Been outta the loop a while, should i be running BOINC now?

[ssgohan434]

Well its been a long time since i last installed SETI. The last time i installed seti it was with the seti client and seti driver utility. Whats this new BOINC thing? Do the points go to the same seti account? Is it part of SETI 2? Does it yield any faster times or anything? Should i be using it now? :confused:

thnxx

[SunRedRX7]

Whats this new BOINC thing?

BOINC, Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing.
A software platform for distributed computing using volunteered computer resources. http://boinc.berkeley.edu/
Basicly its the new way to run Seti, also will run other distributed computing projects.

Do the points go to the same seti account?
Kinda, your SETI1 credits are still asssociated with your account, but they are separate from BoincSeti.

Is it part of SETI 2?
Yes, it pretty much is SETI2.

Does it yield any faster times or anything?
Same work unit times for the most part.

Should i be using it now? :confused:
I would say yes, eventually it will be the only way to run Seti. The rides a little bumpy right now, as the kinks in the server are worked out, so you'll have to be patient with them, as work unit shortages occasioanally occur and other downtimes. They are making progress and it looks like this will be a pretty decent system.

This is where you go to sign up for BOINC
http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/

in the participate area, you can enter your original SETI email address and have your account key for BOINC SETI emailed to you, which you use when attaching to a project with the boinc client.

Once you get BOINC running, most of the controls such as cache, are controlled via the SETI BOINC website under the "Your Account" section.

The websites not responding at the moment, but it does this occasionally as they perform maintenance/repairs.

Also because you'll ask this after you turn in your 1st work unit, the point system works a little different now. You don't get the credit instantly like in the old system. Several other threads explain this in detail here.

Good Luck, BOINC ON!

[ssgohan434]

OIC, thnx a lot. So is this like the beta phase of seti 2? So none of these points get associated with the SETI 1 account right? When the final release of SETI 2 comes out will u start with these beta points, or fresh from 0?

[SunRedRX7]

This is it. This is the official BOINC SETI, beta is over. These points count towards BOINC SETI.

I think the best way to explain it would be that BOINC SETI, is that its like the next season of SETI@HOME. All the stats are cleared, but your prior season record is still available in the records.

Scoring system is different which is also why they can't just combine your old points with the new points system. The BOINC point method takes into account CPU time/power needed to crunch a work unit. A credit amount is then generated, and compared against 2 other computers that did the same work unit, and the middle of the 3 computers score is the credit granted to all 3.

This method was chosen to verify the results, and crack down on cheating. The problem some have is that there is a time delay before you receive credit. You will not get your credit till the other 2 people to receive the work unit turn theirs in. They do put deadlines on the amount of time to return a work unit, and if its not returned in that time frame, the unit is sent out again. You will eventually get your credit.

[ssgohan434]

oh crap, i was trying to activate my account from SETI 1 to boinc but i dont have access to it anymore. So i cant get that accound id number or whatever. It was my old attbi ISP account in california, but when i moved here it changed to charter.net. Is there anyway i can still use that acount?