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Microsoft Store No Longer Accepts Bitcoins As Payment (techtimes.com)
westlake writes: It may come as a surprise to many here [but not all! -- Ed.], but back in December 2014, Microsoft began accepting Bitcoin.as payments for apps, games, and music purchased through the Windows Store, for its Win 10, Windows Phone and Xbox customers. Big-ticket items like MS Office were excluded. The service has been quietly discontinued. Crypto-currencies may excite the geek, but the Windows Store is mass-market and middle class, and the interest just might not be there.
I wouldn't trade Bitcoins for spyware anyway.
How is the Microsoft Store "mass-market" or "middle class"?
I'm looking forward to clippycoin, the coin that is bound to the win32 API and windows kernel, you can only pay with it if you have microsoft windows.
Let's face it - one quick look at Microsoft's track record and you have to wonder why Microsoft would ever even think of touching Bitcoin. Bitcoin is (ostensibly) about privacy, surely this would be antithetical to Microsoft's demonstrated business practices to date? Then again, maybe Microsoft is only just realizing what a farce the concept of Bitcoin really is.
do we mean microsoft store as in that icon in windows no one ever visits, or that icon in the mall that no one ever visits?
Good people go to bed earlier.
Microsoft has, willingly or unwillingly as been a government "partner" since Windows 7 (perhaps earlier). They collect data on Windows 10 and in all likelihood (they would be forbidden to discuss this) share all data collected with the government. The US Government (like Russia) is against anything that protects anonymity, so it stands to reason that MS would also be against anything that protects anonymity/privacy including Bitcoin. Wonder if MS will get a bounty for reporting Windows 10 users who have installed TOR clients. :D
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
OK, can I at least pay with my own 3D printed coins then . . . ?
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Funny, I have some bitcoins and yet, I don't feel any loss here. Microsoft had a store? Really?
Other than OEM versions of the OS that many games insist I run, what would I ever give them money for?
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
1 Satoshi = 0.06 USD
Hey Buddy, I'd like to buy your software with my bitcoins, but the smallest coin I have is $413USD.... How the hell do you make change with the smallest integer amount of a bit coin is $413.16???? That is the problem with bitcoins... they can't be subdivided and there just aren't enough of them for each person on earth to have even ONE.
I mean there are so many flaws in the Bitcoin concept you really don't have to make new ones up that are obviously false...
I guess you forgot the part of bitcoin being divisible up to 1/100,000,000 of a bitcoin. (And this can be changed in the future if necessary).
Or are you trolling?
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
You will see this happening more and more, as the BitCoin network has dived in performance in recent weeks with transactions taking up to an hour to be written into the block chain - so you can't really run an "instant delivery" platform on that basis, as you have no guarantee of the transaction going through until its actually happened.
Either customers have to wait until the transaction is written into the block chain to actually get their purchase, or the vendor has to take a risk in giving the product before the transaction is set in stone, allowing for transaction reversal attacks. As most stuff on these type of stores are impulse purchases, or instant gratification purchases, most users will not want to wait out the block chain and will rather go elsewhere.
Now, yes MS does control a lot of these devices and thus can take the product back again (eg XBox games, Metro apps etc) but this just turns the whole thing into a PR nightmare issue, and doesn't stop users from purchasing music (which are not DRMed) on hacked accounts and reversing the transaction.
So, all in all, BitCoin currently doesn't work for these type of stores.
My local mall has a Microsoft Store right across from an Apple Store. Microsoft Store was always empty, Apple Store was always full. Go figure.
Right now, one bitcoin equals 413.16 USD. One satoshi is 0.00000001 bitcoin, so each satoshi is worth 0.0000041316 USD. That means you need 14522 satoshi to have 0.06 USD.
If each satoshi were worth 0.06 USD, that means one bitcoin would be worth six million USD and I'd be a multi-millionaire.
Because Microsoft products and services you can buy anywhere but many Apple products can only be found at the Apple store, perhaps?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
It's funny how people keep saying transactions are being delayed, I use some faucets that can send withdrawals under five seconds.
Good for you, I'm sure everyone else would love to know how they are accomplishing it (other than setting much higher mining rewards for the transaction) because this is a well documented issue.
