I am siting in an Airport in New York waiting for my plane, and I see this article posted on
ZDNET.
Posted by Mary Jo Foley.
I cant help but take a closer look......
Microsoft and Cray are set to unveil on September 16 the Cray CX1, a compact supercomputer running Windows HPC Server 2008.
The pair is expected to tout the new offering as “the most
affordable supercomputer Cray has ever offered,” with pricing starting
at $25,000.
In a September 15 posting to the Windows Server blog, Softie Tina Couch noted:
“It’s high performance and productivity computing that
meets the needs of users, IT pros and developers by providing a highly
integrated, familiar environment that is the right size and price for
departmental and workgroup needs. The CX1 combines compute, storage,
and visualization in a single integrated system that’s designed for
non-traditional environments like labs, offices. If space is a problem,
not to worry, it’s compact enough to fit in a broom closet.
“How can you get one?! It’s as easy as shopping on Amazon.com.
Customers can go online, order the CX1 system using a configurator and
pay with credit card.”
Microsoft’s official launch of Windows HPC (High Performance Computing) Server 2008 is slated for September 22
in New York City. Windows HPC Server 2008 is the high-end SKU of
Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 family. Microsoft is positioning the
product as an alternative to Linux, which has gained a solid following
in the high-end computing market.
To read the entire article writen by Mary Jo Foley......
Microsoft and Cray to unveil $25,000 Windows-based supercomputer
Back in the 80's I worked for Honeywell Information Systems. back then Honeywell was the number 2 computer company next to IBM. I worked in an internal application called 
project OMNI. Our mascot was the pig. because the application was so big and used so many resources.
One of the most impressive things about working for Honeywell was going into the main computer room on the East Coast. It was size of many football fields. It went on and on. project Omni used a major portion of that computer room. I remember going back many years later and them showing me how the entire application project Omni no runs on a single computer that took up a very small portion of a room.
It does not surprise me that we are now seeing a super computer from Cray and Microsoft.
Posted by Michael Corey
www.ntirety.com