Buddy, can you spare a PC processing cycle?
Intel Facebook app for grid unlocking
Intel has launched a scheme to turn your PC’s unused processing power into, possibly, a medical breakthrough or the answer to climate change.
Progress Thru Processors is a Facebook app that allows users to donate their PC’s unused processor power to distributed computing projects, including one battling for cures to Alzheimer’s and cancer.
The self-monitoring application runs in the background on your PC and activates when your machine’s performance isn’t fully utilised. When you require more processing grunt, the app makes itself idle until you’re done.
You don’t need to leave your PC on all day and night: just use it as you normally would and the app will do the rest.
You can choose one of three grid-based projects to support: the medical research project Rosetta@home; Climateprediction.net; and Africa@home.
Deborah Conrad, Intel’s corporate marketing head, said: “By simply running an application on your computer, which uses very little incremental resources, you can expand computing resources to researchers working to make the world a better place”.
More information and the application itself - currently in beta form – is available at Facebook. ®
COMMENTS
BOINC?
woot! Intel have a facebook fan page for their own cut down version of BOINC [http://boinc.berkeley.edu/] - why not give some love to the real projects doing some good rather than "me too" press-release-ware in the neverending fight with AMD
bit disappointed that the only insights are in the comments today, not the articles
All taken care of.
My PC now carries a "PC Processing Cyle Donor Card"
They can have as many as they like when its dead.
@Benny....
There is a small and subtle point here : it is the Janus faced attitude of companies like facebook that really is the epitome of the cynical internet generation.
Your assertion that they are not actually asking us to /do/ anything is accurate, but mis-placed.
Laudable and altruistic endeavours like Boinc and Folding have one purpose : to resolve / understand something.
Face book et al have the ambition of driving advertising revenue.
Advertising is, frankly the bane of the internet, the scourge of the web', the most banal form of communication there is. Facebook does not have a product, it does not exist as an entity, and yet, on the back of advertising, it is worth something. And its assets : the user names and profiles of every moppet and toadying lackey who signs up and logs in.
Running these 'win-tel' applications only through facebook shows the value of giving away rubbish to entice the stupid, to filter web banners and email spam at them who, in turn, think the targeted marketing is, truly, the future of intellectual discourse.
Benny, you ARE a Benny.
Good bye.
@Benny
I agree somewhat
Distrubite how ever you can
But please "we have this special thing on facebook cause were cool web2.0 people Yaeehh "
Why not just promote existing tools
confuse ppl less
Moan, moan, bitch, bitch
I guess some people will never be happy unless what they want to see fail does fail. Therefore whatever is done is only deserving of criticism.
No, it's not a new idea, and maybe Facebook aren't being entirely altruistic, only have a limited range of F@H options, and there are legitimate criticism to be made and improvements which could be had, but at least they are doing something. Facebook is the latest fad; so what ? If that's where people are at today, that's the place to engage them.
But, no, let's not congratulate anyone for moving in the right direction, not when there's the option of being negative and critical rather than offering constructive comment and encouragement.
