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250,000 PS3s Folding@Home

Posted by Zonk on from the that's-a-lot-of-origami dept.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that over 250,000 users have signed up for the Folding@Home project on the PlayStation 3. The sheer number of users has resulted in '700 teraflops in a single moment', most of which is provided by PS3 users. "'The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward,' said Vijay Pande, associate professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and Folding@home program lead. 'Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer's and other diseases.'" The article notes the software has a new update with some refined functionality and faster processing.

111 comments

  1. $500+ .... by pembo13 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I guess it is at least useful to society

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
    1. Re:$500+ .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It costs you money in electricity to bitch on Slashdot, at least the Folding@Home is worthwhile.
      SETI at home did the same thing on rigs that cost a lot more than a PS3, did people get a rebate for that?

      Don't think so.

      I hate whiners. Get a job!

    2. Re:$500+ .... by empaler · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As much as I dislike Sony, I can't agree with you.

      Yeah, maybe they got some free publicity from making it possible to join Folding@home, but do you honestly believe that that's a negative thing?
      I think it's amazing that they've actually leveraged that amount of computing power into a project that so sorely needed a boost. I think it's amazing that they F@h people now have to up their ante to keep up.
      Hell, Sony could probably get a little more Goodwill-publicity squeezed out of the thing if they gave some kind of credits per X cycles of F@h from your unit as an incentive, but come on. Why complain that they've done something that benefits both them and everyone else?

    3. Re:$500+ .... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Yeah, maybe they got some free publicity from making it possible to join Folding@home, but do you honestly believe that that's a negative thing?

      People will use the information gained by folding@home to make billions of dollars. The idea that this is some sort of charity is a sham. This is scientific research that will eventually be patented, hoarded, and sold back to you at tremendous profit. You could at least get your expenses paid for.

    4. Re:$500+ .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course if once they port this to the 360 it will run faster (see the OS page, the ATI GPU kicks the crap out of the Cell), it will have a smoother framerate, better graphics, shorter loading times, better online support and ten times the installed base. :-)

    5. Re:$500+ .... by Applekid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "This is scientific research that will eventually be patented..."

      Um... from the FAQ:

      Who "owns" the results? What will happen to them? Unlike other distributed computing projects, Folding@home is run by an academic institution (specifically the Pande Group, at Stanford University's Chemistry Department), which is a nonprofit institution dedicated to science research and education. We will not sell the data or make any money off of it.

      Moreover, we will make the data available for others to use. In particular, the results from Folding@home will be made available on several levels. Most importantly, analysis of the simulations will be submitted to scientific journals for publication, and these journal articles will be posted on the web page after publication. Next, after publication of these scientific articles which analyze the data, the raw data of the folding runs will be available for everyone, including other researchers, here on this web site.

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    6. Re:$500+ .... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Yes. The data will be available to everyone especially other Stanford researchers to develop and patent drugs and treatments and sell them back to us at extraordinary profit, while you don't even get a coupon for a free day's stay in the hospital.

      The folding at home people might have created this for all the right reasons, but in the end it will be used to extort money from us. This is the way our medical system works.

    7. Re:$500+ .... by blibbler · · Score: 1

      Ummm. You don't have to buy any drugs that are produced. Would you rather get alzheimer's and be told there is no cure, or told there is a cure, and it will cost $10,000? In any case, patents only last for 20 years, and after that, the drugs should become relatively cheap. Additionally, this folding at home work is just the start of the process. It is one thing to know how a particular folded protein might cause a disease, and creating a drug to fix it.

    8. Re:$500+ .... by mikael · · Score: 1

      By then, everyone will probably have forgotten about this project.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    9. Re:$500+ .... by Jbcarpen · · Score: 1
      Even with the data from F@H, developing a new drug or treatment still costs the pharmaceutical company TENS of BILLIONS of dollars. Do you really think a company is going to invest that kind of money and then not charge enough for it to make a profit?

      Yes, the new drugs/treatments are still going to be expensive, but this sort of project isn't just about the cost of these things, it's also about the time it takes to develop them.

