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This thread is both very interesting and very perplexing. Neither Bitcoin nor Ethereum offer a Turing-complete script execution environment.
In case of Bitcoin the limitation is enforced by the scripting language being loop-free and a limit on the length of the program. So the execution cost of the Bitcoin script is (approximately) equal to the length of the program.
In case of Ethereum the limitation is explicitly enforced by a parameter ("gas", probably meaning "petrol") to limit the energy expended on executing the script, because there isn't even approximate relationship between the length of the script and the time and energy it takes to execute it.
When I went to school everyone had to know how to transform a program to its loop-free equivalent and how that relates to the Kolomogorov complexity of the representation of the program (basically unroll all loops and compute both branches of every conditional and beware of the exponential blowout).
Thus I think the thread should be entitled something like "Script with loops or without loops (Bitcoin vs. Ethereum)". Or maybe "To compress the scripts for storage or not: that is the question!". This will better represent the discussion in this thread: it is really about tradeoff between two choices: "use lot of storage and minimally simpler interpreter" and "use much less storage but more complex interpreter".
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It doesn't seem like you've ever done any distributed transaction processing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transaction_processing_systemPlease post something that gives us readers an idea that you've ever in your life committed or rolled back a single distributed transaction. Something like Microsoft Excel 97 transacting with Microsoft Access 97 running on Windows 95 OSR2 with Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) would be fine by me. Typing COMMIT or ROLLBACK into a single SQL server doesn't count. |
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How many users can I realistically handle before I run into trouble?
One, before running into trouble. With two users the trouble starts: the bitcoind "accounts" are unlike any other "accounts" anywhere in the known universe. Any accountant will object to using them because it violates the principles of accounting. As with many things in Bitcoin there is however an unexpected benefit: the enterprises interested in using the built-in accounts have history of losing customer's Bitcoins due to fraud or gross negligence. Two most well-know cases are Instawallet and BitFloor. Again as with many things Bitcoin: it is hard to come by a definite proof of cause-effect relationship in the enterprises that are by design made un-auditable and un-accountable. But it seems to be an useful quick litmus test. |
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Open to suggestions on measuring the HV output.
Either get (or build) a simple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrometer (sometimes available from the educational supply outlets). This would need to be calibrated using a lab high-voltage source. Or improvise a single-integration voltmeter: charge a low-leakage capacitor in parallel with your Geiger tube then disconnect from the tube and discharge it trough a voltmeter with a known input resistance. Measure the time it takes to discharge the probe capacitor using a moderately fast timer-counter. Neither of methods is very accurate, 10-20% at best, but should have good repeatability if you keep them dry and clean from the skin oil and sweat. I vaguely remember from the school lab that a 1 GOhm resistor handled with the fingers becomes 250-750 MOhm resistor depending on whose fingers touched it. |
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I guess I have a long day of testing out numbers. Either I get a buffer overflow, or I get that other error.
Maybe an open file handle leak? On Linux could be easily checked by peeking into /proc file system while the program is running. |
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And the Bitfury chip was supposed to be 5Gh.... it's no more of a win than anyone elses has been.
Bitfury was a single-man operation working out of a garage somewhere in Ukraine doing his first silicon. It was already full-custom while the competitor all-star-teams did standard-cell. Maybe it doesn't rate as a big win but could rate as a lowest loss. Certainly the guy gets a medal for testicular fortitude. |
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This has already been discussed numerous times: only Bitfury used the proper design flow for the mining chip: BSIM (or equivalent analog/mixed-signal) simulation, but this was his first ASIC project.
I would so love to see him do a 28nm shrink. Bitfury can't just shrink his design. He did full-custom 55nm drawn transistors with 65nm nominal process. But at least he was knowledgeable enough to point my mistake that BSIM4 models are not required for his process, BSIM3 are enough. My best guess is that everyone else (who did unrolled cores) used standard-cell low-power design flow and crude modeling/simulation tools that usually accompany digital synthesis tools. |
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One SHA engine is simple, deceptively so, cram so many together on a chip and you get horrendous power and leakage issues that are more like multipipe GPUs than CPUs or SOCs or anything.
If it was sofa king straightforward, every SHA ASIC ever thought of so far would have come in below, even at power target, on time, or even at all. (AM had a fail, BFL had a fail. and don't forget they were working with reputable design and layout houses. And there might have been a couple of private venture flops we've never heard of)
You've got one guy who designed all Samsung top shit failing to get his projected 2Gh out of the cointerras for example. Hashfast approached the SHA ASIC game as "this is going to be a piece of piss" and got their fingers burned off to the shoulder.
Anyway, when you've gone out and made a SHA ASIC that came in on time, with power and frequency within even 30% of the theoretical capabilities of the process, then I'll let you tell me how simple SHA ASICs are to make.
