When a power blackout or some other inevitable technical issue occurs, plastic cards can be imprinted mechanically with paper, or some other technology will be developed to record the transaction perfectly.

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If at all possible, getting a written record of the transaction or receipt is encouraged.

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Vanity Fair first reported the story Thursday, confirming whispers that the record-setting transaction had taken place earlier in 2011.

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Under the system, the gun dealer maintains a record of the transaction, but the federal government keeps no such identifying paperwork.

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It allows users to exchange bitcoin files without keeping as detailed of a record of the transaction as would be required over PayPal or other electronic payment networks.

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Although a record of every bitcoin transaction is stored on every computer running the bitcoin software, bitcoins nevertheless provide a significantly greater degree of anonymity in online payment.

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Sprint did record a gain on the unwinding of this transaction in itslatest quarter.

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