More Techie News!

[Ringel05]

Microsoft Launches Kinect SDK For Windows

Microsoft has just announced a new SDK for Windows that allows programmers to take input from the Kinect and use it in their homebrew projects.

This will allow users to create games, UIs, and apps with Kinect’s 3D sensing technology including 3D scanning, audio tracking, and the creation of 3D wireframes in real time.

Microsoft Launches Kinect SDK For Windows

 

[waltky]

Japanese outdo the Chinese...

Japanese claim fastest supercomputer
June 20, 2011 - A JAPANESE machine has become the fastest supercomputer in the world, making calculations three times faster than a Chinese rival, its developers say.

The K Computer, developed by Fujitsu Ltd and the state-funded RIKEN institute of physical and chemical research, has achieved 8.162 quadrillion calculations per second (petaflops), they said today. One quadrillion is made up of a thousand trillions. It overtook China's Tianhe-1A of the National Supercomputing Centre in Tianjin, which became the world number-one in November and is capable of operating at 2.6 petaflops. The K Computer's performance was recognised by the authoritative biannual Top500 List of Supercomputers released on Monday at the 2011 International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg, Germany. Fujitsu and RIKEN said.

It was the first time since 2004 that a supercomputer built in Japan has claimed the top spot. NEC's Earth Simulator reigned supreme from June 2002 to November 2004. The machine is still being configured and has been assembled since October 2010 at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science in Kobe, western Japan. It is targeted to be completed by June 2012, the statement said. It is made up of 672 computer cabinets equipped with a current total of 68,544 CPUs, Fujitsu and RIKEN said in a press release. "Use of the K computer is expected to have a groundbreaking impact in fields ranging from global climate research, meteorology, disaster prevention, and medicine, thereby contributing to the creation of a prosperous and secure society," it added.

Fujitsu and RIKEN chiefs said the project had overcome difficulties posed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeast Tohoku region. Fujitsu chairman Michiyoshi Mazuka said he was grateful to "our partners in the Tohoku region for their commitment to delivering a steady supply of components, even though they themselves were affected by the disaster." RIKEN president Ryoji Noyori said: "I very much believe that the strength and perseverance that was demonstrated during this project will also make possible the recovery of the devastated Tohoku region."

Source

See also:

World's fastest supercomputers
There's a new No. 1 on the semi annual-list of the world's top supercomputers: Japan's K Computer is so far advanced, it's three times faster than the second fastest supercomputer and more powerful than the next five supercomputers on the list combined.

The so-called Top 500 list is revised each June and November by researchers at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the University of Mannheim in Germany. Supercomputers and their massive processing power are used for an array of tasks such as weather forecasting, high-speed stock trading, and simulating weapons tests.

The K Computer, built by Fujitsu, has 68,544 central processing units, each with eight cores. That's twice as many as any other supercomputer on the Top 500. The letter "K" is short for the Japanese word "kei," which symbolizes ten quadrillions. The K Computer is capable of performing more than 8 quadrillion calculations per second.

The massive supercomputer (it comprises of more than 800 computer racks) is used at the Riken Institute for Physical and Chemical Research in Kobe, Japan. This is the first time since 2004 that Japan had held the top supercomputer on the list. (Japan also has the fifth most powerful supercomputer on the list.)

The project won't be completely finished until next year, at which point the Riken Institute plans to share its computing power for researchers' projects around the world.

Source

 

[waltky]

Watson bored with Jeopardy, moves on to more challenging task...

IBM Supercomputer Watson to Help Diagnose Medical Problems
September 12, 2011 | Enough with the fun and games. Watson is going to work.

IBM's supercomputer system, best known for trouncing the world's best "Jeopardy!" players on TV, is being tapped by one of the nation's largest health insurers to help diagnose medical problems and authorize treatments. WellPoint Inc., which has 34.2 million members, will integrate Watson's lightning speed and deep health care database into its existing patient information, helping it choose among treatment options and medicines. "This very much fits into the sweet spot of what we envisioned for the applications of Watson," said Manoj Saxena, general manager of an IBM division looking at how the computer can be marketed.

Lori Beer, an executive vice president at Indianapolis-based WellPoint, agreed. "It's really a game-changer in health care," she said. The WellPoint application will combine data from three sources: a patient's chart and electronic records that a doctor or hospital has, the insurance company's history of medicines and treatments, and Watson's huge library of textbooks and medical journals.

IBM says the computer can then sift through it all and answer a question in moments, providing several possible diagnoses or treatments, ranked in order of the computer's confidence, along with the basis for its answer. "Imagine having the ability within three seconds to look through all of that information, to have it be up to date, scientifically presented to you, and based on that patients' medical needs at the moment you're caring for that patient," said WellPoint's chief medical officer, Dr. Sam Nussbaum. Saxena said the WellPoint application would likely be accessed from an ordinary computer or hand-held device.

Beer said patients needn't worry that Watson will be used to help insurers deny benefits. "We're really trying to bring providers a tool that's successful, that helps drive better outcomes, which is how we want to reimburse physicians in the future," Beer said. Nussbaum said a pilot program will be rolled out early next year at several cancer centers, academic medical centers and oncology practices.

WellPoint is the nation's largest publicly traded health insurer based on enrollment. It operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, including New York and California. Neither party would say how much Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM is being paid. Saxena said it's the first money Watson has earned for the company; the $1 million it won on "Jeopardy!" earlier this year was given to charity. Watson's next jobs will probably also be in health care, but financial services and public safety applications are on the horizon, Saxena said.

