21st Century...

Review on a post on LEGAL

2009-07-10T13:36:00.001+08:00

It is a fact that the rate of piracy problem in Malaysia is quite high and we are still in the US Government’s Special 301 Watch List for the seventh year running.

From the post from My E-commerce blog, it is clear that our government did put some efforts in fighting against the piracy problem.
However, to fully eradicate this problem, I think we should find out the root causes of the piracy problem and tackle with these causes.

The FACTORS causing the above problem are as follows:

1. The low or middle income level of our citizens

Most of the income levels of our citizens are still within the low or middle level, especially during this economic crisis period.

Most of them are unable to buy the expensive genuine products.

Instead, they may compare the cost and benefits of a product before they acquire it.

Consumers who cannot afford the high-price originals will be willing to tolerate with the lower quality pirated products.

2. Social influence

Peer pressure from the social group you involved in may affect you in buying counterfeit products.

If the social groups you are involved in are less likely to buy the original products, your ethical concepts may be affected where buying pirated products is not a wrong act.

And, if you are already very familiar with the environment of using pirated products, you may find that using an original product may be a weird behaviour to you.

3. “Sharing” principle of Asian region

Due to this principle, the consumers may perceive that counterfeiting is just a soft crime and it is socially acceptable.

Although knowing that buying pirated products may subject to fine or imprisonment, most of the consumers still do not take serious concern on this matter.

The two-way approach introduced by out government actually does help in tackling the second and third causes of the piracy.
Nonetheless, the first cause can only be solved by improving the overall life quality of our citizens and economy of our country.

It is very important to bear in mind that the factor that drives the growing production of pirated products is the increasing demand of the consumers.
Without these demands, there may be no pirated products at all.
Therefore, in order to solve the piracy problem, the authorities have to face the root causes mentioned above in advance.

Reference:

CONSUMER PURCHASE OF PIRATED VCD: DO NON-PRICE FACTORS MATTER?

Pros and Cons of E-learning

2009-07-09T18:05:00.002+08:00

Electronic learning (E-learning) is a broad term of technology-enhanced learning(TEL) where technology, particularly computer technology is used to support the learning process. In other words, that is a specific mode to attend a class where students seldom attend face-to-face on campus as they study online.

In Malaysia, not all universities truly offer a 100% E-learning. E-leaning is still in its infancy stage in Malaysia and the study found that local students prefer paper lecture notes and tutorial questions. Other than that, inadequate technical training, insufficient equipment, and no incentives for innovation also contribute to the problem of E-learning in Malaysia Universities.

Advantages of E-learning

Convenience and flexible to students

Students are not bound to a specific time or days to attend class. They can adjust accordingly at their convenience. For instance, some students may need to work at day time so they can continue to learn at night time without sacrificing their academic.

Save costs

E-learning actually helps to eliminate wasted time and money. Imagine a student who lives very far away from campus, he needs to spent more on transportation and it is time consuming for him to go to campus everyday. If he can learn at home, this definitely will reduce the costs.

Environmental friendly

E-learning is a paperless activity. It can help saving the trees. With virtual notes instead of paper notes, E-learning is reducing environmental impact.

Disadvantages of E-Learning

Accessibility

Every student must be able to access to internet in order to accomplish E-learning. Besides, certain computer skills and knowledge are also needed, such as word processing and internet surfing. The student must also be very comfortable with computers.

Speed of internet

In Malaysia, the bandwidth is always an issue for internet users. Although there are many internet service providers in the market, rarely one of them can actually provide consistent high speed internet. If E-learning is to be conducted in universities, the speed of internet will be a big issue for all the students.

Motivation

E-learning may require students to complete assignments on their own. Thus, students need to be highly motivated and responsible as they have to finish the task in individual.

Effectiveness

Lecturers and tutors may not be available when students need their help. The effectiveness of E-learning is then questionable. Besides, students might cheat on the assignment or coursework since everything is done online and not physically.

References:

A comparative study on the effectiveness of E-learning at Malaysian University

Disadvantages of e-learning

E-learning in Malaysian Public Universities : UKM and UTM

Corporate Blogging

2009-07-07T22:41:00.001+08:00

As the competition among corporations becomes more intense, not only do the companies need to survive, they also need to look for opportunities to be conspicuous.

Even though traditional media has been a solid medium that communicates the company messaging to the world for a long time, the trends of information consumption are evolving.

After some initial doubtfulness, companies are starting to realise the importance of blogging.

According to a research, 61 companies out of the Fortune 500 companies or 12.2% of the Fortune 500 are blogging as of 17 April 2009.

Corporate blog refers to blog that is published and used by organisation to attain its organisational goals.

The main advantage of blogs is that readers can reach and follow the posts and comments easily since the hosting is centralised and conversation threads are generally structured.

At present, all major browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer 8 support RSS technology, which allows readers to read new posts easily without having to visit the blog. This is particularly useful for small-volume blogs.

Generally, there are six types of corporate blogs, which are sales blog, relationship blogs, branding blogs, knowledge blogs, collaboration blogs and culture blogs. These blogs can then be classified into either external or internal.

