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Chrysler Adopts Linux For Vehicle Simulations

eMilkshake writes "According to this ComputerWorld article, Chrysler is adopting Linux for vehicle crash testing. According to the article, 'the new system is expected to improve simulation performance by 20%, while saving about 40% in costs....'" Insert knee-jerk reaction joke about computers and crashing here.

39 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. dummies by dirvish · · Score: 4, Funny

    What OS will the crash test dummies run?

  2. RTFA! by scrod98 · · Score: 5, Informative
    "The cluster is running modified LS-DYNA crash-testing software from Livermore Software Technology Group in Livermore, Calif."

    It's like, right at the beginning.

    --
    LETS DECOMPOSE & ENJOY ASSEMBLING
  3. Nice specs by Nintendork · · Score: 4, Funny

    Multiple Intel Xeons, a few terabytes of gigabit speed network storage. I wonder what FPS they get in Tux Racer. :)

    1. Re:Nice specs by Dirtside · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nah, FPS isn't important. This is *crash* testing, remember; they want to see what happens to a penguin when it hits a snow drift at 6,000 miles per hour.

      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
  4. Other references by mmol_6453 · · Score: 5, Informative
    --
    What's this Submit thingy do?
  5. Good one... by andres32a · · Score: 5, Funny

    HelpLine: "General Motors HelpLine, how can I help you?"

    Customer: "I got in my car and closed the door and nothing happened!"

    HelpLine: "Did you put the key in the ignition slot and turn it?"

    Customer: "What's an ignition?"

    HelpLine: "It's a starter motor that draws current from your battery
    and turns over the engine."

    Customer: "Ignition?Motor?Battery?Engine?How come I have to
    know all these technical terms just to use my car?"

  6. Humus by EggplantMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the name of efficiency I've decided to combine all of these exceedingly clever jokes into one package!

    Cmdr_Taco: What happen?
    Mechanic: Somebody set us up the troll article.
    Operator: We get signal.
    Cmdr_Taco: What !
    Operator: Main screen turn on.
    Cmdr_Taco: It's you !!
    Katz: How are you gentlemen !!
    Katz: All your little boys are belong to us.
    Katz: You are on the way to your spelling sucks.
    Cmdr_Taco: What yuort say !!
    Katz: You have no chance to survive make your time.
    Katz: Ha Ha Ha Ha ... .
    Cmdr_Taco: 1. Take off every "sig."
    Cmdr_Taco: ...
    Cmdr_Taco: 3. Profit!

    --

    ?-|||-----x<*))))><
  7. Obligatory... by carlfish · · Score: 5, Funny

    Headline, six months from now:


    Chrysler abandons Linux crash-testing simulation. "We just couldn't get them to crash", says spokesman.
    --
    The more I learn about the Internet, the more amazed I am that it works at all.
  8. If Operating Systems Were Cars... by andres32a · · Score: 5, Funny

    MS-DOS: You get in the car and try to remember where you put the keys.

    WINDOWS: You get in the car and drive to the store very slowly, because attached to the back of the car is a freight train.

    MAC SYSTEM 8: You get in the car to go to the store and the car drives you to church.

    UNIX: You get in the car and type GREP STORE. After reaching 2000 mph en route, you arrive at the barber's shop.

    WINDOWS NT: You get in the car and write a letter that says 'go to the store'. Then you get out of the car and nail the letter to the dashboard.

    TALIGENT/PINK: You walk to the store with Ricardo Montalban who tells you how wonderful it will be when he can fly you to the store in his Learjet.

    OS/2: After fuelling up with 6000 gallons of gas you get in the car and drive to the store with a motorcycle escort and a marching band in procession. Halfway there, the car blows up, killing everyone in town.

    S/36 SSP: You get in the car and drive to the store. Halfway there you run out of gas. While walking the rest of the way you are run over by kids on mopeds.

    AS/400: An attendant kicks you into the car and then drives you to the store where you watch everyone else buy filets mignon.

    BeOSYour car goes faster, looks better, draws amazed stares everywhere you go, and has amazing preformance. Yet, when you try to fill it up, you find that it is incompatable with almost all know gas products.

  9. Crash Test Dummies? by cornjchob · · Score: 4, Funny

    Once
    There were these guys who
    Thought that using Linux would
    Improve their product's safety

    And when
    they fin'ly did it
    They found
    Gates had set fire to their work

    He said that it was because
    The Sherman act had smacked him
    sooooo hard

    mmmmm mmmm mmmm mmm
    mmmmm mmmm mmmm mmm

    Ah, the good ol' Crash Test Dummies...we hardly knew ye.

