January 23, 2002

11:07 PM

You've helped crack mathematical games, you've searched for aliens, the cure for cancer, cure for AIDS and even tried to calculate pi. What's left to do in distributed computing? How about helping the fight against anthrax? Remember, if you don't download the screensaver, the terrorists have won.
posted by mathowie (7 comments total)

There is actually a bit of controversy about this, as there is already another distributed project doing the same thing, in the same way apparently.

A write up on this can be found at Ars Technica -- FYI, the distributed computing nerds there tend to be very wary of the commercial/non-profit mixed dist. projects.
posted by malphigian at 11:13 PM on January 23, 2002

I guess Intel is only concerned with the appearance of fighting anthrax. Otherwise they would have taken the high road and released a Mac version of the screensaver as well.
posted by stevis at 11:51 PM on January 23, 2002

...may not be exported or re-exported to certain countries (currently Afghanistan (Taliban-controlled areas), Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria)...

because of course we don't want their help finding the cure for cancer...
posted by modofo at 1:59 AM on January 24, 2002

i think i'll stick with my Men of Hockey screensaver.
posted by tolkhan at 5:11 AM on January 24, 2002

distributed computing is really neat, i think. The internet has created new possibilities, in distributed computing, so that it becomes more than theoretical. In some ways it is frightening, the way we are all plugged in to a common cause, even if it is a good common cause, but it's neat too. The network becomes more powerful than it's parts.
( I know, this post lacks sarcasm, but we are talking about computer science here; there is no room for sarcasm)
posted by goneill at 7:20 AM on January 24, 2002

I've been on the UD cancer project for six-nine months now. I have to say I have no idea whether this is a "good" or "bad" project, worthy or worthless. Any further links to discussion about this would be greatly appreciated (The Ars Technica one above is good but there aren't a lot of comments).

I *am* kind of surprised that I never got an e-mail or anything mentioning the switch over to anthrax, which I've got to say as a project seems alarmist and silly -- don't we already have a vaccine? Unless things go a lot differently than they seem to be now, it's a pretty safe bet that way more people are going to die of cancer than anthrax in the coming decades.

Also, I found it weird that Microsoft is apparently co-sponsoring the anthrax project but not the cancer one.
posted by hackly_fracture at 10:02 AM on January 24, 2002

Here's a thought, if you'd like to contribute to society--turn off your computer when you're not using it!! Just think of all the trees up in Maine you'll save without the extra acid rain.
posted by ArkIlloid at 6:53 PM on January 24, 2002