user7: I'd like to make small payments for business purposes through Bitcoin, so would like to know what the easiest method of getting setup to accept a Bitcoin payment is for a regular person, so that I can recommend it to those I want to pay.
Some options I see are:

Standard Bitcoin client
BitcoinJ
Instawallet
Flexcoin

These people will only be holding a few Bitcoin at most in their wallet, so security is not as high a priority as in other cases, but I would still like to avoid a Mybitcoin type fiasco where every one I pay loses their money.
Which method has the best combination of convenience in getting setup and security?

user217: LoveBitcoins.org has a list of clients for various platforms. 
I am biased because I am the a co-developer of BitcoinSpinner, but I encourage everyone who has an Android phone to try it as it is really simple, secure, and ready for use immediately.

user48884: Any wallet that is listed on Bitcoin.org's Choose Your Wallet page is a good choice. In order for a wallet to be listed on that page, it must meet several criteria. These include usability, security, and availability of source code. The website also includes details about the wallets listed and some information about the security, privacy, and usability that they provide.
Personally, I would recommend that you use Electrum. Any wallet listed in the Desktop category is good too, but I would avoid using a web wallet.

user26: http://campbx.com is a market but the owners are extremely public as compared to other markets and banks. 

user117: Update: I ceased to be affiliated with the MultiBit project in May 2016. MultiBit is now wholly owned by KeepKey LLC and only the MultiBit HD wallet is supported.
The comment below from 2011 refers to the old MultiBit Classic wallet which nobody should be using any more. 
MultiBit HD is its direct replacement and remains a viable Bitcoin wallet (subject to regular updates). You can find migration instructions here.
Further, any Bitcoin wallet should only be used in conjunction with an external hardware wallet (KeepKey, Trezor, Ledger etc) due to malware attacks.

MultiBit
I'm biased since I'm a contributor, but MultiBit provides the following features (at the time of writing):

multiple platform installers (Windows, MacOS, Linux) 
manages multiple wallets (current account, savings account, business account etc)
local install (no private keys held on a server somewhere)
13 languages (more to come)
easy to use for a beginner (has a YouTube channel)
bulk public key export to support a merchant solution
free and open source under the (very permissive) MIT license

There is also a wide suite of complimentary products in the pipeline to offer a complete range of supporting products (such as a merchant solution).

user143: I've used Instawallet and Flexcoin. Instawallet is very easy to use because you don't need a login name and password. You visit https://www.instawallet.org and it simply gives you a unique and hard-to-guess web address to a bitcoin wallet which you can bookmark. I used this site together with BitPay app for Android, trading a few bitcoins in a diner. 
The site has been around since April, 2011. The operator is visible in the bitcointalk forums and responsive enough to emails from users. He is also known to be the developer of the well-known site bitcoinmonitor.com.
http://www.flexcoin.com is also easy, but you need to create an account with username and password to use it.  You enjoy the benefits of instant transfer of bitcoins and simple addresses if you deal with other Flexcoin accounts. You pay a small fee when you send bitcoins outside of Flexcoin and earn interest or "discount payments" if you keep a balance in your account. This "bitcoin bank", the first of its kind, is backed by a business company. 
Ever since the MyBitcoin incident where thousands of bitcoins were lost, users naturally have become more wary of third-party wallet services. There is hardly any insurance against bitcoin losses and no guarantee of continued service. However, the visibility, responsiveness and reputation of the operators and legitimate business backing, not to mention the security measures, of the service can be good signs to watch out for if you will use online wallet services. 

user4774: The only true way to use bitcoin is of course to use the bitcoin client. It is a little difficult to use perhaps, but I would argue that's just about the same difficulty as online services at the moment.  
That being said you may consider using an established exchange like mtgox. The identities of the people involved are known (unlike mybitcoin), and many security issues have already come up and been addressed.  Also they provide merchant services to make transactions easier on the go.  
It's also very easy to quickly convert your bitcoins to cash, and get paid out whenever you want.

user-1: Sorry to dig up and old question but I just wanted to add a link to My Wallet provided by blockchain.info
I guess the thing that separates My Wallet from other e-wallet providers is that the site aims to feel more like an actually bitcoin client rather providing disposable addresses. I tried to design the site to be easy to use and it should seem familiar to anyone that has used PayPal or online banking. I will be adding more features soon which should be familiar to novice users such as invoices and monthly statements.
You can generate up to 200 different bitcoin addresses and are free to export the private keys at anytime. In fact if you already have an existing bitcoin address you don't even need to add your private keys at all. For more information about how the site works try the faq or browse the code.

7: <p>I'd like to make small payments for business purposes through Bitcoin, so would like to know what the easiest method of getting setup to accept a Bitcoin payment is for a regular person, so that I can recommend it to those I want to pay.</p>

<p>Some options I see are:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Standard Bitcoin client</p></li>
<li><p>BitcoinJ</p></li>
<li><p>Instawallet</p></li>
<li><p>Flexcoin</p></li>
</ul>

<p>These people will only be holding a few Bitcoin at most in their wallet, so security is not as high a priority as in other cases, but I would still like to avoid a Mybitcoin type fiasco where every one I pay loses their money.</p>

<p>Which method has the best combination of convenience in getting setup and security?</p>
 217: <p><a href="http://lovebitcoins.org" rel="nofollow">LoveBitcoins.org</a> has a <a href="http://lovebitcoins.org/getStarted.html" rel="nofollow">list of clients</a> for various platforms. </p>

