I have always  wanted to contribute to a great project, like hunting messages send by little green men from another galaxy… But I had neither the opportunity nor the scientific background to do it. Until I read about SETI@Home…

All you need is a computer and an internet connexion…

What is it all about ?

Astronomer Carl Sagan and his colleagues started the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), and you probably all have seen the movie or read Carl´s book, “contact“, where we discover the first confirmed communication from extraterrestrial beings…

What´s exactly SETI doing ?

SETI projects use scientific methods to search for electromagnetic transmissions from civilizations on distant planets. (Wikipedia)

Why is it important to do that ?

“‘Are we alone?’ Humans have been asking [this question] forever. The probability of success is difficult to estimate but if we never search the chance of success is zero.”

Jill Tarter

So if you do not help, who will ever ? Find out more in her amazing speech…

How to help ?

Volunteer at the SETI@home program:

SETI@home searches for possible evidence of radio transmissions from extraterrestrial intelligence using observational data from the Arecibo radio telescope. The data are taken ‘piggyback’ or ‘passively’ while the telescope is used for other scientific programs. The data are digitized, stored, and sent to the SETI@home facility. The data are then parsed into small chunks in frequency and time, and analyzed, using software, to search for any signals—that is, variations which cannot be ascribed to noise, and contain information. The crux of SETI@home is to have each chunk of data, from the millions of chunks resulting, analyzed off-site by home computers, and then have the software results reported back. (Wikipedia)

You´ll need a couple of things to get started, adn in less that 10 to 15 minutes your computer can join this fantastic opportunity !!!

1. Go to the SETI@home homepage
2. To download BOINC software and run it (5 minutes)
3. Setup / synchronize your BOINC software

Here is the project manager running and processing signal from space collected by the Arecibo radiotelescope !!!!

When the computer goes in screensaver mode, the computing starts and you have a nice data vizualisation graph on display… really cool !

My computer is now processing signals from a radio-telescope… Awesome !!!!

Analysing some patterns… and searching for some outer-space SMS

It doesn´t matter if you have MAC / PC it works and it´s fun !!!! And maybe you´ll be the lucky one to get the first signal from another form of intelligence…

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Good design begins with rising your view to the level of your visitors / users.

There are many misconception about what design is, like design is restricted to how things look, and that it is best employed at the end of the product development process.

Naturally, aesthetics is important, but it is only a part of the big picture.

You have to care about the people who will use and live in the place you design.

Designer Philippe Starck demonstrate this in a brilliant talk.

“There is not a single production out of the big picture”

“If we do not understand we are mutants we completely miss the story”

“Rise your level of vision every morning”

It is by embracing a holistic approach, like how to fulfill their needs,

their experience, their goals, by offering them a vision, by innovating in the form of design that  you tremendously increase your chances of success.

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