How MVP’s can help in solving MS Word related problems?

It may happen you are stuck with MS Word problem at your workplace and are not able to solve it using MS Word tutorials/Newsgroups.

Work Around

You can go for a professional help by a MVP.

MVP stands for Most Valuable Professional. This is a award provided my Microsoft to outstanding members of online community. These candidates are generally proposed by existing MVps as they regularly participate in  conversations of newsgroup and are familiar with members of the community. These MVPs are available for commercial hire. They show their a "Business Contact" link on their bio page. In case you have an extensive problem which you are not able to solve via newsgroup advice alone you may email to a MVp for consultation. Note you need to post your problem in the newsgroup before contacting any MVP. Complete details of MVPs can be downloaded from The Word MVP Website. It is one of the best help website that provide quality tutorials on MS Word.

Getting help for Microsoft Word

In our office Microsoft word is a most useful package we use for our daily documentation. Sometimes we get stuck with problems that really kills our time.

Work Around

The guru mantra for getting out of such problem is to use F1 Key help and Office Assistant. If this doesnot solve your problem you may visit Microsoft newsgroup. Microsoft have newsgroups that are completely dedicated to understanding MS word and using it in a better way. Any one can go and put up a question over there which are quickly answered by other people who visit the group. It has been analyzed visitors get their answers with in 24 hours. In case you have Microsoft Outlook Express on your system just visit news://msnews.microsoft.com

Google also keeps archives of the discussion on Micrsoft Newsgroup. You can search the google archivehosted on google groups beta center and search the archive same way you search on the Web.

There are also very good websites which provide quality tutorials on MS Word. Just check out the following Websites

The Word MVP Website

Shaunakelly’s Website

MSDN Blogs

Bay City Public School help tutorial

Online Free tutorials

Internet4classrooms

MS Word Tutorial

About:WordProcessing

Note: Such help is also available for other MS office programs.

Spyware…Is it troubling you?

Many time while working in office you may find unwanted popup appearing on your PC screen from nowhere. You may feel there is some kind of virus that is creating trouble and anti-virus is not working properly It’s time that you realize that this can not be due to a virus but can be the work of Spyware program.

According toMicrosoft – “Spyware and other unwanted software refers to software that performs certain tasks on your computer, typically without your consent. This may include giving you advertising or collecting personal information about you”. Spyware cannot be removed by Antivirus as Antivirus program is not supposed to do so.

Spyware can create following problems:

• Browser search settings have changed without your knowledge. You may notice a new toolbar in your browser that you didn’t want, and find it difficult to get rid of.


• Computer is more prone to crashes.


• Unwanted pop-up advertisements even when you’re not on Web


• Computer takes longer than usual to complete certain tasks.

Work Around

Spyware Removal Tool

• According to Microsoft best way to get rid of spyware is to download a Spyware removal tool and run the same on your computer.


• Other way can be to find programs in Add/Remove Program that you do not recognize or are named similarly to the program that is causing the unwanted behavior and remove it.

Microsoft has provided few other resolution methods which are available on Microsoft support site. For complete information regarding Spyware you just need to visit may refer Microsoft support site.

What time is this on other side of GLOBE!!!?

Technology has bridged gaps between continents. Around 70 – 80 % of multinational companies are have there branch offices, sites office at diversified locations. Usually people go and visit website, try time converters, asks colleagues for timings at other continent. But, being self dependent is mantra these days!!

Work Around

- Download a World Time Converter!!

World Time Convertercan be easily downloaded and installed in the system.

Advantage of using World Time Converter

• Free
• You can SET time zones as per your choice , it keep them clocking all the time.
• Place shortcut in startup menu, hence no need to start it all time.
• Draft it in be only visible on clock click (so task bar is also free).
• Small icon “near date n time ” that’s it.
• BIG one, this software can also be used to for POP UP reminders!!

When was last time your BOSS reminded you for pending TASKS !!!!

What you usually use at workplace for write TO Dos

• Note Books
  (Which usually get lost, have tear pages after some time, you forget where you have written last notes, etc)
• Stick Notes

(After a while, stick notes gum looses its adhesiveness, some one removes its by mistakes, etc)

Work Around

- Use Microsoft Outlook Notes

Microsoft Outlook comes a bundle pack with MS Office. If you are using Outlook for first time on your PC, you need to make profile (just give your own name). On LHS there are links for Mail, Calendar, Notes, and Contacts.(sample pic below). Create a new one (e.g. title TO DO) start writing all pending tasks you have and create shortcut on desktop (you may even further link shortcut to start-up). This will now act as permanent notes on desktop.

Advantages of using Microsoft Outlook Notes

• Its Free!!
• Once created shortcut, no need to start outlook
• Whatever you write, no need to save (write it and forget it, it will remain there!)

How to send noteworthy eye-catching Feedbacks / Email replies / Letters / Memos .etc

Days have gone, when office assistance was only one whose vocabulary use to count !!. With more and more people getting self-dependent, everyone need to be adverse with sound grammar and vocabulary, which is used in daily needs (giving feedbacks, email replies, letters, etc).If every time, you want to look for Internet, or do copy paste in Word to check aforesaid things it’s going to be very time consuming.

Work Around

- Download a Dictionary !! Simple

WordWeb is a free english dictionary, you can download easily from Internet. It is a top rated software that includes comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary.

Advantages of Using WordWeb

• Its Free!!
• It will correct your spelling and give you options to try.
• BIG one, it gives nearest words with same meaning.
• Direct copy paste from word / email to WordWeb and vice-versa.
• It includes a comprehensive English thesaurus and dictionary.
• Can be used to look up words from within most programs.

This can be a useful tip for the people who need to impress their boss in office or influence their clients with magic of words:)

Office Tips n tricks

Tip 1:

How to Safe Guard your personal / official data?

- Ever thought, how safe is your personal and official data over office LAN ?

- At majority of workplace, one had to use shared computers (usually shift jobs, call
centers, BPO)

- All your creative ideas and hard work, can act as stepping stone for competitors

Work Around

Use a FOLDER LOCK

Folder lock as the name suggest is a file security program that guards data against unwanted access. Its an efficient data security software that can fight against security threat. Many work arounds to password protect the file/folder/disk are available but many times password can be easily cracked. The interesting feature about this software is that it not only password protect data, locks it, hides it and even encrypt it!!! Any type of data, whether stored in files, folders, drives, pictures and documents can be protected.

It can be easily installed on PCs and can be efficiently used for hiding files from kids, friends and co-workers. It not only protects privacy of the files but also guards them against viruses, worms and spyware, and protects them from networked PCs, cable users and hackers. Lock remains intact even when the files are transferred from PC to other via any removable drive. Folder lock is available for free download at various websites. A trial version can be downloaded and installd on the system

Usage

Folder Lock can be used with any kind of files/folders stored in USB Flash Drives, Memory Sticks, CD-RW, floppies and notebooks.

