Shopping for electronics

Setting up a home from scratch has given me plenty of opportunity to get an entirely new set of everything, from electronics to furniture and vehicles. I've been using the internet a lot to find out the best places to buy my appliances and one of the sites I searched for products was ShopWiki which is a great source of informationon user generated content, that is feedback from actual users and not just company generated marketing material. So whether you are looking for information on TVs or on personal audio and video players, ShopWiki is the place to head to.

ShopWiki's search engine encompasses over 180,000 stores and more than 220 million products and offers detailed information on home theater systems, personal electronics and much more. I also found some great information on the cameras and photography page since I'm looking for some photo editing software for my digital camera. All in all it's a good place to find information on all electronic products.

Back again

This has probably been the longest break from blogging, but there was just no way that I could have kept up with everything that was happening around me and still find time to blog. As usual, I've been keeping a mental log of all the things that I want to blog about, but there are just so many things to write that it will take some time to catch up with everything that has been happening. It's definitely been a fun ride, but am now looking forward to things settling down a bit.

Great fixtures

Yes, I know I'm meant to be on a slight pause from blogging, but I came across this great site that has Delta faucets which is what I will be getting put in my new home and I was so happy about it that I had to write about it immediately. Even though we might have a small home, the one thing I want is a great bath and kitchen. There can be no compromises there at all. So all my search focus in on finding apartments that have great fixtures in these rooms.

Slight pause

There will be a slight pause in the blog as I get my internet disconnected today. I will be trying to post from a wi-fi zone if possible, or will catch up with this blog once I am set up in my new home or from my cousin's place at least. Feels wierd to be signing off like this, but will have lots to blog about once I'm back.

Do you still write letters the old fashioned way?

Every time I see a nice mailbox, I wonder how many personal letters a person really gets. The mail seems to be only for coupons, bills and direct mailers and it seems such a shame for them to be put in such great Mailboxes. The kind of mailboxes that are available now are so great that it seems like a total waste for them to be only filled with junk mail. I am still in the habit of writing some letters and cards to specific people, and hope to continue doing so.

Microsoft buys AdECN

Microsoft has bought AdECN Inc, an online ad exchange company in an effort to compete more effectively with Google and Yahoo in online advertising. AdECN was formed in 2003 and is a place for ad networks to auction online ad inventory. Other major players Google and Yahoo are also following similar paths, with Google in the process of acquiring DoubleClick and Yahoo having bought out Right Media just a few months back. According to Microsoft, “AdECN market advertising networks trade on behalf of their advertisers and publishers. This means that AdECN supports, rather than competes with, the various players in the online advertising industry.”

The trick to finding apartments

Finding an apartment is much more work than it seems, and even though it is a fun job, it does require a lot of attention to detail and concentration. I like to work with a couple of real estate agents so I get a wider perspective of the different neighborhoods, since most deal only in specific areas. I also try to maintain detailed notes on each apartment and give it a listing, and even a floor plan, so one can distinguish it from the others later on.

The power of a plant

Since I seem to be only blogging about what's been going on in our lives, about finding apartments, packing stuff etc, I should add that I've also been searching for things to buy for our new home. I found these interesting looking silk trees that look like they will be nice to have. I have to leave all my plants here and that is something I want to replace as soon as we set up home. Going in for one of these will be a quicker way to make our house feel like a home.

Pending work

It's been a hectic few days and I haven't had time to sit down at all. We shipped our stuff yesterday and so now finally I have a bit of time before we leave to get the pending stuff done. What remains is some follow ups on the utility bills, checking some of the meters, returning my router on this internet connection and paying our cell phone bills, which we will do last of all, since they only take 2 hours to process disconnection and one can find out the outstanding bill amount just by sending a text message. Wish all my other utility vendors were this modern in their applications.

Finding a good apartment

Finding a place to live is not always an easy task. We're in the process of moving to a new city as well as a new country and have to still find an apartment, which is no small task to do. In any large city, just to find an apartment that one likes and one that fits in one's budget can be herculean. New York apartments are probably one of the hardest to find, since the competition for good apartments is so tough. When we lived in Providence, RI, it took us a good week to find a nice place on the Eastside, close to Brown University, but still secluded and quiet.

Avalon Communities offers lots of housing options in cities across the US, and is a great place to start a search for apartments. I find that when one lives in an apartment community that is present in several cities, it makes it so much easier when one has to move, since they provide the perfect place to find a new place to stay. The company has built its reputation as only offering the best of quality and construction standards and were even awarded a Builder of the Year award along with several other awards for their buildings.

Get to know your city again with eventful

Have you used Eventful yet? The site is one of the leading websites that lists events in the community and is a great way to really get to know what's happening in your neighborhood or in a city across the world. The company was founded in 2004 and now lists close to 4 million events. The variety of events listed in the site range from political, to sports or concerts; pretty much all kinds of social and community gatherings.

Eventful can also be integrated with other software such as iTunes and last.fm, which tracks all your favorite bands who are heading to town. It is also simple to export events using feeds or calendar widgets etc. You can sign up with a weekly email to get the latest information on local events or stuff you have selected on your watch list. And, of course, the system is completely free.

