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Urbit

urbit.org

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Re: Urbit

#91

Post by [deleted] »

SrslyJosh wrote: post #32
ShamelessC wrote: post #24

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?

[deleted]

Re: Urbit

#92

Post by phs318u »

theamk wrote: post #25
ALittleLight wrote: post #15

I have seen Urbit a couple times but never really understood it. From the "Understanding Urbit" page - >Imagine that you can login from anywhere with one name and password. >And when you do, your entire OS appears. >Inside is your whole digital life. All of your communities, conversations, and connections. All of your biometric data and devices. Your entire personal archive in one place that’s secure, private, and de…

Urbit “planet” is like a VM, but running an OS developed completely independently from existing computing words. There is a custom language, a custom network layer, a custom cryptography and custom identity system. There are even custom words for common terms. This has no GUI, but it does has a web interface that you can connect to. From the practical standpoint, you have a linux process running from a data directory…

> custom cryptography

Just lost me.

> you are only supposed to interact with it by running it and typing commands

So, "the last computer you'll ever need" ... other than my phone, because the last time I wanted to type commands on a phone-sized device, was back when I was wet-dreaming over the Sharp Zaurus.

Given the artificial scarcity of the IDs and the semi-mystical woo describing the proposition, my spidey-sense is telling me some smart people have been busy devising an naivety-magnet, all the better to part people from their money ("buy a planet"...um, ok).

Re: Urbit

#93

Post by miss_haru »

iudqnolq wrote: post #78
bronzejaguar wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a personal server OS. MS-DOS was emulated on mainframes before it was run directly on hardware. Urbit wants to do the same, starting by being emulated on traditional computer OSes, and eventually moving to bare metal.

What's a personal server OS? Will I use it to write text documents and browse the web? Can I run the X Windowing system on it? It appears to me it's currently accessed through a browser. Is that temporary?

The primary way you access any web server is through a browser.

You can access your Urbit server by command line, or by web interface.

Re: Urbit

#94

Post by joe_the_user »

iudqnolq wrote: post #51
iudqnolq wrote: post #17

So if I buy my "last computer" from Urbit a "senate" made up of people who paid them money early on can do whatever they want to my data --- ahem "upgrade the logic" --- without my having any say? I'm not sure if I want some ChromeOS-analogue with automatic updates from the Reddit/4Chan --- ahem early cryptocurrency adopter --- hive mind. > We want everyone to own their own identity and wallet. One way to do this wou…

I think this is by design. Prior to the current stellar analogy the founder described this using terms from feudalism. > In one design sketch for Urbit, Yarvin made the link between monarchies and the platform more explicit, classifying users as “Lords,” “Dukes,” and “Earls.” The design behind the titles, he writes, “is standard Lockean libertarian homesteading theory.” At the end of the sketch, Yarvin indicates that…

Why exactly would one need to subordinate one's self to such bizarre ideologically machinery just to run a device-independent OS? I could run space on the cloud somewhere and log into my server from whatever local system? It's kind of a 1990s model but still.

Re: Urbit

#95

Post by cryptozeus »

Rainymood wrote: post #63

Is this some kind of over-the-top joke that I'm not in on? I've browsed and read but honestly still can't understand what Urbit is. When I saw the picture of the stone with the thing on top I thought I was finally "in" on the joke, but they seem to continue on.

that is what I thought, looks like some kind of joke but from other comments it is not.

Re: Urbit

#96

Post by bronzejaguar »

joe_the_user wrote: post #94
iudqnolq wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is by design. Prior to the current stellar analogy the founder described this using terms from feudalism. > In one design sketch for Urbit, Yarvin made the link between monarchies and the platform more explicit, classifying users as “Lords,” “Dukes,” and “Earls.” The design behind the titles, he writes, “is standard Lockean libertarian homesteading theory.” At the end of the sketch, Yarvin indicates that…

Why exactly would one need to subordinate one's self to such bizarre ideologically machinery just to run a device-independent OS? I could run space on the cloud somewhere and log into my server from whatever local system? It's kind of a 1990s model but still.

You don’t, and the article is outdated and “titles” no longer exist.

