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HELtrun’s Newsletter on e-Trade (HELNeT)
The E-Commerce Newsletter of South Eastern Europe
(1st Issue: 18th February 1999)
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Table of Contents
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- Editorial Note
- HELTRUN Profile
- International E-Commerce News
- Top Stories
- Awareness
- Business
- Technology
- Security
- Government/Legislation
- Retailing
- Travel
- On-line Banking
- Surveys/Statistics
- General News
- The Future of E-Commerce
- Forthcoming Events
- HELTRUN Activities
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Frequency: every 2-3 weeks
Editor: Professor Georgios I.Doukidis
License: Reproduction allowed only if the source (HELNeT) is mentioned
Correspondence: Pateli Adamantia ()
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EDITORIAL NOTE
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Dear madams/sirs,
This is the first issue of a newsletter published by HELTRUN, the E-Commerce research group located in Athens University of Economics and Business Science (AUEB) in Athens, Greece. This is a free newsletter and will be published every 2-3 weeks. Anyone being interested in receiving this newsletter by e-mail, he/she must send a message to with the subject “Subscribe HELNeT” or just visit our web site where he/she can find more detailed E-Commerce news.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Georgios I.Doukidis
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HELTRUN Profile
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HELTRUN (Hellenic Electronic Trading Research UNit) is a research and development group for Electronic Commerce in the Athens University of Economics and Business established in 1991. HELTRUN currently has 15 members and is participating in a number of Electronic Commerce projects and initiatives at a national as well as European level. HELTRUN main goals are:
- to undertake research in the area of Electronic Commerce covering technical, organisational and cultural issues
- to provide consulting services to organisations concerning Electronic Commerce and the successful use of new technologies
- to participate and support organisations in the development of innovative Electronic Commerce applications
- to participate in European-wide research programs and collaborate with other El. Com. centers world-wide for research, development, awareness etc.
- to support research through PhD and MSc theses
- to support Greek organisations (especially SMEs) in their attempt to introduce Electronic Commerce at corporate and national level
- to enhance promotion and awareness of Electronic Commerce in Greece through seminars, workshops, conferences, roadshows etc.
- to disseminate knowledge on El. Commercethrough special publications, reports etc
For more information about HELTRUN activities, visit the site:
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TOP STORIES
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Web's worst-kept Secret
Victoria's Secret is making a Valentine's Day sales massacre!
Victoria's secrets were shared with a record 1.5m visitors on Wednesday night in a much-hyped Webcast inviting users to linger over lingerie. The American sexy undies company, which fakes a British cachet, said it was the largest audience ever for an event broadcast exclusively on the Internet. But many visitors trying to access the Real Video had the familiar complaint of network congestion. Many saw only a tantalising glimpse of the 20-minute catwalk show of its Spring collection shown off by supermodels often pixellated into examples of Picasso-style cubism.
Microsoft embarrassed
Microsoft tries to show that separating IE from Windows 98degrades performance, but prosecutors force Microsoft todisavow the "test."
GATES: PICK ONE, NOT BOTH (POL. Monday)
Microsoft gave its software partners a choice: They could distance themselves from Netscape or forget about their icons appearing on the Windows desktop. Declan McCullagh reports from Washington.
Survey says: Free Office 2000
Microsoft is conducting an exhaustive survey of its users and,mindful of the time and effort involved in responding to sucha study, the company is offering a copy of Office 2000 Premiumto all qualifying participants.
New Viruses Send Data Over Internet
(02/05/99, 7:51 p.m. ET)
By Andy Patrizio, TechWeb
PC users used to worry about some viruses wiping out their hard disks. Now, they can fret about other viruses sending their most important data files to points unknown on the Internet without them ever knowing it. The Caligula virus is the latest in information-stealing viruses popping up in recent months that are increasingly complex and send personal data to a specific location on the Internet.
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AWARENESS (Kismet)
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Kismet is an accompanying measure to the Electronic Commerce theme within the ESPRIT programme of DG III (May 1998 - April 1999). The acronym stands for Knowledge Information Society for SMEs and Electronic Trade. It aims to prepare SMEs in Europe for the challenges and opportunities presented by Electronic Commerce in the Information Society. At the same time, Kismet identifies the significant role of intermediaries and policy makers in promoting new business practices to the SME community and thus provide them with useful material and services that make their promotion activities more effective and widely accessible.
For more information on KISMET visit:
KISMET promotional web site
“Virtual Center of Competence”
KISMET Awareness Database
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BUSINESS
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AOL and First USA Sign Internet's Largest Advertising and Marketing Deal
By James Hollander
Staff Writer, E-Commerce Times
February 4, 1999
America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and First USA, the largest Visa and MasterCard lender in the U.S., announced on Wednesday a five-year $500 million (US$) agreement, reported to be the Internet's largest advertising and marketing partnership to date. First USA is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Bank One Corporation, which is the nation's fifth-largest bank holding company, with assets of more than $260 billion. The companies already have a track record of cooperation, with the co-branded AOL Visa card, established in 1996. This new deal now positions First USA as the exclusive marketer of credit card products and services on AOL, the CompuServe service, AOL.com and AOL Instant Messenger in the United States and Canada. The deal is expected to generate up to $500 million, according to the companies' estimates, but also contains significant guaranteed revenue for AOL and marketing commitments to First USA.
