The Apache Software Foundation Now Accepting BitCoin For Donations

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The Apache Software Foundation Now Accepting BitCoin For Donations

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Sunday August 31, 2014 @09:46AM from the a-different-way-to-give dept.

rbowen writes The Apache Software Foundation is the latest not-for-profit organization to accept bitcoin donations, as pointed out by a user on the Bitcoin subreddit. The organization is well known for their catalog of open-source software, including the ubiquitous Apache web server, Hadoop, Tomcat, Cassandra, and about 150 other projects. Users in the community have been eager to support their efforts using digital currency for quite a while. The Foundation accepts donations in many different forms: Amazon, PayPal, and they'll even accept donated cars. On their contribution page the Apache Software Foundation has published a bitcoin address and QR code.

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Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 09:55 · Score: 1, Insightful

For donations, there's really no downside. For real business purposes, though, you'd be bonkers to accept bitcoins.
1. Re:Why wouldn't they? by houstonbofh · 2014-08-31 10:10 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  For real business purposes, though, you'd be bonkers to accept bitcoins.
  Why? It has value. And companies willing to process it for you and convert directly into your currency of choice. And due to it's nature, it is actually harder for the merchant to be defrauded than with regular credit cards... Not sure where the downside here is, especially if they are not holding them.
2. Re:Why wouldn't they? by tepples · 2014-08-31 10:46 · Score: 0
  
  And due to it's nature, it is actually harder for the merchant to be defrauded than with regular credit cards... Not sure where the downside here is, especially if they are not holding them.
  I can think of one downside: People might be less willing to pay with Bitcoin if they don't get the protections that they'd get from their bank's credit or debit card. Besides, how would one go about spending without Internet access, such as while inside a brick-and-mortar store with no guest Wi-Fi?
3. Re:Why wouldn't they? by ArcadeMan · 2014-08-31 10:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  If you can't be associated with known criminals then I hope you're not using U.S. dollars.
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
4. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Vellmont · 2014-08-31 11:00 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  For real business purposes, though, you'd be bonkers to accept bitcoins.
  
  Bonkers like Newegg, and Dish Network? Both of which accept bitcoin.
  
  --
  AccountKiller
5. Re:Why wouldn't they? by timholman · 2014-08-31 12:25 · Score: 1
  
  Bonkers like Newegg, and Dish Network? Both of which accept bit coin.
  No, they accept USD, or whatever fiat currency they specify, with a transaction processor like Bitpay converting BTC to fiat on the spot.
  Lots of companies "accept" BTC that way, but they're really getting paid in some national currency. It is rather disingenuous of people to claim otherwise.
  And yes, a company would be bonkers to accept, and keep, anything as volatile as BTC.
6. Re:Why wouldn't they? by ShanghaiBill · 2014-08-31 12:25 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  For real business purposes, though, you'd be bonkers to accept bitcoins.
  I do "real business" with people in bitcoins, including several overseas contractors. For instance, a woman in Karachi, Pakistan does graphic design for my company. Transferring dollars, and converting them to rupees, is expensive, and a time consuming hassle. Transferring bitcoins just takes a few seconds, and the transaction cost is a few pennies. She would be bonkers to not accept bitcoins.
7. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 13:03 · Score: 0
  
  4G.
8. Re:Why wouldn't they? by tepples · 2014-08-31 13:15 · Score: 1
  
  I don't see who would be willing to pay $400 per year to subscribe to 4G just to be able to spend bitcoins.
9. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 13:41 · Score: 0
  
  Thanks, Mr. Peanuts.
10. Re:Why wouldn't they? by ASDFnz · 2014-08-31 14:13 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Out of curiosity, are you a new person saying that bitcoin is bonkers or are you one of the old ones that have been predicting the imminent failure of bitcoin for the past 5 years?
  My follow up question will be;-
  You have been wrong for the past five years, do you have plans to admit defeat any time soon or will you just start saying "I knew it would work all along?"
11. Re:Why wouldn't they? by ShanghaiBill · 2014-08-31 15:44 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  So basically you found someone who will deal with you in bitcoin because their native currency is even more worthless and volatile than the BTC market ... good job.
  Yes, but that is 80% of the people in the world.
12. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 19:21 · Score: 0
  
  I don't see who would be willing to pay $400 per year to subscribe to 4G just to be able to spend bitcoins.
  $400/year? Where I am, it's $300, and that includes a subsidized phone.
13. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 21:26 · Score: 0
  
  Why? Do you accept payment in foreign currency? No. We do not accept USD in Sweden even though it has value. If you pay with credit card, we get money in SEK and you get charged in USD (plus a spread on the exchange rate by the payment processor and/or card company).
  Sure, a business could accept BTC too. Provided we actually get paid in our local currency.
14. Re:Why wouldn't they? by philip.paradis · 2014-08-31 21:40 · Score: 2
  
  Your auditors are full of shit. Out of curiosity, does your organization use anything from Dell?
  