Compatibility

Windows 2003/XP/2000/NT/Me/98

For other tips n tricks check out >officetipsntricks

Migration to open EDI [ecommerce notes]

Let’s first give quick glimpse to how EDI is setup, There are several ways to set up EDI.


- A dedicated PC link to the EDI network. - A group of computers via modems linking to the EDI network - A dedicated server link to the EDI network


Communication link could be:

- dial-up phone line (such as ISDN line or switched digital services) - a dedicated link to the network’s local hub point.

Required software:

- Application software - Message translator
- Routing manager
- Communication handler Migration to Open EDI.

The Internet and the transition to open EDI will change the economics of EDI by reducing setup and rollout costs.

Migration groups:

- A nonuser becoming a private network/VAN user. - A current EDI user who wishes to make a transition to Open EDI.
- A non-EDI user who can make a direct transition to Open EDI.
- EDI transactions across the Internet in two ways: Email and FTP

The benefits:


- Reduction of the cost of transferring EDI messages
- Increase the performance
- Supporting E-Commerce
- Increase the interoperability of networks increasing the usability of EDI.

The problems and challenges:

- Security issues
- Many companies using EDI based on VANs. Not all VANs have connections to Internet.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

Seller prospective Buyer Prospective
Playground in all online users! Wide choice, as usually your search used to end up
Lowers selling cost, as not many taxes involved, apart from basic rules. Information could be searched precisely as per requirement
Market is open 24x7x365! Market is open 24x7x365!

Without much investment you can sell products across continents You can buy products across globe
Buyer/seller have same platform Try your luck in auctions, reverse auctions to save money


Disadvantages

Seller prospective Buyer Prospective
Every year, we hear new technology! Security, biggest threat for transactions
Still many countries have deficient communication infrastructures In bulk deals / costly goods lack of trust with sellers
Language, big barrier at times Even in digital era, many want to touch/feel before buying
Currency conversions Not enough knowledgably about currency / tax rules
Security issues for online transactions Concerned over warranty, support issues when bought online

Models of e-commerce [E-commerce notes]

E-commerce can be spilt into four major categories: B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C. Online
Businesses can be commonly categorized as business to consumer (b2c), consumer to consumer (b2b), and business to business (b2b) business models. This means that any traditional business model can also be implemented online. These models have been discussed briefly as follows:

• B2B (Business-to-Business)
  Organizations/Companies doing business with each other. Manufacturers selling to distributors, wholesalers selling to retailers can be interpreted as B2B commerce. For example, bulb manufacturing company dealing with car manufactures. Pricing/ terms and conditions are based on quantity of order.
  Examples: shop2gether, metalsite, etc.
  Note : Check out http://www.golna.com. Ningbo GOLNA PARTS Co., Ltd. It is a B2B portal. It is a manufacturers and exporters in the home appliance components. Its products include washing machine spare parts, refrigerator spare parts etc.
  
  
  
• B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
  Businesses selling to the public directly, usually through catalogs by using shopping cart software. In race of maximum volume category B2B is undoubted leader. Buying air ticket, hotel booking across continent, book purchase all could be done before you finish your coffee! Examples: makemytrip.com, amazon.com, etc
  Note: Check out http://www.amazon.com. It is a B2C portal.
  Amazon.com is the leading online retailer of products that inform, educate, entertain and inspire. The Amazon group also has online stores in the United States, Germany, France, Japan and Canada.
  
  
• C2B (Consumer-to-Business)
  Consumer publish his/her project with a set budget online. These requirements are reviewed by the companies and accordingly may bid for the project. The consumer checks the bids done for the project and selects the company for handling their project. Examples: reverseauction.com, priceline.com
  
  
• C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)
  Consumer sells directly to consumers. As you surf web you will find that there are numerous sites that are offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums. On such sites individuals can easily buy and sell their products. Thanks to online payment systems like Papal where people can easily send and receive money online. Example: EBay's auction service is a classic example of same.
  
  Note :Check out http://www.ubid.com(It is C2C portal)
  
  Bid, offer brand-name merchandise at deep discounts, where most auctions start at $1 and come with warranties. uBid's mission is a recognized Business-to-Consumer marketplace. Founded in 1997 it has swiftly emerged as a major force in the e-commerce world.
  
  
  

Learning E-payments [Ecommerce Notes]

Now its time to know more about E-Payments.

Basics

Before jumping to e-com related jargons, let’s spend a while on basics on banking /payment systems.

Banking originated in ancient era, where royal palaces, temples were used as secure place for safekeeping of grain and other commodities. Receipts for stored commodities were used for transfers not only to the original depositors but also to third parties, including tax gatherers and traders.

Bank notes were introduced during 1694 by Bank of England as central banking system
On following steps during 1775 continental congress issued paper money to finance revolutionary war. Thereafter in 1800s and early 1900 saw issuance of state bank notes, gold certificates. And finally in 1913 Federal Reserve act was created to further structure roadmap.

Cheque : Its written order on a bank or other financial institution to pay money belonging to the owner of cheque to cheque presenter. Personal cheque is drawn on individual bank account, while cashier cheque is drawn on financial institution.

Money Order : It is an order for the payment of a specified amount of money, usually issued and payable at a bank or post office. It’s feasible for people who don’t have back account or circumstances where cheques are not accepted in payments.

Credit Card : It is a valuable piece of plastic , i.e. plastic card used instead of cash or cheques to pay for buying goods/services. Credit card companies send monthly statement of charges made by credit card. Users can make full payment or partial payment, later one comes with interest/finance charges attached to same.

Debit Card : It’s also plastic used to procure good/services, but it’s important to note it’s linked to bank account. Bank deducts transactions made directly from account. It good workaround for people, who for contend (i.e. not to fell in trap of credit card companies)
And want to avoid carrying actual cash with them.

Before you learn more about electronic payments you need to get an idea about online transaction. Check out the various events that lead to an Online Transaction.

1. Online Shopping: The user short list an item to procure on the net.
   
2. Starting the Transaction Once you feed shipping and credit card information, the user is presented with summary which includes items, price, billing information, delivery schedule, terms n conditions (if any). The payment process is secured with industrial strength encryption and forwarded with the order form to the merchant's CyberCash CashRegister.
   
3. CashRegister Picks up Merchant Information
   
4. The merchant's identification information is automatically added to the encrypted payment request.
   
5. Path from CyberCash Firewall till the Bank remains encrypted, payment request is forwarded over the Internet cloud and is received via a secure firewall by CyberCash CashRegister server.
   
6. CyberCash swift passes payment request to the merchant's financial institution, which float it across to consumer's credit card bank to approve or decline payment authorization.
   
7. Credit Card Bank / Institution Sends Approval.
   
8. Users credit card bank revert its response through the merchant's financial institution to the merchant's CashRegister.
   
