Submitted by rapture on Tue, 03/04/2008 - 9:40pm.
According to a presolicitation notice from the US General Services Administration, the US military is buying 300 PlayStation 3's for some kind of unspecified research. According to the notice:
The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell
processors. The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.
It looks like Uncle Sam is building a hive mind based on cell processors on the cheap! Cell processors are found in each PlayStation 3 and run at 3.2 GHz.
Flashback: In late 2006 a machine codenamed "Roadrunner" was to be build by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico by the Department of Energy. Roadrunner was to be build upon the cell processors designed for the PlayStation 3. According to Los Alamos National Laboratory, Phase 1 of the Roadrunner development is underway.
