New Lucas Headquarters To Open in San Francisco 271
Afroloop writes "This article (with pics) in the SFGate covers the opening of the new Lucas Headquarters in San Francisco's famous Presidio. It will house up to 1,500 employees by next fall. From the article: 'The Presidio will feature 600 miles of fiber-optic cable. 4,000 processors and 150 terabytes of storage -- massive computing power and speed, with the ability to work 10 times faster than they can today.'"
How callous and mirror of pics (Score:5, Funny)
Geez! I mean dig a hole and send out the obits already! What's the matter, getting impatient?
The pics are pretty non-exciting (an aerial shot of the Presidio, wide-angle shot of Presidio, outsdie shot of generic-looking hq bldg, pic of map showing location of Presidio, and a headshot of the man himself), but you can see them here [networkmirror.com] if you want to decide for yourself.
Re:How callous and mirror of pics (Score:4, Funny)
Apres Georges... (Score:2)
I hear that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are available...
That's funny. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:That's funny. (Score:4, Informative)
The Presidio used to be a Spanish military base, then a Mexican military base, and then I think it was briefly military base for California when we were briefly a soverign entity, and then finally, it remained an American military base from 1849 until the early 1990s.
Re:That's funny. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:That's funny. (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
thanks george (Score:5, Funny)
there goes my rent...
Re:thanks george (Score:2)
Re:thanks george (Score:3, Funny)
More like... there went your Rent.
The Presidio borders the San Franciso Marina district, where a condo will set you back a million bucks. And a Studio Aparment rents for $1300-$1600 per/mo.
Where, pray tell, have you been living in that area that's affordable up to now?
No, Really. I need to find a new place.
Re:thanks george (Score:4, Funny)
If you're looking for living on el-cheapo, outfit a nice, cheap fleet vehicle type van (they usually have a few unfurnished models in the fleet vehicle section that only have the captain's chair for furnishing) get the tinted window option, or just buy some mini-blinds, get a port-a-potty of some type (they sell things just for van owners that will probably work) install a bed, buy an annual membership at the Y (coz that's where you're gonna need to go to shower in the mornings or whenever you need to shower) and then buy/rent some kind of parking space that someone is renting out who dosen't have a clase saying they can kick you out for not leaving your vehicle while it's parked overnights etc.. TCO is probably going to be under $30,000 for 10 years of reliable dual use as house and transportation... the car's alternator can probably be used to keep a spare lead acid battery charged (when you drive) enough to run a low power notebook, or posibly even an imac g5.. you might want to find a shade filled place to park so that you don't die in the summer, and even then it'll still be hot, but you've got that cool ocean breeze, if you can find a shaded parking place near the ocean.
And if you ever get laid off, you're ready to move anywhere in the us or canada you need to go to to find a job, as long as the town has a Y or similar place whhere members can shower day or night as they please...
Re:thanks george (Score:2)
Re:thanks george (Score:3, Funny)
Re:thanks george (Score:2)
an park it under a bridge, down by the river
park at Wal-Mart and get a Park membership (Score:2)
One option other than the Y. Try a state park membership. Usually around $20-30 a year plus you'd have some nice scenery. State parks with camping usually have showers but they probaby wont be open in the winter in most of the country. Maybe then you could find a truck stop for
Marin County property drops in value... (Score:1)
Ok, maybe not.
Not so, young Padawan (Score:2)
Faster or Better? (Score:5, Funny)
Wow, so for every Jar-Jar rendered, there can be 10 more just like him! Flippancy aside, I do wonder that the ability to make eye-candy that much faster might actually have a negative effect on movie going.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:4, Funny)
He could create a CG director. Which might be a good idea actually.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
Chee-rist, I hope not. I'm still feeling after-effects from the scripts of Episodes I & II.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:3, Insightful)
150 terabytes of storage
At first that sounded really impressive. Then I thought, I'm a geek who has two hard drives in my home desktop with a total of 500 GB of storage. Lucas is into storage of huge movie image sequences, and they only have 100 GB/employee of storage. Somehow I'd have thought they'd have more.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
The problem is - that's an average. When you figure that 100 accountants will share 50 GB of space, and 100 HR people another 50GB...
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
But whatever works for them...I guess they aren't storing 400 full TV series or insane amounts of porn.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:5, Interesting)
Shadows.
On a planet with two suns, all shadows cast would look deicdedly different from what we're used to. Going by the two shots that show the suns, they appear to be (impossibly of course) in the area of 10 sun radii apart. This would produce two sharp, light shadows for each object, with a darker patch where both shadows intersect.
Because they were filmed in mono-sunned Tunisia, it would have been impossible to give the correct effect when filming the OT, and very difficult with the last 3 films. Even with current state-of-the art CG post-processing such a task would be very time-consuming, and would probably involve creating a 3D model of the objects and environment to get the shadow casting looking anywhere near realistic.
