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submitted by j0j0r0 to ethereum [link] [comments]
Dragonchain Public Proposal TL;DR:Dragonchain has demonstrated twice Reddit's entire total daily volume (votes, comments, and posts per Reddit 2019 Year in Review) in a 24-hour demo on an operational network. Every single transaction on Dragonchain is decentralized immediately through 5 levels of Dragon Net, and then secured with combined proof on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Binance Chain, via Interchain. At the time, in January 2020, the entire cost of the demo was approximately $25K on a single system (transaction fees locked at $0.0001/txn). With current fees (lowest fee $0.0000025/txn), this would cost as little as $625.
Watch Joe walk through the entire proposal and answer questions on YouTube.
This proposal is also available on the Dragonchain blog.
Hello Reddit and Ethereum community!I'm Joe Roets, Founder & CEO of Dragonchain. When the team and I first heard about The Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off we were intrigued. We believe we have the solutions Reddit seeks for its community points system and we have them at scale.
For your consideration, we have submitted our proposal below. The team at Dragonchain and I welcome and look forward to your technical questions, philosophical feedback, and fair criticism, to build a scaling solution for Reddit that will empower its users. Because our architecture is unlike other blockchain platforms out there today, we expect to receive many questions while people try to grasp our project. I will answer all questions here in this thread on Reddit, and I've answered some questions in the stream on YouTube.
We have seen good discussions so far in the competition. We hope that Reddit's scaling solution will emerge from The Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off and that Reddit will have great success with the implementation.
Executive summaryDragonchain is a robust open source hybrid blockchain platform that has proven to withstand the passing of time since our inception in 2014. We have continued to evolve to harness the scalability of private nodes, yet take full advantage of the security of public decentralized networks, like Ethereum. We have a live, operational, and fully functional Interchain network integrating Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and ~700 independent Dragonchain nodes. Every transaction is secured to Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Ethereum Classic. Transactions are immediately usable on chain, and the first decentralization is seen within 20 seconds on Dragon Net. Security increases further to public networks ETH, BTC, and ETC within 10 minutes to 2 hours. Smart contracts can be written in any executable language, offering full freedom to existing developers. We invite any developer to watch the demo, play with our SDK's, review open source code, and to help us move forward. Dragonchain specializes in scalable loyalty & rewards solutions and has built a decentralized social network on chain, with very affordable transaction costs. This experience can be combined with the insights Reddit and the Ethereum community have gained in the past couple of months to roll out the solution at a rapid pace.
Response and PoCIn The Great Reddit Scaling Bake-Off post, Reddit has asked for a series of demonstrations, requirements, and other considerations. In this section, we will attempt to answer all of these requests.
Live Demo
A live proof of concept showing hundreds of thousands of transactionsOn Jan 7, 2020, Dragonchain hosted a 24-hour live demonstration during which a quarter of a billion (250 million+) transactions executed fully on an operational network. Every single transaction on Dragonchain is decentralized immediately through 5 levels of Dragon Net, and then secured with combined proof on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Binance Chain, via Interchain. This means that every single transaction is secured by, and traceable to these networks. An attack on this system would require a simultaneous attack on all of the Interchained networks.
24 hours in 4 minutes (YouTube):
24 hours in 4 minutes
The demonstration was of a single business system, and any user is able to scale this further, by running multiple systems simultaneously. Our goals for the event were to demonstrate a consistent capacity greater than that of Visa over an extended time period.
Tooling to reproduce our demo is available here:
Source Code
Source code (for on & off-chain components as well tooling used for the PoC). The source code does not have to be shared publicly, but if Reddit decides to use a particular solution it will need to be shared with Reddit at some point.
How it works & scales
Architectural ScalingDragonchain's architecture attacks the scalability issue from multiple angles. Dragonchain is a hybrid blockchain platform, wherein every transaction is protected on a business node to the requirements of that business or purpose. A business node may be held completely private or may be exposed or replicated to any level of exposure desired.
Every node has its own blockchain and is independently scalable. Dragonchain established Context Based Verification as its consensus model. Every transaction is immediately usable on a trust basis, and in time is provable to an increasing level of decentralized consensus. A transaction will have a level of decentralization to independently owned and deployed Dragonchain nodes (~700 nodes) within seconds, and full decentralization to BTC and ETH within minutes or hours. Level 5 nodes (Interchain nodes) function to secure all transactions to public or otherwise external chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These nodes scale the system by aggregating multiple blocks into a single Interchain transaction on a cadence. This timing is configurable based upon average fees for each respective chain. For detailed information about Dragonchain's architecture, and Context Based Verification, please refer to the Dragonchain Architecture Document.
Economic ScalingAn interesting feature of Dragonchain's network consensus is its economics and scarcity model. Since Dragon Net nodes (L2-L4) are independent staking nodes, deployment to cloud platforms would allow any of these nodes to scale to take on a large percentage of the verification work. This is great for scalability, but not good for the economy, because there is no scarcity, and pricing would develop a downward spiral and result in fewer verification nodes. For this reason, Dragonchain uses TIME as scarcity.
TIME is calculated as the number of Dragons held, multiplied by the number of days held. TIME influences the user's access to features within the Dragonchain ecosystem. It takes into account both the Dragon balance and length of time each Dragon is held. TIME is staked by users against every verification node and dictates how much of the transaction fees are awarded to each participating node for every block.
TIME also dictates the transaction fee itself for the business node. TIME is staked against a business node to set a deterministic transaction fee level (see transaction fee table below in Cost section). This is very interesting in a discussion about scaling because it guarantees independence for business implementation. No matter how much traffic appears on the entire network, a business is guaranteed to not see an increased transaction fee rate.
Scaled DeploymentDragonchain uses Docker and Kubernetes to allow the use of best practices traditional system scaling. Dragonchain offers managed nodes with an easy to use web based console interface. The user may also deploy a Dragonchain node within their own datacenter or favorite cloud platform. Users have deployed Dragonchain nodes on-prem on Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, MS Azure, and other hosting platforms around the world. Any executable code, anything you can write, can be written into a smart contract. This flexibility is what allows us to say that developers with no blockchain experience can use any code language to access the benefits of blockchain. Customers have used NodeJS, Python, Java, and even BASH shell script to write smart contracts on Dragonchain.
With Docker containers, we achieve better separation of concerns, faster deployment, higher reliability, and lower response times.
We chose Kubernetes for its self-healing features, ability to run multiple services on one server, and its large and thriving development community. It is resilient, scalable, and automated. OpenFaaS allows us to package smart contracts as Docker images for easy deployment.
Contract deployment time is now bounded only by the size of the Docker image being deployed but remains fast even for reasonably large images. We also take advantage of Docker's flexibility and its ability to support any language that can run on x86 architecture. Any image, public or private, can be run as a smart contract using Dragonchain.
Flexibility in ScalingDragonchain's architecture considers interoperability and integration as key features. From inception, we had a goal to increase adoption via integration with real business use cases and traditional systems.
We envision the ability for Reddit, in the future, to be able to integrate alternate content storage platforms or other financial services along with the token.
Cost estimates (on-chain and off-chain) For the purpose of this proposal, we assume that all transactions are on chain (posts, replies, and votes).On the Dragonchain network, transaction costs are deterministic/predictable. By staking TIME on the business node (as described above) Reddit can reduce transaction costs to as low as $0.0000025 per transaction.
Dragonchain Fees Table
Getting Started
How to run itBuilding on Dragonchain is simple and requires no blockchain experience. Spin up a business node (L1) in our managed environment (AWS), run it in your own cloud environment, or on-prem in your own datacenter. Clear documentation will walk you through the steps of spinning up your first Dragonchain Level 1 Business node.
Getting started is easy...
ArchitectureDragonchain is an open source hybrid platform. Through Dragon Net, each chain combines the power of a public blockchain (like Ethereum) with the privacy of a private blockchain.
Dragonchain organizes its network into five separate levels. A Level 1, or business node, is a totally private blockchain only accessible through the use of public/private keypairs. All business logic, including smart contracts, can be executed on this node directly and added to the chain.
After creating a block, the Level 1 business node broadcasts a version stripped of sensitive private data to Dragon Net. Three Level 2 Validating nodes validate the transaction based on guidelines determined from the business. A Level 3 Diversity node checks that the level 2 nodes are from a diverse array of locations. A Level 4 Notary node, hosted by a KYC partner, then signs the validation record received from the Level 3 node. The transaction hash is ledgered to the Level 5 public chain to take advantage of the hash power of massive public networks.
Dragon Net can be thought of as a "blockchain of blockchains", where every level is a complete private blockchain. Because an L1 can send to multiple nodes on a single level, proof of existence is distributed among many places in the network. Eventually, proof of existence reaches level 5 and is published on a public network.
API Documentation
APIs (on chain & off)
SDK Source
Nobody's Perfect
Known issues or tradeoffs
Costs and resources
Summary of cost & resource information for both on-chain & off-chain components used in the PoC, as well as cost & resource estimates for further scaling. If your PoC is not on mainnet, make note of any mainnet caveats (such as congestion issues).Every transaction on the PoC system had a transaction fee of $0.0001 (one-hundredth of a cent USD). At 256MM transactions, the demo cost $25,600. With current operational fees, the same demonstration would cost $640 USD.
For the demonstration, to achieve throughput to mimic a worldwide payments network, we modeled several clients in AWS and 4-5 business nodes to handle the traffic. The business nodes were tuned to handle higher throughput by adjusting memory and machine footprint on AWS. This flexibility is valuable to implementing a system such as envisioned by Reddit. Given that Reddit's daily traffic (posts, replies, and votes) is less than half that of our demo, we would expect that the entire Reddit system could be handled on 2-5 business nodes using right-sized containers on AWS or similar environments.
Verification was accomplished on the operational Dragon Net network with over 700 independently owned verification nodes running around the world at no cost to the business other than paid transaction fees.
This PoC should scale to the numbers below with minimal costs (both on & off-chain). There should also be a clear path to supporting hundreds of millions of users.During Dragonchain's 24 hour demo, the above required numbers were reached within the first few minutes.
Reddit's total activity is 9000% more than Ethereum's total transaction level. Even if you do not include votes, it is still 700% more than Ethereum's current volume. Dragonchain has demonstrated that it can handle 250 million transactions a day, and it's architecture allows for multiple systems to work at that level simultaneously. In our PoC, we demonstrate double the full capacity of Reddit, and every transaction was proven all the way to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Reddit Scaling on Ethereum
Solutions should not depend on any single third-party provider. We prefer solutions that do not depend on specific entities such as Reddit or another provider, and solutions with no single point of control or failure in off-chain components but recognize there are numerous trade-offs to considerDragonchain's architecture calls for a hybrid approach. Private business nodes hold the sensitive data while the validation and verification of transactions for the business are decentralized within seconds and secured to public blockchains within 10 minutes to 2 hours. Nodes could potentially be controlled by owners of individual subreddits for more organic decentralization.
