folding@home

never installed it, sounds like a good idea but _H prob hit the nail on the head

they basically send parts of a program to everyone who subscribes, and your pc process's a small part of a large computing problem/model. The theory being that every pc combines to make one HUGE fecking super computer that reduces the time it would usually take to solve a complicated problem. Its ok if you leave you pc on and not used for extended periods.

Its been on the PS3 since its launch

afaik its built into the ATI driver package and it can be unticked / not installed during the updating process.