Then To Now — A Historical perspective of the benefits of Elastos.

…….allows for the concepts of cloud computing to be implemented in such a way that 1) The negative effects of the Cloud Computing Era are abolished (Censorship, Centralized Power Accumulation, Mass Population Data Hoarding) 2) The Limiters of the Personal Computing Era remain broken. (Limit of hard drive space, Limit of communication, Limit of lack of access to digital marketplace)

What’s next? That is the question I believe the collective human consciousness is bound to ask. Collectively we appear perpetually glued to a state of wanting more. From generation to generation, era to era; nothing seems to tame the human desire for new attractions. Contradictorily, Ecclesiastes 1:9 states;

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

Perhaps there is ancient wisdom of fundamental universal laws within these ancient texts. To understand the possibilities that Elastos & the Cyber Republic will bring to our future, lets take a look the past of our technologies. It is here, in the past, that we can begin to mold the framework of the future.

In this article you will learn the following:

What are the Significances of the Digital Content & Digital Devices?

What is the Digital Revolution?

What is the Phase that is infrequently discussed?

What are the “5” Phases of the Digital Revolution?

What role does Elastos play in this?

Before we dive into the details of the Digital Revolution. Lets get a few fundamental things out of the way.

If you’re not into reading, feel free to check out my video on this subject:

Then to Now Video — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXqbJdz0l-E&t=471s

Notice — This article was created after the video and contains a significant amount of extra content compared to the video.

Lets begin our deep dive.

What is the Significance of the Digital Content & Digital Devices?

What is Significance of the Digital Content

Digital Content allows for duplication with zero to very minimal quality reduction.

Imagine photocopies before digital documents. Each photocopy you made would appear more blurry than the previous. As a child, I remember my parents having to pay full price for authorized photocopied books. No one gave much attention to the fact that each of our school books, regardless of it being the same text book, each had different levels of quality.

VHS TAPES

2. Movies copied from tape are also to be considered. Each copy of a tape reel would also produce decreased quality with each subsequent copy. Digital content allows for high quality content redistribution, allowing for platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and even Amazon Video to exist.

Digital Content is also easily transmitted. Tools like the internet, flash drives, CD’s, DVD’s allow for easy transmission of digital content without loss in quality. Consider long term storage of tapes for example. Over time, these tapes become worn out, and even suffers from heat damage much faster relative to it’s modern storage counterparts.

What is Significance of Digital Devices

Digital Devices like cell phones and computers, allows us the ability to use digital content to reshape/redefine our perspective of the world in an accessible fashion. Take for example music therapy. Music therapy is the use of music to improve health. One can make the argument that sound quality also has an effect on the effectiveness of such therapies. Digital devices allow us to truly extend the possibilities of our human existence.

What is the Digital Revolution

Now that we have a fundamental understanding of the significance of digital devices and digital content as it relates to our lives, lets take a look at what exactly the digital revolution is.

The Digital Revolution is an ongoing process of social, political, and economic change brought about by digital technology, such as microchips, computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. It appears that as a race, the human race, we are infatuated with entering the virtual/digital world we ourselves have created. There is not much that has not been digitized. Music, videos, art, speeches, now even nations. Decentralized Nations sustained by internet technologies are now emerging. Decentralized nations such as the Cyber Republic. If you’re interested in learning more about that, feel free to check the following article out:

Next, lets dive into the phase no one really talks about.

The Phase No One Talks About — Security & The Military

Colossus Mark ll

Colossus was an electronic digital computer, built during WWII from over 1700 valves (tubes). It was used to break the codes of the German Lorenz SZ-40 cipher machine that was used by the German High Command. Colossus is sometimes referred to as the world’s first fixed program, digital, electronic, computer. It was developed and built before the American ENIAC computer. http://cryptomuseum.com/crypto/colossus/index.htm

Lorenz SZ-40/42

The colossus system was used to decrypt codes forwarded by the Lorenz SZ-40/42.

I believe it is important to be aware of the order in which new technologies are implemented. Usually, but not always, the military has some previously existing iteration of the technology the general public uses. Though we can stem into the various possible conspiracy theories, it’s probably best to focus on understanding why this isn’t all bad. To understand this further lets talk about 256 Bit Encryption.

256 Bit Encryption

When someone references 256-bit encryption. They are talking about the “key length” of the symmetric encryption. This is just stating that the key is comprised of 256 ones and zeros. These “ones and or zeros” represent the binary language. Fundamentally, in 256 bit encryption there are 2²⁵⁶ possible combinations to be realized.

This means that there are 115,792,089,237,316,195,423,570,985,008,687,907,853,269,984,665,640,564,039,457,584,007,913,129,639,936 possible numerical combinations that be utilized to produce a key. In Essence, it would take traditional computing millions of years to beat this system unless they get unbelievably lucky and guess the right number. Pretty secure right? It sure is.

However, lets add quantum computing to the mix. Though, quantum computers do not yet posses the a capacity to threaten SHA-256 encryption in any direct manner. Lets imagine a world where it does, and lets also imagine that it can crack SHA-256 in 2 days. It should not take much to have you also imagine the impact of that on entire human race. If there is no way for the military to protect itself from these types of attacks, total and absolute mayhem can ensue. There would be nothing stabilizing/protecting our economies and digital assets. It would be a global disaster. This is why it is imperative that the security of global military technologies grow with the rate at which global general purpose technologies do.

