Since this has been around for a while, I think it's important to ask... Is there any wear and tear done by this kind of mining, any loss of performance? Specially on SSD's...
Make sure your HDDs aren't parking often, this will kill them fast. If they do, add something like this to 'crontab -e':
*/2 * * * * echo `/bin/date` > /Volumes/hdd1/keepalive.txt
*/2 * * * * echo `/bin/date` > /Volumes/hdd2/keepalive.txt
Also, ensure plot files aren't fragmented and large enough stagger is used so they're read sequentially. This way tear should be minimal.
For SSDs the above doesn't matter much, reading during mining shouldn't put much stress on them.
p.s. Regarding storj: most ppl I talked to don't like the idea of storing files on their hdds (even encrypted ones). They're afraid of illegal content potentially being stored. Burst doesn't store any real data and many view this as an advantage.
I agree about the storage part, I don't think burst needs to worry about becoming decentralized storage, the issue you mentioned as well as bandwidth come into play, also, not sure how they would work it with so many people having different connections and speeds. but yea... BURST doesn't need to be storage, it's the mining that's the innovation here.
it COULD however, be a decentralized marketplace, with escrow. That could already happen, and would be a great plan. IMO
Hold on, could we not enable "forging" again...but with a twist. Here's the idea.
You can upload photos/videos for the marketplace
.whenever an account is "forging" it is downloading photos, not all of them, but a few of them at least. The fee involved with a photo/video is calculated based on its size, and therefore hosting the photo is profitable, because part of the fee goes to you, the host/"forger". This way it is optional, but useful. Also, the photo only needsnto be in a couple of places, as the owner of the photo is responsible for making sure its always safe on his wallet.
