Blog Archive

Parallel HPC Reaches for the Stars

Posted on May 29, 2013 by David Weldon, Contributing Editor, Slashdot Media

High-performance parallel computing is taking off – literally. NASA and the U.S. Air Force have begun development of the Next Generation Space Processor (NGSP). The brain behind future space missions, NGSP will provide a minimum of 24 processor cores to support both highly parallel applications and precise power management, fault …

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Fun with Fractals: Parallel Better than Straight Threads?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Rick Leinecker, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

A lot of technologies — some image processing applications, scenery generators, and biology simulators, to name a few — use fractals as their core. Since fractal technology has been here since about 1975, it seemed high time to conjure some up within the Intel Parallel universe. I started this project …

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New Windows Parallel Dev Environment

Posted on May 22, 2013 by R. Colin Johnson, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

Intel is soliciting Windows workstation and server users to kick the tires on the beta-release of its Windows development environment for the 60-core Xeon Phi coprocessor. Buying a Xeon Phi co-processor card for your Xeon-based workstation or server gets you free access to all Intel’s parallel compilers, profilers, performance analyzers …

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Embedded, Parallel Worlds Converging

Posted on May 20, 2013 by R. Colin Johnson, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

Embedded developers are starting to reap benefits from parallel processing, as so-called intelligent systems gain in popularity and manageability. “Some of the tools we’ve been providing on larger systems are now finding themselves really useful in the embedded world,” explains Herb Hinstorff, Director of Marketing and Sales, Software Developer Products …

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HPC Drives Life Science Research at Texas Supercomputing Center

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Joe Maglitta, Editor, Go Parallel

Life science accounts for a key segment of the 3,000 research scientists in astronomy, biology, chemistry, physics, aerospace engineering, petroleum engineering and geosciences using the Stampede supercomputer system at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at the University of Texas, Austin. “Oscar” Jiao, the center’s life science computing specialist, recently …

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Book Review: “Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessor High-Performance Programming”

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jeff Cogswell, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

  Tackling the complex topic of parallel programming for a high-performance machine such as the Intel Xeon Phi Coprocessor might seem like a terrifying ordeal. But authors Jim Jeffers and James Reinders provide a logical, manageable, and real-world approach to the task. Parallel programming isn’t for the faint of heart. …

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Parallel Thinking: Make Chess More Human

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Rick Leinecker, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

  It is the holy grail of cognitive computing: get software to imitate human brain functioning. Most visionary computer scientists such as Douglas Hofstadter and Ray Kurzweil posit that the ability of humans to think parallel threads is a big part of what makes our cognition function the way it …

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Parallel Prediction Retrains Neural Networks

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Rick Leinecker, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

  Here’s how it usually happens: Neural networks are trained, and an application uses them to make decisions. Unfortunately, this overlooks the real-life fact that circumstances change, invalidating network training. What makes the situation particularly serious is that retraining a network takes time and may not be practical for real-time …

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Programming for Parallel: Start Right, Start Now

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Jeff Cogswell, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

  The Xeon Phi coprocessor might not be inside every computer yet, but eventually it will be common.  Programming for parallel requires some new understanding and approaches. This week Jeff Cogswell gives you some introductory concepts on this game-changing coprocessor. Most of us don’t yet have a Xeon Phi coprocessor …

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New Intel Processor Models Due Soon

Posted on April 29, 2013 by R. Colin Johnson, Slashdot Media Contributing Editor

Intel recently published its internal 2013-2014 roadmap for Xeon processors and Xeon Phi coprocessors.  Based on the chip giant’s official announcements, plus details revealed in its roadmap, here’s what’s upcoming in Atom, Core, Xeon and Xeon Phi.  The big picture: By the end of 2013, all modern Intel processors will …

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