Made in China: Country's new supercomputer uses homegrown chips

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China is stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing efforts and using domestic chips for its latest supercomputer. It's going to be interesting to see how fast China can close in on U.S. supercomputer processor makers Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.

The New York Times reported that a supercomputer called Sunway BlueLight MPP, was installed in September at the National Supercomputer Center in Jinan, China. The details emerged at a technical meeting. The real catch is that China used 8,700 ShenWei SW1600 chips.

Those semiconductors are homegrown and indicate that China is aiming to be a major chip player. The New York Times story was mostly sourced to Jack Dongarra, a computer scientist at the University of Tennessee, but Chinese sites reported on the technical meeting. Dongarra helps manage the list of Top 500 supercomputers. China's previous supercomputers used Intel and Nvidia chips.



Meanwhile, ZDNet UK highlighted the blog of Hung-Sheng Tsao, founder of HopBit GridComputing, who posted the slides detailing the Sunway BlueLight MPP, which come from IT168.com. IT168.com covered China's supercomputing powwow extensively this week.

ZDNet UK's Jack Clark noted:

According to (Tsao's) slides, which appear to be from a presentation describing the computer's capabilities, the ShenWei Sunway BlueLight MPP has 150TB of main storage and 2PB of external storage. Each ShenWei SW1600 processor is 64-bit, has 16-cores and is RISC-based.

Here's a Google Translate link offering more details via IT168.

The Wall Street Journal noted that the China domestic supercomputing effort is very credible and signals an effort to cut the country's reliance on western companies. It's unclear whether China's chips are completely original blueprints or based on a previous design. One issue for the Sunway chips is power consumption. The Sunway supercomputer apparently doesn't need that much power relative to rivals.

The New York Times added that that ShenWei chip appears to be based "on some of the same design principles that are favored by Intel's most advanced microprocessors."

China's efforts appear to be a few generations behind, but rest assured the country will try to close any gaps quickly.

This story was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "China steps up its semiconductor game with homegrown supercomputer effort." 

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is editor in chief of ZDNet and editorial director of CNET's TechRepublic. He has covered the technology and financial-services industries since 1995.

 
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Don’t let the sun go down on our rights; those mess up politics, religion & race!

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ON THE BEAT By WONG CHUN WA

Don’t let the sun go down on our rights

Any secular party would be a better pick than one whose politicians masquerade as religious leaders.

IT’S becoming boringly predictable with PAS as it again plays its self-appointed role of custodian of morality by telling Malaysians what they can watch – mostly cannot watch, unfortunately.

Just a few months ago, the Islamist party had attempted to project a somewhat liberal image, possibly believing that Putrajaya was within its grasp.

That short flirtation has ended and it has now decided to return to its conservative image, rudely awakened by the reality that it was more important to try to hold on to its jewels – Kelantan and Kedah – and that hardcore supporters were loudly voicing their dissatisfaction.

It now wants to be recognised for its main objectives – setting up an Islamic state and implementing hudud laws – and will surely have no tolerance for rock concerts, which it has dismissed as hedonistic.

PAS surely does not want to see its Malay votes, the deciding factor, slipping away for non-Muslim votes.

So it is now back to making the wearing of headscarves compulsory for women and punishing those who disobey the rule in Kelantan, and banning the setting up of cinemas in Bangi, Selangor, simply because a PAS state assemblyman objected.

And the party is not even the dominant player in the Selangor government.

No one can deny that, except for that brief experiment, PAS has always been consistent with its Islamist objectives and has never strayed from its purpose of wanting to set up a religious and puritanical society.

For many, due to their anger with the Barisan Nasional as well as for political expediency, they are prepared to pretend decisions made by PAS will not affect them, brushing them off as minor matters or merely distractions for a larger interest.



That was what the Iranians thought when they dumped their Western-backed but corrupt monarch for the ayatollahs. Thirty-two years later, however, many are wondering whether they gave up their human rights and secular lifestyles too.

There is an elected government in Iran but it is the theologians who call the shots, invoking laws in the name of religion and according to their interpretations, which not many of the faithful are prepared to challenge.

In the case of the minorities, their voices are easily suppressed and they are dismissed curtly for their religious ignorance.

Even in Tunisia, after the euphoria of its recent first elections, secular Tunisians are wary about the Islamist-dominated assembly and fear that their civil rights legislation will be reversed.

In Malaysia, we could head down that dangerous road if we are not careful because some of us are being convinced that PAS alone cannot redraw our legal systems.

PAS has decided to go ahead with the implementation of hudud laws in Kelantan, claiming that non-Muslims would not be affected.

One does not need a doctorate in law to know that there can never be two kinds of laws, particularly in civil and criminal matters. So there is no such thing as hudud laws would not affect non-Muslims.

