Hello,
I recently had some e-mail correspondence with Bytecoin (BCN) developers, who asked that I share the info here to forum.
I should also note that the development team responded to my detailed questions within 5 hours, which I found incredibly fast and responsive.
(I'm ABISprotocol on github. I'm a member of the Education Committee of the Bitcoin Foundation, where I help manage content (( see:
https://btcfoundationedcom.github.io/ )), as well as a owner and current manager of the Lifeboat Foundation repository on github (( which I recently published at
https://lifeboat.github.io/ )).
I also have my own project, called ABIS, which I am pretty serious about - it's my baby, and I'm very serious about trying to incorporate ABIS into different cryptocurrency systems. You can see more information about ABIS at
http://abis.io or by checking out the ABIS Gist, the ABIS repository on Github, or the SX tools repository area, which ABIS has been partially merged into.
And of course, I'm a bytecoin (BCN) user, and I'm mining it as I type! :-)
OK, so here is the Q&A!
1) I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on
http://abis.io ~ while the project was originally thought up with bitcoin and similar projects in mind (see also the partnership / collaboration with 'sx tools' repository), the concept could easily be ported to cryptonote based BCN as well.
Let me know your thoughts on that. I'd like to see this concept implemented in Bytecoin and am curious how I should initiate such a discussion (perhaps through an open issue on the repository?)
(Developer's answer): 1) We couldn't find anything in particular regarding ABIS, since it is just a proposal. If you could provide us with a draft of specifications at least, we could be discussing the technical issues.
(Note: I am now working on a more detailed specification)
2) I'm currently running bytecoin v0.8.10.71() on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS / Wubi on a Panasonic CF-52 (Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz × 2). It's an old computer but is in good condition, and it's what I have at present. Like many on this platform I plan to transition over to Ubuntu 14.04 soon (for most machines, hardware support ends for certain types of Ub. 12.04 and migrating to 14.04 just makes sense). I get the feeling a lot more people will be on Ubuntu 14.04 (switching to it) by Aug. 8 if not before. (The Ubuntu kernel developers will provide security fixes and minor improvements for version 3.8 of the Linux kernel up until August 2014.) This leads me to my second question:
For those who are preparing to upgrade their operating system, but have bytecoin installed already (like myself), do you have a recommended procedure for migrating to the new OS in the context of bytecoin? Apart from backup, should coins be sent out away from the wallet temporarily (e.g. to an exchange) during a OS migration (e.g. from 12.04 to 14.04 Ubuntu), or is there a wallet export process? What sort of steps do you recommend?
(Developer's answer): The issue is related to wallet backup. The only thing you need to do for it is to backup your .keys file (with your wallet's name). If you happen to lose it, nobody will be able to restore your wallet and all the funds it contains.
3) Updates: When I go to the bytecoin.org page there is a button which simply says "install or update." I like this because it is very simple. However, I do have a question: How do I know when it is time for me to update my bytecoind and simplewallet? (As of right now I think I have the current version, but I'm curious where's the best spot on your website to look for future updates.)
(Developer's answer): You should rely on
https://bytecoin.org/news - we post all the software updates to that feed. Bytecoin software will also be upgraded to inform the user on the updates. This is a non-crucial feature however, so I can't provide you with its timing.
4) This question has to do with "nodes" and the concept of "full node" ~ for example, in bitcoin, if we are running a full node, we have to go through an elaborate process (which very few people understand or knows about, sadly, which could explain bitcoin's declining number of full nodes). To top it off, to be most effective, a full node should be always on and be run over a high speed / high bandwidth connection. TV and radio present new possibilities for bitcoin transmission, but this is not a widespread practice yet (to relay via TV and radio). Over time the declining number of full nodes implies that the bitcoin network is degrading somewhat (at present).
However, bytecoin is of course very different from bitcoin.
So, my question number 4 is, does Bytecoin (BCN) have a process whereby users can opt to run "full nodes," or is that somehow not applicable in bytecoin? If there is a "full node" process for Bytecoin, do you have a post where I can read how to do that?
(Developer's answer): According to our classification, each current node is "full node" as it relays all the blocks and transactions. In mid-term we're going to release light wallets and special purpose nodes, which wouldn't qualify as "full".
~~Remember, sharing is caring~~
You've made nice remark. Well-done!!! 
