Word: cray
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First introduced by Cray in 1976, supercomputers possess vast number- crunching power, which has become increasingly valued in applications ranging from oil exploration to the design of new drugs. Supercomputer sales are expected to reach $1.2 billion this year on shipments of 130 to 150 machines, up from $925 million in 1988. Control Data had sold 34 of its ETA- model supercomputers, or about 12% of the world's installed machines (vs. 63% for Cray...
...quest to build the high-powered machines began in 1981, when the government arranged a $136 million supercomputer-research project. Three Japanese manufacturers -- Fujitsu, NEC and Hitachi -- account for 24% of the supercomputers sold to date. So far only U.S. and Japanese companies have entered the race. While Cray's machines still lead in worldwide sales, Japanese manufacturers may be pulling ahead by some measures of supercomputer performance, notably processing speed. Earlier this month NEC introduced a new series, called SX-3, billed as the world's fastest supercomputers, even though the machines will not be available until June...
...exit of Control Data could aggravate U.S.-Japan trade friction over supercomputers. Says Etsuro Yamada, a spokesman for Fujitsu: "The fact is that Control Data lost in a fight with Cray, but that may not be the way the Americans will look at it." The U.S. has long complained about the Japanese government's failure to buy U.S.-made supercomputers. The two countries signed a 1987 accord in which Tokyo agreed to eliminate discrimination against U.S. supercomputer makers in the purchasing procedures of Japanese government agencies and universities. But since then, Tokyo has failed to buy a single U.S. supercomputer...
...bright spot for the U.S. is that several companies, large and small, hope to enter the field. Among the contenders is IBM, which in late 1987 formed a venture with former Cray designer Steve Chen to develop a line of advanced supercomputers. Allan Weis, a vice president in IBM's Data Systems division, asserts, "We're very serious about the supercomputer market. The Japanese are formidable competitors, but IBM and Cray are very formidable too." They had better be, or the supercomputer could go the way of the videocassette recorder...
...federal regulators liquidate everything from condominiums to gravel pits, they must move carefully to avoid triggering a plunge in property values. -- Despite a rising Dow, Wall Street faces more layoffs and falling profits. -- Control Data pulls out of the supercomputer market, leaving Cray Research as the sole U.S. firm to compete against rival Japanese manufacturers...