P2P Hard Disk System Warns of Tsunamis

An anonymous reader writes to mention an article on NetworkWorld about a free software application that detects Tsunamis by listening for vibrations in the hard drives of computers. The peer-to-peer network uses the technology that allows HDDs to keep read-write heads on track, and passes the information to a network for analysis. From the article: "If an earthquake that could lead to a tsunami is detected, the supernodes inform the other nodes. Computers running the client software and connected to the peer-to-peer network can then warn of such events. The software is able to provide such warnings because the seismic waves produced by earthquakes travel at about 5,000 kilometers per hour, while tsunamis move much slower at 500 to 1,000 kilometers per hour"

So it detects people playing Quake?

[Anonymous Coward]

Whoops, misread TFA!

April 1st already?

[QuantumFTL]

This should end the need for wasting countless millions on professional seismic research stations. Once again, free software triumphs.

Sooo....

[Overzeetop]

If everybody in China jumped off of a 1 foot step ladder at the same time, would there be a sudden drop in P2P data that might indicate the event?

(of course I didn't RTFA, I'm just trying to avoid work this afternoon by wandering around making incoherent posts)

Heheeheeee

[cheftw]

CAn any of you honestly say you would kick a few hard drives just to pis the thing off?

Re:I like it in principal

[eln]

Why don't you just tell him the truth? You have a time machine. You went into the future to after this story was posted, copied the text of the first post (which was from a real subscriber!), then went back in time until right before the story went live, and pasted the comment and claimed it as your own. Unfortunately, in doing so you altered the timeline, thereby caused an irreparable tear in the space-time continuum, resulting in the imminent destruction of the universe.

Come on man, it's not like we haven't all played little tricks like that and accidentally destroyed the entire universe. Just own up to it.

What a wicked idea

[thatguywhoiam]

Now we need a distributed P2P app that runs over WiFi - so we can detect, graph, and measure the relative drunkeness of the MacBook-using population, using their tilt sensors.

In the name of Science, of course.

Error Message?

[Gryffin]

*** DISK ERROR ***

[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : _

Strangely enough...

[Evro]

There's an earthquake every 5 minutes in Queens under the 7 train!

Re:Error Message?

[lpangelrob]

[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : F
...
[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : F
...
[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : F!
...
[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : F dammit!
...
[A]bort, [R]etry, [F]lee to high ground? : F!!! F!!!
...
<end transmission>

Re:I like it in principal

[Anonymous Coward]

You like it in principal?

What the hell is going on at your school?

False Alarms

[greenegg77]

Do you know how many false alarms my wife will set off when she's stomping through the house to yell at me? (you never said anything about not letting the kids play with Mr. Chainsaw, dear)
Or how many my coworker will generate as he shakes the freaking floor when he walks around?
Ooh jEeZ. HeRe hE cOmEs aGaIn

Re:Needs to give feedback

[Joseph Vigneau]

it'd be really nice if it gave some sort of feedback to the user to show it was actually operating

No problem- keep an eye on your bank account and credit card statements.

Oh great...

[GweeDo]

This will work well until a few idiots playing with "MacSaber" make me have to flee town due to the forth coming Tsunami!!

Re:I like it in principal

[LiquidCoooled]

No, it will cause it.

good vibrations

[Anonymous Coward]

let's coordinate a global jack-off date/time and watch the alerts go out.

Re:April 1st already?

[ultranova]

This should end the need for wasting countless millions on professional seismic research stations. Once again, free software triumphs.

Actually, hard drives capable of stuffing a billion bits per square centimeter and needing the ability to position the head above each one separately triumph. And you know what drives hard drive development ? The need for inexpensive record space of course. And what causes this need ? Pirated movies, games and music.

In other words, piracy saves lives.

Uh oh, NOW you've gone and done it!

[Anonymous Coward]

isn't this the sort of thing that professionals should be responsible for?

 
By suggesting that free software isn't "professional" software (and that the creators/suppliers of free software, since they don't get paid for it are amateur rather than professional) you've invited a firestorm from the FOSS weenies; they'll be along any minute to roll a nine-sided die and lay a +4 smack down on you quicker than you can say "flux capacitor"!!

Re:April 1st already?

[Skevin]

I thought it was a joke, but for a different reason.

I thought the title read "PSP Hard Disk System Warns of Tsunamis". Boy, Sony is sure pushing the envelope on hyping the Playstation Portable! Imagine how many more disasters the PS3 could avert! Too bad they're only making a million in their first run.

Solomon

Re:Sooo....

[LordEd]

No, but that would be a really big step ladder to hold the entire population of china.

Re:Interesting

[cachorro]

The only thing I don't see is talking about knowing where the machines are in the real world...

Seems to me they could run the algorithm backwards a couple of times using a known seismic event along with a few machines in a known location and find where you are.

Oh no... something else to be paranoid about.

Re:Interesting

[ssyladin]

The only thing I don't see is talking about knowing where the machines are in the real world

Hell, if the porn sites know where I live, I'm sure this guy can figure it out too.

Re:Sooo....

[cmeans]

It's OK, they've got a Great Wall to lean it up against.

Re:Interesting

[UltimApe]

Hooray for triangulation!

Re:I like it in principal

[indifferent children]

CPU temps and fan speeds ... could provide ... surface meteorological data

Well folks, it's either 180 degrees Farenheit in Boston, or one of our ABC(TM) Action-News(TM) WeatherSpotters(TM) is crunching a lot of data on his laptop right now.