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Return to Class Session #2 | |
| "640K ought to be enough for anybody..." | |
| Bill Gates, 1981 | |
| "I just got a 15 inch monitor and it's huge. It barely fits on my desk". | |
| Emil Battazato | |
| Technology Needs for Your Business |
This lesson is a primer
on your technology needs to allow you to plan your site content, features
and interactivity to produce an E-Business Web site that serves your customers
and meets you business purposes. We'll focus on hardware, software, platforms
and connectivity.
| Equipment, Knowledge, Software and Other Needs |
There are three ways to approach this concept as a question:
1st - what technology do you expect them to have and what does your customer need to use your site? (see Customer sessions)
2nd - what do you need to create and manage your site?
3rd - what do you need from the Web hosting company to support your customers needs and your needs and make the site work?
You begin with the customer because you should be designing for them, not for you. This is the heart and soul of the marketing concept and essential to good business practice. Everyone from amateur advertisers to amateur Web designers trip over this hazard. The temptation is to design to suit your sensibilities, or to show off, rather than to design for functionality or customer needs. So, start with the customer's system and circumstances. This will be covered in the "Customer and Marketing" set of class sessions.
Your Needs Let's look at what you need to make your eCommerce business work. We'll avoid being too specific at first. It keeps changing anyway, darn-it. Your needs depend greatly on what and how much you will do yourself versus what you will contract out to professionals to do. The table below lists some connectivity options to considers first .
| Telecommunicaitons and Connections |
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Telecommunications - the communications infrastructure that carries information to and from the Internet. There are four key technologies for transmitting data:
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Most users (client computers) are connected by modem through telephone lines to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that is our on-ramp/off-ramp to the Internet. This is called a dial-up connection. Modem is short for modulation-demodulation, wherein modulation converts a digital signal to analog for transmission throught he phone lines and demodulation converts the signal back to digital. Modems must be turned on and use your telephone line, often preventing you from having use of your telephone while connected unless you have multiple phone lines in your home.
Other connections are always-on connections (DSL, ISDN, CABLE, T3, T3, ATM) using other types of wire or fiberoptics. Additionally, radio and satellite wireless connections are common.
Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that connects your business or home to the telephone company. It is an amazing web of wire laid worldwide, under the ocean floor, above ground and below ground. To deduce "cross talk" (electromagnetic induction) between pairs of wires, two color-coded, insulated copper wires are twisted around each other. Each connection on a twisted pair requires both wires. Some telephone sets and computers require multiple connections, consequently a single cable often has three pairs in it. SOme business locations enclose the twisted pair cable in a shield that functions as a ground. This is called a STP (shielded twisted pair. Ordinary cable twisted pair wire to the home is called UTP or unshielded twisted pair. Your home cable may have two or three twisted pairs for extra uses such as a modem, analog signal, digital signal or ethernet. |
The Platform - the operating system, its file formats, and the hardware and software available to manipulate data make up a computer platform. Regardless of hardware and software used to implement the eCommerce solution, the output must be platform independent to make it Internet ready. Current Internet technologies and protocols enable platforms to talk to one another and exchange information.
For E-business do-it-yourselfers, two servers platforms are currently viable:
For your office desktop system Windows 98-XP, MacOS X (10) are highly popular among business users but aren't suited for hosting electronic services.
Most start-ups and small businesses are likely to invest in a low cost solution which is extensible and scalable.
Email and Collaboration - private (Intranet) and public email systems need to be compatible. Private systems include Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, Novell, HP OpenMail and Netscape. Public systems include Sun SIMS, Sendmail and MCIS.
InterMail is a Web public mail system that has a web-based front end and eliminates the applications such as Eudora and Netscape Messenger. It allows anyone to easily send and receive mail without any configuration and email can be manage from any terminal connected to the Internet. (i.e. Hotmail, Excite, MyOwnMail)
OpenMail Anywhere uses HP's trusted platform Virtual Vault. Virtual Vault uses an SSL-secured URL to block sophisticated attacks on its OpenMail client, the boundary web server and internal corporate OpenMail servers such that attackers cannot modify Web pages nor legitimate application code. It eliminates the need for remote users to rely upon dial-up networking or carry a laptop to access email. Any browser enabled device can be used such as PDAs, Web phones, walkup terminals, and pc's. The greatest potential for eCommerce is in the secure email client/server relationship.
Security Software - technology, software, layers, processes and politics combine to define our security systems. Communication over the Internet is open and uncontrolled by its own nature. Most security breaches are due to human error, missing procedures and mis-configured software. The weak link in the security chain, unfortunately, is people and their ethics/morals. Firewalls for the servers, digital certificates, SSL, user name and password systems (authorization), encryption, digital signatures, authentication keys, time-stamping and the global/legal frameworks and agreements between nations are all part of the security system.
