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YETI@Home

Dark-Helmet writes "YETI@Home, the search for the missing link? Or something else? Anyway, a very good parody of places like SETI@Home." One thing lacking on this site is Team Slashdot's ranking. We spot strange human-like creatures all the time (usually in our mirrors).

74 comments

  1. I once tried something like that... by JudgePagLIVR · · Score: 1

    I tried to form a website called ANHIS (the Association for Non-Human Intelligent Species. But I got busy, and the whole thing fell through :(

    --
    Judge Pag, the Learned, Impartial, and Very Relaxed
  2. LOL by Money__ · · Score: 2
    Coming Soon! Download Version 1.00 of YETI@Home for: Windows, BeOs, OS2, Linux, Amiga Workbench, Atari ST, Altair, TRS-80, Vectrex, Babbage's Difference Engine, Palm Pilot, Sega Genesis and Timex Indiglo (sorry, not available for Macintosh).

    LOL! a Babbage's Difference Engine client that won't run an a mac.

    Once installed, the YETI@Home client will not interrupt your daily computer usage. In fact, the application can run virtually unnoticed in the background for years, much like the Libertarian Party.

    LOL!
    _________________________

  3. what is this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3

    I no understanding "yeti"? Is joke? I new to this country. Back in home we not having yeti. Is qake level? Is BSD? I am run BSD at home, if yeti is BSD then is good to have at home.

    I no understanding pictures of hair people. Back in home we have plenty of hair people, but none know yeti. Am thinking people are mistaking two? Please to help!!!

    1. Re:what is this? by PD · · Score: 1

      Welcome to America! I kiss you!

    2. Re:what is this? by steelhawk · · Score: 2

      yeti
      n : large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the Himalayas [syn: {abominable snowman}]

      --
      Ner lbh sebz gur HFN? Gura lbh'ir whfg ivbyngrq gur QZPN!
    3. Re:what is this? by JustShootMe · · Score: 4

      As opposed to Burt Reynolds, a large, hairy creature, last seen in the Wilds of Hollywood. Rumors abound that he has appeared in a film but has never bveen seen in his natural habitat - Loni Anderson.


      If you can't figure out how to mail me, don't.
      --
      For linux tips: http://www.linuxtipsblog.com
    4. Re:what is this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ha! That's funny.

    5. Re:what is this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speaking of Burt Reynolds, I remember reading in a magazine one time about someone talking how he fucked a journalist. She was trying to get info about him, and she was standing all close and putting her legs around his while asking him questions, and how she was wearing a black skirt with black pantyhose and looked all sexy. Then the author of this article said how later he found him in a fitting room with her, door open, going full-thrust into her, and how Burt tried to yell to [the author] to get out of there. Bahahaha that was so funny to read.

  4. Turn the yeti to stone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally, something the furryphiles and the statuephiles can agree on!

    1. Re:Turn the yeti to stone! by Ominous+Coward · · Score: 1

      Can anyone explain the whole 'stone' thing? It seems inexplicable. Sure, Natalie Portman turned to stone is a good thing to have, but wouldn't you rather have her in the flesh? Also, why are about 1/3 of the comments so off-topic and stupid as "Fuck-you"? Don't post stupid stuff to humorous stories. If you don't like it, scroll down. I gotta go. My computer is looking for Yeti.

      --
      Ceci n'est pas une sig.
  5. ROFL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just when i think the whole grits thing is starting to get annoying, redundant, and boring, i see this.

  6. GOD DAMN IT!@!@#!@ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought of that, but I never got around to it. Well, at least SOMEONE got around to it, it's pretty close to what I had envisioned. Anonymous Slacker

  7. q&a....this is great. kudos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    What image capture devices are supported? Some of them. What should I do if my computer detects a yeti? Nothing. The software will automatically connect to our local servers to begin the second stage processing. You do not need to do anything -- it's all completely automated. No, I mean...what do I do about the fact that there's a yeti in my yard! The processing takes many hours per image capture, so by the time the software has gotten a positive ID, the creature is either already long gone, or has kidnapped you and taken you to his lair as his chosen mate.

  8. I just had a bright moment... by arnoroefs2000 · · Score: 3

    or maybe not...

    For all you people that think that SETI@Home and Distributed.net is actually quite useless, listen up.
    I imagine that CPU cycles are actually wordt money, don't they? So wouldn't it be possible to set up some kind of system that runs like SETI@Home but actually does useful work?
    You could sell the CPU cycles collected by all those computers, and...here comes the catch...do something useful with the money. For instance supporting The Red Cross, or Greenpeace or whatever.
    There could be voting on what could purpose would be supported, and...and...well I see alot of possibilities.
    Ofcourse I can also see a few problems...but would it be possible?
    Anyone wants to share his opinion on this? Am I being very naive or might this actually be a good idea?