Read more: IBM Supercomputer Watson To Help Diagnose Medical Problems | Fox News

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Kinect...now that was some wasted dollars I spent...

 

[waltky]

Shhh! Don't tell nobody - it's a secret...

Buildings house secret servers that keep Net humming
22 Sept.`11 – From the outside, the Gothic brick and limestone building a few blocks south of downtown almost looks abandoned.

Plaques identify it as a landmark completed in 1929, a former printing plant that once produced magazines, catalogs and phone books. The sign over the main door says "Chicago Manufacturing Division Plant 1." There are hints, though, that something is going on inside. Cameras are aimed at the building's perimeter. A small sign at the back entrance says "Digital Realty Trust." Sturdy gates across the driveway keep the uninvited out. There's good reason for the intentional anonymity and security, says Rich Miller: "The Internet lives there."

Miller, editor of Data Center Knowledge, which tracks the industry, and Dave Caron, senior vice president of portfolio management for Digital Realty, which owns the 1.1 million-square-foot former R.R. Donnelley printing plant, say it is the world's largest repository for computer servers. Caron won't identify its tenants, but he says the building stores data from financial firms and Internet and telecommunications companies. "The 'cloud' that you keep hearing about … all ends up on servers in a data center somewhere," he says.

There are about 13,000 large data centers around the world, 7,000 of them in the USA, says Michelle Bailey, a vice president at IDC, a market research company that monitors the industry. Growth stalled during the recession, but her company estimates about $22 billion will be spent on new centers worldwide this year. The need for data centers is increasing as demand for online space and connectivity explodes. Some are inside generic urban buildings or sprawling rural facilities. For all of them, security is paramount. Inside, after all, are the engines that keep smartphones smart, businesses connected and social networks humming. Some data centers have "traps" that isolate intrusions by unauthorized individuals, technology that weighs people as they enter and sounds an alarm if their weight is different when they depart, bulletproof walls and blast-proof doors, Bailey says.

When Wal-Mart opened a data center in McDonald County, Mo., a few years ago, County Assessor Laura Pope says she signed a non-disclosure agreement promising "I wouldn't discuss anything I saw in there." She hasn't. Borrowing a line from a 1999 movie, Miller says, "I used to kid about the Fight Club rule: Rule No. 1 is you don't talk about the data centers, and Rule No. 2 is you do not talk about the data centers." Although the rapid growth of data centers has diminished their ability to "hide in plain sight," he says, many owners and occupants are "very secretive and … sensitive about the locations." That makes sense, Miller says. "These facilities are critical to the financial system and the overall function of the Internet."

Making new use of the old

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I toured a data center near South Bend Indiana
Pretty amazing. It sits below an older home and under a rather large two car garage.
It is completely underground.
You could walk right past it and just think it was just where some old couple lives...and might wonder why such a large garage.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

And BTW...what a freaking great job my buddy has that owns it.
When he is not traveling abroad..he drinks coffee in the "cellar" among the constant and rather annoying hummmmmmmmm...hussssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh...and about 300 tiny little green LED lights.

 

[waltky]

Oak Ridge's Titan may be world's fastest supercomputer...

New Supercomputer Could be World's Fastest
October 29, 2012 - Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the U.S. state of Tennessee have unveiled what could be the world’s fastest supercomputer.

The new computer, named Titan, is capable of making more than 20,000 trillion calculations each second (20 petaflops), according to officials at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). That is roughly equivalent to each of the world’s seven billion people being able to carry out three million calculations per second, according to ORNL. Titan also has more than 700 terabytes of memory. 
“The numbers just end up so big that I struggle to come up with a way to explain it,” said Buddy Bland, the project director of ORNL’s Leadership Computing Facility. “It’s unimaginable. Twenty petaflops is [the number] 20 followed by 15 zeros.” Titan is actually an upgrade to ORNL’s previous world’s best supercomputer, Jaguar. According to Bland, The new unit is roughly the same size as Jaguar, but is 10 times more powerful. Its components occupy a space about the area of a basketball court and are about two and a half meters high.

Titan, which cost $100 million, according to ORNL officials, is expected to be useful for researchers in numerous fields. 
"Titan will allow scientists to simulate physical systems more realistically and in far greater detail," said James Hack, director of ORNL's National Center for Computational Sciences. "The improvements in simulation fidelity will accelerate progress in a wide range of research areas such as alternative energy and energy efficiency, the identification and development of novel and useful materials, and the opportunity for more advanced climate projections."



Bland said there have been direct commercial benefits as a result of such supercomputers. He said one company, BMI Corporation, used Jaguar to design and develop airfoils for large trucks that make them more aerodynamic and fuel efficient. In basic science, supercomputers have also helped scientists determine why neutron stars spin they way they do, Bland said. 

Titan is the latest entrant in the race to have the world’s fastest supercomputer. It is expected to vie for the number one spot on the top 500 supercomputer list against Sequoia, which claimed the title last June. China and Japan have both fielded computers in the top five. 

“High performance computing is a game of leapfrog,” said Bland. “Every country in the world recognizes this is important. It’s important for our national competitiveness to be on the high end. Having the best tools means you get the best science.”



Bland said supercomputers are butting up against the same technological problems facing home computers. 

 “We use the same chips to build supercomputers that are in high-end computers at home,” he said. “These are not custom made chips for supercomputers. Processors haven’t gotten faster since 2002 or 2003. There are just more of them.” 

Energy consumption is a challenge to powerful supercomputers, but officials at ORNL say Titan will only use “marginally more” electricity than Jaguar.

Source