Toward Third Generation Internet Desktop Grids

Projects like SETI@home and Folding@home have popularized Internet Desktop Grid (IDG) computing. The first generation of IDG projects scalled to millions of participatings but was dedicated to a specific application. BOINC, United Device and XtremWeb belong to a second generation of IDG platforms. Their architecture was designed to accommodate many applications but has drawbacks like limited security and a centralized architecture. In this paper we present a new design for Internet Desktop Grid, following a layered approach. The new architecture establishes an overlay network, giving the participating nodes direct communication capabilities. From that basis many key mechanisms of IDG can be implemented using existing cluster tools and extra IDG specificic software. As a proof of concept, we run a bioinformatic application on a third generation IDG, based on a connectivity service (PVC), an existing job scheduler (Condor), a high performance data transport service (Bittorent) and a custom result certification mechanism

Deploying building information modeling software on Desktop as a Service platform

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a novel cloud computing service that provides cloud-based virtual desktops on-demand to end users. The major advantage of DaaS is the capability to quickly deliver expeditious control of a full desktop environment to end users from various device platforms such as Android, iOS, MacOS or Web access from anywhere and at any time. This master thesis is a proof of concept to demonstrate the practicability to deploy the case company's graphics-intensive building information modeling software, Tekla Structures on Amazon Web Services' DaaS solution, named Amazon WorkSpaces. We investigated the whole deployment process of the software to the Amazon WorkSpaces. After clarifying the deployment process, we developed the working prototype consisting of different Amazon Web Services to automate the process. Furthermore, we implemented operational test cases for the prototype and for the Tekla Structures running on Amazon WorkSpaces to determine the feasibility of using this novel cloud service for the production purpose in the case company. In summary, Amazon WorkSpaces is a highly anticipated DaaS solution that can simplify the desktop and software delivery process to the case company's customers. The prototype developed in the thesis can automate the deployment process and launch new Amazon WorkSpaces to a sufficient extent. Moreover, the evaluation shows that the prototype can handle its automation tasks correctly based on the proposed architectural design and the Amazon WorkSpaces with Graphics hardware configuration are capable of operating Tekla Structures impeccably as in physical Windows desktops

A Novel Gesture-based CAPTCHA Design for Smart Devices

CAPTCHAs have been widely used in Web applications to prevent service abuse. With the evolution of computing environment from desktop computing to ubiquitous computing, more and more users are accessing Web applications on smart devices where touch based interactions are dominant. However, the majority of CAPTCHAs are designed for use on computers and laptops which do not reflect the shift of interaction style very well. In this paper, we propose a novel CAPTCHA design to utilise the convenience of touch interface while retaining the needed security. This is achieved through using a hybrid challenge to take advantages of human’s cognitive abilities. A prototype is also developed and found to be more user friendly than conventional CAPTCHAs in the preliminary user acceptance test