
Mining Bitcoin on an Apple II - option8
https://www.twitch.tv/8btc
======
grenoire
Looking at the code I am reminded of how grateful I am for high level
languages and the absolutely insane number of libraries I can use to do
perform so many complex yet fundamental tasks at ease without writing code for
them.

------
forinti
It's not just that it's slow, it also uses a lot of energy compared to the
amount of calculation that it does.

Apple II: 0.43 Mips @ 17W

RPi3B: 1822 Mips @ 1.2W

So I wonder if there is a solution as energy efficient as modern hardware, but
as slow as 8 bit machines.

~~~
Rebelgecko
FPGA with limited clock speed?

~~~
arcticbull
FPGAs aren't particularly energy efficient compared to ASIC implementations of
the same hardware.

~~~
bredren
This is the point of FPGA in consumer products right? Ship the DVD player ASAP
see if it sells then spin silicon.

~~~
arcticbull
Generally you don't ship FPGAs in consumer devices you plan to sell in high
quantities, as they're very expensive in addition to not being very efficient.
Small FPGAs or CPLDs can be used for low-volume devices to avoid the huge non-
recoupable expenses of an ASIC spin -- because of the specific requirements of
the application.

They're almost exclusively used for prototyping ASICs.

------
jcmeyrignac
Well, the code is not perfectly optimized:
[https://github.com/option8/8BITCOIN/blob/master/HASH.s](https://github.com/option8/8BITCOIN/blob/master/HASH.s)

For example: CLC ROL A can be replaced by ASL A

~~~
sincerely
Create a pull request! :)

------
dang
[https://github.com/option8/8BITCOIN](https://github.com/option8/8BITCOIN)

Also
[https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1157302995169796096](https://twitter.com/textfiles/status/1157302995169796096),
via
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20595014](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20595014)

~~~
option8
[https://www.twitch.tv/8btc](https://www.twitch.tv/8btc)

------
sehugg
If there's a successful hash, does it ATDT to the Bitcoin BBS to upload the
block via Zmodem?

~~~
zaroth
Just make sure to ATM0 first, or you might wake the parents when it dials in
the middle of the night.

It’s much more effective than trying to cover the modem with a pillow when
you’re sneaking upstairs for more late night Tele-Arena on Argus.

------
krick
I guess I have some mood issues this morning, but the first (and about the
only) thought that came to my mind is basically frustration about how
pointlessly we spend energy that comes from burning something as precious as
oil and how it increases the entropy and ultimately leads to heat death of the
universe...

~~~
ta1234567890
So sorry for your mood, I feel you. Hope it improves.

About entropy and heat death. Let me offer an alternative story.

Imagine heat death as a universe-wide network of "points", all oscillating the
tiniest bit possible. Imagine also that this is the maximum size the universe
could expand to. Now, at this point, if there was any, even a tiny small
contraction of the universe, it would start a full on contraction/heating up
process. Maybe you can call that the anti-BigBang. And if that happens, there
would be an infinite loop between the BigBang and the BigCrunch. Life would
probably come back at some point and heat death wouldn't be such a bad thing
after all ;)

Hope you enjoyed that story. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. Thank
you.

------
JohnJamesRambo
Can someone crunch some numbers about how long it may be until it finds a
correct hash? Is the heat death of the universe first?

~~~
onions
At current difficulty, 2 hashes/second gives about 614 trillion years to find
one block. Not quite the heat death of the universe, but wikipedia says all
stars in the universe will have exhausted their fuel.

~~~
kpU8efre7r
At my current electric rate that would cost me $912,997,246,800,000 in
electricity to find a hash.

~~~
kpU8efre7r
And $47,261,000,000,000,000 in electricity to watch the stream that long.