      --
      GENERATION 667: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation
    10. Re:$500+ .... by senatorpjt · · Score: 1

      They're not really just "turning around and selling the product." Even defining a specific target for a drug, the drug still has to be developed and put through the approval process. There's a lot of work between this sort of basic research and an actual product.

    11. Re:$500+ .... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 1

      If it cost so much, why do other countries get the same drugs more cheaply? I don't think that the pharmaceutical companies are doing Canada and Europe any favors.

    12. Re:$500+ .... by Lost+Engineer · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Short answer: because you're paying for them. Ok, well, U.S. drug buyers are paying for them. I'm assuming you're one of those.

      These companies are thinking: Ok, if we've done all the hard work already, we may as well sell them for whatever we can get in Canada and Europe. If you think of it as one complete system, those who pay more are subsidizing the rest. Basically, other countries are leaching off of the U.S.'s highly efficient drug market. We'll see for how long that works for them.

    13. Re:$500+ .... by homer_ca · · Score: 1

      Don't blame the bloated cost structure on development. Drug companies spend much more on marketing than R&D. All those TV commercials and freebies to doctors don't come cheap. Why are prescription drugs advertised on TV to everybody when only doctors can prescribe them?

    14. Re:$500+ .... by Jbcarpen · · Score: 1
      There is a false assumption that many people make about the cost structure of developing a drug that you may have made. The assumption is that every research project pays off, but in reality, for every new drug that makes it through FDA testing ten don't, and for every drug that even makes it to testing hundreds of others are developed and discarded.

      The number quoted in my previous post was including the costs for all the drugs that don't make it to market. When you buy an expensive drug you aren't just paying for the development of that drug, you're also paying for dozens of drugs that didn't work.

      --
      GENERATION 667: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation
    15. Re:$500+ .... by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1

      Only if the project doesn't work.

      "Hey sonny, do you know that in my day our game machines did...um...I like soup!"

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
    16. Re:$500+ .... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 0, Redundant

      No, I think the drug companies are spending too much on payola for doctors, television advertisements, and lobbying for patent extensions.

    17. Re:$500+ .... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 1

      Such a rosy outlook. Bill O'Rielly was wrong. The Stockholm Syndrome is real.

  2. Why bother linking to the article? by HockeyPuck · · Score: 2, Informative
    The only information NOT in the summary is this tiny paragraph:

    The project is also making a new software update available. The 1.1 version improves visibility of donor locations on the globe, folding calculation speed and protein viewing. There's also additional language support, help screen hints, and improved donor-name length and character handling.

    Users can join the program by clicking on the Folding@home icon in the PS3 CrossMediaBar (XMB), or setting the application to run whenever the console is idle.


    Why not just put the entire article in the summary?
    1. Re:Why bother linking to the article? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We need something in the article that isn't in the description otherwise we can't ask "Did you RTFA?".

      Jim

    2. Re:Why bother linking to the article? by LotsOfPhil · · Score: 1

      I would say it is because the originating site wrote the article. If Slashdot put the entire article in the summary, people wouldn't click on the link. That does nothing for Slashdot and annoys the originator since they don't get any credit.

      --
      This post climbed Mt. Washington.
  3. That's great and all... by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Interesting

    but I thought this was supposed to be a video game console? Where are the games? Perhaps Sony's PR machine can tackle that one.

    1. Re:That's great and all... by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 1

      How is this not a valid point?

    2. Re:That's great and all... by TB · · Score: 1

      Probably becuase its been getting around 7-8 games a month since release, same as the 360 does.

