Nowadays, Grids are very heavyweight and complex. They need huge administrative capacities, just to keep the grid infrastructure running. If only a small job should be submitted, this administrative overhead is not justified. The initial metaphor for the computational grid being as easy as a power grid is still unfulfilled. To facilitate a public usage of Grids, we simplify Grid computing using peer-to-peer computing and instant messaging. Instant messaging is used by the vast majority of computer users. We assume that using instant messaging techniques for the administrative part of setting up the Grid will open Grid capabilities to the public and thereby enable a Desktop Grid. We call the here applied paradigm Friend-to-Friend Computing (F2F Computing). F2F Computing offers the opportunity to spontaneously setup Desktop Grids with friends or colleagues via instant messaging. There is no server installation or maintenance needed. We describe the F2F Computing framework, its implementation, future steps, and present the first results of running applications on top of it.
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