Nothing beats peer reviews when looking for a new piece of hardware or software, especially if you will be buying online without having physically inspected your purchase beforehand.

There are great deals online for anyone in the market for a business card scanner, but those who have never owned a business card scanner may be in need of a little assistance in finding the right product.

It's hard to trust company testimonials, as they are naturally geared toward convincing you to buy their product, regardless of your personal needs.  So peer reviews are really the way to go, and where better to get peer reviews than on the Internet's top marketplace - Amazon! 

Amazon now offers "Customer Communities" to aid in peer reviews, and of course there is a community for everything, including business card scanners.

Northern News Service recently carried a worrying story about a scammer pitching a fake apartment rental to unsuspecting local apartment seekers in the town of Yellowknife.

The ad for the apartment attracted a lot of attention, as the property was a newly-remodeled home, including all appliances, furniture and utilities for the unbelievably low price of $400 a month.

Fortunately, one apartment hunter who was intrigued by the ad had enough sense to do a bit of checking before committing.  Following a series of phone calls and emails with police, city hall and the person who ran the ad, it was revealed that the apartment actually belonged to someone else who had no intention of renting it. 

The scammer had asked the interested party to forward him the first month's rent via Western Union, at which point he promised to send the keys.  Hopefully, most people are smart enough to not fall for this.  But the fact that such scams are run at all means that there are people gullible enough to fall for them.

A man listed among 144 victims of a major flood in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1976 was found to be alive about a year ago, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reported recently. 

Darrell Johnston, who is now 63, said he had no idea he had been listed among the dead.  Locals assumed Johnston had perished in the flood because he had rented a cabin at a resort that was washed away in the disaster. 

However, Johnston said that he had decided to take his family and leave the cabin a day before the flood, despite having paid for it, because of the poor condition of the dwelling. 

The town only learned of Johnston's escape from catastrophe because residents wanted to try everything to confirm the deaths of the missing people before hanging a memorial plaque with the names of the victims.

The lesson new Forex traders should take from this week's news that South Korea will continue to intervene in the exchange rate of its currency by buying that currency and selling US dollars is that sometimes foreign governments give away what amounts to insider information regarding upcoming changes in exchange rates.

The South Korea story is nothing unique.  Most governments, especially in the "developed world," intervene in similar ways to control inflation and other economic phenomenon. 

Where Forex traders can benefit is by keeping a close eye on this kind of news, comparing it to data in their Forex trading system, and setting a sure strategy based on what these governments say they are going to do to influence exchange rates.