    Arno

    1. Re:I just had a bright moment... by Marvin_OScribbley · · Score: 1

      An interesting idea, but would it be profitable?

      In other words, how much would someone really pay to use some of your CPU cycles, compared to your cost of running the machine - both the electricity to run the thing and the slight wear and tear.

      I realize that most people are paying these costs anyway, especially if they leave their computers running all the time without power conservation techniques, but if we are going to try to raise money for good causes like save the earth it might be more effective to start a compaign to simply utilize power saving features on your computer when you aren't using those CPU cycles.

      Imagine how much good THAT might do...

      --
      I'm not a journalist, but I play one on slashdot
    2. Re:I just had a bright moment... by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      It seems almost as if everyone is missing the point of this post... (of course, I could be missing the point, in which case, regard this as an original idea ;) )

      I think what Arno was getting at was that there would be a company like SETI@Home that would have computers connected to it and processing information for it... then the COMPANY would get paid for all the work that it did by anyone who needed all that processing power. This money, in turn, would go toward a charity/good cause.

      The users would not be the ones getting paid....

      -- Dr. E --

    3. Re:I just had a bright moment... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Big oops! I meant to moderate this UP.

      Someone else please at least put it back to 1.

    4. Re:I just had a bright moment... by vectro · · Score: 1

      distributed.net already does this, sorta.

      Each project they work on has some prize money. For example, I think the RC5 challenge gives $1000 to the person who owns the computer that found the key, $1000 to the person's team, $2000 to distributed.net, and $6000 to charity. Or mabye it's $2000 to charity and $6000 to distributed.net. I'm not sure.

  9. Don't hate me just because I'm hairy by Ogre332 · · Score: 3

    I wish those people would stop taking pictures of me frolicking naked in the privacy of my own backyard.

    --
    Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a Q-Tip. - Homer Simpson
  10. Don't dismiss the Yetti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Well, I have no doubt that this is page, (and the post here) are simply in good fun, but the fact is there is quite a bit of evidence that the Yeti does exist. I mean think about it, we all know that humanoid's existed thousands of years ago, why not now? Perhaps is some kid of evolved Neanderthal.

    Now, as I recall, Yeti refers to the Asian 'anomaly' and what's seen in north America is called the Sasquatch. As I'm sure you're aware, its not uncommon to find villages in mainland china that have had no outside contact with modern china in hundreds of years, so much so that they develop there own (non-understandable) dialects. How many more villages are out there? And what's to say that they haven't been isolated long enough for more then there language to begin genomic drift?

    I've looked at the evidence for this stuff, and you can be sure, there is a preponderance. Now, I'm not going to get all paranoid, and suggest that the government is coving it up (they've got more important things to hide). But I really don't understand why so many people have 'closed the book' on the Yeti and Sasquatch.

    1. Re:Don't dismiss the Yetti by steelhawk · · Score: 1

      s/anomaly/abominable/ig ?

      (also see my other post)


      --
      Ner lbh sebz gur HFN? Gura lbh'ir whfg ivbyngrq gur QZPN!
  11. Stupid Moderators by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Offtopic? It seems that the average Slashdot Moderator is unable to read the article brief.

  12. Imagine the legal problems! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So lets say that you are payed for your cpu cycles, and the amount of work you get done. This system favors those with more powerful computers.

    This system favors the rich, while neglects the poor. It also favors men above women, thus increasing the pay gap. I'm sure someone would sue them, and possibly get a settlement.

  13. Home Computers by delmoi · · Score: 2

    I don't think you'd really get that much money off your home computers, for two reasons. Even the baddest ass Athlon box is still way, way behind the really powerful vector-accelerated super computers. Beowulf clusters with 500 or more nodes rarely get in in the top 50 supercomputers.

    So, you might make $20 or $30 a month, at current rates. But if everyone was able to sell there CPU cycles on a free market, I doubt you would even be able to make that much. Think about it, how much processing really needs to be done? You probably only own a few hundred millionths of the total CPU power in the world. I just don't think it would be worth it.

    [ c h a d o k e r e ]

    --

    ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
  14. There's Already a Few Places Like That... by Coldraven · · Score: 2

    Cosm (cosm.mithral.com) is one such place; check out their FAQ.

    While not actually working on the level of shared clock cycles, some of the more of a grassroots-oriented efforts include the Peacetree/Food Not Bombs Network. USENET's alt.beograd and some of the spider networks during the Gulf War, Soviet Upheaval & Tiannamen Suare Riots have been important communications relays.

