Propaganda. It's amazing how leadable most people are. If they start hearing stories about how Bitcoin is used by terrorists or that the government is raiding users who hold Bitcoins, or other propaganda, they'll likely abandon it out of pure fear if nothing else. Never underestimate the state's ability to scare or beat its citizens into submission.

Interesting feedback.

I'm (hopefully) nowhere near the end of my life but I'm still interested in these issues since I do have a lot of significantly older friends who are also looking into Bitcoin. I've already gotten a few 'how can I will these' questions and, unfortunately, the small town CPA's they use have no answers.

I suppose something I should be pointing out about Bitcoin is that, even though many people use them as an investment, they really are nothing more than a currency meant to be spent. Wealth protection really isn't (or even should be IMHO) a feature of Bitcoin. That's why we have gold, silver, and other precious metals. Maybe my advice to them should be "use Bitcoin to avoid the government seizing, taxing, or controlling your money while you're alive but invest in precious metals for when you're dead'.

I love Bitcoin. I've been evangelizing it to just about everyone I meet and I've got a substantial amount of my personal money invested in the currency. I've put my money where my mouth is.  But, lately, I've been seeing some talk about using Bitcoin as a way to pass on wealth to heirs and that has me a bit concerned.

On the surface, using Bitcoin as a wealth protection and inheritance method sounds pretty amazing. But what about Bitcoin's long term viability? Granted, I truly believe the currency is going to survive the zombie apocalypse but what if it doesn't? What if I'm laying on my death bed and Bitcoin starts to crash hard? If I am lucid and physically capable, I could sell quickly to save some of the value, but what if I'm not?  It just seems like an pretty scary way for long term wealth protection.

Can anyone address my fears? I'm sure they're completely illogical but I'm not totally sure why. I know that fiat can (and probably will) crash long before Bitcoin but I still feel 'safer' (somewhat, not much) in passing it along in inheritance.

Anyone?

Right now, Bitcoin doesn't really pose a risk to the establishment. They're probably not allocating a lot of resources to investigating or cracking it at the moment. If an economic collapse happens (thing Wiemar Republic style) then they will throw everything they have at it. Will that work? Probably not. We can assume the NSA is already working on it and they haven't (to our knowledge) cracked it yet.

So what does that leave?

Laws.  If a collapse happens, gold, silver, other precious metals and Bitcoin will likely flourish. A call on gold would probably happen and Bitcoins would be outlawed. We'd see a sudden rash of terrorists using Bitcoins to finance extremist activities and general fearmongering.  When you have a public obedient enough to hand over their gold and silver voluntarily, they will run from this spooky new Internet currency in droves. Bitcoin would be completely disconnected from the mainstream.

But on the fringes... :-)

You know, I was this close to becoming a reader of the Daily Bell. Until this.

Found this online, thought it was interesting. Thoughts?

http://www.thedailybell.com/4311/The-Pure-Fiat-Con-Every-Transaction-Available-for-Official-Scrutiny-and-Thats-Just-the-Point

United States

Hey everyone. So I'm to the point in the development of BitVendor where I'd like to start testing actually being able to make purchases with a scanner, etc. The problem is, I don't have a scanner! Sure, I could go out and buy one but I thought I'd see if anyone has one laying around they wouldn't mind me borrowing for the testing? If so, could you please reach out to me and let me know. My email is cryptofreak@bitvendor.net.

I'll look today. Will get back with you.

It sounds like a good idea. But that could be used as an avenue for attack and compromise. Why couldn't Bob just leave instructions with his lawyer, in a safe deposit box, or elsewhere for his family?

I hadn't heard about this movie until a few days ago. It pretty much depict how I view North America and most of Western Europe becoming within the next few years. Sad, scary, but hopeful.

The only 'critique' I have of it (of you could call it that) is that a few of the people I've shown the trailer to thought it was another one of those 'left behind' type Christian movies. Still, looks like a great movie and I'd love to see it made.

Looking to have someone do a small run on a 3D printer for me. Item is a little larger than a standard shoebox and I have the CAD files ready. Email or PM me if you can provide it. Want to purchase in Bitcoin.

Looking to beef up my Bitcoin stash by selling a few things I'm not using. Bought the Zune HD a while back and have barely used it. Great little device, good sound, latest OS. Will include TV connectors.

Price: 4btc

As development of BitVendor progresses and we near the October 20th release, I'm finding myself in need of some coding help for a backend service I plan to release in conjunction with the software. If you're a PHP programmer with some PostgreSQL experience, I'd like to talk to you.

Requirements:

• At least 3 years PHP programming experience
• Strong security experience including GPG and PHP's built-in security modules
• PostgreSQL experience (including normalization, load balancing, etc)
• Strong Linux skills (CentOS and Ubuntu)
• Experience with designing secure, scalable, stable, payment processing systems
• API development skills

This is a one-shot project with the potential for on-going work. Payment will be in Bitcoin. If interested, please send an email to cryptofreak@att.net.

Thanks!
CryptoFreak

Hi Everyone,

So I've got the basic code written for BitVendor and am now starting to implement all of the features and functions. So far, I've got inventory, reporting, the ability to accept cash and Bitcoin, and dynamic instant conversion of local currency prices into Btc.

What else should I include? What would you like to see in a good Bitcoin cash register program?

For me, it would come down to personal values. I don't believe that everything illegal is 'immoral' so I'd invest in a good number of 'illegal' businesses that didn't violate my personal morals. On the other hand, if someone were starting a 'hitman for hire' service, I'd probably pass since it violates my personal morals. It's pretty black and white for me.

Do you believe that laws and the fear of prison are what stops people from eating their children? Really? I mean I'd think most people don't eat their children because they love then and, well, it's pretty universally accepted (with exceptions) that eating people is bad. Government doesn't have anything to do with that.

You could eat your children now. Are you saying that the main thing that stops you from doing so is that you're afraid of prison?

Thank you, TangibleCryptograhy. That helps a a lot! That gives me a bit more confidence in using it for product pricing/conversion,

When I look at the 'last' price at MtGox, I'm wondering how old it is? Is it refreshed each time the page/API is called or on a timed basis? How strongly can I rely on it for the current Btc price without worry of it changing drastically in the next 30 seconds or so?

Very interesting and I'd love to be part of this. I've got a good background in the financial industry and specifically in credit unions. I also understand the IT system that run them. Count me in!