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Much the way the SETI@home project taps volunteers’ computers for processing help in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, so Oregon-based CPUsage offers crowdsourced computing power as well. This time, however, the CPU resources are put to work for business purposes, with solutions optimized for science, rendering and high-throughput computing. CPUsage’s CirrusGrid is a distributed computing solution that harnesses the processing power of hundreds or even thousands of computers during times when they would otherwise lie idle. Individual and business partners can sign up with CPUsage to contribute their computers’ idle time by installing dedicated software; CPUsage promises it will never interrupt their own use of their computers. In exchange, computer owners are rewarded with cash or with points, which are redeemable in CPUsage’s online store for electronic and home goods, gift cards for major restaurants and retailers, video game points like Wii Credits and Xbox Live points, and more. CPUsage’s organizational customers, meanwhile, get a fast, secure, low-cost and highly scalable solution to their high-throughput and high-performance computing needs. Besides making smart use of the computing power that already exists but often goes unused, CPUsage’s service also gives sellsumers and businesses an easy way to monetize a resource they already own. One to emulate on a niche or localized basis? Spotted by: Matthew Cua