A Japanese machine known as “K,” assembled by Fujitsu, has earned the top ranking on the highly competitive list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. It’s three times faster than its Chinese rival, the computer that previously held the top spot. Located at the Riken Advanced Institute for Computational Science in Kobe, the computer represents a major step forward in speed and, of course, in bragging rights for Japanese computer engineers: “Scientists take the race for fastest computer quite seriously,” the New York Times reports. The machine will mostly be used for earthquake simulations, climate modeling, nuclear research, and weapons development, but, occasionally, perhaps also for speed-tweeting, 3-D porn, Snood tournaments, pirating in IMAX, and every other computer thing we can make a joke about as well.
