[ExI] World’s Biggest Supercomputing Superpowers [INFOGRAPHIC]

[John Clark]

On Sep 21, 2010, at 4:43 PM, Dave Sill wrote:

> but I know and believe enough to say with confidence that it's [The probability that DOD or NSA don't have any supercomputers that aren't listed on the Top 500] high. 

Several of the computers in the top 500 are classified, nobody will say what they are doing or even where they are located, but you are talking about something else, hiding the very existence of a machine, and that runs into problems. If you insist on a totally black project like the Stealth Bomber, or any black project, it will increase the cost by 40 to 50%, it's just a fact of life and it's very difficult to imagine why anybody would do that with conventional supercomputers doubling in power every 18 months unless there was a radical new computer technology, such as Quantum Computers, involved. But if that is the case why would the defense department be spending billions of dollars on regular supercomputers? And yes government agencies can be pretty stupid but its hard to believe they could be so stupid as to have a Singularity producing object like a Quantum Computer in their hands and then just use it for mundane tasks like cracking public code encryption programs.  

>>> I also have inside information, but I'm not at liberty to share it.
> 
>> Then what's the point of mentioning it?
> 
> It might mean something to someone who knows me well enough to know that I know what I'm talking about, or to someone who remembers where I work. I've laid hands on Jaguar, for example.

I know absolutely nothing about you, but if you really are part of a top secret hyper computer project then you have violated your security oath and will certainly get fired from your job and possibly go to prison; certainly a court room will be your home away from home for the next several years. If you are not part of such a project then you're talking through your hat.  

>> Memory chips are commodities, microprocessors are not.
> 
> Jaguar has AMD Opterons. You may not be able to buy them by the pound, but they're readily available.

Rolls-Royce automobiles are readily available too, but they are not a commodity.

> Producing chips is not the same as controlling an industry.

I rather think it does.

> I have no doubt that they could build a fab and clone AMD or Intel CPUs if they really wanted to.

And then build a new fab 2 years later when the old one becomes obsolete.

  John K Clark





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