Is anyone linked to the seti program?

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    Program Seti
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the SETI program, specifically the SETI@home initiative. Participants inquire about computer requirements for running the software, safety concerns regarding its use, and share personal experiences related to its operation.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asks about the minimum computer requirements for the SETI@home program.
  • Another participant provides detailed specifications for Windows and Macintosh systems, noting that various UNIX versions are also supported.
  • Concerns are raised about the safety of using a computer with SETI@home, with one participant affirming that the software is safe and only connects to the internet when necessary.
  • A participant shares their experience running the program, explaining that it operates at a low priority level on Windows, which minimizes its impact on other processes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the safety and low resource requirements of the SETI@home program, but there are varying levels of detail and personal experiences shared regarding its operation.

Contextual Notes

Some technical specifications may depend on the specific operating system and hardware configurations, and there are no explicit consensus statements regarding the overall user experience.

wolram
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is anyone linked to the seti program? what is the minimum computer
requirments? is computer safe when in use by seti?
 
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Originally posted by wolram
is anyone linked to the seti program?
Yes, there are currently 4,533,948 seti@home users including several on this forum.
what is the minimum computer requirments?
For Windows systems (95/98/NT) you'll need a computer with at least 32 MB of RAM, the ability to display 8-bit graphics in 800x600 resolution, 10 MB of disk space, and an Internet connection (dialup is OK). For Macintosh systems you'll need the above, as well as a PowerPC processor and Mac OS 7.5.5 or later. You can use SETI@home on a laptop that is connected sporadically. We also support many versions of UNIX, including Linux on various CPUs. We hope to eventually support other systems such as OS/2 and BeOS. We won't support WebTV. There are no CPU speed or modem speed requirements. It doesn't matter where in the world you live.
is computer safe when in use by seti?
Yes. Of course if you have an always-on internet connection, you should take the proper precautions, but the seti@home software doesn't connect unless it needs to send/receive data and you can set it to ask you to connect when it needs to, or automatically.

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
 
thanks j man,
 
I run it. A little more on this:
is computer safe when in use by seti?
Programs in windows can be set to a process priority level. Seti's priority is automatically set very low, so generally, you won't even notice its running. If another program needs the processor, Seti gets bumped.
 

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