de2d548 · urbit.org · git.iko.soy

git.iko.soy/urbit.org

add borders to all imgs

commitde2d548875e750e1aab8708853ae01cd93b18c08 authorMatilde Park <matilde@tlon.io> dateThu 19 Dec 2019, 13:11 (7 years ago) parent42bb709

6 files changed+35−34

compare with master

unifiedsplit

content/understanding-urbit/interface.md+1−1 content/understanding-urbit/people-history.md+17−16 content/understanding-urbit/roadmap.md+2−2 content/understanding-urbit/urbit-id.md+5−5 content/understanding-urbit/urbit-os.md+7−7 templates/understanding-urbit/list.html+3−3

content/understanding-urbit/interface.md+1−1

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ Operating systems for the PC took the desk of the 1970s and made it digital. Pap

3030

3131The ‘desk’ of today is cluttered with apps and services, data structures and interfaces. Refactoring this, unifying it, is the most important problem that a platform like Urbit can solve. We want Urbit, as a user experience, to be a single system for bringing together a group of people to do many things together.

3232

33−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/your-last-computer/your-last-computer-waves%402x.png)

33+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/your-last-computer/your-last-computer-waves%402x.png">

3434

3535What exactly does this look like? In the long run, we’re not 100% sure. There’s a lot to be invented — but we have a first pass that we think is quite good. At least, good enough that we like using it quite a lot.

3636

content/understanding-urbit/people-history.md+17−16

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Today, Urbit is built and maintained by two companies, a community of contributo

1515

1616Let’s talk first about these individual groups within the Urbit community, then about the history of the project and how it came to be.

1717

18−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/project-status-landscape-earth@2x.png)

18+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/project-status-landscape-earth@2x.png">

1919

2020There are currently two independent companies that work on building Urbit full-time: [Tlon](https://tlon.io/) and [urbit.live](https://urbit.live/).

2121

@@ -31,9 +31,12 @@ The community of contributors and core developers has been steadily contributing

3131

3232When the Urbit ID address space went on-chain in early 2019 there were about 2,000 star holders and 70 galaxy holders – that number has since grown steadily. For the most part, the best way to connect with them is through Urbit itself.

3333

34−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-people-history-2a.jpg)

34+<img class="ba"

35+src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-people-history-2a.jpg"/>

3536

36−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-people-history-2c.jpg)

37+<img class="ba"

38+src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-people-history-2c.jpg"

39+/>

3740

3841Given how new and unusual Urbit is, it attracts a wide variety of interesting people — both technical and non-technical. The community is generally happy to talk to people about what Urbit is, what we’re up to, and where we’re going. The best way to get involved is to simply join `~dopzod/urbit-help` — which our [setup instructions](/using/operations/using-your-ship/) can help you do.

3942

@@ -45,52 +48,50 @@ We also run a bi-monthly course called ‘Hoon School’ to teach people about t

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4649At the beginning, Urbit was just a few people with the right combination of imagination and discipline to try to rebuild computing.

4750

48−2002

51+**2002**

4952

5053Urbit starts as an open-ended personal project. An “independent study PhD” to reinvent computing for a network-centric world.

5154

52−2008

55+**2008**

5356

5457Nock, the foundation of Urbit, works. Coming in at 32 lines of code, that’s 1 line of code every two months.

5558

56−2012

59+**2012**

5760

5861Hoon, Urbit’s programming language, compiles itself to Nock. Writing Hoon is much easier than writing Nock.

5962

60−2013

63+**2013**

6164

6265Arvo, Urbit’s OS kernel, boots and the first live Urbit network is started with a command-line chat.

6366

64−2014

67+**2014**

6568

6669Tlon is founded to help support Urbit development (and is < 8 people for the next four years).

6770

68−2015

71+**2015**

6972

7073Urbit has its first web interface and serves its own website.

7174

72−2016

75+**2016**

7376

7477The first sale of Urbit address space sells out in four hours.