9. The shopper also receives confirmation of credit card approval.
   
10. The entire authorization process takes under 20 seconds.(Courtesy technology  )
    
11. Transaction is Completed and Captured
    
12. The merchant delivers the items to the shopper.
    
13. The merchant requests financial settlement, of the transaction through the CashRegister server.
    
14. Funds are transferred to the merchant's account by its financial institution
    

Electronic Payment Schemes Now, let’s start rolling the e- related stuff! The twenty-first century way to pay is by electronic or digital cash (or one can say virtual cash also), which allows consumers to pay for goods/ services by transmitting a number from one computer to another. These numbers function much like the serial numbers on "real money”, they are unique and represent a specific amount of actual cash. Unlike credit-card transactions, electronic-cash transactions are anonymous. E-cash works just like paper cash. Once it is withdrawn from an account it does not leave a trail of digital crumbs. E-cash by its nature is portable and therefore more convenient for mobile commerce (Internet-capable cell phones and personal digital assistants). Couple of well known players in industry on this domain: Pay Pal - A U.S.-based system that allows individuals in the United States to send money to each other via email. First-E - A European, Internet-only bank. Mondex - Electronic cash that is made available via "smart card." eCash (formerly DigiCash) - One of the early developers of electronic payment systems There is variety of options for electronic payments; usual ones include use of credit, debit and charge cards. In order to accept any of aforesaid cards, e business, must have a merchant account, payment-processing software and procedure to protect its customers and itself (most important) against any type of fraud, phishing, hacking related activities.

Quick recap [SET]

1. Explain in brief, what is SET?
2. SET is a protocol, true/false?
3. What is dual signature?

More about SET [Ecommerce Notes]

How SET works?

As we all know people today pay for online purchases by usually sending their credit card details to the merchant. There is protocol such as SSL or TLS available that keeps the sender’s credit card details safe from eavesdroppers however are not able to protect merchants from dishonest customers or vice-versa. SET has been developed keeping in mind the limitations of existing protocols. SET requires both cardholders as well as merchants to register before they engage themselves in any transactions. Any card holder can register by contacting a certificate authority. He needs to supply security details and the public half of his proposed signature key to the certificate authority. During the registration authorities verify the applicant. After verification and granting approval authority provides the applicant with a certificate that provides a confirmation that his signature key is valid. All orders and confirmations have a digital signature. This is used to provide authentication in case of any dispute between the parties.

Major participants in a SET system are:

• Cardholder
  
• Merchant
  
• Issuer
  
• Acquirer
  
• Payment gateway
  
• Certification authority
  

Understanding a SET Transaction Following are the sequence of events that are required for a transaction:

1. Customer needs to obtains a credit card account with a bank which supports electronic payment and SET.
   
2. The customer will receives an X.509v3 digital certificate which is duly signed by the bank.
   
3. Merchants have their own certificates.
   
4. The customer places an order with the Merchant.
   
5. The merchant sends a copy of its certificate so that the customer can verify that the store is valid.
   
6. The order and payment are sent between the two parties.
   
7. The merchant then requests for payment authorization.
   
8. The merchant has to confirms the order.
   
9. The merchant needs to ship the goods or provide appropriate service to the customer.
   
10. The merchant needs to requests payment
    
    

Key Role Players in a SET Transaction A SET purchase involves three parties:

1. The cardholder (One who has to pay)
   
2. The merchant
   
3. Payment gateway (It is essentially a bank).
   

Card holder needs to share information as follows with the other two parties:

• The cardholder needs to shares the order information with the merchant. He does not need to provide this information to the payment gateway.
  
• The cardholder shares the payment information with the payment gateway and not with the merchant.
  
• A set of dual signature is used to accomplish this partial sharing of information among the parties. It allows all parties to confirm that they are handling the same transaction. This is done as follows:
  
  
  • Each party receives the hash of the withheld information.
    
  • The cardholder needs to sign the hashes of order information as well as payment information.
    
  • Once the card holder signs both hashes each party needs to verify and confirm that the hashes they possess agree with the hash signed by the cardholder.
    
  • Further, the cardholder and merchant needs to compute equivalent hashes which payment gateway needs to compare. After comparing payment gateway needs to confirm their agreement on the details withheld from him.
    
    

SET (Secure Electronic transactions) [Ecommerce Notes]

When it comes to e-commerce, first thing with pings someone mind is security!! Industry gurus have been putting heart n soul, in order to address this concern. SET was one of endeavor on same lines.


Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a standard protocol that is used for securing credit card transactions over insecure networks. With the increase in security concerns over Internet SET has emerged as popular protocol for addressing transactions over Internet. Please note clearly, SET itself is not a payment system. It is a a set of security protocols and formats that enables users to employ the existing credit card payment infrastructure on an open network in a secure fashion!

SET, developed by VISA and MasterCard (Credit card leaders) is based on X.509 certificates having several extensions. [Just FYI: X.509 is an ITU-T standard for a public key infrastructure (PKI. It specifies standard formats many things such as public key certificates, attribute certificates etc…]

SET features

SET has been developed with following features:

• Maintains confidentiality of information: Information is provided only to the concerned recipent.
  
• SET takes care of Integrity of data.
  
• SET employs a particular subset of protocol for carrying out cardholder account authentication.
  
• SET employs a particular subset of protocol for carrying out Merchant authentication.
  

Understanding SET Protocol SET itself is a family of protocols. The major ones are used for important tasks such as cardholder registration, merchant registration, purchase request, payment authorization, and payment capture. Apart from these major ones there are many minor protocols that are used for conducting tasks like error handling. SET is little complicated than its counterparts such as SSL. Because of this complexity this protocol is hardly used. However, it contains many features of interest such as :

• The model is different from the others. In the registration protocols, the applicant do not need to possesses any digital proof for his identity. He just needs to authenticates himself by filing a simple registration form. Authentication is done outside this protocol when the cardholder’s bank examines the completed form.
  
• An important innovation that has been introduced in SET is the dual signature. Like electronic signature dual signature is used to guarantee the authentication and integrity of data. Dual signature links two messages that are intended for two different recipients. A customer needs to send the order information (OI) to the concerned merchant and the payment information (PI) to the corrosponding bank. Through this dual signature the receipent only gets to know information he requires rather then getting any other information of the sender. E.g. The merchant does not need to get information about customer's credit card details where as bank does not need to know the details of the customer's order. However, a link is needed so that the customer can prove that the payment is intended for this order.
  
• SET also uses several types of digital envelopes. It can be understood as an encrypted message that uses both secret key and public key cryptography methods. The secret key is used for encrypting and decrypting the message where as the public key method is meant for sending the secret key to the other party. A digital envelope includes two parts:
  
  
  1. One part is encrypted using a public key which contains a fresh symmetric key K and identifying information.
     
  2. Other part is encrypted using K which conveys the full message text.
     SET employs cryptographic techniques to provide security during a online transaction. Digital certificates and public key cryptography are commonly used to allow parties for authenticating each other and for exchanging information in a secure manner. You must be curious to know how SET works.
     

