The Unpredictable Certainty White Papers (1997) / Chapter Skim
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Electronic Commerce
Electronic Commerce
Pages 521-537
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From page 521... ...
These factors include the increased availability of communications and communications bandwidth, the reduced cost and increased user-fiiendliness of computers and communications, the growth of the Internet and online services, and Me drive toward global competitiveness. Currently, online purchases account for only 4 percent of total global purchases; online purchases via such precursors as the Internet are practically nonexistent.
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From page 522... ...
A truly interoperable electronic commerce infrastructure would allow parties to conduct their transactions In private, without paying any fees to inte~medianes undess they provide some real added value, such as credit services. This infrastructure would make it easier for any and all interested persons to become service providers as well as consumers.
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From page 523... ...
Participants In today's electronic commerce applications must find melons and means of navigating effectively through the sea of rapidly increasing online electronic infonnation and services to find Ming partners and items of Interest. This problem Ivy]
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From page 524... ...
Meterware and other advanced revenue collection ideas (e.g., payment schemes, such as electronic cash and electronic checks, which do not require the presence of an online payment processor) create opportunities for reaching new customers and for distributing products and services; these make great sense In a low- or zero~istribution cost environment and should be supported by the electronic commerce infrastructure.
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From page 525... ...
Most of this work was performed by intelligent software agents that were automatically activated and tasked upon receipt of Mary's electronic application form. Since Mary's background check was routine and acceptable, the application's approval was automatic.
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From page 526... ...
Dave makes a selection and inserts the card, which issues a payment transfer from his credit card account to the electronic yellow pages, subject to Dave's approval and authorization. Dave approves the charge, digitally signs He authorization sealed TV his unique personally encrypted retinal scan recorded by a camera mounted In his portable PC, and inserts his card, thereby transferring the payment.
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From page 527... ...
A potential buyer browsing electronic yellow pages and catalogs on a network, . An agent shopping on behalf of one or many buyers and/or sellers, .
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From page 528... ...
And In some cases, as with the free information example cited above, this activity is eliminated entirely. Payment and Settlement The buyer, or some financial intermediary, eventually sends some form of electronic payment (this could be some form of contract or obligation, such as authenticated payment Instructions or digital cash)
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From page 529... ...
Major electronic commerce applications can be built by interfacing and integrating, through APIs, elemental electronic commerce building blocks and services, these latter are provided by a variety of service providers and application designers. The enabling infrastructure services include those needed to provide requisite transaction integnty, authentication, and privacy.
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From page 530... ...
A software agent management and communications infrastructure; and . Distributed information resource discovery, retrieval, and synchronization and replication services (e.g., search engines, browsing, and publishing tools)
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From page 531... ...
This capability for selective incremental expansion would enable a user to customize translators to meet unique needs and to expand the translator easily so as to handle larger vocabularies and collections of electronic forms/documents as needed, as well as incorporate new EDI standards as they evolve and become defined. Finally, such a capability would help simplify and speed up the EDI standards process.
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From page 532... ...
Distnbuted information resource discovery and retrieval services help service providers list and publish their services, and help users find services and information of interest. These information services cover the ability to maintain, update, and access distributed directory services.
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From page 533... ...
Electronic commerce activities can be specified in terms of the interactions between real objects (e.g., transacting parties) and digital objects (e.g., electronic documents, software agents)
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From page 534... ...
. Some Important Electronic Commerce Digital Objects Several key digital objects for electronic commerce are listed below.
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From page 535... ...
It is generally necessary to establish audit trails, so Hat Me consequences of multiple transactions on an account can be tracked. Software Agents Software agents include the following: .
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From page 536... ...
and digital objects (e.g., program logic, digital movies, data, electronic design specifications, electronic contracts) can be sold and exchanged.
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From page 537... ...
that enables embedding and transmission of electronic forms and documents into e-mai} messages, automatic conversion of these e-mai} messages into their original format at the receiver site, and subsequent processing of the forms/documents, . APIs that allow data from an electronic form or document to be transmitted from sender to receiver as a database record update or file transfer via Am, .
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