This survey showed a “stunning increase in mobile broadband usage.”  And, with an increase in the internet usage coming from mobile devices, it follows that more applications will be developed for mobile devices – e.g., dApps, decentralized applications.

This type of internet usage is growing and bodes well for the application developers in the mobile and decentralized application space.  For example, Blockstack, Ethereum, EOS and many other platforms are being built to provide an ecosystem for not only regular internet use but for use on mobile devices. Blockstack recently released a platform to help developers build applications for use on mobile devices.  See Blockstack iOS SDK.

Please help us put out the word on Web^{3.0 TM} by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar).  We are not affiliated with any of the above. We hope this information is helpful.

Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM.  A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.  Web^{3.0 TM} makes the internet you use better! ^TM

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks again, The Stack Cafe.

The post Mobile Device – Recent survey on U.S. Census site reveals that Two-Thirds Access internet on Mobile Device appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

FreedomBox, a personal server that appears to be built to securely host all of your data and protects against data mining, surveillance, and cyberattacks.  This looks like a very interesting project and we are going to take a deeper look.  As we explore more about FreedomBox, we hope to provide updates as appropriate.

FreedomBox lays it out this way: “FreedomBox is designed to be your own inexpensive server at home. It runs free software and offers an increasing number of services ranging from a calendar or jabber server to a wiki or VPN. Our web interface allows you to easily install and configure your apps. Be your own host!”

FreedomBox

• free open source software coupled with a single board computer, virtual machines, Debian…)
  
• is a collaborative effort 
• to help regain control and privacy in the digital world
  
• the vision is to use free software running on cheap hardware to replace services that are not under our control
• today’s cost of CPU power and network bandwidth make hosting your own services affordable
• built on top of Debian GNU/Linux
• the easy to use administration tool
• is a simple system that installs onto your single-board computer
  • plug it into your home network
  • A web interface acts as the central hub
    • offering one-click installs and simple configuration of apps and services
    • it functions as a Wi-Fi access point
      • FreedomBox also comes with numerous apps and services built-in
        • an anonymity network (e.g., believe this is the Tor network)
          
        • encrypted messaging
        • voice calls
        • a privacy-defending VPN
        • an ad-blocker
        • an address book
        • calendering
        • a blogging platform
        • decentralized application for chat

As a private server, FreedomBox securely hosts all of your data and protects against data mining, surveillance, and cyberattacks.

FreedomBox – some highlighted features

FreedomBox video setup

FreedomBox Debian and features, system and applications

We have not tried out the FreedomBox but we are going to give it a go.  Perhaps, it might be a complement to some other platforms of the decentralized world e.g, ethereum, ipfs, blockstack or others… Once we have a FreedomBox up and running, we will try and give some more insight about the same.

Caveat: Blockstack Tor integration – It does appear that Blockstack engineer, Mr. Jude Nelson, has done some coding in connection with integrating Tor and Blockstack.  Perhaps this software might be used in connection with FreedomBox (uses an anonymity network (e.g., believe this is the Tor network)).  The best links for these repositories are here and here.  We hope to follow-up with some more information on how this might work with the FreedomBox, if at all.

FreedomBox was brought to us by many open source contributors.  But, the seed for the idea is brought to us by Eben Moglen.  Mr. Moglen is a Professor of Law, Columbia Law School and Founding Director, Software Freedom Law Center.  He is a crusader of open source, privacy and security concerns for activists, journalists, businesses, and even ordinary people worldwide.  Thanks Mr. Moglen.

Resources for FreedomBox

• Freedom Box
• Debian and Freedom Box
  • FAQ
  • Features
  • Support

Please help us put out the word on Web^{3.0 TM} by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar).  We are not affiliated with any of the above. We hope this information is helpful.

Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM.  A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.  Web^{3.0 TM} makes the internet you use better! ^TM

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks again, The Stack Cafe.

The post FreedomBox – the Personal Server that protects your privacy with free open source software appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

Another very important part – a vital part – of the Blockstack ecosystem is the Evangelist. The Evangelist is person on the front line, so to speak, promoting and growing the Blockstack ecosystem in their own backyard. Evangelists are making it happen in the real world, everyday.

As Blockstack states – “Everyday[ ] Evangelists are helping educate and build community around the decentralized web movement.” A list of some of the Blockstack Evangelists may be found here.

Toolkit for the Evangelist

Today, we will provide a brief overview of the toolkit for Evangelists that has been posted on the blockstack forum by Mitchell Cuevas. 

As Mr. Cuevas opines (re: Evangelist Toolkit): “This is a resource for Evangelists that will be regularly updated with new materials as they become available. It contains things like templates, presentations, links, and more.” 

The links put together by Mr. Cuevas appear to cover many of the items that may be needed to get started (and for current Evangelist for updates) with Blockstack as an Evangelist.  If you are interested in exploring more about Blockstack and Evangelists, go check out the Evangelist Toolkit.

Evangelist Toolkit

• Forum website for Toolkit
• Mitchell Cuevas contact information
  • Twitter (@mcuevasm )
  • Blockstack e-mail
  • Personal website

For a more detailed list of the currently active Evangelists, please follow this link here.

For more on what you can do and what Blockstack wants to do, please visit this link here.

For more on the Blockstack Meetups, please visit this link here.

Other helpful links for more information on Blockstack include:

Blockstack – the new decentralized application platform and ecosystem for the decentralized/re-decentralized internet (dApp, dApps, blockchain, bitcoin, distributed and Web 3.0)

Blockstack’s Forum

• Evangelists Toolkit

@Blockstack

Blockstack Meetups

Blockstack Community, Evangelist and …

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp (decentralized application) built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., decentralized, building a new internet, a decentralized internet, distributed, blockchain, re-decentralizing the internet, bitcoin) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

For more on All things Developer^TM on blockstack, see this link here. For more on the engineering meeting at Blockstack, please visit the forum. Blockstack makes the internet you use better!^TM

Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 – the new internet, a decentralized internet – by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

We hope that you find this information helpful.  Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you.

