Molly Ayala
The Electric Sheep screensaver is a free, open-source, distributed screen-saver that harnesses idle computers into a render farm to create and animate artificial life forms, known as 'sheep'. The name 'Electric Sheep' is inspired by Philip K. Dick's novel, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' and the screensaver has been designed as a tribute to the book. The screensaver has been downloaded by thousands of people and has a big cult following.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Electric Sheep |
| Type | Screensaver |
| Inspired by | The novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick |
| Created by | Scott Draves |
| Release date | 1999 |
| Latest version | 2.7.x series |
| Features | New logo, higher-quality sheep |
| Platforms | Desktop, laptop, Android, iPad, Apple TV |
| Cost | Free and open-source |
| Requirements | High-bandwidth, always-on internet connection |
| Voting | Users can vote on their favorite animations using the keyboard or spacebar |
| Purpose | To create a collective "android dream" by blending man and machine with code to generate artificial lifeforms |
| Number of users | Approximately 500,000 active monthly users |
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What You'll Learn
Electric Sheep is a free, open-source screensaver
The Electric Sheep screensaver is run by thousands of people worldwide, forming a distributed network of computers that collaborate to bring these digital dreams to life. Each computer contributes its processing cycles to render the animations, and the finished "sheep" are distributed back to the network as screensavers. This process is seamless for casual users, who can simply install the screensaver and enjoy the ever-changing, luminous, and twisting shapes on their screens.
However, users can also actively participate in the creation process. They can design and submit their own "sheep" to the gene pool, influencing the evolution of the animations. This can be done by creating and submitting parameters to the Electric Sheep mailing list or by tweaking existing parameters. Additionally, "sheep" can be mated together manually by server administrators or automatically by the server, further diversifying the population of digital life forms.
The Electric Sheep project is more than just a screensaver; it's a collaborative artwork that blends technology and creativity. It captures the imagination of users, offering a unique and ever-changing visual experience. The concept has gained a cult following, with users voting on their favourite "sheep" and influencing the evolution of the digital flock. Electric Sheep continues to evolve, with new versions offering higher quality animations and features, ensuring that the dream remains vibrant and captivating.
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It is a collaborative artwork run by thousands of people
The Electric Sheep screensaver is a collaborative artwork run by thousands of people worldwide. It is a free, open-source screensaver that users can install on their computers. When a computer goes to 'sleep', the Electric Sheep screensaver turns on, and the computer connects with other devices over the internet to collectively create morphing abstract animations known as 'sheep'. The name 'Electric Sheep' is inspired by Philip K. Dick's novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and the screensaver aims to bring to life the collective dream of sleeping computers worldwide.
The project is a form of volunteer computing, where idle computers are harnessed to create a render farm that animates and evolves artificial life forms. These life forms are the abstract animations or 'sheep' that morph and move on the screens of thousands of computers. Each 'sheep' has a genetic code, and users can vote on the animations they like or dislike. This voting process influences the evolution of the 'sheep', with popular animations living longer and passing on their characteristics to the next generation.
Anyone can participate in the creation and evolution of these 'sheep' by joining the electricsheep mailing list. Members can design and submit their own 'sheep' to the gene pool or download and tweak existing 'sheep' parameters. Additionally, 'sheep' can be mated together by the server or manually by server admins, nicknamed 'shepherds'. The finished 'sheep' animations are distributed to the network of computers running the screensaver.
The Electric Sheep project is more than just a screensaver; it is a form of crowdsourced, evolving art. It blends man and machine, using code to create unique artificial life forms that evolve based on user preferences. The result is a collective 'android dream', a tribute to the novel that inspired its name. With a large and dedicated user base, Electric Sheep has become a cult phenomenon, captivating users with its imaginative blend of art and technology.
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![By Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (2012-02-16) [Paperback]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51s+NVQ6atL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
The animations are known as 'sheep'
The Electric Sheep screensaver is a collaborative abstract artwork run by thousands of people worldwide. It is a free and open-source service, with a premium HD version also available. The animations created by the screensaver are known as "sheep".
Each "sheep" is a random, ever-changing, and ever-moving animation that is created using a genetic algorithm. The "sheep" reproduce and die, and users can vote on the current "sheep" using their keyboard or spacebar. The popular "sheep" live longer and pass on more of their characteristics to the next generation.
