[1. How do we make BTC easier to use?]

Hi.  I'm new, as you can tell by posting this forum.  I have some questions I'd like to throw out there with regard to the Bitcoin (BTC) economy and how it will grow.  I promise I'm not trolling (not that you can ever trust someone who says this), just curious and I'd like to see what the feedback is.  If these issues are discussed elsewhere more appropriate, point me to it and I'll take my questions there when I get out of Newb Mode.

1.  How do we make BTC easier to use?

Imagine trying to explain BTC to your [insert non-technical family member here].  I consider myself a fairly technical person, and I'm struggling to understand how to actually keep my pile of bit-cents safe.  If the average person could use BTC safely and understandably, then the economy would grow vastly beyond where it is now.  As it is, there's an 8-step process involving making a boot disk on some flash drive to secure your BTC.  Let's be honest, that's too much work for most people. 

Also, I forget passwords on a regular basis.  The idea of putting my money into a locked vault so secure that I could lock myself out of it (along with everyone else) does not sound smart or feasible.  How can we solve these issues?

2.  How do we convince people BTC is about more than buying illegal crap in the US?

Do a Google News search for BTC and you're likely to find stories about how BTC is evil because people are using it to buy illegal stuff (principally drugs) more anonymously.  The only thing that's going to accomplish is getting various US legislative bodies to make our life more difficult.  I'm not suggesting we try to control how the BTC is used; we just need to replace the negative publicity with something positive.  What is that positive thing, and how do we get it out there?

There are likely some people with a "screw you" attitude towards any US legislative action.  So be it.  However, if you want the BTC economy to grow (and your BTC to appreciate in value), then I think that's a bad attitude for business.  Constructive solutions would be more productive.

3.  Who will be BTC's first major user?

I feel like the BTC economy would gain much more momentum with one star user.  It could be a person or a business, but someone or something that turns a lot of heads when they announce they'll use it.  Maybe Amazon?  Google?  What would it take?