The post Blockstack Evangelists: A Toolkit to help Evangelist and anyone else learn and help in the Evangelist endeavor appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

To begin the series, we have pulled together a short video clip of what we accomplished last night as we began the exciting journey into trying to build a decentralized application.  We are trying out (along with others) the exciting platform by Gatsby and of course the Blockstack architecture already built for use with dApps.  We do know html (more or less), some css but we do not know javascript (we know of it, but learning it).  We hope that you will be able to join us on this exciting journey into the world of dApps.

[This post contains video, click to play]

This is the first in the series – The Stack Cafe tries to build a test dApp for Blockstack.  Stayed tuned….

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post The Stack Cafe is trying to build a Decentralized App for Blockstack – A Series… appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

• Blockstack Auth, which provided you with a single-sign on you could use with apps to privately access them without any 3rd parties involved
• Single-Player Storage, which gave you the ability to store all of your app data privately.(e.g., managing your own private token portfolio app).

Multi-Player Storage will provide the Blockstack Browser user the ability to not only own and control access to the user’s own data, but will also give the user the ability to share the user’s data with the user’s friends without the need for a third party.  Remember, it is the user’s (your) data, and the user (you) and only the user (you) should determine the fate of the data created by the user (you).

Blockstack has provided some helpful items for the developer community as shown below:

• Multi-Player Storage Tutorial

And, once you have been through the tutorial and feel emboldened to create on the Blockstack ecosystem, Blockstack encourages all developers to go and check the latest bounty being offered for decentralized application (s) (dApp, dApps, Web 3.0) in the communications space – Community Messaging App and a P2P Encrypted Messaging App (See also – $50K).

1.26.2018 Update: dApps (dApp, decentralized application, web 3.0) currently utilizing multi-player storage include:

• Graphite – the decentralized application (dApp) that empowers you to create and write something new (documents or sheets) without giving up your privacy (think of Graphite as a privacy-focused replacement for Google Docs—something that lets you own your writing).   Please visit our post on it here, and by all means, visit Graphite, Blockstack (@blockstack) and go try out Graphite with the blockstack browser too.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post Blockstack – Developer Tutorial: Micro-blogging App Using Multi-Player Storage appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

Over the last quarter or so of 2017, Blockstack announced the Blockstack Signature Fund — a $25 million dollar fund of used to help support teams to build applications for the new internet. Blockstack likens the Signature Bounties to contests where teams submit products and judges determine who wins the prize for the best product. Blockstack further explains bounties as follows:

“Bounties are a useful tool for building out important apps on the new internet because they leverage a global community of developers, designers, and other talented folks to work on bringing interesting ideas into reality. Since apps built using Blockstack don’t own their user’s data or identity, they can be expanded on or re-purposed by other teams as the basis for more complex apps that build out an ecosystem.”

December 20, 2017

$50,000 Signature Bounty to Decentralize Communication

• Build a Community Messaging App – Blockstack Signature Bounty:
  • Blockstack writes – “It has become clear over the past several months that Slack cannot be the permanent home for community communication for open source projects like Blockstack. Slack has taken a closed source approach to team chat, and that does not work for the decentralized community as a whole in order to defend attacks from bad actors or even store chat history in a reliable way. … The Blockstack Signature Fund will award $25,000 to the team with the best messaging app using Blockstack Auth and here.
    • Blockstack minimum application (dApp) requirements:
      • Must use Blockstack for identity and authentication
      • Must fork either Rocket.Chat, Mattermost, or Riot/Matrix
      • Must be available on both desktop and mobile
      • Must be able to handle communities of 10,000+ users
      • Must not reuse a submission for the Encrypted & Decentralized P2P Messaging Bounty
        • Date and Time 9:00am EST December 20th, 2017: – 11:59pm EST February 16th, 2018
          • Bounty is closed and all projects must be submitted via SUBMISSION FORM
            
            – February 21st, 2018: Winning project is announced.

Register for the bounty at Blockstack

• Build a P2P Encrypted Messaging App
  • Blockstack writes – “Encrypted messaging apps have gained significant use and traction in recent years, with popular offerings including Signal and WhatsApp. With Blockstack, users own their own identity and data, including any and all encrypted communication…. The Blockstack Signature Fund will award $25,000 to the team that creates the best P2P encrypted messaging app.
    
    • Blockstack’s minimum application (dApp) requirements:
      • Must use Blockstack for identity, storage, and encryption
      • Must not use a central server or database
      • May be a fork of a pre-existing P2P messaging app
      • Must not reuse a submission for the Team Messaging Bounty
      • The use of STUN/TURN servers is fine, however signaling servers should not be used, as signaling should be done over Gaia
        • Date and Time – Wed, Dec 20, 2017, 6:00 AM – Fri, Feb 16, 2018, 11:59 PM EST

Register for the bounty at Blockstack

Other Bounties announced so far (completed):

September 2017 –

• Encrypted Token Portfolio app as follows (September 2017):
  • private, encrypted Token Portfolio Management app that allows you the user to
    • (1) sign in with an identity you own, and
    • (2) gives you the privacy to input and view your cryptocurrency/token balances on your own encrypted cloud storage provider.

The the Community responded in force – app submissions here. And a screenshot of the latest blockstack browser homepage with all of functioning coin-portfolio applications:

Blockstack Signature bounties are open and waiting for the Community. Go to this link for more details from Blockstack re: $50,000 Signature Bounty.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post Blockstack: $50,000 Bounty for Messaging Applications… appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.