Dave Olson is leaving! 8-{
Randolph J. Herber
Dave Olson, Silicon Graphics
http://reality.sgi.com/olson ol...@sgi.com
My last day with SGI will be 15 Oct 1999. After that, use
ol...@cm-24-142-55-136.cableco-op.ispchannel.com
until I get a domain set up.
I wish(ed) him congratualtion, bon voyage and all the best.
I, for one, will miss Dave from these c.s.s.* newsgroups and
the associated info-iris-* mailing lists.
Randolph J. Herber, her...@dcdrjh.fnal.gov, +1 630 840 2966, CD/CDFTF PK-149F,
Mail Stop 318, Fermilab, Kirk & Pine Rds., PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510-0500,
USA. (Speaking for myself and not for US, US DOE, FNAL nor URA.) (Product,
trade, or service marks herein belong to their respective owners.)
Brent L. Bates
It must mean SGI is closing up shop/or they should be. If your companies best
and brightest leave, how are you going to stay in business? Pull out a
buildings foundation and it collapses. Dave's one of those major corner stones
of SGI, with out this `Atlas', who's going to hold SGI up?
Tomasz Korycki
Yup, I worked up a stir in (my area of) Canada. Say it ain't so....
Then again, it was probably (sadly) a matter of time only...
Good luck, Dave, and THX a lot from all the people You helped/set
straight over the years!
Alexis Cousein
>
> I too noticed that last night in Dave's signature about him leaving SGI.
> It must mean SGI is closing up shop/or they should be. If your companies best
> and brightest leave, how are you going to stay in business?
Hey, some others are still there -- I don't feel the need to be included
in the "best and brightest", but you may choose your wording to try not
to insult all of SGI except Dave Olson.
--
<standard disclaimer: these are my personal views, not SGI's>
Alexis Cousein a...@brussels.sgi.com
Systems Engineer SGI Belgium
Per Ekman
> "Brent L. Bates" wrote:
> >
> > I too noticed that last night in Dave's signature about him leaving SGI.
> > It must mean SGI is closing up shop/or they should be. If your companies best
> > and brightest leave, how are you going to stay in business?
>
> Hey, some others are still there -- I don't feel the need to be included
> in the "best and brightest", but you may choose your wording to try not
> to insult all of SGI except Dave Olson.
Although I wouldn't pretend to know enough to comment on the competence
of all SGI staff, I would certainly tend to include Alexis in the "best and
brightest" such as I know them. However, mr Bates brings up a valid and
important point. In general I think that what SGI claims to be trying to
accomplish; focusing on graphics and servers, moving towards Linux,
partnering with nVidia for graphics chips, are sensible and possibly
necessary measures (although Irix for IA64 wouldn't go amiss). What makes
me worried about the future is the doubt about who's left at SGI.
Has SGI been able to hold on to their best hardware and software
engineers despite all the course changes and layoffs (not to mention a
no doubt seriously booming market for graphics hardware designers)?
Because without really great hardware such as SGI has been able to deliver
in the past, there won't be much of a future for the company.
When fairly visible people like Dave Olson and John McCalpin jump ship
it does spread a certain sense of unease.
Per Ekman
---
The above opinions are all mine. You can't have them.
Richard Masoner
[ quoting Dave Olson ]
> My last day with SGI will be 15 Oct 1999.
*gulp*
First W. Richard Stevens (RIP) dies, and now this! What's next?
Randolph Herber and Walter Roberson working for private enterprise?
Richard Masoner
Benjamin Goldsteen
> I just noticed his signature block, which I quote below:
>
> Dave Olson, Silicon Graphics
> http://reality.sgi.com/olson ol...@sgi.com
> My last day with SGI will be 15 Oct 1999. After that, use
> ol...@cm-24-142-55-136.cableco-op.ispchannel.com
> until I get a domain set up.
>
> I wish(ed) him congratualtion, bon voyage and all the best.
>
> I, for one, will miss Dave from these c.s.s.* newsgroups and
> the associated info-iris-* mailing lists.
I hope Dave's departure is by choice and opportunity. Dave's frequent postings
were no only a source of information, but they offered confidence that there is
at least one person at SGI who knows what's going on. I am sure there are other
competent hardware and software developers at SGI, but they don't post often.
Alexis Cousein is always helpful, but one man can only do so much!
--
Benjamin Z. Goldsteen
Physiology & Biophysics
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
212-241-1614 / 212-860-3369 (FAX)
Dave Olson
on my departure from SGI.
Yes, it's true. After 11 1/2 years, I decided it's time for me to try
something else. I don't know what it will be yet, or where it will be;
I decided that I wanted to take a vacation before making any major decisions.
I'll post something here when I have a new address (work, or a home
domain).
I'd like to reassure the folks who expressed concern that there aren't
enough people left at SGI to do new products, and/or support the old
ones. There definitely are. Sure, a lot of longtime employees have
left, but there are still plenty of great folks at SGI to do things,
and lots of interesting things going on. I've got lots of friends
still at SGI, and lots of folks that I enjoy working with, even if we
don't always agree ;)
I'm not leaving because I disagree with the change in direction towards
linux, in fact I was part of the group working with the execs that
decided on that direction (along with a number of other folks, of
course!) I won't say more about that, because John Mashey and Beau
Vrolyk have said it quite well.
I'm leaving under quite friendly circumstances, no issues there on
either side.
I'll not pretend that I agree with every decision or company direction,
or the way things have been executed at times, but I never have been
a company droid, so that's not a change, either. There are some tough
times ahead, but I don't see any major unknowns, it's a matter of
deciding exactly where to invest (people, primarily, although some of
it's financial), and then smoothing the way. I think everyone sees
(both inside and outside the company) that there are some big risks,
but that means some major returns when they pay off, as well...
I'll hang out here, and still post from time to time, but probably with
reduced frequency (in fact, I'd already cut way back, because I just
had too much going on to spend as much time as I used to spend).
I've got the luxury of taking time off, and I'm going to take advantage
of it, and not spend it all reading news and email ;)
I just got back from a 2 week vacation, and I have to say, I
"succeeded" with it more than I have in a number of years, so it's just
whetted my appetite for a longer vacation!
I've enjoyed (almost ;)) all of the discussions I've had with folks
here, and via email, and met some of you in person over the years, and
it's been a big part of my life/career at SGI, so thanks to all of you;
it's not been a one-sided thing, by any means...
--
Dave Olson, Silicon Graphics