Post number 3 of the week, we meet TSBonyman, who seems to have missed the ‘A’ from his user name, but that’s not all, Mr. Forgets-letters-from-his-username has also missed T, S and A from his Folding@home username. We’ll have to send him a post-it, telling him his username.
Anyway, here we have Dec forgetting that his PS3 was designed more of a games console than a Linux machine, enjoy!
Member Profile
| Name: | Dec |
| User name: | Bonyman |
| Age: | 40 |
| Location: | Cork, Ireland |
Folding Questions
There are several different reasons why people run Folding@home, be it experience with one of the diseases folding aims to cure, just helping out, or for community status. But what got you into folding and for TheSixthAxis’ Team?
I folded a handful of units previously but it was only when OtherOs was removed via a firmware update (which I initially refused) did I join the TSA Folding@home team. Having no access to PSN, I was delighted that Folding@home didn’t require me to be signed in to PSN but I was still helping to “save the world” – with my PS3 – despite Sony locking me out. *blows raspberry at Sony* Of course after a month I relented, updated my firmware and regained PSN access but I kept on folding – unlike some I don’t give then take back again.
There are several different platforms that folding@home can be run on (PS3, PC, MAC), what platforms do you use to fold?
Currently one original PS3 chugging away in the spare room. I also have a dual core iMac on which I tried the MAC folding client but there was no GUI so I deleted it; I must look into it again.
Some people get worried about using the PS3 to fold because they’re worried about their PS3 dying on them. As a guide, how long do you fold on your PS3 for, and in which mode?
At first I set my PS3 to fold one unit and shutdown each day I was at work – surprisingly, and somewhat pleasingly at the time, this was enough to steadily move me up the team rankings ( think I started off at position 114). Then sometime around Christmas I picked up a PS3 with a broken Blu-ray drive for €50 and that now sits in the spare room, folding 24/7. I think it’s in standard mode – I haven’t connected a screen to it for a few months so I’m not sure… In fact I don’t know my current ranking or number of units folded either.. So I’m hoping to learn something from this “meet the folder” episode too!
The Folding@home software on the PS3 has evolved over the past few years, bringing in Music playback and most prominently Life with PlayStation. Is there anything that could be added to improve the experience?
Or is there something that you would like to be removed from Life with PlayStation?
To get more people involved, it would be great if there were trophies. Other that that, all I need it to do is fold.
I was impressed by the way you could choose your music by mood, it works pretty well but I don’t use the function due to my setup.
There will be people from the TSA community that will read this who don’t currently “fold”, is there anything you’d like to say to those members?
Just try it, it’s simple to set your PS3 to fold one unit and shutdown, so you can have it done while you sleep or are at work. You’ll be helping a good cause and will also be pushing YOUR team up the world rankings – who doesn’t want to be part of that?
User Stats
| Team Rank | Project Rank | Weekly Points | Total Points | Work Units | Next Overtake | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/07/11 | 16 | 54,345 | 8,546 | 265,257 | Â 1055 | Radboud (27/07/2011) |
| 24/07/12 | 10 | 671,137 | XTG (30/03/2013) |
We need you
If you would like to feature in a future Meet the Folder post, please drop an email to Jas-n [at] SonyFanatic [dot] com with the subject “Meet the Folder“.
We’d like to thank Dec for his time in answering our questions.
beeje13
Trophies? now that is a good idea!
And good meeting you, bonyman!
TSBonyman
Cheers Beeje, trophies was probably a poor idea in hindsight but i think i was blinded by the thought of how many more people would fold if there were trophies. :)
Jas-n
I think trophies were a real possibility at one point, not sure if they are anymore As I’ve not heard anything on Life with PlayStation in ages.
beeje13
@bonyman, yep trophies would definitely make more people fold, I suppose there wouldn’t be many in a set, but there could be a cheeky silver trophy: submit 4 Work units in 24 hours!
And apparently, sony aren’t pushing LWP as much as they were, according to stanford.
But theres still the PS4, which we can dream of a simultaneous GPU and processor client!
fattyuk
Nice read!!
I’d personally rather see some sort of sign on the edge of you’re username like playstation plus but only for active folders than trophys…. Don’t get me wrong I’m a trophy whore all day long lol but dunno how trophy for helping disease cure would work without trying to glorify it,
TSBonyman
Great minds think alike – (fools seldom differ ;) ) – I suggested something like that for the unpublished question/suggestion box, except i called them ‘avatar frames’.
I’m no trophy hunter although i have an impressive bronze collection lol, so maybe i didn’t work out the logistics of that one properly. :)
TSBonyman
Thanks Jason, when i filled out the form i had the sudden horrible thought that perhaps my unattended ps3 had stopped folding – now i don’t need to hook up a screen and check. :D
Jas-n
You do know there’s 3 sets of stats for each person:
Stanford (Official)
Kakao Stats
and
Extreme Overclocking
The latter two of which will tell you roughly when a WU was submitted.
SilverCider
A good read :) (As were the others that I missed earlier on in the week! Sorry!)
I’ve never thought about looking for a PS3 with a faulty bluray/no bluray to use as a dedicated folder! Quite clever :D
TSBonyman
I do have ‘some’ lucid moments.. :)
I should add that I haven’t noticed any great increase in my electric bills either.
cam the man
Never thought of that either, will keep an eye out for one.
Nice to meet you TSBonyman.
Foxhound_Solid
Nice read TSBM. I will indeed give it a go.
TSBonyman
Comment below was meant for you..
TSBonyman
Nice one FHS! :)
bunimomike
Mr Bonyman! Lovely stuff. Also, you have my brain whirring away about the trophies. I swear they could make it work without it being/feeling insensitive to the cause. Additionally, what’d be great would be if Sony update the software so it reports back on how Folding@Home has helped the university’s research and what they’re striving to achieve. That would be awesome.
Something to read when you fire it up or check in on how a WU is going. Yeah, definitely. Jas-n, tell Sony. NOW! :-P
TSBonyman
Good idea Mike, it would indeed be awesome if Sony got a little bit more involved with it from that point of view.
Jas-n
The only problem is, I’m not in touch with anyone from PlayStation…