Maidsafe or Storj

[jabo38]

Both of these projects seem similar to me.  Are there any major differences and which one is better?

[dallyshalla]

There is a major difference in the scope of each project.

On one had there is MaidSafe - The team in Troon, Scotland;
They've worked on this thing since 2008

David Irvine describes MaidSafe - Google Tech Talks 2008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLA77zxk-vA

MaidSafe has raised 5 million usd equivalent in 2007;
David Irvine has made eBoxit -
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2002/05/prweb38433.htm

The storj project is led by Shawn WIlkinson:
https://github.com/super3
https://github.com/Storj
storj is being thought of as it goes along.
The project is quite small - it is in a high level language. And also lacks a lot of the organizational project that comes from 8 years of planing and developing.
Storj released a crowd sale based on the concept - and managed to raised 910 bitcoins:
http://storj.io/crowdsale.html



MaidSafe was released in a record crowd sale when the MaidSafe group released the patents to the software and made it GPL:
https://ihb.io/2014-04-24/news/record-6-million-worth-safecoin-crowd-sale-maidsafe-5-hours-5353
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/maidsafe-crowd-sale-begins-on-april-22-2014-04-21
MaidSafe has already been a substantial code base during it's release to the public.

MaidSafe GitHub:
https://github.com/maidsafe/MaidSafe

MaidSafe is even hiring C++ programmers to expedite completion.
https://www.maidsafe.org/t/maidsafe-is-currently-hiring-c-software-engineers/2001

The Alpha 2 stage out of 3 has concluded and the TestNet 2 has been live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU3pkijOa-E

That super Project has been successfully launched to commit:
Node creation
Self-Authentication
Self-Encrypting Data
Logging in
Storing Account Information
Storing Data
Retrieving Data

It is quite obvious after reviewing the above that MaidSafe is the real deal if it comes to decentralized cloud computational ecosystems.

There is such plenty of documentation I will illuminate each of you, but you must ask. There is quite much; though we can get through it.

[Sindelar1938]

Maidsafe has more substance and therefore more adoption upside
Saw a great piece a while back that captured Maidsafes salient features, will post if I can find it

[dallyshalla]

https://www.maidsafe.org/t/shona-strikes-again/1897

[STORJX]

Nic at Storj here. Can't really talk about Maidsafe as I don't know much about it. But can tell you more about what Storj is trying to do.

Storj aims to create a cloud storage platform that can’t be censored, monitored, or have downtime. Storj is a platform, cryptocurrency, and suite of decentralized applications that allows users to store data in a secure and decentralized manner.

Storj is working hard to solve data security issues with the help of its own web app, MetaDisk, and client app, DriveShare. It is the first decentralized end-to-end encrypted cloud storage provider that uses blockchain technology and cryptography to secure online files. There is no need to trust a corporation, their vulnerable servers, or their employees with your files. Storj completely removes trust from the equation. To best protect your files, they are encrypted client-side on your computer before they are uploaded. Furthermore, each file is split up into chunks which are first encrypted and are then distributed for storage across the Storj network. The network is comprised of DriveShare nodes run by users around the world who rent out their unused hard drive space in return for Storjcoin X (SJCX).
The decentralized aspect of Storj means that there are no central servers to be compromised, and because of the use of client-side encryption, only the end users have access to their unencrypted files and encryption keys.

What sets us apart from other projects in the space is that we do release regular progress updates and we are very open to collaboration. You can see our latest update on our blog here: http://blog.storj.io/post/101207370053/storj-news-october-28-2014. On http://blog.storj.io you will also find quite a few interviews of our Founder and Lead Developer Shawn (super3). Many more updates were sent out via our newsletter and are available on our forum.

And you can also have a look at our intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl3bUzfn2lg

To keep up with news and updates feel free to subscribe to our newsletter here: http://storj.io and join our forum https://storjtalk.org. We also keep a list of all the news articles about Storj, not trying to show off here but there is quite a bit of interest in our project: Storj In The News and here is a list of Videos about us: Storj Related Videos and Interviews

Our Devs are hard at work and you can see their progress on GitHub: http://github.com/storj

You can try our MetaDisk beta here: http://node1.metadisk.org

We are nearing the early beta release for DriveShare, more info here: http://storj.io/earlyaccess

See below a screenshot of our "DriveShare Live" dashboard where we are doing some preliminary farming tests.



A screenshot of our simple DriveShare GUI

[sherbyspark]

I would suggest Storj. It is newer than Maidsafe, and if you are looking for investing, then it is the perfect time, as it will eventually go up as new features are released. Also, had a currency/tech its really nice.