The "sheep" are created in a few ways. They can be designed and submitted by members of the Electric Sheep mailing list, or members can download existing "sheep" parameters and tweak them. "Sheep" can also be mated together automatically by the server or manually by server admins (nicknamed shepherds).
The Electric Sheep screensaver harnesses idle computers into a render farm, using the processing power to animate and evolve artificial life forms. The individual frames of the "sheep" animations are rendered using the spare processing power of the networked computers running the screensaver application. The finished "sheep" are distributed back to the network in the form of .avi files.
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The sheep are created using a genetic algorithm
The Electric Sheep screensaver is a collaborative artwork run by thousands of people worldwide. It was created and released as free software by Scott Draves in 1999 and continues to be developed by him and a team of engineers. The screensaver is a random abstract animation created using a genetic algorithm. Each animation is known as a "sheep", which reproduces and dies. The sheep are created in a few ways: they can be created and submitted by members of the Electric Sheep mailing list, members can download the parameters of existing sheep and tweak them, or sheep can be mated together automatically by the server or manually by server admins (nicknamed shepherds).
The name Electric Sheep comes from Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. It is a reference to the collective dream of sleeping computers from all over the Internet. The screensaver is a distributed one that harnesses idle computers into a render farm to animate and evolve artificial life forms. Each clip of animation has a genetic code, and the collective voting of users determines its evolutionary fitness.
The Electric Sheep is a free and open-source service. It is recommended only if you have a high-bandwidth, always-on connection to the Internet such as DSL or cable modem. It should download and display within a minute, but due to server load, it may take a long time. When it's running, press F1 for help. You can design your own sheep and submit them to the gene pool. The result is a collective "android dream", blending man and machine with code to create an artificial life form.
The individual frames of which these movies consist are rendered using 'spare' processing cycles from idle computers on the distributed network of those running the screensaver application, and finished sheep (in the form of .avi files) are distributed to the network. The computer-generated sheep parameters and movies are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (CC-BY-NC) license; user-generated sheep parameters.
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The screensaver is inspired by the novel, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'
The Electric Sheep screensaver is inspired by the novel, *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* by Philip K. Dick. It is a free, open-source, distributed screen saver that harnesses idle computers into a render farm, with the purpose of animating and evolving artificial life forms. These artificial life forms are referred to as "sheep", and they are created using a genetic algorithm. Each "sheep" is a unique, morphing, abstract animation that is designed to look like luminous, twisting, elastic shapes.
The screensaver is a collaborative project, with thousands of people all over the world running it on their computers. It is a volunteer computing project, where users can simply install the software as a screensaver and enjoy the animations, or they can choose to become more involved by manually creating and submitting their own "sheep" designs to the gene pool. The "sheep" are then mated together, either automatically by the server or manually by server admins (nicknamed "shepherds"), and the resulting animations are distributed to the networked computers as screensavers.
The Electric Sheep screensaver is meant to represent the collective dream of sleeping computers from all over the internet, bringing to life the dream of the androids from the novel. It is a tribute to the science fiction book and has gained a big cult following. The screensaver has been described as beautiful and imaginative, with users able to vote for their favourite "sheep" using their keyboard spacebar, influencing the evolution of the designs.
The screensaver was created and released as free software by Scott Draves in 1999 and continues to be developed by him and a team of engineers. It is recommended for users with a high-bandwidth, always-on connection to the internet, and it is available for desktop and laptop computers, as well as Android devices, iPad, and Apple TV. The Electric Sheep screensaver has stood the test of time, with many users reporting having used it for over a decade.
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Frequently asked questions
The "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" screensaver is a free, open-source, distributed screen-saver that harnesses idle computers into a render farm to create and animate artificial life forms known as "sheep".
The screensaver is a random abstract animation created using a genetic algorithm. Each animation is known as a "sheep", which reproduces and dies. Users can vote on the sheep they like, and this voting is used for the genetic algorithm which generates new sheep.
The sheep are ever-changing and ever-moving luminous, twisting, elastic shapes, abstract tangles and loops of glowing filaments.
The name "Electric Sheep" comes from Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". It was created and released as free software by Scott Draves in 1999 and continues to be developed by him and a team of engineers.
The "Electric Sheep" screensaver is available for desktop and laptop computers. It is recommended only if you have a high-bandwidth, always-on connection to the internet such as DSL or cable modem. You can download it from electricsheep.org.