  15. A serious problem with this client by Denor · · Score: 3

    You know what?

    Yeti@home is using inferior, close-sourced clients . Reports have already shown that people with "hacked" clients get two to three times better performance. Clearly, there are ways to improve the yeti@home client so that it can make better use of people's CPU cycles! This is a call to the slashdot population - I'd like you all to join me in demanding that yeti@home be open-sourced! Only then can we-

    What? Yes, I do see the icon by the story. A foot, kinda like the Monty-Python one.

    What do you mean, 'Think about it!'

    Oh.

    --
    -Denor
    1. Re:A serious problem with this client by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey man, i wrote my own h4x0r3d version of the yeti client, works much better and faster...

      #beginning
      #! /usr/bin/python

      while 1:
      pass #fast fourier transform(optimized)

      #end

      hopefully they'll realized the errors in their ways and open the source to yeti@home.

  16. The Yeti IS Bill Gates by grahamkg · · Score: 2

    ... as evidenced by the lack of a Macintosh client. It's just another example of Redmond anti-trust actions.

    Graham

    --
    Graham
    Linux - Fast Pane Relief
  17. YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by CvD · · Score: 2

    THe YETI@Home parody is quite funny, but it actually conveys the problem of SETI@Home quite well. I don't run the client because it eats resources like anything. I don't have or need a very powerful computer, and I find it unacceptable that the Linux client takes 12MB of memory. Not even Netscape is that resource hungry. Leaving the client running in the background under Windows slows everything down to a crawl too.. it seems to do a crappy job of 'nice-ing' itself.... and if I let it complete it's job, it submits a packet that took 60+ hours to complete, while under Linux it takes only 20 hours... The 60 hours would seriously do bad things to my average completion time for one block. :) Ok, maybe that's not the point, but I wonder what goes wrong under Windows...

    Cheers!

    Costyn.

    1. Re:YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by AstroJetson · · Score: 2

      The difference is that the Windows version has all the eye candy (perty color plots and graphs), whereas the Linux version doesn't. If you really want to use Windows, I believe there is a text-only version at the SETI@Home site. I agree that the Windows version is not very nice and on my Windows systems I use it in screensaver-only mode. On Linux, I run it all the time and I never know it's there (except for all the memory it uses). It *is* a memory hog; not sure if it's worse than Netscape, but it's definitely in the same league.

      --
      Admit nothing, deny everything and make counter-accusations.
    2. Re:YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by Griim · · Score: 1

      As the guy before me said, it *is* all the rendering of the pretty eyecandy that makes it take so long to complete a block. So to get it to run faster, either minimize it, or in screen saver mode, have it 'go to blank screen' (or some such setting, I can't remember, but it's in the settings for the client) after 0 minutes. This way it wastes no time showing you a bunch of garbage you don't need to see. :)

    3. Re:YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by peter · · Score: 1

      It uses a lot of memory because it is doing FFTs and stuff on big arrays. The algorithm it runs fundamentally needs to touch all that memory in no specific order. (they could have written it to not use much RAM and do all the array accesses to disk. But then it would take about 50 000 times longer to complete a work unit. :( I run d.net clients on my computers because it only touches about 50-100 kB of memory while it is crunching, only touching more when it saves/loads packets. I wish it did something useful instead of try to brute force RC5, but it is easy to run and takes care of itself well. (I don't have time to babysit it on lots of compters, which is why I spend my hours reading slashdot... right. I think I figured it out. I hopefully can convince myself that I don't need to be glued to my tube every day.)
      #define X(x,y) x##y

      --
      #define X(x,y) x##y
      Peter Cordes ; e-mail: X(peter@cordes , .ca)
    4. Re:YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by slashdot-me · · Score: 1

      > It uses a lot of memory because it is doing FFTs
      > and stuff on big arrays. The algorithm it runs
      > fundamentally needs to touch all that memory in
      > no specific order.

      FFTs access data in a very specific order (sequentially, many times). I'd just like to point out that you have never written an fft and have few, if any, clues.

      Carry on.


      Moderators: He actually doesn't have any clue, and pointing that out is a legitamate and productive response. :-)

      Ryan Salsbury

    5. Re:YETI@Home hits the nail on the head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been running setiathome since its release (with updates to the software, of course) on a linux box (presently, Mandrake 7.0 - faaast). I have a non-stop DSL connection as well. I leave my box running 24/7 (except for lengthy trips away from home). I have now processed over 216 packets. At no time have I ever noticed any resource problem on my system (not when I had 64 megs and not now with 128 megs ram). Nothing slows down at all (linux is excellent at nice-ing) and I never want for memory. I don't know about the windoze client but the linux client has been utterly painless and all but unnoticeable.

