Bitcoins are up! Bitcoins are down. There's a bubble! The bubble's bursting. No matter how you slice it, bitcoins have become something like media darlings lately, with numerous headlines fixed on it — from finance types trying to zero in on how seriously to take the virtual money, to articles about bitcoin millionaires. Heck, even the Winklevoss twins can't help but horn in on the...
Bitcoin mania has rocked the finance world. Once the esoteric territory of techheads and shady dealers only, the digital currency has exploded onto the investment scene. This is partly due to quakes in real-world international finance, like Cyprus’ financial collapse sending citizens rushing to the bitcoin mines. It moves in a peer-to-peer exchange only, relying on no financial...
So what are Bitcoins? If you're like most people, you've probably bought something online. And chances are, you used PayPal, a credit card or some other means (like maybe a gift card or house credit). What most people don't do is pay for the transaction using Bitcoins. But that may be changing. Those who are familiar with Bitcoin know that it's a highly sought-after form of tech-driven...
Ever get the sneaking suspicion that American telecom companies are ripping off their subscriberbases? So did David Cay Johnston, author of a new book titled The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use “Plain English” to Rob You Blind. The Pulitzer prize–winning reporter uncovered some tidbits that should really rankle the phone, cable and Internet-using population in the U.S.: Apparently,...
Becoming a YouTube partner and reaping the rewards of having ads placed on your videos was once a difficult and intimidating process. But not anymore. YouTube has now dropped all of its requirements and is now allowing all users in any one of 20 qualifying countries to become enrolled in the partner program. As detailed on the official YouTube Partners & Creators blog this morning...
Now that the madness of Black Friday is behind us, 2011’s holiday shopping season is finally underway. Some truly amazing products have been released this year, making it harder than ever to choose what to spend our hard earned dollars on. Can’t think of what to get this holiday season? Check out our Gift Guides to help you get started. While it’s important to devise a budget plan...
In a day and age when everyone is trying to upsell, premium-ize, and shake us down on a weekly basis—often under the guise of saving us money—we actually view cheapskatism as a sign of higher intelligence and reason. If approached the right way, of course. Cooling the Piggy PC’s ceramic chassis was a little harder than we had anticipated. Over the next few pages, we’re going to...
Apparently, I’ve got savings on the brain lately — from cell phone trade-ins to amateur hacks designed to squeeze a little more functionality out of last-gen products. I know, I know — for some people, talking about finances is as much fun as taking a trip to the doctor’s office. But it’s all in how you look at it: It’s not penny-pinching as much as just putting more green in your...
Wireless carriers have kept rates pretty stable over the last two or three years, but with the eventual move to LTE and 4G (every carrier has its own catch phrase) it seems as if rates will be on the rise. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have either already raised rates or taken away some of the customer loyalty discounts that had been in place for quite some time. In any event,...
The new year is almost upon us and I can hardly believe 2010 is in the books. Looking back over the last 12 months many things have changed in all walks of life: smartphones now rule the mobile world, the Saints won the Super Bowl (yes, those Saints) and the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the first time since they left New York. What hasn’t changed all that much is the...