Shopping Cart Scripts Review

OsCommerce is an open source software to create online shops. Many hosting providers include osCommerce into their Fantastico bundle. Even the default version is full of various features while add-ons may expand the script abilities to an enormous extent. While osCommerce is positioned as easy to install and configure, this is not always true. In order to utilize all the advantages of osCommerce you’d better find a qualified integrator of this product who will tune everything the way you need it.


OsCommerce shopping cart allow you to add multiple products and organize them, run discounts and promotions, set prices in different currencies and accept payments through all most popular methods.

X-Cart is another popular and powerful solution. This shopping cart script has more than 100 features and it has a very demanded module that allows to deliver software products online.

X-Cart payment gateway supports over 60 different methods and the cart itself is very comfortable and easy to configure. The developers of the script offer installation and configuration services so that you can have a turn-key project in the end.

X-Cart is a commercial script offered in two varieties - Pro and Gold. The only difference between them is that the Pro version allows you to set up unique accounts for different merchants.

CubeCart is an open source script which is very similar to osCommerce and other shopping cart solutions alike. CubeCart needs your hosting to support PHP and MySQL. The script has extended configuration capabilities and can be connected to different payment gateways including PayPal and VeriSign.

Zen Cart is an open source product developed by a group of shop owners who know what they need in product implementing this into Zen Cart. Designers, programmers and ecommerce consultants help them on the way. This is probably one of the most user-friendly shopping cart scripts, though the functionality is still to be extended.

Shopping cart script named Agora is also quite a popular solution which is like osCommerce is often bundled into hosting providers’ Fantastico installation packs. It is one of the best shopping carts for beginners and has enough features to satisfy advanced users as well. Agora is famous for the excellent tutorials and support forums. Even if your HTML knowledge is not your strong side, it is quite possible you’ll be able to set up a nice online shop if you use Agora.

Of course, it’s up to you what to choose. It could be a wise decision to try all of the products described above and maybe some else to understand which of them offers the features you really need to create the online shop you think will be fantastic. Sometimes open source projects are more suitable than commercial ones. Sometimes it’s the other way round.

Ford Sells Aston Martin

The Ford Motor Co. earlier sold the Aston Martin, its British luxury sports car unit, to a group of private investors. Sources familiar to the deal said the consideration is about $925 million. People familiar to the deal said the purchaser is led by David Richards, an auto racing entrepreneur and also the founder of Prodrive Ltd. The latter also runs the Aston Martin racing program. The sources added that Richards will be supported by Kuwait’s Investment Dar Co.


Ford sold the Aston Martin brand to raise money to defray restructuring expenses. But it will retain a small stake in the brand. When asked about the sale, a Ford spokesman declined to comment last Sunday.

The automaker bought the majority stake in Aston Martin in 1987. The rest of the stake is purchased in 1994. Last year, Ford posted the biggest annual loss in its 103-year history amounting to $12.7 billion. In view thereof, the automaker closed factories and slashed tens of thousands of jobs as part of the restructure plan.

But the strategies are deemed wanting hence the automaker considered other options available and one of it is selling the Aston Martin brand. “It will give them some more needed capital to fund their restructuring,” auto analyst Brad Rubin of BNP Paribas said last Sunday of the Aston Martin sale, “but it really isn’t that much money.”

The Aston Martin is made equally-famous as agent 007, a.k.a. James Bond, has featured and used the brand’s vehicles in some of his movies. The brand is part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group which also covers Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo Cars. These brands are famous for the luxury, performance and safety. Jaguar, to boost its design philosophy introduced new lineup to wipe away the boxy image of the automaker. Land Rover, on the other hand, is enhancing its off-road performance. Volvo has achieved an ideal standard in auto safety. Even a simple auto part like the Volvo distributor cap is designed with topmost safety offering in mind.

Among the Premier Automotive Group units, the greatest contributor of losses is Jaguar with $327 million recorded sales decline in 2006. The automaker does not usually divulge any financial information regarding the individual units of the Premier Automotive Group nonetheless the company said Aston Martin is quite profitable.

Aston Martin, headquartered in Gaydon, England, produces about 5,000 cars annually. Each car costs more than $100,000. Considering the standards set by Ford, Aston Martin is not sharing its engineering and auto parts with the rest of Ford brands. Even when the automaker endeavors to make its operations global, the company is preserving the philosophy and standards of Aston Martin.

According to an executive presentation, analysts in the industry said they would prefer that Ford sell the Jaguar brand, which lost more than $700 million last year. The report also predicted that the brand would lose $550 million this year and $300 million in 2008.

Work at Home Business Opportunity

When you are considering a work at home business opportunity you need to know how to choose the right one for you. There are a lot of businesses available to you, and it can sometimes be overwhelming to choose between them. Also, there are scams to look out for and skill considerations. So how does a person sort through all of the factors to find the right work at home business opportunity?


