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more about #departmentofdefense bobmighty: this is loads better than their "buy 60 trillion gameboys" super computer initiative. more » aniteshj: Umm...the DoD is putting a pricetag on the national security? Nice. And you can't linux the new ones so this isn't going to happen again unless Sony ... more » Voyou_Charmant: "isn't it just a bit curious that someone thought to save on upgrading the supercomputer just after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released?" Tha... more » comrade_leviathan: Was buying the PS3 cheaper than just buying the chips themselves? That's nucking futs and you know it. more » quantumbits: IIRC, they've been doing this for a while now. In fact, this is probably the first, prominent example of the eventual migration of massively parallel... more » Jrsy Devil's Advocate®: Do they get a discount for buying in bulk? more » Sneaky0: If the DoD is only using PS3 for their cell proc, then they should part the BD drive and sell it. Because it seems like a lot of the those drives are ... more » Kerfudle wants to be ❤'ed: How are they linking these anyways, wont the 100mb ethernet be a huge limitation, most supercomputers use dual or quad channel fibre. more » The5thElephant: Along with 2200 copies of MW2 our "next-gen" soldiers will finally receive realistic training and will be more capable due to perks providing increase... more » AtomFury: Oh common, we ALL know that they're really just organizing a massive LAN party :D. I hope they remembered to order 5000 bags of Doritos too. more » alienshards: How much money is Sony losing on this deal? isn't the cost of a PS3 subsidized by future accessory and game purchases? Meaning that since (assuming)... more » Dallifornia: ...courtesy of the best Black Friday sale, ever. more » Voohoo: yea, who buys a PS3 for games anyway?? psh. lol, just kidding. i love my PS3. this story is just so bizarre. at least it's good to know that the gove... more » Joe: Great job guys. more » Jamez: IMB? IBM maybe? Or are we talking about something completely different? more » aogfilter001: Yeah, I'll bet a few of the "backup" units are being stored "off site" in the homes of the technicians. more » pirate_panda: Note that they had to buy the old non-slim models. The new slims are decidedly inappropriate for supercomputing because they don't support Linux. more » Jux: Does anyone know what this setup would look like? Although unrealistic, I love the idea of 2,200 PS3's sitting next to each other in a basement somew... more » Weihovah: "isn't it just a bit curious that someone thought to save on upgrading the supercomputer just after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released?" i w... more » Ruthless, If you let me: Thanks Jesus. I just spent 20 minutes zooming in/out and scrolling all over the place when I should have been working. A great way to start the day! more » -
#military
Department of Defense Buys 2,200 PS3s to Upgrade Supercomputer
Apparently the Department of Defense believes that PS3s are a better value when it comes to supercomputers than IBM products specifically designed for the purpose. Granted recent price drops probably didn't hurt in justifying a 2,200 console order either. More » -
#imagecache
This Is Where Each of Your 1.421 Trillion Dollars Is Going In 2010
Want to know where your tax money is going next year? Here's more than you can handle in the new 2010 edition of the Death and Taxes poster. Zoom in to see how much those F-35 fighters and lasers cost. More » -
#robots
Pentagon's Robot Hummingbird Christened "Nano Air Vehicle"
The Pentagon's wacky sci-fi department DARPA has been working on robotic hummingbird-based drones to serve as miniature spies. They're not nearly as agile or adorable as real hummingbirds, but DARPA is well on their way to achieving that dream. More » -
#weaponry
Pentagon's New "Suburb Warrior" UAVs Promise to Try to Kill Slightly Fewer Civilians
The Pentagon's current crop of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are insanely powerful—the "Hellfire" is so named for a reason—but also fairly imprecise, often killing innocent, nearby civilians. The DoD's new UAVs hope to cut down on such casualties. More » -
#espionage
Cyber-Spies Hack Into Ultra-Sensitive Pentagon Fighter Jet Project
Computer spies have broken into the Pentagon's $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project and made off with several terabytes of code. The Pentagon, and consequently the Wall Street Journal, suspects Chinese involvement. More » -
#militarytechnologyspending
Death and Taxes Shows Fascinating, Terrible View on Military Tech Spending
Death and Taxes 2009 is a detailed graphical account showing where your tax dollars will go next year in the most detailed and fascinating way: Everything is set to scale according to the amount of money spent on it, showing the amazing weight that military-related spending has in the total Federal budget. It's just mindblowing to see it all with one look. It's easy to get amazed with military technology and, like with Dubai's architecture and its slaves, I keep forgetting how much money really gots into developing hypersonic missiles, airborne lasers, invisible bombers, next generation fighters, body piercing tanks, torpedoes capable of splitting a huge ship in two, ever-vigilant drones, scary helmets, and other deadly gadgets. When you zoom in the interactive map, the numbers are just staggering. For sure, the military research and manufacturing that Darpa or companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin do not only push the scientific and industrial envelope-with long term benefits for everyone-and some may argue that it provides with work and fuels the economy-although this is kind of a fallacy and a vicious circle-but seriously, is this the only way to achieve it? What about the rest of the stuff? Hopefully, this will all change. Someday. [Wall Stats via Dark Roasted Blend] -
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#military
Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool
Army dudes sat down with scientists at University of Michigan and other schools and asked for a simple frickin' bionic bat with frickin' stereo cameras, miniaturized radar, ultra-sensitive self-guidance, "energy scavenging" recharging capability and a radio to send data back to troops in urban combat zones. Was that too much to ask? Here's how it's working out for them: More » -
#lasers
Femtosecond Laser Ideal for Killing Cancer, Installing Adamantium Skeletons
/>Did you know that the same ultra-fast, ultra-intense laser (UUL) that can blast individual cancer cells without harming any good cells in the vicinity can also be used to fuse metal to bone? A new laser lab at the University of Missouri has been built to test the awesome power of this system, whose pulses last just one quadrillionth of a second, known in street terminology as a "femtosecond." Here's why the American Dental Association, the American Cancer Society and the Pentagon would be equally interested in this developing technology: More »