The lack of proper security by our military results in situations like this:

October 12, 2018 The Pentagon on Friday said there has been a cyber breach of Defense Department travel records that compromised the personal information and credit card data of U.S. military and civilian personnel. According to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the breach could have affected as many as 30,000 workers, but that number may grow as the investigation continues. The breach could have happened some months ago but was only recently discovered. https://apnews.com/7f6f4db35b0041bdbc5467848225e67d

Before we ride the doom and gloom train to nowhere, lets move into the 5 primary phases of the Digital Revolution.

Phases of the Digital Revolution

Lets start off by highlighting these phases by name. There are 5 primary phases of the Digital Revolution. They are:

Data Processing Era Personal Computing Era Network Computing Era Cloud Computing Era a) The Elastos Evolutionary Phase - b) Ubiquitous Computing Era (Pervasive Internet, Pervasive Computing)

Data Processing Era

IBM 700 Series

“What is the Data Processing Era” you may be asking? Well this is the time in which computing was primarily utilized by larger organizations. Organizations like businesses and schools were among the first adopters of computing technologies. A calculated decision in essence as there were many benefits in doing so.

Time — Lets think of a business organization consisting of 2000 employees in the 1940s. Now, lets address the topic of payroll as an example. Today we posses slick applications like quickbooks to assist in payroll. In the 1940’s the only “quickbooks” that existed were the ones thrown out of anger and frustration. Payroll was an extremely time consuming and resource intensive process. Computing allowed businesses to process data such as employee “in and out” times exponentially faster than it’s human counterpart. Money — Not only did computing add the benefit of saving time. It also required less people to do it. Though, some could argue that the cost of maintenance might offset the savings in salaries, the combined effects of computing was too great to not utilize. The savings in producing less mistakes is also no laughing matter. Human intervention has proven itself to open to doors for such inconveniences.

IBM 650 Series

“Time is money, and money is time”

Computing allowed organizations to save on both!

Birthplace of Centralized Computing

The Data Processing Era is the true birthplace of Centralize Computing. Because these computers were so large, they often required to be installed in specialized locations that were not very accessible. Thus, Terminals were used to access these gigantic machines. For those who may not know what a Terminal is, think of it as just being the monitor, mouse, and keyboard stored in a location where main processing unit of the computer is not located. For Example, lets say the system was installed in your basement (hopefully water proof and temperature controlled! Yikes!).

You may not want to have to access your basement each time in order to access your computer. Thus, you decide set up your monitor, keyboard, and mouse in your bedroom and implement a wired connection between the computer in your basement and the devices you have in your room. In essence you’ve just created a terminal. These large databases would have multiple terminals. Each giving access to that system and it’s data, fundamentally, this centralized computing at it’s core. This is how computing was done during Era.

The Lesson Technology Teaches

There is also key philosophical lesson on technology to learn from this era. Because computing was so expensive and hard to maintain, conceptualizing the fact that the average joe would have a computer was not possible to some computer experts. And in my opinion, understandably so. Lets take a look at ENIAC for example.

ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (America’s First General Purpose Electric Computer)

ENIAC weighed in around 30 tons and used 18000 vacuum tubes for processing. It is said when this computer took its first breaths the lights in sections of Philadelphia became dim. Can you imagine one of these in the homes of the average computer user? Yeah, me neither. Now, we have computers that are several thousand times greater in processing power and capabilities. Not only do we have these computers, but they can fit in the palm of our hands. Here technology teaches us a lesson. The lesson is that technology does not exist in a static state. The moment a new technology has been developed, it has already began to evolve into something more.

Technology grows faster than the time it takes the human mind to comprehend and visualize it’s growth. — Amos Thomas

The Data Processing Era averaged years 1940 to 1970.

This leads us to the next phase of the Digital Revolution, The Personal Computing Era.

Personal Computing Era

What is Personal Computing? Personal Computing is when you have a standalone computer system operating off of local storage/software. This is fundamentally different from the Data Processing Era as the software would be ran from storage devices separate from any centralized databases. In the the Personal Computer Era, your data, your storage, and your “terminal” are all in the same place and personalized to your desires.

Local Software

This then brings up the question, “what is ‘local software’ then?” Local software are applications that are installed on a hard drive directly attached to your system. Applying the same ideology that your applications are not in the cloud (as the cloud did not exist in this era), they’re also not on a random wired server. They are installed on your local hard drive and are executed from said local storage hardware.

First Microsoft PC — Released in 1985

This is the era in which computers began to become attractive. Now, GUIs have began to take hold in the computing industry. For those a bit too removed from technology, GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. It’s the pretty colors, shapes, and images on our computer screen that makes using computers easy for those who have not spent months learning to utilize the CLI (Command Line Interface).

How Did We Use Personal Computers?

In this Era, computers were tools used primarily for productivity purposes. They didn’t have the processing power to do much more than spreadsheets and low intensity gaming. However, our gaming addictions created an enormous amount of demand for computing power. Gaming encouraged manufactures to create a supply of more computing power. This is where the first general public to manufacture supply & demand chain for computing power was established.

