2007 December | money news blog

30 12 2007

RSS SMS for your cell phone: annoying or useful?

Posted by: in Productivity

Filed under: Text, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, Productivity, Web services, Freeware, BlackBerry, iPhone, web 2.0

At first, it sounds like a texting nightmare from hell, but RSS via SMS has a place in our world through Web-Alerts, a small web experiment that might get lost in the vast internet desert that is web 2.0 failures. The service sends you a text message for every update to a chosen site’s RSS feed.

The service is simple and simple to use. When you first visit the site, it’ll ask your to enter a web address. If it finds an RSS feed for your chosen site, it’ll ask you to enter your cell phone number. Should any updates happen to your chosen feed, a preview of the update will be forwarded to your phone. Removing a subscription is easy enough. “Just open the link in your text message and select ‘My Alerts’ to remove any alert you’re subscribed to.” Furthermore, you can enter a keyword with your phone number so that you’ll only be forwarded updates via SMS when they contain the keyword.

This could be extremely useful for someone closely watching a specific topic such as a stock broker. It could also become extremely annoying if you find yourself answering your phone each ten minutes to halt the latest SMS from incessantly vibrating in your pocket. Our advice: use wisely.

[via The Boy Genius]

30 12 2007

Analysis: In statements and ads, Romney presents something of a candor

Posted by: admin in Latest News

Analysis: In statements and ads, Romney presents something of a candor
San Diego Union-Tribune - BOSTON – As a presidential contender, Mitt Romney has the looks, the money and the campaign machine. He also has something of a candor gap. When confronted with questions that might conflict with his message of the day or political record, the

Top tool executive aims at ex-bosses
Baltimore Sun - Top tool executive aims at ex-bosses Fired by Black & Decker, he’ll be CEO of its chief competitor Joseph Galli Jr. calls it Real Estate Money & Life Careers Technology Business Columnists Thought Travel Shopping Resources Print Edition Wireless Edition RSS Feeds

Chinese Stock Market Wraps Up Year
Houston Chronicle - SHANGHAI — This year, the world discovered the Chinese stock market. Investors in China poured their money into shares like never before, sending the market on a turbulent, stunning, record-breaking ride. And around the world, people took notice

MARKETS WEEKAHEAD - New year money market clarity
Reuters India - LONDON (Reuters) - World financial markets will start to get a clearer picture this week of the extent of interbank lending stress as 2008 gets under way and funding pressures due to banks’ year-end book squaring dissipate. Elevated wholesale money

UK Demands Documents From Drug Companies
Houston Chronicle - Under the program, money from Iraqi oil sales was to have been used for food and medicine. All three companies have denied wrongdoing and said they were cooperating with the investigation. The fraud office launched an inquiry after former U.S. Federal

Game On: ‘Ed, Edd Eddy: Scam of the Century’
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Yet again we find a popular TV show spun into a half-baked video game rushed onto store shelves for one reason only: to make money from unsuspecting young consumers excited to play the game version of their favorite program. Yes, this hand-held title

Rich Cowles: Running a good charity costs money
Minneapolis Star Tribune - True or false: The less a charitable organization spends on administration and fundraising, the more effective it is. If you answered “true,” you think like many generous people who support charitable causes. The correct answer: “Perhaps; perhaps not

Get organized for the year ahead
Boston Globe - Second, automatically have money taken out of your paycheck to begin building the emergency fund you keep promising to start but never do. The money should be automatically sent to an account that is not linked to your each day checking and savings

Generics, Lipitor’s sales drop hit Pfizer
Chicago Tribune - YOUR MONEY: A WEEKLY GUIDE TO PERSONAL FINANCE: TAKING STOCK Generics, Lipitor’s sales drop hit Pfizer Top drug firm plans more outsourcing

Emerging CME rival shaping up
Chicago Tribune - Saltzman declined to state how much money will be invested in the exchange, even though he said he expects announcing additional partners and unspecified “new features” next year regardless of any countermoves by CME. “This is not about the CME,” he

29 12 2007

Microsoft commits $300 million to consumer advertising ‘blitz’

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Marketing and advertising

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to sit on a cash pile worth over $30 billion. What’s it going to do with all that money? Continue to develop underwhelming products like Windows Vista? Probably. Take on Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in the internet advertising revenue arena? Of course. Roll out a consumer marketing blitz to make sure the word Microsoft continues to be a relevant household name? Surely.

Early in 2008, the world’s largest software company will start spending $200 million to $300 million to advertise its wares: the Xbox 360, the newer Zune digital media players, Windows Vista Computers and Windows Mobile.

