Yatri

Filed under: Debt, Saving Money, Retirement advice

WalletPop's Lan Nguyen chats with Frank Armstrong -- founder of Investors Solutions and author of several books including "Save Your Retirement" (FT Press) -- on what Gen Xers and Gen Yers need to do to have a happy retirement.

Open a 401(k), but only if your company matches and the cost isn't too high. Otherwise, open your own 401(k) or IRA. Most importantly, pay down credit card debt and "rights-size" your life.

Podcast: Tips for Gen Xers and Yers on saving for retirement originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In England, specifically Titchfield, Hampshire a small family jeweler has taken it upon themselves to create the most expensive Christmas ornament in the world.

According to Mark Hussey as reported in the Telegraph, a partner in Hallmark Jewellers he had a vision about making something special and had done some research into the priciest ornaments currently available. He had been working on the piece for almost a full year starting just after Boxing Day 2008, which is traditionally the day after Christmas. Even though they would love to find a buyer for the fabulous piece he did mention that he wouldn't mind finding this special ornament on his own tree come Christmas Eve.

The ornament itself is composed of 18 carat white gold and is studded with over one and half thousand diamonds. Two rings consisting of 188 red rubies surround the body of the ornament. It took over 130 hours just to set the gems in the piece. The National Association of Goldsmiths independently valued the bauble at 82,000 British pounds which depending on the exchange rate is just over $130,000. All of this hard work and expensive gemstones are not going unprotected. In something out of a James Bond movie the decorative ornament is encased in a special container framed in steel an 6mm thick laminated glass. If the alarm is triggered a internal signal will fill the shop with smoke.

Will the name Hallmark become associated with Christmas the way Faberge is permanently linked to gorgeously designed and bejeweled Easter eggs? Only time will tell, but if you'd like a very splashy ornament for your tree you know where to look.

Filed under: Decor, Jewelry

Most Expensive Christmas Ornament Valued At Over $130,000 originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Europe, BMW

Normally we can think of some cute little anecdote to kick these here posts off with, but today... can't do it. BMW is raising their prices by 0.4 percent across the board on vehicles sold in North America. This price increase takes effect on January 1, 2010. Why? BMW isn't saying. And while less than a percent may not sound like much, if you're buying a stripper 760Li ($136,600), that's like $600!

There is a tiny sliver of good news. The three vehicles that just got introduced to this continent in December -- the ActiveHybrid X6, ActiveHybrid 7 and the 550i Gran Turismo -- are unaffected by this price increase. Of course as all three of those vehicles haven't proved themselves in the marketplace yet, so that sliver is even tinier upon second glance.

But it's not just the base prices that are going up. Destination & Handling fees are on the rise as well. Every new BMW is coming with an additional $50 tacked onto the 2009 $825 price, for a total of $875. And yes, this fifty dollar increase applies to the two new hybrids and the Gran Turismo as well. Happy New Year!


[Source: BMW]

Happy New Year! BMW rings in 2010 with price increases across the board originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the first time in over a hundred years, we get an inside view of how Dunhill manufactures its beautiful leather goods. Never before has Dunhill shown the outside world how the world class craftsman create their products. In this clip we get to see a portion of the film demonstrating the making of Dunhill's Double Document Case.

While we have always admired the finished product, watching the craftsmen at work makes it all that more interesting. It happens in the Walthamstow workshop and all by hand. Each leather artisan is responsible for the construction of a piece from start to finish and includes a stamped card with their name on it inside the finished product. The sense of personal pride taken by the master craftsmen translates into the highest quality and standard of work for Dunhill.

From the consumer's perspective, watching the skills and techniques involved helps one understand the price tag of over 1,800 British Pounds Sterling for this special bag. The company has a hundred and sixteen years of experience and the same processes that were used in the beginning are still being employed in the crafting of their leather goods today. Anyone who has an interest in fine products should find this glimpse, albeit orchestrated for film, into the manufacturing process at Dunhill fascinating.

Filed under: Men's Style

Dunhill Lets Cameras Roll In Their Workshop originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Hatchback, Volvo

Possibly the biggest news to come out of Volvo's announcement of pricing for the 2011 C30 is that there is going to BE a 2011 C30. We ogled the nipped and tucked C30 T5 in Frankfurt and came away even more smitten than before with Volvo's neo-brake. The revised fascia and nipped and tucked bumpers bring the C30 into line with the future of Volvo design, however shaky that may be.

