<s>
Electric	B-Algorithm
Sheep	I-Algorithm
is	O
a	O
volunteer	B-Operating_System
computing	I-Operating_System
project	O
for	O
animating	O
and	O
evolving	O
fractal	B-Algorithm
flames	I-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
are	O
in	O
turn	O
distributed	O
to	O
the	O
networked	O
computers	O
,	O
which	O
display	O
them	O
as	O
a	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
process	O
is	O
transparent	O
to	O
the	O
casual	O
user	O
,	O
who	O
can	O
simply	O
install	O
the	O
software	O
as	O
a	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alternatively	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
may	O
become	O
more	O
involved	O
with	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
manually	O
creating	O
a	O
fractal	B-Algorithm
flame	I-Algorithm
file	O
for	O
upload	O
to	O
the	O
server	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
rendered	O
into	O
a	O
video	O
file	O
of	O
the	O
animated	O
fractal	B-Algorithm
flame	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
entertains	O
the	O
user	O
,	O
their	O
computer	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
for	O
rendering	O
commercial	O
projects	O
,	O
sales	O
of	O
which	O
keep	O
the	O
servers	O
and	O
developers	O
running	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
"	O
Electric	B-Algorithm
Sheep	I-Algorithm
"	O
is	O
taken	O
from	O
the	O
title	O
of	O
Philip	O
K	O
.	O
Dick	O
's	O
novel	O
Do	O
Androids	B-Application
Dream	O
of	O
Electric	B-Algorithm
Sheep	I-Algorithm
?	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
title	O
mirrors	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
:	O
computers	O
(	O
androids	B-Application
)	O
who	O
have	O
started	O
running	O
the	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
begin	O
rendering	O
(	O
dreaming	O
)	O
the	O
fractal	O
movies	O
(	O
sheep	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parameters	O
that	O
generate	O
these	O
movies	O
(	O
sheep	O
)	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
in	O
a	O
few	O
ways	O
:	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
and	O
submitted	O
by	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
electricsheep	B-Algorithm
mailing	O
list	O
,	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
mailing	O
list	O
can	O
download	O
the	O
parameters	O
of	O
existing	O
sheep	O
and	O
tweak	O
them	O
,	O
or	O
sheep	O
can	O
be	O
mated	O
together	O
automatically	O
by	O
the	O
server	O
or	O
manually	O
by	O
server	O
admins	O
(	O
nicknamed	O
shepherds	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
vote	O
on	O
sheep	O
that	O
they	O
like	O
or	O
dislike	O
,	O
and	O
this	O
voting	O
is	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
genetic	B-Algorithm
algorithm	I-Algorithm
which	O
generates	O
new	O
sheep	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
movie	O
is	O
a	O
fractal	B-Algorithm
flame	I-Algorithm
with	O
several	O
of	O
its	O
parameters	O
animated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
individual	O
frames	O
of	O
which	O
these	O
movies	O
consist	O
are	O
rendered	O
using	O
'	O
spare	O
 '	O
processing	O
cycles	O
from	O
idle	O
computers	O
on	O
the	O
distributed	O
network	O
of	O
those	O
running	O
the	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
application	O
,	O
and	O
finished	O
sheep	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
.avi	O
files	O
)	O
are	O
distributed	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
are	O
automatically	O
downloaded	O
by	O
the	O
screen	B-General_Concept
saver	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
screensaver	B-General_Concept
was	O
created	O
and	O
released	O
as	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
by	O
Scott	O
Draves	O
in	O
1999	O
and	O
continues	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
by	O
him	O
and	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
about	O
five	O
engineers	O
.	O
</s>
