon Graphics and Netscape announced that 56 Internet
  leaders have agreed to support "Moving Worlds" as the next-generation
  implementation of Virtual Reality Markup Language, known as VRML 2.0. 
  Moving Worlds is an open, platform-independe nt specification for dynamic
  3D environments on the Internet. Silicon Graphics led the development of
  Moving Worlds in cooperation with Sony, WorldMaker and other members of
  the VRML community. Moving Worlds maintains VRML's conformance to open
  standards and leverages Java and JavaScript to create behaviors, motion,
  and interactions.  It also enables third-party Plug-Ins to be used
  unmodified, adding useful 3D capabilities to Web-based database, design
  and other real-world applications.  The proposal has recently been
  submitted to the VRML Architecture Group
  
  In a very recent announcement, SGI and Netscape announced Apple's support
  of the Moving Worlds VRML 2.0 proposal and Apple's contribution of new
  technology to the Moving Worlds initiative.  Specifically, the three
  companies plan to develop a new binary file format for Moving Worlds
  based on Apple's 3D metafile format (3DMF) technology.  Apple's
  contribution of 3DMF technology to the Moving Worlds effort will enable
  higher compression, file streaming, and faster parsing of 3D objects and
  virtual worlds acr oss the Internet. 
  

  Tom Benoist Introduces CHAOS
  ----------------------------
  
  CHAOS is a Midi Sequencer which samples sound from the SGI audio ports and
  converts frequency amplitudes to humanly constrainable chaotic midi
  output.  Requires Irix 5.2 or later, a MIDI box, and the synthesizer of
  your choice.  Its available from: 
  
  http://www.webcom.com/ie/benoist
  

  Hideyuki Nakanishi Announces Freewalk
  -------------------------------------
  
  FreeWalk provides a 3-D community common where everyone can meet.  People
  can enter the space by specifying the server IP address.  Each participant
  can move and turn freely in the space using a mouse just as in a video
  game.  People can find the locations of other participants using the
  radar screen in the right lower corner of the window. 
  
  In this 3-D community common, each participant is represented as a pyramid
  of 3-D polygons.  His/her live video is mapped on one rectangular plane of
  the pyramid.  The participant's view point is located at the center of
  this rectangle.  The view of the community common from his/her view point
  is displayed in the FreeWalk window.  Participants standing far away
  appear small and those near are larger.  Participants located outside of a
  predefined distance are not displayed.  Voices are also transferred under
  the same policy.  The volume of voice is proportional to the distance
  between sender and recipient. 
  
  In FreeWalk, people can show up in a 3-D meeting space, wonder freely
  inside the space, and encounter each other accidentally. Since the
  locations and view directions of the participants are reflected by pyramid
  orientation, he/she can watch what other people are doing from a
  distance. 
  
  You can get FreeWalk from:  http://www.lab7.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions
   (Selections from USENET's comp.sys.sgi.* newsgroups)
  
  
  Q: How can I make my X Server use a 12-bit PseudoColor, 12- bit TrueColor
     or 24-bit TrueColor visual by default? 
  
  A: By default, the SGI X Server is configured to use an 8-bit PseudoColor
  visual.  X-based applications can request other visuals directly if they
  are available.  Alternatively, you can change the default visual by
  performing the following steps: 
  
  a.) Run /usr/bin/X11/xdpyinfo and check that your server is capable of
  using a 12-bit or 24-bit visual.  If it is, you will see lines similar to
  the following: 
  
       visual id, max buffers, depth:    0x28, 0, 12
       visual id, max buffers, depth:    0x29, 0, 12
       visual id, max buffers, depth:    0x2a, 0, 24
  
  The last number on each line represents the number of bits available for
  that visual. 
  
  b.) Log in as root.
  
  c.) Edit the file /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers.  By default it will contain
  the string: 
  
         :0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -pseudomap 4sight
  
  for a 24-bit TrueColor visual change it to:
  
         :0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -class TrueColor -depth 24
  
  for a 12-bit PseudoColor visual change it to:
  
        :0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -class PseudoColor -depth 12
  
  d.) Restart your X server as above.
  
  NOTE:  X Server visuals are an advanced topic; before making the above
  changes you should be aware that some 3rd-party and freeware applications
  might not gracefully adapt to an X Server which supplies anything but an
  8-bit PseudoColor visual by default. 
  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRIX Bug Watch
  
  RPC.STATD SECURITY BUG:  Documented in the SGI Advisory 19960301,
  It has been found that there are some security vulnerabilities within the
  /usr/etc/rpc.statd program.  SGI recommends the following steps for
  neutralizing this possible means of exploit.  It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
  that these measures be done on ALL SGI systems running IRIX 3.x, 4.x, 5.x
  and 6.x.  SGI recommends upgrading unsupported IRIX 3 and 4 systems to a
  supported version of IRIX.  Also, SGI recommends the replacement of
  rpc.statd on systems running IRIX 5.2 (apply patch #1145), 5.3, 6.0, 6.0.1
  and 6.1 (apply patch #1028).  The issue will be permanently corrected in a
  future release of IRIX. 
  
