Bitcoin press hits, notable sources

[Intervex Digital]

Bitcoin will be a topic of discussion on NPR's Morning Edition tomorrow http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/

ETA:
Here is a direct link to the player...  Overall it's a good program, BUT it's a bit outdated... Mentioned using MyBitcoin, though at the very end there's a 5 second overdub saying MyBitcoin had been robbed in the time since the story was produced.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=138673630&m=139901524

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[julz]

More from the blogger Anthony Freeman who has written a few pro-bitcoin pieces.

Bitcoin: The Ultimate Offshore Bank Account
2011-08-23
http://economicsandliberty.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/bitcoin-the-ultimate-offshore-bank-account/

" Cultivate and utilize a personal network of exchange partners to help you move in and out of your existing national currency. As more individuals become users and exchangers individual liberty will flourish."

[julz]

Bored With Bitcoin? BitInstant Is About to Goose the Market By Making Trading Faster
2011-08-23 Adrianne Jeffries
http://www.betabeat.com/2011/08/23/bored-with-bitcoin-bitinstant-is-about-to-goose-the-market-by-making-trading-faster/

In general I try to post blog/news items that at least appear somewhat external to what I'd call the 'bitcoin community' (or potentially have an audience that is outside it)
As part of the New York Observer.. I guess betabeat fits that bill.. although perhaps Adrianne Jeffries is in danger of being drawn in a little too close.

Not that bitinstant isn't an interesting development.. but I haven't quite grasped how it really changes things on a global scale.
I'm not sure how it is
" likely to encourage a new crop of casual traders and the Bitcoin-curious " as she states.
(From Australia - I've managed to deposit funds to MtGox within 24hrs (well once anyway) - but I don't yet see how bitinstant will improve on that for me.  Perhaps there are more deposit hurdles from within the US banking system.)

I hope betabeat manages to maintain enough distance to avoid becoming a mere mouthpiece for bitcoin projects (interesting though they may be).. and focus on issues that are novel or also of wider appeal.

[coinhammer]

Not a bad writeup here http://www.gadgetking.com/2011/08/23/mining-bitcoin-for-fun-and-profit/

[Current-C]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/24/138673630/what-is-bitcoin

I think the podcast is a rehash but the story is on the front page of NPR.com right now.

[netrin]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/08/24/138673630/what-is-bitcoin

I think the podcast is a rehash but the story is on the front page of NPR.com right now.

There is a short recap of events at the end (such as Bruce's mybitcoin losses)

[herzmeister]

Elektrischer Reporter, a professional and popular German video podcast about net culture and society now and in the future (at times ironic, exaggerated and hilarious), published a new episode about a fictional P2P cryptocurrency:

http://www.elektrischer-reporter.de/phase3/video/246/

In some years, traditional state economies as we know will run dry of money supply and will vanish, and the net citizens will fund projects like building an Eiffel Tower replica out of chocolate.

Bitcoin is mentioned to be the foundation and role model for this fictional currency, mind you.

This show is also transmitted on mainstream TV by the German public federal broadcaster ZDF via its information channel.

[julz]

Tradehill Brightens the Bitcoin Market with E-Wallet Beta
KIT DOTSON
2011-08-24
http://siliconangle.com/blog/2011/08/24/tradehill-brightens-the-bitcoin-market-with-e-wallet-beta/

"Tradehill, for the most part, has done a solid job of trading in bitcoins and has now announced the beta release of its very own e-wallet: Bitcoin.com."

"Also in recent news, Tradehill has added Dwolla back to their funding options"

[99Percent]

Was surprised to see an a full two page article in this months Linux Format Magazine (UK) titled "What on Earth is bitcoin?" This is a printed magazine.

A fanciful article that seemed balanced but ended in a sour note about the EFF not accepting bitcoins for donations.

[julz]

Was surprised to see an a full two page article in this months Linux Format Magazine (UK) titled "What on Earth is bitcoin?" This is a printed magazine.

A fanciful article that seemed balanced but ended in a sour note about the EFF not accepting bitcoins for donations.

Thanks for the hit note.  Good to hear about magazine articles even if they're not available on line.
Found it here but pdf available only to subscribers unsurprisingly.

What on Earth: Bitcoin
Here's why you're unlikely to make a fortune generating your own stash of open source currency... (Graham Morrison)
http://www.linuxformat.com/archives?issue=148

[julz]

Only one mention of bitcoin - and I'm not sure bitcoin is necessarily best suited to micropayments on a large scale.
(At least not in current form.. I gather some of the 'scripting' proposals may make it more suitable for this sort of thing)

Credit Cards Are Killing Creativity: The Case for a New Online Payments System
Michael Moore-Jones
2011-08-24
http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/08/credit-cards-are-killing-creat.php

"So, what should we do to provide an alternative to the current credit card payment system? Micropayments aren't enough - we need to be talking nanopayments. There must be a ubiquitous digital payment system that gives content producers the ability to charge for their content, from amounts as small as one cent. Bitcoin is one of the key current players in this space, and the new social exchange MyCube is also working on solving this problem."