On decorating our new home

In the midst of all our packing and moving, I've been sneaking a bit of time out for checking out the kind of furniture and furnishings I want to set up in our new home. One of the things that I already decided is to get a set of faux wood blinds for the study, which is sure to give a really nice look. I am going in for a completely contemporary look and wood blinds will go with the look as well, adding a bit of warmth to the overall spare feel.

Handling utility vendors

The last few days have been super hectic as now we're dealing with all our utility vendors as well as sorting, packing etc. I'm quite fed up with all of this already and can't wait to just move and set up our new home. We've got less than a week left now, and with a weekend in between, we don't have much time to take care of everything. I aiming to finish all my outside the home work by tomorrow and then finish up my packing, before the professional packers and movers arrive on 27th morning.

Installing a shopping cart software

Adding an ecommerce software to a site is one of the best ways to expand one's business. As online shopping is growing, it is important to offer online shopping facilities to internet visitors, so that they can make purchases online. Ashop Commerce is the leading provider of shopping cart software which is the essence of any online store. Their award winning system is easy to install and is one of the most affordable options available. With a full team of technical and customer service people to back you, it is a reliable way to introduce shopping options to a site. Its secure system is a great way to open up your market to visitors from across the world, which is the essence of eCommerce. Having a shopping cart on a site, makes it easy for search engines to find your site and its design is such that it can be completely customized to fit the style and look of your site.

Liz Clairborne's expansion plans

Liz Clairborne brands Juicy Couture and Kate Spade will are being targeted to be its main drivers of growth over the next three years. The company plans to invest around $400 million to open more stores, around 300 more stores in the next three years, in both the international and domestic arena. Japan and China are the hot markets that the company is keen on expanding to internationally. "It's about building powerful brands," said Chief Executive Bill McComb, who joined Liz eight months ago, in an interview at the company's analyst meeting in New York. "Power brands command high multiples and high multiple EPS growth."

Creating blogger buzz

There's a new service that connects bloggers and advertisers and its called Smorty, which is the latest entrant to the world of blog advertising, which is a system of consumer generated advertising, one that involves bloggers to review products and services from their personal perspective. The concept is great for those who are good at writing and have a clear style of evaluating a product or service, but if you're not dedicated to doing a good job, it's a short term job as you're not going to get any advertisers asking for you.

On the whole, I definitely think that to be able to advertise on blogs opens up an entirely new market and set of consumers for a marketer. Bloggers working together can create a buzz about a product, service or event in a manner than can rival even the best of marketing firms and this is where the power of involving the average reader and writes comes in.

Abercrombie sends its overstock to Israel

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its overstock will be sold in Israel by One World Designers, who is an importer of surplus fashion labels. The store that sells Abercrombie overstock will be located at the Outlet Mall in Ramat Hasharon. Several people and companies have tried to bring Abercrombie to Israel, but have not succeeded, so this new venture is a highly awaited deal.

The focus on education

Online education is becoming more mainstream these days and one of the leading elearning institutes, Capella University has announced that it has introduced a new degree program along with eight new graduate and undergraduate specializations in the fields of psychology, education, business, information technology and public safety. Being an accredited university, Capella has always maintained the highest standards of quality and excellence. It's new degree program is a Bachelor of Science in Public Safety. The School of Education has also launched a Special Education Leadership specialization which is to be part of its PhD in Education. The need for training people in the field of education is acute and with this new program, Capella hopes ot encourage more students to join the field.

Pharmacies woo women shoppers

CVS Pharmacy is targeting women shoppers with its new look stores that are brighter and less cluttered. Shelves will also be lowered to make it easier for women to access products, and departments will be color coded to make it easier to shop. Besides cosmetic changes to the stores, the pharmacy is also creating ways to reduce errors in getting prescription medicines. The $250 billion pharmacy industry is on the upswing with the number of baby boomers increasing in age. The pharmacy sector is actually growing at a faster pace then the retail sector in general, at 8% compared to the retail sector's 5% per year growth. Other pharmacy chains such as Walgreen's and Rite Aid Corp are also wooing women customers, who make up 80% of total customers at their stores. Prescriptions and other medicines make up the huge chunk of sales, but cosmetics also add to the profits at these stores.

The world of high end watch bands

The fashion accessory industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the fashion industry and the watch segment is leading the way. Watches, especially high end watches are one of the first major purchases many people make and the watch band industry is also growing thanks to this surge in popularity in high end watches. Watchband.biz, is one of the largest watch band replacement companies for luxury watches and has brands such as HIRSCH, StrapCulture, Bionic and Argent available.

With more than 5,000 high end watch bands in stock, Watchband.biz is based in Germany and the place where you can get the most variety for replacement Watch Bands. The company has made a mark for itself by offering only the highest quality watch bands and from the look of the testimonial page, places a lot of importance on customer service as well. The company really is a perfect example of how a retailer should focus only on what it excels in and perfect it's offering so that customers never even think of going anywhere else. As a retail analyst, I have been quite impressed at their single minded dedication to their craft as well as taking care of their customers.