The birth of Non-networked Decentralized Computing can be observed in this era. The Personal Computing Era averaged 1970 to 1990's.

Human nature desires interaction. Isolation gaming and personal computing was not enough to satisfy our urges. Opening the doors for the next Era, The Network Computing Era.

Phase Three of Digital Revolution — Network Computing

What is Network Computing? Network Computing is simply explained as the usage of computer devices while utilizing or being connected to a network. In the Network Computing Era we witnessed personal computers gain the ability to become networked and share data & various resources.

What took Networking So Long?

The networking technology was not a completely new technology. Prior to personal computer networks, networks primarily existed in larger entities such as schools or businesses. It is also important to highlight these were usually wired networks. You might be asking why. Well, wired networks were not cheap to establish. Though Wifi did first come into existence in 1971 connecting the Hawaiian Islands, it was not a completely viable commercial solution until around 1997 after significant improvements and various approval processes.

The Internet

The Internet was born during the Network Computing Era. To be clear, the “internet” did exist prior to 1995. However, it was not fully utilized by the public until the 1990s. In the 90’s the general public began to take a much deeper look at the internet and it’s benefits.

So, What is the internet? Why thank you for asking! The internet was, and is just a very large network of networks.

The “Internet”

Though the above figure is not an exact representation of the internet, it does give a general idea of how things work. The internet is just a “Network of Networks”. Be that many networks in a small town or small networks over large geographical distances.

The Internet VS The “WWW”

Internet VS WWW (World Wide Web)

People needed a more surefire and appealing way of interacting with the Internet. The World Wide Web Was Born here. What is the “World Wide Web (WWW)”? The World Wide Web is to be considered the “interactive” part of the internet. It is just a compilation of linked resources that can be accessed using the internet as the medium.

Think of the internet being the roadways, and the World Wide Web being all the houses, lakes, buildings, fields, monuments you can access via those roadways. The web adds substance to the internet. It is not the internet itself.

The Network Computing Era averaged 1990s–2008/2010

Phase Four of Digital Revolution — Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing? Simply put, cloud computing is an “upgraded” version Data Processing Era that is consumer inclusive. Cloud computing however, simply provides access to applications, information, storage, data, communications via the internet. If you are reading this article right now in 2018, you are in the Cloud Computing Era. Congratulations!

What does Cloud Computing do for us?

The Cloud Computing Era removes the limiters of the Personal Computing Era while allowing you to now participate in the “Centralization” of the data/applications/software/storage of the Data Processing Era to gain the benefit of ease.

Digital Device being used to access applications like Facebook & Twitter. Data from these applications are not stored on the Digital Device but on the host/server.

Software is no longer ran locally, you now use your browser/digital device to access all things that previously required local storage and various local installations in the Personal Computing Era. Cloud computing is to be considered the modern version of Centralized Computing (Data Processing Era). Apps like Facebook, Twitter are easy examples of this.

Here Comes the Dark Side

Personal Data Hoarding

Today, we rely on large organizations to supply these massive server farms which we then utilize to store our data. We also rely on them to maintain their servers allowing for maximum uptime and offer us services in exchange for our money & data.

Did you catch that?

You probably didn’t so let me explain. We don’t just pay for services from these platforms with our hard earned cash. Some “FREE” applications take your personal data as payment for their services rendered. This means your conversations, text messages, private sensitive photos between you and your lover can all be the price you pay for their services. Your data is then sold to the highest bidder that wants YOUR data. Most users are unaware they’re signing over their rights to their own personal data when they click “I Agree”.

Censorship

As previously stated, you’re accessing their information via their servers. Which means they have the right to block you if they so desire. This raises various issues as it relates to power. Today, we say governments and large organizations abusing their power by simply “blocking out” unfavorable opinions. There is a grey area at the intersection of ownership and freedom of speech that allows for certain manipulations. Digital Censorship is a very real problem that can only be solved by the redistribution of digital power. A key role of the Elastos technology.

Mobile Devices Sit On The Throne

Before photos of me in a tinfoil hat populates the internet, I digress. Lets talk a little about desktop vs mobile usage. Some experts say Smartphones are the symbol of the Cloud Computing Era as it is the most used device on the internet today. I couldn’t agree more!

Desktop vs Mobile platform usage.

Mobile devices are undeniably the powerhouse of the Cloud Computing Era. Which, when considering Elastos’ vision, leads you to understand why the mobile market was targeted by the Elastos core team. Instead of only developing a heavy weight operating system, The core team of the Elastos Technology has decided to focus on the larger picture as well. It seems the idea for a lightweight virtual machine that can be ran on any user’s mobile device a viable strategy.

Thats right, you read that correctly. The computational power needed to operate decentralized applications will be sourced from the user’s devices and NOT the block chain. This comes from a fundamental understanding that a blockchain computer, currently, cannot compete to with the processing power of traditional computing. We can see this exemplified by Ethereum and their attempt at running their blockchain based game “Crypto Kitties”. This resulted in the implosion of their entire blockchain network.

It appears that Elastos is not trying to push against the tide of existing technologies, but help these technologies ascend while having the ultimate respect for the already existing roles that each component in the technological world already plays. In essence, they are saying, “If traditional computers are good at processing, let traditional computers do the processing. If blockchain is good at record keeping, power re-distribution, and trust; let blockchain record keep and redistribute digital power while implementing trust”. It is this fundamental respect and appreciation for the past & future that allows for the Elastos technology to shine in a blockchain market that does not seem to posses the same level of fundamental understanding.