(Yes, I know - answering a question with a question is bad form - but there's nothing concrete about bitcoin anyhow, so it's okay)
Its not that there is no interest. Its more probable that because of all the recent CryptoLocker type attacks that seem to always want payment in bitcoin, as well as TV shows such as CSI: Cyber which have tarnished the image of bitcoin making it seem that it is only used by Malicious Hackers or Blackmailers.
--
Time is on my side
Will note though, to fulfill this years quota of nice things I'll say about Microsoft, that if you buy a PC from their store (or online store) it won't come with all of the 3rd party ad-ware that would come with the exact same model PC bought elsewhere. Will still come with the Microsoft ad-ware, but a vast improvement none the less.
Apple brings people through their stores purposefully in their service model. They don't make disposable devices on lowest-bidder hardware. MSFT is largely old on such devices, so people aren't going to come there and make appointments at the genius bar or for service or whatever.
Apple has foot traffic in its stores every hour of the business day because they control the hardware end of things so they can plausibly answer any question in-store. Therefore, people go there for answers.
They also have built a very strong warranty model with AppleCare, they really do honor it without a fight so people are likely to purchase it, especially repeat purchase it if they've had a good experience before, and that brings people through the stores too.
People in the stores play with devices or see options they'd never see otherwise, it generates more sales. It's self-perpetuating.
The difference is marketing - Apple selling their products as high end goods and Windows largely being marketed as a low-end good-enough.
The satoshi is currently the smallest unit of the bitcoin currency recorded on the block chain. It is a one hundred millionth of a single bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC). The unit has been named in collective homage to the original creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Why would you lie about BTC not being able to be subdivided? If you are just ignorant, then maybe you should go to Gizmodo and people won't call you out on such things.
To get a top end Surfacebook and a top end Macbook Pro Retina you pay a premium price. Last I checked the Surfacebook was more expensive. When you buy the Macbook you have privacy. When you buy the Surfacebook you have MS adware/spyware/unstoppable telemetry tracking what you type and where you go etc. So at this point in the game with the security of OSX, and end user privacy (not an option in Windows any longer) Apple is no longer the overpriced arrogant choice. Now the better value for your money is to get the cheaper privacy respecting ore secure OS, that isn't hell bent on pushing telemetry at you.
So for all of their scroogled/gmail man propaganda, MS is now doing more and worse, and that is after trying with a heavy hand to force you to upgrade. However where is the value add they are supposed to bring to the table?
They also have built a very strong warranty model with AppleCare, they really do honor it without a fight so people are likely to purchase it, especially repeat purchase it if they've had a good experience before, and that brings people through the stores too.
I took in my 2006 MacBook into the Apple Store in 2012 to have the CPU fan and battery replaced. Despite being a "vintage" model and out of warranty, they were able to fix it. Due to a technician accidentally breaking a cable, they even replaced the keyboard/trackpad top. I got my MacBook back like it was brand new.
Most of these people in turn are part of the middle class, regardless of whether they're using Windows at home or on the job.
Well, if we are to accept this conclusion (and it is basically without any supporting evidence), the same could be said of all computer users and therefore all bitcoin users.
So what point is being made by calling Windows Store "middle class" is a mystery. The fact it is mass-market is a million times more relevant. It got discontinued because a tiny percentage of its targeted customers are interested in using bitcoins, not because bitcoins are your working classes money.
The MS folks may be interested in accepting bitcoin, but it's quite possible that their financial folks have no tolerance for the potential for issues - at least not until the current brouhaha is sorted out. After all, declining to accept bitcoin costs might cost them a very few customers but possibly not even that.
Also, as someone else noted the delays that are now more common in bitcoin payments are a bad match for software or license key downloads - it's almost like purchasing a software download by mailing a check. Heck, quoting one article on bitcoinschannel.com: "the 0.001 BTC fee â€" worth US$0.43 at the time of writing â€" is no longer sufficient to get guaranteed confirmations from the next few blocks on the Bitcoin network." I'll note that a processing fee of US$0.43 or higher is getting pretty close to the cost of postage for mailing a check - particularly if you have to go higher to get your transaction processed promptly.
fencepost
just a little off
ChromeOS and Android are probably the worst examples you could have used, especially if you want to suggest that Linux is seeing any real adoption.