    3. Re:That's great and all... by Cathoderoytube · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe Sony's using this as a sort 'pay as you go' system. They've realised most people can't afford the console so they're letting people slowly pay them off by donating a portion of their time to scientific research... 'Woo hoo! Only 700 more hours of calorich pragmastiscism indexing and I can totally play some Fight Night! But only for 10 minutes.. The University of Leakston's reserved my processor for some research on abscract non-contuitive phasing for the next 2 months'

      --
      I have nothing compelling to say
    4. Re:That's great and all... by Applekid · · Score: 1

      Does this mean I can write off a PS3 purchase on my taxes? Sweet. B)

      --
      More Twoson than Cupertino
    5. Re:That's great and all... by DarkJC · · Score: 1

      The games are in your local Gamestop/EB/BestBuy. I keep hearing this over and over from people who think they're being clever, despite the fact there actually are games worth buying these days. I have a feeling a year from now we're still going to be hearing the same pundits saying "Man the PS3 needs games! Heavenly Sword, Lair, MGS4, along with the numerous multiplatform releases such as GTAIV, DMC4, Assassins Creed, etc. don't count! You have no games Sony!"

      And of course, in traditional Slashdot fashion, they'll all be moderated Interesting/Insightful/Informative.

  4. Of course they're folding... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course the PS3s are spending the time doing Folding@Home.

    It's not like there's any games to play on them.

    1. Re:Of course they're folding... by kendoran · · Score: 1

      Ha nice, +5 funny +5 informative ;P

    2. Re:Of course they're folding... by TB · · Score: 1

      Well Resistance was #1 title across all platforms in europe, and Motorstorm was #5 in US retail charts, seems someones playing those games, probably along with Virtua Fighter 5.

    3. Re:Of course they're folding... by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      I know you were (half-) joking, but I wonder if we'll see drops once popular PS3 games ship (think Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, etc).

    4. Re:Of course they're folding... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The premise is that users donate idle system time for computing power. It make sense. I mean how many hours out of a day would you play a gaming system (not necessarily PS3) anyway? Even if there were thousands of titles out for the PS3, any marginally social (or financially conscious) human wouldn't spend all day (and night) playing video games.

      I just hope that positive results come out of their research. However, I do agree that this will be a problem when many research groups want you to donate processing time to their applications.

    5. Re:Of course they're folding... by TB · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, I wasnt. In places like Australia, PS3 is doing well in the charts, often with 2 titles in the top 3. Almost a million people bought PS3s in March alone.

    6. Re:Of course they're folding... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 2

      Don't feed the trolls. There's a whole bunch of people out there who want to believe that several million units sold is equivalent to zero and that comparing 360 sales to PS3 sales is fair without considering the 360's full one-year lead.

      This is Sony we're talking about -- God of War was not made by a third party, and Insomniac is working on another Ratchet & Clank, not to mention the existing games. I'm hoping Sony works out offering decent music & movie sales soon, but there's no reason to malign PS3 owners.

      PS, there's not much of a price difference between a PS3 and a 360 in the grand scheme of how much money gamers spend on gaming.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
    7. Re:Of course they're folding... by cbreaker · · Score: 2

      You don't even have to look at the grand scheme of things to realize that $100 isn't a big difference in price.

      I think the PS3 is a fine console. It's the first Sony console I've owned and I haven't been disappointed one bit. It's really nice; it's too bad some folks can't see beyond their own ignorance. (I guess that's the definition of ignorance..)

      --
      - It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
    8. Re:Of course they're folding... by the_tsi · · Score: 1

      I agree with you 100%, but I don't envy the karma you're gonna lose when the wii fanatics go to town on modding you troll.

      (...On the other hand, my ps3 has spent a lot more time playing movie trailers in hd than playing video games, so the grandparent isn't too far off the mark.)

    9. Re:Of course they're folding... by adona1 · · Score: 1

      Although if I had a PS3, I would probably turn it off when I wasn't using it or downloading something. If the researchers pay for my electricity, maybe ; )

      --
      Between the falling angel and the rising ape
    10. Re:Of course they're folding... by senatorpjt · · Score: 1

      The thing that irritates me about F@H on the PS3 is that it stops background downloads when it's running. When new game demos come out, I usually just start the download before I go to bed. After it finishes downloading, it's just sitting there.

    11. Re:Of course they're folding... by MikeBabcock · · Score: 1

      My PS3 is just over a month old and has spent almost 250 hours playing video games so far between my wife and I and the five other people who've come over and set up users on it.

