+1 on this. I use to consider those Linux evenings as a waste of time. But with every bit of NixOS tracked within git with some history and context, I now think of it like an investment for the next 50 years, which has way more chances to pay back
Hey, I am the main dev behind this. The poks are currently not encrypted because there is no way to fundamentally allow a decryption later without someone having the key the whole time, which defeats the purpose. But we're looking into potential with applications stored in Ethereum or something! In the meantime we are committed to not use, and not even look at the content before their release
True, it's not the same as hashing a password and comparing hashes - you need to decrypt your data.
Encryption adds one layer of obfuscation for a bad actor that might steal the database but does not get their hands on the key. Plus access to the key can be managed differently than access to the database.
Either way, it comes down to sensitivity of the predictions made and how users would react should they be exposed before their due dates.
VDFs are designed to take a long time to compute. To use them here, it would require someone to be computing the solution continuously between the time the prediction is made and the time it is revealed - that's too inefficient for this purpose.
Web applications have lots of essential parts on the server-side even if they do client-side rendering. And each paying user is logged in when using it, so the company can accept/deny requests depending on the user.
Proprietary desktop applications are usually downloaded after a payment, and then the full software is available locally. By hacking the security parts of it one can then have a totally free version and distribute it. That's why it is easier to pirate.
How does this address my point about being able to connect to a server from your desktop application? Just because historically companies have not deployed their product in such a fashion doesn't mean it isn't technically possible. How do you think social mobile applications work? Have you ever worked on an application that wasn't running in a browser?
> That's why it is easier to pirate.
There are no technical reasons why a desktop application is inherently easier to pirate. Only implementation details.
I am building Freecount (https://github.com/ssimono/freecount) a little progressive web app to track expenses in a common pool (like a trip, a shared housing etc). It is meant to be entirely free and open source, without server to deploy, app to install nor account to create
Another reason would be to justify differences in salaries. When some people are getting paid 30K more than some of their colleagues, a difference in title makes it somehow acceptable, or at least moves the debates to "should X be a senior" instead of "should X be paid that amount".
This is not ideal and should not be necessary, as in a perfect world pay bands should come from factual skills, performance and responsibility.
But I still find it better than having no title distinction while still having completely opaque salary gaps.
