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Personal Capital: Mint for rich people

Pity the "affluent Americans." With financial futures too complex to be forecast or planned by Quicken or Mint, but with insufficient resources to get top-flight financial planning from a wealth management firm like Goldman Sachs, these (approximately) 15 million households are woefully underserved.

That's the start of the pitch from Personal Capital, a new financial adviser firm with a strong, free online financial management app. The founders I talked with, ex-Intuit execs Bill Harris and Jim Del Favero, told me that most financial planning tools just don't sell. Harris said, "I built a tax planning tool twice. It sold practically zero, both times."

So he's trying to build instead a "complete solution" for the connected, sort-of-high-net-worth consumer: a product that gives Mint-like ease of use and information, but with a focus on giving these users grown-up insight. In particular, Personal Capital shows you your investment allocation across all your accounts, so you can see if you're, for example, too heavily invested in U.S. stocks vs. emerging market stocks, bonds, currencies, and so on.

The 404 906: Where Qwikster delivers the booty (podcast)

Happy birthday to the emoticon, invented 29 years ago today on a computer-science bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. Thanks for making parents around the world feel tech-savvy. :)

Before we get into the important Netflix news of of the day, Jeff tells us about his weekend experience at "Sleep No More," an interactive theater experience in New York that's loosely based on the Macbeth story--with a creepy twist. The plot plays out in various acts throughout a three-story abandoned warehouse in Chelsea, so tune in to hear more spoiler-free details and reserve your tickets here!

Next we'll get into the Netflix mea culpa delivered by e-mail and blog post this morning that's giving current Netflix subscribers even more reasons to moan about the recent price hike.

CEO Reed Hastings announced that the company will soon split in two, with the name of the DVD mail rental service changing to Qwikster (not to be confused with Quixtar, QuickStar, Kwikster, Quickster, or Quik-Star), while the video-streaming arm will retain the Netflix name and Web address.

We'll also talk today about a satellite plunging from space, a group of scientists that are poaching PS3 gamers to help find a cure for AIDS, and the last single-space parking meter disappearing in Manhattan today.

The 404 Digest for Episode 906

The emoticon was invented 29 years ago today. Netflix CEO: " I slid into arrogance." PS3 users are helping to find a cure for AIDS. A satellite loosely based on "Donnie Darko" is coming to Earth. World's largest sperm bank refusing donations from redheads. Iguana Fart.

Episode 906 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

'Allergic' to Wi-Fi? Move to West Virginia

There's a place where Wi-Fi and cell phones are non-existent. It's not in the middle of the rain forest or from a time long, long ago. It's in Green Bank, W.Va.

Green Bank may sound like geek hell, but it's heaven for people who believe electromagnetic radiation makes them sick. The BBC chatted with a couple of these refugees from technology and they described symptoms ranging from physical pain to fatigue.

"When I'm exposed to the cell phones, it hurts to think," Green Bank resident Diane Schou told the BBC. She describes herself as a "technological leper" who has found relief since moving from Iowa to West Virginia.

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity has been the subject of some controversy. The symptoms may feel very real, but a 2007 study led by Elaine Fox of the U.K.'s University of Essex showed that short-term exposure to a typical GSM base station-like signal did not affect well-being or physiological functions in sensitive or control individuals. … Read more

Robbery suspect's Facebook name: 'Willie Sutton Jr'

The history of those who use Facebook to make themselves seem a little bigger, a little more glamorous is growing longer.

Soon, no doubt, there will be a TV show called "Outrageous Facebook Stories," in which those who did crazy things on Facebook will tell their stories. It will probably be on Fox or VH1.

One of those featured might, one day, be Jesse Hippolite.

The way the Smoking Gun has fired it up, Hippolite, a 23-year-old New Yorker, came under the suspicion of the police after bank employees gave them the partial license plate of a getaway … Read more

Scottrade Mobile lets you trade on the go

Scottrade Mobile puts all of the online brokerage's trading tools in the palm of your hand. It lets you conduct research on securities, manage your account, and place trade orders just as easily as you would on the full Web site.

