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Free portfolio advice, for real

First there was Personal Capital, the "Mint for rich people" that gives users a clear look at their financial information, and, for those who invest $100,000 or more, access to financial advice and trading.

Then there was Wealthfront, which also gives people a dashboard for their investments and which will manage the money you put in, as long as you put in more than $5,000.

And now there's FutureAdvisor, which uses the same Modern Portfolio Theory that most advisers and algorithms use to pick investment vehicles. You tell it about your accounts, your age, your … Read more

Monotype gets more digital, buys Bitstream font biz

Monotype Imaging acquired the font business of rival Bitstream for about $50 million in cash, a move that gives it greater clout in the world of digital typography.

Through the acquisition, announced yesterday, Monotype Imaging gets Bitstream's typeface library, its MyFont site for browsing 89,000 fonts and licensing them for use on Web sites, the WhatTheFont service for identifying typefaces, its Font Fusion and Panorama software for font rendering and layout, and 10 patents. It's also hiring 50 Bitstream employees and taking over its research and development site in India.

The move gives Monotype Imaging more heft … Read more

Gazelle ups iPad 2 trade-in price, but better deals can be had

iPad 2 owners looking to unload their tablets will find some tempting offers online.

Online buying site Gazelle is now offering the following deals for iPad 2 owners aiming to cash in their tablets:

iPad 2 Wi-Fi (16GB) - $260 iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (16GB) - $275 iPad 2 Wi-Fi (32GB) - $290 iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (32GB) - $320 iPad 2 Wi-Fi (64GB) - $300 iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G (64GB) - $370 for AT&T and $450 for Verizon.

These prices are for iPad 2 tablets in "flawless" condition, meaning no noticeable defects or scratches, no … Read more

iTunes Store could be slated for a major overhaul this year

iTunes users who've been wishing for a kinder, gentler version of the online store may finally get their wish.

Apple is said to be prepping a redesign of the iTunes Store and the App Store for later this year, says 9to5Mac. The goal would be to make the store simpler and help people more easily and quickly find the content they need.

Apple has reportedly told its various music and entertainment partners that it wants to make the iTunes Store a "much more engaging experience," 9to5Mac added. The redesign is considered a "top priority" for … Read more

Google Wallet fixes prepaid card security bug

Google has patched a hole in Google Wallet that could've allowed someone to access a user's funds simply by resetting the PIN and using a prepaid card.

The company said yesterday it has issued a fix that now prevents a prepaid card from being re-provisioned to another person. It has also restored the ability to issue new prepaid cards following a move on Monday to disable the use of such cards.

Osama Bedier, vice president of Google Wallet and Payments, said that he wasn't aware of any actual incidents of people abusing the prepaid cards or Wallet … Read more

Microsoft online customer accounts hacked in India

Microsoft's online store in India was hacked on Sunday, resulting in the theft of usernames and passwords of the site's customers.

A Chinese group of hackers calling itself Evil Shadow Team took credit for the hack, posting screenshots of obscured usernames and passwords that it found unencrypted on the site, according to Reuters. The group touted the attack on its own blog (here's an English translation). posting a screenshot of the hacked Web site with the message: "Unsafe system will be baptized."

Microsoft has since taken down the hacked site and replaced it with a … Read more

Google Wallet disables prepaid card use following latest hacks

Google has put the brakes on the use of its prepaid cards for Google Wallet after two hacks were discovered that could steal money from a user's account.

Osama Bedier, vice president for Google Wallet and Payments, wrote in a blog on Saturday that the company is taking this action temporarily until it can make a more long-term correction.

"To address an issue that could have allowed unauthorized use of an existing prepaid card balance if someone recovered a lost phone without a screen lock, tonight we temporarily disabled provisioning of prepaid cards," Bedier explained. "We … Read more

Pinterest making money by adding tracking code to certain user pins

How does a Web site like Pinterest make money? At least one blogger has found and revealed an apparent answer.

The online pinboard lets people share their interests and other "things they love" by pinning a photo or other image onto the site. Users can then respond to that pin by commenting on it, liking it, or re-pinning it as one of their own favorites.

Sounds pretty cut and dried. But as described by blogging site LLSocial.com, if a user submits a pin that links to an e-commerce site with an affiliate program, then Pinterest tweaks that … Read more

U.S. online spending hit $50 billion last quarter

The holiday season triggered a healthy surge in online spending, according to stats released yesterday by ComScore.

For 2011's final quarter, online spending in the United States hit $49.7 billion, a 14 percent jump from a year ago. That marked the ninth quarter in a row of positive year-over-year growth and the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit gains.

Ten individual days out of the quarter saw more than $1 billion in online spending. Cyber Monday, November 28, was on top, with $1.25 billion. Monday, December 5, came in second, with $1.18 billion in spending. And Green … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz raises $1.5 billion VC fund

One of the most prominent venture capital firms in the online world has raised a huge sum of cash.

Andreessen Horowitz (or a16z, as it's sometimes called) announced today that it has raised $1.5 billion for its Fund III. The venture capital firm has now raised a total of $2.7 billion since its founding in June 2009.

Last week, the New York Times reported that Andreessen Horowitz was looking to raise $1.5 billion to continue in its venture capital endeavors. At the time, the company declined to comment.

Today was the day to lay it all … Read more