Migration to open EDI

Let’s first give quick glimpse to how EDI is setup, There are several ways to set up EDI.

• A dedicated PC link to the EDI network.
  
• A group of computers via modems linking to the EDI network
  
• A dedicated server link to the EDI network
  
• Communication link could be:
  
• Dial-up phone line (such as ISDN line or switched digital services)
  
• A dedicated link to the network’s local hub point.
  

Required software:

• Application software
  
• Message translator -
  
• Routing manager -
  
• Communication handler Migration to Open EDI:
  
  
  The Internet and the transition to open EDI will change the economics of EDI by reducing setup
  and rollout costs.
  

Migration groups:

• A nonuser becoming a private network/VAN user.
  
• A current EDI user who wishes to make a transition to Open EDI.
  
• A non-EDI user who can make a direct transition to Open EDI.
  
• EDI transactions across the Internet in two ways: Email and FTP
  

The benefits:

• Reduction of the cost of transferring EDI messages
  
• Increase the performance
  
• Supporting E-Commerce
  
• Increase the interoperability of networks increasing the usability of EDI.
  

The problems and challenges:

• Security issues
  
• Many companies using EDI based on VANs. Not all VANs have connections to Internet.
  

EDI Advantages and Disadvantages [Ecommerce Notes]

EDI Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages	Disadvantages
Automating existing business procedures in inventory management, transport and distribution, also in administration, and cash management.	Managerial problems in the support, maintenance and implementation of EDI transactions.
Cost saving in - document preparation, postage, and handling of mainstream transactions- reduced errors and exceptions handling.	Each entity may have a different method of delivery, ranging from dial-up BBS systems mailing hard media such as a CD-ROM or tape backup.
Faster handling of transactions results in increased cash flow.	Lack of strict standards across implementations, transactions and methods. Improve customer services and Enhance the business process and operations One single computer application cannot handle all health care entities. Though this may not be necessary, it can lead to an obvious management headache as a company attempts to register itself with various EDI partners.
Improve customer services and Enhance the business process and operations	One single computer application cannot handle all health care entities. Though this may not be necessary, it can lead to an obvious management headache as a company attempts to register itself with various EDI partners.

Electronic Data Interchange

EDI - the inter-organization exchange of well-defined business transactions in standardized electronic form directly between computer applications. Focused on Business-To-Business community. Also, EDI can be stated as collection of standard message formats to exchange data between organizations computers via any electronic service.

Domains EDI covers: traditional business facets: inquires, planning, purchasing, acknowledgments, pricing, order status, scheduling, test results, shipping and receiving, invoices, payments, and financial and business reporting. Additional standards: interchange of data relating to security, administrative data, trading partner information, specifications, contracts, distribution..

EDI History

• Electronic transmission started during 1960s.
  
• Initially main focus was for road and rail transport industries.
  
• In 1968, the United States Transportation Data Coordinating Committee (TDCC) was formed. This committee coordinated the development of translation rules among existing four sets of industry-specific standards.
  
• Later, the X12 standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) gradually extended and replaced industry-specific standards created by the TDCC.
  
• U.K. Department of Customers and Excise also came up with standards for documents that need to be used in international trade. These were futher extended by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) as GTDI (General-purpose Trade Data Interchange)
  
• A United Nations Joint European and North American working party (UN-JEDI) addressed the harmonization between the two sets of standardized documents. They developed EDI and came up EIFACT, a document translation standards for administration, Commerce, and Transport. Today, EDI messages are coded in a standard data format based on X12 and EDIFACT specifications.
  

As we speak,

• EDI technology has matured.
  
• EDI has been growing in the past, although the penetration is still low.
  
• In spite of its moderate success, EDI has failed to gain total acceptance and become ubiquitous in industry.
  
• Although EDI technology works well, until now this technology has been expensive to implement.
  

Future of E commerce

Industry experts predict a glorious future of ecommerce in the 21st century. In the foreseeable future e-commerce will establish itself as a major tool of sale, at least past results shows it will!! With popularity of e-shopping it is inevitable that ecommerce will become an inseparable part of web. It has been observed that each year number of ecommerce deals is growing enormously. Statistics shows that sales volumes of on-line stores is much more as compared to “brick-and-mortar” ones. This tendency will likely continue as lots of people are “jugged” by work and with personal priorities and Internet no doubt saves a lot of time and provides opportunity to choose goods at the best prices. Present-day Internet sales boom no doubt lays foundation for magnificent future of ecommerce.


Since Internet has excluded geographical factor from the sale, “quantity to quality” tendency of ecommerce is being appreciated. It doesn’t matter any more whether your store is situated in UK / US / India or in a small town you can look for best product deals that suit your need. To survive, sellers/merchants will have to undoubtly adapted to rapidly changing conditions. To attract more customer e-store-owners need to increase e number of available services and also pay attention to elements like attractive design, user-friendliness so that they can attract customers to their websites. They need to deploy modern technologies for becoming part of ecommerce future.

Factors affecting growth of E-commerce

1. Security
   Without iota of thought it’s on mind of everyone who even thinks to do business online. Today hackers have become so personal, that it takes minutes to conquer / take over website having loop holes. Firewall, IDS, encryptions, digital signatures all have same endeavor to provide secure and peaceful life over internet cloud!
   
2. Scalability
   It relates to your capability to run show, no matter what how large business gets. Usually new players/ freshers to e-commerce community don’t have strong vision. Most silly mistake players do, they under-estimate growth rate, never forget your playground is spread across globe. From day one, you should keep your seats belts tighten. One example in past, where we saw failure was “alladvantage.com” They failed to anticipate the network effect, and the company found its business model did not scale with unanticipated customer growth. They added one million customers within three months of launch; their revenue model was based on selling demographic date to advertisers.
   
3. Perceived Risk with Product/Service
   If there are thousands of e-commerce savvy personnel’s, lets not forget there are millions of others, who don’t agree too much with concept due to risk with final product/service they will get after buying online. Different people, different perception some are scared with fraud, some worried about delivery schedules, some say there is no meaning of warranty when you buy goods online !
   

Leading Players in E-Commerce [Continued] [Ecommerce Notes]

Leading Players

(Source: www.dell.com)

Things you should know about Dell:

• Most of the Fortune 100 companies want to do business with Dell.
  
• Dell has emerged as the preferred desktop and laptop of enterprises in the US and Europe.
  
• Dell has emerged as No. 1 PC supplier to small and medium businesses in the United States for 10 years in a row
  
• Dell has emerged as the world’s leading provider of flat panel displays.
  
• About 140,000 systems shipped per day, on average – that’s more than one every second.
  The 10 largest U.S. companies run on Dell.
  
