JP Morgan Chase is doing the right thing here and being prudent, by limiting withdrawals using debit cards affected by the Target breach. This is one more reason why one should never use a debit card. I use cash, credit cards, cheques and now Bitcoin instead. The advantage of a credit card over a debit card in this situation is that one's bank account is not impacted. As for cash and Bitcoin the advantages are clear. Cheques being an older, and unpopular, method of payment are also way less likely to this kind of fraud.

It is very relevant to Bitcoin because Bitcoin it at the same stage in development today as the Internet was in 1993.

PS: 5.25in floppy disks can be a great way to back up your wallet.dat

My personal experience is with Namecoin (NMC). I sold my NMC for BTC on November 29, 2013 for 0.01251 BTC per NMC for the reasons stated above. Today I would get 0.0069 BTC per NMC.

They do not:

Here are some examples:

NMC/BTC http://www.cryptocoincharts.info/period-charts.php?period=3-months&resolution=day&pair=nmc-btc&market=btc-e

LTC/BTC http://www.cryptocoincharts.info/period-charts.php?period=3-months&resolution=day&pair=ltc-btc&market=btc-e

It is a behaviour not unlike that silver with respect to gold. Silver tends to peak in terms of gold when gold peaks in terms of USD. The psychology is gold is very expensive so the masses buy silver instead. The same psychology is for example evident with LTC vs BTC. BTC (gold) at 1240 USD is very expensive so the masses buy LTC (silver) instead. Yet the BTC peak is the point in time when it makes the most sense to trade one's LTC for BTC.

Ever heard of combining different assets together reduce risk and volatility while maximizing returns? Consider this for example invest 95% in short term US treasury bills and 5% in Bitcoin. The combined return in terms of USD will exceed that of many hedge funds while the risk and volatility in terms of USD will actually be well below.

Edit: The above is the reason why many hedge funds will take a serious look at Bitcoin for a small percentage of their assets.

... and why would I need to spend my Bitcoins in order to charge a device over USB from my car's battery / alternator? Let me guess a car infected with DRM such as this Renault? http://boingboing.net/2013/11/13/renault-ships-a-brickable-car.html

Why would one need money transmitter licenses in 50 states in order to set up a Bitcoin ATM in 1 state?

As a baby boomer I would never let my Bitcoins anywhere near the DRM infected and heavily censored iPhone. I prefer GNU/Linux for handling Bitcoin. As for the iPhone and iPad they would be my second choice after the Microsoft Surface (Windows 8 RT) if I ever had the contract to install the telescreens in George Orwell’s 1984. Seriously the DRM and centralized control in these devices makes them ideal for the telescreen application. Other than as a telescreen under the control of the Ministry of Truth (Apple), I am too old to see the point of the iPhone and the iPad.

One thing many of my generation do not understand is why so many young people these days spend so much time updating every detail of their lives on Facebook so that the NSA can track their every movement? I mean there was a woman who literally walked of a pier into the sea while checking Facebook. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25426263 I guess it was imperative that the NSA track her at the bottom of the ocean.

PS: Among the many things that Apple has censored is Bitcoin.

Right now I would say Android. The other option is to wait for Ubuntu Phone OS http://www.ubuntu.com/phone. Since Ubuntu Phone OS contains third party GPL V3 code it will be impossible to lockdown and censor applications like Apple's IOS or Microsoft's Windows phone. As to what is wrong with Microsoft phone OS, it basically has the same problem as Windows 8 RT. OS lockdown and application censorship enforced by DRM.

1) The ability to install applications without having first to get the permission of some company
2) It is Free Libre Open Source Software

It also has the same problems with lockdown and censorship as IOS

The crucial difference is that if an app in not allowed in the Play Store / Android Market it can still be installed on Android because Android allows for installation of Apps from outside the Play Store / Android Market. The censorship in the Apple case arises not because of the policies of the iTunes store but rather because IOS only allows for installation of apps from the ITunes store. The restriction in IOS of only allowing applications from the ITunes store to be installed on IOS means that in many cases Apple is always in the wrong regardless of whether they allow or not allow an app in the iTunes store. The same situation arises with Windows 8 RT and its restriction of only allowing apps from the Microsoft store.

Edit: The one sure way to prevent this kind of censorship is an operating system that contains GPL v3 code, because if a vendor tried to restrict what apps can be installed on such an OS they would be liable to copyright infringement. This is why GNU/Linux is currently the best option for an OS.

I have to agree with the OP and call for the Bitcoin community to boycott Apple, particularly IOS; however I must say this boycott needs to be extended also to Windows Phone / Windows RT. Apple has indeed become Big Brother and IOS platform has effectively become the telescreen of the 21st century. Microsoft with Windows 8 RT / Windows phone has decided to emulate Apple here is currently little brother. The boycott needs also to be applied also against Windows 8 RT / Windows phone to prevent this little brother from becoming another Big Brother. The fundamental problem lies with the requirement that only software obtained from an authorised store may be installed on these devices. The crucial difference with Android is that end users on Android can elect to allow the installation of applications from out side the Android Market / Play Store on their devices.