Yet again, I digress. Before I lose track, let’s get back to power of mobile devices in the Cloud Computing Era and what Elastos has done to claim that market with their invention of the Elastos Runtime.

The Elastos Runtime runs on the user’s equipment to achieve a “reliable runtime environment.” By developing an Elastos DApp, independent developers can use (play) digital assets such as digital audio and video playback. VM guarantees digital assets will run under blockchain control, providing users with the ability to consume and invest in digital content.

The Cloud Computer Era is averages 2008/2010 to present.

Phase Five (B) — Ubiquitous Computing Era

The future is here! Well, almost here. Ubiquitous Computing is the next Era of computing. What is Ubiquitous Computing? Ubiquitous Computing is essentially the idea that computers should interact with us in every aspect of lives. Now, we see the embedding of microchips and the acceptance of Virtual & Augmented Reality as “nothing special”.

What Does Ubiquitous Computing Do For Us?

Well, it exponentially increases human to computer interaction. Ubiquitous Computing offers humans a one to many relationship interaction between humans and devices. Though, we have that already in our modern lives. If I were to assume the number of computer devices you currently own, the number of items will most likely range from 0–10 computer devices. In the age of Ubiquitous Computing we can see numbers like 0–100, really quick; pun most certainly intended.

What Else?

This is where concepts like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Robot Chefs, Self Driving Cars and more are to be fully realized.

This phase of technology has not yet began. Before we enter this phase, I believe certain technological infrastructures must be laid out. This is where the true beauty of Elastos & The Cyber Republic can be witnessed.

Phase Five (B) Precursors — The Elastos Evolution

Before we enter the Ubiquitous Computing Era it is important to understand that we need certain assurances. Without developing a special foundation to properly support the boom of the next age, we can see a very bad collapse that can leave human kind wishing we never invented computing. Below, we will begin the discussion on the role Elastos plays in this new computing era.

First, lets name our required assurances:

Significantly Enhanced Security Adaptability/Compatibility Interoperability Scalability Fair Digital Device Economy Net Neutrality

Now that we have that out of the way, get your scuba cap ready because we’re about summon the spirit of Trey Songz and dive in.

What Do We Need — SIGNIFICANTLY Enhanced Security!!

Why?

In this new era, we will see computers deeply integrated into every single corner and crevice of our human existence. In essence, we are one step closer to becoming integrated cyborgs. Computers can possibly be monitoring every physical function even within your bodies in real time. Heart rate, blood pressure, blood type, chemical balances to determine mood, and the list can go on and on. Side note — we’re just talking about the physical body in this example but this may not be the only sensitive pain point. Think bigger, think about your conversations, your personal data, intellectual thoughts, all the additional devices that will be utilized in your home for automated cooking, cleaning, garbage disposal, and so on. It is also extremely important to highlight that these computers will more than likely NOT be isolated as observed in the Personal Computing Era. These computers will most probably be networked and able to share/exchange data. Which helps reinforce my argument that stronger security is needed. Here we can see one example of why SIGNIFICANTLY enhanced security is a MUST. Since it is most likely that your devices will be interconnected to each other, all it takes is one access point and a hacker can have access to every schedule, every note, every heart beat you’ve had and will have. Security is a topic that should NOT at all be taken lightly in this new era. It can possibly reach the point where if your phone is hacked, you’re done.

What has Elastos done about Security?

First off, Elastos is NOT a “Blockchain company”. It is a technology that has a “Blockchain Component”. The only parts of the Elastos Technology that utilizes blockchain technologies are the Elastos Mainchain & Sidechains. Instead of purely relying on blockchain to “solve” all of the problems. The Elastos core team has combined technologies all the way from the first Era of computing to the now new blockchain technologies to form a New Internet for all. As their website explains, the Elastos Technology has a foundational Four Pillar Structure:

The Four Pillars of the Elastos Ecosystem

Blockchain and Smart Contracts

As the operating system’s trusted zone, the blockchain can implement “trust”. The Elastos main chain uses Bitcoin’s POW mechanism to ensure the reliability of data transmission through joint mining with Bitcoin. At the same time, Elastos provides services and extends third-party applications through its side chains.

Elastos Carrier

Elastos Carrier is a completely decentralized P2P network service platform. For Elastos, it is an important support infrastructure for decentralized application development and operation. It is the Elastos P2P Network Platform part of the architecture diagram.

Elastos Runtime

Elastos Runtime runs on the user’s equipment to achieve a “reliable runtime environment.” By developing Elastos DApp, independent developers can use (play) digital assets such as digital audio and video playback. VM guarantees digital assets will run under blockchain control, providing users with the ability to consume and invest in digital content.

Elastos SDK

This is the traditional APP (i.e. Wechat, QQ, Taobao, and other mobile phone software). These APPs can extend their capabilities by introducing the Elastos SDK, gaining typical blockchain abilities like identity authentication and trusted records.

Okay, they make us safe but how safe is their infrastructure?

This is where Merged Mining, comes into play.

