Got|Spare CPU Cycles? Try SETI!

[Jeffbx]

Time to put those spare CPU cycles to some good use!

There have been a few threads about SETI in the past, but no one has actually explained it to the people who have never heard of it. And if you've never heard of it, you're not as big of a nerd as people say you are.

So just what the heck is SETI, anyway?

SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

So essentially what it does is use your spare CPU cycles to look at data collected from those big 'ol radio telescopes:



They point these things at the sky & all they do is listen to radio noise from outer space. They take this data, split it up into little chunks, and you download it onto your PC. Your PC then searches the data for anything that looks out of the ordinary that may be extraterrestrial in origin (alien TV?). It does this by running a screensaver that you download from SETI, and it only runs when your PC is idle.

Each chunk (or work unit) is uploaded back to SETI once your PC is done analyzing the data. The more work units you complete, the uhh, bigger geek you are, I guess. No, they actually give electronic recognition certificates for 'work unit milestones' - 100, 250, 500, etc.

Got|Apex has a team set up that you can join to contribute your work units to the team's total.

So why bother? What's the point? If your PC is the one that finds something REALLY out of the ordinary, fame, notoriety and riches will not be yours, but it sure is something interesting to tell the grandkids.

Also - you can compare who can complete a work unit the fastest. Sorry to us Windows users - UNIX & OS X will probably blow us away in this category. Of course, it'll still be a while before ribitch catches up with me!



Join the Got|Apex team

FAQs about the Seti@Home project

Read about the SETI Institute

Read up on the Satellite Arrays

[mcs328]

I had the SETI one but I changed to the one that looks at compounds that might be a cure for cancer. I think this cause might be more meaningful. Just my two cents.

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by mcs328
I had the SETI one but I changed to the one that looks at compounds that might be a cure for cancer. I think this cause might be more meaningful. Just my two cents.

Good point - there's also a Got|Apex team for the search for a cancer cure, for those of you who might prefer to contribute to sometheing a little more practical.

[kain9i6]

I dunno.. i think things like SETI may be the downfall of the world.. Think about it.. we discover alien life (well the discover is made public anyways, because we know that there are aliens).. half of the world is in awe, the other half is terrified..riots will erupt out of fear.. armaggeddon is near.. the aliens take their cue and destroy us while we are in a stat of unrest.. all because of a program called SETI..

I bet it was created by aliens.. damn they are smart..

[mcs328]

Originally posted by Jeffbx


Good point - there's also a Got|Apex team for the search for a cancer cure, for those of you who might prefer to contribute to sometheing a little more practical.

Ahhhh...I didn't know that. Thanks.

[Cantacuzene]

I would do those things, but I prefer to not have cpu lag.

[chadlnc]

I have mine set to run only as a screen saver, so I don't have any lag.

[Kevster]

I would join, but I'm already a proud and long-time member of the Knights Who Say NI!.

As of my last check I have 8075 results processed. My collective cranks out about 26-30/day.

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by kain9i6
I dunno.. i think things like SETI may be the downfall of the world.. Think about it.. we discover alien life (well the discover is made public anyways, because we know that there are aliens).. half of the world is in awe, the other half is terrified..riots will erupt out of fear.. armaggeddon is near.. the aliens take their cue and destroy us while we are in a stat of unrest.. all because of a program called SETI..

I bet it was created by aliens.. damn they are smart..

Yes, that's our plan. I mean, that MAY be the ALIEN'S plan... I mean... nevermind.

[spigidygak]

Just signed up. Used to run this on my older computer few years ago but got lazy. Back on in xp 1800+ and me 600 ibook. Might power up the old pII too. Go Team GO!!! hehe.

[Speedfreak]

Yep... just joined up last week. I have a 2.0aGhz P4 (o/c to 2.4), and AMD t-bird 1.2Ghz (o/c to 1.35) and a Celeron 300amhz (o/c to 450) working on it.

My t-bird is working 24/7 with little other usage of the cpu. My p4 is also working 24/7, but it is the one I use as my main, so I am taking cycles away from it more. My 300a celery is working when my dad has it on. Mostly from 4pm-10pm each day.

Soon I will have my new AMD Athlon 2400 XP working on it once I get a mobo and memory for it.

[ribitch]

i am running on a PowerMac dual 1.25GHz G4, and thats it. It is also running folding at home plus whtever I throw at it. It doesnt even lag (as of yet), gotta love it. I average 5-6 hours per work unit depending on what I am doing. The only time ot dpesnt rn is when somebody in my office decides to turn the system off for the night or put it into sleep mode.

[xsiled2]

note: the normal box ran for a month costs about $20, keep this in mind if you actually pay for ur electric bill

[Grimm]

I forgot my SETI password, and my email adress is no longer valid. =(

Your credit:
Name (and URL) Grimm
Results Received 1460
Total CPU Time 2.000 years
Average CPU Time per work unit 11 hr 59 min 56.1 sec
Average results received per day 1.22
Last result returned: Tue Jan 2 12:20:24 2001 UTC
Registered on: Wed Sep 1 22:35:23 1999 UTC
SETI@home user for: 3.279 years

Looks Like I lose the 2 years of cpu time I committed.

[Speedfreak]

Originally posted by ribitch
i am running on a PowerMac dual 1.25GHz G4, and thats it. It is also running folding at home plus whtever I throw at it.

How does that work? Do they get equal cpu cycles or something?

[ribitch]

Originally posted by Speedfreak


How does that work? Do they get equal cpu cycles or something?

the OS allows symeteric multiprocessing, so the entire load of the system is split between the 2 CPU's.

[Speedfreak]

Originally posted by ribitch


the OS allows symeteric multiprocessing, so the entire load of the system is split between the 2 CPU's.

Right, so it's like one cpu is for folding and the other is for seti, then they give up cycles equally when you are doing other things. Good.

[Joshua]

Yeppers, I'm running SETI on my dual cpu system with one processor dedicated to SETI set to Real Time priority.

So far I have 5,615 Work units.

As far as cancer goes, I believe the aliens will bring a cure with them!

[Speedfreak]

Woohoo!

[AmRivlin]

Wahhoooo

[rajatQ2]

grrr i want to help cancer research but they dont have anything for LINUX. GRRRRRR. What else do linux users work on? just SETI?

[pagemap]

Joined.

I just added ~560 WUs to the group.

[Joshua]

Keep on pluggin away man... Only 5,500 to catch up to me. ha ha.

Originally posted by pagemap
Joined.

I just added ~560 WUs to the group.

[Nija]

I just joined a few days ago, and I've got it running in the command line on my linux pc. I think I have completed 3 units

[rajatQ2]

Hey Snots, how many computers do you have running seti? when i get back to my office i'm getting it running on my dual-xeon

[mojo]

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
I would do those things, but I prefer to not have cpu lag.

and yet you run windows

[Nija]

Originally posted by mojo
and yet you run windows

so do you...

[mojo]

Originally posted by Nija


so do you...

not at home i don't

[Nija]

Originally posted by mojo
not at home i don't

except when you swap out your linux laptop drive for you windoze laptop drive.

[mojo]

Originally posted by Nija


except when you swap out your linux laptop drive for you windoze laptop drive.

haven't done that in 25 days. that's 25 continuous days...