      --
      - Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
  5. Difficult by rlp · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tried it but couldn't get past the first boss level.

    --
    [Insert pithy quote here]
    1. Re:Difficult by MeanderingMind · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's raining in Shanghai...

      --
      Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
    2. Re:Difficult by Jarjarthejedi · · Score: 1

      Ouch...hope you saved...

      (Oh come on, this is the perfect comment :P. Have none of the mods seen the Penny Arcade comic?)

      --
      There are two kinds of fool One says 'This is old therefore good' Another says 'This is new therefore better'- Dean Ing
    3. Re:Difficult by GroeFaZ · · Score: 2, Funny

      Really? For me, within a couple of frames he bent over.

      --
      The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
    4. Re:Difficult by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I recommend trying the peptide training level first.

  6. What is going to happen...? by AbsoluteXyro · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What is going to happen when distributed computing applications "flood the market" and PS3 owners have several organizations vying for their machine's idle time? How many people, confounded by so many choices, will simply choose to donate no computing time at all?

    1. Re:What is going to happen...? by shoptroll · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A similar question is how long until PS3 owners lose interest in this? F@H has been around a lot longer than the PS3. I've been running it on my PCs for a couple years now off and on, but are gamers going to keep leaving their machines on at night once the novelty and "my machine is helping cure cancer, how about yours?" wears off?

      --
      Insert Sig Here
    2. Re:What is going to happen...? by TB · · Score: 2, Interesting

      PS3 owners can set F@H and other Dist apps due later on to run any time to unit is idle, be it for 10 mins or constant. Becuase it only takes around 8 hours (1.0) to crunch a unit they dont need to leave it on as long to do the same work as a PC would so 10 mins here and there would add up quickly.

    3. Re:What is going to happen...? by Trent+Hawkins · · Score: 1

      Simple answer: Sony needs to offer folding as a service and send rebates back to PS3 owners. Then, not only will the PS3 be affordable, but it will also be a profit for it's owners.

    4. Re:What is going to happen...? by shoptroll · · Score: 1

      I heard they're planning on selling out the network of users to any company willing to have them crunch numbers. No word on whether or not people are gonna be reimbursed for the time/electricity/bandwidth for this.

      --
      Insert Sig Here
    5. Re:What is going to happen...? by fineghal · · Score: 1

      I would point out that there is no opportunity cost to the owner. While their PS3 is folding, they can be off doing something else. There is nothing to lose interest in, because they aren't actively doing anything. They set their machine, and it goes merrily on its folding way.

      As for electricity cost?
      Let's say upper range: 217W * 8h = 1.6kW/h

      Heck, let's go max. 380W * 8h = 3.4kW/h (Note: Completely unrealistic. Assumes 100% efficiency)

      Average price of electricity is 10 cents or so. You're paying between 16 - 34 cents.

      The bloody thing costs $400 off of EBAY, and you're trying to tell me the electricity cost will matter?

    6. Re:What is going to happen...? by Trent+Hawkins · · Score: 1

      the plan
      Well it's nothing final, but there is talk of it, and it seems to be a logical step.

    7. Re:What is going to happen...? by vux984 · · Score: 1

      The bloody thing costs $400 off of EBAY, and you're trying to tell me the electricity cost will matter?

      Uh. Yeah. For people who can add at least. I posted this on /. before:

      The PS3 is reported to run 220W when running folding@home.

      In, for example, New York, the average residential cost of power in 2006 was 16.86 cents: (http://www.ppinys.org/reports/jtf/electricprices. html)

      So 220W or 0.22kW x .1686 $/kWh x 24h/day x 365days/year is: $324.93 per year.

      That kind of money would buy you quite a few new games over a year.

      New York is on the high side for the US, but not remotely the highest. And prices in Europe tend to be considerably higher.

