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Rosetta@Home Distributed Folding Coming to Xbox 360?

gizmodo.com — When asked about it on the project's message board, head scientist and developer David Baker said that "we have been discussing this idea with Microsoft quite a bit over the past several weeks; I will keep everybody posted."

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  • gwill11, on 10/12/2007, -16/+30Great News! Until then digg users can contribute to Folding@Home Team # 47777 (team Digg@home) http://fah-web.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=47777 We are the top ranked digg team with 119 members as of now and are currently ranked in 2,556th place out of 56,103 teams....If you are on Team #49808 please join us so we can have one unified Digg Folding Team!
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -30/+8Except this is not Folding@Home it's Rosetta@Home....

      RTF...Headline?
    • KarbonKopy, on 10/12/2007, -10/+7I agree, I'm currently on team #49808 and I will switch.
    • hadimirza, on 03/26/2008, -9/+30YES...I was right. but if you leave your xbox360 on all night, it will melt your house.
    • spucky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@rstarr
      He said "until then". If you want to donate some CPU cycles (on your PC) before the XBox Rosetta client comes out, you can join the Digg Folding team. (Of course, you can donate your spare PC cycles to Rosetta if you prefer).

      Personally, I don't care which, I just want some diseases cured. Caring for Alzheimer patients takes an awful lot out of families emotionally and a lot of money.
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Wow.

      I ***** that up.
    • NYC10004, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Don't think melting or overheating would be a problem. I never turn mine off and its just fine.
    • Vision2098, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Did eveyone forget about SETI??

      Diseases got nothin' on firey alien death.
    • stuf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Woot. Will leave my Mac Pro chugging away at WU's for the Digg team, then. Takes roughly 18-20h to complete one 5MB WU without the GPU. A nice benchmark at the same time.
  • RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -12/+54The Xenon processor in the Xbox 360 is nice, but it's not even close to the Cell in terms of power for this kind of processing.
    • Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -5/+60Every little bit helps.
    • ez12a, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25@akaji

      you're absolutely correct--i have my pentium 3 folding@home...although it takes an hour to get to 1%.
    • anonymous666, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I bet that they will be utilising the ATIMD GPU (Xenos)
    • Invisz, on 10/12/2007, -8/+27The point is to help the advancement of scientific research, not to have a battle with PS3's numbers. A bold move by Microsoft, and I applaud them for it.
    • XdigitalXdeathX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7The 360 uses an early form of the R600... It would only make sense to push a little (or a lot) of the load towards the GPU.

      I will be folding, my 360 never gets any downtime, and most certainly won't if get Rosetta@home.
    • hadimirza, on 03/26/2008, -24/+5This proves that M$ copies everything. There gonna take over the world.
    • Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -7/+24@vandal

      Where to begin...

      1) Microsoft isn't copying anything - and even if they were, it isn't something they're copying for their own benefit.
      2) 'There' is a place. 'They're' is the possessive.
      3) Calling Microsoft "M$" is old, and has been old for the past decade.
      4) Google will take over the world before Microsoft ever could.
    • hadimirza, on 03/26/2008, -3/+1It took me 2 days to finish 1 WU. Just 6 more hours more my 2nd WU....go go go
    • spucky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@invisz

      If a little competition brings out the fanboys, I'm all for it. As a matter of fact, I would have tears of joy if the XBoxers blew us PS3ers away (and not because we didn't try).
    • hadimirza, on 03/26/2008, -9/+3@Akaji

      ZOMG....SOOOORRY YOU JEEZY LORD. ILL CALL THEM MICROSOFT.

      i was joking. but sorry, i didn't mean to offend you. i even dugg you up :)
    • superal1394, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I thought the 360 used a PPC proccessor...?

      n e way, I would love to have my 360 doing this stuff, but alas, there is no client, however my Macbook Pro is chugging along hapily on F@H
    • cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@invisz:

      Bold? Uhh, okay.

      They haven't actually DONE anything yet. It's just this guy saying he's been talking to Microsoft. MS is probably trying to figure out a way to make the Xbox 360's calculations only accessible via a Windows server running Office 2007.
    • Abatrour, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1It would be nice if they could use the xbox 360 video card as well.
  • kenvsryu, on 10/12/2007, -8/+30Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
    • MechaFenris, on 10/12/2007, -11/+32Yeah, first the black version of the 360 now this...

