Outplay

outplay

SaaS Competitive Analysis 101: How To Outplay Your Startup’s Competitors

When Coding Determines the Survival of The City

Kodlaşdırma şəhərin sağ qalmasını təyin edərkən

Калі кадзіраванне вызначае выжыванне горада

Kada kodiranje određuje opstanak grada

Cuando la codificación determina la supervivencia de la ciudad

Kun koodaus määrittää kaupungin selviytymisen

Lè kodaj detèmine siviv vil la

コーディングが都市の存続を決定するとき

जब कोडिङले सहरको अस्तित्व निर्धारण गर्छ

Marka Codayntu Go'aamiso Badbaadada Magaalada

Коли кодування визначає виживання міста

当编码决定城市的生存

Lapho Ukufakwa Kwekhodi Kunquma Ukusinda Kwedolobha

GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, July 12th, 2024, Chainwire Axiom Foundation announced today that it will partner with GolfN to accelerate the field of Play-to-earn in real-world golf. The non-profit foundation has committed to providing blockchain infrastructure for GolfN which will initially include an allocation of the SPL $GOLF token for utility in the forthcoming GolfN mobile app and the use of Axiom’s proprietary caching system for GolfN’s NFT collectible golf clubs. In addition to partnering with GolfN, Axiom’s first round of partnerships includes several leading Solana ecosystem projects such as Bonk!, Kanpai Pandas, and Degen Ape Academy. “We’re looking forward to accelerating the growth of a groundbreaking project at the frontline of P2E’s emergence in global sports engagement,” said Mike Robinson, Axiom’s Managing Director. “Measured globally, the average person spends nearly two hours daily engaging with Sport – playing, watching, strategizing. That level of engagement could cost an advertiser anywhere from $200 - $600 a month in the attention economy. Axiom’s goal is to connect players with some of that value; in the case of GolfN, enabling users’ sport obsession to offset their monthly golf budget. Getting an effective P2E layer into a physical sport like Golf and its surrounding ecosystem is a key milestone for the entire industry. Axiom is confident that GolfN can get this done correctly and at speed.” Axiom made waves earlier this year when it announced it would release the GOLF token on the Solana network to kickstart the proliferation of Play-to-earn mechanisms in global Golf engagement. In addition to providing GolfN with a GOLF token allocation, Axiom has built a novel Caching Portal within the Solana ecosystem where collectors and golfers alike can earn rewards on their Axiom-approved digital collectibles without those assets ever leaving their owners’ wallets. Golfers can simply connect their wallet to the Axiom app, see their collectibles and complete sets eligible, and cache them. Rewards will begin to accrue at the next epoch. GolfN CEO Jared Phillips said, “Web3 is long overdue for a green grass, Play-to-earn experience. It's been six years since P2E emerged in Web3 and yet GolfN is one of the first projects to get serious about building a P2E gamification layer into a physical sport. At an average cost of $43 per round, golf is ripe for this transformation. Imagine a Caddie App that tells you which club to hit on each shot, manages your social side games, and rewards you for every round. We’re going to flip the model and let the value of engagement accrue to the golfer.” About the Axiom Foundation The Axiom Foundation is bridging the world of Web3 into real-world Sports. As one of the global Sports with a high average cost of play, Golf is ripe for this type of transformation and thus provides one of Axiom’s logical jumping-off points. Axiom’s partner entities will leverage the Foundation’s proprietary blockchain infrastructure to build out Play-to-earn implementations and enhance the real-world golfing experience. About GolfN GolfN is redesigning golf engagement for the decentralized digital era. With a focus on innovation, community, and sustainability, GolfN is dedicated to enriching the golfing experience for golf enthusiasts of all levels. In addition to minting the first digital collectibles for a real-world sport like golf, GolfN is developing a gamified social caddie app for on-course play, which golfers can use to play better and earn blockchain-convertible rewards. Contacts The Axiom Foundation info@axiomfoundation.io Head of Communications Brandon Tucker GolfN Inc. brandon@golfn.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, July 12th, 2024, Chainwire Axiom Foundation announced today that it will partner with GolfN to accelerate the field of Play-to-earn in real-world golf. The non-profit foundation has committed to providing blockchain infrastructure for GolfN which will initially include an allocation of the SPL $GOLF token for utility in the forthcoming GolfN mobile app and the use of Axiom’s proprietary caching system for GolfN’s NFT collectible golf clubs. GolfN GolfN In addition to partnering with GolfN, Axiom’s first round of partnerships includes several leading Solana ecosystem projects such as Bonk! , Kanpai Pandas , and Degen Ape Academy . Bonk! Bonk! Kanpai Pandas Kanpai Pandas Degen Ape Academy Degen Ape Academy “We’re looking forward to accelerating the growth of a groundbreaking project at the frontline of P2E’s emergence in global sports engagement,” said Mike Robinson, Axiom’s Managing Director. “We’re looking forward to accelerating the growth of a groundbreaking project at the frontline of P2E’s emergence in global sports engagement,” said Mike Robinson, Axiom’s Managing Director. “Measured globally, the average person spends nearly two hours daily engaging with Sport – playing, watching, strategizing. That level of engagement could cost an advertiser anywhere from $200 - $600 a month in the attention economy. Axiom’s goal is to connect players with some of that value; in the case of GolfN, enabling users’ sport obsession to offset their monthly golf budget. Getting an effective P2E layer into a physical sport like Golf and its surrounding ecosystem is a key milestone for the entire industry. Axiom is confident that GolfN can get this done correctly and at speed.” “Measured globally, the average person spends nearly two hours daily engaging with Sport – playing, watching, strategizing. That level of engagement could cost an advertiser anywhere from $200 - $600 a month in the attention economy. Axiom’s goal is to connect players with some of that value; in the case of GolfN, enabling users’ sport obsession to offset their monthly golf budget. Getting an effective P2E layer into a physical sport like Golf and its surrounding ecosystem is a key milestone for the entire industry. Axiom is confident that GolfN can get this done correctly and at speed.” Axiom made waves earlier this year when it announced it would release the GOLF token on the Solana network to kickstart the proliferation of Play-to-earn mechanisms in global Golf engagement. In addition to providing GolfN with a GOLF token allocation, Axiom has built a novel Caching Portal within the Solana ecosystem where collectors and golfers alike can earn rewards on their Axiom-approved digital collectibles without those assets ever leaving their owners’ wallets. announced it would release the GOLF token announced it would release the GOLF token Golfers can simply connect their wallet to the Axiom app, see their collectibles and complete sets eligible, and cache them. Rewards will begin to accrue at the next epoch. GolfN CEO Jared Phillips said, “Web3 is long overdue for a green grass, Play-to-earn experience. It's been six years since P2E emerged in Web3 and yet GolfN is one of the first projects to get serious about building a P2E gamification layer into a physical sport. At an average cost of $43 per round, golf is ripe for this transformation. Imagine a Caddie App that tells you which club to hit on each shot, manages your social side games, and rewards you for every round. We’re going to flip the model and let the value of engagement accrue to the golfer.” GolfN CEO Jared Phillips said, “Web3 is long overdue for a green grass, Play-to-earn experience. It's been six years since P2E emerged in Web3 and yet GolfN is one of the first projects to get serious about building a P2E gamification layer into a physical sport. At an average cost of $43 per round, golf is ripe for this transformation. Imagine a Caddie App that tells you which club to hit on each shot, manages your social side games, and rewards you for every round. We’re going to flip the model and let the value of engagement accrue to the golfer.” About the Axiom Foundation The Axiom Foundation is bridging the world of Web3 into real-world Sports. As one of the global Sports with a high average cost of play, Golf is ripe for this type of transformation and thus provides one of Axiom’s logical jumping-off points. Axiom’s partner entities will leverage the Foundation’s proprietary blockchain infrastructure to build out Play-to-earn implementations and enhance the real-world golfing experience. The Axiom Foundation The Axiom Foundation About GolfN GolfN is redesigning golf engagement for the decentralized digital era. With a focus on innovation, community, and sustainability, GolfN is dedicated to enriching the golfing experience for golf enthusiasts of all levels. In addition to minting the first digital collectibles for a real-world sport like golf, GolfN is developing a gamified social caddie app for on-course play, which golfers can use to play better and earn blockchain-convertible rewards. GolfN GolfN Contacts The Axiom Foundation info@axiomfoundation.io Head of Communications Brandon Tucker GolfN Inc. brandon@golfn.com This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here. This story was distributed as a release by Chainwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here . here here