Bill Gates, the company’s co-founder and about-to-be-retired spokesman, will give probably his final keynote address to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January where he’ll no doubt trumpet everything Microsoft is doing to remain the dominant force in each area of technology it participates in.

This is a good move for the aging software company. More nimble competitors have sprung up lately to take some of the wind from its sails, and buzzwords like Web 2.0 and the strong adoption of smartphones to replace standard cellphones means that Microsoft can’t sit by and let the Windows and Office product franchises ring up all the revenue while everything else sees middling performance and results.

DISCLOSURE: Brian White owns MSFT shares as of 12-28-07.

29 12 2007

Firefox extension allows for Safari-like snapback

Posted by: in Productivity

Filed under: Utilities, Productivity, Mozilla

Apple’s Safari web browser has a fantastic feature called SnapBack that allows you to mark a web page for a swift navigation back to a page. That’s, if you look at 30 web pages in succession, if you mark one particular one for SnapBack you can easily find it and go back when you need to.

Now Firefox users can have the same capability thanks to a fantastic extension appropriately named SnapBack. To install SnapBack, go to the Mozilla add-on page and click the “Install this Add-on” link. Restart Firefox and you’ll be ready to snap back and forth. No heel clicking or Ruby slippers required.

[via LifeHacker]

28 12 2007

Late night hosts are about to prove just how funny they really are

Posted by: in Marketing and Advertising

Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising, CBS Corp ‘B’ (CBS)

With the writers still on strike, late night hosts are gearing up to putting on shows without help from any writers [subscription required]. For the past two months, while Hollywood writers have been on strike, late night television viewers have been served up re-runs of their favorite speak shows, but that is about to change.

It has definitely been a strange time for our late night shows to be on hiatus. With the now heating up presidential race offering up loads of good material, you know that the late night hosts have just been dying to get back into the action. But, don’t expect to be seeing the same sort of shows you are used to seeing when they return to the air next week. The shows should prove to be very different than business as usual.

The exception to this rule might be the two late night shows on CBS (NYSE: CBS). David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants Inc., is currently in talks with the Writers Guild of America and hopes that its “Late Show with David Letterman” and “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” will be able to reach a deal to allow its writers to be able to contribute to its shows.

One of the aspects of late night that we have come to love and anticipate is the interviews with major motion picture actors regarding their new releases. While this typically represents at least one guest each night, it could be lacking from the shows when they return in the next few weeks. Most major actors have vowed that they’ll support the writers and avoid the talk shows. The negotiations between Worldwide Pants Inc. and the guild could be the only thing that leads to actors being able to come out and promote their upcoming releases.

One thing is for sure, as the shows begin to slowly come back on, we will all be getting our fill of commentary on the current presidential candidates, and who can complain about that?

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the on the web investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.

28 12 2007

Automobile rental scams to look out for

Posted by: in Transportation

Filed under: Business, Stories, United Says, Transportation, Airports, Budget Travel, News

Whenever I’ve rented a car, I’ve always felt a bit anxious wondering what option to take when it comes to the insurance–or if the price is going to truly be what the information states it will be. Driving off a automobile lot in something I don’t own is thrilling on one hand, but disconcerting in another. What if something goes wrong?

So far, I haven’t been scammed, but I’ve probably paid for insurance I didn’t need–that loss of use business makes me wary–and I’ve double and triple checked what it is I’m signing up for. In many cases, I’ve been able to work out a superior deal like trading up for a roomier automobile at the same initial rate for a smaller car.

Chris Elliot outlines scams to watch out for in his article “Hell on Wheels: Four Car Rental Scams.” They are scams because they unfairly tip in the vehicle rental companies’ favor if a customer doesn’t pay attention to the fine print. Here are the three that I’ve watched out for myself. For the fourth one, read his article.

1. Refueling- For example, as with happened with us this summer when we rented our vehicle at the Bellingham airport, the car rental person offered us the refueling charge option. At first it seemed like a fair deal, but it only would have been be a fair deal if we brought back the car with an empty tank. In our case, we turned him down and refueled making sure the needle went above the F right before we hit the airport. Elliot says that sometimes vehicle rental companies will charge refueling anyway, even if the tank is full, but the needle is a tad below the F.

2. Doing anything outside of the initial terms of the contract. If you bring a vehicle back early you can pay for a much higher rental feel. If you’ve rented for a week, you’ve a week rate. One day earlier puts you into the pay by the day category. I’ve always stayed within the original contract so this hasn’t been a problem. Years ago I added an extra week to a car leasing deal in Paris for not much extra money, but that sort of deal might be long gone.

