2013-11-08 ZDNET Why dollars are better than bitcoins (and always will be)

[superduh]

http://www.zdnet.com/why-dollars-are-better-than-bitcoins-and-always-will-be-7000022986/

The ideologies and my responses:

Distributed currency - Who cares? What's the real advantage to that?
No government or bank controls it - OK. Again, so what?
Transactions are anonymous - Not true at all but why should that matter unless you're doing something that requires anonymity**? Use cash instead.

followed by

After all that, here's what I really think of Bitcoin and the whole Bitcoin frenzy:

Bitcoin was an experiment—an anonymously created project and that's all.
Bitcoin is interesting from a purely esoteric point-of-view not a practical one.
People will fall for just about anything that they think is anti-government.
People will fall for just about anything.
Just about anything can be used as currency.
Being distributed is no advantage.
Being P2P is no advantage.
Not being controlled by a bank or government is no advantage.
Bitcoins are susceptible to theft and hacking.
Bitcoin transactions are not anonymous.
It's mostly hype and ideology.
The hype is derived from a clever marketing plan perpetrated to artificially raise the value of something that has no value.
Is more akin to cigarettes in prison rather than a real world currency.
Just because people are jumping on the bandwagon doesn't make it something you should get involved with***.
It's OK with me if people use Bitcoin, however, don't try to pay me with it.
I don't care if there are Bitcoin vending machines. Cigarettes used to be sold in vending machines too.
The perceived value is too volatile for a real currency.
Bitcoin is a bad name. It should have been Bitbucks or Bitbux. Bad call.
Just because you like it, doesn't mean anyone else has to. I don't like bubble tea either, so what.
In ten years, Bitcoin will be one of the things you laugh about.
If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

i will refrain from making obvious comments about the author

[1714163590]

1714163590

[djalexr]

it makes me want to pull my eyes out

[Steveia]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

[oue.st]

Oh, and you should consult the Bitcoin FAQ before making outlandish claims. Also check this page before telling me how anti-hack and theft-proof Bitcoin is too.

Still don't understand how people can mix up bitcoin network (which never been hacked) and marketplaces (who do). It's like saying dollar is shit each time that a bank get robbered.

[wachtwoord]

it makes me want to pull my eyes out

Why? He isn't interested. Who cares?

[Carlton Banks]

Currencies are a fairly abstract concept to most people, so arguments like these will convince even those who reckon themselves a little sharper than average. It's just another hitpiece, just a new format is all (short list like structure).

If Bitcoin is to succeed, then this sort of thing will not matter in the end anyway, and so those who do get the concept can maximise the potential to them while most others ignore it as instructed. That's not such a bad thing, overall.

[impulse]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

You mean like how I have to "purchase" U.S. dollars when I visit the States so that I may participate in their economy? This is not actually a strange concept.

[p2pbucks]

FED pay ZDNET to write this stupid article ?

[Gabi]

My failometer just exploded, fail is over 9000. Now i have to get a new failometer 

[goxed]

Luddite x 1E8

P2P is distributed, why to repeat??

Code:

Being distributed is no advantage.
Being P2P is no advantage.

[Jouke]

it makes me want to pull my eyes out

Why? He isn't interested. Who cares?

His loss

[BlackBison]

it makes me want to pull my eyes out

Why? He isn't interested. Who cares?

His loss

Exactly. To quote a villain from everyone's current favourite series:

'The lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.'

 

[LiteCoinGuy]

it would be strange if all people love bitcoin. of course there are people that dont like it or dont understand it or dont want it.

so its a good sign 

[Steveia]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

You mean like how I have to "purchase" U.S. dollars when I visit the States so that I may participate in their economy? This is not actually a strange concept.

Not quite (you have a valid argument though). I suspect a more correct analogy would be a US citizen buying US dollars to purchase some goods or services in US dollars. Hence, to a non-Bitcoiner, this is not logical (at face value).

Bitcoin is a different currency and thus one does need to exchange one currency to another to buy something. But the author is arguing why exchange one currency for another when the original currency can be used to purchase it directly. So, for example, why would I exchange British pounds for Bitcoins to buy a domain and hosting when I can use pounds directly? The answer varies between the one selling and the one buying. You may find some of those answers in my original post above your quote.

[zeroday]

Ken Hess is too happy and euphoric about his 40 US dollars per hour now, so he just cannot realize what will happen to the value of his pension fund when he retires.
I suspect he is sitting hard on antidepressants subsidized by government  

[dave111223]

Why the Polio vaccine is dumb:

Walking...Who Cares?  Chicks dig guys in wheelchairs anyway
High fever...that saves money on the heating bill
Pills and needles are for drug addicts and junkies
Healthy muscle tissue...no advantage
Getting old sucks anyway

[oakpacific]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

That  is pure fantasy disguised as truth, I can't buy most goods sold in China with U.S currency, your visa/master cards just don't work there, and vice versa. While with bitcoins, I can signup and charge any local payment system as long as there are local people willing to exchange for bitcoins.

[Steveia]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

That  is pure fantasy disguised as truth, I can't buy most goods sold in China with U.S currency, your visa/master cards just don't work there, and vice versa. While with bitcoins, I can signup and charge any local payment system as long as there are local people willing to exchange for bitcoins.

What exactly are you arguing against? The original author of the piece is not making the argument you are making. The argument against Bitcoin is why would someone purchase Bitcoin with his or her local currency to buy goods or services instead of buying them directly? You can't buy goods in China with US dollars but you can buy goods in the US with US dollars. So if this is the case, why exchange them for bitcoins, when they can be used directly?

I gave my reasons above.

[greenbone]

this is just link bait, nothing more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_bait

[oakpacific]

If you have to purchase a currency in order to buy stuff that you can buy anyway, there's something screwy about that.

This is perhaps the most true. But one must understand the important reasons why this is, instead of just traducing it. There are issues related to charge backs, credit scores, privacy, transcending legal boundaries, and a train of other reasons.

There is more to Bitcoin than just buying "stuff."

That  is pure fantasy disguised as truth, I can't buy most goods sold in China with U.S currency, your visa/master cards just don't work there, and vice versa. While with bitcoins, I can signup and charge any local payment system as long as there are local people willing to exchange for bitcoins.

What exactly are you arguing against? The original author of the piece is not making the argument you are making. The argument against Bitcoin is why would someone purchase Bitcoin with his or her local currency to buy goods or services instead of buying them directly? You can't buy goods in China with US dollars but you can buy goods in the US with US dollars. So if this is the case, why exchange them for bitcoins, when they can be used directly?

I gave my reasons above.

I argue exactly against the original author: you indeed can't buy some goods in USD which you can buy in Bitcoin. There are a lot of things you want which are simply not available locally in a nation, and it's a well known fact that global corporations price their products vastly different in different nations, in combination with a freight forwarder, Bitcoin avails you to buy things you couldn't buy, this is not just a theoretical possibility, it's something immediately practicable after a bit of investigation.