Hey there science buffs! My friend just told me about BOINC and I Downloaded the program day before yesterday and completed my first task to 100%. I have a few questions however, because Im not all that computer savvy...

First, when my friend showed me the program, he was working on global climates, he showed me a visual model of the work his computer was doing. I have not been able to pull up any visuals for the milky way project. If anyone can help me to open the appropriate windows, please let me know.

Also, I have the BOINC local manager up showing that my first task was complete, but I don't know how to open new projects, and I assume that I should always have at least one project running...

If you can help me out, let me know, give me an email at bfoundb42012@hotmail.com.

THANKS!!!!!

Good to have the help! BOINC will determine how many Work Units (WUs) to download taking into the speed of your computer, and how many to give to you. Each unit has a time limit, and if you don't complete it in time, then it automatically goes to someone else. BOINC will do all this automatically depending on how the settings are set. The default ones should be fine.

In time you may want to install some enhanced apps to help make you do more faster. But you're doing fine. Do you plan on leaving your computer on 24/7? If so, then you can tweak some settings so they'll download more. Depending on whether Milkyway has work. Sometimes there are server problems, but 90% of the time you always will have work, and BOINC in its infinite wisdom will try to make sure you will have work.

BTW. You really shouldn't put your email addy out there because this is a public forum. But seeing it really isn't your primary email addy, there shouldn't be a problem.

Happy crunching!

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Hi North
If you want to try more projects,click on the "tools"tab at the top left of the boinc manager. Click on attach to projects. This brings up a menu with a bunch of different projects to attach to, pick one and follow the instructions.
The project your friend was running is probably climateprediction.net, very big WU's here though, be prepared to run this program for weeks or even months. Hope this helps a little.
There are no graphics here yet, but they are working on getting some done.

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And I notice you don't have a team. Belonging to a team is hardly mandatory, but belonging to a team can offer perks such as stats and comradely and new friendships. Also most teams offer their own message boards that you might have a lot of fun at. Also many of these forums aren't subject to intense moderation that you'll find here. (Mostly because these are public forums, where many are frequented by kids.) Plus most, if not all will offer advice in their own forums that may help to address a certain problem you're having.

You could of course join my team... The Final Front Ear. Or click my signature (The Sheep) at the bottom of this post. Or my friend Bruce's team Team Canada. I'm only mentioning these two, because there are many teams out there, and if you want one, then you find the one that best suits your tastes. Go to the Team Recruitment thread found HERE to visit all the fine teams that may advertise their own teams. I could give you other teams that would be my pick. But they may not be your pick. You've got to be the judge on that.

Beware of emails, or PMs urging you to join their team. Instead go to the Team Recruitment thread and judge for yourself. Are these people a good fit for you? Just like a pair of shoes, they should be comfortable.

But this isn't meant to be a pitch for any particular team. That's something for the Team Recruitment thread. But the utmost thing to remember that this is fun, otherwise you wouldn't be crunching for this project. Have fun North. This is a great project you're crunching for, and as my friend Bruce said, there are other great projects out there. If you're interested in crunching these also, please ask and we'll give you a list of all the different projects out there.

I like to crunch for projects that benefit mankind. Such as....

World Community Grid - Help to find cures for AIDS, Cancer and other diseases.
DrugDiscovery@Home - Helping research to combat diseases.
malariacontrol.net - Helping research Malaria
climateprediction.net - Helping to predict weather phenomena.

There are others that are interesting too. Maybe someone will come along and give you some insight into all the different projects out there. Milkyway is only a part of a whole picture.

If you're interested in joining a team, please let us know and we'll steer you in the right direction. I don't even care if it's another team. I'll tell you how to join that team. And if you don't want to join a team, you aren't alone. Many don't. And if you're interested in crunching other projects, then BOINC will not lead you astray. It'll switch from one project or another, and will figure out what's important to finish before another.

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