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Microsoft and Intel teamed up to
create two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centers (UPCRC) in their
attempt to accelerate development in desktop and mobile computing, the
companies unveiled earlier this week. Both partners are planning to spend $ 20
million in funding research over the next five years, directed towards the two
centers that will be located at the University of California, Berkeley and the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Parallel computing is in fact
a combination between advanced software and multi-core processors that offer
capabilities of handling multiple tasks at one time. Although the subject of
multiple core hardware and software combination is nothing new, the two
companies are working to develop even more advanced techniques for the years to
come.
It’s a tendency we all need to
adjust to: “Intel has already shown an 80-core research processor, and we’re quickly
moving the computing industry to a many-core world,” said Andrew Chien, vice
president, Corporate Technology Group and director, Inter Research. “Working
with Microsoft and these two prestigious universities will help catalyze the
long-term breakthroughs that are needed to enable dramatic new applications for
the mainstream user.”
On the other hand, Tony Hay,
corporate vice president of External research at Microsoft’s Research said: “Driven
by an unprecedented capability of multicore processors, we’re in the midst of a
revolution in the computing industry, which profoundly affects the way we
develop software. Working jointly with industry and academia, we plan to
explore the next generation of hardware and software to unlock the promise and
the power of parallel computing and enable a change in the way people use
technology.
In addition to the $20 million the two
companies will bring to the research, the University of Illinois will come with
an additional $8 million, while UC Berkeley has applied for $7 million in funds
from a state-supported program.
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