Business

All to often we've found ourselves in a meeting where people start trying to figure out what needs to get done, and what relies on something else.  We have plenty of napkins that turned into business plans on our walls (and some even made the light of day!)  Here is a tool we picked up for making Mind Maps.  Jump straight to the software at bubble.us, or get a brief intro from the guys who brought this to our attention, LifeHacker.
P.S.  Props to the bubbl.us for making their entire site https, finally, one more site (in addition to ours) that is entirely https for customer security!

The parade of downsized items continues with the category that reputedly created the concept of shrinking products — candy bars. An alert Mouse Print* reader  noticed that his favorite “king size” Snickers bar was now nearly half an ounce lighter. Souring the shelves of candy sellers, we were able to find both the old and the new products.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Read on for even more changes from Mouse Print

Insurance is an expensive but necessary financial burden—no insurance is more expensive than building a brand new house out of pocket, for instance. Minimize the costs of insurance by playing the field. Photo by Wonderlane.

When it comes to things like car and home insurance, most of us haven't put our time in when it comes to comparison shopping. Many people have the same home insurance company their parents had or the one the bank or Realtor recommended when they were getting ready to buy a home.

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Firefox extension The Camelizer adds a small button to online retailers Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy that, when clicked, displays price history charts and item watch features to help you make a smart buy.

(Click the image for a closer look.)

Once you've installed the experimental extension (the experimental part means you'll have to tick a checkbox agreeing that it could be

From the great folks at Gadling:

From peaking through the curtain to first class to eyeing the VIP check-in line at the hotel, travelers are envious creatures. Someone else always has something we want - be it an experience, device or amenity. We fantasize about the perfect travel experiences, wondering what it must be like to [fill in the blank with what you dig most].

Nobody knows how to travel quite like the billionaires on the Forbes 400. Sure, this crowd isn't hitting hostels, mingling with the locals and doing all the stuff we say we prefer. They're busy with butlers and maids and yachts and

As a rule, extended warranties are rarely worth the extra cash. Tech site CNET goes in depth on why you don't want to shell out for the extended warranty, then discusses when it may actually be worth it.

Photo by andrew_cosand.

On the "just forget it" side of things, CNET had this to say:

[T]he majority of gadgets won't ever need to be repaired—though retailers and device makers don't usually share statistics about how often they break, Consumer Reports has done studies and found that 3- to 4-year-old gadgets don't

Job hunting? Yeah, who isn’t? Unemployment is Nearing 10%

More people than ever are interviewing for a job right now. Most people think that the actual interview and how you conduct yourself by answering the ridiculous questions are the deciding factors in landing that job. This is only true if the human resources person is actually any good at their job. In my experience, the HR rep is the most ignorant “professional” that you will speak to, and they ask scripted questions that they found online.

Revealed: The ghost fleet of the recession

By Simon Parry

The biggest and most secretive gathering of ships in maritime history lies at anchor east of Singapore. Never before photographed, it is bigger than the U.S. and British navies combined but has no crew, no cargo and no destination  -  and is why your Christmas stocking may be on the light side this year

The 'ghost fleet' near Singapore. The world's ship owners and government economists would prefer you not to see this symbol of the depths of the plague still crippling the world's economies

We recently highlighted a video dispelling ten credit score myths in 60 seconds. Now the Wall Street Journal has chimed in with some other myths you should know, including why gunning for that oft-elusive perfect credit score is a waste of time.

Photo by TrinityCreditServices.

According to the WSJ, a credit score of 800 or higher won't make you more attractive to lenders than a lower, though comparable credit score.

Raising our kids and being an entrepreneur wasn’t easy. Being in a startup and having a successful relationship and family was very hard work.  But entrepreneurs can be great spouses and parents.

This post is not advice, nor is it recommendation of what you should do; it’s simply what my wife and I did to raise our kids in the middle of starting multiple companies. Our circumstances were unique and your mileage will vary.

After Convergent, I was a co-founder of my next two startups: MIPS and Ardent.  And while I had great adventures, by the time I was in my mid-30’s I knew I wanted a family. (My friends noticed that I was picking up other people’s babies a lot.) I didn’t know if I was ready, but I finally could see myself as a father.

I met my wife on a blind date and we discovered that not only did we share the same interests but we were also both ready for kids. My wife knew a bit about startups.  Out of Stanford Business School she went to work for Apple as an evangelist and then joined Ansa Software, the developer of Paradox, a Mac-database.