Maidsafe storage services

[AdriaanD3f]

Does anyone have an idea of what Maidsafe is aiming for with their storage service?
Will it be a Dropbox-like platform where I can easily upload files that are then distributed across the blockchain?
I have also read that it will incorporate some features that golem has as well, like lending your harddrive space or CPU power.
Is what I have said above correct, and have I read it right that this will be released with Alpha 4?
Thanks in advance.

Kind regards

[piluso]

No, read this:
https://safe-network-explained.github.io/architecture

And this:
https://safe-network-explained.github.io/safe-for-bitcoiners

[Jabba]

Basically no. You have much to read.

No blockchain in SAFE and it is not a ‘storage service’.

There’s no quick explanations I’m afraid. You’ll have to commit at least a few days if you even want a basic understanding of how it works.

As I said to someone else a few days ago…

@Jabba

Imagine a sea of tiny encrypted chunks of data that you interact with directly. No gate-keepers. We can all maintain that ocean with our spare capacity and be rewarded with SafeCoins for contributing. Spare (free) should outcompete economies of scale (cheap), so farming should stay decentralised. You also NEED these coins to interact with this censor resistant network where you can literally ‘own your own data’. You have to burn coins to upload and save stuff. The incentive to get them and the way to access them (leave your pc on) is totally different to other cryptos where you have to ‘buy in’ in the hopes of getting rich or avoiding censors. SAFE seeks to monetise our spare capacity to create a censor resistant network where we use our coins like a utility rather than just as money. If Bitcoin is gold and Eth is oil then you can think of SafeCoin more like grain or salt I guess.

There’s so much more to it than that. I haven’t touched on developers having zero infrastructure costs or being paid by the network for popular Apps (so they don’t need to find ways to monetise, they just need to build the most ‘useful’ things). Really, I could go on all day and write thousands of words with biased and overly-enthusiastic praise for how incredible SAFE is. I landed here two years ago and I’ve been here every day since. This rabbit hole goes so deep it is very hard to find your way out of it! You’ll need to just dig and read though, hopefully I’ve piqued your curiosity enough to dig a little deeper

SAFE Network Explained: Architecture

To address an ongoing demand for an overview document of the SAFE network, I have written what I believe to be a reasonably succinct summary of the architecture of the network. Sure it’s a complex system, but I believe it can be explained in a way most people can understand. Here’s my attempt at doing that: https://safe-network-explained.github.io/architecture The focus is on conceptual understanding rather than technical exactitude. There’s no mathematics or code in the document. I hope the …

[AdriaanD3f]

Thank you very much!
I’ll start doing some research…

[JPL]

To answer the points raised:

@AdriaanD3f

Will it be a Dropbox-like platform where I can easily upload files that are then distributed across the blockchain?

The SAFE Network won’t be the new Dropbox in itself as it is more akin to the underlying infrastructure, but an application like Dropbox is likely to be one of the early apps built on SAFE, IMO. But SAFE is more than just storage, it has networking and web-like attributes too. There is no blockchain, instead it’s an advance on earlier peer-to-peer technologies like BitTorrent.

@AdriaanD3f

I have also read that it will incorporate some features that golem has as well, like lending your harddrive space or CPU power.

Yes, ‘farming’ (the equivalent of mining) will be achieved by lending out hard drive space, and in later iterations (probably) CPU power too. That will not happen until Beta however, when the network currency SafeCoin is introduced. Trials of ‘vaults’ (lending out drive space) have already been carried out and will be re-introduced at Alpha 4. You can find a roadmap here Providing Privacy, Security and Freedom | MaidSafe

You may find this a good place to start your research.

[AdriaanD3f]

Thank you very much.
This is a very clear answer to my questions.

It is great to know that Maidsafe has such a great community