Microsoft, Cray Unleash $25K Mainstream Supercomputer

Impulse buyers, lock your credit cards in a drawer when you're browsing Amazon.com: You might end up purchasing a $25,000 compact supercomputer on a whim.

In an effort to make supercomputers mainstream, Microsoft and Cray teamed up to produce the Cray CX1, the "most affordable super computer Cray has ever offered." Unveiled Tuesday morning, the CX1 will run a new version of Microsoft Windows on either 32 or 64 Intel cores, and the desktop will carry 4 terabytes of storage, according to a GigaOM story.

By making the CX1 compact and affordable (relatively speaking) the two companies are hoping to make supercomputers accessible to a broad user group, including industry professionals and designers. In the past, supercomputers have primarily been designed and priced for scientific researchers, universities and military agencies.

And to make the desktop even more friendly to consumers, you'll be able to order this behemoth online just like any ordinary computer, says Windows Server blogger Tina Couch.

"It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon.com," Couch wrote. "Customers can go online, order the CX1 system using a configurator, and pay with credit card. If that’s not making supercomputing mainstream, I don’t know what is."

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You May Get Your Stolen Nokia N96 Back!

The Nokia N96 is definitely not an iPhone killer. It misses all the key elements which make the iPhone one of the most desired devices. Still, the new Nokia N96 has guts to keep Nokia fans indifferent to the mighty iPhone. The N96 is the first ever mobile device to offer a memory size of 16GB that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, allowing consumers to store hours of media and be entertained on the go. First shipments of the N96 have started and it will be available at an MRP of Rs 34,999 from 16 September 2008.
The N96 is also the first ever mobile device to come preloaded with Wave Secure, a S60 security application that allows consumers not just to track their handset in the event it is lost or stolen, but also to create a backup for the phone data via Internet. This is an application being offered exclusively to consumers in India.

The application also allows consumers to secure everything on the device wirelessly. One can save and create a back up of all data (contacts, SMS, call logs and calendar entries) through the Internet. Additionally, in case the phone gets lost or stolen, WaveSecure helps remotely wipe out all data from the device to prevent misuse, lock the device remotely and even track any new SIM card inserted.

If updated, the massive 24GB (16+8) memory of the N96 can store up to 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images at 5 megapixel, up to 60 hours of video or 20 full-length movies. Equipped with multifunctional media keys and a 2.8-inch screen, the N96 offers music, movies, games and more at the touch of a button. To make playing, watching, listening or experiencing the content even more enjoyable, the Nokia N96 features a 'kickstand' on the back cover that allows for hands-free viewing.

The N96 allows DVD-like quality video capture at 30 frames per second. One can also find, play and queue favourite tracks on the go with the most advanced music player. For a superb music experience, the Nokia N96 features media keys, a 3.5 mm headphone connector and built-in 3D stereo speakers. The N96 also enables game enthusiasts to compete with friends from the palm of their hands. Users can enter the N-gage arena and challenge the world to a wide array of games or even blog about their favourite games and chat online with other gamers.

Well, if you are not happy with the iPhone, here is Nokia N96.

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HP Laptops Can Run 24 Hours, Without Power

You always need a power socket close enough to keep your laptop charged, if you are a power user. But what if your laptop can last a full 24 hours on a single charge? While most of the laptops offer two-three hours of backup, 24-hour mark is like powering it with nuclear fuel. No, HP is yet not using Uranium in its laptops, but yes, HP has announced an unprecedented milestone in mobile computing: up to 24 hours of continuous notebook operation on a single battery charge.

As measured by an industry-standard benchmark, the new HP EliteBook 6930p configured with an optional ultra-capacity battery delivers up to 24 hours of battery runtime.

“All-day computing has been the holy grail of notebook computing,” said Ted Clark, senior vice president and general manager, notebook global business unit, HP. “With the HP EliteBook 6930p, customers no longer have to worry about their notebook battery running out before their work day is over.”

The initial ENERGY STAR-qualified HP EliteBook 6930p configuration starts at only 4.7 pounds (2.1 kilograms). It features a 14.1-inch diagonal widescreen display and is available with an optional, mercury-free Illumi-Lite LED display. Designed and tested to last, HP batteries benefit from a combination of HP engineering and energy-efficient notebook components such as Intel solid-state hard drives (SSD) and mercury-free LED displays. For example, the highly efficient HP Illumi-Lite LED display boosts battery run time by up to four hours compared to traditional LCD displays, while the Intel SSD provides up to a seven per cent increase in battery life compared to traditional hard drives.

With up to 24 hours of battery life, business travellers can easily use an HP EliteBook 6930p continuously on the world’s longest scheduled commercial airline flight – linking Newark Liberty International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport – approximately 18 hours, 40 minutes. You can take more than 10 trips on the EuroStar train between London and Paris – approximately two hours, 15 minutes each direction – before recharging the battery. And, travel as a passenger by car from Maine to Florida using a notebook during the entire journey.

Inspired by aircraft construction and designed for style-conscious mobile professionals, HP EliteBook notebooks feature the latest mobile technologies. In October, customers will be able to purchase an HP EliteBook with the new Intel high-performance SSDs – HP is a launch customer for new Intel X25-M and X18-M Mainstream SATA SSDs.

