Put your computer to good use, even when you're asleep
Category show-n-tell thursday
Okay, this may not seem like a true SnTT at first, but hear me out. I stumbled upon this article a few minutes ago, and it reminded me of something I'd completely forgotten about: World Community Grid. For those unfamiliar with the premise, it's a distributed computing system that, by running a small utility on each member's computer, breaks up extremely complex research tasks (such as finding cures for AIDS, cancer, etc.) into tiny chunks that are processed separately, and the results are uploaded once each task is complete. These tasks run when the computer is idle, pausing when - in the case of a laptop - the computer is running on batteries or being actively used.
Here's why I consider this an SnTT. Our community constantly comes up with ideas for making the most of available resources, be they hardware, software, or even people. But with the exception of scheduled agents, when we put ourselves and our computers to sleep, the hardware is doing nothing. Let's put those resources to good use. When you become a member, one of the options is to join a "team". One such team, apparently started last July by Declan, called "Lotus Domino Bloggers", has since contributed a combined total of 11 years of run time (2.3 years just from Rocky). With only 20 members. There are hundreds of us... let's all join the team. Ultimately the results contribute to the same goal, whether you're on a team or not, but sometimes it's a good feeling to be able to measure quantitatively a larger good that you've been a part of. So consider signing up... no pressure, just a suggestion. While you're snoring away, your computer could be saving lives.
Okay, this may not seem like a true SnTT at first, but hear me out. I stumbled upon this article a few minutes ago, and it reminded me of something I'd completely forgotten about: World Community Grid. For those unfamiliar with the premise, it's a distributed computing system that, by running a small utility on each member's computer, breaks up extremely complex research tasks (such as finding cures for AIDS, cancer, etc.) into tiny chunks that are processed separately, and the results are uploaded once each task is complete. These tasks run when the computer is idle, pausing when - in the case of a laptop - the computer is running on batteries or being actively used.
Here's why I consider this an SnTT. Our community constantly comes up with ideas for making the most of available resources, be they hardware, software, or even people. But with the exception of scheduled agents, when we put ourselves and our computers to sleep, the hardware is doing nothing. Let's put those resources to good use. When you become a member, one of the options is to join a "team". One such team, apparently started last July by Declan, called "Lotus Domino Bloggers", has since contributed a combined total of 11 years of run time (2.3 years just from Rocky). With only 20 members. There are hundreds of us... let's all join the team. Ultimately the results contribute to the same goal, whether you're on a team or not, but sometimes it's a good feeling to be able to measure quantitatively a larger good that you've been a part of. So consider signing up... no pressure, just a suggestion. While you're snoring away, your computer could be saving lives.
