i will write to you what i think i understand from your explanation. please let me know if i miss something. so 1 share = 1 hash found. no all share/hashes are winning, but all demonstrate to the network that i am an honest miner. my miner is working at 1470 khash/s, etc. on coming up with a hash to submit to earn a share. some of these hashes are winning. winning hashes create a block. what is a block?
Well, if you want to know how all the network is constructed, you'd better read bitcoin wiki at
http://bitcoin.itSorry, it's just already there - about what a block is, what is a difficulty and so on.
With your speed of 1470 kH/s, you'll need 48 minutes and 41 seconds on average to generate one share.
And on average you'll need 244139 shares (=current difficulty) to find one really winning, if you were mining solo.
also, i've earned 0.0006 BTC but nothing shows up in the bitcoin program which i gather is my BTC wallet. are payouts only made when i have at least 1 BTC? thanks again.
You need to earn at least 0.01 BTC, then you can set up autopayment or press "Instant payment" button on the payments page of the site.