Supercomputers are expensive, so investigators with lots of data and little budgets have turned to distributed computing: relying on free help from volunteers who download programs onto their home computers and run the software to analyze small chunks of data. The results are then sent back to researchers to crunch further. Just what has come from a decade of such homegrown efforts? We look at 14 programs to see if they’re worth your processor’s time.
Stardust@Home What it is: In 2006 the NASA spacecraft Stardust brought back cometary and interstellar dust. This program continues the scrutiny of minute aspects of the universe from Earth.
How it works: Lets users examine Stardust’s collectors in search of bits of cosmic dust. The Web site says it’s like “searching for 45 ants on a football field.”
Our take: It’s on to phase II for this innovative success.
SETI@Home What it is: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence scans the sky for signs of life. David Anderson, SETI’s cocreator, says beyond finding E.T., he hopes to promote interest in science.
