Dorion Mode

I am in the process of building a desktop computer. I approached the task on the following fronts :

1. a motherboard supported by an open source BIOS, e.g. Coreboot;
2. an AMD CPU which is not locked down by AMD's Platform Security Processor (PSP);
3. a graphics card with minimal to no proprietary microcode.

This was motivated by a couple goals :

1. expand JWRD's hardware offering;
2. have a desktop with which to play the masterclass in economy mascarading as a video game: Eulora published by The Ministry of Games.

The components I chose are :

Motherboard

I started my search by reading up on motherboard candidates via the Coreboot supported mainboards and board status wiki pages and git respository. The Coreboot wiki has a dedicated page for the ASUS F2A85M (archived).

This board is equipped with an FM2 socket which supports AMD APUs of the A85 Piledriver line on the CPU side and Terra Scale 3 based GPUs of the Trinty line.

The Read Only Memory (ROM) chip is a Winbound 25Q64F that will be flashed externally with an 8 pin chip clip to replace the vendor UEFI/BIOS with a BIOS I compile.

APU

To pick the APU, my starting point was the ASUS website which lists the 39¹ supported chips. Despite the long list, from what I managed to find, the supply for these is tight. This makes sense given they went out of print in October of 2012 and are supported by Coreboot.

For graphics support, I started at the wiki of the X Window System and in particular the page on the Radeon line of graphics cards due to the Radeon integration in many of the APUs supported by the motherboard.

I'm a bit less of a graphics noob than when I started this process, but still very much a graphics noob. As far as I understand at present, there are no graphics cards which do not require proprietary firmware. There are some rumors that the abandoned radeonhd driver did not require firmware compiled by the vendor, but the Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name (archived) and Pleased to flash you, hope you change my name (archived) articles by Luc Verhaegen record that if you were familiar with the details, that was never the case. RadeonHD relied on the AtomBIOS, the source code of which was never published, to whit,

At no point do AtomBIOS functions come close to fitting the definition of script, at least not as we get them. It might start life as "scripts", but what we get is the bytecode, stuck into the ROM of our graphics cards or our mainboard.

After reading this, I didn't bother adding a discrete graphics card supported by radeonhd for this iteration. Despite being over a decade old, I did find some radeonhd supported cards still available.

For the APU, I picked the AMD A8-5600K which has the Radeon HD 7560D integrated GPU. The Radeon HD 7560D requires the 3 ARUBA_me.bin, ARUBA_pfp.bin and ARUBA_rlc.bin binary files from the Radeon Linux firmware list which weigh a combined 23.552 kb. Permitting 23kb of mystery meat to run graphics is not the worst of fates. While not ideal, the fact is the complexity the of hardware itself is much greater and likewise not available for the supposed owner to inspect.

RAM and Disks

To chose memory, I started from the qualified vendors list (pdf) of the F2A85M motherboard. I added the Samsung SSD because I also plan to test syncing a Bitcoin node and GBW-node with this set up.

Power Supply, Case, Case Fans

Gold 80 Plus power supply efficiency was good enough for me. Cases with tempered glass windows and shiny lights seem to be marketed heavily. I went all metal for sturdiness. The case has a built-in rear fan. My plan for the other three are to put two stacked from the bottom of the front and one on top for bottom-to-top, front-to-back cooling airflow.

Next Steps

The parts have started arriving. I'll start the build this week and report back. I focused this article on what I ended up choosing. I looked at several more set ups in this process, the notes for which need cleaning up prior to publishing.

Conclusion
While it looks like a fully open desktop with graphics support is out of reach at present, I gained from the process and am looking forward to setting this machine up.