<p>I am biased because I am the a co-developer of <a href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.miracleas.bitcoin_spinner" rel="nofollow">BitcoinSpinner</a>, but I encourage everyone who has an Android phone to try it as it is really simple, secure, and ready for use immediately.</p>
 48884: <p>Any wallet that is listed on <a href="https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bitcoin.org's Choose Your Wallet page</a> is a good choice. In order for a wallet to be listed on that page, it must meet <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin-dot-org/bitcoin.org/blob/master/docs/managing-wallets.md" rel="nofollow noreferrer">several criteria</a>. These include usability, security, and availability of source code. The website also includes details about the wallets listed and some information about the security, privacy, and usability that they provide.</p>

<p>Personally, I would recommend that you use Electrum. Any wallet listed in the Desktop category is good too, but I would avoid using a web wallet.</p>
 26: <p><a href="http://campbx.com" rel="nofollow">http://campbx.com</a> is a market but the owners are extremely public as compared to other markets and banks. </p>
 117: <p><strong>Update</strong>: I ceased to be affiliated with the MultiBit project in May 2016. MultiBit is now wholly owned by KeepKey LLC and only the <a href="https://multibit.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MultiBit HD</a> wallet is supported.</p>

<p>The comment below from 2011 refers to the old MultiBit Classic wallet which <em>nobody should be using any more</em>. </p>

<p>MultiBit HD is its direct replacement and remains a viable Bitcoin wallet (subject to regular updates). You can find <a href="https://multibit.org/help/hd0.1/how-to-upgrade-from-classic.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">migration instructions here</a>.</p>

<p>Further, any Bitcoin wallet should only be used in conjunction with an external hardware wallet (KeepKey, Trezor, Ledger etc) due to malware attacks.</p>

<hr>

<p><strong>MultiBit</strong></p>

<p>I'm biased since I'm a contributor, but <a href="http://multibit.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MultiBit</a> provides the following features (at the time of writing):</p>

<ul>
<li>multiple platform installers (Windows, MacOS, Linux) </li>
<li>manages multiple wallets (current account, savings account, business account etc)</li>
<li>local install (no private keys held on a server somewhere)</li>
<li><strong>13 languages</strong> (more to come)</li>
<li>easy to use for a beginner (has a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MultiBitOrg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">YouTube channel</a>)</li>
<li>bulk public key export to support a merchant solution</li>
<li>free and open source under the (very permissive) MIT license</li>
</ul>

<p>There is also a wide suite of complimentary products in the pipeline to offer a complete range of supporting products (such as a merchant solution).</p>
 143: <p>I've used Instawallet and Flexcoin. Instawallet is very easy to use because you don't need a login name and password. You visit <a href="https://www.instawallet.org" rel="noreferrer">https://www.instawallet.org</a> and it simply gives you a unique and hard-to-guess web address to a bitcoin wallet which you can bookmark. I used this site together with BitPay app for Android, trading a few bitcoins in a diner. </p>

<p>The site has been around since April, 2011. The operator is visible in the bitcointalk forums and responsive enough to emails from users. He is also known to be the developer of the well-known site bitcoinmonitor.com.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flexcoin.com" rel="noreferrer">http://www.flexcoin.com</a> is also easy, but you need to create an account with username and password to use it.  You enjoy the benefits of instant transfer of bitcoins and simple addresses if you deal with other Flexcoin accounts. You pay a small fee when you send bitcoins outside of Flexcoin and earn interest or "discount payments" if you keep a balance in your account. This "bitcoin bank", the first of its kind, is backed by a business company. </p>

<p>Ever since the MyBitcoin incident where thousands of bitcoins were lost, users naturally have become more wary of third-party wallet services. There is hardly any insurance against bitcoin losses and no guarantee of continued service. However, the visibility, responsiveness and reputation of the operators and legitimate business backing, not to mention the security measures, of the service can be good signs to watch out for if you will use online wallet services. </p>
 4774: <p>The only true way to use bitcoin is of course to use the bitcoin client. It is a little difficult to use perhaps, but I would argue that's just about the same difficulty as online services at the moment.  </p>

<p>That being said you may consider using an established exchange like mtgox. The identities of the people involved are known (unlike mybitcoin), and many security issues have already come up and been addressed.  Also they provide merchant services to make transactions easier on the go.  </p>

<p>It's also very easy to quickly convert your bitcoins to cash, and get paid out whenever you want.</p>
 -1: <p>Sorry to dig up and old question but I just wanted to add a link to <a href="https://blockchain.info/wallet">My Wallet</a> provided by <a href="http://blockchain.info">blockchain.info</a></p>

<p>I guess the thing that separates My Wallet from other e-wallet providers is that the site aims to feel more like an actually bitcoin client rather providing disposable addresses. I tried to design the site to be easy to use and it should seem familiar to anyone that has used PayPal or online banking. I will be adding more features soon which should be familiar to novice users such as invoices and monthly statements.</p>

<p>You can generate up to 200 different bitcoin addresses and are free to export the private keys at anytime. In fact if you already have an existing bitcoin address you don't even need to add your private keys at all. For more information about how the site works try the <a href="https://blockchain.info/wallet/faq">faq</a> or <a href="https://github.com/zootreeves/blockchain.info">browse the code</a>.</p>
