So I'm not sure how to reply to this without a "Wall of Text" which I would like to avoid. It got out of hand in the last thread and I would like to avoid that same mistake here.
With regards to the "ground rules," I am sorry but I fail to see how one could take the "ground rules" to be test protocol both contextually (important) and also literally (less important, but I can see where one could conflate test protocols and ground rules). Clearly it has happened, at least in one persons case, so I apparently underestimated peoples understanding of the situation. That said, the ground rules refer to the rules set forth by BFL for what I am/was able to disclose and what I was not able to disclose.
In the next post, you mention that the test will take place in your data center.
There is no ambiguity of context : this is the next post, right after previous one where you were speeking about the meeting with BFL.
You even invited people to join, so assuming some people had joined, they would have been waiting in front of your datacenter.
At this point :
- you mentionned you would try to do the live test
- you mentionned it will take place in the data center.
So everyone who followed so far would naturally expect :
- that you will bring your laptop
- that the test will indeed take place in the data center
I did bring my laptop, but we were unable to get the software operating on it. The compile issue which I had mentioned earlier. I find this part to be immaterial though, but I thought I would mention it. You are also strategically leaving out parts of my posts that are important, and you are altering times that I said things to fit your apparent theory that I have something to hide. I find this both insulting and offensive, especially since ANYONE can verify for themselves that what you've quoted here is inaccurate on numerous levels. For example:
I said on post 891 that we did some "
simulated testing, but no live testing tonight." This would indicate that at the very least, part of the "protocol" was not followed. I then went on in subsequent posts, within 15 minutes (actually the next post I made) clarifying that we were not in the DC - I did not wait an entire to day make mention of this fact... then 40 minutes later, I said that since it wasn't a live test I wasn't concerned with why it said "0" processors as it wasn't a live test... I stated that I was more concerned with the power consumption at that point. So clearly, within 40 minutes of my first post, this was not any sort of rigorous test. Then, the following day is when I laid out the protocol.
And you clarify : the test did not take place in the data center after all (based on the photo, it looks like a restaurant, or someone's home).
So on 25 Nov, you wanted to do the live test in the data center with your laptop, but none of that happened.
You mentionned that the live test was postponed, but you didn't mention about the computer and the location until people ask more explicitely.
What happened? Who changed the plan and why? Why not be more clear about the change of place and the circumstances?
I did not mention it because it was not and is not relevant. Until we (I) am able to test a unit fully on my own terms, it's completely immaterial whether or not we use their hardware or my hardware - in either case, it's a) development hardware, not shipping hardware, b) incomplete hardware, c) incomplete software. With all of that stacked against the unit, it's really irrelevant what hardware the testing is running on. But for the record, the "plan" was changed when it was clear that the hardware would not operate in a fully functional manner - at that point I decided it was completely superfluous to waste time going to the datacenter to conduct any "testing" that we might be able to conduct, which we could conduct in my office building instead.
Here, it is the BFL official annoucement for the test of 30th Nov.
By BFL's own words, it is unambiguously stated that the test will take place in the data center.
By BFL's own words, it is a pre-release (so almost final) test with a live unit, so that should clearly qualify as the previously mentionned "live test".
By BLF's own words, it is going to establish the proof that the their product is real, so we are talking about a test with a formal experimental protocol here.
Following BFL's announcement, you did not make any comment to retarget before or after the test.
So everyone who followed so far would naturally expect :
- that you will bring your laptop
- that you will apply the experimental protocol we agreed one.
- that this was the so-called "live test" you were talking about all along.
- that the test will indeed take place in the data center
Now, you just clarified : this was not in the data center (in spice of BFL's announcement)
You clarified a few days ago that you in fact did not use your laptop, that the network was in fact not really segregated, and that this was in fact not the live test after all.
So on 30 Nov, as on 25 Nov before that, you wanted to do the live test in the data center with your laptop but, again, none of that happened.
Same pattern as last time, you mentionned vaguely that you would do more testing (but not that this wasn't the live test), and omitted to mention about the computer and the location until people ask more explicitely.
What happened again? Who changed again the plan and why? Again why not be more clear about the change of place and the circumstances?
You are, again, being inaccurate or taking things out of context. Regardless of what BFL said the test was going to be, my next post on the subject should have dispelled any of those previous statements as being accurate:
Post 1291:
Sorry it took so long to get this post up, but I have a few other things that had to be taken care last evening and I didn't get home till late and pretty much went straight to bed. At any rate, we did a small demo of the hardware last night, here is the test data I used, which I pulled from one of the getwork servers of my pool:
Data: fd90c721557226679bfc01bc971be894ec08137d0f36fd923f822e4743f954da
Merkle: 9d0e5b394ed6ae311a0f61b1
Data: e4f4a3eb23855f185379d5833f0eabb9daee8483e43d39a6a9b3888882bfc0fa
Merkle: 29a9690f4ed6aecc1a0f61b1
Both of these were fresh out of my pool
We did a small demo, not a live demo, or an official demo, or any of the other terms that you've been throwing around. I also stated that I pulled test data from my server - why would I need to do that if the unit was operating properly? WHy just two midstates? Why report the nonces? Why not just say "Hey yeah, it did what it was suppose to do at a XX hashrate?" I mean, the fact that I gave details that would seem to indicate something other than a "normal" operating mode was in process didn't raise any red flags? Perhaps I just give people too much credit for critical thinking.
