Apple Cure Cancer for me!

[evildan]

Intel announced that they would be putting together a Peer to Peer computing program to help find the cure for cancer. Maybe some of you heard about it... it was pretty big news back in April when they did it.

In case you didn't... here are some of the details.
Compuer users around the world download a small utility. After installing the utility (or screen saver in SETI's case) your compuer acts as kind of a processor volunteer. When your compuer goes into an idle state, it joins the millions of computers around the world that are at idle too and acts as one big super computer. Cacer researchers can feed this super compuer commands to help in the breakdown of genetic code... etc.

You can read more about about it here at Intel

So computer users around the world are helping find a cure for cancer.

A friend of mine told me that the response was so great that Intel announced that they are doing another project to reasearch a cure for Anthrax.

That got me thinking... why doesn't Apple do something like this? Apple has one of the more loyal followings of any computer company out there.

After only a few minutes on the web I found a company that developed a program to do parallel processing at : http://www.daugerresearch.com/pooch/whatis.html

How long would it take a company like Apple to find a group of researchers, put them in a room with a bunch of computer engineers and offer them access to millions of computers around the world?

Okay, it doesn't have to be cancer... how about global warming? or Space exploration? These fields of science need compuers... let them borrow ours!

I realize it's not a new idea, and that alone may make it something Apple wouldn't want to do... but a part of me really feels like I would be a happier person if I could justify my highly priced Apple purchases. Right now I have 5 computers at home doing nothing, but serving me...

I'll advocate and promote the project, if Apple does it... I'll stand on the street corner outside my house and yell at the cars passing by if it'll help. I'll put in the work, what do you need for me to do Apple? Donate some time? Do some research?

Being an Apple loyalist has increasingly caused me to miss out on more and more cool things like this. I think it's time to re-face the company image form self indulgence to community awareness. Apple has been the rebel computer company for years now... let's start a little revolution!

[Matrix Agent]

I don't think that there are really that many ways a supercomputer can be applied to cancer that they are not already.

As a part-time cancer researcher myself (sounds weird, right? ) I know that the foundation of cancer reserach is done by sloe tedioud means, simply because we do not know all of the variables in the cancerous system, one we do, we can churn out tailored drugs for patients, but until that time, we need to study, study, study....

Western Blots! Oh the humanity!

Still its great to see people throwing their weight behind things like this, filling the gaps in research already being done.

[apb3]

ummm. there is a cure for anthrax. It's called antibiotics.

You just need to catch it early enough.

[evildan]

I haven't foind anything on the Anthrax on Intel's site... I didn't spend much time looking for it. Perhaps my friend was thinking of the cancer project.

Needless to say, the main point of my discussion is still intact... let's create a collective community to do something. It's good for everybody.