Latest video from Iraq

Saddam is gone but the violence hasn't ended.

Bombs are still going off.

And the country is worse off than before.

Online POS software

POS stands for point of sale. It is the checkout counter in a shop or anywhere else where you pay for your product or service.

There are several POS and inventory management software on the market. I just got to know about the MerchantOS POS and inventory management software. What makes the MerchantOS different is that it is a web based POS system This means that you only need an internet connection to help you record sales and keeping track of inventory. No need to install the software on your computer or other technical stuff.

Anyway, I was just going through the MerchantOS.com website. The design is quite simple, nothing flashy here but gets it's message across. I guess that is quite suitable for a B2B website. The website is quite easy to navigate and very informative.

They have a support forum but I would have also liked a simple FAQ page with a link on the front page.

I have to admit that the home page does look a bit congested. Maybe they should get rid of all the wasted spaces on the sides which would help in a better layout. The web designers can play around with colors and font sizes to give the site a more professional look. Right now it looks like a blog. Some people feel that you should not have a lot of text on the home page, but I beg to disagree. You should have all the important information on the home page and linked to other pages with more information. I found out what I was looking for on the MerchantOS.com website right on their home page.

If you have a business, you can check out their 3 minute demo or log on into their demo account to give it a trial run.

The information that MerchantOS customers have processed around $5 million in sales in 5 months, is quite impressive. Read about this and other news on their blog here.

Kids forced into marriages

Children as young as 10 are being forced into arranged marriages. I guess this is nothing new in several developing countries. However, I was shocked to learn that this is occurring here in the UK and more precisely in Coventry.

The Coventry Times reports that many Asian families (read Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) are taking their children out of their schools, shipping them abroad and forcing them into arranged marriages.

The report says that the authorities keep quiet for fear of upsetting the Asian communities involved. I agree when the newspaper adds that this is a case of "..political correctness gone mad".

Just proves that even though these people are living in a developed country, their mentality is still way behind.

AT&T to Cingular and back again

When I first heard about it, it was really confusing case of branding. First of all, AT&T became Cingular. Now Cingular is becoming AT&T again. Unless you are someone from the industry, I guess you are scratching your head in utter confusion.

OK, let me start from the beginning. Cingular Wireless was founded in 2001 as a joint venture of SBC Communications (now AT&T) and BellSouth (which AT&T acquired in 2006). Cingular, later purchased AT&T Wireless Services on October 26, 2004, making Cingular the largest wireless provider in the United States.

Cutting short the story and back to the present - a few later after SBC and AT&T merged, plans to to market Cingular's service under the AT&T brand were released in 2005. Finally, as part of the transition from the Cingular brand to AT&T, a new multi-media campaign was launched early in January this year.

I guess the re-branding may be a smart move on the part of AT&T, as the Cingular name as suffered from some bad publicity in the press in recent years. It should be pointed out that AT&T is the top carrier in the United States, based on customer totals. However, it may take some time before consumers accept that Cingular is the new AT&T.

It is expected that the first cell phone under the new AT&T brand will probably by the Apple iPhone, which many consider as a Cingular exclusive model - "the AT&T iPhone".

Some feel that the company should have waited until they had launched the phone to go for the rebranding.

Take a look at this gadget and you will definitely agree when I say that it more than a gadget but is simply a work of art.

You can check out the other Cingular phones available on the Wirefly.com website. Wirefly.com is an authorized dealer of Cingular phones.

Online opportunities site

You will find that there are so many technology sites out there promising to help you earn money that I sometimes say "not again" when coming across another similar site. I was planning to create a satire site making fun of these sites and had even registered my domain name Adamok.net, when I had a change of mind.

This was because after going through some of the sites trying to find a way to criticise them, I found out that many had really interesting, useful and original posts. Dustin's blog, Little America.us seeks to provide tested revenue ideas for "the little guy" (like me). However, unlike other similar blogs, this blog seems refreshingly neat. I realised that this is due to the fact that it is not plastered with ads of all kinds, unlike some blogs (that includes me). One of his side bar is totally empty except for the words "Help me put something pretty here." Think you can help him with that?

His recent post "Arrington Changes View on PPP" is very interesting to me as another Payperpost postie. Techcrunch is probably jealous that they are going to lose out advertising to small bloggers like me.

UK contact lens site

This is a review of the LensCatalogue.co.uk site, an online retailer of contact lens in the UK. As an irregular user of contact lenses I was quite impressed with the range of branded contact lenses they have including Johnson & Johnson, Ciba Vision, Bausch & Lomb, etc. You can also choose lenses based on the type - from Daily disposable and Weekly Disposable to Colored and Tinted ones.

Of course any contact lens site won't be complete without the accessories and this site is no exception - they stock all short of contact lens accessories including the regular solutions and cleaners. I was quite unsure what "Computer Vision Aides" were and on checking found out that listed under this category were special glasses, which were designed to help reduce glare and block UV rays produced by monitors and fluorescent lighting. I really need those.

Coming to their website, I was interested in knowing more about them but they don't have an "about us" or "Company profile". I would strongly recommend them to put one up as soon as possible.

Research has shown that concern over online security and lack of trust are the major factors preventing consumers from shopping online. LensCatalogue.co.uk is a Verisign verified site and they should fully emphasize that by putting up the Verisign logo on their home page.

I also noticed that the title of the FAQ page is given as Privacy statement.

Apart from this, the site is quite easy to navigate and the design is easy on the eyes. One thing that will bring in customers are their prices - the lenses listed are upto 70% lower than retail lens prices. I also liked the fact that you could track orders online. In case you were wondering, yes! They do ship to the US (but not to Puerto Rico, Alaska, or Hawaii).

Tip Tail blogs about anything

Tip Tail is the blog of Cynthia, a blogger from Salt Lake City, Utah. She blog about almost anything and a lot about her dogs. She has four dogs - Chase, Levi, Angel and Lucy. She also has 2 cats - Littles and Phoebe. It's hard to find people who love both cats and dogs.

I was reading here latest post "Working from Home Rocks" and it is about her trip to the dentist.

Like millions of people around the World, I hate going to the dentist (sorry! Uncle Megh but I prefer to visit you at home too). The last time I went to a dentist was to have my wisdom tooth extracted and it hurt like hell. Read my old post here.

Yeah! I agree with you Cynthia, working from home rocks. Actually I have no choice.