First, it is important to find a work at home business opportunity that works with what you love. What is the point of starting a sales-based business if you hate selling? There is very little point, because you probably will not succeed if you do not like what you are doing. It is too easy to get bored and disconnected from your job. So your first task is to discover what you love.

Once you know what your passions are, then you can look into finding a work at home business opportunity that fits with at least one of those passions. There are all kinds of businesses available from sales to writing to data entry that can all be conducted from home. Some require a lot of customer service and contact and others require only the use of e-mail and minimal contact with people. The choice is yours.

After you narrow down the businesses, you also need to look closely at your skills and see which work at home business opportunity fits with your skill level. If you are a brand new entrepreneur, you may want to go with a pre-made business that comes with a lot of training. Or you may want to create your own business from scratch if you have the knowledge and skills to do so. Start off by listing your skills and seeing what you will need to start the different types of businesses out there.

Even though you are narrowing your list down based upon your passions and skills, you still need to look closely at the businesses you are considering. If you are starting in an MLM or affiliate business, you need to do your research into each business. You have to understand the difference between a scam and a legitimate work at home business opportunity.

Take some time to read through articles about how to identify scams. The few minutes it takes you to familiarize yourself with the common scams like pyramid schemes, stuffing envelopes, or assembly jobs will save you money later. Unfortunately there are a number of people out there that are just there to take your money rather than offer you a legitimate work at home business opportunity. Know who they are.

Selecting Mobile Ringtones For Your Cell Phone

Part of the fun of having a cell phone today is that you can upload all sorts of interesting mobile ringtones. You can use these cell phone ringtones for sounding when you have an inbound call, to let you know when you have an audio message, and also when you receive an instant message as well. There are all sorts of ringtones around today. Here are few examples of the types of mobile ringtones you can use to customize your cell phone.

Some of the most popular ringtones these days are hooks from current popular songs. In fact, there are several music services that allow you to download multiple rings and save them directly on your cell phone. Typically, the cost for the downloads are very little, and it guarantees that wherever you go, your favorite artist will let you know when you have a call or message pending. Because the mobile ringtones are so easy to download, you can switch out the tones any time you like.

For those of us that may like the oldies, do not fear. Mobile ringtones for people who are into the music of another era is also widely available today. While classic rock and roll and top 40 music of past decades are very popular, you can also find mobile ringtones that feature folk artists, blues riffs and jazzy horn melodies, if that is your preference.

Do you enjoy the sound of a coyote wailing or the love to hear water cascading over a waterfall? There are mobile ringtones that are perfect for you as well. Nature sounds are used by a lot of people to help create a restful and meditative atmosphere in the home, so it should not come as any surprise that people might want to take a little of that good feeling with them when they are out. An added bonus to having nature oriented cell phone ringtones will be the looks of confusion that people will assume when they hear your phone ring.

For those that are more retro, you can go with mobile ringtones that sound exactly like the old wired telephones that we all used for decades. From the familiar chirp that characterized American telephones for decades to the double rings familiar to generations of United Kingdom phone users, your cell phone can be equipped with mobile ringtones to bring back the good old days.

When it comes to cell phone ringtones, your only real limitation is your imagination. These days, if it can be captured in a sound byte, chances are it can be converted into mobile ringtones that are not only functional, but also will amuse you and the people around you. For more information, check out the Internet for some great deals on ringtones, or speak with your cell provider.

James Bond-Casino Royale (2006) Review

Another James Bond movie made, another classic to add to your video collection. Nowadays, who isn’t a fan of James Bond? This time, we have a new actor in the place of James, a British man by the name of Daniel Craig. I believe that he did a fantastic job as the main role, and they are already filming a new Bond movie with the same actor.

Casino Royale is very different from your average Jame Bond flick. The action isn’t as cartoonish, and the movie has a much darker feel than the others. For some, it’s good news, and for others, it’s bad news.

First the bad news, some girls will not have a fun time watching the movie. As they seldom look for dark, violent, and serious movies. I think that Casino Royale may have lost some female James Bond fans. I also think that the movie is missing a bit of emotion, as the new Bond is nearly emotionless. Which isn’t a bad thing, I don’t mind empty emotions in my movies, as long as the storyline and acting make up for it. But im not talking about my personal preference. The bottom line is that this years Bond, is nothing like the previous Bond. Some will like him, and some will not. It all depends on what you expect from a movie. In a nutshell, the ones who crave emotions from the main characters, may not like this movie. The ones who like more action, less talk, this film is for you.

I have a lot more to tell you on the good side of the film, before we get into the actual plot. There isn’t as much action in the movie as all of the other Bond films, but it’s more violent and ferocious. The storyline might be a little hard to follow, but after a few viewings, you gain the complete knowledge. Think of it like this: Each time you watch the film, you learn something that you didn’t know from the previous viewing. A good amount of the movie takes place at a poker table. It may be a bit boring for some, but not for me. After all, who doesn’t like to sit down and watch a very dramatic version of World Series of Poker? I didn’t think so.

