Silicon Graphics Inc., a computer hardware maker that has gone through tough times, is laying new plans to expand its influence through software.

The Silicon Valley company Monday is announcing a set of programs to help users interact with complex visual models in new ways, often without having to buy SGI's specialized computers. SGI is also announcing a technology for rendering complex graphic images with standard personal computers and servers, avoiding the need for special-purpose graphics chips.

SGI's new offerings represent a sharp shift for the 26-year-old company, a pioneer in making technology for drawing interactive pictures on computer screens. The company built its proprietary graphics circuitry into workstations and servers used by engineers to view car designs, underground oil deposits, weather systems and other objects.

The rest of the story