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Comment: This is Transparency without actual Transparency (Score 4, Insightful) 116

by paulsnx2 (#44030063) Attached to: Apple Details US Requests For Customer Data

Microsoft gave a bit of detail about how this is done:


That way nobody can really tell what these numbers mean...

Comment: Re:Fiat Currency (Score 1) 692

by paulsnx2 (#43484999) Attached to: Steve Forbes: Bitcoin Not Money

Inflation is good for bankers and Wall Street, not the common man.

The income gap has been rising consistently, independent of government policy and party since 1971 when the last tenuous tie to gold was cut. That might not be due to monetary policy, but I know of zero economists (not even Krugman) who claims inflation raises the real value of wages and savings.

Comment: Re:Bitcoin means almost everybody loses. (Score 1) 398

by paulsnx2 (#43291187) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:

"So basically you're suggesting a system that hurts the poor and middle class (who have loans), which benefits people with large cash holdings, and which promotes stockpiling money over investment, which hurts everybody. What a load of bullshit. And we haven't had fixed exchange rates between most currencies since the Bretton-Woods system collapsed decades ago."

And do you know why Bretton-Woods collapsed? Could it have been the Federal Reserve printed way more money than they could back by Gold, when that money was supposed to be worth 35 dollars an ounce?

People accuse Bitcoin of being a pyramid scheme, but when the tower of debt collapses (as it did with Bretton-Woods, and it did numerous other times in the past) what then?


by paulsnx2 (#43291125) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:

You are arguing about why we have an inflationary currency, and you may be right.

I am pointing out that when a business or a consumer (both sides of a transaction involving money) using a currency that holds its value wins over a currency that loses value over time.

Again, love it or hate it, Thier's Law does apply.

Comment: Love or Hate it Bitcoin wins. Thier's Law (Score 1) 398

by paulsnx2 (#43285681) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:

Bitcoin is a deflationary currency. The more people use it (and our economies do grow) the more it is worth. That is how it expands.

That means anyone holding Bitcoin in savings, or in their wages, will share in the "growth" (via growth in value) of the money supply with Bitcoin.

The current system inflates the money supply. And not just to meet new demand, but to insure increasing prices of a set of consumer goods. This is pretty much done by providing money at way below market prices to banks and large corporate entities. Thus the benefits of the growth of the money supply are concentrated with these groups (Bankers and Wall Street).

The consumer is thus faced with a simple choice. How would you like your Wages? In a currency that mostly goes up in value? Or in a currency that certainly (by design and policy) goes down in value?

Thus Thier's Law: When the exchange rate is allowed to float, Good Money drives out Bad Money.

Comment: Re:Bitcoin is simple, and complicated (Score 2) 398

by paulsnx2 (#43285539) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:




Comment: Re:Not only 'a store of value' (Score 1) 398

by paulsnx2 (#43285501) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:

If I could demonstrate a Magic Spell to you, would that Spell have worth? What if it could allow you to moving any number (or fraction) of coins from your possession to anyone else in the world without the help of any centralized third party?

Would that have value?

Because that is what Bitcoin is. The ability to engage in transactions without involving any centralized third party. You might not consider that important, but some people do. What is Paypal worth? VISA? MasterCard? American Express? Hint: It isn't zero.

Comment: Re:The two purposes are not mutually exclusive. (Score 4, Informative) 398

by paulsnx2 (#43285419) Attached to: Re: Bitcoin, I most strongly agree with the following:





Comment: Many of us welcome true mobile computing... (Score 5, Insightful) 230

by paulsnx2 (#42462607) Attached to: Who Would Actually Build an Ubuntu Smartphone?



Comment: Just proving the point (Score 1, Interesting) 251

by paulsnx2 (#42203279) Attached to: Android Options Mean "Best" Browsers Might Surprise You

Walling yourself up and limiting consumer choices and controlling the platform ...

It works for Apple for the natural 20 percent of the market where people will tolerate limited choices. Apple got ahead of the curve with the IPod, IPhone, and IPad. But they are destine to drop back to their natural 20 percent. The rest of us demand more control, more chaos, and more competition.
