Returning Player - Couple of Questions

[Riptos]

Hi guys, as the title says, returning player.

Not been on in quite some time and a few things seem to have changed since I last played consistently.
The mining has totally changed, it's not a fast process with a single beam now. I assume thats as intended?
The money seems to have been divided by something like a factor of 100? Certainly have a lot less money than I used to. Also all the trade routes I used to use, don't really seem to matter anymore. Is there anywhere that has some of the more profitable runs on there to refer to?
Also, I have a Gammu AI character that I had docked on Planet Gammu. Imagine my surprise to find that the Core have taken over the home planet as I exited dock. Is there a new home for Gammu characters now or is the faction obsolete? I noticed a new one called the Technocracy that may be in it's spot but I dont know where the home planet is for that one either.

Any help with some of these questions would be appreciated guys! Cheers.