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World Community Grid Releases Linux Agent

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the a-fold-in-time-only-saves-about-three-or-four dept.

GrahamHood from WorldCommunityGrid.org writes "The World Community Grid is proud to announce the release of a Linux Agent, for the current Human Proteome Folding Project. Team Slashdot, being the #1 team on the World Community Grid, will be pleased to hear that it is now available for download."

23 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Imagine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Imagine a beow... no, don't...

  2. There's another OS besides Windows? by teewurstmann · · Score: 4, Funny

    It is a great move that a Linux agent has been released. I just wished more companies/projects/institutions would realize that there are people out there that prefer living without having to click on Start to shutdown their box...

    --
    Get a free Video iPod!
    1. Re:There's another OS besides Windows? by Agret · · Score: 2, Informative

      You can just hit the power button and the OS will shutdown itself.

      --
      Have you metaroderated recently?
    2. Re:There's another OS besides Windows? by Chicane-UK · · Score: 3, Informative

      Or you can make a shortcut on your desktop, to shutdown the computer with the following command line:

      shutdown -s -f

      Or you can make it do a shutdown and restart with:

      shutdown -r -f

      The -f option is to forcibly quit any applications that insist on staying open! :)

      --
      "Hey! Unless this is a nude love-in, get the hell off my property!!"
  3. Yes, it IS important. by Vo0k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, okay, Linux is like 2% of world computer share. BUT lots of the Linux machines are servers. Running 24/7 and with plenty of spare CPU power.

    I launch my primary PC, 2GHz CPU. Boot it to Windows. The computation starts and runs for 1h when I check my mail, read some slashdot, then I want to start up Half-Life 2 and have every CPU cycle for myself so I quit the client. I play for 3h, then for the rest of the evening use a text terminal in my bed for IRCing, the main PC is off. 2 billion CPU cycles per day donated.
    But I have a PC at work, that works as a Samba server, has 330MHZ CPU, and most of the time does completely nothing. Linux. 8 billion CPU cycles per day donated.

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    1. Re:Yes, it IS important. by strider44 · · Score: 2, Informative

      BOINC$ ./run_client
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Starting BOINC client version 5.2.6 for i686-pc-linux-gnu
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] libcurl/7.14.0 OpenSSL/0.9.8 zlib/1.2.3
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Data directory: /home/strider44/BOINC
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Processor: *
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Memory: * MB physical, * GB virtual
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Disk: * GB total, * GB free
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [World Community Grid] Computer ID: *; location: Default; project prefs: default
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] General prefs: from World Community Grid (last modified 1970-01-01 10:00:00)
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] General prefs: no separate prefs for Default; using your defaults
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [---] Remote control not allowed; using loopback address
      2005-11-07 23:02:08 [World Community Grid] Resuming computation for result de078_2D_0 using rosetta version 419

      Perhaps you should have read the instructions before using the wrong command.

  4. Psst by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Linux Agent is Valerie Plume.

    But you didn't get that from me.

    -- A friend of democracy

  5. That's some effort by dJOEK · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Logic for beginners:

    1. World Computing had only a Windows Client until today
    2. Team Slashdot is the #1 Team -> lotsa computing power
    3. Slashdotians are in general Linux zealots.

    Conclusion, The few windows users on slashdot that engage in World Computing have some pretty hefty Windows boxen ;-)

    That, or you're all closet XP users ;-)

    --
    Exercise caution when modding this message up: the author acts like a jerk when his karma is excellent.
    1. Re:That's some effort by strider44 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Statistics seem to show most slashdotians are closet XP users. However I've added my computer to the linux fold (I love puns).

      Incidentely the software seems to work fine. It's not pretty and it's just based off standard GTK. When installing you have to remember to read the instructions CAREFULLY as it will give you a link that's needed to attach your account to the server. After this run the file run_manager and it will download a whole lot of files that you need and then after these files are finished downloading it'll automatically start and your trusty CPU counter will go up to 100%.

      I'm doing my bit for Team Slashdot!

    2. Re:That's some effort by J0nne · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's been general knowledge that the majority of users on /. use Windows. But if you'd compare it to other websites, there's a bigger percentage of users that use Linux (but it's still not the majority).

      Incidentally, I'm posting this from Linux (Ubuntu Breezy Badger).

  6. Questions by trollable · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The fact there is now a linux client is a good things. However, there is a few things that are not very clear. I scan quickly both grid.org and worldcommunitygrid.org.

    1) Who can access the results?
    2) What are the policies for the input and output?
    3) Can any researcher use the results?
    4) Is the client close-source?

    Thanks

    --
    Million Dollar Screenshot
    1. Re:Questions by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Insightful
      4) Is the client close-source?

