[zeugma]

3) The only place where this might be wanted is those few places that for some reason put huge amounts of data and calculations on Excel spreadsheets. Any Excel spreadsheet that can't be quickly calculated by a modern fast Opteron system needs its data to be put in a different format.

Huge Excel spreadsheets? Uh, isn't that what databases are for? 

[antiRepublicrat]

Huge Excel spreadsheets? Uh, isn't that what databases are for?

Yup. So why do we need clusters for Excel spreadsheets?

I just read more on this. For one, it doesn't do head node failover as Linux can. And it can't enlist the idle-time help of all of your desktop computers like Apple's XGrid can, nor can it enlist Internet help like XGrid can (think SETI@Home).

Microsoft has a long way to go before this can challenge the established players on merits.