Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 ...............
....17
1.18
lntranets ........-.
.......17
1.19 TheTechnologies of Electronic Commerce
.....17
1.19.1 Electronic Data lnterchange (EDl)..
1.19.2
BarOodes ...................1
8
1.19.3 Electronic
Mail ........... ....................18
1.19.4 lnternet Market
............ 18
1.19.5 Product Data
Exchange .............. ...................... 18
1.19.6 Electronic Forms
.........18
1.2O Differences Between Electronic and Other Forms of
Commerce ...;....................... 19
1.21 DeterminingTechnologicalFeasibility
............ 19
I
1.22 Ecommerce
Marketing ................2A
1.22.1 Be a Resource, Not a Store
...........2O
1.22.2 Your Current
Customers ................. 20
1.22.3 Search Engines and Directories..............
..........21
1.22.4 Discussion Forums, Chat and Newsgroups
......21
1.22.5 DirectOpt-ln E-
mait......... ...............21
1.22.6 Banner Advertising
......21
1.22.7 lnternet News Releases ............
.....n
1.22.8 Co-Branding Site Content &
Features ...............29
1.22.9 Affiliate Programs...
.....29
1.22j0 Reciprocal
Links.......... ................... 23
1.23 Breakthroughs in ComputingTechnology.............
.............29
1.24 Technology
Breakthroughs in
Communications ................ 25
1 .25 The Sociology of
Convergence........ ..............25
1.26 ............
The lmpact of
Convergence ................... .............. 26
1.27 lndustry
A Paradigm Shift:The New
lnformation ..............27
1.28 Commerce
The Future of
Electronic ..............29
1.29 Methods of E-
commerce............. ..................29
106
4.16.1
ATypicalTransactionbetweenwebserversandclients...................'..
4.16.2 The Main Webserver: httpd (The http daemon) """"""""""""""""""'
107
4.16.3 ServerHardware.....'..... """"""""
107
4.16.4 ServerSoftware ...'......'.' """""""
108
4.17 WebGu
...............111
4.18 Portal and Portal Space
............ 111
4.19 Web Browsers ...............
...........112
4.2O Browser..
Working
of ................. 113
4.20.1 Microsoft lnternet Explorer version
5.0
........... 119
4.2'l Explorer...
Working with
lnternet .................. 11S
4.21.1 Basic
Setup .............. 115
4.21.2 Safety in Browsing the Web
......... 115
4.21-3 Learning howto Browsetheweb Fasterand Easier
.......... 115
4.22 UsingYourWeb Browser
........... 115
4.23 lnternet ExplorerWeb
browser... .................. 117
4.23.1 What to do if a Web page isn't working
........... 118
4.23.2 Setting up an lnternet connection using lnternet Connection
Wizard .... 118
4.23.3 Findingthe lnformationYouWant..........
.......... 119
4.23.4
BrowserTips ................ ................
119
4.23.5 The Cache
andToolbar .................124
4.23.6 Stiaring Bookmarks and
Favorites ................ .....................124
4.23.7 To EnterWeb lnformation more Easily
............125
4.23.8 Making Pages Available for Offline Viewing
....125
4.24 Netscape (Netscape communications or Netscape Navigator)
.........127
4.25 Navigating the world wide web with Netscape
communicator ......... ................... 12g
4.25.1 Anatomy of
Netscape ................... 129
4.25.2
TheToolbars................. ................
129
4.26 The Access lndicator.....
........... 131
4.26.1 Some BrowserTricks...............
..... 191
4.26.2 Who Controls the
lnternet? ............... .............. 139
4.26.3 Who Created the
lnternet? ............... ............... 133
4.26.4 Pure-PlayWeb Application
Server .................. 194
4.26.5 Develop-and-Deploy Servers
........1U
4.26.6 Application Servers from
ClienUserverVendors ................................... 135
4.27 Browsing vs.
Building ............... 196
4.28 ISP Web hosting
....137
GENERATING E.COMMERCE
149
5.1
Commerce .............
14g
5.2 Commerce in
History ................ 149
5.3 The Early Modern
Period .......... 149
5.4 The Effects of lndustrialization on Commerce.............. ....................
1S0
5.5 The Period of the World
Wars.......... ............. 151
5.6 The Later20th
Century ............. 151
5.7
FreeTlade ..............15
1
5.7.1 EarlyTrade
Doctrine ..................... 152
5.7.2
ModernTradeTheory ....................1S2
5.7.3 Arguments for
Protection ................ ................ 1Sg
5.7.4 Recent
Developments ........,....... ..................... 159
5.8
ForeignTrade ................ ............
1S4
5.8.1 Emergenceof Modern ForeignTrade................. ................. 154
5.8.2 Advantages of
Trade...... ............... 1il
5.8.3 Government Restrictions..'.........'..........'..,....'...' """""""" 155
5.8.4
Tarifti......... ................155
5.8.5 Nontariff BarrierstoTrade..'..'
"""' 155
5.8.6 2Oth CenturyTrends....'... """""""
156
5.8.7 Trade Negotiations
""' 156
5.8.8 Trading Cbmmunities and Customs.......'......
"' 156
5.9 U.S.Trade """';""""""""""""'
156
5.10
Business ...............
157
5.10.1 Types of Businesses....'..'.......
""'157
5.11 Manufacturing .............. """"""'
157
5.12 Merchandisers............... """""'
158
5.13 Service Enterprises """""""""
158
5.13.1 Forms of Business Ownership
""' 158
5.13.2 Sole Proprietorship
"" 159
5.13.3 PartnershiP
5.13.4 Corporation """"""""
159
5.13.5 Joint Ventures and Syndicates
""' 160
5.13.6 Syndicates """"""""
160
5.13.7 Mercantilism """""""
160
5.13.8 Retailing """""""""" 161
5.14 Retailing Strategy """"""""""'
161
1g.l
5.30.9 ChartYour Course
.....1g2
5.30.10 Ramforless.com: Buildin'lt So They'll
Come ..................... 193
Cold Fusion : The Basic Software for e-Comerce
Applications ............................ 193
5.31.1 BuildingYour Customer
Base.......... ................ 194
5.31.2 Requirements
Document ................. ................ 194
5.31.3 OrderandTransaction
processing. .................. 195
5.31.4 Attracting
Customers ................... 195
5.31.5 Fulfillment and Customer
Service ................... 195
5.31.6 Software and
Hosting .............-.... 195
5.31 .7 Use Those Log
Files ............:...... ...................: 195
5.31.8 Cost-
EffectiveAdvertising............... ............... 196
5.31.9 Everything
Keeping Track of
......... 196
5.31.10 Staying in E-
Business................. ....................197
5.31.11 Play by the "Business Rules. Document
........ 1gg
5.31.12 The Many Ways to Skin a Cat ............
............ 198
5.32 Add Context-Sensitive Help to your lE Applications
....... 199
5.33 Prepare For Growth ln E-Commerce Database
Design ..................... ZO2
5.33.1 Design a usefulWeb-Enabled Database
......... ZO2
5.33.2 Deploy Anytime
......... 203
5.33.3 Other Database Design lssues
.... 203
5.33.4 SupplyChain Management .....r...i...!.....
..........n4
5.33.5
Security .....................2O
4
5.33.6
Availability .................20
4
5.33.7 Volume Growth
.......... 205
5.33.8 Usage
GroMh .,............................ 205
5.34 Guidelines for Universal
Access ................. 206
5.34.1 TestingYourWeb Site............ .......j.!.!.......
.......n7
5'34.2 web Accessibility lnitiative (wAl) Guidetines for universal
Web
Access
to ................... ..........208
5.34.3 Principles of UniversalDesign
""' 208
5.35 GeneralAgreement onTariffs andTrade (GATT)' """"""
209
5.36 WorldTrade Organization (VWO) """""""""
210
5.g7 Writing Softwaies/Programs for Business Applications """"""""""
210
5.37.1 Traditional Business Applications """"""""""
210
5.97.2 lntranet Business Applications
"" 213
5.37.3 Top Tier:The Web Browser as a User lnterface """"""""'
213
5.g7 .4 Middle Tier:The Web Server and Business Logic """""""
216
5.37.5 BottomTier:The Database Server
"""""""""217
5.35.6 lnternationalization and Platform lndependence """""""""""""""""'
218
E-COMMERCE : SALES AND MARKETING
"""""2O
6.1 Competition
""""""2O
6.2 Perfect Competition
"""""""""22O
6.3 Workable Competition
"""""""'22O
6.4 Marketing,
"""""""21
6.5 Tailoring ihe Product
""""""""' nl
6.6 Pricingihe Product
"""""""""'?21
6.7 Prom&ing the Product
"""""""22
6.8 Distributingthe Product
""""""22
6.9 Services and Marketing....'...'.....
""""""""'223
6.10 Marketing Research
"""""""""224
6.1 1 Forces Affecting Modern Marketing "'
""""" 24
6.12 Specialized Mait<eting Developments """"""""
""""""' 225
6.13 The Marketing Profesiion......'.'...'."'
"""""'25
6.14 Marketing and Consumers .........."'
"""""""226
6.15 Global Markets: Definition and Characteristics
"""""""227
6.16 New Forms of Organizationalstructure """"""'
""""""'29
6.17 Telemarketing.................
""""'i"""""""""" 230
6.18 e-Selling ";""""""""
"""""""'231
6.19 Ecommerce Marketing
"""""""232
6.20 Create your own Onliie Storef ront "'
"""""" 2U
6.21 e-Marketing : Web Business Model: Product Sales """"'
""""""""'234
6.22 Designing Site Fot Online Store """"'
""""' 239
6.23 Xeepingirack of Everything ..""""'
""""""'244
6.24 Cost-Effective Advertising ...'.""""
""""""'245
6.25 Auctions Based Selling.....'..
""'246
6.26 Setting Up Shop in Cyberspace"""""""'
""249
6.27 Selling on Line
"""'251
6t.28 Shopiing Cart Software.'...'.'.."""
"""""""' 253
O.Zg Selling pioOucts trom a Web Site Storefront """""""'
"' 265
6.30 Cyber Cash Cash Register """"1"""""
"""'268
6.92 Affiliate ftf"rf,"ting , bimmision Junction's
Solution..".. ...'."""""""'n0
273
7. E-COMMERCE : VIRTUAL CORPORATIONS """"'
7.1 in" C*."ptof VirtualOorporation
"""""""273
7.2 VAN Service Providers
""""""'273
7.3 VANs and the lnternet
"""""""274
ut
7.4 VirtualPrivate Networks
...........275
7.5 lntranets and Virtual private Networks (VpNs)
..............276
7.6 Benefits of lSp-Based private Networks
.....276
7.7 TraditionalWAN NetworkArchitecture
..........277
7.8 Encryption-Based VpNs
...........277
7.9 Private Networking Using Frame-Relay pVCs..........
......27g
7.1O lntranet
7.11 i;;;;;i;;l;;;;;i
Difference i;
""""'.'-.'27s
i13 3:1F3,:,1X,U'*::::::::;I:::::::: : :: ::
: jii
7.14 lntranet and Portals
..................2g4
7j5 Web Personalization
................. 285
7.16 Dot Coms path to profitability
.....................286
7.17 Start an E-company
.................287
7.18 Dot-com DesignTips
................289
7.19 Risks in Dot-Com....
..................29O
7.2O Dot-Coms:What Have We Learned? .
.....312
8.9 ............
the need of a Web site
........312
10
I 11 Marketing and promotion..............
............... A12
9 Advertising ontnrernet
............. g13
8.12 Website Costs .........
8.13 Typical otfer from some WEb site Design Firm :
Office
The WebCommerce Back
................. g17
8.14 E-mail
Direct Opt-ln
.................. 318
8.15 BannerAdvertising
...................319
8.16 Advertisement for Real Estate : second Highest popularweb
cra2e................. 320
8.17 lncreasing circulation of
ezine ..................... 321
8.18 Web Site
Maintenance................. ................322
8.19 The Seven Negative Aspects of E-
Commerce .............. .................... g24
8.2O Choosing aWebhosting Company
...............326
9. E-COMMERCE: E-BANK|NG .........
.....3g4
9'1 Banking
............... a34
9.2 Early Banking ................
...........334
9.3
CommercialBanking ............
.....335
9.4 CommercialBankingToday.............
............. 336
9.5 Thrift lnstitutions...........
............ 3g7
9.6 European
Banking .................... 33g
9.7 Banking in
Britain..... .................338
9.8 Banking in Developing
Countries ................. 339
9.9 Role of Central Banking
............ 340
9.10
lnternationalBanking ............
.... 341
9.11 European
Banking ....................U2
9j2 American Banking Before World War - |
....... U2
9.13 American Banking AfterWorld War - |
.......... g43
9j4 Current Practices in Banking
....Ug
9.15
Finance ..........
.....34g
9.16
Credit ..........
.....g44
9.17 GlobalFinance Profiles.......
......U7
9.18 Fortune e-50 World's First 50 e-Commerce Companies ............
:
...... 351
9.19 Types Of Electronic Payment Systems
.......353
9.20 Electronic
PaymentTechnologies ................354
9.21 Electronics FundTransfer...............
............. 355
9.22 lntroduction to Electronic Payment Mechanisms
...........356
9.23 lnternet Bill Presentation and Payment (lBpp)
..............35g
9.24 NSE MarketTrading System
....363
9.25
CreditCard........... ...................
.. 38t
9.26 Accepting Credit Cards
............. 367
9.27 Wireless Credit Cards:How Soon and How
pervasive? .................... mg
9.28 Smart Card
Overview .............. ......,............. 370
9.29 lntroduction to Smart Cards in Wireless Communications ..........
......g71
9.30 Discover Olfers Online'Virtual Credit Card' .........
.......... g77
9.31 Smart
Card .......... .....................37g
9.32 What is a DigitalSignature?
.....381
9.33 Use your Debit Card with
Caution ................ g84
9.34 Online Credit CardTransaction Processing ...........
.........3g9
9.35 Lenders UseYour Credit
Score .................... 391
9.36 Loan Criteria Also Top Secret
... gg2
9.37 lmpacts and Effects of Digital Money
.........394
9.38 Cybercash Service : US Dollars
Payments ....................404
9.39 Authorizenet Service : US Dollars
Payments ................. rc4
9.40 Merchant
Accounts.... ............... 405
9.41 Worldpay Multi-Currency Payments (with NatWest) for UK based
Merchants ..... 4Og
9.42 lnternetSecure GuaranteesYour Merchant
Status......... .................... 4Og
9.43 E-Gold
Payments... ...................410
9.44 e-Pay it Online's Online Bill Payment
Portal. ..................410
9.45 eComm PRO Shopping Cart
.....41O
9.46 PDG
Software................ ........... 412
9 47 Wired-2-
Shop ................ ............412
9.48 Quickcommerce/E-commerce Exchange: Merchant Account
program .............. 413
9.49 IBM Net.Commerce:Taking the Lead
9 !0
Cash Re9ister...............
....
........414
9.51 Stock
Exchange ............ ...........414
9.52 lnternational
Exchanges ...........417
9.53 History of U.S. Stock Exchanges...........
..... 418
9.54 Regulation of
Exchanges ................. ............ 418
9.55 Direcent
Developments................ ................42O
9.56 lnvestment
Banking ..................420
9.57
Underwriting ...........4n
9.58 Other
Services............... ........... 421
9.59 OASIS :The LargestWeb Commerce
Arrangement......... .................4p.
10. E-COMMERCE : ELECTRONTC SERVTCES
DELtVERy. .................:. ..........42g
10.1 Electronic Services Delivery
.... 42g
10.2 Purpose
...............42g
10.3 Definition
...............424
1O.4 Drivers
...............424
10.5 Technologies for ESD
...............424
10 6 Single-Organisation ESD ...........
..................425
10.7 Business Models for Single-Organisation ESD ...........
... 42g
10 8 lssues in Single-Organisation
ESD ........... .....................42g
10.9 The lnadequacy of Singte-Organisation ESD ...........
...... 430
10.10 Multi-Organisation
ESD ........... ....................431
10.1 1 Architecture for Multi-Organisation ESD ...........
.............. 4gz
10.12 Challenges in Multi-Organisation ESD...........
.................4g2
10.13 Conclusions
...........433
11. E-coMMERCE : wirelessTechnotolgy to Enable Mobile e-
Business ...........:....... .....4g
11.1 Mobile
Commerce ..................... 4U
11.2 Challenges of e-
commerce ............. .............434
11.3 Global Mobile e-Commerce.................
......... ztgs
11.4 European M-Commerce Seen at Euro 3g Billion in
2004 ................... 436
11.5 Secure Mobile Commerce.
........ 1136
11.6 Secured Payments through
Mobile ..............437
11.7 First Mobile Commerce
Service ..................4g7
11.8 Wireless
Business .................... 43g
11.9 OEM
Portal ............ MO
11.10 WAP
Applications ..................... 44O
11.11 Platforms for WAP
Applications ...................444
1'1.12 MobileforMobileWorkforce
.....445
11.13 lnformation Technology and Mobile wAp enabled
relephones ........... 44s
1'l.14 Wireless Devices
... 446
11.15 Mobile Banking via
WAP ........... 450
11.16 Wireless
Portal ......... ................450
11.17 Multi-party
Communication............. ............. 452
""" 45s
12. E-COMMERCE:WEB PUBL|SH|NG """"""""
12.1 Electronic Publishing - Definition
""""""""' 455
"' 498
12.17 Design PrinciPles
12.18 Tips on Graphics Design
""""" 502'
508
12.20 Non-Standard New Standards
"'
12.21 Style Sheets '.".............
"""""" 508
)(I
14. ELECTRONTCCOMMERCEANDSECURTTY
........s7
14.1 Electronic Commerce and Security
............. il7
14'2 Privacy
...............g7
14.3 lnformation privacy.......
............549
14.4 A Common Misuse of theTerm ,privacy'
..... 54g
14.5 Data Surveillance..........
............ 5SO
14.6 Human ldentilication
................. S51
14.7 Authentication...............
............ 552
14.8 Anonymity, ldentification and pseudonymity
.................553
14.9 MessageTransmissionSecurity
14.10 Cryptogr:aphy ................
............556
14.11 lnternet Security
.... 5@
14.12 Security System of lntexnet..
....561
14.13 Overview Of lnternet Security
.....................561
14.14 Security for lnternetwork Connections
............ 567
14.1s Usins Secure rnternet.sites
rorTransactions ...... .::..:...:.:.::::...:::..:...................... soa
14.16 Protecting Your ldentity over rhe lnternet
.... 56g
14.17 lnternet Security : Other Aspects
................ 570
14.18 Security Risks in eBusiness
....575
14.19 Security-Related problems ..............
............577
14.19.1 Security lncidents on the lnternet
...................5TT
14.20 Secure ElectronicTransaction
.....................57g
14.21 Secure ElectronicTransactions (SET) .........
................... 578
'14.21.1 Who needs SET? .........
.....
...........529
14.21.2 SET: Merits and
Demerits ............... ..............58O
14.21.3 Adoption of SET by lnformation and e-commerce
lndustry .................. 581
14.2't.4 The Conduct of a payment
Transaction................. ............. 583
14.21.5 lnfrastructure for Digital
Signatures. ................ 5gg
14.21.6 lssues in public Key Cryptography .........
........ SB4
14.21.2 The Need For a Comprehensive Security
Regime ............. 5gg
14.21.8 Secured Socket Layer..........
........ 588.
14.2'1.1 The Need For a Comprehensive Security Regime.......
... S88
14.21.2 Secured Socket Layer..........
........ 588
14.22 Security Blanket for Credit
Cards ............... 5g9
14.23 Secured Credit Cards : Mondex System
..... 590
14.24 Use your Debit Card with Caution
14.25 Transfering funds from your Customer Account to Merchant
Account ................. 5g2
14.25 Microsoft Wallet Security for Online Shopping....
............ 594
14.26 FindingTrustworthy e-Commerce
Companies ................ ................... 59S
14.27 lntroduction to Firewalls
........... 596
14.28 Security of Gil .........
.................600
ls. EC AND LEGAL, SOCTAL AND OTHER ISSUES..
.................... 6(}2
15.1 Consumer and Shape of the Market place
..................... 602
15.1 .1 Financial lssues
........ 602
15.1.2 Electronic payment Systems
......... 603
15.2 Legal lssues
..........604
15.3 Privacy
...............608
15.4 Elegibility of Contents
............... 6'1 1
15.5 Technical Standards for Global e-Commerce ................
.................... 612
15.6 Copyright lssues
....614
15.7 LegalAspects of E-Commerce.........
........... 614
15.8 lntellectualProperty
.................616
15.9 Copyright
...............618
rlli
16.15
*l:
["ilji!],1,="#*J*r,,,:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.'.'.
ilgi
6.0
Microsoft Visual J++
........... 663
16.16 Java Script
............663
16.17 lntel's Just-ln-Time (JlT) Compiler ..............
................... 663
16.18 JAVA and Websites
.................. 665
16.19 Programming in JAVA
...............666
16.20 Command Line Arguments .............
............. 667
16.21 JAVA Capabilities ..........
...........678
16.22 Java
Tools .............:................
...678
16.23 JavaScript
.............679
16.24 PushTechnology............
...........681
16.25 Push Technology and Various Products
....... 688
16.26 Features of Different Push Technology Products ...............
............... 689
16.26 How is content delivered?
........ 689
16.27 Client Operating Systems
......... 689
16.29 Push for Executive Communication ............
................... 691
Appendix
.......69e7q2
xIlI
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 1
Cbnpb, I
C-COMMERCE:
C onv erg enc e of Technolo gies
are
2000. r;faci ii i; ;.ti,*t"o that
50% of al software
:ll?"li::? :f""":T::il,l",l^ol,ll:year
and 25o/o of all CD music sales will tafte place online by 2000.
sares
in
of
processormod
human nature.
of
lffi::*,lplrue
;
and division
organ be impossLle to
r.
ln ancient times, transporting commodities
over any significant distance was an
expensive and
enterprise'Thus, commerce was restricted mainlyio local markets,
risky
and the most
commonly traded
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 3
articles were foodstuffs and clothing. Most people spent the bulk of their
resources on food, and
what they neither grew nor gathered themselves they obtained through trade. The
same was true of
clothing: Garments were either produced and handed down within the family or
acquired through
trade. ln addition to food, clothing, and shelter, the rich devoted their income to
conspicuous attire,
jewelry, and works ol art. As a result, an important trade in luxury items
developed.
Virtual enterprises are business arrangements in which trading partners separated
by geography and
expertise are able to engage in complex joint business activities, as if they were
a single enterprise. One
example would be true supply chain integration, where planing and forecast data are
transmitted quickly
and accurately throughout a multi{ier supply chain. Another example would be non-
competing suppliers
with a common customer using EC to allow that customerto do "one stop shopping"
with the assurance
that a single phone call will bring the right materials to the right location at
the right time.
1.4 Electronics
Electronics is the field of engineering and applied physics dealing with the design
and application of
devices, usually electronic circuits, the operation of which depends on the flow of
electrons for the
generation, transmission, reception, and storage of information.The information can
consist ol voice
or music (audio signals) in a radio receiver, a picture on a television / monitor
screen, or numbers and
olher datalorms in a computer.
Electronic circuits provide different functions to process this information,
including amplification of
weak signals to a usable level; generation of radio waves; extraction of
information, such as the
recovery of an audio signalfrom a radio wave (demodulation); control, such as the
superimposition
of an audio signalonto radio waves (modulation); and logic operations, such as the
electronic processes
taking place in computers.
highway will
also entail new products and services-and hence new jobs. There should be societal
benefits as
well. lf properly managed, this highway would allow people to become better
educated,
healthier,
more productive, more informed, and, of course, better entertained.
The convergence of information industries will happen because the technological
and
business
imperatives are compelling. ll one company does not see the possibilities,
anotlier
the most
popular.
As the Chinese saying goes, "May you live in interesting times." ln that regard,
we are in for
some
interesting times indeed; few periods in the history of any industry can compare
with the next
decade
or two of the information industry.
Most remarkably,
investments in lT (including computers, software, and communications
now account for
45 percent of business investments in the US. Other countries such as"quipr"ni;
Finland
are emerging fast
with similar patterns thus demonstrating the power of digital convergence on
economies.
Currently, computing telecommunications, meciia (TV and publishing) and the
lnternet exist as separate
mediums where business-to-busrness(BTB)or business-to-govelnment(BOG) or peoplelo-
people
(POP) interact and work independently and not through integiated mediums. Now the
move
is to get
TV to the desktop, radio to the desktop, and the lnternet witn tutt blown
integration of media which
includes transactions. What will happen will be truly in my opinion a great peiioO
of growth of every
conceivable economy.
These mediums are about to collide and integrate and thus the ideas qf the
convergence will be real!
This will result in TVs integrated with interactive content, cable TV providers
will inte-grate the lnternet
and the boundaries that divide what we see today will be blurred to such as extent
w[ere you will ask.
Traditional media industries will see large scale integration and thus the
transformation of products
and services, as we see them today. All of this is happening right now and the
impact on economies
is going to be incredibly interesting and violent. So what are the implications
with respect to economies?
Business-lndustries who today work and depend directly or indirectly on these new
age business will
see large scale cross integration and convergence which will impact the economics
of the products,
delivery and services. Traditional media companies will buy or merge with online
service providers,
companies that are analog will go digital, services will get customized and the
customer will benefit
with cross integration of businesses and industries.
Traditional industries such as banking will be transformed into digital empires
that spawn huge computing
power read convergence) where the customer will work with all media as a part of
thJservice and
transactions will be truly global. Banks will, for example, become increasingly
virtual resulting in the
decreased use of real estate. TimesBank is one such example in lndia. Thus
willfollow industries
from healthcare to education and oil and gas.
Customers are also getting increasirrgly virtual (already a phenomenon in lndia
with the large scale
acceptance of cableTV), thereby placing new demands on business to reach, process,
transact and
deliver products of all kinds in new models of business never seen before. The
customer will benefit
and so will be economies of scale for companies.
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES/7
technologies (dealing with task automation and information creation and display),
and
telecommunications. We have recognized lor many years now the implications of the
gradual blurring
of technological lines between these three components, especially between computing
and
telecommunications.
However, the traditional definition is unduly limited. Both the scope of the
industry, 1s well as the
extent of its ultimate technological convergence, is far greater than previously
suggested'To
understand
that, we must first broaden the definition of the information industry.
,r0r,rili
lllstl-\Y
?.
a- (lDlVtC[\l
sroru:
(:ql:uatRl Divlctlv
F
fl{(xrl:!it
(,\l'ltl.lc".lrlONsl
Das-ru18t: rl:
I Ill^ssl'trLl)
information
Figure 1.2 presents a broaderview of the information industry. As depicted in the
columns,
audio/video, and data'
Historically, each form of
exists in five basic forms: voice, text, images,
information has been dominated at the retail level by one
imaging
consists of cameras, movies, industrial imaging, xerogra
primarily
been the domain of entertainment-related industries such
cast and
studios. ln addition, several important
background or supplier
cable television networks, and Hollywood
industries, including producers oi components and machine tools, have
existed to support each
form-based industrY.
in ea-ch one of those
The horizontal dimension of the matrix captures what is done with information
processed, or distributed. we first
examine the vertical
industries: it is created, displayed, stored,
columns: the forms of information.
D Voice
The telephone industry, created in the 1g7Os, q
industry includes phone companies and other s
manufactu rers, copper-wire producers, and nu me
of the telephone industry has been voice distri
image (fax) and data transport. The industry has also
been involved in the
information content
business (e'g', the Yellow Pages) and in the voice-display
business via the
manufacture of terminal
equipment such as telephone set cal underpinnings of
the industry have
been in the transmission and sw ls; however, the
technology is moving
rapidlytoward 1OO-percent softwa ng.
O Audio/Video
This category is comprised of audio information (m
industry has owned these forms of information f
define here as the entertainment industry, and eac
Hollywood, music studios, and television networks have predominantly
concentrated
on content
tion (done by movie theaters,
video, cable television
electronics industry
the technologies at
storage
while it was mechanical and electromechanical in its early
"nd-pro"es.ing.
)rears, the
technoloiical base for this
information form was the first to become predominantly elettionic
and
digital.
As described, the technologies underlying these form-dominated
industries
were inherenly different
and formed a logical basis for their definition and separation. All
of that is
changing, however, as the
E-COMMERCE : CONVEBGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 11
form of each information type becomes digitized. Once voice, text, images,
audio/video, and data
are translated into their binary equivalents, the rationale of a separate industry
to support each
becomes unsupportable. ln the process, the more recent of these industries (i.e.,
those on the right
side of the matrix in Figure 2.1 will enjoy significant technological leadership
over the others and,
thus, may become stronger competitors or consolidators of the total information
industry.
between companies,
among coworkers, and between other individuals. Media and entertainment
online chat, in
which people carry on discussions using written text; and to offer onlinJne*s and
weather programs.
Scientists and scholars use the lnternet to communicate with colleagues, to perform
research, to
distribute lecture notes and course materials to students, and to publish paper.
and
articles. lndividuals
use the lnternet for communication, entertainment, finding iniormation, and
obaltrade in services.
World trade irlvolving
ctures, videos, games,
sound recordings),
hnical information,
product licenses, financial
nd technical consulting,
accounting, architectural
design, legal advice, tlavel services, etc.) has grown rapidly in the past d-ecade,
no*l."ornting
for
well over $40 billion of U.S. exports alone.
An increasing share of these transactions occurs online. The Gll has the potential
to revolutionize
commerce in these and other areas by dramatically lowering transaction costs and
facilitating
new
types of commercial transactions.
The lnternet will also revolutionize retail and direct marketing. Consumers will be
able
to shop in their
homes for a wide variety of products f rom manufactu rers and retailers all over
the world.
They will be
able to view these products on their computers or televisions, access information
about
the products,
visualize the way the products may fit together (constructing a room of furniture
on their screen,
for
example), and order and pay for their choice, all from their living rooms.
Commerce on the lnternet could total tens of billions of dollars by the turn of the
century. For this
potentialto be realized fully, governments must adopt a non-regulatory, market-
oriented approach
to
electronic commerce, one that facilitates the emergence of a transparent and
predictable legal
environment to support global business and commerce. Official decision makers must
respect the
unique nature of the medium and recognize that widespread competition and increased
consumer
choice should be the defining features of the new digital marketplace.
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 13
Many businesses and consumers are still wary of conducting extensive business over
the lnternet
because of the lack of a predictable legal environment governing transactions. This
is particularly
true for international commercial activity where concerns about enforcement of
contracts, liability,
intellectual property protection, privacy, security and other matters have caused
businesses and
consumers to be cautious.
As use of the lnternet expands, many companies and lnternet users are concerned
that some
governments will impose extensive regulations on the lnternet and electronic
commerce. Potential
areas of problematic regulation include taxes and duties, restrictions on the type
of information
transmitted, control over standards development, licensing requirements and rate
regulation of seruice
providers. lndeed, signs of these types of commerce-inhibiting actions already are
appearing in
many nations. Preempting these harmful actions before they take root is a strong
motivation for the
strategy outlined in this paper.
Governments can have a profound effect on the growth of commerce on the lnternet.
By their
actions, they can facilitate electronic trade or inhibit it. Knowing when to act
and
important
- at least as
when not to act, will be crucial to the development of electronic
commerce. This report
-
articulates the Administration's vision for the emergence of the Gll as a vibrant
global marketplace
by suggesting a set of principles, presenting a series of policies, and
establishing a road map for
international discussions and agreements to facilitate the growth of commerce on
the lnternet.
speak.
l.l5.Z WWW. World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a collection of documents written and encoded with the
Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML). With the aid of a relatively small piece of software (called a
"browser,,),
a user can
ask for these documents and display them on the users local computer, although the
document
can
be on a computer on a totally different network elsewhere in the world. HTML
documents (or,,pages,"
as they are called) can contain many different kinds of information such as text,
pictures, video,
sound, and pointers which take users immediately to other web pages. Because Web
pages are
continually available through the lnternet, these pointers may cali up pages from
anywhere in the
world. lt is this ability to jump from site to site that gave rise to the term
"World Wide WLO:' Browsing
the Web (or "surfing the Net") can be a fascinating activity, especially to people
new to the lnternet.
The World Wide Web is by far the most heavily used appiication on the lnternet.
