In this article we are going to look at recent statistics of open source software utilisation in the United Kingdom. Then we will explore the advantages and finally we will dive into an ongoing 5G Telco project where open source tools are used in a great extent. According to the Github 2020 report, the UK has been in the top 5 for open source usage outside the US with > 28.6% YoY growth. The total of open source files changed on Github by UK based contributors in 2020 exceed the 80 millions developers with an amazing +33% YoY growth. There are more metrics that prove the great increase of open source contribution in the UK, which suggests the big surge of Open source contribution overall, especially when comparing with years such as 2005, when, allegedly, it was difficult as a developer to work in a company where the developed software system was based on open source. People might say that in general there was no such need or demand for software development like today. This is a wrong statement because various Linux distributions, Asterisk, tools such as Git and a while later, text editors such as Libre Office existed. The following report from OpenUK provides great detail on the topic and shows the consistency throughout the years for development and contribution to open source projects. * https://openuk.uk/stateofopen/ 10 Reasons to use open source software is  the first and biggest advantage. People from all around the world can access the code repository and make from a very small contribution e.g. a typo fix up to the development of a set of features or the definition of the project strategy overall or even architectural modifications. The outcome is an improved solution with more features and more effective functionality. Community The power of the crowd. As a software developer I have always looked for a cool project to contribute and did so multiple times. Now we should think how many people around the world want to do the same, which can provide great outcomes. This is the power of the crowd that delivers ideas, code, projects and also operates and troubleshoots when it is required. Transparency. As a an end user, I am always wondering how the codebase of anything I use look like. What is the full feature list and if it can be extended. Open source code gives us full visibility into the code base, and of course the entire list of comments/interactions of the people who developed it. When a new bug is spotted, it’s amazing to see the section of the code that caused the issue! On the other hand, proprietary code is secret and many times contains surprises. Reliability. That goes back to the power of the crowd. The more people following a project the better to resolve potential issues. A company team that “has to get the work done” sounds less motivational than a community of people who enjoy spending their free time on a open source project. Better security. Open source project does not only attract coders, but also experts on specific areas, such as security. Surprisingly, it is often more secure without the need to spend a great amount of money to secure an application with a proprietary solution. The community behind the project is there to spot and fix any vulnerability. Hackathonsbug bounties are also a successful way to attract a number of people to resolve any type of issues. Merit-based. The developed code is created from love and sole motivation of initally one person. The rest of the community will also review and test the functionality. The entire process, from decision making to tool selection was done by the respective people. The power of making these decisions is a great benefit and works as a boost to the psychology of the team. Faster time to market. With the increase of DevOps and its combination with transparency, open source solutions are openly available and can be explored for free. A new solution or technology option is often one “merge request” away. Cost effective. Open source solutions themselves come for free if any individual or even company want to use them. There are no licencing fees and no support/operational fees for the developers. This is a great advantage compared to proprietary solutions. Freedom from (vendor) lock-in. One of the biggest and costlier fears of an organisation is how to move to “that other solution when we have been using solution X for so many years”. This is a common problem with proprietary software, as there is a lot of risk originating from tight coupling created during the time “solution X” was used. The problem applies to software applications, but also to infrastructure components i.e. hardware, operating solutions, providers. The cost of moving to a better solution increases and often requires more resources to do so. Enterprises should consider this risk before opting for a proprietary solution. If they do so, they have to mention it in their contract. However, this issue can be resolved by looking at the open source solution out there. Becoming the norm. Nowadays, the open source community is getting bigger, as many enterprises also help implementing open source solutions. Additionaly, they support open source communities and commit in expanding solutions that can also be integrated with their own systems. 10 popular open source projects used in a Telco “Open source projects provide the code to build upon and/or modify to create market-differentiating products and services” — IBM The telecommunications and networks are being reinvented. Network function virtualization (NFV) replaces proprietary physical network appliances and aims to shift gradually the infrastructure to the cloud, where also Cloud Native tools and technologies are onboarded. The biggest benefits of NFV and software-defined networks (SDNs) are flexibility, cost reduction, scalability, and interoperability, while reliability, security and avoiding single point of failure are ensured at high percentage by the selected cloud provider. Open source software solutions is combined for maximum results as the previous mentioned benefits are considered. Access 4.0 — a great example for extensive adoption of open source With the Access 4.0 (A4) platform, Deutsche Telekom is breaking new ground in the construction and provision of networks: conventional hard-wired systems are being replaced by open, disaggregated, highly automated and microservice-based technologies. Vendor-specific closed systems are being replaced on the A4 platform with open, disaggregated, and microservice-based technologies. A4 is based on open source principles in many aspects and shares any resulting insights with open source communities. The open software promotes competition among suppliers and  cuts investment costs for network operators. The A4 team holds key roles in international collaborative projects such as the Broadband Forum (BBF), the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), the Open Compute Project (OC), and the Telecom Infrastructure Project (TIP). This active involvement helps prevent island solutions and leverage synergies not just within Deutsche Telekom, but in the sector as a whole. — Telekom.com A more detailed look at the architecture of this spectacular project shows the extensive utilization of open source solutions projects. Below you may find a short description and their respective repositories for : 10 open source projects used in Access 4.0 project is a statically typed, compiled programming language designed at Google. It is syntactically similar to C, but with memory safety, garbage collection, structural typing and CSP-style concurrency. — Golang golang.org , also known as K8s, is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. — Kubernetes kubernetes.io is a set of platform as a service products that use OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers. Containers are isolated from one another and bundle their own software, libraries and configuration files; they can communicate with each other through well-defined channels. — Docker docker.com is an open source project to create a hardware abstraction for broadband access equipment. It supports the principle of multi-vendor, disaggregated, “any broadband access as a service” for the Central Office. — VOLTHA™ opennetworking.org/voltha Voltha aims to provide a layer of abstraction on top of legacy and next generation access network equipment for the purpose of control and management. Its initial focus is on PON (GPON, EPON, NG PON 2), but it aims to go beyond to eventually cover other access technologies (xDSL, Docsis, G.FAST, dedicated Ethernet, fixed wireless). is an open source automation server which enables developers around the world to reliably build, test, and deploy their software. — Jenkins jenkins.io is an open source data collector for unified logging layer. It allows you to unify data collection and consumption for a better use and understanding of data. — Fluentd fluentd.org is a free and open user interface that lets you visualize your Elasticsearch data and navigate the Elastic Stack. Do anything from tracking query load to understanding the way requests flow through your apps. — Kibana elastic.co/kibana is a free and open server-side data processing pipeline that ingests data from a multitude of sources, transforms it, and then sends it to your favorite “stash.” — Logstash elastic.co/logstash is a generic test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development. It is a keyword-driven testing framework that uses tabular test data syntax. — Robot Framework robotframework.org is a native certificate management controller. It can help with issuing certificates from a variety of sources, such as , , , a simple signing key pair, or self signed. — Cert-manager Kubernetes Let’s Encrypt HashiCorp Vault Venafi cert-manager.io This is only a subset of open source tools and solutions used in the project. Access 4.0 is designed and implemented with open source in its core. For more information, please look at the references provided below or feel free to get in touch — the details are provided below. References https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source https://opensource.com/article/17/8/enterprise-open-source-advantages https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/report/open-source-telecom https://opennetworking.org/voltha/ https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/deutsche-telekom-s-access-4-0-platform-goes-live-615974 *The article was also published at Reply’s website and you may find it here . Author and Contact details I’m a Senior Consultant at within the Future Networks Business Unit. The team consists of consultants, software developers, technology enthusiasts specialising in Telecommunications and technological concepts such as Software Defined Networks (SDN), Network Function Virtualisation (NFV), DevOps. Our mission is to build the Next Generation Networks leveraging the art of software and latest technological trends. Net Reply If you would like more information on these, please contact me on s.moschos@reply.com. Alternatively you can learn more about us on LinkedIn (Net UK) and Twitter (Net UK) or you could just find me on LinkenIn (Stelios Moschos) .

