networked computing
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Supercomputer built from Raspberry Pi and Lego, managed by humans rather than Minifigs
If you're a computational engineer, there's no question about what you do with the Raspberry Pi: you make a supercomputer cluster. Researchers at the University of Southampton have followed their instincts and built Iridis-Pi, a tiny 64-node cluster based on the Raspberry Pi's usual Debian Wheezy distribution and linked through Ethernet. While no one would mistake any one Raspberry Pi for a powerhouse, the sheer number of networked devices gives the design both some computing grunt and 1TB worth of storage in SD cards. Going so small also leads to some truly uncommon rackmounting -- team lead Simon Cox and his son James grouped the entire array in two towers of Lego, which likely makes it the most adorable compute cluster you'll ever see. There's instructions to help build your own Iridis-Pi at the source link, and the best part is that it won't require a university-level budget to run. Crafting the exact system you see here costs under £2,500 ($4,026), or less than a grown-up supercomputer's energy bill.
Apple Xserve sales end January 31st, support will continue
As if you needed any further confirmation that Apple is a consumer company first and foremost, the Cupertino team has decided to discontinue sales of its Xserve enterprise server offering. The rack-mountable processing powerhouses will no longer be available for purchase after January, though full support of those already sold is promised, meaning that all warranties and extended service programs will be honored. To soften the blow for those who might still insist on using OS X in their servers, Apple has put together a "transition guide," advising that users switch over to the Mac Pro or ... the Mac mini, both of which come with the option to have Snow Leopard Server pre-installed. Honestly, the Mac mini! [Thanks, Jakob]
Folding@Home recognized by Guinness World Records
Finally getting the street cred that its creators have so long desired, the multi-platform, distributed computing network known as Folding@Home is to be recognized by Guinness World Records. According to the group, the network is now the most powerful distributed computing cluster in the world. The system, which utilizes the power of more than 670,000 PS3s, PCs, and lawnmower motors to crunch data, has overall computational capabilities greater than a petaflop (which is a ton of flops). The linked consoles tackle a number of tasks, and scientists harnessing the network's power are able to study complex medical problems -- such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's -- much more quickly. Vijay Pande, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and head of the Folding@home project says, "Without them [the Folding@Home users] we would not be able to make the advancements we have made in our studies of several different diseases." Now that Guinness has recognized the system, it can proudly stand next to luminaries such as the man with the longest fingernails, and fastest land animal.
