用PayPal在境外进行网上支付可以有效的保护你的信用卡安全，但倘若不注意其中的汇率陷阱，则很可能因此被收取一笔不菲的费用。

如果信用卡的币种与待付款项不一致，PayPal将在支付流程的提供两种不同的兑换选项：

兑换选项

在您与持有不同币种的卖家进行购买交易的时候，PayPal提供了两种方式来兑换货币。

    * PayPal币种兑换程序
    * MasterCard 与 Visa 币种兑换程序

请您选择以下的选项：

(1) 用PayPal的兑换程序完成使用我的卡货币的交易。

为了我的方便，原始交易币种和我要支付的兑换金额将被披露。我理解MasterCard与Visa有一个币种兑换程序。我已选择不使用MasterCard与Visa币种兑换程序，并且不会就与此兑换有关的任何事求助于MasterCard与Visa。

(2) 在给我的账单中使用卖家列出的币种。

直到我收到来自发卡方的卡账单后，才会知道此次交易所采用的外汇汇率。我知道若选择此选项，发卡方将决定用于此次交易的外汇汇率，而且直到我向发卡方支付费用后才会被告知所采用的外汇汇率或者额外的外汇兑换费用。

听起来有点头大吧？实质上很简单！

第一种方式是PayPal负责货币的兑换，并收取兑换手续费。计入信用卡账单的将是PayPal折算后的本币金额。这是PayPal默认的兑换方式。

第二种方式是信用卡发卡银行负责货币的兑换，并收取兑换手续费（因银行或信用卡种不同，可能没有手续费）。计入信用卡账单的将是待付款项的币种。

听起来似乎差不多，只不过兑换手续在不同的角色处完成。但是，陷阱就在其中！

PayPal的兑换程序采用其自己维护的当前汇率，且不说其屡被批评与国际汇市的同步滞后，PayPal自身还会收取2.5%的固定手续费。但不同银行不同卡种的信用卡，其兑换手续费就有很大差别了。为此我专门打电话咨询了招商银行的信用卡客服，招行VISA金卡支付美元账单是“没有”手续费的（但美元以外币种有手续费），汇率按照信用卡账单扣款日的招行购入汇率执行。

PayPal支付页面中所显示的其当前“人民币/美元”汇率为：1 人民币 = 0.141144 美元（含手续费）。而招行客服告知的招行当前美元购入价为￥6.87。两者竟然相差3%以上！

相信各位已经看出这之中所隐藏的巨大陷阱了吧。如果马马虎虎的直接按照PayPal默认兑换方式支付，则可能额外支出超过3%的金额。

另外值得一提的是，由于信用卡是按照扣款日，而非支付时的汇率执行，在大部分情况下，其间隔可长达数十天。这其中就不可避免的面临一个汇率的波动，恰当掌握汇率的波动周期，在合适的时机还款也可能为你小小的节约一笔哦！

今天开始在OU参加为期四天的Oracle 10g OCM考试的培训，这个培训是第一次在OU举办，并不是对OCM中牵涉到Oracle数据库技术进行培训而是专门针对如何应对OCM考试的培训。

OCM考试全称为Oracle Certified Master（Oracle认证大师），是在OCA（Oracle认证专员Oracle Certified Associate）、OCP（Oracle认证专家Oracle Certified Professional)之后更高一级的Oracle技术认证，也是Oracle技术认证最高的一个级别。

考试是两天的时间，全部为实际操作的考试，第一天是创建数据库和安装Grid Control，第二天是创建RAC以及部署Data Guard，其中穿插着几乎所有Oracle数据库管理需要用到的常用知识。

其实，技术上来说OCM的考试并不很难，考试涉及的内容也是很喜闻乐见的技术架构。但是问题就在于时间，一个数据库管理员用dbca这样的图形化界面在一个小时里面创建完一个数据库这基本上没有难度，但是要求你不能使用图形界面只能用命令行方式呢？你能记得所有create database的语法吗？你能记得所有storage参数的语法吗？你能记得设定ASSM属性那个四个单词的前后顺序吗？

