Topic: 21 co introducing bitcoin [mining+] computer for $399.99 (unofficial thread) - page 4. (Read 5192 times)

that's true...it is probably a redirect or something.
well, the way I see it...they put out a toy for $400 (1/5 of antminer s7). Some kids would rather pay $400 than $2000 PLUS you get some goodies in addition to mining.
they are also saying that the chip could be added pretty much anywhere...this I certainly don't see (for example,  iphones, etc.) since there is not much power there.

Interesting idea, but way too expensive. It maybe be justified if the hardware is harder to manufacture it.
I just can't fathom a future with bitcoin dedicated hardware, it seems overkill.

I am sure the price will gradually come down. Anything that increases usage and the potential for more decentralization sounds like a step in the right direction.

Fock all GUIs. True *nix way! Watch movies and surf Internet via command line!.. 

Finally they broke the ice!

The RonCo might actually make sense for having mining chips in it, since it uses heat. However, since the heat it actually uses to cook pretty much exceeds the melting point of solder, let alone the safe operating point of any kind of precision silicon, I kinda doubt it'd be feasible. It doesn't matter how power-efficient the chip is, the only single-purpose device which actually benefits from having an integrated mining chip is a device whose purpose is to create or harness heat. There's really no use-case where a dedicated miner is not better than a tacked-on miner in some non-mining device. Building a miner into a refrigerator, for example, is pretty foolish because the purpose of the fridge is to stay cold. Adding heat to its environment, no matter how little, makes it less efficient - using electricity to add heat which it then uses electricity to manage, whatever bitcoins you just mined you paid for twice.

The approximately 100GH miner built into this little guy, how are you going to get paid for that? Will it be pointed dedicatedly at a 21e6 pool? How often will your dust be disbursed? Will 21e6 blocks cover those disbursements for free, since they'll probably be about the same value as the fee any other pool would require to process that transaction? What about the micro message transactions you send out? Will 21e6 blocks confirm those transactions as well, or are they going to float in the nether until some generous pool decides to toss 'em in with some actual paying transactions? Saying there'll be a "constant stream of bitcoin to your computer" is either a lie or a very annoying process.

I realize that they probably weren't aiming to make a home miner, but you better believe that if it can hash, people will make it hash.  The fact that they are claiming the following makes me think that they will push the mining capabilities, regardless of speed:


Once ASICs get to the absolute minimum of power consumption per hash, I'm pretty sure you'll see people putting chips in anything to sell a product.  The new RonCo rotisserie oven will have a damn ASIC mining chip in it for all we know.  "Just set it and forget it... until you have enough BTC to make a minimum transaction to wallet."


Or python.  In fact, most new startups don't even really care what language you use as long as you can quantify qualitative data.  Most of these tech startups really just need a Tableau developer, and they'd have what they needed.  But that's a story for another thread.

-Fuse

I'm a big fan of using the blockchain and microtransactions to send messages. Nothing supports miners and the network like thousands of no-fee dust transactions with additional data payloads.

On the subject of the feasibility of mining lightbulbs and why it's pretty universally a bad idea, there's other threads already discussing that point.

Imagine a fridge that can detect what needs to be ordered, and automatically order it, on the blockchain. Or send the owner a message on the blockchain (small miner for txfee is handy here).
Have I lost it? 

Amazing product imo.

i thought data scientist is rather an expert in R.

I also see an appeal in this:

It does not specifically mentioned lamps, but if it has wi-fi capabilities and so do lamps, presumably, then 21 co device could act as a bridge, I guess.
If "mining" lamps would produce light as a normal lamp would and cost $15, I don't see a problem to get them. My master bathroom alone has 12 lamps, so I can easily accommodate 20-30 of those around the house. instead of renting, you could just push your work to a pool via the 21 co thingie.

If folks are actually interested in this, I would encourage you to visit their website mentioned by the OP. There you will find a FAQ tab. When you read that, it's obvious they didn't intend to make a "100GH home miner" in the usual sense of the phrase. It's all wrapped up in something to do with you (the purchaser) doing something related to Bitcoin, that this gadget will help facilitate. I will freely admit I don't understand it, so maybe some of you folks will see how it obviously applies to you, though probably NOT as a miner in the usual sense.

I don't see the connection to a "Mining Lightbulb", but maybe I missed it in the FAQ, though I don't think so.

Growth hacker is a pretty common term nowadays with tech startups.  It's basically a marketing specialist.  Data scientist is another term I've been fond of... basically a DB code monkey.


Back to 21 though.  I could see this being a big part of the attempt for IOT.  Kingcolex has the idea.  I could see putting these in the LED, wifi-enabled, bulbs that have huge heatsinks.  I'd replace all the lights in my house! 

I applied for the support engineer position.  I'll see if I get a call. lol

-Fuse

While I won't take apart the obvious math errors in the previous parts of the discussion, I will note that one of the Amazon pictures show a more or less breakdown of the parts that make up the total result. The Pi is obvious. What I also noticed was what looks to be a small fan. From the scale and such, I'll bet it's one of those 40mm fans that are typically in a 1U server.

Maybe 21Inc found a quiet version of those. The "shroud" looks to direct the fans airflow over the chip.

If they can do it on any internet connected device they do not impress with RPI.  RPI has already done a lot with mining so it's nothing new there.  Could have went a lot more of a finished product.

Have they made any public statements that they will or will not sell bigger miners to public?

20 light bulbs (say, each $15, 20w=125Gh for mining, rest for light)=2.5TH, then it all converges through wi-fi on this device and you've got 2.5-2.6Th for $700 and only 416-420W used for mining.  
Edited: 20w for lamp, resulting in slightly different power numbers.

I like the names of some of their positions: "Growth hacker"-sounds interesting.

My bet is that the .16J/GH is at 50GH, and not 120GH. That works out to 8W which is interesting and within striking distance of a USB port that's can supply almost 2Amps. Push it to 120GH, and you are no longer in USB territory.

21 has a bunch of positions listed on Angel.Co:

https://angel.co/21/jobs

They claim to have developed a chip that can be put into any internet connected device.  The RPi computer aside, it would interesting to see what they can do with their chip, and whether you start seeing mainstream point of sale systems with integrated bitcoin hardware/software.

-Fuse

judging from what I see here https://21.co/#section-env it looks like a CLI to host/buy/sell digital endpoints (API's). I have some side projects related to sentiment analysis / stock market analysis, I'd like to do something with instead of having them rot in my /projects folder.  

Hmm, I wonder what types of goods I'll be able to purchase with my constant stream of 10 cents per day (assuming free electricity)?

This thing will never ROI, let alone generate any income worth spending.

This is what over $100,000,000 in investment yields?  Color me unimpressed.

If you polled "the bitcoin community" I bet the #1 thing most requested would be affordable, efficient, quiet home-scale miners for the masses.  A "bitcoin computer" like this probably wouldn't even make the top ten list.