Decentralization has three major problems:
- Identity: how do I know I'm talking to you? ("Zooko's Triangle" = decentralized, secure, human-addressable) What is your reputation for X transaction? Where can I find Y thing that you made?
- Language and Storage: What is the format of the data we exchange, where is the data stored, and who has access?
- Hosting/Install/Upgrades: The UX of installing software sucks for programmers, even more so for non-programmers. How does a non-technical user install/upgrade without knowing anything technical?
Second solves those problems:
- Identity: stored on the Stellar blockchain as usernames/namespaces.
- Language and Storage: everything is a "node" that has a "type" that defines the schema of the data. NodeChains are tied to identities, have permissions, and are easily mirror-able over IPFS.
- Hosting/Install/Upgrades: a Second is a thin shell around a VM that runs nodes (nodes are both data and logic). Upgrading capabilities or UIs is as simple as replacing nodes (based on who you trust).
Two videos are on the homepage that give a technical overview (basically same as above, with a few more details), and a walkthrough of the alpha software.
