We will confront you with your statement in a few years from now.
If microsoft doesn't price their server/cluster stuff too expensive then in X years from
now they'll dominate the highend market. Microsoft always has just taken markets by
storming in giving away copies of their software for near free initially.
From zdnet.com
The Compute Cluster software will sell for an estimated $469 per node, less than the company's standard server OS price. The cost of Windows Server varies based on the version of the operating system, but the standard edition with the ability to connect to five computers has a suggested price of $999.
"The price is less than standard Windows Server," Faenov said. "We got feedback that that is an attractive price."
The software is also among the first products from Microsoft that will run only on machines that have 64-bit processors, though it can still run 32-bit software.
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So there you have it.. more than workstation windows, less than server windows.
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and as far as applications:
Faenov said he is encouraged by the amount of HPC-related software already developed for Windows, including programs from MathWorks, Ansys and The BioTeam. Next, Faenov said he hopes to see Microsoft expand into the electronic design automation area, talking to folks like http://www.ansys.com/
I suspect that WCC is integrated into their Parallel Performance stuff:
http://www.ansys.com/products/parallel.asp
Note well that Ansys (and others) generally support multiple platforms (including Linux) but WCC gives them the ability to sell their (pretty expensive) product into an "all-windows" environment, which, in some institutions, is a good thing.
Jim
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