Folding@Home improvements coming soon [UPDATE]
by Jem Alexander 
{ Dec 19th 2007 at 5:00AM }
Not only that, but we can confirm that Folding@Home will receive custom soundtracks. No longer will you have an attack of conscience when using the PS3 to play music - no more will you think to yourself "I'm really enjoying this music, but I feel so guilty that I'm not curing cancer ... ", for now you can do both at the same time. Astonishing!
In all seriousness, though - this is a very handy update and we'll certainly be running our music through Folding@Home over the holidays.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ChodalBerryWagon @ Dec 19th 2007 5:04AM
cool
folding @ home is a really good idea.
Have they came to any conclusions with all the data they've collected so far? has it helped?
Killer @ Dec 19th 2007 6:29AM
"Have they came to any conclusions with all the data they've collected so far? has it helped?"
You're kidding right? The day they figure out a way to destroy cancer is the day that hundreds of thousands of scientist give up their fat sums of money they recieve to try to figure it out....see where I'm going? It's just like everything else in this world, if you have a secure job that's making you lots of cash, why would you want to lose that security by figuring out what your job is only about.
Like it or not this world doesn't run on love or human compasion, It runs off of Cold-Hard CASH.
In saying that, I like what their doing with this folding@home. I mean you're not donating cash, you're actually involved in the process. Which I find very nice.
Nate @ Dec 19th 2007 8:00AM
Don't be pedantic. The cure to cancer is not a quarter in the sofa and one can just hold it up and say "oh, there it is!" F@H is discovering the building blocks for how proteins work, which will *lead to* cures for many diseases.
You want results? How about 54 peer reviewed, published papers?
http://folding.stanford.edu/English/Papers
ChodalBerryWagon @ Dec 19th 2007 6:09PM
Hey I wasn't asking if they've cured cancer yet, but if all the data has helped them progress.
Zim @ Dec 19th 2007 6:43AM
Thats seriously stupid, as soon as cancer is cured the scientists will move on to something else. Its not as if once you have stuided cancer thats all you can ever do. there is other mechanisms with in the human body that can be adapted and studied to cure other problems.
I think a cure for cancer is only about 20 years away, if that and I think folding@home is a great idea. I got my PS3 and PC continuesly crunching data.
Though I am at uni study drug development and human physiology.
jango fett @ Dec 19th 2007 7:17AM
im going to say something and i hope i dont offend anyone so take it as constructive critisism. if i go to google and i type playstation 3 and click on news i will get the same news i read here on ps3fanboy. i tought that this page would gimme the goods on ps3 related stuff that noone else knew but its just recycled. everything every other gaming site says is mostly taken from some other place. i dont know but yall better do something and gimme the inside stuff that dont nobody else know. otherwise what will make ps3fanboy relevant in the future if the things here can be found someplace else like i dunno maybe games industry biz...
Nate @ Dec 19th 2007 7:57AM
Ok, here's my question, for actual *useful* features - can they maybe, you know, turn off my damn controllers? I can't tell you how many times my controllers have died because I forgot to turn them off while running. They turn off automatically if you're sitting at the XMB, but not if F@H is running. Hell, it's been so long and it happens so often, I've actually gotten adept at turning off my controllers without having the TV on. But I shouldn't have to.
Please tell me they're adding this.
Extinction @ Dec 19th 2007 12:35PM
Are you retarded? Press the PS button, a menu pops up, select turn off controller. It's not that hard. Hell if you hold the PS button down for 5 seconds the controller shuts off.
Nate @ Dec 19th 2007 2:17PM
Extinction, did you even read my post? I *said* I knew how to turn them off. The problem is that they turn off automatically if you just leave them around at the XMB, but they don't when folding is up. And since most people don't sit there waiting to use their controller while folding is up, I'd like it to turn off my damn controllers.
One thing I didn't know, is that you can turn them off just by holding down the button, that'll be useful when the TV's already off (which it inevitably always is).