  18. If you want pictures.... by www.sorehands.com · · Score: 1
    Just hack into the black government spy satelites that takes images of the entire planet and tracks everything and everyone in real time. Then we all can get photos of aliens, yetis, Elvis, OJ knifing, and the dog that pooped on our lawns.

  19. C=64 Port by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    How dare they have no C64 port? Don't they know how many unused C64 computers are hiding out in the closets of twentysomethings?

    Hook those puppies up to a 300baud modem and you've got one bitchin' 8bit Beowulf!

    1. Re:C=64 Port by alecto · · Score: 1

      I think they didn't want to provide a server that could send files using the Punter protocol, or decide whether to use .SEQ or .PRG.

      Or it could have something to do with the difference in character sets--like Atari ASCII (ATASCII), CBM-ASCII diverges from the true ASCII character set. (There is no Atari 400/800 client either--but that might be because the XE series induced some minor quirks.)

      These character set anomalies could be problematic in things like Base64 encoding, which is sensitive to differences in case, as well as facilitating cheating by rogue 8-bit hackers (Also precluding open source clients).

  20. Quiet, Hemos! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    and quit using those fake accounts, too!

    -- Rob

  21. Mirror by Slash+Mirror · · Score: 2
    I have a partial mirror (not all pictures) here:
    ftp://128.253.254.56/yeti/index.html

    SlashMirror: Where to put files for fellow /.'ers

    --

    SlashMirror: Where to put files for fellow /.'ers

  22. *cough*rippoff!*cough* by Manuka · · Score: 3

    This is old news. There has been a YETI@Home at evilinternet.com since mid-1999.

    1. Re:*cough*rippoff!*cough* by Phil-14 · · Score: 1

      If you look at both of them, it starts looking a lot more like independent creation than plagarism. The site linked to in the original slashdot article had some very funny bits, like the bit about how it'll run on a TRS-80 but not a mac (I have both, so I can relate :-)...


      --
      (currently testing something about signatures here)
  23. Yes, dismiss the Yeti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    First, it would not be a Homo sapiens neanderthal descendant. Neanderthals were restricted in range to Europe.

    Second, genetic drift of humans is excessively unlikely -- languages drift many orders of magnitude faster than genes. The population of humans who originally settled the Americas ("Indians" or "Native" Americans) was separated from Asian populations for at least 10,000 years, and was separated from the European and southern African populations even longer. Many Amazonian tribes have not has contact with other humans of the Americs for as much as several additional thousands of years. But their skeletons, DNA, etc. are for all practical purposes identical to those of Europeans or Khosians which they have been separated from for tens of thousands of years.

    Then, given range restrictions for the various great apes, the only reasonably possible ancestors of a "yeti" or "sasquatch" would be Homo erectus, which ranged the temperate and tropical Old World; or an offshoot of the ancestors of the orangutan, the only non-human great ape of Asia.

    In both cases, the odds of one successfully making it to the New World are as close to zero as imaginable. There are no existing non-human apes of any kind in the Americas, nor have any discovered bones or fossils of any non-human apes ever been discovered. Sasquatch, given the lack of any possible ancestors or any identifiable remains, must be considered an utter fantasy.

    The Yeti is mildly more possible, due to geographic proximity of Homo erectus and the orangutan to the proposed habitat. Again, however, there is no fossil evidence, skins, skeletons, or other direct evidence that it or any ancestor of it exists or existed.

    In short, the "preponderance" of evidence is the same that there is for aliens and the same that there was in Victorian England for faeries -- stories and some anomalous but circumstanital bits of evidence. The faeries were proven a hoax; I suspect the others are as well.

  24. Re:what is this? (explanation) by Coyote · · Score: 3

    Hello, international friend.

    I understand your pain and confusion. "Yeti@home" is a parody of the American desire (dare I say NEED) to make everyting do something at all times. It is a bit of an obsession with us, because we want to be #1 again, and to do so we must charge blindly and patriotically down every avenue that will let us overcome the lead cureently held by The Republic of Gates.

    Perhaps if you visit these similar web sites, you will gain an understanding:

    http://www.spaghetti@home - the client offered at this site steals unused time between microwave oven beeps to create a tasty pasta salad.

    http://www.betty@home - in the black screen time between channel changes on your TV, searches a tape in your VCR for the famous lost Flintstones episodes.

    http://www.confetti@home - like yeti@home, this client feeds video from Times Square in NYC to your computer, but this client uses the idle time during "Server Error 425" messages to scan for bits of paper left over from New Year's eve and directs Legos robots with brooms to clean them up.

    http://gritty@home - this site is on every slashdotter's bookmark list; a heavily modified IRC client is scripted to search /. reader comments during the time between the user's refrigerator door opening and the time the light comes on to scan comments and adjust the threshold to a level that assures no comments with the words "hot grits" will be seen.

