In this economy, even having multiple degrees isn’t a guarantee against poverty.

The number of PhD recipients on food stamps and other forms of welfare more than tripled between 2007 and 2010 to 33,655, according to an Urban Institute analysis cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The number of master’s degree holders on food stamps and other forms of welfare nearly tripled during that same time period to 293,029, according to the same analysis. [read]

With Facebook’s billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram and impending IPO things sure seem fizzy in Silicon Valley, leading to a whole lot of speculation about whether we’re in a tech bubble. There are compelling arguments on both sides of the debate, but there’s one thing no one can argue with—cold, hard data. And the Census Bureau just released a bunch on start-ups in America.

What’s the headline takeaway? The formation of new businesses has actually fallen to record lows. Start-up mania and the stated ambitions of many to escape their cubicles and found their own ventures aside, Americans overall are starting far few new businesses. New firms made up 13% of all businesses in the 1980s, then fell to just less than 11% in 2006. Now the percentage has dipped sharply with young firms representing just 8% of businesses in 2010, the most recent available data. [read]

The company’s CEO of Mobile Business Ralph de la Vega told CNET on the sidelines of the CTIA Wireless trade show that the upcoming shared plan would allow consumers to buy one package of data to split among multiple devices, which is a forward-thinking step that could encourage tablet sales.

“I’m very comfortable with the plan that will be offered to our customers,” revealed de la Vega.

Just a few months ago, the executive seemed to doubt family plans due to IT, billing, and device subsidization issues. He even remarked his goal to “get it right”— instead of unveiling the strategy prematurely. [read]

Although we’re not sure how the organizers logged the exact number (nor do we know how everybody managed to plug in), it is said that 7,273 guitarists, wielding both electrics and acoustics, took part, besting the old record of 6,346 that was set at the same event held in 2009.

You can check it out in the video above, and if you happen to see yourself in the crowd, consider yourself – in the words of Hendrix – “not necessarily stoned but beautiful.” [via MusicRadar]

Travel + Leisure recently surveyed its readers on the 22 major airports in the U.S., asking them to consider a range of factors from baggage handling and cleanliness to location and WiFi availability.

La Guardia came in last its check-in and security process, baggage handling, WiFi, staff communication, and design and cleanliness.

“If there was a ray of hope, its location, which ranked 16th, was considered superior to six other airports,” writes T+L.

But before the other NYC airports start razzing their smaller cousin, they should look at how they fared on the survey. [read]

Regular cocaine users often experience early cognitive decline and brain atrophy, and the new findings show how these users are, indeed, actually losing gray matter in their brain much faster than people who don’t take the drug.

“As we age we all lose gray matter,” Karen Ersche of the Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cambridge and co-author of the new study, said in a prepared statement. But, she noted, “chronic cocaine users lose grey matter at a significantly faster rate, which could be a sign of premature aging.” [read]

The New York Times reports on hundreds of pages of documents pertaining to the debt collector’s practices obtained from the Minnesota Attorney General.

According to the Times, the debt collector promises savings and increased collections to hospitals if they turn over control of certain administrative functions. This includes putting employees of the collections company in the emergency room: [read]

Mr. Kotkin, one of the nation’s premier demographers, left his native New York City in 1971 to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley. The state was a far-out paradise for hipsters who had grown up listening to the Mamas & the Papas’ iconic “California Dreamin’” and the Beach Boys’ “California Girls.” But it also attracted young, ambitious people “who had a lot of dreams, wanted to build big companies.” Think Intel, Apple and Hewlett-Packard.

Now, however, the Golden State’s fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn’t Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere. [read]

Tuesday’s vote to reject Pandit’s pay package was the first time a major U.S. bank’s shareholders have nixed an executive compensation plan since they were given the right to do so by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. [read]

Because we know how to add zeroes, we’re confident that that is a lot of pennies. Like, 115,000,000 of them.

The AFP says the coin in question was an experimental one with a silver center, and is one of the first ever struck at the U.S. mint. Only 14 are known to have survived. In 1974, it sold for $105,000 to a dealer representing a group of investors. The million-dollar stunner features a portrait of “Miss Liberty” and the inscription “Liberty Parent of Society and Industry” on the front and a wreath and the words “United States of America One Cent” on the back. [read]

NYU (US) — The brain network activated during an intense response to art overlaps with the brain network associated with inward contemplation and self-assessment.

A study from researchers at New York University sheds new light on the nature of the aesthetic experience, which appears to integrate sensory and emotional reactions in a manner linked with their personal relevance.

We all have strong aesthetic reactions to works of art, even though the images that move us vary across individuals. Moreover, we are moved by particular images for very different reasons. Nonetheless, the ability to be aesthetically moved appears to be universal. [read]

CBS Corp. (CBS)’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group and News Corp. (NWSA)’s HarperCollins settled their suits today, two people familiar with the cases said.

Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) [read]

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg just announced that the social network has acquired photo-sharing app “Instagram” for $1 billion. Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom also made a statement through the company’s blog and confirmed it will “be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network.”

Zuckerberg’s full announcement is below, and Facebook’s official press release is here:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests. [read]

The sale marks an end to AOL’s very public hunt for a buyer, and the company says Microsoft was the winner of a competitive auction. In addition to purchasing 800 patents, Microsoft also gets licenses for AOL’s remaining 300 patents. By the same token, AOL retains licenses for the patents Microsoft bought.

