日常前言
- 工作后第一个金三银四，算是见识到了。今年开年的时候上头就一直在说现在是行业寒冬了，大家也都明白，估计奖金什么的都要大缩水了。本来平时待遇也只是行业中偏下水平，每年就靠奖金平衡收入……emmmmmm于是好多同事走人了，我的导师都跳槽了……
- 本来我们组就人少，现在又走了一个，不知道之后项目压力会不会变大。希望项目上的 Bug 不要太多，感觉一直陷在解 Bug 的无限循环里对自身能力提升没多大益处，只不过是把自己变成能熟练解 Bug 的人而已，三五年后可能就没有多大的竞争力了。如果能抽出一半的时间去学习 Camera HAL 层的一些逻辑和架构的设计，以及深究 3A 之类的底层算法，我认为不仅会使个人能力飞跃，在项目上完成任务的效率也应能提升不少。
- 其实我也思考过是不是要考虑换个环境了，但是最终还是觉得现在还不是时候。首先是能力还没有达到我自己设定的目标，现在虽然代码实践能力提升了不少，但架构思维尚未成型，而且算法方面的功力有所下降。其次现在若是走人，也只能换个同类型的工作，依旧是终日解 Bug，而在目前岗位上所积累下来的东西可能就半途而废了。最后就是更现实的一点了，我还没有把握能跳到一个薪资能提高比较多的地方……
- 好吧，回归正题，第三期翻译活动是关于区块链的。其实我自己对区块链并不很感兴趣，但既然它现在这么火爆（虽然有一定的炒作成分），又是关于技术的东西，那当然要了解一下了。
- 对了，上期活动鹅厂又发了两个奖品，一个哈士企，一个哈士企抱枕……果真鹅厂风范，但是家里装不下这么多周边啊……
本期依旧被采纳三篇：
版权相关
翻译人：StoneDemo，该成员来自云+社区翻译社
原文链接：Is it Easy to be a Crypto Coin Miner? How Can I Get Started?
原文作者：FundYourselfNow
Is it Easy to be a Crypto Coin Miner? How Can I Get Started?
题目：成为加密货币矿工容易吗？我该如何入门？
It’s absolutely inescapable at this point — the cryptocurrency revolution is upon us. It seems like just a year ago that Bitcoin (BTC) was an obscure tech thing that most average people didn’t concern themselves with. People passively knew what cryptocurrency was, but it wasn’t really hitting the mainstream quite like it is today.
此时此刻，有件事已经是绝对无法避免的了 —— 加密货币革命，正发生在我们身边。似乎就在一年前，比特币（BTC，Bitcoin）还只是一个普通人不会关心的，不起眼的科技产品。人们被动地接收关于加密货币（Cryptocurrency）的知识，但它并没有像今日一般，真正地成为了主流。
Nowadays, you can’t look at your phone, tablet, or computer without coming across an article with “Bitcoin” in the title. And, especially in the past few months, alternative cryptocurrencies (referred to as altcoins) have gotten national attention as well. Who hasn’t heard of the massive growth that Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) have been delivering?
如今，在您的手机、平板电脑或者计算机中，都不难找到一篇标题中带有 “比特币” 字眼的文章。特别是在过去的几个月中，替代加密货币（Alternative cryptocurrencies，简称为 altcoins）也引起全国的瞩目。现在还有谁没听说过以太坊（Ethereum，ETH）和瑞波（Ripple，XRP）带来的大规模增长？
As the power and utility — not to mention profitability — of digital coin investments become household topics, more and more people want to know about where cryptocurrency comes from.
随着数字货币投资的能力和效用（更不用说盈利能力）成为日常话题，现在越来越多的人想要明白加密货币是从何而来的。
You’ve probably heard of the concept of bitcoin mining, or just mining for cryptocurrencies in general. But how can a digital unit of value be “mined?” What is cryptocurrency mining even about? Is it profitable, and is it something that regular people can even start doing?
您可能听说过 “比特币挖矿”（Bitcoin mining）的概念，或者只是一般的加密货币开采。但是，数字单元的价值如何被 “开采”？甚至说，加密货币开采到底是什么呢？它是否有利可图？它是一般人能够开始做的事情吗？
What is Cryptocurrency Mining?
（加密货币开采是什么？）
Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, function pretty much in the same way that cash does. It is an exchange of value, its price compared to other currencies goes up and down with time, and you can transfer funds between two parties. Digital currencies work in the same way, but unlike cash, crypto coins can be mined — more like gold or silver.
正如同比特币，加密货币的功能与现金差不多。它是一种价值交换，与其他货币相比，它的价格会随时间而涨落，您可以在双方之间转移资金。数字货币以同样的方式运作，但与现金不同的是，加密货币可以被开采 —— 这与黄金白银更相像。
Not all cryptocurrencies can be, or need to be, mined — but a lot of big ones are. Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Monero (XMR) are popular coins to mine.