Internal blogs

Internal blogs are blogs that can be viewed by any employee and are usually accessed through the corporation’s Intranet. Internal blogs include knowledge blogs, collaboration blogs and culture blogs.

External blogs
External blogs refers to blogs that are made public where company employees, teams and spokespersons share their views. Sales blogs, relationship blogs and branding blogs fall under this category.

For more information about these six types of blogs, please visit http://www.corporateblogging.info/2004/08/six-types-of-business-blogs.asp.

Benefits of corporate blogging

I) Build rapport with customers

II) Provide two-way conversation

III) Increase website traffic from higher search engine rankings

IV) Position business as thought leader

V) Lead generation

For more information, please visit http://buzzmedia.com.my/blog/corporate-blogging-breakdown-what-is-it-and-why-does-my-organisation-need-it

Tips for corporate blogger

1) Know yourself

2) Know your audience

3) Engage your audience

4) Stay current

5) Cover your rear

For more details on tips for corporate blogger, please click here.

Followings are some of the more popular corporate blogs:

Google Blog

Adobe

Direct2Dell

GM Fast Lane

The number of corporate bloggers is increasing and it is expected that it will continue to increase in the future.

In order to compete with other corporations and keep up with the trends, corporations should start blogging if they have not done so.

In conclusion, corporate blog is a new, powerful marketing communication tool for every organisation.

Regardless of whether the organisation is small or large, small medium enterprises or corporations, for-profit or non profit organisations, as long as it is done correctly, corporate blogging can yield a huge Return on Blog.

References:

Corporate blog - Wikipedia

Do's and don'ts of corporate blogging

Top 15 corporate blogs

Review a local, transactional e-commerce site

2009-07-06T23:16:00.001+08:00

Want to go for a movie on the coming weekend and you feel irritating to queue for the purchase of movie tickets? It is the time for you to purchase your movie tickets online!!

Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) offers the customer with the e-ticketing service named GSC E-Payment Ticketing on the GSC main website. All you need to do is sign up to become the member and you can enjoy the service.

In my opinion, there is a user friendly feature provided by the GSC to the new users which is the “e-payment ticketing tutorial”. This tutorial could be easily found in the website and it provides a clear step-by-step tutorial on how to purchase the movie tickets online.

Other than that, right after the step of selecting movie, there will be a pop up box to remind the consumers about the age restriction of the movie. For me, it is important as consumers might not be aware of the restriction and a pop up box brings the consumers' attention to the age restriction.

The service allows the consumers to pay via Maybank2u and credit card. Furthermore, there is “status page” at the end of the transaction which allows us to print out the hard copy as evidence of payment. The status page provides clear instruction about the collection of the ticket (such as remember the confirmation ID and the place to collect the ticket) which I think is very useful to avoid the consumers’ confusion during the collection of purchased ticket.

I am satisfied with the e-ticketing service provided by GSC as it provides a user friendly and easy environment for the consumer to purchase movie ticket online.

Reference:

Golden Screen Cinema Online

Pre-paid cash card for consumers

2009-07-04T15:33:00.001+08:00

What is a prepaid cash card?

Basically, pre-paid cash card is an alternative way to make payment. It works by loading money into the card and you can use the card for various or specific paying purposes. It does not require deposit account and there is no credit or overdraft allowed. The limit of the card depends on how much electronic cash you have loaded in.

The application of prepaid cash card could be broken into a few categories:

1. Substitution of cash

- Prepaid cash card can be used as a paying or purchasing mechanism. We can pay by using this card rather than cash. It is convenient for the consumers because they do not need to carry much money when shopping. Other than that, it is safer than cash because we can recover the money loaded inside the card if the card gets stolen but stolen cash is usually not recoverable.

2. Purchase online

- Pre-paid cash card acts similarly with credit card which allows us to purchase items online. Online purchasing will be the future trend and it is usually not convenient for those people who are unable to register for a credit card. Pre-paid cash card can solve this problem as there is no requirement for salary or credit check during the application.

3. Accepted worldwide

- Usually, currency like Ringgit Malaysia can only be used to trade in Malaysia. However, present pre-paid cash card with Visa service allows us to pay for goods or services all over the world. A very popular example will be the Rush Visa Card in America.

4. Withdraw cash

- Most of the pre-paid cash card allows us to withdraw the balance in the card at ATM machine. However, it does not apply to all pre-paid cash card. The example of non-refundable pre-paid cash card will be the Touch and Go card of Malaysia.

Reference:

No Checking Or Savings Account? Use Prepaid Cash Card

Master Prepaid Card

Credit Card Debts : Causes and prevention

2009-07-02T18:04:00.002+08:00

Credit card is a common and convenient tool provided by commercial banks to let consumers purchase on credit.

Yet, the situation is getting worse that most of the consumers misuse the credit cards and cause heavy credit card debts until they go into bankruptcy.

Credit card debts problems come from few reasons.

First, the availability of credit card. The rules and regulations to apply credit cards are looser than before. Some banks even charge 0% of interest on the credit card balance in order to get your business done. This is very seductive and people always get trapped although they do not need credit card.

Other than that, advertisement does play a role too.
The society tends to satisfy their desire at the moment, thus, credit cards advertisement would advocate their wish to apply for it.

