Those of you in Europe [Butterfly Labs]

[maboroshi]

Thought I would post this for those in Europe.

http://buttcoin.org/butterfly-labs-caug ... in-germany

Maybe just one case though

[ayu]

ouch, I hope I can still get mine :/

Been waiting for a very long time now, and kind of considering getting my money back soon.

[reparto]

Thats pretty serious, they will probably check every package from butterfly labs from now on.

This is quite interesting because the CEO of butterfly labs is a convicted fraudster, if this turns out to be a more than a one off then this could be bad.

[maboroshi]

I don't think they are fakes, they are shipping their product. They have also released there schematics etc as open source. The company also has a reputation of being legit.

Just maybe they were/are in to much of a hurry to release their product and some problems are bound to arise then. I know they are feeling the pressure. I check out there forums from time to time and you can see they do give reasonable explanations as to why so many delays. However I have read that they are shipping and there is a few articles saying they have received the said product and are actively mining.

http://www.btcpedia.com/butterflylabs-j ... -and-demo/

http://www.coindesk.com/butterfly-labs- ... oin-miner/

There is many other articles of success stories. Like I said probably just that one case, or maybe it's not legit.

Anyway Cats, don't give up hope yet!

[reparto]

I am not saying they are sending fakes, but if they are faking the CE certificates then it doesn't matter whether or not it works because the european governments will just refuse to allow them past customs.

And anyway, butterfly labs is breaking us federal law, they have been refusing to issue refunds to those whose asic has not yet shipped.

[maboroshi]

Ya I reread your message, it was late last night when I wrote my comment. Was just going to change it but you beat me to it.

Anyway I think I mostly wrote it for Cats so as to not quit on it yet.

Anyway

*cheers

[bad_brain]

the story linked in the first post is a bit strange anyway, because what the customs office is complaining about are:
- the power cord
- no manual in german language
and the main reason why the package was actually checked by the customs office is that it had no content declaration sticker on it...which is the "best" way to get the attention of the customs office (I received a used router last year, also had to pick it up at the customs office because of the missing declaration).

the author of the story also displays not too much technical understanding imo, because:

The main reason why it got a suspect by the customs: they included a american power cord in the package! Holy moly what would’ve happend if the user used that cable? USA(120volt)(germany 230volt)

come on, you would need a huge hammer to get an US plug into a german power outlet...and even then you would destroy half of the wall and it would still not fit... the reason was also the missing declaration in the first place.

so it seems they simply included a super-cheap power cable without a CE certification which invalidated the certificate for the whole device, because a power cord with US standard plug alone is definitely no reason for an import denial (the router I mentioned earlier also had one, and it was no problem).

P.S. I also assume the guy behaved a bit like an ass at the customs office, because at least from my experience they have a scope for interpretations of the import laws, and when you are nice (and when dealing with female officers maybe a bit charming) they often say "meh, take it with you". I had 2 packages yet where they did not charge me the 19% taxes because the value was above the free import limit, and one package I was allowed to take with me was even illegal by german law, it contained a book about the scandinavian black metal scene ("Lords of chaos"), and in this book there are displays of swastikas.....the customs girl saw it and she even said "you have to be cautious with that, the "state security" is interested in such stuff".

[reparto]

P.S. I also assume the guy behaved a bit like an ass at the customs office

Or he realised what was in the package and thought if he seized it he could get a free asic...

i hadn't read the specifics but if it is over a power cable then to me it looks like someone wanted a free or cheap minting press as seized goods tend to be auctioned off by the state

[bad_brain]

I kinda doubt that....else customs office personnel would also be on drugs on all the time...

[reparto]

I kinda doubt that....else customs office personnel would also be on drugs on all the time...

That actually brings a good question, how do they get rid of the drugs? Its not like they can just throw it out, burn it or flush it down the toilet.

Also, i think its easier to persuade someone who doesn't know what bitcoins are that an asic is a dodgy piece of electronic then it is to persuade someone that the extremely overpacked small bag of white powder isnt a drug.

[bad_brain]

of course, drugs are always evidence in a felony and are stored in the usual rooms were all kinds of court exhibits are kept. as soon as the case is closed they are burned in a incineration plant under they eyes of multiple official witnesses...if the substances can't be burned because the process would violate air pollution laws they are chemically processed to turn them into substances that don't.

the CE certification is a joke on the other hand, it says absolutely nothing about product safety at all....CE is actually nothing but EU circle jerking in order to make money with permissions to do trade in the euro-zone, pretty much like an import tax for vendors.

[jmarlowe]

one package I was allowed to take with me was even illegal by german law, it contained a book about the scandinavian black metal scene ("Lords of chaos"), and in this book there are displays of swastikas.....the customs girl saw it and she even said "you have to be cautious with that, the "state security" is interested in such stuff".

Yeah...um...still sorry about that....

[bad_brain]

Yeah...um...still sorry about that....

it's ok, it was actually pretty funny...