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The Amazing Shrinking Supercomputer
mE123 writes "It would seem that IBM is trying to change what we all think of as super computers. Their new Blue Gene family of super computers is meant to be 6 times faster, consume 1/15 of the power and be 1/10 the size of current models. The prototype is already number 73 (with 2 teraflops) on the list of the most powerful super computers and it's only "roughly the size of a 30-inch television". They are hoping to be able to make it up to 360 Teraflops using only 64 racks." We covered this a bit earlier, but without the level of details.
My mom wouldn't let me have one because they take up so much space!
Clif
Blogzine.net
Fortress of Insanity
clifgriffin > blog
Yes, this is amazing--but I predict that in ten more years computers will be twice as fast, ten thousand times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings in Europe will be able to aford one.
Take your standard technology curve (aka Moore's Law), take any specification/cost point, then move ahead an arbitrary point in time and wonders of wonders, it costs less and is smaller and does more.
Yes, one day supercomputers will fit into your wristwatch! What's more, they already do! If you use an ancient measure from, say, 50 years ago.
It's very disappointing to see technology always reduced to whizz-bang figures that are in fact meaningless. What about the impact on our society? What about the capability for good and for bad? What do "good" and "bad" mean, anyhow? How do I know I even exist? What does "I" even mean?
Now, that kind of stuff is worth discussing.
OK, go ahead and mod me as a troll now, if you can't think of an intelligent answer.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
In other news, the price of petrol increases.
Would sales tax on these things be called a "Blue Gene Levy"? Hahahaha. Horrible, I know. ;)
"Yeah, well, Dracula called and he's coming over tonight for you and I said okay."
That's one hell of a p0rn server. Now compile apache, and connect to a pair of DS-3s...
hmm... how many Counterstrike servers will it run at the same time...
(Note: The above is meant to be foolish and meaningless. Any other interpritation is pure coincidence. The names have been changes to protect the inocent)
Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed "nucular" accelerator on his back.
Sig changed for readability by G.W.
just say no to beige
The potato it is uninformed.
Finally a computer exists that can easily fit in my apartment with enough power to play Doom III at 30 fps.
You've got 8% of my love - 8% of my love - 8/100's of the time you're the only girl I'm dreaming of.
you may have beige but not I :) silver maybe, but I'd rather keep my 300fps in quake than have a beige box
now just make one that's PDA sized :)
-illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
But then I always want one.