  --
  Write failed: Broken pipe
15. Re:Why wouldn't they? by pantaril · 2014-08-31 23:02 · Score: 2
  
  I can think of one downside: People might be less willing to pay with Bitcoin if they don't get the protections that they'd get from their bank's credit or debit card
  Accepting bitcoins doesn't mean that you stop taking other forms of payments so this is no valid downside for merchant who start to accept bitcoins in addition to existing forms of payments.
16. Re:Why wouldn't they? by pantaril · 2014-08-31 23:04 · Score: 1
  
  Why? Do you accept payment in foreign currency? No. We do not accept USD in Sweden
  Yes, we do accept payments in foreign currency if we are running international bussiness.
17. Re:Why wouldn't they? by pantaril · 2014-08-31 23:13 · Score: 1
  
  No, they accept USD, or whatever fiat currency they specify, with a transaction processor like Bitpay converting BTC to fiat on the spot.
  I think you missunderstand the meaning of the word 'accept'. From merriam-webster dictionary:
  
  accept
  verb \ik-sept, ak- also ek-\
  : to receive or take (something offered)
  : to take (something) as payment
  : to be able or designed to take or hold (something)
  I think that it is clear that to 'accept' something as payment you don't need to hold it afterwars. You are free to convert it to something else or use it in any other way you see fit. To give you some example, few people would argue that steam, google play or blizzard online store is not accepting euros because they convert it to dollars after the purchase.
18. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Errol+backfiring · 2014-09-01 00:11 · Score: 1
  
  For real business purposes, though, you'd be bonkers to accept bitcoins.
  Just like you must be totally out of your mind to accept just numbers made up by private companies. In other words: all modern "official" fiat currency.
  
  --
  Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
19. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 00:18 · Score: 0
  
  of which most will never be able to use BTC anyways.
20. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 02:19 · Score: 0
  
  At least he isn't one of those idiots who used to post here insisting it would be at $10,000 in a couple of months.
21. Re: Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 03:35 · Score: 0
  
  Exactly and that is why this was modded down.
22. Re:Why wouldn't they? by DanielRavenNest · 2014-09-01 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  Besides, how would one go about spending without Internet access, such as while inside a brick-and-mortar store with no guest Wi-Fi?
  Merchant displays QR code on their Point of Sale device, or prints out a sales slip with the same code. User snaps a photo of it with their smartphone. Bitcoin app on phone decodes it, and sends payment to the address specified. Merchant sees the transaction show up on his device, and hands over the item. If the store has no cell reception, they need to move to a better location.
23. Re:Why wouldn't they? by houstonbofh · 2014-09-01 09:26 · Score: 1
  
  I don't see who would be willing to pay $400 per year to subscribe to 4G just to be able to spend bitcoins.
  Because that is the only reason to have portable Internet, of course...
24. Re:Why wouldn't they? by tepples · 2014-09-01 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  I know Bitcoin payment is not the only reason to subscribe to cellular Internet access. I just haven't seen a reason worth $400 per year.
25. Re:Why wouldn't they? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 13:11 · Score: 0
  
  So your organization doesn't run any GNU/Linux based operating systems or own any computers from Dell because they are associated with criminals?
  And how come the IRS don't take wikipedia's non profit status? they directly accept Bitcoin, along with the Free Software Foundation and a ton of other 401c non profits.
26. Re:Why wouldn't they? by houstonbofh · 2014-09-01 15:45 · Score: 1
  
  Yet, almost everyone I know has Internet in their phone, and almost none of the use bitcoin...
For fuck's sake by TeknoHog · 2014-08-31 09:55 · Score: 2

Stop spelling it "BitCoin", it's "Bitcoin", as in common grammar rules where you don't put a cApITal in the middle of a word. For some reason, the "BitCoin" spelling is always used by people who don't know Bitcoin, and it just looks degrading.

--
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
1. Re:For fuck's sake by CaptainDork · 2014-08-31 10:01 · Score: 1
  
  " ... and it just looks degrading."
  Apropos for BitCoin.
  It's well-suited for non-profit.
  