    I hope this helps you, international friend. I tell you this in hopes it will increase world harmony and peace.


    --
    My metamoderation cancels your moderation
  25. Hey, Be carefull what you say about faeries! by Little+Brother · · Score: 1
    OK, so one important photograph of faeries was proven false. Considering that new species of animals are found in mainland Europe fairly regularly, it is definantly possible that a few Faries have managed to hide out the times. Probably, not, but you said that the faeries were proven to be a hoax, please prey tell, how can you prove something NOT to exist?

    No I don't beleive in faries, however I get a bit touchy when I hear someone say anything has been PROVED not to exist. Sorry guys you can't prove the inexistance of anything, only the inprobibility.

    --

    Little Brother, watching the watchers

    1. Re:Hey, Be carefull what you say about faeries! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i thought fairies were gay people? im not form england, so please help would be appreciate!

  26. "the whole 'stone' thing" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Hall of Statuary

    The Medusa Realm

    Studs in Stone

    "flesh" is for people who enjoy TAKING rather than giving. I consider these people selfish, people who consider partaking of females and gratifying themselves, rather than thinking about what's best, long-term, for the female. Some of us are happier just knowing that the female exists, and we want her to continue to exist and be able to be herself without being forced to react to the world, rather than just fulfilling sick carnal sexual desires like MOST of the people in the world.

    Here's something I wrote about it once to one of the statuephile message boards.

    After years of wondering, I think I've figured it out.

    But it's rather hard to explain.

    I've been meaning to try to write it out in an essay form that actually make sense, but I'll try to sketch it out here.

    For me, it's about glorification of the (female) human spirit. The spirit is a beautiful thing. It fascinates me. And as with other non-physical things, such as God, we can see it in the clearest and purest sense when we are NOT seeing evidence of it, but simply know that it's there.

    What is a person? Look at a female. She's many things. She's every emotion she's ever felt, everything she's ever done, everything she has the POTENTIAL to do and feel and accomplish. She is every facial expression she has ever made, every time she's ever cried, everything she's ever seen, everything she's ever experienced. She is what she is, what she has been, and what she has the potenial to be.

    But, look at what we have. People, who are so much more than what we see, are running around in bipedal bags of goop & blood & guts called a physical body. They're running to and fro and living hectic lives and chasing after their goals and dreams. The spirit guides the body, the spirit is reflected on the face of the body, and in the body's actions, and because of the interlink between the body and the spirit, it's hard to tell where the body ends and the spirit begins, or where the spirit ends, and the body begins. In this active state, it's hard to see someone as a complete person, a single person, a sum of all that they are. We see what she's doing now, but we don't know what she was doing yesterday, we see what sort of mood she's in, but we don't know the bredth of her mind. Being forced to interact with the world, she's not able to be her entire self. She's not able to spend all of her time just being happy of who she is, or on an even lower level, being happy JUST EXISTING.

    I consider it wrong that women have to live this way. They should be able to be who they are, all of who they are. I consider actually being alive in an animate body to be the REAL bondage, the real captivity. It's sad that women must grow old, visit Wal-mart to purchase feminine hygeine products, pay taxes, etc. (but usually not in that order). By extending themselves into the world rather than into themselves, they're robbing both themselves and the world of their full potential. They are changing too fast to truly observe the beauty of their souls as it was meant to be observed.

    Enter a way of quantifying the spirit. Quantifying isn't the word I'm looking for, because quantifying implies numbering, grading, or labeling. But I can't think of any better word no matter how hard I try. When a woman is turned to stone, she is no longer reacting to the world except within herself. Instead of DOING, she IS. She exists in a more pure form.

    So why do I like turning women to stone? Simply because inside the statue exists the entirity of the woman. Her entire spirit, her entire mind, her entire potential, her entire being, exists within a single, static container. And that's the key. We see the statue. That is the body, one expression of her being. But I know that SHE is within the statue, in a state of completeness, free to be who she wants and think what she wants. And knowing this, I can truly see the beauty of her spirit. The world is a better place because a complete person exists within it. A person who is as free as any person in this physical world can ever be.

    (And then I touch her butt.)

    1. Re:"the whole 'stone' thing" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Got crack?

    2. Re:"the whole 'stone' thing" by Sticks.au · · Score: 1

      Hmm....sex is all about TAKING....?
      And why is it always MEN taking from WOMEN??
      If I'm not mistaken, it goes both ways...

