On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 07:37:45 -0400 Alvin Starr via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote: > Say it aint so... > Are you telling me that your don't believe that the blockchain is the > solution for everything from climate change to erectile dysfunction. > But seriously. > There are some real uses for blockchain technologies but what we are > seeing is a repeat of the .com bubble. > Where if you had a wacky idea and stuck the words "on the internet" > in it somewhere and did your pitch you could get millions in funding. > Hey. Have I told you of my plans to handle garbage disposal "on the > blockchain"..... The ICO is next week. > People do this kind of thing constantly. > Take a good idea and then push it till it is an amazingly bad idea. > As for Siacoin and Storj I found that they used 100% of my available > internet bandwidth without using any storage. > Luckily for me I opted for "unlimited bandwidth" but not so lucky for > Teksavvy. > So doing something like sharing your few free TB could cost you big > time if you were a Bell or Rogers customer. > I have access to large amounts of excess storage but I have yet to be > convinced that I could even pay for the power that it takes to spin > the drives. > The concept is great but the economics does not seem to be there yet. > you can also interchange "blockchain" with "AI" ?
as someone who started using my own AI tech in 2010 already, it never amazes me how many people the past year or two uses "AI" somewhere and in something - where it is not really "AI" but either simple timers or very basic machine learning or simple pattern identification. so, I guess in the recent words of the most powerful brain[1] on the planet when told about 162 086 covid-19 related deaths: "...it is what it is..." maybe worth 1c ? Andre ++++++ [1] powerful brain is a brain in control a small red button, inside a beautifully crafted leather briefcase (although the 'red' is not really 'red' but more of a vermillion) > > On 8/26/20 1:59 PM, Mauro Souza via talk wrote: > > It's really funny. It's more the result of "lets use blockchain!" > > on everything that creates those issues. > > > > And blockchain is hyper-overhyped... It can help in a few specific > > problems, but not on every single problem without exception. But > > everyone liked the concept and ran away screaming blockchain all > > over the place. Blockchain on email. Blockchain to rent a car. > > Blockchain-powered lettuce salad... that's insanity. I like the > > technology, I study it and sometimes I answer things on forums, but > > all the time when people ask me if I believe blockchain would help > > them, I say NO > > > > The "everybody must have everyone's data" is an issue. As the > > solution grows, the ledger grows, increasing the storage and > > processing requirements. With less people connected, you need an > > intermediary to access the blockchain, and those intermediaries can > > be attacked and take down the network. And there's few solutions to > > that. > > > > One solution is the blockchain used by former Raiblocks (now Nano). > > It's a DAG (directed acyclic graph), so any client will have only > > his own transactions, and not the entire ledger. That allows one to > > run a client on an ESP32, for example. there will be special nodes > > that store the entire ledger (like the Dash supernodes), but the > > clients don't need that. Who/what would use it? No idea... crypto > > coins, and not much else. > > > > And the smart contract solution... They aren't smart, they aren't > > contracts, and they aren't solutions. One mistake and everything > > crashes down instantly.The Ethereum DAO disaster, the Parity > > multi-signature contract, and that new DeFi that melted down in a > > day because people realized they made a mistake on the code, and > > nobody would ever have enough tokens to decide anything because of > > an arithmetic mistake. And many more examples. > > > > If the "contract" can be changed after creation, you cannot trust > > it because it can be useful now (like tokens on a web game that you > > pay to play), but later the owner changes the contract, pockets all > > tokens, and takes down the game. If it cannot be changed, any error > > on the contract is set on stone forever with deadly consequences. > > There are some countermeasures to that, like proxy contracts: a > > main contract references secondary contracts with the functions, > > but the main contract holds the data and the tokens. if a secondary > > contract is found to have an error, you deploy an amended version, > > call a function on the main contract to reference the next one, and > > done. The downside is that it is more expensive to run this > > contract, and the owner can, you know, replace the secondary > > contracts and steal everything. You can add multi-signatures, > > quorum, external oracles, but those only increase the cost and put > > a little protection against a rogue owner. > > > > There are very few things that blockchain can be useful, and one of > > them is distributed storage. Siacoin and Storj, for example, let > > you rent the extra space on that 4tb disk you already have for some > > coins. It is not profitable enough to make you buy storage just for > > that purpose, but you already have the space, right? And you can > > rent some space on the network for backing up things when you will > > reformat your computer, and want to store your data in case > > something breaks. It's cheaper than anything else, even cheaper > > than amazon glacier. > > > > Those supply chain management things are useful too, if you can > > integrate it correctly (and that's a BIG if). If you own a bakery, > > for example, you scan all the ingredients you have, store them all > > on your wallet (or have your purchasing software do that > > automagically) and any time any of your suppliers have any recall > > on something you got, you are warned. And everything down the line > > gets warned that they bought a recalled bread from you. Your > > customers don't even need to get back to you so you reimburse them, > > the next time they come to buy something they already have a credit > > for that contaminated bread you sold to them last week. But to > > integrate everyone is a nightmare, there are lots of privacy > > issues, industrial secrets issues... on a limited scale, it can > > work. Too limited and doesn't solve anything. Too broad and all > > that privacy issues get into your face. > > > > The fact is that there are very few cases that blockchain can be > > used that a database cannot. And databases are here since a long > > time ago, everyone knows how to build them, operate them, backup > > them, and extend them. > > > > But just wait for the AI-generated, solar-powered, graphene-based > > multi-cloud stored 6G-capable IPv8-addressing blockchain... > > > > Mauro > > http://mauro.limeiratem.com - registered Linux User: 294521 > > Scripture is both history, and a love letter from God. > > > > > > Em qua., 26 de ago. de 2020 às 13:29, Christopher Browne via talk > > <talk@gtalug.org <mailto:talk@gtalug.org>> escreveu: > > > > > > https://thecorrespondent.com/655/blockchain-the-amazing-solution-for-almost-nothing/86714927310-8f431cae > > > > I found it particularly hilarious when the writer of the article > > asked the maker of the childrens' aid app if he had noticed that > > the app didn't actually need blockchain at all. > > > > "That's right." > > > > But the punch line was even better... > > > > Isn't it strange that you won all these awards despite not > > really using blockchain? > > > > "We keep trying to tell people, but it doesn’t seem to stick. > > You’re calling me about it again now … ” > > -- > > When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it > > to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?" > > --- > > Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org > > <mailto:talk@gtalug.org> Unsubscribe from this mailing list > > https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk > > > > > > --- > > Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org > > Unsubscribe from this mailing list > > https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk > --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk