The SAFE Network August Round Up
Another month flies by and by golly, do we have some updates for you this month. Let’s go!
Phase 1 vaults (real vault)
The biggie this month: we released Phase 1 vaults (real vault)! What does this all mean you ask? Essentially, this is the basic framework for the Network. By downloading the release, you’ll get to experience the first stages of data types, test Safecoin and a CLI user interface (in other words, a simple command-line tool with some fundamental features). We’ll of course continue to build many additional features and we’re already well on the way to scoping out Phase 2. We’re super excited about this, and you should be too. To find out more, and how to download, check out this User Guide.
SAFE Mobile Browser v0.1.1 released
We also released both iOS and Android versions of the SAFE Mobile Browser this month. This was a magnificent team effort supported by many community members who carried out the testing on early versions of the browser. Check out the full details of what was released here.
So how do we follow that? Well, we’re looking to add more standard browser features (such as multi-tabbing, browsing history and themes). With the advent of the Perpetual Web, soon users will be able to view the version history of their favourite site. So, once we have basic browser features in place, we’ll start to support Perpetual Web features on the mobile browser :thumbsup:
SAFE Client Libs
Towards the end of August, we released the new, public versions of the SAFE Client Libs libraries. While this release preserves the existing APIs, Routing has been removed as a dependency. That means the library is more lightweight and easier to understand. Additionally, because the library now uses QUIC-p2p (which has a number of important features including the network traffic anonymity), SAFE Network traffic will be indistinguishable from the usual Internet traffic. It becomes effectively uncensorable and untraceable. Win, win.
And, of course, this release of the SAFE Client Libs is designed to work with the Phase 1 Vaults: it supports all the new data types (which are essential for The Perpetual Web) and it implements Safecoin too.
SNAPP
The SAFE Network App (essentially the ‘start’ button to the Network that will enable the download, installation and management of the various types of SAFE apps and utilities) has been handed over to QA and going through robust testing as we speak. A decent amount of time was spent prior in the UX/UI phase, designing the flow and methods through which users will onboard to the Network for the first time, in a permissionless way, with no servers involved. Stay tuned for this imminent release!
Marketing
There’s a few new pieces to read through if you haven’t already. We wrapped up the ‘Spotlight On’ series which took a deeper dive into each of the FE themes, with the final one being The New Digital Economy. We unpack the current model of the Internet which requires you to pay for your digital life with data and offers up the alternative solution that is Safecoin. Alongside this, we put out another opinion piece around what it means to be Permissionless in a world where we are surrounded by digital gatekeepers. Have a read, clap and share!
Events
It was a busy month for team travelling around Europe and the UK, spreading the word about the SAFE Network. With some of the team at Web3 Summit in Berlin, aiming to cut through some of the Blockchain noise, UX designer Jim was at the Brighton meetup sharing the UX/UI vision for the Network. CEO David spoke at the Turing Festival Edinburgh, in front of a slightly different crowd than we’re used to, but nonetheless they lapped up his vision for a digitally private future enabled by the Network. Check out some of the photos from all events below.
And that folks, is a wrap. Join us next month for another round up of the key SAFE Network highlights, and as always, tune in every Thursday on the forum for the weekly dev updates.
