Folding @ Home

Cosmos · #1 November 8th, 2003, 11:54 AM

Well� that counts me out!!!
as I�m on a 56K modem.
Good luck!!! on the protiens,SETI,and asteroids.

Mephisto · #2 November 8th, 2003, 04:58 PM

You don't have to be connected all the time. It will download a data pack, process it and sent it when you go onlien the next time.
Regarding trust: How many programs do run on your PC? All of them use your CPU and most of them don't offer you the source code and yet you run them. The risk that such a large project will to something terrible with your PC is rather low IMHO.

Thermodyne · #3 November 8th, 2003, 05:55 PM

Correct, you DL stuff all the time. This program just automates the DL for you. And if you want, you can set it for a manual up/down link. 56K would not be a big problem; the units are not that large. And unless you have a real power box, there will only be a few downloads a week. It takes a lot of CPU cycles to do a unit.

narf poit chez BOOM · #4 November 8th, 2003, 09:25 PM

not for long. current top proccessor speed; may have changed: 3.2 GHz. computer speed's double about every 18 months, Last i heard. so, assume no increase between now and the beginning of 2004 and use that for a baseline:
2004 : 3.2
2005.5 : 6.4
2007 : 12.8
2008.5 : 25.16
2010 : 50.32
2011.5 : 100.64
2013 : 201.28

so, in 9 years, computer speeds will be 62.9 what they are now. in another 2 years...
2014.5 : 402.56
2016 : 805.12

* 251.6

Fyron · #5 November 8th, 2003, 09:57 PM

Actually... the rate of increase will slow down tremendously. Current processor architecture (the most powerful) is beginning to reach harder limiting factors of circuitry, namely interference from the electromagnetic fields accross the extremely small size of the transistors. The heat generated has always been a factor, as it is the other major limiting factor. But, heat has been easier to deal with than the electromagnetic field interference that comes into play once you get to really small transistor sizes. We will probably see another generation or two out of current CPU design, but after that, something new will have to be invented. That, or use more and more CPUs in a comptuter...

narf poit chez BOOM · #6 November 8th, 2003, 10:02 PM

or metals that have less resistance, so need less electricity, so less electromagnetism. people are inventive. although it may be time for the next thing in this area. new science instead of new technology. fiber-optics, maybe.

Fyron · #7 November 8th, 2003, 10:09 PM

Actually... you need variable resistances. You need high resitance for some parts, low for others, but mostly semi-conductors that you can change their resistance. Otherwise, you can't build the necessary circuits.

Newer CPUs do not have less resistance or anything, they just make the parts smaller, so they can cram more on to the CPU board. The problem is, the smaller you make it, more of a problem the electric fields generated by the parts get.

Fiber optics might be one area where they could drastically change CPU architecture. Or those organic computers some people are trying to make...

[ November 08, 2003, 20:10: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]