7578

76−2017

79+**2017**

7780

7881Our test network runs for ten months without a reboot.

7982

80−2017

81−

8283Our private sale, shared only with our mailing list, sells out in six hours — limit two per person.

8384

84−2018

85+**2018**

8586

8687Tlon sells about 8% of its stake in the network to accelerate Urbit development.

8788urbit.live gets going and starts selling Urbit IDs to the public.

8889

89−2019

90+**2019**

9091

9192Tlon spends the year stabilizing Arvo and building OS 1.

9293

93−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-history-4.jpg)

94+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-history-4.jpg"/>

9495

9596Building Urbit is about building a future where technology doesn’t control us. Instead, we look forward to a future where technology is simpler, more reliable and less invasive.

9697

content/understanding-urbit/roadmap.md+2−2

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@

11+++

22title = "Roadmap: OS 1 -> OS N"

3−description = "The core ideas that Urbit is built around"

3+description = "What Urbit will feel like to an everyday user"

44weight = 4

55[extra]

66flatten_pagination = "true"

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ hide_previous_title = "true"

1010

1111Today, we call Urbit an ‘OS 0’. It’s an evolving open source project with a live network. In 2020, we’re planning to ship OS 1 — the first minimal but complete release of Urbit.

1212

13−As we discussed in the [last post](/understanding-urbit/urbitos1-osn), we see Urbit’s primary advantage as bringing together groups to share a set of modules for communication and collaboration. As Urbit matures, the set of available modules grows and expands, and the system both stabilizes and becomes more secure.

13+We see Urbit’s primary advantage as bringing together groups to share a set of modules for communication and collaboration. As Urbit matures, the set of available modules grows and expands, and the system both stabilizes and becomes more secure.

1414

1515Let’s walk through the sequence of milestones we have planned for 2020 and 2021.

1616

content/understanding-urbit/urbit-id.md+5−5

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ Urbit ID is the answer to all these questions. Urbit ID is a decentralized addre

1515

1616Let’s talk first about what an Urbit ID is and what it does. Then we’ll cover our design goals and how the system works overall.

1717

18−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-cards%402x.png)

18+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-cards%402x.png">

1919

2020Your Urbit ID is a short, four-syllable name like `~ravmel-ropdyl` that you own with an eight-syllable master passkey like `~palfun-foslup-fallyn-balfus`. This name and key lets you log into Urbit OS, and it’s used to encrypt packets you send over the Urbit network. Soon it will also be a master key that allows holding and sending of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Your Urbit ID and passkey belong to you like any other cryptographic assets. No one can take them away from you (just make sure to store the key safely).

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@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ If you’re curious to see exactly how this system works, the code is of course

2727

2828Since the Urbit ID registry is live and deployed you can even [look at the chain](https://github.com/urbit/azimuth#live-contracts).

2929

30−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-paperwallet%402x.png)

30+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-paperwallet%402x.png">

3131

3232Each Urbit ID is really just a number. From that number we generate a pronounceable name and a visually identifiable sigil. `~dalwel-fadrun` is `3,509,632,436`, for example.

3333

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ You can also call stars ‘infrastructure nodes’ and galaxies ‘governance no

3737

3838And that's it. It's a simple system. What's important is why it is the way it is. Let's take a look at that.

3939

40−<img class="full w-100 mv4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-address-space-1.svg"/>

40+<img class="full ba w-100 mv4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-address-space-1.svg"/>

4141

4242At a high level, there are three important things to understand about the overall Urbit ID system design.

4343

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ The Urbit ID sponsorship tree is not intended to be a social system in any way.

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5454Your relationship with your sponsor should be sort of like your ISP or a utility provider: a passive, non-invasive relationship. If it isn’t to your liking, moving to a new sponsor is very easy.

