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Description
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1. 8 bit vs 24 bit and non-XVR100.
Our Denver launch support center (containing 35+ workstations) is running Sunblade-150 machines, using the onboard PGX64 video. They were running 24 bit color under Solaris 9, so that's not a change. The Solaris 10 upgrade was the only change for them, and now the users are complaining about the iconification delay. This delay appears to be more generic to the Solaris 10 update than particular hardware.
2. Iconification delay:
I can only estimate the iconification times from staring at the screen, but I think I have a pretty good handle on it. The iconification time for one of our standard sized (1115x790) graphics windows under Solaris 9, on a Sunblade-150, was perhaps 50 milliseconds (virtually instantaneous from the user's perspective). The iconification time for the same window under Solaris 10 is now perhaps 300 milliseconds, which is a significant delay when compared with the previous performance under Solaris 9.
3. Different hardware types:
We also are supporting 150+ Sunblade-1500 machines at one launch site, with XVR-100 cards in them, some with two, and some with just one card. We have a few here in Denver, mostly used for development and testing. We were running them in 24 bit color mode under Solaris 9, and they now also exhibit an additional iconification delay under Solaris 10. Similar to the Sunblade-150, there was previously no perceptible delay, and it is now small but noticeable, perhaps 100-200 milliseconds.
4. Significance to customer:
As I mentioned in an earlier email, a few hundred milliseconds doesn't sound like much, but you need to realize that our most resource-intensive (power) users are cycling through perhaps 100 icons, which represent individual display programs showing different launch vehicle data. They are painfully aware of this new delay, since it directly impacts their productivity. We are having a very difficult time justifying our decision to stay with Sun in light of these current events.
By the way, this delay also manifests itself when the user switches workspaces, even more so than a simple one-window iconification, since many open windows can be involved then
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