Feature Suggestion: SAFEBERRY PI

Features
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I have a suggestion that you might find interesting. This is kind of a feature / possible product that you guys might want to consider producing.

I’m sure you are all familiar with the Raspberry PI. For those who are not, it is a tiny computer that can fit in the palm of your hand, and can be purchased for as low as $35, and as much as $250+ directly depending on the specs of the device. My suggestion is going to focus on the $35 option.

Imagine for a moment, that on any computer you have – you can load up something called The SAFEBERRY PI Vault Manager. You load it up and you notice that there are options to add and manage new and existing SAFEBERRY PI Vault systems.

So you click the “Attach New Device” button in the manager, and it is asking you to physically look on the SAFEBERRY PI device for a little sticker that would be on it, which has an identification number of some sort. It asks you to turn on the device, make sure it is plugged into your home or office network, and to then enter the ID number.

A big smile appears on your face as you see that the manager application has successfully contacted your device, and you see its specifications there on the screen. You then see a button that says “Add This Device” and you happily click it.

The device is now added.

Now being an enthusiastic and loyal Safe Network user, you want to add some vault space. So you attach your USB hub that you already bought for this purpose, and you plug in the brand new external USB hard drive that you decided you’re going to allocate as vault space.

You click on the entry in the manager for the device to see all of the real time statistics for the device, including how much storage space it has allocated for the vault, which currently is reading at zero.

So you click the button you see that says “Add Storage” and another smile appears on your face as it has successfully identified the 4TB drive that you have plugged in. I mean, it can be any size drive but being such a loyal and enthusiastic Safe Network User – nothing less than 4TB would do to suit your standards. :slight_smile:

Next you click on the button that says “Format And Add Storage” and a very short while later, the manager is now showing you that you have one SAFEBERRY PI Vault added that has a total storage capacity of 4TB, with however much percent used versus free space and so on.

The real time data stats would show how many SAFEBERRY PI Vault devices are added, the size and statistics for each attached drive, the total used and free space for each SAFEBERRY PI Vault device of all attached drives. As well as the total free and used space of all SAFEBERRY PI devices you have added, period.

Welcome to affordable plug and play vaults.

These SAFEBERRY PI Vaults would have their own operating system that is not intended to plug into a monitor screen and be used as a regular computer, but simply to be powered on and they will perform their tasks automatically, just like an internet router does not need a monitor screen.

Add another $10 to the price to compensate the MaidSafe employees for their valuable time they took to install the operating system, package the device and have it ready for you – as well as whatever shipping costs may apply.

What do you think?

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It does not have to be Raspberry Pi, but any smaller or bigger farming rig with easy set up for not skilled users will be worth.

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True, but can you suggest one that has the same quality hardware for the affordable price?

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Maybe in a places with high demand you will need faster vaults to get some GETs.

It is question for years 2020+ when SAFEnetwork will be live.

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While this is true, people can only afford what they can only afford. I don’t expect the world to get better until The Safe Network or something like it is the global standard. The people who can afford better hardware most surely will and absolutely should. The more powerful the hardware, the better. For those who can not – they can start small, earn some SafeCoin and upgrade as time goes on.

Please also keep in mind that the newest and most expensive Raspberry PI that is out right now, is extremely fast. I only used the $35 version as the starting example, because for many people it would make the difference between being able to run a vault, or not – because a great many people are broke and the global stage and economy in this regard is getting worse, not better.

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There are lots of options, see the Best farming hardware
topic and also Best single board computers under $200 and particularly the following post where @Jonas shares his expertise:

Best Single-Board Computers Under $200 - #31 by jonas

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Thats awesome, but how about for $35? Like I said, I’m looking at a whole range here. The bottom range takes into consideration the bad state of the world and the economy, and wanting people who are struggling to be able to participate and help to grow the network. And of course as I said, anyone who can afford better things, absolutely will and should. So whatever works for people, they should absolutely do what works.

The full line of different Raspberry PIs is just one product line option. I’m not saying it must be the only one. The more options, the better.

