End of an era: Chinese supercomputer fastest on Earth

Skybird · 10-28-10, 06:56 AM

America's historic monopole on building the fastest supercomputers in the world, seems to have come to an end, and probably forever. China's "Tianhe-1A" has surpassed the rated leader of the pack, "Jaguar", by roughly 10% in petaflops, and the developement will not stop there.

On eof many news on it:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/28/c...uter-plans-to/

Just days ago, the Chinese highspeed-train set the new world record for the fastest train on Earth.

However, the times when "made in China" was a synonyme for "poor quality", are coming to an end especially in the high tech branch. They produce many technological gadgets on comparable and sometimes already better quality level, than Wetsern economies - and only at a fraction of Western costs. I read that Apple's iPhone for example would cost 30 times more to produce it in the US, than it does cost to produce in China.

Add to this the latest rare earths-conflict, and the currency war. For decades the Chinese patiently have build what the West derogatorily described as only "soft power", a term that covers trade and economics, diplomatic relations and dependencies in the third world, currency policies. But I believe we have entered a new phase in the game now, where we in the West will learn the hard way that this "soft" power in reality turns out to be hard as iron, and far more decisive than military firepower.

10-28-10, 06:56 AM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,602 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	End of an era: Chinese supercomputer fastest on Earth America's historic monopole on building the fastest supercomputers in the world, seems to have come to an end, and probably forever. China's "Tianhe-1A" has surpassed the rated leader of the pack, "Jaguar", by roughly 10% in petaflops, and the developement will not stop there. On eof many news on it: http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/28/c...uter-plans-to/ Just days ago, the Chinese highspeed-train set the new world record for the fastest train on Earth. However, the times when "made in China" was a synonyme for "poor quality", are coming to an end especially in the high tech branch. They produce many technological gadgets on comparable and sometimes already better quality level, than Wetsern economies - and only at a fraction of Western costs. I read that Apple's iPhone for example would cost 30 times more to produce it in the US, than it does cost to produce in China. Add to this the latest rare earths-conflict, and the currency war. For decades the Chinese patiently have build what the West derogatorily described as only "soft power", a term that covers trade and economics, diplomatic relations and dependencies in the third world, currency policies. But I believe we have entered a new phase in the game now, where we in the West will learn the hard way that this "soft" power in reality turns out to be hard as iron, and far more decisive than military firepower. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.