Looking to get some documentation together for pursuading my uni to help out.

[TripleJ]

If you know what will pull the right strings, I'd love a few pointers.

Thanks.

 

[RaySun2Be]

Bump ^

Hey, some of you master assimilators, TripleJ needs help convincing the powers that be to let him run RC5.

Anyone willing to help share things that worked for them, hints, documentation, etc.?

Don't want those cows to sit idle do you? :Q

 

[CurtOien]

^

 

[TripleJ]

Thankee you two for the bumps.

I've got a few bits of info together, but I think I need some more for a good case.

 

[Ken g6]

Well, I can think of a few perks. First, RC5 (or any distributed project) is, as sciencewhiz's sig says, The best way to prevent thermal stress on your CPU. You see, a CPU is like a light bulb. It fails not so much from the temperature it reaches during use, as from changes in its temperature that fatigue, crack and eventually break its wires. RC5 keeps it at a constant temperature, so it will last longer.

Second, RC5 can be (and has been) used to track the computer if it is stolen. The easiest way is to point it to a machine running the PProxy, which logs the computer's IP (and, if security is a concern, masks its IP from DNet.) But in some cases, people have flushed directly to DNet, and gotten them to give the police the IP of the stolen computer from their logs.

Also, an idea. Dennil, who can no longer post to our board, was probably our best assimilator ever ("Recrutus of Borg" ) I've wondered for a long time what it was he said that got so many people to join. So can some of his recruits here post their private messages from him, so we can see how it should be done?

 

[BurntKooshie]

Ken_G6 - while I think it's probably true for the &quot;thermal stress&quot; part to some degree, I'm inclined to think that it may not be as great a deal as people make it out to be if the CPU is in &quot;normal&quot; conditions - ie, semi-decent heatsink, and AC !< something like 60 degree's. I'm actually seriously tempted to talk both to a thermo prof, a material sciences proff, and an electrical engineering prof (if I were lucky enough, all three at the same time!)....but I know that'll never happen...

 

[Ken g6]

A couple of links to help you out:

Newer thread
Older thread

BK: Yeah, it's probably not that big an effect. But come on, I'm trying to make a sales pitch here!

 

[IBhacknU]

This is what Ken_g6 was talking about... (sent to me Nov. 30, 2000)

OK, here's the invite and the reply. Just tell me your cpu and MHz.

----------------

Hi IBhacknU,

I don't know if you are already cracking some rc5

--if you are, you need not read any further--

but, if you aren't, I was wondering if you would be interested in joining my Borg herd (so far a bunch of guys &amp; 11 gals, including WombatWoman, GirlFriday, ChrichtonsGirl, freesia39, kassy, RagingBitch &amp; Isla). So this private message constitutes a one-time invitation to join Team Anandtech and be part of my Borg group in a miniteam called TA Cube. Rest assured, I will not repeatedly spam you on this. The reference to my herd comes from the fact that the project is called the bovine rc5-64 project and the mascot is a cow (the icon sported by many in the forums).

The purpose of this program is to join several thousand computers in an effort to prove that 64bit encryption is not safe enough for internet banking, etc... by cracking a code. Its other aim is to prove the value of distributed computing, that is show that a very large number of home computers can perform together on a level usually reserved for supercomputers. RC5-64 is sponsored by the major companies that produce the encryption software as a way of testing. Basically, it would install and run a very small program that does mathematical computation on your computer to try and find a hidden key amongst a few billion blocks. The program (client) is set to the lowest priority on your computer, meaning that it will not slow any of your normal processes (or even most idle processes) (one of the rare issues encountered so far is with some distributed high-end rendering programs). It only uses unused cpu cycles, making your processor run at 100% of its capacity. During that time, Windows would produce garbage instructions anyway, so this just makes you use more of the cpu you paid good money for. This generates a little heat (like running a game all the time) but if your system is cooled enough, ie stable when you play games, there is no danger at all to your pc. If you are not overclocking, there are no danger at all. Moreover, the client starts automatically when you turn on your computer and runs in the background. One of the processes limiting the lifespan of your hadware is thermal shock and transient voltage when you turn on your pc. You could do like me and always leave your computers on, so that the temperature remains stable. All I do is set up power management in control panel so that my monitor goes to sleep after 20 minutes of inactivity from my mouse or keyboard. Or you need not change your habits at all.

The client will not interfere with antiviral software or defragging (it pauses automatically during the latter). Gaming is also almost always unaffected. One thing to keep in mind though, if you have installed Rain or Waterfall or another cpu cooling software that uses halt instructions, you need to disable it (I have uninstalled Rain from my pc) because it will not be effective anymore. I am part of a team involved in a contest as to who will find the key first, Team Anandtech (after the best hardware site in the world, off course). Within TA, I am part of a miniteam call TA Cube or simply THE BORG!!! My integral designation is Galactus of Borg and I currently have ~200 computers in my herd. TA is in a fight to the finish with another team called the Dutch Power Cows. We are way ahead of them in the standings but they have recently enrolled a lot of people and will overtake us in ~4 months if we remain idle.

