The new Tableland SDK has been unofficially released at v7.0.0-pre.0. This will introduce breaking changes because of two things:

• Polygon Mumbai is being deprecated as a whole, and providers no longer support it. Instead, you should migrate over to Polygon Amoy (chain ID: 80002). Tableland validators have already made the change, so it’s possible to use it today!

• Ethers v6 has been out for quite some time. We’ve finally migrated to ethers v6, so some slight functionality changes in terms of setting up a sgner need to be accounted for if you’re coming from ethers v5. We’ll be updating our docs shortly to demonstrate how to use ethers v6 as well. But, the Database class and all of its methods should be exactly the same…they just work a bit differently under the hood.

The official release of the @tableland/[email protected] should be out relatively soon, and the Studio will also incorporate these changes. If you have any questions about Mumbai → Amoy or using ethers v6, hop in our Discord and let us know!

by Brian Hoffstein

Last Thursday, we hosted a Twitter Spaces discussion focused on the blossoming field of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks, or DePINs. Moderated by Xinxin Fang of IoTeX, this session convened ecosystem leaders to delve deeply into the potential of DePINs for real-world applications, examining both inherent challenges and emerging opportunities. The insights shared cast light on innovative pathways for integrating these technologies into our interconnected digital and physical realms.

Jonathan Victor, co-founder of Ansa, provided deep insights into the foundations of building a thriving DePIN ecosystem. He emphasized the critical balance between supply and demand sides for achieving sustainable growth:

"I think for successful projects, one important aspect is how you build momentum. This isn't just on the supply side; it’s also on the demand side, ensuring you're balancing your economy overall, not just focusing on one half."

Rob Solomon, co-founder of DIMO, addressed the challenges and necessities of aligning DePIN projects with market needs, especially in his work within the automotive sector. He highlighted the importance of demonstrating real-world demand for such technologies:

"The big question is, do people actually want these physical networks? Are we going to find product-market fit? We're actively demonstrating that developers want to build on top of the DIMO protocol, showing that the data we generate for vehicles is valuable and leads to the creation of great apps and user experiences."

Manos Nikiforakis, co-founder of WeatherXM, offered a thoughtful perspective on defining the success of DePIN projects. He advocated for a more community-centric approach over conventional metrics:

"Many people define success by looking at the token's price performance. It shouldn't be that way. Success should be measured by the benefits the project delivers to specific groups, whether they're part of our community or the end-users of our products."

The panelists explored various facets of DePIN technology, emphasizing interoperability, user-centric design, and the need for thoughtful regulatory considerations. Each speaker brought unique insights into navigating the complexities of decentralized technologies and integrating them into scalable, user-focused solutions. Themes highlighted included the necessity of balancing innovation with practical market needs, the importance of composability for future expansion, and redefining success in meaningful ways.

This discussion provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities within the DePIN sector, offering invaluable insights for anyone interested in the future of decentralized technologies. Our speakers not only outlined the complexities of developing such networks but also discussed their potential to revolutionize industries by enhancing efficiency, transparency, and community engagement.

We extend our gratitude to Xinxin Fang for his expert moderation and to Jonathan, Rob, and Manos for their invaluable contributions to this enlightening discussion. For those seeking to explore the topics discussed further, the full conversation is available here.

Stay tuned for more insightful discussions by following us on Twitter and joining our Discord server, as we continue to explore the cutting edge of the decentralized future.

by Jim Kosem

I might be doing some more speaking at another developer conference or two quite soon. This is a good, but slightly uncomfortable spot to be in when you’re a designer. You’re typically talking a different language to what is hopefully a crowd of interested people. That means you need to assume very little. I’ve done my fair share of speaking to non-designer crowds, everything from teacher trainers in central Africa to the European Union Parliament, but developers are something different.

When you’re talking to people whose job is to build things that have to work, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room or even necessarily interested in learning about things that don’t relate to that. Thinking through what I could talk about, and how we’ve been building and learning and building and learning how Tableland Studio should work, I think we might have something that might not require so much translation and explanation. That is because in this case, developers are the users. This is in itself slightly different from most design content as well, because there isn’t necessarily a regular consumer using an app or service, but a developer using an app or service to build another app or service.

The differences are quite huge, but a lot of themes are the same. How do you understand what people want to do? What are the right questions to ask and to whom? How can we learn what is really going on in many different ways? All of these and more are “design thinking” but with a very specific and higher-order user set. It’s all about thinking about the user as a builder for another user. Slightly abstract, but user designers like me need to have empathy regardless.

Want to dive deeper, ask questions, or just nerd out with us? Jump into our Telegram or Discord—including weekly research office hours or developer office hours. And if you’d like to discuss any of these topics in more detail, comment on the issue over in GitHub!

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