|
| HPC Market Showdown: GPU Momentum Growing |
While still generally experimental, GPUs have tripled their worldwide footprint in the past two years
Steve Conway
What a difference two years can make in the fast-paced world of HPC technology adoption — a market considerably less risk-averse than its mainstream IT counterpart. IDC’s 2008 worldwide study on HPC processors revealed that nine percent of HPC sites were using some form of accelerator technology in their installed systems. GPGPUs (henceforth to be called GPUs) shared the accelerator habitat back then with FPGAs, Cell processors and a few rarer species. ...continue | | | | New Algorithm May Help Data Centers Better Control Power Costs |
Tackling green data center development challenges
Mike Martin
On the ground or in the cloud, energy consumption can pose costly dilemmas to data center operators looking to maximize revenue and minimize expense. To keep power costs down and paying clients happy, a three-person international research team has developed — and tested — a straightforward yet novel algorithm that optimizes server operations by balancing power with performance. ...continue | | | | Could Power & Cooling Costs Spur a Scientific Migration? |
Recent research shows HPC sites plan expansion despite growing concerns
Steve Conway
A decade ago, power and cooling didn’t make it onto the top 10 list of issues HPC data centers said they were facing. Today, power and cooling consistently ranks among data center managers’ top two or three challenges. What’s changed? ...continue | | |
| Informatics Convergence Presents Opportunities and Challenges |
The future of ELN will require innovative and disruptive thinking
Michael H. Elliott
Technology convergence — it is happening all around us in the consumer world where smartphones consolidate diaries, calendars, messaging systems and phones into a single platform. In the last two years, mobile devices, such as the iPad, have converged most of the smartphone functionality into a thin, mobile — yet simple to use — computing platform. App stores provide the freedom users need to make individual choices of software solutions. No longer do consumers have to be beholden to monolithic applications that are difficult to install, support and use. ...continue | | | | Day of the Iguana: Puerto Rican Road Thrills and Kills |
Randy C. Hice
Web Exclusive
At first, my business trip to Puerto Rico had all of the hallmarks of a roaring disaster. To start, the only airline that could deliver me to the Isla Del Encanto in a reasonable time frame was the redoubtable AirTran Airways, whose precursor company, ValueJet, in 1996, managed to auger a plane into the Everglades with 110 people aboard. So poisoned was the brand name that ValueJet was forced to merge with the smaller AirTran just so passengers would cross the jet way to unknowingly throw the dice one more time. ...continue | | | | ELN Authentication |
Navigating a Sea of Options
Michael H. Elliott
In an increasingly electronic R&D world, data must be stored securely for privacy, intellectual property protection, quality, regulatory, and for competitive reasons. As organizations move from controlled paper notebooks to an open and collaborative ELN work environment, there are record management risks that must be addressed. Valuable intellectual property can be subject to theft, and databases are susceptible to data-altering malware and hackers. An organization must have consistent, audited and proven record management practices that are enforced across the entire spectrum of their R&D operations. ...continue | | |
| STATISTICA 10: The Power of Statistics and Data Mining Simplified |
User base broadens from scientists and engineers to business and social science areas
John A. Wass, Ph.D.
Web Exclusive
In the past, I have extolled STATISTICA 10 statistical software for its ability to cover just about any type of test the user may need. Now, the product line consists of bits and pieces of the whole for special applications and/or limited needs. The new Data Miner product contains all of the routine and advanced statistical tests, as well as a number of very sophisticated mining routines. All of this is still wrapped in a very straightforward and, in my opinion, simple user interface. Although some of the nomenclature will be unfamiliar to the new user, much of it is still intuitive, and the developers have done their homework in keeping the learning curve gentle. ...continue | | | | The UnscramblerX: Still a Remarkable Niche Product |
This intelligent engine borders upon data mining, as it cuts through prediction and classification problems
John A. Wass, Ph.D.
What’s so remarkable about it? Well, for one, it was originally geared to chemical engineers, but is now used by a wide spectrum of chemists. The package is remarkable for its choice of tools, namely experimental design (DOE) and multivariate statistics. It does a good job of both, and the developers have added many new features (this is NOT your father’s version 9.2!). As with most software, it has its own way of doing things and takes a little getting used to. However, with a little practice, the routines get easier and the learning curve is not steep. ...continue | | | | Origin Automation |
An extremely flexible tool for acquiring, processing and displaying data
John R. Joyce, Ph.D.
Origin 8.5.1 is a full-featured data analysis and graphing package that has been the target of previous reviews in Scientific Computing. Here, we will take a more in-depth look at the many automation features to be found in both Origin and OriginPro. These include several different ways of automating its internal processes, ways for it to control external processes and ways for external processes to control it. In the following text, we will examine these capabilities and some of the ways in which they can be used, as well as constructing examples illustrating some of the approaches to go about doing it. ...continue | | |
|
| Wrapping Up Some Eclectic Holiday Gifts |
John R Joyce, Ph.D.
Web Exclusive
Somehow it has just gone from August to Halloween and events show no sign of slowing down. That can only mean that it is once again time for Scientific Computing's annual holiday gift guide to make its appearance. In a valiant attempt to maintain the quality of this guide we have searched high and low for the most amusing, entertaining and educational gifts we could find. No matter who you are searching for a gift for, there should be something here that matches the most eclectic tastes. ...continue | | |
|
