Waiting for E.T. to Phone

The way I see it, there are only two things you really need in life: a way to improve our lot on Earth, and a cool computer screensaver. Now I've got both, thanks to SETI@home, a nifty piece of software that searches for intelligent life in the universe whenever I'm away from my desk. The program, available for free at setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu is the brainchild of SETI scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who have been scanning the skies for E.T.'s radio signals for more than 20 years.

Now they need our help. The universe, after all, is...