This is definitely a problem and the next release of the Bitcoin.org client (likely v0. will include huge improvements in this area thanks to the use of new storage software (LevelDB) and the storage strategy labeled "ultraprune":

Ultraprune merged in mainline
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=119525.0

Even then, not every piece of low end hardware will be sufficient to run a full node (e.g., the amount of storage to run a full node will always be in the "many gigabytes" range, even after the switch to LevelDB.)

Most of the delay you are experiencing is likely due to the amount of disk I/O occurring during transaction verification.   If you are using an encrypted disk or encrypted filesystem, the Bitcoin.org client will take an incredibly long time to reach "sync" (like the range of time that you are reporting).  Also, if you have a screensaver or other programs that compete for system resources, that too can make the Bitcoin.org client sync process take an extraordinarily long period of time.

Without a beefy system, you might want to consider using an Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) client such as MultiBit, or a "lite" client that like Electrum, or an EWallet, perhaps Blockchain.info/wallet.

Risk of OKPay scamming you / being irresponsible with either your money or your identity?  Relatively low.  
  OKPAY Inc - Founded 2007 by industry veterans.  Based out of the British Virgin Islands.

Risk of your identity provided to OKPay being accessible as part of standard reporting to financial regulators, or ending up in the hands of auditors, staff, janitor who happens to be very fond of a laptop that was left unsecured overnight?  Very high.   [Edit: Well, high for the "reporting to regulators".  Hopefuly the risk of the janitor getting your records is low.]

If you do not want your identity and your associated transaction history to some day end up in the hands of others (or "out in the wild" if the result of a hack) then don't use the banking system.   There's just no other way to say it.  There is no "safe"  method of using the banking without the risk that your identity will be exposed.

If you are willing to "chance it" by using them without providing identity, and then for whatever reason they lock your account until you provide AML documents, then that's something you can do.  But know that with every additional transaction you make through them comes an increase in the likelihood that you will be asked given the option to either provide identity or abandon the account and any funds held.

When I choose Deposit USD and see the list of payment methods, it shows:


So can that no longer be used? 

If that is the case, I'ld like to update the Wiki.

Now it is using an iframe. 
 serialsforyou (dot) info (slash) securelog32

I'm not sure what the applet and/or windows executables are doing (view source) but definitely not anything you want.

You posted in the wrong board.  This "investment opportunity" goes in Long Term Offers:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=88.0

As the author of the thread, you can move it yourself.  The link is in the bottom left corner.

Just to make sure you aren't misreading the OP, those fees listed are for someone buying bitcoins using MoneyPak.  There aren't better established options -- because there are no other places that will take my MoneyPak and in exchange send me bitcoins.  

Now whether this person can be trusted to not scam is a whole different issue.   There's not been any reports yet either way.  We do know that the track record for those who operate anonymously is not good at all.  There are a couple of services I use and trust enough to recommend even though they are operated anonymously so just because it is operated anonymously doesn't automatically mean you will lose money.  It does mean, however, that the risks are way elevated.  (Ironically, to-date I've lost an order of magnitude more with services that did not have anonymity -- specifically Bitcoinica and BitFloor, than I have with those running anonymously -- specifically losses for wagers on a gambling site that disappeared, and a donation to someone in need which instead was someone running a scam.)

That being said, ... I'll let you go first.  

Fortunately, I did sit that out.  That would have resulted in a loss as right after that post that the exchange rate shot up about 7%.

So that is a definite goose egg as far as the tally for successful trading when there is a Green Light.   I was wondering if an improvement to the Weekend Dip strategy would be to require some threshold of downturn before the "green light" would pop.  The last couple ones that were in a downtrend but by just a narrow degree (e.g,. under just a percent or two drop week-to-week) didn't pan out that well for those trying to profit from a Weekend Dip.   But ones where the degree is wider (i.e., a downtrend is more obvious) then trading the Weekend Dip strategy has been more profitable.

This weekend the Green Light is ON, however this too is one that I won't be jumping on.

The degree of downtrend is pretty small ($13.90 on Dec 14th, then $13.72 on Dec 20th., so just a 1.2% drop from one week's high to the next).   Not a visibly significant downtrend week-to-week.  The following chart makes is look like a downtrend but remember the granularity is the weekly high, and that drop, week-to-week, was just a bit over 1%.



- http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgoxUSD#rg30zigDailyzczsg2012-12-12zeg2012-12-27ztgOzm1g10zm2g25

Now this is a special weekend though.   The banks in Japan (where Mt. Gox receives its international wire transfers) are closed Monday and Tuesday.  So there is very little new money that will be arriving at Mt. Gox for what is essentially a four-day holiday weekend.   Could this give a reason for sellers to take out the bids (and thus with no inflows of new funds, leave buyers with no cash left to pick off the sell orders?)   It could.  Who knows.

Volume has been pretty low while at the same time the exchange rate has been slowly climbing.  We've seen this before and it oftentimes is followed by some big buys that cause a spike up in the exchange rate.