Besides, people often think that credit card is one of the ways to represent their social status. For instance, other will think that one is very rich if one has platinum credit card. So, a number of people will apply for credit card and try to upgrade it.

Preventions:
Here are some tips to avoid credit card debts:

1. Pay the balance in full. You are advised to pay at least double of the minimum payment every month; otherwise the debts will keep rolling until you cannot afford to pay it.

2. Know your interest rate. Always keep checking the interest rate you are paying for your debts. Not only the interest rate you are offered but also when you get the approval. Sometimes credit card issuers will raise your interest rate with little warning.

3. Pay on time. Bear in mind that credit card issuers might raise your interest rate as a penalty in case you pay late. Always settle the payment before the bill is delivered to you to avoid extra unnecessary fine.

4. Do not depend on credit card. Bring some cash with you and try not to use credit card always. Swipe it only when you have planned it properly.

5. CUT IT ! Cut off your card so that you do not use it. But, whenever it is necessary, keep at least one as emergency backup.

References:

How to avoid credit card debt

Credit card debt prevention

Electronic Currency

2009-07-01T22:57:00.001+08:00

Money has existed for thousands of years.
It has taken many forms, ranging from precious metals, conch shell etc. to paper notes and coins.

As Internet and computer become more common, money has evolved into a newer form, which is electronic currency.

Electronic currency, which is also known as electronic money, digital money etc., refers to money or scrip that is exchanged only electronically with the use of computer networks, Internet and digital stored value systems.

Followings are some of the examples of electronic currency:

PayPal

In today’s world, many companies are providing electronic currency services.
One of them is PayPal.
PayPal is a well-known leading online account-based e-payment service provider.
Users need to create a PayPal account before they are able to purchase online or transfer money to anyone who has PayPal account.
Payment can be made in any currency and may later be converted into any desired currency.

There are some characteristics which define “Electronic Currency”.

i) Real time & irreversible

ii) Private & anonymous

To know more on the characteristics of e-currency, please click here.

Advantages of electronic currency:

I) Privacy & confidentiality

Since the transfer of electronic currency is done privately and anonymously, no personal details are transferred to the merchant.

II) Security

The adoption of encryption method can enhance the security of electronic currency.

III) Convenience

Customers do not need to bring large amount of cash with them. Users can make online payment wherever they are and whenever they want using credit card size smart card.

Disadvantages of electronic currency:

I) Fraud

Hackers may hack into the user’s bank account and illegally retrieve his or her records.

II) Peer-to-peer double spending risk

Double spending is a problem where a piece of electronic currency is duplicated and both copies are spent.

Requirements of electronic currency system:

a) Security

b) Anonymity

c) Scalability

d) Acceptability

e) Interoperability

For a detailed explanation on these requirements, please click here.

In this digitalised century, electronic currency is becoming more common and popular as it makes our life much easier.
Even though there are some risks associated with electronic currency, consumers can actually choose to avoid it.
For instance, they can opt to include intermediary in their transactions to avoid peer-to-peer double spending risk.
Once the electronic currency industry is able to guarantee the safety and trustworthiness of the transactions, it will definitely benefit us.

References:

Electronic money - advantages and disadvantages

Electronic money - Wikipedia

What is digital currency: digital money & real cash

Mobile Payment Systems in Malaysia

2009-06-29T22:02:00.003+08:00

Mobile Payment Potentials

There are 25 million mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia with 88% of the Malaysian population subscribing to mobile phone services.

With this high penetration rate, there is no doubt that Malaysia is provided with immense opportunities to deliver mobile payment products that offer fast, simple, convenient, cost-effective, or even efficient method of delivering financial service in the remote areas.

Besides, having 55 million deposit accounts in the Malaysian banking system also reflects that a high percentage of Malaysian population have participated in the banking system of Malaysia.

With the high rates of mobile subscribers and participation in banking system, the potentials of the mobile payment system is clearly shown.

Consumers’ adoption strategies

1. Interoperability and collaboration between industry players, such as mobile operators and banks play a crucial role in realizing the potentials of mobile payment.

By developing a common infrastructure and standard, an easily accessible, open and lively payment ecosystem will be created and this will certainly attract more consumers to join.

Maxis Communications launched the world’s first contactless mobile payment service, Maxis FastTap, which is an integrated mobile payment service that uses NFC, together with the partners Nokia, Visa, Maybank and Touch ‘n Go on 9 April 2009.

2. Releasing the economic benefits, such as cost-effectiveness and efficiency gains that customers and businesses seek, by offering new and innovative mobile payment products will also encourage the consumers to adopt the mobile payment system.

Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc (NYSE:SY), has been selected by Celcom to power AirCash, an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based mobile financial service to Malaysian customers.

It enables the customers to transfer money locally and internationally, airtime topup, mobile payments for utility bills, mobile commerce and others.

3. Building security and authentication standards in the mobile payment system will eliminate the worries of consumers when adopting this system.

Mobile Money, a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution desiged by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd, allows the registered users the pay the merchants using mobile phones coupled with a 6-digit security PIN via SMS without needing to physically present at the store.

It removes the need to disclose individual’s credit card information when taking online orders.

Mobile digital signature also provides confidentiality, authenticity and integrity using mobile payment for the delivery of financial services.

