3 ms·
Calling a 15U mini-refrigerator-sized computer "pint-sized" is a bit much. I mean, sure, classic minicomputers were approximately in the same size range and we
by webmaven 6y ago
Calling a 15U mini-refrigerator-sized computer "pint-sized" is a bit much.
I mean, sure, classic minicomputers were approximately in the same size range and were "mini" compared to mainframes, and this is tiny compared to an HPC supercomputer (in the same footprint range as a DGX) but "pint-sized"?
We'll probably end up calling this new category something like "mini-supercomputers".
- rbanffy 6y agoIt's still smaller than a Cray 2.
- webmaven 6y agoA computer in a form-factor larger than a desktop tower can't be called "pint-sized" regardless of how big the competition is (or was, historically). That's like calling a bulldozer "pint-sized" because you're comparing it to the Bagger 293.
- rbanffy 6y agoI'm from a time a desk-sized single user computer was called a "microcomputer".
- webmaven 6y agoI'm from the same time myself. Although the mini/micro nomenclature implies otherwise, "microcomputers" were so named because they used microprocessors, rather than their physical size. When microprocessor-based systems moved upscale, the larger systems were called "servers", and the "minicomputer" term bit the dust. The "microcomputer" form factor then became the "personal computer". All of which just underscores the senselessness of calling something the size of a small refrigerator "pint-sized".