Could anyone tell me whether Einstein@home is not-for-profit? It seems to be, but I haven't been able to find any explicit info stating so. Thanks in advance.
Interesting question...are you looking for some TAX write-offs?
LOL. No, but I've seen a couple of threads lately with folks (particularly those such as myself relatively new to BOINC) wondering whether our computing time is going to a genuinely worthwhile cause (i.e., for the benefit of humanity, and not to line someone's pockets). I've been doing some research the past few days and have found (via website language, message boards and emails to project admins) almost all BOINC projects to be not-for-profit. A couple seem to be in a bit of a gray area though, indicating that they are not-for-profit now but either have an actual vehicle for selling the info or plan on possibly licensing project results for profit later). For several other projects, I've been unable to reach admins or find any clarification, and I will likely need help digging for the info. Once I get to a decent stopping point, I was planning to post the info for those who might find it useful in the future when choosing projects. It seems like this kind of info should be front-and-center on all project sites, but as of now it's often difficult to track down.
Interesting question...are you looking for some TAX write-offs?
LOL. No, but I've seen a couple of threads lately with folks (particularly those such as myself relatively new to BOINC) wondering whether our computing time is going to a genuinely worthwhile cause (i.e., for the benefit of humanity, and not to line someone's pockets). I've been doing some research the past few days and have found (via website language, message boards and emails to project admins) almost all BOINC projects to be not-for-profit. A couple seem to be in a bit of a gray area though, indicating that they are not-for-profit now but either have an actual vehicle for selling the info or plan on possibly licensing project results for profit later). For several other projects, I've been unable to reach admins or find any clarification, and I will likely need help digging for the info. Once I get to a decent stopping point, I was planning to post the info for those who might find it useful in the future when choosing projects. It seems like this kind of info should be front-and-center on all project sites, but as of now it's often difficult to track down.
I agree you should be careful. Especially when people are using the results derived from BIONC to apply for patents on their research. I think you should be especially careful in voluteering your time to research in the medical field.
Thank you for bring this to my attention. I would apreciate it if you find out any information you would post it here.
There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. - Aldo Leopold
Einstein@Home, itself is not a not for profit entity. However, it is a project under the dominion and control of University of Wisconsin, a not for profit, tax exempt entity. There are no tax write offs for donating your time to this nobel and worthwhile project. If, however, you were to possibly dedicate a computer that was used exclusively for the project, and you were to receive a written receipt from a tax exempt, Section 501(c)(3) entity for the donation, under U.S. tax law, you may be able to claim a deduction pursuant to Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Einstein@Home, itself is not a not for profit entity. However, it is a project under the dominion and control of University of Wisconsin, a not for profit, tax exempt entity. There are no tax write offs for donating your time to this nobel and worthwhile project. If, however, you were to possibly dedicate a computer that was used exclusively for the project, and you were to receive a written receipt from a tax exempt, Section 501(c)(3) entity for the donation, under U.S. tax law, you may be able to claim a deduction pursuant to Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Next tax question?
Okay, I'm not sure if that last post was in jest or not, but just to clarify: My original post had nothing whatsoever to do with taxes. I don't want, need or expect a tax deduction for donating my PC time. I'm actually kind of laughing while writing this, because the whole idea of getting a deduction for donating time is so cynically backwards. =) I think several BOINC projects are noble ventures, and being able to help out in some tiny way is more than enough reward for me in itself. Anyway, please forget that taxes were ever brought up in this thread, because they are totally off the point.
My question was really centered around whether the time we're donating is truly going toward something that is purely aimed at expanding knowledge and benefiting humanity - rather than, for example (obviously not E@H), developing some AIDS drug that a pharma then marks up 60,000% and sells at an outrageous price for an ungodly amount of profit, thereby making it price-prohibitive to the people who most need it. I'm really asking, what is the motive here? If the information gleaned from these projects is intended largely for profit, then I'm not personally willing to be a sucker for the Man, per se. But if what we are, as a collective group, trying to accomplish is truly for the benefit of mankind, or science or knowledge for its own sake, then great - count me in.
