TL;DR
Newegg’s offer of a “chance” at a $200 gift card for GPU usage smells like a digital sharecropping scheme, exploiting users’ resources for minimal reward under the guise of “decentralized compute.”
Story
Newegg’s “chance” at a $200 gift card for using your GPU sparks deja vu. It reeks of schemes promising riches but delivering dust. Remember 2008? Or Enron? Greed disguised as innovation.‣ GPU: The computer part that makes graphics. Like a movie projector for your screen. Newegg claims it’s for “neural nets,” not crypto mining. Sounds fancy, right? It’s like saying a wolf isn’t dangerous because it’s technically a canine. Both can bite. This “decentralized compute” pitch? Just a new buzzword for borrowing your resources with minimal reward. You pay the electricity bill; they might give you a gift card. Maybe.‣ Decentralized Compute: Sharing computer power across many machines. Like a potluck where you bring the main course and get a cracker in return. The bait is a “chance” at $200, not a guarantee. Classic lottery odds dressed up in tech jargon. Imagine casinos offering a “chance” at a jackpot instead of clear odds. You’d laugh, right? This isn’t much different. This isn’t about AI advancement; it’s about squeezing your resources. Like sharecropping for the digital age, where they own the land (platform) and you provide the labor (GPU power) for a pittance.
Advice
Never give up resources without transparent compensation. “Chances” are just veiled gambles. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.