On Sun, 30 Sep 2012 13:03:09 -0500, dpb wrote:
On 9/30/2012 8:49 AM, Ignoramus6882 wrote:
On 2012-09-30, wrote:
...
Just out of curiosity, where did they come from/what was their use/why
scrapped?
...
I believe that they were powering old IBM mainframes.
...
Hmmm....I'da thunk those would have been long gone ere now...

New IBM mainframes are still being sold; see following link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_z9 for some of their
characteristics. Mainframes are used for DB apps where 30GB
datasets are kept in RAM for faster processing, or where
hardware-based cryptography or random numbers are needed,
or where "nondisruptive processor replacement" is useful, etc.
Eg, on a z9 "a technician can replace an entire 'processor
book' (system board) without ending any applications and
without restarting any operating systems."

--
jiw