I smell desperation.
Aro is a fine project, but still lacks some of the basic features of a successful coin. There is no linux wallet, the pool landscape is dismal... Why not fix that first?
The pride of the entire project so far was the CPU only mining. It even forked to prevent GPU mining. Now back to GPUs? Why?
Masternodes: statistically the coins with a masternode system do the worst value wise. Most drop over 90% within a short time, as whales start to frequently drop their 'free' coins.
Also, if someone could enlighten me about the 'masternodes will be winning blocks based on a Proof of Stake system'. So there is no limit to the coins you can lock into a MN, more coins improve your chance of winning?
Another way to read this announcement: The rumors about botnet mining are true and ARO desperately needs more (diversified) hashrate. Is that the case?
"I smell desperation" - No, this is to my knowledge a unique way of tackling the problem faced with most CPU coins, massive dumpers with free/extremely cheap cloud services. This idea has been carefully thought out to ensure a fairer mining experience for everyone.
"Aro is a fine project, but still lacks some of the basic features of a successful coin. There is no linux wallet, the pool landscape is dismal... Why not fix that first?" - There is a Linux wallet, just that it is CLI, not a GUI, however a Linux GUI is in production. A flashy pool website gains you what exactly? So it is easier on the eye? Standardisation, that is key.
"Masternodes: statistically the coins with a masternode system do the worst value wise. Most drop over 90% within a short time, as whales start to frequently drop their 'free' coins." - complete and utter FUD. The mining system along with the Masternodes will in fact make it less worthwhile for the dumpers.
"The pride of the entire project so far was the CPU only mining. It even forked to prevent GPU mining. Now back to GPUs? Why? " - It was a decision we didn't take lightly, however due to the new hybrid mining system being introduced, a wider range of accessibility is being produced for those that want to mine ARO. Also, the fork was to bring GPU mining in-line with CPU mining, however, progress and community demand/interest are also key to the development of ARO.
"Another way to read this announcement: The rumors about botnet mining are true and ARO desperately needs more (diversified) hashrate. Is that the case?" - The rumours about botnets and ARO are exactly that, rumours. There is no "ARO botnet". This whole idea was thought up and relentless hard work being carried out to diversify ARO.