According to the New York times, the US National Science
Foundation is planning to award the contract to build the world's
fastest supercomputer to Big Blue.
The machine will be delivered in 2011 and it should break the
petaflop barrier. It's expected to cost around $200 million to
procure and the operating costs over five years will cost about the
same.
All is not great, as some politicians and scientists are asking
questions about the bidding process, not just about the choice of
the contractor, but the location of the machine itself.
More here.