Why should I let Plura use my computer?
For some people, the concept of having Plura use their computer for distributed applications can sound a bit suspicious or scary. We realize this and understand the concern. However, we feel there are several reasons it makes sense to let Plura use your computer.
Plura is lightweight and secure
Plura applets use minimal resources on most computers. Our system is secure and each application's integrity is verified before it can use Plura.
If you'd like to see Plura first-hand, just click here. We think you'll see how harmless Plura really is.
Plura allows affiliates to bring more value to their visitors
Plura pays its affiliates money for embedding our technology on our their websites. The revenue our affiliates generate from us lets them bring extra value to their visitors that wasn't possible before. Some affiliates remove visible advertising from the site. Others may lower their subscription prices for premium content while some affiliates may make that content completely free.
We always encourage our affiliates to pass on the value Plura brings to their visitors. In this way, everyone benefits. On top of this, we typically advise affiliates to implement some sort of "opt-in" functionality for Plura, so that individuals don't have to worry about Plura if they don't want the technology running on their computer.
Plura is used for many purposes that indirectly benefit individuals
High-performance computing applications have always provided enormous benefit to people. Examples of such applications include Stanford's Folding@home project, which helps in understanding complex diseases, and the Malaria Control Project, which helps in tracking the spread of malaria. Similar applications can be run on Plura, and we hope that our large computing power makes will one day make these projects incredibly effective and more immediately beneficial to the world. By allowing Plura to run on your computer, you can help us achieve this goal.
The infrastructure of Plura itself provides an indirect benefit to people everywhere as well. Most computers today waste power while they are active or idle. By connecting to computers over the Internet, Plura utilizes that excess power, thereby turning waste into something useful. This reuse of energy is starkly different than the energy footprint produced by traditional data centers. As more applications make the switch from these data centers to Plura, that footprint is reduced.
Finally, because Plura is an enabling technology, it allows other people to create new sites and web applications that previously could not be financially supported. Plura does this in two ways. First, it offers a completely new revenue stream to new and existing sites. Secondly, it allows the creation of computationally-intensive applications that are very cheap to run and operate. Already, companies are taking advantage of these two benefits of Plura to create new technologies that benefit us all.