thanks

I'm either doing something wrong, or something worse.  How do I deposit into MtGox *with* bitcoin?

Not really, but you might have too many connections open.  If your not generating, you don't need more than a few connections open.  Try limiting your connections and prohibiting outside connections.

And using the graphics card should only effect things if you are generating with the graphics card.

I've seen a lot more of that since joining this forum.  Considering the main topic, I was expecting a higher level of economic education from the average active member than I've actually seen.

Yes, but this attack didn't highlight a weakness in Bitcoin, it highlights a weakness in the many credit/identity based systems that the markets must trade into.  This is exactly the kind of issues that Bitcoin attempts to solve, and does so quite well within itself.  What we need is local markets, actual people within our own cities that we can go to and trade fiat cash for Bitcoin in person.  When that day comes, then the system is mature.

Could just have the program check an Internet timeserver upon startup, and keep an offset for itself.

Perhaps some enterprising (likely meaning German) European could enter into a pack with the owner of MtGox, and either function as a European partner or get a copy of his site code to run a parrallel market in Europe.

I'm going ask something that I don't think that anyone else has.

Would you take a personal check, or a money order in lieu of cash?

Hoarding and saving are the same thing.  It won't take any kind of 'concerted effort' to get those with mass volumes of Bitcoin to start spending when the time is right.  Bitcoins aren't mature yet, not really ready for mass consumption anyway.  This will change at some point in the next couple of years, after the price stablizes.  Which cannot happen while either the market is still in it's massive expansion, or with the inflation of Bitcoin over 10% APR.  I'd say sometime around 2012 bitcoin will either be a maturing technology, or it will become obvious that we've all been fools.


There is no evidence that I've seen that Bitcoin is in a bubble.

Wouldn't be particularly useful in a real emergency anyway.  A single repeater station doesn't really have enough useful range for that.  However, I've been following a new wireless tech called Dash7 that I'd love to have on my phone, that has a functional range of 2km at 6 milliwatts, as well as an automatic 'ad-hoc' mesh network topology.  Couldn't support speech or any high bandwidth data of any sort, but it looks like the Jabber protocol is a beautiful fit, and would work great in an emergency with some GPS code extensions to the 'presence' part of the protocol.  It also looks like it would be a good way to distribute Bitcoin TX (transaction notices) to nearby mobile devices in a city that Bitcoin were used to buy things IRL, should that ever happen.  If Dash7 becomes common on smartphones, someone will write a phone to phone texting program eventually, and Dash7 would become the texting version of Citizens' Band radio.  It may be noisy, often slow, and prone to interference; but it would be free and not subject to a need for infrastructure support.

What you need is an escrow, which is something that no one has yet done for Bitcoin, because it would require that at least the escrow manager be willing to expose his own real identity.  I've been considering setting up an escrow service for Bitcoin, but I'm still not convinced that there is enough of a demand to justify the loss of my autonomy.

Why don't you just start telling your clients that you also accept Bitcoin for your services, and let them figure out how to get them in their own way?

I don't know how ebay defines it.

fiat currencies are backed by governments.  The backing of any institution, or none at all, doesn't change the nature of a currency; only potentially it's public faith.

I never said anything about evil Germans.  That would imply that I was European.

So there are at least two German nationals just on this tread alone using the English section.  Why not a German section?  If there are two Germans with good enough English skills to manage interested in Bitcoins, surely there are more who are not so skilled in English.  Also, have either of you guys seen www.flinc.org or www.flinc.mobi?  I know it's not particularly related, but I've already brought up Bitcoin with these guys, and have never received any kind of reply on the idea.  I could really use this Flinc system, since I don't own a car of my own.

Or craigslist.  But the problem is that in both cases the seller of bitcoins must initiate the auction, and must assume most of the risk since there is no present evidence that there would be enough bidders on Ebay for the offered lot of bitcoins would fetch anything near the market price.  I've tried to put up an add on Craigslist to buy bitcoins, and never got any bites.

That didn't last long, now the price bounced back up to over 8 cents.  Glitch, maybe?

Dagnabbit!  I missed another one!  The currency price on MtGox has fallen to under a cent and the volume shot through the roof.  I know no other details, but I looks like someone wanted to be a major market mover.

I meant more than the standard "low" 2-3% annually.  All of the recent bubbles had a fedreserve induced inflation componet to them.  The tech bubble, the real estate bubble and the stock bubble were all linked to inflation in some capacity.  Now we are in a state of deflation as a result of those bubbles popping, and there are still people who claim that inflation has been under control this entire time?