Taking longer than expected to get all of the servers back to logging into the database.  Still working on it.

It's the bitcoin aspect that screws up consumer protections.  If it wasn't present, there would be more obvious recourse to that kind of complaint, and they'd stand a better chance of success.  

But, if you put yourself in the shoes of a bureaucrat, you're kind of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" here.  The "community" is loud and clear that bitcoin does not want regulation, but the "community" also has problems with dishonest and incompetent hardware manufacturers.  From the federal level, there is bascially a policy vacuum, because the feds haven't figured out if and how to deal with it, and they are kind of signalling 'hands off', like the "community" says it wants.

So if you wade into this as a low or mid-level bureaucrat of the sort that might typically try to enforce consumer protection laws, you're probably going to get your head chopped off and be accused of overreaching.  And you are probably saying to yourself, "heh, those guys, so proud of their independence and insulting the government all the time, now look who's crying? ... why should I stick my neck out for them?  Most of them say I'm irrelevant, until they run into @ssholes like BFL and Hashfast. Well, sorry fellas, it's time you grew up and gave us more respect. Here's a lesson for you."

Man, this thread is full of despair.  I really hope for the best for you folks that have sunk a lot of money into this cluster.  This type of thing is very bad for bitcoin in general.  It is too bad there isn't some sort of mechanism where customers have some kind of recourse with teeth that the suppliers fear (e.g. chargebacks).  I suppose that is one luxury we forego with the low processing fees.  Although, I suppose it does allow for new business ventures scams to emerge.

Can someone fix my logic here, what is the point of MPP?

Current - BTC @ 195 - 10.26 BTC
Assuming 850M difficulty at receipt and 30% increases each adjustment = no MPP, break even within 90 days.
Assuming 1070M difficulty at receipt and 40% increases each adjustment = MPP must kick in because day 90 you will have 7.4BTC.

Per HF MPP rules, it would have taken an additional 150GH to hit the 10.26BTC we started with. They double it to 300GH, round up to the nearest whole GN (1 chip @ 400). Now you have 400GH to put on your system 90 days after you received it. In this crazy town of 40% constant difficulty increases, that would yield you an additional 0.2 BTC, which is not worth the extra MPP fee.

If difficulty remains under the 40% curve, MPP won't kick in.
If difficulty remains over the 40% curve, MPP will kick in but won't be worth it.

Are people who are buying MPP imagining that it will be extremely difficult to mine for the first 90 days, so that MPP will kick in, but then it will stop so that the extra capacity can give make MPP worth it? Can someone who thinks MPP is a great idea please share their assumptions about difficulty expectations?

Cash. Grab.

1. Post pretty pics, get people to buy
2. Launder money from CC payments into bitcoin (good luck credit card companies getting that back)
3. Vanish.

I can't tell if you realize he's trolling, and you're trolling back, or not...

I stopped reading everything posted on these forums sometime around mid December. I figured there wouldn't be any ASICs coming from anyone after BFLs delay again (doesn't seem like they'll be first now), so I just stopped caring. Eventually I'll get my stuff in the mail, and when it comes, it'll be a surprise! That's my new year's resolution.

Great idea! Unfortunately one of my XFX cards didn't work for someone who bought 2 other ATIs which work fine. So now I have to process the return.. sigh!