If you discover an answer to a problem it is helpfull to share the answer, rather than just let people know you found it!

Why is there not a proper installer? I would estimate 90% of potential users will have no idea what they are supposed to do with the downloaded file and the instruction 'chmod +x the executable and run it ' will mean nothing to them.

If anyone can let me know what I need to do I would be very grateful.

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>
> If anyone can let me know what I need to do I would be very grateful.
>

Documentation on BOINC can be difficult to track down, but the answers to most problems can be found on Paul Buck's site - <a href="http://boinc-doc.net/site-boinc/oman-app/app-install.php">this page</a> explains how to get started, including a section for Mac users.

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I took a look at that but got to a point where, having done exactly as instructed I was not getting to the next stage described. The file names mentioned seemed out of date too so I was not sure the advice was still current.

I am now using a piece of software called DeepThought from Greenkeeper Software
http://www.greenkeepersoftware.com/deepThought/ . It avoids having to use the terminal at all which I feel a lot more comfortable not having to do. I have joined climate prediction and einstein projects. They seem to be doing something, though I have no stats yet. I assume as I have not been running them long enough.

IF YOU"RE ON A MAC I'd recommend Deep thought. Especially if you're a bit dumb ;-) though I have a background in Mac support so I dread to think how many people take one look at this project and just give up!

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The file names
&gt; mentioned seemed out of date too so I was not sure the advice was still
&gt; current.

I'm not a Mac user myself so cannot advise you on that, but if his advice is out of date he won't mind your telling him.

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I had a problem similar to makhno's, trying to get Boinc up and running on my Mac running OSX 10.3. I followed ecology0's advice and downloaded DeepThought from Greenkeeper Software. Installation was fast and straightforward, the help file had everything I needed for the few steps required to get up and running. I'm now participating in the Climate Prediction project, and can watch the activity in the Log window on my desktop. Only glitch was that for some reason the help file did not print out correctly on my Epson Stylus Color 777 printer, just gave me a picture of a blank Help reader window. Since I'm up and running with the project now, I can ignore that minor problem. Thank you everyone for your advice, I'm happy to be participating member now.

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