US Regains Supercomputing Crown, Besting China and Japan

Posted by samzenpus on Monday June 18, 2012 @01:40AM from the catbird-seat dept.

dcblogs writes "The U.S., once again, is home to the world's most powerful supercomputer after being knocked off the list by China two years ago and Japan last year. The top computer, an IBM system at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is capable of 16.32 sustained petaflops, according to the Top 500 list, a global, twice a year ranking, released Monday. Despite the continuing strength of U.S. vendors globally, when China's supercomputer took the top position in June, 2010, it seemed to hit a national nerve. President Barack Obama mentioned China's top ranked supercomputer in two separate speeches, including his State of the Union address last year."

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Wrong prize by DoofusOfDeath · 2012-06-18 01:53 · Score: 5, Insightful

I'd rather have a big fraction of our workforce be highly competent in mathematics, than have a computer that's marginally faster than any other.
One wins a pointless pissing match, the other provides a much more solid basis for real strength and prosperity.
Besides, all this really shows is that China will lend us enough money for us to buy computer components built an assembled throughout the world.