SGI Files for Bankruptcy - Good Times are Over

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. I was at SGI for only a few years. Was it '95-'99? Oh, I don't recall for sure. I left SGI because every time I turned around they were re-org'ing the whole company. Like enforced instability. Not to mention that right after I came there they decided they just had to buy Cray Computers.

I thought, what the heck are they thinking? As it turned out, they didn't have too many solid thoughts at all. It was a Big Mistake and money pit.

For a few more years I enjoyed the SGI environment, the people, and I lived and breathed the technology. Then, when things looked a little better I was offered a job moving up to Whidbey Island in Washington to support their research efforts. I thought, "Hmmmmm, we could move closer to the grand-parental units." So, they flew Kandy and me and little Katie Rose up there to look things over, check out the realestate options.

It wasn't impressive. We could afford to buy a house, but would SGI be solvent? I just didn't feel it would be. Technically a good company, but it sure needed better business practices.

Needless to say I didn't take the offered position.

Finally, I jumped ship. They were laying people off left and right, and it seemed like a good time to work for Sun Microsystems, or go back to Teradyne. I ended up back at Teradyne... which, for a while was quite nice. Yes, I deserted SGI, but they would have deserted me given half the chance. Still, working on the SGI campus in Mountain View was the most fun I have ever had in my profession anywhere.

I'll always fondly remember the company and its light-heartedness in the Good Times.