I will crosspost this from the Aeon thread as I think it has applicability to Monero too:
I was honestly trying to wait for a GUI as the only secure computers I have are little Celeron weenies (which I'm not sure will run a full cryptonote client). Command lines stress me out, especially third party tools like simplewallet - there's nothing like the relative security of knowing that you have a Linux computer that has only ever accessed the exchange once, and that was to withdraw to a GUI wallet (what I did back in the Dogecoin days). I know the lack of a GUI helps keep out n00bs in these cryptonote projects, but you also create the counter-risk of having half-peasants like me feel like an exchange is the most secure place for their funds, lest they accidentally send them off into space or lose private keys by sudo-sumo-copying something wrong from a Linux command line.
There are lots of n00bs now getting into Cryptonote and the lack of GUIs is becoming more and more of a hurdle every day - I have introduced several people even less tech savvy than myself to these cryptos in the past months, but these are people who are delighted and excited by trading Bitcoin on an exchange for the first time - but the concept of creating a Monero or Aeon cold address and sending funds to it on a Linux distro would be 'rocket science' for them and utterly outside of their skill set, even with significant support. Indeed we have now created a scenario that instead of protecting n00bs actually gives them just enough rope to hang themselves.
The likelihood of another Gox or Cryptsy is significant, no matter how trustworthy or professional the exchange seems. I had hoped the GUI could be an effective bridge in this regard, but I am getting the vibe that proper GUIs might be months away for these projects, forcing me to consider other options.
I was honestly trying to wait for a GUI as the only secure computers I have are little Celeron weenies (which I'm not sure will run a full cryptonote client). Command lines stress me out, especially third party tools like simplewallet - there's nothing like the relative security of knowing that you have a Linux computer that has only ever accessed the exchange once, and that was to withdraw to a GUI wallet (what I did back in the Dogecoin days). I know the lack of a GUI helps keep out n00bs in these cryptonote projects, but you also create the counter-risk of having half-peasants like me feel like an exchange is the most secure place for their funds, lest they accidentally send them off into space or lose private keys by sudo-sumo-copying something wrong from a Linux command line.
There are lots of n00bs now getting into Cryptonote and the lack of GUIs is becoming more and more of a hurdle every day - I have introduced several people even less tech savvy than myself to these cryptos in the past months, but these are people who are delighted and excited by trading Bitcoin on an exchange for the first time - but the concept of creating a Monero or Aeon cold address and sending funds to it on a Linux distro would be 'rocket science' for them and utterly outside of their skill set, even with significant support. Indeed we have now created a scenario that instead of protecting n00bs actually gives them just enough rope to hang themselves.
The likelihood of another Gox or Cryptsy is significant, no matter how trustworthy or professional the exchange seems. I had hoped the GUI could be an effective bridge in this regard, but I am getting the vibe that proper GUIs might be months away for these projects, forcing me to consider other options.
There is already a GUI I am using it working fine. You still should run a local Monero node but can use the LightWallet2 GUI. If you are using Windows download Monero client at https://getmonero.org/downloads/ unzip to a folder on your desktop. Run bitmonerod until the blockchain is synched. You will also need to download LightWallet2 at https://getmonero.org/getting-started/choose. Download the LightWallet.exe and put in your Monero folder. While bitmonerod is running in a command console and synced messsage shows start up Lightwallet by clicking on the exe in your Monero folder and follow instructions. Now you have the privacy of a local Monero node with a GUI to send and receive Monero.
Sir, did you not see the word "n00b" that American Pegasus typed with his hot little fingers?
Don't you realize that the vast majority of people have no idea of even how to approach such a task? It is foreign to all but a tiny subset of the population. You, monsieur, occupy a very small nerd-world.
