Topic: Qora | POS | Assets | Names | Polls | Automated Transactions | Social Network - page 160. (Read 249452 times)

Lol.. very, very, good point!    I understand what you're getting at... they're basically saying "Accepting our offer now.. or we will come up with a competing product, and then we will CRUSH you!"    Microsoft is still evil and ruthless after so many years.   I just re-read their licensing agreement, and it clearly stated that they will own the rights to all "derivative works."  So I guess basically, by signing such contract, other people will NOT be able to clone Qora, or they will risk having Microsoft going after them.  

Having said that, I think we should focus on the root of the question: Let's just say we sign off the rights and don't care..  Does "getting Qora on Azure" really offer Qora the kind of benefits and advantages that we desire? There are only 3-4 benefits/advantages I can think of:

1. Getting a very large "Certified By Microsoft" label for Qora after we got vetted and accepted in the program.  

2. Getting to use Azure cloud platform for free.

3. Attracting certain "Enterprise" or high-profile customers who are already familiar with MS technologies (with no previous exposure to crypto) to incorporate Qora in their product.  

4. Getting known by the wider, non-Crypto tech community.  Introducing people who are not already familiar with Crypto to Qora technologies.

I am not sure if all this effort will lead to wider adoption or not, so it's a gamble.

However, we must also keep in mind, to my knowledge, there are at least 6 Cryptos already being accepted into the program: Ethereum, Factom, Bitshare, Syscoin, Rapple.. etc So it is in NO way an exclusive club.

Therefore, I highly doubt that it will offer the same prestige as before when only one or two cryptos was in the program.  

Here is a different way of getting at the same set of issues: Why does Microsoft need Qora to sign anything at all if they can just clone the project and run their own version?

One answer to this question is: A project is only viable if it has investors/users who will secure the network and build applications on it or use it.

So, my cynical side says that MS would like to use the Qora dev team and current investors/users in order to test out possible uses for this technology. When it has proven its worth, MS will simply use the existing Qora blockchain for its own purposes. It would have to provide incentives to the current users so they don't all try to sell and leave the network unsecure, but MS has the deep pockets to do this. Technically, though, I am not sure how it would work.

Some of my best guesses about what is happening or likely to happen with Azure projects are based on my admittedly limited experience in software development. In the 1990s and 2000s, MS would identify interesting pieces of software that they wanted to add to their suite. They would make a reasonable offer to a company, usually a startup. The offer would essentially be, "We would like to pay you X amount of money for all of your code and developers. This is a good offer. If you refuse to sell to us, then we will design our own product that duplicates yours, and in two years we will easily outcompete you and you will be out of business. So what would you like to do?"

Thanks for the input, guys.    Appreciate it.

In a nutshell, MS Azure BaaS platform is the cloud computing/deployment platform designed specifically for blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) purpose. By deploying the blockchain on Azure, it would be easier for potential developers and companies to interact and experiment with the blockchain, and create custom apps on top of the platform using existing MS technologies.
 
Initially, we were thinking that since all the blockchain providers (such as Qora) who wish to sign up for the program will need to undergo certain "security vetting" conducted by Microsoft, it would act as some sort of certification, and we thought going with it might add  "clout" or "prestige" to a cryptocurrency project like Qora that is accepted into the program. Plus, they always make announcement when they accept a new Blockchain partner, so as a partner, we will receive some free press and recognition from Microsoft as well as the tech community.

Now after reading Microsoft's Licensing Agreement, I am not so sure about it anymore.. It sounds pretty bad: http://windowsazure.github.io/docs/Contribution%20License%20Agreement.pdf



To be honest, I am not so sure of the ramifications of signing such contract (albeit non-exclusive). But after read this blog post: http://bitcoinist.net/microsoft-bullies-open-source-is-the-blockchain-their-next-target/, I am getting a little wary of signing such licensing contract...  Perpetual... worldwide.. royalty-free?    I know we're an open-source project.. But wording like this (irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual) really makes me suspicious of Microsoft's motives. 

I am not a lawyer so I cannot say for certain how dangerous this contract is.. But I have to admit I'm getting worried..

I'm interested what this could possibly mean as well. NEM and Qora are both using the MIT license.

Initially I was quite put off when I read what NEM revealed about the Microsoft contract for Azure. Why would people, developers, give up their rights to the thing they created?

But now I am wondering what rights the developers have with regard to an open source project. Rights that cannot be enforced are rights that cannot be claimed, right?

It makes sense that the Qora devs and even the investors would not want to sign away their rights to use the code or deploy the blockchain in whatever ways they see fit. But if Microsoft, or anyone else, can simply clone the code based on what is open source, then what does it mean to either keep or give up rights to this particular version of the code and this particular instantiation of the Qora blockchain?

I actually don't know much about the purpose of using Azure except to increase expose for those shopping for a blockchain to use...so I can't comment regarding its potential as a platform to improve qora's value. I suspect it would be a good idea to at least try, get a response from MS and then make a decision. But if MS gives a similar response as it gave NEM, forget it. Can anyone explain why coins want to be on Azure apart from an immediate and short term hype? What is BaaS?

Wow, this sounds very exciting, and we know most Qora holders were initially attracted by new tech rather than alt coin hype and P&D, and most have shown patience through a long period where trading and prices were pretty grim, so if you did involve Qora in the distribution mechanism for  new CIYAM blockchain you would start with a knowledgeable and supportive user-base.

