Saturday, January 05, 2008

Distributed Computing

I wrote about my crashing desktop computer awhile back. I eventually bought a Dell Dimension 8200 desktop on eBay for $65.00. A great deal and the computer just hums along. The only downside I can see so far is that memory upgrades must be done in pairs of memory sticks that make the process more costly. Anyway, I started to get back to some of the interests I had on my computer before the whole blue screen of death episode. One of my recent things is to go back to running SETI@Home. SETI@Home is a distributed computing effort to sift through huge quantities of data in search of extraterrestrial signs of life. As a die-hard X-Files devotee this idea appeals to me. Now the software used to accomplish this feat, BIONC, is also used for several other distributed computing applications. There are many worthy projects going on but I settled on Rosetta@Home for now. Here's an interesting description of this project:



As a person who's trying to always become more socially responsible (a life long quest). The concept that my eBay computer might actually share some small credit for truly historic scientific breakthrough is exciting. Since my computer sits idle most of the time, I'm giving it something to do.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Happy New Year

In case you haven't seen this already...





Happy New Year from the shores of snowy Lake Michigan!