Irrelevant for the given calculators.  Despite this, hosted hardware is cheap, software is easy to maintain and DDoS can be mitigated.  The expenses are a very small amount of the net generated. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against people profiting from their services.  I've been using BTC Guild since early '13 but I have been pondering moving some of my miners over to p2pool like the OP (which we have hijacked the thread).

From what I recall the photo showed, what I assumed to be, 4 60Gh/s units at like a 30 degree angle with fans on both sides.  Four units would be ~240 GH/s.

Bitmaintech is showing the AntMiner as "Sold out" though on main page it reports "Shipping-out starts on Feb 8th.".

I hope new 1+ Th/s machines come soon from Bitmain as they continue to school other ASIC vendors with buy-now-ship-now.

Now think of this:  Essentially btcguild is getting 3% of the total hashrate for running the service so at 4,534 TH/s is ~136 TH.  Throw that into any calculator without fixed costs as it's essentially "free" and realize running a successful pool is making someone very, very rich.

I was having issues with mine and the google DNS last night so I added the OpenDNS (208.67.222.222) as the first entry.

I saved, then went to network and clicked the "connect" so the interface would restart.  On one, this caused the Ant to start.  The other, I selected "restart" from the menu.  But you need to find the "Diagnostics" tab and ensure you can "ping" to ensure your DNS settings are working.

Just enable network access via cgminer config ( /etc/config/cgminer ??) and query it for the status.

No I haven't removed the heat sink.  I cleaned up the huge mess after making a trip for some cotton balls and alcohol and then fired it up.  So far, it's working but bonus, the fan isn't quiet either.  I have screens of the pre-configured mining panel, one of the entries leads me to believe it was part of a mine cause it was something like Antminer_13_43, which is something I would add for a shelf -> miner setup.  The sysdate was also Dec 23rd before I sync'd it even if the PCB listed 2014/1/4.

I am not pleased with the delivery of sub-optimal units direct from BitMain.  My sushi units were always "new" out of box, including that fresh electronic smell and none of my previous 6 had the extremely excessive paste issue.

However, the two units I received today, the 27th after ordering on the 21st, are below expectations and sadly a blow to my confidence in further buys.  They were double boxed and taped (unlike the single box from the Sushi GBuys).



Photo Album

Weird.  My waterproof cameras say otherwise... though the usb isn't directly exposed.

I use: http://www.robotshop.com/en/cytron-atx-power-supply-breakout-board-right-angle.html

Ya, more expensive than a paper clip, but I can switch power off easily and not have to worry about something knocking the wire/clip out when working on or around other units.

Sure when people start dumping these on ebay.  Since you are new, you'll find Paypal is not fond of Bitcoin because of chargebacks and providers inability to deliver on time (and thus complaints).  Your best bet is to get coins via Coinbase (waiting period) or localbitcoins (sometimes huge markup).

You stress the "math" yet your #2 clearly states the one variation everyone attempts to project but can only remain unknown:  difficulty.  Will all the ASIC Miners deliver on time *and* continue pumping out hardware?  BFL didn't.  Avalon didn't (after initial batches).   There are too many variables to consider.  Invest in BitCoin however you want.  I buy and spend my BTC, but I'm also mining.  I grabbed more miners under the assumption that the Chinese new year will impact production in much the same way it did in 2013 allowing for my miners to run longer without additional product hitting the network in a timely manner.

Given my current kWh rates and a FIXED BTC value, the difficulty would have to around 85,108,883,700 (or 60x current value) before it cost me more to run my AntMiner than it generated.

Either way, quit hijacking the thread with your philosophical arguments.  Get BTC, Spend BTC.  Who cares... 

FYI.

Both of my AntMiners stickers say 192.168.1.99, unlike previous models which had various, but they are ACTUALLY 192.168.2.99.

My 2x miners just arrived after being held in customs for two days.  I am in about the middle of the order and also had not received shipping info but that is not unusual with these GB from sushi as I always get them about 3 days after close.

+1

lol.  Hardware isn't shipping that quickly.

Ya, my previous two GB's arrived without issue.  I just got off phone, apparently they wanted more information than "Computer Accessories" with the value associated with them.  The lady said it should clear and arrive tomorrow, guess we'll find out.

So my miners are currently being held by US Customs.  I got a VM asking for more information stating I needed to provide a Federal Tax ID or SSN.  The lady on the VM also said something like, "unless it's personal".  I have been unable to reach them to talk directly.

Anyone else have this issue and what did you tell them it was besides "Computer Accessories"?

See: http://imgur.com/

I run my AntMiners off of Corsair CX600, not the M, at 200 GH/s without issue (one per miner).