SETI@Home Transitions To BOINC

SeaDour writes "The team at SETI@Home have finally released their highly-anticipated new client software based on the BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) software platform. This new platform promises transparent version upgrades, more efficient work unit distribution, and the ability to seamlessly integrate other distributed computing projects that are also using the BOINC standard. For now, SETI@Home is allowing both the Classic and BOINC clients to run, but eventually they will shut down the Classic data server and force everyone to upgrade. You can read more about the transition here."

I for one

[Anonymous Coward]

welcome our BOINC alien-finding overlords. sorry.

Bill Watterson was right...

[CaseyB]

"Scientific progress goes BOINC?"

a great joke

[ch-chuck]

You know, I'd love to setup a transmitter and inject a signal into the seti data collection dish - you know, a low level non-random mathematically transformed character stream that roughtly translates to "The earthlings will never find us here" or something.

If done right it could be a bigger practical joke than the War of the Worlds broadcast of 1938!

Interesting...

[ndavidg]

Well this is interesting... probably the first time a service provider was required to upgrade software: "You better upgrade if you want us to continue using your cpu cycle service."

Ah, Seti@Home

[jb.hl.com]

The practical implementation of a million monkeys at a million typewriters... ...finding nothing.

Seriously, what has Seti@Home found as of yet?

BONIC?

[The Analog Kid]

Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing

Am I to take that this project will also be dying?

Tax break?

[SkyWalk423]

If I sign up for SETI@home, are my spare CPU cycles tax deductibe as a charitable contribution?

Re:I for one

[Epistax]

I prefer

Scientific progress goes BOINC?

Criminal Intent

[EssTiDee]

From article: "Will the format of input and output files change? Yes. The new format is XML-like (though not legal XML). " Sorry SETI, the RIAA has long since scared me away from having anything illegal on my PC. :-P

Re:Tax break?

[ndavidg]

Good question. But here's an even bigger question: If you could put it on your taxes, how would you calculate the amount? SETI/Idle Time || SETI/Used Time || SETI/Time Spent looking at Pr0n ?

Re:Waste

[bsartist]

What if we find aliens that are considerably more advanced than us, and teach us of medical advances we wouldn't have found on our own for centuries?

Not that I think that will happen. It's just that we don't know what will result from it - that's the point of doing research, to find out. It doesn't make sense to restrict our areas of inquiry to those with easily imaginable results, when its the results we can't imagine that will really rock our world.

Re:Will new client screen out 'cheaters'?

[SkyWalk423]

You'll be happy to know that the new SETI@Home client is PunkBuster-enabled. The days of SETI@Home aimbots are finally over!

Score one for the good guys!

Re:I for one

[Anonymous Coward]

sorry.

Liar.

Re:Not quite ready for the unwashed masses?

[srwalter]

However, someone not knowing about Solaris, GCC, and sunfreeware.com might be a bit stumped. And the boinc/setiboinc boards reveal that quite a number of beta testers are confused about this, not only on Solaris but also on Linux. It's not completely obvious which GCC/libgcc packages contains libstc++.so.3 (as opposed to .2.x or .4.x).

How many people use Solaris that aren't familiar with it? It's not like Grandma is gonna come with a shiny new Solaris CD and install it.

Be careful what you search for

[xyote]

I have a suspicion that any advanced galatic civilization, realizing the nature of expansionistic species, broadcasts instructions on how to blow yourself up, knowing full well that any sufficiently aggressive species will not be able to resist following the instructions. The tiny note at the end "Do not attempt this on your home planet" just indicates a puckish sense of humor.

Credits vs. Total CPU time

[alchemistkevin]

what am i gonna do if they don't convert my CPU Time into credits!!! Surely, wouldn't like to see the Total Credits: 0.00 (or near numbers) screen for more than a few days... either they come up with a scheme to let me run my old client, update my CPU time and keep my bragging rights or i free up my cpu from whatever number crunching it is doing at the moment and give some rest to the enclosure fans... and may be boinc is a project concieved and promoted by aliens, transported to us as telepathy in a bid for us to drop our search against them!!!?!!? who knows....

Re:Waste

[Anonymous Coward]

I am fully qualified to bring peace to the Middle East. What I lack are the nuclear weapons.

Re:Waste

[Demodian]

Maybe the new BOINC software will allow you to split your computing time between SETI and Folding?

...or maybe merge the two looking for little origami ETs that have the cure for those bad tasting protein shakes...