Paying with cash works pretty well now. Paying with banks (specially if was done via HSBC, but other banks could be in play too) works too with a bit of creativity. And other kind of payments (from information to several kinds of snake oil) will keep working too. Is like banning 3d printers because they can be used to print weapons, when even a stick can be used as one too.

So that's why you never see a fat rich person...

The link is in TFA, too, but followed by "(NSFL danger: do not click that link)".

Never considered it, but could be a big problem there. Is not just that is descentralized, but that half of the network must acknowledge that a transaction happened before it is considered valid, even if the transaction was for 0.00000001 bitcoins, even if was for a candy or a single SMS sent. There is enough value in bitcoins to replace all the existing money (it should raise its value to ~ US$20k to have the same "value" of all the dollars around), the amount of wallets is more than enough for all mankind for centuries, but the volume of global transactions that is happening today with normal money is probably too high for the network (as it is today) to handle it.

Start reading Accelerando (printed/kindle version if you prefer it), then you can check more of his work. Maybe is not an authority about how the near future will develop, but at least wrote a lot about that.

Or in the wrong country. And, maybe, in the wrong culture too.

If you want science fiction quotes, try picking from Charless Stross ones. If things goes fast enough, any kind of money could be irrelevant in few years.

Try adding all the assesinations and drugs and child pornography that is financed by bitcoins, and compare that with the number (even done by governments) that is financed by the competing fiat currency , is like a drop of water compared with the ocean. I suppose that being descentralized instead of being printed by the Federal Reserve plays against it.

Well, once you get deep into the bathtub failure curve anyway.

50% of my LED halogen replacements failed within three weeks. The other 50% have been rock steady for eight months now.

It's that stupid raised piece, or notch to allow someone to move it with a finger or thumbnail. Logitech has the pattent on one, Radio Shack the other, or perhaps it's Acacia and Tessera, or... No Prenda was copyrights... and Apple refuses to license either. So Apple calls them ugly.

This is dependent on the computer, as not all computers have an external mic in socket, though there may be workarounds even for them.

Someone above pointed out that for some macbooks there is an ifixit explanation of how to replace the mic, where the suggestion was made to simply disconnect it, and don't put anything new in it's place. If you are worried about this voiding the warrantee here are a few other suggestions.

Check to see if plugging in an external mike capable headset into the audio jack/socket switches the audio in to the headset. If so, you should be able to use the mute switch on the headset to disable the mic by default. If the mic is only disabled if there is a connection from the mic ring on a 4 conductor jack to ground, and only if there is the appropriate resistance, you can make that connection through an appropriate valued resistor. This may need to be done on a cable that supports external speakers if you have a single audio plug that supports both audio out and audio in, presuming you want to hear the audio of your computer.

If you want to be able to make use of the mic on the laptop, you should be able to simply unplug that plug, and the computer (most modern computers in the past 10 years anyway) should switch back to the internal mic. Alternatively switch to a headset that has a mic from the cable that disables the mic. Or if your computer supports a bluetooth phone headset, you should be able to use that for audio.

Another alternative that may automatically disable the internal audio i/o is to plug a usb sound adapter into the computer, or a hub. (Or plug in a usb hub/doc that has audio capabilities.)

You could also plug in a white noise generator, or an mp3 player with a continuous loop of someone providing a boring recitation of the constitution. If the mic port is "available" you could tape an in-ear speaker to the port with one of those feeding it audio. The down side here is that it is possible to 'learn' what you are feeding it, and cancle it out, boost the gain on the rest to recover what people are saying near the computer. You may need to provide a randomized, or mixed feed that goes through a long period between repititions, but changes rapidly. You may need a good random number generator to drive that, but that's a different topic.

If none of those are workable options for you, I'm not sure what to suggest.

Does the computer (or can the computer) support a bluetooth headset?

Fix for the mic would be to either short to ground (tip) the mic lead of a headset plug, or if the macbook checks resistance link a 1k ohm reistor between tip and the mic lead, and make sure that the computer switches to using the external mic when you plug something in that provides a suitable resistance.

This could all be built within a 90 degree 3.5mm plug , or even a 2.5mm plug if necessary. It won't be quite flush with the side of the macbook, and if they use a common plug for speakers and mic, you may need to add a socket for headphones, or build this into a replacement plug for the headphones you prefer. You would likely need a 4 conductor plug for the mic ring.

Optionally pick up a usb sound adapter from a manufacturer in china, and make sure that the computer switches to that as the default audio i/o device, and never plug a mic into the adapter, or plug in a mic that's turned off.

If you want to be annoying to the people trying to listen, find a recording of someone reciting the constitution, and feed that into the mic in jack from an mp3 player on a continuous loop.

Correction: Anything that doesn't move fast enough!

I notice it says the goal is to "protect democracy*", but doesn't seem to mention the Bill of Rights or, specifically, the 4th amendment.

Telling, although not surprising.

* - It's possibly worth noting here that the United States is a republic, not a democracy.