Dell Computer will sell Oracle's Oracle 8I database via its Webpage, and the software maker is negotiating similar agreementswith Compaq and IBM. HP has already signed on to sell theappliance, which incorporates a database and Java Web server.Formerly known by the code-name Raw Iron, Oracle 8I is anattempt to create a new market for cheaper, more easilyadministrered database, and is also intended to blunt Microsoft'spush into the enterprise software market.
Car dealers warned to get Net savvy
By Kora McNaughton
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 8, 1999, 12:05 p.m. PT
SAN FRANCISCO--Car dealers must get online quickly if they are to avoid getting buried by more tech-savvy competitors, a bevy of auto-shopping Web sites warned this weekend.
Traditional dealerships risk losing sales as buyers continue to pile onto the Net for help with their car shopping, said representatives of such sites as Autobytel.com, Microsoft's Carpoint, Cars.com, and AutoMallUSA.com. The sites made presentations this weekend at the 82nd annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention.
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
February 8, 1999, 10:00 a.m. PT
IBM said that it will join with Sony, EMI Group, and other entertainment companies to test software that allows people to buy music over the Internet.
Big Blue today will unveil the "Madison Project" along with Sony Music Entertainment, Time Warner's Warner Music unit, Universal Studios, Germany's Bertelsmann AG, and the U.K.'s EMI. It will test more than 2,000 albums in about 1,000 homes with Road Runner cable modems that run up to 100 times faster than phone modems.
BT, Microsoft in Wireless Deal
Reuters
7:28 a.m. 8.Feb.99.PST
LONDON -- British Telecommunications said Monday it had signed an agreement with Microsoft to develop a range of Internet and corporate data services for mobile telephone customers worldwide.
CISCO, MOTOROLA PLAN NET ACCESS (BUS. Monday)
Cisco and Motorola unveil a US$1 billion alliance to provide wireless Net access, combining Cisco's expertise in data with Motorola's clout in wireless.
By Joanna Glasner.
TicketMaster Launches Next Generation Online Service
By Karen Leonardi
Staff Writer, E-Commerce Times
February 3, 1999
In the world of e-commerce and the ongoing battle between online ticket sellers, Ticketmaster upped the ante this week with launch of my.ticketmaster.com. The new service features a personalized desktop event ticker, plus virtual reality seating charts that let visitors see where they can sit at the next show or sporting event. These new features are significant because they demonstrate how new technology can make e-commerce more convenient for buyers, and more profitable for sellers. Ticketmaster worked with Intel and numerous technology, virtual reality and interactive design firms to develop the new functionality.
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TECHNOLOGY
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GO Software, NOVA Offer Internet Payment Solution
February 8, 1999
By Elizabeth Clampet
InternetNews.com Assistant Editor
Looking to address the recent e-commerce growth, transaction software company GO Software Inc. and Internet transaction processing firm NOVA Information Systems Inc. Monday announced a new Internet payment solution.
The service integrates NOVA's TransPort Technology with GO Software's Charge suite of merchant payment processing software products. Windows PC users with an Internet connection can process credit card payments in real time by sending the information directly to NOVA for processing.
The service eliminates the need for merchants to have a separate modem and phone line to dial the credit card processor. Typical processing times are reduced from 15-20 seconds to 3-5 seconds by eliminating the dial time, said Bill Pittman, GO Software's chief technology officer.
"It's like having dedicated, leased line performance at Internet connection costs," he said.
The software is designed for easy integration and scalability for merchants of any size. Neither pricing nor availability were disclosed.
Tuesday, February 2, 1999 Published at 16:52 GMT
Sci/Tech
Free ISP offers talking email
Breathe Contact will allow you to pick up voicemail, faxes and e-mail
By Internet Correspondent Chris Nuttall
Subscription-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs), reeling from an onslaught of free access services, are now facing a major technological threat from their challengers. After the success of Dixons' FreeServe and Tesco's weekend decision to stop charging, Martin Dawes Communications has announced its free service Breathe Net will include sophisticated Unified Call Management (UCM) from next month. It will mean members can pick up voicemail messages, faxes and e-mails from its Website. Or they can have their e-mails read to them over the phone. They can have one telephone number to unify voice and fax numbers and different e-mail addresses, and people without a computer can still have an e-mail address and receive messages through the phone.
Added value and still free
Consumers unfamiliar with the Net will see the service marketed to them as a one-number service that makes life simpler. They could be introduced to it when buying a mobile phone. But for those searching for the best offer from an ISP, Breathe Contact, as the service is known, appears to give Martin Dawes an edge. UCM was the kind of added-value service that subscription-based ISPs were expected to offer to justify continuing to charge fees. The likes of AOL, Compuserve, Demon and Virgin Net will now be under extra pressure to justify their subscriptions. Free telephone technical support and unique content, as promoted by AOL, may no longer have the same value.