也许有人会说，我不需要记得啊，我有Oracle Online Documentation可以查询哦，是的，没错，OCM考试允许你查询Oracle的联机帮助文档（仅仅限于联机文档而不允许使用internet去做搜索），但是你能在几分钟内定位到你想要找的内容呢？又一共有多少个知识点你需要去查文档呢？而两个小时的考试时间又允许你去查多少次联机文档呢？我个人认为我对联机文档已经颇为熟悉了，但是今天上午的经验让我必须承认，如果我不继续加以练习，我绝对无法在规定时间内创建出完全符合考试要求的数据库。而如果第一天上午考试结束的时候你没有创建出需要的数据库，那么这次OCM考试你就失败了，因为后面考试的内容是要使用到这个数据库的。

最后，只要是考试就会有压力，当时间一点一滴流逝的时候，你能确保自己在最后的半小时里面还能像刚开始考试时候那样冷静吗？本来一次就能输入正确的SQL语句，会不会就要多输错几个单词，多按几次Delete键，多看到几次ORA报错信息才能完成输入呢？

好吧，这一系列文章的目的并不是给大家施加压力，而是准备告诉大家如何应对OCM考试，这几乎已经无关乎技术，而更多的是技巧了。

1. 保持平常心和信心，这很重要，当然也要意识到信心是通过考试前多次的自我实验而逐渐累积出来的。

2. 请一定在坐到考试桌前之后，尽快检查你面前的机器，会是两台RHEL4的Linux服务器，Gnome的图形界面（喜欢用KDE的兄弟们请去熟悉一下Gnome的操作），有鼠标有键盘，检查你的键盘输入是否顺畅，检查你的鼠标移动是否顺畅，检查机器的电源插座是否插牢，检查Oracle 10gR2的软件是否已经安装，检查$ORACLE_HOME等环境参数是否已经设置好，检查联机文档是否可以正常读取。按照常理来说，这些都不应该出问题，但是万一你运气好碰到有问题的机器，一旦考试开始计时，那损失的就只能是你自己了。哦，为什么是两台机器呢？因为一台是用来创建数据库，而另外一台是用来安装Grid Control的OMS。

下面一篇文章开始正式介绍，如何快速使用命令行方式创建一个数据库，再次强调，这无关乎技术，不是告诉你create database的语法该怎么写。

今天开始在OU参加为期四天的Oracle 10g OCM考试的培训，这个培训是第一次在OU举办，并不是对OCM中牵涉到Oracle数据库技术进行培训而是专门针对如何应对OCM考试的培训。

OCM考试全称为Oracle Certified Master（Oracle认证大师），是在OCA（Oracle认证专员Oracle Certified Associate）、OCP（Oracle认证专家Oracle Certified Professional)之后更高一级的Oracle技术认证，也是Oracle技术认证最高的一个级别。

考试是两天的时间，全部为实际操作的考试，第一天是创建数据库和安装Grid Control，第二天是创建RAC以及部署Data Guard，其中穿插着几乎所有Oracle数据库管理需要用到的常用知识。

其实，技术上来说OCM的考试并不很难，考试涉及的内容也是很喜闻乐见的技术架构。但是问题就在于时间，一个数据库管理员用dbca这样的图形化界面在一个小时里面创建完一个数据库这基本上没有难度，但是要求你不能使用图形界面只能用命令行方式呢？你能记得所有create database的语法吗？你能记得所有storage参数的语法吗？你能记得设定ASSM属性那个四个单词的前后顺序吗？

也许有人会说，我不需要记得啊，我有Oracle Online Documentation可以查询哦，是的，没错，OCM考试允许你查询Oracle的联机帮助文档（仅仅限于联机文档而不允许使用internet去做搜索），但是你能在几分钟内定位到你想要找的内容呢？又一共有多少个知识点你需要去查文档呢？而两个小时的考试时间又允许你去查多少次联机文档呢？我个人认为我对联机文档已经颇为熟悉了，但是今天上午的经验让我必须承认，如果我不继续加以练习，我绝对无法在规定时间内创建出完全符合考试要求的数据库。而如果第一天上午考试结束的时候你没有创建出需要的数据库，那么这次OCM考试你就失败了，因为后面考试的内容是要使用到这个数据库的。

