NOTE: This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it is about some new technology that may revolutionize computer technology. I will suggest that all computer users should learn about this technology, whether you plan to use it or not.

The following is a press release written by the folks at Storj:

Storj, the leader in enterprise-grade, globally distributed cloud object storage, that’s globally faster and less expensive than industry giants AWS, Microsoft and Google, today unveiled the next evolution of its network. The number one service on the Web3 Index is also debuting the next phase of its economic model that provides for wider participation in the Storj ecosystem, with sustainable economic incentives for both storage node operators and independent satellite operators. Storj Next’s new features will enable both Web2 and Web3 businesses to reduce cloud costs, without sacrificing reliability or performance.

What’s New on Storj Next

The latest version of Storj adds to its already superior speed and savings, Web3 community earning opportunities, with upgrades and new features including:

• Expanded economic model: Storj plans to introduce an expanded deposit structure, enabling a new earning opportunity for satellite operators and accelerating earning opportunities for nodes, to promote network growth. 

• Community Satellites: For serious operators who wish to move beyond operating nodes to operating a storage network, Storj is adding capabilities with code, test data, and more to operate globally distributed storage networks without capital and energy intensive datacenters.

• Chainsnap.io Marketplace with Ankr: Accelerates blockchain node startup by 10x enabling faster and efficient node launching.

• Perpetual storage: Dedicated wallet addresses for Storj accounts unlock perpetual storage via Ethereum smart contract payments with STORJ.

“We made the switch to Storj from AWS and not only cut costs, but noticed an improved performance by at least 10x,” said Pocket Networks CEO Michael O’Rourke. “Plus, web2 hyperscalers can have outages in a way that sophisticated decentralized systems do not. With Storj, we not only get faster downloads, we get resilience and security, all for less.”

Defying the downturn and scaling what works 

While businesses around the world look to cut costs, including IT budget reductions, they are flocking to more cost effective cloud solutions. This has led to a 40x rise in Storj network use, with remarkable growth from both Web2 and Web3 customers. In the last year, Storj has scaled from 13,000 to 20,000 nodes as both the supply and demand sides realize the economic benefits. Storj has also outperformed Web2 cloud storage providers, driving Web2 adoption with SLA’s comparable to AWS, Google, and Azure. Early proven use cases include video and media distribution, fast sync for blockchain, IT backup and disaster recovery, and sharing large data sets for machine learning. The latest enhancements have gained even more speed, with 280% improvements in file downloads and uploads.

“Storj gets faster as we add more nodes due to parallelism for downloads. We eliminate dependency on a single data hub, instead using a distributed network of under utilized storage capacity on existing hardware, which allows for less latency and reduced data transfer times,” said Storj CEO Ben Golub. ”We have kept our heads down building a product that works and seen significant growth as a result: Storj is up to 90 percent less expensive and faster on a global basis than AWS and other hyperscalers, making it an attractive option for businesses looking to reduce costs – and emissions – while still benefiting from enterprise-grade durability, reliability, and security"

To learn more about Storj and save costs on your cloud storage bill, visit www.storj.io. To learn about the Fast Sync Marketplace with Ankr, visit https://www.chainsnap.io/. To learn about performance over AWS, download this on demand webinar at https://www.storj.io/resource/how-storj-is-consistently-faster-than-aws.

About Storj 

Storj is a leader in decentralized cloud object storage. Built for developers, architects, and IT ops professionals, Storj delivers blazingly fast, CDN-like performance at cold storage prices, enterprise-grade durability, and better security with no vendor lock-in and no single points of failure. Storj meets the leading-edge privacy and sustainability demands for traditional use cases, Web3, and dApps. Easily integrated into any existing stack with S3 compatibility, Storj is architected as a trustless globally distributed network that utilizes existing excess storage capacity making performance, privacy, and resiliency available to any size organization, at 1/5 to 1/20 the price of hyperscalers. Storj stores multiple petabytes and has petabyte-scale enterprise and Web3 customers and partners like Pocket Network, Atempo, iXsystems, Gabb Wireless at https://gabb.com/gabb-phone-3-pro/, and the University of Edinburgh. STORJ is an ERC-20 token used across the Storj network.