Hours to "catch up" and process transaction history?

[WinstonSmith]

Hi all,

Newbie trying to get started. How long does it typically take to install the wallet? After six hours, it was about 66% done on a reasonably fast wireless connection (signal strength "Excellent").

Is this typical?

Didn't find a thread about this, so am posting.

Links to helpful newbie threads also appreciated. Looking for something like a checklist of things to do, and a compilation of info about keeping a wallet safe.

Knew for a long time this was coming; can't believe it took me so long to discover it. Glad to be here.

Thanks.
WS

[URSAY]

There's many wallets.  Which wallet are you referring to? 

Bitcoin-QT can take days to download the blockchain initially.

[WinstonSmith]

Looks like bitcoin-qt.

Thx.

[WinstonSmith]

Anybody have a link to a thorough discussion of pros/cons of various wallets?

[DannyHamilton]

There's many wallets.  Which wallet are you referring to? 

Bitcoin-QT can take days to download the blockchain initially.

And will use up more than 7 Gigabytes of space on your hard drive.

[bitcoinchecker]

Anybody have a link to a thorough discussion of pros/cons of various wallets?

This is a good place to start...  http://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

Make sure you understand the differences between the different types of wallet and the pros and cons of each type.

and think about want you want to do... trade, long term storage, buy stuff

Each can have their uses in different situations and each have their own risks.