ActiveMining Overview and Speculation Thread

[Stuartuk]

Hope that Ken was not using MtGox to convert the bitcoins. 

Tradehill is being used apparently, although that does not exclude the use of other exchanges. Ken is smart enough to know not to use MtGox.

I agree Ken is a wise operator. Bitstamp is an excellent exchange, I've done numerous euro (SEPA) deposits with them (credited within 48 hrs at the longest) purchases and btc transfers with absolutely zero problems. 100 USD/btc there today. Often the usual 5-10 dollars shy of mtgox but USD withdrawl shouldn't be a problem.

[Panterino]

Everything about this stock is suspicious. Everything is a little off and if you point it out you get hounded with "perhaps this explains it, perhaps that explains it." We could be in for a rude surprise.

[Vbs]

If the Uniquify/Hashfast Official Press Release isn't a big deal and merely confirmation of known info, why is the ACTM Boy's Choir salivating in anticipation of, and howling with impatience for, eASIC to Officially announce their ACTM partnership?

Because they are all in the same building, it was already obvious that they were going to be working together and the press release was largely symbolic. ActiveMining and eASIC are not intrinsically related, so showing the deal is complete would be far more than a symbolic gesture.

Are Hashfast and Uniquify really in the same building?  I only ask for confirmation because Vbs said

Neither of us knows the concrete details.

 

But seriously, we already have seen signed documentation confirming an ACTM/eASIC agreement.

A press release may strongly imply the NRE has been paid, but wouldn't confirm anything we don't already know.

IDC if 1/200 Uniquify employees had a sad and 1/100 eASIC employees had a warm feels on Glassdoor.  

That kind of corporate phrenology, plus $5, will get you an organic chai maté lattè at the Peet's in San Jose.    

Spread all the FUD WRT cooling a big hot chip you like, if it makes you feel better about getting married to the wrong stock.  

I've run overclocked 7970s for over a year and know it isn't that hard to dial in a good heat/performance sweet spot.  And that's (mostly) with stock air cooling!  Hashfast/ice.drill are using liquid cooling, which is far more effective even if they don't know about Vbs' top sekrit phase-changing xenomorphic transdimentional cavitating hypercritical autocalibrating mildly psychic chip goo.

The TDP of a 7970 GHz Edition is 300W, while one HashFast chip is rated at a minimum of 350W. Also, I'm sure each HashFast chip will be built using the same quality processes used on a Tahiti XT2 and will also be using vapour-chamber and/or heat-pipes to cool it, along with a nicely big cooler. I'm sure those come cheap.

On the other hand one ActM's chip at <15W would be pretty happy even with a low-quality thermal pad and low-quality aluminium heatsink. I'm sure both cooling solutions cost the same, right?

So whatever anyone may think of ActiveMining, a press release from eASIC is a very big deal because it confirms the validity of the offering, validity of the claims from a highly respected ASIC specialist company, and establishment of a business relationship. At the moment we only have Ken's word that eASIC have agreed to anything and nothing confirming a business relationship or that payment has been made.

Note that I haven't commented on HashFast at all and I agree with you regarding employee opinion posts being a poor way to judge a company's output. You can only judge on the output, or if employee opinions change significantly over time (which can sometimes signal an upward or downward change in fortunes).

I agree, the much anticipated eASIC press release will be a BFD for ACTM, just as the Uniquify PR was for ice.drill.

I object to Vbs and others accepting the former while contriving excuses for rejecting the latter.

This was posted on 25th July 2013: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=262052.0

After that letter signed by Uniquify was made public, what's the impact of a PR news posted 2 days ago on Uniquify's website? Almost zero.

[matuszed]

Everything about this stock is suspicious. Everything is a little off and if you point it out you get hounded with "perhaps this explains it, perhaps that explains it." We could be in for a rude surprise.

We could.  But hey its the same for all these digital securities.  I think there is fairly good evidence that the avalon chips are for real and in route, albeit who knows when.  The easic deal looks like it is at least being acknowledged by both sides, easic and ken. There's just not a lot to happen right now and the silence is making some people question.  So far in terms of hardware delivery Ken has been on pace with everything he has stated, all delays have been purely from third party vendors.

[N_S]

We could.  But hey its the same for all these digital securities.  I think there is fairly good evidence that the avalon chips are for real and in route, albeit who knows when.  The easic deal looks like it is at least being acknowledged by both sides, easic and ken. There's just not a lot to happen right now and the silence is making some people question.  So far in terms of hardware delivery Ken has been on pace with everything he has stated, all delays have been purely from third party vendors.

