Hey Buddy, Can You Spare Some Processing Power?

[Wellcky]

Rallying around the popular SETI@Home program (in which millions of volunteers use a small app to help process radio signals), a company is taking the idea of ?distributed computing? and trying to make it a profitable business. They envision companies that do massive amounts of number crunching to spread pay-for-process screensavers around the net, through which people will be paid for using their PC?s processing power.

---go here for more info---

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/07/07/seti.implication.idg/index.html

 

[NaughtyusMaximus]

Good article.

 

[Train]

My friend has about 60 computers on a network in his basement, he has them enabled to act as one CPU. One day he got a call from some government agency, they told him he had to register his network in case the government ever needed to commandeer his proccessing power, kinda cool huh?

 

[dvch]

The government needs to get out of the idea they have a right to private property.And how did they learn of your friends cluster?

 

[Possessed Freak]

Actually the governemtn does have right to anything in the country. At least they buy the land from you when they have to put up telephone poles or whatever. Granted you have to give it to them, but at least you get money out of it. If you don't like it goto Cuba or Mexico or any other country and see if it is different.

 

[Russ]

PF,

The government does not have a "right" to take our private property. The fact that they engage in this violation of the US Constitution aside, it is still not their "right" to do so. ONLY in cases of eminent domain, where there is a demonstrable and compelling public need, do they have that right. In all other cases it is sanctioned theft.

Russ, NCNE

 

[Possessed Freak]

Russ, that is what I meant, sorry I did not clarify, no they can not just take your stuff for no reason, but hey if for some fscked up reason, if the countries fastest cluster is your friends because of a stretegic missle strike that hit all other supercomputers in the US, I guess they can use it... hey if for some really really fscked up reason my machines were the most powerful, I would give em over!

 

[slpaulson]

60 computers as one cpu pretty impressive. Too bad you probably can't play quake3 on that hehe.