  SOFTWINDOWS SECURITY BUG:  SGI has discovered an inappropriate use
  of root privilege in the SoftWindows 1.25 product which is distributed in
  the Desktop Support Environment 1.0 and HotMix 11.  SoftWindows invokes
  Netscape as the root as part of the installation script per_user.sh. 
  This privileged invocation of Netscape can access protected files on the
  system, and potentially lead to system software damage.  SGI recommends
  the replacement of rpc.statd on systems running IRIX 5.2 (apply patch
  #908), 5.3, 6.0, 6.0.1 (apply patch #1020) and IRIX 6.1 (apply patch #1128).
  The issue will be permanently corrected in a future release of IRIX. 
  
  LEAP YEAR BUG:  There is a system date problem regarding leap year
  with IP19 and IP21 SGI systems running IRIX 5.3.  The bug will cause your
  system to gain one day.  The problem is with converting the time-of-day
  chip's internal time to UNIX time.  Ther e doesn't seem to be a patch for
  this bug as of yet. 
  
  	 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
About  ASUG...
  
  The Atlanta Silicon Graphics User's Group (ASUG) is a lawless, volunteer
  organization that meets 6 times a year on the 2nd Tuesday on alternating
  months to share ideas and talk about experiences with Silicon Graphics
  hardware and software.  Our meetings involve visualization and general
  UNIX topics.  We don't elect officers, impose dues or charge cover. 
  Silicon Graphics graciously foots the bill for the cost of mailing our
  newsletter.  ASUG is populated with professionals from around the
  Southeast and f rom a wide spectrum of commercial and non-commercial
  institutions.  Our meetings provide excellent opportunities for people to
  share their experiences and techniques with others, express their
  interests and concerns to Silicon Graphics, and pick up bits o f
  information worthy of taking back to work.  Our group is always looking
  for volunteers and ideas about future meetings. 
  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Events

  Atlanta Silicon Graphics User's Group Meeting
    Speaker:   Pam Coffey, Silicon Graphics
    Topic:     IRIX 6.2 - SGI's 64-bit Operating System
    Date/Time: Wednesday, March 20, 1996, 7pm-9pm
    Where      Georgia Institute of Technology, 
               College of Computing, Room 201
               801 Atlantic Drive, Call (404) 894-5218 for directions.
  
  Atlanta UNIX User's Group Meeting
    Date/Time: Monday, April 1, 1996, 7:30pm
    Where:     Emory University
  
  ASUG Steering Committee Meeting
    Date:      Tuesday, April 9, 1996 , 7pm-9pm
    Where:     Frankie's Sports Bar in the Prado, I-285/Roswell Rd.
               Call (404) 894-5218 for more information.
  
  Atlanta ACM SIGGRAPH Meeting
    Date/Time: Wednesday, April 10, 1996, 7pm
               Call (404) 785-2911 for more information.
  
  Atlanta Silicon Graphics User's Group Meeting
    Speaker:   Jim Denneney, Silicon Graphics
    Topic:     Cosmo - SGI's Java Development Kit
    Date/Time: Tuesday, May 14, 1996, 7pm-9pm
    Where:     Georgia Institute of Technology, 
               College of Computing, Room 201
               801 Atlantic Drive, Call (404) 894-5218 for directions.
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
About  ASUG...

  The Atlanta Silicon Graphics User's Group (ASUG) is a lawless, volunteer
  organization that meets 6 times a year on the 2nd Tuesday on alternating
  months to share ideas and talk about experiences with Silicon Graphics
  hardware and software.  Our meetings involve visualization and general
  UNIX topics.  We don't elect officers, impose dues or charge cover.
  Silicon Graphics graciously foots the bill for the cost of mailing our
  newsletter.  ASUG is populated with professionals from around the
  Southeast and f rom a wide spectrum of commercial and non-commercial
  institutions.  Our meetings provide excellent opportunities for people to
  share their experiences and techniques with others, express their
  interests and concerns to Silicon Graphics, and pick up bits o f
  information worthy of taking back to work.  Our group is always looking
  for volunteers and ideas about future meetings.

______________________________________________________________________________
The ASUG E-Mail List...

  An Internet electronic mail list is available for ASUG people, and can be
  used for various communications concerning ASUG and Silicon Graphics:

       asug@cc.gatech.edu

  To subscribe to this e-mail list, send a note to:

       majordomo@cc.gatech.edu

  ...with the following message (no subject is necessary):

       subscribe asug <email_address>

  ...where <email_address> is your e-mail address.

______________________________________________________________________________
The ASUG WWW Home Page...

  While you're surfing the Web, visit the ASUG Home
  Page at the following Uniform Resource Locator:

      http://www.cc.gatech.edu/services/asug 

______________________________________________________________________________
If you want to volunteer or have any suggestions, contact one of the following
fanatics:

  Randy Carpenter
  Georgia Institute of Technology,
  College of Computing
  Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center
  (404) 894-5218
  randy@gvu.gatech.edu

  Alan Barclay
  Construction Systems Associates, Inc.
  (404) 955-3518 
  akbarclay@aol.com

  Susan Decker
  Silicon Graphics, Inc.
  (770) 475-0464
  sdecker@atlanta.sgi.com

-- 
___________________________________________________________________________
Randy Carpenter                                        randy@gvu.gatech.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology                              (404) 894-5218
College of Computing
Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center
           http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/people/Faculty/Randy.Carpenter.html