Merged mining is where more than one coin/asset is mined simultaneously without requiring more checksums or any extra computing power. This creates a very unique opportunity, an opportunity Elastos foresaw and decided to take. The concept of Merged Mining allows for a Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain become a “Child Chain” to a larger Proof of Work (PoW) Chain. This is exactly what Elastos has decided to do with bitcoin. Elastos, which self contains Proof of Work (PoW) Main chain, has began merged mining with the Bitcoin Proof of Work (PoW) chain. As we already know, Bitcoin has the largest and most secure network in the entire Blockchain Industry. Anyone that is participating in the processing of Bitcoin Blockchain Blocks will also assist in the processing of Elastos’ Blockchain Blocks WITHOUT additional hardware requirements/changes. This gives Elastos the ability to be as close to the level of security that Bitcoin possesses without having to disrupt setups of the already existing faithful miners. This level of security through sheer hash power is not something that can be easily found in the cryptoverse.

Elastos is in essence assimilating bitcoins immense hash power. This fundamental fact makes 51% attacks on the Elastos Blockchain HIGHLY unlikely in the future.

It doesn’t stop there. They are willing to extend these great benefits to anyone developing on Elastos. I KNOW, they’re pretty amazing right? In the same way the Elastos Mainchain, which is a Proof of Work (PoW) chain, had become a child to bitcoin’s Proof of Work (PoW) chain; anyone that has created a Proof of Work (PoW) Sidechain on Elastos will gain the same benefits of security from the bitcoin network through the Elastos Blockchain. This solves a unique problem in the crypto space that is not usually called by name. Elastos is thinking of the future while we see many projects stuck in the now. Elastos seems to be aware of the fundamental fact that projects, not matter how good the idea, cannot thrive with an unsecure network. Having to worry about how your project is going to develop and source the hashing power required to be safe & secure can be daunting if you don’t have the resources. Elastos is simply taking away the stress of worrying about security and hash power by giving you an all inclusive package.

I like to think of Elastos as the “roots & tree stump” to the entire blockchain industry tree. This is where the ideology behind this image is sourced.

Credits to “Fire-Fade” for image. An Elastos Community Memember

Blockchain projects should not view Elastos as a competitor. Elastos is to blockchain as security is to the Military. The military serves various functions. If they’re not able to securely serve those functions, what do we need them for?

What we need — Adaptability/Compatibility

Why?

As previously stated, blockchain technology is only good at doing blockchain things. Traditional computing still has it’s place. Thus, it is important that whatever technology that will support the Ubiquitous Computing Era be adaptable and compatible enough to operate off of existing technologies & operating systems.

That’s where the Elastos Runtime & Elastos SDK comes in play.

The Elastos Runtime can be thought of as an App Engine or a Virtual Machine(VM). It is a runtime sandboxed closed environment that runs on top of existing OS, such as Android, iOS, Linux, etc. It provides SDK for DApps to be running on top of RT.

Let’s be real here. To implement a technology that will require a complete overhaul of the existing technologies of today would be ridiculous. As an IT technician and a friend to many technology experts, I have seen far too many businesses and organizations that still utilize older operating systems like windows XP because retraining staff would be far to expensive and time consuming.

If we think back to the Data Processing Era, large businesses adopted computing NOT because it was the “COOL” thing to do. They adopted computing because computing technologies saved on TIME and MONEY. The Elastos technology allows for existing businesses to participate in the new era of technologies without much change of current infrastructure. Observing the Elastos Technology today is the equivalent of observing computing technologies as computing technologies first impacted our economies and organizations.

Is the Runtime Actually Secure?

The Runtime is incredibly secure and versatile. Lets highly a few attack vectors and see how the runtime deals with it.

Viruses On Operating System.— The Elastos Runtime is executed on top of the Operating System but does NOT interact with the Operating System as it is coded in C++. As a result of the Elastos Virtual Machine being coded in C++ it is able to communicate with the hardware of the device directly. In this scenario, the Operating System would be a “Middle Man” which has been eliminated as there is no need to speak to it. This means there is no way for a virus that has infected an operating system in some way to interact with the Elastos Runtime Virtual Machine in which your Decentralized Application is executing. Download of Malicious Code — The runtime is a “Virtual Machine” named “Trinity” which is considered the “browser” for Decentralized applications. When you fire up “Trinity”, it contains the executable code for your various Decentralized Application separated by process isolation. If you were to download malicious code in this environment you are still protected by the Elastos Runtime. When you exit that Decentralized Application, the virtual machine in which that code was downloaded is self destructed.

For the sake of time, I will end the discussion on the runtime here. However, there are even more precautions that allow for a safe environment. Such as Decentralized Application “Digital Fingerprint Authentication”, where a hash of the original code of a Decentralized Application is stored on-chain. Thus, if any alterations are made to that code on it’s way to you, a new hash would innately be produced. If the hash does not match with the hash that was stored on chain, the runtime will NOT run the code. Allowing for a very deep level of security that is essentially on-boarded into coding itself. The security Elastos provides does not stay at a top layer, it is engrained into the origin source of Elastos Applications.

What about apps like Facebook & Snapchat? Here comes the Elastos SDK

The Elastos core team has also considered that there may be a need to have Hybrid Applications. Hybrid Applications are essentially applications that are NOT fully decentralized. Lets take for example the “Facebook” application. The Elastos SDK allows traditional applications to benefit from it’s enhanced security without initiating the inconvenience of total reconstruction.

