Banner Years Ahead

Top 5 Great Dollar - Store Buys

1. Cleaning Supplies

Dollar-Store Item	Retailer Item	Savings
AmeriKing Plumber, 32 oz.	$4.99, Drano, 17 oz. (Rite Aid)	89%*
Pro Power Oil Soap, 16oz.	$3.49, Murphy's Oil Soap, 16 oz. (Rite Aid)	71%
Trend detergent, 100 oz.	$5.49, Tide, 50 oz. (CVS)	91%

2. Gift Wrap

Dollar-Store Item	Retailer Item	Savings
"Happy Holidays" paper, 12.5 square feet	$4.99, "Happy Holidays" paper, 12.5 square feet (Rite Aid)	80%
Large pink, flowered bag	$1.79, Large pink flowered bag (CVS)	44%

3. Snacks

Dollar-Store Item	Retailer Item	Savings
Mini Cracker Snacks, 9oz.	$3.49, Cheez-It, 10 oz. (CVS)	68%*
Pepsi, 2 liter	$1.69, Pepsi, 2 liter (CVS)	41%
Family Time Butter popcorn, 3 bags	$3.49, Newman's Own Butter Microwave Popcorn, 3 bags (Rite Aid)	71%
Wise Cheez Doodles, 5.5 oz.	$1.89, Herr's Cheese Curls, 7 oz. (Rite Aid)	33%

4. Shampoo

Dollar-Store Item	Retailer Item	Savings
Anvie Deep Moisture shampoo, 13 oz.	$3.23, Dove Shampoo Extra Moisture, 12 oz. (Rite Aid)	72%
Alberto VO5 shampoo, 15 oz.	$2.39, Alberto VO5 shampoo, 15 oz. (Rite Aid)	58%

5. Kitchen Accessories

Dollar-Store Item	Retailer Item	Savings
Grill King BBQ Skewers, 4 pc.	$19.99, Weber 4-piece skewer set (Target)	95%
Magnetic Can & Bottle Opener	$5.99 Pedrini Translucent Waiter Corkscrew (Target)	83%

By Kelli B. Grant
Reporter, SmartMoney.com

15 Hottest Products of 2007

1. iPhone : No new product was more anticipated this year than Apple's iPhone. The buzz began in January when CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPhone at Macworld. Since its debut in June over 1.5 million iPhones have been sold.

2. Coke Zero : Coca-Cola's biggest product launch in over two decades has proven to be a huge hit and has helped drive Coke's stock price to a seven-year high in 2007. First launched in 2005, Coke Zero did not catch fire until the company recast the brand this year with an edgier image.

3. Nintendo Wii : First released a year ago, the Wii has quickly risen to the top of the very competitive, multi-billion dollar video game console industry. The console is the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube and has sold over 13 million units this year.

4. Slingbox : This anytime, anywhere TV produced by Sling Media of San Mateo, California compresses and transfers live TV, satellite, or DVR video from your home to a computer anywhere in the world, all without requiring a PC to be up and running at home.

5. Vitaminwater : A decade ago, Energy Brands launched a line of drinks designed to appeal to a health-conscious clientele. This line under the Glacéau brand was the pioneer of enhanced water. Rap artist 50 Cent earned an estimated $100 million thanks to his stake in Glacéau which Coca-Cola bought in 2007 for $4.2 billion.



6. Tesla Roadster : Produced by electric car firm Tesla Motors, the Roadster is a fully electronic sports car. Tesla claims prototypes have been able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds. Unveiled in 2006, the car was expected in 2007, but delays have pushed back its debut to early 2008. But good luck finding one. They are sold out.

7. Google Maps : In April 2007, Google released a significant update which allowed anyone to create their own map "mashups" -- or what they call "My Maps." Then in May, it released Street View with 360° panoramic street-level views of various U.S. cities. Privacy concerns only added to the buzz.

8. Halo 3 : This video game developed for the Xbox 360 console saw opening day sales top $170 million on September 25, and a whopping $300 million in sales during its first week of availability. It broke the record for the highest grossing opening day in entertainment history. 'Spider-Man 3,' which holds the box office opening day record, only made $60 million in May.

9. Hannah Montana : From a hit Disney TV show, to sold-out concerts, a clothing line, toys and an upcoming movie -- Hannah Montana is the "it" celebuproduct for tweens across America. Disney seems to be pulling out all the stops, capitalizing on Hannah Montana's enormous popularity by merchandising the brand every way it can. (Miley Cyrus, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, is the star of the show.)