    --
    We now have confirmed reports from an informed Orange County minister that Ethel is still an active communist.
  10. I don't get it by vlad_petric · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The price tag for the deal isn't being released. Cost savings were a major motivator for the project, which was first considered about a year ago.

    And how precisely are they going to save money ? And save money relative to what ? The old system ? (I kind of doubt it) The same hardware system with a proprietay OS ? Maintenance costs ?

    This article has all the characteristics of a "negative" FUD.

    The Raven.

    --

    The Raven

    1. Re: I don't get it by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Insightful


      > And how precisely are they going to save money ? And save money relative to what ? The old system ? (I kind of doubt it) The same hardware system with a proprietay OS ? Maintenance costs ?

      See the links modded up to (5, informative) elsewhere. The general idea is that these days you buy a Linux CoW or Beowulf cluster instead of upgrading the ageing Cray. And for some reason it's still newsworthy, though people have been doing it for the better part of a decade now.

      Not that I mind the good PR for Linux, but it is a curious phenomenon that this kind of detail of a big corporation's IT affairs is considered newsworthy.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    2. Re: I don't get it by Dirtside · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Not that I mind the good PR for Linux, but it is a curious phenomenon that this kind of detail of a big corporation's IT affairs is considered newsworthy.
      Keep in mind that the majority of the news sources (or "news sources" where appropriate) covering this story are, if not actual pro-Linux sources (like /.), at the very least computer news sources. Google News comes up with only about 10 hits for chrysler linux (compared to 726 for sniper arrests), so it's not like it's even been that widely covered so far; and this kind of business change actually is a newsworthy development in the computer industry.

      You'd see this as a news story from computer-themed news sources; it'd be a "feature" in mainstream or general news sources.

      --
      "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
  11. they're replacing Unix by stevenj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    On the off chance that you actually read the article, you'll see that they're replacing Unix machines, not Windows, with Linux. This is a no-brainer, especially since their software is probably custom-developed and can easily be recompiled under GNU/Linux.

    --
    If a thing is not diminished by being shared, it is not rightly owned if it is only owned & not shared. S. Augustine
    1. Re:they're replacing Unix by mcrbids · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Somehow, there's this perception that if a business migrates from Unix to Linux, that it's not a victory, that it might as well not be reported.

      But, keep in mind, that very many of these Unix to Linux conversions may well have been, 5-7 years ago, Unix to NT conversions. Maybe more than half.

      What's happened in the past few years is that Linux has all but halted NT/2000/XP's growth in the server space. And, being a *nix advocate, I think that's good news.

      --
      I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  12. If people bought cars like computers... by andres32a · · Score: 5, Funny

    HelpLine: "General Motors HelpLine, how can I help you?"

    Customer: "My car ran fine for a week and now it won't go anywhere!"

    HelpLine: "Is the gas tank empty?"

    Customer: "Huh?How do I know?"

    HelpLine: "There's a little gauge on the front panel with a needle
    and markings from 'E' to 'F'.Where is the needle
    pointing?"

    Customer: "It's pointing to 'E'.What does that mean?"

    HelpLine: "It means you have to visit a gasoline vendor and purchase
    some more gasoline.You can install it yourself or pay
    the vendor to install it for you."

    Customer: "What?I paid ,000 for this car!Now you tell me that
    I have to keep buying more components?I want a car that
    comes with everything built in!"

    HelpLine: "General Motors HelpLine, how can I help you?"

    Customer: "Your cars suck!"

    HelpLine: "What's wrong?"

    Customer: "It crashed, that's what wrong!"

    HelpLine: "What were you doing?"

    Customer: "I wanted to run faster, so I pushed the accelerator pedal
    all the way to the floor.It worked for a while and then
    it crashed and it won't start now!

    HelpLine: "It's your responsibility if you misuse the product.What
    do you expect us to do about it?"

    Customer: "I want you to send me one of the latest version that
    doesn't crash any more!"

    HelpLine: "General Motors HelpLine, how can I help you?"

    Customer: "Hi, I just bought my first car, and I chose your car
    because it has automatic transmission, cruise control,
    power steering, power brakes, and power door locks."

    HelpLine: "Thanks for buying our car.How can I help you?"

    Customer: "How do I work it?"

    HelpLine: "Do you know how to drive?"

    Customer: "Do I know how to what?"

    HelpLine: "Do you know how to drive?"

    Customer: "I'm not a technical person.I just want to go places
    in my car!"