Of course some shots would need to remain unaltered for artistic reasons (for example the shadowed Padme/Anakin hug on the igloo wall in AOTC), but you could use the justification that this was late evening and one of the suns may have already set.
If done well, this would be one CG revision that I would welcome.
I can't believe I just typed this.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:4, Funny)
Some scientists believe there's a third dimension (I know it souds crazy). I think they call it "depf" or something. It's a direction that is not sideways or upwards, but is a direction that is perpendicular to both, if that makes anysense..
Anyway, the theory goes that two objects that are side by side can actually be very far apart in this third dimension.
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
Re:Faster or Better? (Score:2)
If I remember correctly, around 1999, they had approximately 2B web pages on disk in the most recent snapshot, with the previous two snapshots on disk and another n snapshots on tape.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
Pride and Presidio (Score:5, Funny)
greebo shot first! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:greebo shot first! (Score:5, Funny)
Cents and Suppressability (Score:3, Informative)
I, for one, pity Poor Wee George, so unable to make the smaller films he has so craved.
Too, we must take comfort in the fact that has gathered sufficient moss that he won't be hitting the road next year, when he turns 62 [rollingstones.com]
Leather Pants (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Leather Pants (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Leather Pants (Score:1)
Re:Leather Pants (Score:2)
Re:Leather Pants (Score:2)
I was scared for a second... (Score:2)
Re:I was scared for a second... (Score:1)
Re:I was scared for a second... (Score:2)
please... (Score:1)
Isn't it funny how . . . (Score:5, Interesting)
I know, I know, in three months, this will be quaint but it used to be - not so long ago - that a terabyte was this massive hill on the horizon. Now - well, not so much.
Re:Isn't it funny how . . . (Score:2)
Re:Isn't it funny how . . . (Score:2)
10X! (Score:2)
Which means that, instead of waiting 26 years between trilogies like last time, they'll have Episode VII out 2.6 years from now instead!
Oh, you mean Lucasfilm headquarters... (Score:2)
Over here in blighty, you see, "Lucas" is the name of a car part manufacturer (now part of TR automotive - the people who made the wheels for the model T interestingly enough), and while it is important to be able to buy a spare headlamp for your car, it isn't news for nerds.
{Don't mind me folks, I'm just grumpy because I had a submission rejected on the grounds that "someone posted the same story with worse links after you did, so we ran with that one"}
Re:Oh, you mean Lucasfilm headquarters... (Score:2)
Ah, yes, "Lucas, the Prince of Darkness". Lucas Electric was notorious for their, well, dim electrical automotive products. Much of the bad reputation and subsequent decline of the British automotive industry resulted from the low quality of Lucas components.
Somehow, Lucas never figured out that they were in a damp country and needed to protect against corrosion. They also stopped upgrading their technology some time in the 1950s.
Skywalker Ranch? (Score:2)
(Especially when he dies).
Been there once. It was... quite a thing to see...
Re:Skywalker Ranch? (Score:3, Interesting)
I mean, you KNOW Lucas made gajillions on Star Wars but you don't *KNOW* exactly what that means until you see what he did with it.
Future site of Starfleet Headquarters! (Score:2)
In fact, Lucasfilm's HQs will someday become the Academy's freshmen dorms.
Huh? (Score:5, Interesting)
I thought the Presidio was supposed to be for non-profit organizations, like the Internet Archive.
Re:Huh? (Score:2)
On a side note, I read they buried a lot of toxic chemicals [cpeo.org] under the presidio and a bunch of people may have contracted cancer from living there.
Way to go Military!
Presidio is required to be self-supporting (Score:4, Informative)
From http://www.nps.gov/prsf/ [nps.gov]
Certain areas are rented to non-profit groups, and much is set aside for public space, but development in the Presidio is required for it to pay for itself. It is the only National Park Service unit expected to do so.
The Presidio Trust site is here. [presidio.gov]
Re:Huh? (Score:2, Flamebait)
Mixing SciFi -- The Presido is Home of Star Fleet (Score:5, Funny)
The Presido is the home of StarFleet Command. Not the seat of the Galactic Empire.
Somebody call for a re-write!
Re:Mixing SciFi -- The Presido is Home of Star Fle (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Mixing SciFi -- The Presido is Home of Star Fle (Score:3, Informative)
Not that I'm a fan of B5 or anything.
Re:Mixing SciFi -- The Presido is Home of Star Fle (Score:2)
But now Paramaount has shelved the Star Trek franchise, Star Wars has taken over!
Cool. Yet, the future is in Games/VR. (Score:3, Interesting)
However, I think this is more of Lucas fullfilling his dreamstudio than something extremely future focused.
Movies and their making as we know it are about to go through radical changes. I even figure Lucas knows this, since he's actually partly lead the way.
Global viewing habbits and a big shift in the classical work and entertainment preferences ("work up the sweat at day, zero activity passive entertainment at night") will have todays movies decline in importance.