References:

1. Governor’s Keynote Address at the Mobile Digital Signature Symposium 2008 –“Towards a More Efficient Payment System: Electronic Payments"

2. “World’s first contactless mobile payment system” launches in Malaysia

3. Mobile Money (MM Wallet) Overview

4. Sybase 365 Launches First USSD Mobile Financial Solution in Asia Pacific Region

Internet security -Favourite Passwords Used Online

2009-06-26T22:39:00.001+08:00

I choose the post entitled “Favourite Passwords Used Online”.

After I read this post, the first thing came into my mind is that the public users awareness on internet security are low. The password for emails, e-banking account, e-market and others is very important because it protects the personal identity of the user from being stolen. However, it seems that there are still large number of users do not realize the important of password choices and the selected password shows zero imagination which could be easy prey by another unauthorised person.

Some of the websites have discovered this problem and inserted the “password strength” module into the user sign up process right beside the password column. The purpose of this module is to notify the users about the strength of the password (weak or strong) chosen by them. G-mail is one of those who provide this kind of service.

Other than the tips stated in the article to create a safer password, there are also something we should avoid when choosing a password:

a) Don't use keyboard patterns (asdf) or sequential numbers (1234).
b) Don't use a password that contains personal information (name, birth date, etc.)
c) Don't use repeating characters (aa11)

There are other tips for password creation; you may refer to https://www.google.com/accounts/PasswordHelp for further reading and information.

Other than that, you can also refer to http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/408503/1/.html for technology news about the Favorite Passwords used by the internet users.

It is always better to be wise during the selection of password as it is our responsibility to protect our identity and defend the internet security.

References:

Technology News: Favourite passwords: "1234" and "password"

How safe is your password?

Remove DANGER from personal and financial data

2009-06-25T20:57:00.002+08:00

Personal data^[1]

- All information about a loving, identifiable individual.
It includes the individual's name, address, age, gender, telephone number, identity number, financial status, occupation, personal identification numbers (PINs) and others.

Financial data

- Examples are bank account information, credit card information and others.

How to safeguard our personal and financial data?

1. HAVE A STRONG ACCESS CONROL

In order to ensure a stronger security, users are advised to have a wiser password.

A combination of letters, numbers and symbols will increase the difficulty for the thief to figure out your password.

Active tokens and passive tokens also do a big favour in this matter.

Besides, the biometric system offers a more accurate authentication by recognising a person through physical trait, for example fingerprint, iris, facial and voice recognition.

2. USING PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE (PKI)

It is a cornerstone for secure e-payment.

Users should encrypt their private data to protect data in transit.

Public key encryption, Digital Signature and Certificate Authorities are examples of encryption.

3. IMPROVE YOUR COMPUTER SECURITY

To reduce the risk of exposing to those internet threats and attacks, users are recommended to use some useful tools, such as the anti-virus software, spyware or setting up a strong firewall.

This can protect users' personal and financial data from the nefariousness.

4. LOWER YOUR CREDIT CARD LIMIT

When purchasing online or using mail orders, it may be easy for other intended person to steal and use you credit card information.

By using a low limit credit card, you can be saved from paying huge amount of payment for others without knowing it.

5. BE ALERT

Users are advised to check their monthly bills in order to discover any unusual transactions done using their credit cards.

Scanning computer regularly can detect the viruses or worms which have intruded into the computer.

Users should be careful when receiving anonymous's mails and do not simply open them.

Before giving out any sensitive data, users should verify the validity of any request for personal data independently.

Reference:

1. Safeguard Your Financial Life

Phishing: Examples & its prevention methods

2009-06-24T20:27:00.001+08:00

As the usage and popularity of Internet increase, the security of Internet is also being threatened.

Many security issues have arisen recently as hackers are attempting to steal personal information from the users.

One of them is phishing, which is a process of duplicating a genuine Web page in the attempt to obtain personal information such as username, password, bank account and credit card details.

This is normally done by sending a deceptive e-mail claiming to be from an established legal entity with a reasonable request, such as authenticating one’s personal information and account details.

When users click the hyperlink in that e-mail, they will be directed to a sham Web site asking for their personal information. ]

Once they enter their information, the information will be stolen.

Here is a simple example of how that works.

http://www.google.com.my

By looking at the link above, we will think that it will direct us to Google’s Web site.
However, when you click on it, you are directed to Hotmail's Web site.
This is done by editing the html coding.

Phishing e-mails usually claim to be from any bank, eBay, PayPal or credit card companies. The e-mails will either state that the user has won a huge amount of cash prize and needs to follow the steps to claim the prize, or that the user needs to verify their personal or account details to prevent their account from being closed or deleted.
The earliest recorded mention of phishing was on the alt.2600 hacker newsgroup in January 1996, even though the term may have appeared earlier in the printed hacker magazine 2600.

Below are some of the examples of phishing e-mails and Web sites:

Phishing eBay Web site

Phishing eBay e-mail

Phishing PayPal Web site

Phishing PayPal e-mail

Phishing Citibank Web site

Phishing Citibank e-mail

The number of phishing scams is increasing dramatically.
Therefore, we need to take certain steps to avoid being a victim.
A simple phishing scam can be revealed easily.

