From the New to BitCoin? Start here! sticky in the Bitcoin Forum > Bitcoin > Bitcoin Discussion forum:

Where do I get free bitcoins?        Discussion thread here

If you have a site that gives out free bitcoins, or know of one, then please submit a link to it in that thread, or this one if you are still on newbie restrictions.  
Any input is welcome including a quick "thanks" or "hello".

Thanks

And I suppose I can just list them here as well:

Note: Many of these sites only payout once a day, or even less often, to save on transaction fees, so don't get too worried if you don't see a payment for several hours.
If after more than a day or two you still don't get anything, or you have any other problems, post in this thread. Some of the operators of these various sites follow this thread.
Also note the * beside some entries and what it means as explained under the list of entries below.

The Bitcoin faucet
You need to have a Google account. Explanation available at the site.

Daily Bitcoins
Can be used once an hour now, and not just once a day.

CoinAd.com

Bitcoin Addict

Bitcoiner

Bunny Run
See here for more info.

Nakabot's Bitcoin Faucet
(Tor hidden service) NakaBot pays out a portion of its winnings in 0.001 increments.

DailyBtc free scratch-off
You can do the scratch-off for free without needing to enter the lottery. See here for more info.

Free BitCoin Daily Scratchcard

kickme.to/goxkeygen
MtGox account needed to redeem the code one receives.

Dragon's Tale
A casino site, but gives out small amounts for free that you can use to gamble with or withdraw to your own Bitcoin wallet.

Seals with Clubs
Seals has a free poker tournament every hour with a .05BTC prize. There are larger free tournaments from time to time.
See here for more info.

Strike Sapphire
See here for more info.

bitcoinpixels.com
0.01 BTC free when signing up to betfair. See here for more info.

memorydealers
Learn how here.

BitCrate *

bitcoins.so *
Roll dice : same numbers - win 0.01

Paperco.in faucet *
Scan a QR code to reveal a MtGox code for 0.0007 BTC.

Free bitcoins - netlookup.se *

Bitcoincaptha.org ( Not paying out )

Free weekly Bitcoin lottery ( temporarily(?) discontinued )

Coinbase
Get 0.10 BTC for signing up and verifying your account. ( on hold )

freebtc.com ( gone )

BTCFree.net ( gone )

mycryptcoin.com ( gone )

!FIVEMinuteCoin.com ( gone )

Oscry ( shut down )
0.0001 BTC to a given Bitcoin address, once per day per user.

Bitcoin Dispenser ( gone )

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* Currently empty and/or frequently empty and/or empty for long periods of time and/or takes a very long time to payout.

Im looking to buy the most bad ass thumb drive I can find, post a rating of yours or a friends that you would recommend!

Brand:
Size:
Speed:
Case Material:
Quality:
Compatibility:
Reliability:
Price:

Pretty much this.  They'd have to show real proof they have it for the threat to be taken seriously.

First, welcome!

The half-block mark has to do with (so-called) Bitcoin mining. It's the mathematical process by which new Bitcoin value is introduced to the network. When a miner "discovers" the next block (more precisely, solves a mathematical hashing problem), they generate and get ownership of a pre-determined number of bitcoins. At each (pre-determined) half-block point, half as many bitcoins are issued per block discovery. Eventually, no new bitcoins will be issued.

What this should matter to end-users: Nothing. If you want to get into mining, it's all about the economics of running processors (consuming electricity) and probability of solving blocks.

If you have any concern for the security of your wallet, you'll likely want a local client application rather than an online e-wallet. While I can't speak to the specific security of any Bitcoin software, one of Armory's primary tenets is security. I'd consider Armory to be a wallet for advanced use, with lots of powerful features. If you want to get started with something simple, try VanillaWallet (I'm the developer, and it's still Alpha).