The Energy Department, Intel and subcontractor Cray Inc. announced Monday an agreement worth "more than $500 million" to provide Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois with the country's first "exascale" computer system.
Why it matters: When it begins operating in 2021, the new system, to be called Aurora, will be the most powerful supercomputer in the U.S. — more than five times faster than the current leader, which is the Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Details: The Aurora computer will have the performance of one "exaFLOP," which is equal to a quintillion floating point computations per second, according to a press release and briefing from Intel.
The potential uses for this computer include:
Context: There's a race heating up between the U.S. and China for who has the most powerful supercomputer.
"From the perspective of winning the race it’s not just getting to exascale, but what does exascale get you to that is important. The race matters in terms of stoking innovation. To compete you have to be able to compute."— Hazra
Go deeper:
The legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple is far from over. But some of the first key rulings are coming in. So far, it's a mixed bag.
Driving the news: Last week, a judge issued a preliminary ruling that Qualcomm owes Apple $1 billion in royalty payment rebates. However, that ruling is part of a broader case that has yet to go to trial. Furthermore, Apple's contract manufacturers have already been withholding money that covers the amount in dispute.
Why it matters: This is one of the most high-stakes legal fights in tech featuring 2 giants of the industry, both of whom are used to getting their way.
Go deeper: Four takeaways from Apple and Qualcomm's big patent fight (CNET)
