It's my understanding that it's probably easier to trade bitcoins for dollars than calculate them directly, unless you happen to have a lot of spare computing resources lying around. For instance, if I set my desktop machine calculating, I might make 50 BTC in a year. But I could buy that on an exchange for $50 right now if I wanted to.
That said, bitcoins do favour the already rich. If I have $1000 I can buy more bitcoins than someone with only $100. This is not exactly unusual.
The advantage of using bitcoins as a currency is that you can transfer them electronically without the need for a centralised banking system and all the bureaucracy that entails. As a programmer, this is what really excites me about the system.
That said, bitcoins do favour the already rich. If I have $1000 I can buy more bitcoins than someone with only $100. This is not exactly unusual.
The advantage of using bitcoins as a currency is that you can transfer them electronically without the need for a centralised banking system and all the bureaucracy that entails. As a programmer, this is what really excites me about the system.