In an AOL press release, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith says Microsoft was able to achieve two goals: getting access to all of AOL’s patents and owning specific ones that “complement” the company’s existing portfolio.

AOL expects the transaction to be finished by the end of 2012, and says it plans to turn most of the $1.056 billion sale price over to shareholders. [read]

The eponymous founder himself originally started out as a drum kit retailer before building guitar amplifiers in the early 1960s, which went on to be played by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Angus Young, Slash and countless others. He will be remembered as one of the founding fathers of modern electric guitar, alongside the likes of Leo Fender and Les Paul. [read]

And he wanted me to come over to his house the next day, and I did, and I spent 3 hours with him in front of his fireplace having this surreal conversation about the future.

And, you know, he talked about why Apple was going to win, and we talked about how Siri was doing. And he was very excited about the fact that.. you know, he was very interested in this area in general but, you know, they’re patient, they don’t jump on anything until they feel they can go after something new and he felt that we cracked it. So that was his attraction.

Kittlaus noted that Jobs initially wasn’t enamored with the “Siri” name, but under persistent support from Kittlaus and with a failure to come up with an alternative he liked better, Jobs eventually decided to keep the name when the feature launched on the iPhone 4S last October.

Siri’s iPhone app launched in February 2010, and Apple acquired the company less than three months later. Kittlaus worked at Apple until last October, when he left to pursue other opportunities and be closer to his family in Chicago. [via MacRumors]

But she has made sure that in the digital world, it’s her books and her rules. She and only she owns all sales made online. Instead of the eBooks being sold through retailers or publishers, all sales will made only through a website owned by the author. For the first time, Amazon and Barnes & Nobles have made an exception (and a huge one) for Harry Potter eBooks, allowing visitors to exit their platform to visit Pottermore website in order to complete the purchase. It is the only online publishing brand so far that sells its books exclusively through its website. [read]

It’s ugly out there this year. Email after email has been showing up in inboxes pretending to be from the IRS. But the IRS does not do email. They only contact you by snail mail. So those emails you see that want your info or say you’re due tax refund money are phony as can be.

Now the crooks have moved beyond just the IRS. USA Today reports that Quicken is putting out the red alert over fraud emails claiming to be from TurboTax or other Quicken products. All of them are bogus. [read]

The new take: AAA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and driving instructors teach that you should keep your hands lower, at 9 and 3 o’clock, or even lower, at 8 and 4. MSNBC says this change is partly to protect our hands and head, because if airbags go off, they’re more likely to injure your hands that are higher up on the steering wheel and then slam your hands into your head. So apparently it’s a “stop hitting yourself” adjustment. [read]

The radio-length cut and the clip, a first in each case for the song, are in conjunction with The Year Of The Doors, which kicked off in January with the release of the two-CD LA Woman: 40th Anniversary Edition and the DVD/Blu-ray Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story Of LA Woman. [read]

Cook, who earns a bit more than $1 a year in Apple salary, was awarded 1 million shares of Apple last year, which vest in 2016 and 2021. Those shares are now worth over half a billion dollars.

Apple is the world’s most valuable company with stock valued at $552 upon today’s closing bell and continued to climb in after-hours trading. [via 9to5Mac]

Been saying this for almost 2 years now.  The days of Macs for Pros are quickly coming to an end.  The cost of upgrading all my software for PC is going to be painfully expensive.  Not sure how this is going to happen.  Unlike the author of this post, my love for Apple is quickly fading.

——
From Pro Tools Expert

As an Apple fanboy it’s easy to let the excitement of a new Apple product launch hide the bigger message of the keynote.

Just look at these statements made by Tim Cook;

• He started talking about the post-PC revolution – this is made up in the Apple ecosystem by 3 devices; iPod, iPhone, iPad.
• He told us 76% of Apple revenues were made up by these post-PC devices.
• He then spoke about iOS
• The new iPhoto for iPad comes with ‘professional’ tools

The news from Apple, if anyone was still in any doubt, is that Apple are working toward a post-PC world.

Now Apple seldom announces Pro products at keynotes, I think the last thing it launched during a keynote was the Mac Pro, so I wasn’t expecting any such announcements, but that’s not my point.What all of this shows is that this is Apple’s main focus, if nothing else it is strengthening its position as a consumer brand.

I love Apple, in fact I think I have everything they make, even the Apple TV, I love my Mac Pro and depend on it, but perhaps my use of Apple products in future will be a post-PC world.

By Becky Quick, contributor

FORTUNE — When I waited tables as a teenager, I learned one lesson very quickly: Treat every person in a dinner party equally, because you never know who’s picking up the bill — and therefore determining your tip. It’s the most basic of business survival tips, but one that few car salesmen in this country seem to have learned. And if you doubt me on this point, try walking into a car dealership seven months pregnant with your husband and two kids, and see who the salesman approaches first.

As the birth of our third child approached, my husband and I decided we needed a bigger car. It was to be my primary car, and after doing my research, all I wanted to do before plunking down my money was test-drive the Town & Country, the Odyssey, and the Sienna minivans. But getting someone to take $40,000 from you can be tougher than you might think, as I learned at one Chrysler, one Honda, and three Toyota (TM) dealerships. [read]