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that breached 150,000 surveillance cameras sent shockwaves through the security world. For those of us in the edge computing industry, it simply underscored what we already knew — securing distributed devices is As intelligent systems increasingly expand into the field, we’ll see more and more attacks of this sort if we continue to leverage the same security stance and tools that we’ve used for decades within perimetered locations like data centers and secure telecommunication facilities. The recent news of the Verkada hack hard . In this article, I will go through a few of the widely-cited edge breaches in the industry and highlight how a zero trust security model optimized for the unique challenges of the edge would have helped prevent them from happening. Lessons Learned In a hack reminiscent of Verkada, the 2016 infected millions of cameras and turned them into bots that together launched a massive DDOS attack on upstream networks, briefly taking down the internet in the northeastern United States. Something on the order of under twenty combinations of username and password got into all those cameras, because the developers made it too easy to change, or not even possible to change, these security credentials. Often this was due to prioritizing usability and instant gratification for users over security. Mirai virus Another commonly-cited example is the massive in 2014 that was a result of attackers accessing millions of customers’ credit card information by way of a networked HVAC system. The hackers stole credentials from an HVAC contractor and were able to access the payment system because the operations network the HVAC was on wasn’t properly segmented from the IT network. Target data breach In a final example, the 2010 involved malware that was loaded into process control systems by using a USB flash drive to bypass the network air gap. The worm then propagated across the internal process control network, scanning for Siemens S7 software on industrial PCs. When successful, the virus would send unexpected commands to PLCs controlling industrial processes while giving the operators a view of normal operation. Stuxnet breach Viruses like Stuxnet that focus on compromising industrial systems are especially concerning because attacks can lead to immediate loss of production, or worse, life. This is compared to breaches of IT systems which typically play out over long periods of time, with compromises to privacy, financial data and IP. Challenges of Securing Distributed Edge Computing With these examples in mind, what is unique about the proverbial edge that makes security such a challenge? : Part of the value of IoT and edge computing comes from having devices connected across the organization, providing a holistic view of operations. Over time we will see edge device deployments grow into the trillions, and traditional data center solutions for security and management are not designed for this kind of scale. Scale Distributed edge computing resources rarely have the defense of four physical walls or a traditional network perimeter. This requires a security approach that assumes that these resources can be physically tampered with and doesn’t depend upon an owned network for defense. Lack of Physical and Network Perimeters: The edge is at the convergence of the physical and digital worlds. In addition to a highly heterogeneous landscape of technologies, we also have to account for diverse skill sets spanning IT and OT (e.g. network and security admins, DevOps, production, quality and maintenance engineers, data scientists). Heterogeneity: As OT and IT converge at the edge, each organization’s often conflicting priorities must be considered. While OT typically cares about uptime and safety, IT prioritizes data security, privacy and governance. Security solutions must balance these priorities in order to be successful. Varying Priorities: Many IoT devices are too resource-constrained to host security measures such as encryption, plus the broad install base of legacy systems in the field was never intended to be connected to broader networks, let alone the internet. Because of these limitations, these devices and systems need to rely on more capable compute nodes immediately upstream to serve as the first line of defense, providing functions such as root of trust and encryption. Constrained Devices and Legacy Systems: EVE-OS: Zero Trust Foundation Built for Distributed Edge Computing The Verkada hack and its predecessors make it clear that edge computing requires a zero trust architecture that addresses the unique security requirements of the edge. Zero trust begins with a basic tenant — trust no one and verify everything. started in 2019 with the Linux Foundation’s organization with the goal of delivering an open-source, vendor-agnostic and standardized foundation for hosting distributed edge computing workloads. Project EVE is driven by EVE-OS, a lightweight, secure, open, universal and Linux-based distributed edge operating system with open, vendor-neutral APIs for remote lifecycle management. The solution can run on any hardware (e.g., x86, Arm, GPU) and leverages different hypervisors and container runtimes to ensure policy-based isolation between applications, host hardware, and networks. The Project EVE community is now over 60 unique developers. Project EVE LF Edge EVE-OS Zero Trust Components Let’s take a look at the individual components of the EVE-OS zero trust security framework. EVE-OS leverages the cryptographic identity created in the factory or supply chain in the form of a private key generated in a hardware security model (e.g., TPM chip). This identity never leaves that chip and the root of trust is also used to store additional keys (e.g., for an application stack such as Azure IoT Edge). In turn, the public key is stored in the remote console. Hardware Root of Trust: An edge compute node running EVE-OS leverages its silicon-based trust anchor (e.g., TPM) for identity and communicates directly with the remote controller to verify itself. This eliminates having a username and password for each edge device in the field, instead, all access is governed through role-based access control (RBAC) in a centralized console. Hackers with physical access to an edge computing node have no way of logging into the device locally. No Usernames and Passwords: EVE-OS has granular, software-defined networking controls built in, enabling admins to govern traffic between applications, compute resources, and other network resources based on policy. The distributed firewall can be used to govern communication between applications on an edge node and on-prem and cloud systems, and detect any abnormal patterns in network traffic. As a bare metal solution, EVE-OS also provides admins with the ability to remotely block unused I/O ports on edge devices such as USB, Ethernet and serial. Combined with there being no local login credentials, this physical port blocking provides an effective measure against insider attacks leveraging USB sticks. Distributed Firewall: All of these tools are implemented in a curated, layered fashion to establish defense in depth with considerations for people, process, and technology. Layered Security Model: All features within EVE-OS are exposed through an open, vendor-neutral API that is accessed remotely through the user’s console of choice. Edge nodes block unsolicited inbound instruction, instead reaching out to their centralized management console at scheduled intervals and establishing a secure connection before implementing any updates. Centralized Management: Ounce of Prevention > Pound of Cure Returning to the above examples of security breaches, what would the impact of these attacks have looked like if the systems were running on top of EVE-OS? In short, there would have been multiple opportunities for the breaches to be prevented, or at least discovered and mitigated immediately. In the Verkada and Mirai examples, the entry point would have had to be the camera operating system itself, running in isolation on top of top EVE-OS. However, this would not have been possible because EVE-OS itself has no direct login capabilities. The same benefit would have applied in the Target example, and in the case of Stuxnet, admins could have locked down USB ports on local industrial PCs to prevent a physical insider attack. No Physical Breach: In all of these example attacks, the distributed firewall within EVE-OS would have limited the communications of applications, intercepting any attempts of compromised devices to communicate with any systems not explicitly allowed. Further, edge computing nodes running EVE-OS deployed immediately upstream of the target devices would have provided additional segmentation and protection. Network Communications Intercepted: EVE-OS would have provided detailed logs of all of the hackers’ activities. It’s unlikely that the hackers would have realized that the operating system they breached was actually virtualized on top of EVE-OS. Activities Monitored: Security policies established within the controller and enforced locally by EVE-OS would have detected unusual behavior by each of these devices at the source and immediately cordoned them off from the rest of the network, preventing hackers from inflicting further damage. Automatic Quarantine: Centralized management from any dashboard means that updates to applications and their operating systems (e.g. a camera OS) could have been deployed to an entire fleet of edge hardware powered by EVE-OS with a single click. Meanwhile, any hacked application operating system running above EVE-OS would be preserved for subsequent forensic analysis by the developer. One-click Mitigation: The zero-trust approach, comprehensive security policies, and immediate notifications would have drastically limited the scope and damage of each of these breaches, preserving the company’s brand in addition to mitigating direct effects of the attack. Reputation Preserved: We’re in this Together The diverse technologies and expertise required to deploy and maintain edge computing solutions can make security especially daunting. The shared technology investment of developing EVE-OS through vendor-neutral open source collaboration is important because it provides a high level of transparency and creates an open anchor point around which to build an ecosystem of hardware, software and services experts. The open, vendor neutral API within EVE-OS prevents lock-in and enables anyone to build their own controller. In this regard, you can think of EVE-OS as the “Android of the Edge”. Simplifying the Complicated Finally, in the process of addressing all potential threat vectors, it’s important to not make security procedures so cumbersome that users try to bypass key protections, or refuse to use the connected solution at all. Security usability is especially critical in IoT and edge computing due to the highly diverse skill sets in the field. In one example, while developers of the many smart cameras that have been hacked in the field made it easy for users to bypass the password change for instant gratification, EVE-OS provides similar zero touch usability without security compromise by automating the creation of a silicon-based digital ID during onboarding. The ideal solution is architected to streamline usability throughout the lifecycle of deploying and orchestrating distributed edge computing solutions so users have the confidence to connect and can focus on their business. While the attack surface for the massive was the centralized IT data center vs. the edge, it’s a clear example of the importance of having an open, transparent foundation that enables you to understand how a complex supply chain is accessing your network. 2020 SolarWinds hack In Closing Security at the distributed edge begins with a zero-trust foundation, a high degree of usability, and open collaboration. The industry is working together to take the guesswork out so customers can securely orchestrate their edge computing deployments with a choice of hardware, applications, and clouds, with limited IT knowledge required. The goal is to enable users to adopt distributed edge computing to drive new experiences and improve business outcomes, without taking on unnecessary risk. Also published at https://medium.com/zededa/how-do-we-prevent-breaches-like-verkada-merai-stuxnet-and-beyond-it-starts-with-zero-trust-c46b24cf456e

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It’s no secret that a comprehensive, well-labeled dataset goes a long way towards an effective Machine Learning solution, and while is a large part of that, there are several methods available to build a dataset that do not solely revolve around passively recording data. While is a popular and relatively simple method of stretching your dataset, synthetic data creation is a slightly more sophisticated way to round out a robust training set. data collection data augmentation Because creating realistic synthetic data requires technical sophistication, its use is best targeted to scenarios in which typical data collection proves too expensive, slow, or ineffective in general. This can mean edge cases that are exceedingly rare or difficult to capture, data collection which might violate privacy regulations, or data collection that might be prohibitively expensive. In all of these cases and more, synthetic data can be an effective way to work around the limitations imposed by standard data collection techniques. Methods of Producing Synthetic Data Variational Autoencoders Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) are networks that encode and then decode their input data, which forces the encoder to output a latent space representation of the input data that relies on fewer more meaningful dimensions. The network is trained by trying to minimize the difference between the input data and its corresponding output, training the encoder on the most relevant features and the decoder on the reconstruction of the data from these features. The second part of this process, the reconstruction of the encoded data, can be harnessed to create altogether new data that still contains the statistically relevant features learned from the rest of the dataset. Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique Synthetic data can be particularly useful in cases where there are too few examples of the minority class for a model to effectively learn the decision boundary. One way to solve this problem is to oversample the minority class, and simply duplicate examples of it in the training dataset. While this balances the class distribution, it provides no new information to the model. Rather than duplicating existing information, data scientists can synthesize examples around the minority class using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique. SMOTE is a method of synthesizing data to bolster datasets that include rare events or scenarios whose detections are crucial, such as cancer detection. The basic process of SMOTE requires the data scientist to sample two data points - one from the minority class and one that is nearby in feature space, but not of the minority class. Then, the data scientist must create a synthetic datapoint along the line between the two samples in feature space. Using SMOTE to create more samples in and around the minority class allows the network to better define the minority class and the crucial boundaries around it. Generative Adversarial Networks Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are used to generate synthetic data by training a generative model, a network which creates synthetic data, using a discriminator model, a network which has been trained to classify data as real or fake. The generative model is trained until the discriminator is unable to distinguish between its synthetic data and real data, and has about a 50% success rate at categorizing its outputs as real or fake. Once trained, the generative model can be used to create synthetic data for the intended application. Though the techniques outlined above leverage real data, they go a step further than augmentation in creating new data rather than simply altering existing data. can be a powerful way to address the shortcomings of data collection, which can become too slow or costly for certain types of data. Though technically more challenging than data augmentation, synthesizing new data can help train networks to address a greater variety of scenarios that, although less common or harder to record, are crucial to the successful deployment of a machine learning model. Synthetic data Sources: https://www.jeremyjordan.me/variational-autoencoders/ https://machinelearningmastery.com/smote-oversampling-for-imbalanced-classification/ https://machinelearningmastery.com/what-are-generative-adversarial-networks-gans/ https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-generate-new-data-in-machine-learning-with-vae-variational-autoencoder-applied-to-mnist-ca68591acdcf Learn more from Innotescus Learn more about or see our platform’s that help users understand their data and make informed decisions about when and how to apply synthetic data. augmentation analytics Contact Innotescus to learn more. Email: info@innotescus.io Website: https://innotescus.io/