The World Wide Web is the multimedia experience on the lnternet. The WWW consists
of pages
where you can find out just about anything you want, or don't want to know about.
The best place
to
start is to a search on one of the many search engines. Click on the Net Search
button at the top of
you browser and follow the instructions, or use Yahoo! to browse the Web by
category.
The World Wide Web is essentially a document delivery system running over the
lnternet
network.
Connected to the lpternet, Web browsing software runntng on your computer can find
and fetch
documents located on lnternet web servers anywhere in the world.
Making a web site requires knowledge of "HTMI-'(HyperText Markup Language),
universal document
format of the World Wide Web apart f rom more than a dozen components and
application programs
listed in Unit 19 of this book.
For a fee, many companies will"host" yourWeb site, maintaining it on Web server
computers connected
to the lnternet. Browsing the World Wide Web can snag you lots of information, moie
ihan you might
expect' Plus, with your own Web site, you can get folks'attention from virtually
anywhere in the
world, 24 hours a day.
You don't have to know much about the "Web," or how it works, to browse fairly
successfully. But
if
you're planning to create a Web "site," you might find it less daunting if you
understand whai you're
dealing with.
With your own Web site, anyone with Web browser software and a connection to the
lnternet can f ind
the Web pages you publish. Your site can be an advertisement for you or your
organization. lt can be
an on-line newsletter, a catalog of goods or services, a customer support vehicle,
or an employee or
sales management system for remote offices. Think of what you're doing via
brochures, catalogs,
faxes, and forms, and chances are you can do a lot of it more efficientlybver the
lnternet, and the
World Wide Web, in particular.
1.t5.4 FTP
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES /15
FTP or File Transfer Protocol is protocol used to transfer liles between computers
on the tnternet.
There are two types of FTP conections anonymous.non-anonymous. lf you connect to an
anonymous
FTP server then you would use anonymous as your login name and your e-mail address
as a
password. Non-anonymous, you will need a private login name and password. There are
also two
types of file transfers, ASCII and binary. ASCII is for text transfers only. Binary
transfers are for
transfering angthing else. lf in doubt, uSe binary(bin).
1.15.8 Usenet
Usenet is a collection of more than 5,000 newsgroups, or discussion groupsl on
every conceivable
subject. For example, some newsgroups are self-help groups for victims of cancere
or sexual
abuse, and oihers give the latest in gossip about show business personalities.
Anyone can contribute
a message, called an article, to a Usenet newsgroup or post a reply, known as
afollow-up post, to an
existing article. With the aid of a newsreader (a program designed to access Usenet
newsgroups),
you can read an entire thread-all the replies to an interesting article.
The system is intended for exchange of information in an informal way. Anyone can
post new messages
to the group and reply to other messages. News groups are arranged in a lose
hierarchical order
covering about 5,000 subjects. About half of these are related to computing, the
rest are for recreational
subjects, professional discussion and trivia. To use Usenet you need a news viewer
and access to an
NNTP server. Most lnternet service providers have such a servel as do most large
academic institutions.
16 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
1.15.9 Telnet
s expansion
, the private
lower prices
ndustry.
"orr"r"".
mmerce and
simple legal
We should not assume, for example, that the regulatory f rameworks established over
the past sixty
years for telecommunications, radio and television fit the lnternet. Regulation
should be lmposed
only as a necessary means to achieve an important goal on which there is a broad
consensus.
Existing laws and regulations that may hinder electronic commerce should be
reviewed and revised
or eliminated to reflect the needs of the new electronic age.
(5) Electronic Commerce over the Internet should be facilitated on a global basis
The lnternet is emerging as a global marketplace. The legal framework supporting
commercial
transactions on the lnternet should be governed by consistent principles across
state, national, and
international borders that lead to predictable results regardless of the
jurisdiction in which a particular
buyer or seller resides.
l.t I lntranets
'lntranet' is a term used to describe the application of lnternet technologies to
serve the internal
needs of organisations and as is the greatest e-commerce facility to promote
internal business to
business interests
lnternet technologies offer several important advantages over conventional means
for developing
internal systems. lmportant among these are:
O The use of a common, readily available and familiar access tool, the web-browser
D The ease with which documents are handled and indexed
tr The ease with which multiple media can be supported
l.l9 The Technologies of Electronic Commerce
While many technologies can fit within the definition of "electronic commerce," the
most important
are:
o Electronic data interchange (EDl)
o Bar codes
o Electronic mail
o lnternet Market
o Product data exchange
o Electronic forms
l.l9.l Electronic Data lnterchange (EDl)
EDI is the computer-to-computer exchange of structured business tnformation in a
standard electronic
format. lnformation stored on one computer is translated by software programs into
standard EDI
format for transmission to one or more trading partners. The trading
partnerscomputers, in turn,
translate the information using software programs into a form they can understand.
18 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
a laser.
The most obvious example of bar codes is on consumer products such as packaged
foods. These
codes allow the products to be scanned at the check out counter. As the produci is
identified the
price is entered in the cash register, while internal systems such as inventory and
accounting
are
automatically updated.
The special value of a bar code is that objects can be identified at any point
where a stationary or
hand held laser scanner can be employed. Thus the technology carries tremendous
potential to
improve any process requiring tight control of material flow. Good examples would
be shipping,
inventory management, and work flow in discrete parts manufacturing.
haven,t
set aside money and time to market your e-business then it might as well not
exisi. iuckily
fo1. yor,
marketing on the internet can be much more cost effective than marketing using
traditional
methods.
Many are even free and can be very effective given the right planning and
exe'cution.
Don't underestimate the effort that will be required in order to make your e-
business
successful.your
online marketing plan should be no different than a "real-world" maiketing plan.
Before you start looking for a provider, you should stop for a moment and consider
what exacly you
need. How many transactions do you expect to be completing in a month? How many
proOucts
Oo
you have to put on your web site? How complex does the software need to be? How
much
are you
willing to spend?
transaction providers out there, and they all have
varying packages. Deciding
e that fits your needs is perhaps the most important
aspect in creating an
The Directory page provides a good cross section of the companies out there. lt is
a good idea to go
through a few of them and compare their prices and services. For a quick breakdown
of the most
popular packages these companies provide, visit the summary section.
The methods reviewed are as follows:
O Be a resource, Not a store
tr Your Current Customers
O Search Engines and Directories
D Discussion forums, Chat and Newsgroups
O Direct Opt-in Email
O Banner Advertising
D lnternet News Releases
O Co-Branding and Sponsorships
O Affiliate Programs
D Reciprocal Links
1.22.1 Be a Resource, Xot a Store
The most successful web properties have one thing in common:They are resource. They
don't just
sell a product or service. They interact with their vistors. They provide a forum
for information exchange
and discussion. They answer questions. They ask questions. They build community!
Before yo, go
any further take a look at your web site. ls it merely a storefront? Or, is it a
community? ConsidLr
how your planned design will serve your customers and keep them coming back.
a more
calculated result and is therefore more effective. This can oeieno however, o-n pre
effectiveness of
your banner and the location you choose. For instance, let's assume you
have a
$5ooo budget for a
one month campaign:
tr Your CpM cost = $20.00 (Typical CpM rate)
O 5000.00 /20.00 = 250 or 25O,OOO impressions
tr Your CPC cost = $0.65 (Standard CpC rate)
O 5000.00 / 0.65 = 7692.3 or roughly 7,692 clicks
Based on these numbers a click through rate of g.o7yo would be required in
a 9% click-through,
there's another one getting 1%. other factors such as building'brand awareness
CpM basis. ln
this case you have no choice if you want to advertise with th
s.Alternatively,
you can approach any of a number of internet ad agencies rep
sell ad sp"ce.
1.22.7 lnternet News Releases
News Releases are a popular way to get free publicity. There are a number of
lnternet
based news
services that distribute news releases to media outlets locally, nationally and
around
the world. lf
your news release gets noticed the free coverage can generate huge returns.
How do you get noticed? First and foremost, your news release ha
nd not
an advertisement. You need to understand who you're sending it
eir job
easier. lt should be professionally written using the generally aJce
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 23
paid on
ultimately increase sales. Affililtes are generally paid a commission per sale but
can also be
a per teid or per click ba
anY of a
numbercommercial softwa
romoting
your product, then an affili
ity' lf you
ion't'have anyone helping
an make
this happen quickly andlasily. Of course, since affiliate programs are
voluntary, you must put
together an attracttve program in order for it to be successful'
A typical affiliate program would offer:
O A 15"/" commission per sale (gross)
tr A $5.00 fee lor a qualified lead
O Or a $0.05 per click rate for users referred to your web site
your program should reflect the goals of your e-business and still be attractive to
potential affiliates.
you to their
This is a very effective and free method of site promotion. Links. Ask everybody to
add
list of links. plain and simple. you don't have to restrict you cross-linking
plan to related and
complementary sites; add educational directories, business directories,
community sites, local
process but a
sites,...EveryOoOy.you can never have too much exposure.This is a time consuming
worthwhile one. Not only will users from other sites find you, but since many of
the search engines
engines more
spider sites by following all of the links on a page, your site will be seen by
the search
priorities.
often! Make sure recipiocal linking is high on yot r list of web marketing
paradigm
The advent of the microprocessor represented the beginning of distributed
computing, a
and
shift that pushed the power of the computer to the deslitop. f urtfrer advances in
miniaturization
have made laptop computers more power{ulthan mainf rames
were in the early 1980s'
electric
"ior"g"
Key developments in computing in recent years have been the following:
24 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
A Processing
There is a continuous migration toward more powerful,
smailer, and less
expensive processors.
Aided by advances in very large scale integration (vLSi) of
micioprocessors,
computer hardware
systems have evolved rapidly from the earlier mainframe-based
modeltoward one
based on desktop
computers, laptops, and pDAs.
O Data Storage
The trend in data storage is toward greater capacity, easier
access, and lower
cost. paralleling the
improvements in computer hardware, data storagecapabilities
are expanding, and
their costs are
declining' Contemporary systems are designeJ to uccommodate
video images
of ever-higher
resolution, along with rapidly growing amounts of alphanumeric
data. cD-RoMs
provide.much greater
storage capacities than earlier modes;their appaient successor,
DVD-ROMs, can
store a two-hour
movie on a disk the same size.
O Miniaturization of Component technologies
Miniaturization is enabling manufacturers to incorporate computer-on-a-chip
E
9r*
*
$ tt t t IJ a.ru n<t fu t eta p ffi
wc f 6
3^ ratl)
2
::l G o fi r I I ft r rvlcf o/,r4.1d4
o a*
^
.FI
ogical
implications will ultimately
f the
lnternet. The assumption of
and
networks was that video-on-
iller applications driving
customer demand. When
this did not materialize, broadband projects were scaled back or shelved. lt was
to the residential
marketplace.
The sociological band communications
infrastructure are not yet
fully understood his interactive broadband
technology will cause
the most dramat ce the introduction of the
automobitel it will affect
how people shop, socialize, are entertained, conduct business, and handle
finances.
Critical to such adoption will be the nature of the interface. Any technological
interaction
that users
regard as dehumanizing will be shunned; it will be imperative, therefore,ln"t
nigfr-tech companies
pay great attention to high-touch issues. Videoconferencing, for example, can
greatly
increase the
human quotient in communications. Conversely, voice-response systems frustrat-e
cattLis
who would
prefer to interact with a fellow human being.
ln the global market, convergence will have a dual impact. For developed economies,
it will foster a
higher degree of cross-cultural exchange as global communications and transactions
become
highly
facile. Developing economies will benefit greatll from the affordability that comes
with volume;
deploying these technologies once the costs have come down will provide great
economic
development
benefits. The creation of a relatively inexpensive electronic infrastructure can
reduce the need for
more expensive physical infrastructure. lt can also aid in better allocation of
resources and in
reducing
waste.
will ultimately
drive the industry. This is most clearly illustrated by the explosion of the
lnternet. The assumption of
cable and phone companies in their earlier attempts to build broadband networks was
that video-on-
demand and interactive shopping would be the killer applications driving customer
demand. When
this did not materialize, broadband projects were scaled back or shelved. lt was
the dramatic, and
totally unexpected, growth in lnternet use that created the demand for more
bandwidth to the residential
marketplace.
The sociological implications of an interactive broadband communications
infrastructure are not yet
fully understood but will undoubtedly be profound. This interactive broadband
technology will cause
the most dramatic shift in behavioral patterns since the introduction of the
automobile] it will affect
how people shop, socialize, ate entertained, conduct business, and handle finances.
Critical to such adoption will be the nature of the interface. Any technological
interaction that users
regard as dehumanizing will be shunned; it will be imperative, therefore, that
high-tech companies
pay great attention to high{ouch issues. Videoconferencing, for example, can
greatly increase the
human quotient in communications. Conversely, voice-response systems frustrate
call-ers who would
prefer to interact with a fellow human being.
ln the global market, convergence will have a dual impact. For developed economies,
it willfoster a
higher degree of cross-cultural exchange as global communications and transactions
become highly
facile. Developing economies will benefit greatly from the affordability that comes
with volume;
deploying these telhnologies once the costs liaue c-ome down will provide great
economic development
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 27
-"]-'
I NFotrMATroN
tltcnwAYs'
ch
inf
co
on
pe
industry was highly inefficient in some areas and efficient in other
areas. As
they focus on their core
competence, industries will have to divest noncore functions to specialist
prouid"rs.
Some companies from each form-based industry will become the new
1.2.
Tabre 1.2. core competencies in the New rnformation rndustry
T14>e of Information Business Examples of Needed Core CompEencie
CLtrrent
lndustries Mapping to lt
informati.on content Fostering and managing creativity, information
gathering, and
programming skills publishing and entertainment
inf orrnat,ion appliances strategic
sourcing, design and
nt
engineering and marketing,
ity
battery power consumer
card is swiped
through at the supermarket. We can't be far from the day when new computers
routes from
the Chinese capitalChang'an (now Xi'an), across the North China Plain, tnrougn
the
pamirs and the
Karakorum Range to Samarqand and Bactria, to Damascus, Edessa, and the
Mediterranean ports
of
Alexandria and Antioch. The Silk Road began to be used around 100BC, after Emperor
Wu Ti of
China's Han dynasty subdued large areas o-f Central Asia by conquest and
alliance. The area,s new
stability, and extensive Han road building, enabled caravan trafiic to travel these
vast
distances,
which favored high-value goods: silk from China; wool, gold, and silverfrom Rome.
Caravans generally
met on the road and traded goods, ratherthan traversing the entire route. ldeas
also
traveled to and
from China along the Silk Road. Nestorianism, a sect of Christianity, was
introduced into
China from
Europe and Buddhism came to China from lndia. The Silk Road fell into disuse when
the
Roman
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 29
Empire disintegrated in the Sth century, and safety conditions deteriorated after
nomadic tribes came
to control sections of the route. lt was used intermittently thereafter during
subsequent, more peaceful
periods. Under the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, Venetian merchant Marco Polo
traveled to
China by the Silk Road, a trip that took about three years.
tr Intern0t
The lnternet is a decentralized global network of millions of diverse computers
a common
communications protocol called TCP/lP. The lnternet is a tool f,cr, comrunications
between people
and businesses' The network is growing very, very fast and as more and more people
are gaining
access to the lnternet, it is becoming more and more useful.
tr WorldWideWeb
The World Wide Web is a collection of documents written and encoded with the
Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML). With the aid of a relatively small piece of software (called a
"browse/'),
a user can
ask for these documents and display them on the users local computer, although
video,
sound, and pointers which take users immediately to other web pages. Because Web
pages
are
continually available through the lnternet, these pointers may cali ui p"g". from
anywhere
in the
world, lt is this ability to jump from site to site that gave rise toihe term
"World WiOe
WLO:' Browsing
the Web (or "surfing the Net") can be a fascinating activity, especially to people
new
to the lnternet.
The World Wide Web is by far the most heavily used appiication on the lnternet.
O Product Data Exchange
Product data refers to any data that is needed to describe a product. Sometimes
that
data is in
graphicalform, as in the case of pictures, drawings and CAD fiies. ln other cases
ways.
First, because graphics are involved users must contend with large computerliles
and with problems
of compatibility between software applications. (The difficulty of exchanging CAD
files from one
system to another is legendary.) Second, version controlvery quickly gets very
complicated. product
designs, even late in the development cycle, are subject to a great deal of change,
and
because
manufacturing processes are involved, even small product changes can have malJr
consequences
for getting a product into production.
tr Electronic Forms
Electronic forms is a technology that combines the familiarity of paper forms with
the power
of
storing information in digital
lines, boxes, check-off lists, and places for signatures. To the user an electronic
form is simply a
digital analogue of such a paper form, an image which looks like a form but which
appears on a
computer screen and is filled out via mouse and keyboard. Behind the screen,
however, lie numerous
functions that paper and pencil cannot provide. Those extra functions come about
because the data
from electronic forms are captured in digitalform, thus allowing storage in data
bases, automatic
information routing, and integration into other applications. As an example, a
supplies form may filled
out by the requester and automatically sent to a supervisor for approval. Once
approved, the actual
order may be input into an EDltranslator, and go to the vendor by means of a
structured X12 EDI
transaction.
D Differences Between Electronic and other Forms of commerce
These methods of doing business differ from traditional commerce in the extent to
which electronic
commerce combines information technology, telecommunications technology, and
business process
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENcE OF
TECHNOLOGIES/ 31
The concept of 'marketspace' (Rayport & Sviokla 1994) has been adopted to
distinguish the space,
within which EC is conducted, from the conventional, physical marketplaces in which
traditional
commerce occurs. The marketspace is the virtual context in which buyers and sellers
discover one
artother, and transact business. lt is the working environment that arises from the
complex of
increasingly rich and mature telecommunications-based services and tools, and the
underlying
info rmation i nf rastructu re.
EC can support most of the processes involved in the purchasing of physical goods
and services,
with the exception of the actual delivery or performance: as the old hacker's joke
goes, there just is
no u ubp (unix-to-unix-beer-protocol).
Digital goods and services (Negroponte 1995) are those whose purchase can be not
only negotiated
and settled using the information infrastructure, but which can also delivered
through the same
channels. Hence, for digital goods and services, the marketspace provides a context
that can support
the entire procurement process.
Web Designing and Publishing: Form of Electronic Commerce
lntroduction
The term'electronic publishing'can be used to refer to the efforts of conventional
publishers to adapt
their existing forms of hard-copy publishing to take advantage of the new
opportunities offered by the
information infrastructure. This paper takes the view that this is an unnecessarily
constraining
perspective, and should be avoided if the real potentials of the technology are to
be fullilled.
A considerable proportion of the existing literature on the topic relates expressly
to the publication of
academic works (Harnad 1991, 1995, Clarke 1994, Barry 1995b, Treloar 1995, 1996,
Peek & Newby
1996, Bailey 1995-97), and particularly e-journals (Odlyzko 1995). Another segment
relates to e-
zines (electronic magazines - Labowitz 1997). Many sources focus on particular
technologies and
their application to electronic publishing, particularly the World-Wide Web (Zwass
1996). Another
relevant literature is that relating to digital libraries (D-lib 1997, Ketchpel
1997). For general references,
see also Varian (1997) and Kahin (1997).
This paper adopts an alternative approach. lt considers electronic publishing as a
pariicular form of
the general class of electronic commerce systems.
iele,rant concepts of electronic commerce are reviewed, in order to establish a
working def inition of
electronic publishing.Three models are then presented, which provide:
O a structured description of the processes involved in the business of
electronic publishing;
tr a taxonomy of business models whereby electronic publishing can be funded;
and
tr an interpretation of the maturation path that is being followed by existing
publishers, as
they convert from conventional to electronic publishing.
lmplications of the analysis are drawn, for both practitioners and researchers.
Electronic Commerce
This short, preliminary section provides an outline of key electronic commerce
concepts, as a basis
for the subsequent analysis.
'Electronic commerce' (EC) is a general term for the conduct of business with the
assistance of
telecommunications infrastructure, and of tools and services running over that
infrastructure.
EC's scope extends across all forms ol business process within and between private
sector
organisations (corporations, partnerships and sole traders), public sector
agencies, convivial sector
organisations (associations and clubs) and individuals.
E-COMMERCE : CONVERGENCE OF
TECHNOLOGIES / 33
EC's most active area of application has to date been in procurement processes,
where models of
both'deliberative purchasing'also encompasses other business processes such as the
design of
complex artefacts like buildings, ships and aircraft, and administrative mechanisms
such as insurance
claims, and registration, licensing and court procedures.
The concept of 'marketspace' (Rayport & Sviokla 1994) has been adopted to
distinguish the space,
within which EC is conducted, from the conventional, physical marketplaces in which
traditional
commerce occurs. The marketspace is the virtual context in which buyers and sellers
discover one
another, and transact business. lt is the working environmeni that arises from the
complex of
increasingly rich and mature telecommunications-based services and tools, and the
underlying
info rmation inf rastructu re.
EC can support most ol the processes involved in the purchasing of physical goods
and services,
with the exception of the actual delivery or pedormance: as the old hacker's joke
goes, there just is
no uubp (unix{o-unix-beer-protocol).
Digital goods and services (Negroponte 1995) are those whose purchase can be not
only negotiated
and settled using the information infrastructure, but which can also delivered
through the same
channels. Hence. for digital goods and services, the marketspace provides a context
that can support
the entire procurement process.
7' lt was the dramatic, and iotally unexpected, growth in video-on-demand and
interactive shopping that
created the demand for more bandwidth to the residential marketptace.
a. true
b. false
8. All companies in the industry will have to focus on customers, as they
provide the volume and velocity
needed to achieve required price/performance ratios.
a. true
b. false
9. Today'q information industry is characterized by which of the foilowing?
a. inefficientinformationdistribution
b. adequate matching of information content with the needs of recipients
c. limited use of economic resources
d. all of the above
10. Of the three new form-based industries, the transpoft area is farthest along
in moving to the new
model.
a. true
b. false
ANsWERs
l.c 2.a 3.b 4.d 5.a 6.c 7.b 8.a 9.a 10.b
Cuprn 2
ELECTRO]VCS AI{D
COMM(I]VICATIOI{S
2.1 Electronics
The introduction of vacuum tubes at the beginning of the 20th century was the
starting point of the
rapid growth of modern electronics.With vacuum tubes the manipulation of signals
became possible,
which could not be done with the early telegraph and telephone circuit or with the
early transmitters
using high-voltage sparks to create radio waves. For example, with vacuum tubes
weak radio and
audio signals could be amplified, and audio signals, such as music or voice, could
be superimposed
on radio waves.The development of a large variety of tubes designed for specialized
functions made
possible the swift progress of radio communication technology before World War ll
and the develop-
ment of early computers during and shortly after the war.
The transistor, invented in 1948, has now almost completely replaced the vacuum
tube in most of its
applications. lncorporating an arrangement of senticonductor materials and
electrical contacts, the
trahsistor provides the same functions as the vacuum tube but at reduced cost,
weight, and power
consumption and with higher reliability. Subsequent advances in
semiconductortechnology, in part
attributabte to the intensity of research associated with the space-exploration
eflort, led to the devel-
opment of the integrated circuit. lntegrated circuits may contain hundreds of
thousands of transis-
tors on a small piece of materialand allow the construction of complex electronic
circuits, such as
those in microcomputers, audio and video equipment, and communications satellites.
plate). tf
electrons , which migrate to the anode-a metalcylinder around the cathode (also
called the
positive
an alternating voltage is applied to the anode, electrons will only flow to the
anode during the
half-cycle; during tne negative cycle of the alternating voltage, the anode
repels the electrons, and
no cuirent passes tnrorigh the tube. Diodes connected in such a way that only the
positive halt
36 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
cycles of an alternating current (AC) are permitted to pass are called rectifier
tubes; these are used
in the conversion of alternating current to direct current (DC) (see Electricity;
Rectification). By
inserting a grid, consisting of a spiral of metalwire, between the cathode and
thsanode and applying
a negative voltage to the grid, the flow of electrons can be controlled. When the
grid is negative, it
repels electrons, and only a fraction of the electrons emitted by the cathode can
reach the anode.
Such a tube, called a triode, can be used as an amplifier. Smallvariations in
voltage at the grid, such
as can be produced by a radio or audio signal, will cause large variations in the
flow of electrons f rom
the cathode to the anode and, hence, in the circuitry connected to the anode.
2.2.2 Transistors
Transistors are made from semiconductors.These are materials, such as silicon or
germanium, that
are "doped" (have minute amounts of foreign elements added) so that either an
abuidance or a lack
of free electrons exists. ln the former case, the semiconductor is called n-type,
and in the latter
case, p-type. By combining n{ype and ptype materials, a diode can be produced.
When this diode
is connected to a battery so that the p{ype material is positive and the ntype
negative, electrons are
repelled from the negative battery terminal and pass unimpeded to the p-pggion,
which lacks elec-
trons. With battery reversed, the electrons arriving in the p-material can pasi
only with difficulty to
the n-material, which is already filled with free electrons, and the current is
almosi zero.
The bipolar transislor was invented in 1 948 as a replacement for the triode vacuum
tube. lt consists
of three layers of doped material, forming two p-n (bipolar) junctions with
configurations of p-n-p or n-
p-n. One junction is connected to a battery so as to allow current flow (forwaid
bias), and the other
junction has a battery connected in the opposite direction (reverse bias). tf the
curreni in the lonruard-
biased junction is varied by the addition of a signal, the current in the reverse-
biased junction of the
transistor will vary accordingly. The principle can be used to construct amplifiers
in which a small
signal applied to the forward-biased junction causes a large change in current in
the reverse-biased
junction.
Another type of transistor is the field-effect transistor (FET). Such a transistor
operates on the
principle of repulsion or attraction of charges due to a superimposed electric
field. Amplification of
current is accomplished in a manner similar to the grid control of a vacuum tube.
Field-effect transis-
tors operate more efficiently than bipolar types, because a large signal can be
controlled by a very
small amount of energy.
2.2.3 lntegratedCircuits
Most integrated circuits are small pieces, or "chips," of silicon, perhaps 2 to 4
sq mm (0.0g to 0.1 5 sq
in) long, in which transistors are fabricated. Photolithography enables the
designerto create tens of
thousands of transistors on a single chip by proper placement of the many n-type
and p{ype regions.
Topview t<;
F.l[TE
Nor
gstet
ffil
AEF
1oo
connectihg pint
110*J I
2.2A Resistors
lf a battery is connected across a conducting material, a certain amount of current
willflow through
current is dlpendent on the voltage of the
battery, on the dimensions
the material (see Resistance).This
of the material itself. Resistors
with known resistance are
of the sampie, and on the conductivity
used for current control in electronic circuits.The resistors are made from
2.2.5 Capacitott
material
(see capacitor).
capacitors consist of two metal plates that are separated by an insulating
38 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
lf a battery is connected to both plates, an electric charge will flow for a short
for the
changing current. This effect can be used, for example, to separate an audio".or"
radio
"onjrctor
signalfrom a
direct current in order to connect the output of one amplifier stage to the input
of the neit
amplifier
stage.
2.2.6 lnductors
lnductors consist of a conducting wire wound into the form of a coil. When a
current passes through
the coil, a magnetic field is set up around it that tends to oppose rapid changes
in current intensity
(see lnduction). As a capacitor, an inductor can be used to distinguish betwlen
rapidly and
slowly
changing signals. When an inductor is used in conjunction with a capacitor, the
voltage in the inductor
reaches a maximal value for a specific frequency. This principle is used in a radio
receiver, where a
specific frequency is selected by a variable capacitor.
en-
tered the home market. Digital storage could also form the basis of home video
systems and may
significantly alter library storage systems, because much more information can
bqstored on a disk
for replay on a television screen than can be contained in a book.
Medical electronics has progressed from computerized axial tomography, or the use
of CAT or CT
scanners (see X Ray), to systems that can discriminate more and more of the organs
of the human
body. Devices that can view blood vessels and the respiratory system have been
developed as well.
Ultrahigh definition television also promises to substitute for many photographic
processes, because
it eliminates the need for silver.
Today's research to increase the speed and capacity of computers concentrates
mainly on the
improvement of integrated circuit technology and the development of even faster
switching compo-
nents. Very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits that contain several hundred
thousand components
on a single chip have been developed. Very-high-speed computers are being developed
in which
semiconductors may be replaced by superconducting circuits using Josephson
junctions (see
Josephson Effect) and operating at temperatures near absolute zero.
particular type of task{or example, to control the arm of a robot to weld a car's
body, to write a letter,
to draw a graph, or to direct the general operation of the computer.
keys
on the keyboard.
00,
information, the number of representations is doubled, resulting in four possible
combinations:
01 , 10, or 1 1 . A third bit added to this two-bit representation again doubles
the number of combina-
tions, resulting in eight possibilities: ooo,001,010,011,100, 101, 1'10, or 111.
Each time a bit
is
read or
The physical memory of a computer is either random access memory (RAM), which can
be
in tiny
but not altered. One way to store memory is within the circuitry of the computer,
usually
these
computer chips
computer chips that holi millions of bytes of information. The memory within
on
external storage de-
is RAV. Memory also can be stored outside the circuitry of the computer
vices, such as magnetic floppy disks, which can store about 2 megabytes of
information; hard
(compact discs),
drives, which can store thousahds of megabytes of information; and CD-ROMs
components in a
The bus is usually a flat cable with numerous parallel wires- The bus enables the
with the
lnput devices, such as a keyboard or mouse, permit the computer user to
communicate
40 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
computer. Other input devices include a joystick, a rodlike device often used by
game players; a
scanner, which converts images such as photographs into binary inforrnation that
the computer can
manipulate; a light pen, which can draw on, or select objects from, a computer's
video display by
pressing the pen against the display's surface; a touch panel, which senses the
placement of a
user's finger;and a microphone, used to gather sound information.
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) lnformation from an input device or memory is
communicated via
the bus to the CPU, which is the part of the computer that translates commands and
runs programs.
The CPU is a microprocessor chip{hat is, a single piece of silicon containing
millions of electrical
components. lnformation is stored in a CPU memory location called a register.
Registers can be
thought of as the CPU's tiny scratchpad, temporarily storing instructions or data.
When a program is
run, one register called the program counter keeps track of which program
instruction comes next.
The CPU's control unit coordinates and times the CPU's functions, and it retrieves
the next instruc-
tion from memory.
ln a typical sequence, the CPU locates the next instruction in the appropriate
memory device. The
instruction then travels along the bus f rom the computer's memory to the CPU,
where it is stored in
a special instruction register. Meanwhile, the program counter is incremented to
prepare for the next
instruction. The current instruction is analyzed by a decoder, which determines
what the instruction
will do. Any data the instruction needs are retrieved via the bus and placed in the
CPU's registers.
The CPU executes the instruction, and the results are stored in another register or
copied to Jpecific
memory locations.
2.1.6 Programminglanguages
Programming languages contain the series of commands that create software. ln
g6neral, a lan-
guage that is encoded in binary numbers or a language similar to binary numbers
that a computer's
hardware understands is understood more quickly by the computer. A program written
in this type of
language also runs faster. Languages that use words or other commands that reflect
how humans
think are easier for programmers to use, but they are slower because the language
must be trans-
lated first so the computer can understand it.
(1) Machine Language
Computer programs that can be run by a computer's operating system are called
executables. An
executable program is a sequence of extremely simple instructions known as machine
code. These
instructions are specific to the individual computer's CPU and associated hardware;
for example,
lntel Pentium and Power PC microprocessor chips each have different machine
languages and
require different sets of codes to perform the same task. Machine code instructions
are few in
nurhber (roughly 20 to 200, depending on the computer and the CPU). Typical
instructions are for
copying data f rom a memory location or for adding the contents of two memory
locations (usually
registers in the CPU). Machine code instructions are binary-that is, sequences of
bits (Os and 1s).
Because these numbers are not understood easily by humans, computer instructions
usually are not
written in machine code.
(21 Assembly Language
Assembly language uses commands that are easier for programmers to understand than
are machine-
ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATIONS / 41
language commands. Each machine language instruction has an equivalent command in
assembly
language. For example, in assembly language, the statement "MOV A, B" instructs the
computer to
copy data f rom one location to another. The same instruction in machine code is a
string of 16 Os and
1s. Once an assembly-language program is written, it is converted to a machine-
language program
by another program called an assembler. Assembly language is fast and powerful
because of its
correspondence with machine language. lt is still difficult to use, however,
because assembly-language
instructions are a series of abstract codes. ln addition, different CPUs use
different machine languages
and therefore require different assembly languages. Assembly language is sometimes
inserted into
a high-level language program to carry out specific hardware tasks or to speed up a
high-level
program.