I actually expect Video Gaming (in it's broadest sense) to outrun moviemaking within an decade or two.
Just think of an ultra high resolution, lightweight tablet, wireless broadband everywhere and the promise of constant revenue streams for MMORPG providers. On the tram? Log in and re-outfit your character. In the car? Dial into the Chatroom and check with the Clan how things are going. That's not far away at all.
A game like World of Warcraft, Phantasy Star or Ragnarok is just to complicated for Grandma nowadays, because the AI avatars leading you on a tour through the virtual world aren't there yet. But they will come.
Re:Cool. Yet, the future is in Games/VR. (Score:3, Informative)
Not necessarily true. While what you state here has parts of truth in it, this facility is in fact top notch. I worked a great deal on this facility and have seen that it has a lot of features that will allow it to last and be updated for a long time in a very efficient way. I cannot give away a lot of detail, but the following statements may (or may not) be entirely true about this facility:
- mult
Hrm (Score:3, Insightful)
too bad (Score:2)
Re:too bad (Score:2, Interesting)
The technology behind the Force... (Score:2)
Re:The technology behind the Force... (Score:2)
ILM technology [ilmfan.com]
You might want to check this one from 2003 which talks a bit about what they were planning for their new network at the Presidio:
10g Muscle [networkworld.com]
not even tops on the Presidio ... (Score:4, Informative)
We are moving (Score:5, Funny)
Employee : But i dont wanna..
GL : Search your feelings , you know this to be true.
E: No thats not true, thats impossable!!!!
GL : It is your
Re:We are moving (Score:2)
oh great, even more CGI retconning
quit it georgie
Suchetha
NEXT fall? (Score:2)
I got to go there (Score:2, Interesting)
Letterman Digital Arts Center [gappage.com]
Re:I got to go there (Score:2, Informative)
In this SFGate image [sfgate.com], it's the rightmost building and half of the one next to it that were slated for subleasing. So, get yourself into a little company and move the offices there!
Ah, here we go. Various [google.com]
4,000 processors (Score:2, Funny)
A give away of public resources? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:A give away of public resources? (Score:2, Insightful)
Meanwhile, there's oodles of cold war era nuclear silos that were paid for with tax payers dollars, which private citizens can purchase (for a song considering).
Slashdot readers are fine with the latter, so what exactly is so wrong with the former? Is it because Lucas is rich? Hell, I bet the average Slashdotter is far mor
Re:A give away of public resources? (Score:2)
Wonder who built it... (Score:2)
CONSUME (Score:2, Funny)
Sounds like a Star Wars character. (Score:3, Funny)
And my backup apprentice, Darth Congeniality.
10x faster (Score:2, Insightful)
Maybe that 4000 processors is just a render farm or something? Overall it's not that impressive, but if all those stats are just a render farm then it's not too bad.
Re:10x faster (Score:2)
The 10x increase is just a number. By that they mean not only number of processors, but their speed and speed of their network and storage.
Lucas Electronics (Score:2)
Oh you mean there is another Lucas?
Re:Lucas Electronics (Score:2)
New Lucas Headquarters (Score:4, Informative)
Re:New Lucas Headquarters (Score:4, Informative)
The site... (Score:2, Interesting)
Anti-Moore's Law (Score:2)
Cue the users to increase the workload by 20 times.
Oh damn (Score:2)
http://www.kitcar.com/articles-kitcar/humordept/l
I WAS going to work at this site. (Score:2)
Re:I feel peace in the force at last. (Score:1)
Re:Great News!! (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Great News!! (Score:3, Funny)
In San Francisco... sure. I know there has to be some closet Republicans there, but I don't think there's enough of them for a parade much less for a conservative presidential library. You might have better luck putting the Nixon presidential library on Alcatraz Island.
Re:Old News.... (Score:3, Informative)
Mega-whoring here (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdotters may wish to look through the comments in the article posted two years ago [slashdot.org] when they were first breaking ground. And, hey, who's that handsome stud who submitted the article?
Give me a break. That was my first accepted submission to slashdot. I'm very proud. I've got a printout of it hanging up in my cubicle next to my stuffed Tux doll, a defaced photo of Bill Gates, and a poster of that blonde swordswoman from Lord of the Rings in a chain-mail bikini!
GMD
Re:Presidio?!? (Score:2)
Re:Walking distance (Score:2)
Re:Queue Longhorn jokes... (Score:2)
Re:Oh joy.... (Score:2)
now all those third rate retards from fourth rate "art" schools will flood the place looking to find a way to be shackled to a desk in some giant veal fattening pen so they can see their name fly by on the Big Screen at 30 miles per hour for crappy wages only to be replaced by a fourth rate retard from a fifth rate art school in Bangalore who gets to watch his name fly by at 60 miles per hour on the Big Screen all in order to model some great steaming tourde oozing from some Future Villian's Butthole, exq
Re:Does this means... (Score:2)