I've been sort of side-tracked the past few weeks with work and some side projects so I haven't posted much but I've been reading.
I think we could all agree on these things:
1) Making a change to the code is not a simple/trivial thing to do. It has risks involved. But it is doable (especially if tested well on testnet).
2) POS would/should look very good to anyone who has been mining and holding (bag holders) since they will now make extra coins due to the interest. So they will gain extra coins/shares for doing nothing additional except continuing to hold. It helps those holding coins to get more coins.
3) Those who have mined and sold will gain nothing from going to POS as they have nothing to gain interest on.
Before continuing I'll express my dislike of pure POS coins or coins that start POW and then go POS.
With that said, to me a compromise coin where say 90-95% of coins are generated via mining but 5%-10% of coins produced is POS has merit for consideration. So it's both POW and POS at the same time.
This DOES give a reason to purchase the coins on an Exchange as you get interest on the coins, so it can make more sense then holding btc.
This is closer to "real life" where you have to work to earn money but once you earn the money you can invest it and allow the investment to earn additional money.
But in reality these are all "cosmetic" issues and in themselves aren't going to change MNR overnight. There are tons of coins already trying these methods. They all copy off each other in some way and they all have their own set of issues. A case of the "grass is always greener on the other side".
I'm going to take a detour and go a complete different direction. If I were doing an alt coins this is the direction I'd "bank on" and figure out first.
If you really want to get down to it. MNR is a crypto-currency. Currency being the keyword. Almost all alt-coins simply fail at being a currency. Sure you can trade the coins at an exchange but that's more like buying/selling stocks or commodities. Alt-coins are a bull/bear market for traders.
If MNR or any coin for that matter wants to become a "currency" that matters, it needs to establish EASY ways for people to use the currency. First and foremost is easy to use wallets that common people can use on a computer, tablet or smart phone. Smart phone use being key. Then once you have this you need to get major merchants on board OR find an easy way for people to transfer MNR to a debit card, pre-paid visa/mc card, paypal account (which can be linked to CC), Google Wallet, Square, LevelUp, Venmo, etc. To get an idea of some of these check out this:
http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/09/23/t-mobile-payments.cnnmoney/index.html?iid=F_JumpSolve the above problem and you're an almost overnight top 2 to 5 coin and value will sky rocket as well as awareness without even having to market it (although you still want to market it).
I know some people (in general) are pushing hard for non-traceable transactions. I wouldn't go that route on purpose IF a dev is going for big time currency use. For example if you worked out a way for funds to be transferred to a debit card, pre-paid visa/mc card or similar, any type of coin with un-traceable transaction will have a very hard time getting excepted. The US FED and other Gov agencies have too much involvement in being able to trace transactions to allow that. Think about law enforcement being able to solve crimes, etc.
What I've just expressed IS THE ACHILLES HEEL of alt coins in general. But solve or partner with companies already offering electronic payments and you got a game changer in the works.
Carlo