Highest valued currency unit

1. Kuwait - dinar - KWD
2. Bahrain - dinar - BHD
3. Oman - rial - OMR
4. Latvia - lats - LVL
5.1 United Kingdom - pound - GBP
5.2 Falkland Islands - pound - FKP
5.3 Gibraltar - pound - GIP
5.4 Guernsey - - pound - GGP
5.5 Jersey - pound [4] - JEP
5.6 Isle of Man - pound - IMP
5.7 Saint Helena - pound - SHP
6. European Union (Eurozone) - euro - EUR
7. Jordan - dinar - JOD
8. Cayman Islands - dollar - KYD
9. Azerbaijan - manat - AZN
10. Cuba - convertible peso - CUC
11. Ghana - cedi - GHS
12.1 United States - dollar - USD
12.2 Bahamas - dollar - BSD
12.3 Bermuda - dollar - BMD
12.4 Panama - balboa - PAB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest_valued_currency_unit

Gadgets Technology to Watch in 2008

iPhone Redux :: Apple's Next iPhone
As it first needs to approval from the Federal Communications Commission, it will have to be disclosed publicly a few months earlier. Expect Apple CEO Steve Jobs to announce iPhone 2.0 no later than March, in time for a July release.
The next iteration is likely to include access to faster 3G wireless networks, speedier Wi-Fi connections, and GPS reception. Also rumored, but not confirmed by Apple: an iPhone mini.

iPhone Rival :: BlackBerry 9000
A major iPhone rival is Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry. The devices may appear to be aimed at vastly different audiences, but they overlap in an increasing number of ways. BlackBerry phones now play music and video, while iPhones handle text messaging and e-mail, and are increasingly in demand among business users.
The BlackBerry 9000 series, as yet only the subject of rumor, is said to look an awful lot like an iPhone, even sporting touch-screen technology.

Connected Navigation :: Dash Express
Navigation devices, with their ability to get users from place to place using Global Positioning System technology, were all the rage in 2007. In the coming year, expect them to become Internet aware.
In February, startup Dash Navigation will debut its $600 Dash Express, a car navigation device that uses wireless phone networks to get live traffic updates and load addresses and routes from a PC or Mac. The navigation industry will be watching closely for signs of the product's success. If it is successful, Dash may find itself in the crosshairs of a suitor.

Mobile Matchmaker :: GE Cell Fusion
GE's Cell Fusion products let you link your cell phone using wireless Bluetooth technology. The point is to mesh the sound quality and other benefits of a landline phone with the convenience and cost savings of a cell phone. Consumers could, for example, take calls to a cell phone on a home phone when the wireless device is charging, or make long-distance calls on a home phone while using a cell-phone plan.

Digital Readers :: Amazon Kindle
Reviewers called it ugly and overpriced. But consumers couldn't get enough of Amazon.com's (AMZN) Kindle e-book device. Despite the pans, the item was sold out in a matter of days and Amazon is rushing to replenish the supply.
While e-book readers are still a curiosity for many in the mainstream, the concept simply won't die. Sony (SNE) is on the second generation of its digital reader, and eyes will be on Amazon for evidence of strong sales.

Smartpens :: Nokia, Livescribe, Epos
Digital pens, a footnote from the last tech bubble, are poised for a second run at commercial success in 2008 thanks to products from no fewer than three vendors.
In February, Livescribe will introduce its smartpen, which not only records your written words so they can be read on a computer, but also records surrounding sounds—an obvious boon to college students taking lecture notes. Others pens from Epos and Nokia (NOK) stick to storing what you write on a computer.

Wi-Fi Video Phones :: CREATIVE Technology
Wi-Fi calling, a category that includes Apple's Touch and iPhone as well as devices made by Cisco Systems (CSCO), is set to expand in 2008.
A notable addition, judging from FCC filings, is the InPerson from Creative Technology (CREAF). It looks a little like a laptop computer, but is aimed at making Internet videoconferencing calls without a PC.

Open Cell Phone :: Google's Android
The first phones bearing Google's (GOOG) Android operating system are expected to hit the market in the second half of 2008—just in time, it would seem, to compete with the second-generation iPhone and whatever new BlackBerry device Research In Motion cooks up.
The cost of the OS (it's free) can't help but upend the competitive landscape for smartphones, but only if Android lives up to the hype.

