LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

The science of SETI@home
SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a scientific area whose goal is to detect intelligent life outside Earth. One approach, known as radio SETI, uses radio telescopes to listen for narrow-bandwidth radio signals from space. Such signals are not known to occur naturally, so a detection would provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology.
Radio telescope signals consist primarily of noise (from celestial sources and the receiver's electronics) and man-made signals such as TV stations, radar, and satellites. Modern radio SETI projects analyze the data digitally. More computing power enables searches to cover greater frequency ranges with more sensitivity. Radio SETI, therefore, has an insatiable appetite for computing power.

Previous radio SETI projects have used special-purpose supercomputers, located at the telescope, to do the bulk of the data analysis. In 1995, David Gedye proposed doing radio SETI using a virtual supercomputer composed of large numbers of Internet-connected computers, and he organized the SETI@home project to explore this idea. SETI@home was originally launched in May 1999.

SETI@home on BOINC
This version of SETI@home is based on BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing). Several other projects besides SETI@home are using BOINC. BOINC lets you participate in more than one project, and it lets you specify what fraction of your computer time should go to each project.

Compared to the original 'SETI@home Classic', you'll see several differences in the new BOINC-based SETI@home:

Multiple applications
BOINC allows projects to run more than one type of program on your computer. New program versions are downloaded automatically. SETI@home plans to use this feature do a new type of analysis of radio signals, looking for short broadband pulses that could be evidence of ET, black holes, or fast pulsars.
Variable credit per work unit
BOINC assigns a variable amount of credit per completed work unit, based on your CPU speed and the CPU time used.
Finite work supply
Each work unit is now processed a limited number of times (typically three). When we have no work for your computer, you'll get a 'no work available' message. We encourage you to participate in other BOINC-based projects; then, when SETI@home has no work, your computer can stay busy doing other scientific research.
Highly configurable preferences
You have more control over how your computer is used: for example, you can limit the disk usage, the network bandwidth, and the work hours. You can also control the amount of work that your computer downloads each time it connects to our server. These 'preferences' are managed using a web-based interface, and they automatically are applied to all the computers on which you run SETI@home.
OpenGL-based graphics
SETI@home's graphics now have a modern 3-D look. When they're running in a window, you can use the mouse to rotate and zoom. You can even customize the graphics using a web-based interface.
Open source
The source code for both SETI@home and BOINC are available. If you have a rare kind of computer, or like to compile things yourself for security reasons, you can still run SETI@home.

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

How do I sign up for a SETI@Home (BOINC) account?

If you did not participate in the previous of SETI@Home you will need to create a new account by visiting this page. However, if you DID participate in the previous version of SETI@Home follow the instructions in the next post.

Once your account has been created they will send you an e-mail message to the address you entered on the form. This e-mail message will contain your account ID and project URL which is what will enter into the BOINC software package when you run it for the first time.

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

How do I activate my account from the old SETI@Home (CLASSIC) project?

If you participated in the previous version of SETI@Home the good folks at Berkeley have already migrated your account over for you. You will need to activate your account though, by visiting this page, and entering the e-mail address you used when you signed up for the original version of SETI@Home.

Once your account has been activated they will send you an e-mail message to the address you entered on the form. This e-mail message will contain your account ID and project URL which is what will enter into the BOINC software package when you run it for the first time.

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

How do I join the LITTLEWHITEDOG team?

If you participated in the previous version of SETI@Home, and you were on our team before, your account will already be a member of LITTLEWHITEDOG. You'll just need to follow the instructions listed above to active your old account.

If you did not participate in the previous version of SETI@Home, or you're just getting started on the project, visit this page to join our team.

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

Where do I download BOINC?

BOINC Software can and should only be downloaded from this page.

As of this post, the current version of BOINC per platform are as follows:

Linux/x86 Version 4.05
Mac OS/X 10.3+ Version 4.05
SPARC/Solaris Version 4.05
Windows/x86 Version 4.05

Big Dog Joined: 18 Oct 2000 Posts: 4410

How do I install and configure BOINC?

....