Bitcoin.org translations
This is a translation template for the bitcoin.org front page. All translations should be updated to match this. The download links aren't included because updating every translation after every release is a pain in the butt.
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<h2 class="homepage-title page-title">Bitcoin P2P Virtual Currency</h2>
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency. Peer-to-peer (P2P) means that there is no central authority to issue new money or keep track of transactions. Instead, these tasks are managed collectively by the nodes of the network. Advantages:
<ul>
<li>Bitcoins can be sent easily through the Internet, without having to trust middlemen.</li>
<li>Transactions are designed to be irreversible.</li>
<li>Be safe from instability caused by fractional reserve banking and central banks. The limited inflation of the Bitcoin system’s money supply is distributed evenly (by CPU power) throughout the network, not monopolized by banks.</li>
</ul>
Bitcoin is an open source project currently in beta development stage. Development is hosted at <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/">SourceForge</a>.
Screenshots:
<p><a href="/sites/default/files/screen3.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/screen3_thumb.png" alt="Main window screenshot" /></a></p>
<p><a href="/sites/default/files/screen4.png"><img src="/sites/default/files/screen4_thumb.png" alt="Sending dialog screenshot" /></a></p>
Using Bitcoin:
For the first hour or two the block count will increase rapidly as the block chain is received.
Turn on Options->Generate Coins to contribute your idle CPU time to the network. Bitcoin runs in the background when your computer is idle and should not slow down other programs.
The total eventual circulation will be 21 million bitcoins. There will never be more coins than that. The coins are entering circulation gradually, at a steady pace over many years, to nodes supporting the network in proportion to the CPU time they contribute. With the current total CPU power on the network, most CPUs will usually take months between successfully generating 50 BTC.
You can get a few free bitcoins from the <a href="http://freebitcoins.appspot.com/">Bitcoin Faucet</a>. If Bitcoin is running when you receive a transaction, you can see it immediately, otherwise it may take 10 minutes or more after it was sent, and all blocks need to have finished downloading. As of December 2010, there are 97000 blocks.
To receive incoming connections, set your firewall to forward port 8333 (TCP) to your computer. This increases the number of nodes you can connect with.