Both go out of their way to hide Linux as much as possible! They just go to show that the only way to make Linux even barely usable is to throw away the GNU utilities, X, GNOME, and the other software typically used by traditional Linux distros. Then all of that is replaced with quasi-proprietary (even if open source) alternatives which excel and abstracting away anything and everything relating to Linux. Linux is sequestered to the point that most users wouldn't even realize it's there.
And don't go based on outdated (your numbers are approaching 2 years old) stats regarding sales of Chromebooks. I know a number of people who bought Chromebooks not realizing how crippled and useless they really are. These people thought they'd be getting a cheap Windows laptop, and were disappointed when they accidentally got something much less useful. Those who could return them did, and the others who couldn't return them just didn't use them. I know some other people who only got Chromebooks as disposable laptops. They only use them when traveling. For any real work, these people use Windows desktops or laptops.
Android can't be considered to be Linux. ChromeOS can't be considered to be Linux. Chromebooks aren't equivalent to real computers. Linux has a sub-1% share of the desktop/workstation/laptop market.
Congratulations, you're actually on topic!
Microsoft wants to do away with currencies altogether. Bitcoin is the competition. MS Credits works something like a frequent-flyer rewards program:
Joe builds an app, "Fart app in D Flat". In lieu of payment in $US, Joe opts to receive payment in app store credits. So each time someone buys Joe's app, he receives 100 app store credits, which Joe can then use to buy apps or ebooks, add to his music catalogue or rent movies etc.
The Windows Insider program dispenses store credits for every bug report or helpful suggestion. Independent web sites (such as $lashdot) offer tie-ins for up-modded comments to receive 5 store credits for every up-mod. social media offers 1 credit per like. Kid-friendly bricks and mortar stores such as Burger King offer credits on each order, while pizza delivery companies allow for service entirely in MS store credits.
The evil genius is that since no money changes hands, possibly withstanding a supreme court challenge, Microsoft's taxation burden is then liable only at the point of conversion into real hard currency, such as grannie purchasing a block of credits for a birthday present, or big purchases on the store using a payment gateway to traditional currencies.
Attempts to monetize purchases in competition to iTunes/Play/Amazon may be doomed to failure if it's all about profits. Creating their own virtual payment system that rewards users of the Windows ecosystem may well save their 80% desktop monopoly.
you can only pay with it if you have microsoft windows
People already pay in non-monetary ways every day if they have windows.
Sorry, the normal user is really only three steps above an ape banging rocks together.
Windows learned this a long time ago and dumb down the interface as well as hid all the underlying stuff. Linux is just late to the party. It is still Linux, sure the user interface is dumbed down to the point for a monkey could operate it.
As to 2 years old, I chose it because it was not the most recent article. Recently chrome books hit 51% market share in the education market and that is what all the current stuff is about.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/...
http://www.pcworld.com/article...
http://www.techtimes.com/artic...
You just appear butt hurt because your tech toy is making inroads to mainstream usage. Keep playing with your Linux distros, the average user wants simple and Linux, with the help of google and others, are providing it. You dont like Chromebook, or android? Then dont run it. Just remember, Linux is the kernel and anything with a Linux kernel is "Linux" it may be be GNU Linux, it may not be a desk top, but it is still Linux whether you like it or not.
THIS!
Legitimate retailers don't need the hassle. This transaction time issues have been known for some time, but you have competing parties on the solution. So we are at a stalemate. I believe the dispute between developer factions has been going on for over a year. Different factions have interests that are not always about what's best for the general user population.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Since you're comparing to Visa, you might prefer to use CoinBase.com to make BitCoiN-backed online money transfers instantly and cheaply. Both of them require trust in a third party and can be reversed after the fact, but are capable of an extremely high number of cheap transactions per second.
If you're thinking "but BitCoiN is supposed to be P2P and trustless!" then why would you compare it to Visa? It's more analogous to mailing someone a brick of gold.
I apologize if someone advertised BitCoiN to you as "free" or even capable of Visa-level scaling yet, because it isn't.
Actually I saw lots of people in both when I am at a mall with both stores.
I own a macbook pro and only went to the store once. My hard drive crashed and they told me that I needed a new drive.
I checked the drive using SMART and it said it was ok. I took it home and repartitioned and formatted the drive and it has worked just great for the last 3 years. Over all not impressed with the Apple store service.
