Okay, here's an update...

I gave up (temporarily, at least) on installing the UFASoft driver because my anti-virus (Avast) tells me that it is infected with a virus (BitCoinMiner-AI [Trj]) if I attempt to download it. Now, that's probably normal and just fine, but when my anti-virus program complains, I listen.

I wanted an alternative, so it was at that point that I noticed that my earlier loading problems occurred because GUIMiner was seeking something in a sub-folder named “miners.” I further noticed that there was already a folder in there (puddinpop). So I created a new miner with File / New miner and defined it to use the executable at ...\miners\puddinpop\rpcminer-cpu.exe

I then completed the tab by filling in my BTC Guild user name and password. I did not touch CPU Affinity since I only have one CPU! I then clicked on the Start Mining button.

Connecting...
Connecting...
Connecting...

The Console log showed this:

2012-11-05 11:12:36: Running command: C:\Test\1\GUI Miner\miners\puddinpop\rpcminer-cpu.exe -user=TimXCampbell -password=<MyPassword> -url=http://btcguild.com:8332
2012-11-05 11:12:37: Listener for "TimXCampbell_1" started
2012-11-05 11:12:38: Listener for "TimXCampbell_1": Client will start 1 miner threads
2012-11-05 11:12:38: Listener for "TimXCampbell_1": Work will be refreshed every 4000 ms

Connecting...
Connecting...

I tried opening up port 8332 on my firewall (Windows XP, by the way) and stopped/started the miner. Nope.

This doesn't exactly work right out of the box. I'll keep experimenting.

I too have this problem. I installed GUIMiner and set all the settings I could think of. However, I am not using a GPU to mine — not just yet, anyhow. Let me get this working with the CPU first; the software indicates that that's possible (though not necessarily effective).

Here's the console log:

2012-11-05 10:49:29: Listener for "Default" started
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": Traceback (most recent call last):
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": File "poclbm.py", line 3, in <module>
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": File "BitcoinMiner.pyo", line 11, in <module>
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": File "pyopencl\__init__.pyo", line 3, in <module>
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": File "pyopencl\_cl.pyo", line 12, in <module>
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": File "pyopencl\_cl.pyo", line 10, in __load
2012-11-05 10:49:30: Listener for "Default": ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found.
2012-11-05 10:51:33: Listener for "Default" shutting down

In case anybody asks, yes, I did set the path (in Solo Utilities / Set Bitcoin client path) to point at my Bitcoin install folder.

I've found the learning curve to get to this point rather steep, but I guess that just mean that fewer people will be sharing the bounty of newly mined Bitcoins. So I can live with the difficulty up to a point. First, though, I have to get it working in some form!

I couldn't tell you if such a service existed on Tor. I'm exploring that as well as Bitcoin. I find it hard to figure out just what's in there, in Torland. I know I haven't seen a wallet service, though of course there are plenty of sites that take BTC.

That article looks interesting! Thanks for the link!

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I've tried Tor and I2P and poked around a bit in the "pseudo-TLD" sites (.onion and .i2p). I didn't see much of i2p because everything seemed to be missing. As for Tor, it has some neat stuff going on but in a way it feels to me like a ghost town. Maybe I'm just getting a weird view on it. However, I wouldn't imagine that the dark net is the same size as the regular web.

Have I misunderstood what you were saying?

Okay, I'll try again. Here's my watch as it looked when brand new!





It has stood up well but the strap is no longer the same color, or so smooth! The battery lasts a long time — a few years and it's easy to buy replacement batteries.

Ah, all good information. Thanks!

Is there a problem with my terminology? Probably. I've been looking into this stuff for just a day and a bit. I have not yet grokked how it all works together.

As I learn ever more about Bitcoin and its community, my slow but heroic computer enters its 26th grueling hour of sync'ing for the first time.

Ah, that's the perfect info! Thanks Epoch & Stephen.

Stephen Gornick, thanks for that prod to try the re-send again. I'd tried it twice earlier today and it didn't work but this time it did. I'm now validated email-wise.

Thanks again.

Wow, ASCII art isn't entirely dead! Woo-hoo!

I thank the original poster for starting this thread.

If I knew how to post images I'd post two pictures of my Timex T2D491 Perpetual Calendar analog style watch, which I purchased several years ago and which has given me steadfast, loyal service in some moderately tough conditions. I think I've hiked 1500 miles with that watch strapped, upside-down to the left front strap my backpack. It was upside-down so that the face would read right-side-up when I looked down my chin (and slightly to the left) for the time.

People tended to notice that upside-down watch. Some thought it was an altimeter. It did look a bit like that.

Perhaps somebody could let me know how to post an IMG. I assume I'm supposed to fill in that code somehow, but I don't know where the photo itself goes.

That's clever! If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the Bitcoin client can run through Tor and hop through a bunch of hoops before landing in Bitcoinland?

(Is there a better word than "Bitcoinland" to describe the legions of Bitcoin service providers?)

Wow, it has been a while since I've seen a forum post with letters that big and colorful. I feel like I'm back in the 90's.

