I'm new to Bitcoin and I was wondering if the safest way to buy and store it for the long haul (other than buy it from someone selling it) would be to buy it from somewhere like Mt.Gox, transfer it to an alternative wallet (on a a livecd and use a USB) then store the USB.
Can anyone refer me to a recommended tutorial for mining btc? I've clicked on a few threads and searched a couple pages, but the website is running super slow for me. If nothing else, even just a list of programs would help and I can figure it out from there