April 2022

Web3 at a16z (and a bit of a16z’s structure)

Leave a Comment / Blockchain, Crypto, Ethereum, Tech, web3 / / / , , , , ,

An interview with a16z’s (Andreessen Horowitz) head of crypto investing, Chris Dixon. First, a bit on how a16z is structured (good info for anyone interested in startups and VC) then they get into a deep dive on web3, NFTs, and more in that space. I found it a fascinating and informative, if long, read. https://www.theverge.com/23020727/decoder-chris-dixon-web3-crypto-a16z-vc-silicon-valley-investing-podcast-interview

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I had a Pebble watch

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This retrospective by the founder of Pebble is a must-read for anyone who contemplates starting or joining a startup. I’ve been through 5 (or more depending on how you count them), with more failures than successes and I have to say that I’ve learned MORE from the failures than the successes.

Yes, I backed Pebble on Kickstarter and still have the original laying around here somewhere in my museum or Blackberries, Amigas, Palms, etc. It was a valiant effort and defined an industry. https://medium.com/@ericmigi/why-pebble-failed-d7be937c6232

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Web3 camp for kids

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Does this sound like an industry trying to enculturate a generation to ensure the industries’ acceptance in the future? Seems kinda slimy to me! https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23020971/crypto-kids-nfts-web3-education-summer-camp Might be done with good intentions but.,,

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IPTV? Yes – Television over the Internet

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It dates back to the mid-90s.Yeah! And it’s still going today. All those “free” channels you can get on SelectTV and similar providers? Well, you can get them yourself, without anything other than an Internet connection and a video player. It’s a lot like streaming music or your favorite radio station. Does your local TV station have a “live” section where you can stream their current program? That’s likely done with IPTV. WABC in New York City? Hit https://content.uplynk.com/channel/ext/72750b711f704e4a94b5cfe6dc99f5e1/wabc_24x7_news.m3u8 and watch it, live and free. WGN in Chicago? http://trn03.tulix.tv/teleup-mBm5MQ50rA/playlist.m3u8. CNN International UK? https://cnn-cnninternational-1-gb.samsung.wurl.com/manifest/playlist.m3u8. And that’s not all – movies, weather, shopping (QVC, HSN). And, yes, there are program guides, too, so you can find out what’s on, when.

A good collection of information is at https://github.com/iptv-org/awesome-iptv#channel-data-sources and a pretty concise list of stations at https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv.

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What can you do with a web3 domain?

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Well, for one thing you can use it in place of your crypto wallet address. Why? If you register with ENS your crypto wallet address is part of the registration (much like your web2 site’s IP address is a part of your DNS entry) so you can just have crypto currency sent to your web3 domain instead of that long crypto wallet address.

https://cointelegraph.com/explained/the-concept-and-future-of-decentralized-web3-domain-names has a good (maybe a bit too detailed) explanation of how web3 domain registrations work. Registering a domain with https://app.ens.domains/ only cost $5 per year BUT you need to pay the Ethereum “gas” (i.e. pay for the energy required to perform the registration and get the transaction recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, as of this writing about $75).

Is it worth it? Hard to say at this time but if you’ve got the gas money 🙂 why not?

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Getting set up with Chrome OS

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I’ve had chromebooks for quite a while but it’s only within the last year or so that I’ve thought it was ready to be my primary tool. My Acer Spin 713 has an 11th gen Intel i5 with 8GB RAM and 256GB disk and it’s quite fast and capable! I run a Debian Linux and have a number of Android apps installed. It’s my “daily driver” as some call it – the machine I reach for and use far more than any other. And I got it on sale for less than $500.

It can be a chore getting set up for the first time but I came across https://github.com/mikeroyal/Chrome-OS-Guide which has some good information to get set up. And if you’re interested in doing more than just getting set up, it has some useful info on expanding your Linux environment and preparing to develop. I recommend it.

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