Usability Scaling solutions should have a simple end user experience.
Users shouldn't have to maintain any extra state/proofs, regularly monitor activity, keep track of extra keys, or sign anything other than their normal transactionsDragonchain and its customers have demonstrated extraordinary usability as a feature in many applications, where users do not need to know that the system is backed by a live blockchain. Lyceum is one of these examples, where the progress of academy courses is being tracked, and successful completion of courses is rewarded with certificates on chain. Our @Save_The_Tweet bot is popular on Twitter. When used with one of the following hashtags - #please, #blockchain, #ThankYou, or #eternalize the tweet is saved through Eternal to multiple blockchains. A proof report is available for future reference. Other examples in use are DEN, our decentralized social media platform, and our console, where users can track their node rewards, view their TIME, and operate a business node.
Transactions complete in a reasonable amount of time (seconds or minutes, not hours or days)All transactions are immediately usable on chain by the system. A transaction begins the path to decentralization at the conclusion of a 5-second block when it gets distributed across 5 separate community run nodes. Full decentralization occurs within 10 minutes to 2 hours depending on which interchain (Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Ethereum Classic) the transaction hits first. Within approximately 2 hours, the combined hash power of all interchained blockchains secures the transaction.
Free to use for end users (no gas fees, or fixed/minimal fees that Reddit can pay on their behalf)With transaction pricing as low as $0.0000025 per transaction, it may be considered reasonable for Reddit to cover transaction fees for users.
All of Reddit's Transactions on Blockchain (month)
Community points can be earned by users and distributed directly to their Reddit account in batch (as per Reddit minting plan), and allow users to withdraw rewards to their Ethereum wallet whenever they wish. Withdrawal fees can be paid by either user or Reddit. This model has been operating inside the Dragonchain system since 2018, and many security and financial compliance features can be optionally added. We feel that this capability greatly enhances user experience because it is seamless to a regular user without cryptocurrency experience, yet flexible to a tech savvy user. With regard to currency or token transactions, these would occur on the Reddit network, verified to BTC and ETH. These transactions would incur the $0.0000025 transaction fee. To estimate this fee we use the monthly active Reddit users statista with a 60% adoption rate and an estimated 10 transactions per month average resulting in an approximate $720 cost across the system. Reddit could feasibly incur all associated internal network charges (mining/minting, transfer, burn) as these are very low and controllable fees.
Reddit Internal Token Transaction Fees
Reddit Ethereum Token Transaction Fees
When we consider further the Ethereum fees that might be incurred, we have a few choices for a solution.
Bonus Points
Users should be able to view their balances & transactions via a blockchain explorer-style interfaceFrom interfaces for users who have no knowledge of blockchain technology to users who are well versed in blockchain terms such as those present in a typical block explorer, a system powered by Dragonchain has flexibility on how to provide balances and transaction data to users. Transactions can be made viewable in an Eternal Proof Report, which displays raw data along with TIME staking information and traceability all the way to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and every other Interchained network. The report shows fields such as transaction ID, timestamp, block ID, multiple verifications, and Interchain proof. See example here.
Node payouts within the Dragonchain console are listed in chronological order and can be further seen in either Dragons or USD. See example here.
In our social media platform, Dragon Den, users can see, in real-time, their NRG and MTR balances. See example here.
A new influencer app powered by Dragonchain, Raiinmaker, breaks down data into a user friendly interface that shows coin portfolio, redeemed rewards, and social scores per campaign. See example here.
Exiting is fast & simpleWithdrawing funds on Dragonchain's console requires three clicks, however, withdrawal scenarios with more enhanced security features per Reddit's discretion are obtainable.
Interoperability Compatibility with third party apps (wallets/contracts/etc) is necessary.Proven interoperability at scale that surpasses the required specifications. Our entire platform consists of interoperable blockchains connected to each other and traditional systems. APIs are well documented. Third party permissions are possible with a simple smart contract without the end user being aware. No need to learn any specialized proprietary language. Any code base (not subsets) is usable within a Docker container. Interoperable with any blockchain or traditional APIs. We've witnessed relatively complex systems built by engineers with no blockchain or cryptocurrency experience. We've also demonstrated the creation of smart contracts within minutes built with BASH shell and Node.js. Please see our source code and API documentation.
Scaling solutions should be extensible and allow third parties to build on top of it Open source and extensible
Documentation should be clear and completeFor full documentation, explore our docs, SDK's, Github repo's, architecture documents, original Disney documentation, and other links or resources provided in this proposal.
Third-party permissionless integrations should be possible & straightforward Smart contracts are Docker based, can be written in any language, use full language (not subsets), and can therefore be integrated with any system including traditional system APIs. Simple is better. Learning an uncommon or proprietary language should not be necessary.Advanced knowledge of mathematics, cryptography, or L2 scaling should not be required. Compatibility with common utilities & toolchains is expected.
Dragonchain business nodes and smart contracts leverage Docker to allow the use of literally any language or executable code. No proprietary language is necessary. We've witnessed relatively complex systems built by engineers with no blockchain or cryptocurrency experience. We've also demonstrated the creation of smart contracts within minutes built with BASH shell and Node.js.
Bonus Points: Show us how it works. Do you have an idea for a cool new use case for Community Points? Build it!
TIMECommunity points could be awarded to Reddit users based upon TIME too, whereas the longer someone is part of a subreddit, the more community points someone naturally gained, even if not actively commenting or sharing new posts. A daily login could be required for these community points to be credited. This grants awards to readers too and incentivizes readers to create an account on Reddit if they browse the website often. This concept could also be leveraged to provide some level of reputation based upon duration and consistency of contribution to a community subreddit.
Dragon DenDragonchain has already built a social media platform that harnesses community involvement. Dragon Den is a decentralized community built on the Dragonchain blockchain platform. Dragon Den is Dragonchain's answer to fake news, trolling, and censorship. It incentivizes the creation and evaluation of quality content within communities. It could be described as being a shareholder of a subreddit or Reddit in its entirety. The more your subreddit is thriving, the more rewarding it will be. Den is currently in a public beta and in active development, though the real token economy is not live yet. There are different tokens for various purposes. Two tokens are Lair Ownership Rights (LOR) and Lair Ownership Tokens (LOT). LOT is a non-fungible token for ownership of a specific Lair. LOT will only be created and converted from LOR.
Energy (NRG) and Matter (MTR) work jointly. Your MTR determines how much NRG you receive in a 24-hour period. Providing quality content, or evaluating content will earn MTR.
Security. Users have full ownership & control of their points.All community points awarded based upon any type of activity or gift, are secured and provable to all Interchain networks (currently BTC, ETH, ETC). Users are free to spend and withdraw their points as they please, depending on the features Reddit wants to bring into production.
Balances and transactions cannot be forged, manipulated, or blocked by Reddit or anyone elseUsers can withdraw their balance to their ERC20 wallet, directly through Reddit. Reddit can cover the fees on their behalf, or the user covers this with a portion of their balance.
Users should own their points and be able to get on-chain ERC20 tokens without permission from anyone elseThrough our console users can withdraw their ERC20 rewards. This can be achieved on Reddit too. Here is a walkthrough of our console, though this does not show the quick withdrawal functionality, a user can withdraw at any time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNlTMxnfVHw
Points should be recoverable to on-chain ERC20 tokens even if all third-parties involved go offlineIf necessary, signed transactions from the Reddit system (e.g. Reddit + Subreddit) can be sent to the Ethereum smart contract for minting.
A public, third-party review attesting to the soundness of the design should be availableTo our knowledge, at least two large corporations, including a top 3 accounting firm, have conducted positive reviews. These reviews have never been made public, as Dragonchain did not pay or contract for these studies to be released.
Bonus pointsSee above
Compatibility with HSMs & hardware walletsFor the purpose of this proposal, all tokenization would be on the Ethereum network using standard token contracts and as such, would be able to leverage all hardware wallet and Ethereum ecosystem services.
Other Considerations
Minting/distributing tokens is not performed by Reddit directlyThis operation can be automated by smart contract on Ethereum. Subreddits can if desired have a role to play.
One off point burning, as well as recurring, non-interactive point burning (for subreddit memberships) should be possible and scalableThis is possible and scalable with interaction between Dragonchain Reddit system and Ethereum token contract(s).
Fully open-source solutions are strongly preferredDragonchain is fully open source (see section on Disney release after conclusion).
ConclusionWhether it is today, or in the future, we would like to work together to bring secure flexibility to the highest standards. It is our hope to be considered by Ethereum, Reddit, and other integrative solutions so we may further discuss the possibilities of implementation. In our public demonstration, 256 million transactions were handled in our operational network on chain in 24 hours, for the low cost of $25K, which if run today would cost $625. Dragonchain's interoperable foundation provides the atmosphere necessary to implement a frictionless community points system. Thank you for your consideration of our proposal. We look forward to working with the community to make something great!
Disney Releases Blockchain Platform as Open SourceThe team at Disney created the Disney Private Blockchain Platform. The system was a hybrid interoperable blockchain platform for ledgering and smart contract development geared toward solving problems with blockchain adoption and usability. All objective evaluation would consider the team's output a success. We released a list of use cases that we explored in some capacity at Disney, and our input on blockchain standardization as part of our participation in the W3C Blockchain Community Group.
Open SourceIn 2016, Roets proposed to release the platform as open source to spread the technology outside of Disney, as others within the W3C group were interested in the solutions that had been created inside of Disney.
Following a long process, step by step, the team met requirements for release. Among the requirements, the team had to:
The Disney Open Source Committee approved the application known as OSSRELEASE-10, and the code was released on October 2, 2016. Disney decided to not issue a press release.
Original OSSRELASE-10 document
Dragonchain FoundationThe Dragonchain Foundation was created on January 17, 2017. https://den.social/l/Dragonchain/24130078352e485d96d2125082151cf0/dragonchain-and-disney/
April 30, 2020 | There's more than just the sound of thousands of vacuumssubmitted by 1TMine to u/1TMine [link] [comments]
It is very easy to just silo the arcane bitcoin mining process as just a bunch of machines computing mathematical algorithms. Although for the most part this is true, and the veracity of this is not far off from the real truth, but what we see on the surface is not identical to what we see below the surface. Understanding bitcoin mining goes beyond the USB enabled ASIC miners we are accustomed to see on every thumbnail article we come across related to this industry.
It's easy to understand why newbies halt their understanding of bitcoin mining to just state-of-the-art supercomputers with cool flickering neon green lights.
The following below is taken from the masterpiece of a novel, "Mastering Bitcoin", by the great Andreas Antonopolous. As elegant as it sounds, its best to restate Andreas' explanation of emergent consensus.