并非所有的加密货币都可以（或需要被）开采 —— 但是很多大型加密货币都是需开采的。就我所知，比特币（BTC），以太坊（ETH）和门罗币（Monero，XMR）都是当下流行的货币。
And mining doesn’t mean that there is an endless flow of each cryptocurrency that can forever be created just by mining. The vast majority of crypto coins have a maximum number that can ever exist — a cap on how much can be mined. Bitcoin, for example, will only ever have 21 million units in circulation. That leaves, at the time of writing, less than 5 million left to be mined before it is maxed out.
开采，并非意味着每一种加密货币都可以通过不断开采来源源不断地创造出来。绝大多数加密货币都有可存在的最大数量（即可开采的上限数）。比如，比特币只有 2100 万个流通单位。在撰写本文时，只剩下不到 500 万个比特币还未被开采。
Why Do People Start Mining Crypto Coins?
（为什么人们开始开采加密货币？）
So, people have been mining cryptocurrencies every day for years, and it has caused the total supply of each coin to grow. But what is the point of doing this? Why are there people all over the world participating in this global mining effort? What’s in it for them?
因此，多年来人们每天都在开采加密货币，这导致每种货币的总供给量增加。但是做这件事的意义何在？为什么世界各地的人都投入到这项全球性的挖矿活动中来？这对他们有何好处？
The answer to that question is more cryptocurrency. Bitcoin mining, for example, rewards its participants with more Bitcoin. Mining has been, and can be profitable — but times have changed.
这个问题的答案就是 —— 更多的加密货币。比如，参与者进行比特币挖矿，就能得到更多的比特币奖励。挖矿已经（并且可以）盈利 —— 但现在时代已经改变。
For people who started mining Bitcoins early, they had a higher chance of running a lucrative mining operation. But Bitcoin was founded back in 2009, and the mining game looks a lot different these days.
对于早期进行比特币挖矿的人来说，他们更容易通过挖矿获得丰厚的利润。但是比特币早在 2009 年就已经建立起来了，而且当下的挖矿游戏已不同于往日。
For one thing, it’s harder. This coin was originally coded so that mining would be more difficult as less and less remain to be mined. But more importantly, Bitcoin mining has gotten more expensive and much more crowded when it comes to certain coins.
一方面是说，挖矿更困难了。比特币最初是编码的，这样一来，随着能开采的比特币也越来越少，挖矿就会越来越困难。但更重要的是，比特币挖矿成本已经越发昂贵，并且当挖到某些比特币时，会变得更加拥挤。
How Does Cryptocurrency Mining Work?
（加密货币的开采是如何运作的？）
Miners are necessary for cryptocurrency transactions to be executed effectively and securely. Traditionally, big banking institutions would take care of the delivery and verification of transactions — but the whole point of cryptocurrency is to get rid of banks as the middlemen. With cryptocurrency, the community takes care of the verification.
为了有效且安全地进行加密货币交易，矿工的存在是必需的。传统上，大型银行机构会关注交易中的交付（Delivery）和验证（Verification） —— 但加密货币的主旨在于摆脱银行作为中间人。使用加密货币，则由社区来负责验证。
Let’s say I buy a used bicycle from my neighbor by sending her 0.000066 BTC — which is about $125 at the time of writing. In order for her to receive those coins, and make sure they are true bitcoins, that transaction must be verified.
假设我要用 0.000066 个比特币（撰写本文时这价值 125 美元）从邻居处购买一辆二手自行车。为了让她收到这些比特币，同时要确保它们是真实的，那么该交易必须经过一番验证。
Verification of transactions, especially since everything is recorded on a public ledger, is probably the most important aspect of cryptocurrencies. We need to trust in the payment systems before we trust or invest in them.
对交易的验证（尤其是因为一切交易内容都记录在公共账本上），可能是加密货币最重要的部分。在信任或投资它们之前，我们需要信任支付系统。
That is where miners come in.
这就是矿工参与进来的部分。
The payment I send to my neighbor would be put into a “box” with a bunch of other BTC transactions that need to get verified. That box is referred to as a “block” in the crypto world — a collection of transactions that is virtually sealed off with a digital lock.
我发送给邻居的付款内容将被放入一个 “盒子” 中，其中还有一些其他需要验证的比特币交易。这个盒子在加密领域中被称为 “区块” —— 这是用数字锁进行完全封闭的一系列交易。
Miners run software to search around for the specific key that can unlock that box. Once the key is found by their computer’s software, the whole box is unlocked — verifying all the transactions within. That’s when the miner gets paid — and that’s when my neighbor finally gets his BTC.
矿工运行软件，搜索可以解锁该盒子的特定密钥。一旦密钥被他们的软件找到，这整个盒子就会被解锁（即验证了其中的所有交易）。此时矿工便能获得相应报酬，而我的邻居也终于拿到了我所支付的比特币。
It sounds easy on paper, but their computers are actually trying to find a needle in a haystack, so to speak. Their software makes billions of attempts just to find one key. But miners are paid with 12.5 new BTC — that’s a hefty prize.
