Folding@home a great success, gets an update

by Nick Doerr { Apr 25th 2007 at 12:00PM }

We've got a press release from Sony regarding the Folding@Home program. Not only does it tell us that PlayStation 3 owners have made Folding@Home "one of the most powerful distributed computing networks in the world and is quickly approaching a level of computing power that is of historical proportions." How great is that?

Folding@Home is getting an update to show Sony's continued committment to the program. It's going to give us an improvement in folding calculation speeds, increased visibility of user locations on the globe and the ability to create longer donor/team names.

The Associate Professor of Chemistry at Stanford, Vijay Pande had a few words for the program and the PlayStation 3: "The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward. Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer's and other diseases."

But all we really need to know is that there's an update and the program is making history! Well, approaching historical proportions.

Tags: PlayStation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mccomber @ Apr 25th 2007 12:39PM

Do tell bkvalheim, I wasn't aware that the xbox supported these sorts of programs, officially or not.

Demis @ Apr 25th 2007 12:40PM

"1. What is the news here? I have been doing this for years on my Xbox 1." But did you make history? I think not.

kingofwale @ Apr 25th 2007 12:40PM

you've been doing it since xbox1??? want to explain how you did it?

11 work units for me!!! And for those who own a PS3.. please turn your PS3 on for this, it's for a great cause.

ndoerr @ Apr 25th 2007 12:46PM

Hey guys,

I just wanted to add that the official PS3Fanboy folding team was in the top 500 teams globally briefly a few days ago. I'm very proud of us! Let's keep it up!

shase @ Apr 25th 2007 12:56PM

It will "make history" when doing "folding at home" finds a cure for these diseases. It doesnt really matter how many hours are put into it but it means nothing until the cure is found- and that will "make history".

how long you guys do folding at home for a day? I have been doing it maybe 3-4 hours recently due to NBA games and studying.

mccomber @ Apr 25th 2007 1:44PM

I'm continuously amazed by the people who complain about a free program that runs on it's own when you aren't using your ps3.
If this was coming out a development house instead of a game, then yeah, I could see the problem. But it's seperate, and doesn't have anything to do with the lack of demos, games or anything like that, so I guess I dont' see the basis for those complaints.
Jaffe isn't splitting his time between this and once again tweaking the code for Calling all Cars, is he?

andres @ Apr 25th 2007 1:45PM

Congrats goes out to those that are turning in the terraflops.

However as good as this news is. Why does this feel like a smoke screen?

Sure you can study to cure things. However why do some people pay $600.00 for a machine that basically runs a screen saver?

This would be more impressive IF these results came out while the system had an extensive library. Sure you would get trolls saying things to the effect of "see the games are so bad they dont play them"

I as a 360 owner would be more impressed if Folding was in the background if you were playing games like Lair (which to me seems like a glorified Panzar Dragoon but thats me I love PD).

unixphreak1911 @ Apr 25th 2007 1:46PM

"It will "make history" when doing "folding at home" finds a cure for these diseases."

This is true, but it also has the potential to make history in terms of distributed computing projects. This is showing that even game consoles can be used for tasks that would normally involve enormous banks of supercomputers to do.

I let Folding@home run overnight, and through the day while I'm at work. Even if the data that my PS3 is churning through doesn't directly lead to a cure, the research data coming back could have some very good purpose down the road...

And yeah... Where's our freaking Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo? Where's the GOOD PS1 games for download (FF VII, FF VIII, FF IX, Parasite Eve, Resident Evil, Gran Turismo, etc...)

alienclay @ Apr 25th 2007 5:53PM

i like knowing that my $600 ps3 can entertain and help at the same time. it quietly entertains me after work, and folds away the other 16 hours or so instead of sitting there like a cold dead brick. you don't see anyone bashing pc owners for folding? it amazes me that xbots want to copmlain when all this is doing is good. you don't want to fold than don't. you think this is all a ps3 is good for and that this is smoke for a smaller game libary then go ahead and argue an opinion like an idiot and then tell me you let a copy of perfect dark run paused all night every night for a week 5 months after launch because the game libary was SOOOO much better than using that computaional power to HELP medical research. go hack your 360 to help seti look for intersteller life, if it can take the heat cuz obviously M$ is so concerned about about making sure bungiee gets out the next halo demo it can't possibly take a week or two to make a program to increase PR and actully help in this reguard

mccomber @ Apr 25th 2007 7:11PM

"This would be more impressive IF these results came out while the system had an extensive library."

Resistance. Motorstorm. Virtual Fighter 5. Ninja Gaiden. FFXIII. Heavenly Sword. Lair. LittleBigPlanet. MGS4. Ratchet and Clank. DMC4. Mercenaries 2. GTA4. Assasin's Creed. Many, many others...
Soon enough, it will. As you say "...came out WHILE..." but I know that this lack of games is only temporary. Guess I'm just fortunate to have more patience than the average ps3(or 360) owner seems to... by the end of the year, we should be pretty happy.
As for running all the time in the background; no thanks. I'd rather the system be focused on entertaining me and not folding when I'm actively using it.

Squishey @ Apr 25th 2007 10:06PM

I find it a little odd that they don't tell you exactly what they have been doing or accomplishing...they just say "The PS3 turnout has been amazing, greatly exceeding our expectations and allowing us to push our work dramatically forward. Thanks to PS3, we have performed simulations in the first few weeks that would normally take us more than a year to calculate. We are now gearing up for new simulations that will continue our current studies of Alzheimer's and other diseases."

Simulations....what simulations? I'm a little curious as to what my processing power is going to...maybe it's just me. That's like giving money to some third party charity and then them saying "We're are doing amazing things with your contributions."

But what are they doing that is so amazing?
Hmm....