10. Boeing 787 Dreamliner : Boeing (BA) rolled out its new 787 Dreamliner in July to much fanfare. It is supposed to be more fuel-efficient and will carry between 210-330 passengers. The company already has almost 750 plane orders and is expected to deliver the first planes in late 2008.



11. Freedom-2 Tattoos : Have you ever wanted a tattoo, but were afraid to get one because of its permanency? Well, now you don't need to worry about that. A company called Freedom-2 has developed a new tattoo technology that uses biodegradable dyes that can be dissolved in one semi-painful tattoo-removal treatment.

12. RIM BlackBerry 8800 : Research In Motion (RIMM) has done it again with the latest version of its popular BlackBerry. It gives its millions of 'CrackBerry' users more reasons to be addicted to this smartphone. The popularity of the product has helped lift the company stock up over 150 percent in 2007.

13. Webkinz : Are these loveable plush pets the next Beanie Babies? Time will tell, but with sales in the tens of millions their popularity has soared in 2007. Each pet comes with a unique secret code that allows you to enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet.

14. Nikon Coolpix S51c : What makes this one of the hottest products of the year is that not only does it take great pictures, but you can email your images or beam them directly from the camera to your Flickr account or to Nikon's own online photo bank.

15. Second Life : The online virtual world launched in 2003, but really hit the mainstream in late 2006 and early 2007 when reports surfaced about the real money being made by virtual businesses there. According to Second Life's Web site, they have over 10 million "residents," with approximately 1 million residents logging in within the last 30 days or so.

Reference from AOL

2- 10 (from 50) People Who Matter

Rank: 2
Sergey Brin & Larry Page
Co-founders, Google

Why They Matter: Success hasn't really changed the Google guys all that much: They're still Stanford computer geeks to the core. That's why the company has become a magnet for like-minded geniuses -- witness the Silicon Valley billboards with brain-teasing number puzzles that turn out to be Google recruitment ads. It's also why their PageRank algorithm remains the best mousetrap in search, why their groundbreaking pay-per-click advertising model brought in a stunning $6 billion in revenue last year, why Google's market cap hovers comfortably above $100 billion, and why their ongoing project to organize all of the world's information is taken seriously. What Page's famous list of his 100 most interesting projects lacked in focus, it more than made up for in ambition. The same is true of Brin's long-term strategy -- organizing all that information into a database that will act as a kind of global brain for all human knowledge. Technically, the pair run the world's top technology company as a triumvirate with CEO (and resident adult) Eric Schmidt. But what the geeks want, they usually get. After all, there are plenty of CEO types who could replace Schmidt. But who on earth could possibly replace Sergey and Larry?

Rank: 3
Paul Jacobs
CEO, Qualcomm

Why He Matters: When Jacobs took the reins at Qualcomm in July 2005, cries of nepotism reverberated through the telecom industry. After all, his father, Irwin Jacobs, built Qualcomm into the world's most powerful wireless infrastructure company. But fast-forward one year -- when the company's second-quarter revenue was up 34 percent from 2005 -- and investors are describing Paul as a chip off the old block. It's not beginner's luck: After joining the family business in 1990, the younger Jacobs was key to the success of CDMA, which has become the leading standard for 3G phones and the company's top moneymaker. He also had a hand in the Brew system, an applications development tool used by 69 mobile operators in 34 countries. Next up, Jacobs is leading Qualcomm into the new frontier by providing the tools carriers need to offer streaming video to cell phones. So what if favoritism helped him get ahead? He's got the stuff to ensure that Qualcomm will remain both the Microsoft and the Intel of the booming wireless industry.

Rank: 4
Rupert Murdoch
CEO, News Corp.

Why He Matters: He's already the planet's most prominent media mogul, with properties that span Europe (BSkyB satellite service and England's Times and Sun newspapers), Asia (the Foxtel and StarTV satellite networks), and North America (Fox Studios in Hollywood, Fox News, DirecTV, and the New York Post). But at 75, Murdoch is still trying to extend his reach, and this time he has America's youth audience in his crosshairs -- and a host of new Web properties in his portfolio. His big splash, of course, was the $580 million purchase of the wildly popular MySpace social-networking portal last summer. That was followed by News Corp.'s $650 million acquisition of the Internet gaming and entertainment company IGN. The goal is to develop a network of sites that will enable advertisers to reach Web-savvy 18- to 34-year-olds -- a demographic that increasingly shuns traditional mass media like newspapers and television. (See "Sly Fox?," page 100.) Big media companies have fared poorly in their attempts to reach Generation Net, but Murdoch's flair for bombastic populism may offer a decisive advantage. Or, as the kids might say, "Not bad ... for an old guy."

