high tech is not the solution to the problems in your previous emails, but my comment was a bit of a sidetrack (that i wish to drop from this thread after this point is made):

i was strictly talking about an idea of how to hide a hot wallet server, disconnected from your previous points. the above, provided some basic precaution on part of the developer, would not reveal a means into the wallet server.

i wonder if it would be possible to 'hide' the hot wallet server by putting it on its own box, and only allowing tor hidden service connections in.

that way, the IP at least would never be known...

i think it's perfectly sensible to start such a guide with this kind of stuff, although i would drop the conspiratorial tone (even if it proves to be true).

How to make a secure bitcoin application.

CHAP 1: Why is security crucial when making bitcoin applications?
CHAP 1A: Security anecdotes from bitcoin's history (aka Stupid Mistakes)
CHAP 2: Basic server security
CHAP 3: Hot wallets vs Cold Wallets

etc

let's just say for the moment that whether it's basic security or 'bitcoin security' doesn't matter. we NEED to provide our community with great guides so that enthusiastic young people, even inexperienced, can read it and build according to standard.

and that means the rest of the community can say to them, hey, did you run through part X of our procedure? please publish your results.

i don't imagine something so advanced as a 'test suite' for all sites (impossible, i'm sure), but i do think we could at least start to imagine standards.

What would be nice is a preconfigured server optimized for bitcoin security and privacy. 

So with BTC there is no insurance or anything like that with your money? Basically anyone that has the knowledge to hack their way into your wallet/account and take your BTC they end up with it?

While all passwords were changed after the theft which occurred May 11th, the password for LastPass was not compromised and thus left unchanged.

....because even the most trusted vendors trading in Bitcoins eventually steal. A currency is only as valuable at the trust that individuals have in it. I shut off my miners today (6 Ghash/s) even as the price increases because I don’t trust it anymore. Too many problems for too long. I will still watch but I won't engage again unless many things change.

I would be happy with a global payment platform which rivals  PayPal but the govts of the world aren't going to shut down the internets.  It isn't going to happen.  Ever.

How can it be as underground as possible while become the #1 currency??

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So we should completely disregard this when introducing new merchants and users to Bitcoin, rather than state that it is currently extremely difficult and improbable?

quick clarification: HTML is not a protocol, HTTP is (may not matter for non-techies)

I think the moral issues don't stem from the practice of lending money itself.  I don't see any issue with that (and there are good arguments already in this thread of why it's in fact essential to an economy).  The moral issues are related to what you allow as collateral for a debt and what happens in the event someone is unable to repay a debt.  For example, I'd argue that it's immoral to allow a person to be enslaved when they cannot repay a debt.  Few people would probably disagree…however, the question of what constitutes enslavement is not so straightforward.  Lenders will just have to factor into their risk model that they cannot turn someone into a slave in the event they don't repay their debt.

I would argue that the fundamentals of our current economic malaise rest in it being legalised and bought into general use.

I've been impressed with the orange logo as a sort of spontaneous-order success.  It is attractive and simple with only two colors and yet still very unique.  It is easy to print on stickers and shirts.  You can recognize it at great distance on a sign and also as a small icon on a computer or smartphone.  I can't think of any other common logos that it can be confused with.  The ubuntu font used for "bitcoin" in the long form meshes nicely with the unpretentious style of the orange logo and bitcoin as a whole.

I think the satoshi design is nice as well, but I see it as more of a dress-up, formal logo since it is more complicated and not as recognizable at a distance.  It is riding on the coattails of gold coinage, whereas the orange logo is its own person.

I think a complete redesign would be a bad idea at this point.  I'm also not sure any slight modification of the orange logo would be worth the investment, but hey, it's a free currency, so do what you want!