Welcome to the INDY

Make no mistake about it: although in some ways Silicon Graphics' Indy workstation looks and acts like a Macintosh, it's not! It is based on UNIX, a powerful multiuser operating system founded in the educational and scientific communities. In recent years, there's been a move to develop an intuitive UNIX graphical user interface (GUI), reminiscent of the Macintosh Finder or Windows on the PC, to take the edge off an intimidating operating system. SGIs GUI is Indigo Magic, which is based on a version of Motif.

Indigo Magic's capabilities go way beyond what you're used to on the Macintosh or with Windows. The basics are the same: icons represent applications, files, peripherals, and networked computers; movable, scrollable windows have drop-down menu bars and can display contents by icon or name. But that's just the beginning. Icons are scalable and smartplace the cursor arrow over your CD-ROM icon, for example, and it'll list the contents of the loaded CD. Simply moving the cursor arrow onto a window activates it, saving you a mouse click, and command lines speed directory navigation. Drag a file onto the printer icon to print; drag it to the dumpster to delete it. And Indigo Magic lets you customize almost every aspect of the applications you run on it, such as placing toolboxes horizontally or vertically.

One of Indigo Magic's most powerful features is its support for multiple desktops. This allows you to precisely configure your environment to meet your specific needs. Each desktop, represented by an icon when not in use, can be tailored to specific projects or functions. For example, your design desktop may include Adobe Photoshop and files grouped by client. Another desktop for multimedia projects might include all your 3D, animation, and video- and sound-editing applications, files, and tools. And, since the Indy is a UNIX workstation, you can edit a video clip on one desktop while Photoshop quietly processes a filter in the background on another.

When your Indy arrives, all you have to do is unpack it, plug it in, and turn it on. It comes with the Irix 5.2 operating system, Indigo Magic, and tools to handle everything from customizing your Indy to editing sound and video clips. Initially, you just need to know some basic UNIX commands to get aroundabout as much DOS as you need to know to use Windows. Its advantageous, however, to learn UNIX in more depth; you can do almost anything from the UNIX shell faster than you can by wading through the Indigo Magic interface, but this requires intimate knowledge of UNIX and your internal file structure and configuration.

If you're on a network, the Indy uses TCP/IP and other standard UNIX network protocols, making it easy to connect to compatible networks. Third-party software can teach the Indy to speak AppleTalk, so you can string your SGI machine onto a Mac network. Novell NetWare networks are TCP/IP compatible.

If you still find UNIX daunting, buy UNIX for Dummies, by Mark Schulman, at your local bookstore. Then check out the Indys' extensive on-line help and sophisticated tutorials. Once you get oriented to Indigo Magic, you'll wonder how you ever worked without it. It is one of the smoothest UNIX GUIs to come along, and it runs circles around the Macintosh and Windows interfaces.