    1. Re:If people bought cars like computers... by bugnuts · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's right, you can't sue them. And you don't want to. The car industry is horribly regulated, pretty much since the Ford Pinto. Typical markups on computers these days are about 10%, compared to a standard 100% markup for other products. Some products such as cables, enjoy a 12x increase.

      If you had to pay for insurance for a powersupply failing, you'd be spending $5000 for a $2000 computer, although it'd certainly be more reliable. Of course, it wouldn't run as fast, plus you'd then have to invest $1000 into an OS... even Linux most certainly wouldn't be free (as in beer) if liability was an issue.

  13. How much of that savings is about Linux? by jasonditz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It says the Linux solution saves 40% over the prior Unix solution, but it doesn't say what the prior solution is. Are the savings here really coming from using Linux, or just from using cheap commodity hardware clustered together?

  14. Interesting choice... by TWX_the_Linux_Zealot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...especially for a public announcement. I remember a while ago Microsoft was touting their big thing with how their clustering was going to out-do anything opensource with a few months, yet more and more large corporations, and not simply startups or new, tech-savvy ones, are adopting Linux or some other form of open source instead. I hope this demonstrates a continuing shift away from poorly written server code to something more viable and of better spec.

    --

    IBM had PL/1, with syntax worse than JOSS,
    And everywhere the language went, it was a total loss...
  15. Re:Linux by kbielefe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Good point except for those particular applications were running on Unix before, not Windows.

    --
    This space intentionally left blank.
  16. Car Trouble by andres32a · · Score: 5, Funny

    Four men rode in a car, a mechnical engineer, an electrical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a computer engineer. The car stalled out.

    The mechnical engineer said it must be the pistons, let's repair them and we'll be okay.

    The electrical engineer said it has to be the spark plugs, we'll replace them and be ready to roll.

    The chemical engineer said it's got to be bad gas, we'll flush the system and be on our way.

    They turned to the computer engineer. What do you think we should do?

    Let's get out of the car and get back in.

    1. Re:Car Trouble by GI+Jones · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, it goes:

      Four men rode in a car, a mechnical engineer, an electrical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a Microsoft(R) software engineer. The car stalled out.

      The mechnical engineer said it must be the pistons, let's repair them and we'll be okay.

      The electrical engineer said it has to be the spark plugs, we'll replace them and be ready to roll.

      The chemical engineer said it's got to be bad gas, we'll flush the system and be on our way.

      They turned to the computer engineer. What do you think we should do?

      First close all the open windows then restart.

      --
      "Perhaps most amazingly, votaries of 'diversity' insist on absolute conformity." -- Tony Snow
    2. Re:Car Trouble by flacco · · Score: 5, Funny
      Four men rode in a car, a mechnical engineer, an electrical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a computer engineer.

      And, definitely, none of them got laid that night.

      --
      pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
    3. Re:Car Trouble by dollargonzo · · Score: 5, Funny

      i heard it quite differently, mostly starting with the fact they were going down an icy hill and eventually stopped the car at the bottom.

      [middle is the same]

      software engineer:

      let's go down once more, and see if the problem happens gain!

      --
      BSD is for people who love UNIX. Linux is for those who hate Microsoft.
    4. Re:Car Trouble by paradesign · · Score: 3, Funny
      three engineering students are all standing around the water cooler one day trying to figure out what kind of engineer God is.

      "well he must be a mechanical engineer" says the one, "have you looked at how complex the skeleton is, all those joints, man!"

      "no, no, no," says another, "have you seen the brain he MUST be an electrical engineer, well never even hope to understand its complexities."

      "you both have valid points," says the third "but i must contest that God is a civil engineer, i mean who else would run a hazardous waste line through a recreational area?"

      rimshot... ahem right, back to work.

      --
      I want 2D games back.
  17. new car name required by erikdotla · · Score: 5, Funny

    Due to pressure from the FSF, since Linux was used as part of the car production process, GM will be forced to release the 2003 GNU/Taurus.

    --
    # Erik
  18. Almost makes me want to buy a Chrysler.... by slickwillie · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...just kidding.

  19. Don't tell the joke about the cars and OSes by Grd.+Adm.+Thrawn · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It won't be funny, but watch, someone will do it anyway

  20. Re:Wait a minute by Osty · · Score: 4, Informative

    So wait a minute, you save money by using Linux? Are you telling me that the folks at MS are lying and that the TCO for Winodws isn't lower?