(3) High-LevelLanguages
High-level languages were developed because of the difficulty of programming
assembly languages.
High-level languages are easier to use than machine and assembly languages because
their com-
mands resemble natural human language. ln addition, these languages are not CPU-
specific. ln-
stead, they contain general commands that work on different CPUs. For example, a
programmer
writing in the high-level Pascal programming language who wants to display a
greeting need include
only the following command:
*Write ( rHello, e-Commerce User! I ),.
This command directs the compute/s CPU to display the greeting, and it will work no
matter what
type of CPU the computer uses. Like assembly language instructions, high-level
languages also
must be translated, but a compiler is used. A compiler turns a high-level program
into a CPU-specific
machine language. For example, a programmer may write a program in a high-level
language such as
C and then prepare it for different machines, such as a Cray Y-MP supercomputer or
a personal
computer, using compilers designed for those machines. This speeds the programmer's
task and
makes the software more portable to different users and machines.
American naval officer and mathematician Grace Murray Hopper helped develop the
first commerbially
available high-level software language, FLOW-MATIC, in 1957. Hopper is credited for
inventing the
term bug, which indicates a computer malfunction; in 1945 she discovered a hardware
failure in the
Mark ll computer caused by a moth trapped between its mechanical relays.
From 1954 to 1958 American computer scientist Jim Backus of lnternational Business
Machines,
lnc. (lBM) developed FORTRAN, an acronym for FORmula TRANslation. lt became a
standard
programming language because it can process mathematicalformulas. FORTRAN and its
variations
are still in use today.
Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic lnstruction Code, or BASIC, was developed by
American math-
ematician John Kemeny and Hungarian-American mathematician Thomas Kurtz at
Dartmouth Col-
lege in 1 964. The language was easier to learn than its predecessors and became
popular due to its
friendly, interactive nature and its inclusion on early personal computers (PCs).
Unlike other lan-
guages that require that all their instructions be translated into machine code
first, BASIC is inter-
preted-that is, it is turned into machine language line by line as the program
runs. BASIC commands
typify high-level languages because of their simplicity and their closeness to
natural human lan-
guage. For example, a program that divides a number in half can be written as
10 INPUT IIENTER A NUMBER,I' X
20 l=X/2
30 PRrNT ilHALF OF THAT NUMBER rS, r' Y
The numbers that precede each line are chosen by the programmer to indicate the
sequence of the
42 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
commands'The first line prints "ENTER A NUMBER" on the computer
or off by electrical
current. Analog refers to numerical values that h
in between.
Analog computer systems were the first type to be
20th century was the slide rule. lt performs calcu
inside a rulerlike holder. Because the sliding is con
exact value, the slide rule is analog. New interes
particUlarly in areas such as neural networks th
modern computers, however, are digital machines w
for example, the o or 1 , or on or off of bits. These bits can be
combined to
denote information such
as numbers, letters, graphics, and program instructions.
display (LCD)to display information. Laptop computers usually have similar hardware
and software
as pCs, but they ur" ror" compact and have flat, lightweight LCDs instead of video
display monitors.
workstations are similar to personal computers but have greater memory and more
extensive
to
mathematical abilities, and they are connected to other workstations or personal
computers
that
exchange data. They are typicilly found in scientific, industrial, and business
environments
require high levels of computational abilities.
Mainframe computershave more memory, speed, and capabilities than workstations and
are usually
and
shared by multiple users through a series of interconnected computers.They control
businesses
industrial facilities and are used lor scientific research. The most powerful
mainframe computers,
used to
called supercomputers, process complex and time-consuming calculations, such as
those
and the
create weather predictrons. They are used by the largest businesses, scientif ic
institutions,
military. Some supercomputers have many sets of CPUs. These computers break a
ln
codes and scanners, check the credii status of customers, and transfer funds
electronrcally'
recorders on and
temperature, operate home security systems, tell the time, and turn videocassette
ofl.
gas
nrileage. Computers also
Computers in automobiles regulate the flow of fuel, thereby increasing
from a digitally
enteitain, creating digitized sound on stereo systems or computer-animated features
level
of education, from
encoded laser disc. Computer programs, or applications, exist to aid every
display
Computers are used extensively in scientific research to solve
mathematical'problems,
in sophisticated
flow around the next generation of space shuttles. The military employs computers
to ericode and unscramble messages, and to keep track of
manipulate numbers'
DigitalTechnology includes study and development of devices that store and
for a computer to
process and then
Digital devices can translat *oid" and pictures into numbers
"
translate the numbers back into pictures or words'
By contrast, analog technology is the study of
bers. For example, an analog watch contains
steady motion of its hands. Although numbers
nism does not store or use those numbers to
stores and manipulates numbers representing t
watch.
of these
digits' Every digit in
Humans write numbers using ten digits. O through 9, and combinations
store
numbers using only two
a decimal number 1."pr"."ni" powe-rs of ten. Modern digital devices
Every digit
in a binary number
digits, 1 and 0, called bits. such numbers are called binary numbers'
44 I ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
represents a power of two. For example, tn the
binary number 101 . the 1 at the
right represents
1 x 20:
*,2.,:?nd the_1'to thei",i"ti',"p,esenrs 1 x
22 (see
R:",t"*l^f^Til1=lT_?Tl
systems).Thedecimarequi arentof 1o.r rs(1 x 2,)+(ox21)+rr'""r,iill'_lr:1-]"r:
_?
Number
Devices that
g complete multiple operations simultaneously.
in time. An image
can be encoded as a sequence of numbers that represent
the color and brightness
of each portion of
the picture' The computer is able to decode information
oy conveiting the numbers
back into letters,
sounds, or images.
Digitaldevices can process encoded information i
nds, and chec
aldevice also
epresenting th
on, and it save
Progress n by the human ne ate.
Acjvanced compression
technolog store, and transmi nts of
information efficiently.
Digitally e es, and video can her on
magnetic media and
compact disks and broadcast over cable to homes and
o
cellular phones.
computer, machine that performs tasks, such as mathematical
calculations or
electronic
s called a program.
programs usually reside
the computer's
electronics, and the
Irogram
ideo display monitors or
printers. Computers
ability, accuracy, and
speed.
2.9 Digital logic
Digital logic is a rational process rue,,oi. ,,false,,
decisions based on the rules of
Boolean algebra. "True" can be and ,,false,, by a O, and
in logic circuits the
numerals appear as signals of tw Logic circuits are used to
make specific true-
false decisions based on the presence of murtipl e-fa]se signals at the
inputs
ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATIONS / 45
2.1 0 Communications
More and more businesses and other governmental agencies are using PCs and computer
in networks
for basic business applications.The small computer is providing an economical
method for distributing
computing needs within am organization. lnstead of using a computer terminal
connected to the
main computer system for performing these simple computing functions, a computer
network consisting
of small computers in conlunction *ith larger central system with data base
inforrnation is'becorning
"
a more feasible alternative.
ln cases where the officesiplants of an organisation are spread over the large
geographical area, it
has been felt that computerisation of officeslplants activities in isolation does
not step up efficiency.
ln such cases reliable data communication has to go hand with computerisation to
achieve the
desired efl iciency standards.
The clevelopment of computer systems has been combined with improved communication
facilities
be
which extend the power ol the computer beyond the computer room, and a!low system
benefits to
more widely available. This combination allows computer facilities at remote sites,
whilst
preserving
is the "dialing-
on one site the expertise needed to operate the whole system.The simplest example
up,, on the telephone network to connect a remote terminal with the computer and
Outside
Modem world
Tape device
Prini server
Network server
File server
Star
LAN PC
Hard disk Printer
To PBX
network
This blend of computers and communications is now taken for granted and as
industry-standard in a
rapidly growing number of business organisations. Even the most unsophisticated
user may un-
t<nowingty be using very complex systems. For example, a small business may have a
fairly simple
terminai which is connected, via telephone, to a local computer service bureau, in
orderto use one of
the facilities offered by that bureau.
Not apparent to user, however, the local call may link to a system a very long way
from home (see
Fig.2,1). The first connection is to the local small communications computer. This
concentrates the
da1a, along with that from other local users, and passes it to a larger computer in
the capital. Here,
because ol the particular services being used, it is passed via a communications
satellite in orbit
above the ocean, to the service company's main computer centre in the United
States. The results
come back over the same links, giving the user the impression that the bureau is
just next door'
This development was mobilised due to developments in "personal/office computing"
(e.9. word-
processing, desk-top microcomputers, business minicomputers) coupled with moves
towards digital
communications, as exemplified by digitaltelephone exchanges, digitalfacsimile,
etc. Opportunities
are now being seized to take advantage of the economies of scale and added cost-
efficiency offered
by combining services. The convergence of voice, word processing and message
systems is being
cipitalised on to the advantage of the user. The results are that a business
manager will no longer
have to turn separately to the :
o lnformation technology department for computer services
o PABX for telephones
c Typing pool for document preparation
D Mail room for document transmission'
The first step towards understanding communications is to look at computer data at
its must base
level. As all of .us know computer and computer device manage store and exchange
data using
electronic pulses or digital signals, that come in two varieties, the binary
digit'0' indicates the
absence 1"bFf"; and't;indicaie ("ON") the presence of electric current. A series of
ONs and OFFs
in various combinations can be sent on the communication channels to represent any
character.
Every character (letter, numeral, symbol, or punctuation mark) is composed of a
group of bits called
codes. To avoid incompatibility beiween systems, the computer industry has created
a number of
standards that establish relationships between bit combinations and their
corresponding characters.
The most widely used codes are the American Standards Code for lnformation
lnterchange ((ASCll))
and the IBM standard, Extended Binary Coded Decimal lnterchange Code (EBCDIC).
To ensure successfultransmission of data between two points, the sender and
receivers should use
the same code, or they can use translates to aid in communication. Translation are
data communica-
tion software, which translate the sender's data into the codes receiver
understand.
To ensure successfultransmission of data between two points, the sender and
receivers should
use
the same code, or they can use translates to aid in communication. Translation are
data communica-
tion software, which translate the sender's data into the codes receiver
understand.
There are several manufacturers of computer hardware and software across the globe.
For successful
data communication these products should be compatibles with each other or they
should conform
to certain set of rules so that any one can use them. These set of rules is known
as communication
protocols or communication standard.
ln other words protocols are technical customs or guide lines that govern the
exchange of signal
transmission and reception between equipments'
48 / ELECTRONTC COMMERCE
Each protocolspecifies the exact order in which signals will be transferred, what
signalwill indicate
that the opposite device has completed its transfei, and so forth. Both hardwar"
anO
software are
designed to handle specific protocols.
Communication protocols are usually defined and approved by some international body
such as lSO,
CCITT or IEEE' At times protocols defined by certain manlfacturer of comput"r. t;
networking
products become so widely accepted, that they be :ome'defacto/ standard
even
tirough these protocols
may not have approval of any standardisation body. Some ol the functions thal
communication
protocol regulates are:
A Controlof information transfer
D Structure and formats of data
D Error recoveries
D Retransmissioncontrol
O lnterfaces management.
Only communication devices using same protocols can communicate with each other.
To make sure that the bits (or characters) are securely transmitted through the
channel or line, we
need a link level protocol between two computers. Some of the main functions to be
performed by
such a link level protocol are:
O Assuring the data to be transmitted is split into data blocks with beginning
and ending
markers. This is called framing and the transmission block is called alr"re.
D Achieving data transparency. This allows a link to treat a bit pattern,
including normally
restricted control characters, just as pure data.
tr Controlling the flow of data across the link. lt is essential not to transmit
bits faster. Than
they can be received at the other end. Otherwise, the receiver overflows and
the data is
overrun, or all buffering capacity is used up, leading to loss of data.
o Controlling errors. This involves detection of errors using some kind of
redundancy check.
It also involves acknowledgement or correctly received messages and requests
for
retransmission of faulty messages.
There are basically two classes of link protocols.They are, Binary SYNchronous
protocols (BlSNyC)
and High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) protocols. BISYNC is based on character
control, whereas
HDLC is a bit oriented protocol. ln fact, HDLC is widely used in most link
protocols of computers.
Computing technology today allows people to create stunning graphics, the likes we
have seen in
Jurassic Park, and The Abyss, and provide impressive digitized sound systems such
as the Talk
album by the Classic Rock band of the seventies Yes. Yet, the most amazing
technologies are really
those available to the common household and businesses, Networking technology is
racing towards
the future in instant global communication.There are now proposals for global
coverage of data and
telephony communication via satellites f rom various organizations but before we
can tilk to the boss
through video telephones on a regular basis like George Jetson, we first have to
understand the
current capabilities of global networks and computing technology.
For businesses, large and smallalike, computing and networking technology is
quickly becoming an
absolute necessity. Computers are already populating many offices by providing
tools such as word
processors, databases, and spreadsheets. Towards the late 8O's, Local Area Networks
(LANs) of
computers became a much demanded utility as businesses tried to connect the various
depart-
ments of their organization together. Now into the 9O's, networking on a much
larger scale, nation-
ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATIONS / 49
The SENDOR
creates the
I
I
I
Data has a wide definition and includes multimedia objects may range from a simple
text retrieval to
intricate voice-annotated changes in a complex 3-D visualization model of particle
physics. The
range of bandwidth involved is truly staggeririg. A typical database text retrieval
requires about 1
Kbps, whereas a complex visualization needs an 800 Mbps throughout, which is almost
a million
times greater.
ln between those extremes there is a whole gamut of multimedia objects such as
text, graphics,,
audio, and video, each of which requires a different amount of bandwidth for timely
transmission
within computers and across the netWorks depending on the type of application of
which they are a
part. The most demanding of those multimedia objects are high-quality videos with
synchronized
audio that must be transmitted interactively and in real time. As a result, audio
and video transmis-
sions are practical only when compression schemes are incorporated within the
transmission proc-
ESS.
This variety of multimedia objects must be transported over private and public
networks and data
transmission facilities consisting of various types of analog and digital links
whose configurations
offer different bandwidth capabilities. These may range from 1O Kbps of the
traditional telephone
lines all the way to the 1.2- Gbps, capacity of high-speed ATM cell relay services.
Bandwidth capacities also depend on the nature of connecting media, which may range
from copper
wire, througI coaxial cable and optical fiber to photonic networks of the future.
Switching and inter-
facing mechanisms present varying bandwidth capacities that must also be taken into
account in
multimedia networking design.
Data communications includes data transmission, but also includes the control,
checking and move-
ment handling of information . ln computer systems, it includes:
tr The physicaltransmission circuits and networks
tr The hardware and software which support the data communication functions
D Procedures for detecting and recovering f rom errors
tr Rules and protocols to ensure the disciplined (and therefore comprehensible)
exchange of
information.
would access the computer with the needed data base through the network by using
the appropriate
network and systems software, and request that the desired information be
transferred to a f ile within
his/her own system. Any additional information needed from another data base for
completing this
budget could be obtained in a similar manner.When the planner's finished, a hard
copy of the budget
.ouh b" printed and mailed,and /or the budget file could be sent through a
network to another
system for review by other personnel'
Suppose a manager had to Write several letters to clients. lnstead of dictating
these letters to a
,""i"t"ry as has been done in the past, he/she would use the same PC and a word
processing
program for writing the main body of each letter. These letters are then sent via
the network to a
similar small computer on the secretary's desk for completion. The secretary uses
the same or
a
similar word processing program to perform any needed editing and to complete each
letter by adding
the p[roper address. n'"opy of each letter suitable for mailing is then obtained by
using a
letter
qu"iity printer located in yet anothe t areaand which is shared by other users'
The secretary would
personnel in other
Now suppose that the manager has some technical memorandums to be sent to
company divisions in other physical locations. lnstead of actually printing a
hard copy and mailing it,
by network directly to the computer of the
division secretaries where
the memorandum could be sent
possible because the company's cornputer
network consists not only the
it would be printed. This is
computers in the same UuitOing local
( network), but also those at remote
sits. These sites may be
different countries. This type of
communications is often
in the same town, different towns, or even
described
referred to as electronic mail. The business office using the equipment and methods
above is often referred to as an electronic office'
of numerous
Analog signals carry data as continuous waves. For instance, the human voice
consists
ol sound waves. All signals that
travel over these older
complex inflections that are combinations
telephone lines are in analog form.
Any analogue is a system of representing real-world quantities by
electrical
voliage thir models the quantiiies. For example, in a calculation
ted by 1
volt, i metres by 2 volts and so on. While analogue computers enj
ll modern
computers are digital.
O Digital Signals
1-
bit of a data can be
Digital signals carry data as on/off or high/low electrical signals. Thus, the
<_1
ttttttttlt
tllttttttt
llrl_Jl_Jl_J,<o
Fig.2.7:The difference between analog and digital signals.
AMPLITUDE
--i Time
For a
words, a sampling) provide the receiving instrument with enough data to identify
the signals.
and a maximum frequency required
to deline a
provides a different signalto
encode a state. For
represented by a signal having
one amplitude,
n be represented by a signal
having the same
sisnarof *s str
modem is avai
.Tf:.litr""r""1'#"Tl:',RTffiJl,x.":T;s3*:
(3) Difference between BpS and Baud
ual to bits per second; for exampre, 300 baud is
equar to 3oo
bps.
e to represent more than one bit per second. For
exampre, the
bps at 600 baud. Thus it is commonry (and
erroneousry) used to
ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATIONS / 55
specify bits per second for modem speed; for example , 12OO baud means
1200 bps'
Bir
Value
Bit
Va ue
Baud
Number
Bit
Value
Baud
*
1
in
Hertz,to information carrying capacity in bit per second. Formally:
e:B1og2(1+S)
where e (lCC), B is the bandwidth , and S is
tbe signal-to-noise
is the information carrying capacity
ratio. This expression shows that the ICC is proportional to the bandwidth , but is
not identical
to it.
(e.9., printers) or
data transmission refers to the transfer of data to either local peripheral
equipment
remote computers.
A data-communications channel is a path through a medium that data can take to
accomplish
a
sta-
communications task. ln effect, channels are "data highways," carrying signals from
sending
tions to receiving station along predefined routes.
speed
Bandwidth is the range of frequencies which a system can handle, or (sloppily) the
maximum
of data communication. Bandwidth is used in two main contexts in modern computing.
(1) Network or Communication Bandwidth
by a
Network or communication bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be
handled
(like a modem ).This is a slang
term, and should not be
network or other communications equipment
For more details see the article on
Shannon's law .
used by people who should know better.
(2) Display Bandwidth
an incoming
Display bandwidth is the maximum frequency at which a monitor must be able to
accept
56 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
signal to create a picture of a particular quality.
The grade or bandwidth of a channel determines the rate at which the channel can
transmit data. A
narrow bandwidth channel, such as telegraph line, transmits data rates of 45 to g0
baud. Telephone
lines have a wider f requency rage and fall into the classif ication of voice-grade
channels. They carry
data at 300 to 9,600 baud. For high-speed transmission of large volumes of data,
broad- band
channels transmit data at rates of up to 120,000 baud. Coaxial cables, microwaves,
and f iber optic
cables
(3) Narrowband Channel
Narrowband handles low data volumes. Data transmission rates are f rom 45 to 3OO
baud. The low-
speed devices might use narrowband communications. Narrowband rates are effective
for low-speed
operations such as those used with telegraph or teletype lines. Western Union is
the largest com-
mon carrier which offers this type of service.
(4) Voiceband channel
Voiceband channel handles moderate data transmission volumes between 300 and 9600
baud.They
are used for applicati6ns ranging from operating a CRT to running a line
printer.Their major applica-
tion is fortelephone voice communication- hence, the term voiceband.This is the
most widely used
service, as it involves the use of common telephone lines from which its name is
derived. Voice-
grade transmissions support much of today's online processing activities. Common
telephone lines
are generally rated at 1800 BPS. Through a process called conditioning, the
transmission speed of
telephone lines may be increased to 9600 BPS. Conditional lines reduce the
interference which
normally accompanies higher transmission rates. Leased lines, WATA lines, and
regular telephone
lines are examples of voice-grade service.
(5) Broadband Channel
Also called wideband channel handles very large volumes of data.Wideband channels
have the
highest transmission rates, with speeds of 19,200 BPS and higher. Transmission
rates this high are
possible with coaxial cables, fibreoptic cables, and microwave transmissions.These
systems provide
data transmission rates upto 1 millionbaud or more. High-speed data analysis and
satellite
communications are examples of broadband communications systems.
2.15.5 Latency
The information carrying capacity of a communications channel is very important,
but it is an
average figure; it tells us nothing about how quickly a given bit of data will move
from one point to
another. The time taken for this to happen is called the latency of the system. The
theoretical limit
to latency is the speed of light; as far as we know, information cannot be
transmitted faster than this.
An electrical signal propagates along a wire at about 70% of the speed of light.
Over a wide-area
network the latency is much longer, because the message has to be processed at a
number of
intermediate stations between the sender and the recipient.
EMI because it uses light rather than electronic signals to transfer data.
tr Crosstalk is a form of EMI caused by wires next to each other interfering
with signals as
they travel through the transmission media.
D Dispersion applies to f iber-optic cables. Chromatic dispersion occurs when
light enters the
core at different angles and spreads apart slightly as it travels to the
destination.
a merely
receives notice of a message, or two-way transmissions, such as a telephone
conversation
between
two people' An example of a device that sends one-way transmission is a pager,
which is
a radio
receiver.When a person dials a pager number, the pager company sends a radio-
signal to
the desired
pager.The encoded signaltriggers the pager circuitry and notifies the customer
A
device that functions as both a transmitter and a receiver is called a
transceiver. Cellular radio
telephones and two-nray radios use transceivers, so that back-and-forth
communication between
two people can be maintained. Early transceivers were very large, but they have
decreased in size
due to advances in technology. Fixed-base transceivers, such ai those us-ed at
police stations, can
fit on a desktop, and hand-held transceivers have shrunk in size as well. Several
current models of
hand-held transceivers weigh less than 0.2 kg (0.5 lb).
rectly. Public two-way radios with several frequency options are widely available
as well. Usually
limited in range to a few miles, these units are great aids for such mobile
professionals as construc-
tion workers, film crews. event planners, and security personnel. Simpler two-way
radios, called
walkie-talkies, have been popular children's toys for years. Most walkie-talkies
broadcast on channel
14 of the citizens band (CB), a range ol frequencies grouped into channels and
allocated for public
use. CB radios can lransmit and receive on 40 different channels.
Shortwave Long-range broadcast services and f requencies, in what is known as the
shortwave radio
band (with frequencies of 3 to 30 megaherlz), are available for amateur or ham
radio operators.
Shortwave radio broadcasts can travel long distances because of the concentration
of ionized, or
electrically charged, particles in the layer ol the atmosphere known as the
ionosphere. This layer
reflects radio signals, sending signals that are transmitted upward back to earth.
This skipping of
waves against the ionosphere can greatly increase the range of the transmitter.The
degree of reflec-
tivity of the ionosphere depends on the time of day. During daylight hours, the
ionosphere has the
concentration of ions necessary for reflectirrg radio waves in the higher f
requencies of the shbrtwave
band back to earth. At night, it has the concentration necessary for reflecting
lower frequencies
within the shortwave band. lf adequate density of ions is not reached, the radio
waves simply
continue through the ionosphere into space.
2.19.5 SatelliteCommunications
Satellite communications services connect users directly to the telephone network
from almost
anywhere in the world. Specialtelephones are available to consumers that
communicate directly
with communications satellites orbiting the earth. The satellites transmit these
signals to ground
stations that are connected to the telephone system.These satellite services, while
more expensive
than celtular or other wireless services, give users access to the telephone
network in areas of the
v.rorld where no telephone service exists.
2.2O Networks
Computers can communicate with other computers through a series of connections and
associated
60 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
hardware called a network. The advantage of a network is that data can be exchanged
rapidly, and
software and hardware resources, such as hard-disk space or printers, can be
shared.
One type of network, a local area network (LAN), consists of several PCs or
workstations connected
to a special computer called the server. The server stores and manages programs and
data. A server
often contains all of a networked group's data and enables LAN workstations to be
set up without
storage capabilities to reduce cost.
Mainframe computers and supercomputers commonly are networked. They may be
connected to
PCs, workstations, or terminals that have no computational abilities of their own.
These "dumb"
terminals are used only to enter data into, or receive output from, the central
computer.
Wide area networks (WANs) are networks that span large geographicalareas. Computers
can connect
to these networks to use facilities in another city or country. For example, a
person in Los Angeles
can browse through the computerized archives of the Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C. The
largest WAN is the lnternet, a global consortium of networks linked by common
communication
programs.The lnternet is a mammoth resource of data, programs, and utilities. lt
was created mostly
by American computer scientist Vinton Cerf in 1973 as part of the United States
Department of
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). ln 1984 the development of
lnternet
technology was turned over to private, government, and scientific agencies.The
World Wide Web is
a system of information resources accessed primarily through the lnternet. Users
can obtain a
variety of information in the form of text, graphics, sounds, or animations.These
data are extensively
cross-indexed, enabling users to browse (transfer f rom one information site to
another) via buttons,
highlighted text, or sophisticated searching software known as search engines.
in 1971
to 7.5 million on the Pentium" ll processor.
,,Gordon Moore just plain got it right . . . I should also mention that Moore's Law
has also given rise
to Machrone's Law, which was true for many years, which is that the machine you
want always costs
$5,0001'
E Bill Machrone : A very small addendum to Moore's Law is Rock's Law which says
that the
cost of capital equipment to build semiconductors will double every four
years."
D lntel's recent roadmap for notebook products looks quite jolly. Already in
the beginning of
next year we will see the first Giga Hertz processor for mobile platforms and
mobile Pentium
lll processors at up to 1.26 GH1 will arrive soon afterwards as well. The
workstation and
server roadmap is not quite as interesting, except for the lSct that lntel is
counting a loi on
,Third party'chipset makers to provide non-RDRAM platfdrms for those systems.
going from a
Basically we can see lntel pushing the mobile processor market quite hard next
year,
62 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
850 MHz Pentium lll that is available now to '1.26 GHzin only some 6 months.
brother
Pentium lll is. ln fact, the mobile Celeron sbems
of 2OO1
will see the mobile Celeron T1},e2l2}Otauil,l bri
. By this
time Celeron is far behind pentium lllandJht wo
I
.F'
a
t
.q,
fl
Cn par 3
IIfFORMATIO]Y
TECH]VOLOGY
ortnip-marks in
the painiwork, the condition of the valves on the motor, or the number of
consecutive
commerce, industry
and government is either'just for the record'or of interest for only a very
shorftime,
5.1.3 Relevance
What is it that makes data interesting or valuable? The most straightforward way in
which
data is
useful is when it is relevant to a decision. Each morning, we don't usually think
about
what the
weather is like outside until we 1re deciding what to do with the day (if it's a
weekend) or
what to wear
(if it's a workday). Data about a delivery of a particular batch of baby-1qe6
to a
particular supermarket
is lost in the bowels of the company's database, never to come to light again,
unless and
until
something exceptional such as the bill not being paid, the custom]er
complaining abotrt
l"?p"l:,
short delivery, or an extortionist making a telephone call io claim that poison has
bben
added to
some of the bottles.
The question as to what data is 'relevant to a decision' is not always clear-cut.
The narrowest
interpretation that we could make is that data is relevant and of value, only if it
actually
;"1;;
difference to the decision made. As we shall see in the next section, decision-
making processes
are
often corniilex,^anci in many circumstances it is unknowable whether data made a
difference
or not.
So that very ndrrow criterion, attractive though it may seem, is not a very useful
approach.
A broader interpretation is that data is relevant and thErefore of value, if,
depending on whether
or not
it is available to the decision-maker, it could make a difference to the decision.
inis approach
can
also lead to difficulties. How do we decide whether it might make difference? What
if the data
4
might
make a difference, but in law shouldn't (e.g. where a person's etlthic background
or mar1al
status is
precluded by anti-discrirnination legislation from being a factor in employment
shouldn't (e.g.
because the person making the decision doesn'f understand how interest is
catcutiteo on
a loan)?
ln addition to decision-making, there are other circumstances in which data can be
interesting
or
valuable' When we read the newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, or watch
,infotainment,
programs on television, we are seldom making decisions, and yet we perceive
informational
value in
some of the data presel:teC to us. Sometimes it is merely humorous. Sometimes it is
not what we
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES / 65
3.1.4 Decision
The most common manner in which data can have value, and thereby become
information, is by
making a difference to a decision. lt is therefore important to consider in some
depth what a decision
is, and what decision-making processes are about. A'decision'is a choice arnong
alternative courses
of action. ln many cases, the making of the decision is performed in the same
breath as the taking
of the action itself. ln other circumstances, however, we may make a nrental
commitment, but take
no action until a short time later. Note, too, that'action' includes 'inaction',
i.e. we can decide to do
nothing, as in "shall ltake part in the demonstration against the cuts to the
tertiary education budget
tomorrow? No, I don't think l'll bothe/'.
A'decision-making process' is the procedures which result in a decision being
reached. How a
decision comes about is important to understand.The simplest model of decision-
making envisages
four steps:
D ATrigger
tr lnformation-Gathering
O Alternative-Generation
5.1.5 Ghoice t
The'trigger'is something that causes a person to realise a decision is needed, such
as the notice
you will receive to re-enrol for units next year. ln order to make the decision,
you will need to gather
information about what units are going to be offered, and of course you'll need to
know your results
for the previous year. The decision-maker needs to generate a set of options, and
then to choose
among them.
Gaining access to information is crucial to most of these steps. ln order to
choose, for example, you
66 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
n99d to know what your objectives are, in order to work out a criterion whereby
you
how scientists
think people ought to make decisions.To support organisations making complex
decisions, we need
'behavioural models' which describe how managers and executives really
make them.
One example of the difference between the two is that most people don't actually
or
o (More usefully) the matrix of impressions within which an individual
situates newly acquired
information.
A further concept which can be confused with information is'wisdom'. This is,
however, on an
entirely different plane from information, because it has to do with judgement
exercised by applying
decision criteria to knowledge combined with new information.
Note that the orthodoxy represented in this document is not universally shared. A
nice expression of
the philosophical sceptic's position is as follows:"lnformation, [even today], is
no more than it has
ever been: discrete little bundles of fact, sometimes useful, sometimes tiivial,
and never the sub-
stance of thought [and knowledge] ...The data processing model of thought ...
coarsens subfle
distinctions in the anatomy of mind ... Experience ... is more like a stew than a
filing system ...
Every piece of software has some repertory of basic assumptions, values,
limitationj embedded
within it '.: [For example], the vice of the spreadsheet is that its neat,
mathematical facade, its
rigorous logic, its profusion of numbers, may blind its user to the unexamined
ideas and omissions
that govern the calculations ... garbage in - gospel out. What we confront in the
burgeoning surveil-
lance machinery of our society is not a value-neutraltechnological process ... lt
is, ratn"r, the social
vision of the Utilitarian philosophers at last fully realized in the computer. lt
yields a world without
shadows, secrets or mysteries, where everything has become a naked quanfity"
We believe that
this realignment will occur along the lines of information function or capability.
ln short,
information-
oriented businesses will, over the next ten to fifteen years, (offcource from year
2OOo)
reorganize
themselves into the following three broad groups:
D Players involved in the creation and collection of diverJe
[pes of
information content
? Players involved in the manufacture of a wide variety of information
a Players organized to engage in various modes of information
transpoit"ppfi"n"".
Significantly, we believe that today's computer hardware industry will be relegated
to an important
but constricted role as the supplier of memory and processing capabilities-to each
of the three
functionally defined information industries. To iuccer'
nies must
learn how
conce'ts;
customize
bilitY' and
efficiency;
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES / 69
The information industry is far from being a mature industry, as evidenced by the
low penetration of
even basic phone service in a large partbf the world. While the information
industry is about a sixth
of the U.S. economy, it accounts ior a mere fraction of that amount for the vast
majority of nations.
However, that proportion will surely increase, fueling unprecedented growth.