1. The complete list:
   AMD A10-5700 (AD5700OKA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.4GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A10-5800B (AD580BWOA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, L2:4M, 100W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A10-5800K (AD580KWOA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, L2:4M, 100W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A10-6700 (FM2, AD6700OKA44HL, rev.A1, 3.7GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8670D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A10-6700T (FM2, AD670TYHA44HL, rev.A1, 2.5GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8650D, 45W) ALL 6402GO
   AMD A10-6790B (FM2, AD679BWOA44HL, rev.A1, 4.0GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8670D, 100W) ALL 6501GO
   AMD A10-6790K (FM2, AD679KWOA44HL, rev.A1, 4.0GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8670D, 100W) ALL 6501GO
   AMD A10-6800B (FM2, AD680BWOA44HL, rev.A1, 4.1GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8670D, 100W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A10-6800K (FM2, AD680KWOA44HL, rev.A1, 4.1GHz, 4C, L2:4M, HD 8670D, 100W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A4-4000 (FM2, AD40000KA23HL,3.0Ghz, L2: 1M , HD7480, rev.A1, 65W) ALL 6102GO
   AMD A4-4020(FM2, AD4020OKA23HL,3.2Ghz, L2: 1M , HD7480D, rev.A1, 65W) ALL 6502GO
   AMD A4-5300 (AD5300OKA23HJ, rev.A1, 3.4GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A4-5300B (FM2, AD530BOKA23HJ, rev.A1, 3.4GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A4-6300 (FM2, AD6300OKA23HL, rev.A1, 3.7GHz, 2C, L2:1M, HD 8370D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A4-6300B (FM2, AD630BOKA23HL, rev.A1, 3.7GHz, 2C, L2:1M, HD 8370D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A4-6320(FM2, AD6320OKA23HL, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, 2C, L2:1M, HD 8370D, 65W) ALL 6502GO
   AMD A4-7300 (FM2, AD7300OKA23HLA, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, 2C, L2:1M, GCN Radeon R5, 65W) ALL 6506GO
   AMD A4-7300B (FM2, AD730BOKA23HLA, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, 2C, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 6506GO
   AMD A6-5400B (AD540BOKA23HJ, rev.A1, 3.6GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A6-5400K (AD540KOKA23HJ, rev.A1, 3.6GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A6-6400B (FM2, AD640BOKA23HL, rev.A1, 2C, 3.9GHz, L2:1M, HD 8470D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A6-6400K (FM2, AD640KOKA23HL, rev.A1, 2C, 3.9GHz, L2:1M, HD 8470D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A6-6420K (FM2, AD642KOKA23HL, rev.A1, 2C, 4.0GHz, L2:1M, HD 8470D, 65W) ALL 6502GO
   AMD A8-5500 (AD5500OKA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.2GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A8-5500B (AD550BOKA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.2GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A8-5600K (AD560KWOA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.6GHz, L2:4M, 100W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD A8-6500 (FM2, AD6500OKA44HL, rev.A1, 4C, 3.5GHz, L2:4M, HD 8570D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A8-6500B (FM2, AD650BOKA44HL, rev.A1, 4C, 3.5GHz, L2:4M, HD 8570D, 65W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD A8-6500T (FM2, AD650TYHA44HL, rev.A1, 4C, 2.1GHz, L2:4M, HD 8550D, 45W) ALL 6402GO
   AMD A8-6600K (FM2, AD660KWOA44HL, rev.A1, 4C, 3.9GHz, L2:4M, HD 8570D, 100W) ALL 6002GO
   AMD Athlon X2 340 (FM2, 3.2Ghz, 2C, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 6102GO
   AMD AthlonX2 350 (FM2, AD350XOKA23HL, 2C, rev.A1, 3.5GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 6102GO
   AMD AthlonX2 370K (FM2, AD370KOKA23HL, 2C, rev.A1, 4.0GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 6404GO
   AMD AthlonX4 730 (FM2, AD730XOKA44HJ, rev.A1, 2.8GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD AthlonX4 740 (FM2, AD740XOKA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.2GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD AthlonX4 750 (FM2, AD750XOKA44HL, 4C, rev.A1, 3.4GHz, L2:4M, 65W) ALL 6102GO
   AMD AthlonX4 750K (FM2, AD750KWOA44HJ, rev.A1, 3.4GHz, L2:4M, 100W) ALL 5008GO
   AMD AthlonX4 760K (FM2, AD760KWOA44HL, 4C, rev.A1, 3.8GHz, L2:4M, 100W) ALL 6102GO
   AMD Sempron 250 (FM2, SD250XOKA23HL, 2C, rev.A1, 3.2GHz, L2:1M, 65W) ALL 6102GO [↩]

