Idle Computing Resources as Micro-Currencies - Bartering CPU Time for Online Content

In this paper we present a brokerage system for using idle computing resources as a micro-currency for Web services hardly quantifyable with real currencies as downloading stock charts or accessing a search engine. The Locust (LOw cost Computing Utilizing Skimmed idle Time) system acts as a Broker for micro-payable services by demanding a part of the user’s idle computing resources in exchange for accessing the service. We introduce the price/market model of Locust enabling the collection, aggregation and trade of resource surpluses or lacks between coupled sub-markets and eventually leading to an electronic resource market focused on the mainstream Internet user as supplier of idle computing time. We further describe Locust’s inter-operable, secure and ubiquitious Web and Java based infrastructure to make micro-paying with CPU cycles for online content literally as easy as surfing a Web page with embedded banner advertisements.