5555

56−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-sigils%402x.png)

56+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/urbit-id/urbit-id-sigils%402x.png">

5757

5858Urbit IDs are property, and we think of the entire registry of Urbit IDs as a vast territory of digital land.

5959

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ The scarcity of Urbit ID address space gives it value and that in turn helps boo

6161

6262When we launched the Urbit ID system, in January of 2019, there were a couple thousand different star and galaxy holders acting as stewards of this digital land. Since then, that number has been steadily on the rise.

6363

64−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/uu-id-5.jpg)

64+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/uu-id-5.jpg">

6565

6666Ultimately, we want your Urbit ID to feel like a civilizational key. If your Urbit ID were a piece of hardware, you could tap it to unlock a door, swipe it to buy a coffee, and plug it into any computer to log in. Your Urbit ID should be a unique, beautiful object that’s both an address and a wallet. It’s a key to a secret club and the ticket to your digital life.

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content/understanding-urbit/urbit-os.md+7−7

@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@ weight = 1

66flatten_pagination = "true"

77hide_next_title = "true"

88hide_previous_title = "true"

9−image = "https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/your-last-computer/your-last-computer-waves%402x.png"

9+image = "https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-5.jpg"

1010+++

1111

1212For the most part, we use our laptops simply as access points to MEGACORP services. Our phones are the same. These services are amazing and convenient. But for that convenience we’ve traded away control, ownership and privacy. The way we live our digital lives is completely out of our hands.

1313

14−![](https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-5.jpg)

14+<img class="ba" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-5.jpg">

1515

1616Today’s MEGACORP monopolies retain their control because of one central technical advantage: they make the server side usable.

1717

@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ Today, we’re more or less back to the timesharing model of the 1970s. Urbit OS

2323

2424Let’s talk about how we think we’re going to pull this off from a technical standpoint, and our vision for using Urbit.

2525

26−If you’d like to skip ahead to what Urbit will be like to use [go ahead](/understanding-urbit/urbitos1-osn). Or if you’re someone who just wants to head to the source, [it’s here](https://github.com/urbit/urbit#urbit). In that case you may also want to [read the docs](https://urbit.org/docs/) to get up and running.

26+If you’d like to skip ahead to what Urbit will be like to use [go ahead](/understanding-urbit/roadmap). Or if you’re someone who just wants to head to the source, [it’s here](https://github.com/urbit/urbit#urbit). In that case you may also want to [read the docs](https://urbit.org/docs/) to get up and running.

2727

28−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/technical-overview/technical-overview-kernel@2x.png)

28+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/technical-overview/technical-overview-kernel@2x.png">

2929

3030Urbit OS is a completely new, carefully architected software stack: a VM, programming language, and kernel designed to run software for an individual. Urbit OS is a program that runs on almost any cloud server, most laptops and many phones: anything with Unix and an internet connection.

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@@ -39,17 +39,17 @@ The entire Urbit OS stack, from programming language to applications, is upgrade

3939

4040Since Nock is a protocol for computing itself, any two nodes on the urbit network can easily share data, communicate and connect their software. 20th century systems could never do this without a MEGACORP acting as the intermediary.

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42−<img class="full w-100 mv4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/network-os/urbit-os-diagram-apart.svg"/>

42+<img class="full ba w-100 mv4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/network-os/urbit-os-diagram-apart.svg"/>

4343

4444On top of this tiny VM we built a self-hosting, purely functional programming language, a kernel written in that language and a set of kernel modules that serve all the needs of personal computing. Specifically: a filesystem, build system, application sandbox, secret storage, web server, terminal driver and a networking protocol.

4545

4646This sounds like a lot — but the whole stack is incredibly compact. The whole system clocks in at around 50K lines of code. We’ve seen individual developers understand the entire thing. Who is the last person you met that actually understands their entire computer? Urbit OS is like the 1968 Porsche 911 of operating systems: extremely simple, elegant, and built for the individual.

