Thanks for the fast answer! Hopefully the stupid questions will decrease as I learn more. 

Thanks! I'm sure many more stupid questions will follow, but so far I'm having a blast.

Thanks for making such an easy to use interface! As a total newbie, it let me jump right in. Only one question, what do you do with the namecoins? I can't even find a wallet to put them in.   

 However I'd agree that it's more profit efficient to even look for dropped change in the streets.
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Even change in the streets adds up, and it's a place to start.

Thanks for such an easy-to-use package! As a newbie, it was extremely hard to get started on a small scale until I found your product. Easy enough for even a cave-woman to use! Great work!

Thanks cyberpinoy, I was beginning to think no one understood my question. I've managed to get my little USB stick up and mining, even making some fractional coin, so I think it's about time to just let it churn away in the basement and leave the competitive sort around here alone for awhile.

You should "pin" this at the top of the beginner forum. This is info us "newbies" need right out of the gate. Keep up the great work!

Fantastic list! Wish I'd found this sooner. Great information for the newbie.

I've never been much for trains, but train people do seem to be more willing to help/encourage folks new to the hobby. And there's a ton more manuals for trains.

I was never planning a "viable business", just a little hobby. Those figures don't apply to me, they just reinforce my impression that profit-driven folks seem to be trying to scare the hobbyist out.

I managed to get up and running on BitMinter, and have actually even earned some (fractional) coins!  I had to uninstall/reinstall a driver, but otherwise it was very easy. Looking forward to learning more and maybe trying other pools. BitMinter has my recommendation for beginners!

I downloaded the book, finally got a chance to read it, and was a tad disappointed. Very little meat to your 4 step directions. While I know you could probably write a whole book on each step (and you're giving it away for free), I was really hoping for a little more depth. As a newbie, just those steps can be very confusing.

Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for!  You are very generous putting this up for free!

Ok, while I was waiting I uninstalled then reinstalled the USB to UARTBridge driver, and it seems to be working now. At least the needle moved. Sorry for wasting everyones time.

Please help! I'm trying to run Bitminter in a Windows 7 machine with a block erupter USB.

It says "no external devices detected" and "BFL drivers: http://www.ftdichip.com/drivers/VCP.htm ASICMiner and Antminer drivers: http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/pages/USBtoUARTBridgeVCPDrivers.aspx On Linux load FTDI driver: "sudo modprobe ftdi_sio vendor=0x0403 product=0x6014". You may lack access to serial ports (Ubuntu: "sudo usermod -a -G dialout USERNAME" then log out and back in).

Any help? I'm so confused at this point I could cry.

This looks like exactly what I've been looking for! Can't wait to start running it. Is this the only forum for this miner?

I've been reading a ton of stuff online (here and elsewhere) with the goal of learning to mine bitcoin, on a small scale. It seems the only advice out there for a "small scale" miner is "DON'T DO IT!" Are all these people just trying to stop competition? I understand that running just one little ASIC isn't going to make me rich, and probably wont earn enough to cover electricity, but a person's gotta start somewhere.

I just bought a cheap  ASIC block erupter USB to get started mining. I'm not trying to make a fortune, just to figure the whole thing out. I'd like to run it on a windows 7 desktop that we leave on all the time anyway. Since it's been a "coon's age" since I used any command prompts, is there a miner with a GUI that would work with my ASIC USB? I tried Easy Miner, but it shows "no devices". There is precious little info out there geared to the newbie who isn't trying to run a "farm" full of miners, so any help would be appreciated!