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Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

workstream.paperspace.com

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Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#231

Post by SCHiM »

aspenmayer wrote: post #183
SCHiM wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you could try googling for DRM, same beast different name.

This comment seems needlessly user-hostile, much like the same DRM you are railing against.

True true, wasn't meant to be hostile but I see that I wrote my comment unkindly.

I do think the point stands though. They are names for the same technology. How it is used, and who uses it will determine what type of spin I'd put on it.

Monitoring the integrity of a trusted audio decoder in my system's kernel: DRM

Monitoring the integrity of an open source tool that I bought and paid for: remote attestation.

Both will come down to various arrangements of trusted computing enclaves, asymmetric cryptography and groups trying to bypass said arrangements.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#232

Post by matdehaast »

VikingCoder wrote: post #45

I'm just going to state again what I want, which is only tangentially related to the topic... 1) I go on Github and configure a service 2) I make a wallet that people can donate to 3) I start up a virtual machine, aimed at the Github, using the wallet to pay for the time on the machine. The virtual machine host guarantees that the code at that Github is what's really running. I can imagine lots of other things I want…

What you are describing is almost exactly how Codius is envisioned to work. Our company is actively working on this right now and it is close to being in an alpha/beta state.

Checkout codius.org

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#233

Post by t0astbread »

battery_cowboy wrote: post #224
t0astbread wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netlify (primarily) takes a git repo containing a program to generate a static site and turns that into a live running website that automatically updates when the generator repo changes. You don't have to think about configuration or security or updates and you don't have to maintain a server. Ideally this would be a service with the same ergonomics but the outcome isn't a hosted static website but a machine (somewhe…

Have you heard of platform as a service, like Heroku or gigalixr? That's exactly what that is, pretty much.

Oh so that's what that is! I always thought Heroku was just more expensive VPSes.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#234

Post by igneo676 »

jcrawfordor wrote: post #203

I was pretty excited to give this a try because it might be a good fit for some frustrations I've had with running a GPU-dependent task on my laptop without discrete graphics. Onboarding experience is terrible. Registered for an account from the Workstream page linked here, and was taken to a console with absolutely no mention of Workstream. Went back and forth a few times trying to figure out if auth provider had re…

I've used Paperspace pretty extensively for cloud-gaming without the lock-in. Unless you're pretty familiar with their UI, it can be an extremely frustrating experience

I've had problems where I've been locked out of GPU types with little to no explanation from their staff. Instances have also gone completely unresponsive and essentially "bricked" from my end.

At some point I reached a decently stable state and haven't mucked around with instances. Sad to see things haven't improved for new customers

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#235

Post by aspenmayer »

SCHiM wrote: post #231
aspenmayer wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment seems needlessly user-hostile, much like the same DRM you are railing against.

True true, wasn't meant to be hostile but I see that I wrote my comment unkindly. I do think the point stands though. They are names for the same technology. How it is used, and who uses it will determine what type of spin I'd put on it. Monitoring the integrity of a trusted audio decoder in my system's kernel: DRM Monitoring the integrity of an open source tool that I bought and paid for: remote attestation. Both wi…

I couldn’t agree more. DRM is just hardware and software. It’s a tool and implementations matter. HDCP is one of those implementations that seem like a good idea but which have all kinds of side effects that make the product the DRM is part of (HDMI in this case) much less useful for certain fair use law abiding use cases. As long as we have the interoperability exception for breaking DRM there’s a way around but it would be better if interoperability was a requirement of accessibility standards in the first place.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#236

Post by machbio »

VikingCoder wrote: post #45

I'm just going to state again what I want, which is only tangentially related to the topic... 1) I go on Github and configure a service 2) I make a wallet that people can donate to 3) I start up a virtual machine, aimed at the Github, using the wallet to pay for the time on the machine. The virtual machine host guarantees that the code at that Github is what's really running. I can imagine lots of other things I want…

Checkout Binderhub - https://binderhub.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#237

Post by lelector »

jcrawfordor wrote: post #203

I was pretty excited to give this a try because it might be a good fit for some frustrations I've had with running a GPU-dependent task on my laptop without discrete graphics. Onboarding experience is terrible. Registered for an account from the Workstream page linked here, and was taken to a console with absolutely no mention of Workstream. Went back and forth a few times trying to figure out if auth provider had re…

I don't think it's strange to have to write a ticket to get a GPU auth. Google Cloud Platform requires the same, can take days to approve, and is more expensive and WAY less intuitive. Plus I've had ton of glitches working with GCP where they said they approved my request but didn't -- multiple times.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#238

Post by ghthor »

crispyporkbites wrote: post #195
derefr wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This—the ability to audit what's running on the backend you're talking to—is in large part what people get out of smart contracts on e.g. Ethereum. You can take the contract source code from GitHub, compile it (deterministically), and validate that the deployed-on-chain smart-contract binary is the same. The blockchain nature of the platform then ensures that the contract will do exactly and only what you "expect" it…

Ethereum is basically one big cloud computer, with a shared runtime. Everyone gets a copy of the code AND all the data/state, and can execute all instructions. Problem is that it’s too slow/expensive to do anything useful. But perhaps the killer app for blockchain is buried somewhere in this concept.

Just because you dont understand how to do something useful using ethereum doesnt mean that no one knows how to do something useful with ethereum.

Please investigate ethereum name system(ENS) and Handshake name system.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#239

Post by lelector »

CJefferson wrote: post #3

Was going to try their Free account, until I signed up and the discovered the big black "Free" had a tiny light grey "+ Machine Utilization Charges" beneath it. Everything is "Free + Charges".

They have free GPUs, and the account is free. Doing fast.ai currently on a free GPU. The extra charges are if you want to upgrade, like needing more storage.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#240

Post by lelector »

ethbro wrote: post #38
pyr0hu wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand your problem, the Paperspace account is free. You have to pay for the machine you use.

What does a Paperspace account get me without a machine?

A free GPU on Gradient.
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