Yeah, if you're solo mining then the bitcoin server you're connected to (your own client, hopefully) tells what address to send the coins to. Then the difficulty 1 hashes serve no purpose apart from showing that calculations are happening; they are "near misses".
When solo mining, there is no "progress." There is only sudden success by a stroke of luck, and if you keep at it for long enough, statistically you'll find a block eventually. Sometimes it takes 40000 shares, sometimes 1500000, or it could be even less or more. But if you have 40 so far, you'll probably be waiting a long time to gain anything
But for most people it's best to join a mining pool. I recommend Eligius!
When solo mining, there is no "progress." There is only sudden success by a stroke of luck, and if you keep at it for long enough, statistically you'll find a block eventually. Sometimes it takes 40000 shares, sometimes 1500000, or it could be even less or more. But if you have 40 so far, you'll probably be waiting a long time to gain anything
But for most people it's best to join a mining pool. I recommend Eligius!