You can add Animal Logic and Weta to that list, and a number of other shops. And the reason why is largely "because".
Mint, or Ubuntu for that matter, are hardly FOTM phenomena at this point, but due to a number of outdated reasons and vendor support terrorism we all get stuck with varying degrees of IT dept pressure contributing or not to the choice. SL is surely worth trying if you're in selection phase. It's the same premise of CentOS (RHEL clone) but with some of the suck removed and some important libraries tested against and added. If you use Softimage Deb/Ubuntu distros are simply not an option. Maya and all Foundry products however work perfectly fine on them, and SideFX even officially supports Debs. My bet at home is Mint currently, and I was practically shocked at how much worked right out of the box or could be enable with the simplest of cook-book recipes and scripts. At work I use whatever the IT department has reason to choose (with our consulting), they deal with a lot more problems and vendor pressure than what I do on the DCC end of things alone. It's a shame that it seems this catch22 is just about to receive another spin of the wheel instead of moving towards breaking it. On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 2:51 PM, Sylvain Lebeau <s...@shedmtl.com> wrote: > i feel you Raf… > > but isn't Cent Os is what's being used a The MIll per example, or Rodeo, > or etc… ? …… and why is it like this? > Things just don't update to the latest fun flavour of the month in a clap > of hands of course…..but…. > > what would be your best bet for 2015? ….i mean clearly… SL? > i would be more than happy to know more about your opinion onto this! > > :-) > > sly > > > > > *Sylvain Lebeau // SHED** > *V-P/Visual effects supervisor > 1410, RUE STANLEY, 11E ÉTAGE MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H3A 1P8 > T 514 849-1555 F 514 849-5025 WWW.SHEDMTL.COM <http://www.shedmtl.com/> < > http://WWW.SHEDMTL.COM <http://www.shedmtl.com/>> > > On 2013-08-22, at 12:22 AM, Raffaele Fragapane < > raffsxsil...@googlemail.com> wrote: > > For the record Mint isn't supposed to be a clone of Ubuntu for its > simplicity of installation and other such things. > Mint was born because a bunch of very well clued people were tired with > Ubuntu never leaving the bleeding edge, and wanted to take a step back from > it and provide a more reliable, stable, predictable, standard-close and > most importantly media friendly Distro. > > They succeeded across the board and overnight became one of the top four > distros. > > CentOS is far from being this boon of stability and secureness, and it's > sort of a pain we endure due to legacy in our industry that we deal with > it. People went to it (or RHEL) because it was one of the few rare stable > options that also had decent lasting support, but it's as far removed as > you can possibly get from what we do as an industry. This was years and > years ago, it simply doesn't stand true anymore, and other distros have a > much snappier and happier level of support both through third parties and > the communities they foster. > > A better RHEL clone for us as a collective would probably be SL > (Scientific Linux), but better again would be moving away from RH and RPM > distros entirely to be honest. > > It's only inertia that keeps things there, they are not the most bleeding > edge and innovative with Fedora, nor the ones with the biggest user > community with any of them, nor in the least the most reliable/stable. All > they have going for them is the corporate support of RH, but the reasons > that made convenient having corporate support back then have long > disappeared, and CentOS only piggybacks on whatever support RHEL is paid > for by other clients, it doesn't have a proper corporate support in its own > right. > > More and more software agrees with Debian and Debian rooted evolutions, > some of it officially, some of it simply doesn't have any issues with it, > and package formats such as RPM are mostly irrelevant these days outside of > the domain of the OS itself. > > It's a crying shame to see that instead of supporting a broader spectrum > and helping a move towards better distros AD not only seems to want to stay > with RPM, but to move to a miserable, ancient, backwards, absolutely and > horribly media unfriendly one like CentOS. At least Maya runs perfectly > fine on Mint, and getting a second GCC running on it is a non-issue, Soft > isn't quite as lucky in those regards. > > Only SideFX seems to have got some inkling of understanding of the Linux > platform and how to support it. > > CentOS sucks and it's a shame all the lemmings keep being forced running > down that cliff (me included) when there's much better pastures that > practically everybody is happily grazing on except the DCC related crowds. > > > > On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 1:41 PM, Sylvain Lebeau <s...