DC-GUI: error message saying I have not met the minimun slots/hubs...
 

The actual error message was :
"You have not met the minimum slots/hubs inhere Minimum slots/hubs (4/4) You have (3/4) Slots/Hubs". I have no idea what this means (or, indeed, how dc-gui works). Can any help?

Also, the first few hubs I connected to without any problems, but all of a sudden when I attempt to connect to a hub, the connection times out.... is this another facet of the same issue?

thanks in advance,
doug

Your problem is not related to dcgui. It is related to the direct connect network that dcgui connects to. Here is a quick rundown of the dirrect connect network:

Using a client program, you connect to a 'hub' which is running a hub program. When connected to the hub, you can download from other users connected to the hub. Most hubs have some sort of filtering software that restricts which users can use that hub. A common filtering option is based on 'slots to hubs' ratio. Your 'slots' are the number of people that can simultaneously upload from you. You can change 'slots' in the options window (click on the wrench icon). In the situation above,you were probably connected to four hubs with three slots. The hub you were kicked from requires at least one slot per hub, so you were kicked.