Everyone needs a hobby but this hobby seems pretty pointless and expensive.
James Newman has spent 5 years, and over $51,000, building a supercomputer in his home. The 55-year-old British engineer’s megaprocessor takes up an entire room in his house.
“I spent around three hours a night working on it and I’ve had to take all the books and shelves and sofas out of my lounge,” he told SWNS. “I’m lucky because it’s quite a big lounge but I’ve had to put everything else in my spare room.”
Newman lives alone and isn’t married. “If I had a wife she’d probably have left me by now” he admitted in the interview.
Newman didn’t plan on spending so much time, and money, on the project but just couldn’t stop once he’d started.
Now that his job is complete (maybe), what does he have to show for it? A computer that’s “a million times slower and has a million times less memory than a typical desktop,” according to South West News Service.
The computer can only play one game, Tetris, which is also available for free online. I just played two games and it cost nothing, which is far less than $51,000.
“In the longer term I would like to put it in a museum or go on a road tour to show people,” he said. “I want to show people how computers works and get children interested in electronics.”
I’m sure a much different lesson can be learned here.
[via Huffington Post]