Distributed Computing on Next Gen Consoles

anonymous lion writes "Wired has a story on the need for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to support distributed computing with a non-gaming purpose. The article goes on to discuss SETI@home, distributed.net, and Folding@Home." From the article: "The next generation of console gaming is going to see a huge increase in machine performance and overall computing power. Already planned for both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are multiple 3.2-GHz PowerPC processors capable of handling advanced gaming and graphics simulations, along with out-of-the-box internet capabilities such as Xbox Live Silver. With all that horsepower in a machine that is used for only a fraction of a day, we should offer gamers a chance to put these unused resources to good use."

Comments

Excuse me?

[daikokatana]

"we should offer gamers a chance to put these unused resources to good use"

That almost sounds like they are doing me a favour by letting me help them with their seti or whatever it is they have.

I'm the one who is consuming electricity, I'm the one that bought the machine (or will buy), I'm ... etcetera.

With a desktop at least you can argue that the software is running on idle cycles in between work cycles, or as a screensaver. With a console, you'd need to let the machine run the software on purpose. Slight difference at first glance, yet big enough to be a problem.

So in the end it comes down to one question: what's in it for me?