BOINC is a platform for volunteer computing. Scientists at universities around the world use it to process computationally intensive datasets (sky surveys, protein folding, etc) for FREE using the computers of volunteers. Volunteers get to contribute to cutting-edge research and put their hardware to good use. This is a major upgrade and improves packaging for Linux users. Relevant lemmy community !boinc@sopuli.xyz
cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/13369741
cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/13369735
Release Notes: https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/wiki/Client-release-notes#changes-in-802
Download page: https://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php
Report issues: https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/issues/new/choose
This is a major release that introduced a new type of applications called ‘Sporadic applications’.
Details are described here: https://github.com/BOINC/boinc/wiki/Sporadic-Applications
For Android users this release should be also available soon on F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/edu.berkeley.boinc/
For Linux users on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE, currently this release is in ‘alpha’ channel. Soon will be available in ‘stable’ channel as well.
Installation instructions: https://boinc.berkeley.edu/linux_install.php
Do people really run BOINC on Android ?
Yeah. Some can be setup pretty well for it. It’s more efficient compute-per-watt than any desktop or laptop computer. Just take caution w the battery, obviously. I wouldn’t suggest running it on any android unless the battery is removable or you’re ready to sacrifice that device to BOINC.
How does it work? How does it help people?
It works by using the processing power of your device (it can utilize both GPU and CPU) to run scientific calculations when you’re not using it. It can detect if you’re using the device or not and use its processing power accordingly, and you can customize what fraction of your device it can use and when. You can also decide what scientific endeavors (astronomical surveys, protein folding, etc.) are allowed to use your compute power.
That makes BOINC a great way to heat a room in winter provided you’re not annoyed by the eventual fan noises (or if you’re not in the room), since the energy used will also help scientific research at no extra cost for you. This also means that depending on your settings, it can melt a mobile device battery in no time.
