Updated - January 18, 1996 7122 ) AS HPC UNDERGOES A METAMORPHOSIS, WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM HPC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES? Author and research coordinator: Norris Parker Smith This special report, available exclusively from Tabor-Griffin Communications, focuses heavily on three primary fronts: in-depth interviews with key HPC personalities worldwide, a user-perspective redefinition of the boundaries of market forecasts about HPC worldwide, and a comprehensive survey of HPCwire readers. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\///////////////////////////////////////// H P C w i r e The Text-on-Demand E-zine for High Performance Computing *** Jan. 19, 1996: Vol. 5, No. 2 Circulation: 17,994 *** This Week's Table of Contents Represents 124 Pages of Text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Article Retrieval instructions at end of this file more@hpcwire.tgc.com For a free 4-week trial subscription, e-mail trial@hpcwire.tgc.com -------------------- * -------------------- 7115 ) New Special Series in Parallel Computing Magazine focuses on APPLICATIONS _______________________________ IN THIS ISSUE _____________________________ | | | 8198 ) FEATURES: Q&A SESSION EXAMINES FINE POINTS OF NEW NSF HPC PROGRAM | | 8202 ) SCIENCE NEWS: SEISMOLOGIST PINPOINTS L.A.'S RUPTURE ZONES | | 8207 ) NEWS BRIEFS: MIPS/SGI READY TO SHIP R10000 | |___________________________________________________________________________| * * * S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T * * * 1995 Presidents' Letters 7119 ) SILICON GRAPHICS INC.'s Vice President Dave Orton comments on seizing leadership in the High Performance Computing market in 1996. 7123 ) DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION's year-end letter from Vice President of Digital's AlphaServer Business Pauline Nist 7124 ) HPCwire's Publisher Thomas Tabor discusses metamorphosis as it applies to High Performance Computing and HPCwire. FEATURES ===================================================================== 8198 ) NEW NSF PROGRAM EXPECTED TO OFFER FLEXIBILITY IN SUPERCOMPUTING...7.45K by Alan Beck, associate editor In an exclusive question and answer session with HPCwire, National Science Foundation representatives discuss the new Partnerships for Advanced Scientific Computing program which will replace and augment the existing Supercomputer Centers program. 8199 ) SUN STRESSES SOFTWARE AND ULTRA II IN NEW PUSH ON HPC.............11.0K Commentary by Norris Parker Smith, editor at large Sun plans to deploy its forthcoming Ultra II dual-processor chip, its mature Solaris OS, improved graphics, experience in multiprocessor technology, and an emphasis on clustering to mount a stepped-up assault on the formidable competition in the technical sector. 8200 ) PETASITES AND MAINSTREAM MARKETS PROPEL SONY TO NEW LEVEL.........9.61K Commentary by Michael Erbschloe, contributing editor Propelled by a future of ultra-large storage needs in mainstream as well as high-performance computing markets and buoyed by the breadth and depth of its digital product lines, Sony pursues continued success. 8201 ) HITS & HISSES: NO TOMBSTONE FOR CONVEX -- AND MORE................7.59K Compiled by Norris Parker Smith, editor at large Convex displays a graduation certificate, not a tombstone. Plus several cheers for humor, a correction, and a report on the heaviest element in the periodic table, discovered during the Great Blizzard of 1996. SCIENCE & ENGINEERING NEWS 8202 ) SEISMOLOGISTS ZERO IN ON L.A. BASIN'S MOST VULNERABLE SPOTS.......3.42K by Alan Beck, associate editor Using MIT's nCUBE2 supercomputer with all 512 microprocessors and 2 GBytes of RAM for number-crunching, U.C. Santa Barbara scientists predict which areas in the Los Angeles Basin are most vulnerable to earthquake damage. 8203 ) PARTNERSHIPS EXPECTED TO LEAD TO IMPROVED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT....5.70K Partnerships between the Environmental Molecular Sciences Library and San Diego Supercomputer Center, National Energy Research Supercomputing Center and the Maui High Performance Computing Center are expected to yield software for use in solving some of science's most complex problems. COMMERCIAL NEWS 8204 ) TESSERA EXPLORES MORE COST-EFFECTIVE DATAMINING STRATEGIES........3.47K by Alan Beck, associate editor Eight-month-old systems integrator Tessera Enterprise Systems has discovered that the use of parallelism during initial modeling assists in the extraction of maximum possible accuracy for minimum outlay. 