Hardware comes out that can create coins at a record setting rate
Bitcoin is created at a rate of 25BTC every ten minutes. It doesn't matter what kind of hardware you throw at it, that does not change.
and results in the squeezing out of a large number of supporters,
Only a small number of miners. Hobbyist miners. A large number of miners who mine as a business instead of a hobby are still at it. And an even larger (WAY LARGER) number of bitcoin supporters aren't miners, but those who support everything that bitcoin does and allows.
the number one place to buy and sell the coins is down so often it should have an extra chromosome,
Funny, but a good thing. There's finally a reason for people to get themselves weaned off MtGox's centralization. I suspect Coinbase will become the largest in the US soon, just due to its convenience.
There will never be mainstream acceptance for Bitcoin because most people do not GIVE A FUCK about cryptocurrencies.
Most people did not GIVE A FUCK about smartphones (I had one since 2002). Or e-mail. Or internet. Or hell, even cars at one point. We see the benefits that bitcoin provides. Other people will too eventually.
Most people can't even keep their computer free of bloatware and wind up on finallyfast.com, WTF makes you think they are going to be able to learn about bitcoin, let alone actually possess the desire and ability to go out and use it for something they can just pay for with cash.
Almost no one pays with cash any more. Everyone pays with plastic cards or smartphones (the later is rare, but being more adopted). Everyone can use plastic cards and phones to pay with bitcoins eventually, too. You can already pay with bitcoins using phones, and it's only a matter of months until the hardware wallets and plastic cards come out that will allow even a grandma, on a WinXP machine, running Internet Explorer, and running every file e-mailed to her, to keep her coins safe.
But A LOT of people DO care about drugs, which is the only reason bitcoin even got this far. There are always going to be criminals who are ten steps ahead of everyone else.
But, in my mind, I feel like those people have already moved on from Bitcoin
You forgot tax evasion, bypassing currency controls and sanctions, gambling, illegal file sharing, anonymous VPN access...
Does SilkRoad accept Litecoin yet? Last time I checked, SilkRoad, online gambling sites, and shady characters willing to trade cryptocurrencies for fiat on the street only used bitcoin.
Oh yeah, they only made so much lead-based paint for a while too, doesn't make the value go up after it stopped production.
Not sure what you are trying to say with this. Does lead paint provide some sort if inherent utility that nothing else can provide?
If there is no reason to use bitcoins anymore (see: new technology that actually REWARDS decentralization), it doesnt matter how many are in your wallet,
So... how does the number of quality of developers, merchants, and hardware compare between that "new technology" and bitcoin? Are there any ATMs yet? Hardware wallets? Point of sale systems? Easy to use shopping card software plugins? Companies that can accept that "new technology" and deposit it into your account for you? Or do those "new technologies" just provide minor tweaks that don't really give anything new, and have little support because everyone else is using bitcoins?
Nobody wants your stupid ass tulips
Tulips are a multi-million dollar global business, accounting for a sizable chunk of Denmark's GDP. I *wish* bitcoin was as big as tulips.
