Why, hello there. I am so happy to meet you!
Allow me to introduce myself. I am the new Worth1000. Is this your first time meeting the new me? We should get reacquainted then. So many things are different about me now. Come and learn more :).
Windows XP users: Please help me beta test plime@home, an integral part of the soon-to-launch Plime.com. Here's a faq which details exactly what plime@home is:
What is plime@home?
Plime@home is a distributed computing project similar to folding@home and SETI@home, only much less noble in scope. :) Essentially, it's a tool used to categorize and map news on the internet.
Plime@home enables anyone with a computer and some spare CPU usage to visit links submitted to us by our visitors, validate that they exist, compute and categorize them correctly and make them viewable to other visitors to plime (when it launches).
Why do you need visitors to do this?
When plime was first created we had one server handling all of the link validation. Because of the sheer volume of submitted links to us, it's simply not possible for us to validate the links ourselves anymore without thousands of decentralized computers.
Why validate links? Why not just display what is submitted to you?
The integrity of our system depends on the quality and the accuracy of our categorization methods. We have found other sites that offer similar automed services to be innacurate to the point of being useless. Because there's no cost to the users of this system (both financially and CPU usage wise), we thought it could only help the overall availability and accuracy of information on the web by doing this.
Do I gain anything by doing this?
If you have a plime account and wish to be credited, you will be credited for all links from RSS feeds that your computer has validated (this is optional) and your system level will increase accordingly. If you don't (yet) have a plime account, you will help bring plime that much closer to launch by participating (and can obviously get an account when plime does launch).
How does the program work?
We create packets of unvalidated submitted links on our central server. When plime@home begins running on your computer it checks our central server to see if there are any unvalidated packets available. If there are, then your computer will download one and begin validating it's links by visiting the link, analyzing the content and sorting it into the proper category. When the program is done validating it's packet, it will go to sleep for a few minutes.
Does this take up CPU or memory from my computer?
Not while you're working on the computer (unless you want it to). The program detects when your computer is idle (i.e. no other programs are running) and only runs then. If you turn any programs on, the program will automatically go to sleep. You can change the plime@home settings (on the settings screen) to make plime@home a low priority program on your computer (which means anything else that is running will always get priority). You should therefore never experience any performance deterioration from running this program. You can also easily pause, disable it or uninstall it at any time.
How will I know if the program is running?
It resides in your computer's system tray (i.e. near where the time appears). You can also enable monitor mode, which will display a list of visitable URLs which your computer is currently working on.
Is this program available for Mac or Linux?
Not at this time (unless you are running a Windows emulator).
What are the minimum specifications needed to run this program?
Windows 2000, XP or greater, 128mb RAM, 1mb HD space (30mb if you don't currently have the Microsoft .NET framework installed) and a persistent internet connection (i.e. not dial-up). Generally if your Windows computer is 5 years old (or less) and you are using a broadband connection, you should be fine.
Does this program contain any spyware, malware or anything else I should know about?
No! What you see is what you get. This program will always be completely clean from malicious embedded software. Additionally, we collect no personally indentifiable information from you other than your plime username (if you enable it).
Where can I download plime@home from?
http://snipurl.com/PlimeAtHome (900k download)
To install plime@home:
- Download the zipped file from the above URL and unzip the contents.
- Run the plime@home.exe file within and complete the steps in the wizard until the program is installed.
- Please send any bug reports, comments or suggestions to plime@worth1000.com, subject "plime@home: whatever".
Thanks for your interest in helping with the plime@home distributed computing project!
I've got my Windows computer dedicated to plime@home. Way to go Jax! :D
Working Link!
you should have seen jax in chat before, tempting up, making us do stuff just to get screen shots. sk has to wash his car and i have wash his socks for a month...
now, everyone download it. all those with mac's, go buy a PC!
Still unclear as to what exactly I get. I do not care to revisit the whole carebear cares debacle. Is there cash involved in this wonderful home computer based opportunity?
edit: The CareBear Debacle
In an attempt to be humorous and use humor to disarm a potentially volatile issue I petitioned that girly forum titles be done away with. It was fun and funny for a moment and then we all moved on.
If I download plime@home what do I get in return for allowing my computer to be used to verify the links? Do I simply increase my "forum title," (i.e. move from strawberry shortcake to carebear cares,) or do I receive something more tangible, (i.e. cash, free downloads I want, credits to buy stuff I want)?
[Edited by User on 8/22/2005 10:29:50 PM]
^ Sorry, didn't understand a word of that... What's your question?
This is way cooler than Seti@home. I really do believe in aliens now.
On 8/22/2005 10:13:34 PM, law98w said:
If I download plime@home what do I get in return for allowing my computer to be used to verify the links? Do I simply increase my "forum title," (i.e. move from strawberry shortcake to carebear cares,) or do I receive something more tangible, (i.e. cash, free downloads I want, credits to buy stuff I want)?
Do I gain anything by doing this?
