Man fired for (among other things) installing SETI software on office computers

[TsarBomba]

He was fired for a lot of stuff from his IT job for an Arizona school district, including stealing computers (which were found in his home during the execution of a search warrant), but here is what the article says about his use of the SETI software

• Officials allege he downloaded to every district computer a copy of California-Berkeley program known as "SETI@home." SETI is short for the "Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence."
. . .

Officials also found on computers another SETI-related program from UC-Berkeley, called "BOINC."

District officials said they never agreed to its use, and, according to documents, told police that they had asked Niesluchowski to remove the program. SETI Web statistics show Niesluchowski became a participant in February 2000, a month after he was hired at Higley. Higley officials said the SETI program requires wattage to run, and therefore was an extra burden on power usage. They allege several computer processors would burn out sooner than expected, and the SETI program's operation raised utility costs.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/30/20091130searchforaliens1202.html

 

[Careyp74]

I think SETI is a big waste of time. What is the purpose of these credits that they give you for allowing the use of your computer? Are they worth anything?

 

[Puppycow]

At the office where I work you can't install any software on company computers without company permission. So, yeah, what he did is not appropriate. I think this is more or less common sense.

 

[commandlinegamer]

I think SETI is a big waste of time. What is the purpose of these credits that they give you for allowing the use of your computer? Are they worth anything?

The more credits you have, the further up the line you are to meet and greet the aliens when they arrive.

 

[Careyp74]

The more credits you have, the further up the line you are to meet and greet the aliens when they arrive.

So this guy is going to be the first impression the aliens get of us?

All those credits, countless hours, dedicated electronic resources, wattage, processor burn up, and he doesn't even get a lousy t-shirt out of it?

I only need 2000 points on my credit card for something like that.

 

[Careyp74]

I wonder how many tons of carbon emission would be off set if they stopped the SETI project. There are teams of people setting up SETI farms (large banks of computers) just to get a higher score. Imagine all the electricity being wasted on this project.

 

[Ian Osborne]

I hardly think distributed computing projects are a waste of time, though as Puppycow said, it's inappropriate to install the software on someone else's computer without their permission.

 

[Toke]

I hardly think distributed computing projects are a waste of time, though as Puppycow said, it's inappropriate to install the software on someone else's computer without their permission.

Yes , it does not matter what you feel about SETI, if the owner of the hardware does not agree you do not install it. And since it is not touted as a firing offence by itself it is not that relevant.

 

[figarot]

snip
There are teams of people setting up SETI farms (large banks of computers) just to get a higher score. Imagine all the electricity being wasted on this project.

(slight derail)
These people are absurd. Even if you were to be number one on SETI's list (and aliens happen to land on earth during your lifetime, if ever), who says the aliens are going to care about a list of people who wish to meet them, and then respect their wish, agreeing to go by the list?

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I think SETI is a big waste of time. What is the purpose of these credits that they give you for allowing the use of your computer? Are they worth anything?

What credits?

 

[billw]

The more credits you have, the further up the line you are to meet and greet the aliens when they arrive.

Oh, I thought they were first in line to meat the aliens.

 

[Segnosaur]

Not to say that Niesluchowski was morally or legally right to do what he did, but I do have to question some of their claims:

From the Article...

District officials said they never agreed to its use, and, according to documents, told police that they had asked Niesluchowski to remove the program. SETI Web statistics show Niesluchowski became a participant in February 2000, a month after he was hired at Higley. Higley officials said the SETI program requires wattage to run, and therefore was an extra burden onpower usage.

The computers that were running SETI... would they have been turned off otherwise? Or would they have been running some other program (even a screen saver)?

If the computers would otherwise have been turned off then yes, there is a definite power usage due to SETI. But if the computers would have been sitting idle (waiting for a login, etc.) then there there might not have been any savings. (Note: I know computers can use slightly more power when they are involved in calculations as compared to powered-on but idle, but like I said, if they had a screen saver, the power consumption might not have been that different.)

They allege several computer processors would burn out sooner than expected, and the SETI program's operation raised utility costs.

Well, they 'allege' that... did they actually say that happened? Or is that just speculation on their part?

