If you only looked at the numbers then being a freelancer is probably one of the most rewarding, secure jobs that you’ll find. Based on statistics from freelance powerhouseoDesk, money earned by freelancers has increased 325% since 2009 and the hours worked have increased 211% for the same. But that’s not the whole story. Being a freelancer is a challenging job. There’s almost always someone who will do the work that you do cheaper than you can afford to do it and a worldwide decrease in the amount of available jobs has pushed more people into the freelance market....

At the very start of 2011, Kindle e-books salesovertookpaperback books on Amazon.com. This weekend, we reported thatAmazon is in talksto launch its very own Netflix for books. With all these shifts in the ebook biz, how do traditional book publishers compete? Like all businesses from the pre-Internet era, book publishing has had a tough time finding new revenue models and keeping up with swiftly changing social marketing and sales channels....

Ok, we’re a fair few years off commercially available autonomous vehicles. But today’s cars are advanced analytic data centers on wheels, with capabilities that can be added, amended, or expanded with a simple over-the-air (OTA) update. Automakers can choose when (and if) to turn on certain features–and it’s at a price. This week writerMartin SFP Bryant raised the issue on Twitter in response to the latest Mercedes-Benz update . ? ?...

I was fortunate to watch this interview live yesterday onBloomberg TVand I was utterly glued. Here was a man, Schmidt, a friend of Steve Jobs but ultimately a fierce competitor who works alongside two great entrepreneurs in their own right, Google founders Larry and Sergey yet he described Jobs, in no uncertain terms, as the greatest tech entrepreneur in history…and more. “He saw beauty as a part of everything he did…He was a combination of technology and artist....

Yahoo Answers is shutting down. Meh. I had forgotten about its existence up until today, when the siteannouncedthat it’s wrapping up all operations by May 4. On itsFAQpage, Yahoo Answers said that if you want to post questions or answers, you have until 4/20 to do so. I think the admins couldn’t resist that joke. If you want to download your data, including your answers and questions, you have until June 30....