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In this post, we will provide the , and you can learn - What you'll learn, the list of Course content, Requirements, Description, and Why learn C? C Programming Course for Free What you'll learn Understand the basic principles of C Programming Language. You can able to create your first C Application. In this tutorial, you will get to understand variables and different data types. Understand the main language that most modern languages ​​are based on. Make yourself more strong for beginner-level programming interviews. Learn one of the most widely used c programming languages in the world. Apply for real-time programming terms Learn how to write high-quality code in c programming Course content C Programming Language Basic Introduction What is an Algorithm in C Programming Introduction to Flowchart in C Hello world program in C Input Output Statement in C Constants in C Programming Data Types in C Programming Keywords in C Programming What are Operators in C What are Header Files in C What is Decision Making Statements in C What is Loop Statement in C What is Function in C Programming Language What is Recursion in C Arrays in C Programming Pointers in C Programming Structures in C Programming What is Union in C Programming What is a string in C Programming What is File Handling in C C Programming Interview Questions Requirements You must have a computer running Microsoft Windows, Linux, or Mac operating system at work. At least 4GB of ram is recommended. No need for any type of programming experience, all concepts taught in this class! Description Have you never programmed a computer before, and think or say that C is a good programming language to start with. this is. Maybe you have some good experience with other programming languages,  but want to learn C. This is great language for your resume. Or perhaps you are stuck in a low-paid programming job and want to move to a better, more senior position. Learning C can help you. The fact is, learning to program in C is not only an excellent programming language, to begin with, but it will make you better at programming in other computer languages. Why learn C? C is often considered the mother of all languages ​​because many other languages ​​have been based on it. Although C is simple it is one of the most powerful languages ​​ever created. Given that it was built over 40 years ago, it is still heavily used and is generally one of the top 5 or 10 most popular and most comprehensive programming languages ​​in the world. Learning C can actually make you better at programming in other languages ​​like C ++, Java, or C #, which equips you with a mental model of the computer while running your programs. By learning how things really work "under the hood", and understanding CPU architecture, memory space, and so on, you can build more efficient programs, and get a bigger advantage over other programmers in the process Huh. If you want to be a better developer, C is a great way to start learning! It does not skip over the course description. You will learn how to write high-quality code and how to be an excellent problem solver. This course does not only exist to code in the C programming language but, includes all the details on the "why" you are doing. At the end of thiscourse, you will be able to fully understand the concepts of the C programming language. Originally posted on C Programming Course for Free

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Having a flashy sword or a badass axe is basically a prerequisite for being an epic hero. Just look at Kratos in the latest God of War, Link and Skyrim’s own cover art. While Skyrim has a respectable collection of deadly implements, this collection of Skyrim Weapon Mods updated in the last year bring new weapons both original and from fiction to Skyrim. Skyrim Weapon Mods list Monster Hunter for Skyrim SE Echelon Occiglacies - Ancient Falmer Blade Leviathan Axe - Dwemer Artifacts SE Vigilant Glenmoril Gun Replacer SE Fudou Myouou Katana and Tachi SE Ritevice - Sword of Stendarr 1. Monster Hunter by Syncing (Skyrim SE port by Shlla) Picture Credit: Shlla on the Nexus Monster Hunter Rise’s recent release might have given you a Monster Hunter itch which one of the Skyrim Weapon Mods might help you scratch. This mod was released originally in 2012 but was re released as a Skyrim SE weapon mod last year. As the name suggests, it brings eight weapons from Capcom’s dinosaur- hunting series into Skyrim. The weapons can be crafted after finding the relevant crafting book and with a pair of new crafting materials added to the game’s drop table. Download link: | Skyrim Skyrim SE 2. Echelon by billyro Picture Credit: billyro Echelon is one of the latest Skyrim SE weapon mods, being released in January 2021. Describing itself as a “A renaissance-period inspired longsword with a fancy guard”, this weapon has highly detailed 4k textures that let its engravings really show. It’s not overdesigned and has a sharp, elegant look that goes well with an honourable knight’s look. In game, it is available in one- and two-handed versions and will become craftable with the Steel smithing perk unlocked. Download link: Skyrim SE 3. Occiglacies - Ancient Falmer Blade by trion77 Picture credit: Serados14 on the Nexus One of the questions raised by the Dawnguard questline centers around what the Falmer, or snow-elves, used to be before their enslavement and fall. The game itself grants some insight to the question. The Forgotten Vale is littered with half-sunken ruins where their civilisation once thrived and Knight-Paladin Gelebor represents the last of his kind, wearing a pristine set of snow-elf armour. However, there aren’t any unique weapons to show off their craftsmenship. Occiglacies answers this question by presenting a fantastic rendition of what such a weapon might look like with a design heavily inspired by Glass weapons and the snow-elf ruins. A special enchanted version even awards special magical effects for killing Nords. Download Link: Skyrim SE 4. Leviathan Axe - Dwemer Artifacts SE by FunkyGandalfCat Picture Credit: SabasCaelus on the Nexus This is one of the Skyrim Weapon Mods that have far too much effort put in to them. Instead of simply stopping at porting over Kratos’ new weapon, FunkyGandalfCat has gone the extra mile and even brought it customisation from God of War itself. The Leviathan Axe can be customised by swapping out its pommels just like its original incarnation. Most impressively, this can be done without using a crafting station and is instead done with a new power added to the player. Pommels are created through new items dropped by enemies and crafted on a brand-new workbench. Download Link: Skyrim SE 5. Vigilant Glenmoril Gun Replacer SE by PraedythXVI Picture Credit: PraedythXVI on the Nexus This mod isn’t really a mod. Instead, it’s a high-texture replacer for the YaramHunter gun from one of the best Skyrim quest mods, Vigilant. This replacer looks amazing and fits Vigilant’s visual theme incredibly well and still looks like a great fit for Skyrim, ignoring the fact that there are no guns in the game. The impressively modelled imperfections on the weapon and the engravings across the weapon really add to the quality of PraedythXVI’s work. Download link: Skyrim SE 6. Fudou Myouou Katana and Tachi by China-YYK Moral cat Picture Credit: Pogogo000 Katanas form a surprisingly large portion of Skyrim Weapon Mods with many modders creating meticulous designs inspired by everything from real history to anime. The Fudou Myouou Katana and Tachi is definitely a fantasy-inspired design especially with the ornate hilt and handle. The blade itself gleams and reflects in ways most Skyrim SE Weapon Mods don’t and in a way that lets it retain its detailed look. Download Link: | Skyrim Skyrim SE 7. Ritevice - Sword of Stendarr by Artsick Photo Credit: Artsick on the Nexus Ritevice is one of the most detailed weapons on this list with intricate engravings near the base of the blade and even a glowing fuller down the middle. It would look amazing with any kind of holy warrior with the way it gleams in the light and glows in the dark. The weapon itself comes in one- and two-handed versions and can be crafted after unlocking some high-level perks. There is even a higher-level version in Castle Dour. Download Link: Skyrim SE Final Thoughts on These Skyrim Weapon Mods Skyrim and Skyrim SE weapon mods are a dime a dozen with literally thousands of them on the Nexus. Many of these mods are also quite old and have hogged the most downloaded lists for years. This list looked at some of the newest creations to come out of the Nexus and has hopefully shown some fantastic options for download. This article was written by Nicolas Ng

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Android development has witnessed massive growth in all these years, and any developer who’s worth his salt will thoroughly test his products before launching them into the market. While having a conversation about testing in Android, we often hear two forms of tests doing the rounds — Unit Test and Integration Test. In this post, we’ll discuss which test is more ideal or if we should perform both tests before launching our product into the market. Before we proceed, let’s take a look at this testing pyramid. Photo Source: https://developer.android.com/ This testing pyramid gives us a brief idea of the different types of tests. Unit tests are written by developers, and they’re usually performed in the initial stages (although they can be performed at any point in time throughout the development), while integration tests are performed by testers, and at a later stage of development. Let’s understand them better. What Is Unit Testing? Unit testing is a testing method where developers test the units of components of the code they’ve written. In this method, we can test each and every component of the code to find out if there are any potential errors. The code is generally modular and can be reused, and we can write focused test cases. Several Android platforms also come with a pre-installed framework that lets developers write unit test codes. Since it’s done in the initial stages of development, it’s practically easy to catch and fix any bugs. Plus, it’s a cost-effective form of testing too. For Android unit tests, we can create two forms of tests: As the name suggests, these are compiled to run locally on a JVM, and can reduce the execution time. Most developers use Robolectric if our test cases depend on objects within the Android framework. Local tests: These are unit tests that are performed on real devices or emulators. These tests are mostly performed when unit tests have complicated Android dependencies. Instrumented tests: Based on our requirements, we can pick either of the tests. One works well for testing on local machines, and the other for real devices or emulators. Photo Source: https://philmikejones.me/blog/unit-testing-in-r/ Features Of Unit Testing i. Unit tests can be run in isolation, without dependencies on other modules, and because of that, the testing method pays a meticulous amount of attention to the behaviour of independent components. ii. Since the tests are written and conducted before the code goes into production, it can follow Test Driven Development. iii. While external dependencies can be mocked in unit testing, we cannot be sure if the code works the way it should with external dependencies. iv. Unit testing is cost-effective and can be performed at any point in time during development. v. Several unit tests can run parallelly because every test is run in isolation. vi. You can unit test different components or a part of your code. What Is Integration Testing? Integration testing is a form of the testing method where several individual components are put together (or integrated) and tested together. Performed by testers, this testing method can detect any app-wide bugs or even bugs that unit testing may have missed. This is because, when all components come together, they may not perform well together. For performing integration testing on Android devices, we have to check for components like Service, Activities, and Content Provider. These are basically to check how the actions, services, or content work on different Android devices. Features Of Integration Testing i. Great for checking how the components interact with frameworks and other components. ii. Integration testing runs end-to-end tests for any given product and app, and hence it’s capable of catching app-wide bugs. iii. With Integration testing, we’ll have a clear picture of how our code functions when it comes in contact with external dependencies. iv. The tests may not run parallelly because tests may depend on each other or can share the same pre-state setup. v. Integration testing doesn’t follow Test-Driven Development approach because the testing happens after the development. vi. Integration testing is relatively expensive because it’s difficult to trace the bugs. Integration tests can also be performed on real devices, which means we can find out how our app or website performs on our end user’s device. But this can tamper with the speed, and won’t be relatively as fast as unit testing. Testing In Android: Unit Or Integration Or Both? Integration tests don’t run as quickly as unit tests, and this could pose a predicament when it comes to delivery timelines. For instance, if we’re working on a project with a deadline, Integration testing isn’t agile and if we have to run 50-60 integration tests, it may take anywhere between 20-30 minutes for the build. Most developers prefer unit testing because of this very drawback and because bugs can be detected in the early stages. Now the question remains — should we go for unit testing or integration testing? What if we say both? For instance, let’s take a look at the following image. Picture Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/9dw6kw/had_to_explain_to_a_colleague_why_integration/ From the image, it can be inferred that unit testing individual components lead to a good unit test; performing an integration testing of all the components together leads to good integration testing. But from the third section, it can be noted that for a good product, we have to thoroughly unit test both the components and their linkage. Otherwise, it can lead to a broken app or product. To summarize, When either the first or the third section aren’t done properly, we might encounter bugs. The second image is the apt representation of the fact that we’ll need to perform both unit testing and integration testing for a solid product. For apps or websites to perform the way they’re designed to perform, it’s important for developers to unit test their code before sending it out to the testers for integration testing. Integration testing also adds a layer of security, and it helps us catch any bugs that we might have missed during unit testing. Integration Testing In Multiple Environments? There’s nothing much we could do to improve the speed of a suite of integration tests. However, multiple suites can be executed parallelly, provided we have a competent tool. There are some popular mobile testing tools. One solution is Testsigma, an automated mobile app testing tool that understands the need for speed and performs tests on many Android, iOS devices seamlessly. Also, runs the tests in parallel, thereby cutting down the execution time. Besides, all tests run on a cloud, manages tests suites and executions via a test lab on the cloud. You can also create test cases, categorize, and schedule them as per your requirements. Conclusion We did see that only unit testing may not help you find the bugs that you might find during integration testing and vice versa. Thus, for releasing a product that boasts of good overall quality, it is essential to maintain a healthy balance between unit testing and integration testing.

