On Thu, Aug 09, 2001 at 12:17:45PM -0700, Tim May wrote:
A better approach is to take the already-functional machines already on desktops and harness them for parallel computation. Hardly a new idea, as it has been used for distributed key cracks, molecular modelling, and SETI signal processing.
We on the Cypherpunks list, including Jim Gillogly, Lucky Green, myself, and others, proposed this in the mid-90s. Cf. articles on DES-busting screen savers, circa mid-1995. The "Chinese Lottery" idea of using
Even by then, it was a relatively old idea. In 1988 or 1989, Richard Crandall wrote an application called "Godzilla" (later renamed Zilla after trademark threats) for NeXT computers that did parallel computation and was configurable. It was remarkably ahead of its time. I think it even was a screensaver too. NeXT used it at their corporate HQ in Redwood City (where I worked in 1990) and it was also available via the usual wustl/etc. FTP sites. -Declan