Payment Solutions - generally refers to the technology, software and and intermediaries necessary for online payment and account transfer to take place. Many are sotware packeages programmed to run from Java, Java applets, CGI and other programming languages and solutions. Alternative systems are sold, rented or subscribed to such as PayPal. http://www.paypal.com/
Database Management Systems (DBMS) - allows databases to be built as 1) customers send information, 2a) allows customers to request information or 2b) receive un-requested information via autoresponders , 2c) and allows web pages to be active or "dynamic" rather than static. The company will have database servers which move selected or requested data from the companies database server via the Internet to the Web Host Server where the Web site may construct a web page in whole or in part, on-the-fly and customized for the individual client. Company databases (software application and file formats) need to be able to exchange, compile and store information with the Web Hosts databases.
| Database Wars: source S.F. Chronicle 6/14/01 | |||
| Worldwide | Windows NT | ||
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Oracle |
33.8% |
Oracle IBM Microsoft Informix Sybase Others |
37.3% 18.5 38 -- 1.9 4.3 |
Content Management - Although there are many specific software choices, scripting choices, and multimedia tools with which to build a sites content, we will look at your technology needs broadly by focusing on the Web site content creation and management tools.
| Content | Software and hardware needed | |
| Static Graphics & text in digital format (must be converted to JPEG, GIF & PNG formats in small file size without sacrificing colors, perspectives or resolutions | cameras, digital cameras, scanner, copier, fax or fax-modem, color printer (HP officejet D series all in one?) | |
| Dynamic Graphics & Text, Dynamic Pages, movies, etc. | The image contains meta-information that allows the user to use it, view, run, hear, etc., via plugins (applets, scripts and coding loaded onto your computer). Adobe Acrobat, Apple's Quicktime (VR & 360 degrees), Real Network's RealPlayers, VRML (virtual reality modeling language) file format. FlashPix allows tiled graphics in different formats and resolutions to be stored and loaded on the Web page for differing uses such as on the screen, printing it, downloading it, etc. Premiere, Director and other timeline editors for movies. |
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Web Page & Web Site creation and management examples: |
Web Page Editors/Authoring tools such as Notepad, FrontPage and Dreamweaver, Flash. | |
| Graphics Software for optimizing Web graphics, i.e. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Image Ready, Paint Shop Pro, shareware, etc. | ||
| Multimedia Tools - all browsers support DHTML via JavaScript, CGI, and Cascading Style Sheets but require programming knowledge. MacroMedia Director, Flash for manipulating graphics (Adobe Premiere), creating animations and integrating sound (MP3, wav, MIDI) | ||
| Sound Software - RealPlayers (RealAudio; RealVideo) from Real Networks allow streaming audio and video for live and stored content narrowcasting. |
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ISP Connection Options Costs and Speed
Most of us will be interested in an ISP connection that is a dialup modem connection through the telephone lines or an always on special "telephone" line such as ISDN, DSL, or ASDL. For dialup modem connections you contact your local or regional ISP and choose a service plan. http://www.cruzio.com For always-on ISDN, DSL, or ASDL you may need to contact both the ISP and the telephone company. Sometimes the ISP will make the arrangements with the telephone company for you. The telephone company may have to come to your home to install lines, wall connection ports and special modems/equipment. Often, self-installation is available if the residence is pre-wired. A cable company connection will likely bypass the need for an ISP, they provide the ISP connection service but may not provide other ISP services like eCommerce, eMail, Web Hosting, etc.), but will require the home visit and installation or self-installation for existing wiring. Locally, Comcast offers packages called High-Speed Internet service. Charter communications is offering 3 packages called Charter Pipeline in their service area. |
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| How do Servers and ISP's connect? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ISP's generally offer Internet connectivity AND other services to customers such as you and me: email, ftp, domain hosting, etc. The backbone of the Internet is connected by large ISP's sometimes called IAP's or Internet Access Providers. IAP's don't deal with individuals or small businesses. Network Access Providers, NAP's, are at the top. They are the domain registrars and large, core Internet organizations that regulate and run the Internet.
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The Web servers and ISP connections might follow a hierarchy similar to the figure below.
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| Choosing an ISP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Most people choose an ISP that is local. Local ISP's usually offer full ranges of service including email, chat, newsgroups, ftp, free web space and domain hosting, workshops and much more. They may offer a variety of connectivity options or just a few. Some will offer eCommerce solution software and secure server domain hosting and assist with setting up domain name registration and pay systems. Most offer dial up and always on connection options. Some of Santa Cruz local ISP are:
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There are many national and international services to choose from as well. Most have many local dial-up numbers so that you have access without long distance charges as you travel. Most do not offer connectivity that is not dial up. Some well know choices include:
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Run Your Own Server
You can set up a (your) computer to run as a server using Windows NT, MS FrontPage or other software for the price of the computer and software, about $2-4,000. You would use your ISP to connect to the Internet.
You can run a server and essentially be an ISP for a direct connection cost of somewhere between $1200-3,000 per month plus the server, plus the cost of an employee to run it, (24/7/ 3 shifts?).
Or not...pay $20-100 per month to have a Web host put your site on their server.
Create Digital Video (original source: Jim Kiggens, Cerro Coso College)
University of Wisconsin Dept. of Learning Technology & Distance Education and Emerging Media Technology (DoIT)– Streaming Video Comparison http://emt.doit.wisc.edu/streamcompare/ |
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Preview Adobe Premiere with these Tutorials
Web Sites to Explore:
Information from Microsoft about Windows Media Technologies 7:
Information from Apple about Streaming Quicktime features for web delivery
Information from Real Networks about Streaming Real Video features for web delivery