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Unit Testing Vs. Integration Testing In Android

I wrote three books about bitcoin and publish a newsletter about cryptocurrency. I'd love for bitcoin's price to reach the lofty expectations everybody else seems to have. When you look at the data, trends, and patterns of behavior we saw as bitcoin’s price approached its four previous market cycle peaks, you will see the same things today as you did for each of those other times. Sure, it's cooled off for the past two weeks, but the trajectory hasn't changed. Still parabolic and coming out of a bull flag. The last time bitcoin did this (February), its price doubled. The time before that (December), its price tripled. If bitcoin comes even close to those targets in April, its bull run will end. I realize that seems crazy. On March 11, 2021, I published going deep into the data and correlations. I summarize them below and recommend you read that other post for a more nuanced and informative explanation. This article hits only the high notes. a detailed post for subscribers of my Crypto is Easy newsletter Also, make sure you caught my post from last month, . Bitcoin’s Market Cycle Peak is a Lot Closer Than You Think Mark, don’t even bother. Institutions will never let that happen! Yes, some say institutions will never let the price crash. No more bear markets. Only up forever. They’re all FOMOing in, buying up even the slightest dip. “Wall of institutional money.” Sounds great. To sustain this bull market, we need institutions to HODL, not just buy. After all, they can’t push prices higher when they’re selling their bitcoin right after they get it. Look at the realized cap HODL waves, which show the movements of bitcoin among older and newer wallets based on the value of the bitcoins that move. Unlike the HODL waves you’re probably used to, this metric quantifies the influence those HODLers have on the market. Rather than calculate a percentage of people or wallets, it calculates the percentage of bitcoin’s market value. We know institutions accumulated a lot of bitcoin from September to December. If they’re still HODLing that bitcoin, we should see it reflected in some growth in the band that represents people who acquired bitcoin in the past 3–6 months. As of mid-March 2021, we didn’t see that at all. In fact, we saw a steep dating back months. drop This chart lumps all the short-term HODLers, people who’ve had bitcoin for three months or less. Blue circles are market cycle peaks. Those shorter-term bands keep widening, resulting in spikes on this chart. You can see the spikes lead to market cycle peaks. As you can tell from the arrow, this most recent spike is approaching (but not quite at) levels we only see at market cycle peaks. As I explained in previous updates, it’s unlikely institutions or their custodians are moving money from old wallets to new ones within their own portfolios, at least not in any significant amount. In other words, those short-term bands are not rising from big HODLers moving to newer wallets that they control. Rather, they’re shipping off their bitcoin to somebody else. Certainly, institutions are HODLing. It’s just not enough to change the trend. some Yea, but money’s pouring into Grayscale and the ETFs! It was until February. Since then, have fallen off a cliff and even went negative in March. flows into Grayscale bitcoin trust Flows into the Purpose bitcoin ETF have dried up, too — from to an average of 200 or less since then. On top of that, 3iQ sold some bitcoin from its fund. 2,200 bitcoins on the first day That signals fatigue or disinterest among institutional investors and traditional retail speculators, at least in the very short-term. (Yes, NYDIG says it has a few billion dollars of institutional money lined up. For a $1 trillion asset like bitcoin, a billion dollars doesn’t seem like enough to move the market.) Ok, that doesn’t matter, that data models predict higher prices for longer Sure, depending on which model you pick. S2F, expanding cycles, hash cycles, four-year cycles, halving cycles, the list goes on. There’s a model for every outcome you want to see, and they all disagree with each other. While I don’t make decisions based on data models, I found a few that fit my bias. They all tell us the market’s approaching its peak. , a mathematical formula that maps the intersection of two specific moving averages. When those averages converge, the market is near its peak. Today, those averages are 5% apart and getting closer with each passing day. All four previous times we saw that pattern, the market peaked within weeks. Pi cycle , a line bitcoin breaches only when it reaches market cycle peaks. We’re very close to breaching that line. Two-year moving average multiplier , an algorithm that marks the big peaks. When bitcoin’s price hits the top of the curve, it signals the absolute peak and triggers deep, long bear markets. If bitcoin’s price remains on this trajectory, we will hit the top of that curve in a month. Logarithmic growth curve . Whenever bitcoin’s price goes above that line, it hits a market cycle peak. That line projects to hit the top of the logarithmic growth curve at the same time as you would expect the lines of the Pi cycle to converge. Golden ratio multiplier All of these signals meet next month at a price of roughly $90,000. For this summary, I’ll overlap all of them on one chart so you can see the trajectory: In my longer update, I delve into this data more deeply. Really interesting stuff. Bottom line? Every time we see those signals converge, we get a crash of +77% and a bear market. Coincidences! Anybody can pick whatever data they want Yes. Anything you can do, I can do better 😉 I don’t offer predictions or statistical proof, just food for thought. The more coincidences you see, the more likely it is that they mean something. We’re long overdue for a severe crash (not a dip) or at least a long consolidation, and maybe we will get that before the market cycle peak. If so, you can throw out all this data. Bitcoin will crash, the market will reset and lay a strong foundation for that big, long bull market that everybody expects. Without that crash or multi-month consolidation, we will head to the market cycle peak a lot sooner at a much lower price than you expect. But the bull market just started Are you sure? Bitcoin’s price has gone up for more than two years. In January 2019, it was $3,200. In January 2020, it was $7,000. In January 2021, it was $25,000. On those dates, the total altcoin market was $37 billion, $53 billion, and $215 billion. Higher each year. We’ve been in this bull market for a while, even if it hasn’t felt like one or it hasn’t met the dictionary definition of “bull market.” Now, the momentum has shifted. This plane’s running out of fuel. It’s ok to refuel Do you want to hop on a plane when it’s already running out of fuel? Or do you want to wait until it lands so you can fill up the tank and then start zooming again? Bitcoin’s price can go a lot higher, but it needs to land and refuel. Otherwise, it will crash. Not a 30% crash like we’ve seen so many times. Not even a 50% crash like we got in 2020 and 2019. A far bigger crash. We still have room to run. You can realistically double your portfolio in a month or two, and if you have a lot of altcoins, you could do even better. That’s an opportunity you can’t get in any other market. At great risk, though. HODLers don’t care Long-term, none of this matters. Bitcoin’s price will almost certainly go way higher in the future than it is today. If you’re willing to HODL the peak and wait six months to three years for your investment to get back to even, then you don’t have to worry about a thing. No matter what happens in the coming months, you’ll be fine in the long run. For me, that’s a big risk to take and a long time to wait. I don’t want to be underwater for that long. You probably don’t, either. It’s different this time No. If we keep this pace, we will soon reach the same place we’ve been four times before, with each market cycle. Four times. Same patterns, Same relationships. Same things we see at the end of each market cycle. It’s not different. It’s not different at all. It’s exactly the same. Why should we expect a different outcome? Mark Helfman publishes the newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on and . Learn more about him in his . Crypto is Easy Medium Hacker Noon bio Originally published at . Voice.com

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The End of The Bitcoin Bull Market As We Know It

