"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in surprise and were suddenly silenced. I feel something wonderful has happened." --- Ethereum Kenobi

The Crypto Renaissance is unfolding through each new concept that manifests into our reality. Not only is this paradigm shift happening, but we are actively creating it as a sea of minds vibrating in unison towards positive change.

And things are not slowing down.

We're just getting started.

We are now in the year 1 A.E. (1 Year 5 Months 18 Days After Ethereum) and AKASHA has reached the stage of a functional alpha.

AKASHA is our first Ethereum & IPFS experiment designed to offer us a glimpse of how we can create a future in which freedom of expression online and privacy are not outsourced to corporations - a future in which human relations are not owned by corporations.

This is why we are building a free channel of expression that works in a decentralized fashion. Driven by passion and inspired by "what ifs" we explore the applications and implications of a permanent web in the context of social networks, freedom of expression, creative perpetuity and privacy.

Questions like "Who owns the data?", "In which jurisdiction is the data stored?" and "Who has control over the data?" are not answered, but rather transcended from the design stage.

In this new model, these questions are obsolete.

We don't have all the answers yet, but we believe that by treating this alpha as scaffolding, enabling us to iterate and experiment with bold ideas rapidly, we increase our chances of uncovering the optimal solution(s).

It won't happen overnight; it will take genius and much hard work to get it right.

Now, even if we don't know everything from the start, we know something - basic human rights such as freedom of expression and privacy must be part of the solution(s). Otherwise, they're not good solutions.

We believe that continuous experimentation is the key to discovering new services and features we cannot even imagine at this point. Some could reinvent whole industries and business models. Others will fail miserably, and we will learn something new in the process.

It will be a marathon, not a sprint, but we expect every step of it to be enlightening.

That being said, we see this alpha pre-release as a humble starting point on top of which we can iterate and improve with you, the Community. In the current form, AKASHA is only for the curious who don't mind occasional bugs and understand that through their involvement, they can shape what this project will become.

Since it is an alpha, it comes with all the instability associated with early experiments - just as the first flight attempts were not necessarily safe or comfortable.

Failures, glitches and random errors should be expected.

If every epic adventure begins with a grand purpose and a first step, this is ours: We believe that we can leverage technology to create a better Web. A Web in service of humanity.

And now, let's make our first step Into the Ether!

Instructions For Windows Pioneers:

Download the .exe installer or the .zip archive from our official alpha GitHub repo

Run the installer or extract the files contained in the .zip file

Open the AKASHA dapp and synchronize with the network

Create an AKASHA identity (profile)

Log in and enjoy AKASHA

Instructions For Mac Pioneers:

Download the .dmg installer or the .zip archive from our official alpha GitHub repo

Run the installer or extract the files contained in the .zip file

Open the AKASHA dapp and synchronize with the network

Create an AKASHA identity

Log in and enjoy AKASHA

Instructions For Linux Pioneers:

Download the .deb installer or the .zip archive from our official alpha GitHub repo

Run the installer or extract the files contained in the .zip file

Open the AKASHA dapp and synchronize with the network

Create an AKASHA identity

Log in and enjoy AKASHA

The general rule of thumb for this release is If something breaks, refresh the dapp.

And remember, occasionally, to take a moment and enjoy it.

This is pioneering at its best, and through your involvement, you are all pioneers.

History is in the making and this time, we're writing it together - Into The Ether.

*Note that the downloading links have been updated with the latest 0.5.2 release, Continued Mendings (March 10th 2017)