RadioFreeHPC

In this podcast, our hosts agree that "software is not magic" and consumers don't want to be tracked. Will there be a backlash? Will this be the new marketing point for competing browsers? Dan admits to being creeped out by email offers that result from Internet searches... Rich reveals that he is besieged by ads for smokers (the kind for cooking critters)... and the Profound Thought of the Day comes from Henry. Download the MP3 * Download the video * Subscribe on iTunes * RSS Feed

At OSCON, or the Open Source Convention, a presentation on the "Clothesline Paradox" aptly illustrated the way developers create value. Many large companies such as Comcast make a living on open-source software. In this podcast, Dan digresses into a string of complaints about his Comcast bill, but Henry and Rich reel in the discussion: was the Internet created out of generosity, or enlightened self-interest? And we hear again from one of our sponsors: Glade 'Data Center Edition' air fresheners. Download the MP3 * Download the video * Subscribe on iTunes * RSS Feed

Power is a major challenge standing in the way of the Exascale computing. While the target is to consume 20 MW or less for an exascale machine, current technology trends will not take us there by 2018. In this podcast, the Radio Free HPC team discusses why this is such a tough challenge, where such a system might need to be hosted, and types of infrastructure that will need to be considered. Along the way, you'll hear scary "power" music and figure out how this all relates to Mad Max, lasers, unicorns, and Planet of the Apes. Download the MP3 * Download the Video * Subscribe on iTunes * RSS Feed

This podcast is devoted to Allan Snavely, CTO of Lawrence Livermore National Lab, who passed away unexpectedly in July 2012. He was widely known as a brilliant scientist and innovator, and for his work at SDSC on the Gordon supercomputer. Allan will be greatly missed by his many friends and the entire HPC community. Download the MP3 * Download the video * Subscribe on iTunes * RSS Feed

In this first episode of our Radio Free HPC podcast, the guys talk about Data Integrity and the menace of Silent Data Corruption – complete with a real life example! There is also talk of skin diving, moldy sandwiches and the wheel. Plus we welcome our flagship sponsor: Good Enough For Now Systems.

In this podcast, we discuss what happens when technology lies to you. It starts with Dan ranting about how his exercise machine has been lying for more than a year now, but evolves into a discussion of benchmarks and benchmarking.

In this podcast, a conversation with Jack Dongarra (of Top500 list fame) at ISC’12 is the inspiration for a spirited discussion of whether the venerable LINPACK benchmark has outlived its usefulness. Dan accuses Henry of cursing the darkness, then they talk about what is, and isn’t, a good benchmark.

In this podcast, we look back at ISC’12 and the ISC Student Cluster Challenge. Dan proposes a joint challenge so we could crown a world student cluster champion – and award a massive trophy. The hosts discuss how the cluster challenge makes participating students a hot commodity on the job market. And this episode includes gongs.

In this podcast, the guys talk about Intel’s introduction of their new Phi multi-core processor at ISC12, and what customers will need to do to take advantage of it. Henry Newman says something profound. We touch on the merits of an all pastry diet and the state of programming today. Rich throws Dan/Henry a curveball. Dan introduces a new sponsor – Glade Data Center Edition, which promises to give data centers an aroma makeover. We find out that Henry likes black bread.

In this podcast, the topic is Big Data and analytics. More specifically, the guys talk about a couple of examples of when over-reliance on analytics leads to bad outcomes. The first deals with some high school kids who were allegedly found to be cheating by a plagiarism software program and the second looks at how a major bank may have lost up to $9 billion due to lack of proper controls and blind faith in existing analytic systems.

In this podcast, the hosts discuss the Exascalar measure/benchmark and what it’s telling us. Exascalar combines Top500 and Green500 data in order to see if the industry is on track to hit the goal of an exascale system that consumes less than 20MW of juice by 2020. Like usual, the conversation takes some interesting turns into how to measure performance, power consumption, and efficiency. For some reason, laptops got added into the mix too.