• The top 6 Internet service companies run on Dell.
  
• The top 5 U.S. commercial banks run on Dell
  
• Isn’t aforesaid data cool!
  
  

Yes, one of the most successful e-commerce companies: Dell. Dell, Inc. is a multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, sells, and supports personal computers and other computer-related products. Dell grew during the 1980s and 1990s and has emerged as the largest seller of PCs and servers. The company currently sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, and computer peripherals. Traditionally, Dell has sold all its products using a direct-sales model using Internet and Telephone network. Dell employs negative cash conversion cycle (CCC) i.e it receives payment for the products before it has to pay for the materials. Further, Dell practices just-in-time (JIT) inventory-management. It utilizes the "pull" system by building computers only after customers place orders and by requesting materials from suppliers as needed. Dell's e-commerce presence is widely publicized. It is able to sell much merchandise over the Web. In building web site to attract these buyers, Dell may be able to lure away customers from other vendors who do not offer such a service. This gives Dell a competitive advantage over its competitors that lets it increase its market share. There is also a widely held belief that once a customer starts working with a vendor/manufacturer, it is much easier to keep that customer than it is to bring in new customers. So if you can build brand loyalty for web site early stages, it gives you an advantage over other vendors who try to enter the market later. Dell implemented its Web site very early, and that presumably gives it an advantage over the competition! E BAY (C2C) EBay Inc.: A Short History (source…www.ebay.com) eBay Inc. is an American Internet company manages eBay.com which is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety goods and services worldwide. EBay was born in 1995 and since then has evolved as the world's largest online marketplace. It’s a virtual marketplace as practically anyone can sell there anything at any time. Today Ebay has strong presence in 39 markets, including the U.S., and have approximately 84 million active users worldwide. , eBay has changed the face of Internet commerce. According to the statistics in 2007 the total value of sold items on eBay's trading platforms was nearly $60 billion. eBay deals with millions of appliances, computers, furnishings, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items. In 2005, EBay launched its Business & Industrial category.

Some items listed there are rare and valuable. You can visualize it in this way that anything may be offered for sale as long it is legal and does not violate the eBay Prohibited and Restricted Services. Even large international companies like IBM use eBay for selling their newest products and offer services Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK have been set up to allow the users to trade using the local currency. Software developers are free to create applications that can be easily integrated with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. In short, eBay provides an open trading platform where the market determines the value of items that are sold. Site has now emerged as a cultural barometer that provides a view into what objects consumers want most at any time. Since 1998, the company has continued to grow, innovate and connect people. It made two critical acquisitions have established eBay Inc. as a global leader in online payments and communications as well. eBay Inc. acquired PayPal in October 2002; Paypal provides any individual or business having email address a service to conduct secure online transaction. Using PayPal any one can easily and quickly send and receive payments online. PayPal utilizes financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards and uses the world's most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems for providing safe payment solution. A PayPal account can be easily funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by using a credit card. The recipient of a PayPal transfer can request a check from PayPal. One can establish own deposit account with PayPal or request a transfer to their respective bank account. PayPal performs payment processing for many online vendors, auction sites and other commercial portals. PayPal charges fees for the same. Sometimes Paypal may charges a transaction fee for receiving money. This depends upon the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. You will find that PayPal has today emerged as a global leader in online payment solutions. It has around 149 million registered users and is accepted by millions of merchants worldwide.

PayPal is an example of a payment intermediary service that facilitates worldwide e-commerce. In October 2005 eBay Inc. made another important acquisition. It has acquired Skype which is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication company. Skype has revolutionized the way people talk online.
It allows people everywhere to make unlimited voice and video calls online for free using its software. It is available in around 28 languages and is used by many countries world wide. This business unit generates revenue through its premium offerings. Apart from these acquisitions eBay Inc.'s has some more key acquisitions to its achievement. It acquired shopping.com, a pioneer in online comparison shopping; Stub hub, a leading online marketplace for the resale of event tickets; rent.com, the most visited online apartment listing service in the U.S and many more. eBay business model is based on auction system. eBay offers several types of auctions. Some of them have been listed below:

1. Auction-style listings : This style allows the seller to offer one or more items for sale for a specified number of days.
   
2. Fixed Price format : This format allows the seller to offer one or more items for sale at a Buy It Now price. In case any buyer agrees he needs to pay that price and win the auction immediately. He does not need to submit a bid in this case.
   
3. Dutch Auctions : Dutch Auctions allow seller to offer two or more identical items in the same auction. Bidders are free to bid for any number from one item up to the total number offered.
   

Leading Players in E-Commerce

Main players on this playground

Some of Best E-Commerce Sites
(Source: www.time.com/time/digital/reports/ecommerce/25best.html)

Best Overall	Name of Website / Portal	Some glimpse over same
	Amazon.com	A third of the people who buy online shop at Amazon.com.
	Dell	The pioneer of direct computer sales online is selling $30 million worth of gear a day from its website, so it’s obviously doing something right.
	IQVC	You might expect the king of TV-based shopping to make a seamless leap to the Internet, having distribution and customer service already in place.
BEST AUCTIONS	EBay	It isn’t just the never-ending cavalcade of inventory -- 250,000 new items are put up for auction every day here -- that keeps its 5.6 million registered users hooked. EBay figure d out that trust means everything to e-commerce. OnSale Part outlet store and part liquidator’s auction, the best feature of the auction half is that it never refers to people who purchase products as "buyers" but rather as & quot;winners."

BEST SHOPPING	MySimon	The "Simon" character on this shopping bot looks like the kind of doll that would become animated and go homicidal in a horror movie shopdashonline If you were a corporation, Dash would be your vice president in charge of discounts. When you sign up for Dash, you get rebates from its participating merchants.
BEST GUIDES	Productopia	Say you’re in the market for a digital camera. Or cookware. Productopia will give you three sets of recommendations based on quality, style and value. Then, once you’ve decided whether you want to be cheap, chic or sensible.
	Esmarts	Have you ever gone for a drink after work and, when the bartender asks what kind of Scotch you want, you say, "Just give me the cheap stuff"? If you have, this site’s for you
BEST MOST CUSTOMERFRIENDLY	Fogdog	This sports-gear and -equipment site gets a good grade for making its big inventory easily accessible.
	Clinique	One expert told me that Avon was the giant of the beauty category, "but check out Clinique. They have very loyal customers," she said. I can see why. This site bonds with you instantly.
	Wine.com	The greatest virtue of Wine.com, formerly Virtual Vineyards, is its user-friendly, easy-to-understand search tool, which makes anyone feel like a wine know-it-all
BEST IDEA FOR A SITE	CarsDirect.com	Its car-buying process allows you to bypass the dealer entirely. The interface is easy to use. You pick out the car you want, and as you add options like a CD player or side air bags, you see the price go up instantly.
	RocketCash.com	It almost sounds crazy, but it works. Here’s a way for parents to let their credit-cardless children shop online. You can set up an account for your kids and give them lump sums or even allowances. Then the children can make purchases at affiliated merchants without giving out personal information.
MOST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION	Disney	The Disney name gives this site the closest thing it could have to a captive audience, but it still treats visitors like honored guests.
	DVD Express	Most stores carry the same stock of DVDs. But this site appears to have the greatest inventory not just of movies but also of fun paraphernalia such as movie posters and gear with movie e-studio logos
	BEST GIMMICKS Lands' End	Already getting high marks from shoppers for its usability, the clothing-seller site upped its game in September when it began offering two new features.
	Garden.com	Site designers employ soft green hues and flower-bud images so artfully on this home page, they make your computer seem like the perfectly logical place to start working on a garden.

Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Commerce [Ecommerce Notes]

Advantages

Seller prospective	Buyer Prospective
Playground in all online users!	Wide choice, as usually your search used to end up Lowers selling cost, as not many taxes involved, apart from basic rules. Information could be searched precisely as per requirement
Market is open 24x7x365!	Market is open 24x7x365!
Without much investment you can sell products across continents	You can buy products across globe
Buyer/seller have same platform	Try your luck in auctions, reverse auctions to save money

Disadvantages

Seller prospective	Buyer Prospective
Every year, we hear new technology!	Security, biggest threat for transactions
Still many countries have deficient communication infrastructures.	In bulk deals / costly goods lack of trust with sellers
Language, big barrier at times	Even in digital era, many want to touch/feel before buying
Currency conversions Not enough knowledgably about currency / tax rules	Security issues for online transactions Concerned over warranty, support issues when bought online

Introduction to E-Commerce [Cont]

One can observe from boarder prospective that commerce is just a simple concept. It can be as simple as a person making and selling ice-cream on a street corner or as complex as a microsoft delivering an operating system for computers, all of commerce relies on buyers, sellers and producers. Now let us add to our discussion, E-commerce E-Commerce includes buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems. This electronic system can be Internet or any other computer networks. The quantum of business trade conducted electronically has shown us graph like hockey stick since the spread of the Internet. These days, e-commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

You will find that a vast variety of commerce is conducted being conducted in this way. E-Commerce has lead to innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems.

1. History
   Today’s e-commerce what you see is much polished version, which has changed over couple of decades. Initially, electronic commerce was meant for facilitating electronic commercial transactions. This became possible becaouse of technologies like Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), etc. Aforesaid were introduced few decades before and facilitated businesses to send commercial documents like purchase orders, bills, invoices, acknowledgement, electronically.
   

   
   In 1980’s Industry also observed rapid growth and acceptance in other forms of electronic commerce such as credit cards, automated teller machines (ATM) and telephone banking. Another major stepping stone in revolution of e-commerce industry was the introduction of airline reservation system in USA /UK. Online shopping was first invented in UK in the year 1979 by Michael Aldrich. During 1980s it was used extensively used by auto giants like Ford, Peugeot, General Motors and Nissan. With the start of 1990s electronic commerce started included enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), data mining, data warehousing features etc.. During quondam arena, in the year 1982, Boston Computer Exchange which is one of the finest example for electronic commerce in physical goods. It was a marketplace meant for used computers. American Information Exchange came up as one fo the first online information marketplace that was launched during erstwhile stage of internet system in 1991.Also, IBM in 1997 which launched an e-business marketing campaign directed at selling services to companies that needed to connect their current electronic systems to the web. By 1994 Internet had gained worldwide popularity however it took almost half-decade to introduce security protocols and broadband technologies like DSL which facilitated secure and continual connection to the Internet cloud. And towards end of 2000, ,many European and American business companies started offering their services via World Wide Web. Since then people started having confidence with term called "ecommerce".
   
   This confidence came uo with the ability of purchasing various goods via Internet using secure protocols and easy to use electronic payment services. Success of any business is potential customers, right! Now imagine taskforce of online users, estimated Internet Users is 1,463,632,361 for Q2 2008 (Source: internetworldstats.com/stats.com), wow what whooping number, which are potential e-commerce customers!
   

2. 
   2. How E commerce works? Unless you are living in forest / caves, you would hear and also experienced flavor of internet. Then, famous stuff you already played by now includes email, chat, etc…and also during last decade new hype “e-commerce”, starting ruling famous jargons. But later is not as easy to understand, as compared to former ones! Let explore how this fancy thing works…. To make things simple, let’s start with example, activity is the sale of some product by a seller to a customer: It’s also comprised of number of steps, don’t worry it’s not rocket science. Firstly you must have some product or service you want to offer. The product can be anything from foot-ball to supercomputer. Like any traditional commerce, you can get products directly from a producer, or through a distributor or retailer. It is possible that y you may produce the products yourself! You must also have a place from which to sell your products (similar to shop-keepers which own shop to sell goods). When we need to sell a physical products we know the right place can be a a store or shop of some sort. Further, you need to chalk out a way to get people to come to your place. A simple process of marketing/advertisement needs to be followed to get the required foot fall. This is important as in case no one knows that your place exists, you will never be able to sell your product. Some of advertisement techniques, we have seen hoardings, newspapers/magazines, posters, etc and not to forget “word of mouth” is biggest source to spread info!

   
   
   Then its ‘money’, i.e. you need a way to accept orders. At most of shopping malls, you can use cash, check or credit cards to pay for goods. B2B transactions often use purchase orders. There are some product or service where you don’t pay at the time of delivery, and they are delivered continuously (mobile, water, gas, electricity and pagers are like this); these are charged per cycle / say on monthly basis, which comes under radar of billing and collections. Also, you need to find a way to deliver the product or service. This is often known as fulfillment. Also, sometimes customers may not be satisfied by the bought product , so you need a way to accept returns. Depending on situtation and product you may or may not charge certain fees for returns. Depending on customer or on product you may or may not need to authorirze customer through bills,memership card etc.. before exchanging anything. Sometimes a product breaks and you need to abide by warranty claims. This part of the transaction is mostly handled by the producers themselves. Many products/services in today’s next-generation-world are very complicated.
   

There has to be customer service and technical support departments for helping customers. This is important for building long term relations with the customers. Computers/Laptops/printers/scanners are few good examples. Then, products like mobile phone service may also require regular customer service force, as customers want to switch/add/delete service they receive over time. In the world of e-commerce world, aforementioned elements are there however they change slightly for online transactions. Check out the following list. You need to have these elements for conducting e-commerce.