I realize that on its face it seems a bit ridiculous to be asking whether someone plans to profit from finding a pulsar in some remote corner of space, and maybe that's why this thread has failed to yield an answer so far. But it's a cynical world, and you just never know - so I think it's a fair question to ask, does someone stand to profit significantly (monetarily) through this venture? Or is this science purely for the sake of science? I think I know the answer, but since I can't find an answer anywhere online, I thought someone from the project could put my mind at ease and get it all out in the open. That would settle it for me - case closed.
The bottom line is that a profit-oriented BOINC and a humanity-oriented BOINC are two completely different things, and I think any doubt regarding profit motives should be clear to prospective participants right from the start. A simple note (much like Rosetta@home has put on its home page) would be enough to put the whole issue to rest.
So, with all that being said, does anyone have a clear answer? Thanks again.
Einstein@Home, itself is not a not for profit entity. However, it is a project under the dominion and control of University of Wisconsin, a not for profit, tax exempt entity. There are no tax write offs for donating your time to this nobel and worthwhile project. If, however, you were to possibly dedicate a computer that was used exclusively for the project, and you were to receive a written receipt from a tax exempt, Section 501(c)(3) entity for the donation, under U.S. tax law, you may be able to claim a deduction pursuant to Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Next tax question?
Okay, I'm not sure if that last post was in jest or not, but just to clarify: My original post had nothing whatsoever to do with taxes. I don't want, need or expect a tax deduction for donating my PC time. I'm actually kind of laughing while writing this, because the whole idea of getting a deduction for donating time is so cynically backwards. =) I think several BOINC projects are noble ventures, and being able to help out in some tiny way is more than enough reward for me in itself. Anyway, please forget that taxes were ever brought up in this thread, because they are totally off the point.
My question was really centered around whether the time we're donating is truly going toward something that is purely aimed at expanding knowledge and benefiting humanity - rather than, for example (obviously not E@H), developing some AIDS drug that a pharma then marks up 60,000% and sells at an outrageous price for an ungodly amount of profit, thereby making it price-prohibitive to the people who most need it. I'm really asking, what is the motive here? If the information gleaned from these projects is intended largely for profit, then I'm not personally willing to be a sucker for the Man, per se. But if what we are, as a collective group, trying to accomplish is truly for the benefit of mankind, or science or knowledge for its own sake, then great - count me in.
I realize that on its face it seems a bit ridiculous to be asking whether someone plans to profit from finding a pulsar in some remote corner of space, and maybe that's why this thread has failed to yield an answer so far. But it's a cynical world, and you just never know - so I think it's a fair question to ask, does someone stand to profit significantly (monetarily) through this venture? Or is this science purely for the sake of science? I think I know the answer, but since I can't find an answer anywhere online, I thought someone from the project could put my mind at ease and get it all out in the open. That would settle it for me - case closed.
The bottom line is that a profit-oriented BOINC and a humanity-oriented BOINC are two completely different things, and I think any doubt regarding profit motives should be clear to prospective participants right from the start. A simple note (much like Rosetta@home has put on its home page) would be enough to put the whole issue to rest.
So, with all that being said, does anyone have a clear answer? Thanks again.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories (LIGOs), here in the good ol' US of A, are performing basic research, and are supported mainly by grants from the National Science Foundation. We crunchers (our computers) help out with some of the more computationally intensive parts of the effort. And although we're currently crunching LIGO data, the scientific collaboration is an international one. In the future we may be working on data from Brithsh-German GEO 600 in Hanover, Germany, and also from the French-Italian VIRGO in Cascina, Italy.
I think the idea is for everyone to shoulder the cost of the basic research, so everyone gets to find out the results. From those results then come the ideas that are suited to profitable ventures.
With gravity waves, however, the hope is simply to be able to see places and things in the universe during times when light waves simply don't work, because they either get absorbed, scattered, or even completely swallowed up (e.g., in black holes). The same is not true for the gravity waves. The signal from one source is basically added to all the signals from all the other sources, but not otherwise scattered or absorbed. And even in the case with black holes, the detection of gravitational waves promises us a glimpse of what it's like “inside� them, from measurements of the signal that occurs when two of them merge...
So I'm pretty sure that Einstein at Home is non-profit. As far as I know, the moderators of the message boards are volunteers. Many of the people helping with the work at the observatories are students. No gravity waves for sale here... :)
I have to say, my first thought when reading this thread was "how could you make a profit from this project". A few hours later, having thought about it for a while, that same question remains unanswered...
