Exactly what benefit is Stanford University getting out of this .. except riding piggy back on other peoples computers and IP addresses??
I don't get this thread
Plus your link in #2 for the DU thread is no longer working
Solving protein folding problems requires MASSIVE computer power. This project assigns small bits of the project to over 350,000 computers world wide (like mine), which make the calculations and send back the completed result.
It's an old technique. During the hydrogen bomb project, Ulam and Bethe and Teller would tweak their formula a bit and send instructions to "computers" (women with mechanical calculators) who would slave away through the night, having the mathematical results back to Los Alamos in the morning.
As for the IP addresses... if you've ever visited Stanford's home page, you've given them your IP address.
The link was updated in post #71
As for what benefit Stanford University is getting, perhaps it would be better, to think it in terms of what benefit is science getting.
Stanford, is not only pushing the envelope in protein research, but is pioneering a new level in distributed computing.
Perhaps you're not familar with the architecture of "super computers", but 10,000 PC's, working on bits and pieces of a model, are much more efficient that one "super computer", and do the work much faster.
And, the program is "voluntary", so there is no issue of "piggy back".