14 DAY TRIAL // MacResearch.org announced today the first publicly-accessible, wide-scale computing grid, called OpenMacGrid. It is based on Apple's Xgrid technology and it will enable anyone using Mac OS X 10.4 or later to donate their spare CPU cycles to help researchers with their intensive scientific calculations.
This project is similar to the SETI@Home project. SETI is an acronym for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. SETI@home was released in May of 1999 and it's a distributed computing project using computers connected through the Internet. It is hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the Berkeley University of California.
The goal of this project is to detect extraterrestrial intelligent life. Anyone owning an Internet-connected computer can help the SETI@Home project by running a free software that downloads and analyzes data from radio telescope.
Scientist will be able to benefit from OpenMacGrid in a very simple manner. They have only to apply for access by filling in an on-line form. "Unlike other distributed computing projects, which run a single application and have restricted access, OpenMacGrid will be open for use by any scientist following submission and acceptance of a project proposal", says the company in the release.
It's also much easier for those at home to contribute to the OpenMacGrid project. No software installation is needed. The only requirement is that they run Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Some settings must be made in System Preferences, but that's all. A dedicated Dashboard widget is available so that users can monitor activity on the grid.
"Apple's Xgrid, the first grid software built into a mainstream operating system, makes it possible to harvest the idle cycles of Macs for intensive computation", stated the company. Let's hope researchers around the world learn about this and get to benefit from Apple's scientific initiative.