Awesome. Sent 0.01 BTC to myself and it showed up on the phone, still waiting to be cemented in a block.
Put a USD/BTC calculator on there so I can calculate how much I owe my friends for dinner and I'll pay them in bitcoin.
Already requested by someone else: See https://github.com/barmstrong/bitcoin-android/issues/5. Please add your name to the list of interested people. |
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So it should be dropping the blockchain on your SD card, not the internal memory.
All right, I installed the creature, and it does seem to drop the blockchain on the SD card. However, it still takes up 2.20 MB of the internal memory — and since a wallet is continuously growing, this is amount is likely to increase. I'm not convinced it's such a good idea to store the wallet in internal memory. Cheers, Seems like a fair point for older smartphones. I've raised an issue for it ( https://github.com/barmstrong/bitcoin-android/issues/9). |
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From the application wiki ( https://github.com/barmstrong/bitcoin-android/wiki/Technical-Details): "It's a full bitcoin client running on your phone. This means it keeps its own copy of the blockchain (currently about 14MB) which we store on your phone's SD card, and it doesn't need to communicate with a centralized server. Most phones have large SD cards (8GB or more is not uncommon) so storing 14MB isn't too bad. The wallet file is stored on the phone's internal memory instead since it quite small compared to the blockchain. We include a recent copy of the blockchain in the actual app package that you download from the Android Market so you don't need to download and build the whole thing from scratch. The first time you run it, it will contact nearby peers and update the included blockchain to the most recent version. This usually takes a minute or less over WiFi. After that, updates to the blockchain and transaction notifications should be near instantaneous (a few seconds) over 3G or WiFi." So it should be dropping the blockchain on your SD card, not the internal memory. |
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22 Mb? OMFG!
Hence the Wifi recommendation. Remember, it does include a recent block chain. |
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Brian Armstrong has released Bitcoin for Android as a free and open source application to the Android Marketplace ( https://market.android.com/details?id=com.bitcoinandroid). It's a very slick way of sending and receiving Bitcoins on your Android phone. Easy install, but make sure that you do it over Wifi since it provides a recent block chain to get you up and running quickly, and that's a few megs. Technically minded folks who want to examine the source code to verify that it's not going to rip them off can do so at GitHub ( https://github.com/barmstrong/bitcoin-android). Receiving coins can be done by instant QR code generation (so another phone can view the screen and pick up the wallet address), or by sending the wallet address via almost any mechanism you can think of (SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook, FriendStream etc etc). It will copy the wallet address to the clipboard if you want to allow you to paste it anywhere you like. Sending coins can be done by either scanning a QR code (ideal for merchants presenting prices in BTC) or by manual entry (from clipboard if necessary). It's really aimed at keeping pocket change available for small day to day transactions since your phone could be stolen (just like a real wallet could be picked) and for that it's an excellent choice. Give it a go and continue to build the Bitcoin economy - the merchants need you :-) |
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Now what if someone made a botnet generate addresses all the time, 24/7, and would import those addresses into a wallet.dat to try and see if someone else already generated the address, and has funds 'assigned' to it - essentially trying to find collisions? Wouldn't this be an extremely efficient way to generate addresses until an address was found that held funds, to then steal the funds on that address by transfering them elsewhere?
Not really. Let's try some really ridiculous figures. Suppose that everyone in the world had, on average, 1 million bitcoin addresses with money in. Further suppose that you control a billion computers, each of which can try a billion possible addresses a second. If my calculations are correct, you'd still only find an address every 6.6 million years on average. Edit: Or another way of looking at it: if you had a billion computers testing a billion addresses per second, on average you'd expect to earn one satoshi every 22 million years. And given the non-inflationary aspect of Bitcoin, that satoshi would probably get you a cup of coffee. |
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.. is bitcoin broken ?
Psychologically its very sick at the moment....question is....is it terminal? depends. do you use the GUI client? if yes, then no, it's not terminal. Please. No more. |
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Definitely go with Britcoin. I've used it and had no problems. Totally legit.
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why you trying to put human escrow agents out of business?