In addition to helping achieve outstanding battery life, these new Intel SSDs provide greater durability and reliability as well as faster system responsiveness, HP said. Internal HP benchmarks show overall performance boosts of up to 57 per cent on industry benchmarks, and data transfer rates almost six times faster than traditional hard disks.

“Intel architected its new line of high-performance solid-state drives specifically to bring a new level of performance and reliability to the computing platform and make significant impact to the way people use their PCs,” said Randy Wilhelm, vice president and general manager, NAND Products Group, Intel. “The HP milestone is an example of the impact of this new level of performance that specifically delivers on lower power consumption for longer battery life.”

Well! the new HP EliteBook 6930p is a true companion for corporate road warriors. But Dell won't fall behind its competitor. They will soon be breaking this record -- so watch out for the battery warfare.

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Google Chrome's open-source ally: Microsoft

During Google's launch of its Chrome Web browser, the company went out of its way to acknowledge the debt it owes two open-source projects, Firefox and WebKit. But Microsoft, an uncommon ally in the open-source realm, might also deserve a tip of the hat.


After some digging through the Chrome source code, Scott Hanselman, a senior programming manager for Microsoft, found that the browser uses an open-source Microsoft project called the Windows Template Library, software for building a Windows user interface. (It uses an abstraction layer so other interface software can be employed on other operating systems.)

On its open-source Chromium site, Google lists WTL 8.0 as included third-party software.

Microsoft, while keeping its crown jewels proprietary, has been lurking around the fringes of the open-source realm for years now. Open-source software may be moved freely from one project to another; though license particulars sometimes erect barriers, both Chrome and WTL use relatively liberal licenses.

There's a bit more intrigue with some other Microsoft technology, though. For security technology called Data Execution Prevention, which can help block various forms of attacks, Google also apparently used an undocumented interface from Microsoft to get the feature working in Windows XP SP2.

Microsoft's Arun Kishan said the interface is "undocumented and unsupported" and "initially only intended for our own use" on a Microsoft forum posting. Using such APIs (application programming interfaces) can get software into trouble, because operating system companies offer no guarantees future software will support them, so upgrades can break compatibility.

And to get the technology working, Google said it disassembled the source code of Windows Vista--in other words, the company extracted the operating system's low-level instructions from the Vista binary. Disassembly is one form of reverse-engineering.

Google spotlighted its move in a comment in the Chrome source code: "Completely undocumented from Microsoft. You can find this information by disassembling Vista's SP1 kernel32.dll with your favorite disassembler."

The software takes the high road if possible, according to another comment: "Try documented ways first. Only available on Vista SP1 and Windows 2008."

Google didn't immediately comment on the move.

Matt Asay, a Mac user and an executive at open-source firm Alfresco, pines for a Mac version of Chrome, suggesting that leading off with Windows may have been a "strategic error" even if the Windows Template Library made it easier to get the Windows version out first. "It might make sense to aim for the mainstream (i.e., corporate IT, which would get the most benefit from an JavaScript-optimized Web browser), but the mainstream isn't in the habit of trying out the latest and greatest," Asay said.

Google's not dumb, though: there are plenty of programmers and early adopters using Windows, even if the cutting-edge crowd might be proportionally larger with Mac OS X or Linux. Besides, making headway in today's browser wars will take more than a few months and one beta version, and the Mac OS X and Linux versions of Chrome are under development.

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HP to cut 24,600 jobs worldwide

US technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) said today it would cut 24,600 jobs worldwide over the next three years as part of its integration with computer services firm Electronic Data Systems.

The world-leading computer maker bought the Texas-based business services outsourcing titan EDS in August as part of a $US13.9 billion ($A17.5 billion) deal aimed at creating a global powerhouse in computer services to compete against IBM.

The workforce reduction is intended to "streamline the combined company's services businesses", and once complete is expected to "result in annual cost savings of approximately $US1.8 billion ($A2.2 billion)," HP said in a statement

The job cuts would allow HP "to restructure the EDS business group to streamline costs, invest in growth and drive shareholder value."

About 7.5 per cent of the combined workforce would be affected, with about half of the cuts taking place in the United States, HP said.

In May, HP inked a deal to buy EDS for $US25 per share. After approval by shareholders as well as US and foreign regulators, the acquisition was finalised last month.

The new HP services includes annual revenues of more than $US38 billion ($A47.7 billion) and 210,000 employees, operating in more than 80 countries.

Northern California-based HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with massive data centres and experience in business computing hardware that analysts said would mesh well with the expertise EDS has in outsourcing technical services for companies.

The acquisition more than doubles HP's outsourcing services business, which will be aggressively marketed particularly in Europe and the Americas, company officials have said.

EDS says on its website that it founded the information technology outsourcing industry in 1962 and is now a multibillion-dollar company handling services for banks, hospitals, shops, energy producers and other firms.

Services EDS handles range from call-in centres and financial transaction processing to "desktop outsourcing" in which EDS provides firms with employee computers and refreshes models every few years.

At the time the deal was announced, analysts said HP was expected to impose its fiscal discipline on EDS and consolidate the outsourcing firm's estimated 180 data service centres worldwide.

EDS was founded by Ross Perot, who became a billionaire and US presidential candidate, by paying an incorporation fee of 1,000 dollars and buying unused computer time at an insurance company to process data for other firms, according to a company history.

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