      Yes, I would be rather uncomfortable about running a cpu heavy application which requires internet access without some way of auditing its behavior.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
  7. READ THE EULA by putko · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There is a EULA, and it looks pretty irritating.

    I will leave it to the EULA vultures to pick over this thing -- but it is a doozy.

    --
    http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_s tone_your_children/dt21_18a.html
  8. Comparison to Folding@Home by TuxPaper · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From their FAQ:
    What is the difference between what Human Proteome Folding does and what Folding@home does?

    There are large differences between the Human Proteome Folding Project and folding@home. Both projects are excellent but have very different objectives.

    Folding@home aims to get at how a few proteins of KNOWN structure fold DYNAMICALLY. Folding@home is a project to further understanding of the folding process itself. Understanding why protein folding works (and why it doesn't) could have a significant impact in certain diseases like Alzheimer's and Huntington's Disease, which Folding@Home is actively studying.

    The Human Proteome Folding Project will PREDICT the structures of large numbers of proteins of UNKNOWN-structure. The aim of this project is to get structures and functions for huge numbers of proteins so that biologists and biomedical researchers who run into these mystery proteins in their research can look to ISB's database for functional/mechanistic clues about their favorite mystery-proteins.

    Call me a pessimist, or a conspiracy theorist, but the ability to predict unknown structures sounds like a way for coporations to patent them. Or maybe I'm reading it wrong. Either way, I'm sticking to Folding@Home.
    1. Re:Comparison to Folding@Home by tayhimself · · Score: 2, Informative

      This should be rated informative but not insightful. You cannot patent the structure of a protein, because there are several experimental methods to determine structure such as XRAY and NMR crystallography. If you create your own protein which AFAIK noone has created a useful sizeable protein, then maybe you can patent it. Or you can patent special ligand molecules that bind to proteins of medical interest. Heres the wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystallography/

  9. Re:Where's the OS X release... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't be silly. Everyone knows Macs don't have any computing power.

  10. Heh Heh by TubeSteak · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "No news story has appeared yet on ./ as I'm writing this. You should submit one (I have to go). Be sure to mention that the project has previously been featured on Slashdot on 2004/12/30(31 ?), so that moderators can moderate "-1 Redundant" posts containing some form of mention that the news is a dupe ;-)"
    That's the last post in their official slashdot thread

    someone's got a sense of humor
    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  11. Source by Vo0k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    For anyone asking: No idea what's the license but the source code is open:
    http://boinc.ssl.berkeley.edu/source_code.php
    (by the way, they really make it hard to get there from the main page...)

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
    1. Re:Source by amirl · · Score: 2, Informative

      You're wrong. Boinc is not part of World Community Grid. As a matter of fact, it's 2 different projects. Boinc is indeed open source written by Berkely University but World Community Grid is not. Read more here.

      --
      You can't get there from here.
    2. Re:Source by Vo0k · · Score: 2, Informative
      except World Community Grid uses Boinc as its Linux agent.
      support@worldcommunitygrid.org
      to me
          More options 12:01 pm (1½ hours ago)
      Thank you Vo0k for downloading the World Community Grid Linux agent.
       
      Be sure to have the following information handy when installing the Linux agent:
      Account Key: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
      BOINC Project URL: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/
       
      If you'd like to download the Linux agent to another computer, you can do that from this link: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ms/viewDownload. do
      If you have questions about installing and registering the Linux agent, please take a look at the FAQ's at http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/help/viewTopic.d o?shortName=boinc
      Thanks,
      World Community Grid Team
      --
      Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  12. Folding @ Home? by r2tincan · · Score: 2, Informative

    I was wondering how this World Community Grid stands up to Folding@Home?

    I'm a member of a F@H team and it seems like there are a lot of people participating. Are these efforts competing against one another or are they different areas of study? I don't quite understand.

    Also, I know that the F@H client can run in the background and take up no system resources, only unused processor cycles, (which is part of the reason I use it.) Does the World Community Grid project's clients take up a lot of system resources...?

    --
    "Lead my skeptic sight."
  13. Re:Ridiculous by SolitaryMan · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I would be rather uncomfortable about running a cpu heavy application which requires internet access without some way of auditing its behavior.

    I find it more than just uncomfortable. It's ridiculous to ask me for some of my computing power, while in return giving some weird EULA to accept and non-free (as in freedom) application.

    --
    May Peace Prevail On Earth
  14. Godd job guys, my Suns will still go to waste... by Triode · · Score: 2, Informative

    It would have been nice to release the source code for the client, eh? Now all of my
    idle cpu clocks on all of my dual cpu sun machines will still go to waste heating the
    house instead of helping mankind. (the client is AMD or Wintel x86 only).

    I suppose the apple guys are in the same camp until 2006 (apple-tel?) also...

    When will they ever learn.