Fixstars Buys Terra Soft 20
sgt scrub writes "If you have put Yellow Dog Linux on a PS3 or a Pre X86 Apple, or have an interest in the Cell Broadband Engine, you will be pleased to know that Fixstars has purchased Terra Soft. '"A Cell/B.E. software developer and long-time user of Yellow Dog Linux, Fixstars has great faith in Yellow Dog Linux," said Satoshi Miki, CEO of Fixstars. "This business acquisition allows us to offer a reliable and stable Linux distribution with sense of ease for our customers. I have no doubt that in the expanding Cell/B.E. ecosystem we will offer the best Cell/B.E. solution of the High Performance Computing generation."' I can't think of any group of people better suited to expand the Cell horizon."
Re:High? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:High? (Score:3, Informative)
You're thinking PS3...
That's *AN* implementation of the CellBE architecture- one that Sony had 'em cripple. There's another one IBM makes for people that's very, very fast and is at the heart of several supercomputer projects for things like on Nuke Subs done up by Mercury Computer Systems and with things like Fixstars sells.
Whomever modded your remark "insightful" didn't get that the PS3 was but one of several different CellBE iterations.
What does Fixstars really bring? (Score:3, Informative)
Not having heard of Fixstars before, I'm not sure what to make of this. Their website reports that it is "the pioneering company of the Cell Broadband Engine," presumably leading the way for later entrants such as IBM, Toshiba, and Sony.
I remember TerraSoft mostly for overpriced hardware obviously intended for developers with a corporate checkbook behind them. I would look at the prices and decide that Apple was the cheaper source for PowerPC systems.
How about Fixstars? Looking at the web store, I can get Sony PS3 ($450), GigaAccel PCIe card (no price or delivery date listed), a fully populated IBM BladeCenter Chassis ($170,800), or a YDL PowerStation with "Quad-core 2.5GHz IBM 970MP CPUs" ($1895).
The YDL Powerstation sounds interesting and affordable. "Quad-core CPUs" (plural!) for $1895. How many quad-core CPUs, exactly? There is a "learn more" link, but really nothing more there. Less, in fact. That's about the level of detail I used to see from TerraSoft.
Re:What does Fixstars really bring? (Score:2, Informative)