# Seti @ Home **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2000, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326 "2000-09-07T03:37:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/41 "2000-09-13T02:06:14Z")
Yeah, I did set the screensaver to blank. Maybe we’re just on the 'puter too much. A couple questions: Do they make a Linux client? The Linux side of this box seems to run everything faster. Also, can you run the clients on multiple machines with one account? I just may decide to install it on a bunch of machines at work and let it run all night while no one’s there. ---
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/42 "2000-09-13T05:14:20Z")
Linux will definitely require a [text only](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/unix.html) client. > [@](#): > > For Linux systems on the AMD K6 processor, only the binaries **i386-pc-linux-gnu-gnulibc2.1** and **i386-pc-linux-gnulibc1-static** should be used. The binaries i686-pc-linux-gnu-gnulibc2.1 and i686-pc-linux-gnulibc1-static will not function on the AMD K6 processor… > > …To download the software for your computer, please select among the following list of platforms. Once downloaded, if it is a .tar file, use the command: > > tar xvf filename.tar > > where filename.tar is the name of the file you downloaded. As for your second question, you can run as many machines as you want on the same account. Just plug your email address into each machine and you’re all set. There are ways to hide the client so that it’s virtually impossible to tell that it’s there, but I would recommend getting permission before installing it on your company’s machines. Running SETI@Home on unauthorized machines is a _gasp_ violation of the license agreement, but more importantly I’ve heard of a few people actually getting fired over this. ---
**Author:** ![craiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@craiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/craiger)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/43 "2000-09-13T13:09:36Z")
53 units 2626 hours and i still haven’t found anything i’m ready to call SETI and apologize for wasting their time i must really suck at this ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/44 "2000-09-13T21:49:59Z")
820 units, 13560h 7+m. V2.o4 of the screensaver on 2 Win98 machines, one at work, and one at home. I started in June of '99, when SETI@home came out of beta, and have upgraded the machines several times. Processing times improved from ~60h to ~10 now, with faster boxes, and the blanking trick. And there was a month off while I was on holidays… sadly, my resources are committed to the [Sluggy Freelance](http://www.sluggy.com) team. What to do if your machine finds something? Don’t Panic, of course! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yamo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e19b73/32.png) [@yamo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yamo1)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/45 "2000-09-13T23:29:28Z")
But is it a waste of effort? It is argued that radio is less likely than searching for a light signal… ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2000, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/46 "2000-09-13T23:35:27Z")
Hey, it gives our computers something to do to keep them out of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/47 "2000-09-14T00:14:05Z")
As if they needed that geobabe! Mine’s busy browsing straightdope message boards - there’s only so much ignorance you can fight! (&I’m now at 52 units & 654 hours CPU time) ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/48 "2000-09-14T00:36:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yamo1 \* > \*\*But is it a waste of effort? It is argued that radio is less likely than searching for a light signal… \*\* Given the resources at hand, it is an excellent use of wasted power and resources. ---
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/49 "2000-09-14T02:12:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yamo1 \* > \*\*But is it a waste of effort? It is argued that radio is less likely than searching for a light signal… \*\* Well, you tell me when anyone with such an argument begins collecting mass amounts of data to process, and establishes a distributed computing platform for it, and I’ll run their program. In the mean time, my computer runs 24/7 anyway, so I figure I may as well let the SETI group use my otherwise wasted CPU cycles. This is not intended to sound bitchy. My only point is that this is the program that SETI is running. I don’t know of any other scientific group that is actively searching the universe for intelligent life. If there were a better search method that were feasible for them to implement, they would be doing so. The question is why _ **not** _ run SETI@Home? Unless you are into a different distributed computing project, I can’t think of a single reason. The program uses only **idle** CPU time. Donate you wasted CPU cycles today! ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/50 "2000-09-14T02:22:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gatsby \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by yamo1 \* > > \*\*But is it a waste of effort? It is argued that radio is less likely than searching for a light signal… \*\* > > Well, you tell me when anyone with such an argument begins collecting mass amounts of data to process, and establishes a distributed computing platform for it, and I’ll run their program. > > In the mean time, my computer runs 24/7 anyway, so I figure I may as well let the SETI group use my otherwise wasted CPU cycles. > > This is not intended to sound bitchy. My only point is that this is the program that SETI is running. I don’t know of any other scientific group that is actively searching the universe for intelligent life. If there were a better search method that were feasible for them to implement, they would be doing so. > > The question is why _ **not** _ run SETI@Home? Unless you are into a different distributed computing project, I can’t think of a single reason. The program uses only **idle** CPU time. Donate you wasted CPU cycles today! \*\* Exactly what I wanted to say … but felt less verbose! So … yah! ---
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/51 "2000-09-14T03:59:19Z")
Hey, sometimes as captain of the [Straight Dopers](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=Straight+Dopers) I must lay the smack down! 😃 Verbosity is merely a side effect. Keep on crunching! ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/52 "2000-09-14T04:32:31Z")
Hey Gatsby, I think I might start cyber-stalking you. Just thought you’d like to know. ---
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/53 "2000-09-14T04:43:34Z")
Um, Ok Geobabe, if that’s what you want to do. However, I should point out that willing prey needn’t be stalked. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/54 "2000-09-14T04:47:10Z")
Well, alrighty then! ---
**Author:** ![DeathLlama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DeathLlama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeathLlama)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/55 "2000-09-14T05:28:35Z")
hey, is this turning into the geek flirting thread? ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/56 "2000-09-14T05:36:55Z")
Sure, why not? Feel free to join in if you’d like. Paws off Gatsby, though–he’s mine 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gatsby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@Gatsby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatsby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/57 "2000-09-14T05:42:40Z")
Sorry, DeathLlama, I couldn’t resist someone actually flirting with me on the board. Rest assured, it has been taken offline and this thread may now resume it’s original geeky intent. [sub]Geobabe: YGM[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2000, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/58 "2000-09-14T09:48:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gatsby \* > \*\*Hey, sometimes as captain of the [Straight Dopers](http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/cgi?cmd=team_lookup&name=Straight+Dopers) I must lay the smack down! 😃 > > Verbosity is merely a side effect. > > Keep on crunching! \*\* You tha man! … you be all slapping down that verbosity! dem wakkk beatches be all bassing when dey be all slapping around at you. ---
**Author:** ![Lazarus7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/67e7ee/32.png) [@Lazarus7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazarus7)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/59 "2000-09-20T20:28:27Z")
Yah baby! , got another machine running today in a more permanent capacity. If I can get that freaking PS/2 running NT 4 WKS this afternoon, then I will have three machines pumping out the clock cycles in the search for life beyond!!! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326/60 "2000-09-20T20:35:46Z")
Are they going to have a version for Windows 2000? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seti-home/32326.md?page=4)