Here is my picture as Galactus Of Borg.

The contests generates a tremendous amount of statistics and these stats are utterly addictive. I cannot spend a day without checking the teams and individual progress in them

Here are the stats for TA Cube!!! .

Here are the individuals within TA Cube.
Here is my herd.

Here are Team Anandtech stats overall.
Here are Team Anandtech stats yesterday.

As you can see, the Dutch Power Cows are gaining one million blocks per day on us. Each block or packet or work unit as they are variously called is a bunch of numbers to check for the key. For my 500MHz cpu, a block generally takes about 7 minutes to crack and I do between 200 and 400 per day depending on their size. So you see, while one computer doesn't do much, the number of PCs can add to a lot. That is why I want to get as many in my herd as I can. There is a little monetary prize but if we win, it will amount to about 50cents per TA members, so we ain't in it for the money. The competition however is tremendous fun.

There are two ways to install the client: one is visible and will show as a small cow in your system tray (lower right corner of your taskbar). In that mode, right-clicking on it and restoring allows you to see the client at work by watching the progress of a blinking light. That is the option I chose on my PC. Another option is to install the client as a service on a PC and it will run unnoticed, not even showing under ctrl-alt-del. In either case, the client downloads work to do when your computer is connected to the internet and sends the work it has done all automatically.

The home page of TA Cube is here. Preconfigured clients are available for download (very small file, a little over 100kB) at this page . To join my herd, you just need to download the upper left client (specific to TA Cube) and extract it to a floppy (if you're on broadband, use the upper right corner disk). From the floppy, run setup. I would recommend using the visible version for your home. Once you have run setup. Just reboot your computer and see the little cow in your taskbar. You can restore it and minimize it again. It uses very little resources and the client program is a great way to test your PC for stability problems. Once it is working, you need not do anything else at all to be on my herd. The client does all automatically by itself.

I would really appreciate it if you trust me enough for you to install the client on your PC and run it. It will be no hassle at all and I will simply need to know your processor type and speed to list your PC in my herd (e.g. Celeron 500MHz for my PC). Any computer or person that you could similarly assimilate (convince, convert) would also be very much welcome. No money involved, just lotsa fun and giving a little something back to help Anandtech's reputation. I'm sure that you would get addicted to the stats and being part of the team is really nice, particularly when you don't have to do anything else but a 2 minute install of the client.

Please note that these preconfigured clients are only for Windows. They will not work on Macs. Please note also that 24/7 connection is not needed. I am on a 56k connection with a winmodem and that causes no problem whatsoever.

If you need further clarifications, you can find detailed info at this excellent tutorial site made by one of our TA members, Paulson .


BTW, if you wish to become an integral yourself and have your own herd rather than joining mine, just send you cpu speed and type to Russ (One of Borg) rather than to me.

I know that we have not talked before but I would be delighted if you jump on board my group or if you become your own Borg. For a down-to-earth feedback, you can ask GirlFriday, Isla or unxpurg8d about how easy the install is.



Cheers

Denis
aka
dennilfloss

---------------------------

Thanks for your reply. Your interest is much appreciated.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of the easiest way to become a Borg. Just follow these instructions to the letter and joining Team Anandtech will be smooth as silk.

Here's what I suggest:

All you need do is go to this page and download whichever of the TA Cube specific client disks is appropriate for your connection.

Simply download it. Extract the download directly to a floppy, not to a directory on a floppy. From Windows, explore the floppy and double-click on setup. If you chose the standard (visible) version, that's all you need to do for the client to start. If you chose the service (hidden) version, you need to reboot for it to start a first time. The next time you get connected, the client will fetch 2000 work units to crunch and start crunching. That buffer is enough for 3-4 days between connects. The client fetches and flushes blocks automatically when you're connected. In case this stalls (it happens rarely), you can simply right-click on your system-tray cow and click on the 'update buffers' option twice a week just to make sure. That updates your buffers manually.

The TA Cube specific disk is entirely preconfigured. Your blocks are automatically credited to TA Cube (The BORG!) and therefore to Team Anandtech. Nothing to enter. The client adds nothing except the position &amp; size of its window to the registry, so uninstalling it is as simple as deleting the rc5 folder.

If you install the client on any other machine, please make sure that you have permission.

Once you do install the client, I will need you to confirm your cpu type and MHz.

Cheers and welcome to Team Anandtech. Your contribution greatly helps our effort.

Denis
-----------------

Very cool.

 

[RaySun2Be]

Another bump up.

I think there are some good tidbits there, and does anyone have some suggestions and hints on persuading a University (and or business) IT group to get involved with the project?