@shedmtl.com> wrote: > >> hahaha nice one Eric!! >> I was young when i've played this game!! wow... >> >> >> For me, …. about the real survey….. which i've failed totally by >> awnsering no at the first only question i was ever presented! hahaha. >> bummer. >> >> The first thing that brought me to try Linux was Nuke… And we we're >> amazed by the speed and responsiveness…. It's another ballgame totally. I >> would say about 70% speed increase. If not twice as fast while pushing >> sliders. Also for our 2 Mari licenses and for our upcoming Houdini seats. >> I know softimage won't be as fast since it relies on virtualization with >> mainwin. But i still think it would speed up our process here. >> >> I've tried Fedora 18 at first because i tought that it would be workable >> since Softimage was already supported on Fedora 14….but it's a bit old >> now…. So i've based my tests upon 18 hopping i would be able to make it >> work. Forcing libs, packages, simlinks, hacks in mainwin and X11… name it. >> And i was wrong. I was never able to make it work at all. Even after nice >> help from the guys here. >> >> Lighting artists do comp their shots here. So the back and forth between >> softimage and nuke is really important. You don't want to dual boot just >> for taking a specular down on a pass and resend it to the farm from >> windows. >> >> I will follow the leader if we ever end up on using something else. And >> from what i've gathered, CentOs is the one. it's free and very secure/rock >> solid. And it is still compatible with our deploy tools we are developing >> in house for new/ or to admin machines via our onsite yum repo for updates >> so we can control what's happening in updates on a testing machine. We >> will adapt easily to this switch on a yum/rpm based distro. I've said it >> already in another thread but we are using http://www.pulpproject.org/ >> to control how updates are deployed. It is very safe since you can >> test/update on one test machine then re-sync the repositories to your own >> in-house server…. It works like a charm. And could make Fedora a real >> contender. Without it, Fedora is just too dangerous to me and not an >> option. >> >> I know some talked about Mint and Ubuntu for their simplicity of >> installation. But i think we must keep going under the redhat backbone >> umbrella. Of course i am biased since my last paragraph. But I still think >> it's the safest way to go. >> >> So… CentOs or Fedora since they are free. >> >> CentOS is much more safe in it's updates scheme for less babysitting. Of >> course. >> Fedora because it's bleeding edge and much fun for user experience..., >> but more instability come's with it if you don't control the updates >> history properly. >> Otherwise RHEL. But it comes with a price tag that make things less >> appealing to upgrade an whole park of computers. >> >> i vote for CentOS first …. or Fedora with meticulous controlled updates. >> >> >> sly >> >> >> >> >> *Sylvain Lebeau // SHED** >> *V-P/Visual effects supervisor >> 1410, RUE STANLEY, 11E ÉTAGE MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H3A 1P8 >> T 514 849-1555 F 514 849-5025 WWW.SHEDMTL.COM <http://www.shedmtl.com/> < >> http://WWW.SHEDMTL.COM <http://www.shedmtl.com/>> >> >> On 2013-08-21, at 7:06 PM, Eric Turman <i.anima...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> [image: Inline image 1] >> >> >> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 5:43 PM, Raffaele Fragapane < >> raffsxsil...@googlemail.com> wrote: >> >>> I don't have an issue with people venting their frustrations, nor I'm >>> saying there's no reason for it, since there is. >>> I'm saying it cannot be in every single bloody thread, and it shouldn't >>> be with absolutely gratuitous and unrelated potshots. >>> >>> This was a thread about a linux survey, that became about surveys, that >>> became about the developers listening in or not. All fair game. >>> How does, out of the blue, complaining about Soft's viewport by >>> comparing it to an OFFLINE rendering engine that just happens to draw >>> through webGL fit? It doesn't. Beside not even being an apt comparison >>> there is not one small, tenuous connection to the topic. >>> >>> Make a complaint thread and keep it live by having a go at the world if >>> you wish, I'll jump in there and take a shot at it myself, but please let >>> at least one useful thread once in a while proceed unmolested and on topic. >>> That's all I ask. >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 9:34 PM, Angus Davidson < >>> angus.david...@wits.ac.za> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Raffaele >>>> >>>> >>>> While I agree with your firstpoint, You cant really compare something >>>> that is packaged vs something that is ongoing I do think your being a bit >>>> sensitive about people expressing their frustrations Before coming to >>>> education I worked as a developer in a big corporation (for south africa >>>> anyway) and you need to be able to separate people venting from stuff that >>>> is valid to what you are doing. That is what part of being a professional >>>> developer is. It by default requires you to have a think skin and an >>>> ability to see behind what that person is saying. >>>> >>>> >>>> Yes there is a fair amount of negativity around, but most of it has >>>> very valid reasons for being there. Trying to turn that around is what the >>>> Devs are trying to do. I really look forward to time when the vast >>>> majority of the posts are more positive, but that will only come from >>>> when REALISTIC expectations are considered to be met (I of course exclude >>>> my unrealisttic expectaion of a mac version of XSI from that ;) >>>> >>>> >>>> Point is this is one of the few places people cant vent their >>>> frustrations with hope of it being read and possibly acted on by the >>>> appropriate people. In a lot of ways its valuable for them to see the scope >>>> of their task. The good and the bad. >>>> >>>> >>>> Kind regards >>>> >>>> >>>> Angus >>>> >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> *From:* Raffaele Fragapane [raffsxsil...