"Satoshi Nakamoto's main invention is the decentralized mechanism for emergent consensus. Emergent, because consensus is not achieved explicitly — there is no election or fixed moment when consensus occurs. Instead, consensus is an emergent artifact of the asynchronous interaction of thousands of independent nodes, all following simple rules. All the properties of bitcoin, including currency, transactions, payments, and the security model that does not depend on central authority or trust, derive from this invention.
Bitcoin's decentralized consensus emerges from the interplay of four processes that occur independently on nodes across the network:
"A mining node is listening for transactions, trying to mine a new block and also listening for blocks discovered by other nodes. The arrival of this block signifies the end of the competition for block 277,315 and the beginning of the competition to create block 277,316. During the previous 10 minutes, while Jing's node was searching for a solution to block 277,315, it was also collecting transactions in preparation for the next block. By now it has collected a few hundred transactions in the memory pool. Upon receiving block 277,315 and validating it, Jing's node will also check all the transactions in the memory pool and remove any that were included in block 277,315. Whatever transactions remain in the memory pool are unconfirmed and are waiting to be recorded in a new block. Jing's node immediately constructs a new empty block, a candidate for block 277,316. This block is called a candidate block because it is not yet a valid block, as it does not contain a valid proof of work. The block becomes valid only if the miner succeeds in finding a solution to the proof-of-work algorithm.
These specialized machines are connected to his mining node over USB. Next, the mining node running on Jing's desktop transmits the block header to his mining hardware, which starts testing trillions of nonces per second."
That is essentially the process of what a miner machine and a mining node is going through each every second it is hooked up to the network. Of course this is just a high level overview with a bland taste but one could go more in depth by reading the book mentioned.
1.Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Cryptocurrencies 1st Edition, by Andreas M. Antonopoulos, O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (December 20, 2014)
At 10:00 on the evening of September 24, XT.COM CEO Weber WOO and Haken, the world's leading cyber security consulting company, launched an online AMA with the theme of "Future Development of XT.COM". Weber talked about XT.COM's history, team, business development and attitude towards the development of the blockchain industry. When talking about the future market trend of XT.COM, Weber said, "XT will continue to explore markets in Europe, Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America in the future, and further strengthen XT's international market."submitted by okoAlderman to XTExchange [link] [comments]
The community members actively presented their questions following the event. Congratulations to the four users u/Nos Tha u/brucelee199 u/DanielleStelle u/brunoiat, getting rewards for putting up questions.
For those missing the broadcast, Mr.XT has compiled the content for everyone~ Let's get a review~
Host: Dyma Budorin | Hacken CEO
Guest: Weber WOO | XT.COM CEO
Dyma:Please introduce yourself a little.Where are you from?When were you involved in crypto?
Weber:Hello Hackeners. I am Weber Woo from the XT.COM exchange. I am glad to be invited here to share something about the XT exchange, XT team, and also myself. I am from Shanghai, China. When I was studying MBA at school in 2012, I read an article in Business Week about Bitcoin being very popular in Iran. Because of sanctions, many Iranians bought bitcoin to transfer their assets to overseas. That was the first time I heard about crypto.
Dyma:What experience do you have in crypto? Trading? Mining? Investing? Holding? Only positive experience or negative, too?
Weber:I will talk about my experience in Blockchain, and also my team.
In 2013, after my friends involved in Bitcoin, I also started to pay more attention to it. We began to mine Bitcoin.
From 2013-2016, we are more focused on mining and trading. We have 100,000 mining machines in our mining factory, located in Yunnan, Sichuan province in China. Of course, most of them are owned by our customers.
At the end of 2016, we started our mining pool business. Our mining portfolio included BTC, ETH, ETC, ZEC, SC, DCR. We had 5%of ETH computing power at the peak.
At the beginning of 2017, we invested a crypto exchange in China. But it was stopped in September 2017, because of China's new policies.
In the middle of 2018, we started the XT exchange in Seychelles, headquartered in HongKong.
Dyma:Have you ever been hacked?
Weber:I've never been hacked directly But lost my Bitcoin from the MT. Gox hack in 2014. That taught me a lot to keep crypto-assets safe.
The MT. Gox incident also reminded our team and me to take security measures very seriously when running the XT exchange.
1.We know that XT has more than 1 millionn global users. You might have a big team. How many people? What idea does unite them?
Currently, XT has more than 80 employees comprised of the C-level team, technical developers, marketers, and business developers. More than 40% of our team have Postgraduate educational background. Our team comes from previous companies like Alibaba, Tencent, China Unicoin, Bosch, LG, and more.
Everyone on the team has a high level of understanding of what opportunities blockchain can and does provide for the world.
2.XT was introduced in 2018 — just in the beginning of crypto winter. Was it hard to start in such conditions? How did you motivate yourself and your colleagues?
Since XT started in a bear market, it was easier for us than other exchanges to stay agile and motivated.
We continued to grow our team and focus on building an exchange that protects its users and listens to what they want.
Understanding that just like any market, crypto goes through market cycles too. We stayed motivated and focused on being ready for the next bull market.
We already spend seven years in the blockchain industry. The bear market is an excellent opportunity to start a new business to save costs and talent recruits.
3.Is it really hard to be a Chinese crypto exchange nowadays?
As I said before, the XT exchange was registered in Seychelles, headquartered in HongKong. We are not officially a Chinese crypto exchange.
Half of our users are from other global markets than China. We are the most popular in Korea and Japan.
Of course, Crypto is still very popular in China, especially recently, with the rise of DeFi. Investors are smarter than 2017, but everyone is excited about all the new blockchain space developments.
4.Are your developers working on some new features? What should we expect?
Currently, XT is working on bringing new features to the exchange.
XT is the first social infused exchange that launched a Group Trading function in the BiYong App. BiYong is a social application focused on the Chinese market.
BiYong has more than 5 million users in total. We are the only partner for BiYong in Group trading. Users can trade within the social chatting app together as a collective.
I want to share some benefits for Group Trading.
This is how Group Trading typically works.
XT.com is launching a DEX.
We will launch DEX in quarter four this year. The product is still developing, so I cannot share more about it. We are glad to share it when it's ready.
Crypto future
1.Do you think the crypto winter is over?
With everything going on in the world currently, it is difficult to predict the future. I believe we are now in a bull market cycle, but things can change very quickly. We see different lengths of bear markets in the space as it grows. We must all pay attention to the trends and proceed accordingly.
2.Do you believe in the DeFi's potential to make mass adoption closer? Why do you think it is so popular today?
The rise of DeFi has been incredible this year. Projects like LINK, UNI, YFI caught the attention of millions. The technology for real use cases has been implemented, and there is a real opportunity to get in on the ground floor for eager investors.
With the recent airdrop from Uniswap with their new token, UNI has only driven interest within the DeFi space. I believe it will take time, but DeFi is here to stay regardless if the market decides to cycle again.
We can see DeFi Locked Value in the past three years in the following pic. It's popular and here to stay.
3.What could you advise your users? What are the main risks in trading and investing today?
I advise anyone trading or investing in crypto to be smart.
The crypto market is a very volatile place. Using good risk management is critical to ensure the security of their funds.
Do not put all your eggs and one basket and only invest what you are willing to lose would be my recommendation, especially when it comes to altcoins.
I think that Bitcoin and Etheruem are the best low-risk long term investment options.
So I suggest you can divide your investment into 3 sections. For example, 40% in BTC and ETH, 30% for Top 50 altcoins, and 30% for HIGH risk projects if you are willing to take the risk.
We can see the risk from this picture.
4. What are your and your company long-term plans? Where will you be in 5 years?
Regarding the market, XT will continue to grow as we expand to more world markets like Europe, SE Asian, South Asian, and South America.
For compliance, we already had our MSB license approved in the US and will apply for more in different markets in the future.
On the business side, we will still focus on mining and the exchange. Of course, our CEX and DEX will be our primary focus in the years to come.
About Hacken
Hacken is a premier cybersecurity consulting company with an essential focus on cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain security.
Website: https://hacken.io/
About XT.COM
XT.COM is the world's first social infused exchange. Users can chat in communities while knowing the market trend to invest. In XT communities, users explore valuable coins together.
XT.COM is building towards garnering loyalty and bring new potential for the development of the entire blockchain industry. To achieve better development, it is necessary to break the tradition with a fresh model.
XT Exchange not only empowers the blockchain industry but leads the industry with its innovation.
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Now five men behind a company called BitClub Network are accused of a $722 million scam that allegedly preyed on victims who thought they were investing in a pool of bitcoin mining equipment.
Investors were invited to send BitClub Network cash, which would allow the company to buy mining equipment-machines that produce bitcoin through a process called hashing.
The company also allegedly gave rewards to existing investors in exchange for recruiting others to join.
Internal messages between the conspirators give the impression of growing glee at the ease of taking advantage of investors, referring to "Building this whole model on the backs of idiots." The men allegedly described their victims as "Dumb" investors and "Sheep."
In October 2014, a few months after BitClub Network was founded, Goettsche allegedly posted about the need to "Fak[e] it for the first 30 days while we get going," instructing a co-conspirator to do some "Magic" on the company's revenue numbers.
Later, Goettsche allegedly suggested the company "Bump up the daily mining earnings starting today by 60%.".
Prosecutors allege that BitClub Network, which operated from April 2014 to this month, was built on soliciting money from individuals in exchange for shares of purported cryptocurrency mining pools and on rewarding investors for bringing in new clients.
To bolster their business, Goettsche, Weeks and others conspired to solicit investments by providing false and misleading figures described as "Bitcoin mining earnings," prosecutors alleges.
In February 2015, Goettsche directed Balaci to "Bump up the daily mining earnings starting today by 60%," according to the indictment, to which Balaci is alleged to have warned "That is not sustainable, that is ponzi teritori [sic] and fast cash-out ponzi ... but sure."
Months later, the complaint alleges, Goettsche told Balaci that "We are building this whole model on the backs of idiots" and that to "Prove the mining ... just means convincing the morons Q.".
In September 2017, Goettsche sent an email to another alleged conspirator, suggesting that BitClub Network "[d]rop mining earnings significantly starting now" so he could "Retire RAF!!!," according to the indictment.
Weeks remarked in an email to Goettsche and another accused conspirator in June 2017 that BitClub's selling shares and not using the money to buy mining equipment was "Not right."
While there are a number of consensus algorithms that most functional cryptocurrency platforms have adopted over the years, a couple of these algorithms have become more popular than the others.submitted by affilcoin to u/affilcoin [link] [comments]
While the proof of work (PoW) algorithm has been identified to be the very first consensus mechanism integrated into a crypto platform, the proof of stake (PoS) and the delegated proof of stake (DPoS) are two other mechanisms that have been designed as an alternative to PoW. The first move advantage PoW had in the market has not withstood criticism and adjustments to optimize the protocol.
Generally, the PoW system requires users to make use of advanced mining rigs and hardware which will require large computational power. The PoS and the DPoS algorithms unlike PoW requires fewer resources and by design happens to be more eco-friendly and sustainable.
For us to get an idea of how the delegated proof of stake works, it is only right that we have a knowledge of what the PoW and the PoS consensus mechanisms are and how they function.
