to

gridrepublic....

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/dl/?C=M;O=D

did someone know anythink about this

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Development build 5.3.3 is for GridRepublic for testing their API changes.
So what is weird about it to name the next version thereof gridrepublic_5.3.4? If it's only being tested by them...

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Grid Republic wanted a branned version of the BOINC client.

In return they'll be helping us update the visual look and feel of the overall BOINc client.

These are the initial versions of the Grid Republic client.

The idea being that when somebody signs up to Grid Republic the client package will automatically try to talk to Grid Republic to find out which projects that person wants to participate in and automatically attach to them.

It should ease the administration of BOINC clients across large farms too.

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----- Rom
BOINC Development Team, U.C. Berkeley
My Blog

I should also point out that the clients should be interchangable. Changing the BOINC client software name was to reduce confusion with the Grid Republic client base in making sure they don't think it is spyware or any form of malware.

Apparently Grid Republic is planning on advertising in magazines and stuff.

All in All this is a good thing.

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----- Rom
BOINC Development Team, U.C. Berkeley
My Blog

This is one of the first Account Managers.

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/acct_mgt.php

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----- Rom
BOINC Development Team, U.C. Berkeley
My Blog

Apparently Grid Republic is planning on advertising in magazines and stuff.

Why does that statement fill me with dread?

What kind of BOINC project has an Advertising Budget?
Only one that has an income and that equals some commercial gain.
And that I don't like one tiny bit.

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As far as I know, they are a non-profit org.

http://www.gridrepublic.com/

There is there website.

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----- Rom
BOINC Development Team, U.C. Berkeley
My Blog

What about that other project out there? Shoft.net?

They are using BOINC software, not giving you any acknowledgement for it and will start to use it for commercial benefits as their site states:

All participants will be notified via e-mail as soon as real commercial application appears, and project will work for a profit as it has planned.

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Well I don't know what to make of this:

http://www.gridrepublic.org/images/grid_flash.swf

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Apparently Grid Republic is planning on advertising in magazines and stuff.

Why does that statement fill me with dread?

What kind of BOINC project has an Advertising Budget?
Only one that has an income and that equals some commercial gain.
And that I don't like one tiny bit.

I agree... This does not bode well. The MAIN reason I have been such an enthusastic supporter of BOINC is its academic, non-commercial nature. It looks like SHAME is about to enter the Garden of Eden. From the look of the flash on their website, it looks like they will be maintaining their own 'community', and it is not likely that their 'participants' well ever come around here, or even know 'here' exists. Whats next from them? Ads in BOINCManager? Spyware?

Grid Republic wanted a branned version of the BOINC client.

In return they'll be helping us update the visual look and feel of the overall BOINc client

Yeah, I bet they can't wait to stick all that crap in OUR clients as well...

KWSN-MajorKong (the highly cheesed-off).

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https://youtu.be/iY57ErBkFFE

#Texit

Don't blame me, I voted for Johnson(L) in 2016.

Truth is dangerous... especially when it challenges those in power.

Google for Picador Multimedia, or Matthew Blumberg, or Gridrepublic, or Computationalcharity.org, etc. etc.

Nothing about the charities they are supporting - but gridrepublic is apparently being produced for or with SSL at UCB....

What is GridRepublic getting out of this? There is no indication that they are a 401(c)(3) or any other kind of non-profit organization.

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Yeah, I bet they can't wait to stick all that crap in OUR clients as well...

KWSN-MajorKong (the highly cheesed-off).

The BOINC client is still going to be maintained. It'll still be driven by the same goals as before. I view this as just another variation of the client.

Much like Linux, just a different distro geared toward a different base of customers.

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----- Rom
BOINC Development Team, U.C. Berkeley
My Blog

There is no indication that they are a 401(c)(3) or any other kind of non-profit organization.

that is supposed to read 501(c)(3) organization

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Yeah, I bet they can't wait to stick all that crap in OUR clients as well...

KWSN-MajorKong (the highly cheesed-off).

The BOINC client is still going to be maintained. It'll still be driven by the same goals as before. I view this as just another variation of the client.

Much like Linux, just a different distro geared toward a different base of customers.

My question...will we have to download any new software (other than updating the BOINC software). Will we have to uninstall our current BOINC and reinstall something else? Detatch from projects? just curious....Will the new software be owned/operated by the same people maintaining BOINC now? In Other words, will Berkeley still be in control?

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"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". Hebrews 11.3

It sounds like GR wants to do for BOINC what several organizations did for Jabber.

Of course with multiple vendors generating custom interfaces, the concept will spread like wildfire, but other, less-desirable elements may creep into the application.

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Stewie: So, is there any tread left on the tires? Or at this point would it be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?

Fox Sunday (US) at 9PM ET/PT

The BOINC client is still going to be maintained. It'll still be driven by the same goals as before. I view this as just another variation of the client.

Much like Linux, just a different distro geared toward a different base of customers.

I'm sorry Rom much as I respect you (and I really do) any move of BOINC outside the altruistic universe would be widely unwelcome, and your reply sounds like a coded denial......

