G4 Cases Holding Back Clustering Acceptance? 38
Mr. Quick writes: "An article at Wired talks about how Mac hardware is well-suited for clustering, but is being held back by the sexy cases. This follows closely on the heels of Apple releasing an optimized version of BLAST. Producing rack-mount *blades* is not in Steve's vision of world domination, but the opportunity exists. I, for one, hope that apple seriously considers developing a rack mounted dual-G4. Quad G4 maybe?"
Practical Macs? (Score:2)
Re:Practical Macs? (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple is currently building up their main business plan but rest assured they will spread into a range of areas once they have that plan running smoothly. Timing is of the essence.
Re:Practical Macs? (Score:4, Funny)
Apple doesn't have to go back to generic-looking cases. A one- or two-rack-unit case doesn't leave a ton of room to be creative, but it's still possible to make 'em distinctive.
Look at the SGI Origin 300 [sgi.com] and Origin 3000 [sgi.com]* for an example of a rackmount system that's distinctive and cool.
* Underneath the rack skins, the bricks in an Origin 3000 are 19-inch rackmount components, between one and four units high. SGI racks come with extra hardware in the back for managing all the cables the system requires, but other than that they're not special.
After-market conversions (Score:3, Interesting)
However, it would be possible to have a decent-looking (ie non-wacko), slimline design differentiated from Apple's normal consumer kit. This might be a niche market, but that is usually where Apple thrives.
Re:After-market conversions (Score:1)
A new case and some DDR memory and they would be a force to be reckoned with in the rapidly expanding realm of genetic research.
Re:After-market conversions (Score:1)
Server cases? (Score:1, Funny)
Already available (Score:3, Informative)
-dair
Re:Already available (Score:3, Insightful)
Good call--The GVS systems put dual 1GHz in a 2U case, which would give UC-SC the (theoretical) 160 processors per rack frame they wanted, all running OS X. I hope Apple/GVS's salesmen are calling the people mentioned in the Wired article for a big sale...
I doubt they're going to branch out into purely functional cases anytime soon...
Apple shouldn't be spending time on 2U or 1U Macs when others already are. They've worked hard to make the Apple brand mean "stylish" and 2U clustering boxes will just mix that up. Let the 3rd party developers put them out there under another name...Because these are actual Power Macs w/ Macintosh ROM, Apple is making some coin from them regardless.
And if the day ever comes when it makes more sense to have that business inside Apple, Apple buys them out. What Apple should be doing is promoting the bejeezus out of these things to their scientific/visualization customers...
Re:Bad math (Score:1)
Or maybe my math is just really bad, it would be half (40) as many processors per rack, not double. The ability to put Apple's latest and greatest in a 2U space is still very attractive...
Another idea (Score:2, Funny)
They are half way there already.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally I think that apple SHOULD change the look of the systems that they are trying to sell as servers, have a look at the Sun E250 or E450, they are not butt ugly, but rather well engineered cases (and not too bad machines, albeit old now). If apple took an approach like that, simply making a machine they sell to be a server look like one, and havit it available as rackmount, they would have it made.
Fancy Rackmounted Boxes anyone? (Score:2)
The Google Search Appliance [google.com] isn't a drab beige rackmount. I suppose Apple could do something along that line, of course it would have a neon tube in the front that changed color as server load changed, or something.
The one thing Uncle Steve won't do is build something noone will buy. Sure, it has to be 'cool', but it also has to sell. Since Darwin's cli is so similar to Linux, I think Apple-branded servers won't have any perceived benefit to the unwashed masses (who always complained that Mac hardware was too expensive).
Never! (Score:1)
Re:Fancy Rackmounted Boxes anyone? (Score:1)
For an application like BLAST, a bunch of systems with a few older G4s (just to pack in the Altivec units without having to buy the newest processors) would be a very attractive and cost-effective option.
Re:Fancy Rackmounted Boxes anyone? (Score:2)
No, it's a drab yellow rackmount. Spray-painting a standard aluminum OEM case doesn't suffice to make it cool.
Re:PowerBook based (Score:1)
My former employer makes (x86) 1U boxes and
there are two issues.
Height of CPU(namely the heatsink) and RAM.
Heat, you only end up with 19*2 inches on either
end exposed. And you have to pull air through
that (around the contents) to cool everything.
You are not going to get 4 boards in one box.
Well okay, maybe 4 boards but nothing else to
speak of.
Sun Cobalt Raq? (Score:1)
Re:there will be an Apple rack-mount soon (Score:3, Insightful)
The iPod is another example. It wasn't expected at all, and generally downplayed and dissed by a lot of the media (including my site), because we didn't think it would be successful. Apple proved us wrong.
Both of those cases are examples of Apple doing something unexpected, as opposed to building demand for something expected.
What is the problem? (Score:1)
A.S.O Serves No Purpose (Score:4, Interesting)
Repackaging news from another mac web site and then insulting Apple users by ending each department name with "for dummies" is not an impressive start for this new section.
Re:A.S.O Serves No Purpose (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, a.s.o is from the same drooling morons who have ended each and every story in the last three years about new Apple hardware announcements with the exact same lame gag about one-button mice. That malda still thinks this is funny pretty much says everything you need to know about him as a person (ie: monomaniac, idiot) and the intended purpose of this section of slashdot (ie: "get those damn stories about a company succeeding with unix on the desktop off the front page, we need more space for linux kernal point revision announcments and Sun press releases!").
Re:A.S.O Serves No Purpose (Score:2)
Why do you say that? Go look at the bio for Pudge [slashdot.org] who has posted most of the stories in apple.slashdot.org. He's been coding Slashdot for a while but this is the first time he's posting stories. He's done most of the stories in the new Apple section.
I've been a Mac user since 1987 and am typing right now on my trusty G4 (with a zero-button mouse). Timothy wasn't much of a Mac fan until he actually used one... now I think an iBook is his main machine. And Rob likes Macs except for little hardware quirks (and if his mentioning three-button mice twice a year really bugs you that much, you're a bigger Slashdot fan than most, I tip my cap to ya).
The Slashdot crew as a whole doesn't agree on much, but we all appreciate good technology, and most of us appreciate the Mac.
Don't worry, we'll continue to have some Apple on the front page (there's one today in fact).
Re:A.S.O Serves No Purpose (Score:3, Funny)
Sun (Score:2, Interesting)
Embedded chips? (Score:2, Insightful)
Yellowdog makes 'em (Score:2, Informative)
It runs on amazing little power and you can cram 8 of them in a 4U rack.
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/products/briQ
Uncool! (Score:3, Insightful)
Does this sound like trollish sarcasm? Perhaps, but I'm deadly serious. Apple's design innovations are all supposed to be about making computers more usable. But they're the darlings of those who thing form is everything and function is nothing. When the new iMac came out, NPR intereviewed a prominent design consultant. Here's a relevent excerpt
Here's someone who's already clustered G4 Cubes (Score:1)