New rival to the world's fastest computers

NEW NEW RIVAL TO THE WORLD"S FASTEST COMPUTERS Britain staked a large claim in the world of infor- mation technology earlier this year with the launch of a computer to rival the fastest in the world. It is Floating Point Systems"s (1) new family, the T-series supercomputer. The key to the T-series"s un- questionable superiority is the transputer, popurlarly called the computer on a chip. This invention is the brain-child of Ian Barron, one of the founders of In- mos121, the semiconductor company set up by the Government in 1978. It was established to secure a place for Britain in the mass market for micropro- cessors and memory chips. In 1984 Inmos was bought by Thorn-EMI (3). Its transputer could now be- come the world"s standard chip for supercomputers and Inmos"s market value, it is predicted, could rise to at least £200 million by next year on the basis of its success. The transputer brings nearer the dream of a computer not bigger than a suitcase yet powerful enough to model...