Proof Of WorkThis is the first consensus algorithm to be integrated into a blockchain network. It was used as a way to ensure that the majority of the users on the Bitcoin network did not take total control of the network. It was used on the Bitcoin network to validate transactions and for users to validate these transactions, they have to make use of advanced and expensive hardware mining rigs.
With the high expenses associated with the PoW mining model, many people are restricted from entering the mining pools with any form of efficiency. Thus, power can become concentrated on a PoW network, one of the main concerns for users of the original networks operating with PoW.
This consensus algorithm will require users to solve complex mathematical problems if they are to compete and validate transactions on the network. These mathematical puzzles have been made to be as difficult as possible. This is to ensure that miners do not easily find these blocks.
Proof Of StakeThis consensus algorithm was designed to be an alternative to proof of work and the restrictions the PoW model put on user's ability to be miners. Proof of Stake was discovered in 2012 after most platform developers sought for alternative consensus algorithms that can be used. Unlike the PoW, the proof of stake algorithm requires that miners on the network stake or have their coins locked.
To explain better, for miners who want to mine on the network, they will have to stake a certain amount of coins if they are to successfully mine. This simply means that if a miner owns about 5% of the total coins on a network, then that user would then have the right to mine 5% of all transactions that are carried out on the network. Thus, creating an incentive for users to hold coins instead of the incentive many miners had in the proof of work model to sell their coins to the market quickly after mining them or in more malicious cases, try to attack a weaker proof of work network with a 51% attack.
Delegated Proof Of StakeThe Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) algorithm was launched in 2014 by Daniel Larimer, a more renown developer within the world of cryptocurrency. He helped pioneer this new model of validation for blockchain technologies. Today, there are a number of crypto platforms that make use of this consensus algorithm and they include Steem, Ark, Bitshares, Lisk, and many other networks today.
DPoS based blockchain networks work in a voting manner where stakeholders on the network will have to outsource their duties to third-parties. It can be said that these stakeholders are able to vote for a few people to help them manage the security of the network. On any of the DPoS based crypto networks, these individuals that are voted to maintain the security of the network for others are referred to as delegates, while those voted to validate transactions on these networks are called "witnesses".
A closer look at this consensus algorithm will point to a resemblance to the PoS algorithms. For example, on any of the DPoS based algorithms, the vote count and worth of each of the users will be determined by the number of coins they have in their possession. While the voting system may vary from one blockchain network to another, one thing is certain — each of the delegates or individuals to be voted for will have to present to others on the network a proposal of what they will accomplish when voted in as either delegates or witnesses. Most of the time, the rewards that are gotten from the validation of blocks by these witnesses are shared proportionally with the various electors. This is just like the PoS except that there is no voting system and that each user will have to represent himself.
DPoS based blockchain networks have their voting systems based on the reputation of the delegate in question. Unlike the traditional voting system, on these blockchain networks, if witnesses do not carry out their duty of validating blocks on the network, they will be expelled and immediately replaced by another. This helps to secure the network from malicious actors. Furthermore, these DPoS based networks adapt which makes them more scalable than the PoW and the PoS algorithms. This is because they elect a few people who do the job for the network.
Characteristics Of The Delegated Proof Of Stake AlgorithmWhile we have discussed what the DPoS consensus algorithm is, it is best that we discuss some of the features or characteristics that set it apart from both the PoS and the PoW. These underlying characteristics apply to the Delegated Proof of Stake algorithm as well. These characteristics include;
submitted by AVAY11 to u/AVAY11 [link] [comments]
The NEO digital asset platform was previously called Antshares. But in recent times, a complete rebranding has been made. In addition to the name change, the startup updated blockchain nodes and technical documentation, as well as the stock Ticker. In addition, the official website and social media were redesigned. The transition to a new version of the smart contract system, called NEO-2.0, was carried out.
The NEO cryptocurrency has been showing stable and non-stopping growth for a long time. Very quickly, the Chinese creation took seventh place in the top of Coinmarketcap. This, without a doubt, is a serious bid for prospects, given the high competition in the cryptocurrency market. And Ether confidently holds the second line after the famous Bitcoin. So the crypto currency NEO clearly has all the chances to rise much higher than the seventh line.
At the moment, the price fluctuates around $45. The cost for three months has increased 20 times.
The volumes of neo cryptocurrency reserves are clearly defined and limited to 100 million tokens. So far, only half of the available potential — 50 million tokens-is available on the market. So the crypto currency NEO clearly has all the chances to rise much higher than the seventh line.
The project is actively developing. OnChain cooperates with other players in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. At the moment, there are connections with blockchain startups Coindash, Bancor, Agrello and others. The Chinese project Red Pulse has announced the creation of a financial research platform based on the NEO-2.0 smart contract system. Also, in cooperation with NEO, there is an intensive development of The Elastos operating system based on blockchain technologies.
THE history of the emergence and development of neo cryptocurrencyhttps://preview.redd.it/2f7c6ryop1v31.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=300b03be2a471d857d7d22d5659f2a4ef74c5e8b
The date of origin of the project can be considered 2014. NEO Creator Da Hongfei is a Director of Shanghai-based OnChain. In 2014, onchain, according to Da Hongfei's idea, launches the AntShares blockchain project. On the basis of this platform, a cryptocurrency of the same name was also created.
Yes Junpei put to the company is simple, but a global problem. His goal was to build a fundamentally new system of financial interaction. This system should unite the sectors of the real and virtual economy into a single whole with the help of high-tech contracts. And cryptocurrency from OnChain should become a unit of payment for these contracts.
Soon OnChain enters into a contract for cooperation with the Wings blockchain project, as well as contracts with economic giants Microsoft and Alibaba.
In August 2017 begins the story of NEO already in its current form with the current name. Da Hongfei carried out a complete rebranding and technical modernization of the project. The rebranding was a huge success, and the price of cryptocurrency from OnChain soared 40 times.
But not without problems. On the fourth of September, the Chinese authorities adopt a package of sanctions laws against cryptocurrencies and ICO. It was a heavy blow, which at the time almost 2 times brought down the course of the brainchild of Hongfei. However, soon the NEO cryptocurrency moved away from the blow and began to confidently win back the lost positions. At the moment, OnChain is actively upgrading the product and simultaneously trying to find a compromise with the Chinese authorities for the legalization and quiet operation of its offspring.
Features and principle of operation NEOhttps://preview.redd.it/tj1goppoq1v31.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c39d14754ba9dd99e2c6bfb692f0f7bdd6c1838
From a technical point of view, the Chinese cryptocurrency is very similar to Ethereum. The basis of the platform is the construction of smart contracts and their subsequent payment with tokens. Also an important part of the project is the ability to create new technologies based on the platform, as well as easy integration with other services.
Despite the fact that NEO is often called "Chinese Ether" and the fact that the Ether still occupies a higher position in the ratings, the product from OnChain has advantages that the Ether lacks. NEO is much more practical and functional. This, no doubt, opens up the potential to move the Airwaves in the ratings in the near future.
Let's see in detail how everything works. Transactions within the system are possible when paying a Commission. The Commission is paid in-system currency. That is, for the transaction you have to throw in the system additional "fuel". The developers of OnChain decided to create an additional in-system currency, called GAS, as a fuel (a means of paying commissions).
NEO mining is impossible. There is a final coin value of 100 million. 50 million thrown on the market during the ICO. The second half of the developers keep at home. However, GAS mining is possible. However, it occurs when holding coins in a purse. That is, the more tokens you have, the more GAS coins you can get to pay commissions. Today, 2000 coins in the wallet accumulate 1 coin GAS every twenty-four hours. Such mining is associated with the work of the network on the Proof-Of-Stake algorithm. Coins generate themselves. Without the use of farms of video cards and megawatts of electricity.
Like any cryptocurrency, NEO has advantages and disadvantages.
The benefits of NEO:
Difference between NEO and Bitcoinhttps://preview.redd.it/qm9q0kmft1v31.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=81bc03a4521b12f6e517b9ef8f905d8271041355
The main points that distinguish NEO from Bitcoin:
NEO storage walletsOn the official NEO website you can find links to the following wallets.
NEO: buying and sharinghttps://preview.redd.it/5ovlowr3v1v31.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=ea4c20d0be463cbaaf14846db2355b77975cd296
NEO can be bought and sold on exchanges or exchanged in multi-currency wallets. The most famous exchanges:
Ways to get NEOUnfortunately, at the moment there is no way FOR direct NEO mining in the manner of Bitcoins and Ether.
However, there is a way out. NEO cranes can be used. Cranes are resources where the user receives a cryptocurrency reward for performing certain tasks or participating in lotteries.
There is a high probability that if successful in the legalization negotiations, OneChain will provide additional ways to get their tokens.
As you can see, NEO is a very promising and rapidly developing cryptocurrency. And although the Chinese government has created some difficulties, on the example of Bitcoin, we see how high the rate of the crypto currency can rise if the factors interfering with the development disappear. So, the prospects of NEO are optimistic and you can risk investing in them.
Despite recent controversy, Antpool remains the largest Bitcoin mining pool in terms of its Bitcoin network hash rate. Antpool holds roughly 15% of the total hash rate of all Bitcoin mining pools. About Antpool. Antpool mined its first block in March 2014, meaning that it emerged roughly four years after the first mining pool; Slushpool. Top 5 Bitcoin Cash Mining Pools to Use in 2020. Depending on whether the mining will be performed – on the video card or on the ASIC, the Pool Bitcoin Cash is also selected, on which mining will be performed. A pool is essentially a site that allows users to connect using special programs and provide their computing power for the joint search for data blocks. The pool clearly defines the ... We have 99.97% uptime and the best terms. Download miner & start mining now. Withdraw as little as 0.01 coin . Profit straight to your wallet. You can withdraw mined money every day. 0.01. 45 852.12. 130. Get the most profit while mining. Always. Automine coins with the highest exchange rate and squeeze the most profit. Supported currencies. Zcash 0.0 H/s. Bitcoin Gold 0.0 H/s. Ethereum 0.0 H ... Top 10 best bitcoin mining pools. AntPool – based in China, and is under control of BitMain Company. Holds 15 % out of the whole blocks. DiscasFish/F2Pool – based in China, within the last 6 month managed to hold 12 % out of the whole blocks.; BitFury Pool – is considered to be one of the biggest mining and chip producers in the world. Holds 12% out of the whole blocks, a private service ... The first offline Bitcoin wallet and the first Bitcoin-centric world map was created by Satoshi Labs in addition to the mining stratum protocol which is being used by the other mining pools. Slush Pool stands unique for using Score based method, where the old shares are given lesser prominence than news shares at the start of the round. This method avoids the risk of getting cheated by other ...
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Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Mining Pools Explained Best Mining Pools PPS vs PPLNS - Duration: 18:17. VoskCoin 6,118 views. 18:17. Mix Play all Mix - Crypto Rick YouTube; LIVE ... Now that you have Bitcoin mining hardware, your next step is to join a Bitcoin mining pool. While mining pools are desirable to the average miner as they smo... make daily investments on Bitcoin mining https://cryptotabbrowser.com/16733215 Best or Worse Zcash / Bitcoin Mining Pool - Slushpool Review - Duration: 6:49. VoskCoin 12,877 views. 6:49. PILOT DIES, Passenger Lands King Air - Duration: 43:07. FS MaNiA Recommended for you. 43 ... What is a mining pool and why is it best to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on mining pools? Here is our review and explanation of mining pools, how ...