8205 ) MERCHANTS COMPANIES MIGRATE TO PAPERLESS STORAGE..................1.32K Tandem's Himalaya and the Tandem Image Processing System were key components of Merchants' migration to paperless storage of the more than 20,000 new records its subsidiaries generate every day. 8206 ) AMDAHL & ICL SERVICE BRINGS MPP DATA DISCOVERY TO RETAIL SECTOR...1.68K ICL's Goldrush MegaServer, scalable to 64 SPARC-based processors that can handle up to 3 terabytes of data, is the foundation for PrecisionRetailing, an Amdahl and ICL collaboration aimed at serving retailers. QUOTE OF THE WEEK ============================================================ 8198 ) "Let's say you and I were academic institutions. If I were going to be holding the NSF cooperative agreement, I'd have better toys than you." -- Beth Gaston, NSF Public Affairs Officer ___________________________INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT______________________________ | | | 7122 ) AS HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING UNDERGOES A METAMORPHOSIS, | | WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM HPC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES? | | Author and Research Coordinator Norris Parker Smith | | 7113 ) Berkeley Laboratory Offers Wide Range of Career Opportunities | | 7114 ) Quarterdeck InternetSuite: Everything You Need for the Internet | | 7120 ) Are You Looking for High Performance Computing Professionals? | | 7121 ) Bernhardt Agency Seeks Public Relations Account Executives | | __________________________________________________________________________| NEWS BRIEFS ================================================================== 8207 ) MIPS/SGI Is About to Ship R10000 Chip, Plans 275 MHz Version....4.89K 8208 ) Sears, Seeking Competitive Edge, Joins NCSA Industrial Program..1.90K 8209 ) Intergraph Sets Sights on High-End Animation Market.............1.84K 8210 ) Australian National University Orders Fujitsu VPP300............3.16K 8211 ) Clariion, Oracle and NEC Demonstrate 2.5 TB Decision Support....3.53K 8212 ) Oracle7 Release 7.3 Achieves 5,124 tpmC on SPARCcenter 2000E....1.31K 8213 ) Newbridge Expands China Digital Data Network to 31 Provinces....1.56K 8214 ) Nortech and Cray Research Halt Machining Center Negotiations....1.40K 8215 ) Network Appliance Will Host Net Debate on Server Architecture...3.49K SHORT TAKES 8216 ) Product Watch: DEC's PCI Bus Memory Channel Interconnect........15.3K 8217 ) Financial Update: Silicon Graphics & IBM Post Quarterly Profits.8.87K 8218 ) Corporate Liaisons: Sun Certified by Oracle Warehouse Program...3.90K 8219 ) People & Promotions: SDSC Research Fellow Pens "Takedown" Book..7.13K JOB BANK ===================================================================== 667) Employment Opportunities.........................................1.80K From: Berkeley Laboratory, IBM, The Bernhardt Agency, Batelle Pacific, Tessera 604) Job Bank Rates and Regulations..................................1.22K CONFERENCES ================================================================= 2888 ) Calendar of Upcoming HPC Events (Updated Jan. 18)..............7.74K HPCwire INFORMATION ========================================================= 7000) Subscription Information/Get On-Off Mailing List/Letters to the Editor Back Issue Index/Masthead, Email Contacts, Submission Tips.......1.23K ______________________H P C w i r e S P O N S O R S______________________ | Full background information on all Sponsoring Companies | | | | 915) Genias Software 905) MAXIMUM STRATEGY | | 934) Convex Computer Corp. 930) HNSX Supercomputers 916) MasPar Computer | | 921) Cray Research Inc. 902) IBM Corp. 932) Portland Group | | 909) Fujitsu 904) Intel Corp. 935) Silicon Graphics | | 936) Sony 937) Digital Equipment| |__________________*Updated information within last 30 days_________________| *** LAST ISSUE'S MOST REQUESTED ITEMS FROM HPCwire *** 7122 ) AS HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING UNDERGOES A METAMORPHOSIS, WHAT DO USERS WANT FROM HPC PRODUCTS AND SERVICES? 8168 ) THE TERMITE: INTEL'S PENTIUM PRO STRATEGY FOR HPC.................11.9K 7118 ) INTEL'S ENTERPRISE SYSTEM GROUP'S Dave House, V.P. & General Manager, discusses the changes in the high performance computing industry. 7117 ) CRAY RESEARCH INC.'s J. Phillip Samper, Chairman and CEO, looks back on a year of major achievements, in collaboration with an expanding family of customers and strategic partners. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~