THE SOCIAL LIMITS OF SPEED - THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF SUPERCOMPUTERS

This article describes the development of supercomputers over the past three decades in conjunction with the social relations surrounding de velopment and use of these machines. In early designs of supercomputer s, the goal was to achieve the highest possible speed ''at all cost'' - that is, without worrying about compatibility with previous machines . The first customers of these computers were national (defense) labor atories and large scientific institutions. Especially over the past de cade, however, large industrial corporations have also started to use supercomputers. This expansion of the customer base subsequently affec ted the design process, as a wider range of customer requirements has to be satisfied and speed considerations are no longer unproblematical ly paramount.