[rescue] SGI files for bankruptcy

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Mon, 08 May 2006 @ 10:32 -0400, Patrick Giagnocavo said:

> from Reuters:
> 
> Computer maker Silicon Graphics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
> protection after a round of restructuring measures failed, according to
> court papers filed on Monday.
> 
> The company said it had been challenged by delays in introducing new
> technology, a focus on more specialized markets and more intense
> competition from larger rivals. Silicon Graphics filed for bankruptcy
> protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
> York.

That's just too bad.  The company says it must shed $250 million but
otherwise is operating normally.

> Unwritten:  
> 
> "Credit for the bankruptcy goes to Rick Belluzzo and the other morons
> who thought Microsoft could write a server-level OS that would scale
> past 4 processors."

Well, that's hardly their only mistake. I think the money spent on Itanic
was a waste of time. Good effort, but it seems the money would have been
better spent on faster MIPS CPUs, which customers actually wanted, especially
existing customers...

Also, not everything is SGI's fault: the computer market overall is pretty
dismal in a lot of ways, and certainly not as receptive to really great
systems as it used to be.

Something else: all of the UNIX vendors have sold overpriced machines and
parts. They got away with it because they were often the only way to
solve certain classes of problems.

But as time goes on software is getting more portable and lower end
systems much more powerful.

If you are dependent on high margins, it is much harder to fight new
competition.


-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["Work for something because it is good, not
just because it stands a chance to succeed." -- Vaclav Havel]