This article documents the steps I took to verify I obtained the correct code to install and start using gbw-node, the online component of Gales Bitcoin Wallet, authored by Jacob F. Welsh (WoT : jfw) which he documented on Fixpoint through his work with JWRD Computing in a 1 2 3 4 5 6, count'em, 6 article series.

For maximal key security, the software is structured in two components : the node gbw-node and the signer gbw-signer. gbw-node is written in Python 2 and gbw-signer is written in Jacob's anti-Thompsonistic, almost-R⁵RS-plus-extensions Scheme implementation, Gales Scheme. This design facilitates use over an airgapped system. Such a system would be composed of at least one online computer where gbw-node collects information from the Bitcoin network and broadcasts transactions and an offline computers where gbw-signer is used to generate Bitcoin keys and sign transactions. Usage instructions for gbw-signer will come in an article to follow.

Before we dive in head first here, if you find yourself glossing over the instructions below as if written in hieroglyphics, take heart that it's only ASCII and the command line is not too hard to learn with some dedication to consistent practice and a good guide to walk you through the process. The other side of acquiring the skill is you're equipped with a new set of eyes that allows you to, among other things, enforce ownership over your money. Jacob and I have created training curriculum and hardware packages along with software like Gales Bitcoin Wallet to help our clients do just that and which you may read more about here. Alright, dive at will.

The pre-requisites to verify sources, compile, install and run are :

1. The machine I used has 2 cores, 4 GB RAM and 500 GB SSD.
2. V. I used Jacob's V in Perl with keksum starter kit.
3. a Unix-like OS. I used a fresh, minimalist install of Gales Linux, which comes with the Gnu C Compiler (GCC) 4.7.4 ; musl C Library ; Busybox userland ; and Linux Kernel. Gales also comes with "gport" build scripts for Perl, Python 2 and SQLite. Perl is required for my V selection and and Python 2 and SQLite are required for gbw-node.
4. GnuPG (GPG). I used the gport build in Gales Linux.
5. The Real Bitcoin (TRB). I pressed my install here to Jacob's bitcoin_system_compiler.vpatch.

2020/07/01 Update : As Diana Coman kindly pointed out in the comments, if you already have a TRB node in operation, you may skip directly to step 18 for all gbw-node functionality apart from the push command. For push to work, you need Jabob's bitcoin_rawtx_get_send.vpatch.

Commands issued¹ to download and install complete orchestra from Gales Linux base install :

Add the following IPs to /etc/hosts :
198.199.70.97 fixpoint.welshcomputing.com
96.43.130.234 deedbot.org


1. Build and install GnuPG.
cd /var/build/gales/gports/gnupg ; gbuild ; gpkg-install -f gnupg-0.0-1.4.21.sh.gz ; mv gnupg-0.0-1.4.21.sh.gz /gales/dist/pkg/

2. Build and install Perl.
cd ../perl ; gbuild ; gpkg-install -f perl-10.1-5.24.2.sh.gz ; mv perl-10.1-5.24.2.sh.gz /gales/dist/pkg/

3. Build and install Python.
cd ../python ; gbuild ; gpkg-install -f python-0.3-2.7.13.sh.gz ; mv python-0.3-2.7.13.sh.gz /gales/dist/pkg/

