TIME EUROPE
October 23, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 17
Tech Watch
E-COMMERCE ADVICE
The Doctor Will See You Now
Need to know how to accept credit cards on your website? Want to find out more about cultural attitudes toward e-commerce in different European countries? Or maybe you're wondering whatever happened to the E.U. proposal for a regulation on jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters? Now you can ask Dr. Ecommerce at www.drecommerce.com, a website supported by the European Commission that provides jargon-free answers to business, legal and technical questions about doing business online. Dr. Ecommerce, which was originally part of the Commission's own e-commerce site and spun off on its own in August, caters to absolute beginners as well as established professionals. No prior knowledge is assumed, but the doc is prepared to tackle the ins and outs of exporting pasta from Italy or tobacco from Spain, sending cut glass through the mail or attracting visitors to a site selling lucky charms (marketing strategies work better than magic). Visitors can post their own queries, check frequently asked questions, browse the latest answers or the archives, or join online discussion forums on a wide range of topics. There's a forum for professionals, and one for discussing the wider implications of selling over the Net. From this month you can discuss relevant laws, or swap tips with fellow-students writing theses on e-commerce. The doc's humorous and practical advice is based on input from a pool of experts. Best of all, no appointment is necessary.
SITE SEEING
Fun on the Farm with Pig Brother
If you thought the house on the Big Brother television show was a sty, English pig farmer Andrew Freemantle plans to show you the real thing. He runs www.pigbrother.uk.com from his farm near Exeter and intends to install webcams to broadcast the daily lives of his pigs over the Internet 24 hours a day. Freemantle is planning online wagering on things like the number of piglets a pregnant sow might have in a litter. He has, however, abandoned his original scheme for an online vote to decide which pig is next to go to the local abattoir.
Bored by porcine webpages? How about a little self-help from your friends at DailyRating.com (www.dailyrating.com). The site helps log progress in any area users may wish — losing weight, making friends or even smiling more often. Just submit the questions you'd like to be asked each day and the site sends an e-mail, or you can log on to be interrogated. Users can keep an allergy diary, store notes on new people met and discuss alcohol dependence or dating with other visitors. The entries can be made accessible to others or remain confidential.
WHAT'S NEXT
Trend Alert: Lost and Found
Geocaching is a new Web-based fad that could have Alaskans flying to Finland to find treasure hidden under fallen trees. Players stash the goods — anything from native art to sunglasses — and leave directions at www.geocaching.com. They can post a list of the contents or leave the reward cloaked in mystery. Finders, using a gps device, get to keep whatever they dig up and log the story on the geocache site. Hurry — the bag of xylitol chewing gum may still be in that Finnish forest.
Digital Matchmaking: Dreamdate.com
If you're looking for Mr. or Ms. Right — or just a good night out — London-based computer games publisher SCi Entertainment's findablinddate.com service, due to launch next year, may be the place. Using mobile sms service, wap, e-mail or the Web, you can enter your personal details and preferences and receive an alert whenever a suitable profile match is found. You can then test your compatibility using the Match Meter service before choosing to set up a face-to-face meeting, or use the Who Fancies Who? feature to connect to your list of secret admirers.
Mobile Internet: I-mode Is Coming
Some cheer for Europeans frustrated by the limitations of wap services: Japanese mobile giant NTT DoCoMo is teaming up with Dutch group KPN to create a pan-European mobile Internet portal. As well as using KPN's existing wap capabilities, the joint venture will introduce NTT's highly successful i-mode mobile Internet service to Europe. Phones with i-mode have "always-on" Internet connections. Due to launch in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands by the middle of next year, the portal plans to offer a variety of content including games, news, music and video distribution services as well as a range of m-commerce opportunities.
This edition's table of contents
TIME Europe home
More stories from TIME Europe and related links
E-mail us at mail@timeatlantic.com
COPYRIGHT © 2000 TIME INC.
|
|
|