Elastos provides a C++ SDK that can be used to develop native applications for android, ios devices, etc. The only thing that’ll be missing from these native applications is that they won’t be running inside elastos runtime. However, the rest of the features and capabilities that Elastos offers are available via the SDK. That is why, any native applications that decide to use the SDK are called hybrid elastos applications. They’re not pure elastos dapps because they are not run inside elastos runtime environment.

Thus, if a preexisting application like Facebook or Snapchat decided to utilize Elastos Technologies it would not be enclosed in the runtime but still gain blockchain like capabilities. The Elastos SDK has the ability to ascend preexisting applications like Facebook or Snapchat, be that Android or IOS. When adopting this approach however, you will not be able to utilize the versatility of the Runtime and will only be able to use that application on the device it was designed to be executed on. However, the security benefits are worth it. Identity authentication and trusted records can be a game changer and provide never before seen levels of security or accountability to traditional applications.

An application taking this approach would be considered an Elastos Hybrid Decentralized Application/Native IOS or Android application. The file extensions for applications like this will be “.apk” as can be seen with the Community Developed “Ela Chat” Application. Applications that are utilizing the Elastos Runtime will have the file extension of “.epk” as it will be an Elastos package. Apps that are fully enclosed in the Runtime are considered Native Elastos Applications.

Okay So What About Developers?

As we know, developers bring the real power to any technological project in this day and age, especially blockchain projects. I believe if any technology is to succeed, the easier it is made for developers to onboard, the more likely a project is to succeed. “Has Elastos thought about developers then?” is what you may be asking.

Well, Lets hear what they have to say:

As for the DApp developers, they do not need to worry too much about the technical details of the layer underneath (blockchain layer). They just need to call the RT.SDK. Building DApps will be much easier than before. DApp developers will be using Cordova to develop their HTML5 applications that will be running on trinity browser. Non-Elastos apps can access the Elastos Smart Web via the RT SDK(C++ SDK) because android and iOS apps can call C++ SDK. This is done to make it easier for existing mobile developers to integrate their existing mobile apps with Elastos. Elastos Runtime runs on the user’s equipment to achieve a “reliable runtime environment.” By developing Elastos DApp, independent developers can use (play) digital assets such as digital audio and video playback. VM guarantees digital assets will run under blockchain control, providing users with the ability to consume and invest in digital content. https://www.cyberrepublic.org/developer/learn

Enough said.

What Do We Need? — Interoperability

Why?

Elastos to Blockchain Interoperability

Elastos is not the only block chain project. Elastos will NOT solve ALL of the world’s problems. Thus, it is important that the technology providing security to the Ubiquitous Computing Era to be able to interoperate with other blockchain technologies. Elastos appears to be the only project offering a secure Network Operating System. There are various projects claim the title of “network operating systems” that are nothing but brower attachments and addons. Lets be unequivocally, undeniably, and absolutely clear about this, Elastos is a fully developed heavyweight Networking Operating System with Lightweight components like the Elastos Runtime. To give more perspective, lets take a look at Elastos running on a smartphone here and the subsequent explanation by founder Rong Chen:

Yet again and again, I digress. Lets get back to the point at hand. If Elastos is to offer the base layer of security for the new age, it must be easy for other projects to work on top of it. Which, it seems like this is something the core team of Elastos has already thought about.

…there are other use cases where the blockchain is not native to elastos ecosystem such as NEO, ETH, etc. These are known as friendchains. Elastos support for friendchain is separated into a two-stage process: The first stage supports the cross-chain atomic transaction between the friendchain and the Elastos main chain. This type of transaction is peer to peer and requires the parties to negotiate exchange rates and create mutual and constrained atomic exchange transactions. The second stage will be based on decentralized exchanges, supporting the free exchange of the main chain and friendchain tokens. Users will no longer need to create exchange transactions from user to user like in the atomic-swap example.

While this is speaking of a transfers of value between separate blockchains. Who know what this can evolve to become. However, that’s just speaking of interoperability between full blockchain projects and the Elastos Technology.

There is another side to interoperability that must also be considered.

Elastos to Traditional Business Interoperability

Not all businesses will convert to blockchain technologies. Not all businesses may have the need for a distributed ledger or digital trust generation. It is important to have parts of the technology that will be a foundational pillar to the Ubiquitous Computing Era that can still be applicable to businesses without blockchain needs. Lets take a look at Shanghai Shijiu TV for Example.

Shanghai Shijiu TV offers the world’s leading HTML5 and browser technology in the OTT and Smart TV field and is a partner of several top TV manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Hisense and intellectual property carriers Disney, IQIYI, and Tencent Video. Shijiu TV is also the system provider for many OTT TV boxes.