4. Build and install SQLite and its docs.
cd ../sqlite ; gbuild ; gpkg-install -f sqlite-3.0-3.21.0.sh.gz ; mv sqlite-3.0-3.21.0.sh.gz /gales/dist/pkg ; cd ../sqlite-doc ; gbuild ; gpkg-install -f sqlite-doc-3.0-3.21.0.sh.gz ; mv sqlite-doc-3.0-3.21.0.sh.gz /gales/dist/pkg

5. Acquire the keys for the seals you intend to verify. In this case, jfw, diana_coman, spyked and mod6.
mkdir /root/keys ; cd /root/keys ; wget wot.deedbot.org/{0CBC05941D03FD95C3A47654AE0DF306025594B3,E72DCCB73A5E06694C5CD781D5196EE6390F999E,0x541A976BB5FC4B455D7FBC61BDAE9D051A3D3B95,027A8D7C0FB8A16643720F40721705A8B71EADAF}.asc

6. Prepare the V build tree.
mkdir -p /var/build/v/{v,trb,gbw-node}/{.seals,.wot,patches} ; cd /var/build/v/v/.wot ; ln -s ~/keys/0CBC05941D03FD95C3A47654AE0DF306025594B3.asc jfw.asc ; ln -s ~/keys/E72DCCB73A5E06694C5CD781D5196EE6390F999E.asc diana_coman.asc ; ln -s ~/keys/0x541A976BB5FC4B455D7FBC61BDAE9D051A3D3B95.asc spyked.asc

7. Acquire jfw's V.pl Keksum starter kit.
cd .. ; wget http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/code/v/v-pl-keksum-starter-v2.tar.gz ; wget http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/code/v/v-pl-keksum-starter-v2.tar.gz.asc

8. Import his key on your gnupg key ring and verify the tarball with his signature.
gpg --import .wot/jfw.asc ; gpg --verify v-pl-keksum-starter-v2.tar.gz.asc

9. Extract the tarball, poke around to your content² and run the install script.
tar xzf v-pl-keksum-starter-v2.tar.gz ; cd v-pl-keksum-starter-v2 ; sh install.sh

10. Acquire the vpatches and seals to press your V tree with the installed starter.
cd .. ; wget -P patches http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/v/{v_strict_headers,v_keksum_busybox_r2,v_fixes_vpatch_sync,v_keccak_vtools,v_mod6_99993,v_mod6_genesis,v_fix_exptimes_paths_etc}.vpatch ; wget -P .seals http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/v/{v_strict_headers.vpatch.{diana_coman,jfw},v_keksum_busybox_r2.vpatch.jfw,v_fixes_vpatch_sync.vpatch.{diana_coman,jfw,spyked},v_keccak_vtools.vpatch.{diana_coman,jfw,spyked},v_mod6_99993.vpatch.{diana_coman,jfw,spyked},v_mod6_genesis.vpatch.{diana_coman,spyked},v_fix_exptimes_paths_etc.vpatch.jfw}.sig

11a. Issue a flow.
v.pl f
v_mod6_genesis.vpatch (diana_coman, spyked)
v_mod6_99993.vpatch (diana_coman, jfw, spyked)
v_keccak_vtools.vpatch (diana_coman, jfw, spyked)
v_fixes_vpatch_sync.vpatch (diana_coman, jfw, spyked)
v_strict_headers.vpatch (diana_coman, jfw)
v_fix_exptimes_paths_etc.vpatch (jfw)
v_keksum_busybox_r2.vpatch (jfw)


11b. Press your V tree, install the binary on your path and give it execute permission.
v.pl p v_keksum_busybox_r2 v_keksum_busybox_r2.vpatch ; cd /local/bin/ ; ln -s /var/build/v/v/v_keksum_busybox/v/v.pl v.pl ; chmod +x /local/bin/v.pl

