parallel-computing architecture

The Khronos Group on Monday announced that its OpenCL 1.0 specification has been ratified and publicly released. Apple proposed the spec six months ago.

OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is the first open, royalty-free standard for cross-platform, parallel programming of modern processors found in personal computers, servers and handheld/embedded devices.

Nvidia on Tuesday announced a personal supercomputer that delivers the computing power of a cluster at 1/100th of the price and in the form of a standard desktop workstation. It is working with partners to release the GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputer.

Supercomputers, shared resources that consume hundreds of kilowatts of power and cost millions of dollars to build and maintain, are typically used to carry out scientific research. Nvidia is bringing this power to the desktop.