Intel Delivers Quasi Quad Core Xeon 5300 Server Chips
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

If you are ever going to take on the dominant volume manufacturer in any sector of the IT business, you have to do two things: Get your product roadmaps out way ahead of that dominant company, and then figure out how to ramp your business as fast as you can. Because when that dominant company slaps back--even if its books have been wounded by you--it is going to slap back very, very hard. Intel has launched 30 processors in 100 days, and that is something of a feat. READ MORE >

Cray Announces XT4, XMT Supercomputers
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

The SuperComputing 2006 show is being held in Tampa, Florida, this week, and supercomputer maker Cray is the first major vendor in the space out the door with new products. And perhaps the two new Cray machines being announced this week--the XT4 and the XMT--will be among the more interesting supercomputers on display, even if they do not dominate the semi-annual Top 500 list of supercomputers that will also come out this week. READ MORE >

Dual-Core Processors Begin Takeover of Top 500 Super Ranking
by Timothy Prickett Morgan

It's the fall, so that means it is time once again for the semi-annual ranking of the Top 500 supercomputer sites in the world. The ranking this time around is timed to coincide with the SuperComputing 2006 show in Tampa, Florida, which started on Saturday. The Top 500 ranking is a kind of leading indicator for server technology. While it is interesting to talk about different architectures, operating systems, and interconnects, perhaps the most significant statistic in this fall's ranking is the increasing use of dual-core processors inside the machines at the largest supercomputing centers in academia, government, and business. READ MORE >

As I See It: The Workplace Politician
by Victor Rozek

Politics is a great tree burdened with rotting fruit, and there's nothing like a recent election to remind us of why it can be so distasteful. If political ads are any measure of gravitas, politics is full of brash sound and feigned fury signifying rudeness. Although politics is associated primarily with governance, the term is also used in the workplace, where it describes the backroom and boardroom decisions that impact employees--often adversely--but have little or nothing to do with the actual running of the business. READ MORE >