12a. Acquire the vpatches for your press of The Real Bitcoin Vtree.
cd /var/build/v/trb/ ; wget -P patches http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/bitcoin/{asciilifeform-kills-integer-retardation,asciilifeform_add_verifyall_option,asciilifeform_aggressive_pushgetblocks,asciilifeform_tx-orphanage_amputation,asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_eatblock,asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip,asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet,asciilifeform_maxint_locks_corrected,asciilifeform_orphanage_thermonuke,asciilifeform_ver_now_5_4_and_irc_is_gone_and_now_must_give_ip,asciilifeform_zap_hardcoded_seeds,bitcoin-asciilifeform.1,mod6_phexdigit_fix,mod6_der_high_low_s,asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_block_dumper_corrected,asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing,asciilifeform_zap_showmyip_crud,bitcoin-asciilifeform.2-https_snipsnip,bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip,bitcoin-asciilifeform.4-goodbye-win32,bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6,bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-rev_bump.7,bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-static_makefile_v002.8,bitcoin_rawtx_get_send,bitcoin_system_compiler,genesis,makefiles,mod6_excise_hash_truncation,mod6_fix_dumpblock_params,mod6_manifest,mod6_privkey_tools,mod6_whogaveblox,programmable-versionstring,rm_rf_upnp,malleus_mikehearnificarum,bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip}.vpatch

12b. Acquire the seals of your choice.
wget -P .seals http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/bitcoin/{mod6_manifest.vpatch.{mod6,jfw},asciilifeform-kills-integer-retardation.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_add_verifyall_option.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},asciilifeform_aggressive_pushgetblocks.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_block_dumper_corrected.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_eatblock.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing.vpatch.jfw,asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip.vpatch.jfw,asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet.vpatch.jfw_unchecked,asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_maxint_locks_corrected.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_orphanage_thermonuke.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_tx-orphanage_amputation.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_ver_now_5_4_and_irc_is_gone_and_now_must_give_ip.vpatch.mod6,asciilifeform_zap_hardcoded_seeds.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},asciilifeform_zap_showmyip_crud.vpatch.mod6,bitcoin-asciilifeform.1.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},bitcoin-asciilifeform.2-https_snipsnip.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip.vpatch.mod6,bitcoin-asciilifeform.4-goodbye-win32.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6.vpatch.mod6,bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-rev_bump.7.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-static_makefile_v002.8.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},bitcoin_rawtx_get_send.vpatch.jfw,bitcoin_system_compiler.vpatch.jfw,genesis.vpatch.mod6,makefiles.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},malleus_mikehearnificarum.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},mod6_der_high_low_s.vpatch.mod6,mod6_excise_hash_truncation.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},mod6_fix_dumpblock_params.vpatch.mod6,mod6_phexdigit_fix.vpatch.{jfw,mod6},mod6_privkey_tools.vpatch.mod6,mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch.mod6,programmable-versionstring.vpatch.mod6,rm_rf_upnp.vpatch.mod6}.sig

12c. Populate your .wot directory.
cd .wot ; ln -s ~/keys/027A8D7C0FB8A16643720F40721705A8B71EADAF.asc mod6.asc ; ln -s ~/keys/0CBC05941D03FD95C3A47654AE0DF306025594B3.asc jfw.asc ; cd ..

13a. View your flow.
v.pl flow
genesis.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.1.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
rm_rf_upnp.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.2-https_snipsnip.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.4-goodbye-win32.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_hardcoded_seeds.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform-kills-integer-retardation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_showmyip_crud.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_block_dumper_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_fix_dumpblock_params.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-static_makefile_v002.8.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-rev_bump.7.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform_ver_now_5_4_and_irc_is_gone_and_now_must_give_ip.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_orphanage_thermonuke.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_eatblock.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_tx-orphanage_amputation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_maxint_locks_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_add_verifyall_option.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
programmable-versionstring.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_der_high_low_s.vpatch (mod6)
malleus_mikehearnificarum.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
makefiles.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
asciilifeform_aggressive_pushgetblocks.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_privkey_tools.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_manifest.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
mod6_phexdigit_fix.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
mod6_excise_hash_truncation.vpatch (jfw, mod6)
mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin_rawtx_get_send.vpatch (jfw)
bitcoin_system_compiler.vpatch (jfw)


