
Show HN: my weekend project - sell files for bitcoins - hippich
http://ubitio.us/
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hippich
I have done a while ago, but in one weekend. This project's aim is to combine
easy uploads and easy payments via Bitcoin.

Main features: \- just one field to upload. nothing else \- files are stored
for one week by default, but if someone downloaded it, file life extends. \-
payments are in Bitcoins \- to download file you have to pay nominal 2
bitcents or more \- to setup higher price - you need to "invest" into your
file - deposit same amount you want to charge for the file \- site takes 10%
cut from all payments.

here is example of download link - <http://ubitio.us/file/download/127>

It is weird in terms of requiring nominal payments (it was initial idea to
avoid using CAPTCHA) and short life of the file which depends on number of
downloads.

This was really a fun project and it really never took off, but any comments
really appreciated =)

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kloncks
Could a fellow nerd explain to me why Bitcoins are a good idea? Or what the
idea is behind them?

~~~
hugh3
Short answer: they aren't. However, anyone who has managed to acquire some is
currently busy trying to talk up their value.

Or to put it another way, it's a pyramid scheme with some geek-friendly
features.

~~~
3pt14159
I totally disagree. Their intrinsic value is that they cannot be controlled by
despotic governments, nanny state mothers and fathers, or by corrupt bankers
or payment gateway vendors. They do not suffer from long term inflation. They
have negligible to zero transmission fees.

The fact that the currency is as stable as it is is remarkable, and this is a
perfect site to take advantage of bitcoins.

~~~
hugh3
_Their intrinsic value is that they cannot be controlled by despotic
governments, nanny state mothers and fathers, or by corrupt bankers or payment
gateway vendors_

You could say that for any currency you might care to invent. Limited-edition
Franklin Mint velvet Elvis collector plates? They'd be a great currency, if
only you could persuade anyone to use 'em.

Alternatively, if you don't like that, then I could invent Bitcoin Prime. It's
exactly like Bitcoins, except... well, it's called Bitcoin Prime. Every string
of bits that is a bitcoin is also a Bitcoin Prime... except that regardless of
who "owns" that bitcoin, I own the Bitcoin Prime. Who wants to buy some?

(Oh, and if such a thing ever _does_ become popular, I guarantee that despotic
governments, nanny states and corrupt bankers will find a way to get in on the
action.)

 _The fact that the currency is as stable as it is is remarkable_

Stable on a one-year timescale? When the only people who own them so far are
the first-gen speculators trying to drive the price up? The "beanie baby"
alternative currency lasted longer than that.

~~~
3pt14159
_You could say that for any currency you might care to invent. Limited-edition
Franklin Mint velvet Elvis collector plates? They'd be a great currency, if
only you could persuade anyone to use 'em._

True, but Franklin Mint collector plates are not supremely divisible, easily
transferable, or free to store.

 _Alternatively, if you don't like that, then I could invent Bitcoin Prime.
It's exactly like Bitcoins, except... well, it's called Bitcoin Prime. Every
string of bits that is a bitcoin is also a Bitcoin Prime... except that
regardless of who "owns" that bitcoin, I own the Bitcoin Prime. Who wants to
buy some?_

Go ahead and try, nobody will get on your bandwagon because the market will
expect that a fragmented market for crypto-currency is in nobody's interests.

 _Oh, and if such a thing ever does become popular, I guarantee that despotic
governments, nanny states and corrupt bankers will find a way to get in on the
action._

Short of large scale quantum computing (which is my largest semi-fear),
bitcoins mathematically cannot be controlled. Your statement is the equivalent
of "if ssh tunneling every truly took hold you can guarantee that despotic
governments will will find a way to listen in on them." While some governments
may try to take measures stop traffic that looks as if it could be bitcoin,
they cannot stop the wallet-on-a-usb-stick and in practice they would have an
_extraordinarily_ hard time doing so anyways.

There is a real market need for non-reversible, hidden transactions, driven
mostly by the Governments that erect inane laws in the first place. Also,
governments move slowly, they won't turn their focus onto bit coins until the
first kidnapping and ransom is facilitated via bitcoins (a very real
possibility).

~~~
JeremyBanks
> There is a real market need for non-reversible, _hidden transactions_

BitCoin's transactions are all publicly available, even if only coins can be
tracked, not users.

~~~
3pt14159
Not if the transaction is made via usb or CD in the mail.

Edit: and by transaction I mean a "wallet" is loaded up with bitcoins and then
handed off to someone else.

~~~
JeremyBanks
That's very interesting and I hadn't thought of that, but it seems that you'd
need to conduct a transaction with the newly-acquired coins in order to ensure
that they aren't spent twice.

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schwa
You probably shouldn't use Mac oS X's zip file icon. Pretty sure that's
copyrighted by Apple.

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thatusertwo
I uploaded a .gif and got a huge code dump in return.

~~~
hippich
oh. well.. this is very quick project and I did not really spent a lot of time
polishing it. So I could expect that. Do you have screenshot/copypaste by any
chance? If so, could you send it to pavel@yepcorp.com?

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rchowe
Your copyright notice still says 2010.

~~~
dangrossman
As it should, if that was the year he put it up. A copyright notice, if you're
going to place one, is supposed to have 3 elements (via copyright.gov):

1\. The (c) symbol, the word copyright, or the abbreviation "copr." 2\. The
year of first publication 3\. The name of the copyright owner

~~~
seiji
Is Google doing it incorrectly? They use:

    
    
        © 2011

~~~
someone_here
Google updated their stuff this year, so 2011 is fine.

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huge_ness
I think it's a good idea but am relunctant to think that people would actually
pay for files, especially for something they've never seen/used before.

Nonetheless, maybe check out: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2406614>
(<http://gumroad.com>)

He/She also did the same thing over the weekend. :)

------
clistctrl
This is awesome! I personally can't think of a need for the service, but I'm
glad to see Bitcoins being used. I don't care how it materializes, but an open
source virtual currency needs to flourish.