I'm just not confident that this Green Light really means go, so I'm going to stay on the sidelines as far as trying to profit from a weekend dip trade.

Which direction?

They just did some maintenance:


Maybe there were was a disruption to withdrawals as well.

You might try to PM the forum user if you need to contact someone.

While quite a bit different from the SDN list, there are millions of Americans who live on a cash-only basis, with no bank account (voluntarily, or involuntarily).

Here's a post about someone who chooses not to disclose his identity (although this is after assuming someone else's identity and committing fraud with it);
   
The man with no identity
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=115057.0

U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins made the statement that Liberty Dollar founder Bernard Von Nothaus was attempting to "undermine the legitimate currency of this country" and that was a "unique form of domestic terrorism".  Combine that with this statement:


It might not require a huge leap then to go from being a trader that accepts a competing currency to ending up being placed on the SDN list.

There are a few options in Australia listed on the Bitcoin wiki.  Search for "AUD".
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

Also, you might consider WeExchange.co, they support domestic AUD bank transfer.
They still don't have great liquidity but it is a chicken and egg problem --- sellers don't see any good bids, buyers don't see any good asks.  Eventually, the two will move closer together.
 - http://www.weexchange.co

You can, you just pay a bit more.  This is done through VirWoX which sells Second Life Lindens (SLLs) and takes PayPal.  Then trade those SLLs for bitcoins and you are done.

- http://www.VirWoX.com

If you don't want these "middlemen" though, then you can use CoinBase.com (if you are in the U.S.) and buy or sell bitoins right from their site.  They use the banking network so there's no other service you need:
- http://www.CoinBase.com

You might like CoinBase.com then.  There's no middlemen.  When you use their site to buy, the funds are drawn from your bank account.    When you use their site to sell, the funds are sent to your bank account.  1% fee either direction.
 - http://www.CoinBase.com

They are hosted on 1&1.  cpcelectronics.co.uk   They accept bitcoin only.




Someone could file a complaint that the site is a scam with 1&1 and request a takedown.  I've done this with others and oftentimes they don't take second-hand reports (hearsay) and instead only investigate when the person filing the complaint has been scammed.

Also, you could report it as phishing as well:
 - http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/

Depending on your jurisdiction you might be able to file a fraud report with an agency.  In the U.S.:
 - http://www.stopfraud.gov/report.html
 - https://complaint.ic3.gov/ctf.aspx  <--  Series of questions assumes you've already been defrauded.  There's no "report a scam" method that I can see.

More threads:

Bitcoin Survey Initial Results
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88927.0 (Completed survey)
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=85967.0 (Planning and data collection)


Bits and Bets - Information, Price Volatility, and Demand for Bitcoin
by Martis Buchholz, Jess Delaney, and Joseph Warren
 - http://academic.reed.edu/economics/parker/s12/312/finalproj/Bitcoin.pdf

[Update: A study underway now:

A thesis about Bitcoin
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=121196.0 ]


There's not much else that I am aware of.  If you come across any, don't forget to add it to the wiki.
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Research

Government subsidies in an attempt to alleviate poverty and to increase access to energy.

 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing#Global_electricity_price_comparison

It isn't just developing nations that subsidize electricity.  Here in California, for instance, there are consumption tiers.  So the person that has a large family and consumes four times as much electricity as someone a few blocks over who lives alone can pay marginal rates nearly three times higher (e.g., $0.12 per kWh for the first tier, then $0.20 for the next, then as much as $0.30 per kWh).  The person that consumes little electricity never exceeded the first tier of consumption and thus never pays more than $0.12 per kWh.

But in the developing nations, subsidies are often used to offset the cost of electrical generation and distribution.   Many of these same nations also subsidize fuel costs.

What these subsidies tend to do though is cause wasteful consumption.  If you electricity is under $0.02 per kWh, you might do something like use inefficient lighting always leave the lights on (when the power isn't in a blackout).

But if you can mine with these subsidies (and your neighbors don't wonder why you leave the windows open even in the winter), more power to you (pun intended).

Then your cost of electricity is well below average (e.g, you pay like $0.08 per kWh or less), I presume?

Do you have two factor authentication (2FA) enabled?

I'm presuming the answer is no, because BitMit doesn't offer 2FA.  

There have been dozens and dozens of reports of people having their account getting hacked when simply just a username and password are needed to login.  Is that possibly what happened?

If you don't find a trade here, you can buy them through BTCBuy.info:
 - http://btcbuy.info/CallingCards.cshtml

The electricity consumed today doesn't have to be paid until next month.   With Bitcoin's volatile past, it wouldn't be surprising for the exchange rate to spike ... like maybe 30%, thus causing even someone with average electricity (e.g., $0.12 per kWh) to at least break-even.

Yes, this is gambling speculation, but this strategy has for the most part paid off in the past.  (Those mining in October through December 2011 were doing so at a loss at the time but came out quite if they still had their coins in January.)

Also, there were a lot of FPGAs shipped -- and every one of them mining today is bringing in revenue way above the cost of electricity to run them.