Axiom Foundation Signs With GolfN To Enable Play-To-Earn Golfing

Painkillers, Vitamins, or Dopamine - Which One is Your Startup, and What Strategy Should You Choose?

ব্যথানাশক, ভিটামিন, বা ডোপামিন - কোনটি আপনার স্টার্টআপ, এবং আপনার কোন কৌশল বেছে নেওয়া উচিত?

Schmerzmittel, Vitamine oder Dopamin – was ist für Ihr Startup geeignet und welche Strategie sollten Sie wählen?

Analgésicos, vitaminas o dopamina: ¿cuál es su startup y qué estrategia debería elegir?

Analgésiques, vitamines ou dopamine : laquelle est votre startup et quelle stratégie devriez-vous choisir ?

दर्द निवारक, विटामिन या डोपामाइन - आपका स्टार्टअप कौन सा है और आपको कौन सी रणनीति चुननी चाहिए?

鎮痛剤、ビタミン、ドーパミン - あなたのスタートアップはどれですか? また、どのような戦略を選択すべきですか?

진통제, 비타민 또는 도파민 - 귀하의 스타트업은 무엇이며 어떤 전략을 선택해야 합니까?

Analgésicos, vitaminas ou dopamina – qual é a sua startup e qual estratégia você deve escolher?

Обезболивающие, витамины или дофамин — какой ваш стартап и какую стратегию выбрать?

Ağrı Kesiciler, Vitaminler veya Dopamin – Hangisi Girişiminiz ve Hangi Stratejiyi Seçmelisiniz?

Thuốc giảm đau, Vitamin hoặc Dopamine - Bạn nên khởi nghiệp bằng loại nào và bạn nên chọn chiến lược nào?

止痛药、维生素还是多巴胺——哪一个是您的初创企业，您应该选择哪种策略？

When we talk about "public relations," many of us immediately think of getting featured in big media outlets. While that's important, in today's world where we spend most of our time on our phones, what really matters is how many people share and repost our content – that's what we call organic reach. This is where thinking outside the box becomes invaluable. Unconventional campaigns often tap into our innate desire to share something remarkable or amusing with our friends. According to The New York Times, people primarily share on social media to inform, entertain, and assist others. Understanding this psychology is crucial for effective PR strategies. Before delving into unconventional tactics, however, there are fundamental rules that must be observed, regardless of the chosen approach. Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience is paramount before initiating any PR efforts. Identifying who you're trying to reach and what resonates with them lays the foundation for successful engagement.
Be Authentic: Authenticity is key. Rather than emulating others in the market, stay true to your brand's values. Implementing tactics incongruent with your brand identity can do more harm than good.
Stay Relevant: Relevance is essential. Aligning your messaging with current societal trends and your audience's interests prevents missteps that could lead to a crisis. Now, let's talk about some sneaky tactics you can try to boost your PR game: Creative Job Postings Get creative with your job postings. For example, take a look at a hilariously catchy Fiverr’s “Another Generic Recruitment Video”. This job posting triggers potential candidates’ interest, corresponding with the company's mission to change how the world works together. Catchy phrases and unconventional ideas became an example for any company, striving to stand out. Unique job postings garner significant organic traction, boosting awareness of your company's culture and creativity. This marketing strategy resulted in the video gaining more than 230 thousand views. Attention-Grabbing Products Embrace creativity in product promotion. The average attention on screen has decreased by 69% since 2004. Thereby, entrepreneurs are forced to compete for clients’ focus and attention. Take a cue from Stanley, the brand behind usual water bottles. Founded in 1913, the company was not in demand until Terrance Riley came on stage. He changed Stanley’s marketing approach. The company made Quencher its main product and promoted it as an item of self-expression. Bottles of an unusual form and of different colors went viral, increasing sales 10-fold. Developing the identity of your product and using viral moments can make your brand more relatable and shareable. Publicity Stunts While more challenging, well-executed publicity stunts can yield remarkable results. Think outside the box to craft attention-grabbing campaigns. The startling example was demonstrated to the PR community by WePay. The attention-grabbing move of leveraging a 300-kg block of ice has become an excellent example of situational marketing, giving the company an opportunity to outplay its competitor PayPal. This PR-stunt not only triggered the emotions of WePay users but also emphasized the pain points of PayPal, whose accounts were frozen at the moment. As a result, the stunt led to a 225% increase of sign-ups on WePay. Leveraging Technology Harness the power of technology to captivate audiences. Integrating AI and CGI into visual content can create a mesmerizing effect, captivating viewers' attention and encouraging prolonged engagement. Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of marketing, actively introducing itself into various fields of activity. With the development of machine learning technologies, data analysis and process automation, the impact of artificial intelligence on modern marketing is becoming more diverse and effective. In some companies, AI for marketing and sales has already become an indispensable assistant: 35% of businesses already use AI and 42% use it to reduce costs. Recent studies show that by 2030, AI will generate more than USD 15 trillion for the global economy and boost local economies by as much as 26%, also improving the effectiveness of interaction with consumers and helping companies better understand their needs. The triumphant advance of artificial intelligence is demonstrated to us by Jacquemus. The brand posted an Instagram reel of what appeared to be its Bambino bags cruising the streets of Paris. Initially, many users were unsure whether it was AI, CGI, or an authentic scene. Nevertheless, the video garnered over 48.7 million views, 114k reposts, and received extensive coverage in the media. In conclusion, unconventional PR tactics offer a refreshing approach to engage audiences in today's digital landscape. By embracing creativity, authenticity, and relevance, brands can effectively cut through the noise and leave a lasting impression on their target audience. When we talk about "public relations," many of us immediately think of getting featured in big media outlets. While that's important, in today's world where we spend most of our time on our phones, what really matters is how many people share and repost our content – that's what we call organic reach. When we talk about "public relations," many of us immediately think of getting featured in big media outlets. While that's important, in today's world where we spend most of our time on our phones, what really matters is how many people share and repost our content – that's what we call organic reach. This is where thinking outside the box becomes invaluable. Unconventional campaigns often tap into our innate desire to share something remarkable or amusing with our friends. According to The New York Times , people primarily share on social media to inform, entertain, and assist others. Understanding this psychology is crucial for effective PR strategies. The New York Times The New York Times Before delving into unconventional tactics, however, there are fundamental rules that must be observed, regardless of the chosen approach. Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience is paramount before initiating any PR efforts. Identifying who you're trying to reach and what resonates with them lays the foundation for successful engagement. Be Authentic: Authenticity is key. Rather than emulating others in the market, stay true to your brand's values. Implementing tactics incongruent with your brand identity can do more harm than good. Stay Relevant: Relevance is essential. Aligning your messaging with current societal trends and your audience's interests prevents missteps that could lead to a crisis. Know Your Audience: Understanding your audience is paramount before initiating any PR efforts. Identifying who you're trying to reach and what resonates with them lays the foundation for successful engagement. Know Your Audience: Be Authentic: Authenticity is key. Rather than emulating others in the market, stay true to your brand's values. Implementing tactics incongruent with your brand identity can do more harm than good. Be Authentic: Stay Relevant: Relevance is essential. Aligning your messaging with current societal trends and your audience's interests prevents missteps that could lead to a crisis. Stay Relevant: Now, let's talk about some sneaky tactics you can try to boost your PR game: Creative Job Postings Creative Job Postings Get creative with your job postings. For example, take a look at a hilariously catchy Fiverr’s “Another Generic Recruitment Video”. This job posting triggers potential candidates’ interest, corresponding with the company's mission to change how the world works together. Catchy phrases and unconventional ideas became an example for any company, striving to stand out. Unique job postings garner significant organic traction, boosting awareness of your company's culture and creativity. This marketing strategy resulted in the video gaining more than 230 thousand views. Attention-Grabbing Products Embrace creativity in product promotion. The average attention on screen has decreased by 69% since 2004. Thereby, entrepreneurs are forced to compete for clients’ focus and attention. Take a cue from Stanley, the brand behind usual water bottles. Founded in 1913, the company was not in demand until Terrance Riley came on stage. He changed Stanley’s marketing approach. The company made Quencher its main product and promoted it as an item of self-expression. decreased Bottles of an unusual form and of different colors went viral, increasing sales 10-fold. Developing the identity of your product and using viral moments can make your brand more relatable and shareable. increasing Publicity Stunts Publicity Stunts While more challenging, well-executed publicity stunts can yield remarkable results. Think outside the box to craft attention-grabbing campaigns. The startling example was demonstrated to the PR community by WePay. The attention-grabbing move of leveraging a 300-kg block of ice has become an excellent example of situational marketing, giving the company an opportunity to outplay its competitor PayPal. This PR-stunt not only triggered the emotions of WePay users but also emphasized the pain points of PayPal, whose accounts were frozen at the moment. As a result, the stunt led to a 225% increase of sign-ups on WePay. increase Leveraging Technology Leveraging Technology Harness the power of technology to captivate audiences. Integrating AI and CGI into visual content can create a mesmerizing effect, captivating viewers' attention and encouraging prolonged engagement. Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of marketing, actively introducing itself into various fields of activity. With the development of machine learning technologies, data analysis and process automation, the impact of artificial intelligence on modern marketing is becoming more diverse and effective. In some companies, AI for marketing and sales has already become an indispensable assistant: 35% of businesses already use AI and 42% use it to reduce costs. Recent studies show that by 2030, AI will generate more than USD 15 trillion for the global economy and boost local economies by as much as 26%, also improving the effectiveness of interaction with consumers and helping companies better understand their needs. use studies The triumphant advance of artificial intelligence is demonstrated to us by Jacquemus. The brand posted an Instagram reel of what appeared to be its Bambino bags cruising the streets of Paris. Initially, many users were unsure whether it was AI, CGI, or an authentic scene. Nevertheless, the video garnered over 48.7 million views, 114k reposts, and received extensive coverage in the media. In conclusion, unconventional PR tactics offer a refreshing approach to engage audiences in today's digital landscape. By embracing creativity, authenticity, and relevance, brands can effectively cut through the noise and leave a lasting impression on their target audience.

