Help medical research via Folding@Home, PS3 FW1.6 |
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It's been a while since we last heard anything about the Folding@Home project. For those who may not be familiar with the term (or for those who forget), the Folding@Home project is an ongoing scientific project which involves the study of protein folding and other diseases that are related to folding. These include AlzheimerÂ’s Disease, ParkinsonÂ’s Disease, Huntington's Disease, cystic fibrosis, and some cancer types. Well, sometime last year, Sony spoke up and said that they wanted to pitch in for this venture.
Now, this is how the whole study goes: the project needs to create simulations which show how the proteins work. These simulations are, in turn, created by ordinary citizens who are willing to share a bit of bandwidth. This is done by a program which is sent to a PC owner who can then install the program in his own system, and then let the program run either when the system is idle, or in the background, while the PC owner is working.
The program will then let the CPU process data from the project, and then send it back to the project's main computer. The main computer will then compile and process the data that it receives from the millions of computers that were volunteered for the project. The scientists of Stanford University analyze the data, and we get one step closer to a happier world.
How the PS3 figures in this whole thing is rather significant, as Sony has offered one of the best things that they have right now: the power of the Cell Processor. As it goes, Sony has just announced that with the release of Fw 1.6 for the PS3, one of the things that PS3 owners will be finding with the update will be the addition of the Folding@Home software to their XMB. The program can then either launch manually, or can be set to run automatically whenever the PS3 is idle.
This seems to be a rather welcome way of doing a good deed for the world, and as Sony Computer Entertainment International (SCEI) CEO Masayuki Chatani has put it,
Millions of users have experienced the power of PS3 entertainment. Now they can utilize that exceptional computing power to help fight diseases ... In order to study protein folding, researchers need more than just one super computer, but the massive processing power of thousands of networked computers. Previously, PCs have been the only option for scientists, but now, they have a new, more powerful tool - PS3.
So, once FW1.6 comes along, keep in mind that you may just be helping save the lives of your loved ones or friends, simply by letting your PS3 go idle while you have a sandwich. Feels good, doesn't it?
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Comments [refresh]
This is a great idea, and it's something I'll contribute to when I'm not playing a game or watching a movie. Hopefully it has a pretty interface that could be used a screensaver as well.
Gord
With the power of the graphics chip, for the first time F@H will be able to be seen in real time (apparently) and you get pretty pictures of the protein being folded.
I thought they forgot about this! or gave up on it...
There's another selling point for the ps3... helps cure diseases.
I hope they expand and allow Seti@Home as well, that is the one I have been 'meaning' to run on my home computer.
I love the idea, gives me a reason to just leave the PS3 on all the time because it is 'saving lives'
I've been waiting for this to come out. I have this running on three of my computers. Another cool thing about this is you can have teams so your whole clan can participate and get a team score that is then posted on the site. Not only can your clan be gunning for the best at killing people in games, but now they can be going for the best at saving lives in the real world.
i've been waiting since ps3 came out and i was wondering if sony forgot about it. Ill definently be running this on my ps3
this is great! i hope they add more lil programs like this.
what has 360 ever done to save lives?...meh mabe talk to a fake doctor phil through xbl lol
I thought they stopped this, i couldn't find anything about it, well now i'll leave my ps3 on all day why i'm at school, just so i can do my part and save some lives :-p (i usually leave it on anyway but wth lol)
I'm happy they redeveloped this feature for the PS3. I had forgotten about the announcements about a year ago for Folding@home on the PS3. This is definetly a good way to use up extra bandwidth and processing power on the PS3. Good move Sony!
This is great. I never heard about this program. I will run the program when the PS3 is idle. It will be fun.
It's been a long time since we heard news on this - I almost thought that it was scrapped. I have been supporter of the @home projects since the mid 90s and it makes me feel good. I'm not feeding starving children - but I am doing something.
Awesome....
finally! ive been waiting since I first got my PS3 in November. So excited =)
P.S. anyone notice how for once a PS3 article was NOT bashed?....
why would someone bash someone tryin to save lives that would be just be bad
I've been sitting back waiting for the usuals to come in with a negative comment, but yeah, seems like they skipped it for once. This really is a great idea, and as an actual part of the xmb the chances are high that people will enable the option almost all the time. A couple million PS3s doing these calculations will mean huge progress in their research. I doubt there will be any visuals associated with this, it's not going to waste processing to put a 3d gene pairing display on the screen... Well, that could be cool, it'd have to be simple. Besides, if you leave it on just for this, you probably want to turn off the TV, since the PS3 is drawing as much power as half the light bulbs in your house :)
it seems that xbots do know when to keep quiet!
anyways sony is doing something great for humanity.
and even lets us front end users participate if we want to.
just let it run in the background all the time i guess.
who knows, you may end up getting cure if later on you get alzhimers. what was the topic again?
meh just kidding, anyways more power!
It's great Sony is setting this up and i hope it helps. Bill Gates donate BILLIONS of dollars to charities and donates more money then any human being on earth. His company (Microsoft also does a huge amount for charities). The rich need to give to the sick and poor. I just wish our governments would do it more then blowing up countries and spending trillions of dollars on weapons.
Hes also leaving MS to work with his chairity in the coming years.
It's been a while since we last heard anything about the Folding@Home project. For those who may not be familiar with the term (or for those who forget), the Folding@Home project is an ongoing scientific project which involves the study of protein folding and other diseases that are related to folding. These include Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington's Disease, cystic fibrosis, and some cancer types. Well, sometime last year, Sony spoke up and said that they wanted to pitch in for this venture.
Now, this is how the whole study goes: the project needs to create simulations which show how the proteins work. These simulations are, in turn, created by ordinary citizens who are willing to share a bit of bandwidth. This is done by a program which is sent to a PC owner who can then install the program in his own system, and then let the program run either when the system is idle, or in the background, while the PC owner is working.
The program will then let the CPU process data from the project, and then send it back to the project's main computer. The main computer will then compile and process the data that it receives from the millions of computers that were volunteered for the project. The scientists of Stanford University analyze the data, and we get one step closer to a happier world.
How the PS3 figures in this whole thing is rather significant, as Sony has offered one of the best things that they have right now: the power of the Cell Processor. As it goes, Sony has just announced that with the release of Fw 1.6 for the PS3, one of the things that PS3 owners will be finding with the update will be the addition of the Folding@Home software to their XMB. The program can then either launch manually, or can be set to run automatically whenever the PS3 is idle.
This seems to be a rather welcome way of doing a good deed for the world, and as Sony Computer Entertainment International (SCEI) CEO Masayuki Chatani has put it,
Millions of users have experienced the power of PS3 entertainment. Now they can utilize that exceptional computing power to help fight diseases ... In order to study protein folding, researchers need more than just one super computer, but the massive processing power of thousands of networked computers. Previously, PCs have been the only option for scientists, but now, they have a new, more powerful tool - PS3.
So, once FW1.6 comes along, keep in mind that you may just be helping save the lives of your loved ones or friends, simply by letting your PS3 go idle while you have a sandwich. Feels good, doesn't it?
IM amazed that MR. COMMON SENSE hasnt siad anything bad about this! hes such a jerk-off!!!!!!! Anyways this is Aswome!!!!!
Yay! The PS3 can do something well! It's just not good at doing what it was designed to - games! I wonder if something good will come out of this other than huge electric bills from all those consoles using almost 400 watts.