SkyTransfer – Free, Open-Source, Decentralized and Encrypted File-Sharing
skytransfer.hns.siasky.net
skytransfer.hns.siasky.net
However the difference I am seeing with SkyTransfer -- it operates more like Dropbox/GDrive; your uploaded files are displayed on a shareable download link, rather than only supporting one-off uploads like SkySend.
Both services are identical in that they encrypt files before storing them (somewhere) on Sia Skynet for approximately 3 months: https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-d...
> Behind the scenes, a Skynet portal is a Sia renter that rents and stores data for its users and can retrieve files from storage being rented by other portals.
I think you're describing one such portal.
The magic is that any file you upload to one portal is instantly (within about 5 seconds) available on any other portal. The portals themselves aren't running any sort of DHT or federated network - if you upload a file to a portal, then all portals go offline simultaneously, then you spin up a brand new portal, that brand new portal will still be able to see the file you uploaded.
From "looks interesting" to "close tab" in one word.
> Siacoin can be efficiently mined with ASIC mining machines.
Not sure why you implied there was any need to look further into this. It seems to be based on proof of waste.
You seem to have a very definitive and final opinion on proof of work - would love to hear your opinion on this paper
bittorrent does that, but it is to much effort to create and share a torrent. i'd like to click or run a script "share this.file" and get back an URL with a key, which i can share by email. then the recipient clicks that link and downloads the file without needing any software except a standard browser.
ShareDrop assumes you are in the same network. It's a big limitation.
Regarding SkyTransfer, we created it for fun and to prove that Skynet and Sia technology work and people can create cool stuff with it. We strongly believe in technology behind SkyTransfer (not the value of the coin in the markets). File can be downloaded at any time, you just need the link. If a portal is down, you can simply switch to a different one. Obviously there is much more behind it, but it makes no sense to dwell on these discussions.
which they don't mention anywhere on site, until you try to upload something bigger, how hard is to mention it clearly in advance?
https://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/microsoft-officially-rebra...
My question is: Who is paying for it?
Uploading files to Skynet is free, but without a user account, most portals will store your files for a minimum of 3 months. Storage expenses are paid by Skynet Portals, which use a cryptocurrency called Siacoin on the Sia network. Portal operating costs are paid by operators, but we encourage users to support portal operators, developers, and content creators by signing up for a user account.
Like many crypto currencies the current operation is heavily funded by subsidy from minted coins.
Right now portals pay for the hosting of the files as a charitable service to the community. In the future, portals will charge users directly for extra features (with U.S. dollars!)
Some portals may be operating less out of charity, and more out of a desire to build mindshare about their portal in hopes of translating that mindshare into future revenue via subscriptions.
Thanks for taking the time and eating the costs to provide a portal even temporarily.
Are you still interested in the project? Any thoughts on other storage coins?
No problem on running a portal! It was fun to be part of it for a while. I may run one again in the future once it's a bit more sustainable.
I'm still interested in the project - I think we still haven't scratched the surface of what something like Skynet is capable of. That said, I'm a little less optimistic than others. I think it's going to be a long road to relevance.
They already do! https://account.siasky.net/ - paid plans starting at $5/mo giving you access to higher speeds and long term pinning.
SkyTransfer was built in the absence of any devops. No costs to the developer, no servers that need to be run by the developer, and users can perpetuate the service after the developer leaves without having to do any devops themselves.
SkyTransfer also gets to leverage the identity and authentication infrastructure of the Skynet ecosystem. Building an equivalent service off of Skynet would probably take 5-10x as many developer hours.
I'm not sure why you think building it off Skynet would be much harder. It's basically a web form going to an encryption function to upload to link generator (and a download path handler). On the backend you either buy local storage or pay for an external service which supports pre-signed S3-style uploads. Neither sounds like a lot of work.
Buying local storage and paying for an external service both cost money, and the costs scale as your app gets more users. There's also maintenance overhead, you can't just deploy your app and completely forget those things exist. As a Skynet dev, you have no bills, no maintenance overhead, and it's truly a deploy-and-forget sort of thing. As the dev, you don't need any sort of Skynet account or signup.
The actual file size limit of the portal is 1GB. SkyTransfer file size limit is ~700MB. Since the encrypted data are Base64 encoded and the Base64 encoding has an overhead of 33%, the encrypted data are correspondingly larger compared to the unencrypted data. This limit will be increased as soon as possible.
> minimal storage period
Files uploaded to Skynet will remain available as long as a portal pins the skyfile (agrees to pay from it). The rule-of-thumb for a minimum time is 3 months, but this will vary from portal to portal and could depend on if you have a user account with the portal. You can pin files yourself by running your own portal, and any portal can pin any file that already exists on the network. https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-d...
At least pick an original title dude
I realize it's frustrating when your submission 'loses' and someone else's 'wins', but since it's random, it at least evens out in the long run if you submit lots of good stories.
Eventually we'll implement some sort of karma sharing to take care of this.