最后，只要是考试就会有压力，当时间一点一滴流逝的时候，你能确保自己在最后的半小时里面还能像刚开始考试时候那样冷静吗？本来一次就能输入正确的SQL语句，会不会就要多输错几个单词，多按几次Delete键，多看到几次ORA报错信息才能完成输入呢？

好吧，这一系列文章的目的并不是给大家施加压力，而是准备告诉大家如何应对OCM考试，这几乎已经无关乎技术，而更多的是技巧了。

1. 保持平常心和信心，这很重要，当然也要意识到信心是通过考试前多次的自我实验而逐渐累积出来的。

2. 请一定在坐到考试桌前之后，尽快检查你面前的机器，会是两台RHEL4的Linux服务器，Gnome的图形界面（喜欢用KDE的兄弟们请去熟悉一下Gnome的操作），有鼠标有键盘，检查你的键盘输入是否顺畅，检查你的鼠标移动是否顺畅，检查机器的电源插座是否插牢，检查Oracle 10gR2的软件是否已经安装，检查$ORACLE_HOME等环境参数是否已经设置好，检查联机文档是否可以正常读取。按照常理来说，这些都不应该出问题，但是万一你运气好碰到有问题的机器，一旦考试开始计时，那损失的就只能是你自己了。哦，为什么是两台机器呢？因为一台是用来创建数据库，而另外一台是用来安装Grid Control的OMS。

下面一篇文章开始正式介绍，如何快速使用命令行方式创建一个数据库，再次强调，这无关乎技术，不是告诉你create database的语法该怎么写。

Like a lot of other companies in Silicon Valley, TimeBridge has hired their fair share of ex-Yahoo employees. CEO Yori Nelken said most of their ex-Yahoo engineers got a chuckle when they noticed the large Yahoo advertisement on the stadium wall next to the 404 marker (for 404 feet from home plate) during a recent company outing to a baseball game.

404 errors occur when a web page cannot be located on a server. Given Yahoo’s 2008 travails, it’s not hard to see the humor in this accidentally created message. This isn’t the first time the ad has been noticed, and I for one am glad to see Yahoo stubbornly refuse to move the ad.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Accounting software for small business and personal use is increasingly moving from the desktop to online. However, compared to other office software, this transition to online has been relatively slow. Partly that's due to user reticence: writing a document online and sharing it with others (via Google Docs, Office Live, Zoho, or whatever you use) is one thing. Entering sensitive financial information into your browser is harder to adjust to.

There are also technical complications when using online accounting software. Different countries have different tax laws, dealing with multiple currencies is tricky, your software should be compatible with your accountant's, and so on. We at RWW have had particular issues with multi-currency, as we'll explain below.

So what is the state of online accounting software? In this post we'll tell you about our awkward experiences trying out different packages. But we want to hear about your own experiences with online accounting software, because there is still much to learn about this market.

The Big Guns: Slow, Except Intuit

The existing market leaders in accounting software for SMB and personal use are desktop software vendors such as Intuit (with Quicken), MYOB and QuickBooks. Relatively few of these have made solid moves towards web-based software.

One that has made moves to cover the threat of online software, is Intuit - which released its Quicken Online package in January this year. Intuit is competing fiercely on price, with a 60-day free trial and then from as little as $2.99 per month. It differentiates itself from startup competitors by either offering lower subscription cost or being advertising-free.

It's hard to see Intuit not gaining majority market share of online accounting, given its resources and market leverage in traditional accounting software. Allen Stern of CenterNetworks had similar sentiments back in January.

A quick note about Google and Microsoft. We wrote a post end of last year called Online Accounting: The Next Killer App For Google Apps. 9 months later, still no sign of an online accounting app from Mountain View. As for Redmond, it too has seemingly little interest in this market.

Business Accounting: New Kids on the Block

Startups such as Freshbooks, Xero and Zoho are directly competing with the likes of Quicken, on purely accounting features - invoicing, payroll, expense tracking, etc. We have tested out several of these products and they all have impressive 'web 2.0' type designs, which make inputting data a pleasure (almost).

