Apple introduce the iPhone 3G and RoadRunner Supercomputer becomes the first machine to perform at speeds of one petaflop a second. All on today’s On This Day from TEST Huddle.
2008 – Apple Introduce iPhone 3G
In the United States, Apple introduces the iPhone 3G. The new model includes features improved faster internet access, better battery life, and GPS functionality. The handset goes on sale for $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) on its release.
2008 – The Roadrunner Supercomputer Lives Up to its name
In the same year, the Roadrunner Supercomputer (built by IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory) becomes the first supercomputer to successfully sustain a speed of one petaflop, one thousand trillion calculations a second. The achievement is notable because the system represents a breakthrough in hybrid computing. The machine is made up of 6,948 standard dual-core AMD Opteron laptop processors along with 12,960 of the IBM Cell Broadband Engine processors (which power the PlayStation 3 console). The Supercomputer was built at a cost of US$100 million. IBM claim that the latency is so small for the computer that it practically calulcates in real time. The Roadrunner’s primary purpose is to run “complex nuclear weaponscalculations” that will allow scientists to judge the reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons without live tests.
Images:Wikipedia