Rank: 5
Steve Jobs
CEO, Apple Computer

Why He Matters: Easily the greatest marketer since P.T. Barnum, Jobs has also become the innovator's muse. Is there anyone in American business today whose style, creativity, and pugnacious genius are more celebrated? Which brings us back to the question that drives this list: What's he done for us lately? Yes, yes, iPods, iTunes, creating a whole industry -- we already take that for granted. And the heretical move to the dual-core, Windows-running Intel chip. Fine, sweet, very cool -- and long overdue. But let's separate the reality from the distortion field: 2005 was a record year ... for Wintel PCs! An astounding 203 million Windows-running machines were shipped last year, and Windows market share has held steady at 94 percent since 1996. During the same decade, Mac's share slipped from 5.2 percent to 2.3 percent. Of course, Apple's influence has always far exceeded its modest scale, so all we're saying is ... bring on the next big innovation. Mobile phones? Home media centers? iHovercrafts? Take your pick, but we're ready for more.

Rank: 6
Susan Desmond-Hellmann
President of product development, Genentech

Why She Matters: While other drug companies chase the balding and the erectile-challenged, Desmond-Hellmann keeps biotech pioneer Genentech focused on creating drugs that make the difference between life and death. She spent years battling AIDS in Uganda and cancer in Kentucky as both a physician and a medical researcher, and those experiences have done much to shape Genentech's current priorities. Thus far, she's overseen the clinical trials and approvals of such successes as Avastin (colon cancer) and Tarceva (lung cancer). She's also shepherding in a new era of patient-targeted treatments with Herceptin (a breast cancer treatment that works best on women who carry a specific pattern of genes) and ensuring that Genentech's pipeline includes promising treatments for ovarian cancer and basal skin cancer. Genentech is already hailed as a pioneer, but if Desmond-Hellmann can turn cancer into a manageable disease, she may well earn a place in the history books alongside the likes of Jonas Salk.

Rank: 7
The Emerging Global Middle Class
China, India, Russia, Brazil, and elsewhere

Why They Matters: According to Goldman Sachs, in the next decade, more than 800 million people in China, India, Russia, and Brazil will qualify as middle class -- meaning they will earn more than $3,000 per year. To put the figure in context, that's more than the combined population of the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. These ambitious, well-educated workers represent both a threat and an opportunity for corporate America. On the one hand, thanks to global competition, they're bringing brutal cost pressure to bear on U.S. products. Yet at the same time, these newly affluent consumers have money to spend -- more than $1 trillion a year, according to most estimates -- and they generally aspire to own American brands and other high-quality imports. They're looking forward to enjoying a more comfortable way of life, and huge opportunities await the global firms that figure out how to deliver that at a price these workers can afford.

Rank: 8
Fujio Cho
Chairman, Toyota

Why He Matters: High oil prices? Toyota says, Bring it on. In May, as the average cost of a gallon of gas approached $3, Toyota reported a 17 percent sales increase over the year before, even as General Motors and Ford saw declines of 16 and 2 percent, respectively. Building on the continuing popularity of its fuel-sipping Prius, Toyota now offers hybrid gas-electric power in its Camry (the best-selling car model in the United States) and its Highlander SUV. Sales of the company's gasoline-powered small cars have been strong as well. Cho helped make Toyota what it is today: the world's most profitable carmaker and an unrivaled leader when it comes to producing the innovative, high-quality cars that buyers covet worldwide. He led Toyota's effort to open its own U.S. factories in the 1980s and later went on to engineer the company's push into the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and China. And while he isn't the boss of the world's biggest automaker yet -- Toyota won't snatch the global vehicle-output crown from GM until later this year or next -- he already leads the company that other automakers watch with a mixture of awe and envy.

Rank: 9
The New Oil Despots
King Abdullah bin Abdul aziz al Saud (Saudi Arabia), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran), Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), and Vladimir Putin (Russia)

Why They Matters: They're a slippery cast of characters, and sadly, their influence is growing. America's petroleum addiction has left the U.S. economy at the mercy of a new generation of international strongmen, and among them, they control nearly half of the world's petroleum reserves. Worse, they're becoming more brazen and influential as the high price of oil adds billions to their national treasuries. They've got the U.S. economy over the barrel, and innovation industries aren't immune to their mischief. Inflation? Regional instability? Both threaten economic growth and the capital flows that are the lifeblood of entrepreneurship. But there's a silver lining: Those high oil prices also create new opportunities for alternative energy technologies.

