Date : Mon, 06 Mar 2006 16:43:30 +0000
From : Fragula <fragula@...>
Subject: Re: Warning: Sad case on list!
David Hunt wrote:
> I think that is only for the very rich, hardcore fanatic!
People pay large sums of money (in tens of thousands) to have Cray take
them away.
> I really liked the design of the Cray 1,not a fan of his later creations
> though.
Ahh..
Only beeb-heads could truly beeb heads could truly appreciate the fluid
beauty of greased low latency ECL, the lightening grace of the memory
access subsystem, the inspired geometry of the carefully trimmed bits of
wire.
Windows kids would of course be yelping the benefits of the "Liquid
Nitrogen" cooling system. (*I* know, *I* know. thousands of times..)
Mac addicts would be bleating about how pretty the cabinets are.
> A Cray 1 cabinet should be relatively simple to construct,
Gaaahhhh!
> you could then put a Linux cluster inside it, watercooled, of course -
the whole thing
> was whisper quiet,
There was a sorta "ooooooo" noise, like a cross between tuning fork and
a central heaing pump The PSU's I, more than guess, with 20-20
hindsight, a subtle deep rumble through the building from the rotary
convertors and general Aircon of the building, and a muted, but
noticable, hiss of coolant pumping around the system. (this was
explained at the time by an engineer that was adjusting something below
the seats.)
> if I remember correctly. I went to see one as a kid at
> the Met Office, always wanted one ever since.
The funny thing is, I can't remember where I saw it.. This was way back
when.. probably around 1978/79 or so when I used to travel around a lot.
TBH I wasn't that much interested, It was completely unattainable, thus
irrelevant, as I was not actively engaged in getting my hands on
computers at the time, I was a screamingly unsuccessful "professional"
musician.
But I had a fabulously rich older girlfriend, who loved driving,
sightseeing, and she could talk us into anywhere (some blondes have this
knack)..
For some reason, Filton/Bristol comes to mind, or it could have been
B.A. at Nantgarw (no bloody torremolenos or folk museums for me!) But
mostly we hung along what is now called the M4 Corridor between
Kensington and Cardiff, with weekends in the West Country.
The One i saw was matt black and alloy finshed, the kind of matt black
the Artefact from 2001 was made of, and the kind of alloy that Povray
uses on a good day, and I was (due to the sound and general impression
of *something* in the room) quite careful while taking a turn to sit on
the (notably uncomfortable) seat. particularly as some of the panels
were open, and wires and pipes hanging out.
Its the same sort of feeling you get when sticking your hand near the
sharp end of a live switch mode, but moreso. The sound can't really be
described properly though.. You know that "hair on the back of the neck"
feeling.
When a Spitfire, an E-type, or a Triumph T150 goes bye with the throttle
open? Some, yes. "Hair raising", but less than that, and different. It
has a kinda subdued "howl" to it, and impression of immense power, that
I'm sure was *quite* intentional.
First time seeing Concord lift off on a rainy night? Well quieter than
that, but the "in the presence of" feeling, and also a little like
putting your hand on the bars of an occupied gorilla cage.
Shame I didn't code at the time. It would have been a lot more interesting.
> House is a little small for
> one, have to move to a house than can accommodate a supercomputer
I can't afford another house.. I was planning on sticking the SV-1 (see
previous message) in the garage at my parents house, and getting one of
those UPVC faux-antique conservatories built to house It, the inevitable
SPARC (but probably an Exxxx), the ACW, the PDP-11, a small SGI deskside
for a front end, my existing server for bulk archiving, and maybe an
S390 or somesuch. (Those come up for under a grand from time to time,
and are reckoned to run Linux, among other things, concurrently, anyone
know, as I'v not had the pleasure, yet. Its the one with the stinkpad
built in.)
I would have also used my favourite chair, which broke on friday. :'(
Cheers!
M.