这听起来很容易，但打个比方说，他们的电脑实际上是在尝试大海捞针。他们的软件进行数十亿次尝试仅仅是为了找到一个密匙。但矿工们能够获得 12.5 个新的比特币作为报酬 —— 而这，是一个巨额奖励。
But Can Anyone Mine Cryptocurrency? Do You Need to be a Tech Pro?
（但是，无论是谁都可以开采加密货币吗？你需要成为相关的技术专家吗？）
Mining takes a lot of time and initial investment to get the hardware set up, but it is not too complex for most people who can use popular apps. A computer newbie could probably handle it, in fact. You don’t need to be a digital genius to get into the basics. What you will need:
挖矿需要花费大量的时间和初期投入来把硬件设置好，但对于大多数使用流行应用程序的人来说，这并不太复杂（实际上电脑小白可能都搞得定这些事情）。了解相关基础知识并不需要有很高的天赋。你所需要了解的知识如下：
A Wallet: You will need to have a wallet address where the cryptocurrency that you earn through mining can be sent. They are essentially encrypted online bank accounts, and they have a unique address — the only information you really need to send cryptocurrency in general is a wallet address.
电子钱包：为将挖矿赚取到的加密货币发送到你的钱包中，您需要拥有一个电子钱包地址。其本质上是一个在线的加密银行账户，它的地址是唯一的 —— 为了发送加密货币，通常你真正需要用到的信息仅仅是钱包地址。
There are a lot of online cryptocurrency wallets you can choose from, but some have more stable and secure track records than others. Make sure that you select an online wallet that’s reliable, less susceptible to hacks, and has good user reviews — do your research.
当前有很多可供选择的在线加密货币钱包，而其中的一些钱包有着比其它钱包更加稳定和安全的追溯记录。您需要（做一些调查研究）确保所选择的是一个可靠的、不易受到黑客攻击的，并且饱受用户好评的在线钱包。
Mining Software: The software needed to mine crypto coins is free to download and use. Bitcoin Miner, BTCMiner and CGMiner are all popular ones for Bitcoin mining, for example. There are different software options for Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
挖矿软件：开采加密币所需的软件可以免费下载并使用。拿比特币挖矿来说，BTCMiner 和 CGMiner 都是比特币挖矿的热门软件。Linux，Microsoft Windows 和 Mac OS X 平台各有不同的软件以供选择。
Mining Hardware: This is where it gets tricky. You see, when Bitcoin mining first started, a regular PC was strong enough to handle it. Nowadays, however, mining BTC is much more difficult — and more complicated hardware called application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) are being used. These are machines that were designed just for mining — and they are powerful.
挖矿设备：这正是棘手的部分。你知道，比特币挖矿刚刚开始的那会儿，普通的个人电脑就足以胜任挖矿的工作。然而现在，比特币挖矿已经困难得多了 —— 并且一些更复杂的，被称为专用集成电路（ASIC）的硬件正被用于挖矿作业。这些机器是专为挖矿而设计的，它们非常强大。
But hardware that’s capable of discovering new bitcoin can run you upwards of 15,000. That is simply not accessible to most of us — and it would take a while to regenerate that investment. Who just has that much money lying around to invest in mining hardware?
但能够挖出新比特币的硬件价格已经上升到 10,000 至 15,000 美元，这对我们大多数人来说根本无法实现（而且需要一段时间才能赚回本）。谁有这么多闲钱能用来投资挖矿硬件呢？
But, luckily, there is a way around this. You can mine without shelling out tens of thousands for hardware. It’s called a mining pool — and they are very popular. People just pool together their computer power and collectively, as a group, mine for coins. They are then paid their fair share of profits, which is divided up based on how much power your individual device contributed to the mining endeavor.
不过幸运的是，还是有一种解决方法的。这一方法能让你在没有数以万计的硬件投入的情况下进行挖矿任务。这就是所谓的矿池 —— 它们非常受欢迎。人们将他们的计算机能力集中起来，作为一个整体来共同开采数字货币。随后，他们将会获得公平的利润份额（根据个人设备为挖矿所贡献电力的多少来分配利润）。
And joining mining pools also means less of an initial investment, with hardware in the few-hundred-dollars range able to generate a few dollars per day once mining commences.
加入矿池也就意味着只需要更少的初始投资，而一旦挖矿开始，几百美元价位的硬件设备每天就能赚到几美元。
Do Your Research, and Be Careful
（做好调查研究，并且要小心）
If you have the urge to start mining one particular cryptocurrency, congratulations — you may be on your way to earning some regular income as a result. Just be careful, because you can also lose out on your time and investment if you don’t take the time to do your research.
（Check out mining pool options, read through message boards, and simply make sure that the mining pool you want to join is the right one for your needs.）
如果你有开始挖掘某种特定加密货币的冲动，那么恭喜你 —— 你或许会因此获得一些固定的收入。只是要小心，因为如果你没有花时间去调查研究，你同样会浪费掉你的时间与投资。
（检查可选的矿池，阅读客户留言板，并确保您要加入的矿池符合您的需求。）