Folding@Home Recognized By Guinness World Records

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A press release just hit my desk that says Folding@Home has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most powerful distributed computing network. Oddly enough, the press release comes from Sony, who is giving credit to the PS3 for the milestone achievement. I have a feeling the teams that have been at this for years might take issue with this press release.

The record is a testament to the widespread participation of PS3 users from around the world-currently more than 670,000 unique PS3 users have registered to the Folding@home network, bringing the overall computing power of the program to more than a petaflop. Thanks to PS3's powerful Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.), scientists will now be able to make greater progress in their studies of protein folding and its link to diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and certain forms of cancer.
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I have a feeling that our team members, you know...the number one team on the planet, along with all the other teams that have been doing this from day one might be a tad bit miffed with this press release.

Not one word was mentioned about the teams that spent years getting F@H where it is today. :(
 
Steve said:
I have a feeling the teams that have been at this for years might take issue with this press release.
Click to expand...

Maybe, and who can blame them, but honestly, they wouldnt've hit a petaflop for YEARS had the PS3 not come along... I think it does deserve some credit.
 
So this is what people are using their PS3's for when they aren't watching Blue-Ray movies.
 
djBon2112 said:
... I think it does deserve some credit.
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me too...just not ALL the credit.

Thousands and thousands of Folders around the world, out of the kindness of their hearts, dedicate time, money, resources and effort to making the F@H program what it is today for YEARS.... don't even get a passing mention?


alright, maybe it's just me. :confused:
 
djBon2112 said:
Maybe, and who can blame them, but honestly, they wouldnt've hit a petaflop for YEARS had the PS3 not come along... I think it does deserve some credit.
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Deserving credit and stealing credit are two different things. They're acting like PS3 did it all and they're stealing the spotlight and claiming they're the prime reason for Folding@Home being where it is today.

Credit where it's due. They should have said that the PS3 is helping along side of those who provided power to Folding@Home for years. This is a team effort, not a bragging right.
 
djBon2112 said:
Maybe, and who can blame them, but honestly, they wouldnt've hit a petaflop for YEARS had the PS3 not come along... I think it does deserve some credit.
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some credit...but not ALL THE CREDIT!!!:mad:
I don't fold for [H], but I do fold for another team I have had prior commitments too before joining the [H] forums.
This sickens me.

How bout all those people who actually bought the Playstation3 and CHOSE TO FOLD FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY...no they couldn't possibly be contributing.:rolleyes: How about all the rest of the folding community that have been here for years...no they couldn't possibly be contributing either.:rolleyes: How about the people at Stanford who provide this means of improving the medical industry and our lives by giving us a little friendly competition?
NO, ACCORDING TO SONY THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE OF THEIR WONDERCHIP.

WAKE UP CALL SONY. FAH IS NOT ABOUT THE ACTUAL POINTS CONTRIBUTED OR AMOUNT OF PROCESSING POWER YOU CONTRIBUTE, ITS ALL ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE CONTRIBUTING!!!

Fuck You Sony. Fuck You.
 
I'm proud to have put up almost 950k points for F@H (a couple teams) over the last 4 years or so... and yes, they are stealing the spotlight from all of those that paid $500 electric bills and suffered through folding on a PII.....
 
After reading and re-reading the press release, I must say, I agree with you guys. Damony :mad:n S
 
That should say "Damn Sony :mad:" at the end there... stupid laptop with track pad :(
 
Kudos for Sony (can't believe I just said that! :p) [and PS3 owners of course] contributing to the project, but fuck off for trying to steal the limelight from all the dedicated people that have been w/ it for ages. I have been w/ the [H] F@H team for some time now, not much point wise, compared to the [H] borg juggernauts, but I do what I can, and previously was w/ UD (gave up after their major server issues some time before their demise). Now that I finally figured out how to run the SMP client right, my PPD went WAYYY up, even on only a dual core e2140 (soon to be quad).

With all that said though, Sony is, according to the F@H stats page the highest contributor by *far* (in TFlops).

Cliff notes for the link impaired...
PS3: 929 TFlops, 37,463+ CPUs (individual PS3 boxen or each count as multiple?? since Cell is multi core no?)
ALL other OS/client types: 227 TFlops, 215,611 CPUs
 
Sony is just excited because they released their first useful product in years.



 
Guys, you need to calm down. Sony was taking credit for getting F@H to the petaflop level, and looking at the stats posted above, they deserve it. Sony's PS3 consoles are contributing 77.7% of the current processing power focused on folding at home. They're almost pushing the petaflop mark on their own.

No one was disparaging long time folders. They were giving credit where credit is due. The title of the article is "PS3 Enables F@H to be Recognized by Guinness as World's Most Powerful Distributed Computing Network". Would F@H have been recognized without the 929 teraflops from PS3s? Not right now, and probably not anywhere in the near future.

