Mining Bitcoins on a macbook pro retina , Mac pro

So you heard about Bitcoins and want to start mining some ?
you are a bit late , but don't worry, you are not too late to be a part of the Gold Rush !

so first thing you need to know,
Bitcoin is not the only currency there is. This genre of currency is called crypto currency.
I will not give the same boring lecture of how it works, lets just talk about mining.

Mining simply put , is just brute-forcing hashes.
There are two types of currencies , one uses hashing in sha-256 algorithm and other uses hashing in scrypt algorithm.

here are a few examples:

SHA - 256 based currencies

• bitcoin 
• name-coin 
• terracoin

Scrypt based currencies

• litecoin
• feathercoin
• digital-coin

so why is this important ?

there is very custom-made mining hardware available called ASIC (application specific intigrated circuit) available to mine SHA-256 coins. This hardware will highly outperform your computer or mac.
Your mac or computer will give about 60 MH/s  to  70 MH/s at a power consumption of approximately 40 watts per hour. Whereas this specific mining hardware (ASIC) (assuming you bought it worth 1000$) will give 66,000 MH/s.

Mining is usually done in pools ( or groups ) where your share in the group will be worthless.
so , never mine SHA-256 based currencies on your home computer.

But there is a way out,
Scrypt algorithm based currencies don't have such hardware as yet.
so your contribution in the pool will be about (1/1000)  given your current hardware specs. Which is still considerably high.
So we will be mining other currencies like litecoin. if you want you can always convert what you earned in litecoin to bitcoins. This might seem odd but this is the way to make most bitcoins in a given time.

So lets get started,

Step 1:

Download the litecoin wallet 

Mac :
DOWNLOAD
Litecoin-Qt 0.8.5.1
for Mac OS X
Windows :
DOWNLOAD
Litecoin-Qt 0.8.5.1
for Windows
Linux:
DOWNLOAD
Litecoin-Qt 0.8.5.1
for GNU/Linux

Install it and let it download the block chain. (let it synchronize)
it will take some time depending on your internet connection.
let it sync in background and continue with the further instructions.

go to the receive tab and copy your payment address

we will be needing it later in the process

Step 2:

get registered to a pool 

i recommend https://www.wemineltc.com
but you are always free to check other pools

now go to MyAccount > Account Details     ( https://www.wemineltc.com/accountdetails )

now paste your payment address in account details , enter your 4 digit code and press update settings.
now the pools knows how to pay you.


Step 3:

Download the mining software

i recommend asteroid for mac. Download here
now you have a option to bootcamp on windows and mine but i noticed that windows only detects the nvidia 650 and dosent consider the intigrated graphics intel 4000 HD which are equally powerful in mining. So dont bootcamp and mine on a mac. I could get double the speed on OSX Mavericks than on windows 7 on bootcamp.

if you are on a pc, download cgminer which is equally easy to set up

step 4:

start mining !

now its time to configure your mining software to give you your rewards.

now go back to your pool page , we are going to require some details.
go to the getting started section. https://www.wemineltc.com/gettingstarted

now note down the global server link shown there.
It would look like this : stratum+tcp://global.wemineltc.com:3335
Please copy a fresh link because the port numbers might change.

also on pool page and select MyAccount > My workers  (https://www.wemineltc.com/accountworkers)

Note the worker-name and password.

and add it to asteroid along with the server address

now open up asteroid.

select new pool 

Rememer to select coin type as litecoin, even if you are mining other coins using scrypt algorithm.

Add your details 

click accept and Start mining !

head back to your pool page from time to time to check your rewards.

now, you can use the same technique to explore this new world and mine other currencies like feathercoin or digitalcoin.

note that their current value is much less right now , but so was the value of bitcoin when it was first launched. invest your processing power into new currencies and if they make it big ,  you are rich.
or if you only trust bitcoin you can always convert using crypto currency exchanges like Vircurex.


SIDE NOTE:

mining is equivalent to playing a high graphics game for your computer.
so if you mine 24x7 , your computer is practically processing a high graphics game 24x7.
macbook airs and pros are not designed for such a usage.

never mine on macbook air. 
they don't have gpu and even lack sufficient cooling.

I personally mine on a macbook pro retina even though there is some risk of thermal damage.
but i think macbook pros have enough fans and can take the load.
i do not take responsibility if someone happens to damage their hardware and yes this is a bit risky.

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litecoin address :  LguDdztAYdUQubWF15wDmxFGrb9FKG656D
Digital-coin address :  DCsuL1m7QcMnpfXaWXZ5LyR4meExnXWNWp
Bitcoin address :  1FUGmy3EJRAanutVCz6S934YMU83ZGKdT1