    Red herring. The article was about a migration to linux from a proprietary unix, not from Windows. Therefore, the only conclusion you can draw here is that linux saves you money over other unix operating systems. You can't make any conclusions about linux TCO vs. Windows TCO based on this article.


    Care to try again?

  21. In other news... by the_other_one · · Score: 3, Funny

    The next release of Tux Racer will have improved front and rear crumple zones, wing mounted side airbags, and will meet California emission standards.

    --
    134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
    1. Re:In other news... by the_other_one · · Score: 3, Funny

      The results of the fuel economy studies are under review

      It seems that something might have beem fishy.

      --
      134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
  22. Re:Linux by oh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Just following up on this and other replies. It has been said several times that the parent of the parent is incorrect, and several people have asked why it was modded up.

    I don't know why it was modded up, but I have moderator points, and I'm not going to mod it as overrated. I'm posting instead.

    Moderation shouldn't be about correct or incorrect. It should be about improving the discussion. Its better to leave the post alone and reply to it, that way both view points can be expressed.

    Leave the readers to make up their own minds, rather then censoring any views that you disagree with.

    --
    Democracy isn't about no one telling you what to do. It's about everyone telling you what to do.
  23. Re:This is one application -- You don't understand by Proudrooster · · Score: 5, Informative

    The application itself if not going to run on the cluster. The cluster is simply going to be used as a "compute farm" for solving the datasets and models produced by the application.

    This is similar to what is happening in the animation industry. The LINUX boxes are simply going to "crunch" the numbers and feed the results back to an application running under Windows or high end UNIX workstations.

    For a cheap "compute farm" cluster, you can't beat Red Hat Advanced Server with Xenon's.

    We are planning to build a 16 node cluster next year for the same purpose as Chrysler. Again, the apps aren't running here, LS-Dyna, DynaForm, Hypermesh, FEMB etc ... will still all run on a UNIX/Windows workstation, but the solving will be done (very quickly) on a Red Hat cluster.

    It just rocks!

  24. Re:Software? by rat7307 · · Score: 5, Funny

    kRash, the kAr kRash kOmputer package for KDE....

    --
    Burma?
  25. Yet another SWITCH AD! by CSG_SurferDude · · Score: 5, Funny

    Or maybe we'll see a Apple Switch Ad that features Crash Tests...

    I was testing a car crash on the PC and it was like beeeeep beep beep beep beep beeeep! And then like half of my crash test was gone, and I was like unnnhhh...? It devoured my crash test.

    It was a really good test. And then I had to test it again and I had to do it fast so it wasn't as good.

    It's kind of...

    a bummer.

    Note to moderators: It's Funny, not off-topic.

  26. Re:This is one application -- You don't understand by afidel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    For a cheap "compute farm" cluster, you can't beat Red Hat Advanced Server with Xenon's.

    Sure you can, how about redhat iso's running on Athlon MP's (or soon Opterons). Free software on better price/performance hardware.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  27. Re:This is one application -- You don't understand by Proudrooster · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ok, you win.. that beats it :)

    However, I try to throw some cash Red Hat's way every now and then so they keep making distros.

    Assume your cluster costs $50,000 to build (including the Giga-bit ethernet gear), you are only going to pay $l000 or less for the O/S.

    That's a great deal and a half. Also, that paultry $1,000 investment keeps you in patches plus, gets your a year of email install/configuration tech support.

    But, your solution is definately cheaper !

  28. Re:Wait a minute by joib · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, if it was well-known that TCO for a windows cluster would be lower than for a linux cluster on the same hardware, then they would certainly have bought a windows cluster instead. I don't think portability is a big problem here. Most numerical code is quite portable.

    Looking at windowsclusters.org, it seems that most project there are using windows simply because MS agreed to supply both hardware and software, en exchange for using windows instead of linux.

  29. Re:Multiple Crashes. by joib · · Score: 3, Informative

    Chrysler is a big company, so they certainly have many projects going on at the same time. By centralizing on one big cluster they can increase utilization compared to each department needing simulation capabilities having its own minicluster. So what the article probably means is that at the same time they can run 18 different simulations each using on average 12 cpus (108*2/18).

    It's the same on (almost) all supercomputers. They have lots of users, but most users don't use that many cpus for their jobs. Take me, for example. On the supercomputer where I have an account there are 512 power4 cpus. Usually I use 8 or 16 cpus for my simulations, and so do almost all the other people using the same machine. About the only time the entire supercomputer is reserved for one job is when they're benchmarking it, which as you certainly can imagine isn't done so often.