Nothing exceeds like excess. Not only is this a frighteningly huge thinking machine, it also wins the award for IT/marketing synergy of the year:
Virginia Tech struck a deal with Apple to build a terascale supercomputing cluster composed of 1,100 dual-processor Mac G5s.
Since this – the 64-bit workstation that has been touted as the fastest personal computer on the planet – is a product for the often-playful Mac community, one wonders whether the first post-research joint press release will be the computation of the subatomic structure of the tobacco leaf proving the existence of Satan, or a betting scandal in which a freshman hacker computes the winning line on every VT football game well into 2005 and makes himself a billionaire.
Further pictures of the monster can be found here
If our reporting has informed or inspired you, please consider making a donation. Every contribution, no matter the size, empowers us to continue delivering accurate, engaging, and trustworthy science and medical news. Independent journalism requires time, effort, and resources—your support ensures we can keep uncovering the stories that matter most to you.
Join us in making knowledge accessible and impactful. Thank you for standing with us!