2013-04-26 - Article in Business Today India.

[Benson Samuel]

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/demand-in-india-for-bitcoins/1/194293.html

Article in Business Today India.

[1715139617]

1715139617

[1715139617]

1715139617

[cjp]

Bitcoins are small blocks of data hidden in a huge amount of irrelevant data. To get Bitcoins, one has to take the entire chunk of data, rearrange it, and process it through a set algorithmic functions - in other words, 'hash' it - until the desired result is found.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
No, that's not how it works. But how would you describe the mining process to a non-geek?

Bangalore-based Bitcoin enthusiast Benson Samuel mined the currency using a botnet, or a network of computers that run applications.

Eh, usually a "botnet" consists of other peoples' computers, which you hacked to use them for yourself. Be careful they don't arrest you!

The low market capitalisation - around $1.5 billion on April 4, 2012

Heh, I'm still used to lower values. But it's true: it can and should be a lot higher. 

[papaminer]

I like:

THE DARK SIDE

part..

))))))

[caveden]

No, that's not how it works. But how would you describe the mining process to a non-geek?

I'd start by saying the term "mining" is not really appropriate. It's stuck due to the gold-standard analogies, but it doesn't really describe what's done.

Then I'd say that the bitcoin network maintains a distributed database of transactions, and that keeping that database alive costs a lot in resources. People who voluntarily help to keep this database alive and secure are rewarded monetarily, both with inflation and with 'transaction fees', that are like tips people may add to their transactions.

[Benson Samuel]

Bangalore-based Bitcoin enthusiast Benson Samuel mined the currency using a botnet, or a network of computers that run applications.
Eh, usually a "botnet" consists of other peoples' computers, which you hacked to use them for yourself. Be careful they don't arrest you!

Was always run manually with permission.

[TraderTimm]

Actually its payment verification while performing entropy-reduction. But most people's eyes would cross.