In this post we'll focus on Freshbooks. It offers online invoicing, time tracking and expense tracking. It has a subscription business model similar to Basecamp (from $14 p/mth onwards) and claims to have over 400,000 users. In our tests it was easy to use and had a lot of nifty features, such as getting a view of your outstanding invoices at a glance. It also has integration with Basecamp (our preferred project management service here at RWW) and offers an API. Freshbooks has an active forum and a browse through its forum showed a very helpful staff.

Another neat feature, which we pointed out in an earlier post today called Four Ad-Free Ways that Mined Data Can Make Money, is that Freshbooks offers benchmark data by industry to its users - e.g. compared to other graphic designers, maybe you're charging less and getting your invoices filled slower than most.

The only real downside we found was an inability to handle more than one currency per account. This is a major problem, but it's one that almost every online accounting service shares. Even the desktop accounting software we've been testing recently failed when it came to multiple currencies (and/or usability of that feature).

Still, Freshbooks is a breath of fresh air to online accounting, if you'll pardon the pun. We really want to be able to use it, so let's hope multi-currency support isn't too far away. Freshbooks has a number of supporters among friends of RWW, judging by the feedback we got via Twitter. Adam Metz proclaimed: "If you want to get paid on time, stay Fresh(books)". steaprok quoth: "Freshbooks is great, have used them for sometime, no complaints at all".

Other similar services

Another service worth mentioning here is Xero, a New Zealand based app that has actually done an IPO - on the local NZ sharemarket. In our tests a few months ago it had many useful features, similar to Freshbooks. However it is currently only available in New Zealand and it too can't handle multiple currencies. Like Freshbooks, Xero promises support for this feature by end of the year.

Kiwi friends of RWW liked Xero. Sigurd Magnusson of CMS SilverStripe told us that his company uses "Xero, except are forced to use MYOB to deal with U.S. Dollars (e.g.our involvement with demconvention.com)". Ben Young said that "I use Xero. Simply the best. Streamlines that part of the business for me whilst we are growing. Not location dependent...very handy".

Also check out Zoho Invoice (which claims to support multiple currencies) and Cashboard, two relatively recent entrants to this space.

Personal Money Management Products

Over the past couple of years we've seen a number of impressive new entrants to accounting software - products such as Mint, Wesabe, Expensr (acquired by Strands in April), Geezeo and Rudder. These products are focused on personal financing, such as budgeting and bank accounts.

Mint has received a lot of press (some would say hype). Currently Mint.com claims to serve nearly 400,000 users, manages over $12 billion in transactions, and has saved $100 million+ for its users. It recently released a new design, which we reviewed on ReadWriteWeb. The new design focused on the major new features added to Mint since their launch: enhanced budgeting tools, the addition of brokerage and investment accounts, mortgage accounts, student loans, and auto loans. In addition, we wrote, Mint has added six new "how to" guides that can help you with your major financial decisions. These include things like saving for retirement, paying off your student loans, buying a car, creating a personal budget, and more. The guides are the start of a new educational series for the site.

Mint seems like a great solution for US people who want to manage their money online. The downsides are that it's not international, there is no data import option (an important feature that many other online accounting packages have) and Mint doesn't cater to people who don't bank with large, national banking institutions.

This segment of the online accounting market - which is loosely termed 'money management' - is arguably the most exciting, because there are new software opportunities being explored. An example is moneyStrands, which we reviewed at the end of April. moneyStrands is employing recommendations technologies, such as enabling users to anonymously compare themselves to others with similar traits - e.g. demographics.

Conclusion

After all our testing, we're almost ashamed to say that we're still using custom spreadsheets to manage the accounts here at ReadWriteWeb. That's because multiple currency support is critical to our business, but sadly lacking in many of the products we tested. We'll check out Zoho Invoice though, as they claim to have implemented it.

Tell us in the comments if you're using online accounting software to manage your business or personal finances. What 'web 2.0' features have you come across in these products that have particularly impressed you?

top image credit: quickenonline