Let Your Computer Dream About Science While You Sleep (& Earn Cryptocurrency For Doing So!)
This post is my first on Steemit about volunteer computing but it borrows heavily from things I wrote at Medium, in this Inverse.com article, and a Digg Dialog I did. If you are interested in the topics discussed below, please check out those articles or just stay tuned here for more! Or leave a comment saying what you'd like to hear more about.
If you BOINC, leave a note about your favorite projects!
What is Volunteer Computing?
Volunteer computing (often called distributed computing, but I view them as slightly different things) is a technology/concept that allows anyone to put their computers and other devices to work doing scientific research. Volunteers (like you?) can run software (like BOINC or World Community Grid) and feel better about themselves while they watch Netflix or take a nap knowing their computer and maybe their smartphone are helping research cures to childhood cancer, better solar cell materials, or the formation of galaxies.
Can my computer really make a difference?
Yes, right now, hundreds of thousands of people have an even larger number of devices crunching data for dozens of research projects. These computers contribute greater computational power than the world’s most powerful supercomputer (though it can only really compete on tasks that can be chopped up into millions of tiny pieces that can all be worked on independently). I’ve been doing volunteer computing for a long time and my computers have contributed years and years of computational effort to research on SETI, protein folding, Zika, cancer, AIDS, clean energy, neuroscience, and more. As a recent PhD, I can testify that funding for most researchers is tight these days and not everyone can afford lots of time on a supercomputer. By joining BOINC, you are enabling important research that could change the world, our health, and our understanding of the universe.
Where does the cryptocurrency come in?
Folks here seem to be really interested in cryptocurrency, so you might be interested to know that there are at least 3 coins that relate to research-boosting volunteer computing. As others here have pointed out, mining Bitcoin is incredibly wasteful. We put electricity in and only get BTC out, nothing else! The better our computers get, the more work/energy is required to mine one bitcoin. Bitcoin already uses as much electricity as some cities, and may use more than Denmark by 2020!
We really should be putting that computational power to better use! Luckily there’s Gridcoin (and Curecoin and others) that use useful computations that benefit scientific research to mine coins. I’ll focus on Gridcoin here (and in later posts), because I believe it is more flexible in terms of what projects can be worked on now and in the future. In fact, Gridcoin not only incentivizes volunteer computing using BOINC, it incentivizes volunteering for lesser known projects that could really use the help. It doesn’t hurt that Gridcoin is also doing well these days and is currently trading for 15-20X what it was three months ago.
I plan on writing more about the topics in the future, but in the meantime:
Join projects
And 3. Get into Gridcoin either as a miner, investor, or both!
Here is a good resource for getting started: https://www.reddit.com/r/gridcoin/
Tweeted this article: https://twitter.com/customminer/status/875361544640634880
Keep up the great work @johnniec!
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
My favourite project is Rosetta, because it was the first project I collaborated with in BOINC.
I also liked Wuprop because being one of the few non-intensive CPU/GPU projects and because I think it may help at finding the most efficient project for every type of CPU or GPU. It is not included anymore in Gridcoin projects, but as it does not consume computing power working for it does not reduce gridcoin mining efficiency.
I like Rosetta too. It was my first project after SETI, which showed me how much more volunteer computing was capable of.
Yes, most projects are basic science research, which is also important but does not have short or mid term applications. Futhermore, some projects are so complex that it is necesary to read a few papers before understanding what are you contributing to.
Volunteer Computing sounds like a great idea, i might give it a try thanks for sharing this nice article with the community and please follow me for some nice posts like this thanks and looking forward...
Gridcoin is undervalued and cheap! Right time to get in and Earn greater profits in future :)
Вполне вероятно)
I remember when Ripple paid out if you contributed to BOINC projects! Really wish there was more interest in useful POW today
Great article! Never considered Gridcoin but I definitely will now! Thanks!
Great article! I bought some Gridcoin a few weeks ago and am eager to see how this project will evolve over time.
Thanks! I think BOINC and Gridcoin have a bright future as long as new people are signing up and helping spread the word. I posted a couple more articles on the topic that cover accomplishments to date and potential going forward. https://steemit.com/@johnniec
I just started up the SETI@home pool. Do I see my coin payouts on setihome.com or gridcoin.co?
Payouts are visible on gridcoin.co (and on the GRC address you have selected for receiving payouts). There's also another pool, grcpool.com, which is developed more actively.
Okay, thank you for the reply!
Followed, waiting for the next article.
Thanks! It is coming soon!
You may have seen them, but I posted a couple more articles on the topic covering accomplishments to date and the potential going forward! (along with some photos of monkeys and epic backpacking trips) https://steemit.com/@johnniec
I've become hooked on the windows screen savers that come up, someone had fun designing the SETI one.
Indeed, that one is awesome. I've enjoyed some of the others like Rosetta as well. World Community Grid's look really polished now. I wonder which other ones have interesting screensavers.