Measuring how fast computers really are

Article Abstract:

Discovering the speed of a scientific or technical computer is not always an altogether straightforward matter. Manufacturers tend to select performance numbers that make their own products seem especially fast. And the situation is made more complicated because new computers often are built to do 'parallel processing,' so that such machines employ many processors arranged in an architecture that is not comparable to the architecture of an older or a different machine. Many programs have been written to determine benchmarks, but such programs are often based on different assumptions and they measure different things. Some manufacturers even include 'recognizer' modules in their computers, which are programs that speed performance during benchmark runs. Some computer scientists want to ban recognizers. One program that works well because it measures various aspects of a computer's performance is Slalom, developed by John Gustafson, a mathematician at Ames Laboratory. Another good set of tests is Perfect Benchmarks, which was developed at the Center for Supercomputing Research and Development at the University of Illinois.

Usage, Computers, Digital computers, Standard, Standardization, Processor architectures, Supercomputers, Authorship, Supercomputer, Benchmarks, Benchmarking, Speed, Workstations (Computers), Benchmark, Workstations, Performance Measurement, Processor Architecture, Illinois, University of (Urbana-Champaign). National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Gustafson, John, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). National Center for Supercomputing Applications

---

Harnessing hundreds of computers to improve speed and efficiency

Article Abstract:

Researchers in the US and Europe are working on software that would harness the power of hundreds or thousands of computers. The aim is 'one user, many computers,' and the research focuses on operating systems. Specifically, the goal is to develop an operating system that is sophisticated enough to handle multitudes of commands simultaneously, automatically assigning tasks to processors in a network that are the fastest at a particular task or are least busy. Thus, a desktop computer would function as a window onto a world containing various specialized systems such as parallel computers, data base computers, graphics computers or supercomputers. Andrew S. Tanenbaum, a researcher in Amsterdam, who is working on an operating system called Amoeba, has bold views of the future of computing.

Prepackaged software, Computer networks, Software, Product development, Operating systems (Software), Forecasts and trends, Technological forecasting, Operating systems, Distributed processing (Computers), Distributed computing, Virtual computer systems, Virtual machines, Network architectures, column, Operating System, Network Architecture, Future of Computing, Distributed Systems, Distributed Processing, Transparency, Tanenbaum, Andrew S.

---

Control Data allowed to sell 6 computers to Soviet Union

Article Abstract:

The United States Department of Commerce awards Control Data Corp an export license, allowing the firm to ship six mainframe computers to the Soviet Union. The six computers will be used to monitor safety factors at Soviet nuclear power plants. The sale price of the computers is $32 million. The contract is the first completed under the newly relaxed government export restrictions that were ratified in June 1990. According to experts in the area, the computers pose no threat to US military security.

Purchasing, Laws, regulations and rules, International trade, Mainframe computers, Soviet Union, United States. Department of Commerce, Technology transfer, Mainframe Computer, Government Regulation, Control Data Corp., CDA, Sales Contracts

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Moneysworth posts quarter loss, record sales. Brazil, Canada edge closer to trade war. Canada agrees to Caribbean trade talks
• Abstracts: How the computer became personal. Comdex, the Computer Show, Canceled for Lack of Interest. Microsoft's game plan: Xbox to go head to head with Sony
• Abstracts: The hologram computers of tomorrow. Megabytes and floppy disks snare novices in an older generation; computers allow the elderly broader communications
• Abstracts: Making computers a million times faster: new efforts to work with superconductors. U.S. is urged to make major computer effort
• Abstracts: Apple faces challenge to its role as innovator. Executives of Apple and I.B.M. discuss a new tie

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.