[steveklabnik]

    > So, how about if you could have a Linux boot image onna stick, properly
    > secured, no Java, several BitCoin apps preinstalled and optimized to boot
    > extremely quickly into what would basically be a sort of BitCoin Wallet
    > dashboard interface.  You could plug in the USB, hibernate, flip the switch
    > and be Bitcoin banking within seconds. Then unhibernate and get on with
    > whatever you were doing on your day-to-day OS.
    > 
    > That way it can be completely separate from whatever risky, dangerous and/or
    > irresponsible things you do on a regular basis with your computer--things
    > that seemingly are worth the risk as long as they don't directly give
    > attackers access to thousands of $$$ digital cash.

Bitcoin: a currency for regular, everyday exchange.

[kragen]

I think it's clear to everyone that current desktop systems (Windows, but also Linux and MacOS) are not up to the task of securing thousands of dollars of transferable digital currency. Bitcoin depends on you running a secure computing environment. This could be an opportunity for emerging platforms like http://qubes-os.org/.

[tripzilch]

> Bitcoin: a currency for regular, everyday exchange.

Heh. But now I wonder how our banks do it.

Over here, and this is different than the credit cards you use in the US, you can log on to your bank account, and transfer money to anyone (within the EU, afaik) with no transaction costs (at least within the country, afaik). The same mechanism goes for online shopping. It's safe because it uses 2-factor authentication (you log on with a password, but need to get an SMS text with a special code to make transactions) and somehow people manage to not fuck this up and get hacked out of $8000--oh I'm sure it happened, but nobody's dumb enough to blame the currency/exchange system, there.