Not at all. If a transaction goes well then the escrow process can be conducted automatically by the Bitcoin network (good for everyone). If it goes badly then people may have to step in and mediate. However, the actions of the people will be limited to paying either the buyer or the seller no other destination will be possible. |
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Why operate a percentage on the service? Surely, releasing 100,000BTC is as easy as releasing 0.1BTC? You simply need to cover your costs in resolving any disputes and maintaining infrastructure. Taking a percentage seems a bit like the existing (non-Bitcoin) system.
Perhaps an alternative approach would be to offer your services to the seller at a nominal rate - say 0.1BTC. This allows them to buy the buyer's trust by means of your reputation in the marketplace. If the transaction goes smoothly you pocket the fee without much effort and over time the buyer and seller come to trust each other and you drop out of the loop. Plenty of other merchants to work with.
However, if the buyer then decides that the goods are faulty, broken, missing etc then they have the option to open a dispute. At that point it's going to cost you to investigate (this is a worldwide service you're offering here - how many shipping regulations do you know?). So, to cover those costs you tell the buyer that you'll need a mediation fee (say 10BTC). The buyer may back down (no frivolous claims), or if they are determined not to be screwed by Sneaky Sam the seller they'll front the cash to get a chance of getting their money back (10BTC to get 100,000BTC back ain't bad). You do the investigation in the knowledge that the buyer thinks they've got a case, and mediate according to the evidence presented.
You'll need to have a very clear set of procedures present on your website so that both buyer and seller will know what they will have to present as evidence (shipping details, DHL tracking numbers, photos of broken Steinway pianos etc).
Also, remember that 100,000BTC is a lot of money and there are unscrupulous folks out there who would want you to release that in their favour. Make sure that you are adequately protected against external pressure.
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There are 2 hard problems to solve with an escrow service:
1) making sure that both the buyer and seller do not have to trust the mediator (it's not possible for the mediator to run off with the coins)
2) the mediator making sure that he cannot be corrupted by outside forces (he does not have the keys to the safe)
The above can be solved with Bitcoin contracts. These are coming soon to a client near you. Then it's really going to be a lot of fun in the Bitcoin economy.
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Son: What are bitcoins, papa?
Me: Tokens of value, son.
Son: <blank stare>
Me: See this coin? You can give it to someone in exchange for something. But it's just a token. You've seen me pay by credit card, that was another token of value, a different one. Bitcoins are another token of value, but just easier to manage.
Son: Oh, I get it. It's an enhanced form of cryptocurrency that solves the double spend problem through the use of an open block chain. I imagine it'll use SHA256 or something to act as a proof of work so that transactions can be mathematically proved to be correct without the need for an overseeing middleman. And because they're just numbers then they can be stored on arbitrary media making them extremely portable.
Me: <blank stare>
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1) The exchanges have put those limits in place as fraud protection. As volume grows and special dispensations are arranged then that limit will be adjusted as required
2) Money existed before patents. A Bitcoin is expected to reasonably represent a share in the value of the overall Bitcoin economy.
Given that Bitcoin solves a lot of problems that currently exist within the usual currencies then over the course of time it may come to pass that it gets wide adoption. That alone is sufficient to make it worth serious consideration.
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Thanks, Mike. Looks like I'll be wading into BitcoinJ if you're happy to see it extended in this manner.
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I'm very interested in the bitcoin contract creation.
Is it possible for the standard client to do this, or is it only available through an API?
Are there any code examples of it in use?
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+1 Security concerns and how to overcome them is a very pressing issue for the Bitcoin community as a whole. A place where knowledge and good practice can be shared will make the job of thieves much harder.
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I'm considering providing a fairly detailed description of the security arrangements for the backend of my project here on this forum. The reasons for doing this are
1) it is a good way to get a lot of eyes onto the flaws in the system,
2) I don't believe in security by obscurity,
3) it will help others to create related services in a secure manner thus contributing to the overall impression of Bitcoin as a trustworthy platform on which to do business
However, I'm concerned about doing this because
1) it is a good way to get a lot of black hats looking at the flaws in the system and keeping quiet about them until they can pounce,
2) sometimes keeping people in the dark can slow them down as they attempt to crack the system,
So... I need some reassurance from the experts here that I should do this. At least 5 positive responses should be enough to convince me.
BTW I have put considerable professional expertise into this design - it is not half-baked.
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My project is going down this route.
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Chuck Norris can kick a bitcoin clear over the moon.
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