Supercomputer to use AMD`s Opteron

A massive supercomputer to be built by Sandia National Laboratories and Cray will use AMD Opteron processors which will be available next year. The decision to use AMD`s Opteron processors is a victory for AMD. Perennial rival Intel also has a "next-generation" server chip called Itanium which AMD is eager to beat in the market.

The supercomputer, to be called "Red Storm" by Sandia, will cost about $90 million to build and will use a host of proprietary Cray technology, a move away from the current trends in supercomputer design. Generally, US supercomputers have been built using standard components in commercially available computers.

Sandia, which does a lot of research work for the US Department of Energy, is aiming to hit 100 trillion operations a second with Red Storm. [Reuters]

Local distributor Drive Control Corporation has released the Zoltrix Cool Disk, a pocket-sized USB portable storage device that can hold the data equivalent of 355 diskettes. The device, which comes in a selection of 128MB, 256MB, 384MB and 512MB sizes, includes a built-in e-mail application so users can send and receive e-mail from any USB-capable and Internet-connected PC.

The company says one feature that makes the Cool Disk unique is the directory system which catalogues files based on known file formats which can then be instantly recognised by compatible software.

The Zoltrix Cool Disk is about the length of an AA battery and includes an erasure-preventing switch, to avoid the risk of accidentally recording over important data.

Microsoft has delayed the introduction of its handheld "home companion" technology, Mira, until the new year, reports CBROnline. The company hoped to introduce the technology, officially known as Windows CE for Smart Displays, in time for its OEM partners to capitalise on the lucrative holiday season.

However, Mira will only be officially launched in the US and Asia early next year and in Europe later in the first quarter. Mira devices are intended as wireless companions to desktop systems, allowing remote access via an 802.11b wireless LAN link to PC-based applications such as word processors, e-mail and the Internet. Each will sport a large LCD colour display, an Intel XScale processor and the Windows CE.Net operating system. [CBROnline]

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