2008 January 28 | money news blog

28 01 2008

Amphibian: One (more) phone to rule them all

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: Internet, Web services, VoIP, web 2.0

Startup Ribbit is preparing to launch in impressive looking internet telephony service in a few months. The company’s Amphibian phone service provides a ton of features, but in a nutshell you could describe Amphibian as a cross between Google’s GrandCentral and Skype with a few extra bits thrown in like an open developer platform and some social networking features.

Here’s how it works. You can make calls from Ribbit.com or any website with an embedded Amphibian phone application. You will also be able to load up an Adobe AIR version of the software so you can make calls without firing up your web browser. You can see a list of received calls on the web, and you can see user profiles for missed or incoming calls if they’re available.

But you can also link Amphibian to your other phone numbers of VoIP accounts. So if someone calls your home, work, or cellphone number or your Skype, MSN Messenger, or Google Talk account you can take the call using Amphibian.

Ribbit has also partnered with SimulScribe, a service that transcribes voicemail into text. This allows you to read or even search your voicemail. SimulScribe integration doesn’t come free though. According to TechCrunch, Ribbit’s business plan is to allow users to make Personal computer to PC phone calls for free, but the company will charge a subscription fee for calls to telephones. Users who want to purchase additional services from third parties like SimulScribe will pay an additional fee, although we’re sure some add-ons will be offered for free.

[via TechCrunch]

28 01 2008

Find the best deals for photo printing with PrintRates

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: World wide web, Web services

You may already know that you’ll probably save money by ordering prints of your digital pics on the internet or at the local drug store than by printing them yourself. They don’t call printer ink black gold for nothing. But all on the web photo printing services are not created equal.

PrintRates lets you find the best deals meeting your criteria. You can choose what size prints you’re looking for, how many prints you need, and how swiftly you’d like them shipped. The site compares rates for more than 50 different services in the US and UK. There are also user-submitted reviews which can come in handy when making your decision if the cheapest site is one you’ve never heard of before.

[via makeuseof]

28 01 2008

eBayers save billions each year

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: Business, World wide web, Web services

There’s a reason we love to shop on eBay and other auction sites that sell new and used goods. It’s cheaper to buy second hand stuff than to walk into a store and buy it in a shiny new package. How can you put a value on that? Pretty easily it turns out.

Two researchers at the University of Maryland found that consumers saved more than $7 billion in 2003. While the team didn’t look at all of the data from last year, their model estimates that the number might have climbed to $19 billion in 2007.

What’s interesting about these findings is that the researchers looked at data from Cniper, a web service that places last minute bids for eBay users. By comparing the maximum amount users were willing to pay with the actual ending price of auctions, the researchers determine that the average customer was willing to spend $4 more per auction than they actually spent.

So on the one hand, eBay and similar sites are proving their worth by allowing users to save some serious money. On the other hand, the study shows that sellers could be making a lot more money than they currently are. Can we blame eBay for the impending recession? Probably not. But it’s always fun to have a few more places to point your finger, isn’t it?

[via ZDnet/Reuters]

28 01 2008

Amphibian: One (more) phone to rule them all

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: World wide web, Web services, VoIP, web 2.0

Startup Ribbit is preparing to launch in impressive looking internet telephony service in a few months. The company’s Amphibian phone service provides a ton of features, but in a nutshell you could describe Amphibian as a cross between Google’s GrandCentral and Skype with a few extra bits thrown in like an open developer platform and some social networking features.

Here’s how it works. You can make calls from Ribbit.com or any website with an embedded Amphibian phone application. You’ll also be able to load up an Adobe AIR version of the software so you can make calls without firing up your web browser. You can see a list of received calls on the internet, and you can see user profiles for missed or incoming calls if they’re available.

But you can also link Amphibian to your other phone numbers of VoIP accounts. So if someone calls your home, work, or cellphone number or your Skype, MSN Messenger, or Google Talk account you can take the call using Amphibian.

Ribbit has also partnered with SimulScribe, a service that transcribes voicemail into text. This grants you to read or even search your voicemail. SimulScribe integration doesn’t come free though. According to TechCrunch, Ribbit’s business plan is to grant users to make PC to Computer phone calls for free, but the company will charge a subscription fee for calls to telephones. Users who want to purchase additional services from third parties like SimulScribe will pay an additional fee, although we’re sure some add-ons will be offered for free.

[via TechCrunch]

28 01 2008

McDonald’s hit by weak U.S. sales

Posted by: in Companies Competitive Strategy

Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Rumors, Products and services, Competitive strategy, McDonald’s (MCD), Recession

Shares of fast food giant McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) traded in the red all day in the wake of disappointing U.S. sales figures for its fourth quarter. The company reported its fourth quarter numbers this morning, and despite beating analyst estimates for its earnings, the stock has been selling off all day.

Going into this mornings earnings announcement, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 71 cents per share, and the company actually boasted earnings of 73 cents, but earnings were overshadowed by the fact that the company had flat same stores sales growth during December, raising concerns of the impact of slowing U.S. economy.

While December’s same store sales have sparked investor concerns, the company is estimating that January’s same store sales in its U.S. stores will grow by about 1.5%. European same store sales are estimated to grow at least 8%.

