Bitcoin Forum

According to coindesk 21 is trying to build a light bulb which is mining...

What do u think about that?

It will still use a load of energy. How about central heating that is mining? At least the heat is then used for something useful.

If that is true then it is the stupidest thing/move I have ever heard.

How many hours during the day do you need to switch on the lights?
And WHY on earth would I want to use a light bulb that sucks on electricity instead of an LED one which is only but a few watts consumption?

Let us not forget that they would need to manufacture a light bulb with built-in WiFi.

So, NO.

I call bullshit.

Use this ... http://www.fcosinus.com/Boutique/data/pics/e14led2cog.jpg

and you can add a 30w bitcoin miner if you want.  ::)

but, dude ... i don't want spend 30w in my bulb light !  >:(

Mining produces heat, not light. As such 21 Inc.'s efforts only make sense in appliances that are supposed to provide heat intentionally - and on a regular/long term basis. Space heaters and water heaters are obvious examples. I can't imagine something like a toaster or electric oven receiving enough use to justify putting ASICs into them.

As far as light bulbs go, it's a ridiculous rumor. I'm trying to reduce the heat produced by lights in my house, not add to it. Even in winter, producing heat up at the ceiling has very little value.

i will invest in generation of electricity... :P

Electric water heater.

Rumour spreads faster than reality... LoLz :P

For those interested - it is BITFURY that is reported to have the bitcoin-mining lightbuilb, not 21.

See: http://www.coindesk.com/block-chain-summit-reveals-lucy-liu-as-blockchain-tech-advocate/

Go figure. I wonder what their angle on this could possibly be?

UPDATE: Apparently this is more than rumor - there are photos and reports from Richard Branson's little Bitcoin get-together that show this thing is real: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23blockchainsummit&src=tyah

Wow, It is so incredible, I predict chinese miners to have light for 24 hours per day
How would that get connected to the internet? Wifi?

Yeah, right it is Bitfury! The pictures in twitter look interesting...Im so curious what they are planning

this is actually possible if the two birds are one behind the other


are those light bolb running with low wattage, or are they based on the old 60w model?

How the hell would u put network connectivity in a lightbulb?!

Wifi chips maybe? That's an example of it;
http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/blogs/wiredenterprise/wp-content/uploads//2012/02/Rosepoint12.jpg

Yeah, sure, but how do u admin it and tell it to hook up to a network? LOL

They should make it for car light bulbs, they Will probably still run cooler Than halogen or xenon based .. ;)

How are current asics connected to network?
For instance Antminer S5 can be connected to network via wifi.

Or think about smartphone it can connect to your wifi router right?

If the waste product of computing was light, they'd have a great idea.  Sadly, it's heat.

Probably something that will be expensive and will mine 1 satoshi per hour.
Another waste of energy.

i guess this was just a joke or just a demonstration that this kind of stuff is possible (but it makes no sense)

wifi connection embedded in that chip maybe, i can't think of something else

Um current miners are hooked up to network by first configuring wifi through a physical interface....

Actually, the toaster is the best option because it's seldom used. When not in used, it's mining bitcoins. When you want toast, it converts to a conventional toaster, converting back to mining once the toast is done.

Same true for mom's vibrator, albeit that appliance sees more use than the toaster, but still. My only question is do you hook up the vibrator and toaster in parallel or in series to maximize hashing power? It's a given that both should be kept in a private drawer in the bedroom oppose to being on the kitchen counter in case neighbors stop by, thus shunning you for mining bitcoins.

No. Toaster is a terrible option unless you live within the Arctic circle and want it producing heat all day long. And it wouldn't be converting from mining to toasting -  it would only be mining when it is toasting as the heat would be a byproduct of the mining ASICs operation. It would make absolutely no sense to configure the toaster with conventional heating coils and ASICs, that would be redundant so far as the heat is concerned.

Now that I think about it, ASICs would not be able to produce sufficient heat to function as a toaster anyway, unless they were a completely novel heat-tolerant design I'm unfamiliar with. They could warm bread, but not toast it. So that rules out appliances like ovens and toasters or anything else that needs to be heated beyond, say, 300 F.

This is going to be one of the most expensive light bulbs out there...  :( By the time you reach ROI the light would have reached End of life.

I think the goal of this device will not be to make MONEY but rather to secure the Bitcoin network. The difficulty is just too high and the price too low for people to make profit from this.

It will be a Bitcoin Gadget for Bitcoin freaks like us... One of those MUST HAVE items you will brag with to your friends and guests.  :D :D :D

I dont think that it will only be a gadget for us bitcoin freaks. There is too much money invested to do something just for fun. These people try to make bitcoin more mainstream. Like 21 CEO said, they want to close the loop of the BTC economy...consumer earns bitcoins and spend bitcoins...

and by making this type of stuff they confirm the power hungryness of bitcoin to the general public.. Really smart!

on another note, those devices must come with a bigger price than a normal devices, so you also need to make roi on them, i still think this project is born half dead, i can't see how it can help casual miners with these premises

This project started as an experiment. Bitfury realize that Mining Light Bulb is not exactly stuff professional miners will acquire. It is just something to show people that mining bitcoin can be achieved with something else that standard hardware. I guess they will never win market with that because professional miners won't buy it and casuals maybe buy 1 piece for fun. IMO waste of effort, they can do it, but the question is why?

This is a great project!

Nice to see the development of mining chips wich can be used in all kinds of small electronics.
With the next upcoming gen 0,2W\GH, this could mean 2W for 10GH.
I call this a nice thing, and it's an ideal way to get the attention from the mass.

But the arrogance of some senior+ members, who really think they know just everything, and
"know" upfront this will be a failure. That's something I really don't get...

Open your mind for what other people have to say, and offer.
If not....   WTF your doing here??

You have to stay realistic when coming up with ideas. All lamp research is focused on reducing power usage, while maintaining other good lamp properties like color and intensity.

Now some company wants you to start using more power in them again? Just imagine the power waste if all lamps on the world use 2w more...

agreed, there isnt enough space in a lightbulb to install both mining hardware and network connection for it to be viable. The energy costs will be ridiculous and the BTC return will be next to nothing.

okay....no joke  :D

but when its cheap, i would buy one. just for fun!

that is a cpu not a wifi chip

Bitcoin needs something interesting like this not everyone really cares about the technology so it can be a simple way of getting people involved in the technology.

http://www.eneltec-led.com/LED-Lighting-Blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/9.jpg

Meet the Bitfury bitcoin mining farm.