Elastos TV Box

Shijiu TV have decided to market Elastos Carrier as a new service that will accompany its large-scale production of TV Boxes that are already in existence. Along with featuring a video player like most TV boxes, now, with the help of Elastos Carrier, the box will build P2P connections between TV Boxes and mobile phones that will allow customers direct connection between devices and customer support. These features are the first to exist in applications in the OTT industry. Using Elastos Carrier to directly connect with other devices, without utilizing central servers, not only saves operation costs from the manufacturer but more importantly, protects user’s privacy.can still be applicable to traditional centralized systems http://elanews.net/2018/08/08/elastos-tv-box-to-bring-1-million-carrier-nodes-by-end-of-year/

Here we see a traditional business organization in need of an aspect of the Elastos technology that is not entirely blockchain related. In this case, they are utilizing the Elastos Carrier, a Peer to Peer decentralized network that utilizes full End to End Encryption. Only the person that has the private key can decrypt the data being transmitted. This destroys the capabilities of various “Middle Men”, essentially removing Man In The Middle (MITM) attacks from their new smart internet. In short, no one but you is getting your data. There must be incentives for businesses to utilize these technologies however. In the case of Shijiu TV, lets take a look at what their CTO had to say as to why they used the Elastos Carrier.

Shijiu CTO, Yunlong Zhou, said, “By using the Elastos Carrier, we significantly reduced development and operation costs for this product. The Carrier feature will be fully deployed in all TV Box systems in the future. We estimate the volume of shipment could reach one million boxes in the next 6 months.” http://elanews.net/2018/08/08/elastos-tv-box-to-bring-1-million-carrier-nodes-by-end-of-year/

Again, TIME & MONEY are the driving incentives to Shijiu TV’s assimilation to the Elastos Ecosystem. In updated news, we see that they are steadily working towards their promise of 1 million of these boxes sold by year’s end. To-date, it has been confirmed that 230,000 TV boxes have been sold.

The number of TV boxes actively equipped with Elastos Carrier Service has reached 230,000 consumer owned units! The top 5 brands of factory-installed boxes are: Diyomate, Mango, Lingyun, Myzinda, Tasu. We are well on our way to 1m active Carrier nodes! #Elastos $ELA https://twitter.com/Elastos_org/status/1048763612083499008

Enough said.

What We Need — Scalability

Why?

In the Ubiquitous Computing Era the large influx of devices must be noted and supported. Whatever system that will support this new age must be designed with that fact in mind.

Elastos To Blockchain Scalability

As we see with the popular blockchain project Ethereum and almost every other blockchain based project, scalability is an issue. However, this is not an issue with Elastos. Elastos utilizes a Mainchain & Sidechain structure. The Elastos Ecosystem is infinitely scalable with this blockchain architecture. To be clear, this is infinitely scalable interms of the number of chains a project can have. However, the measure of TPS utilized by any given chain is relative to the needs of that project and their developmental choices.

Elastos Main-chain

The Elastos main chain uses the arbitrator’s joint signature and SPV(Simplified Payment Verification) mechanism to guarantee the security of the transfer with the sidechain. The main chain token holders(ELA holders) jointly elect a certain number of arbitrators. The arbitrator is responsible for signing the token withdrawals from the sidechain to the main chain. Each sidechain node synchronizes all of the block headers of the main chain. https://www.cyberrepublic.org/developer/learn

The main chain is only ever used for simple ELA payments and acts as a trustworthy ledger with the most basic transactions.

Elastos Side-chain

The Elastos sidechain can use any consensus mechanism. Currently, the Elastos team has already developed a POW consensus based sidechain that can connect with the main chain to complete SPV and DPOS based deposit and withdrawal operations. This POW based sidechain can use the computing power of the main chain to ensure its own security. What this essentially means is that if DApps choose to implement a POW based consensus mechanism, they can all piggyback on ELA merged mining hashpower that it inherits from the strong and resilient bitcoin network. https://www.cyberrepublic.org/developer/learn

The side-chains are used to extend the functionality of the Elastos Ecosystem. Everything, including smart contracts, will run as side-chains. For example, one of the first side-chains, ID side-chain, is used to issue IDs to devices, users and applications on the new internet Elastos is building.

Side Note (Pun Intended) - This “ID Side-chain” is already live as can be witnessed here:

On July 1, 2018, Elastos achieved a major milestone in its ongoing development. We are proud to announce that we have successfully upgraded our main chain to support the release of the first Elastos ID Side-chain. http://elanews.net/2018/07/03/elastos-releases-first-sidechain-the-backbone-of-the-new-internet/

Another side-chain maybe a digital asset smart contract side-chain. Another side-chain may be Ethereum smart contract side-chain. Another side-chain may be NEO smart contract side-chain. Any existing smart contracts may be ported to Elastos to work as a side-chain and after that, the applications built for Elastos may be able utilize any of these smart contracts or they may even build their own side-chains to their own liking.

It is clear that the age old scalability issue, from the blockchain industry’s perspective, has been resolved with Elastos. But what about the perspective of regular technologists? How would a regular user interact with Elastos Technologies.

Elastos To Device Scalability

Lets talk about if there is a limit to the number of devices that can utilize the Elastos Technologies. Now, it must all seem too good to be true at this point. There must be some draw backs at the very least to the amount of devices that can utilize the Elastos Ecosystem. Well, I’m GLAD to disappoint you in this case.

Infact, it’s way more versatile than you might initially think.This is as a result of the system’s C++ roots. Elastos Technologies can be installed on almost every computer device on the face of the planet. This is a first of it’s kind as far as Operating Systems and marks the first step towards computer device symbiosis. Elastos can enhance security of any device that can hold it’s OS Technologies.