@googlemail.com] >>>> *Sent:* 21 August 2013 09:35 AM >>>> >>>> *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com >>>> *Subject:* Re: Softimage 2015 User Survey >>>> >>>> I was involved with that from inception (of its integration) to >>>> launch and for future integration steps (coming CGPortfolio revamp GCS has >>>> been talking about for a while). >>>> >>>> It's an offline rendering engine that pre-bakes a lot of stuff, that's >>>> what it boils down to. >>>> If you're willing to entertain the idea of having non-deforming >>>> characters with channels limited to four entries into a single pixel shader >>>> rendering offline for seconds to minutes before they can be orbited around, >>>> then you could call it a viewport. Make sure you don't blow the polycount >>>> limit either. >>>> Me? I wouldn't call it that (a viewport). >>>> >>>> If you want to beg for anything beg for the VP2 ubershader (DX11 >>>> only) that's in Maya, comparing Verold to a DCC viewport is apples and >>>> oranges. >>>> >>>> Please, could we have at least ONE thread spanning more than a handful >>>> of e-mails at a time without using words like embarassing? Particularly one >>>> where people wonder why developers are quiet on the list. >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 5:00 PM, Mirko Jankovic < >>>> mirkoj.anima...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> another one for survey.. >>>>> >>>>> http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=2&t=1119260&page=1&pp=15 >>>>> >>>>> now inside browser you can have better viewport than in SI. it is >>>>> embarrassing to have to rely on 3d party small programs in order to see >>>>> your work with all textures that are industry standard for years now. :) >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 7:45 AM, Chris Chia >>>>> <chris.c...@autodesk.com>wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi Doeke, >>>>>> This survey is posted here to seek for a bigger audience as it's >>>>>> result would be useful for certain decision needed for Linux support. >>>>>> Of course we do contact the users and sometimes we brought it offline >>>>>> [out of mailinglist] and emailed users instead to collect more >>>>>> information. >>>>>> >>>>>> And lastly, please rest assured that many eyes are on this list. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Regards, >>>>>> Chris >>>>>> >>>>>> From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: >>>>>> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Doeke Wartena >>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 3:19 AM >>>>>> To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com >>>>>> Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 User Survey >>>>>> >>>>>> I wondered, are people that work on softimage ever active on the >>>>>> mailinglist apart from asking for a survey? >>>>>> In other words, how is the contact between the creators and the users? >>>>>> >>>>>> 2013/8/19 Rob Wuijster <r...@casema.nl<mailto:r...@casema.nl>> >>>>>> Just a friendly warning, this only works without issues on non-UEFI >>>>>> machines. >>>>>> Due to the UEFI 'Secure Boot' Wubi will not run, and could in some >>>>>> cases destroy data on disk. >>>>>> So if you recently bought a new (W8) pc, chances are it boots with >>>>>> UEFI. So YMMV on these pc's with Ubuntu.... >>>>>> >>>>>> But yes, there are tricks to work around this if you want ;-) >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Rob >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> \/-------------\/----------------\/ >>>>>> On 16-8-2013 19:29, Alan Fregtman wrote: >>>>>> If anyone is new to Linux but wants to get their feet wet in the >>>>>> easiest way possible, check out the Wubi installer: >>>>>> http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/windows-installer >>>>>> >>>>>> It will install as a program under Windows and will set up dual boot >>>>>> perfectly for you without touching your partitions (using a file as a >>>>>> virtual disk.) Because of this virtual disk thing, it's not recommended >>>>>> for >>>>>> very serious use, but it's a great way to try things out... >>>>>> >>>>>> and if you don't like it, go to Windows, Control Panel, Uninstall >>>>>> Programs, type in Wubi and that's it. >>>>>> >>>>>> If you do end up liking I suggest install Ubuntu with the install cd >>>>>> on a real partition. Copying your settings is not hard, if you're worried >>>>>> about that. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM, Andres Stephens < >>>>>> drais...@outlook.com<mailto:drais...@outlook.com>> wrote: >>>>>> I'm curious about Linux. As.. the multiprocessor support would be >>>>>> perfect for some machines we are thinking to buy as servers for a >>>>>> renderfarm. >>>>>> >>>>>> I use Windows 7 and 8 a lot, and I use thirdparty apps for >>>>>> multidesktop features, with the functions like the ones mentioned below. >>>>>> I >>>>>> am starting to use free software, like GIMP, Blender and other suites for >>>>>> my needs, and wondered what other pro's of Linux to consider the switch. >>>>>> It >>>>>> would be nice to have Softimage as an easy package for Linux based >>>>>> renderfarm solutions or alternative OS solutions. >>>>>> >>>>>> The last mail you wrote was good to know, other than the conflicting >>>>>> intuous/bamboo driver conflict and multi user accounts logged in on >>>>>> different monitors at the same time, I do do the same virtual desktop >>>>>> system in Windows (Virtuawin or Dexpot) , and yes also, there are some >>>>>> other great productivity tools I use in Windows I am sure I'd miss in >>>>>> Linux. Many pro's and con's. >>>>>> >>>>>> If SI was an option for some kind of linux system, I would consider >>>>>> it once I upgrade to new hardware that Windows couldn't take advantage >>>>>> of. >>>>>> >>>>>> Any "ease of use" and "compatibility" development is welcome. >>>>>> >>>>>> +1 >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> > Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 18:34:51 +0200 >>>>>> > From: c...