I am trying to draft up a comprehensive (if possible) list of the common criticisms that can arise from the use of BOINC for volunteer DC.

I did some searching on the forum here but did not turn up an obvious thread, nor did I find anything germaine in the Q&A section. Apologies in advance if I missed it.

What would be ideal are criticisms followed by reasonable rebuttals. Below are some example criticisms followed by an ATTEMPT at rebuttal.

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criticism

BOINC DC projects tend to encourage users to leave their computers on 24/7, bad for the environment.

rebuttal

Cost can be offset with low energy devices or green energy supplier. 24/7 computer usage not obligatory.

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I hope that someone can direct me to a good source of criticism/rebuttals or perhaps chime in with critcisms you have observed.

I suppose I\'m looking for the top ten reasons that people are hesitant to use BOINC, and I realize that I\'ll be getting a CPDN perspective from some of you, but I\'m also aware that many of you are engaged in other BOINC DC projects such as Einstein, Rosetta, etc.

What I am drafting is likely to reach a fair sized audience on the Internet, and I expect that it will generate a surge in interest in BOINC DC projects, with CPDN figuring prominently among them. Thanks in advance to all who respond.

This sort of Q&A is better asked on our Community board, where the subject (at least as pertaining to climate change) has come up several times in the past.

In addition to Les\'s suggestion there are \'read me\' sections (e.g. here) and \'sticky\' posts that provide answers to questions that arise repeatedly. Some issues are DC related (e.g. BOINC Manager), others CPDN specific (e.g. long work units).

There is also a \'Wish List\' section in the Q & A section of this board: here. Those items are presumably what people would want the BOINC/CPDN combination to do if there were resources available.

Of course, not everyone makes it to the message boards ...

Hi Chango

Criticism:

BOINC DC projects tend to encourage users to leave their computers on 24/7, bad for the environment.

Rebuttal:

* During the winter months, warmth from the computer can partially or completely replace space heating in the room.

* In the case of climate models, participation tends to make crunchers more aware of the importance and likelihood of global warming, so they tend to try to reduce their overall energy consumption. This can more than offset the energy consumption of their computers.

* If project data wasn\'t crunched on home computers, most of it would probably be crunched sooner or later on supercomputers when the researchers obtained sufficient funding.

* Crunchers have the option to disable the graphics display. This reduces energy consumption.

Criticism:

The computer fans of BOINC crunchers will be working hard all the time the tasks are being processed. Fans are therefore likely to fail earlier than would have been the case otherwise.

Rebuttal:

* Running BOINC project tasks ensures that the fans run at an almost constant speed. This may be better for fan life than the usual frequent changes of speed.

Criticism:

The CPU will overheat when used at 100%.

Rebuttal:

* Modern CPUs are designed to run at 100% without overheating.

* Temperatures can be easily monitored.

* In the case of laptops whose cooling capacity is much more limited, BOINC crunchers can reduce the CPU usage by project tasks to any lower % they prefer. This precaution is strongly advised by BOINC projects.

Criticism:

The computer will have to be connected to the internet all the time, increasing the likelihood of infection by malware.

Rebuttal:

* Computers running BOINC project tasks do not need to connect to the internet more frequently or for longer periods. Intermittent contact with the project servers is perfectly satisfactory.

* Whether the computer is on or off, whether the project tasks are running or not, and whether internet access is on or off are three separate things. All three remain under the computer owner\'s separate and total control.

* BOINC crunchers are always strongly recommended to run their normal anti-virus and firewall programs all the time.


(Some of these criticisms may seem crazy. They were all levelled at CPDN and BOINC in a recent thread on Digg.)

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Thus far I\'ve received some awesome guidance. Thank you so much!

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