[dallyshalla]

Nic at Storj here. Can't really talk about Maidsafe as I don't know much about it. But can tell you more about what Storj is trying to do.

Storj is trying to do what MaidSafe has done. MaidSafe is refactoring code - optimizing for the successful launch in Q1 2015

If one was to look into the MaidSafe project anyone could notice that storj is just a rip off from MaidSafe. (minus the blockchain part)

MaidSafe solves all your consensus issues without the almighty slow bloating blockchain.

http://maidsafe.net/

MaidSafe is before storj, MaidSafe has finished code - while it may appear that storj tries to engage the community more - it is only because they can not seem to handle themselves. lol

MaidSafe takes on help and they pay 40,000 pounds a year...


It is conclusive that even if storj releases some software - it is inferior, poorly planned, and simply is an allure to eyes because of the claims for decentralized internet - these foundations of decentralization including: Privacy, Security, and Freedom have been taken up a solid 6 years ahead of the storj project by MaidSafe.

Also MaidSafe doesn't need your money - they already have plenty of enough to take the project to completion - and everything I know is from being a member of
https://www.maidsafe.org/

and reading all of the announcements by the MaidSafe team - and following their github.
This is the truly amazing project and I look forward to being on the SAFE Network using bitcoins and enjoying absolute privacy.

[mr_random]

Maidsafe is in a different league to Storj.

Maidsafe's entire network and protocol has been built from ground up from scratch.

They have a team of programmers, have many patents they have released for free, have done tests with the code in huge organisations e.g. NHS, designed to be DDoS resistant, VOIP and video calling built in to the protocol... that's just some random info from the top of my head.

[jeroenn13]

I would suggest Storj. It is newer than Maidsafe, and if you are looking for investing, then it is the perfect time, as it will eventually go up as new features are released. Also, had a currency/tech its really nice.

I still laugh about these comments.

[psybits]

I bought some Maidsafe in the IPO and hodling it until they go live and I can try the service. Don't know much about Storj but that looks interesting too, although pretty similar to Maidsafe.

[mthompson362]

No need to choose between Storj or MaidSafe. They have their differences and they have their similarities, but considering there should be some integration with one another at some point, one won't really have to choose.

[dallyshalla]

but considering there should be some integration with one another at some point, one won't really have to choose.

Yes storj should start studying MaidSafe source code thoroughly and start planning how you fit in with MaidSafe Technology - the real decentralized internet for each to use.

https://github.com/maidsafe/MaidSafe

[brandoff]

Hi All. Josh here, one of the Co-Founders of Storj. We're all about cooperation rather than competition, so I think it's possible to talk about Maidsafe and Storj without anyone having to disparage each other's projects.   Unfortunately, this seems to be a thing in the decentralization space. Suffice to say, if both our projects are wildly successful then everyone in the decentralization ecosystem will benefit. As I like to say, in nature, polyculture systems work a lot better than monoculture systems. In our case, different teams with different backgrounds can try different paths of innovation.

One of the biggest differences between MaidSafe and Storj is that Storj takes advantage of blockchain technology and MaidSafe does not (as pointed out in one of their blog posts). David Irvine started working on MaidSafe back in 2006, before Satoshi even wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper. Because of that (even though they've integrated SafeCoins), they've gone along a different and unique evolutionary path.

Another difference, as some folks have pointed out, is that MaidSafe has been evolving their concept and organization for a while. Because of this, they've had time to build a pretty awesome team and work on some cool things like RUDP. I've had some exchanges with David and some MaidSafe folks on their forum and I think all of us share the vision and hope for what our platforms can accomplish. David and the MaidSafe team want to build a completely new kind of internet and have developed technologies to that end. Again, if they succeed we'll all be better for it.

Storj is a much younger project, really starting about 9 months ago, but we've made tremendous progress since that time. We're evolving on a different path than MaidSafe and are focusing on decentralized cloud storage. You can read out current whitepaper draft here:

Storj (draft): https://github.com/Storj/whitepapers/blob/master/storj/Storj%20Whitepaper.pdf?raw=true

An updated version is forthcoming, that will include additional information about attack vectors and reputation systems.

Our MetaDisk whitepaper is available here: http://metadisk.org/metadisk.pdf

As Nic noted, we have had a beta of our Metadisk software up for a while. We are also alpha testing our DriveShare software in preparation for testing with crowdsale participants. The relevant repositories are here:

https://github.com/storj/downstream-node
https://github.com/storj/downstream-farmer
https://github.com/storj/heartbeat

We're primarily a Python house, but used C++ to code our Merkle/Swizzle verification schemes in our heartbeat library.

We've had alpha tests and the software is working well in several countries. We're planning to more widely open access to our live dashboard in the near future as tests come up.

One of our strong desires is to make it unbelievably easy for non-crypto folks to use DriveShare and MetaDisk so UX is one of our core concerns. We're also talking with folks to build Storj into many devices that have extra hard drive space.

---

To respond to some additional comments above:

I think looking at the codebases of MaidSafe and Storj show the projects are different and saying that Storj is a rip-off of MaidSafe is demonstrably untrue. I believe one of the reasons for the MaidSafe blog post regarding blockchains (though MaidSafe folks can correct me if I'm off) was to specifically show they were on a different evolutionary path than blockchain-related projects.

We raised 910 BTC from our crowdsale in July and are in discussions about more traditional investment opportunities as well. We are growing quickly.

We are also very organized as well, as any member of our team can vouch for.

I'm also working on an additional white paper for biologically-inspired, decentralized, self-reproducing servers as well that will integrate with Storj. Again this, is a different path than MaidSafe has taken.

So you can support one project, another projects, both or neither. Both projects will evolve along their paths and react to innovations in the space (e.g. MaidSafe introducing Safecoins to their platform). No need to spew FUD against either project, just support the ones you like and believe in and see what happens.

Would be happy to respond to any additional questions about myself or Storj as well.

I'll leave off with a nice blog post David posted about visions and supporters:
http://metaquestions.me/2014/05/09/what-is-a-vision/

This applies to all projects in the cryptospace. Just support what makes you passionate and as long as the projects you support are responsive to your needs and deliver, all is well.

[dallyshalla]

https://www.maidsafe.org/t/how-does-the-maidsafe-team-feel-nowadays/1495/2

Now is the easier part, delivering, its also extremely concentrated though and the new team members are integrating. This will speed us up no end so now I am mega focused on launch and not only launch. My huge drive is launch solid with solid well tested and understood code. This is too big an opportunity to rush and have hacks in place anyway. So we are creating a totally transparent mechnism where everyone has visibility.

I want MaidSafe to be seen as this unstoppable advancing system that gathers momentum and not a fait a complis of a pretty wee front end with flashing images. This needs to be a concrete implementation and foundation. On launch I will look at the wider picture and be pretty happy, then move straight on to global computation and decentralised intelligence. I see decentralised intelligence as the maidsafe answer to big data, where big data is the flashy front end with horrible foundations. Decentralised intelligence will be very solid and not give answers that look right, but will answer everything with a probability score based on bayesian inference. i.e. the answer is never right, but the driving force of the network will be to improve answers all the time. This is what I work on with a side idea wwww (what what where when) and the realisation every species needs a goal. In SAFE the goal will be truth and the search for it will also be truthful. Otherwise computing intelligence is weird, why would a computer compute unless it helped it to grow? I think we treat them like slaves just now, but with a programmed in goal then that will change a lot. No short cuts with knowledge smile This also will mean 100% unfettered access to all humanities research and knowledge, that parts politically hard, but SAFE does help loads with it.

-David Irvine September 9, 2014

[jabo38]

After I posted this OP, I didn't get any responses so I was a little sad.  I was surprised to see it get so much attention yesterday.  I feel really happy that not only did people discuss this, but that actual real representatives for each project with in depth knowledge came by. 

For full disclosure, I invested in both the Maidsafe and Storj IPOs and would like to see both projects succeed. 

It is kind of hard for me to understand many things about a decentralized data net, but there were lots of really interesting links and additional information given here for me to read.  I have been reading it and see a lot of good things about both projects. 

thanks

[super3]

Topics like these get me really disheartened about the crypto community. People are so concerned about their own coin holdings that they feel the need pit projects against each other. I've stated from the very beginning that I love all the decentralized data platform like Sia, Filecoin, Permacoin, and Maidsafe. I've had brief discussions with all of them, and things have generally been positive. We have a no competition policy with other decentralized technologies. We should be working together, not against each other.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." -Abraham Lincoln

Maidsafe and Storj are both working on decentralized data, but at opposite ends and taking different technical approaches. We have plans to integrate any working decentralized data platforms into our frontend apps. We are also working on backend solutions as well, so the idea that we only work on frontend is untrue. I don't think any one platform will have the perfect solution, but a combination of them will. This is why we have focused on providing support and polish on verticals. The idea is that traditional users will have access to all of decentralized data through Storj.

[solid12345]

Buy both, you don't think dropbox and mega can't co-exist and thrive?

[super3]

Buy both, you don't think dropbox and mega can't co-exist and thrive?

This too.