Ethereum
Distributed public blockchain network. Users can mine Ether, a tradeable cryptocurrency. Can also be used for other purposes (which I’m not familiar with)
Geth
Command line tool to configure local machine as Ethereum node. Can also be used to create an etherbase account.
Etherbase account
Account in which you store credits.
Ethereum node
Service/Software which connects to other nodes to store / mirror the blockchain.
Blockchain
A database/record of all transactions.
Mining
Participating in the validation / verification of transactions on the blockchain. GPU intensive operation. Miners can mine the blockchain directly, or via a pool. Performance is measured as a hash rate.
Hashrate
Speed at which hash is calculated. Higher = better.
Pool
Miners can mine via a pool, where a large number of miners work together. Individual miners then receive a share of the reward/credit, primarily based on their participation in the pool.
Share
Your portion of the reward for mining the blockchain in a pool.
Uncle
A smaller reward in the event there is a duplicate solution to a block.
Quick Start ‘Process’ – Not Guide:
1. Download Geth, setup etherbase account
2. Run geth, sync the blockchain locally and run as local Ethereum node.
3. Run a mining tool, to mine directly or via a pool
4. Get ETH