Use Your Home Computer to Find a Better Semiconductor and Save the Planet

Just get Alán to talk to the tossersthat run the spam bots, like the ones that keep posting here. They are experts at using other people's computer resources.

What green person would leave their computer on?

We already have the means to use the heat from the sun to produce electricity. Why fool with the organic molecule? Look at the Sterling engine projects that use the heat. Look at the projects in Spain that are online right now.

We could be running $1 fuel right now if Congress wanted to spend that $450 Billion on solar to fuel project. It would create jobs and reduce carbon footprint and eliminate the foreign oil threat.

I like these distributed computing projects. But like someone said, it's not very green to leave your computer on. It kills me when I read about cool things like this that I'd like to participate in, but then I don't want to leave my computer on.

Every time I get on board and say go Solar, it seems a whole bunch of na sayers come back and point out how inefficient it is compared to all the ground energy sources, oil and gas and coal. I know! I know!

Still I just feel instinctively it would be just a much better world if we could just make clean energy and in the process create more jobs for USA citizens. It will take USA citizens to install and maintain solar and wind project, water too.

I am also idealistic to the idea to stub my nose to the local utility company and well just create my own juice in my roof top or back yard. The local state and city like to promote its a free market, but somehow some way, I always buy electricity from the same electrical company. It just feels the game is rigged, ya know what I mean.

Doesn't just spelling freedom for any person as they grow more knowledge, more money, more energy, more power in life. Growing independent is our path to freedom.

Well, I am a dreamer and I just wish everyone to live a clean and free life.

I wish Japan all the best in their efforts! They are great leaders and I hope they show the world the way!

borrow my computer?????? r u nuts!!!??????? get outta here!!!!!

If I join, can I get a free advanced solar cell? Please?
-Spouting a fountain of nonsense since 1995-

Their choice of a screensaver program is suboptimal. As people mentioned I too turn off the computer when I am not using it. I already run several programs/processes in the background when I turn on the PC and I think a new one will not impact my computer performance. Make it adjustable and I can donate 1% of my otherwise idle CPU to this project.

lol idk if this does how they say it do cuz idk about them semi coducutes idk if theyre even real but this looks good cuz it mgiht stop golobal warming

I believe this concept is called distributed processing. It is an individual choice to share part of the processing power of you own computer with others to solve a large processing problem.

I like the idea of getting community involved. And the result of many shared computers is you end up with a high power mainframe type processing at lost cost.

I think it’s a great idea! Though, if make my computer part of this project, do I also make it more available to hacking and viruses? Does it open up a back door for the bad guys to come in to my home computer, I wonder?

@Lost4468 This is Popsci, AKA Popular Science, not 4chan..

@becosmos I don't honestly think it'd be that easy for someone to abuse this as a way to get into your computer, its just a program running in the background sending bits of processed data back and forth, unless someone hacks into their computers, it'd be no less secure then allowing an online video game through your firewall.

I also agree with highermorals, we actually just had a whole three hour long discussion in my computer maintenance class about how screensavers are next to dead, because one screens don't burn out anymore and two people are constantly turning their computers off when they are done to save on energy costs. If this was a program that just ran in the background that allowed me to give it as much processor as I wanted, I could easily give it 25% even when I'm gaming because I never use more than 50% at a given time, so it'd hardly effect performance. With all these crazy fast computers on the market, we could really make a difference in all of these distributed processing campaigns, but a screensaver is not the way to go.

I thought that I should point out that if you look into getting the program, you'll notice that you can set the option to run in the background outside of the screensaver.

@Frostty I guess I really should have looked into this more instead of just going off what the previous comments say.. I just assumed it didn't have that option because of what the other people were saying.. Sorry, I'll do my own research next time..

I like the idea and find the concept really inventive but as most Americans are only out for personal gain the responce will not be as large as they hope. For the entire country to transfer over to solar energy, there is not only a technological change but also that of a culture and lifestyle. When people think of american trucks you think of the Ford or Chevy diesel truck, not some solar power car.

Live through Wisdom and Faith

@Shakouhousha
I commented about what was stated in the article and what the provided link describes : they talk about a screensaver. That turn me off as I turned off screensaver feature long time ago.
Also the register pages put me off also. After I donate my CPU time they want me to feel like a nobody for doing this. Now I do not want to participate in this endeavor as it is typical capitalist crap ( under a huge grim).
Death to capitalism f. retard people!

I have been a member of this project for over a year. Just to clarify, you don't have to use the screen saver portion: you can actually just commit it to run all the time. You can also assign the max CPU usage it can have... for example only 1%.

Also, the University team conducting this has pledged the results are open, so you won't have a company making ridiculous profits on your dollar.

Unless you have a super old machine, committing 1-5% of your CPU (that is still sucking energy when its on even if not used) to creating more efficient, and CHEAP solar cells is worthy. Imagine the benefits: roofing shingles solar cells that everyone can afford, parking lots embedded with them, etc. Our energy grid would be drastically changed.

Imagine using the technology we have today instead of some pipe dream!!

We don't need to create organic PV cells. We can create energy from the sun today. PV cells will never be a green solution unless the laws of physics change.

So, it costs about the same as a 100-150watt light bulb to run a computer with power management on the monitor only.

I crunch on about a dozen projects on seven computers. 24/7.

The real problem with this PopSci piece is that the Wired article they pick up makes no mention of how one attaches to any distributed computing projects.

So, here it is:
cep2 is at worldcommunitygrid-dot-org , "WCG", where one can find about eight projects. Besides cep2, there are projects in Clean Water, AIDS, Cancer, Dengue Fever, Proteome, and Leishmaniasis

Everything runs on software from boinc-dot-berkeley.edu ,
"BOINC", where one can find many projects in various sciences and mathematics at august institutions and universities around the globe.

All projects at WCG are for the "public domain".

dontbother, thank you for the good detailed info. ;)

I have always like shared computing options like this. There is an option to share the computing power on the Playstation 3. Using unused processing power to aid in solving the world’s issues should be more popular. This project can find a more efficient molecule to produce increased solar energy output. A lot of people can talk about why it’s not a good idea. I like that this program works to provide a solution rather then offering nothing more than a negative opinion.