More gold from Gavin:
I think a big publicity splash should wait until Bitcoin 1.0. Bitcoin still has way too many rough edges for ordinary folk to use (watch them run away screaming as you try to explain that it is NORMAL for it to take half an hour to download the block chain the first time you start Bitcoin....).
We are still not at version 1.0
When we do reach the holy version 1.0 I wonder how much media attention that might attract?
Bitcoin-related sites that have self-signed or CACert certificates (like mybitcoin.com) look unprofessional and un-trustworthy to clueless non-techies.
I know, I know, a Verisign-certified certificate isn't really any guarantee of security, but that doesn't matter-- if you want ordinary users to start trusting your website, get a certificate that doesn't popup any scary-looking security warnings.
He said MyBItcoin looks un-trustworthy. Herp derp!
Maybe a bitcoin payment request MIME type would work better; you click on a link and the web server returns a little file of type "application/bitcoin-payment-request".
Like this. Or
the links on this page.
This still hasn't happened yet.
I'm starting to think that bitcoin as a store-of-value might end up being more attractive than bitcoin as a medium-of-exchange.
...
I agree-- we're in the Wild West days of open-source currency. I expect people will get burned by scams, imitators, ponzi schemes and price bubbles..
I tend not to worry about things that are out of my control; I don't think there's a whole lot that can be done about scammers, imitators, and ponzi schemes besides warning people to be careful with their money (whether dollars, euros or bitcoins).
Still true.
When Bitcoins are worth more than about ten dollars (or euros) each, I think it'll be time to allow sub-bit-penny payments. And I think the "smallest free transaction" limit (and other internal minimums) should move in lock-step with that change.
When 1 Bitcoin is worth somewhere around $100 (in 2010 dollars), I think it'll be time for the client to switch to millicoins (e.g. .001 BTC), so if I'm buying a paperback book it costs 50 milliBTC instead of .05 BTC.
