Hear the buzz?
Built-in cooling
pipes will keep
IBM’s new Blue
Waters supercomputer running
smoothly.
Sandia National Laboratory’s effort,
dubbed X-caliber, will attempt to further
limit data shu;ing with something called
smart memory, a form of data storage with
rudimentary processing capabilities. Performing simple calculations without moving data out of memory consumes an order
of magnitude less energy than today’s
supercomputers. “We move the work to the
data rather than move the data to where
the computing happens,” Murphy says.
Intel’s project, called Runnemede, is
wringing more efficiency from its system
using innovative techniques that selectively
reduce or turn o; power to individual components, says Josep Torrellas, a computer
scientist at the University of Illinois who
is an architect with the team. He and his
colleagues are designing chips with about
;,;;; processors arranged in groups whose
voltage can be controlled independently, so
that each group receives only what it needs
at a given moment.
COUR TESY NCSA
Graphics chip maker ;;;;;; leads a
third research thrust, called Echelon, which
builds on the capabilities of the company’s
graphics-processing chips. Such processors
consume just one-seventh as much energy
per instruction as a conventional proces-
sor, according to architecture director Ste-
phen Keckler. ;e graphics chips e;ciently
execute many operations at once, in con-
trast to traditional processors that perform
one at a time as quickly as possible. The
Echelon team plans to combine its graph-
ics processors with standard processors
so that their computer can automatically
choose the most appropriate combination
for the task at hand.
The display screen shows how many
corks you can pull before re-charging.
The compact design is up to 3 inches
shorter than other electric corkscrews.
The recessed spiral fits neatly over a
wine bottle. The Electric Rabbit has
plenty to be abuzz about.
It’s about the
new Electric Rabbit.
Where To Go Electric Rabbit Hunting:
Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Bloomingdales,
Dillards, Bon Ton, Carson Pirie Scott,
Sur La Table, Chef’s Catalog, Spec’s,
Le Gourmet Chef, KitchenKapers.com,
Total Wine & More, BevMo!
