Nostr Web Client

Some day, Bitcoin and Lightning nodes in the home will be as popular as routers and WiFi are today. I envision buying a "router" and it coming with an embedded Bitcoin and Lightning node which you'll connect to via their companion app or any app of your choice. We're not there yet though.

Why do I think this is possible? 20 years ago, you bought a modem, a router, a switch, and an access point all as separate devices. Today, they all come together in one super device and that device's capabilities are always expanding. Once Bitcoin and Lightning become popular and customers demand it, we'll see the market shift to bring these devices to the masses.

Until then, the node will be in the phone.

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Discussion

plebiANON 2y ago

I concur. I actually think we will even share similar intermediary steps you mentioned with Bitcoin hardware.

Sikto 2y ago

Miners too.

Derek Ross 2y ago

Electrical consumption and heat dissipation will be an issue here unless they're sold as space heaters.

Sikto 2y ago

Yes, agreed, but I also think they can get more efficient, and we will find more ways to harness wasted energy in our communities and our homes! There are many, small rural communities throughout Canada that have been gifted proximity to an immense amount of untapped energy.

sommerfeld 2y ago

I used to believe that but now I'm more skeptical since:

* An LN still requires active management. Setting it to automanage is not different from using an LSP.

* people buy routers because there's no other way to get internet. That's not the case here. Most people will rush towards custodians and more practical solutions.

Derek Ross 2y ago

You could have the choice to manage it yourself or use various liquidity management services such as nostr:npub19tcpurtt6xulhw0r6sc404j9jraj0h8me2lzs7z2tqewz7l0hpas59nlea or Voltage or any LSP. Maybe it's a subscription fee similar to buying intrusion detection or parental controls like router's come with now?

You don't need to buy an all in one router with everything included, but people do because it's easier to manage and use.

sommerfeld 2y ago

Let's hope it's viable and compelling. I'm still skeptical, but that's expected, I'm nostr's number 1 pessimist 😪

fridgemagnet 2y ago

And a Bitaxe asic on the “pro” version. Can’t agree more 🫡

w3ird_ 2y ago

I've been saying this for a while and I always get pushback.

Derek Ross 2y ago

Kristaps K. 2y ago

Router and AP at home 20 years ago? I remember mostly geeks doing that, router was usually Linux or OpenBSD PC with two Ethernet cards. Some ISPs even officially in agreements forbid that. Most of ordinary people used Internet with a single PC. Widespread router / AP era started with iPhone.

Derek Ross 2y ago

Your timeline is off a bit. I sold routers at my computer shop from Linksys. Hell, the WRT54G came out in 2003. That was already a 3 in one device.

Kristaps K. 2y ago

Yes, they existed, but I clearly remember they weren’t a common thing in 2002-2003. At least not in Latvia. Around 2005 I worked at small ISP in Riga (main reason for cheap and fast Internet here - lots of competition), then WiFi at home was already more popular. But real explosion happened with iPhones and later Androids.

Derek Ross 2y ago

Okay. Maybe in Latvia things moved a bit slower. I am only speaking from my experience in the USA and from my experience selling these devices.

In 2004, when I started dating my wife, we drove around my town with a laptop and a WiFi PCMCIA card and detected over 200 insecure WiFi networks. I used this as a marketing campaign to secure people's home networks. I don't remember how many secure networks I found back then though.

Shawn 2y ago

lol! I remember wardriving.

Derek Ross 2y ago

Yep 🤣 This was the tail end of that era too. I believe the following year I did it with a PDA.

₿harat 2y ago

Doesn’t the nostr:npub1aghreq2dpz3h3799hrawev5gf5zc2kt4ch9ykhp9utt0jd3gdu2qtlmhct Home get us very close to this vision?

Derek Ross 2y ago

Somewhat. The Umbrel home is just a secondary device. It would need to be embedded in a router or come with routing and WiFi capabilities to be accurate.

kidwarp 2y ago

Bitmain r1-btc + a built in nodes right?

jin 🧙‍♂️ 2y ago

Soon! Perhaps we can all push toward this vision here.

Bogdan Zurac 2y ago

The difference is that a modem, a router, a switch and an access point are all strictly networking devices. A #bitcoin or a LN node is a financial component. They literally have nothing in common. I'm all for spreading BTC and LN love everywhere, but let's try to be a bit realistic.

Derek Ross 2y ago

You've never seen a router with a built in media server or storage or a print server? Many high end ones have this too. It's all converging. If it can be accessible via the Internet and if it's something people need an easy way to self host, then it will be included in an easy to use all in one device. Mark my words.

. 2y ago

I do not want or need random apps on my bitcoin node. It only adds attack vectors. I like my hardware separate and dedicated. I will always prefer a separate modem, a firewall router, a wifi router, laptop, node. All this “everything in one box” is garbage.