Built PC Tough :: Solid-state PC hard drives
Hard drives are delicate. Notebook PCs tend to be dropped. It's a recipe for data disaster. One answer is solid-state hard drives, which store data using flash memory chips, rather than the spinning glass platter of a traditional hard drive.
Already appearing in some high-end notebooks from Dell (DELL), solid-state hard drives are likely to make a bigger splash across the mainstream PC market in 2008. The benefits for users are faster boot-up times and notebooks that are less sensitive to drops. The downside? Higher cost per gigabyte, though the prices on flash are dropping fast.

Make-or-Break Year :: Palm
The company whose name was once synonymous with handheld computing is in the doldrums. Palm's been there before and recovered. The question is whether it can bounce back again. Palm's Treo line of smartphones is looking hopelessly outdated compared with the BlackBerry and iPhone; its Foleo clamshell device, announced with much fanfare, attracted shrugs, and was ultimately killed.
Palm's latest device, the Treo 755p, was late getting out the door in time for the holidays. This could be Palm's make-or-break year. Devices running a badly needed update to the Palm operating system won't appear before 2009, raising the impolite question: Will anyone care by then?

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2007/tc20071228_333659.htm

America's Best-Paying Jobs

1. Surgeons : Treat diseases, injuries and deformities by invasive methods, such as manual manipulation or by using instruments and appliances.
Mean Annual Salary: $181,850
Top Paying Industry: Medical and diagnostic laboratories (NA)
Top Paying State: Maine ($196,960)
Top Paying Metro: St. Cloud, Minn. (NA)

2. Anesthesiologists : Administer anesthetics during surgery or other medical procedures.
Mean Annual Salary: $174,610
Top Paying Industry: Offices of physicians ($182,360)
Top Paying State: New Jersey ($197,780)
Top Paying Metro: Savannah, Ga. (NA)

3. Obstetricians and Gynecologists : Diagnose, treat and help prevent diseases of women, especially those affecting the reproductive system and the process of childbirth.
Mean Annual Salary: $174,490
Top Paying Industry: Insurance carriers ($189,640)
Top Paying State: South Dakota ($197,090)
Top Paying Metro: Tallahassee, Fla. (NA)

4. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons : Perform surgery on mouths and jaws.
Mean Annual Salary: $169,600
Top Paying Industry: Offices of physicians ($184,760)
Top Paying State: North Carolina (NA)
Top Paying Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wisconsin (NA)

5. Internists, General : Diagnose and provide nonsurgical treatment of diseases and injuries of internal organ systems.
Mean Annual Salary: $156,790
Top Paying Industry: Medical and diagnostic laboratories ($179,310)
Top Paying State: South Dakota ($186,000)
Top Paying Metro: Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, Fla. (NA)

6. Prosthodontists : Construct oral prostheses to replace missing teeth and other oral structures.
Mean Annual Salary: $156,710
Top Paying Industry: Offices of dentists ($182,640)
Top Paying State: Virginia (NA)
Top Paying Metro: Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia-West Virginia ($191,090)

7. Orthodontists : Examine, diagnose and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies. Design and fabricate appliances to realign teeth and jaws.
Mean Annual Salary: $153,240
Top Paying Industry: Offices of dentists ($156,050)
Top Paying State: Washington (NA)
Top Paying Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. ($188,610)

8. Psychiatrists : Diagnose, treat and help prevent disorders of the mind.
Mean Annual Salary: $151,380
Top Paying Industry: Social advocacy organizations ($192,910)
Top Paying State: Colorado ($190,180)
Top Paying Metro: Springfield, Mo. ($195,450)

9. Chief Executives : Determine and formulate policies and provide the overall direction of companies or private and public sector organizations within the guidelines set up by a board of directors.
Mean Annual Salary: $140,880
Top Paying Industry: Securities and commodity exchanges ($189,950)
Top Paying State: New Jersey ($172,960)
Top Paying Metro: Jersey City, N.J. ($188,070)

10. Pediatricians, General : Diagnose, treat and help prevent children's diseases and injuries.
Mean Annual Salary: $140,000
Top Paying Industry: Elementary and secondary schools ($145,240)
Top Paying State: Louisiana ($176,810)
Top Paying Metro: Columbus, Ga.-Alabama ($193,640)