We must first consider that when Satoshi developed Bitcoin a critical assumption was made in that the end user of a computing device would have complete control over the computing device. This assumption is still for the most part correct on the desktop / laptop platforms (although it is currently being eroded by Apple and Microsoft) but is far from the case on mobile. This is critical for the security of Bitcoin. Furthermore what exactly is the point of eliminating the banks as third parties in financial transactions if the vendor of the operating system becomes the all controlling third party?

The history of the IOS platform is literally one of censorship and oppression. Bitcoin is only a very recent addition to the Apple censorship list. To understand how pervasive Apple censorship has become one only needs to search for Apple Censorship. Furthermore, and this should be a warning in particular to Libertarians, this type of censorship by the private sector easily becomes a tool for state sponsored censorship and oppression. http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/apple-blocks-app-developed-chinese-activists-and-radio-netherlands-worldwide-0. Let us not forget that this is an example of using the DRM built into IOS to assist the state in censoring the Internet.

Should the boycott also apply to the desktop version Max OS X? While at this point the censorship still does not apply to the desktop we must keep in mind that most of Apple is already taking some steps towards censorship on the desktop in particular with gatekeeper. Given Apple's commercial success with IOS the temptation of extending it to the desktop may simply be to great in the future.

But what about Microsoft? Windows 8 RT has thankfully turned out to be a dud in the marketplace largely because of the locked bootloader and the requirement that only applications obtained from the approved store may be installed on Windows 8 RT. The has led to a close to 1 billion USD loss for Microsoft on Windows 8 RT devices. Unfortunately Microsoft is responding to this loss not by getting rid of the DRM and lockdown on Windows 8 RT but instead by dropping the licensing fee. http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/11/5199446/microsoft-considers-free-versions-windows-phone-windows-rt This could potentially pose a threat to Bitcoin, if Microsoft floods the market with cheap locked down devices that behave like the telescreen in  George Orwell's 1984.

The best solution is Operating Systems that are Free Libre Open Source Software. GNU/Linux, Android, Free BSD  etc. If the operating system contains GPL V3 code, as is currently the case with GNU/Linux but not with Android, then this provides protection against a locked bootloader. For this reason in the case of Android it is very important to first verify that one can “root” the device before purchase.

Some will say that Bitcoin needing for certain business models to fail, is a negative aspect of Bitcoin. The reality is that at a very fundamental level Bitcoin is incompatible with censorship, oppression, the suppression of free speech, the suppression of civil liberties, in fact the suppression of most basic human rights. If a particular business model depends on censorship, oppression, the suppression of free speech, the suppression of civil liberties, the suppression of any of the most basic human rights then it needs to fail, for far more important reasons than Bitcoin. If Bitcoin helps bring it down then this must be considered a feature and not a flaw of Bitcoin.

There is still a lot of upside with "just the geeks" Market share of GNU/Linux on the desktop 1.56% http://www.netmarketshare.com/. World M1 money supply 21 Trillion USD,  1.56% of 21 Trillion USD, 327 Billion USD or 27,000 USD per BTC.

The security problem with Android regarding the quality of random numbers was actually fixed promptly by Google; however this did not mean that the patches were uploaded by the telcos. Those who broke the DRM by rooting their phones and unlocking the bootloaders were of course able to apply the security patch. What is critical to understand here is that in order to have security in Android one had to break the DRM. Android is the least worse solution in mobile; however it can be made secure if one take over control of the device away from the manufacturers and telcos by rooting.  The best solution for Bticion safety is of course GNU/Linux; however until something like Ubuntu phone OS starts to become popular Android is by far the best option in mobile.

It can have a very significant impact on the BTC/USD rate on MTGox, much like the trading of derivatives including options and futures can have on the stock, commodity and fiat currency markets. Let us not forget that the market makers on Plus500 and Avatrade have to hedge their positions by trading BTC for USD on MTGox.

I am a client of AvaTrade and find the ability to trade Bitcoin CFDs to be an excellent complement to holding a long term BTC position. This is especially true when taking advantage of a falling market without risking one's BTC and triggering unrealized capital gains on one's BTC.

The ability to trade Bitcoin CFD's is simply a sign of the growing maturity of the Bitcoin market.

We need to realize that at a very basic level Apple’s business model for IOS is fundamentally incompatible with Bitcoin. Let us not forget that the entire security model of Bitcoin is based on a decentralized network. A critical part of the security model for Bitcoin is that end users have full control over their computing devices. If one gives this control to a centralized "authority" namely Apple by the means of DRM then this defeats the entire security model of Bitcoin.

If the above is not a good enough reason one must also keep in mind that radical disruptive innovation will never take place on a platform where one has to get permission from the status quo in order to innovate.

The best solution is for the widespread adoption of Bitcoin to drive Apple with their DRM infected and censorship ridden IOS business model (which by the way is straight out of George Orwell's 1984) into bankruptcy.

http://Avatrade.com  They are their main competitor in the Bitcoin CFD field.

No. As with AvaTrade their main competitor for trading Bitcoin CFDs (Contract for Difference) they trade a contract on the price of Bitcoin in USD (MTGox) long or short on margin. This is basically how most Forex Brokers operate. One cannot "take delivery"