Folding@Home

[Lee]

Hey PPT! As a newfound PC enthusiast, I found my computer sitting idle quite a bit. Looking at PPT, I know we have quite a few computers around.

Folding@Home is Stanford sponsored effort for disease research. But running a simple piece of software while you leave your computer idle, you contribute your computing power to Folding@Home which helps to simulate the protein folding. Improperly folded proteins can lead to diseases including "Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers and cancer-related syndromes."

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Folding@Home works on all operating systems (Windows, OS X and lower, and Linux) and utilizes your system's CPU. It is available to download here and comes in a command prompt and system tray version. I don't recommend the command prompt version if you don't know your way around the command prompt.

Folding@Home can even run on the PS3.

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I use Folding@Home everyday and can guarantee the safety of the download as well as the 4141610 people who actively run the program. Some of the big teams include Google, Maximum PC, and many more.

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Even without a powerful computer YOU can make a difference. PPT could even start a team which would tally the "points" generated by all the members.

If you have a computer that stands idle, Folding@Home is a great way to put it to work for a great cause.

[Twizzler0171]

Ooh, this is interesting. I turn my computer off at nights before I go to bed, but if I'm awake (unless napping ) it's on. This will be useful for when I decide I want or have to do something else for awhile!

[Helena]

A WILD LEE APPEARS? DUDE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN. D:

Anyway...

That's actually really cool. I probably won't be able to use it seeing as I don't tend to leave my computer idle for long amounts of time very often, but I'll definitely check it out.

[Lee]

A WILD LEE APPEARS? DUDE WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN. D:)

Ack don't throw pokeballs at me!

*runs away*

"Wild Lee has fled!"

[Regan]

I used to use the SETI@home program back in the day when I didn't have my own computer.
This program looks cool as well. Unfortunately, I don't leave my computer on when I'm not using it. It would be cool if schools could get involved with this program, though.

[Twizzler0171]

Haha, seriously... school computers have a lot of time they are running but aren't being used.

[Shoyru_Lover]

Ditto for university computers. Maybe I can run and install this on all of them... (Imagine the computation power then!)