Yes, having a processor doing extensive computations may use up part of the chip's expected life, but the question is, would they have burned out the CPU before they would have been forced to retire the computer simply because it was "out of date".

 

[fuelair]

Oh, I thought they were first in line to meat the aliens.

Clean out the ears (or eyes)!! It's first to excrete the aliens!!!

 

[Blue Mountain]

Although seti@home is an interesting application, in my opinion folding@home is a much better use of a system's idle time. That program can help real people, today.

 

[Ducky]

um...

Correct me if I am wrong, but running distributed programs seems to be the least of his problems.

Stealing computers gets you 86'ed no matter what else you've done where I work.



ETA:

Something tells me, they fired him for stealing the computers, and threw everything else they didn't like at the guy anyway. No one at his next job interview will care about the seti thing, they'll care he stole computers.

 

[coalesce]

I wonder how many tons of carbon emission would be off set if they stopped the SETI project. There are teams of people setting up SETI farms (large banks of computers) just to get a higher score. Imagine all the electricity being wasted on this project.

About as much electricity that's being wasted on posting ill-informed opinions on Internet forums?

Michael

 

[-Axiom-]

I stopped running SETI on 2 of my computers a few years ago.
I used to run them 24/7, when I stopped I immediately noticed that my electric bill went down by about $80/month.

Both computers were overclocked and I am sure this contributed to the increased power usage but not all of it by any means.

 

[Father Dagon]

I stopped running SETI on 2 of my computers a few years ago.
I used to run them 24/7, when I stopped I immediately noticed that my electric bill went down by about $80/month.

Both computers were overclocked and I am sure this contributed to the increased power usage but not all of it by any means.

But can't you decide how much computer power the program will use? AFAIK, you could run it on a cutsey little mini-ITX computer.

 

[-Axiom-]

Yeah the program will run on just about any computer.
You can (or used to be able to) set it up so that it will run at certain times or devote a certain amount of resources, etc.

That's not what I did though, I had one computer going full bore 24/7 and my main computer running the program full bore only when I wasn't using it.

Power usage will vary from user to user no doubt.
I was just sharing something that I had noticed in my personal experience.

If you leave your computer on 24/7 with a folding program, it will use a noticeable amount of electricity.
The more powerful or inefficient the computer(s) is/are the more juice they are going to consume and the higher your monthly electrical bill will be.
It is just another way of donating resources to a cause that someone deems worthy.
People should know that it isn't exactly free though.

I personally feel that most distributed computing programs are a good thing.
I can also understand why a corporation, school district, or whatever could have an issue with this if done without their knowledge or consent.
I personally feel this would be adequate grounds for dismissal.
An IT professional should know better, even if it is for "a good cause" it is not usually their decision to make.

 

[Bill Thompson]

I would fire him.
Waist of CPU cycles and hard drive life.

 

[Toke]

I would fire him.
Waist of CPU cycles and hard drive life.

If you read through the article you will find that the main cause for firing were incompetence and stealing whole computers, not cpu time.

 

[sadhatter]

He was fired for a lot of stuff from his IT job for an Arizona school district, including stealing computers (which were found in his home during the execution of a search warrant), but here is what the article says about his use of the SETI software



http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/30/20091130searchforaliens1202.html

No offense intended, but......

Computer tech takes computers no one missed and installs programs he shouldn't at work, film at 11.

Most techs i know will do both to a greater or lesser extent. Hell during my high school days our tech used to download Nintendo Roms in a file that us budding techlings could access when authoritative eyes were not watching.

As far as the taking computer parts, well different people have different morals about it, but i think it would be hard to find a tech that hasn't inherited at least a stick of ram that someone thought wasn't working.

 

[Toke]

Computer tech takes computers no one missed and installs programs he shouldn't at work, film at 11.

In my experience being competent at your job gives a bit of leeway.

 

[sadhatter]

In my experience being competent at your job gives a bit of leeway.

You know, i think that is exactly the issue here.

I mean i have never had anyone get mad at me for basically the same things , but then again i don't suck at my job. And the most i have ever had walk over to my house is an old hard drive.

 

[stilicho]

You know, i think that is exactly the issue here.

I mean i have never had anyone get mad at me for basically the same things , but then again i don't suck at my job. And the most i have ever had walk over to my house is an old hard drive.

