Salvasian

Well I don't profess to an expert on Zimbabwe currency, though if its dollar is utter junk it would explain why its population have tried switching to Bitcoin (and probably other crypto currencies as well) which was my original point...

They may have disallowed it but you could still do it if you really wanted to. You could transfer money from your credit card to your bank account / debit card, and then use the exchange. At least you can in Australia as you can withdraw cash from your credit card and then deposit it into your bank account / debit card (not suggesting anyone should do this btw).

It could be, it is so hard to keep up with the number of crypto-products. Thanks though, will look into Litecoin.

I agree that Bitcoin is unlikely to die, at least completely. It could become irrelevant though if a competing product can have the benefits of Bitcoin (such as decentralisation and anonymity) but faster transaction speed and reduced transaction costs. Then again Bitcoin may also be improved to address these problems (see https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/bitcoins-lightning-network-a-deep-dive/).

The USA has more billionaires than any country. Ok, according to Wikipedia you are right (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_the_number_of_billionaires). Wikipedia (and any other site / authority) however only picks up the billionaires that have disclosed their wealth to the public (either directly or through having their shareholdings/interests in an 'accessible' manner); there are many very wealthy individuals and families who have done an excellent job at hiding their wealth from public view (common tricks involve using trusts with non-disclosed beneficiaries, usually through many layers). The USA has more wealth than any country... can you back that up with any links in support? I can provide a few links that say the opposite. Fortune.com in November 2017 has the USA as 12th based in its list of the richest countries in the world per capita (see http://fortune.com/2017/11/17/richest-country-in-the-world/). This article has USA listed as 13th in 2017, based on GDP per capita (see http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-richest-countries-in-the-world-2017-3/?r=AU&IR=T/#14-saudi-arabia-gdp-per-capita-54078-44122-17). Despite both of the above, however, how does this make greed America's gift to the world?

Sure let's blame America for something that has been around since the birth of humanity...

It is businesses, those people who you say are buying out all the stock and them reselling them are operating a business. They are expending capital (buying up available stock) to generate money (by selling the stock they bought). Such business are just as 'legit'as companies such as Amazon and Newegg. In relation to the video card manufacturers saying to 'knock it off', they are saying that but I am yet to see any actual action on their part to reduce such activity. Indeed AMD may actually be prioritising its chips to the more expensive cards which are not targeted for gamers, see the following video:

I'm sorry to hear that your business is being screwed over, and I hope that the situation reverses itself soon. It doesn't change my point however. We live in a (generally) free market society under which businesses are entitled to charge what they want for the products/services they offer (acknowledging though that there are restrictions for certain industries and anti-competitive behaviour) and you are entitled to decide whether you are willing to pay that price. You may think that it is not supply and demand but I say you are wrong, it is precisely supply and demand and we are experiencing a current demand that is greatly in excess of the supply - this is why prices have increased substantially. Is the current situation fair on gamers and other non-miners wanting to purchase a video card? No it isn't. Unfortunately fairness is not a universal truth. My view is get over it, the situation is not good but it is not worth getting angry and frustrated at (IMHO). If you are particularly angry at the businesses which you say are "price gouging" then please remember these businesses and, when the situation changes, vote with your wallet and don't do business with them in the future. By the way I am not a miner (I don't know how to, and I have no interest in learning how to), I am just a person having to wait until the prices normalise to upgrade their video card.

Why do you think your entitlement to buy a video card (as per your comment: "for video editing,graphic designing, streaming and gaming") gives you a greater entitlement than someone who wants it for other reasons, such as mining? What we are seeing with video card price increases is nothing more than supply/demand at work. You don't have a right to purchase a video card for a specific price, you only have the right to purchase one at the market price (if that is an acceptable price for you).

If your currency is worth nothing due to a crash in its value what will you buy the cryto currency with? As I said it only can be useful if you have prior investment but in those cases why not invest in a more stable thing such as gold as people might actually accept gold directly as payment (most people in Zimbabwe don't have computers), the alternative to this is to invest in a more stable actual currency. I don't profess to have the answers but what is actual fact is that people in countries such as Zimbabwe and countries in South America are using it exactly as I described. I did about 15 seconds of research and can provide the links to back up what I am saying (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/11/20/bitcoin-has-become-zimbabwes-crisis-currency/, https://qz.com/1130147/bitcoins-price-in-zimbabwe-is-not-actually-13000/, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-bitcoin/think-bitcoins-getting-expensive-try-zimbabwe-idUSKBN1DD0NF, https://www.techzim.co.zw/2017/11/how-to-get-bitcoin-in-zimbabwe/, https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/bitcoin-zimbabwe-price-spike.html, https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-demand-surges-in-zimbabwe-following-successful-coup). Now if I had to guess why they aren't using gold, silver, other precious metals, and other currencies is that bitcoin is easier to get hold of (providing of course you can afford it, then again the same would apply to precious metals and other currencies). Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be accessed by anyone with a mobile phone (you don't need a computer and many people in Zimbabwe have mobile phones).

I suggest you do a little research. It has already been used for precisely for this in countries such as Zimbabwe amongst others.

I really hope that cryptocurrency as a concept succeeds as it has the potential to help protect people (such as where rapid inflation of local currency occurs) and other beneficial uses. Saying that I am not willing to invest my own money in Bitcoin as I just don't think given its current limitations it is ever going to be truly useful due to the delay in processing transactions and the high transaction cost.

Very interesting article. Given how quickly DRM 'solutions' get defeated, I am not surprised.

This is why I hate DRM, it only effects the experience of those people who aren't pirating. I know it isn't possible but I would love to know how much companies have spent total for anti-piracy measures against what they have made in additional sales to converted pirates.

Entirely agree regarding trying Linux if you are wanting an OS and are trying to reduce costs. Different people I am sure will have different opinions, however I recently converted an old laptop of mine to Linux and found Ubuntu 17.10 really easy to setup and use.