Webcast: Top500 Founders from ISC’11

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As many of you know by now, there’s a new computer at the tippy top of the just-published Top500 list. I found out a bit earlier than most, via a webcast I was recording at 3:00 a.m. my local time on Sunday. It was a bit of a struggle to record it; their net connection kept breaking, and the sound quality on my side was like a Dixie cup and string, but I heard enough to know it was big news.

This system was a surprise in a lot of ways. No one expected it this soon, or expected it to triple the performance record. On the Register webcast (here), I have a conversation with Rich Brueckner (from InsideHPC.com) along with Top500 co-founders Dr. Hans Meuer and Dr. Jack Dongarra. We talk about the evolution of the list, the trends driving it and, of course, the K Computer.

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HP-Oracle: It’s War for Sure

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The hot war between HP and Oracle got quite a bit hotter last week as HP filed suit accusing Oracle of breaching contracts and demanding a jury trial in California. The Register has been all over this story, with articles from our pal TPM and Andrew Orlowski.

The court filing is interesting reading. It outlines the salad days of the HP/Oracle love affair, including a generous helping of quotes from Oracle about the depth and breadth of Oracle’s undying devotion to HP. The only thing missing was a link to a YouTube video of “Larry E and the SQLs” lip synching “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” outside HP corporate headquarters. The complaint then goes on to detail how Oracle dumped Itanium, the potential damages to HP, etc. etc.

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