The followings are some ways to detect phishing scam:

I) Never click on the link provided in the e-mail

II) Look for misspelled words or grammatical errors

III) Not get panic by the content of the e-mail

A more detailed explanation can be found here.

As for a more sophisticated phishing scam, there are few ways to prevent phishing attacks.

1) Detect and block phishing Web sites in time

2) Enhance the security of the Web sites

3) Block phishing e-mails through different spam filters

4) Install online anti-phishing software

For more information on these four methods, please click here.

References:

Phishing - Wikipedia

Online detection and prevention of phishing attacks

Online Security Threat : How safe is our data?

2009-06-23T18:00:00.002+08:00

Online security threat, is one of the issues that concerns many people. We must aware of the threats we are facing only then we can avoid from the trap.

Basically, cyber attacks include accidental actions, malicious attacks and online fraud.

ACCIDENTAL ACTIONS

This threat is avoidable because it arises from basic lack of knowledge about online security concepts and other such as poor password choices, accidental disclosure or outdated software. Other than that, misconfigured security products and information leakage resulting from insecure information transfer also contribute to the online security threats. Thus, education can help innocent online users from this threat.

MALICIOUS ATTACKS

These attacks specifically aim to harm targeted prey. For instance, computer virus, phishing, denial-of-service (DOS) attack, distributed denial-of-service (DdoS) attack, worm as well as trojan horse.

Computer virus

It is the most common form of malicious code which the program or a fragment of code replicates by attaching copies of itself to other programs. For example, the Melissa virus/worm which first spotted in March 1999 caused about $ 80 million in damage worldwide. This virus was embedded in WORD document and would be sent out as an attachment to the first fifty people in the e-mail. Besides, ‘ I LOVE YOU’ virus which was found on May 2000 also caused great impact in worldwide.

Phishing

Phishing is a social engineering attack that the electronic identity is misrepresented in an attempt to trick individuals into revealing credentials. This threat will be discussed in more detail in the later post.

Denial-of-service attacks (DOS) and Distributed denial-of –service (DDoS) attack

DOS involves one computer attacking another but they are growing into DDoS which attacks with the use of multiple computers in a highly organized form. A DDoS attacks by overwhelming the server with plenty of messages that seem normal. They will send a list of internet protocol (IP) addresses to the target machines which are under their control. When everything is ready, the attacker will give order to the machines to send data packets against the given IP using false identities. This process is called ‘sproofing’.

ONLINE FRAUD

Online fraud consists of identity theft and data theft.

Identity theft is basically about the attackers use a victim’s name to open an account using false identification. Then, the attacker will use the account to do what he plans to do. Besides, data theft is the manipulation of private data without the victim’s knowledge.

The example of online fraud is the Cisco Systems case in April 2001 which the two workers transfer stock share to their private portfolios.

Threats are everywhere. Be carefull and cautious.

Reference:

Major Online Security Threat

Google? Changes EVERYTHING?

2009-06-20T12:28:00.001+08:00

From the article "Real-World Case: GOOGLE IS CHANGING EVERYTHING",
the most agreed term is that "probably no other company has impacted our work and life as much as Google has".
At least this is aligned with what I thought.

It is true that Google is primarily known for its search engine and its advertising tools. However, there are still a lot of people get to be impressed for Google’s informal corporate culture. Google has been placed at the top of the Fortune Magazine's list of hundred best places to work in 2007 and 2008.

Even though Google is well-known for its advertising tools, it also encountered problem for unable to counteraction against the click fraud[1] which is a kind of internet crime.

The Google Spreadsheet, a Web-based application, is quite similar to Excel, just that it is Google branded and webified.
However, it provides no multi-column sorts, clipboard limitation, limited menus, inability to highlight multiple non-consecutive cells, missing Paste Special and others[2].
Some users even think that using Excel is much easier than using Google Spreadsheet.

Today, Google Spreadsheet has been integrated with Writely word processing application into a single control panel and administrative area and it is known as Google Docs & Spreadsheet.
The Google Docs & Spreadsheet shares quite similar functions as Google Spreadsheet.
However, Google Docs & Spreadsheet enables the users to import and export the data to a wider range of file formats (DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, HTML, PDF, and others).
With the function that can be shared and edited simultaneously by others outside the organisations which cannot be done by Excel, it is obvious that Google is stealing away the computing share from Microsoft day by day.
But the requirement to log in with Google account sometimes becomes an annoyance to the users.

Being an extension of Google’s existing content collection efforts (traditional web crawl system, Google Sitemaps, Google Print and Google Video), Google Base enhanced the searchableness of the information from different content owners via Google.
Its goal is to improve the overall quality and extent of Google Search results.
Like what the author of this article said, it helps users feature relevant information on Google’s main search index, its Froogle shopping comparison tool and Google Local search.

BearingPoint’s ease and speed of integration, extended search reach, security and access control and sales, service and support enable Google to bring powerful but simple search solutions to complex enterprise environments.

The products provided by Google can be ranged from desktop products to hardware products[3].
Inside this range, the web products which are advertising, search, mapping and others are the most impressive for the users.
With these products, we can find out that Google is trying its best to bring an easy life to the users.
And, these products do change many things around us.
In arriving to this stage, Google also faced some criticism in terms of intellectual property, internet privacy, censorship and other issues[4].
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that Google is changing everything.