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subset: commoncrawl


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Here's a little inspiration for a baby boy quilt. This quilt (previously chronicled here – as well as my fashion faux-pas) is now finished.
And I am in love. If it weren't for an adorable new nephew with whom I am trying to curry good favor and a cherished title of "favorite aunt" (the competition is stiff!), I just may not have given it up.
Look at this boy. Can you blame me??
I think that one of the things that I love about this quilt is that none of the prints came from the same fabric collection. My sister chose the Alexander Henry jungle print – which we used on the back – and from there she just looked for colors. (A good example of using a focus fabric and then pulling coordinating fabrics.) The white sashing definitely ties everything together.
I like how it isn't your traditional baby boy look, but it's definitely boy. Do you know what I mean? The quilt is going to go with this bumper pad. I also like that the quilt and bumper coordinate but aren't super matchy-matchy. (That's what you get when both parents are artistic. I mean, look how their kid turned out.) I may take the scraps and make one to keep for myself.
Look here for more tips on choosing fabric for a quilt.


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Selecting the right dumpster size for your project in Atlantic City, NJ can be tricky. Picking one too large is a waste of money while picking one too small can leave you without enough room for all of the waste and debris you need to dispose of.
We recommend calling us at 609-479-2459 so that we can recommend an appropriate dumpster size for you. Our years of experience allow us to accurately estimate the exact size you need for your specific project.
Just so that you can get an idea of what size dumpster you might need before you call, we've listed the sizes we offer below and what they're most commonly used for when it comes to dumpster rental Atlantic City, New Jersey.
12' long x 8' wide x 4' high
In most cases a 10 yard dumpster is most appropriate for medium sized cleanup projects and smaller remodeling projects.
22' long x 8' wide x 4.5' high
The 20 yard dumpster is nearly twice as long as the 10 yard and it generally your best choice when it comes to large home cleanup projects and mid sized renovation projects.
22' long x 8' wide x 6' high
The 30 yard dumpsters have the same dimensions as the 20 yard variant but with higher walls. This makes them great for home clean-out, remodeling, and renovation projects for very large homes.
22' long x 8' wide x 8' high
Once again the dimensions are the same as the 20 and 30 yard variants but with higher walls. These massive dumpsters are only used for the largest projects.
Call Us Now for a Free Size Estimate
Choosing the right dumpster size for your project is of critical importance but can be a tricky task. Making the wrong choice can have undesirable consequences such as overpaying or not having enough space for waste and debris.
Give us a call at 609-479-2459 and we'll be glad to speak with you and advise you on which dumpster size is best for your specific project.