How Breathe will make money
Martin Dawes says Breathe Net charges £1 a minute for technical support over the phone, the same as Freeserve. It will not comment yet on what, if any, charges will be incurred by users of Breathe Contact. Any pricing structures will be announced in the next few weeks. Its head of product development, Philip May, admits Breathe Net is something of a loss leader, the aim being to accumulate members at the same rate as Freeserve registered a million accounts in just over four months.
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"Instant storage" may sound like vaporware, but users are finding network attached storage {NAS) devices provide just that. "We wanted storage just for Lotus Notes," says Chuck Shaw, IT manager, West Coast, for telephone headset maker GN Netcom Inc., Scotts Valley, Calif., which bought a NAS from Meridian Data. "This (NAS) was an ideal way to add storage at low cost. It was plug-and-play -- instant storage without any headaches."
What NAS can do for you is: provide much-needed storage space (and today, who ever has enough storage space?), quickly, inexpensively, and with ease.
What is a NAS?
At its simplest, "a network appliance that does nothing but file sharing," says James Staten, senior analyst at Dataquest, San Jose. These hang off a network, provide lots of storage, and do just one thing--file sharing.
Will the real application server please stand up?
In the rush to plant its flag in the booming market for application server software, database giant Oracle admits that it has confused customers with a pair of dueling products. Oracle executives told CNET News.com that the company has muddled the marketing strategy for its Oracle Application Server, a two-year-old product now in its fourth iteration, while focusing its efforts on hawking its new 8i database scheduled to ship this month. For months, analysts and some customers have pondered whether Oracle is abandoning its standalone application server because the Internet-centric Oracle 8i database has built-in application server features. Both products can be used to link Web applications to back-end databases and other systems. Oracle has been positioning its Application Server as its strategic product in this area. But, with the launch of Oracle 8i, Application Server is rarely mentioned by Oracle executives.
Free browser-based Web conferencing
By Sandeep Junnarkar
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 8, 1999, 4:40 a.m. PT
ActiveTouch, a firm that develops and operates business meetings over the Web, will today announce a service that will allow real-time visual and verbal interaction over the Net.
The company hopes to make WebEx a service as ubiquitous as electronic mail, and says it requires only an ordinary browser and telephone. ActiveTouch said it lets users spontaneously share documents, presentations, Web content, and applications, giving a sense of being face-to-face. "WebEx represents a giant leap forward for the Web by offering the most powerful real-time interactivity services for free," ActiveTouch CEO Subrah Iyar said in a statement. "We want everyone with a browser to be able to use it--at work and at home."
Instead of relying on a hotel fax machine or hoping to grab aconfidential fax at the machine down the hall, you can receive faxesright at your desktop."
Ron Brown, vice president of marketing at eFax.com.
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SECURITY
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IBM, Partner Offer E-Business Insurance
(02/03/99, 12:33 p.m. ET)
By Bruce Caldwell, InformationWeek
IBM and Fidelity and Deposit Cos., a group of insurers and bond companies, disclosed details Tuesday of their jointly offered E-Risk Protection Program for financial-services companies.
The program combines IBM's insurance-industry expertise and electronic-business security consulting services with Fidelity and Deposit's insurance policies to provide coverage for a host of e-business activities and potential losses.
PUTTING A STAMP ON SECURITY (TECH. Thursday)
The US Postal Service signs a US$22 million, four-yearcontract to secure its online efforts. Also: Fujitsu signs up for Linux application support.
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GOV/LEGISLATION
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ISOC France: France to Draft Internet Law Online
In March, French Internet users will be given to opportunity to debateand vote on Internet legislation in a virtual session of parliament,sponsored by the Senate and the ISOC.The online parliamentary session is being organised by the FrenchInternet society, ISOC, and will take place between March 19-21, 1999.It is hoped that the session will enable the French government toevaluate how the Internet can be used to contribute to the democraticprocess.Users will contribute to the drafting of law on data protection,intellectual property rights, encryption, pornography and consumeraffairs. Once the initial bill is drafted, the bill will proceedthrough the various stages of parliamentary debate. Finally, themock bill will be passed into law, subject to an online vote.
Le Monde: France To Liberalise Cryptography Law
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin has announced that France is to allow the use of 128-bit encryption technology, in a move to encourage the use of the Internet and the growth of E-Commerce. It is believed that this will dramatically increase the confidence of the French consumer in the security of online transactions.
US GOVERNMENT URGES LAISSEZ FAIRE
In March, the National Governors Association propose the InternetDevelopment Act 1998, asking Congress to impose a single state tax onall goods purchased and ordered over the Internet.The president decides against taxation and instead reiterates hissupport for a laissez faire Internet controlled by the private sector.Further, he recommends governments all over the world to adopt a 'handsoff' approach to the Internet. and encourages the elimination of taxesand unnecessary regulations to maximize the potential of the newmedium."We can't allow unfair taxation to weigh down and stunt the developmentof the most promising new economic opportunity in decades".