Psy: If you're reading this, I'd like to let you know that my wife would be delighted to see the quote you have under your profile photo. She too is a fan of Hunter S. Thompson.

I read F&LILV and enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as she did!

I was a computer consultant and developer for about 25 years and though I lived in Canada a big chunk of my business came from the USA. So when tax time rolled around I calculated the value of each month's U.S. earnings by multiplying the U.S. funds received by the exchange rate for that month in order to calculate that month's net income.

Zzzzzzzz. Okay, this isn't the most fascinating topic you've ever read. I hope you can bear with me until I get to the question.

I've been looking 'round the Bitcoin world for a bit and I have yet to find a month-by-month conversion chart so that I could declare Bitcoin earnings (if any) in a rational way. Does a site exist that provides the historical conversion rates in one place? Or do I have to dig deep through the blocks and work it all out for myself?

Thanks.

Is this like a BitCoin version of Kickstarter? If so, bravo! Mind you, that opening page is pretty sparse and does not explain the site's mission very well to newbs like me.

I would like to suggest that at the very least you add a button, labeled, "Explain" (or perhaps "How?") after the line "This Changes Everything!"  Better yet, give a three-sentence summary for dummies like me on the very first page. You have oodles of whitespace on that page.

Is this nit-picking? Probably. However, I was once told that every web site has less than 30 seconds before the first-time user decides whether to stay or navigate away. At the moment your first page doesn't look like it'd do well on that count.

I used to market software (shareware, they called it back then ) and I found that two things affected stick time for new users. First was competent but understated glitz. Some sites just LOOK like they're top notch professionals.

This does NOT include those cookie-cutter sites with stock photos of women wearing glasses tapping at a keyboard while a handsome male leans over her to look at the screen. Well, I assume he's looking at the screen. He might be checking out the woman from that angle. In any case, those sites don't cut it, obviously.

The second thing that seemed to affect stick-time was how fast the “hook” can be sunk. The “hook” will answer the question, “Why is it in my best interest to stay here instead of surfing for videos of kittens instead?” Bullet lists work okay for that, I suppose, but for really good advice I guess you'll have to ask a proper web designer, not me!

As a newb I'm limited in where I can post things but it seems I should report — somewhere! — the fact that there's a problem with the Bitcoin Wiki at en.bitcoin.it

I signed up to act as a proof-reader because I spotted some really bad punctuation in there, plus a few odd turns of phrase. Bitcoin probably has a bit of an uphill struggle so there's no point in scaring people off with easily avoidable mistakes. So I figured I could help out there. I'm not a professional editor but I know I can tweak some of the text in the FAQ for improved readability without altering content.

Okay, here's the problem. Well, problems. First, I've been seeing these messages saying, in part, "Cannot open source device ins /www/b/bi/bitcoin.it/www/phase3/includes/CryptRand.php on line 281.

Whoopsie! This might explain why I'm not getting my confirmation email. Or not. In any case, it looks like a problem (duh) and perhaps somebody will know who to tell about it.

I apologize if this isn't the best place to mention this sort of thing but as a newb my options are limited.

This cracked me up. I'm also not a murderer. Does that help my case?

Okay, so I guess I'm supposed to prove that I know more about Bitcoin than a spammer — that I'm actually interested in Bitcoin rather than just another venue for advertising.

Well, heck, yeah! This whole Bitcoin system is amazingly amazing, if only because it's compelling me to learn more about things like fiat currency and so on. The whole weirdness of the money supply has intrigued me from the time I was a kid. Most of it seems like magic. Stage magic, that is — based on belief and fakery!

I mean, how else can I understand things like bidding on futures, and margins, and currency trading? Are these supposed to be real things that real people do that add real value to the real world? Or am I watching parasites feeding off the excess energy of the system? Guess which version of the story I find more compelling?

But Bitcoin ... wow, this is different. I am gradually coming to understand how it all ties together. I keep thinking I've spotted a flaw but then it turns out somebody has already dealt with the issue (mostly because a zillion other people have already spotted that supposed flaw).

I'm not sure that exploring the Bitcoin community will help me understand regular money any better. But I do feel like I'm on the border of a vast alien continent with all kinds of exciting things to see. So a lesson in economics isn't the only thing I can find here.  I'm intrigued and eager to learn more. And I will ... as soon as my new wallet finally sync's up.  (It has been grinding away for 19 hours and now has only 288 blocks left to sync. Woo-hoo!)

Update: About an hour has passed since I first posted and the number of blocks has reduced from 288 blocks to a mere ... 10931!? That's quite a jump back upward. Oh, wait, it's now at 10921. I may have this thing working before the U.S. Election. No, no, not the one a few days from now. The next one.

It might not be completely insignificant that my wife is watching Netflix on the same connection. Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, I guess I really should have mentioned that.

Anyway ... if somebody would whitelist me that would be nifty. I am not a spammer. I'm also not a spanner, which is the British word for a wrench. There are lots of things that I'm not but one BIG thing that I am, and that's curious about stuff like Bitcoin.

I have no idea how to do those things but I can say that you have a very clever username!

(Mine's not very clever; I basically found it attached to me shortly after I was born.)