Hi,
this is my personal whish list to make boinc more comfortable for the users not just for the server administrators.

1. Autoupdate for the BOINC Client
I now this was left out because of security reasons. But I don't see the diference to updating the clients. I don't think that BOINC includes a sandbox for the clients (please proof me wrong). So for the security there is no difference if the clients or the boinc are automatically updated. As a user I would have to select a project from where I want to download the new versions of boic. They digitally sign the update. If the signature is valid, the update is installed on my machine.

2. Configuration of all projects on one html page (or one boinc gui).
I think this could be done using the cross project ids. The basic procedure to get the information from one project to another could be quite similar to the system that is used to exchange the cross project ids.

3. Profiles for the projects I want to participate in . I would like to select the projects I want to participate in at one web page (or one boinc gui). Then all my clients (in a certain profile) should attach to the selected projects. In each boinc client I would have to attach to only one project, the other projects would be attached automatically.

4. Most of the settings for the sreen saver should be done in the boinc client not (just) at the webpage. After I changed the settings I would like to select if they are propagated to my other clients or not.

That's all for now.
I think I had some other things but I don't remember them now.

If you have something to add please do.

Greetings
Chris

1) Too many paranoid people, and they may be right, to get this one to fly. Maybe in a few years after BOINC has proved itself there will be low enough resistance to try to do something like this.

2) There is infrastructure for setting preferences in the client for global prefrences already. There is a taskbase item for translating this infrastructure to the project preferences too. It will most likely be awhile before anyone creates a front end for it though.

3) I don't think this will ever be done since it goes against the project indipendate nature of BOINC. There is an easy way to attach additional computers to a project already though. Simply copy the account....xml file(s) from a working computer to a new computer.

4) This works well for someone running one or a few computers. The more computers you have to manage the better setting these things once and letting them propagate works. I can think of ways to make the front end from #2 not propagate the settings and not accept propagated settings but if the person that creates that front end thinks of and uses those ideas or not is another question.

John Keck -- BOINCing since 2002/12/08 --

> 1) Too many paranoid people, and they may be right, to get this one to fly.
> Maybe in a few years after BOINC has proved itself there will be low enough
> resistance to try to do something like this.
>

You are only paranoid if you are not right. How many times has this project just messed up? The 3.0 scheduler issue for example. This project from stem to stern has been very very error prone. Don't get me wrong, everyone here is trying very hard, but the bottom line there is a large risk of error here. And that error could crash my labs of PCs. I'm not loosing my job because I tried in some small way to advance the knowledge of mankind. I'll try the next version on a PC or two, then roll it out.

There are many software packages I do allow to auto update on my network, but in no way is BOIC one of them. That's not paranoid, that's prudent.

If they want to give you the option to enable auto updates, much like they have an option to enable auto connect to the Internet than that is fine. But don’t force it on anyone for a long time.


TW

> > 1) Too many paranoid people, and they may be right, to get this one to
> fly.
> > Maybe in a few years after BOINC has proved itself there will be low
> enough
> > resistance to try to do something like this.
> >
>
> You are only paranoid if you are not right. How many times has this project
> just messed up? The 3.0 scheduler issue for example. This project from stem to
> stern has been very very error prone. Don't get me wrong, everyone here is
> trying very hard, but the bottom line there is a large risk of error here. And
> that error could crash my labs of PCs. I'm not loosing my job because I tried
> in some small way to advance the knowledge of mankind. I'll try the next
> version on a PC or two, then roll it out.
>
> There are many software packages I do allow to auto update on my network, but
> in no way is BOIC one of them. That's not paranoid, that's prudent.
>
> If they want to give you the option to enable auto updates, much like they
> have an option to enable auto connect to the Internet than that is fine. But
> don’t force it on anyone for a long time.
>
An autoupdate of the BOINC CC would be a major hole that would allow a hacker that got into one of the download FTP sites to put an executable there that would hijack all of the BOINC attached computers in the world. Not my idea of a good idea. The project executables are checked by BOINC for being from the project that they are reported to be from by a secure hash.

Just because you are paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you.