Attention-grabbing PR Tactics for the Digital Age: How to Boost Organic Reach

When in-game cheating becomes the norm, does the gaming industry have a major problem on its hands? A global study of the gaming industry would say yes. It was found that 77% of online gamers are likely to stop playing a multiplayer game online if they think other players are cheating, and 48% of online gamers are likely to buy less in-game content. Add in the accrued value of digital assets as a key feature of blockchain gaming, and developers have an obligation to tackle this problem head-on. An attractiveness to bending the rules is not something limited to the world of online gaming; it is rife in all parts of society. However, as social psychologist Corey Butler points out ‘anonymity (playing with strangers or online) and opportunity can tip the scales toward greater cheating. When strong incentives like money or grades are on the line, otherwise honest people might be tempted to cheat. If somebody with a competitive nature is presented with the opportunity to easily outperform the other at a task, then it's safe to say that many will bite the bullet and risk the reward for the easy win—factor in the monetary value of rewards in Web3 gaming, and this desire to win increases significantly. However, when it comes to multiplayer online games, the competition is designed around entertainment, fun, and the community. These core values of gaming make cheating a stain on the industry as a whole. Cheating is the new norm. Cheating in some of the largest games has become an economy of its own, with many platforms and YouTube channels dedicated to introducing cheating, hacks, and navigating the ways to cheat. Don't believe us, simply type fortnite cheat terms into a google search. Combating this trend is critical for maintaining the reputation of these brands. Simon Vieira, CEO of MixMob, a Solana-based gaming platform, believes the temptation to cheat is rife, but it is nothing new, “Web3 games offer enhanced incentives due to the tangible value of game coins and digital items. However, this also creates a greater temptation to cheat. That said, traditional gaming has previously addressed similar issues. For instance, real money gaming employs methods such as biotic randomness to obscure certain game aspects like matchmaking. This approach reduces predictability, thus diminishing the incentives to cheat while still maintaining a skill-based gaming environment. We apply these strategies at MixMob to ensure fairness and keep the game engaging for all players,” says Vieira. When hacking games, cheaters now have an endless stack of tools to choose from when it comes to infiltrating game mechanics with glitching and farming to using aimbots in the software and speed hacks. This problem is exacerbated in Web3 gaming as it lacks an authoritative host. “Fair play is crucial in multi-player games as it directly impacts player engagement and retention. A fair environment ensures that players feel valued and that the game remains competitive and enjoyable for everyone,” notes Vieira. Furthermore, with AI, it is easier than ever to predict patterns of player behavior and create new ways to exploit and manipulate gaming data. So, how can this problem be addressed without compromising the gaming experience? Speaking to Tashi Protocol CEO Sandeep Bhatia, it is clear that consensus will play a future role in blockchain gaming. “Dynamite as the network transport for multiplayer games can prevent certain forms of cheating like 'lag switching' or local state hacking. The benefit of having consensus on top of a peer-to-peer network layer ensures that players cannot cheat, and the architecture reduces costs.” Frustration with the publishers Publishers are tackling the issue of one player, or several players at a time, by banning them and using anti-cheat software. Just last month, Activision, a gaming giant and creator of Call of Duty, banned 27,000 accounts from the game. However, this isn't deterring new cheats coming into the sector. Tackling it from the outset in the process of the game studio is the only way to ensure that both the publishers and the gamers benefit in the long run. To restore confidence, creators of blockchain games must demonstrate trust from the outset. “Shifting from a traditional gaming infrastructure to adopt a decentralized, serverless framework will optimize the entire Web3 gaming experience and solve the issue of cheating from the ground up. Not only can we reduce the costs by eliminating the need for centralized servers, but Tashi's Dynamite ensures fair distribution and protection against common security threats,” says Bhatia. Once a player sees that a game is compromised, it ruins the fun element and may even deter them from entering the environment because of security fears. In addition, the influx of bots and other hacks has led to unfair advantages within some of the most loved games. What can blockchain game publishers do? Gaming studios must take the necessary steps to demonstrate their commitment to fair play. This is essential in the blockchain space as it continues to build trust with the traditional gaming communities. At MixMob, they leverage blockchain transparency to allow the community to participate in monitoring and reporting cheaters actively. “This community refereeing not only helps maintain fairness but also fosters a sense of responsibility and integrity among players, and it has worked great for us,” says Vieira. “Web3 game publishers must take decisive steps to limit cheating. The actions taken should vary based on the severity of the cheating incident. Potential measures include banning, suspending, or permanently removing players involved in unfair practices. Additionally, publishers can adopt proven strategies from traditional gaming, such as introducing randomness to some parts of the game to reduce predictability, which helps deter cheating,” he continues. Game developers who are keen to implement anti-cheat measures are often outplayed by hackers who have mastered the art of cheating and the avoidance of detection. Sure, developers can ban cheaters who are caught in the act or embed cheat detection software. However, this doesn't prevent cheating from occurring from the outset. The vulnerabilities have already been exploited by the time the developer has their hands on the activities. If, however, a game creator starts the development process using the Tashi Consensus Protocol, it has eliminated the act of cheating from the initial design stage. “Gamers rely on trust that game developers would have implemented the best practices to ensure cheaters are punished. That is why Tashi works to educate all its gaming partners on the novel ways blockchain solves cheating issues. We make our tech easy to use and guide all our partners who might come from the Web2 world and are new to using blockchain tech,” added Bhatia. While anti-cheat software like Riot Game's Vanguard or Activision Blizzard's Ricochet stands as the frontline defense, the second layer can utilize the transparency provided by blockchain technology to fight against bad actors. Implementing innovative approaches to game development, like the Tashi Dynamite Consensus Engine, pushes gaming to a new era of fair play and reclaims the values that true gamers want to see in the game development stage. In addition to fostering a culture of fair play, a paradigm shift is necessary in the approach to combating cheating in online gaming. By 2027, the number of users in the Online Games market is expected to amount to 1.2bn users. The projected revenue in the Online Games market worldwide is expected to reach US$27.97bn in 2024. Reclaiming the gaming sector for true gamers who value the entire gaming experience is crucial as blockchain games position themselves alongside some