13b. Press when ready.
v.pl p bitcoin_system_compiler bitcoin_system_compiler.vpatch

14. Acquire Bitcoin's dependencies. The deps/Makefile invokes curl, which isn't present out of the box on Gales Linux. Instead I ran wget by hand.
cd bitcoin_system_compiler/bitcoin/deps/ ; wget -O boost_1_52_0.tar.bz2.asc http://deedbot.org/deed-422651-1.txt ; wget -O db-4.8.30.tar.gz.asc http://deedbot.org/deed-422651-3.txt ; wget -O openssl-1.0.1g.tar.gz.asc http://deedbot.org/deed-422651-4.txt ; cd ..

15. Ensure mod6's key is in your gpg key ring³ and compile the code with the make script :
gpg --import ../../.wot/mod6.asc ; make

16. Install the bitcoind binary to the preferred location on your preferred user's path, e.g. :
cp -a build/bitcoind /path/to/user/path/

17a. Configure bitcoind. Some select flags from ~/.bitcoin/bitcoin.conf. You'll also want to set the addnode flag a few times to the IP of trusted nodes.
logtimestamps=1
verifyall
lows=1
caneat=1


17b. Run bitcoind and sync your local copy of the Bitcoin block chain.
bitcoind & tail -f ~/.bitcoin/debug.log | grep SetBestChain

18. Acquire the vpatch and seal for gbw-node.
cd /var/build/v/gbw-node/.wot ; ln -s ~/keys/0CBC05941D03FD95C3A47654AE0DF306025594B3.asc jfw.asc ; cd .. ; wget -p patches http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/gbw-node/gbw-node_genesis.vpatch ; wget -p .seals http://fixpoint.welshcomputing.com/v/gbw-node/gbw-node_genesis.vpatch.jfw.sig

19. Press and install Gales Bitcoin Wallet Node.
v.pl p gbw-node gbw-node.vpatch ; cd /package ; ln -s /var/build/v/gbw/gbw-node/gbw-node-1/ gbw-node-1 ; cd gbw-node-1 ; sh package/install

20. Configure gbw-node by making the hidden directory and redirecting the gbw-node's SQL schema into the database file.
mkdir ~/.gbw ; sqlite3 ~/.gbw/db </package/gbw-node/library/schema-node.sql

21a. Game time. Ask for help.
gbw-node help
Usage: gbw-node COMMAND [ARGS]

help
scan
reset
tags
addresses
unspent-outs
watch
push
balance
register
unlock-wallet


21b. Watch a list of addresses, identified by a tag. In this case, one of the more historic financial transactions to be recorded which marked the end of an era and the start of a new era. Enter your list of addresses separated by enter, press control d to send python the end of file signal and exit gracefully.
gbw-node watch mps-bitcoin-berkshire-bet
16u2LKbGwAARwsWEXKTjBu8XMghnVMcFEi

21c. Print your tags and addresses.
gbw-node tags
mps-bitcoin-berkshire-bet

gbw-node addresses
16u2LKbGwAARwsWEXKTjBu8XMghnVMcFEi

21d. Scan the Bitcoin block chain for transactions sent and received by your watched addresses. (This took approximately 24 hrs to scan from the genesis block to approximately block height 634,000.
gbw-node scan
...
block 290841 new-outs 0 spent-outs 0
block 290842 new-outs 1 spent-outs 0
block 290843 new-outs 0 spent-outs 0
...

