Stories about: CyberCash

Now that we all agree Web services must converse in a loosely coupled and asynchronous manner, it's clear that message-oriented middleware has a vital role to play. SOAP traffic usually cruises the HTTP highway, but it doesn't have to. We've talked to developers who are hitching rides on WebSphere MQ (formerly MQSeries), Microsoft Corp. Message Queue and JMS (Java Message Service). Even as the traditional messaging vendors reach out to the Web, upstarts such as Kenamea and KnowNow are building prototypes of what could become a Web-native messaging layer. These new products bring the classic benefits -- queueing, guaranteed exactly once delivery, and transactions -- across the Web and all the way down to the desktop.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) -- the nonprofit group that oversees basic technical matters related to the Internet -- has appointed a chairman for its newly formed standing committee on security and stability.

Although EBPP (electronic bill presentment and payment) has long been a key component of b-to-c transactions, b-to-b transactions are still largely handled by legacy, batch-oriented methods, such as ACH (Automated Clearing House). To CTOs and other business leaders, EBPP may not seem like a huge priority but it should. Legacy methods of supporting electronic transactions require separate communications programming and integration efforts for each trading partner. This adds to the cost of processing b-to-b transactions and also makes it difficult to add or change trading partners.

AT&T Corp. announced Tuesday a fully managed Web-hosting service bundle that lets users quickly set up an e-commerce Web site.

Online merchants are liable for hundred of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent purchases each year, but few flat-fee payment services screen for credit-card fraud at the point of purchase.

For Pacific Sunwear of California, selling sportswear on the Internet sounded like a surefire idea, until company managers realized something: Most of their potential customers didn't have credit cards.

To maintain your company's competitive edge, your IT department must constantly reinvent your Web offerings while also reducing costs by exploiting the efficiencies of e-business. To this end, companies of all sizes are looking to deploy data-driven Web applications and are facing a variety of integration prerequisites. The job requires proficiency in several programming languages, expertise in cross-platform database and SQL query development, and the ability to merge supply-side applications -- on time and on budget.

Softbank Corp., not satisfied with providing the seed money to bring hundreds of local startups into the Japanese Internet market, today announced its Softbank Commerce Corp. unit will begin targeting foreign Internet companies and offering them help to break into the Japanese market.

Considering all the discussion there's been on the topic of profiling, by now you've probably formed a picture in your mind of how it works: A T-shirted techie huddles in the glow of his monitor, vigilantly tracking your every move on the Net. Suddenly, he strikes. "He's at ESPN.com!" he shouts. "Send him the Chevy pickup ad!"

In December, Computerworld interviewed three companies about how they scaled their sites to - hopefully - survive the onslaught of online holiday shoppers ["Surviving E-Christmas," Technology, Dec. 20]. Well, the news is in: They and their Web sites survived, with minimal or no damage.

The slow-moving insurance industry has woken up to the Web, according to industry analysts and insiders, but the dawning of the e-commerce era means headaches as well as opportunities for the IT professionals supporting insurance companies.