Kevin F.

Robin Hood, a startup backed by Google Ventures allows you to trade stocks for free from an app on your phone. They promise to keep trading free and only sell margin trading, developer API access and fees from stock exchanges. Who knows if Robin Hood will stick to its word about keeping stock trading free, and who knows if it's a good things if investors trade more often because of low fees, but in the meantime, enjoy the free trades!

FreeConferenceCall.com actually provides you with high-quality free conference calling without any catches that I'm aware of. You simply enter an email address and they will email you a call in number and conference ID and pin. And that's it. It's kind of like magic. At first I was skeptical because it's a company and they have to make money somehow. But it turns out FreeConferenceCall.com makes money from the carriers so they more calls they handle the more money they make. They are just willing to sell a lower margin service than their bigger competitors. So it's great for small businesses and consumers. At least until the telcos change their policies. More from the LA Times http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/18/business/la-fi-himi-erickson-*******