Shifting lead at forefront of computing
Article Abstract:
The Energy Department will pay $45 million to Intel for the development of the world's fastest computer. The contract marks a shift in the computer industry, since supercomputing contracts used to go to mainframe manufacturer Cray Research. As mainframes lost market share, profits shifted to the PC, where research and development flourished. The new computer will use 9,000 P-6 chips for massively parallel processing. The new computer should be able to simulate a nuclear explosion, a capability known as a 'teraflop.' Traditionally, corporations move quickly to buy technology developed for the government, but it is not certain that business will be interested in massively parallel computers, which require a whole new method of writing code. Purchases of supercomputers are falling in the mid- to low- range, under $1 million through $5 million. Intel insists that parallel processing can be implemented on any scale, with a price to match.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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U.S. and I.B.M. join forces to develop fastest computer
Article Abstract:
The Department of Energy and IBM agreed on an $85 million contract to build a supercomputer capable of 10 trillion mathematical calculations a second. Such a machine, which IBM said would be available by 2000, will become the world's fastest computer with the processing power of 8,000 of IBM's strongest microprocessor chips. IBM said the supercomputer's design would follow the technology that allowed the Deep Blue supercomputer to defeat chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997. The Japanese Government, meanwhile, has entered the supercomputing supremacy race. Japan's goal is to install a 32-teraflop machine, to be constructed by NEC, by 2002. The US Government's Advanced Strategic Computing Initiative program aims to design a new class of computers that can simulate nuclear weapon explosions. Japan's Earth Simulator Program is designed to help scientists model natural phenomena such as global climate conditions and earthquakes.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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A supercomputer deal pits buying American vs. fair trade
Article Abstract:
Cray Computer is competing against NEC and Fujitsu for a contract to build a supercomputer for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and Cray's tactics are raising the issue of protectionist trade. Supercomputers make up a small, not very profitable segment of the computer market, but they confer great prestige on their makers. Japanese and US makers spent years trying to protect their own supercomputer markets, until a 1990 truce outlined a policy of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder. Some analysts claim that Japan is not adhering to the truce, but seven of the last 13 supercomputers purchased by Japan have come from the US, whose government agencies have yet to buy a Japanese supercomputer. US vendors offer superior technology for specialized functions such as simulating nuclear explosions, but the Japanese products offer comparable performance, price and reliability for applications such as weather simulation.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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