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With MS Research Help, UN Attempts To Model All of Earth's Ecosystems

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft Research and UN scientists have teamed up to build the first general-purpose computer model of whole ecosystems across the entire world. The project was detailed in a recent Nature article [note: yet another expensively paywalled original article] titled 'Ecosystems: Time to model all life on Earth.'"

39 comments

  1. It'll just be blue by noahmckinnon · · Score: 0

    a sea of blue

    1. Re:It'll just be blue by SeaFox · · Score: 2

      And then we'll get the message that it was caused by a global warming overflow and be prompted to reboot and start over again

      ... but we wont be able to reboot.

    2. Re:It'll just be blue by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      And at the bottom of the dialog box will be a button labeled, "OK"

    3. Re:It'll just be blue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And then we'll get the message that it was caused by a global warming overflow and be prompted to reboot and start over again

      You won't be able to read the message because of all the finger smudges on the screen

      Windows 8 - it's an ecosystem alright.

  2. YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They still can't even put together a supercomputer... how can anyone expect them to get such a huge complex system working.

    Probably trying to patent hell out of the problem too.

    1. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by durrr · · Score: 2

      They'll just put politicians as apex predators and key to preserving biodiversity, then claim they've filled in all the important spots and only have to add some minor details to finalize it.

    2. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by SomePgmr · · Score: 1

      I'll wait for the first service pack.

    3. Re:YABSFMS - yet another buggy system from MS by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      That was my first thought as well... with the incredible success MS has in new product development along with strong, effective leadership of the UN, how could this go wrong?

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  3. UN kickstarter project for modernized SimEarth? by Freddybear · · Score: 1

    The original came complete with volcanoes and hurricanes and other "extreme weather".
    Maybe they should just download it from some abandonware site. Save a lot of money.

  4. And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Then do what - tell every country on earth what they should be doing? Let them stick to their original agenda, which they incidentally suck at - making sure that wars don't happen, and that human rights are not violated anywhere, so that Hamas rockets don't land on Israel, so that Pakistan doesn't host Jihad groups, newly Islamic countries don't institute discrimination against non-Muslims and so on. Of course, that's tough to do when the biggest bloc in the UN is the 50+ member OIC.

    1. Re:And? by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      We can probably disband the UN, you seem to have " telling every country on earth what they should be doing" covered,

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    2. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm all for it. We saw what a roaring success the League of Nations was, while the UN served a minimum use during the Cold War. Now, its relevance is gone. By all means, disband it, and leave all countries alone, instead of subjecting them to laws that their people may not necessarily agree with.

  5. Re:Agenda21 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    you are a fucking retard.

  6. Watson is jealous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't IBM normally do the things that sound impressive yet vague? (Well they're impressive as long as you don't know the details, then dull and old when you do).

    A-la Watson?

    Is that a thing dying companies do?

  7. Yeah, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will it run Linux?

  8. BSOD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where are the Blue Sky Of Death jokes? Or is that solely reserved for Azure?

  9. Useless... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..such a model. We already know. It'll be 42.

    1. Re:Useless... by gadget+junkie · · Score: 1

      The mice are quite puzzled, why build a computer to simulate another one?

      --
      "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
  10. Nobody listens. Into the handbasket with ye! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    DO NOT FORGET to include the part where it is used as a meme vector for increased control over the economy. This is completely independent of its validity, though the downside of same is not.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  11. Wow! by elabs · · Score: 1

    I would LOVE to be on that effort. I wonder if they are hiring.

    1. Re:Wow! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Just use some chutzpah. Contact them, and specifically ask about this project:

      http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/jobs/default.aspx

      --
      Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  12. Re:Agenda21 by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    I'm curious, can you site a reference?

  13. Oh Dear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Blue Screen Of Death now wedded to global ecosystem models that never worked right in the first place even with LSD and Jack Daniel's liberally consumed. Hummm. Can we say, "It Came From Davos." Me thinks so. It explains Sir David's obtuse comments on the need to eradicate Homo sapiens in order to 'Save The Earth.' Hum. Just wonder if he considered 'Who', perhaps the World Health Organization like, will do that, and 'Who' does them.

    XD

     

  14. dictator knows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MS is right company for this because it rules most of it already.

  15. Already done... by hsthompson69 · · Score: 1

    ...haven't they heard of Minecraft?

  16. MS Super Computer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are they using a Linux super computer? I doubt a Windows super computer could handle it without either locking up or taking a century (or two) to calculate it.

  17. Reboot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Reboot the ecosystem everything will be fine.

  18. Free human knowledge from paywalls! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am sick of seeing human knowledge locked behind paywalls. Free it!

  19. According to the latest data runs..... by CyberRacer · · Score: 1

    God has rebooted the world a total of 17 times. There have been 4 BSODs (Blue Skies of Death). Only 3 species were accidently deleted, though there are several billion empty folders where some species used to reside. There are currently only 3 life forms on planet earth: MS engineers, U.N. workers, and viruses. (there are no bugs.. never have been , never will be.) The world is slowing down as more data accumulates. Currently it takes about 10 minutes of processing per 1 sec of real-time, but once the algorithms are fully engaged we expect this figure to rise exponentially. Since it is impossible to achieve real-time performance, our engineers are guaranteed lifetime salaries. On a side note: As a result of these studies, MS now holds the patent on breathing. Pay up MFs!

  20. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  21. Oh, joy. by dtmancom · · Score: 1

    They don't even have the simpler models working yet, and now they want to make a gigantic one capable of generating even more flawed conclusions which will be used to generate even more idiotic laws.

  22. yet another expensively paywalled original article by CuteSteveJobs · · Score: 1

    Academic publishers business plan:


    1. Have some academic write a paper using public funding
    2. Have academics peers volunteer to check the paper for free
    3. Publisher won't publish paper unless academic gives up their copyright
    4. Academic gives up copyright FOR FREE to publisher
    5. Publisher prints journal article
    6. Academic gets acclaim from being featured in journal
    7. Universities have to pay $$$ for journal subscriptions so they can see paper
    8. Public who paid taxes for the academic to write the paper see nothing at all - Enter Aaron Swartz, and we all know what happened next...


    George Monbiot: Academic publishers make Murdoch look like a socialist
    Academic publishers charge vast fees to access research paid for by us. Down with the knowledge monopoly racketeers
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/29/academic-publishers-murdoch-socialist

  23. Bill Gates quote by 3seas · · Score: 1

    "You know how you survive? You make people need you. You survive because you make them need what you have. And then they have no where else to go" - Bill Gates.

    Agenda 21 is not a conspiracy, its real and you can google it and read it and for ecology there is the wildlands project as well.

  24. Defective by design by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drop away that ecosystem scientist experience.
    MS can help UN make right decisions - how to eat our Planet faster..

    You are born
    To fail ...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSnJrb394fk

  25. Blame God by Gallomimia · · Score: 1

    I suppose they will Blame God when their data comes back from cluster farms completely out of the range of scientific possibility because he made the Eco system and it's not Windows fault that things don't run properly. (Obvious commentary on today's other Microsoft story of Blaming PC makers)

    --
    Sadly, a Libertarian cannot force his views on another, and freedom cannot spread as does the cancer known as religion.
  26. Too many techies don't appreciate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The natural world. Pretty soon everybody will be born in a metal machine surrounded by concrete and glass. Let's worry about life on Mars and let the current planet we live on go to shit, OK? Great.