@glarestudios.de<mailto:c...@glarestudios.de> >>>>>> >>>>>> > To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto: >>>>>> softimage@listproc.autodesk.com> >>>>>> > Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 User Survey >>>>>> > >>>>>> > ...you do realize that i can make the exact same statement with a >>>>>> search >>>>>> > and replace for linux vs windows, do you? >>>>>> > >>>>>> > just sayin'... >>>>>> > >>>>>> > but joking aside: for me switching to linux brought a lot more >>>>>> > advantages than staying with good old windows. >>>>>> > >>>>>> > first i don't miss any tools. i have softimage, mudbox, maya, >>>>>> photoshop, >>>>>> > inkscape and all our inhouse editors. they all work fine. secondly, >>>>>> the >>>>>> > killerfeature of linux is its window managers. in my case mate >>>>>> desktop. >>>>>> > its slick, fast and powerful. i can have as many virtual desktops >>>>>> as i >>>>>> > want, keep several apps open in parallel (and not stacked up behind >>>>>> each >>>>>> > other), each screen is customized to my needs. sessions get saved, >>>>>> i can >>>>>> > switch and shuffle them around with a few keystrokes and i almost >>>>>> never >>>>>> > reboot - updates happen in the background...i have two monitors >>>>>> chained >>>>>> > to one desktop and another monitor on a second x session that kind >>>>>> of >>>>>> > acts like a second computer with a shared mouse, keyboard and >>>>>> > copy/paste-buffer for email etc.. it's the real life equivalent of >>>>>> those >>>>>> > funky hollywood-operating systems that we've all seen so many times >>>>>> > before and it's boosting my day2day performance a LOT. >>>>>> > >>>>>> > oh, and i can switch between wacom intous and bamboo without >>>>>> > deinstalling and installing drivers. try that with windows :) >>>>>> > >>>>>> > cheers! >>>>>> > chris >>>>>> > >>>>>> > On 08/16/2013 06:05 PM, Mirko Jankovic wrote: >>>>>> > > yea so far I also saw only problems with linux after trying to >>>>>> switch >>>>>> > > couple times.... >>>>>> > > fro missing so many other tools to making every day tasks a >>>>>> nightmare. >>>>>> > > sorry but if you don't have an Linux guru around then you will >>>>>> spend more >>>>>> > > time trying to do something on system instead of actually working >>>>>> on your >>>>>> > > job. >>>>>> > > >>>>>> > > >>>>>> > > On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 5:58 PM, Martin <furik...@gmail.com >>>>>> <mailto:furik...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>>>>> > > >>>>>> > >> And why is that? What does make SI Linux better than Windows >>>>>> version? From >>>>>> > >> an artist point of view I see more cons than pros in switching >>>>>> from Windows >>>>>> > >> to Linux, apart from dealing with Linux based networks and farms. >>>>>> > >> >>>>>> > >> M.Yara >>>>>> > >> Sent from my iPhone >>>>>> > >> >>>>>> > >> On 2013/08/17, at 0:43, Bruno-Pierre Jobin <bpjo...@gmail.com >>>>>> <mailto:bpjo...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>>>>> > >> >>>>>> > >>> Totally agree with Miquel. I'd switch to linux tomorrow if the >>>>>> > >> installation process was easier. >>>>>> > >> >>>>>> > >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> No virus found in this message. >>>>>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> >>>>>> Version: 2013.0.3392 / Virus Database: 3211/6587 - Release Date: >>>>>> 08/18/13 >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship >>>> it and let them flee like the dogs they are! >>>> >>>> This communication is intended for the addressee only. It is >>>> confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please >>>> notify us immediately and destroy the original message. You may not copy >>>> or disseminate this communication without the permission of the >>>> University. Only authorised signatories are competent to enter into >>>> agreements on behalf of the University and recipients are thus advised >>>> that the content of this message may not be legally binding on the >>>> University and may contain the personal views and opinions of the author, >>>> which are not necessarily the views and opinions of The University of the >>>> Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the University and >>>> outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University agrees in >>>> writing to the contrary. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it >>> and let them flee like the dogs they are! >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> >> >> >> -=T=- >> >> >> > > > -- > Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it > and let them flee like the dogs they are! > > > -- Our users will know fear and cower before our software! Ship it! Ship it and let them flee like the dogs they are!