For a lot of people, the idea of studying/living abroad is just one more item in the checklist of their life’s plan. They’ll go abroad for a semester, a year, or more, sink themselves elbow-deep(or nail deep in some cases) into a new culture, experience new sensations, points of view, food, friends, lovers, to finally come home and then proceed to not shut up about it for the rest of their lives. E.g.: “This [ETHNIC_DISH] is good, but not as good as the one I had in [CAPITAL/MAJOR CITY] at this darling little [LOCAL_NAME_FOR_A_NEIGHBOURHOOD_EATERY].” This article is not for those kinds of people. This is for the people who want to go further, and for whatever reason, want to leave their own countries behind. With particular relevance for those of us who come from the third world AKA developing countries, less developed countries or underdeveloped countries. These items are presented in no particular order whatsoever. Education is a grand thing It is indeed possible to get a worker’s visa without first studying in that particular country and I know several people who excelled as professionals in their home nation and that allowed them to get a job abroad. That being said, getting a degree in the country you wish to migrate to will grant you several advantages: It will give you a chance to explore and help make that final decision of staying. You’ll get to practice your language skills in an environment filled with other people who are also learning. Universities will often have facilities and support for foreign students. When getting a work visa, some countries will take into account if you earned a degree in the country, and will make it easier for your prospective employer to submit the visa application. In most cases, this takes the form of your employer not having to prove that there is a local candidate that is equally qualified. Assuming it’s a possibility, I’d suggest finishing your Engineering or CS bachelor’s degree or equivalent in your home country. You can then earn a master’s degree or a professional certificate in your target country. Why a master’s or a certificate? Well, they tend to be shorter and therefore cheaper, and you get the added bonus of getting a bit of an advantage in your CV. If you come from a developing country, more likely than not, it is or was a colony of some kind. Sometimes in the very recent past. Do research on whether the former colonial power offers any sort of advantages for citizens of former colonies. For example, if you live legally in Spain and you happen to be from a Latin American country, you’ll be able to apply for Spanish(and most important EU) citizenship in just two years instead of the usual ten. Finally, this is going to be a recurring theme during this article, but it’s an important point nonetheless: DO RESEARCH! When choosing where to study, make sure that whatever institution you choose is fully accredited and that they deliver at least passable education. You will find “schools” that cater to immigrants just wishing to get a student visa, some of them even cater to specific nationalities or ethnicities. Do not fall for this. I’m not saying that all of them are scams, but believe me when I tell you, that your “Teaching English as a Second Language” certificate will most likely not impress prospective employers. You would be better off taking even a smaller course at a decent institution than an MBA from a diploma mill. I fought the law and the law won… Then the law beat me senseless Obey the law. It sounds so very simple, right? And in general, it is. But there are a couple of things you might forget while you’re exploring your new country, so here are a couple of reminders: Yes, I know, where you come from, you can walk into any store and buy cigarettes, liquor, marijuana, and a gallon of acid without showing an ID. Hell, your father sent you to the store for these things every single day. But, depending on where you live now, some of these things might require an ID to prove you are over 16,18,19,21, etc… or they’re illegal. I cannot emphasise this enough, stay away from purchasing illegal substances, whatever they might be. Depending on where you are, the justice system might be incredibly lenient. In Germany, you might not even be prosecuted for small quantities of cannabis, while in France cannabis possession nets you a 200 EUR fine. Or it could be ridiculously harsh. In Japan, you can get up to 5 years in jail for possession. Japan also has a conviction rate of 99.9% and a justice system that is notoriously aggressive against foreigners, so skipping that smoking session with Ryoko/Kenji, regardless of how kawaii they might be, is probably a good idea. This is going to sound incredibly harsh, and there are many officers who are truly invested in the wellbeing of all citizens, but in general, the police are not on your side. Like most people, they’re on their own side and interested in furthering their own objectives. Depending on where you are from, you might already be aware of this, but it bears repeating. If you do have to interact with officers, remember: be polite, be brief, know your rights, and know what officers can/cannot do. And if for whatever reason you’re arrested, do not cooperate and lawyer up immediately. Depending on where you are from, you might be used to an incredibly corrupt bureaucracy. Where if you bribe one paper-pusher or the other even with very small amounts of money, things will get done quicker. Do not try this in your new home. In most developed nations, low ranking bureaucrats are kept under constant surveillance to prevent corruption. I’m not saying corruption doesn’t exist in these countries, but it usually happens at a much higher level. The above might seem like I’m being a wee bit of a killjoy, but remember, you’re here for the long haul. Having entanglements with the law or even worse, convictions, might prevent you from staying. It will also hurt your chances to migrate to other countries if you ever decide to. I’m not going to eat that Your new home will be a gateway to exciting new experiences, some of these will be fun exciting and some will be scary exciting. However much of the local culture you experience, and there should be at least some, here are a couple of things to keep in mind: The country you are coming from might be more conservative than the country you’re moving to. Or, they could be more conservative in certain things like nudity, and more liberal in others like drugs. The important thing is to, once again, do your research. Make sure that the place you’re moving to, somewhat generally matches your personal convictions. If there are things with which you do not agree, then be ready to make that compromise. Avoid politics. No. Seriously, avoid politics. Getting involved in the politics of a country where you can’t really participate is like preparing a romantic dinner for a couple you don’t even know. You’d be doing a lot of work just to not get shagged. Once you get your citizenship/residence, feel free to go out and get involved all you want. Jumping off of that last point. Try and not to be overly critical. I know that commiserating with people about shared difficulties can create a bond. But it’s sometimes difficult to know where the line might be that will take someone from enjoying the conversation to giving you the stink-eye. On the other hand, don’t blind yourself to a country's faults. No country or society is perfect, and most countries have a chequered past. Some in the very recent past. You can embrace a country’s traditions and history, and still be conscious of its faults. You can both admire Canada for its healthcare infrastructure, and be appalled by the Indian residential school system which sought to erase First Nation’s identity through the separation of children from their families. You don’t need to become an expert in your new country’s history, you should be fine with just a High School level of knowledge. Pro-tip: Used high school texts are cheap, everywhere, and meant to be understood easily. Get a copy of a senior national history textbook and go wild. Have fun! It’s fine if you don’t care much about history, but definitely try to explore the local culture farther than a tourist would. Learn how to Morris dance, take cooking classes, read national authors, cheer for local sports teams, this is what will help you to develop a stronger sense of belonging. Which will be vital once the shine of the new experience you’re having has worn off. Could you repeat that again, please? Regardless of your level of proficiency with the language, you should never stop learning, even if you think you’re good enough. Right after your appearance, how you sound will shape how people think of you. And research has shown that a non-native accent makes people believe you’re less competent[1][2]. So don’t be afraid to try and master the local accent and parlance. If you find that it’s too hard, consider taking accent lessons. I know it sounds like I’m exaggerating, but if it’s any consolation, there is no better feeling than meeting someone new and them not even suspect that you’re an immigrant due to your language skills. Here are some tips to help you along: Consume media, and I mean local media. If you’re living in New Zealand, but only watch American TV shows, you’re going to end up sounding like just some bloke from California. Or if you live in Montreal, but only watch French media, you’ll never master Quebecois. If for whatever reason the country you’re in doesn’t produce a lot of TV shows or cinema, you can always listen to the radio. Talk shows in particular will give you a good sense of how the locals talk. I mentioned this in the previous section but read local/national authors. Not only will you get a better understanding of the national zeitgeist, you will also learn vocabulary that you might not encounter elsewhere. Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Migrating is not easy. It takes a toll. Cultural identity is difficult to pin down and after years spent abroad, you might sometimes feel that you don’t have a true home. You’re too A for B, but too B for A. Don’t be surprised if the things that you once thought were annoying about your home country, are now pleasantly quaint. It’s fine to miss your home country and its people. Think of it less as abandoning your home and more like acquiring a second one. And finally, the one most important thing to remember is… DO RESEARCH! I mean, come one, you knew that was going to be it. References [1] https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170523-does-your-accent-make-you-sound-smarter [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30835569/ Credits Featured image courtesy by . Henry Thong

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Third World Engineers VIII: Romancing the Visa

