SGI embraces Windows NT

Rick Belluzzo, the new CEO of Silicon Graphics (SGI), announced this morning that his company is "embracing" Windows NT and may eventually turnits back on UNIX all together.

"In the short term, we have to respond [to Windows NT], and in the long term we have to embrace it," Belluzzo said. "By having a strong NT offering, it gives you more credibility in Unix."

SGI's Windows NT system is called the Visual PC and it's aimed 3D contentcreators and graphics artists. "We're going to do it at a price point that will rock the market," said SGI's director of desktop market, though nospecific prices are currently available.

SGI has fallen on hard times lately though the company is well-known forits work in Hollywood. Belluzzo promises to "de-emphasize or get rid of" any products that don't fit within SGI's "two fundamental strengths: high-bandwidth/high-performance computing and strength in visualization." He criticized SGI's marketing in the past as well.

"We have one of the most exciting brands in the industry, and we're not taking advantage of it," he said. "I want to pick up The Wall Street Journal every day and read about us.