Wikipedia

Taste great less filling

Do you remember your thoughts upon finding out anyone could edit Wikipedia ? I do.


I thought it was lame and didn't consider it a credible source. I didn't like the idea at all.

Over the years I've come to appreciate Wikipedia and use it daily.

However recently while researching a large and sometimes corrupt corporation I decided to have a look at its Wikipedia page.

To my surprise the words "fraud" ,"Enron" and "WorldCom" aren't even on the page.

This is extremely significant.

Those three words play a major part of this companies history and the history of the United States. For these events to be "missing" is beyond the pale.

What it all means

Sometimes Wikipedia is awesome and sometimes it's not.

Do you know enough to be able to tell the difference ?

Next time you're reading at Wikipedia ask yourself this question,

"am I informed enough on this subject to be able to spot errors or realize information is missing ?"

note : Did you hear the one about the guy on Wikipedia pretending to be a professor of theology ? Click here.

The cost of distributed computing projects like SETI and Folding at Home

Wonder no more how much it cost to run SETI, Folding at Home or the other distributed computing projects. With the help of a simple yet powerful tool we can unlock the secret mystery out of how much F@H cost you.



Let's say you run BOINC at 100% CPU usage. By looking up you PC model number, looking in the manual or looking on the back of your power supply you should be able to find the maximum number of watts the power supply is capable of using.

watts per hour * hours per day * days / 1000 * Cost Per kW = $ Total Cost

kW = kilowatt, 1 kW is equal to 1,000 watts

This computers power supply is says it uses 240 watts per hour max and right now a kW cost about 15 cents.

So the cost of F@H for 22 hours a day, 350 days out of the year :

240 * 22 * 350 / 1000 * .15 = $277.20 per year (not including taxes and fees)

Or to run BOINC at 100 percent CPU usage 24 hours a day for this month (March) :

240 * 24 * 31 / 1000 * .15 = $26.78


Personally I have Folding at Home set to only use 11% of the CPU and BOINC set to use 10%. I don't want the PC working hard all the time nor do I want to hear the fan running all the time trying to cool the CPU down.

Running distributed computing programs at low settings lets me keep the energy cost down, keep the noise levels down and keep the amount of heat from the PC to a minimum.

- Please let me know if my math is wrong :)