3. Damage to the car. Automobile rental companies have also been known to charge for the same dent more than once. Technically, if the car is damaged while in your care, your insurance is responsible, unless you have the insurance through the vehicle rental company. Elliot suggests taking photos of the different sides of the automobile before you drive it off the lot to prevent the chance you may be charged for something you didn’t do. This fall I had a vehicle rental after a automobile accident and made sure the guy marked down any ding I saw no matter how small. The automobile was white which made me feel nervous the whole time I was driving it. I found myself parking far away from other automobiles whenever possible.

[via CNN.com/travel]

28 12 2007

Remember the Milk and Gmail equals crazy delicious!

Posted by: in Productivity

Filed under: World wide web, E-mail, Productivity, Mozilla, web 2.0

Remember the Milk, one of the ideal on the internet task managers out there, has just released a Firefox extension that integrates its task management seamlessly into your Gmail account. One look at Remember the Milk sitting hand in hand with your Gmail and you’ll be saying, “this is how integration is done; seamless as cell towers passing off your phone call.” Oh, and you’ll have a rich, Holmesian accent as well. We can dream, can’t we?

Simply download and install the extension, and then restart Firefox. When you load up Gmail, you’ll see a new section running down the right hand side of the page (you’ll be reminded to login to the Remember the Milk site if you haven’t done so already). Once you’re logged in, you’ll see all of your tasks laid out next to your email messages.
But that’s just the beginning.

You can easily customize which tasks you see in your task window by filtering them based on tag, location, or advanced search criteria. You can also create new tasks at any time by typing in the box provided. Make it as detailed or simple as possible; you can include tags, due dates, etc…

And integration with the email next door? Take a gander:

If an email needs to be followed up or responded to, you can star that message, and have Remember the Milk automatically create a reply or follow up task. (Those settings can be edited and customized directly in the Gmail settings, under Tasks). You can also create a task from an email by selecting Create task from the More Actions drop down.

The Remember the Milk Firefox extension also connects to Google Calendar. You know when the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and it gets really cold? That’s not dead people; that’s the moment where Remember the Milk sees that you’re adding a task related to an event in your calendar, and automatically sets the appropriate due date. Creepy.

But enough talk! Download the extension, signup for a Remember the Milk account if you haven’t already, and get to tasking.

[Via Daily Apps]

28 12 2007

Undelete files on Linux with GIIS

Posted by: in Productivity

Filed under: Utilities, Linux, Productivity, Open Source, Troubleshooting

No delete key Imagine you just finished writing an important document with your favorite word processor. You hit save, and turn in for the night, satisfied that everything is fine. Unbeknownst to you, something happens as you slumber. Maybe it’s a wayward nephew, maybe it’s your cat, but at some point, something or someone deleted your precious file. What do you do?

Rest simple, friend, and take a look at this. Although the author of this app doesn’t seem to know how to run SpellCheck, Get It I Say (GIIS) is an invaluable data recovery tool. All you need is a Linux based system and a hard disk partition that uses EXT2 or EXT3.

[Via Data Recovery]

27 12 2007

Windows Live Search for Mobile update adds business photos and reviews

Posted by: in Productivity

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile, Productivity, Web services, BlackBerry, Search

Microsoft has pushed out an update to their browser-based local search and mapping site.

Enhancements include:

1-click directions for all businesses and street addresses in U.S. This is sweet; you can see directions to the particular location depending on where you’re coming from: north, south, east or west. You also have the option to specify a starting location.
Additional details for U.S. businesses, including neighborhood, business category, cuisine (restaurants) and hours of operation.
Pics and reviews for U.S. businesses. The photos are nice; you can check out whether the place is a dive. Are the lights burnt out on the neon sign outside? Chances are the food is suffering as well. The reviews are also extremely helpful.
Improved motion picture show times Instant Answers (they now show critics rating; one thumb or two?)
Added interactivity to all maps (clicking on maps now zooms in/out to predefined levels, or advanced to the next waypoint for routing maps)
Traffic & map Instant Answers
Mobile search for the China market. Scopes offered are local (no maps, but coming soon), web, images, news and Spaces.

All in all, it’s a very feature rich update, and it should make life in the fast lane a tiny easier to navigate.

Point your mobile browser to http://m.live.com/ for the experience. Don’t forget, Windows Mobile Live Search also includes weather, web search, stock quotes, and more.

[Via SolSie.com]