SETI@HOME Easter Egg!

[Baron Munchausen]

Just FYI for the SETI@HOME crunchers in the forum, there's a cute variation of the 'certificates' you can download for processing so many work units. If you get the URL to download the graphic and change the 'certnum=0' part to 'certnum=7' it will change the 'watermark' background from the SETI@HOME screensaver image to Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons! The certificate is also endorsed by them instead of by the Project Director. Anyone who has a SETI@HOME account can get one of these, btw. It doesn't work for just the fixed 'milestones' that the regular certificates are set for. If you've done 155 instead of 250 you will get one for 155. I'd include an image here but I'd have to upload it specifically for this message.

[Mephisto]

Cool! *runs to watch his SETI-Account*

[zen.]

Aw, you SO rock! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Luvin it!

zen

[MikeRMcCartney]

Thanks for the info from a LONG-TIME Seti@Home user (processing my 1000th work unit right now).

[rdouglass]

If you guys aren't in a group yet, consider joining the Space Empires group. Yeah, I've been running it a little while myself - over 4000 WU's....

[MikeRMcCartney]

Man, what sort of computer are you running?? I've been with SETI@Home since June of 1999, and have only done 1000!

[Rambie]

Cool! I'll have to try that. I started with SETI@Home Last year and I'm at 3364 work units now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Baron Munchausen]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by MikeRMcCartney:
Man, what sort of computer are you running?? I've been with SETI@Home since June of 1999, and have only done 1000!<hr></blockquote>

You've made a mistaken assumption. Did he say he was running just ONE computer? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif This 'public project' has inspired some serious hobbyists. There are people running SETI farms in their homes with dozens of computers. He might have a basement 'heating' network of Athlon's or something.

[Spyder]

Ok, I give...what's SETI ? Other than Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, that is....

[ 12 December 2001: Message edited by: Spyder ]</p>

[Baron Munchausen]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Spyder:
Ok, I give...what's SETI ? Other than Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, that is....

<hr></blockquote>

That's what it is. SETI@HOME is a project to get people to use their spare computer time to analyze data for the SETI project. Go to http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ to learn more.

[MikeRMcCartney]

I think the whole idea is fantastic, and that people will show such a great interest is truly outstanding. I never thought about running more than 1 computer for the project, but now I may have to go to the scape pile to build a couple of machines just for SETI.

[rdouglass]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:


You've made a mistaken assumption. Did he say he was running just ONE computer? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif This 'public project' has inspired some serious hobbyists. There are people running SETI farms in their homes with dozens of computers. He might have a basement 'heating' network of Athlon's or something.<hr></blockquote>

Not quite heating my office, but I have anywhere between 4 - 8 computers running @home overnite depending on various factors, day of the month, report workload, etc. At times I've had dual-processor servers running dedicated processes - it'll use all your horsepower if you let it. Its kinda' fun to participate in a project with unprecidented (spelling?) implications. Something like 3.5 million people donating CPU time for something that has an extremely slim chance of finding SETI. If you havent been there before (@home site), go there and check out their CPU stats and stuff - mind boggleing if you're into teraflops and terms like that....

Besides, those computers are on waiting for something to happen most of the time anyways...

[Puke]

i always liked the molecular analysis program that is akin to SETI@HOME. its sponsored by cisco and intel and friends and uses the same parallel processing technology to search for cures to cancer and other ailments by using peoples CPU cycles to look for matches between different molecules and.. well, whatever the hell they match up with. amino acids or something i would suppose.

the fineprint is that the sponsors rent out a few of the cpu cycles to crunch numbers for corporate financed private research projects, which is a pretty clever way of squeezing some profitibility out of bleeding-heart types. wish i thought of it myself. of course if you get down to the nitty gritty, most cancer research is done by profiteers anyhow, so i guess its hard to draw a line one way or the other.

there are also things like distributed.net and such that use your processor time to crack ungodly long encryption algorythms and to perform other such tasks. there enough projects out there to donate your CPU cycles to that you can pick and choose fairly freely. now if it was just tax deductable..

[Baron Munchausen]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by MikeRMcCartney:
I think the whole idea is fantastic, and that people will show such a great interest is truly outstanding. I never thought about running more than 1 computer for the project, but now I may have to go to the scape pile to build a couple of machines just for SETI.<hr></blockquote>

Yep, some people are putting 200 Mhz Pentiums to work on SETI@HOME. It takes several days for a 200Mhz Pentium to do a work unit, but what the hey. If you hook it to a network as a 'diskless workstation' and turn off the monitor it's like a large lightbulb. Just a little extra electricity on the bill. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Californians should probably not do this, though. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Baron Munchausen]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Puke:
i always liked the molecular analysis program that is akin to SETI@HOME. its sponsored by cisco and intel and friends and uses the same parallel processing technology to search for cures to cancer and other ailments by using peoples CPU cycles to look for matches between different molecules and.. well, whatever the hell they match up with. amino acids or something i would suppose.

the fineprint is that the sponsors rent out a few of the cpu cycles to crunch numbers for corporate financed private research projects, which is a pretty clever way of squeezing some profitibility out of bleeding-heart types. wish i thought of it myself. of course if you get down to the nitty gritty, most cancer research is done by profiteers anyhow, so i guess its hard to draw a line one way or the other.

there are also things like distributed.net and such that use your processor time to crack ungodly long encryption algorythms and to perform other such tasks. there enough projects out there to donate your CPU cycles to that you can pick and choose fairly freely. now if it was just tax deductable..<hr></blockquote>

It's mind-boggling to think of the computing power in the hands of the general public. Look at the numbers on the SETI site and then look at the Users. Only 3.5 million or so and only about 1/2 million really active. There are HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PCS OUT THERE... Even all of the known distributed computing projects combined have barely begun to tap this power.

Yes, private enterprise is trying desperately to find ways to exploit this. I think the govt. is too, but they have even more troubles than business. Tampering has been a problem for SETI@HOME all along, and National Security projects are not something you want to hand over to millions of potential hackers. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

[ 13 December 2001: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]</p>

[zen.]

I had no idea that the cure for cancer project did anything but. That is, if you're referring to the University of Oxford project (http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/curecancer.html).

But yah, getting paid for results would be kinda cool. Let the computer do some work for a change. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif