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Dapps

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91–100 of 139 posts

Re: Dapps

#91

Post by terrortrain »

sargun wrote: post #83

So, I might be an idiot. I investigated “Dapps” the other day, and I’m struggling to see the point of these. Yes, they use a blockchain to store their data, and their data manipulation logic (“contract”, or schema, and stored procedures as we’d call it in the RDBMS / Monolith days). The UI, and such is all run by some centralized entity. If the App needs cryptocurrency in order to work, you have to run your own walle…

You can use metamask, or a light wallet if you don't want to run and operate your own blockchain.

https://metamask.io/

Meta mask keeps your keys locally, but uses an api for publishing transactions / making queries.

Re: Dapps

#92

Post by angilly »

`Error establishing a database connection`

So is the joke that is this wouldn't happen if their blog was hosted on a dapp?

Re: Dapps

#93

Post by ttul »

common_ wrote: post #24

So much of VC funding is just about being in the right place at the right time. A lot of these guys seem like geniuses because of winning bets, but that's because nobody talks about their flops. It's entertaining watching all of the VCs who have made a major bet on crypto, who are now doubling down on what looks more like an overheated casino losing steam. Fred Wilson might end up watching the tide go out on this one…

My take is that, while there is skill involved in picking venture investments, success in the field has more to do with social skills, status, and wealth than it does with skill. Only the richest have access to the deal flow of the best entrepreneurs.

Re: Dapps

#94

Post by hudon »

> The bottom line for me is that we are finally seeing some useful decentralized applications being built for consumers on these blockchains.

I don't know if the word "decentralized" should be used so merrily. Research was published recently [0] showing that the blockchain protocol requires a central authority to prevent coordination failures and externalities. Maybe these "useful decentralized applications" should come with a caution sign to the consumers: "product will not only be slower and more expensive than the centralized alternative, but there is also risk of coordination failure and double-spends".

[0] https://www.tse-fr.eu/publications/blockchain-folk-theorem

Re: Dapps

#95

Post by gh1 »

htormey wrote: post #7

So what Dapps does anyone here use apart from decentralized exchanges and crypto kitties? One I came across recently that looks promising is joy stream: http://joystream.co Joy stream appears to be a service which rewards people for hosting torrents. I could see this being used by a lot of people. Are their any services that provide usage figures for any of these Dapps? I’d be curious to know how much they are used a…

Golem (decentralized computing for rendering, machine learning etc.) just went into beta yesterday.

Re: Dapps

#96

Post by coralreef »

sargun wrote: post #83

So, I might be an idiot. I investigated “Dapps” the other day, and I’m struggling to see the point of these. Yes, they use a blockchain to store their data, and their data manipulation logic (“contract”, or schema, and stored procedures as we’d call it in the RDBMS / Monolith days). The UI, and such is all run by some centralized entity. If the App needs cryptocurrency in order to work, you have to run your own walle…

We have embedded wallets in the browser with things like MetaMask, which lets you execute Ethereum transactions by clicking buttons, fetching data from the blockchain to display on the webpage, etc.

Dapps are still evolving. Some offer utility from fulfilling niches that are vulnerable to centralized power; ie. a decentralized Youtube that won't take down your video. Some are safer/cheaper implementations: ie. Hexel (YC) a platform that lets people create/manage tokens, like if you wanted your community to be able to send/use tokens.

A mistake is assuming you need to put everything on the blockchain, and a new product should be fully decentralized. But in most cases, you can still deliver utility by having only the important pieces on the blockchain.

Re: Dapps

#97

Post by danvoell »

hudon wrote: post #94

> The bottom line for me is that we are finally seeing some useful decentralized applications being built for consumers on these blockchains. I don't know if the word "decentralized" should be used so merrily. Research was published recently [0] showing that the blockchain protocol requires a central authority to prevent coordination failures and externalities. Maybe these "useful decentralized applications" should c…

I saw the exact same line and I wanted to take out the word "useful". Don't get me wrong, I am as excited about Dapps as the next person, but I have not seen use cases that solve existing problems.

Re: Dapps

#98

Post by lukifer »

hudon wrote: post #94

> The bottom line for me is that we are finally seeing some useful decentralized applications being built for consumers on these blockchains. I don't know if the word "decentralized" should be used so merrily. Research was published recently [0] showing that the blockchain protocol requires a central authority to prevent coordination failures and externalities. Maybe these "useful decentralized applications" should c…

The same tension applies to a hypothetical mesh-network Internet, compared to the telco-backbone Internet: good for freedom and autonomy, bad for usability and performance. Alas, consumers tend to vote with their dollar for the latter. The "siren server" problem described by Jaron Lanier in "Who Owns The Future?" is a wicked problem when it comes to marketplace traction.

In the case of both mesh networks and dapps, I think the greatest potential is in the developing world, where centralized infrastructure is absent or inadequate.

Re: Dapps

#100

Post by jamestimmins »

jasode wrote: post #56
common_ wrote: post #24

So much of VC funding is just about being in the right place at the right time. A lot of these guys seem like geniuses because of winning bets, but that's because nobody talks about their flops. It's entertaining watching all of the VCs who have made a major bet on crypto, who are now doubling down on what looks more like an overheated casino losing steam. Fred Wilson might end up watching the tide go out on this one…

>, but that's because nobody talks about their flops. The KPCB flops in "green tech, clean energy, etc" were widely reported.[1] Also, the VC firm DFJ and Tim Draper in particular were laughingstocks for investing in the Theranos scam because they didn't do proper due diligence. >Fred Wilson [...] was part of Twitter's clueless board, the one that didn't think it was important to buy Instagram? Is there a source that…

Do you have any sources for the DFJ/Theranos backlash? I've wondered if that would hit them, so I'd love to read more if you're aware of any good journalism on that specific investment by DFJ.
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