    8. Re:What is going to happen...? by buckadude · · Score: 1

      I kind of agree with you here. I run F@H on my PS3 and I do it now and then in an attempt to finish one or so chunks of data a month. Nothing to write home about, but hey the novelty of trying to help a good cause never wears out for me. cheers.

    9. Re:What is going to happen...? by senatorpjt · · Score: 1

      I ran F@H for a couple days, but I lost interest in paying the electricity bill. I'd use it if it supported background downloading. I'd leave it on for the night whenever a new game demo/video came out.

    10. Re:What is going to happen...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, basically your point is that it costs money to donate your CPU cycles to the project? Check out that word "donate" again. It has a specific meaning.

      I agree that people should be aware of the electric, cooling and other costs of doing this, or any other computing activity, but I don't think it follows that we shouldn't do it as a result. My family is as happy to pay this price as we are to give to the United Way or the Salvation Army.

      BTW, I noticed your figures included 24 hour a day usage. I know a certain segment of the Slashdot community wants to believe that PS3s are an expensive doorstop, but in my household we spend a significant number of average daily hours using the PS3 for something other that Folding. Basing the cost on 24 hour F@H usage is every bit as misleading as those who gloss over the electricity costs.

    11. Re:What is going to happen...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not only that, but if the PS3 really consumes 380W peak power, this could increase a monthly power bill to around $30 for the fool that leaves his on 24/7.

      Anyone doing this have a Kill-a-Watt handy and care to share the real data?

  7. A small disparity by heinousjay · · Score: 5, Insightful

    According to the folding@home OS stats page, a total of 99712 PS3s contributed as of 25 Apr 2007. Where did the 250,000 come from?

    --
    Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    1. Re:A small disparity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The "Total CPUs" for the PS3 lists only those machines which have returned a work unit within the last five days.

    2. Re:A small disparity by hansamurai · · Score: 1
      No that's active CPUs.

      Active PS3's are defined as those which have returned WUs within 5 days.
      --
      Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    3. Re:A small disparity by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Funny

      I guess they're using the same system they use to count the number of PS3's they've sold.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    4. Re:A small disparity by i+kan+reed · · Score: 3, Funny

      where did the 250,000 come from

      Sony's marketing department.
    5. Re:A small disparity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard that and active PS3 is defined as one that has returned WUs within 2 days, since the units take 8 hours to crunch and are designed to be run overnight.

    6. Re:A small disparity by Lars+T. · · Score: 2, Informative

      The 250.000 comes from "over 250,000 users have signed up for the Folding@Home project". So about 150.000 haven't finnished their first work unit yet. That means they didn't have it running for approximately 8 hours to complete a WU (within the 2 days deadline) yet.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    7. Re:A small disparity by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      Both definitions are present on the F@H site. No way to tell which one is real from where I sit.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
  8. 250,000? by hansamurai · · Score: 3, Insightful

    According to this page, they are at about 691 teraflops with the PS3 producing 388 of those. I'm kinda confused on where they get the 250,000 number as that page also says there are about 30,000 active CPUs and about 100,000 total (as in 70,000 CPUs once participated but haven't returned data in five days). I mean, there's barely 250,000 total active CPUs including all platforms.

    --
    Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    1. Re:250,000? by TB · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They did say "Signed Up".

    2. Re:250,000? by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      Doesn't a PS3 have 6 CPUs?

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    3. Re:250,000? by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      But the PS3's Cell processor has 3 cores, so maybe they took the number or PS3s, and multiplied it by 3.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    4. Re:250,000? by TB · · Score: 1

      The Cell has a single CPU core but has multiple units which do the hard yards. Its all counted as a single CPU, as it is.

  9. 250,000+ with nothing better to do? by Moryath · · Score: 3, Funny

    What a shame - all those PS3's, and not a single decent game to play on them.

    1. Re:250,000+ with nothing better to do? by Mark+Gillespie · · Score: 1

      Then you obviously don't own a PS3, and you would know your comments are nothing more than the usual Xbox fanboy drivel.

