Linux On Steroids: DIY supercomputer software from Sandia

Declan McCullagh declan at well.com
Thu Aug 9 16:53:59 PDT 2001


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





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