The first thing you have to do to obtain some
Bitcoins of your own is to create a "wallet".

A wallet is an electronic file that can easily be transported physically (printed onto paper) or virtually (emailed, flash drive). 

The important point to remember regarding any wallet is to keep it secure. Therefore, during this guide, we will go through the process of creating a secure Bitcoin wallet.

Steps to Create a Wallet

• Visit the website www.bitcoin.org and download the latest Bitcoin client software. At the time of this article the software is version 0.7.1.
  

The Bitcoin client for Windows will install just like a regular program. Once the process is complete, the client software will connect to the Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin network and begin downloading something called the Bitcoin blockchain. This blockchain is the history of transactions through the Bitcoin network, that is verified by all users connected to the network. This makes Bitcoin impossible to hack or scam since the peer-to-peer network validates itself continuously. 

Once the process is complete you will see an interface such as the example below. The first item for business is to SECURE your wallet. There are devious individuals online who have created malware programs to steal from unsecured wallets. 


Therefore, please click on the settings menu at the top and encrypt your wallet using a passphrase. This phrase is required anytime you send Bitcoins from your wallet and acts as a security measure like a secured credit card PIN number. 

In the file menu you can also backup your Bitcoin wallet.dat file onto a separate storage drive. As always, be careful what you do with your money.

You can see by the example above, there are a couple of screens available on the wallet software: Overview, Send Coins, Receive Coins, Transactions and Address Book.

• Overview - Shows your current Bitcoin Balance and Recent Transactions
  
• Send Coins - Allows you to specify the amount of Bitcoins (down to 8 decimal places) to another Bitcoin Address. A Bitcoin Address is an identifier of 34 alphanumeric characters (or less), beginning with the number 1 or 3, that represents a possible destination for a Bitcoin payment. Addresses can be generated at no cost by any user of Bitcoin. 
  
• Receive Coins - Incoming transactions can be sent to your addresses found in the receive coins screen. Additional addresses will be added automatically by the network but will all point to your wallet file.
  
• Transactions - This is the listing of transactions related to your personal wallet file. Bitcoin transactions will be verified by other individuals in the network and added to your wallet.

That's all there is to using the Bitcoin wallet software on Windows. We will cover the mobile side of Bitcoin at a later date.

The British Museum has added the Bitcoin to their collection of Money in The Citi Money Collection room 68. 

British Museum ~ Money Exhibit Link

This display covers the last 4000 years of the use of different form of currency. 
See the information provided below from their collection. 

Date 2011
Object types token (scope note | all objects)
Materials plastic (all objects)
copper alloy (scope note | all objects)
Production person
Made by Mike Caldwell (biographical details | all objects)
Production place
Made in USA (all objects)


Description
Bitcoin token with digital code for bitcoin currency.
(obverse) Large letter B bissected by dollar lines within segmented circle, centre: to left, right, and below, inscription.
(reverse) Hologram inscription with abstract pattern, overwritten with code.
Dimensions
Weight: 6.68 grammes
Acquisition date
2012
Acquisition name
Donated by Mike Caldwell (biographical details | all objects)

The European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on October 29, 2012 regarding virtual currency schemes with a specific focus towards Bitcoin. 

This report summarizes the beginnings of currency as a medium of exchange, a measure of value and a store of value. This report focuses on the growth of the internet and digital communication age and the potential transition period between conventional existing fiat currencies and the emergence of virtual currencies like Bitcoin. 

Virtual online communities like Second Life and World of Warcraft already have internal "closed virtual" currencies, but Bitcoin appears to be the first virtual currency to have broken the bounds of the virtual world and has emerged as the first real bridge between the virtual and the real economic world. 

Currently Bitcoin can be used to purchase actual products. See list of vendors that will accept Bitcoin for products and services. 

• Bitcoin Vendor List
  

Nov 9,2012 was the very first Bitcoin Friday to entice customers to spend Bitcoins on real world products.

• Bitcoin Friday Link
  

The ECB report has summarized the Bitcoin currency itself in the following way.

• "Bitcoins are not pegged to any real-world currency. The exchange rate is determined by supply and demand in the market. There are several exchange platforms for buying Bitcoins that operate in real time. Mt.Gox is the most widely used currency exchange platform and allows users to trade US dollars for Bitcoins and vice versa. As previously stated, Bitcoin is based on a decentralized, peer-to-peer (P2P) network, i.e. it does not have a central clearing house, nor are there any financial or other institutions involved in the transactions. Bitcoin users perform these tasks themselves. In the same vein, there is no central authority in charge of the money supply. As will be explained later, the money supply is determined by a specific type of “mining” activity. It depends on the amount of resources (electricity and CPU time) that “miners” devote to solving specific mathematical problems."
  

There are a few interesting quotes found throughout the article that stand out as direction to the potential future of virtual currencies...

• "In an extreme case, virtual currencies could have a substitution effect on central bank money if they become widely accepted."
  

• "[Bitcoin] could have a negative impact on the reputation of central banks, assuming the use of such systems grows considerably and in the event that an incident attracts press coverage, since the public may perceive the incident as being caused, in part, by a central bank not doing its job properly;" 
  

Currently the world banking system is under intense pressure around the world to solve the global economic crisis. Since 2008, there has been little progress to resolve the underlying problems with the current fiat currency system. 

Perhaps the right time for the decentralized virtual currency has arrived?

Read the original source material for yourself 
SEE ATTACHED ECB REPORT.
ECB Source Link

Welcome everyone to Bitcoin News website!!

We have just launched our site on Nov 10th, 2012 and we are happy you are here. You might ask yourself...Where did I end up?

Well, let's clarify that for you right now.

Our goal is to clarify what Bitcoin is, why you should care and what the future holds for this impressive technology.

This website is an information portal for providing the history, future and practical application of Bitcoins....with a Canadian perspective.

Therefore, first and foremost, lets clear up what Bitcoin is and isn't...

Bitcoin is

• Decentralized Digital Currency
• A simple means of sending money from person to person worldwide without any intermediate parties.
  
• Open 24hours a day...everyday. 
• Based on a solid mathematical background that can be reviewed by anyone. It's an open source protocol. Bitcoin Source Material
• More convenient than using traditional forms of sending money over long distances.

Bitcoin isn't

• A central bank run currency...like any other currency available
• A fiat currency that can be inflated. See fiat currency.
• A closed system...anyone can open a Bitcoin wallet and begin saving, spending or trading Bitcoins.

In our followup postings, we will show you how to get started with this very interesting and different technology.