Rank: 10
Ray Ozzie
Chief technical officer, Microsoft

Why He Matters: Ozzie may be the new guy at Microsoft, but he's quickly learned how things are done in Redmond: Find the best ideas in the marketplace, copy them unabashedly, then repackage the finished product as the company's latest and greatest innovation. Though Bill Gates is still chairman and Steve Ballmer is still CEO, Ozzie has become the driving force behind Microsoft's effort to become nimbler in response to mounting competition from the likes of Google, Salesforce, open-source software, and dozens of Web 2.0 startups. The solution, he says, lies beyond cumbersome shrink-wrapped PC software (such as the tardy Windows Vista operating system). Salvation will come through online services that can be quickly improved, modified, and distributed via the Web. Some components of this effort, branded Windows Live, are already out in beta, including a security tool and an e-mail application. Gates has given Ozzie's derivative "vision" his full blessing, so the coming years will be key: If Ozzie succeeds, Microsoft may once again become a growth company.

Reference by: Business 2.0 CNN Money

The 100 Best Products of 2006

Powerful computers, handy services, tiny utilities, mammoth HDTVs--our editors' top picks include all these and a whole lot more. Plus: the worst products of all time.

1. Intel Core Duo Notebook/Desktop CPU
2. AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Desktop CPU
3. Craigslist.org Web Classifieds
4. Apple iPod Nano Digital Audio Player
5. Seagate 160GB Portable Hard Drive Portable Hard Drive
6. Google Earth Satellite Imagery
7. Adobe Premiere Elements 2 Video Editor
8. Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera
9. YouTube.com Video-Sharing Site
10. Apple Boot Camp Mac Dual-Booter
11. Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 Image Editor
12. Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Web Browser
13. Engadget.com Gadget Blog
14. Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD Player
15. Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV600 Power Notebook Computer
16. nVidia GeForce 7600 GT Graphics Card Chip Set
17. Google Search Engine
18. Sonos ZonePlayer 80 Digital Audio Streamer
19. RedOctane Guitar Hero Video Game
20. Yamaha RX-V4600 Home-Theater Receiver
21. Pioneer BDR-101A Blu-ray Drive
22. Adobe Photoshop CS2 Image Editor
23. Citrix GoToMyPC 5 Remote Access
24. Dealnews.com Online Bargain Tracker
25. Palm GPS Navigator GPS
26. MioNet Remote Access
27. Ubuntu Linux Distribution
28. Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5 E-Mail Application
29. Canon Pixma MP950 Multifunction Printer
30. Yahoo Mail (Beta) Web-Based E-Mail
31. TiVo Digital Video Recorder
32. Avvenu Remote File Access
33. Blogger Blogging Service
34. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Advanced Digital Camera
35. Apple Mac Mini Value Desktop Computer
36. Apple iPod Digital Audio/Video Player
37. Lenovo ThinkPad X60s Ultralight Notebook
38. SideStep.com Travel Site
39. Windows Live Local Online Mapping
40. Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Card
41. Alienware Aurora 7500 Power Desktop Computer
42. NEC MultiSync LCD 2180WG-LED Flat-Panel Monitor
43. Apple iTunes Digital Audio Software
44. Olympus Evolt E-330 Digital SLR Camera
45. Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro Earphones
46. Creative Zen Vision:M Digital Audio/Video Player
47. Google Desktop Desktop Search
48. Opera 9 (Beta) Browser
49. Mitsubishi XD460U Projector
50. Vonage VoIP Service
51. StumbleUpon Browser Add-On
52. NoScript 1.1.4 Browser Add-On
53. Webroot Spy Sweeper 4.5 Antispyware
54. Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 Keyboard
55. Western Digital Raptor X Hard Drive
56. Yahoo Maps (Beta) Online Mapping
57. Intuit Quicken Premier 2006 Personal Finance
58. ATI Radeon X1900 XTX Graphics Board
59. Javacool EULAlyzer Personal 1.1 License Analyzer
60. Eizo FlexScan S2410W 24-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor
61. Kosmix.com Search Engine
62. T-Mobile SDA Cellular Phone
63. Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
64. Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP 30-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor
65. Meebo (alpha) Instant Messaging
66. Corel Painter IX.5 Graphics Software
67. Samsung LN-S3251D LCD TV
68. Cerulean Studios Trillian 3.1 Instant Messaging Client
69. Rhapsody Online Music
70. In2M Mvelopes Personal 3 Online Budgeting
71. Canon Pixma IP6600D Photo Printer
72. EMC Retrospect Professional 7.5 Backup Software
73. Yahoo Music Engine 1.1 Digital Audio Site/Software
74. Network Magic Home Networking
75. Z-Wave Home Automation
76. BitDefender 9 Standard Antivirus
77. Sage Software Simply Accounting Basic 13 Small-Business Finance
78. Flickr Photo-Sharing Site
79. Nero 7 Ultra Edition CD/DVD Burning
80. Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 Voice Recognition
81. Kodak EasyShare Gallery Photo Printing Service
82. EvDO Wireless Broadband
83. LaCie d2 Hard Drive Serial ATA External Hard Drive
84. HP Md5880n DLP TV
85. Qnext 2 P-to-P Communications
86. Salling Clicker 3 Presentation Remote
87. Epson Perfection V700 Photo Scanner
88. Mindjet MindManager Pro 6 Data-Organizing Software
89. Microsoft Xbox 360 Game Console
90. iRiver Clix Digital Audio/Video Player
91. Fujifilm FinePix E900 Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera
92. nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX GPU
93. Del.icio.us Social Networking
94. Serious Magic Ovation PowerPoint Add-On
95. WordPress Blogging Tool
96. Amazon A9 Toolbar Search Toolbar
97. ThinkFree Office Online Online Office Suite
98. Greasemonkey Firefox Extension
99. NewsGator FeedDemon 2 RSS Reader
100. Sysinternals Rootkit Revealer 1.7 Antispyware

