Wow Look at this shiny new Ethereum Technology!

I’m new to the block chain, only really delving into it in early June and due to an interest of Ethereum technology I stumbled upon. In my mind Ethereum was a computer, mining ether was a nice boon supporting the technology while it developed. But ultimately it was a computer using the block chain to come to a consensus in an open and secure way, and allowing developers to run applications on a pay as you go infrastructure.

Pre-fork Concerns and Daily Ponderings

Before the fork I thought about things like, should I mine, should I invest, will I reap rewards from mining before Ethereum converts from PoW to PoS. I also pondered if I could grow fast enough and learn enough to be part of the platform providing the PoS services. Ideas like what economies of scale must Ethereum reach before it would be profitable to become a PoS provider. Which GPU to buy, how to tweak the most out of a GPU, should I try to understand the code around becoming a pool provider or can I improve the miner software etc.

Oh Crap, Someone Stole an ****Load of Money

The price of ether plummets, huge debate over who is responsible, the platform or the authors of the DAO contract code. I thought well, if it’s the platform then the team/foundation will have to make it right…they could compensate losses willing or unwilling, help track the stolen money and incentivize the exchanges from allowing it to be used, pay a ransom to have it returned. If it was the DAO coders, then depending on the legality of the contract they may or may not be liable to those who invested. After all, the effort it takes an individual to fund a wallet, and then participate in the DAO takes a bit more knowledge than the average lay person possesses, and surely the DAO was not some boiler room with guys cold calling innocent uninformed investors selling them pink sheets. The individuals themselves had to understand the inherit risk of code, we’re in 2016 after all.

Soft Fork Hard Fork – What?

Tthe tokens can be made worthless, and of no value to the hacker, or retrieved via a soft fork? Sounds promising, but does this mean anyone could make my ether or tokens in another contract null and void too? Just for spite? Hmmm, maybe its best a soft fork is not possible. Then we neophytes hear, "Nope, soft fork not possible, only a hard fork will stop the attacker/hacker/thief. The community goes crazy, everyone with a soul wants to stop the attacker/hacker/thief, and with our limited expertise it sounds as if a hard fork is the answer. It stops the attacker, no one gets hurt, we prove that the community or should I say the computer can be fixed to overcome complex situations which is the nature of code, big data, and consensus.

Everyone is a Hero, Life is Great, Ether Price soars!

Being a little cautious, I convert my ether into bitcoin before the fork. After all this sounds like a very complicated proposition, developers are working overtime to meet a deadline…who knows what will happen…right? Over the next few days while waiting on my next block I open the exchange to watch the price of ether and btc, surely this will truly tell if the fork is successful. Wait, I see a message that says, “Everyone holding ETH prior to the fork will now have the same in ETC”. What? What is this I say, not one of the all pundits I read or heard mentioned that this would happen, how can this be?

Too Good to be True!

So everyone holding ether before the fork has been rewarded with a dual set of coins. Hmm looks to me the only ones who have lost are those that sold their DAO at a loss prior to the fork and those who converted their ether to btc or dollars. The DAO people are made whole, all the big ether holders have either coin and thus regardless of whether ETC or ETH becomes the ultimate victor, all ether holders win. So who else lost? For every winner someone must lose no? Anyone who picked a winner between ETC and ETH and sold one for the other has lost, anyone who speculated on the price of ether may have lost, those who sold their DAO tokens before the fork have lost, and those who converted their ether into btc or cash have lost. But the ultimate loser was this concept of a computer that was worldwide, and was truly a pay as you go concept for applications that offered benefits of the block chain.

Is anyone Liable?

Only time will tell, my gut says yes. What does that mean to Ethereum? It will change the lives of the core and insiders almost surely, for good or bad we will have to wait and see. Will the Ethereum computer die? Will it just become ETC, or ETH? Or will the technology be picked up and implemented by another team successfully? (Expanse...) Hmmm, seems the team has been at work on how to leverage the technology for a private block chain…is this a violation of terms?

What is Ether, What does the Future hold?

Is ether just the fuel to run the Ethereum Computer? Or is it just a speculation tool? One thing is for sure, this technology will be used, whether privately or ultimately as intended. Do the economies of scale exists that reward the PoS providers with enough income to justify the cost of running the PoS Infrastructure? Or will the big financial institutions use the technology to augment the way they process transactions and use it to increase the efficiency and security of current processes and/or invent new services and goods to benefit consumers and make more profits?

What will I do?

I’m going to try and continue to learn about the technology, hope I can inspire my children to learn more about it. Watch and observe, and repeat everyday Cavet Emptor, Cavet Emptor, Cavet Emptor.
But I’d really rather hear what you plan on doing, and your thoughts on the winners and losers, and will you be a spectator or a participant in this fast paced Ethereum Soap Opera. Seems like great material for a nice movie to me.