of the gaming giants. When in-game cheating becomes the norm, does the gaming industry have a major problem on its hands? A global study of the gaming industry would say yes. It was found that 77% of online gamers are likely to stop playing a multiplayer game online if they think other players are cheating, and 48% of online gamers are likely to buy less in-game content. Add in the accrued value of digital assets as a key feature of blockchain gaming, and developers have an obligation to tackle this problem head-on. study study An attractiveness to bending the rules is not something limited to the world of online gaming; it is rife in all parts of society. However, as social psychologist Corey Butler points out ‘anonymity (playing with strangers or online) and opportunity can tip the scales toward greater cheating. When strong incentives like money or grades are on the line, otherwise honest people might be tempted to cheat. If somebody with a competitive nature is presented with the opportunity to easily outperform the other at a task, then it's safe to say that many will bite the bullet and risk the reward for the easy win—factor in the monetary value of rewards in Web3 gaming, and this desire to win increases significantly. However, when it comes to multiplayer online games, the competition is designed around entertainment, fun, and the community. These core values of gaming make cheating a stain on the industry as a whole. Cheating is the new norm. Cheating in some of the largest games has become an economy of its own, with many platforms and YouTube channels dedicated to introducing cheating, hacks, and navigating the ways to cheat. Don't believe us, simply type fortnite cheat terms into a google search. Combating this trend is critical for maintaining the reputation of these brands. Simon Vieira, CEO of MixMob, a Solana-based gaming platform, believes the temptation to cheat is rife, but it is nothing new, “Web3 games offer enhanced incentives due to the tangible value of game coins and digital items. However, this also creates a greater temptation to cheat. That said, traditional gaming has previously addressed similar issues. For instance, real money gaming employs methods such as biotic randomness to obscure certain game aspects like matchmaking. This approach reduces predictability, thus diminishing the incentives to cheat while still maintaining a skill-based gaming environment. We apply these strategies at MixMob to ensure fairness and keep the game engaging for all players,” says Vieira. When hacking games, cheaters now have an endless stack of tools to choose from when it comes to infiltrating game mechanics with glitching and farming to using aimbots in the software and speed hacks. This problem is exacerbated in Web3 gaming as it lacks an authoritative host. “Fair play is crucial in multi-player games as it directly impacts player engagement and retention. A fair environment ensures that players feel valued and that the game remains competitive and enjoyable for everyone,” notes Vieira. Furthermore, with AI, it is easier than ever to predict patterns of player behavior and create new ways to exploit and manipulate gaming data. So, how can this problem be addressed without compromising the gaming experience? Speaking to Tashi Protocol CEO Sandeep Bhatia, it is clear that consensus will play a future role in blockchain gaming. “Dynamite as the network transport for multiplayer games can prevent certain forms of cheating like 'lag switching' or local state hacking. The benefit of having consensus on top of a peer-to-peer network layer ensures that players cannot cheat, and the architecture reduces costs.” Frustration with the publishers Publishers are tackling the issue of one player, or several players at a time, by banning them and using anti-cheat software. Just last month, Activision , a gaming giant and creator of Call of Duty, banned 27,000 accounts from the game. However, this isn't deterring new cheats coming into the sector. Activision Activision Tackling it from the outset in the process of the game studio is the only way to ensure that both the publishers and the gamers benefit in the long run. To restore confidence, creators of blockchain games must demonstrate trust from the outset. “Shifting from a traditional gaming infrastructure to adopt a decentralized, serverless framework will optimize the entire Web3 gaming experience and solve the issue of cheating from the ground up. Not only can we reduce the costs by eliminating the need for centralized servers, but Tashi's Dynamite ensures fair distribution and protection against common security threats,” says Bhatia. Once a player sees that a game is compromised, it ruins the fun element and may even deter them from entering the environment because of security fears. In addition, the influx of bots and other hacks has led to unfair advantages within some of the most loved games. What can blockchain game publishers do? Gaming studios must take the necessary steps to demonstrate their commitment to fair play. This is essential in the blockchain space as it continues to build trust with the traditional gaming communities. At MixMob, they leverage blockchain transparency to allow the community to participate in monitoring and reporting cheaters actively. “This community refereeing not only helps maintain fairness but also fosters a sense of responsibility and integrity among players, and it has worked great for us,” says Vieira. “Web3 game publishers must take decisive steps to limit cheating. The actions taken should vary based on the severity of the cheating incident. Potential measures include banning, suspending, or permanently removing players involved in unfair practices. Additionally, publishers can adopt proven strategies from traditional gaming, such as introducing randomness to some parts of the game to reduce predictability, which helps deter cheating,” he continues. Game developers who are keen to implement anti-cheat measures are often outplayed by hackers who have mastered the art of cheating and the avoidance of detection. Sure, developers can ban cheaters who are caught in the act or embed cheat detection software. However, this doesn't prevent cheating from occurring from the outset. The vulnerabilities have already been exploited by the time the developer has their hands on the activities. If, however, a game creator starts the development process using the Tashi Consensus Protocol, it has eliminated the act of cheating from the initial design stage. “Gamers rely on trust that game developers would have implemented the best practices to ensure cheaters are punished. That is why Tashi works to educate all its gaming partners on the novel ways blockchain solves cheating issues. We make our tech easy to use and guide all our partners who might come from the Web2 world and are new to using blockchain tech,” added Bhatia. While anti-cheat software like Riot Game's Vanguard or Activision Blizzard's Ricochet stands as the frontline defense, the second layer can utilize the transparency provided by blockchain technology to fight against bad actors. Implementing innovative approaches to game development, like the Tashi Dynamite Consensus Engine, pushes gaming to a new era of fair play and reclaims the values that true gamers want to see in the game development stage. In addition to fostering a culture of fair play, a paradigm shift is necessary in the approach to combating cheating in online gaming. By 2027, the number of users in the Online Games market is expected to amount to 1.2bn users. The projected revenue in the Online Games market worldwide is expected to reach US$27.97bn in 2024. Reclaiming the gaming sector for true gamers who value the entire gaming experience is crucial as blockchain games position themselves alongside some of the gaming giants.

