At least from the perspective of someone who deals with teaching disabled students. The federal DOE determines allocation of resources and ADA compliance of schools. Without federally mandated special needs services many districts could stop offering these services all together.
I think once it goes through this bubble we're going to see it's real applications. It's like what Wired Founder Kevin Kelly often says, you have to look at the stuff that was the "next big thing" five years ago. Social networks didn't really take off until Friendster and Myspace moved first and failed. I think it's the same with Bitcoin.
It's also eventually they're going to hit a ceiling and be worthless once they're all mined. It seems like a huge bet, trying to guess when Bitcoin value will hit 0.
It also depends. The way I look at it is the really good companies know people will seek them out. So to get really good jobs you have to seek them out. I've never really gotten an offer from a good company from a recruiter approaching me.
I just don't seem to have time. I spend 4 hours commuting by train every so it's really a choice between sleep and working out most days. I used to get up early to work out but it just became too much.
It probably wouldn't be too hard for Apple to check this though. Just make sure the account isn't under the name or address of someone who already has a developer account.
There's also the issue of the filter's they do us now. The "Essential" apps on the Front Page of the App Store don't even seem that essential. Why is an app to teach kids to spell considered "Essential" for an Apple device?