  --
  It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
2. Re:For fuck's sake by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:34 · Score: 0
  
  SlashDot.org, gramar national socialist Daily.
  (Disclaimer: I agree with parent)
3. Re:For fuck's sake by ultranova · 2014-08-31 11:03 · Score: 2
  
  Stop spelling it "BitCoin", it's "Bitcoin", as in common grammar rules where you don't put a cApITal in the middle of a word.
  
  That so, TeknoHog?
  
  --
  Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.
4. Re:For fuck's sake by TeknoHog · 2014-08-31 11:08 · Score: 2
  
  Stop spelling it "BitCoin", it's "Bitcoin", as in common grammar rules where you don't put a cApITal in the middle of a word.
  That so, TeknoHog?
  Well I can spell my own name in any bloody way I want. But if you're going to spell the name of a product/technology then please find out how to spell it first.
  
  --
  Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
5. Re:For fuck's sake by ShanghaiBill · 2014-08-31 12:35 · Score: 1
  
  Stop spelling it "BitCoin", it's "Bitcoin"
  If you want to be pedantic, it is not "Bitcoin" either. It is "bitcoin", all lowercase. In English, currencies are not normally capitalized. You don't capitalize "dollar", "euro", or "rupee", so you shouldn't capitalize "bitcoin" either.
6. Re:For fuck's sake by JesseMcDonald · 2014-08-31 13:25 · Score: 2
  
  In English, currencies are not normally capitalized. You don't capitalize "dollar", "euro", or "rupee", so you shouldn't capitalize "bitcoin" either.
  You're correct when referring to the currency ("one bitcoin"). However, when referring to the software ("Bitcoin Core"), the network, or the protocol, the name is a proper noun and as such should be capitalized. The capitalization in the summary is thus correct; in the title, the word "bitcoin" refers to the currency but should be capitalized anyway, simply because it's part of a title.
  
  --
  "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
7. Re:For fuck's sake by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 15:05 · Score: 0
  
  But if you're going to spell the name of a product/technology then please find out how to spell it first.
  "BitCoin" is the proper spelling, dipshit.
  According to who? The Bitcoin Foundation doesn't agree with you.
8. Re:For fuck's sake by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 02:39 · Score: 0
  
  Stop spelling it "BitCoin", it's "Bitcoin", as in common grammar rules where you don't put a cApITal in the middle of a word. For some reason, the "BitCoin" spelling is always used by people who don't know Bitcoin, and it just looks degrading.
  "Bitcoin" for the technology, and bitcoin for the unit; as in the Bitcoin network and 200 bitcoins.
9. Re:For fuck's sake by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 13:20 · Score: 0
  
  In the original whitepaper Satoshi (the original programmer) actually spelled it as BitCoin, but later began spelling it as Bitcoin. It's quite clear Bitcoin has now become the most prominent spelling though.
Apache Donations by Frosty+Piss · 2014-08-31 10:00 · Score: 1

I usually just send them shampoo and other hygene supplies.

--
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
1. Re:Apache Donations by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:05 · Score: 0
  
  If you really cared, you would need to send donations to a lot of basements...
Re:Just when companies finally started to see them by Opportunist · 2014-08-31 10:11 · Score: 1

Last I heard a lot of companies side with drug dealers, hookers and other shady subjects. All of them accept cash, ya know?

--
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Re:Just when companies finally started to see them by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:21 · Score: 0

,,,
-_- Can't tell if moron or troll
I hear they accept free dicks up the asshole too by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:22 · Score: 0

Fucking faggots.
Re:I hear they accept free dicks up the asshole to by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:41 · Score: 0

You're just pissed we didn't take yours. See, us faggots actually have standards.
Re:I hear they accept free dicks up the asshole to by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 10:44 · Score: 0

You pay junkies to get pounded in the ass. Those are some standards, faggot.
You know who else accepts Bitcoin donations? by ArcadeMan · 2014-08-31 10:52 · Score: 1

This guy.
BTC: 17Yvsma9tfiuqVP7QhsFE2VmsFpTEMy17P

--
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
1. Re:You know who else accepts Bitcoin donations? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 12:09 · Score: 0
  
  You going to use the donations to hire junkies to gang bang you?
2. Re:You know who else accepts Bitcoin donations? by ArcadeMan · 2014-09-01 00:57 · Score: 1
  
  Nope, I'm asking donations and then I'm keeping my bitcoins until they're worth...
  ONE BILLION DOLLARS! /Dr.Evil
  
  --
  Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Re:Just when companies finally started to see them by Mex5150 · 2014-08-31 11:24 · Score: 0

Why not both?
weclome by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 14:54 · Score: 0

Welcome to the past apache, is anyone still using bitcoin?
QR Code? by MichaelJ · 2014-08-31 15:16 · Score: 1

Why would you publish a QR code on a web page, where you can just have a link? What am I supposed to do, aim my phone's camera at my monitor?

