Sean
04-29-2004, 04:26 PM
Since APUG doesn't have a charity, I thought this would be an easy way for us as a group to contribute something to mankind :)
APUG TEAM NUMBER 36953
our team stats page click here! (http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=36953)
download the folding application by clicking here (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/download.html)
FAQ
So what is folding?
- Folding@home is a distributed computing project that is run by Stanford University.
What is distributed computing?
- Well you see many big universities research certain things and a lot of these things require computers to find out information for them. Huge super-computers are very costly and they are not always the best way to do things. So universities like Stanford decide to get some help from other people. What they did is they made a client that people could download to use on their home computer that would help them out with their research. The way this client works is when you are connected to the internet the client will download a work unit for you, then your computer will process it over a period of hours or days, then it will send it back when it is done. It is very easy process and almost anyone can do it.
What is protein folding?
- Protein folding is what your computer is doing when it downloads a work unit to process. Everyone is made up of proteins; they are the building blocks of life according to the instructions of your DNA. However it's not as simple as reading off the recipe from the DNA and constructing the protein's molecular chain. It's the *shape* that that big complicated molecular chain naturally takes that determines how it interacts with your cells and your body. Knowing how proteins fold is considered to be the “Holy Grail of molecular biophysics” and this knowledge has great potential. When scientist can figure out how proteins work and why they do what they do, this could lead to many great scientific advances like the cures for certain diseases.
1. Will folding affect my PC's performance?
The answer is no, there was a recent study done on the F@H program and how it can affect your computer's speed while it is running and it has been proven that there is little to no affect. The program will use a lot of your processor so make sure your computer has adequate airflow.
2. Where can I get the folding@home program?
You can download the free program by clicking here. (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/download.html)
They have it available for the 3 major operating systems and the word is that they are working on a unix version also.
3. What information do I enter when I finish downloading?
If the box does pop up you will want to right click your F@H icon in your system tray and then click on configure. Then you will change your team to number 36953 and pick a user name (use your apug name). At the bottom of the download page there is a box that you can check to see if your user name that you want is already being used.
4. Which client should I download?
Most people would agree that the best one is the graphical client. Download this and let it run in the system tray without the graphic part open. When your comptuer has to use it processor cycles to help put images on the screen that slows it down from the folding itself.
5. What is protein folding?
All that can be found by clicking here. (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/science.html)
6. When I am not using my computer it is turned off, so I wouldn't be much of a help anyway.
This is not true, F@H is running all the time and adjusts itself so it will use all of your processor that the other programs allow. So if you are just browsing the internet, that takes very little processor speed and folding@home would be working at near 100%.
a screenshot of the application running
http://www.apug.org/folding.gif
APUG TEAM NUMBER 36953
our team stats page click here! (http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=36953)
download the folding application by clicking here (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/download.html)
FAQ
So what is folding?
- Folding@home is a distributed computing project that is run by Stanford University.
What is distributed computing?
- Well you see many big universities research certain things and a lot of these things require computers to find out information for them. Huge super-computers are very costly and they are not always the best way to do things. So universities like Stanford decide to get some help from other people. What they did is they made a client that people could download to use on their home computer that would help them out with their research. The way this client works is when you are connected to the internet the client will download a work unit for you, then your computer will process it over a period of hours or days, then it will send it back when it is done. It is very easy process and almost anyone can do it.
What is protein folding?
- Protein folding is what your computer is doing when it downloads a work unit to process. Everyone is made up of proteins; they are the building blocks of life according to the instructions of your DNA. However it's not as simple as reading off the recipe from the DNA and constructing the protein's molecular chain. It's the *shape* that that big complicated molecular chain naturally takes that determines how it interacts with your cells and your body. Knowing how proteins fold is considered to be the “Holy Grail of molecular biophysics” and this knowledge has great potential. When scientist can figure out how proteins work and why they do what they do, this could lead to many great scientific advances like the cures for certain diseases.
1. Will folding affect my PC's performance?
The answer is no, there was a recent study done on the F@H program and how it can affect your computer's speed while it is running and it has been proven that there is little to no affect. The program will use a lot of your processor so make sure your computer has adequate airflow.
2. Where can I get the folding@home program?
You can download the free program by clicking here. (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/download.html)
They have it available for the 3 major operating systems and the word is that they are working on a unix version also.
3. What information do I enter when I finish downloading?
If the box does pop up you will want to right click your F@H icon in your system tray and then click on configure. Then you will change your team to number 36953 and pick a user name (use your apug name). At the bottom of the download page there is a box that you can check to see if your user name that you want is already being used.
4. Which client should I download?
Most people would agree that the best one is the graphical client. Download this and let it run in the system tray without the graphic part open. When your comptuer has to use it processor cycles to help put images on the screen that slows it down from the folding itself.
5. What is protein folding?
All that can be found by clicking here. (http://www.stanford.edu/group/pandegroup/folding/science.html)
6. When I am not using my computer it is turned off, so I wouldn't be much of a help anyway.
This is not true, F@H is running all the time and adjusts itself so it will use all of your processor that the other programs allow. So if you are just browsing the internet, that takes very little processor speed and folding@home would be working at near 100%.
a screenshot of the application running
http://www.apug.org/folding.gif