IBM Japan To Build Fastest Linux-Based Supercomputer

By Agence France-Presse The Japanese unit of IBM said Aug. 6 it received a contract to build the world's largest Linux-based supercomputer. The supercomputer will be capable of making 11 trillion mathematical calculations or 11 teraflops per second, said Akihiro Shimoide, IBM Japan spokesman. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan's largest public research organization with research facilities located throughout Japan, ordered the supercomputer, which is due to be finished by next spring. "We have designed it so that it can be used to research in the areas of computer science, life science such as developing new drugs, and research for materials used for such things as fuel cell batteries and super conductivity," Shimoide said. IBM Japan did not disclose the amount of the contract. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2003