--

Michael J.
Root, God, what is difference?
1. Re:QR Code? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-08-31 16:28 · Score: 0
  
  Why not? If that's where your bitcoins are stored, but you're browsing the net on your PC, then yes, phone camera gets aimed at screen.
2. Re: QR Code? by Ash-Fox · 2014-08-31 19:54 · Score: 1
  
  I'm using my phone on a train, I don't have a second one handy.
  
  --
  Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
Who cares? by rebelwarlock · 2014-08-31 18:36 · Score: 0

It's not exactly a magical leap powered by unicorns and fairies to have a bitcoin wallet. You might as well say they're using CSS pseudoclasses - it would be exactly as newsworthy.
The only thing I can use Bitcoin for by satuon · 2014-08-31 22:52 · Score: 1

I bought some Bitcoins from a friend who's mining with cash - the only way to really do it anonymously. It was around $50 bucks. Unlike other people I decided that I'll only be spending them, and only for things I care about, not spending them for the sake of spending them.
So far the only things I've really managed is to send a few (small) donations, and buy Reddit gold. As far as I'm aware, the rest of the people who dabble in Bitcoin are exchanging them for money - which means they are speculating. If you're not speculating, it's really difficult to find ways to spend your Bitcoins.
I've decided I will buy more Bitcoins as soon as I've spent the ones I have. So far I've managed to spend $20 in the last 3-4 months, so I'll probably manage to spend all of them until the year is out.
So far the only thing I can use Bitcoin for was sending various donations, and even there they usually have a PayPal option.
1. Re:The only thing I can use Bitcoin for by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 16:42 · Score: 0
  
  If you're not speculating, it's really difficult to find ways to spend your Bitcoins.
  If you're having a hard time finding somewhere to spend bitcoins, you're not trying very hard. Have you heard of this new service called "Google"?
Then where are you? by tepples · 2014-09-01 01:35 · Score: 1

In other words, you already to be claiming that in-person Bitcoin payment is more likely to take off in your country than in countries with more expensive cellular service, such as the United States.
1. Re:Then where are you? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 12:48 · Score: 0
  
  For in-person payments, technically only one participant needs to have a connection to the bitcoin network. And a connection to the bitcoin network can be via any electronic means such as SMS for example. The website localbitcoins, where people meet up to exchange bitcoins for cash in person uses an SMS escrow system to release the bitcoins to the buyer.
apache hacked. bitcoin mining bot installed by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 04:28 · Score: 0

Bamax team. Bot installed. 6to9.no-ip.biz port 6969 and 6669... minerd running... apache compromised. Bitcoin mined. Bah. This article come at a bad time
$400 per year to use your own money by tepples · 2014-09-01 05:24 · Score: 1

User snaps a photo of it with their smartphone. Bitcoin app on phone decodes it, and sends payment to the address specified.
That just shifts costs from the merchant to the buyer, who now has to pay the telco a recurring fee for a cellular data connection.
1. Re:$400 per year to use your own money by houstonbofh · 2014-09-01 09:28 · Score: 1
  
  User snaps a photo of it with their smartphone. Bitcoin app on phone decodes it, and sends payment to the address specified.
  That just shifts costs from the merchant to the buyer, who now has to pay the telco a recurring fee for a cellular data connection.
  And no one is doing that now, without bitcoin. This is like trying to include the cost of an electric generating plant in the price of a toaster.
2. Re:$400 per year to use your own money by tepples · 2014-09-01 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  And no one is doing that now, without bitcoin.
  True, some people already have a smartphone, but not everyone does. Someone paying $7/mo for service on a cell phone used only for urgent calls might have to pay five times as much ($35/mo) for service on a phone that supports Bitcoin payment.
  
  This is like trying to include the cost of an electric generating plant in the price of a toaster.
  I see it as more like people who currently have normal home electric service (120 V AC) and would have to upgrade to 3-phase with a hefty surcharge per month in order to install a specific appliance.
and by Anonymous Coward · 2014-09-01 06:11 · Score: 0

thye bitcoin scam continues...