I mean I used Windows since the age of 4 and know it inside out, but it was breathtaking moving to a UI that was intuitive, on hardware that felt right to use and worked (battery life, build quality, etc). And at least within the Apple ecosystem, my iphone works so well together with an apple tv and Mac. Now I'm sure you can do most things on a Windows/Android system as you could on an iPhone, but the Apple culture just really emphasizes usability and I just don't want to set every little thing up or troubleshoot every bug I run into. I don't want to think about any of that. I just want to do whatever I need to do and get on with my life, it's way too short to constantly configure things. That's mainly why I don't use linux too, but I could if I didn't see Apple as a more usable (and enjoyable) product to me.

Wuuut? The next iPhone will run Android? BUY BUY BUY APL

Good thing Apple is structuring itself for the computer unsavvy so that if they have questions they don't really thing to ask their local geek friend to fix their problem but the first thought is to head to the "genius bar"

so I don't deal with such nonsense

1-800-my-apple!

I'm really liking my prediction of BTC breaking the 2011 high... with about six months to go.

If I were to pay for travel out of a hostile environment, I'd be more likely to find a service that would accept gold or silver than bitcoins. That will likely remain true for at least another year or two - it seems about the fastest rate that humans are capable of assimilating word-of-mouth propagated knowledge on a global scale, even with the hyperconnected communications we have now.

People tend to escape from "hostile" environments, and gold doesn't allow you to escape, while hidding your savings, so effectively than Bitcoin.

Thanks for this insight - I will use it to illuminate other people.

  To be fair, gold bugs also tend to be gun bugs.

the silverbox update (comparison from the beginning of this thread):

Bitcoin:  +184%

Gold:  0%

GPL:  -22% silverbox long

Diff:  +184% advantage Bitcoin and growing.

i can't type fast enough...

A physically hostile situation might involve kids with guns, but most of the developed world is subject to a different type of hostile environment. In that scenario, "coaxing" officials would likely prove more effective with precious metals than bitcoins.

Besides, I'd rather offload gold and silver in an effort to relocate than BTC - for one thing, it is more likely that a physical item may be confiscated during travel.