Is It Game Over for Cheaters? Using Blockchain Technology to Eliminate Unwanted Gaming Behavior

HER FATHER'S DAUGHTER

Bitcoin would go down as one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century. The cryptocurrency's underlying blockchain technology introduced us to several other possibilities, making crypto only a glimpse of what the system will power. Before Bitcoin launched, there were several iterations of cryptocurrencies, but they always lacked a significant element that rendered them not fit for public use. Bitcoin launched as a decent iteration and became what creations like eCash, B-money, Hashcash, BitGold, etc., only imagined. Of course, the mentioned crypto solutions were influential in the creation of , and recognition will go to the framework laid due to years of diligence and research. There are reports that the creators of these other experiments were a part of Satoshi's mailing list and were pretty much in the loop. Bitcoin Bitcoin has grown over the years, almost becoming a mainstream financial solution as it is the most dominant asset in the market, with over $1 trillion valuation at its peak. Moreover, the cryptocurrency landscape has evolved so fast since the creation of Bitcoin, leaving bitcoin in the dust regarding relevant contributions to the ecosystem. Many crypto enthusiasts today would argue that Bitcoin does not deserve its position as the market leader, considering the landscape has moved past what the cryptocurrency offers. This has been the basis of the Bitcoin vs. Ethereum debate over the years, with supporters claiming a time would come soon in the nearest future when Ethereum would overtake Bitcoin as the market leader. The premise for this argument is not far-fetched as Ethereum is the most valuable network in the ecosystem, with thousands of other decentralized applications existing on it. Ethereum What Does Satoshi Think of Bitcoin Now? As a creator myself, I know what it feels like when a constantly evolving landscape invalidates my work. That feeling plays out like you were the last to catch on to a trend when it started from you. If Satoshi Nakamoto is alive today, it's hard to find out if he still feels as delighted as he felt when he made the first announcement about Bitcoin. Only to come back a few years after retiring from working on the network, and the landscape has totally changed– with users questioning the use of your creation. What makes the job easy for Bitcoin is also what makes it hard. As a first innovation, you have no holes to fill. The dilemma of being the first innovation is you'd be creating holes. The holes you have creates the possibility of getting outplayed by a second product that has come to build on your existing framework. In the Innovator's Dilemma, a book by Clayton Christensen, he expressed the value-to-innovation relationship as an S curve. This sigmoid relationship stresses the progression of an innovation over time in relation to what the end users draw from it, which is the utility. He explained that value drawn from a first innovation is highly dependent on the improvements the innovation can make on itself. This makes for an arguable case for logic in other industries, but the blockchain industry is much slower. A simple analogy for the book's theory is the faster you can fix the holes you have created, the more you can retain some market dominance. The pitfall for bitcoin in this scenario is that the blockchain ecosystem is a fast landscape with slow participants. It is fast-evolving, and there's a hasty hunger for the next progressive and interesting thing to come out of the landscape. Bitcoin is already behind in terms of cutting-edge solutions like smart contracts and is also not a top choice in terms of scalability. Understandably, you may not get it as right as you want it for your innovative solution, but blockchain upgrades are not the easiest things to do. Ethereum recently had an upgrade called the Merge, in which the network transitioned from a Proof-of-Work consensus mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, making the network environmentally friendly and setting it up for several other upgrades. Ethereum is one of the best iterations of the blockchain, and its main shortcoming is its scalability issues. Some emerging projects have tried so hard to depose Ethereum, even touting themselves as Ethereum killers, only to end up being alternatives. Ethereum understands the need for constant upgrades. As the co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, believes, the network is only 40% complete– a similar statement to Satoshi's last message to the Bitcoin community before his disappearance. After the Merge, there are plans for Ethereum to undergo four other processes called the Surge, Verge, Purge, and Splurge. These processes will cater to scaling, upgrading, and the evolution of the network over the next few years. A consensus has to agree, which means over 90% of the nodes have to get involved in the process. Consensus is not the easiest process in a decentralized protocol, especially on a network like Bitcoin, which is heavily distributed. Consensus is more like a democratic way of coming to a decision, but a small percentage of the network not agreeing to make the necessary changes would cause a hard fork. Hard forks would usually not mean much except that the Ethereum blockchain currently has two ghost chains (Ethereum Classic and Ethereum PoW) which were a result of upgrades. Considering how fast and frequent first innovations will have to upgrade and catch up with the market it created, bitcoin stood almost no chance of being a much more decentralized protocol. Bitcoin has had some upgrades recently, but they were a very slow grinding situation and would slow the pace of really significant moves. Of course, bitcoin is a creation anyone would be proud of. However, one can't help but imagine what Satoshi Nakamoto thinks of it at the moment. In the early years of bitcoin's creation, Satoshi kept close contact with the community, making over 500 posts on the popular . In his final post to the community, he reiterated the need for the developers in the community to keep building to keep bitcoin safe, and since then, no one has heard of him. This is an article about what he thinks of his creation at the moment, but again, you pause to think if he's even alive. bitcointalk forum Stumbling on the post attached above was an inspiration for this article. In the post, Satoshi discusses how zero-knowledge proof could greatly improve the implementation of bitcoin(BTC). However, it didn't seem possible while he was active. Today, zero-knowledge protocols are a great way to improve scalability on blockchain networks. What Are ZK Proofs? Zero-knowledge proof technologies allow one person to demonstrate to another that they know something without the prover needing to disclose the information itself. They are a privacy-improving technology since they decrease the amount of information that must be supplied between users and the scaling technology. After all, they allow proofs to be verified quicker because they do not include the full amount of information for non-private systems. ZK-STARKs and ZK-SNARKs are two of the most promising zero-knowledge technologies today. ZK-STARK means zero-knowledge scalable transparent argument of knowledge, while ZK-SNARK stands for zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge. SNARKS have been the popular alternative with developers and emerging blockchain solutions because they offer the most convenient ways to implement. However, one point of criticism for ZK-SNARKS is they are not quantum-resistant. As soon as quantum computing becomes widely available, the privacy systems of SNARKS will be unreliable. Although, it is also argued that this would be the least of our problems as quantum computing also poses some threat to most wallet infrastructure and the breaking of . RSA encryption There are several reasons SNARKs have been embraced at a far quicker pace than STARKs, despite the challenges associated with the setup. SNARKs were discovered years before STARKs, giving the technology advantage in terms of acceptance. One of the older digital asset initiatives, Zcash, promoted the use of SNARKs among the blockchain development community. SNARKs has the most developer libraries, published code, projects, and developers actively working on the technology because of Zcash and other early adopters. In addition to Zcash, the emerging DEX Loopring employs SNARKs. If a developer wants to start using zero-knowledge technology, SNARKs would be significantly more helpful than STARKs. Furthermore, SNARKs are projected to need just 24% of the gas that STARKs would require, implying that dealing with SNARKs would be significantly less expensive for the end user. Finally, the proof size for SNARKs is much smaller than that of STARKs, implying that less on-chain storage is required. How ZK-Proofs Could Have Made Bitcoin Better In a typical world that looks forward to blockchain adoption and Bitcoin is at the top of the market, one would expect that the cryptocurrency is primed for it. Although Bitcoin's whitepaper does not overstate any expectations for the cryptocurrency, it's quite expected for what is perceived to be revolutionary to be close to its precedent, which at the time were traditional finance systems and service affiliations like Mastercard. At the time of this writing, Bitcoin poses some scalability issues that cannot be ignored– offering the capability to process only about five transactions per second compared to the thousands per second offered by centralized services like Mastercard, Visa, etc. Bitcoin uses the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm(ECDSA), which is the algorithm that ensures individual access to their wallet and control over their assets. The verification of this algorithm is inefficient such that it limits the scalability of the network. A potential solution other developers, including Satoshi, have considered over the years but could not figure out how to apply is the use of ZK-proofs. At the time of Satoshi's post, the existing implementations of ZK-SNARKs had scalability limitations, but they were still much better than what Bitcoin offered. However, using modern elliptic-curve cryptographic techniques and methods for exploiting the proof systems' field structure and non-determinism, the verification algorithm of ZK-SNARKs has gotten so much better. Even better implementations of ZK-SNARKs offer future-proof resistance to quantum attacks. It's also important to state that ZK-STARK has an advantage over SNARKS as it relies on hash functions rather than elliptic curves, and it's a much better and more secure implementation of zero-knowledge proof. However, the emphasis has been ZK-SNARKs because they were the solution closest to when Satoshi was last active. While ZK-STARKS would have made for an off-chain solution for Bitcoin's scalability issues, one can't help but think if Satoshi thought of a layer-2 solution for Bitcoin using ZK-SNARKS. There's a chance he never thought of a layer-2 solution since upgrades are a tough consensus to reach. Also, instead of having to have to read through the whole section to find out our ZK-SNARKS could have made Bitcoin better, ZCash(ZEC) is an iteration of that. The network seems to be pretty fine with only a few shortcomings; most people would agree that it's a much better solution than Bitcoin, except that we would argue for Bitcoin's exceptional security. Blockchain Expansion Once the first brick is laid, you don't have to be there to see the complete house, and it would be much faster than you imagined. This has been demonstrated throughout history– technology has thrived under this model since immemorial. The closest proof for this argument is to look at the progression of technology and the millions of years we have probably lived without technology. Bitcoin set a precedent for the use of blockchain, and I doubt Satoshi could have foreshadowed how quickly the landscape would change. Today, blockchain has established itself as a technology sufficient for daily activities and would be central to decentralization and open governance. Blockchain is becoming the contemporary option for financial solutions, and it is mind-blowing realizing the other sectors this technology can power. Of course, bitcoin is not the first iteration of blockchain but probably the first viable iteration. We have Satoshi to give most of the credit for perfecting the mechanisms that previous iterations had trouble with. Creating such a revolutionary technology is great work, but I can't help but question how it feels to see the state of bitcoin in this current landscape. I'd like to assume that Satoshi finds more delight in the overall growth of the space than Bitcoin.

