It's real easy to get trapped into thinking you need the latest and greatest gear, but there is a ton of old gear on this project doing some darn good work.
Gary Roberts comes to mind. He is right up there at the top for total credits here at Einstein and he's doing it with gear that in some cases is positively ancient. (Like over 10 years old if I remember correctly.) I can only dream about matching his numbers.
Also, that old nag might be the only thing that person can afford :-)
I would love to see someone with an old boat anchor and a RAC of 63 nail down the first GW find.
Just sayin'
Phil
It's ok to run old gear with old, compatible OS, no arguing that.
While I really doubt this OS is necessarily WinXP, a few things to keep in mind:
1. Old Windows - no support and by that security risk
2. Old gear often enough has higher power consumption and it should be checked if replacing it with a new machine might be the better, more cost efficient solution. This is a point even more when you cannot afford new gear: You have old junk, no money but waste it on electricity? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
My comment was not about "latest and greatest" gear but addresses mostly security issues and stupid comfort thinking/unwillingness to change. I know, people got used to XP as it was out there for an unusually long time. However, when there is no better argument than this, one should consider a change. Even more, when the gear obviously is not the limiting factor.
It's real easy to get trapped into thinking you need the latest and greatest gear, but there is a ton of old gear on this project doing some darn good work.
Very true - and the project really appreciates the contribution of older machines. If a volunteer is willing to wear the cost of running such beasts, the project will gladly accept the results :-). Such costs include not only electricity, but also the likelihood of an increased rate of hardware failure.
Quote:
Gary Roberts comes to mind. He is right up there at the top for total credits here at Einstein and he's doing it with gear that in some cases is positively ancient. (Like over 10 years old if I remember correctly.) I can only dream about matching his numbers.
Perhaps you are referring to this post in which I mentioned reusing cases and hard drives which were in that age bracket. My oldest currently running motherboards/CPUs/RAM date from 2009 (Q6600 quads). The older stuff prior to that was retired in bulk to make way for the new. There comes a point where the electricity savings and much higher output per watt really do make it necessary to upgrade. In my case 210 machines morphed into 50 (over a period) with no loss of output but quite a reduction in electricity use.
However, that's just me. People do have a right to donate in whatever way they wish. I guess the real cut-off is when the old clunker can't actually run the current apps :-).
My comment was not about "latest and greatest" gear but addresses mostly security issues and stupid comfort thinking/unwillingness to change. I know, people got used to XP as it was out there for an unusually long time. However, when there is no better argument than this, one should consider a change. Even more, when the gear obviously is not the limiting factor.
Also, just an opinion.
Michael
It tells you how to continue getting MICROSOFT SUPPLIED updates until 2019. Seems MS has some customers, ATM machines etc, that are refusing to update from XP in a more timely manner, so the updates ARE still flowing. I can tell you it worked just fine for me, until I swapped in a new hard drive and went to Win7. It IS still XP with all of its problems and quirks.
My comment was not about "latest and greatest" gear but addresses mostly security issues and stupid comfort thinking/unwillingness to change. I know, people got used to XP as it was out there for an unusually long time. However, when there is no better argument than this, one should consider a change. Even more, when the gear obviously is not the limiting factor.
Also, just an opinion.
Michael
It tells you how to continue getting MICROSOFT SUPPLIED updates until 2019. Seems MS has some customers, ATM machines etc, that are refusing to update from XP in a more timely manner, so the updates ARE still flowing. I can tell you it worked just fine for me, until I swapped in a new hard drive and went to Win7. It IS still XP with all of its problems and quirks.
This advice is not a good one at all! What is described inside this link is a registry hack that enables your system to pull valid updates FOR WINDOWS CE! This is not meant for regular WINXP systems at all, but only embedded systems like ATMs and stuff like that. I know, everybody using this hack feel extraordinarily clever having outwitted the system. The truth, however, is that the embedded system patches are not designed for regular systems and in many cases do not pay attention to security issues of non-embedded systems. Long story short: You get updates but not all the ones you need and maybe updates that screw up your system because they're not meant for you.
Regular XP is only supported with extended lifetime programs which is for companies and governmental bodies who pay a lot of money for that.
Stop this bullshit, it's a dead end.
It isn't just an opinion, it's a fact.
