So I tried using a  microtime() difference to calculate the time it takes to execute a bitcoind getbalance on an account with a couple hundred transactions. I have tried two methds:

php system() to call bitcoind
Bitcoind JSON rpc connection

And...

EXEC: 222.71010398865
EXEC: 12.618118047714
EXEC: 3.6932117938995
EXEC: 1.6202571392059
EXEC: 1.7495849132538
EXEC: 3.5270199775696
EXEC: 3.0422019958496
EXEC: 2.6602010726929
EXEC: 1.5538840293884
EXEC: 0.58772110939026
EXEC: 0.97496891021729
EXEC: 0.99640703201294
EXEC: 2.7791039943695
EXEC: 1.8489720821381
EXEC: 0.82930707931519
EXEC: 0.25357699394226
EXEC: 0.62351679801941
EXEC: 1.3590130805969
EXEC: 4.4388699531555
EXEC: 0.70736193656921
EXEC: 1.473837852478
EXEC: 0.8196861743927
EXEC: 0.49087500572205
EXEC: 0.31272411346436
EXEC: 0.3066029548645
EXEC: 0.93807220458984
EXEC: 2.9650371074677
EXEC: 4.9273610115051
EXEC: 2.4882531166077
EXEC: 1.2758350372314
EXEC: 0.81832599639893
EXEC: 1.2282900810242

JSON: 0.70425081253052
JSON: 0.31246995925903
JSON: 6.2438280582428
JSON: 0.75746512413025
JSON: 4.1969089508057
JSON: 0.15843486785889
JSON: 1.0560338497162
JSON: 4.0856080055237
JSON: 0.34556603431702
JSON: 9.2187669277191

I've heard of inefficient processing but this is just ridiculous. I've got to be doing something wrong, there is no way this can be normal.

Here is my PHP:

JSON:
require_once 'jsonRPCClient.php';
$bitcoin = new jsonRPCClient('http://bitcoinrpc:reallylongrpcpassword@127.0.0.1:8332/');
echo $bitcoin->getbalance($_REQUEST['user'], 4);

EXEC:
echo system('sudo -H -u ubuntu bitcoind getbalance ' . $_REQUEST['user'] . '');

I sort of need the pageload connected with the API because the balance can't be on a delay for what I'm doing. Thanks for the idea, though.

I'm considering running bitcoind on a dedicated server, however that seems like a pretty big waste of resources. Is there any way of viewing what Bitcoind is doing all this time, like viewing some sort of output? I just want to see why its taking so incredibly long.

I have no problem with having the first starting time being slow - I can wait. The part that is annoying is that functions that must be repeated on nearly every pageload, like getbalance, seem to be absurdly slow. Is there any way of speeding those up?

My Bitcoind is really slow. I'm trying to to start a service using it a bit (by a bit, I mean really not that much) and for some reason its using up 40%+ of my CPU all the time. I suspect it is slowing down my page loads as they are really quite slow. Has anybody else ran into this problem, and if so, do they have any workarounds/alternate software (I still need account management & all other bitcoind features but mining)/other fixes?

Thanks tons!

Dont worry, another drop down to $60 is in order.

Watch as its all an elaborate ruse and then I laugh.

You guys sure like tech companies don't you.

By that logic any appreciating asset is a pyramid scheme.

The apparently market DOES go over 100 routinely, such as whenever I walk away from my laptop.

SERIOUSLY FUCK WHY DOESN'T SOMEBODY 1000 BTC DRIVING ME CRAZY HERE

Its probably not going to reach 1T market cap in 3 years. However do you really think that every single person in the developed world invests aprx. $414 into XOM? Of course not. Don't even get me started on gold. Let me explain to you how things work. Rather than every single person investing $1k, a few rich guys invest 1000 times what the 'average' person would have to. Then, if you're lucky, they'll use use that 1000 times investment they just made as collateral to borrow money to invest another 1000 times more than what the 'average' person would have to. Then there's the whole idea that the market cap is partially 'missing' because it is being held by either wallets with either an unknown private key, or people that aren't spending/selling bitcoins at any given time.

I'm still waiting on 100. Every time we hit it we bounce right off.

Yes, thank you

THE WINKLEVOSS ARE IMMORTAL!!!

Dont forget a lot of people removing their Buy Limit Orders.

the first 2 posts on this thread are so WTF it hurts.

I like that stochastic.

Bitcoin for sure, but don't just buy right away and hold forever like some users are indicating. I'd recommend sticking it on an exchange of your choice, then waiting until you think its an opportune moment, then buy. Buying just because you happen to have money is an easy way of losing money.

SO why exactly is scaling time 2.5/3 to 1 'right' and all other ways 'wrong'? Because sometimes it fits the chart better? And what if it starts going, will you scale it 4-5 to 1 to make it look like the bottom of the bubble? Honestly this comparison is meaningless. THe only way it would make any sense is if instead of randomly scaling the price, use a log scale to render that random scaling irrelevant, and put a 1:1 correspondence along the time axis. Or at least try to scale the time axis in some way thats somewhat meaningful, like the difference between the time from start of bubble (hard to define) to peak.