WTF $ 0 !\! y ? PS3 Cures cancer????????????

[jessethe2nd]

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/728/728301p1.html

I can understand making a donation to a cause like this... but using it as an advertising gimmick at the expense of your own users? It's immorale.

[gdorf]

As a previous folding@home user I think this is an awesome idea on Sony's part. This is a well-established cause that they will do well to support. After all, at this point they need all the positive PR they can get. :)

http://folding.stanford.edu/

[jessethe2nd]

I know what the program does. My point is if they really gave a damn about cancer victims they would make and out right donation rather than force it upon their users in an attempt to make $.

[Tygore]

After all, at this point they need all the positive PR they can get.

Exactly.

And I'm sure that this was something they planned all along, and not hastily added in order to get positive press. Yep.

[goKi]

For $599, it would fucking want to cure cancer.

[Archibaldo]

But Mom, it cures cancer! If you won't buy it for me Granny will DIE!

I don't want my Granny to die... :(

[AtmaWeapon]

Explain this "at the expense of your own users" part, please.

I'm assuming you are referring to the CPU cycles that will be consumed by the process, but as a faithful member of F@H team 11675 I can assure you the idea of the process is sound.

Folding at Home runs a process that takes only the idle cycles of your CPU. So while I'm watching videos about the exhumation of 19th century free black cemetaries in Philadelphia (Anthropology class hooray) I am devoting 100% of my CPU cycles to science. However, when I return from class and start mining for Pyroxeres in Eve Online, Folding@Home will only take what CPU Eve Online leaves it.

I know this because I did benchmarks when I first adopted the program, and I found that my framerates in games did not change significantly based on whether F@H was running or not.

Now, the Cell architecture is perfectly suited for this program. One of the initial design goals was a distributed network of CPUs that could donate free processing power to the masses, thus every Cell-enabled device makes every other Cell-enabled device more powerful.

I highly doubt any games will have 100% utilization of the PS3's architecture for some time coming, so it only makes sense that Sony would find applications for this gigantic network of unused CPU cycles.

Aside from that, I'm pretty sure if there's not an opt-out mechanism a PR disaster will occur as many tinfoil-hatted individuals believe that F@H and Seti@Home are secretly performing bioweapon/WMD research for the government and an opt-out mechanism will be patched in.

If you have some other objection, please elaborate.

[MottZilla]

No one said PS3 cures cancer, they merely said that PS3 could help discover a cure for cancer. While you may think throwing enough money at problem will solve it, you are dead wrong. The idea of using idle cycles of PS3s to conduct such research is a great one esspecially if the PS3 has the huge success that PS1 and PS2 did. And it is great PR for them. Why are you mad at this? So Sony can make money off saying it helps cure cancer? Well that would work if it weren't for the fact that Sony loses money on each PS3 unit they sell. There's nothing to be mad about. It seems to be a honest and good idea.

Wouldn't you like it if one day you found out that by simply using your PS3 data collected went on to lead to a cure to save people's lives? Really.. how can you be mad at people doing something to cure cancer. At least they aren't just throwing money at it.

Anyways, speaking of the PS3 can anyone actually name something wrong with the PS3 other than Sony's recent actions and the high price? As things have continued to draw on, I don't think PS3 is going to be anything less than successful, but more than likely not on the scale of PS1 and PS2 as Microsoft and Nintendo aren't lieing down anymore.

[jessethe2nd]

Don't get me wrong, I am glad that there is benefeits for cancer victims out there by getting a PS3. And to explain the at the expense of their own users comment. The users are powering almost the whole project not the company itself. Its drawing off the users resources and I would expect sony to credit this to the company to gain positive PR.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Dammit...this kills my, "I hope everyone that works for or purchases Sony products develops cancer" idea. :(

[Dechipher]

That's actually a really freaking good idea.
Now Nintendo and M$ should copy it, to help out more.

[MottZilla]

That's Sony's trick Dechipher. The whole idea theft is patented by Sony.

[Dechipher]

Yeah but the big N and Microsoft could have been "working on it the whole time" so no worries there.

[MottZilla]

Nah, Nintendo makes their own strange ideas, M$ buys the ideas by buying out the smaller company with the idea, Sony steals them and claims them as their own.

[goKi]

Nah, Nintendo makes their own strange ideas, M$ buys the ideas by buying out the smaller company with the idea, Sony steals them and claims them as their own.

In a kinda 'Who the hell do you think you are, saying we're copying the Wiimote?! We're Sony! We invented force feedback for god's sake' kinda way, right?

[Verman]

Fuck that shit. I paid for it I don't want to be forced to share my CPU for any cause... If its going to be shared it should be totally my say so.

Many people die of cancer... I wonder what the world population would do if cancer was completly cured... Have to start colonizing places like africa (ewww)

[MottZilla]

Verman, it's only shared if you are connected to the internet (it ain't fuckin magic, it needs a internet connection) and I'm sure there will be some option. I do agree that a platform with that much control taken away from you yet you own the unit is unacceptable. It's bad enough you can't run your own programs on it till you mod it.