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The Alien Emporium and BPIS have joined forces and created a SETI@Home team. SETI@Home is a worthwhile project and the best part is that all you have to do is let it run as a screensaver! Come on guys, download it and join the team!
If you've ever left your computer on overnight, you may have wondered what you could have done with all that extra processing power. Your computer was just sitting there all night not doing anything. Couldn't it be put to use somehow? Wondering about your processor may make you seem a little nerdy, but that's OK, because there's something that might help. Installing SETI@home on your computer can put it to good use searching for extra-terrestrial life.
WHAT IS SETI@HOME?
SETI@home was launched in 1999 by a group of UC Berkeley scientists. SETI stands for Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, and that's just what these scientists wanted to do. They were collecting tons of data from the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, but didn't have the processing power to analyze it properly, so they decided to experiment with distributed computing. Distributed computing breaks data into small, manageable chunks so that multiple computers in disparate locations can analyze it. When run on a computer that's always connected to the internet, the SETI@home screensaver automatically downloads small pieces of the telescope data, checks them for patterns that represent signs of intelligent life, and sends them back to the laboratory. In this manner, the Berkeley scientists can have all the Arecibo telescope data analyzed without having to invest in some sort of supercomputer.
Thus far, SETI@home has proven that distributed computing is a fantastic method for analyzing data. This is good news for those interested in that sort of thing, but the bad news for UFO fans is that SETI@home hasn't found any ET evidence yet. The most interesting signal the telescope received was in February 2003, when a persistent signal came through. Later dubbed SHGb02+14a, it was observed on three separate occasions, but scientists later reported that the signal was not of interest. Fans of the search for extra-terrestrial life should take heart, though. It's not too late to get involved in SETI@home.
JOIN OUR TEAM TODAY!!!
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