"Too complex."
This. Developers really must spend a lot more time and mental energy on UX if they intend things to be used by anyone other than developers with lots of time in their hands.
Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
51–60 of 139 posts
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was that SEC report a while back that sounded like it was gonna end the wild west era of ICOs, and though I don't keep up with ICO news I haven't heard of any big new launches in a while.
The thing is that icos can just move abroad.
only if they also exclude US persons
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#53What bugs me the most about the whole ICO game is that it casts a long dark shadow about the whole blockchain stuff. Storj as well as other ideas in the realm are based on great ideas and I'd love to see them succeed. However, that Storj was able to obtain $30M in funding is really just awful. Sooner or later the cryptocoin market will crash and when this day comes and those projects still have no inherent value a lot of people will be pissed and leave the whole blockchain thing.
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#54I understand the appeal of ICOs and cryptocurrencies and distributed storage that is automatically shared, decentralized, etc etc. But a part of me says "is this complexity necessary?". The appeal of a service like Dropbox is that it is simple. Most engineer friends I had at the time when services like Box and Dropbox started popping up, laughed at the idea... "It is just a fancy ftp". Now they all use these services in one way or another.
Simplicity is often an important overlooked killer feature.
And this is exactly the polar oppossite of that!
A friend of mine that has been doing ICOs behind the scenes (there is an entire methodology that makes them successful that include some questionable marketing techniques) has been pushing me to do an ICO. But one of the requirements is that the service you provide is directly tied to the currency itself. This file storage service is a perfect example of that. A cryptocurrency looking for a service that works with a paradigm vs a service that just centers on being useful for customers. I am just not interested in doing that...
I can't deny that this has been useful and profitable for him. Here has been doing successful multimilliondollar ICOs where he charges 100k a pop. To me, it just seems like such a scam to take advantage of this bubble, that I'd rather just build a healthy successful business "the old way"
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#55Does anybody here know of a good video/tech-talk that gives an in-depth introduction to blockchain technology? Something at academic level, and good for a Sunday afternoon? Thanks in advance!
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if there's something illegal or fraudulent about raising all that money and then doing a half-assed job on the project? I understand there's a thin line between a failed business venture and outright fraud/lying, but stories like this seem so slimy.
I don't think so. Is that not 90% of Kick starters purpose?
No. You can't sell equity on Kickstarter.
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#57It's worth checking out Sia, which doesn't seem to get much attention: https://sia.tech/ It works, they have an active development team, and the network keeps growing: https://siahub.info/map
Agree, Sia does look very promising. But plenty of work needs to be done before it is a real product. The first-use experience isn't good right now.
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#58I understand the appeal of ICOs and cryptocurrencies and distributed storage that is automatically shared, decentralized, etc etc. But a part of me says "is this complexity necessary?". The appeal of a service like Dropbox is that it is simple. Most engineer friends I had at the time when services like Box and Dropbox started popping up, laughed at the idea... "It is just a fancy ftp". Now they all use these services…
So they're basically an ICO consultant or contractor? It looks like it's just as profitable to him as it sounds.
As far as those marketing techniques go, I'm aware of a lot of them such as paying for press releases or articles and paying users to shill their ICO everywhere, buying twitter followers, etc, but I wonder how much worse it gets. I guess it depends on the ICO and those behind it, some obviously 'just' use shady tactics while others completely lie and defraud investors.
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#59It's worth checking out Sia, which doesn't seem to get much attention: https://sia.tech/ It works, they have an active development team, and the network keeps growing: https://siahub.info/map
Agree, Sia does look very promising. But plenty of work needs to be done before it is a real product. The first-use experience isn't good right now.
How many technically challenging products have been overnight successes?
One thing that is really confounding about all the anti-blockchain rhetoric on HN is that people seem to expect these products to be finished instantaneously. Building great products takes years.
Re: Storj: Not a Dropbox Killer
#60Looks like the Storj coin is trading higher now than when it first launched. https://coinmarketcap.com/assets/storj/ The level of fraud and stupidity in the ICO world is pretty shocking. It's not going to be pretty when the bubble bursts.
There was that SEC report a while back that sounded like it was gonna end the wild west era of ICOs, and though I don't keep up with ICO news I haven't heard of any big new launches in a while.
Almost all crypto market action is in China. And the ICO market there is so pathological that it's the exchanges asking for regulation.
http://news.8btc.com/okcoin-ceo-host-non-public-ico-regulati...