UD working for the Dept of Defense now !!! ???

[lagger]

I checked my work machine installation today to see what ligand it was working on and see this message :

This project employs a computational chemistry on a massive computing grid to analyze candidates for a medical therapy to combat the smallpox virus. The strongest candidates will be turned over to the U.S. Dept. of Defense for further evaluations

1. I am certain that small pox in the wild is extinct and only the U.S. and possibly Russia still warehouse viable samples

2. the vaccine for this disease has proven by the above fact that it is effective in PREVENTING this disease.

3. I signed on to help research a cure for cancer not improve the survivability of troops using weapons of mass destruction


I am seriously considering resigning my 2 machines from UD

<b><font color=red>Just because you are ignoring those voices in your head doesn't mean they aren't talking about you</b></font color=red>

 

[svol]

If you really don't like it you can shut of Smallpox crunching in the device profiles.

The smallpox virus may be exterminated in the wild it can still be used as biological weapon. Vaccins only provide protection if you where injected before you get the smallpox virus. So I think they're searching for a cure after someone gets infected. But I don't like the idea that the results are send to the Pentagon... I rather see them send it to a global health organisation.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dims when I turn it on

 

[lagger]

pretty much my point .. since you can't get it <b>except</b> from the military and it is is <b>highly</b> unlikely that a cure would be available to civilians and more likely to be a state secret why should I support what decent U.S. servicemen and women are now dying to eradicate in Iraq ?



<b><font color=red>Just because you are ignoring those voices in your head doesn't mean they aren't talking about you</b></font color=red>

 

[silverpig]

Which is why I do SETI. I know it's used purely for scientific research, and once the astro data is completed, they'll turn the computations over to acadaemia. Grad students and professors will be able to run their simulations over the SETI network.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[lagger]

well as a compromise I disabled the smallpox section so I can crunch for a cancer cure only .. I'm ok with that obviously as we all may benefit from it some day

<b><font color=red>Just because you are ignoring those voices in your head doesn't mean they aren't talking about you</b></font color=red>

 

[mccoll1ns]

I was pretty appalled at that as well when I saw it, but the methods they're using can be applied to viruses in general, and possibly even cancer as well, so I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Hopefully they'll try something more useful such as flu or HIV next time.
At least they announced well in advance that they were going to be doing this, giving instructions on how to stop your machine doing smallpox packets. With the Anthrax program, there was no announcement at all.


- -
Luck is my middle name. Unfortunately, my first name is Bad.

 

[Owl]

Thay have to run what pays the bills & pay checks
ie. web testing & smallpox
the cancer grant $$ is gone............
<b>I will give my time to a cure, over green men any time...</b>

<font color=blue>HOSED = Horrific operating system error detected</font color=blue>

 

[lagger]

yeah but since they don't pay <b>my</b> bills I will decide if they can borrow my cpu cycles or not and for what purpose ... ( I agree that a cure beats trying to contact aliens though )

<b><font color=red>Just because you are ignoring those voices in your head doesn't mean they aren't talking about you</b></font color=red>

 

[silverpig]

Aliens HAVE the cure...

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[svol]

Yeah right... and how would they ever make it to Earth?

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dims when I turn it on

 

[kaboler]

Folding@Home Info released to the scientific community, and they do Alzheimers and in the future, cancer.

 

[silverpig]

I guess the explanation we'd be given as to how they'd get here would be just as confusing as explaining how jet propulsion allows for supersonic travel would sound to a d00d from the 17th century

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[lagger]

what cracks me up is the assumption that these aliens will be benign ... more likely they risk space travel for conquest and material goods ... ironic if we make contact through seti and they obilterate us

<b><font color=red>Just because you are ignoring those voices in your head doesn't mean they aren't talking about you</b></font color=red>

 

[silverpig]

We're not gonna make contact through SETI. Even if we find a signal, chances are that it'll be from so far away that it'll take us centuries to send a response. What's more, we've been broadcasting our location for decades now already

SETI isn't just searching for ET; a lot of good things have already come out of it, namely the concept of a distributed computing effort. In addition, many new radio sources have been found and identified (possible black holes, pulsars etc), and the project is expanding. In time the distributed net will be turned over to universities and professors who need to run complex simulations.

Some day I'll be rich and famous for inventing a device that allows you to stab people in the face over the internet.

 

[svol]

Maybe we can find a trace of a now dissapeared civilisation. If the radio signals take millenia to traffel then they might be death by now. But atleast then we know for sure we aren't alone... although everyone with a little logic in his head can come to that conclusion.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dims when I turn it on

 

[Jeff68005]

<A HREF="http/forumz.tomshardware.com/software/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=31849#31849" target="_new">I posted the related info on this change last February</A> on this forum.

<A HREF="http/forum.ud.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000171" target="_new">Grid.org announcement dated February 05, 2003. </A>

Every working computer must be improved .... or replaced ...

<A HREF="http/www.grid.org/services/teams/team.htm?id=510E6639-84A1-465D-A914-07BDB039E379" target="_new">Join the THG Team.</A>