- 01 - Graphic.jpg (195.05 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
It may be perplexing to those born after 1996, but Silicon Graphics was once considered among Microsoft and IBM as one of the most important names in the computing world. Their 3D Graphical Workstations were the top of the line Ferraris of rendering, and despite not being sold to the general public, the mere mention of their name was enough to stir the imaginations of gamers and movie-goers everywhere. From the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, to the Nintendo 64, in the 90s, Silicon Graphics was king.
- 02 - Hero Shot.jpg (309.23 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
Now all that's left of their former glory is a shadowy reflection called "SGI" bought up for its patents, and a few hardware relics like this, the Silicon Graphics 32 Key Programmable Button Box, 9980991. Made custom for Silicon Graphics by Advanced Input Devices for their Unix workstations these button boxes came with a set of dials which would aid in changing viewpoints and adjusting settings in 3D rendering applications.
- 03 - Switch.jpg (177.33 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
This particular model (there are both earlier and later examples) comes equipped with Cherry Black switches with integrated LEDs. The actuation force is too hard, i don't care for them so much, but they feel brand new.
- 04 - Reverse.jpg (133.34 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
This model also lacks the ac adapter jack seen on other models, I believe because the jack was on the Dial box on this iteration, It has a male and female RS232 Serial port on the back, for connecting to the Irix Workstation and the Dial Box respectively.
- 05 -Label.jpg (220.8 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
It is in good condition except for this label scratch on the back. The construction of the box is fairly straight forward.
- 06 - Open.jpg (234.02 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
Removing 4 screws, two easily visible, two hidden under the flip up feet, the shell can be separated. It is made of rather thick plastic. A dark brown steel switch plate keeps the cherry switches from misbehaving.
- 07 - Bare Bones.jpg (191.22 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
Two more screws allow you to see a small daughter board which has the serial ports attached to it, and the only connection between it and the main board is this 8 pin direct socket, no ribbon cables or plugs.
- 08 - Connector.jpg (260.56 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
The main board is a very attractive Forest Green.
- 09 - Board Reverse.jpg (344.43 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
The board manufacture date is revealed here to be 1987, older than I expected.
- 10 - Details.jpg (179.63 KiB) Viewed 6405 times
My plan is get this sucker going again to use as macro keys for Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects. Suggestions on how best to make this happen would be most welcome as I have not made a custom keyboard before. Pretty excited to have a companion for my backlit Silicon Graphics Bigfoot though!
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