Bitcoins for Dummies

Bitcoin for dummies:
If you are to read on Wikipedia the entry for the term "bitcoin", you will learn that it actually refers to at least three things. One, it's a digital currency created by a certain Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Two, it's the open source software Nakamoto designed that makes use of said digital currency. And three, it's the peer-to-peer network that the digital currency forms. I find this to be very confusing and I know you are facing the same dilemma.

So I went and researched beyond Wikipedia. Here are a few points that I found that might enable you to clearly understand what a bitcoin is.
1. It is a peer to peer currency that you can use to exchange goods and services on the internet without fees.
2. There is no central authority to issue new money or track transactions.
3. Too acquire bitcoins, you can buy them from bitcoin exchange sites and marketplaces like Mt. Gox and #bitcoin-otc, accept them as payments for products or services, trade cash in exchange for them from local bitcoin traders, participate in a bitcoin mining pool, or start a new "block".