Welcome!

Welcome to the first of weekly updates to come! If you’re just now finding out about the project allow me to briefly explain a few key points. Part of the reason there are so many different names is because of the ambiguity of the word Bitcoin. When you hear the word Bitcoin, typically you will think of the cryptocurrency, however Bitcoin also refers to a network, a protocol, and so forth.

• Novus is the name of our organization.
• Novusphere is the name of the blockchain in development.
• Atmos (ATMS) is the name of the token associated with Novusphere which lets you utilize the blockchain.
• AFIX (Advanced File Index) is the name of a project that we’re developing which utilizes Novusphere.

Our primary objective with AFIX is to create such a platform where content and information can easily be distributed, requested and found in a decentralized manner. Such a system has obvious use cases as being able to easily share files with one another but also has less obvious use cases of being able to create a decentralized wiki, library or even blog. It enables freedom of expression and thought without the need of worrying that the platform you are using to do so will deem your content as offensive or whatever arbitrary justification they use to censor you.

I highly encourage you to join our community on Discord at https://discord.gg/PtXzUVr where discussion is always taking place.

AFIX (Advanced File Index)

When this project first started, a proof of concept of AFIX was demonstrated on https://afix.io, however this is temporarily no longer available. We are now in the process of migrating AFIX over to it’s second stage where it uses the Novusphere blockchain as it’s primary source of information. Once this has been done, anyone will be free to access content and contribute once again. Please continue to follow our medium for regular updates regarding development.

The way the platform works is by making a commitment or reference hash to the Novusphere blockchain about metadata. After retrieving the metadata from an external data storage layer via the hash it is then indexed to a local database of the node accessing the blockchain. The database can then be queried by web interfaces to easily browse through the information that is stored within the index. How the information is presented in terms of aesthetics is up to the web interface. This can range in variety from what looks like a fully presentable website such as a traditional video streaming platform, to a simple list of Google-like search results.

Web Wallet

As of recently, we’ve started testing and developing the web wallet, it should not yet be used for production purposes or for managing large amounts of coins. The links to the source code and the most recent up to date hosted version of the project is available in the resources section of this post. If you’ve joined our Discord and you’re interested in helping with the testing process, please send me a direct message to @asphyxia

A great example of a well known web wallet is myetherwallet, however the purpose of our wallet will not simply be to manage your coins/assets. The Novus Web Wallet works via a plugin-based system and the wallet part of functionality is implemented as such. Likewise, the block explorer is implemented as a separate plugin. The web wallet works in the same sense of Electrum where it connects to a hosted server which has relevant information about the blockchain. The source code for this server will be released and open source on GitHub at a later date.

We are currently in the process of adding new functionality to the web wallet everyday, such as migrating AFIX as a plugin and implementing the proof of concept multisig two factor we previously demonstrated awhile back.

Later on as documentation is made more available and the project grows in terms of community, we expect others will begin to author their own plugins which utilize AFIX.

Roadmap Going Forward

The road so far has not been easy. It’s become increasingly clear that promising tight dates is not the best way to approach development. By setting tight deadlines, it means that work may need to be rushed and thus sub par to the standard of quality we strive to achieve. Failing to achieve said deadlines only creates animosity and breaks trust with those that follow and support the project.

Instead, we will be utilizing a project management tool known as ASANA as well as GitHub to track milestones and current issues that have been found/resolved. Through this tracking system it will be easy for supporters to follow the project in terms of milestone completion rather than the unrealistic expectation of testing each update themselves or following code changes on GitHub.

In the next update, we’ll be releasing the revised roadmap/milestones and a write up of how to interpret the information.

Resources

• Main Website — https://novusphere.io
• Community Discussion — https://discord.gg/PtXzUVr
• Hosted Web Wallet — http://wallet.novusphere.io
• Source of Web Wallet Client — https://github.com/asphyxiating/NovusWebWallet/
• Trading — https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/Exchange/?market=ATMS_BTC
• Twitter — https://twitter.com/thenovusphere