Reference by PC World

Hottest Jobs & Salaries in America

5 Hottest Jobs in USA

5. Computer engineer: Computer hardware engineers

4. Operations manager: Senior operations managers

3. Finance: Accountants and financial analysts

2. Healthcare: Doctors, dentists, nurses, and other health practitioners

1. Computer programmer: Computer programmers, software engineers, and network administrators

10 Hottest Salaries in USA

10. Sales: 1. Sales assistant ($35,800), 2. Sales engineer ($79,900)

9. Retail: 1. Assistant store manager ($39,100), 2. Buyer ($47,900)

8. Information Technology [IT]: 1. Webmaster ($49,200), 2. Senior database administrator ($93,300)

7. Hospitality: 1. Restaurant general manager ($49,800), 2. Hotel general manager ($56,600)

6. Healthcare: 1. Clinical research associate ($61,300), 2. Anesthesiologist ($225,000)

5. Engineering: 1. Civil engineer ($57,200), 2. Project engineer (65,200)

4. Customer Service: 1. Technical support specialist ($49,100), 2. Call center manager ($53,800)

3. Banking: 1. Personal banker ($37,700), 2. Commercial loan officer ($75,700)

2. Administrative Support: 1. HR coordinator ($40,200), 2. Paralegal ($39,500)

1. Accounting: 1. Financial controller ($79,900), 2. Financial analyst ($70,500)

by Business 2.0 Magazine

Abbreviations & Treasury about AdWords

AdRank/Positioning = based on its Ad Rank, which is determined by your keyword or Ad Group's maximum cost-per-click (CPC) times the matched keyword's Quality Score. For the top positions above Google search results, however, we use your ad's actual CPC to determine its position.

Ad Variations = multiple versions of an ad for a single product or service, all based on the same set of keywords. Variations are a good way to test many versions of the same message to see which works best with potential customers.

Conversion = When a user completes an action on your site, such as buying something or requesting more information.

Conversion Rate (CR) = The number of conversions divided by the number of ad clicks. Note that the conversion rate should not be greater than 100%. Conversions are only counted on Google and some of our Google Network partners. The conversion rate is adjusted to reflect only the ad clicks on which Google can track conversions.

Destination URL = Landing Page = An active web page where customers will 'land' when they click your ad. The web address for this page is often called a 'clickthrough URL.'

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) = CPC = The pricing structure used by some online channels to charge an advertiser each time a user clicks on the advertiser's ad. The amount is usually set by the advertiser, not by the channel.

Prospect = A candidate: someone who is considered for something (in the context of this book, a potential customer or client)

Quality Score = the basis for measuring the quality and relevance of your ads and determining your minimum CPC bid for Google and the search network. This score is determined by your keyword's clickthrough rate (CTR) on Google, and the relevance of your ad text, keyword, and landing page.

Return on Investment (ROI) = The benefit gained in return for the cost of your ad campaign. Although exact measurement is nearly impossible, your clickthrough rate and your conversion rate combined with your advertising costs, can help you assess the ROI of your campaign.