The BBC Climate Prediction Project!
The BBC has decided to get people together to contribute their spare CPU cycles in the quest to produce a rather ambitious look at the future of this planet--a full simulation of climate change from 1920 to 2080--based on all the data we've got available to us today...and what may well happen in the future if we don't start pahying attention SOON!
Now why exactly would anyone need YOUR computer to help, when they've already got access to hundreds of "supercomputers" around the world? Simple...there are hundreds of supercomputers around the world...but there are BILLIONS of personal computers out there!
Those hundreds of "available" supercomputers are engaged in massive number-crunching for governments (trying to find new ways to hide what they're taking out of your pocket), military institutions (trying to find ways to kill more people more economically...and hiding how they're taking it out of your pocket), university scientific experiments (and MP3 and porn downloads, of course), pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs (to poison the public and create new diseases in new and ever-more-insidious ways...and to get ther governments to help them get the money out of your pocket without you realizing it), and whatever else they can be (and are) used for.
Plainly put, "der Übermachinen" are taxed almost to their full processing capacity at all times, must be scheduled long in advance in order to get "their custom software" into the processing rotation, and those machines run up some rather healthy bills for those who use them...well...unless they're governments or military, in which case "money is no object" since it's not their money they're spending, but yours.
Now look at YOUR computer...and the MILLIONS of other computers out there. 99% of people do NOT take full advantage of the computing power they have available to them...well...OK, gamers tax their systems to their absolute limits whenever they're playing just about any modern game, but that's another story...and mainly taxing the video processors, rather than the CPU itself...which still leaves "some" fre CPU cycles available. The plain fact is that the vast majority of usable computers sit idle at least 90% of the time. Yes...even those owned by someone named "Melvin" who lives in a room without windows, thinks pocket protectors are "the ultimate fashion accessory", and still plays Dungeons & Dragons on a regular basis...sometimes even in the presence of "real" people! (GASP!)
All that having been said, a supercomputer capable of performing a few trillion operations per second is a very nice idea...but as noted, is prohibitively expensive to run, and almost impossible to get the required time to process these immense calculations that are needed to do such a humongous modelling project.
As few as ten thousand personal computers on the other hand, each with the ability to process "only" a few billion operations--when not doing other things--adds up to the same equivalent processing power of one of those supercomputers...and potentially even more when the work is distributed amongst those thousands of "underutilized" personal computers.
Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy...but it works! SETI@Home and the LHC@Home projects have proven that mass-processing power is not only capable, but in many ways, much more appropriate as a method to accomplish such major undertakings. The people who benefit from the research actually take part in the process, rather than hearing about "some abstract concept" that they really have no information on. When your own machine is involved in the effort, you tend to take a bit more interest into WHY these massive processing operations NEED to be undertaken, as well.
For those who need a little more information about what SETI@Home is all about, please hit this link:
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu
For those who have NO IDEA about what the (*#@ all this "BOINC stuff" is about, you'll want to go HERE for more information about the BOINC project as a whole, and CLICK HERE to download the latest BOINC client. (Note: LHC@Home is currently reccommending the 4.45 client, rather than the latest available client...please try to keep this in mind if you're planning on running multiple projects...now that you know they exist!)
Broad Generalizations:
The SETI@Home project is dedicated to searching the cosmos for signs of intelligent life. Gawd knows they haven't found a whole hell of a lot in this neck of the woods...
The LHC@Home project is currently engaged in designing, modelling and testing the largest superconducting supercollider ever built, to be used for the next 20 or 30-odd years of particle physics research. Maybe Feynman, Greene, Hawking (and many other notables) might get some confirmations--or corrections--on their previous mathematical and theoretical predictions?
Personally, I'm running the SETI@Home and LHC@Home, and now the BBC Climate Prediction projects myself...as I realize that when my computers are just sitting idly by, they CAN be making use of the power they consume for much better things than notifying me of the last SPAM that's filtered through the net into my inbox. Obviously a much better use of my computer time...especially when I'm already asleep. ;)
Why not have YOUR computers do something worthwhile when you're not actively using them too?!? Join one of the projects noted above today, or take a look at all of the projects currently available at http://boinc.berkeley.edu for something that might fit your ideals and interests a little better.
