disclaimer: im not an expert on the topic, but have some general insights i can share and have dabbled around with btc's for a while. take what i say with a grain of salt and check out this bitcointalk.org as a valuable sources of knowledge on the subject. A good starting point would be the thread "New to BitCoin? Start here!":
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=7269.0
Every transfer gets verified by the p2p network many many times over. in order to be secure the process is using some of the most advanced encryption algorithms humanity knows. encrypting this data for verification of transfers requires computing power, a lot of it. This is done by the clients when you choose to do so. During this process, newly printed bitcoins are awarded for large volumes of processed data. i think its called a block which awards 50 coins and this amount is by now virtually unreachable by a single person or would take years. blocks take longer and longer to be printed, i dont know the exact function used though, but its public and can be read up upon.
therefore people combine their power to networks like one that i assume the buddy team is running. this way every user can be paid out on a daily or so basis. be aware that usually these combined efforts require all users to automatically pay a part of what they would be awarded to the owner of the network, the buddy team in this case if they are running one. these fees vary and among other factors (uptime and stability is important) make up the quality of a network.
prices first rose up from practically nil to 30usd in a matter of months until the bubble exploded in mid 2011. the price has been very stable at around 6usd now i think. some stores here in hamburg already accept them.
privacy wise bitcoins seem to be very poor, but that being said, their production and value cannot be controlled by a central authority which is what most people like about them. payments through the btc client are still pretty much under the radar too, but be aware that this can change. the currency's value will always directly depend on the amount of trust people invest into it, as with any other currency which are unlike this one forced onto people instead of chosen.
i would kill for abandoning my bank account here in germany, since i can be controlled, monitored and bound through it by my gouvernment, but currently this is not an option since monthy payments end up on that account. we dont have any real bank secrecy agreement anymore and neither is our money safe from being seized, even by private organizations without a court ruling. :/
on the other hand btc wallets can be hacked or someone can simply transfer all your money to another wallet when he gains control of your pc. i dont wanna give anyone any ideas, but programming such malware which could barely be stopped before it is too late is an extremely easy task right now. with no gouvernment (understandably) really supporting the currency i doubt the authorities would care much. so be careful with these and dont invest your whole savings. that being said, btc's ftw!!!