If you have a plime account and wish to be credited, you will be credited for all links from RSS feeds that your computer has validated (this is optional) and your system level will increase accordingly. If you don't (yet) have a plime account, you will help bring plime that much closer to launch by participating (and can obviously get an account when plime does launch).
===============
"Credited" means move up in user level. Unlike the Worth1000 system though, that does bring actual (but intangible) privileges to the table. An example might be that if you reach a certain level, you receive admin privileges.
PC user, cable connection, former SETI@home participant ... still can't partake :(
Why? old computer with Win98. Sigh.
edit: Oops. Sorry.
[Edited by User on 8/23/2005 2:02:34 PM]
PC user, cable connection, former SETI@home participant ... still can't partake :(
Why? old computer running Win98. Sigh.
I don't have a plime account, and I don't actively participate, in Worth1000, anymore, but if I can help, then I do so. I am not looking for rewards or credits, and I actually have no Idea, what all this is, but I know some here, and they think it is good to do, so it is done.
Thanks very much TC. I think you'll like Plime a lot. There's something for everyone, there (and then some more).
once i get my house properly wired (hopefully tomorrow) i'm going to set up a few servers for general purposes, so i can probably run plime full time on one or more of them, but i do have a few concerns. after the things are in service, i'll be d/ling the prog and asking again.
On 8/23/2005 7:31:12 PM, sk said:
Can I have TC's credits then? ;)
Actually, you can. If TC enters your plime username in his username field, you get the credit for it. That's intentional for exactly that scenario.
Yeah, it's working. There are so many users using it right now that it's all caught up. Just leave it running and come back to it. You should see a list of URLS on your monitor when you wake up :)
Here's an important question that was asked of me, that I feel others should see the answer to:
i wanted to ask this privately, because i don't want to cause any jitters in the main thread, but it's a serious concern. is there any way that we can verify that the links your program sends our computers to verify are "safe"? i know you said you don't have any mal/spy/whatever-ware in your program, and i'm not questioning your integrity, i'm just asking you if your program screens for questionable sites and/or dangerous (virus/spy/mal) sites?
...realistically, there's some seriously nasty stuff out there.
There's no danger of downloading viruses, or other scripts, because all we load is the raw unprocessed html (scripts, images, etc... are ignored). In other words, even if a malicious webpage that contains embedded viruses were inadvertently passed to you to validate, the program treats it like text, not executable code. To put it in laymen's terms, you can no more catch a virus from using plime@home, then you can catch AIDS by reading about it in a magazine.
Regarding porn links (important if you run this at work and have snoopy IT guys):
There are two ways that we receive links: RSS feed harvesting, and direct submissions.
The RSS feeds are preapproved before being added to our system. However, if USAToday decides to put a link to "www.gaypedobeasthentai.ru" in their preapproved feed, and it's already been approved, that will come through. Very unlikely we'll get stuff like that from RSS feeds.
There is a form of preapproval with user submissions as well. Users need to reach a certain level before links they submit are accepted into the validation queue and that takes time and goodwill on their end. So a certain amount of trust goes to a user who has reached a certain level. A high level user might still decide to submit that link, though. It won't cause much mischief though, as a) it will fail validation and not make it to the site. b) only one user's computer will have visited that link. Odds are that it won't be someone whose network admin is sniffing packets. c) when users see what they submitted listed in their profile, under "failed submitted links" they will be quickly kicked off the system.
We have a "bad-domain" filter as well (that anyone can add to), that will prevent a link from specific domains from making it into the system at all. But if it's a new domain, we obviously can't prescreen it using this method.
Lastly, all transfers are done through simple socket communications. IE/inet/windows controls are not used at all. Validated links will not show up in your browser's history. A network admin examining incoming/outgoing packets will see the sites accessed (and immediately after see the processed data sent to the plime@home server), so I can't see how they wouldn't recognize the traffic pattern as coming from a bot, not a user, should by some quirk of fate a bad link does get caught. Still, I don't wan't anyone to get in trouble using this, no matter how unlikely. If this is a valid concern, please get permission before installing it at a computer that isn't your own.
[Edited by User on 8/24/2005 12:53:08 AM]
[Edited by User on 8/24/2005 12:53:25 AM]
I'm with CraftLord. I'm guessing that the stuff on the page www.plime.com is some kind of code to gain access to the site to work on it, therefore, admins only right now.
On 8/22/2005 8:31:52 PM, JaxomLOTUS said:
What is plime@home?
Plime@home is a distributed computing project similar to folding@home and SETI@home, only much less noble in scope. :) Essentially, it's a tool used to categorize and map the internet.
When it is up and open to the public, will it be a site that is basically a giant link page?
Lets say I want to find info on how to install a hard drive. Would I go to plime.com and go to the heading computers, then subheading instalation, then subheading hard drive then see a list of links to different sites that have instalation directions?
BTW, Installed it fer ya. It has a nice looking little icon of a purple...lime slice???
What user name do I use? Same as my worth name?
[Edited by User on 8/24/2005 8:27:08 AM]