11. Family and General Practitioners : Diagnose, treat and help prevent diseases and injuries that commonly occur in the general population.
Mean Annual Salary: $137,980
Top Paying Industry: Medical and diagnostic laboratories ($170,500)
Top Paying State: Nevada ($173,660)
Top Paying Metro: Victoria, Texas (NA)

12. Physicians and Surgeons, All Other : All physicians and surgeons outside main specialties.
Mean Annual Salary: $137,100
Top Paying Industry: Medical and diagnostic laboratories ($177,500)
Top Paying State: Wisconsin ($174,370)
Top Paying Metro: Owensboro, Ky. (NA)

13. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers : Pilot and navigate the flight of multi-engine aircraft in regularly scheduled service for the transport of passengers and cargo.
Mean Annual Salary: $134,090
Top Paying Industry: Scheduled air transportation ($144,140)
Top Paying State: New York ($159,010)
Top Paying Metro: New York City ($175,130)

14. Dentists, General : Diagnose and treat diseases, injuries and malformations of teeth and gums and related oral structures.
Mean Annual Salary: $132,660
Top Paying Industry: Offices of dentists ($135,560)
Top Paying State: Alaska ($184,460)
Top Paying Metro: Colorado Springs, Colo. ($198,650)

15. Podiatrists : Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.
Mean Annual Salary: $111,130
Top Paying Industry: Offices of other health practitioners ($116,820)
Top Paying State: Kentucky ($170,740)
Top Paying Metro: Birmingham, Ala. ($185,230)

http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/06work_bestpayjobs_slide.html?thisSpeed=35000

The Top 100 Products from PC World

Google Apps Premier EditionVendor Site
Intel Core 2 Duo
Nintendo Wii
Verizon FiOS Vendor Site
RIM Blackberry 8800
Parallels Desktop
Pioneer Elite 1080p PRO-FHD1
Infrant Technologies ReadyNAS NV
Apple Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger"
Adobe Premiere Elements 3
Apple TV
Samsung SyncMaster 244T
BillP Studios WinPatrol
HP dv9000t
McAfee SiteAdvisor
Canonical Ubuntu 7.04 Review
Pandora.com Review
Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite
Paint.net
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000
SightSpeed 6
Kayak Web Site
Nikon D40X
New York Times Times Reader Vendor Site
Samsung BlackJack
Apple iPod (80GB) Test Report
Yahoo Mail Beta Vendor Site
TomTom One
Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP
Zoho Review
Google Gmail Vendor Site
Sling Media Slingbox Pro
Red Octane Guitar Hero 2
Google YouTube Vendor Site
Mozilla Firefox 2
Google Picasa
Nikon D80
Skype 3
Aliph Jawbone
Shure E500PTH
CyberPower Gamer Infinity Ultimate
Asus w5fe-2P025E
AVS Forum Web Site
Yahoo Flickr Review
Apple iPod Nano (8GB)
Nikon Coolpix S50c
Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP
OCZ Trifecta Secure Digital Memory Card
Archos 704 Wi-Fi
Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Tablet

The Web Celeb 25

1. Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira)
Age: 29
What: Celebrity gossip blogger
Where: http://perezhilton.com/
Hollywood stars fear the wrath of Perez Hilton, a controversial gossip blogger with a poison "pen." Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, styles himself as "The Queen of Mean" and has earned a rabid following, thanks to his sense of humor, snarky voice and irreverent habits--like doodling rude captions on paparazzi photos. His blog is hugely popular, despite recent missteps, including erroneously reporting the death of Fidel Castro. And Perez is increasingly becoming a TV star, with gigs including guest-hosting The View, appearing as a contestant on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar and hosting his own series of specials, What Perez Sez, on VH1.

2. Michael Arrington
Age: 37
What: Tech blogger
Where: http://www.techcrunch.com/
Who do savvy investors and tech-business cognoscenti turn to for help finding the next big thing? Michael Arrington, corporate attorney, entrepreneur and editor of the influential TechCrunch blog. The site obsessively profiles and reviews Internet entrepreneurs, products and services--and a mere mention of a company on its pages can make or break a start-up. Arrington has become a Silicon Valley star, one of the most influential business writers in the world, and is regularly cited or quoted in other media.