Coupled with the dra-
it is
matic new capabiiities made possible by phenomenal and unrelenting advances in
technology,
evident that the information industry is in perhaps the most exciting period ever
seen in any industry.
and
Because information-based businesses are becoming increasingly crucial to our
commercial
For example,
social lives, inefficiencies in the information marketplace are becoming less
tolerable.
today's informatioh industry is characterized by the following:
B Significant waste of economic and ecological resources-Consider, for
example, the pro-
Orition and distribution of bulky newspapers. A single Sunday printing of the
New York
Times consumes sixteen acres of forest, and the typical customer discards
most of
the
paper unread.
of
tr lnadequate matching of information content with the needs of the recipients-
An example
this is the average llrge city-phone customer who uses only a handful of
the rnillion-plus
numbers available in the localphone directories'
O Severe time and place constraints on information access and availability-For
example,
with prescheduled broadcasts ol television and radio programs, it is safe to
assume that
a
large portion of the target market is excluded from the audience.
P:?::ffiIJ
Book authors
producers
receive barely 10 to 15 percent of what customers pay for their product' CD-
ROM
typically sp"nO 60 to 7b percent of retail revenues on wholesale and retail
margins.
But the question remains, how can such final solution (Salvalion or nirvana)
be obtained? A col-
task one day to present a marketing
positioning report to the
league once told me that he had the
and
hours on the report and the
r"i"g"r"nt of a large consumer goods companv. He worked hours
night before the presentation, and did not get any sleep'
200 slides to
When he was ready to present on the morning of the next day, he brought along over
peeled olf the firsi slide
and said good morning, the
make his case to management. As he sleepily
"ok, in two sentences or less, I
want you to sumtnarize your
CEO of the company stJod up and said:
his cup of coffegand held
back his anger. He hesitated
entire presentationl; My colleague put down
an attempt should
So what does this example suggest? lt implies that as one collects information
the data
suggests. Once these themes are
always be made to ideniify thJunderlying themes that
information_create,
display, store, process, or distribute it.
Table 3.1 Examples of Today's lnformation lndustry
Text (Publishing) Voice(Telcom) lmage(Photography) AudioA/ideo
(Entertainment)
Data
(Computing)
Content' (creation and collection)writers,
ncies directory
ph
publishing and Yellow Pages
ising agencies
acto
writers, singers, musicians,
servicJs lOow
publ
Jones, Compuserve, AOL), database
tioris
Display (devices) books, magazines, newspapers, and coupons terephone
equipment,
cpE
(handsets, key systems, and pBX), and wireless (pagers and ceiluiar
prrbnes;
photographs, slides, slide projectors, fax machines, piint6rs,
copiers,
HDTV
PCs, PDAs, terminals, and workstations
Store (memory devices) libraries and information services pagers, answering
machines, and
voice mailfilm, pictures, slides, cD-RoM, and microiic6e videotape,
nasn memorv,
and PCMCIA cards
Process (applications) printing and publishing industry and
ryord-
processing software voice
processing and telco network_equipment photo-developing services,
iriage processing,
and linotronic film production, TV production, and editing Pds,
workstationi,
maintrameii
supercomputers, transaction processing, and service bureaus
distribute (transport) U.S. Postal Service, other express delivery, fax books,
distribution
system,
and telecom services telecom voice service, communication services,
pagini,
ani
messaging U.S. Postal Service, other express delivery, fax, and
telecom servic6s
fVl
radio broadcast, cable, satellite, theaters, and video'prrchas" and
rental computer
networks (LAN, WAN) and telecom data services.
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGIES / 71
3.9.1 Creation
The first function is the creation and collection of information content. ln the
digital future, content is
clearly key, and the networks will evolve to support increasingly rich forms of it.
Content includes
text, images, data, movies, and television programming (including sports), as well
as evolving con-
tent, including on-line games and interactive shopping.
5.9.2 Display
The second function is information display. Historically, each form of content
utilized its own form of
display, creating manufacturing companies with distinct core competencies. For
example, textual
information has been predominLntly displayed on paper;telecommunications companies
have used
audio handsets; still images have mostly been displayed on photographic paper (with
a trend toward
plain paper); computer lnd television images are typically displayed on cathode ray
tube (CRT)
ierminals; and portable computers and similar devices use liquid crystal displays
(LCD) and other
f lat-screen technologies.
3.9.3 Storage
The third function is information storage. Because the creation and consumption of
information are
typically separated, and because information tends to have lasting value, storing
information is a
jaluabie function. lnformation can be stored through a variety of means: books,
magnetic media,
CD-ROMs, microfiche, answering machines, film, videotape, audiotape, and game
cartridges. Other
emerging technologies for storage include DVD-ROMs, llash memory (semiconductor-
based memory
cards), and holographic memorY.
The key driver of the value of a storage system is the extent to which information
within it is readily
accessible.Thus, storage that permitJthe use of advanced database-management
software, as well
as random access, is increasingly preferred over other kinds of storage'
3.9.4 Processing
The fourth function is the processing of information (the applications business),
which creates infor-
mation through the intelligent manipulation of data. ln the past, a variety of
processing approaches
and technologies have be-en used, based on the specific media. For voice
information in the telecom-
munications industry, companies have used voice-processing technologies. For text
information,
publishers have used wordprocessors (with spelling and grammar checks) and desktop-
publishing
software. ln the imaging business, companies have primarily used chemical processes
to improve
images, though sottware-Uased approaches are becoming more prevalent. For
audio/video informa-
tionJcompanies have relied heavily on editing and mixing technologies. Finally,
processing has been
(almost by definition) the most intensive for data applications.
5.9.5 lransport
The filth function is the dist igformatio
lndustries
based on different forms of 5laborate
infrastruc.
tures for distribution.The tel velopeda
network of
copper wires. ln the past decade, a wireless infrastructure based on cellular
technology has also
been created for voice communication.Text information has historically been
distributed in a manner
similar to manufactured goods_from factory to intermediaries to end users.
lmage information has
largely ridden on the same infrastructure, which includes the postal system and
various express-
deiivery companies. The telecommunications industry has also entered this area
via the fax ma-
chine. Video and audio information was historically broadcast over the
airwaves; but, in the last two
72 I ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
cjecades, the cable-television system has come to dominate video distribution,
along
in the
distribution of video information. Finally, for data transport, a variety
of'compirter-n6tworking
ap-
proaches, such as Ethernet and token-rings, h we become widespread. The
Thomson, and Philips have already moved ahead in developing a new generation of
content display
devices. They dominate the manufacturing of traditional consumer electronics
products as well as
for telephony and fax machines, which places them in a superior position to PC
manufacturers and
traditional telecommunications providers such as Lucent, Motorola, and Nokia. These
companies
will continue to dominate in infrastructure but will cede the consumer markets to
electronics manu-
facturers.
Devices were originally manufactured to display content in the form in which it was
created. Sepa-
rate industries were creatbd around designing and building phones, televisions,
computers, and
printing presses, and developing and printing film. Devices are now being designed
to handle content
in multiple forms. For example, digitalwireless phones have an LCD display that can
receive alpha-
numeric messages, including caller lD and eventually e-mail.
meet the preferences of each consumer and grow with the menu of services on the
network.
/\ €
Netu,orks Devices
PROCESSINC
Comianies must be
highly adaptive and learn to reduce their time{o-market with new products
and
services. They must
continuously increase their productivity to compete globally. Success will be
decided
by an increas-
ingly unforgiving marketplace.
competitors
will be at a major disadvantage. Partnering will be required horizontally as well
as vertically.
For
example, Time Warner, a contenl company, was instrumental in the deveiopment of
the DVD piayer.
t.13.7 Ouality0bsession
Outstanding quality will bEa minimum requirement to be in the running for global
business. Companies
must benchmark their performance against the best in the world anO aOopt
continuous improvement
processes to stay competitive.
5.13.8 XassCustomization
lncreasingly, companies are called upon to provide customized products to markets
at costs
compa-
rable to mass-produced ones. Companies can do this by creating flexible
manufacturing
systems
and by investing heavily in information technology. Both Dell and Gateway computers
are built to
order and shipped directly to the customer. By avoiding high inventory and
distribution costs, both
are redefining how to address the market; both Apple and Compaq are moving to this
model.
5.15.9 Weakthroughlnnovation
With the rapidity of technological change in the information industry, the
importance of research and
development has never been greater. Technological breakthroughs will be crucial at
both the basic as
well as the applied levels. ln other words, companies must periodically break
preveiiling price/per-
formance norms. For example, Sony has excelled at creating new products that meet
needs custom-
ers never thought they had, with products such as the transistor radio, Walkm an
stereos, aid com-
pact-disc players. Leading the markets in this manner wilt be key in the future.
becomes cheap
cheap and
universal. Once that happens, the next phase, the age of4ully immersive and
interactive environ-
ments and content within these constructs will be upon us, as We'll have the local
computing power
to render them in real time. The interfaces will still be 2D in ten years, so they
will be pretty similar to
what we have today; beyond that, things will become really interesting, as we enter
into 3D environ-
ments, be they miniaturized, individualized cr built for groups or whole cities.
StarTrek Holodeck,
here we come!
Computer Assited Publishing
The combination of a computer and software that allowed users to compose complete
documents
without cutting and pasting, and a printerthat could produce documents that rivaled
phototypesetting
78 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
in quality, revolutionized the graphics and printing industry almost overnight. lt
eliminated manyof ,-
the manual steps previously necessary to prepare materials for printing, and
allowed for the easy
manipulation of both text and graphics when changes were necessary. Although many
in the printing
industry were skqptical of the new technology at firstt it became clear there were
compelling advan-
tages to using DTP systems in many situations.
,
t
CI'pr* 4
GLOBAL IIVTER]VET
@
-dB
- hnr&ron/off
f,fii*l*t.0"
hdtmt
The lnternet is growing at a phenomenal rate (no one knows exactly how big it is,
but as of May 25,
1996 lnternet Solutionl estimated there were 59,628,024 people on the lnternet, and
an estimated
304,177 World Wide Web sites on the lnternet.
The World Wide Web (WWW) was originally developed in 1 990 at CERN, the European
Laboratory for
particle Physics. lt is now managed by The World Wide Web Consortium, also known as
the World
Wide Web lnitiative.
promote the
giowth of the Web by developing specifications and reference software that will be
f reely available to
6u"ryon". The Coniortium is run by MIT with INRIA (The French National lnstitute
for Research
in
computer Science) acting as European host, in collaboration with cERN.
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of
lllinois at Urbana-
Wide
Champaign, was instrumental in the development of early graphical software
utilizing the World
Web features created by CERN. NCSA focuses on improving the productivity of
researchers
by
providing software for scientific modeling, analysis, and visualization. The World
Wide Web was an
distributed
obvious-way to fulfill that mission. NcsA Mosaic, one of the earliest web browsers,
was
f ree to the public. lt led directly to the phenomen tl
growth of the World Wide
Web'
The World Wide Web is by far the most popular part of the lnternet. Once you spend
time on the Web'
the graphical portion of the lnternet, you will begin to feel like there is no
limit to what you can do.The
Web aliows rich and diverse communication by displaying text, graphics, animation,
photos, sound
personal
and video. So just what is this miraculous creation? The Web physically consist's
of your
82 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
tr Let's say you want to pay a visit to the the Louvre museum
website.
First you enter the
y"b orowsei 1moi" this in a
whire). rhen your
#".J:::
browser :::,T:_:t;ll".y:p'll"_,Iy_?I
requests the web page from a web server rocatJin "i"rtparls. The
sends the data over the lnternet to your computer. Your web
Louvr"'. .'"fi:;.
browser
interprets the data and
displays it on your computer screen.
o The Louvre's website also has links to the websites of
other museums, such
as the Vatican
Museum. With a click of your mouse on a link, you can
web
server in Rome.
".a"ar-tn"
llial-up mnnsctifii
bo dam S...t...0...W?
D .the webtoget
his feature allow
he Web to be li
en them' on the
through pages
rnternet Exprorer,
does your web browser distinguis[ between weu pages
stands for
The lsP in turn is connected to other providers, and
eventuaily to one of the big
carriers, who have
huge networks that use fiber optic cables running
at 45 mb/se"ono 6n"."
Lt"rr"o to as T3s).
At the other end there is probably "r"
you made to a
specific web address,
servei
and who will route it to the
does its magic, and
sends you back
t
what you asked for - again using
work we just went
through.
GLOBALINTERNET /83
The Web has a simple architecture. Clients (now any terminal with web browser) send
messages to
Web servers, which are referred to as HTTP daemons (or HTTPD).The httpd servers are
responsible
for sending the requested information to the client (also known as browsers), who
are then responsi-
ble for presenting the document to the user. (See Figure 4.2).
Request
File
Give
File
Request
Print Job
Spool
and Print Job
MME
Nrrscs
Mos^rc
Lvro<
MecWrs
Crr.ro
rIns,wt
. no cntr'alcon6pl ' addressing
sbndard
. anyone cancdte, 'mulflIrle
ammethods
anyme(autborlzed) r€ad
.formatnegotiadqr
' dlentlsel*r . rqtns snd
eJderdotrs
Fig.4.3
84 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
A firewall is a mechanism to control access to and from Web servers. Most companies
have firewalls
set up to prevent access to their internal servers from external clients.
There are many different clients (Web browser), such as Netscape or Microsoft's
Explorer. The Web
client usually sends an http message, but as the diagram shows it can send any
lnternet message
(e'9. ftp, file, gopher, wais). The servers can be behind a firewall, which is a
way to prevent access
to a server. Servers can include gateways which allow them to "talk" to
applications. These gateways
can be in any computing language, the most common being perl and TCL, but C and
other languaEes
are also used. Finally, the components know how to find documents because they all
use a standard
addressing scheme, or URLs.
Note that there is no central control. Anyone can create a Web server, and for the
most part anyone
can read what is online. The reason it all works is because everyone is using the
same set of
"standards".
I HotBot (http://www.hotbot.com/)
:A l1!os99t (http://ultra.infoseek.com/)
Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.digital.com/)
4.8.2 SubjectDirectories.
Directories are the yellow pages o y tha
submitted to them. Here you will , but
en
he
information didn,t include all of the
for. maY
ng
websites under
simirar categories, such as rnter
s' The results of
websit
your search will be a list of
u are interested
in rocating the site for the Louvre museum,
for instance, try using
4.8.3 lndexes
information, such as biographicarinformation
about Leonardo da
go, because they search allthe contents
of
a website. lndexes
iders or robots that scour the rnternet,
anaryzing
dexing all of the words.
-.ttion. of web
GLOBALINTEBNET /89
lndexes like AltaVista and Lycos find individual pages of a website that match your
search, even if
the site itself has nothing to do with what you are looking for.You can often find
unexpected gems of
information this way, but be prepared to wade through a lot ol irrelevant
information too.
Search results are usually ranked in order of relevancy-the number of times the
search terms you
used appear in a document, or how closely the document appears to match a concept
you have
entered. This is a much more thorough way to locate what you want'
The directories may not be as up to date, but.when you are looking for specific
inlormation, it's
usually easier to try a directory first. lf that fails to yield results, try one of
the search engines.
1. MSN search
2. Yahoohttp://www.Yahoo.com
3. lnfoseek http://www.infoseek.com
4. Excite httP://www.excite'com
5. Lycos httP://www.lycos.com
6. AltaVista http://altavista.digital.com
7. Webcrawlerhttp://www.webcrawler.com
8. HotBot httP://www.hotbot.corh
9. Dejanews
10. Compuserve
11. Metacrawler
12. Magellan http:i/www.mckinley.com
14. OpenText lndex http://index.opentext'net
15. Snap
16. Lynx
17. Opera
18. Accufind http://nln.com
O MSN search
Using this search page, you can conduct a basic Web search or an advanced search,
specifying one
or more of the following: the type of information, the language, the origin, the
domain, the date
created, and the types of files contained in the Web page.
O Yahoo!
This is an all purpose search engine that provides a wide range of indexed links.
This was the
premiere search engine a lew years ago, but has digressed considerably over the
last 12 months.
Several links are old and no longer in existence, and it is almost impossible to
get a link added to
their database. This is however, a good location to start, because they have the
most comprehen-
sive system to cross-reference their lesser results with other more up to date
search engine
servrces. /,
This is actually a directory rather than a search engine, meaning humans compile
and categorize the
sites it searches. So you may get fewer results. But Yahoo! makes it easy to
search for items by
category and to continue your search using a search engine, if you want to.
Yahoo!, the most popular hierarchical directories, is a good starting point.You
can search by subject,
or like the other search engines, you can specify a search term.Yahoo! works well
if you're searching
for general information on a subject, but because of the way information is
indexed in Yahoo, you
probably won't get great results if you're looking for something specific or very
recent.
90 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
lf looking
for clipart, they have your image!
O Yellow Pages <http://yp.yahoo.com/>
Looking lor a company that produces a particular product? Then this search
engine
is for you. Just
like your local Yellow Pages, this book cdntains everything. Owned and
operaied
by yahoo, this
service can come in handy if you're rooking for specific proJucts.
O lnfoSeek
This is an all purpose search engine that provides not only a global search
engine
for any subject you
might be looking for, it also provides an online Dictionary and-th"sarrrs for quick
This was the premiere search engine of alltime. Created by the Digital Corporation,
Yahoo! uses their
index databanks for some of their information, although it would appear that Yahoo!
no longer uses
their services. Alta Vista is a very large source of information. Results vary in
accuracy, but you can
usually find what you're looking for. Expect to sort through several links that
don't apply, but this is
the price of a huge database.
At AltaVista, you can search for keywords or type your query in the form of a
question. Other
features include Babelfish, which translates sites in several languages; Photo
Finder, which searches
for images; Family Filter, which helps you limit the types of results produced by
search.
AltaVista creates complete indexes of every word on every web page or Usenet
newsgroup it en-
counters, allowing you to make highly targeted searches. AltaVista searches by
keywords, which it
derives from the text of a web page. lt indexes millions f,web pages and articles
from Usenet.
newsgroups. AltaVista updates its inlormation constantly and each page returned
from the search is
given a date and time from AltaVista's most recent update.
D Webcrawler
Webcrawler has a slightly different spin than other all purpose search engines, in
that it offers links
into Yellow Pages, Stock Quotes, Classified's, Weather, People Finding, and many
other interesting
services. lf you don't find what you're looking for, they have a cross-reference
link to Excite for more
searching. Webcrawler also provides a service that allows you to enter a profile of
your favorite type
of websites to surf to. Each time you visit, you can view only the pages that you
like. Webcrawler
92 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
HotBot
O DejaNews
ch newsgroup postings.
lf you're not familiar
c bulletin board. people
discuss all kinds of
looking to get into a
heated discussion, this
O CompuServe
compuserve is a commercial network based in US. lt uses
telephone lines and
microwave for
communication' compuserve user can easily communicate
with each other, around the
world. Fol-
lowing are the services offered by CompuServe
(a) Electronic Mail box for message transfer
(b) Bulletin Board Services
(.) News report alongwith report on sports and weather
(d) lnformation on computer hardware and software.
O Metacrawler.
Rathqr than keeping its own database of Web sites, Metacrawler
conducts
your search simultane-
ously on several search engines, including Excite, lnfoseek,
iy"o., and
yahoo! This takes a litfle
longer than using just one search engine, b-ut it's likely to yieti
a more
compiteo oy a software
program), such as Excite.
There are several search engine website companies on the internet.
Each
company tries to index
their information more efficiently than the next. Some sites contain
indexed
information about all
topics, while other companies index only specific information, like people's
4.8A General5carch
Whether you want to search for information about cable cars, investments
or any
other subject,
here's a round-up of some popular search engines. Remember, allweb
search tools
are not alike.
Each uses a different methodology, so your results will vary. You may not
always
find what you,re
looking for on the first try.
Create a folder called Search Engines under your Bookmarks or Favorites
a in their ad-
vanced search optidns. Start by iooking for "CJ-S", but in alilikelihood, you
phrase that is related to the topic you are interested in, and all of the Web pages
related to that topic
will be listed.lvVhile this might seem simple enough, there are a few things you
should keep in mind
when entering a search word or phrase.
First, make sure your search phrase is specific enough. For example, if you are
looking for a recipe
for apple cider, you wouldn't want to enter only the word, "apple." lnstead, you
should enter some-
thing like, "apple cider ingredients." The word, "ingredients" was added because
recipes usually
contain this word. That brings us to the second tip: always "anticipate" words that
might'be includei
in the desired information. For example, if you were looking lor Ken Griffey,
Jr.'s, batting average for
his 1995 season, you can assume that words like, "Mariners (the team.he plays on,
for those of you
who aren't baseball fans)," "record," and, "RBl," would probably be included in a
Web page that tilks
about Griffey's batting average, in addition to the obvious words like, "Griffey,"
and, "batting average."
Now, you must also remember not to get too specific. For example, if you are
looking for a list ol
poisonous snakes found in South Africa, you would probably not want to include
words like, "Cape
Town," or, "KalahariJ'(which is South Africa's capitol and a desert in the region,
respectively)Third,
you should remember to use capitalization effectively.
Most search engines will search for all instances of the entered word (capitalized
or not) if you enter
the word in lower-case letters. lf you capitalize a word, however, the search
engine will usually only
look for the capitalized word, which might not be what you wanted. Thus, it is
usually a good idea to
go ahead and capitalize proper nouns or initials, but it would not be a good idea
to capitalize a
common word. Finally, if two or more words are usually found together, you might
want to enterthem
in quotations (like "Bill Clinton"). Most search engines will search only for the
words that are together
in the order that you enter them.
4.10.2 BooleanSearching
Named after an English mathematician, Boolean searching refers to a form ol logic
applied to the
search. Basically a Boolean search requires some additionalwords to be used, for
example search-
ing on the words "Cance/'and "treatment".This type of search allows you to exclude
websites which
may be about Cancer, the constellation, or the horoscope sign.
Booldan Searches require using certain keywords, while these keywords may vary from
search
engine to search engine, the concepts are the same.
D AND - Search onTerml ANDTerm2
D OR - Search onTerml ORTerm2
D NOT - Search onTerml but NOTTerm2
Gandhi AND Lincoln - Look for webpages which contain both words "Gandhi" and
"Lincoln".
Gandhi OR Lincoln - Look for webpages which contain either the word "Gandhi" OR the
word "Lin-
coln", or both.
Gandhi NOT Lincoln - Look for webpages which contain the word "Washington" and do
not contain the
word "Lincoln".
Some systems have the ability to group Boolean terms using parenthesis. i.e.;
(Gandhi and Lincoln)
not Hitler - Look for webpages which contain the words "Washington" and "Lincoln"
but do not contain
the word "Hitle/'.
Washington and not George - Look for webpages which contain the word "Washington",
and do not
have the word "George" in them.
Boolean searching, given these simple, yet powerful, capabilities allows someone to
quickly narrow
their searches so that the results of a search may quickly pinpoint the information
they need. The
more terms you are able to add to the search specification, the finer the results
you will have in the
search engines.
Because there is so much information online, you will usually want to limit
the scope of your searches. How do you do this? This is a good point to
digress a bit to talk about Boolean logic.
The English mathematician, George Boole, developed an algebra of logic,
which has become the basis for computer database searches' Boolean
logic uses words called operators to determine whether a statement is true
or false. The most common operators are AND, OB and NOT. These three
little words can be enormously helpfulwhen doing online searches. A few
examples wiil show you why.
O Cable AND car Documents with both words
George Boole
O Cable OR car The greatest amount of matches; $opuments with
eitherword
tr Cable NOT car Documents about cable, but not about cable cars; a good way to
limit the
search.
The exact syntax each engine uses varies, so familiarize yourself with its unique
properties.
One last word of advice. The lnternet may not be the best place to f ind certain
information' While it
abounds with computer-related subjects, it is not as good lor historical
information. The telephone
and a sharp reference librarian may still be your best bet.
98 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
O Boolean Logic
Perhaps the most usefulfeature in defining search criteria, Boolean operators can
provide you with
powerfulcontroloverthe search engine logic.The Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT
(orAND NOT in
some engines), NEAR and parentheses are in many ways analogous to mathematical
operators in
how they shape the execution of a compiex equation. Here's what these Boolean
Operators can do
for you:
O AND
lf you are looking for a document that should contain all of your keywords
you can use the
capitalized word AND between keywords and the engine will only return
documents that
have both words.
Example
An attempt to write 49ers AND schedule will return list of all documents
which contain both
words.
Be sure to capitalize all letters in the word AND, otherwise the search
engine willtreat it as
a keyword, not as an operator.
'ftr--,
49ers d
lf the left oval represents all documents containing the word 49ers and the
right oval repre-
sents all documents containing the word schedule, the intersection of those
ovals, the
green area, represents all documents containing both words.You can see how
this operator
can be useful in narrowing your results.
ooR
lf you want to broaden your search to find documents which contain either of
the keywords
you can use the OR operator between words. This is very usef ul when searching
for lerms
which have synonyms that might be used in a document instead. An exampie is
children
OR kids, which would return any document which had either of the words.
lf the lelt oval represents all documents containing the word children and
right oval repre-
sents all documents containing the word kids, the gleqn area represents
documents which
contain either word or both words. You can see how this operator would broaden
your
search and obtain more results.
O NEAR
This operator is a more specific form of the AND operator. lt ensures that the
document
contains both terms and that they are located near each other. ln many lengthy
docu-
ments, just using the operator AND might not provide useful results as the two
keywords
might be located in very different parts of the document and might not be
related to one
GLOBALINTERNET /99
another.
O NOTOTANDNOT
Using the capitalized AND NOT preceding a search term would eliminate
documents which
contain that term. Why might you want to do this? lf you wanted to find
information on
Dieon Sanders and did not want documents which include information relating to
the Dallas
Cowboys you could use "Dieon Sanders" AND NOT cowboys'
O Parentheses
The operators AND, NEAR, OR and AND NOT are power{ul in their own right but, when
used in
conjunction parentheses, they offer substantial control over the search logic
executed by the engine.
parentheses are used in Boolean logic similar to the way they are used in a
mathematical equation,
limiting and ordering relations between variables'
Here,s an example: if you wanted to find an Web-based lnternet tutorial you might
use the search
criteria lnternet AND (iutorial OR lesson). The documents returned must contain
both of the words
lnternet and tutorial oi lnternet and lesson. Essentially, the parentheses are used
as they are for the
distribution property in mathematics - to dlstribute the keyword lnternetto either
of the two "OR"
words inside the symbols.
The most common use of parentheses is to enclose two possible keywords separated by
an OR
However,
operator and then linking those enclosed/possible keywords with other criteria
using AND.
there are times and instances where the reverse arrangement might prove
useful. For example, if
you were looking for ol you might want to use "gun
control" oR (legislation
itrlO gunlwhich woul the words "gun control" (see phrase
search) or docu-
ments containing the egislation'
you can further refine the search. Since the word law is a synonym of legislation
you can even nest
preceding a word
Some engines offer a variation of the Boolean operators AND and NOT' A + symbol
word be present in documents. A
- symbol preceding a
(with no space between) will require that the
present in returned documents. Note
that all words which
t<eyword will ensure tfrai tne word is not
preceded by a + symbol even the first
word. Example: +fraud
must be in the document should be ,
+election ensues that fraud is also in all the documents'
O Limited Boolean OPtions
pf,lt-.Oo*n menu
choices such as:
Some engines offer limited Boolean logic with radio buttont ot
between
allterms)'
Documents must include "Allterms" (equivalent to using the operator AND
Documents must include "Any terms" (equivalent to using OR between all terms)'
4.t0.5 CapitalSensitivitY
Note however,
that in many instances it is better to leave keywords uncapitalized to allow the
Lngine to return
results of documents which have keywords in either form.
4.10.4 PhraseSearching
When using search terms containing more than one word in a specific order, if you
eliminate
those documents which may contain the word gun lnd control but not in
that order; possibly in
entirely different paragraphs and maybe not eve r relating to gun control.
4.10.5 Truncation
lf you were looking for information on gardening you could use it as your keyword.
However, your
if
results were limited in number (though not likely with gardening) an-d you wanted
to broaden your
search to get more results, you could use a root part of the word and abbreviate it
with the asterisk
(garden-) so that the engine would return results of documents containing gardens,
garden, gardener,
gardeners, etc.
include AltaVista.
which search
The library at the University of California at Berkeley has an excellent chart
detailing
features are offered on the more powerful search engines as well as links to
instructions detailing
how to use each specific search engine (links are located at the top of chart)'
4.10.10 Xetasearches
a query to
multiple search'
Rather than search each directory or index individually, you can submit
engines by doing a metasearch'
information' lf you
1. There are many search engines and directories available for linding
cannot f ind what you need f rom one, try some others. Take the time
to read
the help or tips
(e.g' - *
- * ", AND NEAR
file for each one, iince each one uses iifferent symbols or words
ol this page'
Yahoo!, HotBot and lnfoseek are also available near the bottom
7. lf you need some tips for chatting on the lnternet, visit the Beginner's
Guide To Chat.
8. You will get a lot of e-mail that is garbage if not outright f raud.
quite bizarre.
10. The middle of the night (2AM - 7AM E.S.T.) is a great time to surf the web.
Unfortunatety
it's an even greater time to sleep.
11. Several websites (e.g. - The New York Times) insist on a password even
though
they are
free. You can either make a little password folder in your computer or (like
time. This is
particularly useful when you are downloading a large file or graphic-heavy
webpage. lf you
are downloading a file (other than a webpage which is itseli a file or
combinattn
of tiles;,
simply surf off to any page you like and keep surfing until the download is
completed. you
can also open your browser program more than once. lf your computer can
multitask,
simply start your browser program again while leaving the originally started
browser pro-
gram open.
13. lf your browser is running much slower than usual, disconnect from your
lnternet Service
Provider (lSP), wait a minute and then reconnect again. You may have been
connected
through a poorly f unctioning modem or telephone line and may now get
connected through
a better one.
14. Speeding Up Downloads
While text downloads quickly, images can really slow things down. There are
two ways to
speed things up.
D Since text appears first, after it loads, click the STOP button.
The images won't
appear, but should you want to look at an image, use the right
mouse Outton to click
on the image icon, then select View lmage.
O You can view websites in text-only mode by turning off the auto-
loading of images
function under the Options menu.
15. One final word of advice: Your web browser is your gateway to the lnternet.
Take the time to
learn about its features. ln the long run, it will save you hours of
frustration.
4.12 Downloading
Downloading means to transmit a file f rom another computer to yours. lt can be as
simple as clicking
on a hyperlink on a web page, to transferring an entire application using FTp,
Many files are compressed to save space and once downloaded must be "unzipped".
This requires
special software which can also be downloaded from the lnternet. Some files are
self-extracting and
will download ready to use. Use PKZ|p forWindows machines and Stuffit, Stuffit
Delux or DropStuff
for Macs.
GLOBALINTERNET /103
ln a Browser:When the browser displays the page forthe userto see, the page has
been "downloaded."
You can highlight the information, copy it, and paste it into a word processor to
use later. Or you can
save the page as HTML and later open it with the browser. [SAVE..AS...FlLE
TYPE...HTML] NOTE:
lf you save the information as HTML, you will retain the formatting, but you will
not save the
graphics.
Download a Graphic: There are many clip art sites on the lnternet that are there
for the benefit of
anyone who finds them.To download a graphic, simply right-click on the graphic and
choose save..as,
then choose C: drive or A: drive
With the WorldWideWeb, downloading files is as simple as clicking your
mouse.Typically, downloading
refers to the method by which you access digital information f rom a remote
computer. As it turns out,
almost everything you do on the Web is some form of a downloading. For instance,
when you access
a web page, you are actually downloading the page text and all the associated
graphics from a
server. Your web browser looks at the file extension (the letters following the
"J'). lf it recognizes this
type of file, it will display it.
ls there a difference when you download software? Not really. The web browser looks
at the file
extension, and if it doesn't recognize it, it will ask you if you want to configure
a viewer (tell the
browser which software program to use to view the file). You also have an option to
save the lile to
your hard drive.
Another way to download files is to click on the link to the file with your right
mouse button (or hold
the mouse button down if you are using a Mac), and select Save to Disk f rom the
pop-up menu. ln
some cases, you will be prompted to save the file somewhere on your hard drive or
the file may
download automatically to your desktop, depending on how your browser is
configured-
More often than not, you will be downloading files that have been compressed.
These may be
individual files or group" of files that have been compressed into one file to
save downloading time
and disk space. ttlfre iites you download have been compressed, then you generally
need a sepa-
rate software utility to decompress them.