But to help clarify that, I also helpfully included in the same post:
Another demo once they get some of the technical issues worked out is planned for the near future (no definite date at the moment, but within a week or so I would think - this is just my speculation) with a fully automated mining client running and submitting work to my live development pool.
If there were technical issues, how could this be a live demo?
My conclusion is that even if the units were to ship with the lower hashrate I tested and the power consumption I tested, they would still be extremely viable pieces of hardware and are also superior to the currently available public offering(s). Would they be worth $700 as witnessed? That would be up to the individual to make that decision, but I personally feel that they are at least within the ballpark of most peoples definition of reasonable. Any improvements on what I actually saw will increase the value, and from the explanations and technical details I received, I do not see any reason that the final product won't be substantially improved from what I actually tested tonight.
Now the above quote (also from the same post) is about the only place I can see where there would be legitimate confusion and I agree, I did not explicitly say that I tested this on their laptop (well, actually it was a combination of my own and theirs, as I was pulling test data from my laptop and emailing it to them so that we could cut and paste the data into the test bench program.)... but as it was not really a valid test beyond showing that the hardware functions, I did not feel that test conditions needed to be spelled out. But I apologize for any confusion that may have caused.
There are countless occurences of you and BFL referring to the test of 25 and then 30 Nov as "proper testing", "live test" "prerelease demo" and whatnot.
You clearly mentionned after the fact that 25 Nov wasn't a live test.
I have found no evidence of you telling anywhere that 30 Nov wasn't a live demo (appart from your quotation of yesteday, of course).
Anyway, whether the test of 30 Nov was to be called a "live test", a "prerelease demo" or "proper testing" or a "small demo" isn't the real problem.
The problem is that the test of 30 Nov was arguably meant to prove that the product of BFL was legit, and that no countrary statement has been made to moderate the original announcement.
Yes, there are countless occurances of that, however after every "test," it was pretty clearly indicated that things did not go as planned and I constantly updated with a future test is in the works. If the test was conducted, why have a future test? That's like looking for your car keys after you've already found them. As for not finding any evidence, go back and read my previous posts, there's plenty of evidence and I've already gone over some of it above.
The 30 Nov test was meant to prove that, but it was indicated that it did not due to technical difficulties and it was rescheduled. That was not ambiguous.
After the test, BFL confirm with triumph that the test was a success in establishing that their product is legit.
Again, you didn't comment to moderate the announcement of BFL.
Later posts show that you actually vouch for their conclusion.
So you've said this several times, I just quoted this particular one to address it. You say that I did not comment to moderate the announcement... but you (and others) also critize me when I do comment on their announcements as being a shill or supporting them, or being blinded by them, etc... So which is it? Do you want me to comment/moderate BFL or do you want me to be impartial and let BFL speak for themselves while I report what I see and my own feelings on the subject? It's impossible to do both.
Here you are pretty affirmative about the fact the test demonstrates that their product is legit.
I am making a statement of fact. It does what it's designed to do - hash SHA256 blocks. I did not say it was legitimate, I said "adequately demonstrates that it
at least the hardware does what it's designed to do" - I added the bold text. I still stand by this statement.
Again, this is pretty affirmative. You even go to the length of doing comparative marketing on behalf of BFL.
I do not. I compare what I saw with what is publicly available tech spec wise for other products in the same category. This was not on behalf of BFL, this was in response to a query made by another member who was not BFL.
On 30th Nov, you and BFL announced a test that had all the appearance of a formal test, and aimed at no less than prove that BFL's product is legit.
But the test that you performed was not valid as it did not follow in any way the protocol that was agreed on.
At that point you knew that there was a flaw in the way the test had been executed, and that no evidence had been made.
Nonetheless on 1st Dec, you and BFL announced that the test was successful at establishing that BFL product is legit.
There was no test executed as previously described, as much was said, so how or why would I indicate that test protocol was not followed on a test that didn't happen? I would think that would be self evident. Perhaps not.
That being said, there is definitely something fishy with this 30 Nov testing so I'd like to understand what happened.
In any case, until evidence is clearly made in favor or agains BFL's legitimacy, I'd like to advise people to apply healthy skepticism in everything they read on this forum, including testimony of seemingly trustable but isolated people.
Why would you not be doing that anyway? You should always treat these things with healthy skepticism.
My credibility comes from my involvement with the community for months (Since March or April, I forget) and the fact that I run a reputable, long standing (comparatively) pool. I volunteered a) because I was curious myself and b) I was literally right across the street, purely by coincidence. I have not, nor do I care if anyone trusts me as being a legitimate member of the community beyond people trusting in my pool and patronizing it. As I have said in a previous post, I am doing this as much for my own edification and to base my own decisions on purchase as I am for any other reason - if I can provide a valuable service to the community in the process then I am happy to do.
I also did not dodge any questions; the questions were immaterial. No official live test has been conducted, the software they sent me at the time did not compile so there was no verification to be done to begin with. We did not use the software they sent me, but used a test program that required us to cut and paste the data by hand, so comparing binaries would be futile.
AAaaaand another wall 'o text. My apologies.