Zim @ Dec 19th 2007 7:58AM
I just think its the way things work, I have seen the same thing on many other sites. But unless you have the resources to travel the world and contact companies. Then its gona be hard to get exclussives and even when you do another web site is just gona come along and steal the story.
But what can ya do, this is the internet.
JodyAnthony (Good Eats Defense Force) @ Dec 19th 2007 8:30AM
I wish there was a way to schedule a time for it to start up and quit, like it would be great if i could set it to start up at midnight and work until noon or something
Organic_Shadow @ Dec 19th 2007 9:46AM
Rad. It's like update week or something.
CoD4, Warhawk, F@H, PS3 2.10, PSP 3.80.
This is madness..... THIS. IS. FIRMWAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!!
chris.westermann @ Dec 19th 2007 9:51AM
How about running in UI-less mode. I noticed that different visual modes cause the processing to speed up or slow down, so why not opt for a UI-less mode, especially considering that I really don't want to stare at jiggling balls for 8 hours at a time...regardless of what music is playing. UI-less operation is available on PC's which show a noticable improvement in performance when the client doesn't have to render graphics or process music. You can still have the basic interface showing the current status, but just turn off those damn balls.
Cheesehead Dave @ Dec 19th 2007 10:01AM
Is there a way to start up F@H as a screensaver? Every now and then, my two-year-old will walk up and hit the power button on my PS3, so it ends up just sitting for hours on the XMB screen. I'd love to see F@H be able to fire up after a certain amount of inactivity.
Jem @ Dec 19th 2007 10:03AM
Simply push triangle over the Folding@Home client on the XMB and select Auto-Start. You can set it to start after 10, 20 or 30 minutes of inactivity.
Disengaged @ Dec 19th 2007 10:48AM
I have some information regarding the "customizable soundtracks" feature included in the new F@H version.
If this patch contains what I think it does, it will give you new ways to explore your musical library. More specifically it will feature automatically generated playlists to categorize your music in moods and genres.
I know it's being worked on, just hope that it's coming now...
Sora57 @ Dec 19th 2007 11:03AM
@Killer...
Your lack of intellect is astounding. 1 out of 4 people are stricken with cancer. That statistic is certainly true in my family as well as every family I know. And guess what? The scientists' families are affected as well. And guess what again...the cure, when discovered, will reap them more rewards than your feeble mind can imagine. There are so many diseases out there, the scientists will always be busy working to find cures.
Furry_Monkey @ Dec 19th 2007 11:09AM
I can't wait for rumble on Folding @ Home!!! ;oP
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 12:58PM
I hope that's a Joke,... having full access to the XMB would be nice though,. would be nice if Music didnt stop everytime you went into change a setting also,. be different if it were music or sound settings you were changing,.
Maybe in a future Firmware/F@H update it'll run like the Infomation Bar off the the lower right or something at all times if you wants except in-Game
Furry_Monkey @ Dec 20th 2007 5:59AM
Did you not see the --> ;oP
Cameron @ Dec 19th 2007 12:14PM
@ sora and Nate...
I wish I lived in your ideal world.... One scientist has the possibility to have the compassion to cure cancer, but there are other forces at play here.... The government. This is the agency that can oversee things as helpful as stem cell research and smack them down with a single bill. If you think this is at all a lie, then you should be slain for your daftness... Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, not the institutions and not the government. Its a very messed up world we live in, but this is the harsh reality.
Nate @ Dec 19th 2007 2:24PM
Umm... I have no idea what that has to do with anything.
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 12:55PM
This is Sweet,. i've always got F@H running when I'm not gaming and usually just use my PC to play music cuase i just don't feel like getting out of home just to play the odd song,. but now ,. this Rocks!!!
Total_Wimp @ Dec 19th 2007 2:21PM
If this feature already exists, let me know, because somehow I missed it. I know it's nice and all that you can wake up your PS3 for remote play, but I'm a Folding junkie so my PS3 is almost never off. What I want to do is to be able to have folding going, remote play in, then leave Folding to do it's thing when I'm done.