The PAS Supporters Club has been jolted and it is finally realising that this was not part of the bargain.

Better late than never, it can be said, but then the PAS Supporters Club had organised tours to Kelantan and persuaded voters to elect more PAS candidates by claiming non-Muslims would not be affected, thank you very much.

Any objection to PAS’ agenda these days risk being rubbished as propaganda, abused, rebutted or named-called as abuses involving the Barisan. Objecting is surely not for those wanting to seek popularity.

The point is any secular party, whether Umno, the MCA, the DAP, PKR or PPP, would be a better pick than one whose politicians masquerade as religious leaders, insinuating that their words cannot be questioned because they are “men of God”.

Malaysia may not have the best system but we have one that works and functions. There are politicians who claim we are already an Islamic country but the Federal Constitution is pretty clear about the fact that we are still secular. Our legal system is also pretty clear and intact.

For sure, I cannot take seriously those who think Elton John’s song Can You Feel The Love Tonight, soundtrack for the film The Lion King, could be a gay anthem. By the way, one of his hit songs is Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – it’s sun, not son.

The accidental entrepreneur

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LOOKING back at the last nine years, here are the hard facts I have had to face:

1. Before SPM, I was too lazy to study hard as I knew I had the financial backing of my parents. I never thought about how lucky I was, or how much they sacrificed to put me through college;

 

All great journeys start with small steps, and I hope anew everyday to have the courage to take them —ANAND PILLAI

2. I finished SPM with dreams of being a hotshot engineer in Silicon Valley riding the dot-com bubble. Of course, I knew shockingly little about what any of those things really entailed; and

3. Up till recently, my knowledge of the world – its problems, its people, and its culture – was severely lacking as it was shaped by commercialised Western television and the Internet. Although I grew up in Malaysia, I had little exposure to folk from other social classes.

My journey began at the dawn of the millennium when I completed my A-Levels and went on to pursue an engineering degree at Northwestern University in Chicago, the United States (US). It was very, very cold there – minus 20 degrees Celsius at times.

Three years after starting college, I was a radically changed person. I realised that my true calling was to devote my life to work that was meaningful to me, and that I did not enjoy engineering in its traditional sense, although I graduated with a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences.

Upon graduation, I was determined to find employment in the non-profit sector and secured an internship at an organisation that provided food to the homeless in Chicago.

Although I enjoyed my work immensely, I was not able to remain employed there due to my US work visa situation. I had to decide if I was to return to Asia to work in the development/non-profit field, or pursue a corporate career in the US, which was the only way to secure a work visa at the time.



The allure of a large pay cheque, sharp grey suits and expense accounts eventually won me over and I accepted a management consulting position in Philadelphia. I worked there for two years and went on to become a manager at a global pharmaceutical company in Princeton, New Jersey, making more money than I ever thought possible.

Fortunately, throughout my corporate career, I focused on learning from my work environment and saving as much money as I could while pursuing other interests after work hours.

After three years in my cubicle, I left the corporate world and began to work on my own entrepreneurial ventures in Philadelphia and other cities. I wanted to be a small business entrepreneur because it would allow me to live a lifestyle that I cherished. More importantly, I would be able to pursue work that would be meaningful to me – personally and professionally – without being held accountable to someone else’s whims or the profit motives of owners or investors.

Over the years I discovered (due to a combination of part-time work and meeting new people) that my passion lay in “social business”.

This is the model of running profitable, successful companies which at its core takes into account the 3 P’s – people, planet, and profits.

This effectively combined my interests in the traditional business world with providing a social benefit to the communities I worked in.

My entrepreneurial ventures include partnering with an experienced real estate investor on low-income housing in Philadelphia. I also developed an education consulting business where I worked as a career counselor for 20-somethings who were trying to find their place in the world. Most importantly, both endeavours were entrepreneurial in nature and very meaningful to me as they met the objectives I wanted to achieve in my professional career.

After spending close to 10 years in the US pursuing further education and work opportunities, I recently decided to move back to Asia.

Spending time with my family, pursuing meaningful business ventures in Malaysia, and exploring and enjoying my native land was a calling too strong to ignore.

I intend to continue my work in real estate and career guidance here, but also focus my energies on other business ventures including sustainable tourism, fitness, and nutrition – all passions of mine.

As I pause midway through my life and look back at life after SPM, I realise that the road I took was one that I never expected to be on, but I am eternally grateful and humbled by the opportunities I have had. I intend to live the rest of my life building upon that foundation.

I constantly remind myself of my primary goal – creating positive change in the world. All great journeys start with small steps, and I hope anew everyday to have the courage to take them.

● Finishing school is a fun time but for most of us, it is a time for some serious thinking about your future. The Star Education Fair’s Options After SPM talk is a good place to help you make your choices easier.

This story is published in What’s After SPM? available at MPH Bookstores.