I Wonder What Satoshi Thinks of Bitcoin Today

The year 2021 was marked by multiple DeFi frauds, with rug-pulls and exit scams being among the most popular. It looks like 2022 is going to outplay 2021 not only by the number of hacker attacks but also by the volume of funds stolen. This time, hackers are shifting to blockchain bridges. The Wormhole Attack February was marked by one of the most expensive DeFi hacks to date. Hackers managed to steal more than $320 million in wETH from Wormhole - a blockchain bridge that enables the transfer of funds between the Ethereum and Solana blockchains. The attacker exploited a bug in Wormhole’s code that was part of the deprecated function that enabled bypassing the signature verification. What I find interesting is the fact that the attack was conducted after the . The update revealed a fix to the bug. code was updated in the GitHub repository Some hours later, the bridge was hacked. I agree with Information Security Architect who said that publishing this update without implementing it in production was a mistake. Matthew Garret It revealed the vulnerability to the public by basically explaining what the vulnerability was.. It is not surprising that somebody took advantage of this. Another detail that attracts my attention is the code. It doesn’t look like a common update but instead, contains extensive changes. That’s why for a hacker, to figure out that the changes were not implemented in the production only took moments. The hacker forged a signature verification that allowed him to mint 120K wETH (approx. $320 million) without depositing funds first. Then, the stolen funds were moved to the hacker’s wallet. The Wormhole team managed to find out which ETH address was involved in the exploit. They offered the attacker a $10 million bounty if he returned the funds. The message with the offer was embedded as text in a transaction sent to the wallet. As of now, the funds have not been returned, and the value of SOL dropped by 10% after the hack. The Ronin Bridge Exploit Some time later, the Ronin bridge that was used by Axie Infinity players to transfer assets between the Ronin network and the Ethereum blockchain was attacked by using private keys. These were cryptographic keys used to sign transactions. With them, hackers transferred funds from five of nine validator nodes on Ronin. The hackers managed to escape with $622 million in ETH and USDC. Sky Mavis, the developer behind the game, named an , and the United States Department of the Treasury linked the wallet to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The note about the first crypto project backed by the government also indicates a connection with Lazarus as they are government-backed. Ethereum wallet as the Ronin attacker The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) added the wallet to its . list of sanctions tied to Lazarus For Lazarus, it is common to use Tornado Cash which is a transaction mixing service that makes it more difficult to trace cryptocurrency movement between wallets. This time, . Tornado Cash announced that it will block any address listed by the OFAC That’s why it was impossible for the wallet to launder funds through Tornado Cash. It starts by sending massive amounts in ETH to more wallets. This enabled the OFAC to find out what other wallets are involved in the hack and list them as linked to Lazarus. Axie Infinity has recovered from the hack by hard forking the protocol and raising funds to reimburse users. Binance was leading the funding round, accompanied by Animoca Brands, Andreessen Horowitz, and Paradigm, among others. Binance also managed to recover $5.8 million in funds sent to the platform by the listed wallets. The Harmony Horizon Bridge On the 23rd of June 2022, the Harmony Horizon bridge was hacked which resulted in a massive loss of $100 million. The bridge relies on a transaction validation process to transfer funds. Normally, a multi-signature scheme with five validators is applied by bridges, but not in the case of Harmony Horizon. The bridge used a 2 or 5 validator scheme, which means that attackers had to compromise two blockchain accounts to approve any transaction. The attacker managed to steal two private keys as only they were needed to approve any transaction. They then extracted $100 million from the bridge all the while having money laundered through Tornado Cash. Harmony published a post requesting the criminal to return the funds in exchange for stopping the investigation. The company also managed to identify the , along with some other wallets that were sent significant sums in ETH from the Horizon Bridge exploiter. wallet involved in the hack Unlike with the majority of hacks, the story doesn’t end here. Multiple AAG coins (the native coin of metaverse software company AAG Ventures) were stolen from Harmony. The company lost coin amounting to  $84 million. AAG partnered with Lossless DeFi and has applied their mitigation tool to protect its funds. It represents the industry’s first framework for exploit mitigation. Only one day before the attack, Lossless launched their protocol on Harmony. So, they managed to intervene in the event of the attack as soon as the theft was announced and freeze $78 million in AAG coins. when  the coins were recovered. Lossless announced on Twitter Further, the retrieved AAG coins were successfully sent to the . AAG Ventures wallet Bottom Line All the major attacks are performed on blockchain bridges. It demonstrates that this technology, even though highly necessary, needs to be improved. The smallest flaw in code may lead to huge losses that are frequently lost forever for users. I believe that while the technology of blockchain bridges is improving, exploit mitigation solutions like the one offered by Lossless will also grow in importance.

