Assist with my simple, friendly client

[Nyhm]

I'm creating an easy-to-use wallet, built on BitCoinJ. New users should find it non-intimidating. Experienced users should find it refreshing.

I'm running it right now: 15cngwbgrZ7VFcPHkn9rgznxjZRdGctn8j

If folks donate a couple btc to that address it will help me test the wallet, and I will use the funds to buy a domain name, set up a site, and release a preliminary version as soon as possible. Thank you for any contribution you care to give!

UPDATE: I've released VanillaWallet v0.1 Continue the discussion here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=99845.0

[Mike Hearn]

Could you give us more details about how it'll differ from MultiBit?

By the way, an easy way to develop wallet software is to use a testnet-in-a-box. You get as many coins as you want and any scripts are allowed.

If you throw up some screenshots or some proof I might donate a coin or two, but really the cost of your time is going to be much higher than the cost of a domain name

[Nyhm]

Could you give us more details about how it'll differ from MultiBit?

By the way, an easy way to develop wallet software is to use a testnet-in-a-box. You get as many coins as you want and any scripts are allowed.

If you throw up some screenshots or some proof I might donate a coin or two, but really the cost of your time is going to be much higher than the cost of a domain name

First, thank you for your input (I'm a fan of BitCoinJ). I started by testing on testnet, then switched over to the production network, and it's been operating smoothly. My primary motivation for this post was to gage the interest of the community in a simpler client, so I appreciate your feedback.

MultiBit is a great client. I'd call it a general purpose Bitcoin client. As a Java developer, it's neat that it's written in Java/BitCoinJ, but to end users it's just another client (and a good one, to be sure).

My cilent is different. Whether the Bitcoin community will be into it, I cannot say, but I think it fills a nice niche for those who want a more minimalist approach. It may also appeal to less tech-savvy folks, once the masses start to learn about Bitcoin.

Certainly, you are correct, and I need to stop talking about it and get it out there. Donations or not, I will get a domain sooner or later.

[jim618]

Thanks for the comments !

The MultiBit code is all open source so feel free to reuse whatever you like.

Balsamic is very nice if you want to rough up the user interface and give everybody a first impression of your overall concept.

I will also be interested to see what you do with the private keys, as that is the number one question people ask about any wallet (especially web wallets).

Good luck with your project !

[MatthewLM]

A domain name is not at all expensive.

Will you release this as open-source software? And I agree screenshots would be nice.

[Nyhm]

Thanks for the comments !

The MultiBit code is all open source so feel free to reuse whatever you like.

Balsamic is very nice if you want to rough up the user interface and give everybody a first impression of your overall concept.

I will also be interested to see what you do with the private keys, as that is the number one question people ask about any wallet (especially web wallets).

Good luck with your project !

Thanks - I really appreciate that the BitCoinJ community is so supportive. I don't need to mock anything up -- it's running right now!

Aside from the BitCoinJ library, I've written all the wallet code myself. I've also added simple flat transaction fee support to the BitCoinJ Wallet (because the Satoshi client strongarms the network by refusing to even relay non-fee transactions that are under 0.01btc, which can even occur inadvertently for change... but maybe that's a rant for another topic...).

MY CLIENT IS NOT A WEB WALLET. Sorry to yell. It's a Java application. Private keys are currently not encrypted on disk (I'm using BitCoinJ-0.5.2 Wallet.saveToFile(..)). I've been following the MultiBit (your?) encrypted private key discussions, and it's very promising. In the future, I will either require a passphrase at startup and save the wallet to an encrypted file stream, or wait for BitCoinJ-supported private key encryption (so passphrase is only needed for sends).

I still have a short list of features before I consider my client 1.0 (or even beta). I tend to be a perfectionist and sit on my projects until absolutely ready, but I like to hear what others have to say, and actually having folks run my software is very motivating.

Although currently I cannot devote much time, I'd love for the next phase of my career to be Bitcoin-centric, so I take this very seriously, and I am very pleased to make the acquaintance of others in the BitCoin(J) community.

[Nyhm]

A domain name is not at all expensive.

Will you release this as open-source software? And I agree screenshots would be nice.

Hi MatthewLM. It's not so much about the expense of the domain name; it's more about seeing how supportive the community is. Of course, you're right, at this point it just sounds like I'm spinning vaporware/hyperbole with no screenshots or anything. Mainly it's my time constraints holding me back.

Thanks for your feedback. I will get a domain/site as soon as possible so I can post some actual content.

At least my initial release will not be open source. Any changes I've made to the underlying libraries, I am pushing back to the BitCoinJ project.

[Nyhm]

Here it is!

VanillaWallet

Please continue the discussion here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=99845.0