I love that you hardcore folders have been doing this for so long and are so dedicated, but give credit where it's due. Sony's console is giving a HUGE boost to F@H.

So, stop yelling at Sony, they're contributing development power and bandwidth to the folding effort you care so much about. They're enabling hundreds of thousands of people to help out with your cause. They're doing a good thing, and it's been hugely successful, let them crow about it a little, they deserve it.

-Nate
 
Nate Finch said:
<snip>
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No one is arguing that Sony deserves some credit for this, however, if you read the article you would see why everyone is so angry. (Not saying you didn't read it, but look deeper into it).

Basically, they are promoting the PS3 and saying that the PS3 is the sole reason that FAH is doing so well. They also made sure to mention that PC users contributed barely anything to the project.

They fail to mention that the project has been supported by PC users since its inception.

I think it just pisses people off that Sony is trying to take ALL the credit, instead of just the credit that is due.

And Nate, I'm not flaming you or arguing you, so sorry if it comes across that way.
 
Too bad we aren't keeping PS3 users folding, 37441 out of 302227 at one point or another. I can understand CPU numbers trailing off as people rebuild or retire machines over the past 6 years, but since the PS3 client was released in March, I doubt that many PS3 owners have retired machines...
 
I dont believe the PS3 was invented for folding, or am I wrong???? They just happened to get on board.

My three little C2D Boxen were built especially for F@H and have racked up nearly 1/2 million points.......and have been working for over 18 months to do so. Forgive me but this kinda pisses me off.

If I had a PS3 I'd use it too. But please dont belittle all of the [H]ard work everyone has done for the cause.
 
Oh yeah......and after your little PS3 is junk, my PCs will continue to Fold, thank you.
 
Way to be humble guys :p haha

I mean the PS3 has done a lot for Folding@Home and by a lot i mean A SHIT LOAD. I never cared about getting recognition for my efforts with my computers Folding and now my PS3 folding.

Sony is just trying to get some good press...can't really blame them
 
CopyCat said:
Way to be humble guys :p haha

I mean the PS3 has done a lot for Folding@Home and by a lot i mean A SHIT LOAD. I never cared about getting recognition for my efforts with my computers Folding and now my PS3 folding.

Sony is just trying to get some good press...can't really blame them
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Theres a differance between getting some good press and stealing it. Sony makes it sound like there the only ones responsible. I know noone here is looking for publicity, but when the carpet is pulled out from under them and someone takes credit for there work thats a differant story.

Sony must have hired that asshole vice president that took responsibility for inventing the internet for a PR Rep, cause this makes just about as much sense.
I think the [H]orde should send out a press release letting them know the real facts.
 
Well, I've been folding on my PC for years, and I own a PS3 that is folding if it's not playing a BD movie or a game demo.
I read the press release, and I'm not offended. The quotes about the PS3 contribution to the FaH project come directly from the lead developer, the quotes from Sony are mostly just conveying gratitude that Sony can be such a big contributor.
"Without them we would not be able to make the advancements we have
made in our studies of several different diseases. But it is clear that
none of this would be even remotely possible without the power of PS3, it
has increased our research capabilities by leaps and bounds." -Vijay Pande, Folding@home project
lead.
Click to expand...

Then some cool stats from a quickie article over at ArsTechnica:
though the PS3 represents only 12 percent of clients, it is responsible for 78 percent of the project's total TFLOPS.
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The PC contributors are mentioned near the beginning of the press release and I think the mention is commensurate with their 22% contribution to reaching the Petaflop mark. It's not a slight, so quit your crying.
 
CopyCat said:
I mean the PS3 has done a lot for Folding@Home and by a lot i mean A SHIT LOAD.
Click to expand...


Here's the scenario:

500,000 5hp trucks have delivered over a billion tons of goodwill in the last 10 years with hard work, sweat and tears. Upgrading their trucks when they could, adding more trucks as their budgets allowed, keeping the F@H program alive all these years.

6 months ago, Sony shows up with a dumptruck that has 5,000hp and takes credit for everything.

The truck owners have the right to be pissed...that's all I'm saying.

Making matters worse, people like me that Fold, do so with 3 PCs and one PS3. Sony never once thanked the people that FOLD WITH THEIR $599 console, they simply bragged about their system's prowess.

Anyhow...say what you will, explain it away, I still think it was a dick move on Sony's part, they could have thanked EVERYONE (including the people buying the PS3s) and then bragged.

Just my $0.02
 
sage for BAWWWWWWWWWWWWW

oops, with all this bitching I thought I was on 4chan.
 
I like analogies, so here is one on this topic.