The exception are files w1h a .sea (Macintosh) or .exe (DOSMindows) extension
which are self-
extracting. These files do not require a separate piece of software to run.
Because many of the
files
you dowiload willtake time to be transferred to your computer, you will
want to save yourself the
headache of discovering, afterthe fact, that you d wnloaded a file that won't
work on your computer.
How can you tell? Readlhe Learn The Net article about file formats and extensions
for more informa-
tion on file extensions and how to interpret them'
Tutorial 4.1 To find information using Gopher,
1. you must know the address for the gopher site. Here is a gopher site to help
with learning
the lnternet: GoPher Site
the protocol, "gopher://". To access a gophe-r.site using the
Browser, you do NOT
2. Notice,,http:l/"
type, You will type "gopher://" instead. This fs'then followed by
the domain names.
3. Once the site has downloaded to your Browser, you must navigate through
a series of
hierarchical menus with a list of choices. Each time you select an
item on the menu, you
will be presented with another menu, until you eventually find files that
can be read, copied,
printed. etc.
ln a
HTTP is the protocol, designed byTim Berners-Lee as early as 1989, is really
rathersimple'
104 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
nutshell, one application hosts data and "listens" for connections on TCP port 80.
(Think of a .port"
like a telephone number extension.) Another application then opens a connection to
the host on the
same port and initiates a dialog. The dialog is simply a request for data (by the
client) and response
by the host (server). ln many ways, the protocol is much simpler than FTP or SMTp.
Both of these
protocols require there to be a true dialog between client and server.The current
implementation of
HTTP only requires one request and one response.
Hypertext is a method of organizing information;clicking on a word or phrase that
is underlined and
colored takes you to more information. The World Wide Web is made up of files
called Web pages,
which can contain text and images (and links to video, sound, programs, and other
types of files).
You're reading aWeb page right now!
Push programs, programs which ask you about your interests, then forward
information to you in
which they think you might be interested. PointOast is a classic example of push
technology; for
example, you can request National and politics news from CNN, celebrity gossip from
People maga-
zine, and stock information from the Wall Street Journal. Once you have selected
your preferences,
you simply hit the Update button and the program fetches the news. News articles
can even be
displayed as an attractive screen saver! PointOast is free; advertisers support its
expenses.
start of this lesson were the URLs found in advertisements in a popular magazine'
lf
information on the lnternet, you should cite the source of that information.
lnclude the author's name
or the organization's name (if no author is given), the data of the item or the
data you referenced it,the
name oflhe article, and the URL for the resource. URLs are provided in the online
Discovery sec:
tions at the ends of the lessons in this book'
URLs
URL is a draft standard for specifying an object on the lnternet, such as a file or
newsgroup.
look like this: (file: and ftp: URLs are synonymous.)
Example
tr file://wuarch ive.wustl. edu/mirrors/msdos/g raphics/gif kit.zip
o ftp://wu arc h ive.wu stl. ed u/mi rrors
o http ://www. w3. o rg : 8O/defau lt. html
o news:alt.hypertext
tr telnet://dra.com
The URL has three Parts:
ftp
D The tool used to access the resource.Tools include telent(forTelnet-based
resources),
is a
resources). For example, if a URL begins with gopher, you know that the
resource
would
first part of
the more common access methods that you ire going to see listed
in the
URLs:
other information.
product to you.
objecis that it cached earlier). lt pulls them all together, and presents the
finished
for any
It almost doesn't matter what hardware you use. The ideal way to select the
hardware
computing task is to first ask yourself what software you need to satisfy
the task. The software
purpose(s) of your
lf you do have a choice of hardware, then first articulate and enumerate the
guesstimate how many
hits your server will get per
,"ru"r. Analyze who your audience is and try to
services act as a
conduit lor your usual print
day. lf your."ru";, is intendgd to disseminate tisti of or
, pu'Uti""tions, then a microcomputer-based server will do just fine. lf you are
planning for a depart-
mental lntranet, again, a microcomputer-based server will fit the bill.
(maybe 35 K) files'Thirty-
Consider exactly what any HTTP server is doing. lt is disseminating small
five kilobytes of cjata is tin ge computer to serve this
amount
ou"1. ug"in. Furthermore, i ocomputer-based servers can han
hits per hour, if nottens of use of your microcomputer as a se
determined by what infor ou have that you would like to sh
O First, the use of an operating system you are alrp?dVoverhead' familiar with;
you will not have to
learn something like Unix and all of its administralive
o second, the microcomputer hardware is readily available. starting out,
consider using one
of those computers in ihe back room that may be gathering
dust' On the
other hand' the
be
something to consider'
use of a Unix, Windows NT, or even a VMS-based server may
systems come at a
This is especiaily true if you desire to serve the rock-solid operating
cost. One is administrative support'
you will almost necessarily have to have some sort of network "guru" managing-
your system' For
Unix, Windows
NT, or VMS environ-
you there may be a learnini curve while you get familiar with the
1 08 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
into
a mystery' This is not the best way to perceive of computers
and makes them seem
far away and out
of your control' At the same time, these bigger computers were designed
to run
client/server appli-
cations.
TCP is a fundamental p.art of the Unix operating system, and
consequenfly there is
a lot of support
for TCP networking built in. Also, there is no denying it, th"r"
bigger computers
are laster. But
remember, the speed of any network connection
users are all using 28.9 modems, then it doesn,t
minicomputer. ln the end, you willprobably find y
and minicomputer-based HTTP servers in your
desktop computer as a test bed and grow from there.
features in the
first list and a few of the features in the second. They are all free, and they are
all very
stable
applications.
(1) ApacheWeb Server
Apache, a server for Unix computers, is the most popular and is considered one of
the most robust
implementations. lt does not do any logfile analysis. There is no vendor so there
is no formal
techni-
cal support. There is no real way to administrate the computer through a Web
interface.
On the other
hand, Apache's modular approach. allows for a great deal of customization. lt
includes
strong links
GLOBALINTERNET /109
for database applications. lt allows you to save your logfiles in formats you
define. But most impor-
tantly, it runs on-any Unix computer, and Unix is an operating system designed for
client/server and
TCP/lP applications.
According to Netcraft , Apache has been the most popular HTTP server for quite some
time.This
is
understandable since it, iike the other servers described here, is "as lree as
a free kitten", runs under
As
any flavor of Unix, is very extensible, and is just about as robust a server you
willfind anywhere.
of version 1 .3b, Apache no* also runs under Windowsg5 and NT. lt will
also be ported to Rhapsody
(Macintosh) when that operating system becomes available this year. Consequently,
Apache repre-
devel-
computei. Apache, based on the original NCSA httpd application, got its name from
when its
opeis where trying to break httpd down into its original parts. Thus, it was "a
patchy server."
precompiled
There are two alternatives for acquiring the Apache software. One, you can download
a
source
binary for your particular version of Unix or windows. or two, you can download
Apache's
it offers you
code and tompile it yourself. This section outlines the second option for Unix
since
greater flexibility.
(21 Quid Quo ProWeb Server
relationship
This server is extraordinarily simple to bring up and maintain. lt does not support
a close
with any database applicaiions, but it is integrated with the Macintosh OS through
AppleEvents'
exception of SSL'
here. lt supports allthe features in the first list as wellas the second list with
the
It comes with
and Windows
server side includes, and administration features. Designed to run under WindowsgS
Be
sure to download
Begin acquiring the application from its download page at www.socialeng'com.
rich
versions are available for
Quid pro Quo 2.x since it is the free version. The other more feature
your www
browser is configured
free 30-day trials and require a serial number to activate' lf
a self-
extracting archive' Launch
correctly, then the downloaded file should uncompress and resultin
place on
your hard disk'
the self-extracting archive and tell it to save the compressed file any
1 1O / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
(5) Microsoft's PersonalWeb Server 4.0
It is possible to serve light-to-moderate loads from a desktop environment
with
Microsoft,s personal
Web Server 4.0. Anyone administering a website knows how helpful access
to
the Web server can
be' Experimenting with new techniques and custom server configurations is a
system.
Microsoft has given everyone the chance to be a webmaster by giving seryer
software
files.
Familiar Microsoft wizards guide you through installation. PersonalWeb Server 4.0
lets you
begin
serving dynamic pages, Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASPs), without having to
install
the
Redmond, Wash-based company's higher-end NT 4.0 Seiver or the lnternet lnformati6n
Server (llS).
Personal Web Server 4.0's Home Page Wizard demonstrates how to set up a Guest
Book page,
which will probably be many users'first chance to put ASps into action.
Of course, Personal Web Server 4.0 also supports other Microsoft technologies such
as
Microsoft
Transaction Server, Data Access Components, and Message eueue server client.
TIP:
1' Avoid using the FrontPage Personal Web Server that comes with Frontpage for
serving
pages for extended periods. A memory leak prevents the Web server bundled
witfr fronteag6
from being a dedicated server. Microsoft recommends using PersonalWeb
Server 4.0 in-
stead.
2" A compact installation of Win 98 will not show the icon for Personal Web
Server under the
Start/lnternet Explorer folder. Run Windows Setup using the Control
panel/Add/Remove
Programs
3' The FTP services found in earlier versions of PersonalWeb Server are not
included with
the latest release. Consider using third-party FTP server software such as
WAR_ftp or FTp
Serv-U.
You'll find some restrictions on PersonalWeb Server 4.0:
A 10-user connection limit, lack of authentication, and NCSA-only log file format
restricts personal
Web Server 4.0 to workgroup-type websites. PersonalWeb Server 4.0 requires allfiles
published by
the server be located on the local hard drive. Also, the lnternet Explorei 4.0
browsei must be in-
stalled. The Microsoft upgrade path should be crystal clear. lf yogwant full server
functionality,
upgrade to Win NT and llS 4.0.
(6) WebSiteProfessionat2.3
O'Reilly WebSite Professional 2.3 has the distinction of being the only Web server
that runs under
Win 95 and 98, NT Server, and NTWorkstation. Unlike Microsoft PersonalWeb Server
4.0, WebSite
Professional 2.3 is a fully functional Web server that offers advanced support for
ASps, multiple
virtual servers, authentication (website and NT-based), and server-side Java.
WebSite Professional 2.3 offers tools geared toward making administration.
development, and site
GLOBALINTERNET /111
sites, news, weather information, e-mail, stock quotes, phone and map ihformation,
and sometimes
a community forum. Excite is among the first portals to offer users the ability to
create a site that is
personalized for individual interests.
The term portal space is used to mean the total number of major sites competing to
be one of the
portals. ln fantasy games, science-fiction, and scme "New Age" philosophies, a
portal is a gateway
to anoiher world of the past, present, or future, or to an expanded awareness. ln
3-D graphics
development, portal rendering is a technique that increases the effect of realism
and speeds up
presentation.
O Line-mode browsers;
O Full-screen browsers (like Lynx); and
tr Graphicalbrowsers(likeNetscape)
Line-mode browsers are about as user unf riendly as you can get.
This is hard to
describe, but line-
mode browsers work a little like FTP inasmuch i. you type a"command, get
some
information on
your screen, type a new command, get some more information,
and so on ..^
screen that looks a
little like the Gopher
reen browser works
differently, but in most
creen. select a
highlighted word or phrase
the right arrow cursor
key), and you are
offers users
more flexibility. Here are some examples of changei that users will see.
tr Automated features
To speed and simplify your browsing experience, lnternet Explorer 5.0
includes the
following:
1. Autocomplete-Provides a drop-down list of choices that match what you're
typing
2. AutoOorrect-Fixes typos as you type AutoSearch-Gives you Web search ,e., jt"
rih"n yo,
type part of a URL in the address bar requir ,d by a Web page
3. AutoDetect-Gives you visual cues about what's accessible-otttin"
4. AutoConfiguration-Locates and connects to the appropriate proxy server if you
use one to
connect to a network
5. Web accessories These are developed and distributed by major Web sites to
work
in con-
junction with their sites and customize aspects of your tniernet
Explorer
5.0, such as your
toolbar and menu items. Some sites have already developed custom Explorer
bars, for
instance.
The following is the list of additional lnternet-related software. For example,
with
lnternet Explorer
5.0, you also get:
A NetShow server
1 14 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
O NetMeetingconferencingsoftware
tr ActiveX controls
C Chat
D ActiveMovieapplicationprogramminginterface
O ActiveChannelwebcast
D Subscriptions
C Dynamic HTML
0 NetShow server
This allows you to see and hear live and recorded broadcasts such as concerts or
breaking news
with synchronized audio, graphics, video, URLs, and script commands.
And streaming technology allows you to see or hear the information as it arrives
instead of having to
wait for the entire file to download.
O Internet Connection Wizard
The Microsoft Windows g8 operating system includes a new lnternet Connection
Wizard, which
makes it easy for you to set up your very first connection to your ISP or online
service provider. lt
includes a national list of lSPs and online se.rvice providers for you to choose
from. The wizard
automatically sets up your system to connect you to the lnternet using the ISP you
choose.
O NetMeetingConferencingSoftware
With a sound card, speakers, and a microphone, you can talk to others worldwide
from lamily to
colleaguesusing NetMeeting. Add a Windows-compatible video capture card and/or
camera to see
them, too.
Exchange pictures and draw diagrams on an electronic whiteboard, communicate with
text-based
chat, transfer files, and share applications.
O ActiveX Controls
interactive Web sites. ActiveX Controls are the soltware components that run behind
the scenes in
lnternet Explorer so that these sites come alive for you.
D Chat
This program lets you converse online in real time with one or more people. You
decide how your
message is displayed text only or text with graphics. You can send and receive
sounds, files, and
"hot" links of e-mail addresses, Web pages, and newsgroups. You can even "whisper"
to another
person in a group chat. Use it for your next online family reunion.
O ActiveMovieApplicationProgramminglnterface
ActiveMovie allows you to experience television-quality video and CD-quality audio,
while minimiz-
ing file size and download time compared to other video and audio formats. By using
"progressive
downloading,"
ActiveMovie lets you start playing an audio or video clip while it's still
downloading.
O Active Channel
Active Channel webcasts enable dynamic inlormation to be sent regularly to your
computer. They
automatically transmit content that fits your interestseverything from Disney
entertainment to stock
quotes. Use the Channel bar to select your favorite topics, and lnternet Explorer
5.0 gets the infor-
mation, so you can read it whenever you wanteven offline.
O Subscriptions
This feature delivers preferred information straight to your desktop, when you want
it, in the way you
GLOBAL INTERNET /115
want itfor f ree". To subscribe to a Web site, select the site and specify when you
want the information
updated and how you want to be notified, sueh as through an e-mail message.
lnternet Explorer does
the rest. Then you can browse the content offline.
O Dynamic HTML
lnternet Explorer 5.0 supports this programming language, which makes enticing,
unique; fun, and
fast-downloading Web pages possible.The pages download quickly because they are
created using
lightweight HTML instead of heavy-duty graphics. Round trips to the server are
minimized, which
means faster browser performance on your desktop computer.
O Toolbar
The lnternet Explorer toolbar consists of buttons that are
shortcuts for menu
commands. They
make browsing faster and easier. click any button on
the toolbar below to find
out its function.
0 The"Back,'and,,Forward',Buttons
once you have loaded at least two web pages, you should riotice "Back"
a button
appear (or darken).
lf you click on this button, your web browsei will return you
"Forward" button (when darkened or shown)
to the last web
page viewed. The
will return v", 6 tn" next web page
viewed, in the case
that you have just pressed the "Back" button to view pievious p"g"..
O Refresh Button
tJpdates any web page stored in your disk cache with the
latest content. (when you
return to a page
you'vevisited,yourbrows.erdisplays
thefilestoredinyouroist<cacne,ratherthanthecurrentpage
on the World Wide Web. This saves download time.)
O Home Button
Returns you to your home page. you can designate any web page
as your home page.
A Search.
Displays a choice of popular lnternet search engines in the left pane. your
search
results appear in
the left pane, too. when you click a link, the page appears in the right pane,
so
you don,t lose sight
of your search results.
ln MS lnternet Explorer with Search Assistant, get more useful
search results by
specifying before-
hand the type of information you're looking for
[such web page,
company, or map)
and using a search engine geared toward ihis type. ". "n "Joi"ss,
O Favorites.
Displays a list of the sites (and, with lnternet Explorer 4.0, the
folders, files,
and servers)
that you,ve
saved as Favorites. Click on any item in the lisi to jump to it.
When you add a Web page to your Favorites, select "Make available
o Mail.
Connects you to Microsoft Outlook. Express messaging and collaboration client so
you can read
electronic mail (e-mail) and newsgroup messages.
o Edit.
Opens a file in Microsoft Word word processor that contains the HTML code for the
page you're
viewing so you can see and even edit it.
D "Reload" and "StoP"
Many Web browsers have a cache system.That is, they store f requently-visited
documents on
your
compute/s hard drive. Sometimes, you may view a Web page that is often
updated f rom your cache,
and you may not have the most recent copy. ln this case, it is a good idea to click
yo_ur browser's
,,Reload"
"Reload"
bution, which will re-download the newest copy of the current Web
document.The
button may also be used if errors occurred in the original downloading of a
document.
The "Stop" button can be used to stop the downloading of any Web page to your
computer. This can
be usefui if a page is taking too long to download, or is not downloading properly.
lf, after you have
stopped the download, you decide you do in fact want to download the document, you
may use the
"Beload" button.
o History
List your History sites by date visited, site name, number of visits, or order you
visited today. Use
the search toolto find keywords on any of the pages you visited. The Go button !f
you prefer, click
Go, rather than pressing eNf gn, after you type a uniform resource locator (URL) in
the address
bar.
connection
save you time completing routineWeb tasks, such automatically Cetecting your
network and
status.
When you start typing a frequently used Web address in the Address bar, a list of
similar
addresses
address is wrong, lnternet
Explorer can search
app"uis that you can choose from. And if aWeb-page
for similai addresses to try to lind a match.
type a
Search for Web sites by clicking the Search button on the toolbar. Then in the
Search bar,
your search results
appear' you can vlew
word or phrase that describes what you're looking for. When
the individual web pages without losing your list of search results.
you can also search directly from the Address bar. Just type common names or words,
and lnternet
for,
Explorer can automaticallyiake you to the site that most likely matches what you
are searching
and list other likely sites as well.
kind of Web-
Once you're on a Web page, lnternet Explorer can help you complete entries in any
based form. Start typing, ind a list of similar entries appears that you can choose
from'
on the toolbar'
Browse through a list of Web pages you recently visited by clicking the History
button
ln addition you can reanange or search the History list'
a wide variety of
Listen to broadcast and lnternet-only radio stations while you browse. Choose from
11 8 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
music and talk radio stations, and add them to your Favorites list. The radio
toolbar is available in
lnternet Explorer when you installWindows Media player.
Tutorial 2: To open a Web page or folder, or to run a program
D To go to a Web page, type the lnternet address - for example,
www.microsoft.com in the
Address bar, and then click the Go button.
D To run a program from the Address bar, type the program name, and then
click the Go
button.
lf you know the complete path and file name, you can type them for example:
c : \MsOffice\winword\winword. exe .
a To browse through folders from the Address bar, type the drive and folder name,
and then
click the Go button for example:
Tutorial 3 : To link to Web pages you recently visited
tr To return to the last page you viewed, click the Back button.
D To view a page you viewed before clibking the Back button, click the
Forward button.
D To see a list of the last few pages you visited, click the small down
arrow beside the Back
or Forward button.
Tutorial 4 : To link to a specific Web page
O To return to the page that appears each time you start lnternet Explorer, click
the Home
button.
tr To select a Web page from your list of favorites, click the Favorites
button.
A To select a Web page from the list of those you visited recently, click
the History button.
The History list also displays previously viewed files and folders on
your computer.
1 . On the File
menu of your lnternet Explorer toolbar, point to New, ?fld
click window, so you
don't lose your place in this guide.
2. Under the File menu in the new window, click open, and then type
http z / /www. microsoft ' con/ins ider / in the address
box .
3. Click ox.
4. When the Personal Computing page has f inished loading, on the Favorites
menut click aaa
to Favorites, and click or.
5. Close the new window.
Tutorial 4.9 : Organize your Favorites into folders
To organize your favorite pages into folders:
1. On the Favorites menu, click organize Favorites'
2. Click create New Folder, type a name for the folder, and then press ENTEB.
3. Drag the shortcuts in the list to the appropriate folders.
4. you might want to organize ydur pages by topic. For example, you could
create a folder
named Art for btoring information about art exhibits and reviews.
5. lf the number of shortcuts or folders makes ragging impractical, you can
use the Move
button instead.
Tutorial4.10 : Change your home page
To change your home page:
1. Go to the page you want to appear when you f irst start lnternet Explorer.
2. On the view menu, click Internet optsions.
3. Click the General tsab.
4. ln the Home page area, click use current.
5. To restore your original home page, click use Def aults'
Tutorial 4.11 : Save text and graphics f rom the Web
When you see text or graphics on a Web page that you like or want to refer to
later, you can save
them on your computei's hard disk. Later, you can open the saved file and review it
offline.
To save a text or source file:
1. On the toolbar, click pile, and then click save as'
2. Click save to save the file.
Tutorial 412: To save a graPhic
1. Right-click the graPhic'
2. On the shortcut menu that appears, click save Picture As'
3. Browse to the folder where you would like to save the file'
4. Click save to save the file.
lnternel
5. To open a saved file, double-click it from the folder where you've saved
it. Microsoft
Explorer will start automatically, and your saved file will appear in the
browser window.
Tutorial 4.13 : Add a page to your Links bar
To add a page to your Links bar:
1 22 I ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
1. Drag the icon for the page from your Address bar to your Links bar.
2. Drag a link from a Web page to your Links bar.
3. Drag a link to the Links lolder in your Favorites list: You can either drag
it direcfly to the
Favorites menu and then into the Links folder or you can drag it to the
tinks folder when
displaying your Favorites in the Explorer bar.
4. You can also can organize your links by dragging them to a different
location on the Links
bar.
Tutorial 4.14 : Create a desktop shortcut to the current page
1. Right-click the page, and then click create Shorrcur.
2' lf the lnternet Explorer window is not maximized, you can also create a
shortcut by drag-
ging a link from the lnternet Explorer window to the location you want,
such as your desk-
top or a folder.
Tutorial 4.15 : Return to a Web page you've already seen
1. There are several ways to return to a previously viewed Web page:
2' To return to the last page you viewed, you can click the gack button on the
toolbar, or press
the gecxspacu key.
3. To see a list of the last few pages you visited, click the small down arrow
beside the Back
or Forward button. Then click the page you want.
4' lf you want to view one of the last five pages you visited in this session,
click the rite
menu, and then on the list, click the page that you want to go to. This list
is started fresh
every time you start lnternet Explorer.
5. To view more pages, including pages you visited in previous sessions, click the
History
button on the toolbar, and then click the appropriate folder.
Tutorial 4.16 : Change the appetarance of the toolbar
To change the appearance of the toolbar:
You can move or resize the Address bar or Links bar by dragging them up, down,
left, br right. you
can even move them into the menu bar. To make more room on your screen, you can
hide toolbar
button labels.
1. Just right-click the toolbar, and then clear the check mark next to rexr
Labels.
2. You can hide the Address bar or Links section of the toolbar by right-
clicking the toolbar
and then clearing the check mark for each item you want to hide.
3. You can add items to the Links bar by dragging the icon f rom the Address
bar or dragging
a link from a page.
4. You can rearrange items on the Links bar by dragging them to a new location
on the bar.
5. You can use smaller Microsoft Office-style toolbar buttons. On the vlew menu
in a browser
window, click rnternet opt,J.one, dnd then click the Advanced tab. ln the
Toolbar area,
selectthesnre1l l-cons check box.
The radio toolbar is available in lnternet Explorer when you installWindows Media
Player,
Tutorial4.17 : Changing fonts and background colors
When Web authors and designers create Web pages, they often specify particular font
colors and
sizes, typefaces, and background colors. These settings are specified lor each
item, or in a "style.
sheet," which is a type of template for specifying how ditferent styles should
appear throughout a
Web page or site.
GLOBALINTERNET /123
You can override any or all of these settings, which is useful if you have limited
or low vision.you can
specify your font and color preferences for all pages that do not use style sheets,
and then you can
specify whether to use any or all of your preferences on pages that use style
sheets.
Tutorial 4.18 : To correctly display Web pages encoded in any language
Most Web pages contain information that tells the browser what language encoding
(the language
and character set) to use. lf the page does not include that information, and you
have the usuaily
determine the appropriate language encoding.
Tutorial 4.19 : To turn Auto-Select on
0 On the view menu in rnternet, Explorer, point to Encoding, ond then make
sure Auto-
Select has a check mark. lf it doesn't, click it.
D lf you are prompted to download language support components, click
oownload.
0 lf Auto-Select cannot determine the correct language encoding, and you know
what language
encoding it should be, you can manually select it.
Tutorial 4.20 select the language encoding for a Web page. On the View menu,
point to Encod-
=To
ing, point to More, and then click the qppropriate language.
lf you are prompted to download language support components, click Download.
Notes
O lf the Auto-Select feature or a specific language pack is not installed on
your computer,
lnternet Explorer will prompt you to download the files as needed.
O Adding languages does not guarantee that your computer has a font that can
display Web
pages in your preferred languages.To be prompted when fonts need to be
added, click the
Tools menu, click lnternet Options, click the Advanced tab, and then select
the Enable
lnstall On Demand Cnect box. Or you can download a Multilanguage support
pack <http://
www.microsoft.com/isapi/Redir.dll?prd=ie&pver=5.0&clcid=&ar=ienews> to
display pages
in this language.
D You can add a Language Encoding button to your toolbar to make switching
between languages
quicker.
Tutoriaf 4.21 turn off graphics to display allWeb pages faster
=To
D On the Too1s menu in lnternet Explorer, click lnt,ernet options.
D Click the Advanced rab.
A ln the Multimedia area, clear one or more of the Show pictures, Play
animations, Play
videos, or Play sounds check boxes.
Tips
lf the Show pictures or Play videos check box is cleared, you can still display
an individual
picture or animation on a Web page by right-clicking its icon and then clicking
Show Pictur:e.
lf the pictures on the current page are still visible after you clear the Show
pictures check box,
you can hide them by clicking the View menu and then clicking Refresh.
Tutorial 4.22:To create more space for temporary lnternet pages
tr On the ToolE menu in lnternet Explorer, click tnternet options.
D On the General tab, click settings.
124 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
here,s a guide
to them.
When you explore the Web, your browser keeps track of the pages yorJ've visited
and saves
them on
your hard disk so they'll load faster when you return to them. This saves you
tr The exported favorites file is fairly small, so you can copy it to a floppy
disk or network
folder, or attach it to an e-mail message if you want to share the favorite
items with other
people.
Notes
D ln previous versions of lnternet Explorer, ollline viewing was called
"subscribing."
126 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Note
Notes
D With Web Page, complete and Web Archive, you can view all
of the Web page
offline, without
adding the page to your Favorites rist and marking it for offrine viewing.
o When you choose Web Page, complete, only the current page
is saved. lf you
want to view
web pages and the pages they rink to whire offrine, see ierated ropics.
Tutorial 4.27 : Saving pictures or text from a Web page
As you view pages on the Web, you willfind information that you'd like
to save for
future reference or
share with other people. You can save the entire Web p"g" or any part
of it:
text, graphics, or links.
GLOBAL INTERNET /127
You can print Web pages for people who don't have access to the Web or a computer.
O To save a page or picture without opening it
Right-click the link for the item you want, and then click Save Target As.
O To copy information from a Web page into a document
Select the information you want to copy, click the Edit menu, and then click Copy.
O To create a desktop shortcut to the current page
Right-click in the page, and then click Create Shortcut.
O To use a Web page image as desktop wallpaper
Right-click the image on the Web page, and then click Set as Wallpaper.
O To send a Web page in e-mail
Click the File menu, point to Send, and then click Page By E-mail or Link By E-
mail. Complete the
mail message window, and then send the message. Note that you must have an e-mail
account and
an e-mail program set up on your computer.
Tutorial 4.28 : ChooseYour Own Home Page
lf you are using Explorer, first go to the Learn the Net home page. Now click the
View menu, then
select Options. Now click the General tab. Finally, click the Use Current button.
As much as we would like Learn the Net to be your home page, you can select any
page you want.
cD-RoM versions can also be purchased in computer stores and are sometimes
distributed freely
as promotions.
A primary source.of revenue for Netscape and AOL is
tiff:$:'j;jT31
it devetops and has marketed on rhe ru.."., *
otlts
also envision the Netscape Web site, now
transformed , as a leading source
of revenue through advertising and e-commerce.
NCSA at the University of lllinois in Urbana, lllinois is the home
of the first
Web browser that had a
graphical user interface. lts inventor, Marc Andreessen
,lhen 22years old,
later lead the creation of
the Netscape browser and became a founder of that company. T'he original
time to look
elsewhere for lnternet access.
Netscape
Navigator Web browser. The Standard Edition suite consists of the following
components:
O Navigator:Webbrowser
D Messenger: e-mailclient with Web capabilities
D Collabra: client for Usenet News discussion groups
O Composer: HTML editor with What-You-See-ls-What-You-Get (WyStWyG)
capabilities
D Conference: audio/video conferencing, chat, whiteboarding, file sharing,
collaboration
tools, and file transfer
o Netcaster: subscription capability to push channels on the Web as well as
offline browsing
capability
This section will focus mainly on the Windows 95 version of the Navigator Web
browser.
With the
proper software installed on your local computer, Navigator can retrieve several
kinds of images as
well as video and sound.You can download the Communicator suite with a variety of
plug-ins
configured
to the browser, including:
B The Cosmo Playerto view 3D sites created with Virtual Reality Modeling
Language (VRML)
(file suffixes .wrl, .wrz)
o Netscape Media Player for streaming audio metafiles (file suffix.lam) Live
Audio for
sound files (file suffixes .au, .aiff, .wav, .midi, .la, .lma) The
QuickTime'player for video
(file suffix .mov) NPAl32 Dynamic Link Library to play video in Windows (fite
suffix .avi)
You can install Communicator in yourWindows-based or Macintosh machine.The program
is avail-
able for downloading on the Netscape home page: http://home.netscape.com/.To use
the program to
access the Web, you need an ethernet connection or a dialup connection through an
lnternet
Service
Provider.
wiil be
taken to Netscape's NetOenter.
GLOBALINTERNET /129
O PersonalToolbar:
contains the bookmarks in the Personal roolbar folder of the bookmarks file.
O The Menu Bar
Located along the top of the browser window, the menu bar offers a selection of
things you can do
with a web page, such as saving it to your hard drive or increasing the size of the
text on a page.
Many of the choices are the same as the buttons on the toolbar below, so don't try
to learn everything
now. Click once on a word to access the drop-down menu, then click on the
appropriate selection you
want to make.
tr The Status Bar
At the bottom of the web browser you'll find a window known as a status bar. You
can watch the
progress of web page transactions, such as the address of the site you are
contacting, whether the
host computer has been contacted and'the size of the files to be downloaded.
The Scroll Bar
The vertical bar to the right of the browser lets you scroll a down and up a long
web page. You can do
this by placing your arrow cursor on the up or down arrows and holding down your
left mouse key.you
can also place the arrow on the slider control, hold down the left mouse key and
drag the slider.
lf a web page is too wide to fit your screen, a horizontal scroll bar will appear
at the bottom on your
browser window.This scroll bar works the same way.
Tutorial 4.30 : Book Marking Your choices
The program comes with certain links pre-installed.These can be deleted, or you can
add your own.
To place your own bookmarks here:
D Go to a Web page that you want to bookmark
O Place your mouse over the icon to the left of the word "Netsil€." This message
will brief ly
appear:"Drag this to create a link to this page."
D Hold down the left mouse button and drag from this icon into the Personal
Toolbar. The
bookmark will be installed.
Tutorial4.31 : Making theToolbars Disappear
You may make any of these three toolbars disappear during a session in order to
give yourself a
larger viewing window. There are two ways to do this:
O Click on the far left hand grill of the toolbar. To bring back the toolbar,
click again on the
grill.