References:

100 Best Companies to Work For 2007

Announcing Google Base

Featured Partners- BearingPoint

An example of an E-commerce failure and its causes

2009-06-19T23:43:00.001+08:00

Webvan was founded in 1996 and turned into Dot.com Company during 2nd June 1999. Louis H. Borders is the founder of this giant online grocer. The company did very well at the beginning and the business expanded very fast all over the United States. However, Webvan presented a net loss of $217 million and an accumulated deficit of $820 million during year ended 2007. There is no persuasive revival or recovery plan so far that could be found.

There are 4 main causes which contribute to the failure of Webvan:

Lack of planning and experiences

The founder of Webvan does not have any experience on online grocer at the first place. However, the dot.com company decided to expand so quickly into the unfamiliar and uncertain area. Moreover, Webvan ran the online grocer by its own way without depending on experiences of others. The lack of experience has caused poor management decision making and wrong business focus which lead to the failure of Webvan.

Other than that, the poor demand forecast also contributes a lot to the failure of Webvan. Demand forecast of Webvan is too optimistic where the management thought that online grocer has been dominant almost all of the market and people do not want to shop at supermarket anymore. The poor demand forecast causes the revenue of the company fail to cover the huge expenses invested in logistic, delivery and technology.

Lost control on spending

Due to the poor decision making and planning, Webvan tends to invest a very huge amount of money in various parts of the online grocer business.

First, Webvan invested a huge amount of money in technology and it was too expensive for a low volume and low margin products and sales. Secondly, Webvan invested $25 million to $35million per mega warehouses to build its fully automated distribution centers. Thirdly, Webvan withdrew $850 million merely for campaign and advertisement purposes. Last but not least, the take over action on HomeGrocer.com cost Webvan $1.2 billion.

The above-mentioned huge spending leads to an increase in existing debts and drives up the break-even point of the company. These expenses have become a disaster for Webvan when the sales demand was much lower than expected.

Poor quality control

After realizing about the lost control of spending, Webvan tried to solve the problem by cutting down the cost at the expense of their customers. The sales demand dropped again because of the poor quality control which worsened the situation of Webvan.

Loss customer focus

Webvan fails to understand the value chain of online grocery business. It is a vital part for an online grocer company to be more customers-oriented. However, Webvan tends to focus on the efficiency of the work progress while lost its focus to react when there is a change in customer requirement.

In the end, Webvan fails to meet customer requirement and therefore causes sales of the company to drop.

Reference:

Success and Failure of Pure-Play Organizations:Webvan versus Peapod, a Comparative Analysis

Taobao, an E-commerce success and its causes

2009-06-19T17:56:00.007+08:00

Do you know Taobao.com?

Here it goes, China's largest consumer to consumer (C2C) e-commerce company, miracle Taobao!

Background :

Taobao is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group in China. This online trade giant launched in 2003, provides a marketplace and chance to young and educated entrepreneurs to establish their own business. Surprisingly, Taobao is now the most successful online auction company in China and even eBay was kicked out from the market in December 2006. In the past five years, Taobao dominated about 80% of the online-shopping market share. (Information from iResearch) Guess how much is the sales figures last year? It was RMB99.9 billion (RM 54 billion) ! More than double of the sales volume in 2007!

How?

I am 100% sure that success will not come to you but you must find your ways to achieve it. According to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Taobao.com, Zhang Yong, certainly there are some secrets.

* AliPay

This unique online payment system serves as a middleman between the seller in Taobao and the consumer. When the customer decides to buy a particular item, the money will be transferred to his AliPay account. The money will go to the seller from AliPay account only when the customer receives and is satisfied with the merchandise.

* Customer Protection Program

People always are less confident for the quality of online products due to they cannot test, see as well as touch them. Taobao has come up with a solution called 'customer protection program'. Every seller must pay a sum of deposit to Taobao as a compensation to customers if any of them claim a loss. This will secure the consumers and they are more willing to purchase from Taobao.

* Credit Rating System

This is a system that most of the online shopping websites have.
Customers who have dealt with the sellers will comment on the sellers. The credit rating is open to everyone so those who are interested to buy will have a look at the track record before they make any decision.
The system indirectly encourages buyers to purchase online.

* Cheaper Price

Last but not least, customers can enjoy cheaper price at online shopping than buying at brick and mortar. Smart consumer will choose to buy online since they can have same product with lesser price. Multinational companies such as Dell and P&G have also opened an online store at Taobao to attract more loyal customers.

So what are you waiting for?
You can be a success also.
Just go ahead!