It's hard to deny the allure of the stylish little dumpling, and it won't even break the bank. Available in the United States exclusively in T5 trim for 2011, $24,600 (plus *$850 for destination and delivery charges) will get you into the Swedish hatch with a 227 horsepower inline-five hooked to a six-speed manual. If the swoopy Swede isn't enough for you in stock trim, the C30 T5 R-Design brings lowered ride height and a monochromatic bodykit that makes the car look like it's hunkered way down over its new 18-inch wheels.

The best part of the R-Design package are the suspension tweaks. Volvo says the stiffer bushings make the steering more direct and the rack's ratio is faster, too. Spring rates are up, and both the dampers and the swaybars have been stiffened, as well. Sounds expensive, doesn't it? Not so much - $26,950 (plus $850 D&D) strikes us as a small bargain for the nattily styled Volvo hatch with sharpened teeth. Of course, that's before a visit to Ye Olde Options List, where the bottom line can get pretty daunting pretty quickly. Press release posted after the jump.




[Source: Volvo]

Continue reading Volvo prices 2011 C30 T5 from $24,600, C30 T5 R-Design at $26,950*

Volvo prices 2011 C30 T5 from $24,600, C30 T5 R-Design at $26,950* originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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URL shorteners have been around for years, but they were mostly afterthoughts rather than legitimate businesses. That all changed with the rise of Twitter and short-form, 140-character blogging. With limited space for tweeting, the URL shortener business has boomed. Bit.ly has grown tremendously, companies like Coke have even made their own and even Digg has gotten in on the action.

Bit.ly has not had any major threat to its market share, but that’s about to change. We’re learning that Facebook now has its own URL shortener. It’s unclear how long fb.me has been operation. What is clear, though, is that it’s appearing more and more in mobile links and within the Twitter stream.

Currently, Fb.me seems to be rolled out on a limited basis. As Inside Facebook points out, the Facebook URL Shortener is already in use on the mobile interface. Whenever links are shared within a mobile interface (i.e. an m.facebook.com link), it is now automatically shortened using fb.me.

It’s also active for Facebook usernames. For example, the short URLs fb.me/mashable and fb.me/benparr will take you to the Mashable fan page and my profile page respectively. This works for any username in the Facebook system.

It seems clear to us that Facebook has bigger plans for fb.me. It could be that any content coming out of Facebook could utilize the fb.me URL. It could even offer integrations with Facebook analytics, Facebook Connect and other Facebook tools — something that should concern Bit.ly.

Our guess is that you should expect to see a lot more of fb.me very soon.

Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter

Tags: facebook

Read More... [Source: Mashable!]

Samsung ST5500 WiFi camera hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You're going to have to take our word for it: Ubisoft's promo for Just Dance is easily the best video on the Nintendo Channel this week. Not only does it feature fat people falling down (who are always fodder for a shameless laugh), but it's got kids dancing and -- well, we don't want to ruin the rest for you. Just boot up your Wii and check it out. Seriously, do it.

Head past the break for the full list of this week's content.

Continue reading This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Just people dancing

This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Just people dancing originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Food

They have long served the professional and student demographic. Now, quick service restaurant Qdoba Mexican Grill wants to appeal to families.

The restaurant chain debut a kids meal option, and is marketing it by having a "Kids Eat Free" weekend Dec 19-20, offering one free kids' meal to children 12 and younger with an order of one regular entree, according to a press release.

"We found that parents who come to our restaurants want fresh and nutritious choices for their children," said Gary Beisler, president and CEO of Qdoba, in the press release. "And, we found that children are engaged in making healthier meal decisions when they can be creative and make their own choices."

Continue reading Qdoba introduces kids meal

Qdoba introduces kids meal originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, News items

With the Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer approaching, opportunities for new and returning players to explore the game (or revisit it) have been more frequent than usual these days.

The latest offer comes via FilePlanet. If you're a FilePlanet subscriber, you can play the first part of the game for free in an unlimited trial. The offer is good until December 31st, but as long as you download before then, your trial will not expire. FilePlanet has a limited number of keys for this offer as well.

As a bonus, anyone taking FilePlanet up on their offer will receive a free Enruned Kosalan Ring, which was previously an in-game bonus available for buying an Age of Conan ZBoard keyset. The ring offers melee, ranged, and magic damage bonuses, as well as a +1% evade chance bonus.

The offer is available to customers in North America and Europe, and can be accessed through FilePlanet.

[Edit: Apparently, this trial is available on the AoC main site as well, not just FilePlanet.]