O Selectview>Hide Navigation,/Location/pereonal Toolbar
When to Use the STOP Button
There's a good reason why the Web is referred to as the World Wide Wait. lf you
can'l connect to a
site, use the STOP button and try again later, especially if you are trying to
access a popular site.
ffi@
GLOBALINTERNET /131
4.26 The Access lndicator
Both Navigator and Explorer have a small picture in the upper right hand corner of
the browser. When
this image is animated, it means that your browser software, known as a client, is
accessing data
from a remote computer, called a server. The server can be located across town or
on another
continent'Your browser downloads these remote files to your computer, then displays
them on your
screen. The speed of this process depends a number of factors: your modem .pe"d,
your lnternet
service provider's modem speed, the size of the files you are downloading, how
busyihe server is
and the traffic on the lnternet.
4: yqq hop from page to page and website to website, your browser remembers where
you've been.
With Navigator, select l'listory f rom the drop-down list under the Communicator
menu. With lnternpt
Explorer, click the History button on the toolbar. There you'll find a history of
all the web pages you
have visited during a specified period of .time. To revisit a page, just click on
the address.
Another way move between pages with Navigator is by clicking the right mouse
button. A pop-up
menu will appear and you can choose to move fonruard or back.
Tutorial 4.32 : How to access Resources on the lnternet with Navigator
(1) lf you have the URL (address) of a Web page on the lnternet. Type the
U RL to go directly to
the page. Navigator gives you two ways of doing this.
(a) Type the URL in the Netsite bar at the top of the screen. To
accomplish this, click on
the Netsite bar to highlight the current URL. Then type in the new URL
and press the
Enter key.
(b) Click on File/Open Page location at the top left of the screen. A pop-
up window will
appear with a blank line. On that line, type the URL of the file you
wishto retrieve.
Press the Enter key.
lf you wish to reach the University Libraries home page, type this URL:
http://www.albany.edu/
library/.
(21 lf you are on a web page
Click on words or images which change the shape of the mouse pointer f rom an arrow
to a hand and
display a URL on the bottom of the screen when the mouse pointer is placed over
it.The blue words
on the display screen or the purple words on the display screen (the purple color
indicates that the
resource has been recently accessed on your terminal).
Note: The colors blue and purple are generally the default colors for text that
contains a link, and
text representing a link that has been visited in the recent past. Nowadays, Web
page creators
are coloring their links in all sorts of ways.The best way to figure out which
text represents a link
is to point your mouse over the words and see if the pointer shape changes from
an arrow to a
hand.The hand represents a link.
After you click, the file will be retrieved and will display on your screen.
Note: Often the clickable words will be different colors than blue or purple.
Document creators
have the option ol specifying colors.
132 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
The term "internet" is used to identily any collection of networks into a larger
Wide Area Network
(WAN). You can have an internet of AppleTalk-based computers or one of PCs entirely
located over
several geographical areas. However, "The lnternet" or "The Global lnternet", as
most people call it,
is a proper name for a certain internetwork of computers around the world. lt is
also known by other
names:"The Matrix" (Quarterman, 1990), "Cyberspace", and now often incorrectly, the
"lnformation
Superhighway" of the National lnformation lnf rastructure (llTF, 1993). This last
name has been ad-
hered to the lnternet accidentally since the National lnformation lnfrastructure
suggests the lnforma-
tion Superhighway only as the concept which may or may not be based upon lnternet
technology
until final approval by the Government of the United States.
The lnternet itself is a conglomeration of thousands of computer neiworks utilizing
a common set of
technical protocols to create a worldwide communications medium (RFC 1594, 1994).
The lnternet
has an estimated population of 20 million users and has a presence in over 70
countries. This
massive group of users reach the lnternet through their computers and terminals at
educational
institutions, commercial lnternet Access Providers, and other organizations.
These individual networks range f rom commercial medium to large corporate WANs.
Each of these
individual networks are controlled by different organizations, are of different
sizes, and use a range
of network technologies (Malamud, 1993). They are united by common communications
protocols
and services. Throughout most of the lnternet, you will find the same services,
irnplemented in a
variety of forms on a range of computer operating systems and hardware.
at
make up the lnternet
take advan-
have a rich
trying to do
environment and an
application server bundled together. lt allows developers-to quickly
build and
immeolatety deploy
GLOBALINTERNET /135
web applications' The focus is on highly interactive development with
a
sophisticated environment.
one of the products in this category is SilverStream Application Server.
SilverStream is a 100-
percent pu components on the server.
SilverStream's big
deveroper
claim is tha
;i:,"i:,o"T".
[1i":i:::i'fi1Hil";3i5'i;Li
Silve.rStream's page generation see "Building object-orienteo"weu pages
witr
Sitverstream,,in the
Lab Note section of this issue.)
the code
required to create a simple data entry form.
interested in
Microsoft MTS or Sybase Enterprise Application Server. MTS hosts COM components
(and
not
many application servers are adopting COM as a component st
3.0. hosts almost any type of component, including powerBui
native support for PowerBuilder components) :b developers
etary" features, ,but to existing clienVserversrs, they mean
ing code.
Be aware that Microsoft Visual lnterDev is not an application server. Visual
lnterDev
creates Active
Server Pages (ASPs) that are loaded and executed inside Microsoft's llS Web server.
ASp is a page
engine, not an application server. The combination of ASP and MTS results in an
apiiication
server
with a page-development environment.
Application servers c
By providing the abilit
rity, processing logic,
seruers allow scalable HTML and distributed cli
corporate lT development. Because Web development and corporate lT development have
typically
been separate and have had different goals, the new application server market seems
cluttered and
its messages are mixed. What may seem to be the perfect server to one group might
look like the
dumbest design around to another. Over the next year, the application servlr markei
will most likely
splinter into three groups: pure enterprise servers that are iool independent,
develop-and-deploy
seryers that integrate tools and servers, and page servers that focus only on pages
u"i.u. three-tier
136 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
differentiator
will be how productive and robust th-e development environrn"ni
1.. As the
market becomes more
segmented, there will also be more consolictation
players will eitherbepurchased - as winners appear
by rarger vendors or fade
-' in
each ."i"-g*y, the other
"*"},.
ea of the
types of applications that
nd
maintaining those applications.
cess,
scalability, openness, devel_
r
viability.
P.rices of application servers vary considerably.
also charge per developer. Cost varies from si
concurrent user pricing. prices range from $A5OO
less of the application server you choose, one t
develop applications today
The "Web"
- iegardless of what
u could ship
imagine the
documents
service provider
(lSP)' The ISP pays the big bucks to have c.omputers sitting right
on the lnternet.
To get from your
home or office to the lsB you use telephone lines and a moo-emlwhen you
want to
broirse, or check
your e-mail, you dial in-modem to modem to your lSP. lt connects you
to the
lnternet and its Web
seruice and also offers e-mailseruice.
once you're patched into the lnternet-via your ISP-you start running your Web
browser software.
Browser software understands the language of worid Wide Web tralfic running
on
the lnternet. lt
GLOBAL INTERNET /137
understands the rules that govern Web-service traffic, known as the "transport"
rules, or protocols.
ln browsing, you've noticed that each Web page has an address, listed as something
like "http://
www.netobjects.com." Ever wonder what "http" stands for? lt means Hyper Text
Transport Protocol.
Placed at the beginning of the address, HTTP is saying "l want to make a Web-based
connection
over the lnternet, to the following address. Handle the data transportation issues
for me."The rest of
the address is called a Universal Resource Locator, or URL. Every page on the
lnternet can be
reached by a specific URL. lt's a pointer to a specific page, just like your street
address is a pointer
to where you live or work.
"
each result. When those results return, you can choose the link that says "More
Results from . . '
the same domain. The lnfoSeek f unction will obviously only work for sites indexed
by lnfoSeek. This
is probably the closest to what you are after. Northernlight.com oifers the option
in some search
results that show a blue folder for "More results f rom this site" but they don't
show up on every result.
138 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
provides suggested
categories that are within the same area of interest.
software that you host.on your own computer cannot do this
without going to the
search engines f irsl
to gather the information and then offering you choices
from among the results
it has gathered.
Although there are s.ome software programs like this,
they are varieo and differ
dramatically in
effectiveness depending on your needsior precision of resuits.
Domain name hijacking
The coso of hijacking I've trademarked a name, but the domain
name is already
taken, and was
reserved right after I registered my trademark by another
company. Do I have a-
lejat right to the
domain name?
http : / /www. ndweblaw. con/home,/donainnames . html
This link is a page titled "Domain Names, A Trademark Owner's
Nightmare,,and
contains an article
and citations to cases that have been well publicized about
domain name
hijackinj.
People who do this may be doing it intentionally or innocenily,
but
generally, you don,t have a case
unless you've got a long established use of the irademarked
name ano can
prove that the registrant
was intending to extort excessive fees from you in the hopes yo
r'o uuy
the name from them.
You can take it to court if you like, but it's not likely to
do you any good
unless you can prove that the
registrant had the intent to squat on the name an-d not use it,
hoping that
you would u"-*itting to pay
excessive fees to get it back.
Still, the case may cost you more than it's worth.
This is an unresolved battle with more and more companies. Until
laws are
passed (not likely) there
will be no way to protect a domain name other than being the first
one to
reserve it. you may have a
case if they are harming your business in some way by-the inappropriate
use
of that name. But if
they are simply using lor another purpose, you might consider
."tting in"r the
trademark instead. ;)
Just kidding' I know this is not something you are likely to consider.
Have you
contacted the regis-
trant of www.your-trademark.com? lf you want to knowwho it is,
there's a way
to find the registered
owner by going to this address and typing in the domain name.
http://www. networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois/
It will return a registrant name, host name and the name
servers.You might consider
contacting them
and simply explaining your trademark situation, your desire to own
the name and
then simply ask if
they would consider a reasonable solution. eossibty something
like to avoid a court battle and make it worth theiitime to seii "s
rimpie
al;;G;-J;n that youd
it to you by
offering twice what they
paid for it.
lf they have not spent large sums developing a.branding strategy for
the
name, they may be willing
to give it up. lt's only 4 months old at this point it they reierveo it'in
February.
as many as
Ans.
4.6.
Ans.
k my favorite and always use it?
erals in higher
education.
uslness by way of
immediate communication.
rk.
a server computer, you
need a computer, an lnternet
connection, and
?. AThe
b.
right crient program for accessing the particurar type
Nintendo system, some wire, and i g-von battery
of
server.
c. Guts.
d. Matthew Brcderick.
3' A browser is a c.rient program that disprays the ....... stored
on the
rnternet on .........
a. truth machintoshes
b. web pages web seruers
c. examination papers Gmat
a. Nerues of steel
b. Buns of steel
c. The RealAudio plug-in
d. The Shockwave plug-ins
Which of the following is a way to get to a search toot?
a. Enter the search tool's |JRL.
b. Use a link to the tool, found on another tool's page.
c. Click your browsels Search button.
d. All of the above.
You're searching for information about rabbits. which is the best
search term?
a. Rabbits
b. Rabbit
c. Rabbit or bunny or hare
d. Rabbit and bunny and hare
7. ln the hit list, the search tool puts the hits it considers best
a. ln a special"premief hit list
b. At the top of the hit tist
c. At every fourth position in the hit list
d. At the bottom of the hit list users because
8. web integration may improve the effiiiency of computer users because
a. They'll be grateful, and therefore motivated.
b. They needn't learn or use different skills for local and online
activities.
c. They'll find it easier to email questions to others who can hetp
them.
d. Their computers will run faster
L Experts give the Net PC little chance of catching on as a home lntemet
terminal because
a. A Net PC costs almost as much as a cheap pC, but can,t do as much.
b. A Net PC's "sealed case" prevents its use as a place to hide
jewelry.
c. 'A Net PC" sounds too much like "Annette Peicie," a cheerleader
nobody tiked in high school.
d-. Anything collectively supported by Microsoft, lBM, and lntelcan't
be good for us.
A3. Choose the correct option
t. The protocol that Web clients and seruers use to communicate with each
other is called
(a) HTML (b) HTTP.
(c) URL (d) None of the above.
2. Web documents are stored as text fites with the ertension
(a) .htm.
(b) .htmt.
(c) Both a and b.
(d) None ofthe above.
3. Using Lynx, you can view
(a) Text. (b) Graphics.
(c) Both a and b. (d) None of the above.
4. Which of the follovying is a search engine?
(a) Microsoft,
(b) AltaVista.
(c) Yahoo,
(d) Both b and c.
5. The original developer of the WWW was
(a) Tim Berners-Lee. (b) Marc Andreesen.
(c) Bill Gates, (d) None of the above.
6. The lntemet is also refered to as:
(a) The nVeb."
(b) information superhighway
(c) www
GLOBALINTERNET /145
(d) Network of Networks
(e) All of above
7. The lnternet is a collection of specialized computers located in Silicon Valley.
(a) True @ False.
8. The act of exploing the Web is known as:
(a) Exploring
(b) Searching
(c) Suding.
(d) Browsing
4. American users can only view documents which were created in the United Stafes.
(a) True
(b) False.
10. Which of the foltowing groups is allowed to put pages on the Web?
(a) Universities
(b) Web Consortiam
(c) Microsoft
(d) Any one
(e) All of the above.
A4. Choose the best possible altemative(s) :
1. The dilference between a bookma* and a favorite is
a. One's a noun; the othe/s an adiective-
b. A bookmark marks history while a favorite indicates preference.
c. A bookmark provides an easy way to retum to a page in Navigator and a
favorite does the same
in lnternet ExPlorer.
d. A bookmark provides an easy way to return to a page in lnternet
Explorer and a favorite does the
same in Navigator.
2. Your history fite tists all pages you've visited
a. Within the number of days for which your browser is set up to save
history
b. ln your entire lifetime
c. With conviction
d. More than four times
'
3. saved web pages always include atl ......... that you see online, but may
omit
a. Yin Yang
b. brt meaning
c. images color
d. text images
A5. Select the best suitable alternative(s) from lollowing?
l. The Back and Forward buttons are inactive until a link on a web page is
pressed'
(a) TRUE
(b) FALSE
2. lf you become lost, the best button to press is:
(a) Stop
(b) Home
(c) Reload
g. The easiest method to pint a web document involves:
(a) Copying the text and pasting it into WordPertect
(b) Saitring the brt and loading the lile intoWordPertect
(c) Pressing the Print button
4. To see an animation a second time, press:
(a) Home
(b) Reload
(c) Open
type
S. To see a web page (IJRL) mentioned in the newspaper or an television, press
the ..'.. button and
146 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
in the URL.
(a) Back
(b) Home
(c) Stop
(d) Open
6. Text on the web page can be inade to
appear larger by using:
(a) Options-General preferences_Appearance
(b) Options-Networking
(c) Fite-Save As...
(d) Fite-Open
7- web pages risted in the "Go" menu remain in
the rist untir erased by
the user.
(a) TRUE
(b) FALSE
8' attempt or downloading of information can be
interupted
[!f "";|:r"'"n
by pressing:
(b) Home
(c) stop
(d) Forward
9' All information found on the web can be considered
factual and without
error.
(a) TRUE
(b) FALSE
10. The act of exploring the Web is known as:
(a) Running
(b) Roaming
(c) Reading
(d) Surfing
(e) Browsing
81. True or false:
1. To use the rnternet Exoto.rgr we^b browse4 you
! Web. must arso use the Active
Desktop.
2. The basis for the lnternet is the
3.
4.
5.
toped in 1990
at CERN.
t.
6.
n the Internet.
7.
ontain both
words,'Gandhi" and ,'Lincoln,,.
8.
omputer to yours.
9.
orage and retrieval.
10.
approach to
offering information on a computer
c1. Fill in the blanks
1. A ..... is a mechanism to control access to and from
Web seruers.
2. ....... uses links , also called hypertinks.
3. A document (or file) accessed by a web browser is
cat*d a ... ......
or web site.
4.
5.
web page.
6.
to a Web page.
7.
sses are
simply called "addresses", a WWW
address is called a ......
izes, and often rates and
reviews Web sites.
tomated search engine.
general information.
ou to search newsgroup.
loaded must be .......
before use on your computer.
GLOBALINTERNET /147
13. The Wortd Wide Web, commonly referred to as the "" or the WWW'
14. ....... facilities can be accessed through http'
15. ....., a seruer for Unix comPuters.
c2. Fill in the blanks with appropriate word(s)'
(1) ln order to send email to-someone you need to know their""'
2) An address for a webpage is called a ..""
you would use
what Boolean term in the
3) To search for a webpagi about the otd movie comedy teams,
examples below:
Laurel ..... HardY
Comedy..... Movies
4) Tofind'webpagesaboutmoneyotherthanlJSCurrency,youcanusewhatterm?
Currency...... USA
D. Explain the following term.
1. Web browser 2. HyPerlink.
3. Search engine. 4. Web seruer
5. Portal 6. Webcrawlers
E. Differenciate between
1. Web browswr and web-seruer 2. Browser and search engine
3. lnternet and web 4. Poratl and search engine
F. Write the full form of the followingt
1. HTTP 2. HTTPD
3. INERNET 4. HTP
5. Wt/W 6. TCP
7. lP 8. URL
9. FTP 10. //s
11. wAls 12. HTML
G. Activities for trial
1.
t enhance or
detractfrom your lnternet expenence'
2.
3.
Search button. Virlually all search tools s
you to find pages by browsing through -a
for
any ads orf-ree offe-rs fro t providers and
online services (such aYahoo'com)'
4. Start watching
and save the ads if You can'
5. E-mail
Use
you wilt need to set some of the
entries in the Options menu'
on.catatgwei/tninting/netscape'
html#hetper to set- up
.your
e-.mail'
Yntt can
Crea book containing at '-^^' t,.,^
^, least a+Ataaeac
You
two addresses'
use mtne
a
another staff member' lf youI
5.1 Commerce
Commerce in a nutcell defined as transport of commodities from place to place for
exchange purposes.
The British economist Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations (17761that'the
propensity to
truck, barter, and exchange one thing for anothe/'is an intrinsic characteristic of
human nature.
Smith also observed that the expansion of commerce is a critical component of the
process of
modernization. tn modern society, production is organized to take advantage of
specialization and
division of labor. Without commerce it would be impossible to organize production
in this manner.
In ancient times, transporting commodities over any significant distance was an
expensive and risky
enterprise.Thus, commerce was restricted mainly to local markets, and the most
commonly traded
articles were foodstutfs and clothing. Most people spent,the bulk of their
resources on food, and
what they neither grew nor gathered themselves they obtained through trade.The same
was true of
clothing: Garments were either produced and handed down within the family or
acquired through
trade. ln addition to food, clothing, and shelter, the rich devoted their income to
conspipuous attire,
jewelry and works ol art. As a result, an important trade in luxury items
developed.
fell, grain was imported on a large scale from the Baltic to the Netherlands and
other parts
of Europe.
New ocean routes between Europe and the East allowed imports from Asia at lower
prices and in
greater volume than had been possible by overland caravan. The discovery of the
Americas
created
trade in such new commodities as tobacco and logwood.
Spanish exploitation of the rich gold and silver deposits in Mexico and Peru
transformed the character
of international commerce. Europe finally possessed a commodity-precious metal-for
which ample
demand existed in the Far East. ln return for AsiAn imports, Europe exchanged
silver coin minted in
Mexico, Spain, ltaly, and Holland. Using technology and skills developed in
tiansoceanic navigation,
the Europeans captured the Asian shipping trade. European vessels transported
Japanese copperto
China and lndia, lndian cotton textiles to southern Asia, and Persian carpets to
lndia.Trade in certain
staple commodities grew with incredible speed. lmports of tobacco into England from
Virginia and
Maryland, for example, increased more than a thousandfold in the 17th century.
As long-distance trade continued to grow, new forms of commercialorganizations
appeared. At first,
informal associations gave way to legal partnership. ln Holland, for example, it
was not uncommon
after 1500 that shareholders, rather than captains, be the proprietors of ships.
Shareholding broke
down the social barriers among different classes of merchants and enabled
individuals to divide their
goods among ships destined for different ports. No longer was international trade
limited to those
who could afford to travel. After the 1 6th century the chartered trading company
replaced the temporary
partnership as the customary way for merchants to organize their affairs. These
great companies,
created by the state but privately owned and managed, held national monopoliei over
trade with
certain regions.
out that
wealth consisted not in specie itself but in the materialthat specie could p-
urchase.
Governmental
regulation of trade actually reduced the wealth of nations, because it prevenied
that were
produced cheaper elsewhere.
According to Smith, each country would speciali
n which it
had an absolute advantage-that is, it could prod
ts trading
partners. Another British economist, David Rica
h centur!
to encompass the more general case of comparal
e nations
lack an absolute advantage in the production of any commodity. However, even
these
nations could
are produced between the trading countries, and t
of comparative advantage forms the theoretical b
free trade.
The British philosopher
depend on the
strength of reciprocal
e exports of a
country relative to its
de.The gain would be
reflected in an improvement
in the international terms of trade for the country, by the ratio
of its export prices to its
import prices. "s "rpr"is"d
5.7.2 llodcrn Trade Theory
co
The.classicaltheory of trade developed by smith, Ricardo, and Mill was
he
th
analysis of the gains from trade. Modern trade theory by contrast, takes
advantage for granted. lt is mainly-concerned uiin tne analysis of the
ve
ith
accounting for differences in comparative advantage.
Classicaltheorists assumed that differences in comparative advantage resulted
from differences in
the productivity of resources, reflecting the unequal distribution ol technologies
economists, who
noted that differences in the prices of final goods tend to reflect differences
in
the prices of resources
used to produce the goods, and that these differences reflect differences in
the
availability of the
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 153
5.lA RecentDcvelopments
Although most countries officially favor freer trade and deny protectionhm, the
achievement of this goal
is somewhat ditficult.When economies are booming and jobs seem secure, most
peopletend to support
free trade. When recessions occur, however, many nations become more protectionist
because of national
interest and pressure from interest groups that are adversely affected by
prolonged recessions.
154 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
SinceWorldWarllendedin1945theleadingtradingnationsn"u"g
to promote f reer trade and remove protectioi
oarri"i"- rn i #;;" (ranarar
a a,^^-^^e onI Tariffs
tan[s ano
and
hat worked to
y 23 nations,
thousands of
I
1995, when the activities of
5.8.3 GovernmentRestrictions
Because foreign trade is such an integral pari of a nation's economy, governmental
restrictions are
sometimes necessary to protect what are regarded as national inlerests. Government
action may
occur in response to the trade policies of other countries, or it may be resorted
to in order to protect
specific industries. Since the beginnings of international trade, nations have
striven to achieve and
maintain a favorable balance of trade-that is, to export more than they import.
ln a money economy, goods are not merely bartered for other goods. lnstead,
products are bought
and sold in the international market with national currencies. ln an effort to
improve its balance of
international payments (that is, to increase reseryes of its own currency and
reduce the amount held
by foreigners), a country may attempt to limit imports. Such a policy aims to
controlthe amount of
currency that leaves the country.
Almport Quotas One method of limiting imports is simply to close the ports of eniry
into a country.
More commonly, maximum allowable import quantities may be set for specific
products. Such quantity
restrictions are known as quotas.These may also be used to limit the amount of
foreign or domestic
currency that is permitted to cross national borders. Quotas are imposed as the
quickest means to
stop or even reverse a negative trend in a country's balance of payments. They are
also used as the
most effective means of protecting domestic industry from foreign competition.
5.8-4 Tariffs
Another common way of restricting imports is by imposing tariffs, or taxes on
imported goods. A
tariff, paid by the buyer ol the imported product, makes the price higher for that
item in the country
that imported it. The higher price reduces consumer demand and thus effectiveiy
restricts the import.
The taxes collected on the imported goods also increase revenues for the nation's
government.
Furthermore, tariffs serve as a subsidy to domestic producers of the items taxed
because the higher
price that results from a tariff encourages the competing domestic industry to
expand production.
5.8.7 TradeNegotiations
5.10 Business
Business is defined as an organized approach to providing customers with the goods
and services
they want.The word business also refers to an organization that provides these
goods and services.
Moit businesses seek to make a profit-that is, they aim to achieve revenues that
exceed the costs
of operating the business. Prominent examples ol for-profit businesses include
Mitsubishi Group,
General Motors Corporation. and Royal Dutch/Shell Group. However, some businesses
only seek to
earn enough to covertheir operating costs. Commonly called nonprofits, these
businesses are primarily
nongouern.ental service providers. Examples of nonprofit businesses include such
organizations
as social service agencies, foundations, advocacy groups, and many hospitals.
Business plays a vital role in the life and culture of countries with industrial
and postindustrial (service-
and information-based) free-market economies such as in the United States. ln free-
market systems'
prices and wages are primarily determined by competition, not by governmentg. ln
the United States,
ior example, many people buy and sell goods and services as their primary
occupations. ln 1996
American companies sold in excess of $7.5 trillion worth of goods and services
annually' Businesses
provide just about anything consumers want or need, including basic necessities
such as food and
housing, luxuries suc'h as whirlpool baths and wide-screen televisions, and even
personal services
such as caring for children and linding companionship.
5.1I I'lanufacturing
Firms Manufacturing firms produce a wide range of products. Large manufacturers
include producers
of airplanes, cars, computers, and furniture. Many manufacturing firms construct
only
parts rather
than complete, finished products. These suppliers are usually smaller
manufactu-ring firms' which
The larger lirms then
assdmble final products for
supply parts and components to larger firms.
ma*"t io For example, suppliers provide many of the components
in personal computers,
and home appliances to large firms that create the finished or end
products. These
"onsumers.
automobiles,
larger so responsible lor marketing and
distributing the products.
The a in being able to efficiently and
inexpensively control any
parts of a production process are known as economies of scale. But small
manufacturing firms may
common in
work bestiqr producing certain types of finished products. Smaller end-product
firms are
1 58 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
the food industry and among artisan trades such as custom cabinetry.
5.lZ Merchandisers
Merchandisers are businesses that help move goods through a channel of
distribution-that is, the
route goods take in reaching the consumer. Merchandisers may be involved in
wholesaling or retailing,
or sometimes both.
A wholesaler is a merchandiser who purchases goods and then sells them to buyers,
typically
retailers, for the purpose of resale. A retailer is a merchandiser who sells goods
to consumers. A
wholesaler often purchases products in large quantities and then sells smaller
quantities of each
product to retailers who are unable to either buy or stock large amounts of the
product. Wholesalers
operate somewhat like large, end-product manufacturing firms, benefiting from
economies of scale.
For example, a wholesaler might purchase 5000 pairs of work gloves and then sell
100 pairs to 50
different retailers. Some large American discount chains, such as Kmart Corporation
and Wal-Mart
Stores, lnc. serve as their own merchandisers. These companies go directly to
factories and other
manufacturing outlets, buy in large amounts, and then warehouse and ship the goods
to their stores.
The division between retailing and wholesaling is now being blurred by new
technologies that allow
retailing to become an economy of scale. Telephone and computer communications
allow retail
salespeople to serve far greater numbers of customers in a given span of time than
is possible in
face-to-face interactions. Computer interfaces, because they do not require any
physical
communication between salespeople and customers, can allow close to an unlimited
capacity for
sales interactions. For example, a typical transaction to purchase a pair of shoes
at a shoe store
may take a half-hour from browsing, to fitting, to the transaction with a cashier.
But a customer can
purchase a pair of shoes through a computer intedace with a retailer in a matter of
seconds.
5.15.5 Partnership
A partnership is an association of two oi tor" people who operate a business as co-
owners.There
are different types of partners. A general partner is active in the operation of a
business and is liable
for all of its debts. ln small businesses with only two or three owners, all will
be general partners. A
limited partner, by contrast, invests in a business but is not involved in its
daily operations.
Partnerships, like sole proprietorships, are relatively easy to establish.
Furthermore, partners can
poolfinancial resources to fund expansion, and can divide their duties and
responsibilities according
to personal expertise and abilities. For example, one partner may be very good at
selling, while
another has a knack for maintaining good financial records. As with sole
proprietorships, however,
partnerships may entail substantial financial risks, as all of the general partners
are liable for the
debts ol the business. And unlike proprietorships, disagreements among partners can
harm partnership
businesses.
5.13.4 Corporation
A corporation is a legal entity that exists as distinct f rom the individuals who
control and invest in it.
As a result, a corporation can continue indefinitely through complete changes of
ownership, leadership,
and staffing. Current owners can sell their holdings to other individuals or, if
they die, have their
assets transferred to heirs. This is possible because a corporation creates shares
of stock that are
sold to investors. One strength of the corporate business structure is that
stockholders have limited
liability, as opposed to the unlimited liability of general partners, so they
cannot lose more than their
initial investment. lnvestors may also easily buy and sell stocks of public
corporations through stock
exchanges. By offering stock publicly, a corporation enables anyone with some money
to buy the
stock and become a part-owner of the company. As a result, corporations can more
easily raise
capital for business expansion than can sole proprietorships and most partnerships.
lnvestors control a corporation through the election of a managing body, known as a
board of directors.
ln a large corporation, investors collectively decide who will oversee the
operation of the enterprise.
ln turn, the board chooses a president, who decides on the key company personnel
and helps
formu late company strategy.
Many corporations are highly successful business organizations, with profits far
exceeding those of
many sole proprietorships and partnerships. However, they traditionally have higher
tax burdens than
other kinds of businesses. Also, the fees involved in creating and organizing a
corporation can be expensive.
160 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
of buying
sports franchises. For example, the Miami Heat baslietballteam and the
Newyorkyankees
baseball
team are each owned by syndicates of individuals. Each member of these syndicates
is also involved
in the operation of other businesses.
5.13.7 Xercantilism
Mercantilism is an economic policy prevailing in Europe during the 16th, 17th, and
lgth centuries,
under which governmental control was exercised over industry and trade in
accordance
with the
theory that national strength is increased by a preponderance oi exports over
imports.
Mercantilism
was characterized not so much by a consistent or formal doctrine as by a set of
generally
held
beliefs. These beliefs included the ideas that exports to foreign countries are
preferabt-e
Ootn to trade
within a country and to imports; that the wealth of a nation depends primarily on
the possession of
gold and silver; and that governmental interference in the national economy'is
justified
if it tends to
implement the attainment of these objectives. The mercantilist approach ln economic
poticy
first
developed during the growth of national states; efforts were directed toward the
elimination of the
internal trade barriers that characterized the Middle Ages, when a cargo of
commodities might
be
subject to a toll or tariff at every city and river crossing. lndustries were
encouraged and assisted
in
their growth because they provided a source of tixes to support the large armies
and other
appurtenances of national government. Exploitation of colonies was considered a
legitimate method
of providing the parent countries with precious metals and with the raw materials
Jn'which export
industries depended.
Mercantilism, by its very success in stimulating industry and developing colonial
areas, soon gave
rise to powefful antimercantilist pressures. The use of colonies as supply depots
for the home
economies, and the exclusion of colonies from trade with other nations proouced
such reactions as
the American Revolution, in which the colonists asserted their desire for freedom
to seek economic
advantage wherever it could be found. At the same time, European industries, which
had developed
under the mercantile system, became strong enough to operate both without
mercantilist protection
and in spite of mercantilist limitations. Accordingly, a philosophy of free trade
began to take root.
Economists asserted that government regulation is justified onlyto the extent
nece.sary to ensure
free markets, because the national advantage represents the,sum total of individual
advantages, and
national well-being is best served by allowing all individuals complete freedom to
pursue their economic
interests' This viewpoint received its most important expression in The Wealth of
Nations (1776) by
the British economist Adam Smith.
The free-trade system, which prevailed during the 19th century, began to be
curtailed sharply at the
beginning of the 20th century in what has been called a revival of elements of
mercantilist philosophy,
or neomercantilism. High protective tariffs were reintroduced, and for political
and strategic reasoni,
great emphasis was put on national seltsufficiency as opposed to national
interdependence and a
free flow of trade.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 161
5.15.8 Retailing
Retailingis a business activity of selling goods and services directly to
consumers. lnstead of selling
products for resale, a retailer sells goods or services to individuals making
purchases forthemselves
or their families. Some retailing businesses sell a combination of goods and
services. For example,
an automobile dealership that sells automobiles (goods) may also provide automobile
repairs (services).
Retailers play an important role in getting products from producers to consumers.
Retailers help
direct the physical flow of goods and seruices from places that produce goods to
places where goods
are used. Since the retailer has direct contact with the users of goods and
services, the retailer can
oiscover and attempt to meet the needs and preferences of consumers.
