What Social Networking Can do for You

Online social networking offers internet users a means of connecting and sharing information with other individuals and groups who share common interests and goals.

Although more popularly known as socializing forums, social networking sites also play a vital role in helping online as well as off line organizations achieve their business goals. Social networking platforms offer businesses a forum for reaching out to potential customers beyond the immediate community.

Social networking sites, especially ‘friend-of-a-friend’ (FOAF) social networking sites such as MySpace and Friendster, are especially designed to directly connect like minded individuals and groups. Members interact with each other using many innovative tools including discussion forums and private or public messages.

An FOAF network typically displays directories featuring people or topics that all members can browse through. Whenever you find another member with similar interests, you can send the member a message requesting to be added to their list of contacts. This gives you the opportunity to meet other like minded users from that member’s network, thereby multiplying your organization’s contacts faster than you could in the real world. With every extra person you add, your network has the potential to expand exponentially.

2008 ROUSH 428R Mustang

Performance continues to pay tribute to Ford’s legendary history with the 428R Mustang, a limited edition pony car which follows in the tremendous success of their 427R model introduced last year and which remains in the ROUSH product lineup for the 2008 model year.

The ROUSH 428R Mustang will arrive at participating Ford dealerships in October 2007.

“We are continuing to honor and celebrate the heritage of the proudest models of Ford racing history – the 427, 428 and 429 (engines),” stated Jack Roush. “These are iconic numbers in the Ford world and it is an honor to put them onto ROUSH Mustangs and insert them back into the muscle car world.”

“The 427R is easily the most popular Mustang model that ROUSH has ever introduced to the market,” said Joe Thompson, ROUSH Performance’s vice president and general manager. “That vehicle will remain the cornerstone of our lineup, but to celebrate Ford’s history of automotive breakthroughs we will build a 428R in 2008 and a 429R in 2009. These cars are intended to be a collector’s edition with limited production that pays respect to Ford Muscle Car history.”

The 2008 ROUSH 428R Mustang is limited to 200 vehicles, each a potent street slayer with 435 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque thanks to the famous ROUSHcharger system, which, in the 428R is a chrome powdercoat which glistens when the hood is raised. Other under-the-hood goodies include ROUSH billet radiator and intercooler radiator caps, oil cap, and strut tower caps which add to the sparkling engine compartment.

The looks of the car continue on the exterior also, with the ROUSH front fascia, chin spoiler, hood scoop and rear wing adding to the muscular look. The locking hood pins show the world that there is something lurking under the hood, and the black bar high-flow grille adds to the aesthetics.

As for handling, the ROUSH suspension package makes it simple to manage the left and right turns. Changed by the ROUSH technicians are the front and rear shocks, front and rear springs, front and rear sway bars, jounce bumpers and an anti-wheel hop kit is installed at the Livonia, Mich., factory. ROUSH 18-inch cast wheels and high-performance tires grip the road, and the offroad exhaust system gives the ROUSH 428R the necessary growl expected from a V-8 Mustang.

The interior of the 428R gets the ROUSH treatment as well as ROUSH sport leather seating is installed, the white face electro luminescent gauge cluster, and the ROUSH short throw shifter with retro ball makes quick gear changes. Rounding out some of the interior upgrades are ROUSH sill plates and floor mats.

As with all ROUSH vehicles, the 428R comes with unique fender and decklid badges as well as a pair of engine bay plaques to authenticate this as an official ROUSH vehicle. Each vehicle comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Jack Roush. The ROUSH 428R is available with either a five-speed manual or automatic transmission.

Advantages of osCommerce

Trusted
osCommerce is well known and widely used. It has a large support community and a long history behind it.

Cost effective
Open source software is free to download and use, and existing code/contributions are also free.

Easy to use
The software features a familiar shopping cart model, with a number of ways to access the product catalog.

Suitable for a wide range of stores
Clients can choose whether to build/modify their own site or use an experienced developer, and the software suits a wide range of store types. In addition, osCommerce supports international stores, as it includes facilities for multilanguage and multi-currency shops.

Flexible
osCommerce is customizable and expandable by someone with the right skills or the desire to learn.

Secure
The software allows the use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. Other features in the Administration area allow greater precautions.

Well supported
There is a strong community of osCommerce users and developers.

Increases effective selling
There are several ways osCommerce optimizes selling. For example, it allows product catalogs that can be browsed and searched, product specials, reviews, newsletters, as well as the Related Products feature and the What’s New feature.

Facilitates promotion of customer base
osCommerce helps merchants build up a customer base by being customer focused and easy to use, and by providing extras such as reviews, newsletters, and the Email a Friend feature.

Customer focused
Customers find osCommerce easy to use. They can receive newsletters and email notifications about products, and they can read and create online product reviews.

Customers also appreciate the secure accounts that protect their personal data, allow access to their purchase history, and provide updates on the status of their orders.

Merchant focused
osCommerce is an affordable option for merchants and it caters for a wide range of languages, currencies and store sizes. It provides a wide range of features, including report generation, payment processing and backup tools, as well as invoices and packing slips.

osCommerce features a straightforward administration area that is easy to secure, and merchants have control of catalog content and structures, products, and shipping cost calculations.