Re: Urbit

#97

Post by cryptozeus »

All I see is ocean and stone images. Please if you are reading this, hire a marketing firm. I am sure you have worked hard on this but I can't understand what your product is. How can that be that you want to be the last computer but most can't even understand first thing about it.

Re: Urbit

#98

Post by miss_haru »

iudqnolq wrote: post #17

So if I buy my "last computer" from Urbit a "senate" made up of people who paid them money early on can do whatever they want to my data --- ahem "upgrade the logic" --- without my having any say? I'm not sure if I want some ChromeOS-analogue with automatic updates from the Reddit/4Chan --- ahem early cryptocurrency adopter --- hive mind. > We want everyone to own their own identity and wallet. One way to do this wou…

I'm not sure how you got your first assumption from the rest of your quotations.

"[the Urbit] "senate" can do whatever they want to my data"

No. The urbit senate can do nothing with your data.

Your server holds your data. It is not distributed on the block chain. It is not mirrored by your peers. No one has any access to your data, except where you give them permission.

Your final quote refers to the power the senate of galaxies has to manage the address space. (currently limited to 4b personal nodes. If scarcity becomes problem, galaxies can vote to increase availability.)

Re: Urbit

#99

Post by blotter_paper »

iudqnolq wrote: post #51
iudqnolq wrote: post #17

So if I buy my "last computer" from Urbit a "senate" made up of people who paid them money early on can do whatever they want to my data --- ahem "upgrade the logic" --- without my having any say? I'm not sure if I want some ChromeOS-analogue with automatic updates from the Reddit/4Chan --- ahem early cryptocurrency adopter --- hive mind. > We want everyone to own their own identity and wallet. One way to do this wou…

I think this is by design. Prior to the current stellar analogy the founder described this using terms from feudalism. > In one design sketch for Urbit, Yarvin made the link between monarchies and the platform more explicit, classifying users as “Lords,” “Dukes,” and “Earls.” The design behind the titles, he writes, “is standard Lockean libertarian homesteading theory.” At the end of the sketch, Yarvin indicates that…

I can't find that quote by searching the text of the linked article. I was looking for it because I'm skeptical of the claim that Yarvin supports a society with multiple shareholders of political power. I read the archives of Unqualified Reservations when Urbit was first released, and I was left with the impression that Yarvin supported the rule of literally one person. This is the closest quote I've found so far, but I bet there are more specific ones (lacking the however-selected clause which invites without requiring the possibility of multiple stakeholders) in the archive:

> And all organizations, big or small, public or private, military or civilian, are managed best when managed by a single executive. Hence: royalism. However he or she is selected, the title of such an executive, in a sovereign capacity, is King or Queen—or, at least, anything else is a euphemism.

Emphasis his: https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2010/02/from-mises-...

Re: Urbit

#100

Post by sillysaurusx »

matildepark wrote: post #82
_rkz1 wrote: post #64

I heard of Urbit a while back and still cannot for the life of me figure out what it does or what it's for. The comments here are helping me figure out how it works, but it still leaves me with the question of what can I do with it that I can't accomplish with my good ol' OS or internet or (whatever the closest conventional analogue for Urbit is).

It's because it's a system trying to pitch itself as a product. The system being a top to bottom rewrite of the stack in such a way so as to sidestep the client/server relationship entirely. A lot of services rely upon positioning themselves as the server, as the big computer you have timeshared access to, and they monetise your usage. For things like photo storage, or basic communication, or permissioned access to y…

What you just wrote needs to be at the top of any marketing related to Urbit. It’s the first thing I’ve read that made me excited about the project.

It also sounds similar to PGP’s web of trust model, which failed horribly. But you mention that you can get paid for renting out your resources. If you can somehow make that dream into a reality, then yes, it could be a big deal. Right now everyone tries to solve this partially: you can get paid to rent out your GPU (vast.ai) or your disk space (filecoin) but you seem to imply a more unified model, where payments can be continuous and effortless based on arbitrary metrics.

The whole “planet” and “galaxy” stuff is just confusing. Sure, metaphors are useful, but a basic explanation of the problem statement and the proposed solution would be better. Your explanation here has been the first time that someone put Urbit into terms that I could concretely go “okay, I see the point.”

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