New 6 teraflop supercomputer unveiled
A six teraflop Terascale supercomputer that will be used for severe-weather forecasting, earthquake modelling and other projects was unveiled recently at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC). The Terascale Computing System was built through a joint effort by the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Westinghouse Electric Co. at the PSC and was developed with Compaq Computer Corp., using funding from the National Science Foundation.
The machine was built from 3,000 Compaq Alpha EV68 microprocessors and is housed in 750 four-processor AlphaServer systems running Tru64 Unix. The machine has six teraflops of processing power, 3TB of memory, and high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnections
Oracle upgrades software for small businesses
In an effort to reach more customers, Oracle Corp. has announced that it has enhanced its software for small businesses. The company said the latest version of its Small Business Suite will now allow small businesses to automate some customer support and sales functions.
Powered by San Mateo, Calif.-based NetLedger Inc., the online service helps companies manage key business operations, such as CRM, ordering, purchasing, inventory and payroll, in a single, integrated system. “This is our most significant release ever,” said Evan Goldberg, president and CEO of NetLedger, in a statement. Goldberg said the suite will give businesses with up to 250 employees some of the same capabilities that NetLedger’s larger customers have.
Vodafone, IBM to provide office suite over GSM
Vodafone U.K. Ltd. is working with IBM Corp. to offer access to Lotus Notes on cell phones using WAP, the companies have announced. Lotus Notes e-mail, calendar and directory access is to be added to Vodafone’s OfficeLive mobile application range, available over digital GSM and GPRS. Corporate customers will be able to give employees access to their in-house Lotus Notes server over the WAP service, the companies said in a statement.
The service will be available at the end of November and two customers have been testing the service for a number of weeks, said Janine Young, Vodafone’s senior press officer. It is too soon to have any feedback on how the trial is going, she said.