(5) Pricing
Fletailers use dilferent pricing strategies to attract different consumers.
For
example, some stores
use low or discount prices to attract economy-minded consumers, while
some
stores set higher
prices to convey an upscale image.
(6) Appeal
Retailers work hard at creating an image of their store or product that customers
find appealing.
Retailers use such promotional techniques as advertising and public relations
to
create awareness
and build interest in their products. These techniques also attract customers
to
the retailer,s store,
provide valuable information about the retailer, and persuade customers
to buy.
5.15 fiinds of Retailers
There are many kinds of retailers and they can be categorized according to their
of a select group of
customers. By using different formats, retailers are able to differentiate
themselves from
their
competition.The most common kinds of retailers include specialty stores,
department
stores, discount
stores, retailchain stores, warehouse retailers, and oflprice reiailers.
(1) Specialty Stores
Specialty stores offer a limited number of different product lines, such as women,s
clothing
or sporting
goods, but provide their customers with an extensive selection of brands
and
styles within each
product line. Examples of specialty stores include those operated by Toys "R" Us,
of
merchandise, making a wide variety of goods available to consumers in one place.
etoomingdatet
and Macy's are examples of two national department store chains
(3) Discount Stores
Discount stores, such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, sell a wide variety of merchandise at
low prices.
Discount retailers focus on attaining a large volume of sales and in return give up
some profit
margin
per sale.
(4) RetailChain Stores
Retail chain stores are multiple stores that carry much of the same merchandise and
are
managed
with the same policies. ln many cases chain stores have the same owner, although
sometimes
individuals own franchises that are part of a chain. Any kind of store, such as a
spJcialty stors, 6
department store, or a supermarket, can be a chain store. For example, The Gap is a
chain of
specialty stores that offers casual apparel for teenagers and adults. Sears and J.
C. penney are two
large department store chains.
(5) WarehouseRetailers
Warehouse retailers offer a limited selection of many kinds of products.They deal
in large quantities
and tend to have lower prices. Home improvement centers, such as Builder's Square
and Home
Depot, and warehouse clubs, such as Sam's Club, Price Club, and Costco, are
examples of warehouse
retailers.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 163
(6) Off-PriceRetailers
Off-price retailers include factory o.rtlet stores, close-out stores, and one-price
retailers.These stores
sell irregular or flawed merchandise, factory overruns-that is, excess merchandise-
and other goods
at prices below regular retail prices.
(71 Others Retailers
Supermarkets and convenience stores are also retailers. Supermarkets offer a broad
variety of
grocerles, as well as nonfood items such as toiletries and school and office
supplies. Many
supermarkets also offer a wide selection of ready{o-eat items, such as prepared
salads, sandwiches,
and entrees. Convenience stores, such as 7-1 1 and White Hen Pantry, also sell a
variety of food and
other items. Their strategy is to provide customers with a convenient time and
place to buy needed
items. Convenience stores are usually small and located on busy streets to make it
easy for customers
to make a quick purchase.
Some retailers do not use a store as their principle means of contacting customers.
lnstead, these
nonstore retailers contact customers by telephone, mail, the lnternet, or by
personally meeting with
potential customers at their home, workplace, or some other convenient location.
For example,
telemarketers phone potential customers to market goods and services. Some
retailers send catalogs
to homes and businesses so customers ban order merchandise at their c6nvenience.
Cybermalls on
the lnternet allow customers to browse for goods and services by visiting a site on
the Worid Wide
Web. Finally, vending machine companies act as nonstore retailers by selling items
from machines
that are located where people are likely to find them convenient, such as in gas
stations or work
places.
Paris in 1838. Bythe 1860s it resembled the modern department store in size,
organization, and
administration. Printemps, established in 1885, also in Faris, was probably
the
first store to be
opened as a department store. ln the U.S. the trend toward the transiormation of
dry-goods stores
into department stores began in the 1860s and R H. Macy & Company, lnc.,
in'N-ewyork City,
John Wanamaker in Philadelphia, Marshall Field.70s.
in Chicago, anb Jordan Marsh
Company in Boston
were among the first to be reorganized as department stores during this period.
Among the innovations that characterized the operations of the early department
of returned
goods; and the sale of ready-made apparel for men. These innovations, successful
but by most
specialty stores as well.
Various economic and social changes that took place in the U.S. during the last tew
OecdOes of the
19th century ensured the success of the U.S. department store. Particularly
noteworthy were the
large concentrations of the population in urban centers; the growth of a large and
relatively
irorp*erou,
middle class susceptible to the appeals of increased advertising;the intioduction
of miss methods
of manufacture;the improved methods of transporting large quantities of goods to
markets;and the
development of certain mechanical aids useful in conducting commercial operations,
for example,
telephones, billing machines, and electric lighting.
The monetary value of department store sales increased steadily during the first
half of the 20th
century. ln 1929 U.S. department stores sold more than $4 billion worth of
merchandise, an amount
equal to 9 percent of the total retail sales in the U.S. ln 1935 the department
store proportion of all
retail sales amounted to 12 percent, but it declined steadily to 6 percent of total
national retail sales
in the middle 1950s. By the late 1980s, however, because ol aggressive
merchandising practices,
such as establishing branches in the suburbs and in large shopping centers, the
storei increased
their sales to more than $150 billion per year, or over 10 percent of total retail
sales.
GENERATING E-
COMMERCE / 165
During the last decades the changing character of competition in retailing has
challenged traditional
department stores. Supermarkets added nongrocery items;variety stores expanded
their merchandise
offerings tremendously; and many discount houses increased the scope of their
merchandise offerings
and became self-service.
5.15.5 SuburbanBranches
The growth of suburbs around large cities has been responsible for an important
department store
development, the opening of suburban branches. The first such branch was
established in 1930 in
Ardmore, Pennsylvania, by Strawbridge & Clothier of Philadelphia; many other
d.epartment stores
subsequently followed its example, and suburban branch stores are numerous today.
Suburban branches often are grouped together in a shopping center, an aggregation
of retailoutlets
coordinated for the convenience of customers and the mutual advantage of the
stores. The suburban
branch is not operated as an exact counterpart of the parent store.The merchandise,
for example, is
selected to meet the needs, tastes, and desired price ranges of customers located
within a particular
trading area.
More recent methods adopted in many department stores include the self-selection of
merchandise
by customers and a cash-and-carry policy. Both methods are designed to reduce
operating expenses.
ln some stores that have adopted the cash-and-carry policy, delivery services have
been eliminated
altdgether. ln many stores an extra fee is charged lor delivery service.
5.15J Franchisc
Franchise as in government and economics, is a special right or privilege granted
to an individual or
a group to carry on a particular activity.The term is used in severalways. A
municipality, for example,
awards franchises to corporations to operate public utilities, such as electric and
telephone services,
in a given area. Rates to be charged and services to be provided to the public, as
well as tenure and
labor regulations, are stipulated in a contract between the parties. lf the terms
of the contract are
violated, the grantor may institute proceedings in order to revoke the agreement.
166 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
efficiently and
effectively. Common business operation divisions inciude-
(1) Production,
(2) Marketing,
(3) Finance, and
(4) Human resource management.
O Production
Production includes those ac ualizing, designing, and
creating products
and services. ln recent years changls in t[e wiy
goods are proouceO.
Today, computers help monito perform work]Flexible, high-t6ch
machines can do
in minutes what it used to take people hours to accomplish. Another important
development has
been the trend toward just-intimeinventory. The word inventory refers to the amount
of goods a
business keeps available for wholesale or retail. ln just-in-time inventory, the
firm
communications to
allow them to respond quickly to changes in consumer demand. lnventories are thus
minimized and
businesses can invest more in product research, development, and marketing.
O Marketing
Marketing is the process of identifying the goods and services that consumers need
and want
and
providing those goods and services at the right price, place, and time. Businesses
develop marketing
strategies by conducting research to determine what products and services
potential.customers
th
think e to purchase. Firms also promote their products and
seruices through
suchte ng and personalized sales, which serve to inform
potential customers
and mo e. Firms that market I roducts for which there are
always some demand,
such as foods and household goods, often advertise if they face competition from
otherfirms
marketing
similar products. Such products rarely need to be sold face-to-face. On the other
hand, firms
that
market products and services that buyers willwant to see, use, or better understand
before
buying,
often rely on personalized sales. Expensive and durable goods-such as automobiles,
electronics,
or
furniture-benefit from personalized sales, as do legal services such as the
provision of insurance
policies or tax preparation.
D Finance
Finance involves the management of money. All businesses must have enough capital
on hand to
pay their bills, and for-profit businesses seek extra capital to expand their
operations. ln some
cases, they raise long-term capital by selling ownership in the company. Other
common financial
activities include granting, monitoring, and collecting on credit or loans and
ensuring that customers
pay bills on time.The financial division of any business must also establish a good
working relationship
with a bank. This is particularly important when a business wants to obtain a loan.
tr Human Resource Management
Businesses rely on effective human resource management (HRM) to ensure that they
hire and keep
GENERATING
E-COMMERCE / 1 67
good employees, and that they are able to respond to conflicts between workers and
management.
ilnV speciiists initially determine the number and type of employees that a
business will need over
its first few years of operation. They are then responsible for recruiting new
employees to replace
those who ieave and for filling newly created positions. A business's HRM division
also trains or
arranges for the training of its itaff to encourage worker productivity,
efficiency, and satisfaction' and
to prohote the overall iu".".. of the business. Finally, human resource managers
create workers'
compensation plans and benefit packages for employees.
to
The economy of the United States, as well as that of most developed nations,
operates according
countries,
the principles of the f ree market.This differs from the economies of socialist or
Communist
play strong role in deciding what goods and services
will be produced, how
where governments a -ost
they w'iil be distributed, and howhuch they will (seeSocialism;
Communism). Businesses in
people in f ree-market
free-market economies benef it lrom certain fundamental rights or f reedoms. All
societies have the right to own, use, buy, sell, or give away property, thus
permitting them to own
in free
and operate their own businesses as piivate, profit-seeking enterprises. Business
owners
their businesses however they like, within the
limits of other, mostly non-
markets may choose to run
invest
business-oriented laws. This right gives businesses the authority to hire and fire
employees,
and choose the markets where
they want to operate' ln
money, purclase machinery anO
"[uipment,
people'
doing-so, however, they miy not violate or infringe on the rights of other
businesses and
Free-market businesses also have the right to keep or reinvest their profits'
degree through
All free-market economies, however, keep the rights of businesses in check to some
laws and regulations that monitorbusiness activities. Such laws vary from country
to country, but
frorn being
they generally encourage competition by protecting small businesses and consumers
Antitrust
f'uri 5y more powerful, iarge enterprises. For example, in the United States the
Sherman
that impede
Act, enacted in 1g90, anO iire Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914lorbid business
agreements
merce' T Act also
protects against unfair
^l:?l;fl:
:TJi::h"ii?:il;:;l?J;ffi:
thepricecfitsproductsorservices,amongotherprovisions.
Other laws prohibit mergers that decrease competition within an industry and
require
large merging
companies io notify the FederalTrade Commission (FTC) for approval'
Multinational
business in China, nOi", ["tr America, and Russia and other
f
Eastern European
countries.
at once,
typically move operations to
o do the work
well. Production jobs
'JilHiffi
:;Tffi il?:;:iyJ:; keep
I['J
businesses
domestic division, and often work them longer and harder. Most U.S.
multinational
human
resources divisions
the majority of their upper-level managem6nt, marketing, finance, and
within the United Statbs. They employ some lower-level managers and q
ua:l-lltber of their
develofing
countries. MNCs based in the
;;;"ii"; *o*"r" in oiri."., factories, and warehouses in
to Central and
Latin America, China'
United States have moved many of their production operations
lndia, and Southeast Asia.
168 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Mergers and acquisitions areals becoming more common than in the past. ln tn"
unit"o;;t]
R J Reynoiol iniust''ies
uougntlooJ
:i:Tll::t?:.T"S
Brands ?:"1,1J,11!
to form RJR Nabisco l?:g,T""ufacturer
Holdings corp. in r gss, and in r ggJine-
il;.iilffi;:,silnt Nabisco
electronics, and appliance manufaclurer westinghouse
n"n"r",orl
Electric corporation
purchased media
production company CBS lnc.
With large mergers and the development of ne
now wield more economic and political power
response, public pressure has increased for bu
operate according to higher levels of ethics. Fir
required by law to observe-nondiscriminatory polic
Some companies are also now more aware of t
local communities by sponsoring events and encouri
Businesses will continue to adjust their operations according to the competing
goals of earning
profits and responding to public pressures for
them to becomJ benelicial social
institutions.
As you set out to create your own e-commerce site, keep
in mind allthat we,ve
discussed here. with
planning, hard work, and careful observation, you
can build a .it" th"t,.
flexible enough to keep up
with the ever-changing needs of your customers. And
then you'll really be in e-
business.
5.20 E.Business
t
e-business is the integration of
6nology. apart
and
plication such as e-mail, news
revolutionizing
usiness is more than e-commerce,
of business.E_
ogy to connect extended terms; reach new
and existing
consumers at large.
GENERATING E-
COMMERCE / 1 69
Most companies in lndia today have static websites which are meant to offer
information but not for
online shopping. lndia's best known and perhaps the first electronic shopping mall
is the rediff.com
site where you can place orders for books and music. Culturally, this is a very big
first step as people
start feeling comfortable with shopping online and actually start enjoying the
convenience. For e-
commerce to proliferate, more people on the Net, the merrier. the response on the
Net should
improve, which is a function of network speed. And we need cyberlaws to recognize
and adequately
define elements of the electronic transaction including cross border issues,
taxation and validity of
the electronic signature.
e-Commerce is changing the boundaries of where the shopper is located. Local shops
now have the
power to offer their goods to the entire world market and compete with much larger
retailers. Leverage
your investment in information technology to automate all of your transactions
between your company
and your customers.
One of the firm ECTA provides retailers a complete technology solution for
business-to-consumer
electronic commerce. The complete solution covers software components, hardware
components,
implementation, maintenance and support services, and a complete training solution
from web
storef ront design to post implementation services. Using these tools, customers
can increase brand
equity, drive growth, and provide consistent customer tnteractions through all
sales, marketing and
customer service activities, to dramatically improve the customer shopping
experience across multiple
channels.
5.20.4 Government/Public-Consumer
Finally, to complete a Net transaction you need an online payment gateway that
links the lnternet to
the existing credit card processing/validation network. The good news is that, all
this will happen
very soon. The Central Government has reportedly announced plans to introduce
cyberlaw bills
during the winter session of the Parliament. There are also plans to build a high-
speed network
backbone capable of servicing millions of users expected to go the Net in lndia.
Companies like
Equifax are planning to set up provide the required degree of convenience and
security to Netizens
wiching to transact e-commerce
The public systems are largely Government run for the convenience of its citizens.
This could
involve setting up a large number of kiosks which may be purely for information
with the Government.
For instance, paying water or electricity bills property tax and so on. The
applications are endless
and can go a long way in bringing easier access and transparency to the
Government's workin$.
Already, several states such as Tamil Nadu have announced ambitious plans to set up
kiosks all
over the state.
The transition to electronic commerce/electronic data interchange (EC/EDl) in the
federal procurement
acquisition process is moving the federal government from a paper-based to an
electronically-based
procurement system. While the concept of EC/EDl is not new to business operations,
it does open a
new arena of processes, procedures and terminology to business owners/managers
unlamiliar with
and unaccustomed to using electronic commerce.
online.
you configure
shops selling
roducts have
ne are
business_to_business. ln fact, the
$500 per month
online, compared to $150/
ably due to volume
and cost as much as
uters and equipment
online (including some
y personal purchases
are more likely to be
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 171
you
terminals are shipped with magnetic readers that let you swipe your credit card
through them if
want to buy something online.
More and more companies are positioning themselves to reap the profits when online
shopping malls
are as ubiquitous as traditionai shopping malls. Almost all of today's Web sites
seem to be selling
just a
something, even if it's just a T-shirt or bumper sticker instead of a full product
line. Far from
trendy buizword, e-commerce is fast becoming an integral part of the lnternet
experience.
would appear that allthe hype about lnternet security is not deterring users from
buying online, as
,'lt
many ."rket insiders had predicted it might. ln fact, approximately one of three
net surfers engages
172 I E\ECTRON|C CoMMERCE
s;':"s:[:whileonline,accordingtoaneWsuryeyfromthelnternetc
Results also showed that while one in three
web suders shops during his/her
browsing
home shoppers spend more than
sessions,
$50 on average per month; business shoppers
$500 per month; and cybershoppers ui.ii"n average
spend more than
of eight storefronts per
session.,,
5-24 An Integrative yiew 0f Erectronic Gommerce
to
is
sathered and reported,
and the storase and anarysis or trade .,",i1?i:1,"#Jl'|,T::'""
GENERATING E-
COMMERCE / 173
Exhibit 2' aller Clarke (1992a), provides a schematic representation of these
phases.
Electronic commerce can have varying degrees of impact, and Exhibit 3 proposes
a classifications
scheme. Elements of electronic commerce can be used to simply automate existing
processes.The
opportunity can be taken, however, to rationalise procedures, perhaps v.rith
m'inor impacts
on
organisational structu.res, and thereby to reduce costs, and improveihe speed and
quality
of services.
Beyond this, the implementation of electronic sut
organisational structures and processes within t
can be described as'business transformation,; whe
it is'business re-engineering'. Because these s
business partners, automation, rationalisation, tra
to internal structures and processes, but may occur across organisational
boundaries and along the
industry value-chain.
5.74.1 lmplications
It is contended that the use of an integrative model as a basis for discussions of
electronic commerce
will have important advantages. lt will be beneficialfor companies and government
agencies because
it brings into a common forum the various people who are applying computers and
iommunications
to support different phases of business processes. Discussions a-bout
prioritisation of, for example,
directory versus purchase order transmission, are provided with a context.
lndustry associations, regulators and policy-makers are also serued by the model,
because it becomes
much easierfor them to gain and retain perspective on the industry iectors and
segments involved,
and evaluate the contribution that each alternative initiative can make to
econ6mic, social and
political objectives.
Researchers are, in one sense, disadvantaged, because the model recognises the
inter-relatedness
of the many facets of industry and government activities, and hence makes it much
more difficult to
segregate areas and activities which can be readily submitted to the
conventionaltools of analytical
research. On the other hand, applied research must serve the needs of business and
government,
and must therefore reflect the real complexities of business organisation and
processes.
Lotus Domino Co
Webserverpro "nJ
o Merchant server software, such
as rBM,s award_winning Net.commerce
Domino.Merchant, which enabre
or Lotus,
furchase processing over the rnternet.
o identify what
entices them to patronize
g customers has
been to
offer purchasing
ograms _ direct
marketing and incentivE
set of responsibirities.
profit.you'il need to understand tne
type
oiwJ,ii"irn"rionarity
mponents can provide this capabiriiy,
so
that you can estimate
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 175
Let's examine the three most common Web business models:
tr Product sales (selling goods),
D Service sales (offering services),
O lnformation delivery (providing an informationalWeb site).
Here's an explanation of how that modelworks, along with information on the
responsibilities, costs,
and profits associated with it.
With research firms projecting e-commerce revenues totaling more than $100 billion
in 2003,
businesses large and small are considering jumping into the electronic commerce
marketplace.
The lnternet is quickly becoming a crucialfactor in many smallcompanies'growth
strategies. According
to an e-merchant study released earlier this year by lnternet market research.f irm
Keenan Vision, the
number of e-merchants will number 400,000 in 2006.
Yet, building an electronic storefront'may seem particularly daunting to small
businesses and retailers;
the maze of e-commerce products and services available makes it easy for a merchant
to get lost.
Many small companies find building and hosting a Web site on their own to be cost-
prohibitive, and
generating traffic to their sites can also prove to be a difficult undertaking.
Clearly, building the right foundation'for successful e-tailing takes careful
consideration and solid
strategy, but the step-by-step process that follows should help demystify the
process and provide an
easy{o-follow guide.
It's also important to note that a full-service transactionalWeb site may not
necessarily be the right
strategy for all merchants. lf the products or services you ofler do not lend
themselves to the Web,
or if selling online is not a key objective for your company, you may want to
consider a "brochure" site
that promotes your business and helps create foot traffic at your brick-and-mortar
office or shop. A
brochure site does not sell products or services online, but instead is meant to be
informational and
serve as an advertising/promotional tool.
Now don't get me wrong, this quality of domain names is no longer available'.. but
allowing domain
names up to OZ characters has completely expanded your opportunity to register
domain names that
would not have been available otherwise. All of the good one word ".com" domains
are still taken but
catchy phrases and longer company names over 23 characters are now available!There
are thousands
of domains.sold every day, some for tens of thousands of dollars, to corporations
that want the
domain you own.
To give you an idea, we were never able to register the domain name
"internetmarketingcenter'com"
because it was too long, but as of a few days ago, we were able to register it. lf
someone had
registered the name before us, we would have had to buy it lrom them at an elevated
cost. All they
that in
nad to do was register this domain for a mere 560 US and they could have charged
ten times
pure profit! (Fortunately we got to it before anyone else did!)
do this
Protect your own company names, product names, etc from people that ARE low enough
to
to you. Register your domains now! Protect yourself and your business interests'
This is also an opportunrty to get that domain name that really suits your
business'
suit your
lf you were one of the unfortunate ones that had to settle for a name that really
did not
lnternet Business or were even stuck with a .net or .org address, this is
your chance to get the
domain name that reflects your company and will be easily remembered!
a ".com"
There is a difference between .net and .com. lf you are only using a ".net" address
and not
hard earned visitors. Everyone remembers ".com"
before ".net", it's that
address, you are losing your
-bro*."rs,
if the extensio t is not entered, will default
to ".com"' So like I said
simple. Even most *"6
suited your
before, if you only have a .net address because and you could not find a 'com that
website or business... NOW lS YOUR CHANCE!
,,Keyword Phrases" are now a HOT Opportunity... a catch phrase alone can generate
a giant source of
traffic to your website. We just registered:
www . you-win-some-you-lose- some' com
rankings'
Not only are these phrases catchy but they can also boost your search engine
Search engines love url's that are saturated with keywordsl
528.12 Sjectiyes
Objectives behind needing a domain name and expectations from it vary in different
degrees from
person to person. The important thing is that you have your objective per{ectly
clear in your mind.
Without a clear purpose, you may end up with a domain name that can actually hurt
your business
instead of helping it. lf you rush in, you may end up with the domain name good-
dealz4u.net instead
of ValueShopping.com when both were available. Be careful.
The question you have to ask yourself is, what are you trying to achieve with this
domain name? ls
it to develop a long-term online brand, is it supplementing an offline brand, is it
to work towards short-
term building of traffic or is it the best balance between all of these?
It is understandable to have more than one objective regarding the use of your
domain name. For
example you may want your domain name to work as a'traffic catcher'and also as an
online brand.
It is usually acceptable to have more than one objective, provided you understand
them both entirely,
clearly and separately.Yet, it is difficult to achieve all your objectives with one
domain name. lf in the
course of your search, you find the perfect balance, then consider yourself lucky.
ll not, then keep
each objective separate and work with them individually. lt is better to have two
domain names
pointing at the same site, than to have one that does more to confuse a visitor
than enlighten'him.
5.28.1.3 Your Domain Xameas a Brand
ln essence, a domain name is an lnternet address. The only technical purpose it
serves is to locate
a computer on the lnternet.Yet, taking a broader perspective, a good domain name
serves not only.
as a piece in a technical puzzle but more importantly, as your identity, brand and
personality online.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 1 79
Feople may come across your domain name from an advertisement, through search
engines or
through word of mouth. ln any case, your domain name will work towards forming an
impression
abouiyour online presence. A good domain name will usually form a good first
impression in a
person's mind, but a bad domain name willalways form a bad one.
people are impressed more easily through value rather than products;characteristics
rather than
facts. lt is important to have a name that conveys what you do best, instead ol
just conveying what
you do. ln short, GreatBooks.com works better than WeSellBooks.com, and the reason
is obvious.
5.28.1.4 Your Domain Name as a Handlc
As I stated above, people encounter domain names in a variety of places, many ol
which will not
provide one with immediate lnternet access. This requires a domain name to not only
generate
interest in people, but also stay with them until they get the opportunity to use
the lnternet' Most
good domain names are eye-citchers, which me tns that it does not take more than a
glance f rom a
potential visitor for it to stick in their minds.
What's in a name? Plenty when you are an e-tailer. lt is not only your company's
brand name, it's also
your address in cyberspace. Once you've selected what that name will be, you must
register it with
interNlC, the agency that registers and maintains a database of domain names.You
can obtain a
domain name d-irect-ly from one of many providers - NetworkSolutions.com and
Register.com are
just two examples of these registrars. However, your lnternet Service Provider or
your e-commerce
service vendor(s) will often perlorm this task for you.
5.28.2 0btainingaDigitalCertificate
A digital certificate, also known as a SSL Server Certificate, enables SSL (Secure
Socket Layer
encr:yption) on the web server. SSL protects communications so you can take credit
card orders
cannot eavesdrop on you. Any egommerce
company will require
secuiely and ensure that hackers
you to have SSL before you can use their services.
Thankf ully, for most people obtaining a digital certificate is not a problem. For
a minimal
you
Before you start looking for a provider, you should stop for a moment and consid-
er what exactly
completing in a month?
How many products do
need. How many translctions do you expect to be
the software need to
be? How much are you
you have to put on your web site? How complex does
willing to spend?
There are a lot of online transaction providers out there, and they all have
varying packages. Deciding
on a provider's package that fits your needs is perhaps the most important aspect
in creating
an
eCommerce website.
the
Web hosting is a very important step in this process, as this is how you gain a
presence on
internet in the first Place.
It is important that the web hosting company is capable ol providing you with the
How many pages do you want? Which buttons should be accessible on the front
page?
ls there a
form? The navigation of your site has to be quick, clean and simple'
tr Design &Writing
you must go through and write out the content. Do you have a logo, pictures,
artwork? Think through
p"g-" you dlsignated above in site planning. Write the copy and the
associated artwork
"u"ry
required.
O Put Your Site "Live" on the lnternet
At this point, all the internet pages and graphics are copied to.the web hosting
provider. Now,
can type in your domain name (www.yourcompany.com) and see your site
on the internet'
everyone
O Register with Search Engines
with the top
search engines -
How will everyone find you? Your neW internet site must be registered
Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, Snap, GoTo and others'
O lnternet Marketing
people to find
for
This is where you get your people. You have to put little crumbs all over the
internet
you. These crLmUs inttuOe banner ads, E-mail marketing, guaranteed click-
through with GoTo'com,
links with other sites, etc.
UpdateYour Site
Every time there is a change, new product, new service, new price, new event
contact inlormation,
brief info
o Detailed information about products/services - spec sheets, pictures,
answer questions
O Collect sales leads to follow-up
D Provide opportunity for quotes on the internet
O Sellproducts(E-Commerce)
To be able to get sales leads, information for quotes, requests
for catalogs, or
demographic information
about your customers, have them fill out a short form on the internet.
You have to get written a small script that will turn the information
in the form
into a legible E-mail that
you can then follow-up with.
customers
can identify with.
Do you need special artwork drawn or created?
We can either convert existing graphics to GIF or JPEG al72 dpi. Or, we can draw
or create special
artwork that you don't currently have. lt costs extra but can have a very strong,
supporting
visual
impact.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE /1S3
5.28.7 PaymentSolutions
ln order to become truly e-commerce enabled, you must have the following:
D Payment software
tr A merchant account
A Payment processing services
D A gateway to connect all these elements of the payment process.
You also will need cash register software to help easily calculate sales tax and
shipping charges, and.
you may want to include a shopping cart function as well.
ln order to start transacting business and accepting payments, you must first open
an account with
a merchant bank. Once you have established an account, your merchant bank retains
the services
184 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
as catalog software.
or a flat order form, shopping cart software is the most popular and
the most
widely known.
Many Online Transaction Providers will have shopping cart software
that comes
with their service,
but it can often be very expensive, so be warned. if you cannot afford
to spend
at least a couple of
hundred dollars on this software, you should b r looking for a package
that
offers it as a rental
included in the monthly service charge, or one that offers a simpie flat order
form.
5.28.9 Getting aR lnternet |lerchant Bank Account
ln order to be able to accept credit cards over the internet, you must apply to
your
bank for an
lnternet Merchant Bank Account. This can be reletively easy or somewhat oifficutt,
depencling on
which country you live in and what bank you are with.
U.S.A.:
ln the US, this is a fairly simple procedure. Many banks offer lnternet
Merchant
Accounts, and most
online Transaction Providers will support them. see your bank for details.
lnternational:
Since the vast majority of Online Transaction Providers are located in the US and
are restricted in
their ability to interact with banks outside their own country, international
merchants
few companies
that services the international market. Also, many banks outside the US have very
restrictive policies
regarding internet accounts. Luckily, the situation is improving, and most Online
Transaction providers
will help you with this if you get in touch with them.
ln the ratings section, I have included information on which providers give
internationalservice.
Here are some additional issues to keep in mind when you apply for a Merchant Bank
Account:
D A US merchant account can take up to a month to come through.
O lf you already have a merchant bank account, you will probably atso need to
upgrade it to
an lnternet account.
Ensure that your bank accepts lnternet merchant accounts and has credit card
processors
that can
connect to FDC, Paymentech or CyberCash.
5.28.t0 TrafficCoverage
"lf you build it they will come."
lf only it were that easy with e-tailing. However, no matter how great your Web
site is, no one will
come to it if they don't know you are there. This is where driving traffic and
transactions becomes an
essential element of your e-commerce plan.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 1 85
The first step in building traffic is registering your site with search engines,
Again, there are vendors
that will do this for you. For registration, you will need to think ol "meta tags"
or keywords that will be
associated with your site.
ln addition, one old rule that still holds true in the virtual economy is
"Location, location, location."
Much like putting your store in a real shopping mall, having your storefront in a
shopping portal not
only gives higher visibility but helps draw in "window shoppers."
Another advantage of being a part of a virtual mall is the possibility of cross
promotions with other e-
stores. You can establish relationships with sites that reach a similar demographic
group and offer
premiums in exchange for links, referrals, and demographic information. For
instance,,you and another
e-merchant could include taglines about each other's stores in your purchase
confirmation
e-mails.
I
store.
(1) Over-Engineering
,,, i
l
186 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Ask yourself some questions like:
o would-your prices entice shoppers to purchase your product online rather than
from retail
stores?
(41 Neglecting Security lssues
lnternet hackers have become a household wor
well be the
underlying secret of their success. However, when considering the vast complexity
of E-commerce
issues, it would be a mistake not to outsource some of the E-commerce setup tasks
as needed.
ln many cases, even when using a turnkey hosting service like Yahoo! Store or
GeoShops,
many
new E-commerce stores never succeed due-to a of iack of professionaldesign and
marketing
know-
how. Rather than undertaking a long and difficult process of planning, onty"to
stumble
on the final
design and presentation of the store, consider retaining an E-commerce-ori-enred
Web development
agency. Don't "go it" alone, if you have the option of having professional,
experienced backup.
(6) Design Faux Pas
To run an online store, sophisticated tec
or as it is
often termed, the "back-end." However,
sees the
'Tront-end," i.e., what is displayed in the sh
designed
interface is needed. Without a professional,
out, even
the most sophisticated back-end technologies wi
Likewise, cluttered Web pages that make it difficult to navigate your site or make
it difficult for the
shopper to know how to place an order, can cause an online store to fail. lf you
are serious about
building a successful E-commerce site, make sure that your site works to ybur
advantage, rather
than a cause of lost sales opportunities.
(71 Neglecting theTelephone Number
It is a little-known fact that for many online stores the point of sale is not
online, at all. Rather, a
typical scenario might be that the shopper browses through the site, researches and
compares
values, but then f inally places the actual purchase order over the phone. Yet many
sites fail to make
a phone number available for ordering.
To respond to shoppers'preferences, a phone number should be listed prominently on
every page of
the site.
By nature, the lnternet is a global medium and a toll-free telephone number would
be highly
recommendeded. lt helps convey to the shopper you are a reliable source, and helps
boost confidence
that you will be there to provide customer service, if necessary.