brings about detrimental effects to societies, as prices of all goods and services rise rapidly over a short period of time, whereas your income and savings remain stagnant, thus leading to a significant decrease in purchasing power very quickly. Hyperinflation Globally, there are several countries plagued by hyperinflation or generally high inflation due to unsustainable monetary policies, fiscal policies, which led to the devaluation of their local currencies in foreign exchange markets thereby eroding the purchasing power of the government, businesses and its citizens. This sets off a ripple effect where the state would no longer be able to afford to maintain public goods, businesses unable to compete internationally and individuals no longer have the purchasing power to improve their lives, thus leading to an economic collapse and social breakdown. In the article below, I set out to make a case on how countries plagued by hyperinflation can overcome it through the adoption of Bitcoin and reap the benefits of paying Bitcoin as a universal basic income (UBI) through Stacks’ (PoX) mechanism. Proof-of-Transfer Bitcoin, probably the hardest form of money ever created, with a fixed supply of 21million that runs on the Bitcoin Blockchain was invented by . Satoshi Nakamoto The invention of Bitcoin introduces to the world a decentralized ledger that is fully transparent/verifiable, permissionless, and trustless network. Bitcoin miners help to prevent the double-spending problem through Proof-of-Work by competing to solve complex mathematical problems to receive block rewards in Bitcoin. Today, experiences one of the highest inflation globally, which was caused by government printing and injecting more money into the domestic economy to cover for budget deficits. Venezuela The erosion of wealth within the country has led to adopt Bitcoin as the alternative store of value to protect their wealth from being inflated away due to actions that they’ve no control in. Not only the Venezuelans have embraced Bitcoin, the Bolivarian army is mining Bitcoin in its , and the has also legalized crypto mining via its national mining pool. communities military facilities state This clearly shows that the government of Venezuela and its citizens are receptive towards Bitcoin as an alternative store of value against hyperinflation, a globally recognized asset that is censorship resistant, fungible and easily traded to spend on daily necessities. Source However, the acceptance of Bitcoin within the country is only half the job done in curbing hyperinflation. In the following paragraphs, I would like to make a case for Venezuela to implement Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all of its citizens, paying out in Bitcoin in a sustainable manner, which paves the way for programmable money to be integrated into the economy which enables Venezuela to benefit from the next frontier of technological growth. The capital expenditure incurred for mining bitcoin is astronomical, with mining equipment product refresh averaging every , and paying out mined bitcoin to citizens is simply unsustainable. This is where Stacks Blockchain comes into the equation, where holders of Stacks (STX) token receives a payout in Bitcoin every 2 weeks, with an average APY of 11%( ). 2years source How is this achieved? The underlying mechanism that powers Stacks Blockchain is Proof-of-Transfer, where stacks miners are to commit bitcoin to the Stacks protocol to win new stacks blocks paying out Stacks token, while STX token holders receive the committed bitcoin. intrinsically motivated A recent shows that Venezuela paid Iran 9 tons of gold (worth USD500 million), in exchange for assistance in reviving Venezuela refineries(the main source of income for Venezuela). We’re still unsure how impactful the 9 tons of gold payment were in helping Venezuela’s economy and its citizens, but we’re certain that Venezuela’s reserves are now 9 tons of gold less, its citizens are still facing hyperinflation, and the cost of transporting 9tons of gold is pretty expensive. report Let’s deep dive into a hypothetical analysis if Venezuela used the 9tons of gold to kick start the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as its treasury reserves and UBI plan for its citizens. In a simple back-of-the-envelop calculation below, I’ve detailed some factors that Venezuela can consider when adopting BTC UBI. Bitcoin mining Bitcoin mining could be the most direct way to opt-out of the existing financial system while building up your bitcoin reserves overtime and potentially implementing bitcoin UBI given the regular payouts that mining provides, but is it a sustainable approach? Some assumptions I’ve used to derive with the above numbers: Antminer S19 Pro, 110 TH/S, 3250w, costs: US$10,000ea ( ) source Electricity cost in Venezuela is heavily subsidized by the government, thus taking the global average electricity cost to account for the cost that the government has incurred for subsidizing electricity. - source Bitcoin mining calculator - source Bitcoin price – USD58,000* *I’ve kept BTC price constant through my comparison as both payout in BTC and the fluctuation of BTC price will affect both examples. Profits available from USD500 million of investment into mining equipment yields USD 226.8million for country reserves and bitcoin UBI for the 1st year. Venezuela has a population of approx. 84million, with a of USD3 per month and being exposed to inflation per annum. A yield of USD 226million in Bitcoin to provide every Venezuelan with 1 month worth of minimum wage in BTC, creates a material hedge against the country’s hyperinflation and making a significant impact towards improving Venezuelans’ livelihood. Where for the first time, Venezuelans can receive an income that will not erode in value on a daily basis, instead value can be stored and appreciate over time. This Venezuelans to have the freedom to plan for the longer term(as their wealth will not be inflated away the next day) and save/invest for future plans. Which, to many of us is part and parcel of life to be able to make plans beyond the next day. minimum wage 2,660% empowers However, taking into account of bitcoin mining which increases by approx. 30% in the last year represents that the amount of bitcoin mined will decrease over time, assuming Venezuela mining operations maintains the same level of hash rate over the next 5 years.  Therefore, USD 226.8million available for reserves and UBI distribution in Year 1, will decrease to approx. USD 38.1million in Year 5 assuming no further capital expenditure are invested into upgrading mining equipment, thus making BTC mining unsustainable for UBI. difficulty Besides, taking into account general equipment depreciation of 15% yearly due to regular wear & tear and product refresh. The mining equipment that was bought for USD500million in Year 1 will be valued at approx. USD 221.8million in 5 years, resulting in a net decrease in the country’s assets in the attempt of building a national bitcoin reserve & UBI plan via BTC mining. Stacking Stacks for Bitcoin Source Stacks blockchain offers a unique tokenomics made possible with PoX where the bitcoin committed by STX miners to mine new blocks on the stacks blockchain are transferred to stackers (holders of STX token), thereby providing a bi-weekly payout in bitcoin. Using this unique mechanism, stackers are getting regular payouts in bitcoin, and in the context of Venezuela, allowing the government to adopt this model to structure a bitcoin UBI plan for its citizens. In addition to Stacks tokenomics which enables regular UBI payouts, other synergistic value can be obtained via Stacking for BTC UBI model. Venezuela will retain the value of its USD500 million as compared to 1) making payment to others to sustain its oil industry(no clear evidence of effectiveness) or 2) investing in BTC mining equipment that is subject to depreciation over time. With the USD500 million in Stacks which enables BTC payouts, the value of Stacks token is largely tied to its network usage and stacking mechanism whereby comparison with the above 2 options is much more resilient in retaining value. To understand why network usage and stacking mechanism drives value in stacks blockchain, one needs to understand the fundamentals of . Stacks is a layer 1 blockchain protocol that anchors to the bitcoin network for finality. While Stacks blockchain leverages on the security of the bitcoin network for settlement, it brings programmability and scalability to the bitcoin network, thereby allowing developers to have the best of both worlds (security & programmability + scalability). This unique combination enables applications to be built on top of Stacks blockchain and secured by the world’s most established & secured blockchain network thereby driving value to the Stacks blockchain. Stacks Stacking enables STX token holders to participate in securing the stacks blockchain by committing STX token to the protocol via its PoX mechanism, and in return gets paid in BTC. This brings another dimension of use case to token holders, whereby owning STX tokens and stacking them, they are entitled to regular btc payout, which plays a crucial role in kickstarting the tokenomics flywheel of empowering STX holders in the community. Beyond retaining value, adopting Stacking for BTC UBI allows the integration of programmable money into Venezuela's economy alongside its fiat currency. This allows Venezuela to attract foreign investments, entrepreneurs and talent to the country to build out crypto-native use cases & business models. The development of blockchain technology and crypto-native use cases takes on a different dimension where we witnessed a crossover between technology, communities, economics and governance. This will put Venezuela at the forefront of technological and business development and reap the rewards of wealth creation, in-demand sector expertise and skilled labour for Venezuela's economy, as the technology goes mainstream and the industry matures. Venezuela will be in an advantageous position, as developed nations may find it hard to pivot so quickly due to the strong inertia caused by existing network effects and infrastructure, thereby allowing Venezuela to future proof its economy while solving for hyperinflation. Political alignment Venezuela has largely been a socialist state historically, through the BTC UBI model allowing the government to remain aligned with its socialist ideology and empower their citizens through the introduction of sound monetary policy (adoption of bitcoin as a unit of account) and solving for hyperinflation. The majority of the Venezuelan community recognizes that Bitcoin is a more resilient store of value medium over the Venezuela Bolivar. This allows for a smooth transition when the government introduces a sustainable way to implement BTC UBI and foster greater trust and goodwill between the government and its citizens which would eventually lead to a path of reconciling & unity for the country. What are the considerations when implementing Stacking for btc UBI? The current payout rate is at , and the following are some factors that will affect the yield rate over time. 11% APY STX rewards/block Usage of stacks blockchain STX market price BTC market price Also, according to , Stacking will enter its sunset phase on the 100,000th bitcoin block from the genesis stacks block that was first anchored to the bitcoin block (approx. 2 years) if the proposal remains unchanged. SIP 007 Relevant crypto-first policies need to be in place to ensure a smooth transition to Bitcoin as a unit of account, a form of UBI payout, and a settlement standard either domestically or internationally.

Stacks

Alongside

Hackernoons Bitcoin Crusader of 2022

Nominated for Hackernoons Bitcoin Crusader of 2022

Can bitcoin-denominated UBI fight hyperinflation?

Non-fungible tokens and virtual reality are two trends on the verge of a major breakthrough in 2021. But does it make sense to blend the two, tokenizing unique digital objects within VR worlds, such as user avatars and user-created content? A very short intro to NFT tokens An NFT (non-fungible token) is a cryptographic token that represents a unique item of value. The underlying asset can be physical or digital: a work of art, apartment, CryptoKitty, song – anything that's unique. and allows to track all its changes of ownership on the blockchain, which is useful when buying expensive items. An NFT authenticates the object There are also semi-fungible that represent items that are mostly identical to each other but have different IDs: for example, 1,000 tickets to the same concert, each with its seat number. Another example would be a limited-edition luxury bag issued in only 500 copies. NFTs are more popular and more expensive than you might think: in February 2021, were sold every week, and the average price was $3,000. CryptoKitties are the most famous example, though the most popular NFT project is actually CryptoPunks. $70 million worth of non-fungible tokens The difference between NFTs and in-game cryptocurrencies Fortnite has V-bucks, League of Legends has Riot Points, and Dungeon Fighter Online has DFO Gold. All these are in-game currencies, and they are used to buy weapons skins or battle passes, unlock character skills, and so forth. In-game currencies are fungible: very V-buck is just like any other.  In this sense, they are the same as cryptocurrencies, where all LINK tokens, for example, are exactly identical. Indeed, many blockchain startups suggested replacing regular in-game currencies (each of which can be used in only one game) with crypto tokens that could power multiple games. By contrast, the things you buy are not interchangeable: the definitely isn't the same as a regular skin that sells for $2. Some of the artefacts are downright non-fungible (unique), while others are partially fungible (limited edition). AK-47 Case Hardened skin that was sold on Steam for $150k In-game items, such as skins, can be very expensive Clearly, these artefacts and skins have a lot in common with NFT tokens. The advantage of using NFT-based artefacts is that you can carry them from one game to another and that you can really own them, just like you own any crypto token. After all, you can't truly own a DOTA 2 weapon skin, because you can't sell it outside of the game. Indeed, many NFT-based projects are essentially games, often focused on collecting and exchanging items: CryptoKitties, F1 Delta Time, Gods Unchained, Axie Infinity etc. Objects in these games can be just as pricey as in CSGO or DOTA 2: recently a user in F1 Delta Time. He explained that the NFT was worth it because it's 'the first of its kind' and 'indestructible'. paid $110,000 for a virtual Formula 1 racing car We've seen that NFTs can be very useful in gaming and that their popularity is on the rise. But what does all this have to do with virtual reality? Does the VR industry actually need NFTs? After several years of cautiously growing sales and unclear prospects, virtual reality finally made a leap in 2019 and 2020. , 5.5m headsets were sold in 2020, to grow to 11m in 2021 and 43.5m in 2025. Covid-10 lockdowns gave the industry a much-needed boost:  research by Omdia shows that in 2020, total consumer spending on VR . According to Statista finally reached $1 billion In the past, crypto enthusiasts would jump upon any trending industry and try to inject blockchain and tokens into it – even when there was no use for them. So does the VR market actually need NFTs – or is it just another case of 'let's tokenize it just because we can?' Here's what Alex Blagirev, Deputy CEO of Sensorium Corporation and SENSO project, has to say on the matter: 'The latest generation of virtual reality experiences are a cross between multiplayer games and social media, and they have a lot of in-game content that it makes perfect sense to tokenize. The most obvious example is the user's avatar itself – your virtual twin, the 'digital you'. In the future, you might be able to travel between different VR metaverses, bringing the same avatar with you everywhere. It's like playing the same character in different video games. Another use case is access to premium content. For example, in our Sensorium Galaxy metaverse, users will be able to attend live performances by  world-famous DJs. The tickets will be sold for our in-platform currency, SENSO, with a 20% discount compared to buying them with a credit card. SENSO is a regular cryptocurrency that you can buy on exchanges like Poloniex and KuCoin, but you could easily imagine every ticket being issued as a semi-fungible NFT. This way you could easily sell the ticket online if you can't attend.' Avatar accessories and user-created content: two more use cases for VR NFTs Also, let's not forget that VR worlds are filled with 3D objects: avatars can change hairstyles, clothes, and even accommodation. Some platforms, like , already feature prototype stores where you can shop for accessories with native SENSO tokens. It's easy to imagine that in the near future, each accessory will be accompanied by a semi-fungible tokens, and that some items will be truly unique and selling for fast amounts of money, just like the $110k F1 Delta car we've mentioned. Sensorium Galaxy Sensorium store Content creators' intellectual property rights are yet another area where NFTs can be very useful. In those VR platforms where users can add their own content – 3D objects, spaces, and characters. For instance, in VRChat all the 'worlds' are created by users with the help of the specially provided SDK for Unity. Right now these designers don't have an easy way to register their intellectual property rights. In a free-to-use platform like VRChat, this is not a problem, but in a VR metaverse where you can buy artefacts or pay for access to exclusive events and locations, creators may be able to monetize their content. Imagine that you've spent months designing a VR nightclub (similar to those in Sensorium Galaxy's ): you might want your copyright to be registered and protected, so that you can charge a small fee for entry. Prism world A concert space in Prism By the way, this NFT-based approach to intellectual property is very different from that used by another major VR project: Facebook Horizon. There, users are encouraged to build their own VR games, meeting spaces, and 'worlds', but that “if you create or upload content to Horizon, you grant [Facebook] permission to store, copy, and share it with others.” This might mean that creators practically sign off their rights to the content to Facebook. the terms of service state Ethereum, PolkaDot, or something else: the technical challenges of using NFTs in VR Right now the vast majority of NFTs are issued on the Ethereum blockchain. It's a simple, well-tested process, and there are two common token standards: . However, there are two problems: scalability and transaction fees. ERC-721 and ERC-1155 Ethereum is desperately trying to scale, and if the transition to Eth 2.0 goes to plan, in a couple of years we might have a network where you can pay $0.10 for a token transfer and see it confirmed in less than a minute. But as of March 2021, you can pay a gas fee of $10-15 and still have to wait for two hours. The mempool is overloaded, and miners understandably prioritize the transactions with the highest gas fee. Alex Blagirev continues: 'If we are talking about a beautiful and unique avatar worth $5,000 or more, the gas fee may not be a problem. But would you be prepared to pay a $15 fee to buy a $5 NFT representing a new hairstyle for your avatar? Probably not. Besides, if we were to tokenize thousands of in-universe items, the sheer number of transactions would bring the network to a halt, like it happened with CryptoKitties in 2017. Ethereum as it is right now is simply not a good platform for a massive NFT-based VR universe. You have to look at other, more scalable options, such as Polkadot or Cosmos.' Indeed, the interoperability framework Polkadot may be the best candidate for new NFT gaming projects. It already has one – . With the upcoming introduction of Ethereum bridges, Polkadot will also be able to support ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens, though native standards will surely appear. SubstratePunks SubstratePunks - the first NFTs on Polkadot As for Cosmos, it even has a ready-to-use for building NFTs and a plan to create a set of cross-chain NFT standards, though there are no proper Cosmos-based NFTs dApps for now. SDK module The use cases are solid – all we need is a non-Ethereum implementation The NFT-VR pairing has a lot of potential. It would allow you to transport an avatar from one virtual universe to another or sell it on blockchain marketplaces; you'd be able to monetize your content; and anything you buy in the VR world would well and truly belong to you. On the other hand, there is the challenge of technical implementation. Ethereum is too slow and expensive to power a large-scale VR metaverse, such as Sensorium Galaxy or even VRChat. You'd need NFTs issued on a different blockchain, one with a much higher processing capacity and near-zero fees. Only if this challenge is solved in 2021, NFT-based VR platforms can finally take off.

