<cough>

Has anyone donated money to this project? I'm just curious. And if you have, are you comfortable with the fact that it's taking so long, and has no definite timeline for becoming operational?

---

Ill be donating with in early next week some when.

Sent an email to one of the guys at Planetquest asking for a status update. Seems the project is very much alive, there just hasn't been any updates yet. Here's what was said:

Keith Hillman wrote:
Hi! It's been years since your last news update, and according to the info on your website, Planetquest is still in alpha testing. Is development still ongoing, or is the project in stasis? Thanks!


Laurance Doyle wrote:
Hi Keith!

We have been in fundraising mode, and so the project has been all volunteer. However, having said that, we do now have half the detection algorithms running on the BOINC platform (i.e. the one seti@home uses). So, we have been making progress -- but you are right, we really have to let everyone know by updating the web site now. Much thanks for your interest -- much appreciated!

With best regards, Laurance Doyle


Keith Hillman wrote:
Thanks for the update! I am extremely interested in helping find new planets, which is why I keep visiting your site looking for new news.

I personally feel that you stand to get lots of participation due to the publicity of the Kepler mission that will launch in the next few days. As I understand it, Kepler will essentially be using the same method you are, and it would be a great opportunity to let people know they could help by signing up with Planetquest.


Hi Keith!

Thanks very much for your enthusiasm! It is much appreciated! I'm actually on the Kepler Science Team so I can vouch for the fact that, yes, Kepler will be using the same algorithms for the detection of planets around eclipsing binary systems that PlanetQuest uses. :) I hope we can dovetail these efforts.

And, yes, we need an update for the web site -- I'm working on that too. Much thanks again and all the best, Laurance Doyle

---

You will be assimilated...bunghole!

Hmmmm...why am I blue? New board feature I don't understand?

Well that reply is the standard response I've gotten a few times over the past three years. Besides the Kepler stuff, obviously. Always "we're halfway done this", "we hope to do that". It wouldn't be so frustrating if it hadn't been about five or six years since the project first came into existence.

What bothers me the most is that these guys would be absolutely gobsmacked with the support they'd receive if only they put more effort into getting the word out and making some real headway on the project. The way they describe the project, I honestly believe they're going to have the most willing participants out of all distributed computing projects. Who wouldn't want to discover a planet?

Well, I wish them well, but I don't see how anyone is going to donate their money having watched this fiasco play out over years and years. I sincerely hope they have some sort of plan that is actually going to bear fruit, but I'm not holding my breath. I finished doing that about three years ago.

---

Hmmmm...why am I blue? New board feature I don't understand?

Volunteer tester
Any title makes you blue.

---

me@rescam.org

Last communication I had with Laurence was in April. As I know the Kepler already has opened up and the first light is seen, check their website! Just pasted the email below, hope to crunch soon! Have fun.

Greetings Mark!

Yes, Kepler is now already past the lunar orbit. Commissioning of the spacecraft should take about 45 to 60 days now, then we get first light, the data enters the SOC (science operations center) for decal, and then we should have data to work with sometime in June. The photometric precision should be about 100 times better than is possible on Earth -- not often one gets a step in improvement like that -- very exciting times.

Great time for planet hunting -- two space missions (Corot and Kepler) within only 18 years of the first objects even being discovered -- somewhat unprecedented really.

Thanks and all the best, Laurance

Mark Peters wrote:
Hello laurance,

Just read about the succesfull launch of Kepler mission. When are the first data files coming in for crunching?

Kind regards,

Mark Peters

---

To boldly go where no human has gone before!

Hm, website is gone :(

Hm, website is gone :(

It's still there. http://www.planetquest.org/

---

me@rescam.org

Hm, website is gone :(

It's still there. http://www.planetquest.org/

Jeff Hammer's post indicated .info not .org so that explains it.
When Misfit is correct, it just proves the rule.

---

Hm, website is gone :(

It's still there. http://www.planetquest.org/

Jeff Hammer's post indicated .info not .org so that explains it.
When Misfit is correct, it just proves the rule.

HA! .info was a domain I owned and donated to the project. I had a fwd set up from .info to .org that was removed when the domain was transferred to them.
Blame Misfit!

---

me@rescam.org

Hm, website is gone :(

It's still there. http://www.planetquest.org/

Jeff Hammer's post indicated .info not .org so that explains it.
When Misfit is correct, it just proves the rule.[/color

HA! .info was a domain I owned and donated to the project. I had a fwd set up from .info to .org that was removed when the domain was transferred to them.
[color=white]Blame Misfit!

In any case the .info page opens to a generic Go Daddy page as of a few moments ago.
Always a good first guess!

---

Hm, website is gone :(

It's still there. http://www.planetquest.org/

Jeff Hammer's post indicated .info not .org so that explains it.
When Misfit is correct, it just proves the rule.

HA! .info was a domain I owned and donated to the project. I had a fwd set up from .info to .org that was removed when the domain was transferred to them.
Blame Misfit!

In any case the .info page opens to a generic Go Daddy page as of a few moments ago.
Always a good first guess!

That's cuz I bought it on GoDaddy and they also had a GoDaddy acct. So it was just easier to transfer the domain within the same company. What you see is GoDaddy's generic parking page.

---

me@rescam.org

How long would it take them to update the "news" section on planetquest.org ?
The latest post is from 2005 :-)

---