The Biggest Recent Cryptocurrency Hacks: What Is Behind Them?

A call to action for Linux Desktop Distros When it comes to those we care about, we wish to see our loved ones succeed and become the best versions of themselves. We encourage them to push forward through this crazy thing we call life, and maybe even become a bit disappointed when someone we love makes a less-than-ideal decision. Perhaps the same can be said of fans of the Linux desktop. It's like family to us. But to say that our relationship with Linux on the desktop has been strained would be an understatement. We love our favorite desktop distribution. Perhaps not in the same way as we would feel for a human or canine family member, but we do want to see the Linux Desktop flourish - and dare I say it, succeed. Perhaps that's part of the reason why it sometimes becomes so irritating when we Linux enthusiasts witness Linux shooting itself in its own foot. Linux itself is incredibly successful, yet far from perfect - but still surprisingly popular depending on how you look at it. Chances are, the majority of your favorite sites and online services are powered by Linux. And while you were in the process of binge-watching the entirety of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds last week, it was probably a stripped-down variation of the Linux kernel running inside your television that presented Captain Pike's latest adventures onto your screen in glorious 4K. If you carry around an Android phone, you can thank Linux for facilitating your recent delivery call to your favorite Chinese restaurant. Who knows, perhaps some of you are reading this article from a Linux PC. (Maybe). Here's the thing, and I'm going to be very blunt. . It always has. But like I alluded to in a recent video on my YouTube channel while I was talking about the "Year of the Linux Desktop" - that's just not going to happen. At least, not until less-than-ideal decisions stop being made that ultimately leave newcomers frustrated. Especially when their best friend can't stop talking about how great Linux is - but every time they attempt to use it, they wonder why the list of available WiFi networks is always empty. Or even why their fancy ultra-wide display isn't able to reach its native refresh rate. Linux already has the power to conquer the Linux desktop Soon, I'll let you know exactly why I feel as though the decisions being made for many popular distributions are causing the entire Linux desktop dream to be an exercise in futility. But I think it's important to first acknowledge that historically some major advancements have in fact been made, and there are a ton of bragging rights we Linux nerds can legitimately claim as our own. When I first started using Linux, even attempting to install an Nvidia driver risked bricking the entire installation. Either that or I had no idea what I was doing back then. And that's just the beginning. Default networking wasn't configured automatically during installation like it is now, so good luck getting anything on the internet to load until you figure out how to set up a default route. That's no big deal, though - you can perform a quick Google search and find the solution within a Stack Overflow post. But you can't Google anything (the internet doesn't work). Even worse, Stack Overflow didn't even exist back then when I first started. Today, problems like those (and many others) are a thing of the past. Nowadays, 20 years after I installed my first Linux distro on a scrawny 300Mhz PC (the kind where the monitor sat on top of the desktop, remember those?) most things actually work out of the box. And considering how bad compatibility was when I first started, that’s saying a lot! However, the few things that (still) don't work, are the things that are causing a great deal of damage when it comes to Linux adoption, especially for newcomers with a low tolerance for frustration. To best describe the actual issue I'm referring to, I'm going to describe a hypothetical scenario because that's always more fun. And also because I'm going to make your brain do some work while you read this article. Just go along with it: Joe, a pretty cool guy in upstate New York, has a nerdy friend named Nick that does all that hacky/matrix-like computer stuff. Joe's computer is old as dirt and all the local computer fix-it people are telling him it's time to buy a new one. Nick, being the typical Linux stereotype that he is, springs into action. He's been for this. This is HIS moment, and he's going to seize the day! Then, he opens his mouth and drops the stereotypical Linux bomb: training "Don't replace your computer, run Linux on it! It's so much faster it’ll feel like you have a new computer". So, Joe decides to take his advice and install Linux. But unfortunately, we run into a fork in the multiverse with two totally different outcomes. If Joe somehow ends up trying Debian first, that's Universe A. If he lands on Linux Mint, he's made his way into Universe B. In this particular iteration, Joe ends up in Universe A because he landed on Debian for some reason. His chances of success are, unfortunately, very low. Perhaps he'll boot the installation media, but see nothing but a blank screen because Debian doesn't like his choice of video card. Or, maybe he's not a gamer and has integrated graphics made by Intel. In that case, the installation media starts with no problem - but after installation, he can't access the internet because Debian doesn't appreciate the particular WiFi card that Dell decided to preinstall in his notebook. Or, maybe all of that is totally fine and works great. But unfortunately, Joe ends up feeling intense rage when he sits down to listen to his favorite Metallica album, only to find out his sound card isn't supported and as a result, Kirk’s signature guitar riffs won’t be coming through his speakers anytime soon. Congratulations - We've lost Joe. He'll never try Linux again. He's now a permanent Windows or Mac user. So, what about Universe B? What if Joe went along with Linux Mint for his first foray into the magical world of Penguin-powered computing? Well, there's actually a much higher chance of success. Why? Well, because Ubuntu (which is what Linux Mint is built on, long story) also hates the hardware inside Joe's machine but they loathe it a bit less than Debian does, so they go a bit further in trying to make sure Joe's hardware works out of the box. On a side note, why the heck hasn't someone made the back-and-forth drama within the Linux community a streaming TV series yet? It would be GREAT. Anyway, the unfolding story of Joe's migration to Linux was completely made up by yours truly shortly after I impulsively decided to write this article. But actually, it's kinda true though. In real-life, scenarios just like that play out over and over and over. Someone's success rate depends on their level of patience, and how understanding they are, yet mostly on which distribution of Linux they happen to start out with. More specifically, the politics behind the distro itself. If you told me twenty years ago that Nvidia GPUs would still be a pain in the you-know-what to get working inside a Linux install to this very day, I wouldn't believe you. Yet, here we are. As I scrolled through my news feed earlier this week, a story came up from Phoronix in which the popular Linux blog broke the story that folks within the Debian project are having a serious discussion regarding how to handle proprietary hardware. The current year is 2022. Why are we only solving this now? This has literally been a problem for longer than I've had a career in Linux. What's the actual issue? Mainly, proprietary hardware. "Proprietary hardware" refers to hardware for which the Linux community doesn't have source code. Whenever that's the case, we rely on the good graces of hardware vendors to do us a solid and create a driver for our preferred operating system. And believe it or not, many of them do. Yet the drivers they provide are closed-source "proprietary" blobs, are shunned by the Linux