[Beowulf] Redmond is at it, again

[Douglas Eadline, Cluster World Magazine]

On Tue, 25 May 2004, Robert G. Brown wrote:

--snip--
> 
> So the interesting question is "where's the money" in this move.  The
> HPC market hasn't proven to be exactly a get-rich-quick proposition for
> any of the various groups that have prospected in it.

Good question. I believe the move by Microsoft has two logical goals:

1. Enter markets where the return will be good (which is why
   the article points to financial and cycle scavenging
   markets -- these markets make sense for them) 

2. Help mitigate "Linux Creep". I recall a customer who wanted to call 
   their cluster kudzu (a non-indigenous plant brought from Asia to the southern 
   US that grows over everything.)

   It is great name because Linux is like kudzu. In some cases , it is 
   growing all over the data center. It came in the "HPC back door".
   
   The message that "Gee Linux helps us find oil, build airplanes,
   search the genome", adds quite a bit of credibility to the whole
   Linux thing. 

I think we just got legit.

Doug

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