URLs can change over time. If any of the sites used in these Internet Exercises change, please visit the Turban Electronic Commerce 2002, 2e Companion Web site at http://www.prenhall.com/turban for an update.

Chapter 12

1. Netcraft (netcraft.com) conducts regular surveys of the types of Web servers on the Internet. Access Netcraft's Web site and examine their services.
   • Use their Explore facility to determine what type of server is being used either by your school or place of work.
     
   • How is their survey conducted and what are some of the problems they encounter in doing the survey?
     
   • They also conduct a survey of SSL servers. What types of information does this survey provide and who might use the survey results?
   
   
2. Access the Choice Mall Web site (choicemall.com). Visit some of the online stores in the mall.
   • What are the functionalities of the mall?
     
   • What are some of the benefits of online malls to the participating vendor? To shoppers?
     
   • Do you think a shopper is better off using a mall or using a search site like AltaVista to locate a store providing a product of interest?
     
   • In what ways could Choice Mall improve the chances that buyers will make return visits?
   
   
3. Visit a large online storefront of your choice. What functions does it provide to shoppers? In what ways does it make shopping easy? In what ways does it make shopping more enjoyable? What support services does it provide?
   
   
4. Open Market (openmarket.com) is a vendor of EC software. At their site they provide demonstrations illustrating the types of storefronts they can create for shoppers. They also provide demonstrations of how their software is used to create a store.
   • Run either the Shopsite Merchant or Shopsite Pro demonstration to see how these tools help build a storefront.
   • What sorts of features are provided by Shopsite?
   • Does Shopsite support larger or smaller stores?
   • What other products does Open Market offer for creating online stores? What types of stores do these products support?
   
   
5. Log files provide a number of details about visitors to a Web site. Select a commercial product (such as net.Analysis) that offers log file analysis. What types of information does the product provide, and how can this information be used to improve a Web site?
   
   
6. Visit tibco.com and find out how they provide B2B connectivity.
   
   
7. Visit Microsoft.com and find BizConnect. What kind of software is this? How can it be a component in a EC application?
   
   
8. Enter hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey and find the tracking tutorials. Write a summary of the three tutorials (gathering data, using databases, and using pageviews.)
   
   
9. Enter dKg.net (choose shopping carts), and bigstep.com to examine their store-building software. Compare its capabilities to that of store.yahoo.
   
   
10. Visit ichat.com and review their chat rooms and pager. Download the support software (it is free), try it, and describe your experiences.
    
    
11. Enter ecommerce.internet.com. Find the product review area. Read reviews of three payment solutions. Assess them as possible components.
    
    
12. Enter intershop.com. Locate information about their products. Is this an EC suite? Why or why not? If it is not a suite, what is it?
    
    
13. Enter ibm.com/software. Find their WebSphere product. Read recent customers' success stories. What makes this software so popular?