Distributed Computing

[JetSet]

Just curious, but does anyone on here do any Distributed Computing like Folding@Home, Seti@Home, etc.

 

Pete

[Flex]

No but sounds interesting, I know I could google but

[JetSet]

No but sounds interesting, I know I could google but

 

Basically, scientific research like finding cures for diseases, finding prime numbers, finding aliens , cracking codes and lots lots more. It's good fun, I've been doing various projects since 2003.

 

Pete

[Flex]

I did google, yes but dont you think the powers that be have enough processing power and if this sort of thing finds anything then it will be absorbed by them?

[JetSet]

That depends, super computers aren't cheap and most projects are run either by individuals or by universities. Folding@home for example is run from Stanford University in California and has several hundred thousands of contributors, Asteroids@Home is run from Warsaw University. For most projects there is no profit motive, like finding Prime numbers for example but in general "for profit" projects are not that well supported by home users.

 

Pete

[Ekona]

Blimey, is SETI still going?!

 

I started doing that with the PC Format forum (RIP) guys many years ago, must've been around 2002 I guess.

[Strudul]

Had a play with F@H years back, I don't think it's a particularly efficient way to go about it (unless you have a dedicated low-power rig).

[Aashenfox]

I've done quite a lot of this, mainly cryptographic currency mining (bitcoin and litecoin) for profit, but the principles are roughly the same. I have participated in folding@home as well, but my pc is a beast and I don't need the extra heat when the system is idle.