What We Need — Fair Digital Device Economy

Why?

This is where things get even more interesting. How so? This point requires you to have a bit of future thinking. With the way AI and Robotics are progressing. It appears we are also about to enter an age of Mass Automation. An age where computers/robots removes traditional forms of labor from civilization. We’re talking about even mundane everyday tasks such as driving, cooking, cleaning, ordering products from online, restocking your refrigerator, cutting the grass, cleaning your clothing, building homes, walking the dog, and the list can go on and on.

What Will We Be Doing Then?

When the need for labor is out of the mix, all that is left is the power of creativity and the uniqueness of the human mind. This is the age where the human mind will be able to direct all it’s power and resources into creating and innovating. It is my belief that in this age the only thing that will be truly valuable are the things that make you unique as an individual.

This is why having a built in system that allows for income generation and digital asset protection & digital asset identification is absolutely paramount. In essence, an innate system that allows us and individuals to sell our uniqueness to others. The ability to create a digital asset and determine scarcity, which when paired with demand, to generate wealth is a necessity in the upcoming era. Next, lets just chat briefly on few examples on how Elastos has combined/revolutionized various eras.

What We Need — Net Neutrality

Why?

Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs)should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites. The fight for this is still ongoing.

“A new report from Stanford University shows that most commenters were knowledgeable about the issue and very much in favor of keeping the protections.”

An internet free from centralized control is the aim & dream. It is clear to see that Elastos Technologies are a very strong foundation for net-neutrality. A foundation that cannot be rocked or destroyed by any one organization. The benefits of maintaining net neutrality are generally seen as:

The Internet remains neutral. This one is self-explanatory. Aside from illegal content, regulations will not exist. Essentially, this means that an ISP cannot block access, change services, or alter the flow of data to customers. Regulations are in place for illegal activities. Many worry that without regulation, illegal content and activity will run rampant on the Internet. This is not the case. ISPs are treated as a regulated common carrier, preventing activities such as illegal file sharing. It protects freedom of expression. Websites such as blogs, services, and businesses that abide by the law are able to operate legally. As long as laws go unbroken, content will not be censored. Without net neutrality, ISPs could potentially censor slanderous content or even content they do not agree with. Companies can continue to innovate. In the past, companies started and grew on an equal playing field. With net neutrality, big companies and small startups will have access to the same resources and capabilities, allowing innovation of products and services. ISPs are classified as a utility provider. Public utilities provide services to maintain our quality of life. Many argue that the Internet is as essential to the modern lifestyle as water and power. Utilities are provided to everyone unless they refuse to pay for them. Without net neutrality, the Internet could become a luxury that many cannot afford. ISPs cannot raise prices on services. For example, Portugal does not have net neutrality. Take a look at various Internet packages in Portugal.

Phase Five (A) — The Elastos Evolution Era

Elastos should be considered an upgraded combination of various previous phases. Below we will discuss just a few example of how this is true.

The centralized nature of the Data Processing Era has been reimagined. Now, each person is their own server, both to themselves and to others. Similar to the Personal Computing Era but not quite the same as fundamental elements of the Networking Era is also being utilized to achieve this goal. The localization of software/hardware of the Personal Computer Era has also been reimagined. Now, your local storage is obviously local to you but also has the added benefit of being a server to someone else. Not to mention, you can also use various cloud storage platforms to exponentially increase storage and availability of your “local devices/content”. This is a merging of various eras in computing to produce a new product. This ideology is called “convergence”. Noticing the benefits and disadvantages of cloud computing. The Elastos Technology allows for the concepts of cloud computing to be implemented in such a way that:

A) The negative effects of the Cloud Computing Era are abolished (Censorship, Centralized Power Accumulation, Mass Population Data Hoarding)

B) The Limiters of the Personal Computing Era remain broken. (Limit of hard drive space, Limit of communication, Limit of lack of access to digital marketplace)

Conclusion

It is clear that a new Era is upon us. Some of which have not even been discussed in this article. We must prepare, we must participate. Sign up at cyberrepublic.org and see how you can contribute.

Internet-of-Things (Ambient Computing)

The unique agile/agnostic nature of the Elastos Technologies makes it a prime contender if not THE primary contender for the coming Internet of Things (IoT) age. The age of IoT is probably the main selling point of the Ubiquitous Computing Era. For the first time in computing history, human kind has access to the foundational pillars that not only makes the age of IoT possible, but a safe and reliable age. An age where creativity can hit reach it’s intended exponential peak. An age where each individual’s mind is protected by secure runtimes and the value of each thought infinitely scalable to the level of demand. An age where it does not pay as much to be a criminal as it does to be criminally creative. An age where we can all say that we are Elastos, thanks to The Cyber Republic.

Lets see where the future takes us.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChillZoneInt

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Shout Out:

Roshan Ghadamian — Elastos Ambassador & Community Writer

Michael Dave Remedio — Elastos Moderator

Bertrand Bazire — Community Writer

Fire-Fade — Community Member (Creator of — Elastos as Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Other cryptocurrencies as realms that flourish within it’s structure)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Elastos/comments/9jkujg/elastos_as_yggdrasil_the_world_tree_other/

Sources:

Source: https://www.flashrouters.com/blog/2017/12/08/net-neutrality-the-pros-and-cons/