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| In Today's Issue: | |
| Quote: | Tony Blair, Prime Minister, UK |
| News: | NextCard launching new E-Wallet |
| Facts: | Ditching the Dialup Modem |
| Tip: | Is a Domain Name available? How to Check .... |
| Biz Sites: | 1. Jimworld |
| 2. Siteinspector | |
| Term: | Cybersquatting |
| Ripple Rock: | Bits & Mortar: The Smart House |
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
*** "If you don't see the Internet as an opportunity, it will be a threat."
Tony Blair,
U.K. Prime Minister
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LATE BREAKING NEWS:
NextCard Inc., an Internet-based credit card company, will launch a new wallet service Monday that helps users fill out forms and credit card information at online stores.The company said it is working with Gator.com to develop the NextCard Concierge. The application sits on a user's desktop and pops up when the consumer comes to an online form, asking if the user would like to have the data automatically entered.
Electronic wallets have become increasingly
trendy as companies try to figure out ways to make the e-commerce experience
easier for consumers. There are several different variations, including
ones that store the data on customer's computers, like NextCard and ones
that store the data on secure servers.
Source: ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2374202,00.html
CyberSisters' comments:
More indications of the growth of e-commerce, and e-business forms in general. Which one of these payment methods/e-wallet software will prevail? It's too early to predict - it's likely a number of e-commerce payment options will co-exist and compete for a long time. Take a look in your wallet - there are lots of ways to pay. The same is true online. Look for payment methods that make it easy for us consumers to part with our money, that supports industry standard browsers and security methods, and is backed by the big names in the financial/Internet industry.
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FACTOID OF THE WEEK:
By 2003, 53% of Internet users will trade in their dial-up modems for some form of "always on" connectivity (such as cable modem, DSL, satellite, or others), and the connections to 33% of households will be at "broadband" speeds.
Source: PC World
http://www.pcworld.com/cgi-bin/pcwtoday?ID=13049
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TIP: Is a Domain Name available?
How to Check ....
You've spent months preparing a business plan for your online venture. You've pestered your boss into assigning a budget for your new web site. You're just about to set up your site - but wait a minute - some other company with a similar name half way across the world has just registered "your" domain name. (yourcompany.com). How do you prevent this from happening? Well, the first thing is to find out ahead of time if your domain name is available. The main place to do this on the web is to conduct a search at the company that registers the majority of the domain names on the web, Network Solutions. Go to:
http://www.networksolutions.com/
and type in your requested domain name right on the front page. If someone has registered it, try a "Whois" search to find out who has registered the name. If it's a "cybersquatter" (see our term of the day), you may be able to buy it back. Otherwise, you are generally out of luck and have to choose another name.
Note that this tip only covers ".com" , ".net" and ".org" domain names. Specific country domains ".ca" or ".uk" are available through domain name registration services in each particular country.
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BIZ SITES OF THE WEEK:
1. Search Engine Tools - Jim World
This is a great site for checking your ranking on the top search engines, keeping up to date on the search engines, and automatically submitting your site to the top search engines. Try out the "JimTools" section for a bunch of free tools for web masters. (One of the CyberSister's "secret" tricks :) !!)
2. Site Inspector!
Another free online service for basic site inspection, help with search engine submission, meta tag preparation and finding out how "linked" you are on the web. Quite basic, but it's a good place to start.
CyberSister's Comment:
Content and context is key on the Internet. It is crucial to keep your site current, popular and search engine ready. Tools such as the ones listed above are helpful, but not enough for the larger sites, or sites that require ongoing revision. Contact us for information about our content/site managment services.
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TERM OF THE DAY:
" Cybersquatting "
Cybersquatting is the act of registering a popular Internet address--usually a company name--with the intent of selling it to its rightful owner.
Comparing cybersquatting to online extortion, Senator Spencer Abraham, a Michigan Republican (US), has introduced to the US Congress the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. This bill, if enacted, would make cybersquatting illegal. Violators would be charged a fine of up to $300,000.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has also outlined anti-cybersquatting tactics, which have been endorsed by ICANN (Ironically enough, someone recently registered www.wipo.com in order to sell it back to WIPO for several thousand dollars).
Even though legislation has not been enacted,
almost all cybersquatting court-case decisions are against cybersquatters.
Source: PC Webopedia
http://webopedia.internet.com/
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Ripple Effect "Rock"
What's a Ripple Effect Rock? Well, think of a rock thrown in a lake, and how the water ripples outward. This section of the newsletter covers developments and technologies that we think might soon cause a "ripple effect" in business or society.
Ripple Rock for Oct 18, 1999:
Bits & Mortar: The Smart House
If you've been looking into buying/building a house or condo lately, you may have heard the term "smart house". What is a smart house? Well, it is a house that uses information technology to help its inhabitants live a healthy, happy and safe life. A smart house performs tasks automatically to relieve the stress of managing the house, integrating home, work, learning and leisure activities, while hiding the bizarre details of how it actually works. Lighting, music, security, and other functions would all turn on and off automatically. When a call or email comes in, it will be routed to wherever you've designated. Further adjustments could be made through voice commands and touch panel.
Who knows how far this will go? We've all heard of Bill Gate's mansion that is probably monitoring all our heart rates and software purchasing habits as we speak, but aside from techno billionaires, how relevant is a smart house? Would you be interested in a wired house?
IBM has the "home director" (http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/homedirector/) product for wiring the houses of today/tomorrow. Microsoft has their "homenet" software (http://www.microsoft.com/homenet/).
CyberSister's comment:
I think this will be a slow growth (compared to other technologies) area over the next few years. I think it will take awhile for builders to plan and build houses based on the networking needs of the new millenium instead of the electrical standards of the 50's and 60's. Smart developers and visionaries could make some good money over the next few years as this slowly starts to grow. (Having just installed an in-home network, and re-wired my house, I think it's a worth looking into!). With mobile computing (Palm Pilots) and the growth of the "direct wired" connections (see our Factoid), most new (and old) houses will need to become smart houses.
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That's it for now! Have a great
week!
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"Exploring the Ripple Effect of Digital Technology"
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