Ethereum Devcon4 in Czech (II) — Devcon4 Afterthought｜Ethereum Devcon4 捷克行下篇 — Devcon4 心得
繼上篇秘銀副總 Wilson 介紹了 Devcon 盛會的特色與價值，這次他將仔細介紹活動的議程主題及心得，一起來看看吧！
報到開場
性質是開發者大會的 Devcon4，出現的人們都像是工程師與開發者，報到的方式採用 First Name 去做分流，使用之前就寄到信箱的 QR Code 票卷很快就報到完成了，會拿到吊牌和一張布拉格地鐵四天的票，吊牌上有會場的 WIFI 密碼，有關報到的介紹可以看秘銀粉專我的現場介紹影片：
議程設計
整個會議的議程，可以用 guidebook 去搜尋 devcon4，就能知道每天幾點幾分在哪個會場是什麼主題，非常方便。是一個設計給研討會使用的議程 app，電子化流程，講者和講綱一目瞭然。
會議的場地和攤位都有三層，裡面有附早餐和晚餐，非常高級好吃，各種肉與特色料理，量都非常足，只是時間到了會收起來，睡太晚的人吃不到了。
會議和食物都非常之多，所以與會者只能挑適合自己或是有興趣的講題去聽，但是沒聽到也沒關係，四天的研討會有請 SlidesLive 做紀錄的樣子，即使睡過頭或是參加會外的私人聚會也能透過 以太坊的 SlidesLive 補上和複習，像我會議前幾天太累錯過 Vitalik 的演講，也能看下面的連結膜拜 V 神的投影片和講題內容。
這四天的議程我幾乎都在 Prism 和 Spectrum 這兩個主場地，偶爾會去 Coquelicot 聽一些比較進階的討論，因為我比較關心各主要領頭產品和以太坊官方的進展，大致上聽了 State of the ENS, Universal Ethereum Login, Crytpeconomics at Scale, Yul, Scalability Breakout : Plasma, Swarm updates, Metamask updates, devp2p updates, Solidity updates.
這些會跟以太坊目前碰到的各種問題比較有關，看完也大概知道最新的進展是由哪些團隊提出解法，還有他們做到什麼程度，另外就是能夠了解某些領域有哪間公司也在做了，以及對秘銀會有什麼影響，秘銀能夠如何運用還有避開競爭的地方會是什麼。例如說 Ethereum Universal Login，就講解了一般使用者新接觸 Ethereum 時會碰到哪些問題，例如說他們根本不在意 ether 是什麼東西？還有私鑰和 gas price 這些日常生活中不會碰到的，也不想做麻煩的 KYC 等等，提出了一套流程和解法讓使用者可以不用碰到上述那些和 hex string 的地址的同時，也可以進入以太坊的世界。
這次議程也有不少 EF Grantees 的 Office Hours 和比較適合新手的工作坊，像是在兩小時內打造你的第一個多重簽章錢包，或是用 Python 部署你的第一個智能合約等等的講題我就沒有去參與。
讓我比較興奮的題目是 Scalability 相關的，因為這是一個以太坊目前碰到最大的瓶頸之一，最後一天 Prism 整個早上的議程都在講 Plasma 這個 Layer 2 的解法，超過兩間的公司目前都有在實作 Plasma 的方案，Loom, Omisego, Bankex 等等。順帶一提我的票其實不是透過秘銀獲得的，票非常難搶，其實是透過與以前實驗室同學一起對以太坊的 Plasma MVP/Plasma Cash 有一些貢獻，拿到以太坊基金會給的 Grant，所以才能有一張折扣的票，不然根本搶不到。所以如果有閒有興趣的話，在這邊鼓勵大家對目前正在開發的開源專案提交一些 PR，或是參與討論，發揮社群的力量改善整個以太坊生態系，社群也會給予一些回饋，畢竟這圈子的衣食父母都是開發者們。
這幾場講述了 Plasma 的進展，來自於社群和各家採用 Plasma 技術的公司共同參與，從 Plasma mvp 開始，mvp 還分成 minimal viable plasma 和 more viable plasma，再來 Plasma Cash 到 Plasma Prime，中間還有 Plasma Debit 和各種詭異發想，會有這麼多名字就是因為每一版本都會碰到不同的問題，有時候是來自惡意攻擊的，有時候是來自效能方面，每兩週一次的 Plasma Implementors Call 都會討論這些議題，如果仔細看的話會在那些視訊會議紀錄裡看到我和 AMIS 某工程師的臉。
研討會外活動
除了白天會場的活動之外，其實每天晚上也是很多會場外的邀請制活動，不同公司舉辦的 Party 都會在布拉格的某處，像我有幸去了由 Mainframe 主辦的 Dapp Awards，因為 MITH 是這場的 Social Media 類的夥伴。
這些 Party 裡面非常多厲害的區塊鏈公司跟開發者都在那邊聚會和交流，像是 ShapeShift CEO 以及基金會的 Solidity Team 等等。
會場插曲
在我沒有演講想聽時，走去攤位的路上突然被兩位老外叫住，很興奮地跟我說他有在用 Lit 也知道秘銀，因為我整天都穿著 MITH T-shirt 在會場走，聊了一下他們是早期使用者又是 Youtuber，有主動拍影片介紹秘銀和 Lit 的社交挖礦，想要跟我們有些合作一起拓展歐洲市場等等，最後就留了聯絡方式，並且隔天帶了秘銀的帽子和衣服送給他們。
會場中間也碰到了知名的 Crypto Youtuber — Boxmining，之前一直是秘銀的支持者，與他相見歡後他提出要立刻採訪我並錄製一段影片，在他的熱情邀請下我的片段採訪內容就被放進下面這部影片了，看了才知道他居然有捕獲野生的 Vitalik，像我就沒那麼幸運了。
會後心得
四天下來其實非常充實，不斷地聽吸收新知，以及不斷跟人交談，不僅構思著秘銀的未來也思考整個以太坊和區塊鏈的發展。這領域非常複雜，牽扯到技術所構成的金錢，甚至不是金錢的層級，向上提升到經濟和治理的等級了，還有區塊鏈應用那悲慘的使用者體驗，艱深的技術使得進入門檻難以降低。現在大多數人是無法想像區塊鏈到底能改變生活哪些層面，就像當初網際網路是一群科技宅男在玩的，一般民眾難以理解網路以及電腦手機的運作原理和帶來的方便。也是經過了泡沫和各種 buzz word，才能看到現在日常生活不可缺少的 app 及科技巨頭的存在。