It probably depends on what you're looking for, right? I rarely find myself
wandering through an auto
supply store, trying out different spark plugs and seeing which ones strike my
fancy. And only once
or twice have I gone to the checkout stand at Safeway and said, "l'm looking for a
brownish butter-
like substance made out of peanuts - perhaps something I could spread on bread with
jelly. You got
any of that?"
See, the product that you're seeking often defines how you shop for it. This is an
important concept
to remember when creating your online presence. What exactly is your product? Who
is your target
audience? How will they want to interact with your company, and how can your site
enhance this
interaction?
Many Web-based stores allow you to search through their stock by category or by
keyword' These
methods are, for the most part, derivatives of the technologies that make the
soltware work; databases
and file systems are quite effective at categorizing things. But are the customers
at your site going
to find shopping by category intuitive? ls that the best approach for you?
Let's take a look at the different kinds of products that are out there and how
actual companies are
custom-fitting their Web sites for maximum effectiveness.
magically
Brightware uses its 20 years of artificial intelligence knowledge to interpret
natural language,
allJwing its system to answer customer questions. Brightware claims that,
with some training, its
reply to 80 percent of common seruice and sales
inquiries, regardless of
system-can automatically
Brightware can then route the remainder
of the questions to your
hbw the questions are p-hrased.
customer service department for answering.
1 88 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
This technology has also been used by financial, mortgage, and health care
companies
to determine
their customers' needs and then actively recommend i piepareo solution. s"v
gooJbv"
of collaborative filtering, an
automated merchandising
omers with similar purchasing
histories. Say a customer
nture reading and buys 20,OOO Leagues
UnderThe Sea
buys Moby Dick and The Hunt for Red
October. These
nformation and recommend The Hunt for
Red October to
the first customer and 20,OOO Leagues Under the Sea to the other customer. By
using
this system,
you're basically letting your customers with similar interests make
recommendations
to each other.
And the more they buy, the more accurate the recommendations will become. pretty
cool, eh?
dd value to your site and stand
out in a possibly
and whistles, you may want to
begin simply and
front line knows a lot about
what your customers
icate with them. Find out
what your sales team is
. see how this method worked
for ramforless.com.
5.50.5 Transactions
So your custome;'s have shopping carts fullof your widgets. Congratulations! But
don,t
start counting
your chickens:You still have some work to do befo'e you make those sales.You
may not be as
plug-and-play as you had hoped.
.
The key is to {igure out which solutions work well with your company and your
customeis and are
also compatible with whatever e-commerce package or tommon application programming
language
you'll be choosing in Lesson 4. Since you may have to make some compromises with
either
the e-
commerce package or the plug-in software solutions, your best bet is to examine all
the options
outlined in this lesson and Lesson 4 befdre unwrapping the cellophane on any
software.
Let's get started with a look at the dreaded taxes.
a neceisity
and therefore is not subject to tax. Keeping track of these rules andlxceptions is
an ongoing
challenge. But wait, thprels more. you stili have to figure out how much to cna?ge.
- -'
There are hundreds of different sales-tax rates within California alone. First you
have state tax.
Different counties also have additional rates. And then some cities add a perceni
or so on top of that!
ln San Franclsco, sales tax is 8.5 percent. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to
Marin and its 7.25
percent' Aorc,s the Bay Bridge in Berkeley it's 8.25 percent. And each state is
different.
lf you're doing business internationally, things are further complicated by
tariffs, customs fees, and
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 1 89
other potential charges. Did you know that in one part of Canada, even tax is
taxed? This must be
where the people who fled Boston after the Tea Party settled.
Besides dealing with wildly varying tax rates, you also have a little thing called
nexus to contend
with. Nexus is a legalterm meaning roughly, "where you have a presence doing
business." ln the
United States, you are obligated to collect, report, and pay sales tax in states
where you have a
nexus. The important thing is that nexus is a legal term, so you should seek the
advice of your tax
attorney on this issue.
You should also work with your attorney to develop a tax policy. Of course, you can
always do what
Apple did when it launched its first online store: Just say, "Applicable sales tax
will be added to your
orde/'and then let someone else, usually a lulfillment center, figure it out for
you using its preexisting
taxing systems. But to make sure your customers can pay the full amount of the
orders before you
process them, you'll need to calculate the tax yourself. There are several packages
and services
that automate your tax calculations.
Taxware offers tax calculations for domestic and internationaljurisdictions either
over the lnternet or
as an independent software module.
CyberSource integrates tax and other transaction features on an on-demand service-
bureau basis,
meaning that you tap into its software via the lnternet rather than installing the
software on your own
system.
Both of these solutions have advantages and disadvantages, and they're always being
improved
upon and updated. So you'll need to do a bit of research on which option is the
best fit for your e-
business. Check out theirWeb sites for the features they offer and the e-commerce
systems (covered
in Lesson 4) they're compatible with. See whether their clients offer products or
services similar to
yours. You may even want to send an email to people at the companies that use these
solutions to
inquire about how satisfied they are with the products.
However you decide to deal with the tax hurdle, your next challenge is to figure
out how to get your
product to your customer and what to charge for the service.
Fast Faster
Fastest
1 to 4 chips 5.00 8.00
20.00
5 to 8 chips 10.00 14.00
26.00
9+ chips 1s.00 18.00
32.00
Amy in accounting says that she can handle debiting the credit cards through her
existing system,
but you still need to find a way to make sure the credit card numbers coming in are
secure and
authentic.
So you have a variety of business rules to implement. Taxes need to be automated,
shipping is
totally custom-built, and credit cards only need to be partially processed. And you
need to find a way
to bring it all together. Most importantly, you need to do it for less than the
reported $100 million that
Barnes & Noble is putting into its Web site.
So you're in for a bit more work than simply opening up the latest e-commerce-in-a-
box solution.You
need to do additional research and then decide whether you should build, rent, or
buy an e-commerce
solution. Don't fret, though. l'll walk you through all of these options in Lesson
4. Soon enough, you'll
be up and running.
5.5;0.7 SelectingE-commercePackage
You've waded through your requirements fortaxes, payment, security, and
shipping.You've established
how your site will have to work in order to please everybody, f rom the CEO to the
legal department to
the design team to the customers. You finally have a clear idea of what needs to be
built and have
determined what software plug-ins (Taxware, Tandata, etc.) best meet your
requirements. Now you're
ready to shop around for an e-commerce package to juggle all of this for you.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 1 91
ldeally, you'll find an e-commerce package that's compatible with the tax, payment,
security, and
shipping solutions you've decided to use. But you may not be so lucky. ln that
case, it would
probably be a good idea to take all of your various requirements for the operation
of your site and
rank them.What's the most important feature? What features could be compromised?
Does the site
have to automatically calculate state tax on the fly or can you get away with just
saying "applicable
state tax will be added"? You don't want to skimp on anything, of course, but you
should know where.
you have room to manuever. That way, if you find a solution that meets all but one
of your needs,
you'll know if you can live with it or if you'll have to go with your second
choice.This kind of planning
and flexibility will keep the potentially tricky experience of finding the perfect
e-business solution as
simple as possible.
So grab that inch{hick stack of e-commerce advertisements that have been cluttering
up your desk
for months. Look at those catchy slogans: "E-commerce in a box!" "lnstant
storefront!" "Try it; yott'll
like it!"Yikes! ls this software or a new kind of breakfast cereal that works with
that other breakfast
technology? Let's cut through the hype and break it down real simplelike.
Basically, you have three options:
D Buy a ready-made solution.
O Rent space in a network-based e-commerce solution.
O Build the system from scratch with components and parts.
It's sort of like buying a car. You could buy a new one and, depending on your
budget, get some
additionaloptions configured the way you like. But it could get outdated
eventually, and you'd have to
drop more cash for another one. Or you could lease one for a few years, but then
you couldn't paint
flames on the side since you don't own it. Or if you really wanted to, you could
build your own dream
hot rod, but you'd better be a good mechanic to get that fuel-injected machine to
run smoothly.
Let's take a closer look at your options and figure out which will work best for
you.
A Solutions to review
Try lntershop ePages, icat commerce online, andYahoo
store for some plug-and-play
examples.
option 3 Build the system from scratch to your specifications.
need but will require
expertise, time, and a sizable
n build the features and
functions you need to be
you want to offer discounts
every second Tuesday
business interfaces
were created in perl
Microsoft's Active
Server Pages anO nt
to help
O Solutions to review
Check out Allaire coldFusion, lntershop Enterprise Edition, Microsoft
Site server
commerce Edition,
and Pandesic 6.0.
oney)?
To be truly effective, your advertising needs to do mo
site: lt
needs to attract customers who buy your products. To
ics are
working and which aren't, take a look at your log files.
5.51.2 RequirementsDocument
Back at Computer Chip Corp., your CEo decides that it's better (read: more
is sustained, the
company will commit to putting resources toward automating the back office and
fulfillment systems.
"Until then, we'll just re-key orders," the employees are told. The f ulfillment
breathe a
sigh of relief, because, for now, you don't have to tap into that 1970s mainframe
monster
that
handles all of the current order entry and fulfillment processes.
The firm wants customers to be able to tell us what kind of computer equipment they
have.
Then we'll
tellthem what kind of memory chips work with their computers. lf we know the mike
and model
of
their equipment, then we can recommend chips in 8-MB, 16-MB, 32-MB, and 64-MB
flavors.
Sophisticated customers may already know the model number of the memory chip they
want,
but
these products are changing all the time. We'll need a tool where we can make
changes to the
products we offer in realtime.
GENERATING E-
COMMERCE / 195
5.51.3 Order and Transaction Processing
Customers will want to buy more than one item at a time, so we'll need to let them
build an order
before checking out. Then we'll need to accept major credit cards and calculate
tax, shipping, and
handling charges. Plus, we'll be shipping within 24 hours of the order, so we'll
need to verify the credit
card information before we accept the order.
5.31.8 Cost-EffectiveAdvertising
important, bur hey, the site is onrv three pages
ffiffiffTl:X: "r"
rong! Let,s focus on rear
O Number of
O Number of
0 Numberof
D Cost of dis
With this information you can determine:
marketing. And
o Mark
running your
reports' showing you how
your site du
lymakemonneedtofigureoutwhich
ow it rooks
" [ffjli:1,::i:'$T::lT;
5.31.9 lleeping Track of Everything
To track yourcustomers' you need to assign each.banner ad a
specific code and
use that code in the
referring URL that rinks your site to the ai. The
uRL in the rink rooks rike this:
http : / /www. ramforless . con/index. cfm?MC=ytMO01
This report shows total sales for orders placed as a result ol sources linked to
specific media codes
(111111 ,222222,WM001, etc.). Note that "Cost" refers to the amount of money (in
dollars) it takes
io place a banner ad, email, etc. "Sales/$1 Cost" is the Sales number divided by
the Cost. This tells
you how much revenue was generated for each dollar invested in a specific venue
with a specific
advertisemenl."o/o ol Sales" is the inverse of the Sales/$1 Cost; essentially it's
a summary of cost-
effectiveness expressed as a percentage'
So for every dollar earned in sales from ad "1 1 1 1 1;'45.96 cents went toward the
placement of the ad.
lf your cosiof sales is 45.96 percent, you'll probably have a hard time staying in
business. On the
other hand, advertiseme nl"44444" had a cost of sales of 9.35 percent of the
revenue it generated.
You can probably make a good profit continuing to advertise through that venue.
you can also track customers that come directly to the site without the help of any
specific ad' ln this
example, the media code "direct" shows that word of mouth is stillthe best resource
for
generating
low-cost sales.
But that doesn,t mean you should abandon all advertising and rely solely on word of
mouth
to keep
your online business thriving. One fatal flaw of using log liles to track user
activity js that they make
no allowances for customers who follow an ad sir ply to learn about your products
and then, after
will
doing some comparison shopping, return to your site to make a purchase. The
tracking system
adverlising failure and a word-of-mouth victory, and
that's just not ihe
,"poit this scenario as an
most cost-
case. When it comes to site promotion, things usually aren't all or nothing.
Usually, the
effective marketing for your site involves finding the right combination of a
variety of advertising
methods.
much
This flexibility is key to keeping your e-business viable. Even if your products
don't change
quick and
you
over the years, and update your online
presence. The
natu
ever-changing but it can also bring
customers, connections, and
opportunitiesthatn eotherwise'
198 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
As you set out to create your own e-commerce site, keep in mind all that we've
discussed
here. With
planning, hard work, and carefulobservation, you can build a site that's flexible
enough to keep up
with the ever-changing needs of your customers. And then you'll really be in e-
busine-ss.
(MainPage.htm)'
first file (helpl.htm) is the main document.You will use it to callthe second
document
you coutd put the code that calls the second document anywhere, but by putting it
in the main body
</BoDY>
</HTML>
,,dialogpidth=62Opx;dia1ogftIeight=3lOpx;centery'es,'borde:thin,'hel;=yesr')
;
event . cancelBubble=true,'
)
</scnrpt>
Mainpage. htn
<IITML>
<HEAD>
<MErA name=Vl 5O_defaultclientscript
content=vBScript>
<TTTLE>Main Page</TTTLE>
</HUAD>
<BODY id=MyDocuuentBody style=TTBACKGROUND-COLOR:
silver,' FONT-
FAI'iILY: Aria].rt)
<SPAN style=!'LEFT: 5Opx,' POSITION: absolute" TOP: 1opx"
name=|,IntroText||id=IntroTexttitle=''Introductionlext|')
2OO / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
click the help (Question Mark) button in the upper-right corner of this window then
click on any.
element in the client area of this window to see context-sensitive help for that
item.
</spax>
<P>
<rNPur style='TLEFT: 5Opx,. posrrroN: absolute," Top: 10opx',
titl.=""lick Me !'r type=rrcheckboxrt id=checkboxl name=checkboxl)
<f NPUT style=,'LEFT: 5opx; pOSITION: absolute,. TOp: 15Opx,,
titla=ttBnter your name herer id=textl nane=textl)
<INPUT style="LEFT : 5Opx,. pOSITION: absolute ,. TOp : 2OOpx,,
type=trbuttonrr warue=rrclosetr id=buttonl name=buttonl)
<P>
</BoDy>
</srvr>
<scRrPT rD=crientEventHandlersVBs LANGUAGE=vbscript)
Sub document_onhelp
ErrorMsg, = 'rNo infornation available for that itemrr
TextboxMsg = ItEnter your name hererr
ButtonMs€t = "CJ-ick here to close this windowfl
BodyMsg = t'Yes, even the body of this page can have herp text.rt
rntroTextMsg = 'rrhis is the description of what to do on the
Page. close this diarogr box and crick on sonething else. r'
CheckboxMsg' = 'rClick me (just for example) "
window. close
End Sub
</scRrPt>
After the document is open, you will provide context-sensitive help through the
onhelp event. The
following code shows how you would detect which object was clicked, and how to
react, based on
that action. Note that an important line sets the value ol SourcelD equal to the id
property of the
page was
srcElement.You use a switch statement with this value to determine which element on
the
case' you
selected. You'll take different actions based upon the element that was selected'
ln this
message box.
simply set the value of the variable to a different text string and display that
string in a
Sub document onhelP
ErrorMsg = I'No information available for that iteu'rl
TextboxMsg = rrEnter your name trere ' tl
ButtonMs€t = trClick here to close this window'rl
BodyMsg=ltYes,eventhebodyofthisPagecanhave}relptext.ll
IntroTextMsg = rtThis is the description of what to rr E
-
"do on the page. Close this dialog box and 'r 6 -
trclick on sornething else' rr
CheckboxMsg = "Click me (just for examPle) ' "
SourcelD = window.event'srcElement'id
HelpMsg = SourcelD
Select Case UCase (SourcelD)
Case !TCHECKBOX1 I'
HeIpMsg = CheckboxMsg
Case 'TINTROTEXTTT
HelpMsg = IntroTextMsg
Case'IMYDOCUMENTBODYTI
HelPMsg = BodYMsg
Case ttTEXTlrr
HelpMsg = TextboxMsg
Case 'IBUTTONI t'
HeIPMsg = ButtonMsg
Case Else
HeIPMsg = ErrorMsg
End Se]-ect
Msgbox HelpMsg, vblnforuation, 'rYour HeIp is Hererr
window. event. cancelBubble=true
End Sub
help to your lE
As you can see in the previous code, it is very easy to add context-sensitive
with it, and
then use the onhelp
applications. Simply opei a window with the help-button associated
event to take some aciion.To try this example for yourself, open
helpl .htm and
follow the directions
that appear.
2O2 I ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
5,55 Prepare For Growth In E-Commerce Database Design
Creating a database for a Web-enabled or e-commerce application? Think generically
and look beyond
the application at hand.
lN THE BEGINNING, DESIGNING AND implementing an e-commerce database was just
another
data modeling exercise. Get the requirements from the users, design the normalized
database,
implement it using a suitable DBMS, and you were all set.
5.33.2 DeployAnyrtime
An added advantage of such a generic design is that you can develop the application
once and
deploy it many times. For example, with a correct generic design, you can store
information about
clothes (size and color), lood (pizzatoppings), and autos (colors and options) in
the same product
tables.
The big problem with generic row-wise designs is to watch out for overkill. You can
over-generalize
the structures, and as a result suffer from performance and growth problems, for
functionality that is
never used. Contact types and product types are good examples for generic designs,
especially for
products with different attributes, such as sizes, colors, languages, shipment
sizes, etc. However, it
is hardly ever necessary to code customers'addresses, accounts, and transaction
details in such a
generic way.
]o make this possible, store a history of the pages each customer visited,
keywords they searched
for, and products they ordered. ldeally, howevei let customers tailor their own
p;oflL;.
I once ordered a cD lrom a well-known online store as a gift for
my sister. lt was
the first cD I ordered
from that particular store, but it differed totally from my-own musical
preferences. ioilowing
tnat, t
had.to fill in lengthy questionnaires and evaluations to try and alter my profile.
weeJiess
to say, I
don't use that store anymore. But with a store such as CD illow, it is trivially
easy to atier your profile,
and thus get good CD recommendations from the site.
CRM data can also be a very valuable commodity. Some marketing companies will pay
top
dollarfor
customer profile data. So, in addition to collecting valuable cross--elling data
for yorio*n use, you
may also collect a valuable asset. Be aware, of the privacy-and
security issues of the
'owever,
country you operate in, as well as where your customers are from. Many customers
wilitake exception
if their personal profiles are sold to organizations of which they may not approve.
Two of the big issues with customer relationship marketing are for how long to
store the data
and how
heavy to influence subsequent visits based on the hiJtory of previoui visits. The
first issue is
direc e, but the second issue is muih more subjective.
Some people follow
links ided anywhere, while other users take greit
exception to'Ueing guided
offth ally wanted to access the particular w-ebsite. The
issue of whJther a
person wants to be guided around is one you need to record.
5.55.5 Security
Security is a concept one cannot work into the design after a breach. Nor should
one purely rely on
the underlying DBMS's security mechanisms. lnstead, analyzethe security
requirements related to
the data and the applications beforehand, and design it into the database irom
scratch. lf you have
to allow per-user password-controlled access, per-user visibility of the data, and
provide the safe re-
use of protected information, security becomes part of the data requirements of the
system.you also
have to consider the privacy of personal information, if that type of data is
maintaineO ih tne database.
5.55.5 Availability
Think about the backup and restore strategy to be used with the e-commerce
database, and how it
will influence the design. Although backup and restore is a database administration
issue, the 24-7
requirement of most e-commerce databases may make it become a database design issue
as well.
It may force you to design and use partitioned tables to reduce the possible
downtimes of the active
operational tables. lt may a.lso lorce you to use alternate backup and hot stand-by
strategies, such
as data replication, which in turn may influence the database design, as some
replicators can function
only with pure third normalform database designs.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE /205
5-33.7 Yolume Growth
Even if one starts off small, it is important to think of volume growth. One of the
best examples is
eBay. Pierre Omidyar started the company in September 1995 as a site where his wile
could trade
the Pez candy dispensers she collected.Today eBay hosts the world's largest
personal online trading
community through a new market_with efficient one-to-one trading in an online
auction format.
lndividuals use eBay to buy and sell items in more than 1,600 categories. As a
result, eBay provides
more lhan two million new auctions, and 250,000 new items every day from which
users may choose.
Even though your database may not have to grow f rom 400 items per day to 250,000
in less than f ive
years, consider various techniques used for very large databases, such as
partitioned tables and
union views.
The ADA applies to many people-about 35 million people in the U.S. have
disabilities, according to
government statistics. The Wodd Health Organization estimates disabilities at 750
million people
worldwide. Your organization must take accessibility into account.
ris pa{l€ dEg rpt yet rneet the requir€rEe4ts ior Sobby Approved
statuE. Belot", ts e ltst of
EaasEslblllty prcblenn that shoutd be fixed tn ordsr to make Ehis
paqe Eoaes€ible to Fe{pli
Members can refer trade disputes to the wTo where a dispute panel
composed
of wTo officials
serves as arbitrator' Members can appealthis panel's rulings to awio
appellate
body whose decisions
are final. Disputes must be resolved within the tir e limit-s set by
wro rules.
As of 1996 almost all of the 123 nations that had signed the new
GATT pact had
transferred membership
to the WTo, including the United States. About 30 other nations
had also
applied for membership.
The WTO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is controlled by general
a council
made up of member
states'ambassadors who also serve on various subsidiary ani sp.'ecialist
connected to a process
running the program on the computer.These applications iypically
shared data with
other applications
through the file system or database. Each user required a sepaiate process,
and
that process ran a
copy of the entire program. This implementation was relaiively simple to
construci. However, it
became inefficient as the number of users increased, and it posed problems
in
scaling beyond a
single computer.
Toincre many systems insert a transaction
monitor, which allows
develop on inio i number of servers. These servers
can then be
distribut e user can run a smaller program than
could be run without
the transaction monitor, while the program shares servers with
oiher users on the
system, thereby
promoting efficient use of system resources.
GENERATING E.COMMERCE /211
Tffitdfldl
t*fiteffi
SnrFrom
oilE*A fillsfrrE
could
riiJ,
requiremenrs thatr the
rne Keyeo-
keyed_
iJ::,,:#:l*:".1^"1"0,:11",.^,1,::.,^"^r.^.:Tl|:*g
in data be numeric or alpha, for instance. "".n collected
some terminals "nior."ins
an entire
screen of data before
sending it to the program, thereby minimizing
communication traffic with the
computer.
As the personal computer (pC) proliferated in
th
to the PC was a naturalextension. pCs disp
simply using terminal emulators to run the sa
applications followed the modelof running a
sing
or file system to share information.
ln the 1 990s it became common to connect
PCs to a LAN. The LAN enabled pc-
based programs
follow a model similar to the transaction monitor.
to
ln this model. the work is
split between a client,
program running on the PC that is responsible
a
for display and data entry and a
server that
is responsible
for the business logic and database storage. This
architecture is commonly
called client-server. one
challenge introduced with client-server applicatic ns
is that of keeping the
software versions on the
numerous clients in sync with the software versions
on the server. when
the server software is
updated, allthe clients must also receive an update.
To improve the performance and scalability of
these client-server systems,
three-tier architecture
became popular' ln this architecture, a tier is a layer
of software. Three-tier
architecture can be
defined in many ways, but the most common
logic in the middle tier, and the database serve
of the system with clear interfaces between th
implemented on one or more machines. A co
multiprocessor machine in the bottom tier as a
machines in the middle tier as business servers, and a large
number of pcs (one
per user) in the top
sy
fl#Jru:"TitTHfl:"1*:""t'$jjiSil,Ti
dictate the next action for the user;
instead, the user
selects the next action by a mouse gesture such as
clicking a button, choosing
from a pull-down
menu' or double-clicking on an object. This approach
allows more flexibility for
the user but requires
more complex software that cannot make the same
limiting assumptions that
scripted applications
employ.
For example, a scripted application might force the
csR, when creating a new
account, to get the
service address, customer information, services, rnd installation
appointment in
exactly that order
and validate the data along the way. A GUI would allow
the csR flexibility in
the order that the
information is gathered to match the flow of conversation
with the customer. The
GUI must then
validate not only the data but also the assumptions that
used to be handled by the
scripting. For
instance, because the seruice address may be ertered after
the services
desired, is the service
available at the customer,s address?
Viable software architectures have many variations. This
brief overview only
discusses the basic
concepts as they relate to a few of the viable lntranet software
architectures.
GENERATING E.COMMERCE / 213
er.lE lrC{o
Fig.5.6.Thin Client
D Protocol
The name of the protocol that tells the browser how to handle the file; in this
case http indicates to
use the hypertext transfer protocol.
O Server Address
Location The location of the Web site.The www indicates that this site is on the
World Wide Web.
Name_The name of the organization responsible for the site. ln this example
webproforum is the
responsible organization.
O OrganizationTYPe
The .com suffix indicates that this is a commercial organization. Other common
suffixes include
.edu for educational, .org for noncommercial, and .net for a network service
provider.
tr File Paths and Name
Page Name-The name of the Web page to find; wpf in this URL'
page Type_The formatting of the page; in this case html indicates that the page has
hypertext
markup language (HTML) encoding.
The network uses the information in the uRL to find the right web server. lf the
page name and type
are omitted, theWeb serverwill return the default page forthe site.This is often a
shortcut
forfinding
a starting point on the Web.
form the
Using URLs, one page may make references to other pages. These references, or
links,
such as
basis-for navigation rruitnin tn" application. Links tc other pages may be attached
to_ controls,
with Wtndows-
buttons, givin-g the application a'GUl appearance. Because many users are lamiliar
based aipticitions in'the olfice environment, a GUI appearance provides a
familiar and intuitive
interface to the aPPlication.
ln the above example, the page contained embedded HTML tags to specify
formatting.
The following
is a simple sample showing-the tags for a heading followed by a couple of
paragraphs. The first
paragraph contains a word that will be displayed n bold print'
(hl)The Heading</h1)
This is some <b>bold</b> text
<P>
This is the next ParagraPh'
Along with the HTML, most browsers allow th
s' such as push buttons'
key-i"n fields, and drop-Jown-list boxes within
e component embedded
f it
on the pC. lt is also p-ssiOle to detect that the component on the PC is
out of date, notify the user
the user would like to
download and install the new
that a newer version is available, and ask whethe r
by the user
tags. The code can execute when the page is loaded or in response to events
triggered
216 / ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
such as a mouse click'This code can provide components such as graphs or data
tables
and sort or
filter actions on the data, allwithout interaction with the server.
the
page to the browser over the network. lt sends some pages without any
modification,
but in a
business application, the Web server uses the business logic to modify pages
before sending
them
to the browser.
Business applications must implement security beyond the anonymous browse common
for most
Web sites. Security requires the cooperation of components at the top and middle
tiers to authenticate
the user and authorize application services. A common approach is the use of a
Cialog window
through the browser to enter the user name and password. The middle tier
authenticates the user and
establishes a sesslon. All messages between the browser and the Web server use a
session identifier
to maintain a logicaiconnection between the tiers.
Once the session is established, the Web server has a mechanism to store the
transacfion state.
The state of the transaction reflects the most recent data input by the user that
has not been
committed to the database. For instance, when creating a customer account,
inforrnation is gathered
about the customer and services, and perhaps an appointment is set to install the
new service. As
the user inputs these pieces of information, they are not usually committed to the
database right
away. lnstead they are held in memory somewhere until the complete order is ready.
Then the order
can be validated for consistency and integrity before committing it to the
database.
A critical factor in the performance and integrity of a system is where the
transaction state is held.
Opinions vary on this issue, but the software-engineering principles of the three-
tier architecture
apply to lntranet applications as well. With a thin-client approach, the state does
not belong in the
client because by definition the business logic is in the middle tier. lt is also
desirable to keep the
accesses to the database stateless to allow for maximum flexibility and
scalability. Keeping the
state at the middle tier associated with the user's session helps minimize lraftic
between tiers,
promotes good performance, and makes good use of the technology.
The Web server can use various ways to access the business logic and place the
results into a Web
page. Some Web server vendors allow the developer to embed code directly in the Web
page. This
code, written in a programming language such as Java or Visual Basic, can directly
access the
business logic. Often this code either produces information that is embedded
directly into the Web
page before sending it to the browser or generates code that is used to populate a
visual control,
such as a data table, with the information when the browser loads the page.This
method can lead to
complex Web pages that contain, in addition to the normal text and HTML, code that
the Web server
executes in the middle tier and code that the Web browser executes in the top tier.
lt is important to
develop and follow programming standards that address managing this complexity.
An early scheme used to couple business logic to Web pages is the common gateway
interface
(CGl). CGI involves the use of scripts or programs that Web pages call to process
user inputs or
build output data.This technique is generally being replaced by embedding
programming languages
such as Java in the Web page.
An important technology emerged during 1998 known as extensible markup language
(XML). Although
it is related to HTML, XML allows the developer to define new tags instead of the
fixed set used by
HTML. This simple but powedul extension enables a strong mechanism for data
exchange between
the Web server and browser. The Web server can use XML to provide data as a series
of tag and
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE I 217
value pairs, as shown in the lollowing example.
(custoner)
(1as t-nane)Doe(/ Ias t-name)
(f irs t-name)Sarah( / f irs t-name)
(phone)1 23 - 123 - L23 4( /phone>
(/ custorner)
Using XML to provide the data in this way, in conjunction with some client-side
script, means that the
data is sent only once to the client, and the client can provide multiple views of
the data using
different sorting or filtering as required. Components for use on browsers are now
being built with
XML awareness, and they can parse and display the data directly.
Physically, multiple computers can be used at the middle tier. These computers are
implemented as
peers, each with an identicalWeb server. A user can establish a session with any of
the computers
and will stay with the computer for the duration of the session. Providing a
central URL that redirects
the initial session request to one of the peer Web servers to spread the load
across the available
systems can leverage the use of a single computer.This implementation provides some
redundancy
in case of a failure. Careful attention here can prevent the failure of any one of
these computers f rom
taking down the system. The user of a computer that fails can connect to one of the
peers and would
only lose the work for the current transaction. More elaborate schemes can be
implemented to
prevent even this loss.
5.55.5 lnternationalizationandplatformlndependence
A number of factors increase the complexity of developing and deploying
these
lntranet software
applications. Each of them not only expandi the scope ofihe work,
but also
increases the cost to
write and maintain these applications.
O lnternationalization
ages and in
different countries is typically
.
lnternationalization involves making the
locales. This
involves externalizing the
ages include labels
forfields and buttons,
e, on-line help.
lnternationalization also involves.
supporting the different formats for data, time, and currency for both
display and
daia entry. The
collating sequence, or sort order, must also be addressed toiisptay
menu'itehs
and data properly.
Localization is the process of adapting the software to a locale or country.
This
can involve translating
the externalized message into the language of the target locale. ouring
internationalization,
the
controls are usually made aware of the locale so that the controls will
iutomatically
adjust date,
time, and money formats to the user's setting. Localization may also involve
rewriting part of the
software for localtax laws and other regulatory requirements.
ln the Americas and most European countries, a
characters and punctuation used. A single byte
number of graphical languages, such as Chinese,
to represent the working set of characters and
special visual components for display and data
may also require a special version of the operat
Specialcoding techniques are employed to handle
O Platformlndependence
Often it is desirable to allow some flexibility in the hardware platforms for the
hardware platforms
can significantly reduce the effort to achieve platform independence.The
tuning
and operation of the
database changes on different hardware platforms.
At the middle tier, the selection of the object middleware, Web server, and
programming
languages
have a significant effect on the complexity of platform independence. lf true
plitform
injependence
is desired, compromises must often be made to keep the business logic portable
enough to run
across multiple platforms' Of the three tiers, the middle tier poses the biglesi
chailenge
to achieving
platform independence.
The top tierfaces two significant independence issues: (1) hardware/operating
system independence,
and (2) Web browser independence. Some Web browsers run across multiple
hardware platforms.
GENERATING
E.COMMERCE / 219
However, care must be exercised to ensure that the features of the Web browser that
an application
requires are available across the platforms of interest. Some Web browsers do not
support all of their
features on all platforms they claim to support.
Web browser independence requires a'significant elfort in both design and testing.
The major Web
browsers continue to leapf rog over each other in features, each implementing the
successful features
of the other. lf developers limit themselves to the commonly implemented features
across the target
browsers, Web browser independence is achievable, but at the expense of the latest
features available
on the browsers. Within the lntranet it is often possible for a company to
standardize on one Web
browser and eliminate the need for this independence.