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One Computer to Rule Them All

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the and-in-the-queue-bind-them dept.

An anonymous reader writes "IBM has published a research paper describing an initiative called Project Kittyhawk, aimed at building "a global-scale shared computer capable of hosting the entire Internet as an application." Nicholas Carr describes the paper with the words "Forget Thomas Watson's apocryphal remark that the world may need only five computers. Maybe it needs just one." Here is the original paper."

6 of 288 comments (clear)

  1. Reminds me of 11001001 by nharmon · · Score: 4, Informative

    Having a worldwide master computer really worked for the Bynars. I'm sure it'll work here on Earth too.

  2. Article Summary by dachshund · · Score: 3, Informative
    Basically this is a puff piece for IBM, talking up how their Blue Gene SMP systems can run Apache and Linux, so big clients should all run out and buy those rather than clustering inexpensive hardware. The "one computer, running the Internet as an application" thing is a meaningless hook to draw readers in (and get a little bit of attention on places like Slashdot).

    In real life there may be a case to be made for IBM's solution. But making that case has more to do with actually convincing large customers that IBM is substantially cheaper (and runs the software people need). Since that doesn't seem to be happening on a massive scale, I tend to doubt IBM's hype.

  3. And the answer is... (no spoilers. ) by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... Well, I don't have the creativity to write something this nice, and certainly I don't have the right to spoil it. Check out one of the most enjoyable short stories written by Aasimov

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re: And the answer is... (no spoilers. ) by cbart387 · · Score: 3, Informative
      From the story you posted ...

      Multivac was self-adjusting and self-correcting. It had to be, for nothing human could adjust and correct it quickly enough or even adequately enough. A researcher from IBM came to my university for a presentation. His area of research is in autonomic computer. It basically boils down to the phrase quoted above. That, coupled with the project mentioned in the summary, I could certainly see a multivac-type machine becoming a reality.

      I always enjoyed the multivac stories. Thanks.

      --
      Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
  4. A free link to the original paper by bo-eric · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...TFA gives it as http://weather.ou.edu/~apw/projects/kittyhawk/kittyhawk.pdf

    --

    -- Free speech is only free if your time is worth nothing.
  5. Re:Yeah, right... Indeed by Vectronic · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Answer" by Fredric Brown, I would assume...

    http://www.alteich.com/oldsite/answer.htm