Gizmodo
The Air Force has bought 300 PlayStation 3s for "research." Whether "research" means "let's play a massive Call of Duty 4 game" or "let's start building SkyNet with 300 PlayStation 3 nodes" or "let's create a giant black mecha with Blu-ray lasers" is yet to be seen. According to the Air Force, they need the cell processors for assessment:
The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors. The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.
So in case you have 300 PS3 that just fell from a truck, here is the order:
The contractor shall provide the following items on a firm fixed price basis:Item 1: Sony PlayStation 3 Game Console - 40 GB Hard Drive
Qty: 300
Sony Part Number 98006
The estimated delivery date is 30 days after receipt of award. The place of delivery, acceptance, and FOB destination point is F4HBL1/Transportation Depot 2, 148 Electronic Parkway, Rome, NY 13441-4516.
I wonder if Transportation Depot 2 is where they store the lost arks and dead aliens with the spaceships. [Air Force via Hushed Casket]
Comments
wow.. that's allot of playstations
I'd say that they are going to try and build a supercomputer out of them, but not because they need another supercomputer. It would be easier for them to call IBM and get a Blue Gene box if they wanted to do that. As far as I know, the US Airforce has a pretty good cyberwarfare division. I'd say they are going to try and build a supercomputer out of them to see how feasible it would be for an unfriendly nation or terrorist organisation to do the same. This was one of the fears that was raised back when the PS2 was released and Iraq was trying to get a bunch of them.
@nimblesquirrel: You're wrong buddy. I'm guessing Ace Combat 6 is coming to the PS3, and they'll be putting their pilots to the test. They tried with the 360 version, but all those RRoD's just caused too many crash & burns.
Ok. Maybe I'm wrong too.
@FIRST!!!: Yeah, because they're playing Warhawk instead. :D
They probably want to test the processors to integrate them into either a new product or an update to an existing one. Just one more technology they can take advantage of without the huge costs of R&D. They will probably strip them down and put the processors in some novel computer system. These processors really are very powerful.
Maybe they should use game consoles and mod them for simluations, from the sims I have seen, the graphics look like 12 year old arcade games. The PS2 would have been a visual improvement on them.
eather that our sue them to do encryption testing - these are readly avalable and can have linux put on them so the theory that it could be a chakers bestriend are quite high.
My guess is they're going to test them for embedding in planes. The parallel setup of the Cell would make it uniquely suited for controlling multiple high-priority systems.
Also if it's a long flight you can play some Blu-rays up ins.
I hear it's for the down time between jumps. You know, you can only send one team through the Stargate at a time.
I wonder why they don't just get them from Sony. I'm sure buying 300 units would net a nice discount, and Sony's likely anxious to play nice with the government.
@Discosis: except the US isnt Sony's government.........
Lucky they didn't need 300 Wii's, because they'd be SOL.
@izim1: But Sony is a multinational, and the US is a major market.
300 early retirement gifts.
I was going to make some guess based on the fact that Rome NY is where the Air Force Information Directorate is.
But then I got distracted by how creepy "Information Directorate" sounds.
Who else is getting that funny feeling that maybe the AF isn't exactly going to be using these PS3s for research and instead for "research"?
"Yeah, yeah I love Crimmby. Can I have some more bumper stickers please, dude? -- Alright, the mummy's ready for his mystical journey!"
300?! THIS IS MADNESS!
it's more than likely these units will just end up in Air Force boot camp barracks in place of the ping pong tables..... I mean lets be honest Air Force boot camp is not exactly hard core training...
and before any AF Fanboys get all pissy you know I'm right
all your ace combats are belong to us now!
Gah! Dammit, I left AFRL too soon!
Now I have to get by with just one PS3. I may have to go back to my old job...
Interesting lesson in the economics of cross subsidies in the gaming industry, 150 IBM QS21 blades with 2 cells each and no graphics would cost 1.5 Million at list price not counting the blade chassis and other infrastructure. 300 PS3 consoles at MSRP is 120K.
I think they are going to install them in Air Force One.
Research... HA! Almost had me fooled for a second there.
THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
and in other news, the USAF is building a supercomputer out of 300 playstation 3 gaming consoles.... :D
what are they going to do with all those motostorm and spiderman 3 discs? did the contract specify ceramic white?
Why didn't they just buy the cell processors by them selfs? like Big Viper said those are going in the rec room
why doesn't anyone think that a few guys in the military just want to play Ratchet and Clank? Why does it have to be subversive?
Why do they need a contractor just to buy some PS3s? Just go to BestBuy...or better yet, order it from Amazon shipped free and TAX FREE!!!
It's kinda fun that the US buys computers for its army to a japanease company (yeah remember WWII?)
The military prefers Japanese technology over American's own XBOX 360, which side are they really on? That's our tax money!
@P3nnst8r:
Madness?? THIS IS SPARTA!!!!
apparently the break rooms at HQ is still outfitted with SNES consoles, they want to upgrade the consoles, and get blu-ray support in one blow.
I only have 2 nipples, but I have 300 PS3s.
