Topic: A Public Plea to Bitcoin Developers and Supporters alike - page 7. (Read 10866 times)

It's not the same. I am running 4 rigs that use off the shelf multi-purpose desktop hardware, available to anyone....not quite the same as BFL's ASICs.

Even if I were to use FPGAs, the speeds have slowly been climbing at a REASONABLE RATE that the Bitcoin infrastructure can manage. 40 GH for $1300 ?. Everyone will suddenly be a 1TH miner using specialized equipment and those who want to 'play' using their desktop hardware won't be able to.

'Spirit' killing....

Do you REALLY think that the guys that have developed GPU kernels and spent hours and hours optimizing them really want to re-do all their hard work just because of a non-existent problem? What you would get is some non-optimized kernels for the new version, with all the optimizations being done by private farm owners, resulting in them STILL being faster than you, even on the new algorithm.

In essence the ONLY reason to change the algorithm is if there is a security problem with it, which at the moment there is not.

Bitcoin =/= mining.  

Also if Bitcoin becomes large enough there will be competitors in the ASIC space.  If Bitcoin remains tiny and insignificant then it doesn't really matter if all the hashing hardware comes from a single company.

Right now about ~90% (stat pull out of my ass) of the hashing hardware DOES come from a single company ... AMD.  Strange when you built your 11 GH/s of rigs that fact didn't scare you.  Why weren't you pushing to make the algorithm dynamic and platform neutral so that Nvidia and Intel could be viable hashing suppliers?

In the aftermath of the recent Butterfly Labs announcement in regards to their 'Endgame' performing ASICs, I humbly ask all Bitcoin Developers and Supporters to take a step back and think about the future of Bitcoin.

In the first day, the Butterfly Labs ASIC announcement has literally KILLED the marketplace and future development of mining devices that have brought us to where we are today.

There has been a large enough shadow of uncertainty cast upon this community to cause more than a few SOLID and well known Securities on the GLBSE to literally CRASH in terms of price, leaving even those proponents of BFL in trouble, caused by none other than BFL.

Let me put this into terms that many of you can easily relate to...
Butterfly Labs wants to be Microsoft. By PREMATURELY releasing nothing more than FUD, they have taken away all incentive for anyone else to compete in the hardware market and would essentially be taking mining out of reach for every-day miners, using nothing more than their GPUs part time.

I think this KILLS THE TRUE SPIRIT OF BITCOIN and everything that it was intended to stand for.
I have a hard time believing that this is the type of growth (on any scale, or in any corner of the Bitcoin ecosystem) that Satoshi had in mind.

My PLEA is as follows...

Developers, please consider periodic DRAMATIC algorithm changes that would keep a single entity from being able to control any portion of the Bitcoin Ecosystem, whether it be hardware, software or anything that might force users out, while only allowing a chosen few to participate in mining.

If the above is not considered, then Bitcoin might as well be renamed Butterfly Labs Coin in the near future, if their ASICs truly do come to life.

I am a small time miner. I only maintain approx 11 GH/s.
I am NOT a hardware or software developer. I have NO 'iron in the fire' (so to speak) but I can clearly see a possible path that will surely be forced to travel for everyone, in time, if this is not addressed.

Windows and Linux..... Just remember that.

$150 for 3.5 GH/s ? .......this will surely be the downfall of Bitcoin as we know it.


Love me or hate me,
bitlane.