FormulaBoinc Forum

Hi all

There is a NEW BOINC project that launched recently called: Eternity II

You can access their website here:

https://boinc.eternityathome.org/eternity/

(Anyone can join the project now - their invitation code is: eternityathome )

I have been in discussions with their admin about "stress testing" their project and the infrastructure that they have built to provide work units for volunteers to crunch.

And they would like the Formula BOINC membership to assist them.

To do this best, I am considering adding their project as a suitable Sprint project candidate, so that the project can be prepared for the onslaught of downloads that FB members might impose on them.

Of course there is the possibility that their server might be overloaded...but if their admin team is on hand then they can hopefully monitor it over the chosen weekend and hopefully any downtime will be minimised.

So, I'm hoping that members can provide me with some feedback, as to whether they would like to take part in this?

A poll is now open for the next 5 days to gauge YOUR opinions.

And if a YES vote is the result, then I'll add the project to the "random Sprint project generator" and in co-ordination with the project, we can announce this project on a suitable Sprint weekend, when it gets chosen.

regards
Tim

Hi Tim,

we all will be happy to have more variety of projects for Sprints. Can it be added to Marathons as well?

Tamagoch wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2026 5:41 pm Hi Tim,

we all will be happy to have more variety of projects for Sprints. Can it be added to Marathons as well?

Hiya

Yes, if the project is viable (by offering tasks on a reliable basis AND FB members do not overload the server) then it would be possible to include in the Marathon as well.

And new BOINC projects ARE needed as too many have closed down or have limited tasks available.

regards
Tim

Hi al

The Eternity II project has the following "results page" that shows some project stats that might interest some FB members

https://eternity-control-plane-prod.ete ... /dashboard

And some FB members (click on the "By user" tab) are already generating some good results, so well done for joining the project

regards
Tim

We need another project, too many projects have ended over the years.
Also I noticed they said something about a 2 million dollar prize if the puzzle is solved, still valid and who gets that.
I would love to win that, then maybe I could afford some DDR5 and a new RTX50xx series card!
I'll run it a little bit and see how it goes.

bill1024 wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2026 4:50 am We need another project, too many projects have ended over the years.
Also I noticed they said something about a 2 million dollar prize if the puzzle is solved, still valid and who gets that.
I would love to win that, then maybe I could afford some DDR5 and a new RTX50xx series card!
I'll run it a little bit and see how it goes.

Hiya

Yes, we DO need new projects and preferable ones that "stay the course" and that they serve humanity in better ways - as too many projects have questionable aims to achieve.

re: $2 million prize?
That's interesting - I'd not seen any mention of there being a "monetary reward" on offer.

A quick search on the Eternity II community boards shows this:

https://boinc.eternityathome.org/eterni ... .php?id=32

The puzzle was not generated at random and then offered up in the hope that it
happened to be solvable. Monckton recruited Alex Selby and Oliver Riordan - the
two people who had solved the original Eternity - to design Eternity II,
starting in 2005. A commercial puzzle carrying a two-million-dollar prize is
built the other way round: you start from a valid board and derive the pieces
from it. The creators know a solution. They have simply never published it,
and the contest closed on 31 December 2010 with the prize unclaimed.

So, I would doubt it is still claimable?

regards
Tim

Hi all

For the observant members, please note that Eternity II has now been added to the Marathon and once the stats database connects to their website, then the various Team and Member League tables will start to show the FB points awarded, based on the credits earned since the project was added, which was last night

https://www.formulaboinc.org/marathons. ... project=32

This project now qualifies to be a Sprint project and so it will be added to the "random selection" process in due course.

regards
Tim

UBT - Timbo wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2026 9:11 am

bill1024 wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2026 4:50 am We need another project, too many projects have ended over the years.
Also I noticed they said something about a 2 million dollar prize if the puzzle is solved, still valid and who gets that.
I would love to win that, then maybe I could afford some DDR5 and a new RTX50xx series card!
I'll run it a little bit and see how it goes.

Hiya

Yes, we DO need new projects and preferable ones that "stay the course" and that they serve humanity in better ways - as too many projects have questionable aims to achieve.

re: $2 million prize?
That's interesting - I'd not seen any mention of there being a "monetary reward" on offer.

A quick search on the Eternity II community boards shows this:

https://boinc.eternityathome.org/eterni ... .php?id=32

The puzzle was not generated at random and then offered up in the hope that it
happened to be solvable. Monckton recruited Alex Selby and Oliver Riordan - the
two people who had solved the original Eternity - to design Eternity II,
starting in 2005. A commercial puzzle carrying a two-million-dollar prize is
built the other way round: you start from a valid board and derive the pieces
from it. The creators know a solution. They have simply never published it,
and the contest closed on 31 December 2010 with the prize unclaimed.

So, I would doubt it is still claimable?

regards
Tim

I really don't know, but I sometimes wonder in this day and age what really is going on. Would be nice I could use the money. I was just curious if it was still available and if the project would get the cash if one of use solved it.
Would be really nice if there were more medical projects starting up. Solving puzzles can be fun and all but electricity is getting expensive.
I would rather put it towards helping humanity get better.

bill1024 wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2026 10:07 pm I really don't know, but I sometimes wonder in this day and age what really is going on. Would be nice I could use the money. I was just curious if it was still available and if the project would get the cash if one of use solved it.

I don't know quite where I stand on the idea of using money to induce people to support an idea or a business or even a BOINC project...as it could easily turn into a "cesspit" where people just jump in, and do whatever it takes to get the money - rather than just supporting the concept on what it's aims and motives are.

bill1024 wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2026 10:07 pm Would be really nice if there were more medical projects starting up. Solving puzzles can be fun and all but electricity is getting expensive.
I would rather put it towards helping humanity get better.

Totally concur.

In the early days, I loved supporting the likes of SETI@home, LHC, and MilkyWay which satisfied my "astro-science" interest. And then there was/is Rosetta and WCG (when it was supported by IBM) which had medical research at it's core.

And then there were plenty of mathematical projects (which is understandable, as computers are very good "computing numbers" hahahaha). But there were a few projects that tried to solve specific tasks but which in overall terms were pointless...like "NQueens" or the "Beer Bottles" project?

But we all got sucked into them, to boost our overall BOINC credits totals...and 25+ years on from when BOINC started up, the world is a very different place. Energy costs a lot more, the advancement of AI as the "new kid on the block" and the lack of new projects has rather affected how many volunteers are still interested in donating their compute power to relatively worthless projects. And home computing itself has changed a lot - with many people now using laptops, instead of a desktop machine - which rather limits volunteers to low power projects (that do not cause your laptop to overheat).

And we're all getting older !

I found an interesting article written by David Anderson (who created SETI@home and then BOINC) which I think people should read - it is most enlightening !

https://continuum-hypothesis.com/boinc_history.php

regards
Tim