Other distributed-computing companies are currently testing their software by donating their services to researchers fighting diseases such as cancer and influenza. The amount of computing power available through the Web is immense. More than 53 million U.S. households are expected to be online this year, according to Jupiter Research. But they must be convinced that the service is safe. Experts say most distributed-computing software won't make PCs run slowly, wear them out or snoop into files.
New technology is extremely powerful and alluring . . .
We're not going to go off and design nuclear weapons,'' he says. United Devices monitors the work being processed. DataSynapse, Popular Power and Parabon plan to woo members the old fashioned way with money. United Devices' members are enrolled in a sweepstakes for travel vouchers, goods or cash. Entropia hopes to persuade people to pledge extra computing time to charitable causes such as AIDS research.