Toronto's "Urban Living Suites" Now Accepting Bitcoin

Bitcoin Travel added "Urban Living Suites" to their listings today. From their website:

We are a newly renovated, family-operated inn offering simple, clean, and furnished suites for short terms rentals. Our rates are budget-friendly and we cater to those that seek a no-frills alternative to expensive hotels.

Located between Little Italy, Kensington Market, and Chinatown we are just a short distance away from Toronto’s more popular attractions. Toronto’s famous Queen Street is just a few steps away and there you will find trendy restaurants, art boutiques, local markets and great shopping. A street-car stop located just on the corner provides easy access around the city.

All our rooms are newly renovated and offer a contemporary and comfortable design furnished with pieces selected from our family-run furniture store located just below the suites.

All rooms include:

♦ Kitchenette (stove & mini-fridge).
♦ Private bathrooms.
♦ Towels and linens.
♦ Free high speed internet.
♦ Posture-pedic mattresses and dust mite covers.
♦ Weekly or daily cleaning services as requested.
♦ Eco-friendly cleaning products.
♦ Limited Free Parking (subject to availability).
♦ Laundry facilities are located nearby.
♦ Note: no phone in room (Pre-paid phones can be requested).

We are pleased to welcome travelers to stay with us and experience what Toronto has to offer. We will do our best to make your stay wonderful. Happy travels!

You can even stay long-term, subject to availability. Maybe someone will win my bounty after all!

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Introducing "Bitcoin Gifter"

Yesterday I launched a new service that has already received a lot of positive response. Bitcoin Gifter is a service that allows someone to save a significant amount of money when sending gifts to friends or loved ones that live in another country.

Nine Agents have already been hired, and we're looking for more! Visit the Bitcoin Gifter page for more information on how it works. If you're interested in becoming an Agent for a country that isn't yet represented, send me an email.

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Bitcoin's Killer App is Here

What if there was an application that gave you a completely secure Bitcoin wallet, made downloading the client and blockchain a thing of the past, and required the computer skills of your average Facebook user?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's here. The app has arrived that will sweep the Bitcoin community off its feet: StrongCoin.

Features:

- Web-based e-wallet - no more client or blockchain downloads;

- Client-side private key generation and encryption - invulnerable to hackers as long as you choose a strong password for your wallet (as with your normal online banking). StrongCoin does not know your password and cannot access your wallet;

- Imports your offline-generated and encrypted private key, if you so desire;

- Printable paper wallet with encrypted private key for safe and secure backup;

- Address book;

- Send/receive Bitcoins;

- QR code generation;

- Encrypted keys are backed up every 24 hours to a fully redundant data storage infrastructure;

- Access your Bitcoins from any device, including Kindle.

What's the catch? A 1% fee, up to a maximum of 1 BTC, on all outgoing transactions. WELL worth it.

I think we all agree that downloading a client is not the way to go for most people. It's slow, difficult for grandma to install, and not secure unless you take the proper steps which can be very technically demanding.

Finally, we have an app that will open up Bitcoin to a whole new segment of society. This is exciting. The Bitcoin Trader is excited.

Edit: if you'd like to be walked through StrongCoin, click on "Simple Bitcoin Guide" at the top of the blog.

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New Sites - Week of 16 Oct 11

Mokimarket - Penny auctions. They're not advertising the Bitcoin logo, but see this post for more info.
Transaction Radar - Double-spend detector.
Holo Supplies - ID Supply Superstore.
Pocket Artillery - Miniature canons.
The Venusian Arts - Dating and seduction guides.
The Diaspora Project - An alternative social network. Accepting donations.

Edit:

Wisconsin Maple Syrup - I'm a little late on this one, but I couldn't allow it to be missed!

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The Anonymous Payphone is Back - Bitcoin Style

Three days ago, an announcement was made on the Bitcointalk Forum that a new project was under development. Currently 25% complete, the project is called Bitphone and it will be an anonymous Internet payphone that accepts payment through Bitcoin.

There is nothing nefarious or unprecedented about anonymous phone calls, but this will make it even easier and more anonymous than throwing a quarter into a payphone on the street.

Yet another awesome Bitcoin service!

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New Sites - Week of 9 Oct 11

BitCashRetail - Bitcoin merchant services.
Bitcoin Pie - Comparison of Bitcoin and alternative blockchains.
Bitcoin BlackBook - Bitcoin directory.
Starcraft Bitcoin Open - Starcraft tournament platform using Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Alltop - Bitcoin news aggregator.
Bitcoin Exchanger - Russian Bitcoin exchange.

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New Bitcoin Sites - Week of 2 Oct 2011

Bitcoin economy dead? Me thinks not. Here are your latest and greatest:

Copper Logistics - Invest in copper.
Bitcoin Starter - A project support site (not launched just yet).
Bitcoins.aunz.ws - Sell Bitcoins in Australia.
IMCEX - New Bitcoin exchange.
Tahoe-LAFS - Free and open cloud storage system.
Spaculator - Guess the future value of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin PayMe Cards - Bitcoin wallet cards.
BTC Smoke Shop - Kind of self-explanatory.
Winnipeg Technology and Computer Renewal - Online computer store.
Exekute.net - Hosting service.
DialCoin - Buy Bitcoins via SMS.
bitfloor - Bitcoin trading system - currently on Testnet.
txt4coins - Text worldwide and pay with Bitcoin.

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Latest Bitcoin Services and Software

New to Bitcoin this week:

Bitcoin 0.4 - Now with encryption!
CoinConnect - A Bitcoin Social Network
Bitcoin Email Notifications
Bitcoin Realty
Bitcoinintro.com - An Introduction to Bitcoin
Bitcoin Stats - Transaction Timer
Bet with Bitcoins - A Bitcoin Gambling Directory (disclosure: this is my site)
bit-pay Mobile Checkout

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