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Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

boinc.berkeley.edu

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Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#31

Post by adastra22 »

underlogic wrote: post #26
Nonoyesnoyes wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't talk it down just because you don't like it and you are cheap I did Rosetta for years and I was fully aware what and why I was supporting it...

Look if they want funding for their for profit venture they should just ask for your credit card number then go spend on AWS where the hardware is modern and the energy is efficiently used. But if they were upfront and asked directly for peoples hard earned money in exchange for nothing every sane human would say no, so there's this racket called boinc where they trick you into giving them your money indirectly and t…

This isn't pharmaceutical research.

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#33

Post by Rayston »

underlogic wrote: post #11

Boinc on old hardware will win you quite the electric bill. Are they sharing the profits from these discoveries with the contributors? No of course not, that's their IP. You let them use your hardware, pay for the power and bandwidth and they run laughing to the bank. "Boinc - Free supercomputing from the stupid"

???

For the majority of boinc projects its just citizen science, they results are published for free. No money is involved.

I donate my computer time (and corresponding electricity costs) to projects I believe in or find interesting.

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#34

Post by Rayston »

underlogic wrote: post #26
Nonoyesnoyes wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't talk it down just because you don't like it and you are cheap I did Rosetta for years and I was fully aware what and why I was supporting it...

Look if they want funding for their for profit venture they should just ask for your credit card number then go spend on AWS where the hardware is modern and the energy is efficiently used. But if they were upfront and asked directly for peoples hard earned money in exchange for nothing every sane human would say no, so there's this racket called boinc where they trick you into giving them your money indirectly and t…

not all (or even most) of them are profit ventures, like at all. There are some along those lines.

I do Asteroids at home, they need help figuring out the shape and size of asteroids. The data is published for public use.

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#35

Post by fnordpiglet »

adastra22 wrote: post #28
huuhee3 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Price doesn't matter if you were going to use that electricity for heating anyway. Mostly the project are run by universities funded by tax payers, and don't exist to make any profit. Ever heard of charity?

Heat pumps would be more efficient than resistive heating in silicon circuits.

But they don’t find aliens or fold proteins at the same time.

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#36

Post by junon »

wolverine876 wrote: post #22
huuhee3 wrote: post #6

Old desktops with Boinc running 24/7 make an useful alternative to direct electric heating. Of course a heat pump is more efficient, but not everyone has that.

How efficient is Boinc as a heating application? It's an important part of calcuating its climate impact. Also, why old desktops only? Won't a brand new desktop running at 100% generate plenty of heat? Isn't the difference merely calculations per W?

Electronics do not move the needle at all when it comes to climate impact (in terms of heat dissipation). It's where the electricity is sourced that's the problem.

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#37

Post by FerretFred »

jonathrg wrote: post #23
FerretFred wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah!! My one worthwhile box consumes 300 watts, and I made the mistake of folding covid-19 proteins for Boinc in the summer of '19. It was like a sauna in my office and the bill was eye-watering. Never again...

Summer of '19 is impressively early to be working on COVID-19 research.

Duh! Brain not working together with fingers... how about the summer of 20

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#38

Post by fnordpiglet »

underlogic wrote: post #11

Boinc on old hardware will win you quite the electric bill. Are they sharing the profits from these discoveries with the contributors? No of course not, that's their IP. You let them use your hardware, pay for the power and bandwidth and they run laughing to the bank. "Boinc - Free supercomputing from the stupid"

True when they discover aliens and sign exclusive mutual trade agreements you’ll be kicking yourself for not getting a cut of that. But at least they’ll be teleporting faster than light with alien tech laughing to the bank!

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#39

Post by Nonoyesnoyes »

underlogic wrote: post #26
Nonoyesnoyes wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't talk it down just because you don't like it and you are cheap I did Rosetta for years and I was fully aware what and why I was supporting it...

Look if they want funding for their for profit venture they should just ask for your credit card number then go spend on AWS where the hardware is modern and the energy is efficiently used. But if they were upfront and asked directly for peoples hard earned money in exchange for nothing every sane human would say no, so there's this racket called boinc where they trick you into giving them your money indirectly and t…

It's research. I benefit from it, you do too.

It's the responsibility of the society to do research and just because some capitalism based entities also do this and also benefit from this doesn't matter.

Start being less 'sane' if this holds you back formulating your own opinion or actions making society better ...

Re: Boinc lets you help cutting-edge science research using your computer

#40

Post by underlogic »

adastra22 wrote: post #31
underlogic wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look if they want funding for their for profit venture they should just ask for your credit card number then go spend on AWS where the hardware is modern and the energy is efficiently used. But if they were upfront and asked directly for peoples hard earned money in exchange for nothing every sane human would say no, so there's this racket called boinc where they trick you into giving them your money indirectly and t…

This isn't pharmaceutical research.

protein folding simulation is to find drug targets
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