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US Supercomputer Lead Sparks Russian Govt's Competitive Drive
CWmike writes "Russia's launch of Sputnik in 1957 triggered a crisis of confidence in the US that helped drive the creation of a space program. Now, Russia is comparing the US's achievements in supercomputing with theirs, and they don't like what they see. In a speech on Tuesday, Russia's President, Dmitry Medvedev, criticized his country's IT industry almost to the point of sarcasm for failing to develop supercomputing technology, and urged a dramatic change in Russia's use of high-performance computing. Medvedev, at the opening address of a Security Council Meeting on Supercomputers in Moscow, told attendees that 476 out of the 500 supercomputers on the Top500 list were manufactured in the United States. 'Therefore, in general, our situation is very difficult,' he said."
In Soviet Russia, you make supercomputers into Playstation 3!
"Going to war without the French is like going deer hunting without your accordion." ~General Norman Schwarzkopf
Suddenly we have to start building supercomputers in Russia?
Lack of supercomputers means nobody needs them. That's an indication that Russia is falling behind in technology in general. You can't fix this just by building some supercomputers.
Something more fundamental must be done: fight corruption, establish rule of law, create infrustructure. Then the high-tech industry will emerge by itself. I understand that this is not easy, definitely more difficult than building some supercomputers.