It is not PoW or the blockchain that I have the major issues with, though those are terribly inefficient. The main issue I have is with this notion that a pyramid distribution of currency where 50% or more is distributed to a few thousand people will succeed at doing anything but creating the next Wall Street or London. I do not see exchanging one boss for another with grandiose promises of "this time, it's different" as anything other than a way to relieve the ignorant of their money.
When currencies start appearing that break this trend, I believe you will see a strong run to the bottom for all of the currencies that require an influx of new suckers to maintain the charade of the sustainability of closed, pyramid money supplies. And somebody with a fat stack of bitcoins is probably going to speed the process along leaving thousands holding the bag.
You think you can change over a 100 years of brainwashing and programming with some software? No, that is not how it works and you must be incredibly ignorant to think it can.
Kids are instilled with this idea that fiat money "makes sense" when it doesn't. The first time you tell a kid about fiat money they don't know how it can be so, but a few years later it's accepted as reality. To change this reality is near impossible, like changing someone who is muslim to atheism. Such programming takes many years to change, it's very gradual.
What I do know is you etlase2 have been talking down others work for year(s) now and still haven't done anything about it. Why is this? Do something if you think others can do what you say is possible. Show us the (right) way.
Even though I don't think Ripple is any good technically I applaud them for trying something new and doing something. You never know with actually DOING things what it can inspire in others even if you doing something is a failure.