Ethereum

Polkadot

Cosmos

Chainlink

Axie Infinity

Chain

Facebook

The Verge

SENSO expert explains NFTs in VR: a perfect tech match or just hype?

Insecure Direct Object References (or IDOR) is a simple bug that packs a punch. When exploited, it can provide attackers with access to sensitive data or passwords or give them the ability to modify information. On HackerOne, over 200 are found and safely reported to customers every month. What is an IDOR? There are several types of IDOR attacks, including: , in which attackers modify the value of a checkbox, radio buttons, APIs, and form fields to access information from other users with ease. Body Manipulation , in which the URL is modified at the client’s end by tweaking the parameters in the HTTP request. URL Tampering in which IDOR vulnerabilities are typically found in GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE verbs. HTTP Requests , where a record pattern can be abused to modify data that the user should not be able to access. While not always a result of IDOR vulnerabilities, there are many powerful examples of this being the result of it. Mass Assignment In its simplest and most common form, an IDOR vulnerability arises when the only input required to access or replace content is from the user. submitted to Shopify by California-based hacker Rojan Rijal (a.k.a. ) in 2018 is the perfect example. This vulnerability @rijalrojan By observing how file attachments were labeled when sending a query to Shopify's Exchange Marketplace application, Rojan was able to replace documents by leveraging the same file name from different accounts. Figure 1: IDOR vulnerability reported by @rijalrojan to Shopify on the HackerOne platform. For retail and ecommerce companies, IDOR vulnerabilities represent 15% of what organizations pay bounties for and represent the top vulnerability for programs across government (18%), medical technology (36%), and professional services (31%) industries. If they’re so simple, why are they so common? In short, IDORs can not be detected by tools alone. IDORs require creativity and manual security testing to identify them. They require you to understand the business context of the target application. While some scanners might detect activity, it takes a human eye to analyze, evaluate, and interpret. Understanding the deeper context is an innately human skill that machines cannot replicate. In traditional pentests, unless a pentester tests every possible parameter in every request endpoint, these vulnerabilities can go undetected. What are the implications of an IDOR vulnerability? Perhaps the most infamous IDOR vulnerability as of late is that found in alt-tech social media platform Parler. The company ordered their posts by number in the URL, a telltale sign of IDOR. If you add a sequential digit to a Parler post URL, you could access the next post on the platform indefinitely. Without authentication or access limits, an attacker could easily build a program to download every post, photo, video, and data from the entire site. While this was just public posts (not necessarily IDs used to verify accounts), geolocation data from posts was also downloaded, which could reveal GPS coordinates of users' homes. How can you prevent IDORs from cropping up? “Avoiding IDOR is only possible by building a robust access control mechanism, choosing the best fit methodology for your scenario, log all access and if possible do an audit with a post authorization check,” said HackerOne hacker Manoel Abreu Netto, better known online as . @manoelt “However, if you want to reduce the impact of an IDOR, avoid using a simple pattern to reference objects in the backend, thus not using a sequential integer value but something like uuid or even a MAC (hashed ID) with a per user session. salt This does not eliminate the IDOR, but reduces the overall impact and the ability to enumerate objects.” To remediate IDOR vulnerabilities, below are a few best practices. Developers should avoid displaying private object references such as keys or file names. Validation of parameters should be properly implemented. Verification of all the referenced objects should be checked. Tokens should be generated in such a way that it can only be mapped to the user and is not public. Ensure that queries are scoped to the owner of the resource. Avoid things like using UUIDs (Universally unique identifier) over Sequential IDs as UUIDs often let IDOR vulnerabilities go undetected. For more information about reducing risk and getting started with hacker-powered security, check out our . CISOs Guide to Deriving Value from Hacker-Powered Security

Get started with hacker-powered security today!

What are Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR)?

Ishan Pandey: Hi Robbie, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind ChainGuardians ? Hi Ishan, thank you for inviting me to this interview. Mad respect to the Hacker Noon team and community. For myself: I’ve been in the crypto space since 2017 (pre-last bull run) and I’ve been here ever since. In the early days, I was heavily involved in building in Decentraland and partaking in consultancy work for a start-up focused on marketing/comms. In late 2018 I began working on ChainGuardians with Emma and Idon after falling in love with NFTs and blockchain gaming. My previous life was working in communications and education. Robbie Cochrane: Concerning : Idon and I first met when playing some very early blockchain games. We loved the potential but noted a massive issue with the immersive aspects of the gaming ecosystem as well as some fundamental tech challenges (note the resurfacing of one of the big ones this bull run: gas prices!). While these games had huge potential due to the traditional gaming challenges they tackled, there were still massive issues with the early games. Particularly concerning the ‘experience’ of the games; in other words, there were no high-quality collectible characters, there was no backstory/LORE and there was nothing beyond Simon minor game-play. We set out with the vision to bring more exciting gaming experiences to blockchain gaming and increase adoption. ChainGuardians (what we call Gen 0) Ishan Pandey: What was the driving force behind developing this ‘play to earn’ ecosystem? How will this model help diversify the use of blockchain beyond cryptocurrency? We believe play2earn is the future of gaming. We need to look at the macrocosm of societal development over the back decade, and blockchain is a part of that. It recognizes that players, audiences and communities are becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding how they’re valuable towards organizations’ and companies’ growth. People are becoming wise because their time, energy and financial injection into any company are vital for monetization - why should gaming be any different? Play2earn will enable gaming ecosystems to flourish and develop with their communities in a way that they want it to and minimize the risk of their asset purchases going to nought, as is the case with all traditional gaming titles to an end. This play2earn model lends itself to blockchain adoption since it’s much easier for users to be rewarded for their time and energy spent within the ecosystem and is a significant part of how the ecosystem develops. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: How will the traditional gaming industry be affected by introducing blockchain gaming and do you think this might lead to mass adoption of blockchain in the gaming industry? There are a huge number of variables that can affect my responses to this question, so to keep it short and sweet, and more in line with my ‘hopes’ than necessarily saying ‘I guarantee’ how space will develop, my answer would be that I genuinely believe that it would be a travesty for the average gamer to be prevented from the opportunity to explore play2earn. As such, I feel that every blockchain game in the space currently has a moral obligation to drive awareness to mass gaming audiences. We’re certainly trying to do our part through blockchain education and constantly developing more user-friendly web3 tools. If blockchain, in general, continues to become more mainstream, then naturally, more gamers will become familiar with blockchain gaming. People understand games, so it seems natural for many people to start learning about blockchain and assist with these educational practices. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: What are the most significant issues with the gaming industry today and how can blockchain-based gaming combat them? One of the main issues is that players can spend thousands and tens of thousands of dollars/GBP/FIAT on gaming assets that simply when a new game is released. NFTs provide the opportunity for these assets to be interoperable across different gaming platforms as they are truly owned by the users and stored on the blockchain. Moreover, it’s always noteworthy that in any ecosystem which is not transparent (think of any traditional games whereby there is some sort of fungible currency), it’s impossible for players to truly ever understand the value of their assets, as well as the value of the time they spend in a game. People literally give up time from their lives for the game; in any other time and place in the world, people are rewarded for their time - so why shouldn’t this be true of games as well? The blockchain and ERC20s offer transparent gaming economies - which are player-driven - meaning that they can reflect on where they choose to spend the time in their lives. And what game. Robbie Cochrane: ‘die’ Ishan Pandey: ChainGuardians has managed to tap into breakthrough game economics by merging NFTs and DeFi. Please tell us how this has incentivized players/ desired customer base? NFTs and Defi are two concepts that lend themselves to play2earn; through participating in our ecosystem, users can reflect on how and why they will be rewarded, and what’s more, they’re able to compound their rewards further through utilizing blockchain technology. For example, users can stake an NFT to our NFT Mining Platform to earn CGC (in-game currency), at which point they can then exchange this for CGG (ERC20), at which point they can choose several options: redeem for NFTs and continue to play2earn, stake the CGG to earn APY, stake, or exchange to ETH or other pairs. Either way, the users are being rewarded or compounding their rewards. There are several ways that most gamers are motivated: play2win, play2earn, play2show and play for social purposes. Our gaming ecosystem is tailored towards capturing as many of these motivational scopes as possible. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: ChainGuardians have been predicted to be one of the most significant NFT projects of 2021. Please tell us what more we can expect from the team moving forward and how the game will play out? Well, we better be sure not to disappoint anyone xD! Our roadmap is massive and very ambitious, but the high level I think we can summarise with the following: continued development of the NFT Mining Platform; additional features for the RPG as well as seasonal tournaments; continued development of world-class UI/UX (web3) tools and continued collaborations with top blockchain projects. We also have quite a few surprises up our sleeve, but we’d like them to stay that way for now. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: According to you, what are the potential use-cases of gaming tokens and what is the best way to gamify the economic model? Gaming tokens can be utilized for almost an infinite amount of use cases. For example, our tokens are going to be used for governance, staking, assets, payments and more. Frankly, the best answer to this question is that the more use-case you can give a token, which is rewarding your community, the better. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: I recently read that ChainGuardians has partnered with Covalent to scale its NFT Proof-of-Stake Mining Platform. Can you explain what an NFT PoS platform is and what it would be its application? The NFT PoS Mining Platform is best described as an idle game. Users can stake their NFTs on our platform and earn both CGC and other tokens from our gaming ecosystem partners. This is all in our development pipeline for the additional token rewards, however, our community members are already trying to stack as much CGC as possible in anticipation of the CGC: CGG exchange. Concerning our partnership with Covalent: given the extent of IP/data they maintain, it’s a no-brainer that we work with them. Robbie Cochrane: Ishan Pandey: Blockchain gaming is a relatively new concept in the industry. According to you, what major trends are we going to see in the gaming industry? I think, for now, the two will co-exist (traditional gaming and blockchain gaming), but in time, we’ll see more and more sophisticated gamers move into the blockchain gaming space. It’s a matter of audiences; huge numbers of gamers are children and younger adults, who probably do not have the education or understanding of how to interact with web3 tools or the blockchain for the moment in time. And until our industry/blockchain gaming platforms are set-up for mass streamlining, it’s unlikely that we’ll see many of this customer base crossover for the moment in time. That said, gaming has been around since I was a kid now, and the ‘older’/OGs will definitely continue to move across into this space, in my opinion. Within the next few years, I suspect we’ll see more and more of a customer base make its way over into the blockchain gaming space. Robbie Cochrane: The purpose of this article is to remove informational asymmetry existing today in our digital markets by performing due diligence by asking the right questions and equipping readers with better opinions to make informed decisions. The material does not constitute any investment, financial, or legal advice. Please do your research before investing in any digital assets or tokens, etc. The writer does not have any vested interest in the company.

