I think that last is really the biggest issue at this point. Distributed computing like this has been around and popular for years now, so many (most?) of those inclined to contribute have already heard of it and are doing so somewhere else. Advertising is good for bringing in people who have never done this before, but those who are doing so already seem most likely to remain where they are. So what makes this a better choice than seti, folding@home, grid.org, et cetera? I think it is better set up as a 'clearinghouse' for projects than the others, but that's only a plus when there are lots of projects and lots of users - which we don't have yet. Logically we should be trying to combine the user bases rather than split them into various grids. While the primary plan for new projects here seems to be to review submissions, I might suggest reaching out to other grid projects (first the smaller ones) to offer to host their project with our user base as well. From there, integrating their engine into WCG could transfer the entire user base or we'd just 'inherit' some of them when that other project was completed.

Net. IBM/WCG must attract many new users to grid computing. Getting the software and forums running well is a first step. But, if they're serions about the 1,000,000+ range, theyve got to really step up the 'marketing/promotion' efforts.