      Obsess much, Microsoft? :) heh.
    • Tahiri, on 10/12/2007, -16/+6Dont forget copying HDMI, and the HD movie player add on
    • byronm, on 10/12/2007, -7/+16@mechafenris

      Beta/Developer 360's have been black and if you forgot the original xbox was black. i guess the Wii flattered MS by coming out white?
    • hadimirza, on 03/26/2008, -2/+8Watch....In the end, everyone will find out that they used our processor power for ruling the world.
    • MechaFenris, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5byronm

      Sony''s developer PS1 was black... so who's going farther back?

    • dRuNk3nIrIsHmEn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19but teh sega genesis was black!11!!one!!!111!!!

      C'mon guys. Arguing about console colors? You've got to be kidding me.
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@mecha

      Atari.

      Honestly, there is pretty much 3 choices for electronics, black white and gray. They are bound to all use them all shortly and no one copies or cares.

      But yes, I do realize the original poster was posting in jest.
      Wait, why am I posting this then?
      Because digg has no delete button and I couldn't think of anything better in two minutes.
    • grumpyrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2> Sony''s developer PS1 was black... so who's going farther back?

      I remember playing Sonic on a black Mega Drive. Seriously, who cares.
    • MechaFenris, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's a joke... you know... funny? some people get the funny... some people think we're serious. ;) And still some people are far too serious for the interweb...

      The 2600 had woodgrain for chrissakes. ;) How's THAT for retro? I think the Elite 360 should add woodgrain. Or maybe some fuzzy dice.


      I mean, the 60GB PS3 has "bling" :)

  • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -3/+47Brilliant!

    Now we can easily solve the console wars by which disease gets cured first.

    Finally, a simple answer to a complex problem.
    • spucky, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Digg needs an img tag.

      You, sir, need a Guinness graphic!
  • naffets, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Hopefully I'm not the only Sony fan who will post a positive comment about this. Very good news for xbox360 owners, means they can contribute aswell.

    Will also mean i'll be able to contribute on four systems (2 pcs 1 ps3 and 1 360)

    Good news all round, dugg!
    • sleepwalkers, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12It means more that it's on a PS3 than a 360, though. I'm not trying to be a fanboy of either platform, but the Cell IS more suited to the folding operation than the 360's proc.
    • byronm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8 @sleepwalkers

      They could use the GPU like the other special clients currently use. The 360 GPU is 48 pipelines and with 6 cores distributing the load i'm sure it could handle it quite nicely.
    • spucky, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4@sleepwalkers

      The Cell can perform specific folding problems very well (implicit solvation calculations), but it cannot do all of the types of calculations necessary. The CPUs in the XBox should be very good at explicit solvation. It's all good :)
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am not "fan" of any game console but let me say as someone who is into distributed stuff since seti@home:

      "the worst thing you can do against your scientific user donated cpu project is teaming up with Microsoft openly."

      These kinds of applications run in user space and often uses closed file format for their own security and users security. If you team with an idiot who openly says "we are periodically checking for piracy" , your project is doomed.
  • MoeB, on 10/12/2007, -9/+34this will result in overheated and broken xboxes
  • chriskzoo, on 10/12/2007, -30/+11LOL - what else will MS steal from PS3:

    -1080p - check
    -HD movie drive - check
    -HDMI - check
    -Bigger disk drive - check

    The more the merrier in these projects, though.
    • Lax32, on 10/12/2007, -18/+36The only thing MS stole from the PS3 was Sonys dignity.
    • pleve, on 10/12/2007, -15/+8Didn't the XBox come out before the PS3?
    • Sairgem, on 10/12/2007, -12/+8- Generic upgrades not related to Sony - check
      - Sony fanboy running his mouth - check
    • elvenseven, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4Black color (Ugly black matte color for the xbox360 elite) - check
    • TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23Things Microsoft stole from Thomas Edison:
      - devices that use electricity
    • cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's not that Microsoft could "steal" the color or HDMI or HD-DVD because they're just tech, however, it's fairly obvious that Microsoft has waited until now to try and compete more with the PS3's initial sales by introducing an "upgraded" Xbox at this time. A little known fact is that the PS3's sales right now are higher then the 360's sales at the same length of time from release.