21e. Print the history of your transactions and the change in your balance. Can add an optional tag parameter to filter if you have multiple tags.
gbw-node register
290842 2 1000.00000000 0.00000000 1000.00000000


21f. Print your balance. Can add an optional tag parameter to filter if your have multiple tags.
gbw-node balance
1000.00000000

21g. Print the list of spendable transactions, a.k.a. unspent transactions outputs (utxo), available to your watched addresses. The output of this command is formatted how gbw-signer expects its wallet/transactions file to be formatted. It's best practice to run multiple independent trb + gbw-node instances to ensure the transactions you're being fed from the online machine are the ones you actually you want to sign.
gbw-node unspent-outs
16u2LKbGwAARwsWEXKTjBu8XMghnVMcFEi 1000.00000000 227d88033f4a26f60285462254f23c521bff96975f58ff60eadbeb62dca68578 1 #blk 290842 tx 2

And there you have it. Enjoy ! And the next time a central bank doubles their digital money supply or restricts transactions cause one of their friends has their panties in a bunch, recall that while time waits for no man, Bitcoin will be there, hardening.

1. I've presented the command flow as root user throughout for simplicity. In practice, only the install commands require root privilege. [↩]
2. I modified the BINDIR variable to /local/bin/ since that's an element in the default execution $PATH on Gales Linux. [↩]
3. His signature is on the deeded dependencies. [↩]

How much do secure, efficient computing and monetary stability matter to you ?

Virtually all 21st century business operators and investors face two core challenges : 1) leveraging a secure and efficient computing infrastructure and 2) maintaining business continuity through underlying monetary instability. This article lays out how JWRD¹ Computing works with clients to convert these challenges into a competitive advantage.

The challenge of deploying and maintaining secure and efficient computing infrastructure comes into play on all levels of the supply chain ; from communications to analytics to contracts to payments to financial instruments and markets to even as deep as money itself, computers and the Internet have become integral tools in commerce and finance. Security and efficiency are powers derived from underlying understanding and control over one's environment.

The modern market has become flooded with computing solutions pushed by big corporations which are proprietary, costly and take away control of crucial infrastructure and even data, leaving businesses more exposed to counterparty risk from their vendors. Businesses that want to retain or regain such control have been left with dwindling options and the stakes continue to rise.

Fronts where control has been ceded and resulting counterparty risk has risen include :

• Access to and compilation of source code² on every level from firmware to operating system to applications.
• In 2015, spyware was planted (archived) in the Apple developer toolchain, which was then propagated to over 4,000 iOS applications available in their App Store.
• Since ~2008, all Intel chips have been infected with their Management Engine at the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) level. The Management Engine system allows Intel to remotely exfiltrate information from the machine even when powered off. Intel prevents the owner of the machine from replacing Intel's code with independently compiled code. This is essentially a backdoor enabling Intel, or anyone who gains access to Intel's system, to access your information at will and likely without your notice.
• Operating Systems such as Microsoft Windows compound the risk factors of proprietary code with being over-engineered and unnecessarily complex. This makes them more prone to error and seemingly necessitates regular changes to the system pushed by Microsoft. The supposed owner of the system is not able to effectively verify the code being installed in the updates pushed and it's often the case that supposed fixes to old bugs introduce new bugs.
• The downsides of third-party compiled code are amplified by increased reliance on cloud based solutions. "The cloud" is really marketing speak for some machine owned by someone else which provides that someone else³ full access to what was your sensitive information.
• For example, in 2012, 47k BTC was declared to be lost by two companies using Linode, a Virtual Private Server (VPS)⁴ provider.
• Closer to the cause of the preceding points is the pervading industry fashion we refer to as "fast food computing". Fast food computing is the expectation an outside corporation will provide marginally convenient solutions that are cheap in the short-term and that the user need not know the ingredients nor inner workings.

Ceding control to a third party makes one more dependent and fragile. JWRD Computing exists to save our clients time and money in the process of putting them firmly back in full control of their own digital infrastructure -- i.e. helping them regain personal sovereignty. We work from the principles of comprehensibility toward the goal of intellectual ownership for our clients of all the products and services we provide. Our service allows clients to mitigate the risk of unexpected catastrophic expenses and focus on improving efficiency and capitalizing on opportunities to grow their business.

