Avicus Archive

BOINC by scolton April 5, 2015 at 4:04 AM UTC

No, it's not the sound effect of a ball hitting the ground. It's an acronym for Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. 

Have you ever heard of the project SETI@Home? It searches for extraterrestrial life forms using more computing power than the most powerful supercomputer to date. How? It's called network computing, and it involves distributing work to volunteer machines which process tiny fragments of a large chunk of data and report back to a job server. By installing the BOINC software on your computer and signing up for projects, you can make a measurable contribution to the cause of science and mathematics. Some of the projects include SETI@Home (extraterrestrial life), Rosetta@Home (protein structure, there's also a fun game called Foldit [https://fold.it/portal/]), Docking@Home (protein-ligand interactions), GPUGrid (development of chemicals to cure cancer, AIDS, etc.), and many more. You can change settings in the program to not run when your computer is on battery or not to run while you're using the computer. Everything is totally customizable, including how much time you want your computer to donate to each project. You don't need a beefy computer (although you'll do more work if you do have one). If you have a compatible GPU (you can search for a list, it must have updated drivers), the system will use that for compatible projects as well and increase your computing speed many times over. Obviously, running intense tasks will require more power to the computer, but if you can afford it and would like to contribute to science, it's well worth it. I can also help you set up the program if you wish, many contact methods are available on my profile page.

Links
BOINC Software (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, Raspberry Pi) - http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php
NVIDIA Drivers - http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
AMD/ATI Drivers - http://support.amd.com/en-us

Other Important Notes
Some projects will want you to join a team. For every project that I'm enrolled in, I have joined the team called "Sicituradastra." It's Latin for something. They're the biggest team in BOINC.

TL;DR
BOINC allows you to use your computer's idle time to process data that is given back to real scientific foundations, causing you to contribute to science. Download it at the link above and contact me (information on my profile) for help installing. 

DonaldMyTrump April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

Yeah... this seems super scammy.

scolton April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

Yeah... this seems super scammy.
I'm sorry it seems like that to you. I can tell you that I've used the software for 7 years, but it's really all up to you.

Kammeh April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

That's great, I'll keep this in mind, thanks for this Pav :D and keep posting.

scolton April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

That's great, I'll keep this in mind, thanks for this Pav :D and keep posting.
I will! And I hope you decide to use it :)

GrapeSmoothie April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

Im so lost... o-o

scolton April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

Im so lost... o-o
If you want to know more, feel free to contact me via one of the methods listed on my profile page (Skype is preferred).

DonaldMyTrump April 5, 2015 at 5:04 AM UTC

Im so lost... o-o
From what I understand it says that some company wants to use your computer to generate answers for their scientific and mathematical issues(to do things like process chunks of space and protein structure). I do wonder who exactly would regulate how the company uses the computers as I'm relatively sure they can use this to do whatever they want with your computer due to this.

scolton April 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM UTC

From what I understand it says that some company wants to use your computer to generate answers for their scientific and mathematical issues(to do things like process chunks of space and protein structure). I do wonder who exactly would regulate how the company uses the computers as I'm relatively sure they can use this to do whatever they want with your computer due to this.
They can NOT use your computer in any way they want. When the organization applies for the ability to use BOINC, they must submit the program they plan to use and it must pass tests made by BOINC engineers. It can only do what the project specifies.

DonaldMyTrump April 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM UTC

Yes but who exactly regulates these BOINC engineers. This seems all very "trust us" imo.

scolton April 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM UTC

Yes but who exactly regulates these BOINC engineers. This seems all very "trust us" imo.
BOINC is run by UC Berkeley. They're very trustworthy people. I didn't realize people would hate this so much.

DonaldMyTrump April 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM UTC

BOINC is run by UC Berkeley. They're very trustworthy people. I didn't realize people would hate this so much.
I don't hate it but I've learned to never trust someone that can profit from being untrustworthy.

scolton April 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM UTC

I don't hate it but I've learned to never trust someone that can profit from being untrustworthy.
Understood.

JUBBINATOR April 5, 2015 at 6:04 PM UTC

but what about the versions for consoles? you aint mentioned those :c

scolton April 6, 2015 at 12:04 AM UTC

but what about the versions for consoles? you aint mentioned those :c
Pretty sure they're not a thing, at least not that I've heard of

JUBBINATOR April 6, 2015 at 3:04 AM UTC

Pretty sure they're not a thing, at least not that I've heard of
Maybe discontinued 
:c

BmB April 6, 2015 at 4:04 PM UTC

Not sure if this is one of the coolest and inovative ways that IT is used for or something that could potentially be exploited on a huge scale.

scolton April 6, 2015 at 8:04 PM UTC

Not sure if this is one of the coolest and inovative ways that IT is used for or something that could potentially be exploited on a huge scale.
I think it's pretty cool.