      Obviously you're not doing it with the right person.

      GOOD sex is all about giving, one to the other.
      But then, I shouldn't need to tell you that.

      With respect to YETI@Home, I wonder if Yowies* and Bunyips* would come under the same criteria for the search???

      *(Australian Reference. If you don't get it, don't e-mail me!)

      Yours in blissful contentment...


      Note to self: Gotta work on that sig!
      "_______________________________"
      " ,--__|\ Sticks"
      "/_____\ It only gets stranger"

      --
      "_______________________________"
      " ,--__|\ Sticks"
      "
  27. Slightly OT: FatBrain Parody by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  28. [PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT] YETI-AIBO by (void*) · · Score: 1
    At a press-conference held in Tokyo, Sony, makers of the world-loved robot do Aibo, announced their new product, the Yeti-Aibo.

    Scott Neanderthal, the press-manager describes the Yeti-Aibo as a one that "fetches the Yeti".

    No longer will you have to place videocams all over your backyard to catch that elusive Yeti. The Yeti-Aibo is a custom tailored Aibo with the state-of-the-art motion-tracking and pheromone detectors. Downloaded with the lastest YETI@Home client, the robot dog actively scouts out and tracks down that elusive creature known as the Yeti.

    "You can customize the Yeti-Aibo to range over only your backyard, or the whole forest. You can set your preference to find only male or female Yeti's or both. You can even get it to invite the Yeti home to dinner."

    "Cool, now I will never need those Cams to track the Yeti again!" says Sasquatch enthusiast, Scott Lowbrow, one of the many hundreds of enthusiasts invited to the press-conference. "I can use it to spy on my pretty neighbor next door."

    Sony anticipates selling one million units of the Yeti-Aibo within the next three months.

  29. Congratulations - You failed Engish101 ! by FallLine · · Score: 2

    I believe the word you are looking for is "you're", not "your".

    1. Re:Congratulations - You failed Engish101 ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good job pointing that out, peckerhead.

    2. Re:Congratulations - You failed Engish101 ! by Chris+Andreasen · · Score: 1

      "You're" is a contraction - it means "you are." The phrase "... interrupt you are daily computer usage ..." makes no sense.
      -Chris Andreasen

      --
      -Chris Andreasen
    3. Re:Congratulations - You failed Engish101 ! by Scandal · · Score: 1
      *yawn*

      Lemme guess, you're the same anonymous coward who put up the other post...

      Are you done boring us yet?

      Goodbye.

  30. Where's by chunkweasel · · Score: 1

    Elvis @Home? Imagine millions of computers, all
    searching for Elvis. We're guaranteed to find him, and then we can end the rumors of his death by causing it.

  31. The best line... by MattXVI · · Score: 2

    In fact, the application can run virtually unnoticed in the background for years, much like the Libertarian Party

    --
    When I'm singing a ballad and a pair of underwear lands on my head, I hate that. It really kills the mood.
    -Tom Jones
  32. bah by jackmott · · Score: 1

    seti at home is cool

    --
    -I go to Rice, so figure out my email address
  33. This one made international news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    CNN Entertainment story here.

  34. MPAA is at it again! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The MPAA is at it again! Yet another injunction has been filed against 2600 on 26, Jan. 2000. This time to stop LINKING to sites with DeCSS.

  35. Explaining away. by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 2
    You cannot prove the nonexistance of a thing 'x' if you mean by that a thing with properties 'a, b, and c' when non of those properties are constraints about time and place: i.e., you can demonstrate that no fat man in a red suit who flies around in a sled pulled by reindeer is at the north pole at any given moment, but of course you can not demonstrate that for all moments.

    However, you CAN 'explain away' by demonstrating that the causes of the belief in 'x' at no point relied on the existence of 'x'; if you can demonstrate that the origin of the belief in Santa Claus is fully explained without recourse to the existance thereof, you have effectively 'explained him away:' the belief in his existence is no longer necessary to explain the belief in his existence.

    For things like Santa Claus, unicorns, and fairies, that they don't exist is actually *part* of their feature-list. They have, for example, through selective breeding, bred a goat with a single horn in the middle of its head. Is it a unicorn? Most of us believe that if you genetically engineer a unicorn, it isn't a 'real' unicorn because it fails of one of the tests of unicorness - i.e., it exists! So instead of proving that at no point a creature with characteristics of faeries ever existed, it is more sensible and more persuasive to demonstrate that the belief in fairies is completely explained by causes A. B. and C. (The encounters with early pre-Celtic european cultures, hallucinagenic drug use, documented hoaxes in the 19th century, etc.)

