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Thursday, 6 July 2017

United States Slips on List of World’s Most Powerful Supercomputers



A list of the world's most powerful supercomputers has been refreshed and, well, the United States crashed its way out of the top three.

For the second time in 24 years, the United States does not have any supercomputers in the coveted top three spots, according to Top500, which published its 49th semi-annual ranking of the world's most powerful computers.




The Swiss supercomputer located at the Swiss National Supercomputer Centre in Lugano. Swiss National Supercomputer Centre

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China holds the top two spots. The world's most powerful computer, the Sunway TaihuLight, can perform at a rate of 93 petaflops, nearly three times as much as the computer in the No. 2 spot.

Just how fast are these computers crunching numbers? Well, try to wrap your head around this: One petaflop equals around one quadrillion calculations per second.

Switzerland's Piz Daint (yes, these computers have names), climbed to the No. 3 spot thanks to an upgrade that took it from 9.8 petaflops to 19.6 petaflops.

The most powerful computer in the United States, Titan, now holds the No. 4 spot. The computer, which is installed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, clocks in with 17.6 petaflops. That number hasn't changed since it was installed in 2012, according to Top500.

While it may seem like it's time to "Make America Great Again" with supercomputers, the United States still dominates the list in another way.

Five of the top 10 super computers making the list are housed in the United States.




What to Expect From Amazon Prime Day


by Alyssa Newcomb




Amazon is having a banner year and now the company's self-created shopping holiday, Amazon Prime Day, could also bring the company its biggest day of sales - ever.

The third annual Amazon Prime Day starts with early access to deals on July 10th before the official big day on July 11th. Amazon is promising "hundreds of thousands" of deals, with new bargains popping up every five minutes.

Amazon said Prime Day 2016 brought it its biggest sales day ever, with global orders rising 60 percent compared to the previous year. This year could be even bigger, Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures, told NBC News.

"In terms of Prime Day 2017, they'll crush the number of items they sold on Prime Day last year. We expect Amazon will sell 30 to 40 percent more items on Prime Day 2017 vs. Prime Day 2016," Munster said. "While this is a jump up in sales, it will be lower growth than last year."




A worker gathers items for delivery from the warehouse floor at Amazon's distribution center in Phoenix on Nov. 22, 2013. Ralph D. Freso / Reuters file

Related: 20 Years After Its IPO, How Amazon Changed the Way We Shop



Market Track, a market intelligence company, surveyed 1,200 adults on whether they would shop Prime Day deals and found 58 percent said they would, up from 34 percent the previous year.

Increased participation in Amazon's Prime program, which costs $99 annually, and publicity before the event were pinpointed by Market Track as two reasons why this year will be the biggest ever.

While Amazon's distribution centers will undoubtedly be frenetic, a successful Prime Day also takes some planning on the customer's part to ensure you don't miss a deal.

Amazon's app allows you to build a list of deals you want to "watch." The moment they go live, you'll get a push notification so you can make your purchase.

Oh, and if it isn't clear yet how badly Amazon wants you to spend money with them on Prime Day, they're even offering a $10 credit - but with a caveat.

If you stream an Amazon Prime video for the first time ever to eligible devices, including devices Amazon's Fire TV, Fire TV sticks, various streaming media players, game consoles and smart TVs, only then will you be rewarded with your $10.







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