That would be really great.

LW6Bqqk74D4t7WHTD2URAAFdRmYKYYk2mF

Thank you very much
Matt

Hi there,

I would like to ask how version management of Altcoin wallets is currently being handled?

In the last 4 weeks (aka the time I have spent with Altcoins) I have noticed 3 major challenges:

1. New Wallet versions being introduced without everyone upgrading
2. New Wallet versions are sometimes incompatible to the old wallets => people lose their coins
3. Every new altcoin requires its own wallet software (=> issues (1) and (2) get even worse with every wallet installed)

Re 1) Not everyone is as active as you guys. Not everyone knows when his QT wallet must be upgraded. I would like to propose that all QT wallets have an "autoupdate" feature which checks at least once a day if a new version is released. Pretty much like an iPad/iPhone-App or an Adobe/Microsoft/Apple/PrettyMuchEveryOtherSoftwareVendor-application. They all check for updates all the time. Some even allow automatic updates so the user is never bothered with such admin tasks. I think, every wallet should have that feature and it should be activated by default. Advanced user can - of course - switch it off (e.g. by a command like "autoupdate false" or so).

Re 2) Take a look at QBT (or others): when v3 was released, the blockchain of v2 was abandoned. As I said before: not everyone is as active as you. I am sure that there are people out there that invested hard cash into buying v2 QBT, did not realize that they must switch over to v3 within days, and now lost all their money because their v2 coins are useless. Not really sure how to handle this. One way could be a mandatory escrow service accessing the frozen old blockchain to payout to new versions. But I am not sure how that could be enfored in reality.

Re 3) I think one way to solve this is by building a plugin-mechanism with version control for Meta-Wallets. What do I mean by this? Well, instead of installing a completely new wallet software for each altcoin, there should only be 1 single Meta-Wallet that can handle all altcoins (even those that have just been released seconds ago). In my opinion, the best way to deal with this is by means of a plugin-system. So the standard source-code does not only generate the QT and the XXXd file but also the XXXd-plugin (implementing the entire QT minus the GUI, but plus the plugin-interface). This plugin should result in 1 file that is published in the Meta-Wallet-repository. Seconds after this has been done, all Meta-Wallets around the globe can download and install the plugin and handle the new currency. Since that plugin is essentially a QT without a GUI, it can implment all features of the native QT and consequently be part of the network of the respective currency.
The same way, if a new version has to be introduced, the Meta-Wallet-Repo makes sure that it updates automatically. All the devs have to do is to make sure they update the Metawallet-repo whenever they release something new. I am sure they will do that in their own interest because after all, they want everyone to update.

Any thoughs from you?
Do you think that makes sense / is needed / is doable?

Thanks
Matt

I transferred a small amount from bitcoin.de to BTC-e and Cryptsy over 1 hour ago but they don't show up.
According to blockchain.info, it took almost 1 hour before the 1st confirmation was created on one of the transactions.

I do understand that transactions take 10min on average but I don't understand >1hour.

Could someone explain to me why this might happen?

Thanks
Matt

It feels like I learn about a new altcoin almost daily - and it seems like a new altcoin is actually being introduced almost daily. But where? Where do people learn about a new altcoin for the first time? After all, the makers of new currencies must find new followers to make any currency a success...

I just read this story (a guy disposed of a hard drive holding 7500 btc):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25146685

What happens to those bitcoins now? Is there any way for him to retrieve them? Let's say he can find the address in the blockchain somehow - can he do anything to get his money back?

As far as I understand BTC, the system is based on digital signatures that require a private key. Since no BTC client I am aware of requires the manual creation of a key or key pair, I assume, this task is done automatically and fully transparent to the user. But where is that thing actually located? In the wallet? Or is there a second location? If it was in the wallet, creating a backup of the wallet file is all that would be necessary to make sure that no BTC are ever "lost", right?