FilePlanet offers unlimited free trial for Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could the the PS3 Slim have been even slimmer? It could have, according to Sony's Masayuki Chatani, but it would've cost you. That word comes from a wide-ranging interview Chatani gave to Tech-On!, in which he revealed (seemingly for the first time) that Sony had considered using SSD drives or even network storage to further reduce the size of the console. SSD drives were ultimately rejected, as you might have guessed, due to cost reasons, and Chatani says that network storage ultimately proved to still be simply too impractical for a game console. He also said that the PS3 could have been made slimmer if Sony had just left the power supply on the outside, but that would have "imposed restrictions on transport and use, making it harder to use freely." Not a whole lot in the way of big revelations otherwise, but you can check out the complete interview at the link below.

Sony considered SSD, network storage for PS3 Slim originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the days following AOL’s relaunch as a separate company, CEO Tim Armstrong is already looking to jettison some of its properties that take away from its new focus as a digital content producer. That means getting rid of properties and assets that don’t contribute to the AOL brand and that don’t focus heavily on AOL’s goals for the future.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, AOL is in talks to sell ICQ, the once prominent — but now archaic — instant messaging service. The Wall Street Journal also says that Bebo, the social network AOL acquired in 2008 for a jaw-dropping $850 million, may be on the block.

In the ensuing 20 months, Bebo hasn’t quite turned out to be the profit center AOL hoped it would be. Although traffic was up after a redesign in February, Bebo has continued to languish as European users migrate to Facebook, like the rest of the world.

Spending nearly $1 billion on Bebo — which at this point is nearly a third of AOL’s valuation as a separate entity — was just one of many, many missteps for the former web titan.

With ICQ, the situation is a bit less embarrassing. AOL acquired ICQ in 1998 for $287 million. At the time, ICQ was a huge competitor to AOL’s AIM service, which had only recently become available to non-AOL subscribers. The Wall Street Journal says that ICQ’s potential buyer, Facebook investor Digital Sky Technologies, could pay as much as $300 million for the service. That’s not bad for a service that has never had a strong association with the AOL brand.

It’s fascinating how quickly Armstrong is making moves to streamline AOL into a leaner, more focused company. What are you thoughts on the new AOL? Where does the Bebo acquisition rank in the company’s long line of bad business moves?

Reviews: Bebo, Facebook

Tags: aol, bebo, icq

Read More... [Source: Mashable!]

It can be the moment that every parent, or doting grandparent, dreads. You ask that special child in your life what they want for Christmas, Hanukkah or their birthday and they look at you with utter seriousness and say a gorilla. They of course want a real one.

Maybe they fancy a giraffe or a polar bear, and you bemoan all those hours that you insisted they watch nature shows instead of cartoons. While their friends will be satisfied with SpongeBob or Dora themed plastic toys, your little angel wants an entire ecosystem of animals in their bedroom. The worst part about it is that they honestly believe that you can fulfill their wishes.

Now with the help of Piutre, who manufactures elegant, lifelike, and some life-sized stuffed animals, you can give that special someone the next best thing. Each animal is sewn, shaped and finished entirely by hand in Italy. Originally designed by Riccardo Chiavetta, a master toy artisan, these stuffed animals are made to resemble as much as possible their real life counter parts. For example a sitting polar bear measures 71" inches high and horses and ponies range from 79" inches to 53" inches in height. An artist is responsible for each individual piece from start to finish and this careful attention detail includes lifelike noses and eyes on all of the creatures. The collection is incredibly diverse featuring cats, dogs (over 40 different breeds), farm animals, all sorts of bears and wild animals.

The prices are as high as the quality and the larger life size animals tend to be in the low to mid five figure range with some species going for much more as the 79" Indian Elephant would set you back $8,500. Puppies and kittens are priced at less eye popping levels in and around the $100 mark.

So when that little girl in your life looks you in the eye and requests a pony, there is a way to say yes.

Filed under: Children

Spectacular Stuffed Animals for Holiday Giving originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not quite sure if you've noticed, but some pretty significant shifting is going on in the heart of Espoo. Just days after Nokia announced that it would be closing up its flagship shops in London, New York and Chicago, in flies this: a new Ovi Store is already in the works, and if all goes well, it'll be available for public use as early as next Spring. For those keeping tabs, that's right around a year after the (admittedly tumultuous) launch of the existing platform, which has yet to live up to the firm's own expectations according to George Linardos. In case you're wondering (and c'mon, you're wondering), Mr. Linardos is the head of products at Nokia's media group, and in speaking with the Financial Times, he confessed that the Ovi Store "had been outpaced by Apple." He also admitted that the chorus of complaints from end-users were driving the next version, noting that his company has "screens up in [their] offices running Twitter feeds [of gripes] all day long." In fact, he likened the act to "sitting there and getting punched in the face."

