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Google, IBM and NVIDIA partake in OpenPOWER Consortium, a dev group for data centers
It's a rare occurrence to see Google, NVIDIA and IBM working lockstep towards a common goal, but the aforesaid trio has joined Mellanox and Tyan in order to launch a development group for data centers. The aptly-titled OpenPOWER Consortium is hailed as a "development alliance based on IBM's POWER microprocessor architecture." We're told that it intends to concoct "advanced server, networking, storage and GPU-acceleration technology aimed at delivering more choice, control and flexibility to developers of next-generation, hyperscale and cloud data centers." Sounds pretty bold, and it'll require IBM to offer up open-source POWER firmware to those participating. Moreover, NVIDIA and IBM will be jointly working to integrate the CUDA GPU and POWER ecosystems, but beyond that, it's not entirely clear what the immediate impact on mankind will be. You're more than welcome to take stabs in comments, though.
Mitac International to acquire Tyan
Before long, Mitac International just might own every other Taiwanese company currently out there, as the corporation is swallowing up yet another subsidiary by reportedly acquiring Tyan. The merger is slated to hit completion by the third quarter of this year, but the two firms aren't entirely strangers as it stands. Currently, the Mitac Group holds a 35-percent stake in Tyan, but the deal should allow for Tyan's products to be "more competitive in the market." Stockholders were apparently pleased with the announcement, as shares for both firms raised during public trading hours, and you can probably assume the newfound company's new supercomputer will be even more sensational (and hopefully cheaper) than the existing iteration.[Via Inquirer]
Tyan's 40 CPU Core Personal Supercomputer -- now shipping
Sure, you probably don't currently have a need for 256 gigaflops of processing power in your home. Rest assured, you will -- just as certain as the day when robots will care for our children and decorate our Christmas trees. So go 'head, raid the education fund and future proof your domicile by picking up a TYANPSC T-650 series computer from Tyan -- "PSC," as in Personal SuperComputer. Prices start at just $20,000 for a 40 CPU Core (10x quad-core Intel Xeons) system configurable with up to 60GB of RAM and a power draw of just 15A. And it's "portable" in the same way a refrigerator is portable: it has wheels. Who knows, maybe you can put those spare cycles to use by solving the traveling salesman problem. Better yet, join Engadget's Folding@Home team for some hardcore protein folding fun.[Via 64-bit-computers]
Tyan Typhoon 600 series reaches 256 gigflops for "personal supercomputing"
Remember that 16-core Tyan Typhoon personal supercomputer we told you about back in March? Yeah, that was before all the dual-core and now quad-core action started flooding the market. Well, we've just laid our eyes on the Typhoon 600 series, which is loaded to the brim with Clovertown chips, reaching 256 gigaflops worth of processing power from a single outlet. Of course, the Typhoon isn't exactly going to crack the Top500 list of supercomputers, but it'll probably work much better than that those decked out quad-core getups we've seen thus far. If you really need that many chips, just be prepared not to flip out when you see the £10,000 ($19,080) pricetag, which works out to about 25,600,000 flops per pound sterling.