Maintaining business continuity through monetary instability. The multi-decade, unprecedented experiment of high inflation⁵ global central banks have been engaged in has incentivized unsustainable debt levels that have made corporations and governments alike fragile and desperate. Evidence continues to mount that central bankers and politicians are more likely to continue to devalue the purchasing power through adding zeros to the end of accounts on the central server⁶ and attack the fungibility of the currencies they monopolize than to admit they've been wrong. The risks to business operators and investors include :

1. the fiduciary being forced by government to freeze funds or deny transactions ;
2. insolvency of the fiduciary ;
3. arbitrary wealth tax ;
4. insolvency of government deposit insurance ;
5. negative interest rates ;
6. central bank inflation that dilutes purchasing power and is steadily ratcheting the risk of Weimar/Zimbabwe/Venezuela style hyperinflation.

Bitcoin⁷ was designed to thrive in an such an environment. While Bitcoin provides owners several cutting edge advantages, it comes with its own additional set of security challenges. JWRD provides clients with hardware, software and operator training to mitigate risks and fully capture the upside of Bitcoin payments and custody.

What we've done to confront these challenges.

We've developed solutions on three major fronts.

1. Hardware :
1. Secure Key Management Hardware Package ;
2. Build recipes and configurations for Corebootable Hardware ;
3. Build and configuration recipes for Router ;
4. Standard Operating Procedures for airgap operation via Optical Data Diode ;
5. Procurement of Hardware Random Number Generators ;
6. Faraday cage design and implementation.
2. Custom Software :
1. Gales Linux⁸, among other security advantages, it's one of the only Linux distributions which provides the operator the independence to compile all source code ;
2. Gales Bitcoin Wallet (GBW) : designed to be used over an airgapped system. The offline signing component is written in Gales Scheme⁹.
3. Code contributions¹⁰ to the Bitcoin reference implementation, i.e. The Real Bitcoin (TRB)
4. yrc, the Unix Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client. Common modern chat services require the use of the providers' proprietary software clients and servers. IRC is an Internet Standard chat protocol which can be deployed to implement your own privately operated chat network.
3. Operator training curriculum covering :
1. Unix command line operation ;
2. System and Network Administration ;
3. Secure Key Management ;
4. Encryption/Cryptographic Signing Software, Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) ;
5. V, TRB and GBW installation, configuration and usage.

What we offer.

We provide design consulting, support, custom software development, and hardware packages that match your needs. Below are some examples of what we provide :

Option 1 : Consulting, System Administration and Development :

For businesses with deployed systems we provide auditing, consultation system administration and development services to improve the efficiency and security of extant tools and operations. Auditing and consulting clients receive a report that reviews the strengths of current infrastructure and procedures and provides recommended plans and quotes for strengthening weaknesses.

Our System Administration and Development experience includes :

• Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix and BSD operating systems ;
• VMware and KVM virtualization ;
• ERP and CRM software configurations ;
• a variety of apps & protocols, databases, hardware, networking and monitoring ;
• custom browser configurations and secure password management procedures ;
• software development in 10+ programming languages.

Our personnel has experience deploying everything from ancient POWER servers needing custom-wired serial cables to SPARC to modern HP blade systems and more in between. Given the flexibility of this service, the pricing varies per project ; email us at sales (at) jwrd.net today to get started on tailoring a solution to you.

Option 2 : Key Management Hardware Package :

This package includes two Corebootable¹¹ laptops (one for offline and one for online use), an optical data diode for securely transferring data between online and offline systems, a Hardware True Random Number Generator (TRNG)¹² and a router.

Item Units Price Laptops 2 $1,600 Optical Data Diode 1 $220 Hardware TRNG 1 $500 EdgeRouter Lite 1 $180 Total $2,500