Honestly, I haven't really messed with Remote Play much because of this issue. It would be great to hear that it's soved so I could enjoy both.
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 2:24PM
Nope,. you can only enter your PS3 through Remote Play if if Off(with power on active) or if it's on that stupid Romote PLay Black screen,.
I argee they need to update remote play so that you can tap into your PS3 from you PSP at anytime,. with the exception of during a game of course,.
Nate @ Dec 19th 2007 2:26PM
Whoa, really? You can't log in to remote play if you're running F@H? That's definitely a huge bummer. I run F@H 24/7 when I'm not playing on the machine, and was just thinking about getting a PSP for remote play features. If I have to essentially abandon F@H to do it, well, I'll save my PSP money for something else.
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 6:28PM
Just Leave Remote Play on in your PS3 F@H will run in the background unknowingly same as it would any other time,..
you have to pay attention to the progress bar and the number to comfirm this,. so from now on just leave it on the Remote Play screen and F@H at home will run, plus you have access,. Problme is the SIXAXIS can't be turned off in that screen so leave it hooked to USB,. Not sure but I think it shuts off eventually anyway
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 2:57PM
though I actaully think F@H runs in the background of that blank screen if you just put the PS3 into Remote Play mode and work away,go to bed whatever,. (dunno) ,. cuz if you leave the PS3 alone long enough for it to enter F@H when you log into Remore PLay you'll jump right into F@H on the PSP ,.. I wonder what our PSN icon status shows while in remote play,. anyone know??
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 4:01PM
I confirmed it,. F@H does run in the background same as normal when you leave your PS3 on the Remote PLay screen,.
you'll jump into it when you log in from your PSP,. and when you exit remote play again even if you have the PS3 on the XMB it'll jump back into F@H ,. while still running in the background of the Black Remote Play screen.
I confirmed it by paying attention to the progress Numbers,. or whatever its called,.. the number that shows how much of it is complete and the precentage.
So just leave you PS3 on the Remote Play screen and your good to go,. you get your Remote Play access and your PS# does F@H as it always did after the set time of inactivity.
Enjoy !!
sirblazealot @ Dec 19th 2007 4:35PM
man, someone really complaining about no auto turn off feature for the controller? set the folding to auto 10 min start and turn the controller off before hand, I do that. or yes, it is not rocket science....hit the ps button, turn off controller - lay there drunk in bed and hold down the ps button til the controller turns off - jeeze....laziness. and the cure for cancer will yield similar results to I am Legend! We will all perish! Hah, just kidding....just watched that flick through the DivX functionality- dope shit most def. Funny tho, so many things in this world are the result of population control....do ya'll think Cancer will be cured any time soon? That goes for a lot of illnesses...I think the folding at home is more being used for other illnesses - isn't that true?
and yes, THIS IS UPDAAAAAAAAAAATE WEEK! I mean, THIS IS MADNESS!!!!
kentuckyfried @ Dec 19th 2007 5:53PM
I hope that folding grows to include the following while it's running:
1) movie playback (disc or from avi's)
2) Aquatopia
Both of these shouldn't be too bandwidth intensive, right?!
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 9:49PM
i dunno afterall they wanna use up as much as possible to constantly improve the Folding in terms of power speed.
If you that gon-ho about Folding put it on your PC and leave it going at all times , or getting another PS3 ,. but seriously,. sounds like some people are getting a lil to into Folding@Home,. I have my PS3 on 24/7 i only turn it off if i'm gonna be away from home for an extended amount of time, if I'm just gone for the weekend i'll leave F@H running,. but i'm not gonna let it restrict what i do just because I have to stop it,.
P @ Dec 20th 2007 5:03AM
I take it that 'custom soundtracks' means the 'shuffle all' mode? Im a little disappointed that it cant actually allow the user to pick a specific playlist, folder or at least go through songs in correct order.