      I've had my Euro PS3 over a month, and not been bored by any of the launch titles. I am on the Nottingham missions on Offline Resistance:FOM, and I enjoy the online play, considerably more than any of the 360 FPS games I have played to date (I used to own a 360, before It went wrong). Motorstorm is also very enjoyable. When I don't play these, I have Gran Turisno HD, which only has a single track, and a few cars, but it's still challenging to better my previous times, and get higher up the online leaderboard. I also have 3 downloaded games (Flow, Blast Factor and SuperRubADub), all cheap games, and good for quick non-nonsense gaming.

      Once all that's out of the way, there is Oblilion and F.E.A.R to work though, then there will ge GTA4 (which is rumoured to look considerably better on the PS3, due to the limitations of the DVD9 on the 360).

    2. Re:250,000+ with nothing better to do? by Moryath · · Score: 1

      Then you're obviously a nitwit.

      Motorstorm? Boring as hell. Resistance: FOM? Call of Duty with aliens instead of Nazis, it could have just been released as an expansion pack. I'm not interested in Yet Another Crappy FPS/3PS, thank you.

      Fl0w... good for about 30 minutes. Then it gets boring.

      The only game I remotely enjoy on my PS3 is Lemmings. Other than that, it plays PS2 games. I could have stayed with a PS2 for that.

      Congrats on being a Sony Fanboi Loser, now come back when they have some real games to offer the rest of us.

  10. This Folding@Home sounds like a fun game! by stratjakt · · Score: 2, Funny

    I should pick up a PS3 so I can play it.

    LOL all those M$ fanboys dont even know about this HOT ESCLUSIVE TITAL!

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
  11. This is not "free" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since you have to have your PS3 on all the time, and the PS3 runs very hot, and uses electricity, I'm curious about the amount of people willing to heat their living room with their console to do some amorphous "good for society".

    1. Re:This is not "free" by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Informative

      The PS3 barely puts out any heat when folding. I was surprised when I checked it in the morning and it was completely cool and not blowing out much heat. For perspective, when playing a game, the hot air coming out feels like my car's exhaust. The actual system stays pretty cool, though, which is a tribute to their cooling methods.

    2. Re:This is not "free" by NiteMair · · Score: 1

      Really - no heat? According to F@H's own FAQ, they anticipate that your PS3 is consuming 200W while running. I'm certain all that power is going somewhere...

    3. Re:This is not "free" by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Informative

      It shouldn't be too surprising that the GPU would be the most energy hungry component... That's how it is in PCs too.

    4. Re:This is not "free" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Perhaps it's not running calculations on the GPU on the GP's system...might be an option that can be turned off. As I recall, F@H has two different types of calculations it does (I think the difference is primarily 64 bit vs. 128 bit or something like that), and it does one set on the CPU, one set on the GPU.

      By the way, if a folding PS3 is consuming 200 W and you would otherwise have it off when not playing, then for 23x7 folding, it would use about 1700 kW-hours of electricity per year ($150+). Not free indeed.

    5. Re:This is not "free" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm... no. I have a PS3 folding when I'm not playing F1 and I can assure people that it indeed gets hot. Actually, I haven't noticed a huge difference in the thing sitting idle, folding, or game playing.

      Off is the only state the thing doesn't put out heat.

    6. Re:This is not "free" by senatorpjt · · Score: 1

      Considering a WU takes 8 hours on the PS3, and my work day is longer than that, maybe I should start bringing the PS3 to work and using their free electricity. :)

  12. Folding@home by mypalmike · · Score: 4, Funny

    Best laundry sim on the market.

    --
    There are 0x40000000 types of people: those who understand 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point, and those who don't.
  13. Requested feature by BMonger · · Score: 1

    I know some (myself included) are wary of just running it 24/7. It'd be nice to have an option to have it do one WU then shut the PS3 off. My first PS3 locked up after a few days of folding and I had to exchange it. Now I'm wary of folding for more than a day or two without powering it down. Probably just a bum PS3 in the first place but... yeah.

    1. Re:Requested feature by MarkGriz · · Score: 2, Informative

      I know some (myself included) are wary of just running it 24/7.


