Is anyone working/training or doing anything on blockchain? It is really gaining traction in terms of investment and I would love to eat a slice of that pie.
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One of my permie colleagues is developing a project using blockchain. What he's doing is nothing to do with my day to day work, but I can earwig on his conversations - and I've learned a lot. I can't give details at all, but suffice to say, if you're looking for a new area to work in, I think there's huge potential for exploitation. Get away from the idea of currency, and think in terms of audit trails and privacy.Down with racism. Long live miscegenation! -
Originally posted by NotAllThere View PostGet away from the idea of currency, and think in terms of audit trails and privacy.
The work under the bonnet is heavy-duty cryptographics. IMO that's where the real money is (and I don't mean enough knowledge to fork the Bitcoin source code and make your own alt-coin). The banks will pay very handsomely for people who really understand how it works and what it can be made to do. Although I suspect they'll recruit graduates with 1st class degrees from the top universitys rather than contractors.See You Next TuesdayComment
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I have friends that partnered with IBM on this:
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/systems/pl...ocean-plastic/Comment
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Originally posted by sal View PostI have friends that partnered with IBM on this:
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/systems/pl...ocean-plastic/“Brexit is having a wee in the middle of the room at a house party because nobody is talking to you, and then complaining about the smell.”Comment
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Originally posted by sal View PostI have friends that partnered with IBM on this:
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/systems/pl...ocean-plastic/
Why would you 'pay' the poor people with a currency that you control where they can spend? Why not give them US dollars (or other local currency, or even real Bitcoins) which they can choose to spend as they like. And do the collectors need to have a mobile phone to use the currency?
At some stage the providers of the food and water will be getting actual cash so I'm not sure what problem the blockchain is solving here.
Maybe I'm cynical but it looks like a huge vanity project.See You Next TuesdayComment
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Originally posted by Lance View Post^^^^^ This is you're not a total maths propeller-head.
The work under the bonnet is heavy-duty cryptographics. IMO that's where the real money is (and I don't mean enough knowledge to fork the Bitcoin source code and make your own alt-coin). The banks will pay very handsomely for people who really understand how it works and what it can be made to do. Although I suspect they'll recruit graduates with 1st class degrees from the top universitys rather than contractors.Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!Comment
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Originally posted by Lance View PostI like the use of technology, and the desire to clear up the plastic, but find the method quite disturbing.
Why would you 'pay' the poor people with a currency that you control where they can spend? Why not give them US dollars (or other local currency, or even real Bitcoins) which they can choose to spend as they like. And do the collectors need to have a mobile phone to use the currency?
At some stage the providers of the food and water will be getting actual cash so I'm not sure what problem the blockchain is solving here.
Maybe I'm cynical but it looks like a huge vanity project.
What I know is that my friends are passionate about it as software developers and the guys that started it at IBM are passionate about making a change and clearing the plastic. But I agree that most likely the big wigs at IBM are looking at it as a vanity/PR projectComment
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Originally posted by sal View PostI'm not overly familiar with the details of the project, to comment on the details. I would guess that using specific crypto currency mitigates the risk of someone stealing/extorting and hoarding the "cash" from the regular people, like it often happens with monetary and material aid in the 3rd world countries. You would be surprised how many people have access to a smart phone, but no access to real necessities like clean water fro example.
What I know is that my friends are passionate about it as software developers and the guys that started it at IBM are passionate about making a change and clearing the plastic. But I agree that most likely the big wigs at IBM are looking at it as a vanity/PR project
good luck to them thoughSee You Next TuesdayComment
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Originally posted by sal View PostI would guess that using specific crypto currency mitigates the risk of someone stealing/extorting and hoarding the "cash" from the regular people, like it often happens with monetary and material aid in the 3rd world countries. You would be surprised how many people have access to a smart phone, but no access to real necessities like clean water fro example.
There's a TV show called 'Startup' available on Amazon Prime Video (an Amazon original show, so not sure if available via other legit sources) and while it's fiction it does have cryptocurrency as the product they're doing as the startup.
Only watched the first episode so far but they do say when talking to VCs to get funding, that the benefit of cryptocurrency is that it's easier to access all over the world (most people have or will soon have a mobile phone) without banks or government controlling the access and supply.
The woman that built the solution (GenCoin IIRC) did say it took her 7 years to do the algorithm, so plenty of time yet before we see real world solutions.
Maybe everyone is seeing how they did it on the show and copying the idea.Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down. Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.Comment
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