I'm very much looking forward to not having to be held hostage by third party vendors. Add in an absence of management communication and you have a great FUD cocktail.

[Panterino]

Everything about this stock is suspicious. Everything is a little off and if you point it out you get hounded with "perhaps this explains it, perhaps that explains it." We could be in for a rude surprise.

We could.  But hey its the same for all these digital securities.  I think there is fairly good evidence that the avalon chips are for real and in route, albeit who knows when.  The easic deal looks like it is at least being acknowledged by both sides, easic and ken. There's just not a lot to happen right now and the silence is making some people question.  So far in terms of hardware delivery Ken has been on pace with everything he has stated, all delays have been purely from third party vendors.

We never got photos of the prototype hashing. This is very suspicious.

[N_S]

We never got photos of the prototype hashing. This is very suspicious.

Well, from what ActiveMining-PR said in his most recent post:

Right now we are sticking to the first four goals: finalize with eASIC to start chip production, finish construction on the prototypes (need those Avalon chips), get the Klondikes in, and form The Advisory board.

[Panterino]

We never got photos of the prototype hashing. This is very suspicious.

Well, from what ActiveMining-PR said in his most recent post:

Right now we are sticking to the first four goals: finalize with eASIC to start chip production, finish construction on the prototypes (need those Avalon chips), get the Klondikes in, and form The Advisory board.

He said we would have pix of the prototype when Ken got it back from the engineer's.

[N_S]

I'm really in full support of a substantial update. That needs to happen.

[4ju5tice]

Everything about this stock is suspicious. Everything is a little off and if you point it out you get hounded with "perhaps this explains it, perhaps that explains it." We could be in for a rude surprise.

We could.  But hey its the same for all these digital securities.  I think there is fairly good evidence that the avalon chips are for real and in route, albeit who knows when.  The easic deal looks like it is at least being acknowledged by both sides, easic and ken. There's just not a lot to happen right now and the silence is making some people question.  So far in terms of hardware delivery Ken has been on pace with everything he has stated, all delays have been purely from third party vendors.

We never got photos of the prototype hashing. This is very suspicious.

"This is so suspicious that I'm going to keep saying that this is so suspicious so that maybe I can buy some cheap shares. I don't have better things to do than to continue telling people how suspicious things are. I care enough just to warn people, have no intent other than that."

/s
EDIT: but yeah, I agree, pix would be good. And an update would be great. I trust Ken/VMC/ACTM, but it's been a while. We need to be fed.

[ffssixtynine]

Guys, I'm not being funny here but there have been plenty of updates and it's been discussed to death. There can't be much to say!

If you've invested short term for trade price, this isn't Ken's problem. It is not his job to push out news to change that price so you can make a profit. Day trading is absolutely fine but this is not a stock well suited for that right now, at least to the extent that there is only going to be one significant item of news for 2-3 months (eASIC), and one medium one (Avalon).

ActiveMining aren't trading at this point beyond a little mining.

If you've invested short term for dividends then you're not going to get much, and certainly not without Avalon chips. ActiveMining is in the same position as many others in this regard. There is nothing more to say here. The odd picture of other mining hardware is really not that useful but I'm sure will come along when ready.

The recent IPO was for hardware which is 3 months or so away. The only news (on this front) Ken can do in the near/medium term is when/that the eASIC deal has gone through. After that, he still needs to keep certain business operations under wraps and not run his business in public.

If you can't cope without constant reaffirmation of your decision to buy shares then you shouldn't be invested.

So please, let ActiveMining/PR get on with their job. Weekly updates are just fine, and those updates may be about the board, eASIC, whatever is suitable, but there is not going to be major news beyond what I already said (as far as I know).

[N_S]

From the Official thread:

Just be patient, we are under an NDA, news is coming soon.  We got our hand slapped about some information we released on the forum.  So, just be a little more patient.

Update:

I wanted to give everyone an update and formally introduce a structure for news releases and updates.  

Firstly, the Board is nearing the final stages of completion; we still have a few more people to speak with before the final makeup of the board is carved out.  Please remain patient, it was never going to be a process where applicants submit and we determine the board immediately.  We still need to do some research on a few remaining applicants and some potential discussions with the candidates we have identified.  For the few I have contacted, you know who you are and probably now understand this is a process.  Like them, please remain patient, I cannot stress this enough.

