According to Silicon Graphics chief Ed McCracken, the company has made the transition from defense-related flight simulators to theme-park rides. "Our work with Disney is now more demanding than the work we do for defense applications." Buoyed by record annual earnings of $141 million, SGI has launched a new subsidiary, Silicon Studios, to cultivate the entertainment industry--video games, theme-park rides, TV commercials, and movie special effects.
As recently as July, Microsoft was claiming its successor to Windows, code-named "Chicago," would be shipping to customers in the second half of 1994 (see "A Milestone on the Road to Chicago," Dr. Dobb's Developer Update, July 1994.) In a recent meeting with financial analysts, however, chairman Bill Gates confirmed that the operating environment won't be shipping at least until January 1995, and perhaps even later. Don't worry. You'll know when it does ship. Microsoft is planning a $100 million ad campaign.