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Teammates for life on brink of state title
PEORIA — The Byron Tigers aren't just finishing a year together.
Or even high school together.
They are finishing a decade together. And doing so in the state title game after beating Westmont 6-2 Friday in the Class 2A semifinals.
"This means everything in the world, because we have been working at it since we were little," said Dan Lowe, who played first base Friday and will pitch today's state title game against Pleasant Plains. "This is our dream, and it's come true — as long as we win."
Shortstop Tyler Nunez transferred in from Boylan his sophomore year, but the other eight seniors who start for the Tigers (36-5) have been playing together since age 8 when the fathers of pitcher Nate Peterson and catcher Jack Fleeger started a Roy Gayle team.
"We had the same team every year," Lowe said. "We're all just best friends. We all hang out outside of baseball and we all play basically the same sports."
But they haven't all always played the same positions.
Peterson (13-0), the left-hander with the great curveball and even better control, has pitched 24 1/3 innings in the past eight days, allowing only two earned runs, but he played first base and outfield in Roy Gayle.
"I even played second base one time in the Roy Gayle all-star game," Peterson said, sparking great laughter from his teammates.
"I made an error."
More laughter.
Peterson didn't start to pitch in earnest until high school.
Fleeger, who had the game-winning hit in Byron's 10-inning supersectional victory and a two-run double Friday, was the big star when the Tigers were cubs.
"Fleeger has always been the big bat," Peterson said. "He was also the ace at Roy Gayle. He threw gas at Roy Gayle."
"It's changed a little," said Fleeger, who is happy at catcher. "Nathan's surpassed me. I used to throw some gas, but that was also from 46 feet. I never did figure out the arm slot and went from catcher to pitcher."
Before Byron's Roy Gayle team, center fielder Austin Carlson said Byron kids that age just played park district ball with a pitching machine. "We tried to get everyone from Byron together playing at a young age to get more team chemistry," Carlson said.
Now that team is one step away from graduating as state champions.
"We're brothers," right fielder Base Byers said. "It makes it more special. We learned how to win at a young age and always expect to win."
Together. For a baseball lifetime.
"I don't want to play with any other group of guys," Peterson said. "These guys are amazing. Every time we step on the field, it seems somebody does something amazing. We don't know who or what it's going to be, but we have all the trust in the world in each other. We know someone is going to come through."
"This," Fleeger said, "is a dream come true. We have been talking about this since we were 7 years old. Now that it's reality, it's just unbelievable."
Matt Trowbridge: 815-987-1383; email@example.com;


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Verizon's handset upgrade discounts for customers in a two-year contract will now only be available after the two years are up, rather than after 20 months, the carrier stated Friday. In addition, any "New Every Two" credits that customers may have built up will expire in three days.
Customers with Verizon were formerly able to start looking for and purchasing new phones at new contract prices a few months before their contracts were up. On the downside, customers had to begin new contracts early, but it also meant they had quicker access to newer phones.
Starting with customers whose contracts end a little less than a year from now (January 1, 2014), customers will have to wait out the full two years before they can get the new-contract prices on phone upgrades. Customers whose contracts end before that will still be able to get their early upgrades.
In addition to the removal of early upgrades, Verizon will also force the expiration of New Every Two credits, a program that ended in January 2011 that gave customers between $30 and $50 of credit toward a new phone in addition to the new-contract discount. If you have one left over, you have only the weekend to use it.
Verizon notes that customers will still be able to share upgrades between people on the same account as long as the eligible upgrade is a product of the same category. Upgrades will no longer be transferable to non-phones like Jetpacks or tablets, states Verizon.
Meanwhile, AT&T will continue to offer 20-month early upgrades, as well as partial discounts for those not yet far along enough in their contract for a full discount. T-Mobile likewise offers discounts as early as 12 months, and allows customers to buy a new phone and subsidize the difference between a new-contract price over 24 months of a new contract. Sprint offers early upgrades at 22 months for older contracts, and 20 months for newer ones.


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Joe Garagiola retires from broadcasting booth
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) Be it down on a baseball field or up in the broadcast booth, whether he was pinch-hitting for Johnny Carson or looking at pooches, Joe Garagiola could always tell a story.
So when the 87-year-old Garagiola was prodded Wednesday to reminisce about an on-air career that lasted nearly six decades, he obliged. Naturally, he did.
Garagiola, the ballplayer-turned-announcer who was honored by the Hall of Fame, said he's ending his days as a broadcaster. He's retiring as a part-time television analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and said goodbye at a 30-minute news conference at the team's spring training facility.
"I don't deserve a lot of things that have happened to me," he said, "but I remember Jack Benny saying he had arthritis, he didn't deserve that, either."
Garagiola entertained audiences for 58 years with a sharp sense of humor and a seemingly endless trove of stories. Popular with those who followed sports and those who didn't, his personality transcended games and landed him a pair of stints on the "Today" show, a slot as a guest host in Carson's seat on "The Tonight Show," spots as a game-show host and almost a decade on Westminster dog show telecasts.
A 20-year-old rookie with the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in 1946 - he had more hits and RBIs in the seven-game matchup against Boston than Ted Williams - Garagiola spent nine seasons in the majors as a catcher. He was a career .257 hitter, then really became a star once he stopped playing.
Garagiola said his health is good three years after undergoing eight hours of surgery that successfully removed most of a tumor behind his left eye. He had to use a walker to get around afterward.
"I came out with a walker, then a cane. Now I walk without it," he said. "I wobble a little bit. Guys think I'm drunk sometimes, but I'm not. The only thing that gets me is they say, `Can you run?' I say I couldn't run when I was playing, for crying out loud."
Garagiola said he wanted to spend more time with Audrey, his wife of 63 years. He had worked at selected Diamondbacks games for the past 15 years.
Garagiola's first broadcast job was alongside the famed Harry Caray with the Cardinals. He later with Curt Gowdy and Vin Scully on NBC broadcasts, mixing in keen insights gleaned from his playing days along with funny stories he picked up along the way.
In 1991, he won the Ford C. Frick Award for baseball broadcasting excellence that earned him a permanent place in the Hall.
On Wednesday, he offered a sample of the tales that made him a part of the game's soundtrack for so long.
Garagiola recalled a pitcher "who will remain nameless" who threw only a fastball. But when Garagiola put down the sign for the fastball, the pitcher kept shaking it off. Finally, an exasperated Garagiola went out to the mound.
"I go out there and said, `What do you want to throw?"' Garagiola recalled. "He said a slider. I said, `You don't throw a slider.' He said, `That's why I'll get him out, he won't be lookin' for it."'
He remembered a time when Dusty Rhodes, known for his clutch hitting, came to bat. The fidgety pitcher, Cliff Stein, was concerned about how to work. "Dusty," Garagiola said, "was known to take a drink now and again."
"I said I don't care what you are going to throw," Garagiola said, "but don't hit him in the back pocket or we'll have Jack Daniels all over home plate."
For nine years, Garagiola worked on the telecasts of the Westminster dog show at Madison Square Garden in New York, taking an everyman's approach to the entries. A proud owner of Yorkshire terriers, Garagiola was parodied by Fred Willard on the mockumentary "Best in Show," an over-the-top portrayal that rankled the veteran announcer.
"Some people thought Joe didn't know about dogs, but he really did," longtime Westminster TV host David Frei said. "Nine times out of 10, he already knew the answer to the question he was asking me. He was just putting it in my wheelhouse."
"He was a real pro, he taught me so much about the business. He was a perfect partner," Frei said. "And he loved dogs."
Garagiola will continue his efforts to fight the use of chewing tobacco, and he said he'd be available if the Diamondbacks ever get in a bind in the booth. A friend of Yogi Berra since the two grew up in the same St. Louis neighborhood, he said he hadn't called his old pal about his decision.
"Yogi's moved into one of these assisted living and retirement communities," Garagiola said. `I said, `How's it going?' and he says, `It's all right, but geez, they've got a lot of old people here."'
Garagiola said his fondest memory was the 2001 season when the Diamondbacks, with his son, Joe Garagiola Jr., as the team's general manager, beat the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Garagiola said he will most miss being around the players and the interaction. Not to worry too much - Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall said Garagiola will have all the access he always did. The team will honor him at a game on April 12.
"Baseball, it hasn't changed that much," Garagiola said. "You still have to hit the ball and you still have to catch it. Good players will win and bad players will lose. Winners win and losers make excuses. It's as simple as that."


