Tag: MONEY

Flattr offers a handy way to support the people, places, and things you enjoy without having to pull out your wallet. It's a very slick micropayment service, which lets users tip people they normally couldn't -- such as independent bloggers or digital artists whose work they enjoy online. But with the introduction of their new Android app, users can now easily donate via Flattr in the real world. ...

Kapitall is one of the most impressive finance-related websites I've recently come across. The site requires registration (which is free, but you do have to opt out of their newsletter) -- but in return it provides you with an incredible amount of financial data. The experience is very visual. You get a large canvas, which they call "the Playground." You can search for companies by their stock ...

fring, the popular multi-protocol text, voice, and video chat tool has just announced the addition of VOIP calling to their app for Nokia smartphones. Dubbed fringOut (sound familiar?), the new feature allows users to call just about any phone in the world from 1c/min. Don't own a Nokia phone? Patience, frugal caller: fringOut will be made available soon to users of fring's Android and iPhone ...

Okay, so my earlier story about how Amazon is messing with International Kindle users made a bit of a splash. Quite a few things came up in my investigations before and after the story, but the basic fact remains: Amazon will add a fixed $2.00 surcharge to most items (which may or may not be a "roaming charge") if you're an international customer, even if you're using a WiFi-only device. But I've ...

I'm an avid Dropbox fan. I've been using it for a long time now, and it's one of a handful of applications that I think of as "mission critical" on my system. But there are a couple of things that have always irked me about Dropbox. First and foremost, there are the rates. It's US$9.99/month for 50GB. Really? With online backup solutions such as Backblaze and Mozy offering unlimited storage for ...

Think of this one as a little tidbit to enjoy with your morning coffee! BSkyB, the owner of the Sky TV brand and a large portion of mogul Rupert Murdoch's media empire, has claimed that Skype's trademark application is confusingly similar to the extant Sky TV trademark. You might be tittering at the stupidity, but apparently BSkyB even has consumer research to back up its claims! People ...

Cost of living calculations are really tricky. They require a ton of data, and the data keeps shifting and changing. So, when you're trying to figure out the relative difference in cost of living between two places, it's best to have more than one source. Some time ago, I wrote about Expatistan, and commenter Jack recommended Numbeo in reply. He says that it "seems to be a bit better," and I tend ...

If you've read my review of WriteMonkey, you know how much I love this simple-looking, yet very powerful, full-screen editor. In fact, I use WriteMonkey for all of my Download Squad posts. I find it much easier to focus when I have just my text in front of me, in monospaced font, with no distracting chrome. I guess you can imagine the disappointment I felt when WriteMonkey stopped working for me ...

We covered the exciting launch of the Humble Indie Bundle a few weeks ago -- and more fool you if you failed to pick up titles like World of Goo and Penumbra at a fantastic price -- but now it's time to look at the results, because they're even more interesting. First and foremost: Linux users made up 25% of the total sales revenue. Take a look at the tasty pie chart on the right: while Linux ...

Purchasing software for your business can take a pretty big bite out of your budget, but finding programs that you're actually allowed to use on a home business computer can be tricky. There's a lot of free software out there, but much of it is only free for personal use -- and you can't use it legally on your business systems. Here's a list of 13 great, free programs that you can definitely ...

I had gotten some very well-informed and interesting replies when I asked you guys about the stock market, so I figured I would try my luck again with something at least as shady, scammy and rife with get-rich-quick artists: Google AdWords affiliate marketing. The basic idea, to those of you unfamiliar with the concept: Company A offers its product for sale (say, an anti-virus). If I get ...

CNET's Caroline McCarthy says Facebook is predicted to pull in over $1B of revenue this year. Why am I not surprised? There are a couple of interesting things to note here: 1) This is just a guess. An educated one, maybe, but Facebook is still a privately held company so nobody has "real" numbers. 2) They're making these (supposed) oodles of money without using conventional banner ads. ...

Install0us is an app that could be installed on jailbroken iPhones that would allow the user to installed pirated versions of commercial iPhone apps and avoid actually purchasing them. The developer of Install0us, puy0, recently posted in the Install0us forums that he has decided to discontinue work on the app and kill the project for legal reasons. You don't say? Amazingly, puy0 states that he ...

Would you love Apple quite so much if they forced you to jump through hoops, click buttons and answer survey questions at random intervals while listening to music? How about some banner ads as you browse the music and documents on your computer? No? See, this is the problem: with our every-day activities slowly centralised and usurped by a handful of multinational juggernauts, we are quite ...

BillShrink is a web service that helps you find the best deals on cellphone service, credit card accounts, and even the best gas prices. Since launching a year and a half ago as a wireless comparison engine, the BillShrink team has steadily continued adding new services. Now BillShrink has added bank accounts to its lineup. In order to find the best savings accounts and CDs, you enter the amount ...