<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Folks,</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">We are all sooooo technical! </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">It does not work that way....</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Microsoft HPC will work IF the market
wants the technology that they can supply. The answer is in market
segments. And the Supercomputer market segment has been the science and
engineering users of the last 30 years. It has not changed its market
much. As technology got complex, the simulation market has grown some,
but not to the extent of the word processing or spreadsheet market place
or the home web access or gaming markets have grown over the same time
period. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">The Linux HPC market is on the market
demand track from CDC -> Cray -> Vax -> Unix Workstation
-> Linux . It has grown modestly, but not enormously. Dual CPUs have
a bigger growth market and potentially the Microsoft HPC could help develop
4-way and 8-way processors as standard systems. </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">Technical issues will not maintain
the market for cluster computing. Nor will technical best-of-breed
win over uninterested markets. The past is full of superior technical
solutions losing to market accessible good-enough solutions ( eg betamax
vs VHS and token ring vs Ethernet .. and the beat goes on...) </font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">To paraphrase, I know (some) Linux,
Linux is a "friend" of mine, Windows is "No Linux"
- but I doubt I am the market segment that Windows is "good enough"
for.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">So please desist discussing technical
superiority. Technical issues are not the key issue in market segment growth
of HPCs. So lets see who wants CPU power with windows integration
and discover how big that market is.</font>
<br><font size=2 face="sans-serif">------<br>
Sincerely,<br>
<br>
Tom Pierce<br>
Bldg 7/ Rm 207D - Spring House, PA<br>
215-641-7475 - Office </font>