3. Mark Frauenfelder
Age: 46
What: Editor, blogger, illustrator
Where: http://www.boingboing.net/
When Mark Fraunfelder co-founded technology and culture 'zine Boing Boing in 1988, few would have predicted the project would eventually evolve into a new media giant. But in its current incarnation, Boing Boing is one of the most read and linked-to blogs in the world--so big that three of the five editors appear on this edition of the Web Celeb 25. Frauenfelder scores extra points--and ranks higher on the list than his co-editors--thanks to his work as the editor-in-chief of do-it-yourself magazine MAKE, a geek favorite. This year, he published a book, Rule The Web, about "how to do anything and everything on the internet--better, faster, easier." Boing Boing's expansion into podcasts and videocasts further increases his visibility.

4. Seth Godin
Age: 47
What: Marketing guru
Where: http://www.sethgodin.com/
In his book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin says that the key to success is to find a way to stand out--to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins. Godin himself may be the best example of how this theory works: The marketing expert is a demigod on the Web, a best-selling author, highly sought-after lecturer, successful entrepreneur, respected pundit and high-profile blogger. He is uniquely respected for his understanding of the Internet, and his essays and opinions are widely read and quoted--online and off.

5. Cory Doctorow
Age: 36
What: Author and blogger
Where: http://www.craphound.net/
Cory Doctorow is a prominent activist for digital rights, and serves as a fellow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He's one of the editors of Boing Boing, a hugely influential and popular blog about technology, culture and politics. And he's also a science fiction novelist, particularly famous on the Web, where he gives his novels away for free (For more, see his essay, " Giving It Away.") In 2007, Doctorow raised his profile with a new short story collection, Overclocked, numerous columns and articles around the Web (including on Forbes.com) and participation in Boing Boing's new podcasts and videocasts.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/12/18/web-celeb-fame-tech-cx_de_07webceleb_1218top_slide.html

World Ranking for Economic

Most Expensive Countries to Live in
1. Japan
2. South Korea
3. Russia
4. Taiwan
5. Norway
6. Hong Kong
7. Switzerland
8. Denmark
9. Argentina
10. China
11. Finland
12. Cote d'Ivoire
13. United States
14. Sweden
15. Venezuela
16. United Kingdom
17. Singapore
18. Oman
19. Jordan
20. Kuwait

Countries with the Highest Gross National Income per Capita
1. Norway - $43400
2. Switzerland - $40680
3. United States - $37870
4. Japan - $34180
5. Denmark - $33570
6. Sweden - $28910
7. United Kingdom - $28320
8. Finland - $27060
9. Ireland - $27010
10. Austria - $26810
[Source: World Bank]

Richest Countries in the World
1. Luxembourg - $68,800
2. Equatorial Guinea - $50,200
3. United Arab Emirates - $49,700
4. Norway - $47,800
5. Ireland - $43,600
6. United States - $43,500
7. Andorra - $38,800
8. Iceland - $38,100
9. Denmark - $37,000
10. Austria - $35,500
[Source: CIA World Factbook]

Countries with the Largest Economies
1. United States - $11,750,000,000,000
2. China - $7,262,000,000,000
3. Japan - $3,745,000,000,000
4. India - $3,319,000,000,000
5. Germany - $2,362,000,000,000
6. United Kingdom - $1,782,000,000,000
7. France - $1,737,000,000,000
8. Italy - $1,609,000,000,000
9. Brazil - $1,492,000,000,000
10. Russia - $1,408,000,000,000
11. Canada - $1,023,000,000,000
12. Mexico - $1,006,000,000,000
13. Spain - $937,600,000,000
14. Korea, South - $925,100,000,000
15. Indonesia - $827,400,000,000
[Source: CIA World Factbook]

Countries with the Highest Employment Rates
1. Iceland - $82.8
2. Switzerland - $77.4
3. Denmark - $76.0
4. Norway - $75.6
5. New Zealand - $73.5
6. Sweden - $73.5
7. Netherlands - $72.7
8. United Kingdom - $72.7
9. Canada - $72.6
10. United States - $71.2
11. Australia - $69.5
12. Japan - $68.7
13. Portugal - $67.8
14. Austria - $67.8
15. Finland - $67.2
16. Ireland - $65.5
17. Germany - $65.5
18. Czech Republic - $64.2
19. Korea, South - $63.6
20. France - $62.4
21. Spain - $62.0
22. Luxembourg - $61.6
23. Mexico - $60.8
24. Belgium - $60.5
25. Greece - $59.6
26. Italy - $57.4
27. Slovakia - $57.0
28. Hungary - $56.8
29. Poland - $51.9
30. Turkey - $46.1
[Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]