Secondly, the repeated requests for updates.  As I said two days ago, we are focused on the tasks at hand and nothing is going to waver from that front.  There will never be daily Q & A sessions, and I wish everyone could understand why this is.  If we spent all of our time addressing the legitimate (and frequent illegitimate posts), no concrete, structured, easy to understand and read, information could be released.  It would fall further into a mash of posts, news and not news worthy contributions.  However, I am, and always have been, on freenode #ActiveMining for up to 8 hours each day.  If you have questions or concerns that you would like answers to I will answer them as best I can.  These threads for Active Mining on Bitcointalk have descended into back and forth off topic discussions and distractions.  It is hard to sift through what is legitimate and what is just banter, also there are questions that just cannot be legally answered at this time.  When the cloud is lifted around our partnerships, more news can be released with regularity, as I mentioned before.  At that point, I will be doing weekly updates, whether there is ground breaking news or not.  My aim is to keep everyone informed as best as humanly possible.

Third, functioning in a PR role for ActiveMining is not just a few minutes per day of answering questions and releasing news, it has morphed into full time.  Believe me I am not complaining, I just want to paint the picture for you; I would like to note, I am not being paid for my services.  Ken and I have an agreement, nothing more, and no compensation is changing hands.  I took on this role in an attempt to quell fears, uncertainty and doubt, but also to assist in steering the PR facing side of ActiveMining in the right direction.  There is still a lot of work to be done.  I meet or speak with Ken on almost a daily basis, help formulate an opinion held by the majority of shareholders and communication, assist in the board formation, and take on a further role outside of just being a PR mouth for ActiveMining.  It is not simply just a few minutes a day job.  All of the information I receive is from the CEO, and whatever he can release to me or allows to be released is passed along.

Prototypes:

These are still in the testing phase.  The image I have received since the initial pictures of the Engineers working on the boards was late last night.  The screenshot can be seen below of cgminer and one of the prototypes hashing at 66% capacity.  There was a problem with the UART, but it has too been resolved.  The Engineers are operating on the design specifications released by Avalon and are making progress.  The goals for the prototypes are still the same as when we first set out for them to be built.  This image, and the ones posted earlier, is all that I can publish thus far.  I expect to see more as we come closer to completion.

[AstroBoy]

There is your update people.  Now hopefully we can have a dividend on Friday and that will make me happy because then I can buy a couple more shares

[iCEBREAKER]

I'm really in full support of a substantial update. That needs to happen.

Agreed, and PR's fluff piece didn't cut it.  So here you go.

Update:

Activemining-PR posted an update.  It was long and well written, containing many words but scant new information.

The Board is still being organized, as we all knew.   No goals or deadlines are stated for task completion, but investors are asked to be patient.  The controversial self-appointment of iCEBREAKER as Chairman Emeritus is the only significant development.

Activemining-PR filled a lot of space complaining about investors' desire for timely updates.  Nothing much is happening yet, but he's already overwhelmed by the enormity of the simple task of regular participation in this thread.  Apparently that's a full time job, and he's bitter about lack of compensation.  God forbid ACTM actually begins shipping products someday and he has real PR problems to deal with.

Zero reportable accomplishments made on the prototype Avalon boards. 
Again, no goals or deadlines, but at least we have his "hope" of getting over 66% of spec.

Conspicuous absence of any reaction to Yifu/Avalon's "customs delay" and refusal to communicate.
No mention of how their tardiness will effect R.O.I., deployment, dividends, etc.

Complete silence on the crucial issue of BTC conversion to the $1,000,000 NRE required for eASIC.

Share price on BTCT is 22% below 30 day average, 24hr high is below 7 day average.

Share price on Bitfunder (a much larger market without artificial supply constraints) has imploded even more dramatically.

Bids on both markets are very thin, resulting in today's flash crash to 0.0026 on Bitfunder.

Apparently investors are not impressed by the total black-out of substantive updates on the make-or-break BTC conversion, NRE payment, and protracted Avalon delay issues.

tl;dr The wheels are coming off and we're getting a lot of happy talk to gloss it over.

Sincerely,

iCEBREAKER
Chairman Emeritus, Activemining Board of Directors

[N_S]

iCEBREAKER, unlike most on here, I refuse to ignore you (although I have wanted to at times). I actually do appreciate some of your criticisms as, despite what some say, they do have occasional merit. My contention is with how you address and voice your concerns. You continuously paint such a dreadful, end-of-times style picture when one really isn't warranted. Now, many will say you do this to depress stock prices so you can pick up cheap shares. Perhaps that is indeed the case and I'm simply wasting my time. I personally don't see the juice being worth the squeeze, but that doesn't much matter.