I would have been nicer to scrap their built-in tunes and have it list existing playlists. As it is now, i'll be disabling the audio, my PS3 is folding 80% of the day, but had it allowed those features i'd leave it on a couple of hours longer and listern to music through it instead of media server video while im working. no biggie, but would have been nice.
Kevin @ Dec 19th 2007 10:25PM
Why would the cure for cancer not be profitable after its discovery? It can be sold.
Scientists have more abilities than just researching cancer.
But anyway.
Considering the fact that F@H works in 1080p I think that the playing of videos on the hard drive would be possible, but I doubt DVDs and Blu-Rays. Especially Blu-Rays.
Even better than movies would be a simple game in F@H so I don't get bored. Maybe a Galaga shooting Cancer cells.
Tim Parsons @ Dec 19th 2007 11:11PM
Dude i don't think Folding@Home was intended to be fun, think your a lil confused.
but if you do happen to get bored folding here's a suggestion, Quit it and play a game!
andrew @ Dec 20th 2007 4:05AM
Anyone else experience the auto-shutoff only shuts down folding at home and not the ps3 system itself? I tried it today and woke up to see my ps3 folding another work unit instead of being off.
Marry @ Dec 20th 2007 4:33AM
This is taboulos interesting
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2321441
Haakon @ Dec 20th 2007 12:04PM
Does anyone know if it`s possible to cap the load on this (or any plans for making this an option)? I just installed it but after four hours of running my PS3 is making a bit too much noise.
Sora57 @ Dec 20th 2007 11:39AM
@cameron
The world is full of talented scientists working under many different governments. Don't be so ethnocentric. Even if one government does not support stem cell research, there are many others that do, and have the resources behind it.
Many forms of cancer that used to be almost always fatal are now very treatable. Your worlwide cancer consipiracy theory is comical.
Cameron @ Dec 20th 2007 12:47PM
@Sora
When is the last time you turned on the news? Do you understand that in Africa governments are so corrupt, that valuable mineral resources are unable to be mined there because it is not cost efficient after the government takes their cut (It’s called ARM). In Brazil they have guards outside of hospitals to stop the sick with no health insurance from getting inside. You mention that other governments have scientist who might possibly find cures, but you understand that America has a government agency known as the FDA that HAS to approve those drugs. Do you also understand that as the “World’s Superhero” The US government feels the need to regulate other countries’ policies and practices by any means necessary? Please do some research before you blindly call me ethnocentric. So why is it that these illnesses still exist? Could be population control, could be money, could be power, or it could be that a cure hasn’t been found … But I do hope you change your naive point of view, climb out of your crib and realize that the world is a f*ed up place.
Vincent @ Dec 22nd 2007 11:04AM
Don't talk out of your ass. I live in Brazil, I'm Brazilian. Yes they have guards in front of the hospitals but not for the reasons you are saying (it's called security, in a heavy crime country like mine it's always needed).
Law itself assures that if someone injured or in need of aid emergencially, but with no health insurance stops by in front of ANY hospital said hospital HAS to accept that person and save them regardless.
Burn.
Cameron @ Dec 22nd 2007 6:56PM
Cancer patients without adequate health insurance tend to face grimmer odds than those with good health insurance, says the American Cancer Society. (http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20071220/no-health-insurance-dims-cancer-fate?src=RSS_PUBLIC)
Might have been wrong about Brazilian hospitals, but please don't lecture me about how all people, regardless of health insurance, are treated fairly...
Vincent @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:36AM
And they aren't, or else it would be pointless to have Health Insurance. No Health Insurance will give you a worse deal most of the time, longer time waiting in lines, no access to better hospitals/equipments... BUT, in emergency cases, whatever is the closest hospital is supposed to take the patient in. Probably not give full treatment without payment, but at least prevent the loss of human life is a mandatory that's for sure. :/
Cameron @ Dec 22nd 2007 6:13PM
O yea....
Burn.