I suppose some shark will try to sell gravity waves to gullible people as this weeks wonder weight-loss/anti-aging/all-known-diseases/insert-options-here solution. However, they don't actually need the research for that, just the discovery to put the term on the front page of the papers for a few days...
Incidently, I have gravity waves available in 200g, 400g and bargain 1kg tins. Currently, they are only available in blue, but from March, other colours will be on the shelves. Send credit card details...
Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.
My question was really centered around whether the time we're donating is truly going toward something that is purely aimed at expanding knowledge and benefiting humanity - rather than, for example (obviously not E@H), developing some AIDS drug that a pharma then marks up 60,000% and sells at an outrageous price for an ungodly amount of profit, thereby making it price-prohibitive to the people who most need it.
...
The bottom line is that a profit-oriented BOINC and a humanity-oriented BOINC are two completely different things,
Crunching for a "for profit" company which will guard/patents the results may not be a bad thing.
A protected potential drug could be licensed to a company which would take on the significant financial burden of researching the compound's safety and efficacy. If the drug candidate is approved, it will still help patients despite a potentially high cost. The new drug will compete with existing drugs and presumable cause prices to drop.
Remember, the patents don't last forever. Patents are a means for distributing and sharing ideas.
My question was really centered around whether the time we're donating is truly going toward something that is purely aimed at expanding knowledge and benefiting humanity - rather than, for example (obviously not E@H), developing some AIDS drug that a pharma then marks up 60,000% and sells at an outrageous price for an ungodly amount of profit, thereby making it price-prohibitive to the people who most need it.
...
The bottom line is that a profit-oriented BOINC and a humanity-oriented BOINC are two completely different things,
Crunching for a "for profit" company which will guard/patents the results may not be a bad thing.
A protected potential drug could be licensed to a company which would take on the significant financial burden of researching the compound's safety and efficacy. If the drug candidate is approved, it will still help patients despite a potentially high cost. The new drug will compete with existing drugs and presumable cause prices to drop.
Remember, the patents don't last forever. Patents are a means for distributing and sharing ideas.
Profits are good; they get things done!
Prices and Profits are determined by what the market will bear. And it is distorted when people are desperate
There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. - Aldo Leopold
Einstein@home not-for-profit?
)
Interesting question...are you looking for some TAX write-offs?
RE: Interesting
)
LOL. No, but I've seen a couple of threads lately with folks (particularly those such as myself relatively new to BOINC) wondering whether our computing time is going to a genuinely worthwhile cause (i.e., for the benefit of humanity, and not to line someone's pockets). I've been doing some research the past few days and have found (via website language, message boards and emails to project admins) almost all BOINC projects to be not-for-profit. A couple seem to be in a bit of a gray area though, indicating that they are not-for-profit now but either have an actual vehicle for selling the info or plan on possibly licensing project results for profit later). For several other projects, I've been unable to reach admins or find any clarification, and I will likely need help digging for the info. Once I get to a decent stopping point, I was planning to post the info for those who might find it useful in the future when choosing projects. It seems like this kind of info should be front-and-center on all project sites, but as of now it's often difficult to track down.
RE: RE: Interesting
)
I agree you should be careful. Especially when people are using the results derived from BIONC to apply for patents on their research. I think you should be especially careful in voluteering your time to research in the medical field.
Thank you for bring this to my attention. I would apreciate it if you find out any information you would post it here.
There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. - Aldo Leopold
Einstein@Home, itself is not
)
Einstein@Home, itself is not a not for profit entity. However, it is a project under the dominion and control of University of Wisconsin, a not for profit, tax exempt entity. There are no tax write offs for donating your time to this nobel and worthwhile project. If, however, you were to possibly dedicate a computer that was used exclusively for the project, and you were to receive a written receipt from a tax exempt, Section 501(c)(3) entity for the donation, under U.S. tax law, you may be able to claim a deduction pursuant to Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Next tax question?
"We must be the change we wish to see."