Can you not voice concerns without the unnecessary drama? If it's simply a matter of that being how you express yourself, I suppose that's fine. But, and I think you'll agree, most of the reason these threads drift off-topic is due to people returning fire to your admittedly eloquent, if not slightly contrived, critiques.

Maybe someone just needs to ask nicely? I'll give it a try...

[Sou]

iCEBREAKER, unlike most on here, I refuse to ignore you (although I have wanted to at times). I actually do appreciate some of your criticisms as, despite what some say, they do have occasional merit. My contention is with how you address and voice your concerns. You continuously paint such a dreadful, end-of-times style picture when one really isn't warranted. Now, many will say you do this to depress stock prices so you can pick up cheap shares. Perhaps that is indeed the case and I'm simply wasting my time. I personally don't see the juice being worth the squeeze, but that doesn't much matter.

Can you not voice concerns without the unnecessary drama? If it's simply a matter of that being how you express yourself, I suppose that's fine. But, and I think you'll agree, most of the reason these threads drift off-topic is due to people returning fire to your admittedly eloquent, if not slightly contrived, critiques.

Maybe someone just needs to ask nicely? I'll give it a try...

His post history might suggest some ulterior motivation – I just don’t see someone pouring hours into a thread without some kind of stake in the matter.

[ffssixtynine]

N_S: icebreaker is a VI and looks to stir trouble in various places to suit his own needs. Ignoring him is all well and good for regulars be he is looking to affect share prices for everyone who does not know what he is up to, so he forces people to continually post the actual news or start a troll war.

It's basically a sock which is deliberately destructive.

If only there were board moderators to deal with this - it makes the forum far less useful than it should be...oh, wait, you can report posts...

[aquarius]

N_S: icebreaker is a VI and looks to stir trouble in various places to suit his own needs. Ignoring him is all well and good for regulars be he is looking to affect share prices for everyone who does not know what he is up to, so he forces people to continually post the actual news or start a troll war.

It's basically a sock which is deliberately destructive.

If only there were board moderators to deal with this - it makes the forum far less useful than it should be...oh, wait, you can report posts...

yes, moderation is non existent it seems

but yeah, report away and hope something gives

[Stuartuk]

The latest pile of trash from micebreaker contains no valid points.

btw if any one can find anything worth commenting on in micebreakers post and want an answer post your questions here.

[Stuartuk]

iCEBREAKER, unlike most on here, I refuse to ignore you (although I have wanted to at times). I actually do appreciate some of your criticisms as, despite what some say, they do have occasional merit. My contention is with how you address and voice your concerns. You continuously paint such a dreadful, end-of-times style picture when one really isn't warranted. Now, many will say you do this to depress stock prices so you can pick up cheap shares. Perhaps that is indeed the case and I'm simply wasting my time. I personally don't see the juice being worth the squeeze, but that doesn't much matter.

Can you not voice concerns without the unnecessary drama? If it's simply a matter of that being how you express yourself, I suppose that's fine. But, and I think you'll agree, most of the reason these threads drift off-topic is due to people returning fire to your admittedly eloquent, if not slightly contrived, critiques.

Maybe someone just needs to ask nicely? I'll give it a try...

You need to put his latest out burst into some perspective to understand it. Rember as we all know he sold his ACtM shares to go into icedrill. Now that has recently gone tits up. Just a few days ago he was jumping up and down in excitement at how fast he thought the icedrill IPO shares were selling. Only 500k to go then price would take off. What he failed to realise was that ANOTHER 7Million shares were due to be put up! They now have been. As have another 280k of shares from recent buyers who also miscalculated!!! There is now an 7.3MILLION share wall and he is seriously pissed. No one is buying and
if they do get bought it will take months before any profit is seen in the share price - his little dream of another JR fantasy is shattered!!!

ha ha ha haaaaa

This calls for a rare but very worthy DOUBLE LOL.

So he's on here not only pissed but trying to keep ACtM shares flat to buy himself time before he needs to decide when to dump icedrill and get back into ACtM. The longer he can keep ACtM shares low the more chance he thinks he has of turning over some profit on icedrill before getting back into cheap ACtM shares.

This guy isn't intelligent. He's a manipulative piece of self-obsessed dirt. And YOU are his quarry.