About Google Compute

Google would like to request your help on Google Compute, a new feature for the Google Toolbar. By turning on this feature, you allow your computer to work on complex problems when it would otherwise be idle. The work it does is automatically sent via the Internet to researchers who combine it with information sent by thousands of other users.

The first beneficiary of this effort is http://folding.stanford.edu/, a non-profit research project at Stanford University that is trying to understand the structure of proteins so they can develop better treatments for a number of illnesses.

In the future, Google may donate your computing time to other worthwhile endeavors, as well as use this distributed computer network to improve Google and its services.

The Google Compute feature of the Google Toolbar shouldn't affect your regular computing activities and you can easily disable it at any time for any reason.

Questions or suggestions? Please e-mail us at compute-support@google.com

1. What is Google Compute?

Google Compute is a new feature of the Google Toolbar. The goal of Google Compute is to make a contribution to science by enabling Google Toolbar users to easily donate their idle computer time to worthwhile causes. The Google Compute version of the Google Toolbar detects when a computer is idle and puts it to work on complex mathematical problem from such fields as drug design and global climate modeling.

2. Will running this application interfere with any of my other applications?

Google Compute runs only when your computer is idle. It is designed to be completely non-intrusive and will not affect your computing environment.

3. How do I know if Google Compute is currently running?

The Google Compute DNA-shaped icon in your Google Toolbar indicates if the application is running. If it appears bright, then Google Compute is working on a problem. If the icon is dimmed, it means Google Compute is not running. You can also check the status at any time by pointing your mouse at the DNA icon for a couple of seconds.

4. How do I turn Google Compute on and off?

To turn off Google Compute, click on the DNA-shaped icon in the Google Toolbar, and select the "stop computing" option. To turn it back on, click on the DNA icon and select the "start computing" option.

5. What is Standard mode and what is Conservative mode?

For the convenience of users, Google Compute is capable of running in two modes, viz., Standard mode and Conservative mode. These two modes function as explained below.

Standard Mode: This mode causes Google Compute to run all the time in the background (as long as the machine is powered on, of course!) at the lowest priority, taking advantage of every possible idle processor cycle. This results in more work getting done and faster progress of your stats.

Conservative Mode: This mode causes Google Compute to run only when the user is away from his/her machine. It does not run while the user is actively working. Because of this nature, it results in getting less work done when compared with Standard mode.

6. How do I switch from Standard mode to Conservative Mode or vice versa?

Click on the dna-icon of Google Compute and you will see an option to switch running mode in the resulting drop-down menu. [If you are running in standard mode, the option would say "Switch to Conservative mode" and if you are running in conservative mode, the option would say "Switch to Standard mode".] Select it to change the currently running mode of Google Compute.

7. I don't want to sound rude, but how do I remove the Google Compute feature from my Google Toolbar?

Go to the Google Toolbar menu, which is found by clicking on the Google logo on the left hand side of the toolbar. Select "Toolbar Options..." Then click on the checkbox to disable "Google Computing". Please note that you can always enable Google Computing again, using the same checkbox on the options page.

8. I thought Google was a search engine. Why are you introducing a function that's not related to search?

The Google search engine uses more than 10,000 networked computers to deliver results to millions of users worldwide, making it one of the largest distributed computing systems in existence. In addition to providing leading search technology, we are also interested in solving other important computationally intense problems. While we're not experts on protein folding, we do know quite a bit about using networked computers to solve difficult problems involving terabytes of data.

9. Why should I participate in this program?

Many important scientific problems such as protein folding are computationally intense. The more computers scientists have working on these problems, the faster they will be able to develop solutions. For example, understanding the structure of proteins will enable scientists to make progress in the areas of molecular biology and drug design.

10. That's nice, but what exactly are you going to do with my unused computer time?

If you've enabled Google Compute on your Google Toolbar, your unused computing time is being contributed to the nonprofit Folding@home project at Stanford University. The goal of Folding@home is to model the fundamental processes of life itself - the geometric structure of proteins. You can learn more at http://folding.stanford.edu/. In the future, Google may work with other research teams on similarly complex problems or improve Google and its services.

11. I already get enough protein in my diet... why should I care?

Proteins, in addition to being an important dietary component, are also fundamental to almost all processes in cells. Understanding and modeling how proteins fold into specific shapes could lead to the development of cures for Alzheimer's, cancer, AIDS and other diseases. By pooling together a large number of processors, scientists can understand the shapes of new proteins faster.

12. That's interesting, but what about other important problems?

In the future Google Compute will tackle other similarly important applications. When new projects are added, they will appear in the Google Compute menu.

13. Is this distributed computing? How does distributed computing work?

Yes. Distributed computing works by dividing up a large computational problem into many small work units. Each computer is sent one work unit at a time. When the computer completes the work unit, the processed unit is then sent back to researchers to be integrated into the larger computational problem.

