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Microsoft Will Pay You To Use MSN Search

by Flexo

Here’s an interesting twist in the Search Wars (turning everyone attention away from the Browser Wars, I suppose): Microsoft will pay individuals [WSJ/free] to use its search engine, sharing the ad revenues with the casual user, most likely through discounts in software packages. The biggest hole in this plan is easily snuffed out by the ... Continue reading this article…

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Backfired Bankruptcy Bill

by Flexo

Earlier this year, a new bankruptcy bill was signed into law, making it more difficult for consumers to declare bankruptcy. The credit industry loved this and spent a lot of money lobbying for the bill, as they stood to gain billions of dollars in fees. Apparently, this isn’t happening [msn]. The number of bankruptcy filings ... Continue reading this article…

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Cable Channels a la Carte

by Flexo

The FCC now believes that consumers can save money by picking and choosing which cable channels they’d like to receive, with each channel priced separately. Would this new pricing plan change your viewing habits? I’m paying $14 per month for the most basic cable television service at the moment. I’d like to add a few ... Continue reading this article…

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Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Strategies

by Flexo

Just like for the older Xbox, the new Xbox 360 costs more to manufacture than Microsoft charges for the system. The retail price is $399 (which will eventually be cut down, which is the pattern for video game consoles) but the cost for all of the components is $552.27. Microsoft must believe that people who ... Continue reading this article…

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Regular Rundown

by Flexo

* The newest redesign of MSN Money is in preview, and I’m not impressed. * Consumers use home equity to pay for holiday gifts. No surprise; they also use credit cards. Some use equity to pay off credit cards. Debt warp! * Online advertising is soaring. MSN charges between several thousand and one million dollars ... Continue reading this article…

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Shopping For Experiences

by Flexo

According to CNN, the new luxury gift this year is an experience. Rather than treating loved ones to clothing or electronics, the new trend is supposedly providing them with an experience and the memories associated with it. If you ask the people who sell these gifts, they will tell you it’s an escalating trend. I ... Continue reading this article…

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What Are You Afraid Of? Part 2

by Flexo

Earlier, I posted a summary of the first half of Money Magazine’s newest feature, Your Six Biggest Money Fears. In the feature, six general fears regarding personal finance are discussed and debunked, and for each an alternate concern is posited. Outsourcing makes many white-collar Americans concerned about their job. Still, it’s mostly blue-collar jobs that ... Continue reading this article…

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Gas-Guzzlers Downshift

by Flexo

Coult it be that American consumers have started turning thier backs to gas-guzzling monster machines? From CNN: * Large SUV sales are 11.2 percent lower than they were at this time last year, according to AutoData. * In the “beige book” released Wednesday, the Federal Reserve reported a shift to vehicles that use less gas. ... Continue reading this article…

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