1. A product/good or service parse
   
2. A place to sell the product – for example Web site/portal to showcase products in some way
   
3. A way to get people to come to your Web site, i.e. its reachable to anyone on Internet
   
4. A mechanism to accept orders – database to track this, customer wise info
   
5. A way to accept money, i.e. online payment methodology
   
6. A facility to ship/transport products to customers
   
7. A way to accept returns (if it happens!)
   
8. A procedure to handle warranty claims (if required)
   
9. A well-being state of customer service process / i.e. after sales support could be through email, online-chats, forms, FAQs series, etc
   
10. Also process/tool, where customer could track delivery/shipment of good ordered
    
    

Whoosh…and you thought selling goods online was is child’s play!

To summarize it further following are some basic requirements to setup an online business.

1. Website: You need to have website through which you are able to put your business on the Internet in electronic form. The website should be professionally built that has innumerable qualities to attract customers.

2. Hosting services: A website needs to be hosted on a professional server from a reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP). It should have a relevant domain name that describes the existence of the portal.

3. E-commerce setup: You need to decide upon e-commerce technologies you will be using. Today, there are wide varieties of merchant and sub-merchant e-commerce technologies available which can be implemented with ease and low cost.

4. Website maintenance: A website needs consistent maintenance. You need to address your customers need for this website should be regularly updated and maintained. A website may require frequent updating of data and information and an occasional upgrade of the software itself. An intelligent portal has utilities for updating of data and information without the interference of a programmer.

5. Presence in Search engine results: As we all know most of the users use Search Engine to visit websites having desired information. As most of the traffic comes from Search engines and search directories you need to take appropriate steps for getting your site listed in all major search engines and search directories.

6. Online marketing: Analogue to traditional marketing you need to invest in online marketing for promoting your product online. Your main aim is to get right traffic on your websites to increase number of transactions on the website.

7. Budget Allocation: You need to have enough budgets for performing important tasks like Publishing, maintaining and marketing an online business.

Introduction to E-Commerce [Ecommerce notes]

In this you will learn about concepts of e-commerce. Starting from traditional commerce will slowly sail through basics of e-com. Discussing about history, will further checkout advantages and disadvantages from buyer and seller prospective. It’s essential for one to know categories of e-commerce, which has further helped rollout of this concept in structured way. While walking though best examples of e-commerce, will have deep look at noteworthy success stories of dell and eBay! We will also learn about important concepts of EDI - the inter-organization exchange of well-defined business transactions in standardized electronic form directly between computer applications and SET. SET is a standard protocol popularly used for securing credit card transactions over insecure networks, more specifically addressing transactions. We will also touch by electronic payment methods and some security measures which are implemented during e-transactions. Finally we will also see glimpse of e-business website designing.




Topics Covered

1. What is E-Commerce Environment?
   
2. History
   
3. How E-commerce works?
   
4. Advantages and disadvantages
   
5. Models of e-commerce
   
6. Main players on this playground
   
7. Leading Players.
   
8. Future of e commerce
   
9. Factors affecting e-commerce success
   
   
   
   

What is E-Commerce Environment?

Before we jump to e-commerce, let’s look at fundaments of commerce first! Commerce by dictionary is , “Transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)” or “the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place “ Various roles in commerce:

• Buyers – Buyers can be interpreted as public/people with money who have intention to purchase a good or service.
  
  
• Sellers – Sellers can be interpreted as people/public who offers goods and services to buyers. Sellers could be further classified into two categories:
  
  

• Retailers: Retailers are the one who sell directly to consumers
  
• Wholesalers/ distributors: Wholesalers/ distributors are the one who sell to
  retailers and other businesses.
  
  
• Producers – Producers can be interpreted as people who create the products and services that sellers offer to buyers, i.e. also known as manufactures. You will find that a producer is always, by necessity, a seller as producers themselves sells the products produced to wholesalers, retailers or directly to the consumer.
  
  

Recommended Books [Ecommerce Notes continued]

Recommended Book:

1. K.C. Laudon & e.G. Traver, E-commerce, Pearson Education, 2003
   
2. R. Kalakota & A.B.Whiilston-' Frontiers of Electronic Commerce, Pearson
   
   Education- 2006.
   
3. K.K.Bajaj & D.Nag- E-Commerce, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi , Second
   
   Edition.
   
   

Ecommerce Notes (Syllabus)

Electronic Commerce & Applications : E-commerce: The revolution is just beginning, The visions and forces behind E-commerce, Understanding E-commerce.

E-commerce business models and concepts : E-commerce business models, Major business-to-consumer (B2C) business models, Major business-to-business (B2B) business models, Business models in emerging E-commerce areas, How the internet and the Web change business.

E-commerce infrastructure : The Internet: Technology background, The internet today, The world wide web.

Building an E-commerce web site : A systematic approach, choosing server software, choosing the hardware for an E-commerce site, other E-commerce site tools.

Security and Encryption : The E-commerce security environment, Security threats in the E-commerce environment, Technology solutions, Policies, Procedures and Laws.

E-commerce payment systems : Payment systems, Credit card E-commerce transactions, E-commerce digital payment systems in the B2C arena, B2B payment systems.

Ethical, Social, and Political issues in E-commerce : Understanding ethical, social, and political issues in E-commerce, Privacy and information rights, Intellectual property rights, Governance, Public safety and welfare.

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Introduction to WWW [Ecommerce notes]

