Slashdot Mirror

Note: Only logged because AC is giving me formkey errors.

This isn't a very well-informed question. Beowulf does not specify a particular platform.

From the Beowulf FAQ:
[Beowulf is] a kind of high-performance massively parallel computer built primarily out of commodity hardware components, running a free-software operating system like Linux or FreeBSD, interconnected by a private high-speed network.

Please mod accordingly. Let's not waste Becker's time or one of the ten questions on ill-informed pablum refuted in the first question of an FAQ.

First one I really think should be in your faq, but that I haven't been able to find there: why did you choose the name of an millenia old epos about a Scandinavian warrior for something that does not even seem distantly related?

Secondly, do you read Slashdot, and if so, what do you think about all the troll jokes about Beowulfs? Was at least funny in the beginning to hear about people "imagining" clusters of just about anything?

Ok, so it was more than two questions. Sue me.

If I recall, the definition of a Beowulf cluster does not specify Linux specifically, only a free operating system.

Look it up

I am not by any means saying that Perl is dead - indeed, it will be many years before Python is able to offer the versatility and brevity that Perl has provided me with for ages.

Not to be argumentative, but brevity is not a concern of Python's. Python is explicitly verbose because it makes the syntax easier to read, understand, and maintain. At least, that's what its proponents claim.

(FWIW I really like both Python and Perl, and agree with the parent -- Python is very deserving of further investment/attention.)

This PopSci article covers quantum computation, DNA computation, and molecular electronic digital logic devices built of nanotubes, thiol, and DNA.

I wrote an article on this same topic last month. It's almost exactly the same length as the PopSci article, but it covers a broader range of topics: all of the above (except for thiol), but also inkjet-printed semiconductors, rod logic, buckling-spring logic, optical computing, spherical integrated circuits, fluidics, and Josephson junctions. It's also a little less confused than the PopSci article.

However, its style is not nearly as engaging, and I didn't interview any researchers for it, so it's limited by my own limited knowledge.

I hope you find it interesting.