Actually - I'm impressed_ They spent money on a cheaper system than if they'd gone out and purchased 300 PC based Towers with Quality Processors [no Sempron or Celeron]_
As recent news is showing how powerful the Cell-Processor is and that the PS3 is being used for many things beyond merely a game console_
The Folding@Home Project Statistics and
an NC State University Researcher built a cluster of PS3s instead of Server Blades to do the same calculations on the cheap_
I'm sure they [the Air Force] didn't pay retail but even at the cost of retail - it still comes out cheaper in the long run_
They probably got them thinking maybe the PS3 would be able to finally hack the computers in the Alien Ships they have at Area 51_
@Noobs-R-Us: They are going to get it tax free anyway seeing as how it's a government agency - duh!
Also - They are probably buying them whole-sale and not retail - hence the 3rd party vendor - but why they don't buy directly from Sony is unknown_
Target and Best Buy are in business to make money and they would not resell to someone at whole-sale pricing - as they'd lose time and operating cost in being a middle man - since they already buy products whole-sale_ In this case the Aire Force is acting as direct semi-competitor to Target and BB buying from the supply chain_
i wonder what they are doing with all the 300 spider-man 3s.
And they just made Skynet come earlier.
@BigViper: I'll not argue that Basic Training in the Air Force is easier than the rest. But give us a little credit we didn't get the video games until getting to our tech-school. It's ok you can be jealous if you want to.
bah. comments are messed up today i think
@jeepingeek: Every service's tech school is like that. Or most anyways.
The government needs to hire a contractor to buy electronics? Have they ever tried going to the internets and ordering online? I'm sure they could print out a list from CNET Shopper or something to show Congress they got a competitive price.
@BigViper:
This, of course, is coming from someone who has most likely NEVER stepped foot at Lackland.
If you had, you would know that while BMTS is not exactly the same caliber as say the Marines, its still no easy game. Or at least it wasnt when I went through in 92.
Gotta love the bandwagon know-it-alls.
Playstation Orgasm
@CliftonSantiago: You might want to look at these links:
- [compsci.ca]
- [www.terrasoftsolutions.com]
- [technology.newscientist.com]
Clearly there is a market for games consoles as scientific number crunchers.
So this is why the Air Force had to cut IT people averaging over 12 years experience while we are still at cyber war...
FYI, just so you know that the Air Force continues to screw itself, my buddy Major "name withheld", will be graduating with his Cyber Warfare degree in May 08. He supposedly needed to be doing this instead of 33SX/IT related guys because he's a fighter-pilot and knows the "operational" flavor of things. Well, the AF in it's wisdom, is going to send him to Korea to do non-cyber stuff for a year. Way to go AF, get some return on investment and send him to Korea for a year so he can forget large portions of what he learned and become outdated in the knowledge he remembers. Technology never changes within a year does it?
We are paying to make the guy smart in cyber, and he wants to do cyber--most pilots ran screaming away from the slot--but we're not going to have him actually DO cyber. Oh I get it...wait...I don't?!?!?
so how quick can you grow 12 years of comm knowledge again? The Air Force's answer is a few weeks with the help of some Play Stations.
To quote some recent political ads, who do you want to answer the phone late at night, thousands of members with several years experience or a few hundred "researchers" playing on some play stations. Sleep well everyone...
Maybe this is all part of the Air Force plan to get back 14,000 RIFed Air Force members
Sorry about kicking you out, here is a playstation for your troubles...
Yeah, where do I sign up? As Wayne and Garth would say, "NOT!"
may be they figured out tht controlling airplanes is much easier through the dual shock 3 controllers than all those buttons and switches which those jackass pilots always accidently hit and and they never turn back on!we'll be seeing a lot of stunts in the sky if thts the case!
or
well be see some kick ass entertainment which lets us watch HD movies & play games too, atleast in the first class, when they finish testing these 300 systems!
Actually the PS3 would be no good for that because it doesn't support firewire. IEEE1394b is the data bus used in the F22 and F35. Maybe they could get 300 of the older PS2s instead? ;)
[en.wikipedia.org]
This would be like if you had one cake, and I had 300 cakes... except that in actuality, you have NO cake, and I, have 300 PS3's.
I also have this cake...
anyone up for a beast game of flight sim?
Wow, I guess someone actually bought it.
yo thats my home town i thought i'd never see that say that the base would buy a bunch of game systems.Think they'll let me come try um out?
300 PS3's are not nearly enough - they need thousands for combat simulation and training.
Shall we play a game?
a. Checkers
b. Chess
c. Global Thermonuclear War
d. Tic-Tack-Toe
Um......D....no, C!
300 PS3s, let's figure the air force is gonna make a cluster...that would be the most badass cell-based supercomputer out there!
each PS3 has a 9-core 3GHz processor and 2GB of RAM, i think. so that's 270 cell processing cores using 600GB of RAM memory, with 1.2TB of storage space. this could be fun. wonder if it plays doom....on 16 quad-HD monitors on the wall in the USAF board room?
although watch as it just turns out that there's a USAF folding team that has some surplus funds and wants a boost.
@uberfu: they specifically said they want cell processors, not everyday intel core/ amd K8/ other x86 processors. so, if they want to pick up a cheap consumer good, the choice is between PS3 and, uh...PS3.