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In The Works: Windows For Supercomputers

Posted by timothy on from the tough-row-to-hoe dept.

Robert Accettura writes "According to ZDNet, Microsoft may be feeling threatened by Linux gaining ground in the High Performance Computing (HPC) arena. As a result, they have formed a HPC group to bring windows to these systems. It makes a mention of how clustered computing may be a target. I guess the only thing better than crashing 1 computer at a time is crashing an entire room full at once."

3 of 705 comments (clear)

  1. nah, just a PR move. by twitter · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This is a PR move. Clustering is just another thing that Windows can't do. All the Linux clusters popping up everywhere, especially at universities, demonstrate this to PHB and "influential" types. It tends to tarnish the wizz-bang image M$'s has carefully built among the clueless. Microsoft knows that PHBs will never run a cluster, a Hotmail or anything other than Word. By making one or two announcements, they can convince the clueless that M$ is all they will ever need.

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    Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.

  2. Re:Windows on HPC? by Lonewolf666 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, they have done this with XP Embedded. We have tried this in a project for a windows-controlled device, and you *can* build a rather small Windows XP that has your program as "shell" instead of the usual Explorer. Maybe not quite as small as Linux in text mode, but it will do.
    The claims about Internet Exploder being inextricably connected to the OS were pure FUD for the antitrust suit.

    --
    C - the footgun of programming languages
  3. Re:I guess Bill thinks it's time... by AKnightCowboy · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I guess Bill thinks it's time to slow the worlds fastest computers to a crawl. Apparently they aren't crashing enough, too.

    Well, unless Bill's going to introduce a version of Windows that doesn't have a Windows interface, WTF is the point? How many Beowulf nodes have you seen even plugged into a KVM? Windows is a stupid choice for a headless compute node just as Linux is a stupid choice for a home desktop.