Do Business Well

Most television, radio, VCR, and DVD player purchases are made today to replace or upgrade existing equipment. New flat screen and plasma TVs and DVD players represent the latest technological innovations drawing shoppers into the stores for new entertainment equipment. Nearly all (99 percent) of U.S. households own a color television, while 71 percent own two or more TVs. VCR and DVD player ownership is almost as high, with about 90 percent of households having a VCR or DVD player. Continue Reading »

4 Comments »

2. Paper catalogs face an uncertain future.

Mailboxes across the county are stuffed with countless catalogs every day. According to one estimate, 17.6 billion catalogs were mailed in the U.S. last year. That’s sixty-four catalogs for every man, woman, and child.

That may change. Catalogs of all types will find themselves under severe electronic competition. There are a number of reasons why a Web catalog is superior to a paper one. Continue Reading »

5 Comments »

The development of a secure and verifiable form of electronic money will be the catalyst for an explosion in the field of digital marketing. Also known as cybercash or digital cash, e-money will become the standard currency of the digital age. You’ll be able to load e-money onto smart cards using readers attached to your telephone, or download it from your bank account to your hard drive. You’ll use it to buy products and services online, and transfer it to your friends and relatives. You’ll also carry around a digital purse with electronic money in it, and use it like you use cash today.

Daunting hurdles must be overcome before digital money becomes a reality, and many questions remain unanswered. Should electronic money be based on existing national currencies, or should a new international electronic currency be created? Continue Reading »

5 Comments »

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (1996) suggest that:

Each employer should provide and act on clear policies regarding the privacy implications of the computing resources used in the workplace. The policies should explicitly describe:

• Acceptable use of electronic mail and computer resources, including personal use;
• Practices that may be used to enforce these policies, such as the interception and reading of electronic mail or scanning of hard disks;
• Penalties for non-compliance with these policies.

Codes of conduct can be criticized on the grounds that they may be there only for public relations purposes and just add to bureaucracy, that they ignore context and that they deny individual responsibility and moral diversity. They do, however, have the advantage of offering some guidance in a chaotic Internet environment that so far lacks any common understanding of appropriate use. Continue Reading »

5 Comments »