In an attempt to fend off worries about 2008, McDonald’s tried to calm investors by stating that the main reason for the weak December sales figures was uncommon cold weather across the nation during the month, but Wall Street does not seem to be buying it. Shares closed the day down 5.6% to $51.07, down $3.03.

Wall Street will continue to worry about the company’s outlook at least until we see the final number for January same store sales. Until then, we will still have to question whether December numbers were a result of wintry weather, or if we’re seeing signs of deeper troubles for the fast food giant.

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 internet investment advisory service Investor’s Observer

28 01 2008

Upload your video to several sites at once with Hey!Spread

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: Video, Web services

If you want to get your video seen, really seen, then chances are you upload it to a couple of different video sharing sites. But who has the time to do that?

We wrote about TubeMogul in July, a site that grants you to upload your video to a bunch of sites at once, and now we’ve encounter Hey!Spread another site that’ll do all your dirty work for you.

Hey!Spread is from the same company that created the Hey!Watch file converter. Hey!Spread can upload video to Sclipo, Sumo, Sevenload, YouTube, Google, Dailymotion, Blip, Metacafe, Yahoo, Facebook, Myspace, Vimeno, Revver, Veoh, Vsocial, Photobucket, and Putfile. You give the site your log-in creds for the sites you’re interesting in uploading your video to, upload a video file, press begin and then Hey!Spread will convert your video appropriately for each site you specified and upload it, sending you an email when the job is done.

Besides being able to upload your video to tons of places at once Hey!Spread can also watermark your videos for you and can take a video you already have on YouTube and distribute it to other sites using the videos YouTube URL.

Hey!Spread was free until January of this year and is now charging users $.05 per video site it uploads your video to. Depending on your video needs, it’s capability watermark, pull from YouTube, and upload to twenty sites instead of TubeMoguls 13 might make it worth the expense. TubeMogul is currently free.

28 01 2008

eBayers save billions each year

Posted by: in Services

Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services

There’s a reason we love to shop on eBay and other auction sites that sell new and used goods. It’s cheaper to buy second hand stuff than to walk into a store and buy it in a shiny new package. How can you put a value on that? Pretty easily it turns out.

Two researchers at the University of Maryland found that consumers saved more than $7 billion in 2003. While the team didn’t look at all of the data from last year, their model estimates that the number may have climbed to $19 billion in 2007.

What’s interesting about these findings is that the researchers looked at data from Cniper, a web service that places last minute bids for eBay users. By comparing the maximum amount users were willing to pay with the actual ending price of auctions, the researchers determine that the average customer was willing to spend $4 more per auction than they actually spent.

So on the one hand, eBay and similar sites are proving their worth by allowing users to save some serious money. On the other hand, the study shows that sellers could be making a lot more money than they currently are. Can we blame eBay for the impending recession? Probably not. But it’s always fun to have a few more places to point your finger, isn’t it?

[via ZDnet/Reuters]

28 01 2008

Snopes Pushing Zango Adware

Posted by: in Internet Finance

DaMan writes “Here’s something that isn’t an urban legend — Snopes, the popular urban legends reference site, has been pushing adware, for at least 6 months, to users via ads displayed on its Web site. No one seems to have called them on it until recently.”

28 01 2008

CME Group in speaks to purchase Nymex for about $11 billion

Posted by: in Companies Competitive Strategy

Filed under: International markets, Deals, Competitive strategy, Commodities, Oil, Agriculture

CME Group is preliminary talks to purchase energy/precious metals market Nymex, CME announced Monday, in a statement.

Under terms being discussed, CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME), the world’s largest derivatives exchange, would pay Nymex Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMX) $36 per share in cash and 0.123 of a CME common share, which would value the deal at about $11 billion, Reuters reported Monday.

Nymex shares rose $9.01 to $116.17 on the news, while CME’s shares fell $12.77 to $616.01 in Monday afternoon trading.

CME Group was created in July 2007 via the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade in a $9.3-billion deal. Nymex, which is short for the New York Mercantile Exchange, went public in November 2006.

Nymex is the world’s largest, physical commodities futures exchange, and features contracts for crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, and electricity; and precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. CME’s product strengths include interest rates, foreign exchange, stock indexes, and agricultural commodities.

A logical deal

Independent stock analyst C. Leonard Bauer told BloggingStocks Monday a potential CME/Nymex could get done, “as the logic is there”. Bauer added that he does not have a rating on either company, nor does he own shares of either company.

Nymex’s products have nearly no overlap with CME’s strengths in interest rates, foreign exchange, stock index and agricultural commodities, he said. Almost, he underscored. However, a CME/Nymex deal would have “an 80% or better market share in U.S. futures and futures on option volume,” he said. Any proposed deal is subject to review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The onus would be on CME to demonstrate to public officials how in the electronic age, the number of electronic exchanges would counteract CME’s market dominance in that segment,” Bauer stated. “The issue isn’t one of global competition. The issue is ‘how will a CME/Nymex merger lower trading prices and improve services?’ If they can demonstrate that, then that dimension, and the product mix, and economies of scale points would most likely put the deal in motion.”