World Community Grid Releases Linux Agent

GrahamHood from WorldCommunityGrid.org writes "The World Community Grid is proud to announce the release of a Linux Agent, for the current Human Proteome Folding Project. Team Slashdot, being the #1 team on the World Community Grid, will be pleased to hear that it is now available for download."

Yes, it IS important.

[Vo0k]

So, okay, Linux is like 2% of world computer share. BUT lots of the Linux machines are servers. Running 24/7 and with plenty of spare CPU power.

I launch my primary PC, 2GHz CPU. Boot it to Windows. The computation starts and runs for 1h when I check my mail, read some slashdot, then I want to start up Half-Life 2 and have every CPU cycle for myself so I quit the client. I play for 3h, then for the rest of the evening use a text terminal in my bed for IRCing, the main PC is off. 2 billion CPU cycles per day donated.
But I have a PC at work, that works as a Samba server, has 330MHZ CPU, and most of the time does completely nothing. Linux. 8 billion CPU cycles per day donated.

That's some effort

[dJOEK]

Logic for beginners:

1. World Computing had only a Windows Client until today
2. Team Slashdot is the #1 Team -> lotsa computing power
3. Slashdotians are in general Linux zealots.

Conclusion, The few windows users on slashdot that engage in World Computing have some pretty hefty Windows boxen ;-)

That, or you're all closet XP users ;-)

Re:Questions

[MichaelSmith]

4) Is the client close-source?

Yes, I would be rather uncomfortable about running a cpu heavy application which requires internet access without some way of auditing its behavior.

Comparison to Folding@Home

[TuxPaper]

From their FAQ:

What is the difference between what Human Proteome Folding does and what Folding@home does?

There are large differences between the Human Proteome Folding Project and folding@home. Both projects are excellent but have very different objectives.

Folding@home aims to get at how a few proteins of KNOWN structure fold DYNAMICALLY. Folding@home is a project to further understanding of the folding process itself. Understanding why protein folding works (and why it doesn't) could have a significant impact in certain diseases like Alzheimer's and Huntington's Disease, which Folding@Home is actively studying.

The Human Proteome Folding Project will PREDICT the structures of large numbers of proteins of UNKNOWN-structure. The aim of this project is to get structures and functions for huge numbers of proteins so that biologists and biomedical researchers who run into these mystery proteins in their research can look to ISB's database for functional/mechanistic clues about their favorite mystery-proteins.

Call me a pessimist, or a conspiracy theorist, but the ability to predict unknown structures sounds like a way for coporations to patent them. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong. Either way, I'm sticking to Folding@Home.