[julz]

A merchant selling bumper stickers and buttons.. for whom the volatility of bitcoin is apparently a showstopper:

Bitcoins in Decline
JCLIFFORD
2011-08-24
http://irregulartimes.com/index.php/archives/2011/08/24/bitcoins-in-decline/

"That’s a loss of over one fifth of the currency’s value in just one month. If we had accepted 100 dollars worth of Bitcoin payments on July 15, we’d have less than 80 dollars worth of Bitcoin today."

[julz]

This blogger seems to think the 'main site' has been hacked - referring to bitcoin.org (did I miss something?)

BITCOIN – VIRTUAL MONEY
http://moneyinterest.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/bitcoin-virtual-money/

It's interesting how the echoes of bitcoin issues reverberate...
Within the bitcoin community such issues may seem to be bumps already well behind on the road.. but to other's they're signs that the road isn't to be travelled down.

It seems as though the Bitcoin has already seen its day.

EDIT: I'm really stretching 'notable' with blog posts like this.. I guess I have a slight bias towards treating this thread as something of a 'how does bitcoin look from the outside'.
I'll try to keep the obscure blog reports to a minimum.. but when there's misinformation potentially worthy of some commenter attention, or an interesting angle.. well it's tempting to throw some of them in.

[julz]

Where Have All the 6970s Gone?
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Where-Have-All-6970s-Gone

" The reason for the lack of product on shelves is not one of demand.  So basically bitcoin miners have not purchased every single card on the market (unlike the HD 5830, which is a favorite of the group).  The problem is supply."

Well that's a relief.. one less world problem that bitcoin can be blamed for!

[julz]

A Currency for Nerds
2011-08-24
http://www.constitutionaldaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1034:a-currency-for-nerds&catid=42:news&Itemid=71

"Without FDIC protection, or a realistic threat of an FBI investigation, it would look like hacking is going to be a problem for some time, which could seriously deflate the value of Bitcoin, though MyBitcoin is working to get the money back for people who were robbed. Deflated value or not though, it's still a better currency than prestige."

[julz]

A Sydney radio station aired a piece on Bitcoin last night.. I've been unable to track down any info so far.
Did anyone here hear it?

I forgot to ask my source if the accents were american.. it occurs to me this might just have been a rebroadcast of the npr story.

[julz]

Botnet attacks pizza delivery service
http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Botnet-attacks-pizza-delivery-service-1330816.html

"Its initial primary purpose was to mine bitcoins, a virtual online currency. But Kaspersky security specialist Tillmann Werner has discovered that infected computers have recently downloaded a new file, ddhttp.exe."

"All of the targets are either estate agency portals or food industry sites, such as pizza delivery services. "

I feel it's only a matter of time before we see the first software agents which roam the internet with their own wallet - making a living daytrading.. and sending occasional pizza offerings to their creator.



Another story on the same issue..

http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1817

[D.H.]

An opinion piece by Rick Falkvinge in Swedish technology and IT newspaper "Ny Teknik". Has quite a lot of readers, 135 comments on that article so far.

http://www.nyteknik.se/asikter/debatt/article3237279.ece

(It's in swedish, could probably be translated using Google Translate with decent results)

[garton]

An opinion piece by Rick Falkvinge in Swedish technology and IT newspaper "Ny Teknik". Has quite a lot of readers, 135 comments on that article so far.

http://www.nyteknik.se/asikter/debatt/article3237279.ece

(It's in swedish, could probably be translated using Google Translate with decent results)

No need for google translate, Rick Falkvinge posted a translation on his blog:

http://falkvinge.net/2011/08/25/days-of-reckoning-fast-approaching-for-banks/

For those of you who don't know, Falkvinge is the founder of the swedish Pirate Party, the first pirate party in the world. He has been blogging about bitcoin before. Those posts are well worth your time if you have not read them, he is a good writer:

http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/04/bitcoins-four-hurdles-part-one-usability/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/18/bitcoins-four-drivers-part-two-international-trade/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/08/bitcoins-four-hurdles-part-three-escrow/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/10/bitcoins-four-hurdles-part-four-exchanges/

http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/16/bitcoins-four-drivers-part-one-unlawful-trade/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/06/18/bitcoins-four-drivers-part-two-international-trade/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/07/03/bitcoins-four-drivers-part-3-merchant-trade/
http://falkvinge.net/2011/07/05/bitcoins-four-drivers-part-4-investment/

[99Percent]

Bitcoin mentioned in this month's Reason Magazine (October 2011) page 10:

"Busting Bitcoin. Senators target virtual currency" by Peter Suderman.

He reports on the lame attempt by some senators to try to ban the currency, and explains how a developer of bitcoin contacted by Reason's Katherine Mangu-Ward noted that "Attempting major illicit transactions with Bitcoin, given existen statistical analysis techniques deployed in the field by law enforcement, is pretty damned dumb"