Posted December 11, 2006
Greetings and Happy Holidays!
First of all, on behalf of United Devices I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your steadfast support of this unique, invaluable resource. For the last several years, Grid.org has played an important role in some tremendously important research and it is the largest and most respected volunteer-based grid of its kind in existence. None of that would be possible without all of you!
We have some exciting information to convey concerning Grid.org status and plans – but before I do that, please allow me to express our sincere regret for the frustrations that some of you have been experiencing lately. During the past year we have had technical difficulties with Grid.org that have contributed to your frustrations, but we have changes planned that should significantly improve your experience.
These are some of the plan highlights we have for Grid.org in the coming months:
We will migrate the Grid.org software to the latest version. Planning for this is well underway, and the migration will begin in the first quarter of 2007! In the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2007, we’ll begin a Beta Program (see below) in preparation for the final upgrade to the new release. We will perform the entire upgrade to the new version by end of Q2 of 2007.
The following new features will be introduced with the latest version.
- Support for multi-processor and multi-core machines
- Support for cache ahead so that users can request multiple work units
- Enhanced non-intrusiveness options
- The possibility for members to generate their own tools, GUIs, and reports using a new Grid MP Agent API
- New look and feel for the Grid MP Agent GUI
- Improved support for Microsoft XP operating system – enhances support for multi-users and allows fast user switching
- Support for Microsoft Vista operating system (both 32-bit and 64-bit)
- Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
- Overall performance improvements to the grid
- General defect repairs
Right now our outreach committee is actively working on reviewing and selecting new projects to run on the updated Grid.org software. The initial conversations we’ve been having look very promising and we should be ready to make an announcement about the selected project by end of Q1 2007, to launch in the May-June time frame. Your active co-operation in the Beta program will be key toward expediting this process!
As mentioned above, we will implement a Beta program and ask for volunteers to help with Beta testing of the new system. This program will initially be implemented with a target of 100 volunteers as the first phase of the upgrade to the new version of Grid.org. The Beta program will run for several weeks and is intended to identify any deployment issues that might be lingering in the new version so we can resolve them prior to the upgrade of the entire member community. We will provide you with additional details and initiate a call for Beta volunteers shortly before we begin the program.
Thank you once again for your continued support of Grid.org. We’re looking forward to keeping you informed on status of the initiatives outlined above – visit this site regularly for more information.
Sincerely,
Mary Bass
Directory of Marketing
United Devices, Inc.
Austin, Texas 78759
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