I'm in accounting, sort of halfway between the accounting information system side, the reporting side, and the IT side. I've often wondered why we can book the disposal of the asset without actually disposing of the asset. Yes, we do find out about the old missing hard drive, eventually, but the auditors aren't looking for stuff that isn't on the balance sheet any longer. It's not producing present or future revenue so what's the harm?

This part caught my accountant's attention though:

"Purchasing decisions are made with no consultation or input from others."

Not his fault the dummy accountants allowed someone in IT to be their relationship manager for IT vendors or put IT purchasing under his authority. I would have fired the Business Idiot Manager too.

Oh, back to topic, SETI = Waste Of Resources.

 

[Toke]

Not his fault the dummy accountants allowed someone in IT to be their relationship manager for IT vendors or put IT purchasing under his authority. I would have fired the Business Idiot Manager too.

I am not sure I follow you here, why should purchases not be decided by someone qualified on the subject?
How is an accountant supposed to review his purchases?

 

[shadron]

I would fire him.
Waist of CPU cycles and hard drive life.

Now, the mention of his girth would be, I believe, an HR problem for you. Besides, would you still feel free to admit to your manager that you only caught the little squirrel running these programs after nine years and a major investigation of some sort?

 

[Donal]

I am not sure I follow you here, why should purchases not be decided by someone qualified on the subject?
How is an accountant supposed to review his purchases?

Ah, the eternal struggle. Every department wants what they say they need. The accounting department is indeed qualified to determine what should be purchased. Its the very reason for their existence.

Speaking as an IT guy, I know giving us carte blanche would be nothing short of disastrous. We don't see the whole of the company finances or what conditions are affecting the company.

 

[CORed]

Not to say that Niesluchowski was morally or legally right to do what he did, but I do have to question some of their claims:

From the Article...

The computers that were running SETI... would they have been turned off otherwise? Or would they have been running some other program (even a screen saver)?

If the computers would otherwise have been turned off then yes, there is a definite power usage due to SETI. But if the computers would have been sitting idle (waiting for a login, etc.) then there there might not have been any savings. (Note: I know computers can use slightly more power when they are involved in calculations as compared to powered-on but idle, but like I said, if they had a screen saver, the power consumption might not have been that different.)


Well, they 'allege' that... did they actually say that happened? Or is that just speculation on their part?

Yes, having a processor doing extensive computations may use up part of the chip's expected life, but the question is, would they have burned out the CPU before they would have been forced to retire the computer simply because it was "out of date".

While I think it was wrong to install the software on computers he didn't own without permission, I too have to question the allegations of increased power consumption and premature wear. While I realize that a single instance is weak evidence, I have to point out that I have a six and a half year old Dell that has been running SETI and other distributed computing software when idle almost continuously and still going strong. I think it's highly doubtful that running this software would cause computers to fail before they are replaced due to obsolescence. Unless the computers would have been turned off otherwise, the increased power consumption is negligible. It is common practice to leave computers on all the time, especially in a working environment, so that backups, virus scans, software updates, etc. can be run during non-working hours.

 

[Skeptical Greg]

...the increased power consumption is negligible.

Only if it is ..

Most of these programs can be adjusted to utilize a percentage of the CPU, and if it is at 100% on modern CPU's it can be significant..

I have a quad core CPU that consumes over 100 watts when running 100% .. It can warm a small room ..

If these computers were set to run SETI when they would otherwise be idle, they probably ran at 100% and used much more power than when they were engaged in day to day web surfing and word-processing tasks..

I would think many CPU's running SETI or other distributed computing programs, in a university environment would generate a lot of heat ( extra cooling cost ) as well as consuming a lot of energy themselves .. It's really not trivial ..

 

[Almo]

I was running SETI at a job once. They wanted me to stop. But they went about it the wrong way. They spent 20 minutes trying to convince me it was silly to run it. At the end, they said, "But it's a security risk." Then I said, "Oh, hadn't thought of that. Sure, I'll stop running it right now." If they had used their real reason in the first place, it would have saved them time.

I now run folding at home some nights on my PS3 and BOINC (Collatz Conjecture) on my Mac.