為何突然感慨呢？因為這幾天看到即使最紅的 dapp，甚至是所有 dapp 加起來的 DAU，那個數字跟現在隨便一個大家耳熟能詳的 app 應用比起來，數字量級簡直被碾壓，從這裡可以看到即使已經是第二次大熊市，我們還是處在產業非常早期的階段，要普及的話還需要更多的努力和時間。但，我覺得那天終究會到來的，牛市募錢，寒冬的熊市要用資金專心做事，各位共勉之。
最後，這四天我們拿了非常多的衣服，熊市沒錢買衣服記得去研討會拿，這也是我的科技 T 與它們的產地。希望可以撐到 Devcon5，下次的活動建議大家一定要去，我們 Devcon5 見！
原文連結：
========================================
Ethereum Devcon4 in Czech (II) — Devcon4 Afterthought
We’ve introduced the features and value of Devcon in our last entry. Let’s now prob into seminar topics and afterthoughts that Wilson has for Devcon!
Registration and Opening
Devcon4, as a developers’ conference, has engineers and developers as its major attendees. The registration process (or, “sharding”) was sorted on First Name basis. And with the QR Code ticked sent to our email prior to the event, the registration was completed in a heartbeat. We’ve got a name tag with a lanyard, as well as a Prague metro 4-day pass. The wifi password of the convention is conveniently printed on name tags. Check out this video of me doing a live introduction on MITH’s facebook page.
Agenda
Search devcon4 on guidebook and you’ll be able to check when is a certain keynote speech is given at which venue. This is so convenient! This is an app designed for seminar agendas. Everything from the agenda, keynote speaker to the overview of the seminar is crystal clear.
The conferences and booths took up three floors, with breakfast and dinner included. It’s so exquisite and delicious. There were all sorts of meat and signature dishes — probably more than enough. However, they will be put away when meal time is over — only the early bird gets the worm!
There are so much food and so many conferences. The attendees have the liberty of choosing what’s suitable for them and what they are interested in. And it’s okay if you’ve missed out — the seminars in these 4 days are recorded on SlidesLive — if you’ve accidentally overslept or have some personal business going on, you can go on to SlidesLive on Ethereum to review the slides. As I was so tired that I missed the keynote speech given by Vitalik, I could worship his presentation and content through the link below:
Vitalik Buterin | Latest of Ethereum
I’ve spent most of my time at Prism and Spectrum, while occasionally indulging myself in advanced discussions at Coquelicot. Since I’m most concerned about leading products as well as the development of Etheruem, I’ve sat in on State of the ENS, Universal Ethereum Login, Crytpeconomics at Scale, Yul, Scalability Breakout : Plasma, Swarm updates, Metamask updates, devp2p updates, Solidity updates.
