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Is it possible to include actual transaction history to new version of Bitcoin client?
I mean, when someone new downloads a fresh version from http://bitcoin.org.
It is very hard to get more people into the Bitcoin community, when the start takes sooo looong. (It looks like it never ends, like a bug.)
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You can download the transaction history separately (don't have the link on me currently). Adding it to the client would also be disencouraging - 1GB of a "program" doesn't appear too user-friendly.
Alternatively, one can use a lightweight client (like Multibit or Electrum), or an eWallet (like StrongCoin).
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The project is essentially in a beta phase. People who run the Bitcoin client now are typically the highly technical early adopters who will build the next layer of software and services on top of the basic Bitcoin protocol. Those services (exchanges, banks, payment gateways, thin clients, trust networks, laundromats, ...) are what ordinary end-users will adopt en masse.
So I believe the answer is no: the Satoshi Bitcoin client will never come with the blockchain included, simply because the target audience are not the kind of end-users that find a large initial download a problem.
Oh ... 1GB .. it is not simple to start with bitcoin.
Will this transaction history consume my whole disk space, when more and more people join bitcoin society? – Peter – 2012-01-25T12:23:45.343
@Peter - Eventually most normal users will not use full clients, only miners. Most users will use thin/web clients instead. – ripper234 – 2012-01-25T13:08:09.370
@Peter I'm guesstimating it might hit 2GB tops by the end of the year, so it's not too bad. My windows updates leftover files were about 10 times that amount after a couple years. By that time someone will probably make a decent client that prunes old data (if you really want to be connected to the Bitcoin network). Otherwise, use web/Stratum clients. – ThePiachu – 2012-01-25T13:24:53.883