“A computer engineer with an idea of how to make supercomputers faster and more efficient five years ago has translated into a company that today counts the Navy as a major customer and Apple Computer Inc. as a major partner. And the bandwagon for Massively Parallel Technologies, based in 10,000 square feet at the Colorado Technology Center, has picked up speed in recent months as news of its novel approach spreads. The business formed from the ideas of Kevin Howard, who spent 24 years in the computing industry, the last stretch with a local company working on device drivers and operating systems for computers. Dissatisfied with his job, he began searching for arenas where technological progress had leveled off,” Matt Branaugh writes for The Daily Camera.
“The fruits of Howard’s labor sit at the company’s Louisville office: a 153-gigaflop system using 255 computers featuring speeds of 1350 to 1650 megahertz. Overall, the system offers a quarter-terabyte of random access memory and 10.2 terabytes of hard drive space,” Branaugh writes. “A simple problem – such as calculating pi to its 5,000th digit – takes 12 seconds with 31 of the computers used, six seconds with 63 computers and four seconds with 127 computers. For far more complex problems that require hours of computation, the ability to add computers on the fly and accomplish those speeds is ‘really meaningful,’ Howard said. ‘It’s a brand-new way of doing large-scale computing.'”
Full article here.
Apple and Supercomputing….. Who’da Thunk it?
Seven years ago, they were laughing at the candy colored iMacs. My how far we have come!
Macs Are More Expensive, Right?
< http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36120.html >
But a Macintosh Is Slower, Right?
< http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/38631.html >
But There’s No Software for the Macintosh, Right?
< http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/38632.html >
By Paul Murphy
MacNewsWorld
Some folks are much smarter than Dvorak, Enderle, and Thurrott.
I’m sick of web sites that require “registration”, your email or other personal information just so you can read articles or download driver updates. MDN, if you link to a web site that requires registration, could you please indicate that in the link?
Also sick of “sign in” sites. It’s quickly becoming one of the fastest ways to annoy potential customers; along with spam, viruses, computer answering systems, banner ads, audio internet ads, tv ads, bus stop ads, blank-wall-coz-the-building-next-door-is-trashed-ads, …. get the message?
Advertising people should be a) shot b) shot again c) cut up into little pieces d) shot a third time. Never can be too sure.
And I’m no redneck (despite my bad attitude.)
To: M.T. MacPhee
The three links that you posted lead to 3 of the best articles about Macs I have ever read!
EVERYONE should keep those links available!
beat regristration requirements at http://bugmenot.com/
Again MDN links to a registration site. 🙁
Registration sucks, even if it’s free.
SPAM SPAM ALL YOU GET IS SPAM!!
Spam from them FOREVER!!!
I agree that registration sites suck. I much prefer the NY Times where you get a big flash add first, THEN you get to the article. I don’t mind watching the ad, I feel that it is my way of paying them back for their content which I am getting for free. They even provide a link so you can skip the add too. I thought it was a pretty classy way of providing free content but still getting a little out of the deal.
If you’re tired of spam from registring with websites, just give them a mailinator e-mail address! Check it out:
http://www.mailinator.com/
Website tracking through registration is killing the internet experience.
Registration sites: I thought that was what my hotmail address was for. Perfect for registering and getting mail you never want let alon read! All you need to do is periodically clearout the hotmail box.
Thanks Microsoft, its been the best service ever..!
Hello- Not sure of the level of traffic this post gets so I’ll be brief. I am an early investor in MPT and would like to share my thoughts regarding the company. Grain-of-salt disclaimer: I do not have a supercomputing background. I do have a strong understanding of mathematical systems and a conceptual mind. I have invested in the company and therefore one could (sucessfully) argue I am biased to viewing progress with potentially unwarranted enthusiasm. That said, I would like this to be a “You read it here, first” post. In a few years when MPT is one the top Fortune 500 companies you can say “wow, that guy was right!” MPT is the real deal. The technology has been vetted by the government (a la Darpa) and private testing. Dr. Amdahl, the man for whom the most influential supercomputing law was named, throughly examined MPT’s claims and promptly joined the board. Why hasn’t MPT “popped” yet? It is so technologically revolutionary and the scope of its future influence is so large that many people are reluctant (read: afraid) to believe it can be real. The HOWARD-powered technology is capable of achieving the awesome speedups it claims. Fact. Once this point is accepted, one can only begin to image the sheer magnitude of human growth that will result from HOWARD’s computational power. And the folks at MPT are more excited about these implications than about becoming multi-billionairs. Unbelievable, I know, but real. Just like their technology.