Nice new site showcasing Microsoft's work around the Environment, lots to look at and the following article caught my eye immediately: High-Performance Computing: Enabling Climate Change Analysis, as did the following:

Energy Efficiency Best Practices in Microsoft Data Center Operations 

The article on the polemic facing the IT industry as a whole was really worth a read - not too long but faces up to the challenges ahead and how industry as a whole can deal with it: How Can Technology Sustain the Environment in the 21st Century?

I also liked the business solution area of how real customers are using our technologies to lower their carbon footprints.

Enjoy!

Working on HPC at Microsoft we have not said that every day, however now it is time to restate the facts on software and what is really the fastest in the world! And don't believe me - check out the customer story below!

Kudos to Ryan Waite and the team:

The NCSA cluster is amazing. 1200 nodes, each with 8 cores, creating a 9600 core cluster. NCSA installed Beta 1 of Windows HPC Server 2008 and ran the benchmark. The results were outstanding: 68.5 teraflops and 77.7% efficiency. Using our beta software NCSA beat their November score by over 10%. This is the fastest Windows cluster to date. Check out the customer video and case study.

Get the full story here.

Couldn't miss the opportunity of letting you all know about this, click on the link below and learn from the best of the best!

And the fast facts are:

What is IBF 24?

IBF 24 is the world’s first online gathering focused on intranet innovation

· Go on live tours of 12 of the world's best intranets - including those run by non-IBF members American Electric Power, IBM, IKEA, Microsoft, Nissan and SAP. This is your chance to show your colleagues what other leading global intranets are accomplishing

· Hear acclaimed speakers including former Al Gore speechwriter and Whole New Mind author Dan Pink, Dave Armstrong of Google, Ethan R.R. McCarty from IBM, and Kirk Koenigsbauer of Microsoft, the man they call the ‘King of SharePoint’

· Learn from master classes by expert practitioners

· Take part in online breakout sessions in which you can debate the hot topics with peers from hundreds of organisations worldwide – IBF members and non-members alike

Enjoy!

I was at the last one and it was fab, you might want to go along this time:

UK HPC User Group

I wanted to let you know about the UK HPC User Group meeting coming up in June 26.  Registrations are here.

This meeting is intended for customers, partners and developers to “meet and mingle”, and compare notes.  And to provide Microsoft with direct input into our product and offerings. 

On the day speakers will hear:

- The latest news on Windows HPC 2008

- New software solutions in Finance, Engineering and Defence

- The latest in MS enabling technology like Microsoft ESP & MS Robotics

- The winners of the UK HPC student competition, and

- Customer stories.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the Imperial War Museum. 

Think about registering here.  And if you know of someone who might be interested, please forward this on.

The event is being organised by the UK Microsoft HPC User Group, chaired by Professor Simon Cox, School of Engineering Sciences, at the University of Southampton.

Enjoy!