Decentraland

Winner of Noonies 2020 for the award Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year - DATA.

2020 - Hacker Noon Contributor of the Year in DATA

The Future of Gaming is NFTs - Robbie Cochrane, Co-Founder of ChainGuardians

Velo by Wix is an innovative product that lets you build robust web applications with zero setup. Work in Wix's visual builder, add custom functionality and interactions using Velo APIs, and enjoy serverless coding in both the front-end and backend. With Velo, your web app can be up and running in a fraction of the time it would normally take you.To introduce you to Velo, we created our own version of a "Hello, World!" example: a simple currency converter site that uses the to connect to a third-party service. Site visitors choose source and target currencies from dropdowns and enter an amount to convert. The results are displayed in a text box. wix-fetch API Follow the steps below to get familiar with the basic structure and syntax of Velo. Step 1: Create a New Wix Site Sign into your Wix account or if you don’t already have one. sign up for a Wix account in the Editor. Open a blank template Step 2: Enable Velo Enable Velo in the Wix Editor to let you work with code in your site. Step 3: Add Elements to the Page Add page elements in the Wix Editor: On the left side of the Editor, click . Add Add the page elements illustrated below to your site. When you add each element, set its ID in the panel that appears on the right side of the Code Panel. Use the name shown below for each element, minus the hashtag. See the table below for a full list of the elements and where to find them in the Add menu. Properties & Events Dropdown User Input : For selecting the source currency : sourceCurrency Element: Location in Add Menu: Description ID : Dropdown : User Input : For electing the target currency : targetCurrency Element Location in Add Menu Description ID : Input : User Input : For entering the amount to convert : sourceAmount Element Location in Add Menu Description ID : Textbox : User Input : To display the converted amount : targetCurrency Element Location in Add Menu Description ID : Button : Button : To trigger the currency conversion when clicked : calculateButton Element Location in Add Menu Description ID Step 4: Add Code NOTES: All the code for this example is added to a single page on the site. In this section we divided the code into short blocks followed by explanations. To see the complete code for this example without comments, to the end of the tutorial. See our to learn more about the Velo-based code in this example. scroll down API Reference To add the code: Double-click at the bottom of the Editor to open the . Home Page Code Code Panel Add the following code to the top of the code in the tab before the function: onReady {getJSON} ; url = ; currencyOptions = [
  { : , : },
  { : , : },
  { : , : },
]; // The getJSON function in wix-fetch lets you retrieve a // JSON resource from the network using HTTPS. import from 'wix-fetch' // Set the URL of the 3rd-party service. const "https://api.exchangeratesapi.io/latest" // Define the currency option values and text for the dropdowns. let "value" "USD" "label" "US Dollars" "value" "EUR" "label" "Euros" "value" "JPY" "label" "Japanese Yen" 3. Add the code below to the function. Code inside the onReady function runs when the page loads. onReady $w.onReady( { populateDropdowns(); $w( ).onClick( {
    calculateCurrency();
  })
}); ( ) function // Set the currency options for the dropdowns. // Set the onClick event handler for calculateButton to calculate the target amount. '#calculateButton' ( ) => event The function can select elements on a page by ID or by type, allowing us to run functions and define the properties of the elements. Use this syntax to select an element by ID, $w("#myElementId"), and this syntax to select by type, $w("ElementType"). $w Here we select the button and define an onClick to calculate the target amount. event handler 4. Add code to define the functions: populateDropdowns( ) { $w( ).options = currencyOptions; $w( ).selectedIndex = ;
} // Populate the dropdowns. ( ) function populateDropdowns //Set the dropdown options. "Dropdown" // Set the first dropdown option as the initial option. "Dropdown" 0 Here we select all the dropdowns by type. By calling with the element type "Dropdown", we select all dropdowns on the page. $w calculateCurrency( ) { initialAmount = $w( ).value; sourceSymbol = $w( ).value; targetSymbol = $w( ).value; fullUrl = ; getJSON(fullUrl)
  .then( { $w( ).value = initialAmount * json.rates[targetSymbol];
  }
)} // Calculate the target amount. ( ) function calculateCurrency // Initial amount let "#sourceAmount" // Original currency let "#sourceCurrency" // Target currency let "#targetCurrency" // Define the full url. let ` ?base= &symbols= ` ${url} ${sourceSymbol} ${targetSymbol} // Call the wix-fetch API function to retrieve the JSON resource. => json // Set the target amount as the initial amount multiplied by // the conversion rate. "#targetAmount" We use to define the full URL, which includes the source and target currencies. template literals The wix-fetch API function retrieves the JSON resource using the full URL. getJSON returns a , which resolves to a JSON object. getJSON promise We multiply the retrieved rate by the initial amount and assign it to the targetAmount text box. Step 5: See It in Action Now it's time to test your site: Click at the top right of the Editor. Preview Enter an amount in the source currency input. Click the calculate button and see the converted currency result in the target amount text box. your site to make it live and production ready. Publish That's it! In just a few minutes, you created a web application in Velo! No setup, no managing server infrastructure, just integrating Velo APIs with the Wix visual builder. Next Steps Now that you've had a taste of Velo, check out what else you can do: Easily call backend code from the frontend using . web modules Work with Wix's . visual builder Add features and customize your site using . Here are some examples of what you can do: Velo APIs payments Collect a show-more link Create an HTML component to embed a chart on your page Use Work with the data from like , , and other Wix Apps Stores Bookings Events Visit the to onboard and continue learning. Check out Velo and the . Velo by Wix website documentation API Reference Example Code Here is the complete code for this example, without comments: {getJSON} ; url = ; currencyOptions = [
  { : , : },
  { : , : },
  { : , : },
];

$w.onReady( {
  populateDropdowns();
 
  $w( ).onClick( {
    calculateCurrency();
  })
}); {
  $w( ).options = currencyOptions;
  $w( ).selectedIndex = ;
} { initialAmount = $w( ).value; sourceSymbol = $w( ).value; targetSymbol = $w( ).value; fullUrl = ;

  getJSON(fullUrl)
  .then( {
    $w( ).value = initialAmount * json.rates[targetSymbol];
  }
)} import from 'wix-fetch' const "https://api.exchangeratesapi.io/latest" let "value" "USD" "label" "US Dollars" "value" "EUR" "label" "Euros" "value" "JPY" "label" "Japanese Yen" ( ) function '#calculateButton' ( ) => event ( ) function populateDropdowns 'Dropdown' 'Dropdown' 0 ( ) function calculateCurrency let "#sourceAmount" let "#sourceCurrency" let "#targetCurrency" let ` ?base= &symbols= ` ${url} ${sourceSymbol} ${targetSymbol} => json "#targetAmount" Previously published at https://support.wix.com/en/article/getting-started-with-velo-by-wix

HackerNoon Tech Stories Archive April 2nd, 2021

Why Open Source Conquers The Telecommunications Industry

@smosgr
smosgr

Zero Trust Strategies To Combat Breaches Like Mirai, Stuxnet, Verkada and Beyond

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What Is Synthetic Data And How It Works

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Why And Where You Can Learn C Programming For Free

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Use My Notes

7 Best Skyrim Weapon Mods Released in 2021

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Unit Testing Vs. Integration Testing In Android

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The End of The Bitcoin Bull Market As We Know It

@MarkHelfman
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Third World Engineers VIII: Romancing the Visa

@quilo
PoutineWithSalchichon

Can bitcoin-denominated UBI fight hyperinflation?

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