One unpatched computer can harm the whole internet or can even bring you to jail if someone is doing bad things with it.
You really shouldn't leave an XP computer connected to the internet.
Well, if all goes well (and if you happen to have GPUs crunching), that little fella will have to do some more climbing to new peaks soon because a test of some new optimized BRP6 apps is about to start ...
Well, you are right :-) Wondering what's behind this peak ...
I know I am a part of a story that starts long before I can remember and continues long beyond when anyone will remember me [Danny Hillis, Long Now]
RE: With all due
)
It's ok to run old gear with old, compatible OS, no arguing that.
While I really doubt this OS is necessarily WinXP, a few things to keep in mind:
1. Old Windows - no support and by that security risk
2. Old gear often enough has higher power consumption and it should be checked if replacing it with a new machine might be the better, more cost efficient solution. This is a point even more when you cannot afford new gear: You have old junk, no money but waste it on electricity? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
My comment was not about "latest and greatest" gear but addresses mostly security issues and stupid comfort thinking/unwillingness to change. I know, people got used to XP as it was out there for an unusually long time. However, when there is no better argument than this, one should consider a change. Even more, when the gear obviously is not the limiting factor.
Also, just an opinion.
Michael
Om mani padme hum.
RE: It's real easy to get
)
Very true - and the project really appreciates the contribution of older machines. If a volunteer is willing to wear the cost of running such beasts, the project will gladly accept the results :-). Such costs include not only electricity, but also the likelihood of an increased rate of hardware failure.
Perhaps you are referring to this post in which I mentioned reusing cases and hard drives which were in that age bracket. My oldest currently running motherboards/CPUs/RAM date from 2009 (Q6600 quads). The older stuff prior to that was retired in bulk to make way for the new. There comes a point where the electricity savings and much higher output per watt really do make it necessary to upgrade. In my case 210 machines morphed into 50 (over a period) with no loss of output but quite a reduction in electricity use.
However, that's just me. People do have a right to donate in whatever way they wish. I guess the real cut-off is when the old clunker can't actually run the current apps :-).
Cheers,
Gary.
RE: My comment was not
)
IF you are still running XP you may want to take a look at this webpage:
http://betanews.com/2014/05/26/how-to-continue-getting-free-security-updates-for-windows-xp-until-2019/
It tells you how to continue getting MICROSOFT SUPPLIED updates until 2019. Seems MS has some customers, ATM machines etc, that are refusing to update from XP in a more timely manner, so the updates ARE still flowing. I can tell you it worked just fine for me, until I swapped in a new hard drive and went to Win7. It IS still XP with all of its problems and quirks.
RE: RE: My comment was
)
This advice is not a good one at all! What is described inside this link is a registry hack that enables your system to pull valid updates FOR WINDOWS CE! This is not meant for regular WINXP systems at all, but only embedded systems like ATMs and stuff like that. I know, everybody using this hack feel extraordinarily clever having outwitted the system. The truth, however, is that the embedded system patches are not designed for regular systems and in many cases do not pay attention to security issues of non-embedded systems. Long story short: You get updates but not all the ones you need and maybe updates that screw up your system because they're not meant for you.
Regular XP is only supported with extended lifetime programs which is for companies and governmental bodies who pay a lot of money for that.
Stop this bullshit, it's a dead end.
Om mani padme hum.
RE: This advice is not a
)
Your opinion is noted!
Really just an opinion - did
)
Really just an opinion - did not mean to offend! :)
Om mani padme hum.
It isn't just an opinion,
)
It isn't just an opinion, it's a fact.
One unpatched computer can harm the whole internet or can even bring you to jail if someone is doing bad things with it.
You really shouldn't leave an XP computer connected to the internet.
I'd kindly asks all here to
)
I'd kindly asks all here to a) watch their language b) keep a friendly and respectful tone and c) stay on the topic of the thread.
HB
http://einstein.phys.uwm.edu/
)
http://einsteinathome.org/host/4063825
http://lhcathome2.cern.ch/vLHCathome/top_hosts.php?sort_by=total_credit
RE: Well, if all goes well
)
Well, you are right :-) Wondering what's behind this peak ...
I know I am a part of a story that starts long before I can remember and continues long beyond when anyone will remember me [Danny Hillis, Long Now]