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The challange will be to keep one common code base with only different skins for diferent projects, and a few control file settings. This way one small group maintains the code, and each project can provide their custom skin to their users. Once you have them adding a little special code here and there just for their versions, it becomes a programming maintance nightmare. Been there many times. Once they have a version that by preference sets up their project, next they will want a version that excludes or at least hides other projects. And then one that talks to their servers for software updates and downloads. This is were security starts to fall apart.

It then becomes a mess when each project starts to maintain its own version of the base code, and they make changes that would not be acceptable to other projects. Users doing multiple projects would not know or understand what these differences mean to them, and it becomes difficult to determine how different versions might effect other projects. You already have this type of problem sorting out the optimized clients when used with multiple projects.

I like the idea someone presented else where, that the BOINC Manager should have a Projects tab option, in all versions, that links to a single list of all Projects with their brief description and links to their home pages. Much like the Berkeley web page.

Whats next from them? Ads in BOINCManager? Spyware?

How about a survey to go along with those commercial ads? "We interrupt your normally scheduled project to _demand_ that you please fill out our short 60 minute survey. Your project will continue processing when you are finished. And remember to drink large quantities of ZOOM! Cola 'A near lethal dose of caffeine in every can!'"

Seriously though, I agree that the BOINC platform projects should be run by non-profit organizations, but if a for-profit org wants a custom version of the software exclusive for their project, and the new version is called something other than BOINC, remains unaffiliated with BOINC, and is willing to pay the UCB BOINC dev team for their work, either with cash donations to the project or by donating code useful to the BOINC community, then I don't have any problem with that.

Regards, Daniel.

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How about a survey to go along with those commercial ads? "We interrupt your normally scheduled project to _demand_ that you please fill out our short 60 minute survey. Your project will continue processing when you are finished. And remember to drink large quantities of ZOOM! Cola 'A near lethal dose of caffeine in every can!'"

Seriously though, I agree that the BOINC platform projects should be run by non-profit organizations, but if a for-profit org wants a custom version of the software exclusive for their project, and the new version is called something other than BOINC, remains unaffiliated with BOINC, and is willing to pay the UCB BOINC dev team for their work, either with cash donations to the project or by donating code useful to the BOINC community, then I don't have any problem with that.

Regards, Daniel.

Daniel, have you seen their site(s)? Note the list of projects on the flash animation. They are not starting a project of their own, but it appears that they are going to function as an aggregator. An 'Account Manager' as it were...

I don't have a problem with 'Account Managers'... I am just very leary of THIS one. I hope I am proved wrong, but I think that GridRepublic is hoping to be paid by businesses for running projects. Notice I didn't say the participants... But GridRepublic, aka. Mr. Blumburg. How else is Mr. Blumburg, by all accounts an astute businessman (not to mention film producer), hoping to recoup the earlier-mentioned advertising budget, and dare I say Make a Profit? If he wanted to make a 'charitable contribution' to DC projects, there are better ways... New servers... Underwriting the cost of bandwidth... Heck, even a new espresso machine for the project staff's lounge.

The casual participant may be none the wiser, especially since there are likely to be several of the current 'non-profit, academic' projects in the list... I just hope that, in the end, the somewhat fragile 'good name' of S@H and BOINC aren't dragged thru the mud by scandal.

Read the press releases on the subject. Notice how they are worded and who the intended audience of the releases is. Like I said, I hope I am wrong, but I have a gut feeling about this one.

This all may lend a little validity to my own personal paranoid and cynical take on the whole boinc phenomenon. Seti@Home has been around many years. There hasn't been any mind blowing discoveries thus far. The 'deep pocket' people that have funded the project can't help but be a little put off by this. It's been stated many times that funding is difficult to get, and getting harder to come by. So you beef up the science a bit. New sources of data, more in depth processing of the data, better odds of finding something important.

But what if, just if, even with all the new improvements here now and on the horizon another 6 years passes and still the 'phone doesn't ring'? That would surely be the death knell for any serious funding. Enter this life boat name boinc. It works with seti, it works with Einstein, it works with CPDN, it cuts, slices, dices and peels. All of a sudden all the eggs aren't in one basket. There are alternatives, and not just for those of us that break out in a rash when no work is available from seti. Now if the unthinkable happens and all funding for seti dries up, and the horrendous day arrives that the fat lady really sings, and sings loudly, it's not the end of DC as we know it, no need for all those involved with the daily care and feeding of the seti@home project to set up Monster.com accounts and start looking for work elsewhere. boinc will still need attention.

seti@home may go away some sad day, but boinc will live on. And what better way to help insure it's future growth and propagation than to open the gates (no, not Bill. God, I hope not at least) and let boinc venture outside the walls of UCB?

What ever is going to happen will happen. If boinc degrades into some nasty mess that impairs security, or is making money for someone as a result of the work it (we) does, or from tastefully done and visually pleasing popup ads, it will hold all the allure that napster and kazaa did for me and will be deleted with AFS*.

Yow! Posts like this are bound to happen when you mix pizza, beer, and a festive holiday cheese ball, with an idle mind.


*AFS = All Frigging Speed