WWW : World Wide Wait ?  or World Wide Web ? Former one got famous during teething phase of www cloud due to bandwidth / technological constraints. To begin with, simple definition of WWW also known as web, " its global information space which people can communicate via computers connected to the Internet" . Some people use "internet" and "the web" interchangeably, even though the web is a service that operates over the internet. In this post, you will study about fundamentals of World Wide Web(WWW). The evolution of  WWW have been discussed in detail. Internet Basics including rise of internet, services provided by internet have been thoroughly discussed together with its technical bottle necks.  Topics covered: Understand fundaments of Word Wide Web Learn about the history of web and Internet Differentiate between WWW and Internet Understand how Internet Works Analyze the growth of Internet Understand web servers, web browser and various protocols that make Internet work  WORLD WIDE WEB FUNDAMENTALS   To begin with, simple definition of WWW also known as web, "WWW is a global information space where people can communicate via computers connected to the Internet". Some people use "internet" and "the web" interchangeably, even though the web is a service that operates over the internet. WWW is an acronym used for World Wide Web. Technically defining WWW can be understood as a system of Internet servers through which several Internet protocols can be accessed using a web browser. Precisely, WWW can be understood as the most commonly used services on the Internet.  Almost all protocols available on the Internet are available on the Web. This creates a convenient and user-friendly environment through which email, FTP, Telnet, Usenet News etc. can be accessed. Due to the ability of the Web to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the World Wide Web has been the fastest growing and the most interesting part of the Internet.   User uses a browser software like Internet Explorer, Netscape, Google chrome, mozilla, Firefox, etc to navigate the Web. WWW also makes valuable use of hypertext along with high quality graphics. As against text based services like FTP and telnet the Web is a graphic medium with most Web pages having some amount of images.Today we also have web pages that have sound and video embedded in them. WWW Protocol   Most famous and popular protocols on the web is the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It is the application protocol that makes the web work.  It is an application level protocol as it just sits on top of the TCP layer in the protocol stack and is used by specific applications to talk to one another. In this case the applications are web browsers and web servers. These protocols are taken in detail in the discussions below.  Do not confuse HTTP with the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is the scripting language used to create web pages. Many times web pages are called hyper text documents. Hyperit text documents are the document that contain links which connect them to other documents or files. The user can activate these links or 'hot spots' (through a mouse button click, for example) and the target document will then be transferred on to the client machine and if it is a web page, it would be displayed in the browser. These links can be placed on text, pictures etc in the hypertext document. A single HyperText document can contain many such hyperlinks. It is because of all this "linking" between the webpages a virtual web of connections is created.  Characteristics of HTTP HTTP is a connectionless text based protocol. Clients (web browsers) send requests to web servers for web elements such as web pages and images.  Before an HTTP request can be made by a client, a new connection must be made to the server.   After the request is serviced by a server, the connection between client and server across the Internet is disconnected. It is important to understand that a new connection is established between the client and the server each time when client makes a request. Note: Most protocols are connection oriented. This means that the two computers communicating with each other keep the connection open over the Internet. HTTP does not however. When you type a URL into a web browser HTTP will work as follows: 1. In case URL contains a domain name (like www.yahoo.com) the browser will first connect to a domain name server and retrieves the corresponding IP address for the web server.  URL can be understood as the   unique address of a file which can be accessed through internet.  Note:  URL has been taken in detail in a later sub-section. 2. The web browser connects to the web server and sends an HTTP request (via the protocol stack) for the desired web page. 3. The web server receives the request and checks for the desired page. If the page exists, the web server sends it. If the server cannot find the requested page, it will send an HTTP 404 error message. (404 mean 'Page Not Found' as anyone who has surfed the web probably knows.) 4. The web browser receives the page back and the connection is closed. The browser then parses through the page and looks for other page elements it needs to complete the web page. These usually include images, applets, etc. For each element needed, the browser makes additional connections and HTTP requests to the server for each element. Once the browser has finished loading all images, applets, etc. the page will be completely loaded in the browser window.   Internet Basics Basics dumb rule: No single person or entity owns internet, everyone uses internet! …there are millions of contributors and billions of users of Internet !! The Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks. When user is surfing internet, he/she is part of a community of millions who use computers of communicate with one another and share ideas / information. Internet is also called as information superhighway or cyberspace. As you travel the highway, you will encounter many different information communities. Information and it's accessibility is actual treasure on the internet !! The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. The Internet represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and development of information infrastructure. Client/Server Model Internet is based upon client/server model. It basically contains two types of computers: Servers: Servers are computers which provide services or information required by other computers. Servers run special software called Web Server software to respond to client's request. You will learn about them in the later section of this unit.  Clients: Computers that request information from the server are called Clients. History In 1969, the department of Defence (DoD) of United States started a network called ARPANET (Advacnced Research Project Administration Network). It was an experiement carried out to reveal whether networking could be reliable. This network was setup for military to ensure that communication did not break down in the events of war.The DoD wanted to maintain contacts with military research contractors and universities in the event of war. The DoD also wanted these agencies to share software and hardware resources that they could not afford. Later, the military allowed universities to join the network. Students at these universities caught on to the network and developed much of the software that its present shape. APARNET quickly agree to emcompass the entire American continent and became a big success. Every university in the country wanted to be part of this cloud. To strcuture out things, network was diversified MILNET for managing military sites and APARNET for managing non military sites. Henceforth, it evolved into a huge network which is presently known as Internet. Growth of Internet •          Internet doubles each year •          Reasons for success: •          Decisions not politically based •          Internet is distributed in operations •          Open standards, free (or inexpensive) software •           Easy to operate Internet Protocols Internet Protocols (set of instructions) are used to transfer files or data from one machine to the other. All computers on the Internet communicate with each other using the Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Thus, data is sent from the server to the client (and vice-versa) using TCP/IP. Typically, the client is your browser and the server is a program running on a different computer. You use the browser on your computer (called the client machine in Internet lingo) to access the information on another computer (called the server machine). This server machine can be located thousands of miles from your workplace. There are many other protocols such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) used in FTP applications and the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) employed on the World Wide Web.   The File Transfer Protocol(FTP)   The File Transfer Protocol is an excellent method to transfer (download and send) files from one computer to the other on the Internet. Though you can transfer files using email, it is not a good choice especially when the file size is large or when you need to transfer several files. The objectives of FTP are to: ·             promote file (programs or data) sharing ·             efficiently transfer data from one computer to another ·             encourage indirect or implicit use of remote computers ·             provide a common platform for file storages among different hosts The HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol The HTTP provides a set of instructions for accurate information exchange. The communication between the client (your browser) and the server (a software located on a remote computer) involves requests sent by the client and responses from the server. The Telnet Protocol The Telnet protocol allows you to connect to another machine. Once connected, your computer behaves like a terminal of the distant machine and you can utilize all the resources on the remote system if you have the required permissions. Some older Internet protocols Protocols such as Gopher, Archie etc. were used extensively on the Internet. But now they have faded into oblivion; why? Thanks to the WWW. The Email Protocol Email is the most used application on the Internet. Emails allow users to communicate with each other almost instantly. Each email message consists of a header and a body. The header contains the following information: ·             Recipient email address ·             Senders email address ·             Email address of the people to whom a carbon copy (Cc) and blind carbon copy (Bcc) has been      sent. ·             The subject line ·             The main text message resides in the email body. The Way Internet Works The most peculiar thing about the Internet is the way data is transferred from one computer to another.   This is what happens to a piece of data (e.g. a Web page) when it is transferred over the Internet: It is broken up into a whole lot of same-sized pieces (called packets). A header is added to each packet. This header explains the source and destination of the packet. Also how it will fit among the rest of the packets. Each packet is sent from computer to computer until it finds its way to its destination. Each computer along the way decides where next to send the packet. This could depend on number of things like how busy the other computers are when the packet was received. It is quite possible that packets may not all take the same route. At the destination, the packets are examined. In case any packet is missing or damaged, a message is sent asking for those packets to be resent. This continues until all the packets have been received intact. The packets are reassembled into their original form.    Working of Internet Internet uses TCP/IP protocol for communication. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) specifies how computers connect, send, and receive information where as IP specifies how packets are routed between two computers. Message is split into IP packets which contain following information: •          Pieces of message •          Information about sender •          Information about receiver •          Sequence number •          Error checking information When the packet has been received by destination computer, it reassembles the message. In case any packet gets corrupted receiving computer sends request for corrupt packets back to the sender. Advantages of using packets can be summarized as follows: •          Error recovery •          Load distribution •          Flexibility