14. What is "distributed computing" all about?

While the traditional way to solve complex computing problems was to throw bigger and bigger processors at them, a new method has evolved over the past few years. That method takes a huge problem and breaks it down into small parts that are sent to many personal computers working in parallel. Each computer processes some of the data and then those parts are reassembled into a total solution. You can find more about distributed computing through a Google web search for distributed computing.

15. How will I know if my PC contributes to an important scientific discovery?

Our easy-to-use interface enables you to see the project on which your PC is currently working. You can also check out how much of a contribution you have made by going to "Report Stats" on the Google Compute menu. It is impossible to predict scientific breakthroughs, but we will let the community of Google Compute users know of important strides made as a result of this program.

16. Who will benefit from this?

With Folding@home, the results and analysis will be submitted to scientific journals for publication. Google will publish links to these articles on its website. After the publication, the raw data will be made available to the public on the Folding@home website.

17. I have been running Google Compute for half a day. Why don't I see anything when I check my stats?

You will only see activity on your stats page after your computer submits the results of at least one work unit. A work unit usually takes two to three days to complete on an average system running all the time. Keep running the application and you should see your stats in a couple of days.

18. Is this going to interrupt my already running folding@home client?

No. This is not going to interrupt an already running folding@home client. Both the clients end up sharing idle computer time. However, please note that by running Google Compute, you would not only contribute to folding@home, but also you would be contributing to other similarly worthwhile projects.

19. Help! My system says that the processor usage is at 100%?

This is completely normal. Google Compute in its standard mode runs in the background at the lowest possible priority, all of the time. So, even though your processor is being utilized 95-100%, Google Compute will let go of the processor as soon as one of your other applications needs it. Only idle cycles, which would otherwise have gone wasted, are used while Google Compute is active. There should be no performance impact on your system. If, however, you are still not happy with this or feel that it is slowing down your applications then please switch to Conservative mode (selectable from the menu). This will run only when it detects that you are not actively using your machine (i.e. typing and using the mouse). It will progress more slowly as a consequence, but may be a good compromise for your system.

20. How come I have this Google Toolbar feature but my friend doesn't?

Google is releasing this feature to a limited number of users in the beginning. It will later be rolled out to a wider audience.

21. Does it work behind a firewall? Do I need to specify a proxy somewhere?

Usually, the Google Compute feature works thru most semi-transparent firewalls (firewalls that allow outgoing web traffic) since it uses the standard http protocol. However, unfortunately, it does not currently work with SOCKS proxies or proxies configured with automated proxy configuration scripts (.pac scripts). In any case, you do not need to setup any proxies for the Google Compute to work.

22. Does it continue to work even when my browser is closed?

Yes, the Google Compute feature continues to work even when your browser is closed.

23. Are there any new privacy issues with this feature?

No. This feature adheres to the Google Toolbar's privacy policy. No personal information about you will be communicated to Folding@home or any other beneficiary of the Google Compute program.

24. How do I see what my computer is working on and how much it has accomplished?

To see what work your computer has completed, click on the DNA double-helix icon in your toolbar and select "Report Stats". Once you have completed your first work unit, you will be able to see each project you have contributed to. If you click the project number, you will see more in-depth information about the protein on which your computer worked. You can also check the status at any time by pointing your mouse at the DNA icon for a couple of seconds.

25. What is the "Weighted Score" mentioned on my stats page?

A weighted score is a measure of how much processing your computer has done. It is based on work units, which equate to the amount of processing a single 400 MHz Pentium III can complete in one day.

26. What is team Google?

Team Google is a compilation of all the Google Toolbar users. On the Google Team stats page you can see the number of work units completed and the team ranking.

27. Can I create my own team with Folding@Home rather than be part of Google's team?

For now, all the statistics for Google Compute are aggregated as part of Google's team, so it's not possible to set up a separate group within the Folding@Home system. If this feature becomes available, you will be notified with instructions on how to set up your own group.

28. Whom do I contact if I have questions about the Google Compute feature?

If you have checked this FAQ and can't find the answer to your question, you can e-mail us at compute-support@google.com.

29. I installed the toolbar several months ago. How can I activate the Google Compute feature?

At this time, the Google Compute feature is only available to a small number of randomly selected Google Toolbar users. We intend to roll out this feature to all Google Toolbar users in the near future. If you'd like to be notified when the feature becomes available, please consider subscribing to our Google Friends Newsletter.

30. I installed the latest toolbar but I can't see the DNA icon. What's wrong?

The Google Compute feature is currently available to only a few randomly selected Google Toolbar users. If you are one of them, you will see a "New!" icon on your Google Toolbar. Clicking it will give you the option to turn Google Compute on or off. We expect the Google Compute feature to be available to all Google Toolbar users in the near future. If you'd like to be notified when the feature becomes available, please consider subscribing to our Google Friends Newsletter.

31. Which operating systems does Google Compute support?

Currently, Google Compute is supported on Win 98, Win ME and Win 2000 and Win XP. At the moment, we do not recommend enabling it on either Win 95 or Win NT, although we will be supporting it on Win NT in the near future.