Poll: Blockchain is Hot, but I Haven't Gotten Much Interest in the BlockChain Kit Roadtest. Any Ideas Why?

I'd be surprised if it turns out to be a dead end.  As a technology it's very good at what it does - non-repudiation and immutability of transactions - so it definitely has a place in the pantheon of tech!  We're more likely to see a lot of uses of Blockchain (and the associated application company) disappear because it's being used for the wrong thing.

I'm glad the road test got done and you got some good experience out of it.

Why is there real value in USB NFC consoles?

Why you should have had interest: (my view after being skeptical at first, but then submitting an application)

• It's a great hook to learn what blockchain is. Most reactions (acually: 1 - I only got 1 reaction) thought it was about keeping things secret and encryption. This is not true.
• Learn to install and use an enterprise level blockchain service
• Learn to install and use several small footprint blockchain services on a Raspberry Pi
• Learn smartphone app development on an Android phone. I have never touched this before the road test. I I'd consider myself on a decent skill level by now.
• Learn about USB NFC consoles. Real value there. Ask why.
• Work with friends. Blockchain isn't an isolated activity. It's distributed by design. I work with several people on this activity.

Even if blockchain as a technology turns out to be a dead end (hello, Motorola 68000 and Intel 8080 professional assembler courses ) , I'm picking up relevant knowledge and skills.

There is alot of hype surrounding Blockchain.  Blockchain events by IT based solutions.....BUT it seems like in politics - the hype never talks specifics or specific examples and the direct benefits, even after doing some digging.

I agree with Sean , my skillset doesnt immediately align with Blockchain and IT solutions and spending alot of time on learning basics and potentially wrestling with alpha code doesnt seem too appealing.

A practical  everyday specific application for learning Blockchain would make a RoadTest more attractive.

My choice of words demonstrates my ignorance.  When ever I think security I think confidentiality, Integrity and availability. I realized after reading your comments the better word would have been integrity of the data.

Your post got me to reflecting on my career. I recall when public key infrastructure (PKI) was in its infancy. I was trying to establish access to the system for our technical group in a small company. We were a computer systems team outside the IT shop and considered to be rogue by some.  Later, I worked on a team to implement PKI for digital television. Our company was eventually bought and towards the twilight of my career I moved the a whole bought company PKI infrastructure to a public certificate authority that serviced the corporation that purchased us.

To complete the move I established the process and procedures for the subsidiary company to request certificates. My team could reply to a public key certificate request in hours where in the past it could take weeks.

The reason for spilling this story to a post ,is to show some parallels of the lack of knowledge and good documentation. OHHH PKI is scary! It involves encryption and keys you don't want to mess with that. It is difficult to establish and maintain. I recall the frustration of not knowing and not having someone that could help me know. Much later, after I did come to know, I hosted workshops for technical teams to help them use and implement public key certificates in server operating systems and move away from the multitude of systems using self generated certificates.

I would rather enjoy doing some development in blockchain. I just don't have the career obligation coupled with a motivation to uncover all the bits and pieces not documented to make it work. It implementation seems in its infancy. You never know, I might take Randall up on an RoadTest offer sometime.

I'd be very interested in your views once you've finished your road test Jan: not so much in relation to the security cards, but in respect to the comments in this thread about Blockchain and appropriate applications.  I think you are going about this the right way, installing and using an actual Blockchain implementation, so it would be good to hear what you think about the wider technology.  A lot has probably changed since I last looked into it.

Sean, blockchain is more about "traceability of a series of events - and the fact that it's hard to change them / meddle with them once submitted" than security like in access or encryption.

The phone app that supports the kit shows this. There's not a lot of ready-to-consume documentation though.

Standard, the data on a blockchain is not a secret. Data can be viewed by anyone in the know. Getting data on it requires the right secure access though. Changing it after the facts (something you're not supposed to do) is ultra-hard.

I agonised over submitting an application for the first RoadTest of this product. On reading the reviews after it was completed, I believe I made the right choice. There were comments on the documentation and getting a card reader to work.

I have limited knowledge on the product but security related technology has a strong appeal to me. I need to feel confident I can successfully complete the RoadTest before applying. fyaocn  Experiment with Blockchain Tech was where I would have focused.

Looking at the review I know I would not have had the technology to read the card and I strongly suspect the documentation would not have lead me to find a solution. I don't know what I don't know. I may have muddled my way to some success but that is a big risk.

I looked again when you posted this review and thought maybe this time. I would consider following along in a tutorial to get me legs under me but going it alone I feel is an assured failure.

Andrew J thanks for that explanation. It helps me a great deal.

Neil

I feel its no longer a trend, its slowly becoming what it intended to displace (most of the mining is controlled by a couple of players, its no longer a thing normal people with normal hardware can do at a significant level) and scalability issues have always been a block in the adoption of blockchain. I too very recently became aware of the iota concept, after they released the industry marketplace, something that connects IOT and Industry 4.0 - I feel this will shape the future, especially in IOT. Blockchain will soon plummet. In fact it is plummeting slowly, atleast around India. People still have a thing for it, but everyone realises at some point its shortcomings are too grievous, especially in the domains where iota shines - IOT and Industry 4.0

Thanks for the comment. But would you say blockchain tech is a major trend now in 2020? Or is it still in an early adoption mode?