It sounds like a pretty elegant solution to me - very simple and easy to understand principle and tokenising it is a great idea.
I guess also if it's old photos we're talking at first then there's zero chance of storing a virus on yr system.
Very accessible diagram of the system there too!
Thanks but in fact it is quite complicated to implement well. You need to code a solid client (windows, mac, linux) that people would download and install and which would reserve a part of their disk and account in a fair way for them keeping that storage available.
But while the storage is available, there's not necessarily a demand for it ... so someone needs to take risk by "paying" steemians for keeping storage available even when there's not yet demand for it! Kind of a "chicken and egg" problem
The actual "payload" being stored is completely opaque to those providing storage, it has to be encrypted data. Even if someone wants to store "a virus", you don't care because "the virus" will be delivered within a "tight box" of encryption.
Both people storing data and those hosting it need to be absolutely sure that the barrier between them is perfectly tight: people storing data (in general, not for old Steemit pictures) do not want to risk anyone "peeking" at their data either.
Just saying that in fact the design will by necessity have to be quite complex
I strongly encourage you to consider that no encryption exists for various state level actors. While that may not be an issue for ordinary folks availing a cloud storage mechanism for pay, for some folks it will be.
The Intel Management Engine simply exists at a layer below the OS, and therefore has access to any data prior to encryption having effect.
Just a note regarding encryption and security, not a denigration of the idea itself.
In this context the question was : "if I offer storage space, do I run a risk that whatever an unknown customer of the service stores might harm my computer?"
The answer is yes. However, we run that risk anyway. It's not an increased risk, simply another vector that can be used to do harm. Cars can be hacked by simply shining LEDs on the vehicle's lights. Computers used to scan DNA can be hacked by presenting DNA that will cause the computer to suffer a malware injection.
Actors able to access IME level of processors can do similar things with the encrypted data. They can do similar things in countless ways, however, and don't need you to use the storage capacity of your system to create the necessary vector for their attack.
I just want to clarify that security of computer systems actually doesn't exist given hackers of nominal skill and requisite motivation. From me your system is safe regardless of any measures you fail to adopt. From some people, no system anywhere is safe regardless of what can be done to secure it. Security applies in between those extremes, and knowing this can be useful in considering what to implement, and what costs to undertake.
For most folks, good encryption will suffice.
LOl Yeah man! Steem land was also an idea by the late @adept to mix steem and decentralland but nwo we can do it with @dlux-io by @disregardfiat hpopefully using games like @hashkings for proof of concept #hashkings
IU think hashkings could even let people rent REAL land in California where people will grow plants indoor and outdoor, with live webcam or updates, and it could end up giving people teh chance to buy libve weed plants that they grow in REAL lkife, andthen allow them top pickup at a legal dispensary in calfornia D
stimulating the imagination of Steemland's inhabitants was one of the main points! :)
I'm sure there's plenty of devs on here that would love to get their teeth stuck into a project like this! It sounds like it would be a real asset to steem!
http://fnd.us/61TxE2?ref=sh_67zLu3