Editing SETI@home (section)

===Software===
[[File:BOINC Manager Screenshot.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing|BOINC]] Manager working on the SETI@home project (v 7.6.22)]]
[[Image:Setiathomeversion3point07.JPG|thumb|right|Screenshot of SETI@home Classic Screensaver (v3.07)]]
<!--Generally needs to go much deeper about how the software works internally rather than how it appears to a non-technical participant. Maybe put this in how it section and make this a history section?-->

The SETI@home volunteer computing software ran either as a [[screensaver]] or continuously while a user worked, making use of processor time that would otherwise be unused.

The initial software platform, now referred to as "SETI@home Classic", ran from May 17, 1999, to December 15, 2005. This program was only capable of running SETI@home; it was replaced by [[Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing]] (BOINC), which also allows users to contribute to other volunteer computing projects at the same time as running SETI@home. The BOINC platform also allowed testing for more types of signals.

The discontinuation of the SETI@home Classic platform rendered older [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] computers running the [[classic Mac OS]] (pre December, 2001) unsuitable for participating in the project.

SETI@home was available for the Sony [[PlayStation 3]] console.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dotsch.de/boinc/SETI@home%20applications.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108193313/http://www.dotsch.de/boinc/SETI%40home%20applications.html|archive-date=2008-01-08|title=SETI@home applications}}</ref>

On May 3, 2006, new work units for a new version of SETI@home called "SETI@home Enhanced" started distribution. Since computers had the power for more computationally intensive work than when the project began, this new version was more sensitive by a factor of two concerning Gaussian signals and to some kinds of pulsed signals than the original SETI@home (BOINC) software. This new application had been optimized to the point where it would run faster on some work units than earlier versions. However, some work units (the best work units, scientifically speaking) would take significantly longer.

In addition, some distributions of the SETI@home applications were optimized for a particular type of [[CPU]]. They were referred to as "optimized executables", and had been found to run faster on systems specific for that CPU. {{As of|2007}}, most of these applications were optimized for [[Intel]] processors and their corresponding [[instruction set]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lunatics.kwsn.net |title=Seti@Home optimized science apps and information |publisher=Lunatics.kwsn.net |access-date=17 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424210331/http://lunatics.kwsn.net/ |archive-date=April 24, 2009 }}</ref>

The results of the data processing were normally automatically transmitted when the computer was next connected to the Internet; it could also be instructed to connect to the Internet as needed.