Need to make sure you're on the right chain.    Try restarting your qora client and let it sync again.  If that still does not work, download the data from agran's data folder (replace the chain on your computer):

http://qora.co.in/?datafolder

And try re-sync the client again.. Hope that helps  

Why bro, Can you give details? Thanks for all your work too

Hi there,
I'm facing this "invalid fee" error in my QORA wallet, when i try to send some coins to another wallet, create a name or everything that i try, every time gives me this "invalid fee" message also my forging is disable even with the wallet unlocked and sync, i'm using Windows 7 and wallet version 0.25.1 if someone knows the solutions help me please. thanks


ps: here is a print screen, even if i chagen the fee value to 1000 gives me the same.

http://oi67.tinypic.com/8zqyp0.jpg

Today I was in the shower, thinking just that!

Sad to hear that! You did good work.   - I also got out but sadly before the latest pump.

I will join (buy again) if it falls < 10 satoshi

Edit: I always believed in qora, I wouldn't sell my share if I didn't have to.

Congratulations! You broke the "buy high, sell low" jinx that keeps a lot of punters wondering why they keep losing. More than a few of the Internet-bubble players gave up in late 2001 or early 2002 when the stocks finally began rallying back.

It's actually hard to be a speculator, because we naturally think that trends are informational about our holdings. If your favourite alt is down in the dumps, there's something about that downtrend that really gets to you - that says, "This thing keeps going down because the market's cottoning on to it flopping." It's this inner-ear whisper - this impression - that wears folks down into selling near the bottom - or selling early on into the recovery rally.

I know of only one way to stick with an alt through thick, thin and anorexic: faith. It's as simple as that: have faith that you're HODLing the right alt, and taking in stride the feeling that you're just another bagholder.

FYI

From the New Economy Movement blog (http://blog.nem.io/status-on-the-azure-project/):

Status on The Azure Project
29 Mar 2016


The tech team, rb2 and Patmst3r, worked hard in getting NEM into a docker for Azure. In case some of you who may not know Azure, it is a Microsoft cloud computing platform and infrastructure. Recently, some months ago, Microsoft opened up Azure for crypto projects to place their solutions there in the cloud repository so that testers are able to download and testbed these initiatives from one location.
We spent a considerable amount of time getting this done. Unfortunately, at the last stage of our submission we were shown the agreement. In the agreement, to put our solution up there, requires us to give away all our rights. This is not quite palatable.
This article has been pretty explicit:

http://bitcoinist.net/microsoft-bullies-open-source-is-the-blockchain-their-next-target/

The agreement which is publicly available for us to peruse by Microsoft, confirms it:

http://windowsazure.github.io/docs/Contribution%20License%20Agreement.pdf

Having given it due consideration and thoughts, we have decided that NEM should be independent. Instead, we are proposing to still put it on Azure as a docker but we pay for it. By paying for it, we are assuming to be a customer of MS instead. In doing so, we are free from losing our rights as well as still prove that we are able to put it on the Azure cloud and allow testers to work on our solution without NEM losing any rights at all.
In short, putting the NEM docker on Azure, in our opinion, is nothing more than making it simpler to install, vis-à-vis via Github. Putting it on Azure also extends our solution to making it available to people who are familiar with the MS service platform.

NEM does not believe that it should lose its rights to anyone, not in the very spirit of how crypto projects are founded upon.
On that basis, NEM would like to announce that it has no intention to get itself listed in Azure for free like the rest of the other projects, unless MS waives that agreement, for which if they are sincere, they should. Instead NEM will investigate a paid addition to Azure, achieving the same goal for a cost but keeping our full rights.

A Small Update and Announcement

Some of the Qora Devs members had a discussion concerning Microsoft Azure Baas Platform, and we've agreed to explore that option after the release of V.0.26.  One of the devs will be contacting Microsoft and see how we can cooperate in order to deploy Qora Blockchain on the Microsoft Azure Cloud and join the Microsoft Azure Blockchain Baas Program. *See Update*

We believe by signing on to the Microsoft Azure program, it will add "prestige" and "legitimacy" to Qora Development.  The recognition alone will be worth the effort.  

I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Feel free to voice your opinion in this thread. Thank you!  

PS: Everything discussed in relation to Azure BaaS should be considered "tentative." The reason I posted this now is to throw this idea out here, so we can discuss the Pros and Cons as a community. Thank you.

Update: We're currently debating whether Qora should be on MS Azure's BaaS blockchain service or not, and we welcome all inputs/suggestions from the community.  

Please read some of my posts from the past couple days to get an idea.. 

LOL.. That's too bad. 

That's great news!! Thanks for sharing CIYAM!  

Where can we read about the proposed blockchain and the technology behind it?  Just to make it clear to our community members, there will be no coins issued, and the blockchain will supplement Qora and facilitate ACCT between all parties, right?

I'd definitely like to learn more about your plan.

Thanks!

Are you still thinking of monetizing ATfunding asset ?

Although perhaps unknown to many on this forum the CIYAM Developers have been developing a new kind of blockchain technology for the last couple of years (it isn't ready for use yet but is getting close to completion).

As the CIYAM Developers have been involved with Qora for some time we are now considering the idea of perhaps creating a clone of Qora that works using the principles of the CIYAM blockchain (which is not POS but instead a POW for account creation that then works on hash-chains for block creation) as a trial of the concept.

The final CIYAM blockchain won't be a coin and if this Qora clone is actually created then it won't be owned or controlled by CIYAM but instead according to rules that will be part of the coin's creation (perhaps involving those Qora holders prior to the block that was published before this post).

Such a clone would of course support AT and ACCT between Qora and itself (and Burst) so IMO it should actually help both Qora and Burst.

Also to perhaps put things in perspective (as to why I am suggesting a clone) please research Diaspora (which was a failed attempt at a decentralised social network). IMO you can't charge people to create blogs or web pages (as it will never take off) so you need a way that allows that to be free (which requires controlling the amount of accounts that can be created to avoid attacks).