For those who didn't notice it in several sources (here, here or here), IBM has announced external access to its Blue Gene supercomputer. It provides 5.7 Teraflops in a single rack. Obviously IBM has the ability to hook a large number of these together should they choose to do so. 175 racks gives you a petaflop. Of course its mildly amusing that they installed it in Rochester, MN. At least in the winter you can eliminate the A/C bills by simply opening the windows. If this takes off, one would expect to see them installing warehouses of these in Iceland. You get the A/C for free and the electricity (from geothermal power) for nearly free. You have to wonder what the cost/TF is going to be?
