Comment by kefka | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kefka | Hacker News Reader

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So do I...

Lets take a fun game. How about all of Atari 2600?

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmacAqRVhJX9eS7YJX1vY3ifFKF9CduDqPEgaCU...

Ok.. This is remote, across all the machines that have that IPFS hash. In other words, its not local.

(in console) ipfs pin add QmacAqRVhJX9eS7YJX1vY3ifFKF9CduDqPEgaCUSa4x5xb

Now its local!

Or lets do something more than a game... How about Node-Red in browser(PageNodes)?

http://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmSCrZUPkqH4gsncsD7tGXPiFpymsbwmywsHXLDh...

EDIT: I had the point in my head, but didn't put it down here. In other words, we already have this technology, and not using buzzword-bingo like "Its the interwebz but with blockchains!". These links are direct proof that it not only exists, but is working right now.

And in reality, making a type of blockchain in IPFS would not be hard. It's an immutable data structure, with append-only characteristics.

And, I also am partial to IPFS, primarily because it feels like a proper IETF-internet scale project. ZeroNET looks prettier, but.. throw away. Again, some subjective feel there, but IPFS feels elegant.

I've been partial to IPFS since I first learn of it but I know there's a few competitors in this space. Is there anywhere with some comparisons of the technology and maybe popularity (since the more people, the more robust the network) of these projects?.

Well.. I know of a few. ZeroNET, Maidsafe (kind of), this project. There's also some DRM encrusted version kind of like this. I forget their name. But they wanted a pay-gateway. EDIT: found it. Called "LBRY" (I'm absolutely not impressed.. https://lbry.io/ )

Primarily, I see ZeroNET as its competitor. And ZeroNET has the bling and the wow factor, but much of the underlying system is.. unfinished. It also requires some heafty frontend with backing DB as well. It seems cobbled on and over-engineered.

IPFS, on the other hand, is clean and clear of its focus. It's simple enough to do as it purports. It works now. It seamlessly works with gateways to allow non-IPFS users to access the network. It's network agnostic: ip4, 6, and whatever else is a protocol addon. And it seems to be on its way to an IETF standard.

i've been exploring secure scuttlebutt for the last couple of days. very cool project built around a fully decentralized FOAF graph of peers publishing/storing/forwarding append-only logs. they even have some nice applications that you can use today!

ipfs is a decent storage system, but i think there are better ways to model applications for a decentralized world.

[0]: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/ [1]: http://scuttlebot.io/

Blockstack can use IPFS for storage. If you create "mycoolapp.app" (or "myname.id" to use a namespace that currently exists), you can store application code or even data in IPFS (using the http-gateway just like you did now).

Blockstack provides naming, identity and security (you know what public key is connected to "myname.id").

IPFS fails to be a viable next-gen protocol on a few important fronts, probably most importantly on immutability. IPFS is a great P2P network for document archives, but its narrow focus means it will not exceed that limitation, IMO.

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