"Xserves" among top supercomputers

Five of the world's top 500 supercomputers are based on Apple's Xserve technology, according to a new report. The twenty-seventh listing of the semi-annual Top 500 of the world's fastest supercomputers shows that Apple's aging Xserve line is still strong, but slipping a bit. The list was released just ahead of speculation that Apple is prepping an update to its Xserve line that would bring Intel's new Xeon "Woodcrest" processors to the line of professional servers. Macworld UK reports that each of the five Xserve-based systems have fallen slightly in the rankings with ground-breaking Apple clusters such as Colsa's Mach 5, down 6 spots from 15th position in last November's list to No. 21. In addition, Virginia Tech's System X, now in 28th place, is down from No. 20 six months ago and No. 14 last June, according to the report.
The University of Illinois' Turing system is now listed as the 114th fastest supercomputer, down from its No. 85 ranking, while the University of California's Dawson features is now No. 462 (down from No. 303) and Bowie State University's Xseed is ranked No. 468 (was No. 304). The report notes that Intel processors are used in the largest number of systems in the listing (301), while IBM's PowerPC-based Power processors--similar but not the same as the PowerPC chips found Apple's Xserve--are used in 84 systems. AMD's Opteron processors are No. 3 with 81 systems using the Intel-alternative CPU.

Macworld UK notes that the top position was once again claimed by the BlueGene/L System, a joint development of IBM and DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration. The supercomputer has held the number one position for the last 18 months on three different Top 500 lists.

Apple Replaces the $899 iMac from eMac

Apple today introduced a new $899 iMac made specifically for the education market. Replacing Apple's last CRT computer--the eMac--the education-only configuration has a 17-inch widescreen display and a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor, featuring many of the same components, such as 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 24x Combo drive, 80GB hard drive, built-in iSight and wireless networking, microphone, and speakers; however, the new iMac ships with the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics chipset instead of the usual, dedicated (and more powerful) ATI X1600 found the consumer versions of the new iMac Core Duo. The new education-only iMac configuration ($899) is available immediately from the educational Apple store.
Apple also announced that the eMac will no longer be in production and is available for purchase while supplies last through the Apple Store for Education and that it will showcase the 17-inch iMac and its complete line of products and solutions for education at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Diego... -Macnn.com