I Art You

Before I leave on a trip one of the biggest hassles I face is finding a place to exchange some currency without being robbed blind. The currency exchange kiosks in malls and airports charge an arm and a leg and the banks are not much better. They essentially make up their own exchange rate and then charge you an additional percent based on their inflated fee.
Thats why I am excited to see the launch of PeerFX a peer to peer currency exchange system. Right now they only offer exchanges in US and Canadian currencies. Since you need to have a dollar account to participate I am not sure if there are any real savings for the average consumer, never the less I want to give it a try the next time I exchange some currency. [Source]

Miscellaneous findings is a entirely new type of article we are going to be running on a bi-weekly visits. The column will cover a wide range of topics centered around tech products, investments and the future of everything! Read on and enjoy.

1) Alternative to Jet Fuel: A new desert friendly plants seeds could change the world. Research the Jatropha Bush! [Source]

2) Android based picture frames and PMP’s coming soon, slick design, low price and beautiful features. Check out the GiiNii [Source]

3) Hyperkin’s FC Mobile II is one of the greatest things you can buy for $60. Play NES cartridges on the go with a portable player or on your TV with included controllers and even a duck hunt gun. [Source]

4) Atlas Shrugged is selling like hot cakes. John Galt was right. [Source]

I only recently heard about the concept of buying, selling and trading gift cards. In retrospect it is a relatively simple idea, but until you discover its possible to get rid of unwanted gift cards you are simply stuck with them until you lose them or they expire. A friend of mine first introduced me to the idea of selling unwanted gift cards after they tried a new site called Giftah. They had a great deal of success unloading their cards at decent prices so I decided to give it a try as well. Unlike selling a card on Craigslist or e-bay you have a dedicated customer base who is looking to buy gift cards. The site also guaranteed high value transactions so buyers are safe. Since I had so much success selling my gift cards I decided to try buying one. I managed to buy used gift cards at huge discounts. One card I received for 70% below the retail value! The experience selling and buying gift cards has been great and I have managed to save a ton of cash.

There are a number of online companies where you can post software projects you want coded and freelance workers from around the world will bid the price of the project down to the minimum level they will do it for. You can get software made very quickly and cheaply using these services. If you have had a project in mind for awhile now but have not had the time or money to get it done check out these sources and see how easily you can bring your project to life.

1) E-Lance

2) Rent A Coder

3) Script Lance

4) FX-Web Solution

Google has recently announced a new contest/program called 10^100 were they are looking to invest millions of dollars in ideas that have the potential to change the world..for the better. Basically if you have a great idea but no way to implement it you can enter it into the contest. People will vote on which ideas they like the best and the final winners will be determined by a panel of Google employees.
There are a number of different categories ideas can fall under.

Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don’t fit into any category at all.

Source

Wherever TV’s International TV Receiver allows your to access hundred of international TV stations. Why would you want to do this? Well there is the free TV, and for those of use that have learned/are learning another language it means a great way to keep your skills sharp and learn more about a culture of your choice. The Wherever receiver can be hooked up directly to your TV and does not require any PC to work.
Although many of the channels are rather uninteresting there are a lot of gems in the thousands of channels to choose from. You can easily get your news, sports, sitcoms, and music videos for your country of choice. If you have a global perspective, are studying another culture, or have a cultural heritage you want to stay in touch with Wherever TV is for you.

South Korean newspaper the Chosun Ilbo has reported that a Pyongyang business man has attempted to bring a McDonalds to the reclusive communist country. Although a McDonalds in North Korea would be a significant symbol of change McDonalds has declined the offer. McDonalds sights “the poor infrastructure and distribution network and probable lack of demand”, as their key reasons for not declining the offer.
Although I can understand McDonald’s reservations about doing business in North Korea the press coverage and publicity may be enough to outweigh the cost of opening up a small McDonalds in Korea even if only for a limited time. Perhaps a McDonalds Express in Pyongyang?

If you have ever been interested in opening a franchise look no further then the Franchise Gator website. Before I discovered franchise gator it would take be hundreds of hours to sift through different franchises I was interested in. Even if I found one I liked i would often find that all the positions in my area had been filled or were otherwise unavailable.  The Franchise Gator has thousands of franchises listed on its website and organizes the content in an easy to read way. You can save hours of time and browse thousands of franchises you have have never heard of before. If you are looking for your perfect franchise opportunity look no further then the Franchise Gator website for all your franchise information needs.

Esquire reporter Colby Buzzell has a great in depth article about China’s economic miracle city Shenzhen. Although the article is a little on the longer side it paints a nice picture of the city and the ex pats as well as the Chinese who have made it there home.

There are a lot of interesting little facts about Shenzhen that even those who have traveled there would find interesting. For example the first McDonald’s in China was built in Shenzhen. The city which is just across the boarder from Hong Kong has been the industrial heartland for China’s rapid economic growth. Anyone who has visited the city realizes there is something special about Shanzhen and Buzzell does a good job of capturing that spirit.

Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) recently released a report speculating about a price cut for the Xbox 360 followed by a PS3 price cut. I followed the stories link back to the EEDAR website and discovered what must be one of the most interesting jobs I have seen. Combing both Economics and the consumer electronics industry EEDAR advises companies in the process of designing games and analyzes their markets. Working for this company would be a gamers dream come true!