The Microsoft store was okay but I just didn't see the point. I see little reason to go to an Apple or Microsoft store unless I was going to buy a new Windows machine. I believe that the Windows computers at the microsoft store are free of demoware.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I would not feel safe leaving my computer with a "technician" who accidentally breaks shit while they are trying to do a routine part replacement
Repairing a 2006 MacBook in 2012 (or even today) was not a routine repair. The technician made a mistake re-installing the keyboard/trackpad top by pinching a brittle plastic cable. Accident happens. The most important thing was that the MacBook got repaired.
For something as simple as a fan and battery replacement (or anything less than low level component repair), I would have just replaced them myself and saved a bunch of money/time.
Since I didn't have the time to do that, I had the money for someone else to do the repair for me.
CoinBase looks like another Mt Gox - it achieves its scaling because its not touching the BitCoin ledger, its purely doing exchanges through its own liquidity.
BitCoins current issues with scaling are completely down to the core developer team refusing to fix the issues - there are several ways the current problems can be resolved, they just don't want to solve them for some reason.
"I would not feel safe leaving my computer with a "technician" who accidentally breaks shit while they are trying to do a routine part replacement."
Yes, when something goes wrong with your Made In Chechnya laptop you can totally bring it to a Microsoft Store, have the CPU fan and battery replaced, and if the tech breaks something else in the process he will admit it and fix it for free.
> MSFT is largely old [sic] on such devices,
I'd speculate that more Windows licenses get sold on more higher end computers than Apple will ever realize. It's probably the market leader on high-end computers that come with an operating system installed. The laptop that I'm using to type this has greater capacity than any Apple device ever made and Windows was an option when I bought it.
I could probably find the numbers somewhere but one of those sites that aggregates benchmarks should demonstrate it. There are certainly much more robust hardware being sold than even comes with Microsoft Windows but those don't often come with an operating system installed and one is probably unlikely to use such as a general purpose computer.
That doesn't mean that Apple doesn't make nice appliances and computers or that they don't have nice hardware, it's just that you seem to think they're the only option because (perhaps?) you've only been exposed to limited devices. Even HP, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, etc. all sell fine hardware. They probably all sell those models at a greater number than all but the appliances Apple sells - unless Apple has increased their general purpose computer sales at a rate that hasn't made the tech news sites.
As I recall, more people are already using Windows 10 than use OS X. Those who would have purchased the Walmart computers have transitioned to appliances and the sales of computers have dropped off a great bit. I'm not really sure that your claim hold water. A site with benchmarks might "prove" this but that's also selection biased (people who buy inexpensive or disposable computers probably aren't benchmarking them) so I'm not sure where to get these numbers in the first place?
At any rate, the vast majority of people that I know are neither using disposable computers nor OS X.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Perhaps our friends at Microsoft got some of their own medicine when Visa/Mastercard said, "That's a lovely discounted merchant fee you have there. Would be a shame if something happened to it." They then "suggested" that accepting payment any other way might be detrimental.
Patent litigation: A doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction... in which everyone seems willing to push the button
The story has now been updated to read:
Microsoft has just confirmed that the update it made to the Windows Store FAQ page was just a mistake and that Windows 10 would continue to support Bitcoin.
Breakfast served all day!
Just a little while later, it is $413.61. An interesting thing I noticed, it's now on XE.com. However, that fluctuation isn't really a good thing I suspect. That's worth about 2/3 the value that mine were at when I donated them all to EFF.
People aren't going to want to deal with the immediacy required if it's an exchange of value unless that's smoothly done. In theory (perhaps in practice) you can end up having paid more (or less) than the product is worth due to just the time taken for the transaction to complete. That's going to (probably) have to change if wide acceptance is the goal.
For better or worse, there's the social stigma associated and the volatility as barriers to acceptance by some. I've no idea how to fix that. I'd mined a bunch and then forgotten them. I remembered when the topic came up a few days in a row. I went and found the box, hooked it back up, and had mined 48 of them. I decided I'd find someone to donate them to, as opposed to being taxed on them and accepting any stigma associated with them, and in the time it took me to find someone that accepted them and make the donations they'd fluctuated in value from about $650 each to $575 each and then back up to nearly the first amount. I checked a week later and they were down to something like $400 each.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Thanks for the education... I had no idea bitcoins were divisible by 8 decimal places.