How is this different than Al just keeping control over the coins until he's ready to send them to Bob?
In both the "locked coins" system (without unlocking) that you are trying to invent AND in the scenario where Al doesn't send the coins, Bob never gets control over the coins at all.
Also in both the "locked coins" system (with eventual unlock) that you are trying to invent AND in the scenario where Al sends the coins eventually, Bob gets control over the coins when Al finally decides to let him have control.
The only difference is that in your scenario, there is a short period of time when NEITHER can spend the coins. I don't see how having such a period of time provides security to either party, since either could just wait out the time.
The purpose is to give Bob proof that Al has enough coins to complete the transaction, and to be sure that he won't spend them.
I once had an annoying situation with someone who asked me lots of questions about the house/business/etc I was selling. He argued with me for days, only to tell me he didn't have enough money to buy.
My idea sounded good on paper, but it is apparently very difficult to implement because of the way Bitcoin works (and is probably not the best solution). I also wished to respect the "without a trusted third party"
credo of Bitcoin. My motivation was to provide proof that the customer is "solvent", especially for a busy person or a professional, rather than to provide better security.
Wouldn't you just have the guy send the transaction, and then once it's confirmed give him the keys?
Same as above. This idea was designed to be used in a specific situation, with expensive goods, real estate, etc, most likely by a professional. This system also offered a way for the buyer to show that he has
enough money, without sharing all the info/balance of his wallet with another party. You may say that this is not important because if the buyer does not have enough money, the transaction will simply never
happen, but the advantage is to get this information quickly.
Thanks to everybody for your interesting comments.