      Considering the fact that running it 24/7 uses 144 kWh per month (200 W x 24 hrs x 30 day) I'd be pretty wary myself.
      Even at a generous 10 cents/kWh (the US national avg), that's almost $15/month.
      If you are unfortunate enough to live where electricity is much higher than that, you are closer to $25
      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
    2. Re:Requested feature by Penguin's+Advocate · · Score: 1

      First off, Sony's replacement system is so fast you'll never notice your PS3 was missing (my first one died too, and the entire replacement time from "phone call" to "new PS3 all hooked up and playing" was less than 36 hours).

      Second, $15-$25 a month is nothing (especially considering you were able to afford a PS3, and probably some games for it, and maybe even an HDTV and some Blu-ray discs...). Plenty of things cost $15 a month, MMO's, credit protection scams, insurance....and none of those things are curing Alzheimer's (although I am a bit biased as Alzheimer's runs in my family and I've watched it destroy my relatives' brains for most of my life).

      --
      Frag 'em all...
    3. Re:Requested feature by Eccles · · Score: 1

      I wonder how much a solar panel setup would cost that would power a PS3. You would want to bypass the DC->AC->DC conversion, of course.

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
    4. Re:Requested feature by SydShamino · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A $180 check to the Alzheimer's foundation would be $15 a month to cure Alzheimer's, and it has the further benefits of:

      A) letting the foundation pay for whatever research it feels is most important, which might include the folding@home project but might not (or, if you specify with your donation, could possibly go to the project of your choice);

      B) does not necessarily consume electricity at residential rates using many, many distributed lossy AC->DC conversions, which for most people means additional cost cooling one's house in the summer and an overall increase in greenhouse gas emissions;

      C) would be tax deductible, so depending on your tax bracket you could donate $200-$225 to this cause, reducing the amount of money you give the government to pay for whatever it wants, but further increasing the amount of money going to research you want.

      Alzheimer's runs in my family, and keeping a computer running at my home all day is a stupid way to cure it. The only possible benefit is that it hides the cost in the electric bill instead of making people write out a check. That would be silly but harmless if that electricity wasn't polluting the atmosphere.

      --
      It doesn't hurt to be nice.
    5. Re:Requested feature by EvilRyry · · Score: 1

      I wonder if you could use your electric bill as a tax write off...

    6. Re:Requested feature by Penguin's+Advocate · · Score: 1

      That's all well and good, I've given thousands to the Alzheimer's foundation as well as donating part of my tax return to them every year. The fact that you can do one good thing doesn't mean you shouldn't do another. People can run their PS3's and help without having to think about it (which is really what most people want, not to have to think about bad/hard things). You're not going to get millions of people to write checks and consciously donate money, but you just might get them to leave their game console on. Also, electricity doesn't need to pollute the atmosphere, that's a whole different argument but it all comes down to ignorance on the part of the average citizen and greed on the part of coal/oil companies. Wind, Water, Solar, and Nuclear power can all give us electricity without pollution, it's only humanity that keeps that from becoming a reality. My electricity comes from water, I live within sight of the dam where it is produced, and I signed up for it specifically with my provider.

      --
      Frag 'em all...
    7. Re:Requested feature by luder · · Score: 1

      Maybe this project would work?

    8. Re:Requested feature by SydShamino · · Score: 1

      Certainly, your mileage may vary. My home is powered from solar and wind only; for every consumer who has made such a choice, folding@home is (as I said) silly but harmless. I absolutely agree that many people would rather pay a lot more each month on their utility bill than write one check, once a year, because overall most people are lazy.

      The problem is that there is a high correlation between people who don't bother to switch to clean energy, and those who won't bother to write out a check. There are of course exceptions like you.

