Thanks for the informative summary, Evan. Will give it a try as I often have computers on at home and it seems an easy thing to do. Wishing you (and all on the list) happy holidays and the best for 2011 and beyond, Dev Anand Teelucksingh On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 1:20 AM, Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> wrote:
Hello everyone, I hope this email finds you well during this time of year.
For some, the coming of the new year offers a time to reflect; many make new years' resolutions and others make contributions to charity
I have a suggestion to make, of a small but worthwhile contribution you can make that costs no money and very little time. The contribution is in the form of unused processing and memory power in your computers, which can be used to contribute to assist research projects intended to enhance human scientific progress.
Some of you may be already aware of the project known as "SETI@Home<http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/>", which has been using the power of hundreds of thousands of under-used PCs in homes and businesses worldwide to decode radio signals in the search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. What is less known is that the same distributed processing network used for SETI and other math projects is also being used to assist research to combat Cancer, AIDS, Malaria, Muscular Distrophy, Dengue and other diseases. Specifically, I am referring to the "World Community Grid <https://secure.worldcommunitygrid.org/index.jsp>", an IBM-sponsored way for researchers to have access to this distributed processing system. Among other projects are efforts study climate change models and find ways to provide clean water.
Getting involved is easy. The open-source client software, called BOINC, is available for Windows, Macs and Linux <http://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php>. After installing it you attach it to the project(s) of your choice. My own systems are attached to the WCG as well as "malariacontrol.net" and SETI.
Once connected, as your computer(s) complete the tasks assigned to them you earn "credits", a point system that acknowledges your contribution.
Almost all projects have a concept of "teams", which is nothing more than arbitrary groups of individual account holders. Most teams are based around educational institutions, computer clubs etc. and many participants are members of a team (though it's not required). For what it's worth, I've created ICANN teams at SETI, the WCG and malariacontrol.net. Feel free to join -- membership is not limited to At-Large and there is no moderation process -- just to see what we can do collectively.
This may not be everyone's idea of community work, and some may even consider it a form of "slacktivism<http://www.snopes.com/info/glossary.asp#slack>" because it's so low-effort (once you install and join, there's not much for you to do except track the progress of your projects). But such activity has real value to the researchers and ... who knows? You may have a tiny role to play in solving some of mankind's more complex medical and environmental challenges.
I'm more than happy to assist anyone having problems connecting, though chances are than an audience that is already savvy on issues such of DNS and IPV6 doesn't need too much hand-holding. Being a volunteer in ICANN policy making already shows that you have an interest in giving and improving society through use of the Internet.
This email and this effort have not been submitted to anyone for endorsement -- and I have no intention on doing so, since it's way out of scope for ICANN -- but I think it's a good idea for individual effort.
Thanks, and have a good and happy holiday season.
Evan Leibovitch Co-Chair of ALAC, but speaking on behalf of nobody but myself. _______________________________________________ At-Large mailing list At-Large@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/at-large
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