New here.

[xxkyohxx]

Hey everyone, I'm new to everything involving bitcoin pretty much, it's pretty confusing to me at first, I buy stuff here and there at several online markets which only accept Bitcoin, and was interested in learning more, I also registered because I have a $20 MoneyPak I wanted to exchange for some btc because all the vendors I try usually only take orders over $100 in MP, I guess I can't post anywhere else yet unfortunately. How long until I'd be able to post in other places? Thanks.

[micahlee]

Welcome!

[Graet]

Hi and welcome
Check the stickies - info about how long, how many -all that

[allthingsluxury]

Welcome to the forums Glad to have you.

[kwoody]

5 forum posts, and 4 hours of active time logged in.

[betatest512]

Welcome

[pyra-proxy]

5 forum posts, and 4 hours of active time logged in.

What he said :-)

[RyanRed]

Welcome to the forums. A lot of good people here with a lot of good information to dispense. Keep on truckin my friend!!

[ryanAC]

Welcome!

[brutchell]

Welcome all around, then.
I am a super-newbie too and have been scanning the forums to make sense of how this all works.
After checking with many suggested sites & resources I think I understand this but please, correct me if I'm wrong:

So. I went to http://bitcoin.org/ and dwnld'd the BTC app. Now I install that to have my "wallet" wherein will reside my BTC currency.
{I should use TrueCrypt or somesuch to secure said wallet and make back-ups to a flash drive}
Do install TrueCrypt to my flashdrive or to my laptop (or both?) ... and ... do this before I install the BTC app?

Next: I setup an account with Mt.Gox that will allow me to buy BCT, but first I need to fund with say, USD and to be expedient, I can use https://www.bitinstant.com/home to take cash to my local bank and have it sent to my Mt.Gox account. Thereafter, I buy BTC at Mt.Gox which will send them to my "address" on the "wallet", right?

(Of course, I can wire-transfer straight to my Mt.Gox and/or eventually explore the options available at http://bitcoin-otc.com/ and https://www.bitcoinary.com , but since I'm new and without experience, feedback, and history, I'm unlikely to get any sellers until I have a few transactions under my belt.
{I am however, more than willing to buy with my secured, business PayPal acct, but PayPal is decidedly not the choice among sellers, I see}.

So and again, now that I (will) have BTC in my "wallet" I can send the "address info" in an encrypted buy message to any willing seller for goods or services on say, a Tor marketplace?

Is that about right?

Any suggestions or corrections?
Many thanks in advance.

PS. I'd like some clarification of the Mt.Gox exchange too: Can it be used without a "personal wallet"/BTC client to make payments directly from my account to sellers?

[UberTaco]

Welcome to the site!

[Mitzplik]

Thank you

[jwatchachang]

Newbie here as well. Can wait to get out of here.

[MR_Plow]

Welcome!
Yeah, being stuck here is kind of a pain since it seems like most regular members don't check here very often. So if you have a problem, chances are the people most likely to help you aren't going to be reading your post :/

[RodeoX]

welcome new peers! 

[funkmunk30]

it might be "newbie jail" but atlest Im learning!! yay me! woot.

[DannyHamilton]

So. I went to http://bitcoin.org/ and dwnld'd the BTC app. Now I install that to have my "wallet" wherein will reside my BTC currency.

Which BTC app did you choose?  Bitcoin-Qt is the original reference client, but it is a full peer and as such will use up over 8 gigabytes of harddrive space (and continue to grow every day since it stores the entire blockchain).  You might be better off choosing one of the lightweight wallets (such as Electrum or MultiBit), or even using the web hosted wallet https://blockchain.info/wallet).

{I should use TrueCrypt or somesuch to secure said wallet and make back-ups to a flash drive}
Do install TrueCrypt to my flashdrive or to my laptop (or both?) ... and ... do this before I install the BTC app?

I can't help you here, I don't use TrueCrypt, so I don't know anything about it.  It isn't a necessary part of using bitcoin, but it is an option many people choose to reduce the chances of someone stealing their bitcoins if the thief gains access to their harddrive.

Next: I setup an account with Mt.Gox that will allow me to buy BCT, but first I need to fund with say, USD and to be expedient, I can use https://www.bitinstant.com/home to take cash to my local bank and have it sent to my Mt.Gox account. Thereafter, I buy BTC at Mt.Gox which will send them to my "address" on the "wallet", right?

Correct. You'll need to choose a bitcoin currency exchange (MtGox is one, you might also look into CampBX, and Tradehill), then you'll need to fund you account at the currency exchange.  Each exchange provides multiple methods of funding an account, you'll have to choose the method that works for you.  BitInstant has had some issues, so you might want to look into other options unless you are in a hurry.

eventually explore the options available at http://bitcoin-otc.com/ and https://www.bitcoinary.com , but since I'm new and without experience, feedback, and history, I'm unlikely to get any sellers until I have a few transactions under my belt.
{I am however, more than willing to buy with my secured, business PayPal acct, but PayPal is decidedly not the choice among sellers, I see}.

You might also look into https://localbitcoins.com/
Depending on where you live, you may have someone nearby willing to meet up with you and exchange bitcoins for cash.

So and again, now that I (will) have BTC in my "wallet" I can send the "address info" in an encrypted buy message to any willing seller for goods or services on say, a Tor marketplace?

Is that about right?

The seller would send you the bitcoin address that you should use for payment.  You would use your wallet to create a transaction that makes a payment to the sellers address.

PS. I'd like some clarification of the Mt.Gox exchange too: Can it be used without a "personal wallet"/BTC client to make payments directly from my account to sellers?

Yes.

[DannyHamilton]

- snip -
most regular members don't check here very often. So if you have a problem, chances are the people most likely to help you aren't going to be reading your post :/

I try to check the Newbie forum at least daily.  Newbies will get their questions answered, and will learn a lot more, if they stop spamming the newbie thread to get to their 5 post limit and actually participate in intelligent useful discussion instead.

[MR_Plow]

I try to check the Newbie forum at least daily.  Newbies will get their questions answered, and will learn a lot more, if they stop spamming the newbie thread to get to their 5 post limit and actually participate in intelligent useful discussion instead.

And I definitely applaud your efforts. Your point is fair enough, though personally (and I'm sure plenty would agree) I don't really feel that I have the knowledge on this subject to participate in an intelligent useful discussion.
I suppose I was being slightly passive aggressive since I'm hoping the reason I haven't found a solution to my problem is that I posted it in the newbie section (and not that there isn't any known solution).
Again, I do appreciate your diligence in taking care of the growing newbie pool.

[DannyHamilton]

I try to check the Newbie forum at least daily.  Newbies will get their questions answered, and will learn a lot more, if they stop spamming the newbie thread to get to their 5 post limit and actually participate in intelligent useful discussion instead.

And I definitely applaud your efforts. Your point is fair enough, though personally (and I'm sure plenty would agree) I don't really feel that I have the knowledge on this subject to participate in an intelligent useful discussion.
I suppose I was being slightly passive aggressive since I'm hoping the reason I haven't found a solution to my problem is that I posted it in the newbie section (and not that there isn't any known solution).
Again, I do appreciate your diligence in taking care of the growing newbie pool.

No problem. I can understand your frustration.  I had skipped over your thread initially because I'm not much of a mining hardware/software expert, and wanted to respond to the threads where I thought I could help.  I've since gone back and encountered your thread.  I've posted in the "Mining Support" forum requesting help for you.