Nobody here sees the potential of 21 Inc's platform? What Google did for making money with websites (generate revenue with ads), 21 Inc may do for making money with web-services (generate revenue with pay-per-use). I.e. 21 Inc might be the next Google. Guess what that will do for Bitcoin...
I don't see the potential. You don't need special chips or computers to do micro payments. As a charity node, a standard Raspberry Pi 2 is cheaper. And the mining part of it is really lame. To me, it just sounds like a clusterfuck of bitcoin buzzwords. Either the VCs have been fooled, or there is a dimension to this that is still a secret.
Indeed, this HW doesn't do anything that isn't already possible. Just like the first webserver didn't do anything that wasn't already possible (publish some text over the Internet -- you could also just download files instead). But it did make it very easy.
Google turned website into something that you can make money with on a per-use basis. The revenue model of 21 Inc may turn webservices also into something you can make money with on a per-use basis. It may take some time to convince developers to start creating services using their platform/API, but nothing similar exists, yet.
A webserver (Apache) is software, not hardware. I made a micro payment solution for web content via sms payments in 2001. Micropayments is not a new revenue model. Bitcoin can make this happen in a big way. ChangeTip is leading the way right now.
I first wanted to write an elaborate answer. Then I saw this blog.
https://elux.svbtle.com/the-21-inc-computer-is-the-new-altair-8800I have nothing more to add.
I find that article to be as ambiguous as 12 Inc's strategy! It seems to criss-cross itself and I don't know whether it's positive towards what 21 Inc are doing or negative (or it's just sidelined their device altogether and gone on to talk about how this concept of using bitcoin in ecommerce to remove the need for identity is the real innovation).
As the previous poster just noted, this opening...
So, 21 Inc. finally unveiled their first product yesterday.
A $400 glorified Raspberry Pi with a shitty mining chip glued on top.
...seems to be very negative.
Then this bit...
Today, content on the internet is powered by advertising. Because we lack microtransactions. Google & Facebook & Twitter are advertising companies. 21 aims to change that. The internet runs on advertising. 21 aims to change that.
Now, link unforgeable bitcoin private keys with biometric identification.
You just killed:
Passwords…
sign-ups…
e-mail confirmation…
login screens
This would remove a ton of hassle and frustration from the whole online experience.
...seems to be giving them the thumbs up.
Then this bit at the end...
Why can’t you preload the 21 device? Because you don’t kill identity-theft if you bought the micro-bitcoins from someone else, instead of generating them yourself.
....is the epitome of ambiguity!
That's what I find so often with hyperbole of a major "release" of products like this; a following that's just as confused and unclear.
