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SETI is one of many distributed computing programs - rather than buying a supercomputer, some geeks at Berkeley just take their computing jobs, divide them up into teeny weeny bits, and pass them out to people.

SETI is the "Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence" - the analysis of radio telescope telemetry, looking for patternts that might be a sign of an intelligent civilization with technology like ours.

Their web site is here.
The download page is here.

What BOINC is is a framework that SETI runs inside - BOINC actually works with several different distributed computing projects. The BOINC home page hs a listing of them. You have to sign up for an account for one or more of them, then tell the BOINC application which projects to get work for and in what ratio. Since the SETI folks also helped develop BOINC, this is the appropriate forum for any BOINC-related stuff, as well as just SETI-stuff.

In the great pissing contest that is the internet, you get points and credits for completing work units. You get to brag about how many you've done, though. Team Macaddict is a 'Team' - we combine our results together and compete with other teams. Still, except for nursing our naturally geeky competitiveness, it accomplishes nothing. But you're helping science.

One DC (distributed computing) project that isn't on BOINC is Folding@Home - simulating protein interactions to help develop new drugs, maybe even a cure for cancer, alzheimer's, old age, or ugliness. iDunno. There's a seperate forum here for that.