## Overview of Siacoin

Sia is a decentralized storage platform secured by blockchain technology. The Sia Storage Platform leverages underutilized hard drive capacity around the world to create a data storage marketplace that is more reliable and lower cost than traditional cloud storage providers.

Your data is sliced up, encrypted, and stored on nodes all across the globe to eliminate any single point of failure and ensure the highest possible uptime. Since you hold the keys, you own your data. No outside company can access or control your files.

## Inspiration

Currently, Siacoin runs on charging the host for bandwidth and storage used for the file. We think this leaves the file especially vulnerable when the host stops watching and paying for the file. Additionally, the host might not have the ability to buy Siacoin quickly. We want to make decentralized storage truly free for all.

## What it does

To mitigate this issue, we're creating an ad-supported upload and download web server portal that will allow the file to sustain itself monetarily on the network.

To use, the user will visit the site, upload the file after watching an ad and then receive a download link as well as their Sia permanent link. They could then disseminate the links to the users who would like to access the file.

## Based on these calculations the Sia Cost: (prices as of 9/4/19)

Storage $0.68 / 1TB $6.8E-7/1MB
Upload $0.11 /1TB $1.1E-7/1MB
Download $0.59 /1TB $5.9E-7/1MB

We can clearly see that one 30 second video ad ~$0.01 can conservatively handle the price of 1gb of data on a download. One 30 second video ad on upload can also cover close to a year of hosting. One could say this isn't the true cost as explained below but we'll use this as a rough order of magnitude approximation.

## Prototype Status:

We tried using a Node.Js server backend to get the files into the Siacoin. We had some difficulties understanding the API and understanding how the Sia daemon uses the Node.Js server to fully do everything we need. Additionally, It was difficult to get the Sia client working.

Still if we got the right configuration working, the upload side of the file would have to go to the web server, then uploaded to Sia. On the reverse side, the file needs to be queried from Sia to the web server, then downloaded to the client. In summary, this increases the bandwidth requirements considerably to use Sia as the final destination which will increase costs.

However, there are situations that this could make sense. On fairly small files, few ads could cover all of these costs anyway. One could assert that the bandwidth is the majority cost of the file hosting so this is only useful for mostly cold storage.
However, as long as the original Sia path is known, the file is not reliant on the central web server shutting down. This allows the file to stay up indefinitely as multiple client software can still access the file. One could simply recover their password for their Sia files they uploaded and still access them.

## What's next for Sustainable Ad-Supported Blockchain File Storage

Of course, this is all in the abstract. Due to difficulties getting the wallet working, much development would have to be done in the future. This idea was thought up by our hackathon team and we think might have promise in the future for Sia.
## Inspiration

As the lines between AI-generated and real-world images blur, the integrity and trustworthiness of visual content have become critical concerns. Traditional metadata isn't as reliable as it once was, prompting us to seek out groundbreaking solutions to ensure authenticity.

## What it does

"The Mask" introduces a revolutionary approach to differentiate between AI-generated images and real-world photos. By integrating a masking layer during the propagation step of stable diffusion, it embeds a unique hash. This hash is directly obtained from the Solana blockchain, acting as a verifiable seal of authenticity. Whenever someone encounters an image, they can instantly verify its origin: whether it's an AI creation or an authentic capture from the real world.

## How we built it

Our team began with an in-depth study of the stable diffusion mechanism, pinpointing the most effective point to integrate the masking layer. We then collaborated with blockchain experts to harness Solana's robust infrastructure, ensuring seamless and secure hash integration. Through iterative testing and refining, we combined these components into a cohesive, reliable system.

## Challenges we ran into

Melding the complex world of blockchain with the intricacies of stable diffusion was no small feat. We faced hurdles in ensuring the hash's non-intrusiveness, so it didn't distort the image. Achieving real-time hash retrieval and embedding while maintaining system efficiency was another significant challenge.
As the lines between AI-generated and real-world images blur, the integrity and trustworthiness of visual content have become critical concerns. Traditional metadata isn't as reliable as it once was, prompting us to seek out groundbreaking solutions to ensure authenticity.

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully integrating a seamless masking layer that does not compromise image quality.
Achieving instantaneous hash retrieval from Solana, ensuring real-time verification.
Pioneering a solution that addresses a pressing concern in the AI and digital era.
Garnering interest from major digital platforms for potential integration.

## What we learned

The journey taught us the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Bringing together experts in AI, image processing, and blockchain was crucial. We also discovered the potential of blockchain beyond cryptocurrency, especially in preserving digital integrity.\

## What's next for The Mask

We envision "The Mask" as the future gold standard for digital content verification. We're in talks with online platforms and content creators to integrate our solution. Furthermore, we're exploring the potential to expand beyond images, offering verification solutions for videos, audio, and other digital content forms.
## Inspiration

There are 1.3 billion iMessage users and 600 million Discord users. Furtermore, 65% of phones use SMS and SMS does not allow video sharing. File sharing is IMPORTANT! Unfortunately, these applications use cloud-sharing with heavy limitations, and other cloud based video-upload systems such as Youtube and Google Drive take too long. Sometimes we just want to send videos to our friends without having to compress, crop, or have to upload them on a lengthy system. Furthermore, once users upload their videos, centralized systems own their data and users are not the ones in control. Being able to monetize and encrypt your own data without losing autonomy to the bigger players is essential.

## What it does

VidTooLong allows the user to not only upload videos onto the Fabric, but also allows easy link sharing within seconds. The user is also given the autonomy to monetize and encrypt their data before sending it out. This allows it so the receipients cannot leverage the content against the sender. It's easy and helps fix the issues within most big cloud sharing platforms as well as beating the smaller competition as its free!

## How we built it

I built this using Vercel, NextJS, TypeScript, React, & Eluv.io

## Challenges we ran into

My biggest challenge was working solo on this project and starting very late on Saturday. As I flew in from Toronto, Canada and arrived Saturday morning, I spent most of the day playing catch-up and getting to know all the sponsors better. Eluv.io caught my eye and I had to spend all night working. Furthermore, nobody was awake to load my wallet so I couldn't experiment with the API

## Accomplishments that we're proud of

Making a useful and intuitive web2 and web3 product!

## What's next for VidTooLong

Incorporate Web3 and Web2 Wallet integration and a Firebase Authentication system for more personalization and security.
Further build the full-stack elements so that the website can be useable and properly implements the API
Make it so that the user can control how long the link will be active for, further putting their content within their control
Web3 Venmo for Media Content
Add Photo Sharing as well