4747

48−![](https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/uu-os-4.jpg)

48+<img class="ba" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/project-history/uu-os-4.jpg">

4949

5050But why did we build all this technology?

5151

52−First and foremost, to deliver a better user experience. Urbit OS alone is just a new layer for personal computing in the cloud. But with this new layer we open up the possibility of building a completely unified interface for people to compute in the cloud. (If you’d like to skip to how we envision that interface [go for it](/understanding-urbit/urbitos1-osn).)

52+First and foremost, to deliver a better user experience. Urbit OS alone is just a new layer for personal computing in the cloud. But with this new layer we open up the possibility of building a completely unified interface for people to compute in the cloud. (If you’d like to skip to how we envision that interface [go for it](/understanding-urbit/roadmap).)

5353

5454From a broader perspective, it’s clear that connected computing is important and that it’s here to stay. We just want it to be as calm, simple and reliable as possible, and we don’t think can happen using existing technology.

5555

templates/understanding-urbit/list.html+3−3

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@

3636 <h1 id="introduction" class="mb4 full mt4 ">Introduction</h1>

3737 We think the internet can’t be saved. The way things are going, MEGACORP will always control our apps and services because we can no longer run them ourselves.

3838 The only way out of this mess is with a completely new platform that’s owned and controlled by its users.

39− <img class="full mb4" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-0.jpg"/>

39+ <img class="full ba mb4" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-0.jpg"/>

4040 Urbit is a new OS and peer-to-peer network that’s simple by design, built to last forever, and 100% owned by its users. Under the hood, Urbit is a clean-slate software stack compact enough that an individual developer can understand and control it completely.

4141 We built this new stack to give people a single integrated tool for communicating and building communities – a tool they can trust, control, and extend to their liking. We want to do away with the terrible user experience of the current ‘frankenstack’ of apps and services that we all use today.

4242 Urbit is designed to become an effective, customizable productivity tool for collaborators, and a calm noninvasive communication tool for friends and families.

@@ -56,13 +56,13 @@

5656 The Urbit ID system is live and deployed, and we don’t plan to change it all that much. It works well. If you’re curious to dive further into the details, jump ahead to <a class="bb" href="/understanding-urbit/urbit-id">this post.</a>

5757 2 - User experience

5858 We want Urbit to be a single, simple interface for your whole digital life.

59− <img class="full mb4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-intro-4.png"/>

59+ <img class="full ba mb4" src="https://media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/uu-intro-4.png"/>

6060 Over the years, Urbit has been built in public as an open source project. Anyone can <a class="bb" href="/using/install/">join the network</a> and check out what we’re up to. It’s a bit like signing on to IRC in the early 90s.

6161 In early 2020, we’ll release Urbit OS 1: a minimal interface for group communication, and our first complete interface. OS 1 is a tool to chat, share notes and links, and stay connected.

6262 OS 1 is the first step toward a truly complete OS for a networked world.

6363 Over time, Urbit will grow into a system that can bring together all our different modes of communicating: chat, payments, documents, images, biometric data. We want individuals and their communities to be able to both control their software in fact, through the source code, and in action, through a simple interface.

6464 We want to leave behind a world of apps and services for one where we can bring everything together in one place. And, in doing so, ordinary users can create customized digital environments for their friends and communities.

65− <img class="full mb4" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-6.jpg"/>

65+ <img class="full ba mb4" src="https://storage.googleapis.com/media.urbit.org/site/understanding-urbit/intro/intro-6.jpg"/>

6666 To see how we’re going to get there, let’s walk through these two pieces of new technology individually, Urbit OS and Urbit ID. We’ll then talk about our vision for the future and how we’ll get there.

6767 For technical people, it’s important to note that Urbit as a stack is in no way required to be used together. Don’t like our client? Feel free to build your own. Just like the Urbit ID system? No problem — use it!

6868 Ultimately, we think that new technology is most likely to get adopted if it can provide a much, much better user experience. So that’s what we’re focussing on creating.