The goal of F@H is to discover and eventually model the intricate, complex nature of protein folding. This can be likened to putting out the wildfires that were so recently raging in southern California.

PC users are like dutiful local residents running back and forth between their homes and the flames throwing cups of water on the fire to keep it at bay. This goes on for days. Finally the fire department shows up with trucks, helicopters and airplanes. In this analogy the PS3 is like the fire department. Even though local residents' efforts were valiant and admirable they had little overall effect on the problem. The firefighters and the community pat them on the back and they get to feel good about themselves for doing something positive, but the fire department REALLY does deserve the lion's share of the credit, and no one would argue that.
 
nickmo said:
I like analogies, so here is one on this topic.

The goal of F@H is to discover and eventually model the intricate, complex nature of protein folding. This can be likened to putting out the wildfires that were so recently raging in southern California.

PC users are like dutiful local residents running back and forth between their homes and the flames throwing cups of water on the fire to keep it at bay. This goes on for days. Finally the fire department shows up with trucks, helicopters and airplanes. In this analogy the PS3 is like the fire department. Even though local residents' efforts were valiant and admirable they had little overall effect on the problem. The firefighters and the community pat them on the back and they get to feel good about themselves for doing something positive, but the fire department REALLY does deserve the lion's share of the credit, and no one would argue that.
Click to expand...

Problem with your analogy is that the fires are still raging in California, and theres been no cures found either.
 
nickmo said:
I like analogies, so here is one on this topic.

The goal of F@H is to discover and eventually model the intricate, complex nature of protein folding. This can be likened to putting out the wildfires that were so recently raging in southern California.

PC users are like dutiful local residents running back and forth between their homes and the flames throwing cups of water on the fire to keep it at bay. This goes on for days. Finally the fire department shows up with trucks, helicopters and airplanes. In this analogy the PS3 is like the fire department. Even though local residents' efforts were valiant and admirable they had little overall effect on the problem. The firefighters and the community pat them on the back and they get to feel good about themselves for doing something positive, but the fire department REALLY does deserve the lion's share of the credit, and no one would argue that.
Click to expand...

Very well said. While Sony should at least ACKNOWLEDGE other Folders, in all honesty, this is true.
 
nickmo said:
Even though local residents' efforts were valiant and admirable they had little overall effect on the problem. The firefighters and the community pat them on the back and they get to feel good about themselves for doing something positive, but the fire department REALLY does deserve the lion's share of the credit, and no one would argue that.
Click to expand...

cept there were not "pats" for the locals and the house would've burned down in the 9 years it took the fire department to get there.

In your analogy, the homeowners would rightfully praise the town-folk for keeping the house from burning down while the firedepartment was busy sending out press releases patting themselves on the back ;) Wouldn't it creep you out if the FD released a PR patting themselves on the back leaving the towns folk out of it?
 
Steve said:
cept there were not "pats" for the locals and the house would've burned down in the 9 years it took the fire department to get there.

In your analogy, the homeowners would rightfully praise the town-folk for keeping the house from burning down while the firedepartment was busy sending out press releases patting themselves on the back ;) Wouldn't it creep you out if the FD released a PR patting themselves on the back leaving the towns folk out of it?
Click to expand...

Creep me out, maybe. Hurt my feelings? No. I don't Fold to earn kudos, I don't donate blood for recognition, I don't volunteer around my neighborhood in hopes that I will be publicly honored for my labor. I do these thing because I have the capacity to do them, and I think that they ought to be done. I do it because I know that in some small way I am making things better for someone else. That's it. Recognition is just not an issue for me. It also doesn't bother me if someone else is running around bragging about all the cool stuff they do especially if they have a great big multi-million dollar advertising campaign to do their bragging for them. Maybe someone new will hear them and be inspired to join in the philanthropy, who knows?
 
Problem is, they're not talking about the shortcomings of the PS3 client, it's more speciallized and cannot model all of the protiens. Without the PC clients (Win/Lin/Mac) there would be huge holes in the research. Same goes for the GPU client.
 
Steve said:
cept there were not "pats" for the locals and the house would've burned down in the 9 years it took the fire department to get there.

In your analogy, the homeowners would rightfully praise the town-folk for keeping the house from burning down while the firedepartment was busy sending out press releases patting themselves on the back ;) Wouldn't it creep you out if the FD released a PR patting themselves on the back leaving the towns folk out of it?
Click to expand...

Absolutely fucking correct.
The PS3 is just over a year into release. I've been folding longer than that and I just started. Please.
Folding started where????? With what????? Sure not PS one or two.
My cudos to the guys like FLECOM (IDK 43 million points......most before the SMP or GPU clients)those guys with PCs grind out the work every day......for a great cause.

I appreciate the power of the PS3 in this endevor, but there are a shit load of guys to thank before I give any credit to the PS3.
 
