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Urbit

urbit.org

41–50 of 309 posts

Re: Urbit

#42
For all the other commenters who couldn't understand what the heck this is (like myself)... Wikipedia at least gives a fairly straightforward explanation [1]:

> Urbit is a decentralized personal server platform. The platform seeks to deconstruct the client-server model in favour of a federated network of personal servers in a peer-to-peer network with a consistent digital identity.

> The Urbit software stack consists of a set of programming languages ("Hoon," a high-level functional programming language, and "Nock," its low-level compiled language); a single-function operating system built on those languages ("Arvo"); a personal address space, built on the Ethereum blockchain, for each instance of the operating system to participate in a decentralized network ("Azimuth"); and the decentralized network itself, an encrypted, peer-to-peer protocol running on top of the User Datagram Protocol.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbit

Re: Urbit

#43
Didn’t the founder of Urbit (Curtis Yarvin) leave the project last year? My impression of Urbit has always been that Curtis was fundamental to the vision of the project. Does anyone know how the project has changed since then?

Re: Urbit

#44

I found the descriptions to be far too abstract and mysterious. I guess it gives the project a sort of cool hacker vibe, but I really just want a few screenshots of the interface of the actual OS. As it stands, I have no clue whether it's an actual operating system like Windows/Linux/MacOS or if it just vaguely fits the definition of an OS. I've seen in other comments here that it's both an "Overlay OS" and a VM that…

The project is exclusionary by design--instead of using an existing programming language or even keywords/terminology from an existing human language, the creator decided to make everything up, right down to new names for existing symbols. F'r example: gar > hax # hep - kel { sel [ ser ] sig ~ soq ' Have to agree about the screenshots--if there's something useful here, why not show it off?

It may be marketing genius if the goal is to appeal to the type of nerd who loves obscure systems and occult jargon... the kind that geeks out on the complexities of D&D while chatting you up about the rococo details of Eastern Orthodox dietary restrictions and how they may have impacted renaissance fashion. Everything about Urbit seems designed to be candy to these types.

Re: Urbit

#45
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The project is exclusionary by design--instead of using an existing programming language or even keywords/terminology from an existing human language, the creator decided to make everything up, right down to new names for existing symbols. F'r example: gar > hax # hep - kel { sel [ ser ] sig ~ soq ' Have to agree about the screenshots--if there's something useful here, why not show it off?

It may be marketing genius if the goal is to appeal to the type of nerd who loves obscure systems and occult jargon... the kind that geeks out on the complexities of D&D while chatting you up about the rococo details of Eastern Orthodox dietary restrictions and how they may have impacted renaissance fashion. Everything about Urbit seems designed to be candy to these types.

The cybertruck os before cybertruk existed.

Re: Urbit

#46

> In Urbit OS 1, a community shares a set of modules. (Think of a module like an app without the data lock-in.) One community may choose to chat and share a forum. Another may choose to chat and watch the crypto markets. And yet another may chat, share links, ebooks, and a to-do list. Anyone can develop a module, and anyone can create a community. Sounds awesome, in theory . Website had nothing I could find describin…

Edit: To paraphrase from Steve Yegge's platform rant. It's got a lot more than that.

https://gist.github.com/chitchcock/1281611

Re: Urbit

#47
I also had a hard time understanding this project, but my understanding is that this is basically a binary that runs on a UNIX machine.

It transparently uses UNIX APIs and implements the stack from bottom to top: it’s an OS in the sense that the web browser is called the OS.

This ‘OS’, or binary interacts with other computers and create an decentralized web.

The developers documentation & how to run part is clearer about what this is... but urbit really should document what it ‘really’ is...

Re: Urbit

#48
post #43

Didn’t the founder of Urbit (Curtis Yarvin) leave the project last year? My impression of Urbit has always been that Curtis was fundamental to the vision of the project. Does anyone know how the project has changed since then?

yes, wikipedia says he left. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbit

seems like the whole project has been mired in controversy because of the alt-right / anti-egalitarian political views of the founder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Yarvin

if urbit got $1.2m seed from thiel in 2013 (listed on wikipedia), they should be out of that money by now even if they had stretched it.

Re: Urbit

#49
post #27

There are users in this thread that aren't fully disclosing that they work for Urbit, despite commenting about the software from a third-party perspective. Just a heads up.

What's the point of making an accusation like this without naming the users?

Re: Urbit

#50
post #4

Actually got a invite to Urbit... but haven't got the time to understand/install it. Is it an OS? Will it affect any dev work I'm doing now? I understand that this is a huge and large project and support the fundamental ideas behind it, but maybe a super-distilled version of what exactly it is to the layman would be a bit better (in addition to what's already there).

It’s an overlay OS, a VM made to allow anyone to run their own server easily

Well that begs the obvious question, what the hell is an "overlay OS"? It's not an industry standard term and doesn't explain anything.
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