The film takes place in many different locations. From the Bahamas, all the way down to Europe. The locations make the theme of the movie change pretty rapidly. So why is the movie 2 and a half hours long? It’s simply because a lot of things take place in the movie, various action scenes, information being discovered, which all leads from one thing to another, until the very dramatic ending, which I won’t tell you. The main villian is very strange, and his role is more realistic than any other 007 film. What makes this film more realistic than the others, is how all of the events can actually happen in reality. Nothing over the top, and the events are similar to real life. No other action film I have seen contains such realistic events.

Overall, this is one of the better films of the James Bond series. It is one of the most unique action films I have seen, and I would definately recommend it to action movie fans, and James Bond fans. People from all over the world can enjoy this film, as it is likeable by many people. Casino Royale has been in theatres for 2 weeks, and has made a total of $94.2 Million, and is one of the most successful Bond films. If you are going to see an action movie in theatres, what can be better than this? Nothing.

Downloading Music and Videos for an iPod

This is a short comparison of the two best unlimited iPod download centers on the internet. This review is similar to the one I wrote up a couple weeks ago relating to unlimited downloads for the new Microsoft Zune MP3 and video player. I received a very good response to that article so I thought I’d go out, do some research, and compare similar products for the iPod.

I will be comparing iPod Blender and My iPod Downloads, two of the most popular sites out there for unlimited music and video downloads for the popular iPod. These kinds of websites will be gaining popularity in the coming months as the advantage over pay-per-download websites such as iTunes becomes more and more apparent. The advantage really comes down to the fact that iTunes wants a fee of around $0.99 for each song you purchase from them. If you want to expand your digital music collection, you could spend thousands on iTunes. However, if you pay a one off fee at a website such as iPod Blender or My iPod Downloads, you will save big time in the long run.

First, we have My iPod Downloads - which arguably has the largest collection of music and video files for the iPod anywhere on the internet! It also offers an attractive and easy to use website with good technical support and all the services you come to expect. The cost to join is fairly competitive too; 1 year costing $29.95, 2 years costing $34.80 and lifetime membership costing only $39.95!

We also have iPod Blender, which is in every way as good as My iPod Downloads. The collection of music and videos is on par with My iPod Downloads, the website is also very attractive and easy to use and you also receive technical support when you sign up. However the cost is slightly better than My iPod Downloads, with lifetime membership costing only $37.00. Unfortunately, there is no 1 year or 2 year membership with this website.

Both websites also offer a host of bonuses when you sign up, including music and video converters for the iPod, a free media player and other assorted software and tutorials. My iPod Downloads probably beats iPod Blender is this category as they also provide you with free Spyware removal software - I have no idea why or how this is related to the iPod, but it’s a great bonus!

I couldn’t really find any negative aspects of either of these two websites, I also contacted some people who have been members of these two for a while and generally they all were very satisfied with the service that My iPod Downloads and iPod Blender offer. Unfortunately I couldn’t really tell the two websites apart, they are both of high quality and the choice is really up to you. However, I could safely say that they both leave the other ones on the net for dead!

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2 Digicam

Sony has announced for the latest another stylish edition in its T-series digital camera, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2 is a compact digital camera which feautres a 8.1 megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and boasted with 4GB of internal memory and can store up to 40,000 VGA-quality photos or 1,000 8-megapixel pictures, eliminating the need to manage multiple media cards. And, you won’t spend hours trying to find your pictures on this camera. The Cyber-shot DSC-T2 also feautures a 2.7-inch LCD touchscreen, 3x optical zoom, image stabilization, ISO rating up to 3200 and USB 2.0 high-speed connectivity for connection to a personal computer, and high definition component video connectivity for viewing on the latest HD televisions


The Sony Cybershot T2 also incorporates the new so called ‘Sharemark’ technology, which makes it possible to share your digital photos online. The Sharemark technology gives the DSC-T2 camera an extra social character; just snap a photo, indoors or outdoors, and directly upload your photos to blogs and image-sharing web sites.

With 8.1 megapixel resolution is not enough to ensure good quality photos, but in combination with the high-quality Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens and a high-speed BIONZ image processor engine you are guaranteed of beautiful pictures! The eye-catching Sony T2 also features Double Anti-Blur technology which enables users to get crystal clear images in low light situations as well. Also Face Detection and Smile Shutter options are incorporated into the Cyber-shot DSC T2 camera. With the Face Detection feature it becomes easy to make good looking portraits of family and friends. The Smile Shutter, a relatively new feature on digital compact cameras, fires the shutter automatically as soon as a smiling subject arises. This results in more pictures of happy, smiling faces.