This has already been discussed numerous times: only Bitfury used the proper design flow for the mining chip: BSIM (or equivalent analog/mixed-signal) simulation, but this was his first ASIC project. Everyone else used the low-power digital design tools that are emphatically, obviously bad at designing/simulating high-power chips and attempted to saved time by skipping the analog-level design verification. Thus far all the alleged "top shits" failed to post any substantial technical information. So either they are just CAD monkeys or they knew things are different than promised, but the truth was only available under NDA. There are many ways (not just leakage) in which immature process could be unsuitable for extraordinary complex chips like OoO CPU or HP GPU, yet sufficient for highly-redundant fault-tolerant designs. My personal SWAG from the available information is that 20nm CMOS processes suffer from random faults and wide spread of parameters so that the transistors aren't really "complementary". |
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This is mostly irrelevant to Bitcoin mining chips: they are so redundant and fault-tolerant, that they can use just about any technology that has working transistors ("working" in the analog sense of the word). Fab problems for a top-flight light-house customers are actually moderately good for small, research-like customers doing Bitcoin mining: less competition for the limited wafer-start slots. Edit: grammar corrections. |
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SatelliteTotal US usage:  Total US coverage: 100% (except for caves and enormous lead buildings) Technically satellite would be a nearly perfect medium for Bitcoin. It would however take cooperation from both the provider and the core development team. Provider would need to make a broadcast/multicast channel for Bitcoin blocks and transactions that all subscribers could receive simultaneously. This would produce tremendous savings both in bandwidth and in the latency. I can't really talk about cost, because I'm completely out of date on this aspect. Sending transactions could be made over dialup or cellular SMS or any other low bandwidth medium like postcards with the QR code mailed to the provider, or even carrier pigeons (with microSD cards) lent out by the provider. Edit: obviously normal satellite uplink is also acceptable, but not really required, because of the extremely low required uplink bandwidth: only to distribute own transactions generated by that node. Core development team would have to adopt the Bitcoin over UDP, which I believe was prototyped by jgarzik in his picocoin implementation. This is more of a political issue than a technical one. Edit: obviously this would centralize Bitcoin in the same way as pools centralize it: we would have to make sure that there are several satellite Bitcoin providers with overlapping footprints. |
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with 208v outlets usually for the AC, dryer, stove and water heater...
For those wondering about how one could get 208V in the USA: 208 =~ 120 * sqrt(3) This is inter-phase voltage from a standard 3-phase circuit, in my notation from previous post it would be (A,B) or (B,C) or (C,A). 120V is the typical unloaded voltage from a modern single-phase circuit, which used to be specified as 110V according to the old electrical code. Why am I writing this? To underscore that if somebody mixes 110V and 208V in a same sentence that person is most likely not qualified to give electrical advice. Qualified electricians would speak of 120/208 or maybe 110/190. This is minor nitpick, but in my experience it really correlates with those without proper qualifications. ZiG at least was very open with that: I am NOT an electrician either...
Edit: And again a link to more in-depth discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity#Standardisation |
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The SP30s can't be run at home without modification to the electrical system right? I have a 110V system now. What changes would i have to get an electrician to make that would allow me to run 1-4 of these babies at home?
Hoping to get some input from Spondoolies-Tech or knowledgeable members.
Thanks.
Only an electrician can truthfully answer your question after doing a brief inspection. In the USA the 3-phase power (A,B,C) is most often distributed as an equivalent 6-phase power (A,-A,B,-B,C,-C) when each of the residential hookups gets a matching pair of (A,-A), (B,-B) or (C,-C). So you may already have 220V power although all your outlets are 110V. Even the wiring may be already there, but just the outlet wall plates are 110V to avoid confusion or mistakes. Places where the power is really true single-phase 110V are comparatively rare. You'll have to ask an licensed electrician, because frequently even the owners of premises don't know the real situation. You could also ask your electric utility representative over the phone, but sometimes they don't have the real, up-to-date information, since their responsibility ends at the panel with the power meter. Edit: Here's a more detailed explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-phase_electric_power . For your own safety, you shouldn't ask non-Northern-Americans for advice about the electric hookups. Even well-meaning, educated people may be unfamiliar with the historical quirks in the North-American Electrical Code that date all the way back to Thomas Alva Edison. |
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As you may have noticed on our webpage, our Manufacturing, design and technical center is in Latvia, as we've choosen to work with such Latvian companies as Baltic Embedded ( http://baltic-embedded.com/) and Microworld Tehnoloģiju Sistēmas. Find out more about our partners: http://www.hpct.eu/about-us/partners/European bank accounts have the advantage of being multi currency, so the location of the bank has no effect on client service. Find out more about our bank ( http://www.rietumu.com/) As on of our directors runs a WEEE recycling business in Canada/USA/Europe, we have the advantage to offer such service to our clients and thus provide new hardware while still being as sustainable as possible and not creating redundant electrical equipment. Our product line contains multiple Bitcoin mining solutions which we have named after famous F1 tracks - Monza, Silverstone, Hockenheim ( http://www.hpct.eu/product-list/) In order to promote our products, we a running a promotion, that allows you to win tickets to Silverstone. Plus apparently you are running an unlicensed lottery. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1963/2 |
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I don't have information specific to Ramada, but a general understanding of Internet in the hospitality industry.