As for the next go 'round, he's looking to take a "tortoise and hare" approach when it comes to competing with Apple, who he himself claims "radically changed" the world around us when the App Store was introduced. As it stands, George sees the Ovi Store as a "jambalaya" of services, with Ben Wood -- an analyst at CCS Insight -- proclaiming that "none of those [work] properly." In the future, Ben has confessed that Ovi needs "to get all their ducks lined up, including hardware, software and services." So, what exactly will said ducks look like early next year? We're told that new features will include "in-application payments, a redesigned user interface that makes apps easier to discover and faster operation," and beyond that, the outfit is also looking to toss in recommendations based on the app purchases of their friends. This is definitely stirring stuff to hear from someone deep within Nokia's lairs, and it certainly makes us all the more excited to see what the next generation will bring. Nothing like a little competition in the market place to really light a fire up under someone's posterior, right?

Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android's always in need of a better browser. Hell, every mobile platform is -- yes, even your precious Pres and iPhones can always stand to eke out a little more speed, a little more rendering capability, and a little more functionality (yeah, that's right, Flash), and Opera Mobile has always been at or near the top of the game. Version 10 -- which is currently in public beta for Windows Mobile and Symbian -- has now been turned loose on Android, but the catch is that it's only available to carriers and manufacturers of devices right now. The reason? Opera claims that these versions "present limitations that hinder mass consumer distribution" without elaborating -- and if you ask us, Android's built-in browser has plenty of "limitations" in its own right, so seriously, Opera, go ahead and turn it loose. We won't judge. Okay, maybe we will, but we'll go easy.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Opera Mobile 10 for Android now available, but not to you originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Arts and Culture, Israel, Czech Republic, Poland

If you're looking for a great way to impress a potential suitor with how well-traveled you are, you can't go wrong with hanging a massive world map on your wall at home and sticking pins in the countries you've visited. "You've been to Croatia!" she'll marvel. "You are so worldly and continental! Now let me slip into something a little more comfortable..."

Of course, if this approach works for you, have at it. But to me it lacks subtlety and humility, and it feels a bit too much like you're turning the world into a checklist of countries to be "completed."

Now, buying traditional souvenirs can be a great way to incorporate the feel of a certain country into your home. Around my house, for example, I've got rugs and wall hangings from Morocco, beer steins from the Czech Republic, and a neatly-framed map of Poland (with, alas, no pins.)

But I find that even these displays are a little troublesome; after all, I don't want to be the kind of person who ostentatiously displays his wonderful trips for all his visitors to admire. When people ask why I have a map of Poland on my wall, for example, I always groan and mutter, "I got it when I was in Poland." Then I always feel like adding, "But I didn't hang it on my wall so you'd ask that question... Honest!"

The trick to bringing your trip back home is to try to create an effective, meaningful reminder of your trip without turning it into a showy display of your own worldliness. Here are a couple ideas beyond sticking pins in a map:

Continue reading Beyond pins on a map: Three great physical reminders of your trips

Beyond pins on a map: Three great physical reminders of your trips originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Other Events, Steve Jobs, Apple

Time magazine has revealed its final seven candidates for Person of the Year, and one Mr. Steven P. Jobs has made the list. Though the editors of Time have already chosen the winner (to be announced on The Today Show on Wednesday morning), MSNBC.com wants to know who us average folk would vote for.

At the risk of our audience being slightly biased, I'm going to release the same poll here. So vote below, and don't feel bad if you don't think Steve should get it. He's already won another little award this year.

TUAWSteve Jobs up for Time's 'Person of the Year' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTS, App Store

Our eagle-eyed blogger David Winograd sent out a breaking news post Friday night to let all of you know that there were changes afoot in the iTunes App Store. Sure enough, those changes appear to have migrated through most, if not all, apps by now.

In my opinion, the new design makes more sense in the overall iTunes 9.0.2 layout than the "old" design did. The app icon is now very large (blue highlight in above screenshot), so apps with poorly designed icons will need to be retooled by developers in order to create something that grabs potential purchasers with one glance.

The app screenshots in the old version of iTunes were apparently confusing to a surprising number of users. The new design now shows two or three full screenshots of each app in action (see yellow highlight above), with a visible scroll bar at the bottom of the screenshots indicating whether the user can scroll to the side to see more. The old version simply showed one screenshot and required clicking on the picture to move to the next screen image.

Continue reading All about the new, improved App Store in iTunes 9.0.2

TUAWAll about the new, improved App Store in iTunes 9.0.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]