Hi All,
I'm new here and a bitcoin newbie too. I'm a software engineer and a geek chick (or I read lots about iOS devices and the like), so not that new. lol
I read a little about bitcoins maybe 18 months ago. However, having a MacBook Air as my main computer back then, didn't allow me to hook up graphics cards....and I just wasn't sure that investing in a card to insert into my old PC would be worth it.....so unfortunately I put the bitcoin thought aside. Well, that was stupid, I should have let the geek in me come out and enjoy learning about bitcoins.
I'm using a MacBook Pro now, still have the MacBook Air and a desktop PC is sitting idle.
Anyway, bitcoins have been in the (tech) news quite a bit recently and so I started reading and learning. I still have to work full-time during the week, etc....but have been reading when I have some down time. I noticed the little USB ASIC Block Interrupters at 334Mh/s. I almost picked one up from eBay for $50....(AUD here) but hesitated since I knew they were cheaper not so long ago. Then I went to get one that same night and the eBay auction was pulled since they were $80 (AUD) in other auctions. At $80, I reconsidered. I know I am interested in this as a hobby...and $80 is not much....but since I had started reading about bitcoins, I had read about how long it takes to pay off your equipment by earning bitcoins, etc....and the 334Mh/s device (using a website calculator I found) would take roughly 10 years for 1BTC.
I read on this forum about Drillbit and Bitfury chips, but I had missed the boat there as well. But then, my luck changed and an eBay auction appeared for the thumb drive...2.7GH/s for $298.76 USD ($339.67 AUD). So, yes, this costs more than the USB ASIC Block Interrupters....but then it ties up only one USB port....and is roughly equivalent to 8 of the USB ASIC Block Interrupters....but around half the cost that 8 of those would be. Also, the estimated time to find 1BTC is 449 days (1.23 years).
So, I bought one on eBay today....and they were selling fast....so now I have had good timing.....or I hope. I still feel late to the game. But my (current) aim is to mine to create 1BTC. I'll say 'current' aim since I am curious about creating a mini rig, perhaps with a Raspberry Pi (starting small, but expanding it as I go)...but I'll see how I go with my one 2.7 thumb ASIC first.
I still need to determine if I will run the 2.7 thumb ASIC on my Mac, via Parallels (since there is a Windows tool for it)....or set up the idle PC for mining. I guess setting up the idle PC could provide me with further expansion options....and might be a better option than the Raspberry Pi set up (although, I thought that would be rather fun).
Well, that's my first intro post. I hope that you don't mind having another newbie on board. I like to read before I post....so I'll try to figure things out before asking questions. Thanks for reading.