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Find a physician near you
Thousands of men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. It is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in American males other than skin cancer.
Some things, known as risk factors, increase your chances of getting the disease. For prostate cancer, the biggest risk factors are age and race. Men older than 50 and African-American men are at higher risk. Another risk factor, which is perhaps less influential but more under your control, is your diet. For some time now, research has shown that diet and nutrition likely play an important role in contributing to or preventing certain types of cancer, including prostate cancer. Health care professionals have made prevention recommendations based on the latest and most trustworthy findings.
Research on nutrition and cancer is a complex field, and progress and results come with difficulty. The good news is that diet is a risk factor that everyone can control. It's true that eating habits are hard to change. But what you eat, and how much of each type of food you eat, is your choice.
Most of the research seeking to identify the link between what men eat and their likelihood of getting prostate cancer has centered on saturated fat. Diets high in saturated fat are high in animal fat. Results of most studies indicate that men who eat a lot of saturated fat may have a greater chance of getting prostate cancer.
It isn't completely known why there seems to be a link between high fat intake and prostate cancer. One theory is that a diet high in saturated fat may increase testosterone levels. In turn, these higher hormone levels contribute to a greater risk of developing prostate cancer.
The most compelling connection of a high-fat diet to prostate cancer is found when experts look at who gets the disease across races and nationalities. African American men, who have the highest incidence rate, often have a diet high in animal fat. On the other end of the scale are Asian males, especially Japanese men living in Japan. They have the lowest rates for getting and dying of prostate cancer. The traditional diet in Japan is mostly vegetarian, so the amount of animal fat eaten is very low. Also, a vegetarian diet reduces, rather than increases, levels of testosterone.
Even more striking is what happens when men emigrate from Japan to the United States. Within two generations, their rates of getting prostate cancer increases to near that of American men. Typically, the traditional Japanese diet becomes more Americanized. That is, these men eat more animal fat. This move away from the vegetarian diet may explain the changes in this prostate cancer rate.
However, a few researchers have questioned whether high fat consumption itself is the primary culprit in the American diet. Some studies have indicated that men with a high-fat diet generally consume significant amounts of dairy products and low amounts of fruits and vegetables. Rather than high fat, the main connection to prostate cancer may be that this diet is high in dairy (or perhaps even calcium) and low in vegetables and fruits.
The precise role that diet plays in the development of prostate cancer is still under study.
While studies of the amount of fat in a diet have been prostate cancer researchers' primary focus, other findings about the effect of what men eat continue to be made.
Lycopene is a substance naturally found in tomatoes and other red fruits, such as grapefruit and watermelon. It may help lower the risk for prostate cancer. This discovery was made in a well-publicized study in 1995. In it, the eating habits of 47,000 men were examined for six years. It was found that men who ate at least 10 servings a week of tomato-based food (all forms, cooked or uncooked) were up to 35 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer. Tomatoes and tomato products accounted for almost 90 percent of the lycopene in the diets of these men.
How might lycopene work? It's a natural antioxidant. Antioxidants are thought to prevent damage to a person's DNA. This may in turn protect against certain changes in DNA, which can cause prostate cells to grow abnormally.
Some studies done since that time have found that lycopene may lower the chance of getting prostate cancer, but others have not found such a link. More research needs to be done before lycopene or other antioxidants can be said to be preventive.
Some other studies have looked at the role that selenium, vitamins E and A, carotenoids, and other foods have in protecting against prostate cancer. Conclusions from these studies have not shown that these are protective.
Based on the majority of research, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has developed nutritional guidelines for a healthy approach to eating that may help lower your risk for many types of cancer, including prostate cancer.
The ACS recommends a diet that limits processed and red meats and is rich in fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains instead of refined grains. Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat usually means that you will eat less high-fat and high-calorie foods. This type of diet, along with regular exercise, will also help you maintain a balanced, healthy weight for your height.
For more information or to schedule an appointment for a screening, please call 718-818-1234 or visit Richmond University Medical Center at 355 Bard Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10310.


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Articles, Reviews, Recipes, Videos & More
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We asked MLF fans: If you could have any MLF pro's tackle box, whose would it be?
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Angler Jason Quinn talks about how bass are weighed and scored during Major League Fishing events.
On this edition of "Burkhead's Bullpen," MLF pro Randy Howell reveals the detailed process of designing and making a Livingston Lure.
We asked Major League Fishing fans, which pro they would like to compete against.
MLF pro Todd Faircloth talks about some tips to help make valuable crankbaits last.
MLF Select angler, James Watson, says that he keeps his grandpa's arm in his boat for good luck.
Major League Fishing angler Ish Monroe talks about his Challenge Cup Elimination Round day on the water at Lake Amistad, Nov. 8, 2011...
James Watson sits down in "Burkhead's Bullpen" to talk about his epic performance during the 2016 Summit Select Survival Round 1 on Center Hill Lake.
Major League Fishing angler Morizo Shimizu talks about his Qualifier day on the water at the 2015 Bass Pro Shops Summit Select on Lake Tenkiller.
MLF pro Brent Ehler shares a tip about why you should always put backing on the reel.
Marty "The Party" Robinson talks about the intense MLF format and how SCORETRACKER Live keeps your mind racing.
Real-time leaderboards, surprise locations, no practice days and no limits are just a few of the ways Major League Fishing presents angling in a way the viewing public has never seen!
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Montana man seeks $500 from feds after dog eats cash, deposits pieces in yard
From the Associated Press:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- A Montana man whose 12-year-old golden retriever ate five $100 bills hopes to be reimbursed by the federal government.
Wayne Klinkel tells the Independent Record (http://bit.ly/143rwRZ) that his dog Sundance ate the bills while he and his wife were on a road trip to visit their daughter.
Klinkel says he carefully picked through the dog's droppings, and his daughter recovered more when snow melted.
He says he washed the remnants of the bills and taped them together and sent them to the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing with an explanation of what happened.
The bureau's website says an "experienced mutilated currency examiner" will determine if at least 51 percent of a bill is present and eligible for reimbursement. The process can take up to two years.


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I made these to satisfy a craving and to help a family member in need of satisfying hers. I know, it is difficult but I feel I should sacrifice my thighs to help family and friends....! When Sophie came to visit this past month, we tried to make her sample as many local delicacies as possible. We could not get okra and hot sauce to pass her lips but she acquired a taste for tortilla chips, chow-chow, Moose Tracks ice cream, and pecan pies...Yummmm! Of course, as godmother extraordinaire I promised her I would hunt for a recipe in French, using ingredients easily available for her and I would make a batch for the blog so she could get an idea of things to come. While my tree is not quite ready to give me the pecans I needed to come up with a substitute.
I was happy to provide her with a recipe and teach her how to make them but we were faced with a couple of problems. It would be difficult for her to find pecans and corn syrup in France to duplicate the recipe. I admit that I rarely use corn syrup when I make mine and I usually substitute maple syrup or honey without a problem. I don't really have anything against corn syrup, I just don't understand the concept of an odorless and tasteless syrup when I can use more flavorful ones. Don't raise your arms up in the air people and scream "food snob", it is just my opinion, my palate, my tastebuds! The extra boost of flavor after that first bite is really something! As far as the pecans, I told her not to worry if she could not find them easily back home and that walnuts made a great substitute. Since I made them a couple of days ago, I have tried them again with pine nuts, pistachios, cashews and I am happy to report that each nut bring an new dimension to the tartelettes (or tassies as they are often called).
Since I found this recipe on a French blog, La Petite Cuisine, written by the lovelie Elodie, I will provide the measurements in grams but feel free to convert using this site. Like her, I usually use a shortbread crust for nut pies. They are already quite rich so why not continue with the idea and make them even richer?!
For the tart shells: (not provided by Elodie, but this is my go-to recipe)
2 eggs
75g butter, melted
100g light brown sugar
100g honey
I know I liked them a lot...I ate a obscene number of the mini ones but in an attempt to be completely fair for Sophie, I had B. and the neighbors try some and they all approved of the honey/walnuts combo. So go ahead dear and have fun!


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June 11, 2018
Yellow Salsify
32 Comments »
I love the design of this one. I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed it if I were out walking, but with your photos, I can look at the intricate designs and patterns of flowers. Some of them are quite wonderful.
Comment by wordsfromanneli — June 11, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
They are quite common, widespread and plentiful and the color, as well as the shape of the seed head is always nice to see.
Sometimes we need to stop and have a closer look at things we would otherwise pass by unawares.
Comment by wordsfromanneli — June 11, 2018 @ 7:32 pm
I've been doing that a lot since I started photographing wildflowers. I see them in an entirely different way now. It's like seeing a new world.
And we appreciate sharing that experience, thanks to your great photos.
Comment by wordsfromanneli — June 11, 2018 @ 7:51 pm
It's the same version we have here and I was just getting some photos of it the other day. Here it closes at noon which is a bit frustrating because that means weekends are my only chance to see it.
Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — June 11, 2018 @ 3:35 pm
Interesting that it closes at noon. I haven't seen that here, just at night and bad weather.
It's odd how they close at different times depending on where they live. I don't know what would cause that.
Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — June 12, 2018 @ 3:11 pm
Very pretty flower and with an interesting growth process!
Fascinating; the intricacies of nature's design, and so well captured in your images!
Comment by de Wets Wild — June 11, 2018 @ 8:19 pm
Such a cool flower -And what a cool photo to capture all three cycles at once like that- very cool 🙂
Comment by Dreadlocks and Butterflies — June 12, 2018 @ 3:22 am
What a lucky find in that second image. The seed head looks a lot like a Dandelion.
They use the same seed-spreading strategy as the dandelion but on a much larger scale. The seed head on a dandelion is about 1.5 inches in diameter: on the salsify, it is about 5 inches and the Salsify grows 2 to 3 feet tall.
Awesome, unique capture, Terry!
Comment by bayphotosbydonna — June 12, 2018 @ 10:11 am
I remember that second photo from last year, so cool that you captures all the phases
Our native "dandelions" go through much the same process, although I'm not sure if multiple days are involved. Every article I've found says only that they open in the morning and close by noon. I have seen that. For quite some time I wondered why fields filled with the flowers "disappeared" in the afternoon. Eventually, I figured it out. Now, I need to track some flowers next spring and see if they open and close multiple times.
Comment by shoreacres — June 15, 2018 @ 7:07 am
Salisify is still in its blooming period here. I will try to track them and see what they do. The next few days will be dark and rainy and I suspect they will mostly stay closed. They are also a flower that tracks the sun. Perhaps they close in mid day because that has caused them to have stiff necks!
[…] on blogs after two weeks of travel and family time, I discovered a similar puffball in a post from Montana Outdoors, together with a photo showing yellow salsify in bud and in flower. Eventually, I learned that the […]
Pingback by That Montana-Missouri Connection | Lagniappe — June 15, 2018 @ 9:15 pm
Heard about your site from Linda at 'Shoreacres'.
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Thanks to the centralized calendar at GeneaWebinars.com, genealogists interested in learning more about our craft may reagister for these online seminars coming up this week. Be sure to verify the time in your neck of the woods. If you need a time zone converter see: http://www.time
This centralized calendar provides information about how to attend genealogy-related online meetings, classes, hangouts, seminars and webinars, where there is a visual slide share and/or website or software demo for attendees to view.
Hosts may use a variety of platforms including Adobe Connect, AnyMeeting, Captera, Google Hangouts on Air, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, Live Meeting, Skype, Web-Ex, and Wiggio, to name a few.
There are currently over 40 hosts with posting access to this calendar and blog, and over 200 hours of scheduled instruction for genealogists wishing to hone their research skills during the coming year.
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
Your friend in genealogy.
Blog: http://blog.DearMYRTLE.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DearMYRTLE
Twitter: @DearMYRTLE
G+: +Pat Richley-Erickson
Second Life: Clarise Beaumont


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We also have classes for:
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Would you do us the favor of answering this two question poll so we can know how to serve you better? You will also be given the opportunity to join our team tasked with how to make BiblicalTraining.org better. Thank you. --Bill Mounce
See also Plants
The BiblicalTraining app gives you access to 2,300 hours of instruction (129 classes and seminars). Stream the classes, or download and listen to them offline. Share classes via social media, email, and more.