      It's a good idea, if you ask me. I happen to think the 360 is probably Microsoft's only good product on the market right now. I purchased a PS3 because the Six Axis controllers are awesome and the machine runs Linux, has a Blu-Ray drive and the PSU is integrated into the unit, Ohh and some of the games look great - but the Xbox is in no way a bad machine.

      The competition is good, and needed. Without it, both Microsoft and/or Sony would let their product stagnate. They're both kinda notorious for it.
  • xnacoder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10@the article
    "Xbox Live has been opened to developers via the XNA Game Developers Framework for about a year"

    Wrong. You currently can not code for live (or any networking) with XNA, and it has been out since December.
  • JoeNM84, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I'll wait for a SETI@home application before i buy any of them. I want to search for ET with my console! Or how about just a BOINC client that lets you choose from all of those different projects they have, so you can spread the power... think the PS3 could do multiple projects at once? I'd have to run SETI though, co-founder of the biggest team. Shhhh dont let them know i'm talking on here, they think i disappeared.
    • JoeNM84, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I said biggest, its not really the biggest... just number 1. Microsoft probably would try to make their own project to try to prove something. Not sure what they would try to cure.
    • hufman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Apparently Rosetta@Home uses BOINC.
    • SurlyDuff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah but the other projects would have to create workunits specifically suited for the XBox360's processor if they wanted to run on there too...I do know that there's a lot of talk in the SETI forums about both running on GPU and the PS3 F@H stuff however...so we'll see.
  • ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10whats the difference between rosetta@home and folding@home?
    • ChrisWickenscom, on 10/12/2007, -20/+1One is for the PS3 and was an original idea, the other is something cooked up by MS people to make people go "LOOK AT ME!".

      I'm surprised there hasnt been more PS3 bashing. So are us sony fans allowed to say they stole it? Hellz no!

      (Please note: I like all the systems, I just think these one sided idiots need to get a life)
    • erkokite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6This is just from a quick glance, but they seem to be two different programs that do the same thing. IMHO They should go with folding@home. It seems more popular, and less redundant. Anyone else willing to clarify more?

      @chris
      F@h and R@h have been around before the PS3 and 360. They are also for home computers, and neither has any specific link to either MS or Sony.
    • SomeManbeapig, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5So, who cares if microsoft copy sony. Its not like they will be making any money with it. Anybody can copy something that is gonna save lives.
  • djphatjive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6Am I the only one that doesn't want my Xbox to melt leaving it on all the time, Lots of power to waist for a chance to help someone. I mean think of all the pollution your putting out there.
  • erkokite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Apparently, this is not specifically for R@H. R@H is just mentioned in the article. In fact, the article seems to imply that it could actually be F@H. Or a general purpose BOINC client would be nice. It could do both, as well as any of the other distributed projects.
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It could be Skynet....


      ....Just sayin.
  • NipGrip, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1It'll cost 700 MS points.
  • siggyfawn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Is there anything out there for the Wii?

    I'd love a channel where I could donate my wii's cpu cycles for research. Cmon Nintendo! Take a break from kicking MS/Sonys ass to help out some cancer/ET research.
    • rstarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Yeah...um, I'm a proud Wii owner but um...I just uh...

      How do I put this delicately...?

      Just um...no.
      I mean it's a nice thought...sort of like a little kid donating his milk money to charity.
      But our Wii's need all the CPU power they can muster.
    • siggyfawn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1lol. it runs when the wii is idle moron
  • Sparke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12This is one console battle where everyone wins.
    • MechaFenris, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Exactly. No clear winner out of the gate... everyone trying to one-up each other without costing 3 arms and 2 legs...

      I for one welcome this no-holds-barred cage match... ;)

    • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1not to mention
      the winner gets to help charity
      and the popularity that comes with it
      if nintendo joins in then its a who ever can donate the most wins
  • 00monkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3(For example the Folding@home Project.) However, such an approach is limited in its utility since it requires an enormous amount of processing power (great for the cell processor) to simulate even a simple protein's folding behavior. raw power "measure twice cut once"

    The Rosetta@home project takes a different approach by utilizing a newly developed software algorithm (good for the 360 processor) to try to predict (guess) the shape that a protein would be most likely to fold into (short cut to great numbers) risky!
  • Ulvund, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2I'm launching LOL'ing@home:

    Each time i see "XBox" and "folding" in the same sentence i start laughing. So far, I've LOLled 8 times.
  • 00monkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4i like how this was from last october, but is only surfacing meow to diffuse ps3 hype . still i am a sony fan boy but this coming to 360 r@h or f@h would be a great addition to the furthering of science and medicine

    the best fight is over who can do the most good...
  • NYC10004, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Unfortunately, though well intentioned, this is a twisted application of the 360 design. The console although powerful and capable wasn't built for this.
  • airj1012, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Even if this is possible, how will the xbox folding compare to the ps3? Which one will do the best job and which will have the most users? Just kind of interested.
  • vlsi0n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If this came I would do it, but the nonstop 360 vs. PS3 battles would be annoying.
    • airj1012, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2One would be used for one disease and the other for another. They wouldn't be necessarily competing.
    • spucky, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Do you have a favorite sports team? And if so, do you find the competition with other teams annoying?

      Well, in this match up, we all win.
    • cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My PS3 is totally going to cure disease before your piece of ***** Xbox!! =)

      Then we'll know who has a better game machine.
  • ipaine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1First thing I want to say is that it is great to see these kinds of projects coming to the consoles.

    What amazes me the most though is how the people here on digg are so pro-Microsoft and anti-Sony. I mean come on, a few weeks ago everyone here was bashing Sony for having F@H. Oh it doesn't have good games so they have to do this, etc, etc. Yet this gets announced and not a single thing talking about people finally having something to do with their 360.

    Look people lets face it, Microsoft saw that Sony was doing this and has now realized that it is a great idea, so they stole it. Really not that big of a deal, all businesses do it every now and then.

    Just remember the most important thing, in the end everyone wins from these projects and that is what counts.
    • Atomic1fire, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1only pro Microsoft when it comes to video games
      if there was a Linux game system (not including that sony issue)
      it would be a mass change in argument
  • xdevit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This will be nice if they do achievements with it.. 1:1 maybe I mean they are now allowed 1250 achievement points.
    Yes I understand that your getting someone out of doing it anyways. This way you will actually get something for doing it. icing on the cake if you will.
  • SurlyDuff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Hmm I tried to ask for an update in the rosetta@home forum thread...hopefully we'll find out if this has progressed in terms of development or stagnated long ago.
  • graywolf323, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5given all the hardware problems the 360 is already prone to I'd be worried running this during the downtime would bring about your console's death quicker
    • byronm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2My launch 360 is on 10+ hours a day and NO problems. Its on when i play game, watch tv and listen to music being that it is a front end to media center as well.
  • FormulaOne, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1
    Unfortunately, this will be an XNA application and performance will be sub par.
  • HRF1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yes, let's brick our 360's even more! With the 360 hardware failure rate as they stand, I will not risk my chances by running this fragile console overnight or for 6 hours for that matter.

    It's nice to see the gaming community's willingness in reaching out for a great cause but until I see improvements in the hardware department, count me out.
  • neosonic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Yeah It's a good cause, but a 360 just isn't built well enough to run 24/7. Still, it would be cool to see how well a 360 performs compared to a PS3 running Folding@home.
  • DavidGX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2As soon as the religious right stops messing with medical science I'll join the fight. Until then I refuse to spend energy on a cure that won't get used because someone doesn't think their imaginary friend would like it.
  • spyd4r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Copycats ;)
  • sk545, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i think this is cool (or hot). Should be fun, since fanboys will go against each other and melt their respective consoles. See, everyone wins.
  • malavalla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Heroes!
  • brutusthe3, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0"The Geforce 7900 inside the PS3 is no match for Xenos in the Xbox. Even the Sony Cell would probably end beaten by 48 vec4+scalar units hidden inside Xbox's 360 graphics chip. Folding@Home is Stream Computing at its finest, and six/seven/eight SPE units can flourish in the CPU. But when compared to the GPU, the Xbox 360 GPU would probably run in circles around Cell CPU."

    http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39508
  • sharly2007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Yes, let's brick our 360's even more! With the 360 hardware failure rate as they stand, I will not risk my chances by running this fragile console overnight or for 6 hours for that matter. It's nice to see the gaming community's willingness in reaching out for a great cause but until I see improvements in the hardware department, count me out. http://www.gwafi.com/home.html http://www.gwafi.com/links.html
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