  36. cow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    cow?

    1. Re:cow by peter · · Score: 1

      yes.

      err, no, wait. It's a moose; it's a squirrel; it's a yeti! :) (Boris, moose and squirrel have triggered yeti detector again. No-goodniks :)
      #define X(x,y) x##y

      --
      #define X(x,y) x##y
      Peter Cordes ; e-mail: X(peter@cordes , .ca)
  37. No... by FallLine · · Score: 2

    you are merely viewing a bug in slashdot's code. The bug makes it appear as if I replied to a comment, when I actually replied to a reply of that comment (that happens to be -1...below your threshold in all probability). Please see http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=00/01/28/23242 03&threshold=-1&commentsort=3&mode=threa d&pid=11 to view the actual sequence of events.

  38. Yeti != Simian by razvedchik · · Score: 2

    Duh....

    The yeti is a rare species of Himalayan bear that lives above the treeline, according to the great alpinist Reinhold Messner.

    http://www.parascope.com/en/articles/yetiBear.ht m
    http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1998/10/6_6.html

    Besides, how can "The Wild Man of the Forest" be a monkey? Hello, People, wake up!!!

    One other false positive: furry, unkempt Linux programmers wandering out in the backyard to do routine maintenance on the camera.

    Here in Eugene, OR, we have scores of treesitters, and they have the ideal location for helping with yeti@home. To wit: They live in some of the oldest growths of forest in the Pacific NW; they stay in the forest 24-7; they have names like "squirrel" and "sequoia". Further info: http://www.efn.org/~redcloud/

    --
    I do what the voices on my console tell me to do.
  39. Re:YETI@Home Aibo by Xyphoid · · Score: 1

    During beta testing, we did try running the YETI@Home client on an AIBO. Unfortunately, the little fellow promptly lifted his leg (surprising, given the AIBO's rather limited range of motion) and showered our main server with a fragrant stream of unidentified yelllow fluid. He did not respond to voice commands, and thus I had to smack him silly with a rolled-up copy of "Boardwatch". [1]

    He also infested our office with those infernal chip-with-plastic-googly-eyes-glued-on-it "novelty computer bugs" that one usually finds in bulk at the CompUSA checkout counter.

    One of our interns dropped him off on the steps of the local Metreon. I'm sure he'll find a loving home with some overworked and undergoateed Yahoo! employee, or perhaps he'll be run over by a cab.

    Nevertheless, our work continues onward towards its illustrious goal.

    -Dr. Sparks, YETI@Home
    [1] Go ahead, notify the SPCA, or the SPA, whichever comes first. But keep in mind we know about that copy of AutoCAD13 you "borrowed". (Yes, the one you have so cleverly hidden in that "Traveling Wilburys Greatest Hits" box set on the third shelf).

  40. faeries by / · · Score: 2

    faerie also faery n., pl. faeries.
    1.A tiny, mischievous, imaginary form; a fairy.
    2.The land or realm of the fairies.

    fairy n., pl. fairies.
    1.A tiny imaginary being in human form, depicted as clever, mischievous, and possessing magical powers.
    2.Offensive. Slang Used as a disparaging term for a gay or homosexual man.

    The part about "disparaging" isn't necessarily true if "fairy/faerie" is reserved for the specific meaning "a long-haired effeminate gay man", as any of these sites would testify.

    --
    "If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
  41. YetiSalmon by yetisalmon · · Score: 1

    Phew,
    Looks like i just missed the boat, thanks to my clever disguise, yeti@home wont be able to pick me up. (hence the name)

  42. The King@HOME by Mr.+BogoMips · · Score: 1
    I think an Elvis sighter would be of more use...

    wait a minute... Elvis -- Yeti... hmm.
    not sure I notice the difference.

    Yeti wear gold lame', don't they?

    Even if they don't, I'm certain that Elvis stole his act from them.
    All that hip shakin'.
    They are lewd, these snow creatures... lewd! I tell ya!

    Dammit! Now where's my seconal??

  43. Re:YETI as the so-called "missing link" by peter · · Score: 1
    They attempt to paint us as bumpkins, as idiots, as hillbillies.

    and

    hose that believe in and study that foul theory [evolution] are to be despised, hated, and imprisoned

    Your hypocrisy is dripping out around the edges. You might want to look into that.

