Apparently, the Chief Technology Officer at Ripple, David Schwartz, created a distributed computer system 20-years before the onset of blockchain technology. Does this mean that Schwartz preceded Satoshi Nakamoto’s blockchain? Or, does this mean that Schwartz is Satoshi Nakamoto?
Well, in August 1988 it is alleged that Schwartz filed a patent for a multilevel distributed computer system that could be used to run on personal computers. In essence, this was built to allow computers to share processing powers across a network that would in turn allow for one huge network of distributed computing power. The patent was granted in 1991, though as far as we can see, Schwartz didn’t end up building upon it, the patent and the technology was left to fester somewhat.
According to The Next Web, here’s a little sample from the original patent request:
“A distributed computer system is a network of computers each of which function independently of but in a cooperative manner with each other. Versatility of a computer system can be increased by using a plurality of small computers, such as personal computers, to perform simple tasks and a central computer for longer more complex tasks. Such an arrangement lessens the load on the control computer and reduces both the volume and cost of data transmission.”
Apparently, Schwartz saw this as a solution to an ongoing graphics rendering problem, essentially he needed to acquire the power of a network of computers in order to carry out the tasks he envisioned. Of course, this wasn’t helped by the fact back in the 80’s, personal computers didn’t pack much processing power.
Schwartz has told The Next Web:
“I was working on graphics rendering problems that require significant amounts of CPU power. This is how the idea for his invention was born – and ironically, how it came to a halt. CPUs improved in performance much more quickly than expected and there didn’t seem to be much need for distributing tasks dynamically to CPUs with available processing power.”
As soon as the patent was approved, computing power had developed beyond the point required by Schwartz, so the requirement for an entire distributed network was no longer required.
If only Schwartz had envisioned cryptocurrency at this point hey…
You can see the full report for yourself, here.
