[ale] I want one!

[jdp at algoloma.com (JD)]

On 08/01/2014 11:33 AM, Jim Kinney wrote:
> Unboxing a Cray supercomputer.
> 
> http://www.itnews.com.au/Gallery/390430,photos-unboxing-the-magnus-supercomputer.aspx/1#pic
> 
> OK. I also want the facility and funding to actually have mine running
> crunching numbers for solving world problems, like, how to maximize the
> beer produced from a dwindling barley supply as the changing climate ruins
> the crop. Or how to genetically modify barley to be grown in arid areas for
> beer production. Or how to reduce the water consumed during beer
> production.
> 
> Hmm. I see a pattern here.



Back in college, I wrote some really inefficient CFD code (FORTRAN) and blew
through the classroom account funny-money on the Cybers over a weekend before a
program was due.  The prof saw that I'd done this and got me a login on the Cray
Y-MP ... which solved the exact same problem in about 20 minutes.  As an
engineer, unfamilar with other computers, I preferred the dual cybers - the MNF
compiler wasn't as picky, so I never used the cray again.

BTW, I attempted to run the same program on MS-Dos - it compiled fine, but kept
running into out-of-memory issues.  Who knew that a compute space of
100Kx100Kx100K with 8 values for every point would tax any computer? ;)

The following week, we were taught to use non-Cartesian space.