Mahatma Gandhi
RE: Einstein@Home, itself
)
Okay, I'm not sure if that last post was in jest or not, but just to clarify: My original post had nothing whatsoever to do with taxes. I don't want, need or expect a tax deduction for donating my PC time. I'm actually kind of laughing while writing this, because the whole idea of getting a deduction for donating time is so cynically backwards. =) I think several BOINC projects are noble ventures, and being able to help out in some tiny way is more than enough reward for me in itself. Anyway, please forget that taxes were ever brought up in this thread, because they are totally off the point.
My question was really centered around whether the time we're donating is truly going toward something that is purely aimed at expanding knowledge and benefiting humanity - rather than, for example (obviously not E@H), developing some AIDS drug that a pharma then marks up 60,000% and sells at an outrageous price for an ungodly amount of profit, thereby making it price-prohibitive to the people who most need it. I'm really asking, what is the motive here? If the information gleaned from these projects is intended largely for profit, then I'm not personally willing to be a sucker for the Man, per se. But if what we are, as a collective group, trying to accomplish is truly for the benefit of mankind, or science or knowledge for its own sake, then great - count me in.
I realize that on its face it seems a bit ridiculous to be asking whether someone plans to profit from finding a pulsar in some remote corner of space, and maybe that's why this thread has failed to yield an answer so far. But it's a cynical world, and you just never know - so I think it's a fair question to ask, does someone stand to profit significantly (monetarily) through this venture? Or is this science purely for the sake of science? I think I know the answer, but since I can't find an answer anywhere online, I thought someone from the project could put my mind at ease and get it all out in the open. That would settle it for me - case closed.
The bottom line is that a profit-oriented BOINC and a humanity-oriented BOINC are two completely different things, and I think any doubt regarding profit motives should be clear to prospective participants right from the start. A simple note (much like Rosetta@home has put on its home page) would be enough to put the whole issue to rest.
So, with all that being said, does anyone have a clear answer? Thanks again.
RE: RE: Einstein@Home,
)
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories (LIGOs), here in the good ol' US of A, are performing basic research, and are supported mainly by grants from the National Science Foundation. We crunchers (our computers) help out with some of the more computationally intensive parts of the effort. And although we're currently crunching LIGO data, the scientific collaboration is an international one. In the future we may be working on data from Brithsh-German GEO 600 in Hanover, Germany, and also from the French-Italian VIRGO in Cascina, Italy.
I think the idea is for everyone to shoulder the cost of the basic research, so everyone gets to find out the results. From those results then come the ideas that are suited to profitable ventures.
With gravity waves, however, the hope is simply to be able to see places and things in the universe during times when light waves simply don't work, because they either get absorbed, scattered, or even completely swallowed up (e.g., in black holes). The same is not true for the gravity waves. The signal from one source is basically added to all the signals from all the other sources, but not otherwise scattered or absorbed. And even in the case with black holes, the detection of gravitational waves promises us a glimpse of what it's like “inside� them, from measurements of the signal that occurs when two of them merge...
So I'm pretty sure that Einstein at Home is non-profit. As far as I know, the moderators of the message boards are volunteers. Many of the people helping with the work at the observatories are students. No gravity waves for sale here... :)
I have to say, my first
)
I have to say, my first thought when reading this thread was "how could you make a profit from this project". A few hours later, having thought about it for a while, that same question remains unanswered...
I suppose some shark will try to sell gravity waves to gullible people as this weeks wonder weight-loss/anti-aging/all-known-diseases/insert-options-here solution. However, they don't actually need the research for that, just the discovery to put the term on the front page of the papers for a few days...
Incidently, I have gravity waves available in 200g, 400g and bargain 1kg tins. Currently, they are only available in blue, but from March, other colours will be on the shelves. Send credit card details...
Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.
RE: My question was really
)
Crunching for a "for profit" company which will guard/patents the results may not be a bad thing.
A protected potential drug could be licensed to a company which would take on the significant financial burden of researching the compound's safety and efficacy. If the drug candidate is approved, it will still help patients despite a potentially high cost. The new drug will compete with existing drugs and presumable cause prices to drop.
Remember, the patents don't last forever. Patents are a means for distributing and sharing ideas.
Profits are good; they get things done!
Linux does not have any
)
Linux does not have any patent, except GPL, yet it powers 70% of the top 500 supercomputers (see www.top500.org).
Tullio
RE: RE: My question was
)
Prices and Profits are determined by what the market will bear. And it is distorted when people are desperate
There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. - Aldo Leopold