community, and are considered evil. And you know what? I totally agree with that mindset when it comes to proprietary drivers. They truly are bad. Because distribution maintainers don't have access to the source code, they can't fix any bugs that are found. But, so what? We could simply just have the vendors fix the bugs in their own drivers. After all, they wrote the darned things. But good luck with that - Linux users aren't important enough for them to prioritize, so we're stuck with proprietary drivers as-is (bugs and all). Another issue with proprietary drivers is that a newcomer to a particular Linux distro might encounter glitches and quirks if these drivers are used, resulting in them having a negative experience with that distro that could influence their opinion of it. So, how do some distributions protect their users from having such a negative experience? By giving them a negative experience. (Seriously. You can't make this up). Some distributions handle the proprietary driver debacle surprisingly well, yet other distributions do an absolutely terrible job of dealing with this. Let's pick on Debian again. (Dear Debian, I really do actually love you, honest). What Debian does in response to this (and other distributions of the same mindset do this as well) is remove access to the required drivers from their installation media. To be fair, there are reverse-engineered open-source equivalents for many pieces of hardware being made available, and they’re great. (Actually, those drivers are terrible and barely work at all - but their developers are talented humans that mean well). Removing access to drivers that are required for a user's piece of hardware to function at its peak capacity sounds like a really mean thing to do, doesn't it? But in actuality, the reasoning distribution maintainers have for doing this is sound. The situation around proprietary drivers is truly as bad as they make it out to be, they're not exaggerating. There's an actual reason why Linus Torvalds famously gave Nvidia the middle finger at a convention a while back. I don't necessarily agree with his delivery on getting his point across, but hardware vendors can't be bothered to take us seriously. If we Linux folk had access to the source code, we could fix any bugs that are found in a fraction of the time it would take for Microsoft or Apple to release an update to their respective OS. And we'd look better doing it, too. Technically, when I refer to source code in regard to a specific piece of hardware, I'm actually referring to design specs - but I say source code for those that don't care about specifics. But the lack of access to this information, which is information that we could use to make the Linux desktop more performant and stable, ends up causing Linux users to have a negative experience, and that negative experience gives our beloved operating system (yes I know it's a kernel) a bad reputation. As I alluded to earlier, some distributions actually do a good job when it comes to handling this situation. Or at least, as good of a job as possible given what we have to work with. Ubuntu is actually a great example of a desktop distro that does this right. If your hardware requires proprietary drivers, Ubuntu has you covered. During the installation process, you can select an option to tell it to install those drivers for you. If you forget to do that during the installation, or if you buy proprietary hardware, later on, Ubuntu includes an "Additional Drivers" app, that gives you access to (drum-roll please) additional drivers! After making a selection and rebooting your PC, your hardware starts working. It’s actually that simple of a process, and I'm not even done with Ubuntu yet. Another clever workaround its developers at Canonical have come up with is a feature known as Hardware Enablement Updates. These enable the longer-supported "enterprise" releases of that distribution to have access to drivers for supporting newer pieces of hardware. Wow! Ubuntu, Canonical's flagship Linux distro, knocks it out of the park! They literally cover every angle of this problem. Yet for some reason, Ubuntu is the distribution that the Linux community seems to hate the most. Again, you really can't make this stuff up. But getting back to our friends Joe and Nick and the rest of that contrived scenario I came up with earlier, this is why Joe's migration to Linux on his notebook has a good chance of ending in failure. His overall opinion on Linux can be influenced largely by his experience, and with the inconsistency in how well or not each distribution handles this situation, it could literally go either way. Either he'll become a lifelong Linux convert, or someone will witness his notebook being tossed out of his second-story office window as if it were a frisbee. Some of you may feel as though I'm blowing this out of proportion. But consider this. If you didn't already know, my entire career is built around Linux. All of my bills and personal expenses are paid from the work I do producing Linux-related content (which I create solely while using Linux - I’m actually that obsessed with it). I absolutely love Linux and the fabulous people within its community. But I almost didn’t become a part of that community. I remember being frustrated when I first started researching Linux, and I almost didn't even bother trying it. I'm nervous to even think about how different my life today would be if I fell into Universe A or some similar branch of the multiverse. The reality is, that many people actually give up on Linux on the desktop all the time. And in a lot of cases, the reason is due to how poorly some distributions handle the situation with proprietary hardware. You know what? This needs to change. As the brilliant and talented people in this wonderful community that we are, it's time for us to work together and fix this. I totally understand that proprietary drivers are unethical. I don't like them either. But we have to take into consideration some absolute, non-debatable FACTS. Whether we like it or not, proprietary hardware exists and is being sold on PCs. And the owners of said hardware just want it to work. As genuine as our loathing for proprietary drivers happens to be, our users don't care about these politics in the way that we do. We can certainly educate people on why proprietary drivers are bad. We can encourage them to speak out against the companies that have bad policies around their hardware. But we cannot, under any circumstances, hold the user experience hostage just to prove our point. It's time for each and every single Linux distribution in existence to give their users as good of an experience out of the box as we possibly can, even if that means enabling proprietary drivers and including them inside all installation media. Am I making that out to be simpler than it actually is? Yes, absolutely - there's so much history (including laws) around proprietary drivers and why they're such a thorn in our side, that I cannot possibly summarize all of the core issues surrounding them in one article. This is a tedious situation, for sure. But we need to stop punishing the user. There's no excuse. So, what can we do about it? Sure, I can come up with solutions and propose them, and you might even think my ideas are clever. But that's not the right way to handle it. The Linux community needs to work together to solve this (in the interest of the user) and the community specifically needs to be what comes up with said solution. A solution where the end result must be the user having an out-of-the-box installation of any distribution with their hardware fully enabled. It doesn't matter how it's designed and how we get there, but the end result needs to be exactly that. No other outcome is acceptable. And you know what? The Linux Community is amazing, and I know for a fact this can (and it will) be solved. Let's make like Picard and make it so.

Linux Desktops and Hardware Enablement - It’s Time for a Change

Stories, News & Mentions about OUTPLAY

Outplay’s Stories on HackerNoon