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If I am not mistaken, “under $200” includes “for $35” :slight_smile:

Please do actually read that other thread and then clarify in what way it fails to cover “a whole range”.

Choosing a specific brand or model of hardware aside, I welcome your suggestion to make a simple turn-key full-system-install targeted such cheap single-board devices. I suggest to continue talking about that here, and to move discussions about specific hardware to Best Single-Board Computers Under $200

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@psecdocumentary Let me put some more weight on my welcoming your suggestion: To me it sounds similar in scope to the FreedomBox - a project I have been deeply involved with since its launch in 2010, and in more recent years I have shifted to explore a related design inspired by same vision but data-driven and user-friendly at its core.

In fact, my engaging actively with SAFEnet very recently was when I discovered @happybeing demonstrating integration of SAFEnet and Solid. I am excited that Maidsafe has now put Solid on the timeline for the development of SAFEnet, and want to help include both SAFEnet and Solid in Debian - to make things like your suggested turnkey solution possible in a safe (pun intended) way - i.e. not only as hit’n’run thrown together but as a properly long-term maintained software stack.

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As I have reiterated, I am in agreement with everything that everyone is saying here and am not in disagreement with any of it. I too am extremely pleased and exited to see the power and flexibility of The Safe Network.

The Safe Network is capable of 3 major things that “the regular Internet” is highly resistant against:

  1. The retrofitting, improving and upgrading of older and existing formats to work cohesively with newer platforms
  2. The ability to implement transitional formats to make moving from an older format to a newer format “headache free”.
  3. The ability to create newer platforms and formats under a model of limitless expansion, rather than the restrictive bottlenecked corporate models we’re all used to and sick of

I am hoping that we see a public beta of The Safe Network either by or somewhere within 2019, though as was previously stated: The Safe Network is a 2020 and beyond piece of technology. It is however one that is needed right now. I think that the more the powers who assume they be continue to dick people over, that it will draw the interest of even more developers who will make even more tools for The Safe Network, thus allowing for improvements faster, but without breaking anything.

If not for The Safe Network, I would fear for the future of the Internet.

Within 10 years or less, I can honestly see The Safe Network architecture evolving beyond just the web and into the following:

-Local File Systems that hard drives are formatted in
-Core driving engine for local operating systems (particularly linux, unix, etc)
-Core driving engine that modern applications are developed on top of
-Core driving engine for mobile devices, routers and other hardware
-And more!

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By the way, Solid and FreedomBox look EXTREMELY NICE. And that is putting it mildly.

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This is a great suggestion. I have been thinking of something along these lines for some time now. In order to maintain a quorum and become or stay a PmidNode or PmidManager, the node must stay online on a consistent basis, and I think this may be a very good way to do this.

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This is nice - I would see such a device being plugged into the home-router. If the device purchase came with options for built-in storage in various quantities allowing for affordability + external USB3 ports for add-on storage. Perhaps better though to have a set-up program on home computer that can detect and help user through process of setting up an account? I’d be concerned about security if accounts were automated through the device somehow. Plus you’d then have the full install on home computer as well to use with Safecoin going into same account? Wait … I’m guessing you can’t be logged into the same account on two devices? And Safecoin is tethered to one account and not a separate entity that can be accessed by an account … hmmm, I wonder if that latter option has been considered by anyone yet? Not to hijack the thread though, perhaps I’ll do a search and post a new thread on the matter.

edit: from my search I found that Safecoin wallets are multisig by default (at least by the early method of storing safecoin, not sure about newer proposed methods) … but assuming that holds true, then any account should be able to use any wallet if they have a key? (Assuming various types of multisig set-ups are available).

Edit2: I’m being stupid though because you’d just want to automate sending safecoin from the farming device to your farm-revenue wallet and you wouldn’t want to give any key to the device to access that wallet - that would be a security concern.

Clearly I’m just rambling now and avoiding work. lol

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Multi-sig is planned but may not be in the first initial release or it could be. I’ve seen both ideas posted.

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