Source : http://www.oscommerce.co.nz

Computer and Coffee

The Yuno PC is a new personal computer concept designed to help you get the most out of your morning without holding you back or constraining you to a desktop PC. Everyone has their own routine, what they read, watch, listen to, and of course drink. The Yuno PC mug incorporates all the important morning alerts such as weather, time, traffic, stocks, and more on its touchscreen display. You can also display your own images as a screensaver if you just want to relax. It lets you enjoy the morning the way you deserve to, stress free and highly caffenaited.

Designer: Jason Farsai

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Secure Payment

While SSL and S-HTTP provide some levels of security to protect the consumer, these technologies are not without their problems. In an effort to overcome these shortcomings, a new system called SET has been developed.

SET (Secure Electronic Transaction)

SET is a system for ensuring the security of financial transactions on the Internet. It was supported initially by MasterCard, Visa, Microsoft, Netscape, IBM and others. SET uses a system of lock and keys along with certified account IDs for both consumers and merchants (An organisation who sells goods on the Internet). This eliminates the fear that user may have about the validity of the site, since it can simply be a bogus page set up by an Internet thief and protects users. Through a unique process of “encrypting” or scrambling the information exchanged between the shopper and the online store, SET ensures a payment process that is convenient, private and most of all secure.

SET establishes industry standards that keep consumer order and payment information confidential. It increases integrity for all data transmitted through its unique encryption system. Set is able to provide authentication that the cardholder is the legitimate user of the card account. Also, SET is able to authenticate that the Internet merchant can accept branded card transactions through its relationship with a third-party financial institution. Finally, SET allows the use of the best security practices and system design techniques that will protect all legitimate parties in an e-commerce transaction.

source: ecommercetechnology.org

History of Ecommerce

One of the most popular activities on the Web is shopping. It has much allure in it – you can shop at your leisure, anytime, and in your pajamas. Literally anyone can have their pages built to display their specific goods and services.

History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.

At first, the term ecommerce meant the process of execution of commercial transactions electronically with the help of the leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange business information and do electronic transactions. The ability to use these technologies appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send commercial documentation electronically.

Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 1994, it took approximately four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet. In 2000 a great number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word ecommerce was changed. People began to define the term ecommerce as the process of purchasing of available goods and services over the Internet using secure connections and electronic payment services. Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to unfortunate results and many of ecommerce companies disappeared, the “brick and mortar” retailers recognized the advantages of electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to their web sites (e.g., after the online grocery store Webvan came to ruin, two supermarket chains, Albertsons and Safeway, began to use ecommerce to enable their customers to buy groceries online). By the end of 2001, the largest form of ecommerce, Business-to-Business (B2B) model, had around $700 billion in transactions.

According to all available data, ecommerce sales continued to grow in the next few years and, by the end of 2007, ecommerce sales accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales.

Ecommerce has a great deal of advantages over “brick and mortar” stores and mail order catalogs. Consumers can easily search through a large database of products and services. They can see actual prices, build an order over several days and email it as a “wish list” hoping that someone will pay for their selected goods. Customers can compare prices with a click of the mouse and buy the selected product at best prices.

Online vendors, in their turn, also get distinct advantages. The web and its search engines provide a way to be found by customers without expensive advertising campaign. Even small online shops can reach global markets. Web technology also allows to track customer preferences and to deliver individually-tailored marketing.

History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first Internet companies to allow electronic transactions. Thanks to their founders we now have a handsome ecommerce sector and enjoy the buying and selling advantages of the Internet. Currently there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers: Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office supplies and other consumer electronics.

Amazon.com, Inc. is one of the most famous ecommerce companies and is located in Seattle, Washington (USA). It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and was one of the first American ecommerce companies to sell products over the Internet. After the dot-com collapse Amazon lost its position as a successful business model, however, in 2003 the company made its first annual profit which was the first step to the further development.

At the outset Amazon.com was considered as an online bookstore, but in time it extended a variety of goods by adding electronics, software, DVDs, video games, music CDs, MP3s, apparel, footwear, health products, etc. The original name of the company was Cadabra.com, but shortly after it become popular in the Internet Bezos decided to rename his business “Amazon” after the world’s most voluminous river. In 1999 Jeff Bezos was entitled as the Person of the Year by Time Magazine in recognition of the company’s success. Although the company’s main headquarters is located in the USA, WA, Amazon has set up separate websites in other economically developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and China. The company supports and operates retail web sites for many famous businesses, including Marks & Spencer, Lacoste, the NBA, Bebe Stores, Target, etc.

Amazon is one of the first ecommerce businesses to establish an affiliate marketing program, and nowadays the company gets about 40% of its sales from affiliates and third party sellers who list and sell goods on the web site. In 2008 Amazon penetrated into the cinema and is currently sponsoring the film “The Stolen Child” with 20th Century Fox.

