Well done Deltik and Dutch!
I still don't have a great feeling about CE... When I read about their users, it seems that a lot of them run the software without really being aware of it. As CE claims, all of the users have actively agreed to running the software, but to me, there is a difference between clicking a checkbox once and understanding that the PC is going to run energy hungry tasks (costs) and therefore maybe shorten its lifetime (costs).
Charity Engine explained that the vast majority of their users do not care about what happens on Charity Engine after the software is installed.
This sounds to me like they think "oh, I can contribute to science for free", tick the box and forget about it immediately afterwards. The fact that it is not really for free and someone is profiting on their expenses bothers me.
I have to think about my parents and what they would do in such a situation. They are both pretty illiterate when it comes to computers. I could imagine them downloading CE because they think they do something good. What happens afterwards is that their laptop runs hot, is noisy, runs slower and fails to do the work they need it to do. This results in them calling me and me sitting there, thinking that this old machine is just too old and might need replacement (I would never think about some software running tasks in the background...). Finally, they buy a new laptop to replace the old one that would have just worked fine and I inherit less money.
Seriously... This can cost nerves and money for people who have done nothing wrong and can't really help themselves. That to me is not really fair and while it might not be illegal, is at least immoral.
If I am completely wrong and CE causes no difference in performance at all, correct me please! But I don't think I am...
There is "consent" and then there is "informed consent".
Charity Engine may get the former but they don't get the latter. This is why I have stated that I think that their distribution methods are unethical.
I totally agree!
Particularly when BOINC offers (or soon will offer with David Anderson's TBD project funded by the NSF) a simple alternative that will pay that user directly (should Gridcoin develop a similar simplified UX GUI).
Install Ubuntu instead of crappy M$ Windows ;) No slowing down, no bundled software, no Charity Engines...
Or windows 10. Which apparently reports as 8.1? That's the first time I hear about that and we develop windows sw.
It does sound familiar to me. Not a Windows dev though.
Seems like we typed out similar ideas at the same time! ;)