I wrote: > >> IIRC, there was a story somewhere that the s...@home software >> included a bug (like a crippleware) that would make it run >> _much slower_ than it could run, because there was not enough >> data for the millions of computers that would process this >> data. >> >> I am confusing things? I couldn't find any reference for this.
David Hobby wrote: > > Got me, but there was a problem at the start. The > server kept send out the same data set over and over > by mistake for a while. So a few day's worth of > computing was wasted, until that was fixed. > Ok, but I was not thinking/misremembering a bug. I was thinking about a malicious code. > It's hard to see why they would cripple the program, > though. It's not like there aren't enough other > distributed computing projects around. (My office > computer analyzes data looking for gravity waves, > when I'm not using it.) > IIRC, the reason for cripple the program was that the s...@home program was a huge success, they got _much more_ volunteers than they planned, and they didn't have enough data to feed all the volunteers unless they crippled the program. So they did it. John Williams wrote: > > I do not know if that is true, but if it is true, I would call it a > feature, not a bug. If there is no useful SETI data for my computer > to crunch, I'd rather have the CPU cycles available for something else. > > Or did you mean that it consumed CPU cycles doing something useless, > like calculating digits of PI repeatedly? > Yes, something like that. The original program was so fast - IIRC - that "them(tm)" projected that the s...@home program would soon finish. They didn't want that, they wanted major press coverage, a program that would last years (and not days), so they crippled the program. This is the scenario I remember. I think I read it right here, in this list. Or maybe I am confusing some X-Files episode with truth. "Mendacem memorem esse oportet" Alberto Monteiro _______________________________________________ http://box535.bluehost.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
