In this case, the snapshot is being done to support the release of a new client and IRI, which will contain a number of fixes and optimizations. These reference a new database structure. Although the devs have not said yet, this new client will likely not be backward compatible. But the snapshot preserves all of the current balances and addresses.

You do not need to be logged in. In fact, you will need to download the new version of the wallet and IRI, which means you will have to log out anyway.

Should ordinary users download 1.0.3.eta also, or do you prefer that just bootstrapping servers use it?

The Cola Wars were not what the crypto wars are today, and the reason for Coca Cola to create New Coke is not the same as the reasoning behind ETHF, but this is a fun and interesting story about the difficulty of knowing your customers/investors.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/30-years-ago-today-coca-cola-new-coke-failure/

Claimed and donated.

Thank you, pickles and Dominik, for your help on forum.iotatoken

I am with you there. As I have said earlier, Microsoft is the old economy, and these projects are trying to reimagine everything. Partnering with MS would be a step backward.

I followed you over here from Nxt and even bought into the NxtAT asset, so I hope you can get things sorted out and can continue on with Qora.

Suppose some group of developers came along and forked Qora. Then they could make a deal to join Azure and sign away their rights to that specific codebase from that point forward only, and there isn't anything that the current devs or coin holders could do about it, right?

But, if this happens, no matter what that license agreement with Azure says, there is no way that MS could force the current and evolving Qora team and consultants/contributors, including CIYAM, to do anything at all, right?

Bittrex just put a "Wallet Maintenance" note on AMP. Not possible to make deposits or withdrawals at the moment.

(That Reddit link did not work for me.)

Yes, they likely did. Athereum certainly has the money. So I can't say why they would sign something that, on the face of it, appears to forfeit their rights to use (in their own way) the very thing they are creating. So maybe someone with legal experience should be consulted, and I can stop making guesses.

Edit: I tried to correct the spelling of "Ethereum" three times, and it keeps putting the "A" back in.

It might take a lawyer of someone experienced in intellectual property rights to say for sure. But here is what I suspect: Qora devs sign the Azure contract. After several months of development under the Azure veil, MS can claim that the "new" Qora is significantly different from the "old" Qora, which was MIT licensed. And as such, they now have legal dominion over the "new" Qora.

If a company takes something that exists in the wild, something very common, and enhances it with some new design that significantly improves on the old design, then they can apply for protection (a copyright or patent) for their enhancements to the original, public design.

I admit that I am not an expert in these matters. I am simply trying to contribute a healthy dose of suspicion to this opportunity.

My preference, in case it isn't obvious from my posts, is to resist any attempt at restricting the autonomy of the developers and users. Never surrender your rights to innovate and build something.
Microsoft was lord over the old world. But we are trying to build a new world, without the need of a corporate overlord.

Here is a different way of getting at the same set of issues: Why does Microsoft need Qora to sign anything at all if they can just clone the project and run their own version?

One answer to this question is: A project is only viable if it has investors/users who will secure the network and build applications on it or use it.

So, my cynical side says that MS would like to use the Qora dev team and current investors/users in order to test out possible uses for this technology. When it has proven its worth, MS will simply use the existing Qora blockchain for its own purposes. It would have to provide incentives to the current users so they don't all try to sell and leave the network unsecure, but MS has the deep pockets to do this. Technically, though, I am not sure how it would work.

Some of my best guesses about what is happening or likely to happen with Azure projects are based on my admittedly limited experience in software development. In the 1990s and 2000s, MS would identify interesting pieces of software that they wanted to add to their suite. They would make a reasonable offer to a company, usually a startup. The offer would essentially be, "We would like to pay you X amount of money for all of your code and developers. This is a good offer. If you refuse to sell to us, then we will design our own product that duplicates yours, and in two years we will easily outcompete you and you will be out of business. So what would you like to do?"

Initially I was quite put off when I read what NEM revealed about the Microsoft contract for Azure. Why would people, developers, give up their rights to the thing they created?

But now I am wondering what rights the developers have with regard to an open source project. Rights that cannot be enforced are rights that cannot be claimed, right?

It makes sense that the Qora devs and even the investors would not want to sign away their rights to use the code or deploy the blockchain in whatever ways they see fit. But if Microsoft, or anyone else, can simply clone the code based on what is open source, then what does it mean to either keep or give up rights to this particular version of the code and this particular instantiation of the Qora blockchain?

Posticipated again!?    

I hate to be picky, but it says "IOTA GUI Relase"

Yes, 9s and lower-case letters.

Mine is correct.

Yassin, please count me in for 90k for the foundation (in addition to my Deals pledge).
And thank you for all that you are doing for Iota!

Great questions!
You know your audience. 

I agree that the deal is more time sensitive. And if it goes through, it will likely generate a lot more interest in Iota, which will help the foundation grow.

So, Yassin, please move my whole pledge to the Deals column, as well.

Not having problem.
Several hours ago, I successfully sent from wallet.counterwallet.io/ to Poloniex.