currency

The foreign exchange market, where international currencies are traded, is the largest financial market in the world, and staying on top of exchange rates is no simple task. Forex Currency Rates & Converter is a simple tool made for anyone with an interest in the foreign exchange market.

The program bills itself as a widget, and its interface will look familiar to anyone who's had experience with Apple Dashboard widgets. The program appears as an icon in the system tray, and when it's clicked, the widget appears: a smallish rectangle with rounded edges. The widget is nice to … Read more

Facebook's virtual currency, "Facebook Credits," is getting very close to its full launch: a post on the Facebook developer blog explains some of the full terms of the system and what developers can expect as the currency continues to roll out slowly.

"Today more than 500,000 applications exist on Facebook, and the virtual goods within those applications (particularly games) have become an increasingly valuable part of the user experience," the post explained. "By providing a single, cross-application currency, our goal is to [make] transactions simpler for users, leading to a higher conversion rate … Read more

In the grand tradition of the Ginsu Knife, App Genie is 27, 27, 27 apps in one! Even if you find only a handful of them useful, you're definitely getting your 99 cents' worth.

App Genie's one-screen interface displays 20 attractive icons, which unfortunately are arranged randomly rather than alphabetically. Thus, finding what you're after (like, say, the tip calculator) is more difficult than it should be.

A few of these apps (like Tool Case) have various sub-apps, bringing the total number of tools to 26. After running App Genie a couple times, you'll see a … Read more

Breaking news during the show has Verizon admitting to cutting off the Internet access of people accused of illegal downloading. But hey, they don't throttle,they say. Great! Except for cutting off people is really an extreme from of throttling. And also, Verizon isn't getting proof for this, just accusations. The problems with this policy are immeasurable and we discuss them. Oh and Bing may oust Google on the iPhone.

The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web … Read more

It looks like the brouhaha surrounding social-app moneymaker Offerpal Media is bigger than founder Anu Shukla's "sh*t, double sh*t, and bullsh*t" response to the accusation that its business is built on scamming consumers. It's got upcoming developments in two lawsuits, one in which it's the plaintiff and one in which Shukla is a defendant.

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reported Thursday that a lawsuit was filed in an Alameda County, Calif., superior court against Shukla and co-founder Michael Liu on behalf of Kevin Halpern, who alleges that he helped found the company and … Read more

BS1 Enterprise Accounting provides a simple way to view many aspects of small business accounting. While the program was easy to use and effective, it lacks added accounting tools its free cousin provides.

We were initially surprised to find this program's interface consisted primarily of a desktop toolbar. However, the Help file's tutorial showed us that this was actually a benefit to keep things simple, and we agreed. With this toolbar we cycled through various accounting departments like Accounts Payable and Receivable, Accounts, Sales, and Inventory. Each was organized in a pop-up window with a grid outlining each … Read more

Real Time Desktop Currency Converter is a basic currency conversion program that allows users to convert between numerous different currencies. The program is short on features but is great for quick, real-time conversions.

The program's interface is attractive, uncluttered, and couldn't be simpler. Using drop-down menus, users select the two currencies they wish to convert from among 51 choices. Users enter the amount of the original currency, click Convert, and the program shows the conversion. The program also shows the conversion rate and the change from the previous day. And that's it. This converter is pretty bare … Read more

Euro Calculator is a fast currency calculator that doesn't really separate itself from the myriad free online calculators. The program does its job well, but we were left wondering why users should choose it.

The program's interface will be fairly familiar to anyone who's used a computer calculator before. The program is organized the same, but with two data lines. Changing currencies takes a little experimentation or a brief trip to the Help file, but not too much work. Users simply input an amount of euros in the main data line or enter a math equation, then … Read more

Facebook posted a set of small announcements on its developer blog Wednesday, most notably a call for alpha testers for the virtual currency platform that it's finally launching after much speculation.

"We are currently conducting an alpha test in which select applications can accept Facebook Credits from users," the post wrote. "Our 250 million users can now buy Facebook Credits in 15 currencies and we believe that, as Facebook Credits become more broadly available on Platform, they will meaningfully improve developer monetization and provide a great experience for users."

Interested developers are encouraged to contact … Read more