NEC Corp has won the tender for a supercomputer for Japan’s National Environmental Research Centre, besting Cray Research Inc and Fujitsu Ltd in what was the first Japanese government tender open to all bidders since the Super 301 charges of the US Commerce Department, which claimed unfair practices in procurement of government computers; recent procurements by Tohoku and Kyoto universities and the Agency for Science & Technology have all gone to Cray; under the new contract, NEC will be installing an SX-3 Model 14, which rents for $400,000 a month; it is to be used in the simulation of air and ocean currents and in looking for signs of global warming.
