I highlight research showing the California power crisis was not caused by computers or distributed projects like Seti@home. These findings debunk the myth that high-tech energy demands were responsible for the state's blackouts.
CERN is adopting distributed computing models, similar to SETI@home, to process the massive datasets generated by particle physics experiments. This transition leverages global idle processing power to handle the computational demands of the Large Hadron Collider.
I found a hilarious Google Maps route from California to Stockholm that suggests swimming 3,462 miles across the Atlantic. It estimates a 29-day trip, though commenters noted the math requires a superhuman swimming pace of 8km/h.
I examine the rise of commercial distributed computing markets where companies buy idle retail processor time. This model dis-aggregates computing power, enabling resource-intensive initiatives like the Internet Movie Project to be crowdsourced using spare capacity.
Using a digital wattmeter, I measured my Dell Latitude E5400's energy draw. I discovered that background color doesn't impact LCD power, while CPU load and screen brightness are the biggest factors. Wireless status had surprisingly little effect.
I observed IBM’s move into on-demand computing under Sam Palmisano, validating my prediction that tech giants would soon aggregate retail computing power for massive distributed projects, similar to early efforts by Google and Intel.