Gadgetopia

Supercomputing’s New Idea Is Old One: I remember when “Cray” was a name to be revered in the computing world. When Cray (the man) died, the reverence seemed to die with him. Maybe it’s coming back:

For the first 25 years of supercomputing, Mr. Cray’s machines held the title of “faster computer in the world.” But beginning in the late 1980’s, the entire computing world became subject to what became known as the ‘attack of the killer micro.’ Instead of specialized hardware, along the lines of Mr. Cray’s designs, these rival computers rely on microprocessors — with hundreds, and then thousands, and then tens of thousands of microprocessors lashed together to make ever-faster supercomputers.