Their internet hookups are specifically designed to disallow the use like yours: by an unattended device. This is an important hotel safety issue.
You have the following options:
1) Setup your laptop to do Internet Connection Sharing (like in Windows). There has to be some sort of interaction from the laptop every once in a while, some sort of viewing the hotel ads, accepting some sort of the agreement, logging in using some room-specific information, etc. This happens at least once per day, but I've seen it as often as every 2 hours.
2) Upgrade your room hookup to a higher level, called "professional", "enterprise", "VPN" or something similar. Expect significant upcharge in the daily room rate, unless you are under some sort of "premium", "executive", etc. frequent stayer plan.
3) Forget hotel hookup altogether and use a mobile telephony internet connection access point.
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Just quoting some stuff before its get deleted. British company with primary bank in Latvia: IBAN : LV62RTMB0000634806058
SWIFT : RTMBLV2X
Company address:
High Performance Computing Technology Limited
7th Floor 30 Market Street
Huddersfield West Yorkshire HD1 2HG
Skype: hpct-uk
Bank Address:
Rietumu Banka, 7 Vesetas Street, Riga, Latvia LV-1013
They are green and ethical: Do you offer a recycling program for old equipment?
We are green and ethical! – We can collect and recycle any old electrical appliances that you have irrespective of whether they work or not and it does not even have to be a computer – anything with a plug or takes a battery. Collections will be carried out when we deliver new products if you have equipment you need to recycle before your delivery is made please contact us.
This is just probably a leftover from their previous con (on the bottom of the FAQ): Formula 1
British Grand Prix VIP Silverstone Six Package
An unbeatable race experience, offering you the finest hospitality, outstanding race viewing, and the chance to meet a Formula One leading personality. Silverstone Six Hospitality Village is situated between Maggotts Corner and The Wellington Straight, and is one of the best locations to view the race on the circuit, giving you views of six corners from the VIP Grandstand including: Maggotts; Becketts; Farm Curve; Village; The Loop and Aintree. As well as having access to the grandstand, you also benefit from the restaurant’s adjoining garden terrace, giving trackside views literally metres away from the dining area. Alternatively you can enjoy the complimentary bar, and see the race unfold on one of the many screens inside the suite, from the comfort of your own table.
Sunday pre-race Q&A with an F1 Celebrity
The finest gourmet food from head chef Steven Saunders
Superb breakfast, lavish lunch buffet, and afternoon tea
Free flowing champagne & access to an all-day complimentary bar
Viewing from the restaurant terrace or from the Silverstone Six Grandstand
Saturday pre-qualifying Q&A with support race driver
Gift bag including program and a radio ear piece
Complimentary parking permits for the corporate hospitality car park (one per two guests)
Event Managers in attendance throughout the day
Flat screen plasmas with race and timing feeds
Shared tables or private tables of 10
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How about a different point of view?
Intel, AMD, etc. are smart enough to know that a miner chip is out of their area of expertise.
With the expected error rate under load of about 1% ASIC miner is much more like an analog IC than a digital IC. Those types of chips are designed by rather small boutiques specializing in mixed-signal and power ICs, for example: tower-side cellular telephony or synthetic aperture radars.
I may be out of date with the current situation in IC design, but the only big, household name with such an expertise that I know of is TI.
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Are there any workarounds, or am I basically shit out of luck unless I upgrade the VPS to more RAM?
is your friend. |
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My wish list:
Secure root of trust. Trust anchor (key/certificate) burned into OTP memory.
Secure boot. Using the secure root of trust, the device can authenticate it's software load and fail to load if tampered.
Secure updates. Certificate based system to allow the manufacturer to authenticate and update devices remotely.
This was already discussed in the original thread: Trezor aims to promote open development and not trying to recreate jailed environment like the ones promulgated by Apple or Samsung. Genuine paranoiacs will never feel "secure enough", but the points above are from a wishlist of a petty tyrant or a naive newbie. |
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Anyone here knows the whereabouts of bitfury? From my past interactions with him he was either an Ukrainian or a Russian residing in Kiev. Is he safe? His last post was from New Year's Eve. |
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