      --
      It doesn't hurt to be nice.
    9. Re:Requested feature by The13thSin · · Score: 1

      Yeah... very convincing. I'm sorry, but of the 100.000 of people currently running their PS3 for the F@H project, only an extremely small fraction would probably donate anything they save on their electric bill. And allthough I'm really behind all this green energy, this should not be the reason not to run it. And calling it silly is an insult to the university running this program... I for one, have more faith in them for using the processing power in a meaningfull way. I'm sorry, but even if someone doesn't like the PS3, I'm still amazed how a news item like this could possibly be warrent for another round of PS3 bashing. It's a good thing they are using the F@H program on the PS3 to do some good in medical research, period. No matter if you like the PS3 or not.

      --
      "This should be fun, and by fun, I mean a wholly depressing insight into the cognitive ability of some grown adults."
  14. Better idea for PS3 idle time... by Xest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's called turning it off, and helping do your little bit to cut CO2 emissions and cutting your electricity bill at the same time!

    Doesn't Sony know? Curing cancer is so last century, this century it's all about carbon emissions.

    1. Re:Better idea for PS3 idle time... by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Informative

      Curing cancer is so last century, this century it's all about carbon emissions.

      And with any luck, we can do as well at cutting CO2 emissions as we did at curing cancer!

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    2. Re:Better idea for PS3 idle time... by askreet · · Score: 1

      Some might say that reducing CO2 output might actually help stop causing cancer.

    3. Re:Better idea for PS3 idle time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some might say how?

  15. I'll be glad to buy it. by cbreaker · · Score: 1

    And when my life is on the line, I'll be glad to buy that shit back from them, you short-sighted twit.

    --
    - It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
  16. Wha.... by fitten · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean Sony has actually sold 250,000 PS3s? ;) (I kid, I kid, notice the winking smiley, please don't flame me :()

    1. Re:Wha.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      actually the 250k number is suspect anyway. There are barely that many machines altogether (including non-PS3 machine). Sounds like more Sony marketspeak.

  17. Lame by axia777 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    It is nice to see the Sony hate is running strong even when they are doing something positive like helping to potentially cure something as rampant as cancer. Have any of you jerks that are making fun of this had any family member die of cancer? You think it is funny? How is it stupid or lame that so many PS3 owners are helping such a noble project? You people are so damn lame it is painful to see.

    1. Re:Lame by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am cancer

    2. Re:Lame by heinousjay · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I'll make sure to love Sony in the future for you. Then your opinion of me can go up and... oh, right, I forgot. I don't care what you think of me or my opinions.

      --
      Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
    3. Re:Lame by axia777 · · Score: 0

      You wont say such moronic things should a family member of yours die of cancer.

  18. power hungry? by androvsky · · Score: 1

    To all those people that complain about power usage in every single story about the ps3's folding@home, tell me, would it be more energy efficient to use a PC to do the same thing? Considering how much faster each ps3 is than a pc (excepting the GPU client, which is very limited to what kinds of calculations it can do), and the fact that the ps3 uses about the same amount of power as a low- to mid-range PC, I'd like to hear the real reason so many people are complaining about the power usage. Or would you rather not let people use a technological resource to do some good at all?

  19. Cores.... by sendai2ci · · Score: 1

    The 360s processor has 3 cores. The Cell has 1 core with 8 co-processors (with one core disabled in the PS3.)

  20. good on them by techtakeaway · · Score: 2, Insightful

    a very good use of the PS3's spare processing power, and disease research is much more worthwhile than looking for aliens

    --
    TechTakeaway.com for tech related articles, videos - lots of robots
  21. Simple solution, really by patio11 · · Score: 1

    Stop smoking.

    --
    Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
  22. Thats an amazing coordinated effort! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's amazing that practically every single PS3 sold is being used on this Folding thingy!

    And I agree that searching for cures is a much better option then searching for little green men. besides Seti is so last century.

  23. My brother's PS3 is one of those by Pluvius · · Score: 1

    I signed him up, then found out that the client can't run in the background, which is a really silly flaw for a distributed computing app. Since my brother didn't want his PS3 running constantly for no good reason, I went ahead and uninstalled the client.

    Sony or whoever's responsible really needs to find a way to get that app running while playing games or at least watching movies; I don't think most people will get any use out of it otherwise.

    Rob