These seminars are largely coherent to the issues that Ethereum is facing. From these seminars, we’ve learned the resolutions that certain teams brought up, as well as how far it has gone and which company has been working on which field. We’d know how these will impact MITH, and how we can utilize or avoid competition. Take Ethereum Universal Login as an example: it elaborated what kind of problems users run into when they first interacted with this product — such as users couldn’t care less for what ether is; or the scarce knowledge of private key, gas price or the unwillingness to do complex KYC. It brought us a set of procedure and resolution for users to enter the world of Ether without facing what was mentioned above and hex string addresses.
EF Grantees provided some office hours that are great starts for newbies. Seminar that I did not have the opportunity to sit in include creating your first multi-signature wallet within two hours; or deploying your first smart contract with Python.
I’m most thrilled about Scalability — since this is the largest bottleneck currently faced by Ethereum. In the morning of our very last day, the agenda at Prism is all about the Layer 2 resolution of Plasma. More than 2 companies are currently resorting to Plasma plans, such as Loom, Omisego, Bankex etc. By the way, I did not get the tickets through MITH. The tickets are extremely rare. However, some of my lab friends had certain contribution to Plasma MVP/Plasma Cash and thus acquired Grant from Ethereum Foundation — this is how I’ve got discounted tickets or else I wouldn’t have any. If you’re interested, it is encouraged to submit some project PRs that are currently under development; or you can be more active and involved in discussions. Try initiating some changes towards the Ethereum ecosystem through the power of social media — and they will give back too. After all, the sustenance of this industry is no doubt the developers.
These keynote speeches explained the progress of Plasma. The participants are the social media and companies who have adopted Plasma technology. Starting from Plasma mvp — which includes minimal viable plasma and more viable plasma — to Plasma Cash and Plasma Prime. The awkward brainstorm of Plasma Debit was also included. The reason behind all these different names was due to various issues faced in each version — such as malware or performance issues. These issues are discussed in the bi-weekly Plasma Implementors Call. If you look closely, you can see me and an developer from Amis in the video conference recordings.
Activities outside of the seminar
In addition to the seminars at the convention center, there are a lot of other activities outside of the convention by invitation. There are parties held by different companies scattered around in Prague. I was fortunate enough to attend Dapp Awards by Mainframe since MITH is the Social Media partner of this party.
Dapp Awards 2018- Hosted by Mainframe
A lot of blockchain companies and developers are gathered here and exchanging ideas at these parties — such as the CEO at ShapeShift and the Solidity Team of these foundations.
Seminar Coincidence
When I didn’t feel like sitting in seminars, I was stopped by two westerners on my way to the booth. They were thrilled to tell me that they’re using Lit and they know about MITH— probably because I’ve been walking around in my MITH T-shirt all day. They are some early adopters and YouTubers who have introduced MITH and Lit’s social mining in their video. They’d love to partner up with us and expand the European market. We’ve exchanged name cards and I’ve brought MITH hat and T-shirt for them as a gift the next day.
We’ve also ran into a famous Crypto Youtuber , Boxmining, who has also been a great supporter of MITH. After we’ve met, he wanted to interview me immediately and film a video. He was truly enthusiastic, and here’s my interview in the video below. I only realized that he ran into Vitalik when I watched this video — I wasn’t so lucky though.
Afterthoughts
The four-day seminar was no doubt fruitful. I was constantly acquiring new ideas and knowledge while having meaningful conversation with others. Not only did I contemplate the future of MITH but also the development of Ethereum and blockchain. This field is extremely complicated. Money, composed by technology, is involved. And it doesn’t just stop there. Economic and management is also on the line. So is the miserable user experience of blockchain application — abstruse technology raised the bar for beginners. Most people can’t seem to wrap their head around how exactly blockchain will change in life. This strongly resembles the time when internet was developed. People assume it’s mainly for a bunch of geeks and fails to comprehend the functionality and convenience that internet, computers and mobile phones can bring. Only through all sorts of bubbles and buzz words come the rise of indispensable apps and tech companies.
What’s with the sudden emotion, you asked? Because I recently had the chance to look into the remarkable app, dapp. Yet all of its DAU combined are still almost nothing compared to other renowned apps. From this we can see that even with a second wave of bear market, we’re still at an early stage of this industry. More effort and time are needed to popularize virtualcurrency. However, I firmly believe that the day will eventually come. In bull market we fundraise, in a cold bear market we have to be productive with the funds we’ve received. This is to encourage everyone.
Last but not least, we’ve got so many t-shirts in the past 4 days. If you can’t afford to buy shirts during bear market, remember to grab some at the seminar. This is my fantastic Tees and where to find them — hope they last all the way to Devcon 5. I highly recommend that we all go next time. We’ll see you at Devcon 5!
Original post:
