| IRIX Interactive Desktop (formerly "Indigo Magic Desktop") | |
|---|---|
 The IRIX Interactive Desktop running Netscape Navigator | |
| Developer | Silicon Graphics |
| Initial release | September 1993; 32 years ago (1993-09) |
| Operating system | IRIX |
| Type | desktop environment |
| Website | sgi |
IRIX Interactive Desktop (formerly calledIndigo Magic Desktop) is a discontinueddesktop environment normally used as the default desktop onSilicon Graphicsworkstations runningIRIX. The IRIX Interactive Desktop uses theMotifwidget toolkit on top of theX Window System found on mostUnix systems. The defaultwindow manager on the IRIX Interactive Desktop is4Dwm.
IRIS Workspace is SGI's firstdesktop environment in IRIX versions 3.0 through 5.0. This was succeeded by Indigo Magic Desktop, introduced in 1993 with IRIX 5.1 on theIndy multimedia workstation.[1] Along withSun Microsystem's formerOpenWindows environment and theCommon Desktop Environment fromCOSE released the same year, these were some of the firstdesktop environments to be provided by default on aUnix computer system.
The Indigo Magic Desktop was renamed to IRIX Interactive Desktop with the release of IRIX 6.5 in 1998. Beginning in 2000, Eric Masson, a user of SGI systems, began work on a recreation of IRIX Interactive Desktop forLinux.[2][3][4] By 2005, Eric andSGI had worked through an official agreement, resulting in a special license permitting him to duplicate the IRIX Interactive Desktop forx86-based Linux systems in a project called MaXX Interactive Desktop.[5]
Indigo Magic Desktop is intended to promote easy access to multimedia functionality, and provide user-customizable environments.[6] The environment is based on audio cues for the start and finish of an operation, intelligent windows to track recently visited directories, and multiple virtual desktops grouped by function.[7]
IRIX Interactive Desktop has two primary components: the System Manager and the Toolchest.The System Manager is the main utility for desktop and system configuration. The Toolchest is a menu (normally located on the desktop) that shows which applications are installed on a particular Silicon Graphics workstation. When not in use, program windows minimize onto the desktop in a small rectangular shape, while thefile manager that also displays the desktop uses a distinctvector graphic icons (utilizing the IconSmith.fti file format).
UNIX Review magazine in March 1994 gave Indigo Magic Desktop a mixed review, with an overall rating of "superior".[7]