Like something out of the pages of a William Gibson novel, a new report from a pack of US scientists suggests the design for a new supercomputer built from 20 million iPods.

Okay, not really. The design actually calls for linking up about 20 million of the same type of low-cost CPU chip used in the iPod to build a cloud computing system. Still, it's a nice image: millions upon millions of old iPods jury-rigged together into a massive supercomputing system a-la the homemade PS3. Perhaps with a talking face on a giant screen to top it all off.

So maybe 20 million is a bit ambitious, but how about a system made from, say ten or twenty old iPods? I'm sure there's some enterprising Macfreak out there with access to an electronics recycling program and a lot of free time...

07 May 2008