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Unemployment benefit claims falling again
- Number of people seeking jobless benefits fell 22%2C000 to 344%2C000
- Four-week moving average%2C more reliable gauge%2C fell to 355%2C000
- Weekly benefit claims are considered a proxy for layoffs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, evidence that the job market may be picking up.
The four-week average of applications dropped 6,750 to 355,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was the first drop in three weeks.
Weekly applications are a proxy for layoffs. When they decline, it suggests companies are cutting fewer workers and may be more willing to hire.
Economists were mildly encouraged by the decline. It "suggests further healing in the labor markets," Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.
Applications have fallen steadily in recent weeks. The four-week average has declined almost 11% since November. At the same time, employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month from November through January. That's up from about 150,000 in the previous three months.
In January, the economy added 157,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% from 7.8% in December. Economists think the rate will slowly decline if hiring continues at last year's monthly pace of 180,000. The unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage point in 2012.
The drop in applications suggests companies will add more jobs this month than in January, economists said.
The hiring occurred even as growth stumbled in the final three months of the year. The economy barely expanded, growing only 0.1% at an annual rate, in the October-December quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the third quarter, when the economy grew 3.1%.
Still, the outlook for the U.S. economy brightened this week after reports showed that Americans are more confident and are buying more new homes. Home prices are also rising steadily, and banks are lending more. Such improvements suggest that the economy is resilient enough to withstand automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to kick in Friday.
The spending cuts could slow economic growth and cost 700,000 jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They could also reduce unemployment benefit checks for those out of work for more than six months by about 11%, according to the National Employment Law Project. Benefits average about $320 per week nationwide.
Growth will likely pick up a bit in the January-March quarter to an annual rate of about 1.5%, analysts forecast. That's better than the fourth quarter but below last year's expansion of 2.2%.
Meanwhile, a total of nearly 5.8 million people received unemployment aid in the week ended Feb. 9, the latest data available. That's up about 180,000 from the previous week. That figure has fallen from nearly 7.5 million a year ago, partly because some of aid recipients have gotten jobs, while others have used up all the benefits available.


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'Casual Mike' scores in overtime; Capitals beat Rangers 1-0 in OT to take 2-0 series lead
WASHINGTON - Puck over glass. The New York Rangers don't score.
Puck over glass. "Casual Mike" does.
The NHL's black-and-white delay-of-game rule found a grey area late in regulation, then tipped the balance of the game twice in overtime. The Washington Capitals held firm when they were a man down, then won it on Mike Green's latest extra-time winner, topping the Rangers 1-0 Saturday to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
It's the eighth career overtime goal—and first in the post-season—for the defenceman whose more well-known nickname is "Game Over Green."
"When it gets to overtime and guys start to get the shakes a little bit, he's still calm Mike Green," teammate Karl Alzner said. "So he's able to find those goals. We call him 'Casual Mike' every now and then."
Braden Holtby made 24 saves for his first career playoff shutout for the Capitals and has stopped 59 of 60 shots in the series.
Game 3 is Monday in New York.
Green got his chance because the Capitals' power play—the best in the NHL during the regular season—finally returned to the ice thanks to the rule that sends a player to the box when he "shoots or bats" the puck "directly" over the glass while in his defensive zone.
The Rangers had done a better job staying out of the box after taking too many minors in Game 1, but the officials had no choice when defenceman Ryan McDonagh clearly committed the error 7:09 into overtime.
"Just got a little too under it," McDonagh said.
On only their second man-advantage of the game—and first since the first period—Green nailed a one-timer from high in the slot on a feed from Mike Ribeiro precisely at the eight-minute mark of the extra period.
Contrast that with the New York power play that started 1:51 into overtime, after Steve Oleksy was whistled for the over-the-glass miscue. The Rangers failed to get a shot on goal during their two minutes of 5-on-4—or at any point in the extra period.
"It comes down to: They score on their power play and we don't," Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said.
New York also had a power play late in regulation after Troy Brouwer slashed Rick Nash. The Rangers went 0 for 3 on the power play for the game and are 0 for 7 for the series.
"We're just too stagnant," New York coach John Tortorella said. "We're almost paralyzed."
The Rangers nearly had another power-play chance in the final minute of regulation, when Alzner swiped at the puck and put it over the glass. Holtby thought for sure that his teammate was headed to the box, but the officials conferred and decided not to make the delay call. Alzner said it was because they decided he had tipped the puck.
"I was thinking about that last night," Alzner said. "I was thinking if that play ever happened, what would the call be? And I guess it's discretionary, whatever. ... It's kind of a weird coincidence."
The Rangers bit their tongue about it after the game.
"There's no use talking about it now," Callahan said. "I mean, it doesn't matter. Just move on."
Pucks-over-glass debates aside, the game consisted mostly of Henrik Lundqvist and Holtby kicking, swiping, catching and otherwise getting in the way of the puck. Lundqvist finished with 37 saves.
"He was big for us again," Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi said. "And it would have been nice to get the victory for him."
A razor-thin margin in the playoffs between these teams is hardly surprising. Six of their seven games in last year's post-season were decided by one goal, including a Rangers win that went to three overtimes. This is the third Rangers-Capitals series in three years, and five of those 14 games have required extra time to decide a winner.
The Capitals are more offensively minded this year under first-time coach Adam Oates, but the Rangers were able to mostly corral regular season goal-scoring leader Alex Ovechkin and the rest of Washington's high-powered attack.
Lundqvist had to work harder than Holtby, but both were in top form—and caught a few breaks as well. New York's Anton Stralman hit the crossbar about four minutes into the game. Lundqvist reacted quickly to make a kick save on Mathieu Perreault. On and on it went.
But Lundqvist couldn't stop the game's final shot from Green, whose 12 regular season goals led all NHL defencemen.
"I just happened to be open," Green said. "And my goal was just to get it by that first guy and try to hit the net."
Notes: F Derek Dorsett made his Rangers debut. He broke his collarbone March 7 while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets and was thought to be done for the season. He was sent to New York last month at the trade deadline. F Brian Boyle returned after being sidelined since April 16 with a right leg injury. The Rangers remained without D Marc Staal (eye) and F Ryane Clowe (undisclosed). ... Cs Chris Kreider and Kris Newbury were scratched to make room for Dorsett and Boyle.
Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP


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Apple has not been shy about going after competitors in court in recent years, and those battles have not been limited to the giant patent lawsuits with Samsung that have garnered worldwide attention. In a federal trademark lawsuit set in Oakland, the company sued Amazon over its use of the phrase "App Store for Amazon," saying it infringes on the trademark for Apple's App Store.
Amazon responded in court papers, arguing that the words "app" and "store" are both generic phrases that can't be trademarked.
Now, after more than two years of litigation, Apple has dropped its case. There was no settlement; Apple just walked away before a trial. It had to give Amazon a "covenant not to sue" over the issue, or else Amazon would have continued with its counterclaims seeking to knock out Apple's trademark.
"This was a decision by Apple to unilaterally abandon the case and leave Amazon free to use 'appstore,'" Martin Glick, a lawyer for Amazon, told Reuters.
Apple tried to put the best face possible on a lawsuit that it pursued for two years and then gave up on.
"We no longer see a need to pursue our case," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. "With more than 900,000 apps and 50 billion downloads, customers know where they can purchase their favorite apps."
Of course, litigation is unpredictable, and trademark cases rest on consumer perceptions, which can be especially open to interpretation (not to mention measured with pseudo-scientific surveys). But this case had already progressed to a point where Apple was likely throwing good money after bad. The judge tossed out Apple's false advertising claims in January, and in a hearing last year she showed deep skepticism that there was any consumer confusion between Apple's App Store and Amazon's Appstore for Android.
In Apple's filings last year, it had plead that it was a "pioneering brand" and had played a "unique role in educating consumers about the product market."


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I am offering two packages of a dozen each of fresh baked canneles to two gourmands out there. All you have to do is leave a comment to this post and I will draw your name completely at random and ship them to you during the week. To ensure freshness I can only ship within the US and Canada.
Drawing end Monday at 4pm, and the winners will be announced Tuesday or Wednesday. (My mom is coming in town and I might be drowning under chocolate and candy in the meantime)