Wow, what a bunch of babies you guys are. Sony's PS3 controls 77.3% of the market (talking about floating point operations) and you guys are acting like you contribute more then half the floating point operations, not even a quarter. You are now an insignificant number of the amount of floating point operations going on, deal with it.
 
sc3252 said:
Wow, what a bunch of babies you guys are. Sony's PS3 controls 77.3% of the market (talking about floating point operations) and you guys are acting like you contribute more then half the floating point operations, not even a quarter. You are now an insignificant number of the amount of floating point operations going on, deal with it.
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Did we say we contributed any amounts to F@H anywhere? All we said was Sony acted like they did all of the work. How about you fucking read everything before you post?
 
ND40oz said:
Problem is, they're not talking about the shortcomings of the PS3 client, it's more speciallized and cannot model all of the protiens. Without the PC clients (Win/Lin/Mac) there would be huge holes in the research. Same goes for the GPU client.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and it's sad that nobody else seems to understand this....

Azhar said:
Did we say we contributed any amounts to F@H anywhere? All we said was Sony acted like they did all of the work. How about you fucking read everything before you post?
Click to expand...

Or this...
 
nickmo said:
I like analogies, so here is one on this topic.

The goal of F@H is to discover and eventually model the intricate, complex nature of protein folding. This can be likened to putting out the wildfires that were so recently raging in southern California.

PC users are like dutiful local residents running back and forth between their homes and the flames throwing cups of water on the fire to keep it at bay. This goes on for days. Finally the fire department shows up with trucks, helicopters and airplanes. In this analogy the PS3 is like the fire department. Even though local residents' efforts were valiant and admirable they had little overall effect on the problem. The firefighters and the community pat them on the back and they get to feel good about themselves for doing something positive, but the fire department REALLY does deserve the lion's share of the credit, and no one would argue that.
Click to expand...

Actually, your analogy is completely wrong. There would be no PS3 client for F@H if it wasn't for the multitudes of people folding on anything ranging from their single PC to a huge corporate borg. The people whom have done the lion's share of work are the average people, not the PS3 based client.

This is also the second iteration of F@H. The first project was completed its goals and moved on to the second iteration now which has been running for years. The PS3 client has not been around that long.

Will I deride the extra progress the PS3 client has brought the F@H project? No. Will I say the PS3 client is useless? Not a chance in hell. Do I welcome the work and results processed by the PS3 client? You damn well better believe I do.

The problem with the article/statement is the fact that Sony is basically ignoring all the output, work, time and money many of us have spent over the years. Very few of us go around bragging to anyone about our accomplishments. I'm very proud of my [H]ardFolding badge and use it at the end of every post I make in this forum as long as I'm at one of my systems that has it set as a bookmark. I don't do it as a brag that I'm folding or that I have more points than anyone else. I use it so others can see it and for those that don't know what it is, make them wonder about why I have it in the hopes that it will create interest in them to start folding.

I folded before there was a badge and I'll continue to fold even if the badge is no longer possible. I don't expect any individual recognition or treatment because I fold. However, basically ignoring myself along with everyone else that has done for for a day, a year or since the current F@H project began is a slap in the face. I'll continue to fold even after that slap in the face as singular recognition is not what I'm after; I'm trying to find the knowledge with the belief that it will be helpful in finding a cure.

One more technical point I would like to make. While the Cell is a powerhouse for some of the proteins Stanford gives out to be folded, it's capabilities will be stagnant as far as the PS3 is concerned for the whole of the PS3's lifetime. PC technology on the other hand continues to increase at a rapid pace. Who can say how things will look in even two years. Currently the PS3 is making a huge contribution and I'm glad of that. However, this does not mean the current numbers and percentages will stay stagnant.

 
Let's not get too bent about this. We all know with who and where the project started, and who worked tirelessly over the last 6 years to get the project where it is today, and to help develop a mature F@H code base such that the PS3s could actually do the outstanding work they are doing now.

I'm sure they're just beating on their chest so the mothership overseas can be proud of their gaming division. With the money they've spent, I can't really blame them. Overall, it is good publicity for Sony AND for Folding@home, and that last part is all that most of us care about anyway, that, and the speed increase that PS3s add in finding the cures that we've all be helping look for all these years.

Bottom line, all publicity is good publicity. :cool:


P.S. For those who commented that the project wouldn't reach a PetaFLOP for years without the PS3, I would have to guess a much shorter time frame when we get GPU client support for the ATI HD3800s, NV GPUs, and the Octo-core Intel chips just over the horizon. But I'm not going to complain if the PS3s help us get to 2 PetaFLOPS that much quicker. ;)

P.S.S. Folding@home was the most powerful DC project before they added the PS3 clients, so now we are just that much farther in the lead. :D
 
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