Reference:

1. Interview with COO of Taobao, Zhang Yong

History & evolution of e-commerce

2009-06-18T17:52:00.001+08:00

One of the most common activities on the Web is shopping. This buying and selling of products and services electronically over the Internet is known as electronic commerce, or more commonly called e-commerce. Initially, e-commerce meant the carrying out of commercial transaction electronically with the aid of technology such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), which allowed users to send commercial documents and do electronic transactions. For broader definition, e-commerce includes not only buying and selling of goods and services, but also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners and carrying out transaction electronically within the organisation. The history of e-commerce began before the first Internet connection was introduced. There were several significant steps in the history of e-commerce. The first step began with the development of EDI in 1968, which is a set of standard developed to exchange business information and do transaction electronically. In the beginning, many companies were not able to work with each other electronically because there were several different EDI formats. Nevertheless, in 1984, the ASC X12 became the reliable standard for handling large amounts of transactions. Few years later in 1992, Mosaic, the first point-and-click web browser was introduced. Based on Mosaic, Netscape, the first downloadable browser which enabled users to be involved in e-commerce, was then developed in 1994. The development of Netscape played a significant role in the history of e-commerce. The next key step took place in 1998 when Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) was developed. DSL offered higher bandwidth and allowed users to get connected to the Internet persistently. During the 10 weeks holiday season in 1998, AOL generated more than $1.2 billion in sales from online transactions. This was followed by the development of Red Hat Linux, which gave the users an option to choose between Windows and the reliable open-sourced Linux. In 1999, Napster, which was an online application that allowed users to share music files for free, was founded. As its popularity increased, users started to voice out what they desired from the industry for the first time. Another major step in e-commerce occurred in 2000, when AOL merged with Time Warner. The merger, which worth $350 million, combined a newly developed online company with an established traditional company. In February 2000, hackers attacked some of the biggest giants of e-commerce, such as Yahoo, eBay and Amazon.com. This awakened users to the need for a higher level of Internet security. The evolution of e-commerce can be summarised as follows: 1968: development of EDI 1984: standardisation of EDI through ASC X12 1992: creation of Mosaic browser 1994: arrival of Netscape 1998: introduction of DSL 1999: development of Red Hat Linux 1999: foundation of Napster 2000: merger of AOL and TimeWarner.

The evolution of e-commerce can be summarised as follows:
1968: development of EDI
1984: standardisation of EDI through ASC X12
1992: creation of Mosaic browser
1994: arrival of Netscape
1998: introduction of DSL
1999: development of Red Hat Linux
1999: foundation of Napster
2000: merger of AOL and Time Warner

References:
Electronic commerce
History of Ecommerce
History of E-commerce

icephoenix aka Edmond

2009-06-11T14:47:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone, I’m Edmond, currently taking the course of Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) Accounting in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. You might notice that my self introduction is much shorter compared to others. Well, this is because I am a low-key person. Haha! I was born on 12th December 1988 in Kuala Lumpur. My family consists of four members, which are my father, mother, brother and me. My hobbies are playing badminton, basketball, bowling and snooker. I started playing badminton and basketball when I was in primary school. On the other hand, I only started playing bowling and snooker when I was almost graduated from my secondary school.

Now that the Internet is becoming more common, and there is a need to search for information in completing the assignments as well as gaining additional knowledge, I will surf the Internet during my free time. The top 5 websites that I visited the most are Google, Hotmail, ChinaPress, Facebook and Wikipedia. Google is one of the most common and well known search engines. I always search for information using Google. I will also visit Hotmail everyday to check for new emails. Recently, I often visit ChinaPress to read the news and get myself updated with anything that happens around the world. Besides that, I visit Facebook frequently to interact and keep in touch with my primary and secondary school as well as university friends. With this website, I am able to connect with my primary school friends whom I have lost contact with. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia of the Internet. A lot of information can be found in this website. Therefore, I always look for information in Wikipedia. My top 5 Internet activities are searching for information, chatting, reading news, checking emails and playing online games. If you wish to know more about me, I'm afraid you need to know me in person because I do not have my own blog. ;p

Ong Chia Yee is my name...

2009-06-10T21:41:00.005+08:00

Hi, everyone~
I know that I am not famous enough in University Tunku Abdul Rahman, so please let me have a chance to introduce myself here.

My name is Ong Chia Yee, or you can call me Mary. Most of the people around me did ask me before about why having such a name "Mary". Urm...I just can say that it is not something that I can control on, it is decided by my parents. However, I do discover a benefit of having this name. It is that everyone will remember my name easily and though this name is quite common, but seldom people have this name!hah~Therefore, I am quite sure that you have remembered me, Mary.

During my free time, I like to read novels, especially the romance novels. It somehow provides a kind of "love" feeling to person like me who do not have a boyfriend yet. The content inside let me believe that there is true love in this world although most of the time we are forced to face the cruelty in the real world. Besides, watching movie is also the common activity I have to fill up my leisure time. I prefer watching movie rather than watching drama. I can know the ending of the movie within 2 hours without sitting in front of the computer for days and nights just to know the happy ending of a drama. From this way, you can also know that I am not a patient person.

I do not like to surf net all the time as well. But, there are a few website I will log on to whenever I am online. There are www.blogger.com, www.hotmail.com, and www.facebook.com. These websites build the connections between my friends and me. By looking at this, you can know that I value friendship a lot. Furthermore, it is very important to mention about www .google.com as well. I like to search information through www.google.com as it is very easy to be used.

