Europe’s fastest supercomputer unveiled in Germany

jugene

via Yahoo

A new supercomputer with the power of 50,000 home PCs — the fastest in Europe and the third worldwide — was unveiled on Tuesday in Germany

The “Jugene,” capable of 1,000,000,000,000,000 calculations per second, ranks behind the “Roadrunner” and “Jaguar” computers in the United States, said Kosta Schinarakis from the Juelich research centre, where the computer is located.

Jugene will be used for a wide variety of operations, including research on fuel cells for electric cars, weather forecasting and the origins of the universe, the centre said.

The machine is no ordinary PC, requiring 295,000 processors located in 72 lockers each the size of a telephone box.

Dell-Paramount Deal Puts “Iron Man” on PCs

via Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – PC manufacturer Dell and Paramount Pictures are opening a new front in digital distribution with an offering allowing consumers to order “Iron Man” preloaded into newly purchased computers.

 

For now, Paramount is the only studio that has signed on, and “Iron Man” — which will be available accompanied by exclusive bonus footage for $20 beginning Tuesday (September 30), the same day as its DVD release — is the only film being offered.

 

The offering is the first step Dell is taking toward setting up a broader digital content storefront that could create significant competition for Apple’s dominant iTunes Store. Continue reading