According to the research conducted in 2008, the domain Amazon.com attracted about 615 million customers every year. The most popular feature of the web site is the review system, i.e. the ability for visitors to submit their reviews and rate any product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Amazon.com is also well-known for its clear and user-friendly advanced search facility which enables visitors to search for keywords in the full text of many books in the database.

One more company which has contributed much to the process of ecommerce development is Dell Inc., an American company located in Texas, which stands third in computer sales within the industry behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer.

Launched in 1994 as a static page, Dell.com has made rapid strides, and by the end of 1997 was the first company to record a million dollars in online sales. The company’s unique strategy of selling goods over the World Wide Web with no retail outlets and no middlemen has been admired by a lot of customers and imitated by a great number of ecommerce businesses. The key factor of Dell’s success is that Dell.com enables customers to choose and to control, i.e. visitors can browse the site and assemble PCs piece by piece choosing each single component based on their budget and requirements. According to statistics, approximately half of the company’s profit comes from the web site.

In 2007, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as the 34th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list and 8th on its annual Top 20 list of the most successful and admired companies in the USA in recognition of the company’s business model.

History of ecommerce is a history of a new, virtual world which is evolving according to the customer advantage. It is a world which we are all building together brick by brick, laying a secure foundation for the future generations.

Source: commerce-land

Will It Blend? – iPhone (Funny)

Everybody knows that the iPhone can make phone calls, play movies & music, surf the web, and a lot more. But, Will It Blend? That is the question.

Apple iPhone and HTC Touch

E-Commerce in the Arab world

2008 Saleen S302E Mustang

Saleen Automotive, North American’s premiere specialty vehicle manufacturer, unveiled its 620 horsepower S302E Mustang for 2008. The new “Extreme”, now represents the most powerful Ford-derived vehicle that Saleen has ever manufactured and a critical step in earning Saleen’s new respect for its products and its brand.

The new S302E raises the bar for American performance cars while never sacrificing on style and control. New for 2008, the car is affectionately known as the “Extreme” boasts a Saleen-built 302 cubic inch engine augmented by a patented Saleen twin-screw, intercooled supercharger. The combination delivers an unprecedented 620 bhp and 600 lb-ft of neck-snapping, tire incinerating torque. “We believe that we are in the process of creating a legendary new car. It’s thrilling,” says Saleen President and CEO, Paul Wilbur. “It seemed to make sense that as we go into our 25th Anniversary as a manufacturer in North America that we make our best and most powerful car yet.”

Saleen Automotive, North American’s premiere specialty vehicle manufacturer, unveiled its 620 horsepower S302E Mustang for 2008. The new “Extreme”, now represents the most powerful Ford-derived vehicle that Saleen has ever manufactured and a critical step in earning Saleen’s new respect for its products and its brand.

The new S302E raises the bar for American performance cars while never sacrificing on style and control. New for 2008, the car is affectionately known as the “Extreme” boasts a Saleen-built 302 cubic inch engine augmented by a patented Saleen twin-screw, intercooled supercharger. The combination delivers an unprecedented 620 bhp and 600 lb-ft of neck-snapping, tire incinerating torque. “We believe that we are in the process of creating a legendary new car. It’s thrilling,” says Saleen President and CEO, Paul Wilbur. “It seemed to make sense that as we go into our 25th Anniversary as a manufacturer in North America that we make our best and most powerful car yet.”

The Hardware and Engineering
In the automotive history books, all great cars incorporate great hardware and the S302E is no different. The new Extreme feature a litany of high quality performance parts that are a direct reflection of the company’s race engineering heritage, combined with the best thinking in automotive OEM performance engineering. For starts, the unique motor in the Extreme features a forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods, individually blueprinted forged pistons, 5 axis CNC aluminum cylinder heads, high flow fuel injectors, and high performance camshafts. All of these components have been orchestrated to mesh masterfully together, coupled with our best-in-class, patented Saleen twin-screw supercharger. When married to a short throw, 6-speed manual transmission and Max-grip rear differential, the Extreme screams to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and clicks through the quarter mile in just under 12 seconds.

“This place represents a kind of automotive “mecca” for me. We are making limited volume, performance vehicles for people who really love cars, by people who really love cars. I cannot think of a better place to put my 35 years of OEM engineering history to work,” says Vice Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Chris Theodore. Theodore is best known as being the father of the Ford GT while Vice President of Advance Product Development at Ford Motor Company. “Now I am helping build great Saleen cars in the same factory that I architected for the legendary Ford GT.”

“This is the best motor that we have ever done,” says Powertrain Engineering lead Rob Simons. “We have really benefited from having Chris [Theodore] around. He brings perspective and experience to the company unlike anything that we have known prior.”

To get that kind of performance, the team had to get the S302E’s power to the ground. This is accomplished with standard 20-inch, 5 spoke forged aluminum alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tires. Since power is nothing without control, the Extreme also features a Saleen Racecraft suspension and an all-new, second generation Watts Link system that is sure to help the driver maintain control through the corners. The chassis system is rounded out by upgraded 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS and traction control. This performance brake system features 15-inch vented, slotted rotors with 6-pistons calipers in the front and 11.8-inch rear vented discs with single piston calipers in the rear.