Well, there is no one answer to that.  One of mine, is a gateways ability to capture spreads, making markets for various currencies.  So there are tremendous monetary benefits.
The potential advantage to consumers is even more tremendous, as "Powered by Ripple", should drastically reduce remittence costs and reduce wait times.

Hundreds if not thousands of gateways, to my understanding, is the goal.  

One of the advantages of the distributed exchange, is to allow payments from any currency, to any currency.  The network will find the best path by utilizing this distributed exchange.  
Gateways are also advantageous over exchanges, because their Ripple transactions are all listed in the public ledger.  So at anytime, you can see how many IOU's are outstanding and how much cash reserves the gateway should have.  Good luck getting that from an exchange or bank.  

XRP is advantageous because it can be stored with no counter-party risk and can move through the network, without trust lines.  It can also move into or out of any currency on the network and is known as a bridge currency.  

Let's say you're going to send me payment, which I require in EUR but you want to spend BTC.  It's tough to convert BTC - > EUR and then send it to me, without Ripple.  Takes a long time and it's expensive.  With Ripple you can for instance:

You -> BTC -> XRP -> EUR -> Me

That would be one possible path through the distributed exchange.  And it all happens in seconds, for a fraction of a penny. 

If you're a person, who in the future only plans to deal in Bitcoin transactions, Ripple is of no use to you.  If you're a person that plans to deal in multiple fiat and crypto-currencies, Ripple is an amazing payment network.  

More info here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripple_(monetary_system)

You have to deposit with your gateway (issuer), so it depends on what deposit options they offer.  Three I know of are:

Bitstamp (Recommended)
SnapSwap
PeerCover

What I do, is use Coinbase to buy BTC -> Bitstamp -> Ripple.  Reverse to get back out into fiat.

It's no different than with Bitcoin or any alt, and their respective exchanges.  Same risks.  Bitstamp, which is obviously a BTC exchange, is also the largest Ripple gateway.  Anytime you deal with an exchange, gateway or even a bank, you take risks.  The only way to be certain, is to never remove your assets from your personal wallets. 

XRP is the only currency, within the Ripple Network, with no counter-party risk. 

Yes, there is absolutely counter-party risk.  You are trusting your gateway (issuer) to hold your BTC.  They issue you an IOU of that asset to utilize within the Ripple Network.  To remove counter-party risk, withdrawal your BTC back to your own BTC wallet.

It's certainly possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.  I'm doubting we'll ever fall below our previous ATH of $266.  Next time we really cross $1000 good, may very well be the last time we see triple digits.

They are buying them for the same reasons people bought BTC when it was under $1 or $10 or $30 or even now, for the most part.  Merchant adoption didn't drive Bitcoin, speculation did.  A bit silly to be getting all "high and mighty" now, don't you think?  

Embrace that the crypto-space as a whole is growing.  That's more important than any single crypto-currency and that includes Bitcoin.  People moving away from government fiat, is all that matters in this equation.  People would be wise to remember that.

Where's the tank meme because that's what Bitcoin is, a tank.  Crushing walls like nothing.  

I'm not fully convinced the correction is over, but Bitcoin is here to stay.  I've learned that much and after some of the ignorance I see posted around the web in the various comments sections of negative Bitcoin articles it actually makes me respect you crazy people here, even more.  Most people just have no clue how the money in their pocket and the system they live under is robbing them.  And they celebrate it.  It's saddening because they "rah rah" for a system designed to steal from them.  It angers me that this system still stands and these greedy bastards are still getting away with such corruption.  

I know, off topic rant.  Just wanted to say...keep fighting the good fight.  The people need us, even though most don't yet know it.

This is likely everyone last chance at cheap coins.  Don't blow it.  When Bitcoin hits $1000 again, it will never see triple digits again.  

+1  Dumb to just hold in an obvious crash like this.  Unless of course you:

1.  Won't sell ever
2.  Have already taken significant profits
3.  Remain delusional that it will rebound to $1000 any minute.

Total meltdown.  

Stamp has broken $800.  Gox is likely to do so any minute now.

LTC/QRK/XRP

Put enough into this trio and you will be a millionaire by end of next year. 

So what you're saying is it's totally ok that China can't use BTC as a currency because it's only a commodity anyway?  I actually agree, that's just not what everyone was saying as Baidu and others were signing on.  Now that they've dumped BTC, it's a different story.