From anywhere in the app, you can get stock readings by hitting the Get a Quote button on the bottom of the screen. Type in a ticker symbol or company name to bring up all of a stock's vitals, as well as options to find relevant news, set alerts, and add the stock to your Watch List. … Read more

Analyst: Apple MacBook to make gains on PC

Apple's MacBook is set to make market share gains on PCs in the second half, according to a research note from a Deutsche Bank analyst.

As demand for consumer Windows PCs softens a bit, Apple will be in a position to a grab market share, according to a research note released today from Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore.

"Our recent checks with the PC supply chain suggest overall orders have softened modestly in the past several weeks due to weaker European and U.S. Consumer NB (notebook) demand and more conservative back-to-school expectations from OEMs," he wrote. … Read more

Safe online banking requires a dedicated PC

In June, Patco Construction Company of Sanford, Maine, lost its lawsuit against Ocean Bank to recover more than $300,000 the construction company had lost to online hackers, as reported by Kim Zetter on Wired.com's Threat Level blog.

The court found that while Ocean Bank's security procedures "were not optimal," in the words of Magistrate Judge John Rich of the U.S. District Court in Maine, Patco was ultimately responsible for securing the company's online bank accounts. Patco is not the only business to learn this lesson the hard way--far from it.

Greg Farrell … Read more

Jumio turns cameras into credit card readers

"It's Square without hardware." That's how Jumio CEO Daniel Mattes describes his new credit card processing system, which uses cameras on consumer devices to read credit card info and to verify the authenticity and presence of the actual card itself.

In addition to saving users time (they don't have to type in credit card number if they're checking out at a site that uses Jumio), Mattes also says his system prevents against fraud: It can tell if the card the software is looking at is real plastic, if the numbers are embossed, even if the hologram on a card is real. Jumio, he says, destroys the criminal model of stealing credit card numbers. Now the bad guys need to have the cards themselves. Or a technological solution to fake out a webcam.

Sending the encrypted video stream also foils keyloggers.

In the future, Jumio might also be able to authorize credit transactions against additional tokens, like driver's licenses. It may eventually even verify against faces.

The service currently works through a Flash-based app that access a computer's Webcam. A mobile version is forthcoming, Mattes says.

There's no question that being able to hold up a credit card to a camera is easier than having to type in numbers. It's also more secure, although not absolutely so.

Jumio improves the convenience and security of the credit card system and has the big advantage of requiring no major infrastructure or behavioral change by consumers or credit card companies. But I would argue that the whole credit card concept is antiquated and has to go. Just ask yourself: if you were designing a new consumer transaction system today, would you base it on static, human-readable numbers engraved on physical tokens? Technologies like Jumio can plaster over the flaws in this ancient architecture--and profit greatly in the process--but really it's time for a new way to grant access to, and prevent fraud of, financial accounts.

I leave that as an exercise for the reader.

To stimulate your thinking, see 'Smart' credit cards get closer to consumers' wallets.… Read more

The 404 850: Where Jill will do anything for love (podcast)

Aunt Jill's been busy with her own podcast Jill On Money, but today she joins us on The 404 to answer your financial questions. Listen to this episode to find out what each of us did as teenagers to make money, how kids today can make the most of their time, and the best way to handle your monthly credit card debt. Plus, Jill helps us out with another Tang That Tune, now with a video and audio intro thanks to Patrick and Jamey!

The 404 Digest for Episode 850

Listen and subscribe to Aunt Jill's podcast, Jill on Money! Check out #AuntJill's Twitter, and send her your questions!

Episode 850 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Citigroup hacking nets $2.7 million from customers

About 3,400 Citigroup credit card customers suffered a loss of $2.7 million during a security breach earlier this year, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Citi acknowledged earlier this month that a May 10 breach compromised the company's online account system, allowing the attackers to access names, account numbers, and contact information for the affected customers. However, Citi said that Social Security numbers, birth dates, card expiration dates, and card security codes were not compromised.

The banking giant said its customers will not be liable for the losses.

Citi originally said the breach affected about 1 … Read more