    Why do you think that the fact that a "missing link" has not been found disproves the theory of evolution? (Yes, it is only a theory. Nobody knows _for sure_ that it is right.) If I lost my watch, then I can't find it, does that mean my watch never existed? no, didn't think. I suggest that your argument parallels the watch argument, and thus is faulty. If you can find positive evidence for Creation, then that's great. Has it ever occured to you that even if evolution has happened on earth, the universe had to be created somehow. I believe that God created the universe, and lets things run from there. I haven't made up my mind on the question of miracles, whether He set up the universe so things would happen the way they are ahead of time, or whether He goes in and tweaks things every now and then. However it works, God is cool :)

    also note that God could have created yetis. The truth condition of the evolution theory has no relevance on the search for yetis. The situation now would be the same if the universe had popped into place 5 minutes ago with everything having their current positions, velocities, and internal states (including your and my minds, and the yeti lurking in my back yard :), as it would be if the universe had evolved to this point from the big bang, or if God had at some point in history created everything (with positions and velocities such that the universe would eventually reach the exact state it's in now, of course)

    You'll probably be upset to know that I am a volunteer Sunday school teacher every week at my church. (and no I don't try to tell the kids about my ideas about the universe and stuff. It's a bit deep for grade 6 students, so I just stick to the "normal" stuff. (most of the time :))

    BTW, I would be more impressed if you had logged in to post that. We can tell you stand up for your views when you don't bother to even identify yourself. You probably realized some idiot would moderate you down, but still. I definitely don't think you should get moderated down for pointing out that creation is a possibility. I suppose you did deserve to be moderated down, since we all know Christ teaches us not to hate or despise anyone, even those who don't agree with us. I think you honestly believe the theory of Creation, and that's ok with me. Argue your point rationally, and I'll believe what I want to believe. I'll let you believe what you want to believe, but I am of course free to propose rational arguments why your position is wrong. (I won't do that here, since I'm sure you've seen many rational arguments for evolution. I choose to merely refute your argument against evolution.)
    #define X(x,y) x##y

    --
    #define X(x,y) x##y
    Peter Cordes ; e-mail: X(peter@cordes , .ca)
  44. Yes, that's what I meant by arnoroefs2000 · · Score: 1


    Just to clear things up, ofc I would want the money to go to charity, DUH.
    People beginning to call themselves Greenpeace nowadays? ;-)

  45. Re:YETI as the so-called "missing link" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Err...evolution is a fact, not a theory. The THEORY part of evolution is not about whether or not it occurs (it does - that is fact) but the precise nature or method(s) to evolution (punctuated equilibrium? simple gradualism?). The theory is addressing the hows and whys. The fact part is, well, that evolution happens, period. No likey? Tough toots.

  46. Missing dog head by Captain+Zion · · Score: 2
    What "Bob" Dobbs then learned is a matter of Church,
    for he fell to the ground with a stumbly lurch,
    and he spouted and ranted and started to shout,
    "THE X-ISTS ARE COMING! ALL YOU YETIS, GET OUT!"

    For "Bob" learned that the Yeti were the original race,
    and the humans came later, and there went the place!
    They both were created by creatures from space.

    The genes of the Yeti to this day survive
    in those called SubGenius, those few left alive,
    who are different as different as different can be.
    Do you think one is you? I know one is me!

    (from The Slack FAQ)

    Also check the Fobonics Institute, accept no imitation!

  47. Re:YETI as the so-called "missing link" by Solon+the+Geek · · Score: 1

    I assume you're joking, but if you're not...

    Secular humanism is not a religion. If you are referring to a court "decision" to the contrary, the statement in question which grouped secular humanism with other atheistic religions such as buddhism was made in a dictum, or legal footnote, and does not posess the power of law (not to mention that it is totally inaccurate.)

    --
    -- Religion is a major weapon in the war against reality.
  48. Sheesh, I was half asleep when I posted before by peter · · Score: 1

    I've never written FFT code myself, but I know what they are (being a physics + CS student and all.) I have done fourier transforms (not numerical, just integrating sin(n*omega_nought) * f(x,t) (and cos(), and for different n to get the frequency space representation of the wave.) algebraicly) by hand on functions our physics prof for Oscillations and Waves assigned.

    You are correct that my argument was a bit fluffy, hehe :) The no particular order bit was dumb. It probably just runs through the whole data set many times. (It might well do other interesting stuff, and/or have working copies of the data which are that size again, though. I think that's what I was thinking when I posted my first msg.) If it just worked on the first bit of the data, then the next bit, etc. then the kernel would swap out the parts it wasn't using. This doesn't happen, so I assume it dances over its memory space fairly thoroughly. You do agree that the algorithms they use require this much memory to process data that size, don't you?
    #define X(x,y) x##y

    --
    #define X(x,y) x##y
    Peter Cordes ; e-mail: X(peter@cordes , .ca)