Most of my friends are studying abroad. Therefore, reading their blogs becomes my daily activity when I am online. By reading their blogs, I can know their most updated news and this is the cheapest way to connect with each other. But, sometimes if there are urgent matters that I want to discuss with them, I will log on to Windows Live Messenger to chat directly with them. Checking emails is also one of my daily internet activities. I will feel insecure if I do not check mails for one day.

That is all about me. If you think that this is not enough to know more about me, you are welcome to visit my blog at www.maryistellingstory.blogspot.com.

Here comes Joseph Ding

2009-06-10T21:07:00.001+08:00

Welcome everyone! First of all, I would like to thank you for visiting our e-commerce blog. My name is Joseph Ding Choo Sieng and you have to trust me that the following introduction of mine is very boring. Therefore, please lower down your expectation for a higher enjoyment.

My hobbies include playing guitar, reading, singing, and web surfing.

There are a few websites which I visit very often. Malaysiakini.com is one of them. Malaysiakini.com is an online news website which provides the most recent updates about what is happening in Malaysia in various sectors. However, the main focus of the website is on political issues. Malaysiakini is available in Malay, English and Chinese language.

Secondly, I visit Google.com very often as well. Google is an effective search engine which helps me a lot in searching journals or information. For me, Google.com is a very user friendly search engine as compared to others.

Moreover, the third most visited website is facebook.com. It is a popular free access social-networking website. The functions of the website include building friends network, sharing photos, sending messages and others.

The next most visited website will be the Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia.org provides free encyclopedia about anything. However, Wikipedia can only be use as a quick reference because the information is not conclusive and sometime it is not accurate due to the nature of Wikipedia.

Lastly, Jitapu.com stands as one of the most visited website as well. Jitapu.com provides guitar chords for free to the public. The chords that could be found in Jitapu are usually Chinese song.

There are several internet activities which I usually involve in during my free time. These activities include MSN, blogging, emailing, playing online game, and web surfing.

MSN enable me to keep in touch with friends. MSN is an instantaneous communication application which enable me to conduct discussion or sharing file and document through MSN.

On the other hand, I have a personal blog on MSN space. I tend to express my feeling, critiques, and comments on current issues through my personal blog.

Email is an important and common communication media nowadays. I use email to contact with overseas and local friends, official inquiries with some organizations, sending documents and files and others.

Furthermore, I did play online game to fill up my leisure time. Online gaming helps me to release stresses and make friends through the virtue gaming environment.

Last but not least, I tend to spend some time daily to surf the internet for useful websites and also information needed for my studies and interest.

Ms CEILING here

2009-06-10T17:54:00.003+08:00

Hi everyone, Tan Szee Ling is here but I prefer you calling me C ling ( sounds like ceiling) :-)

I am not sure whether HOROSCOPE does really matter.
My zodiac sign is sagittarius.
According to the field's expert, traditional sagittarius traits are OPTIMISTIC, FREEDOM-LOVING, HONEST, INTELLECTUAL and ENERGETIC.

Well, I think I fit all. Haha!!!
Sometimes my friends around me cannot stand for my blindly optimistic and talkative characteristic.
I do not mind if you decide to search online on how sagittarius girls will be and I am sure you will be attracted.....by me. Haha!!!

Due to certain reason, I work on weekends.
Guess what?
My part time job is a WIMAX promoter.
I think most of the internet users in Malaysia have an idea on what P1 WIMAX is as this broadband is really hot now.
You can see the WIMAX's advertisement boards anywhere along the highways in Klang valley and promotional booths in shopping centers.
Even you can often find WIMAX promoters with uniform walk around on the streets.

Advertisement Time :
Please do not hesitate to ask me if you have any inquiry about WIMAX.

Although my time is packed, I used to read some novels during leisure time, such as Da Vinci Code.
I learn and improve my English by reading them.
I love sports too.
Badminton, swimming, jogging are my favourites.
We can come out and have a battle. Haha!

Nowadays, internet is no more a strange word to all and I can conclude that most of the people rely on internet so much. So do I.
First of all, I check on my e-mails daily and even hourly if I am able to do so.
This is because commonly important information will always be sent to my mail box. So definitely http://www.hotmail.com/ is one of my most frequent visited websites.

I visit http://www.google.com/ quite often also.
This is a famous search engine that most people will like to use to look for information they need. I always get assistance from this site for my assignments and latest information.
Thanks google.

Besides, a Sagittarius girl loves to get to know more new friends. Certainly I always surf on www.facebook.com.
There are a lots of funny pictures and interesting comments on mine and my friends'.
You will get relaxed when you play some special games on facebook such as GUESS THE SKETCH. It is funny!

Do not tell me you never go to http://youtube.com/.
This is the hottest and most well-known broadcasting website.
Most of the time I will search some interesting videos especially Taiwan drama there.
It is convenient and fast speed.
Recently, I just watched BRITAIN GOT TALENT. That show is really fantastic.

Lastly, UTAR website (www.utar.edu.my) is also one of the top visited websites for the sake of updating the latest announcement that UTAR management has made. For example, the release of examination results and so forth. Of course, I often visit wble.utar.edu.my also, the intranet of UTAR to download lecture notes and tutorial questions. Sometimes UTAR students will discuss something important over the website too.

That is all for my individual introduction. Interesting enough?
I know that you are anticipating for the coming post about e-commerce.
I will be back!