Plain Words eLetter
2004 issue 3
Lead Stories
New document system helps the money go round
New technology pins down card fraudsters
Extra
You Get What You Pay For - or More
E-Business news
Google to Offer Local Web Searches
Google Takes on Hotmail with Gmail
Bill Gates Toppled From World's Richest Man Spot
Technology news
Shoppers Hit By "Whiff" Cannon
Geniuses at the Click of a Button
Off-beat news
Lead stories
New Document System Helps The Money Go Round
April 20th, 2004, Plain Words editorial
APACS - the British trade organisation that makes sure all our cash, electronic, and plastic payments go smoothly - gets document overhaul.
More: APACS documentation overhauled >
New Technology Pins Down Card Fraudsters
New chip and PIN credit and debit cards look set to drastically reduce fraud - and will make signing a slip when you pay for goods a thing of the past.
More: Chip and PIN >
Extra
"You Get What You Pay For" Adage Just Got a Makeover...
Most of us, at one time or another, have rued the day when we bought something at a price that seemed too good to be true. And it proved to be just that. Well, the old "you get what you pay for" adage has just ceased to hold true in one area - that of web development.
The new Plain Words' Internet Systems Development Service has come up with a way to develop and maintain an industrial-strength website for you - at a fraction of the price you've come to expect.
We can help you set up shopping carts, content management systems, news feeds, customer account management systems, e-mail autoresponders, and much more. Plus you get FREE access to our library of applications and scripts (a small fee is charged if you need help configuring them). All this at a FULL HALF of what you are paying now.
To discover more, simply call 01635 202013 or send an e-mail to and ask to talk to one of our web development experts. Alternatively, to get an extensive information pack by return.
E-Business news
Google to Offer Local Web Searches
Search giant Google is introducing a local search service. Currently under beta test in the U.S. it allows users to perform local searches by zip code or city name. Up until now a general web search for "pizza" would return unwanted results - like pizza restaurants in far-flung parts of the word or sites documenting the history of food. Running such a search using the new service would bring information on shops and takeaways around the corner.
Incorporated with searches are driving directions and a phone number. Searches can also specify the radius of the local search, from 1 to 45 miles. This new feature will be a boon to smaller business that serve local areas. In the past they tended to be overshadowed by larger firms with a budget big enough to invest in search engine positioning. Now they will gain a viable presence on search results pages. More: http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3327281
Wi-Fi With Your Coffee?
Starbucks and T-Mobile are expanding their UK Wi-Fi infrastructure by rolling out wireless broadband connectivity to a further 98 coffee shops. This brings the total number of Wi-Fi enabled Starbucks outlets to 154 in 35 major towns and cities throughout Britain.
Cathy Heseltine, marketing director at Starbucks (UK), said: The 98 new T-Mobile HotSpots mean that even more Starbucks customers will have fast, convenient access to check their emails, surf the web or download files.
All very well, but don't you normally go for coffee to have a break from work? More: http://vnunet.com/News/1153810
Shop Till You Drop - Online
Online shopping is expected to grow to £17bn this year, according to a new study from The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). The group, which represents a number of online sellers, also estimates that by 2009 a quarter of all UK shopping will be carried out online or via mobile devices, boosting annual online sales to £80bn.
The research is backed up by figures released last month by Visa - which found that shoppers in the UK are almost doubling their online spending year-on-year. Online UK sales for the final quarter of 2003 were 91 percent higher than sales in the same period in 2002. During the period, Visa cardholders in the UK spent over £1.8bn via the internet.
IMRG warned, however, that unless web sites meet the high expectations of users they might not benefit from the increased spending. "Those whose services are deficient will find themselves shunned by shoppers and business partners alike," said a spokesperson.
The bottom line? Pull your socks up if you want to sell online. If you have concerns as to whether your website is performing as well as it should, check out the new Plain Words Internet Systems Development Service. More: http://vnunet.com/News/1153824
Google Takes on Hotmail with Gmail
Google is launching a free email service, offering a whopping 1GB of storage for each account. Not surprisingly, the move is seen as a major challenge to leading web e-mail providers such as Yahoo and Microsoft-owned Hotmail. In contrast to the 1GB of storage offered by Gmail, Hotmail offers a maximum inbox size of 100MB for £39.99 a year.
Google arrived at the 1 GB figure by estimating how much storage an average user would need to store up to a decade's worth of e-mail. "It's a new paradigm where you don't delete your e-mail," said Wayne Rosing, Google's vice president of engineering. Instead, users would leave all their messages on Google's server and search through them as needed.
The new system was designed by one of the firm's engineers as a "20 per cent" project - the scheme which gives Google employees one day a week in which to work on projects that interest them. Gmail.com will be rolled out this month in what the company calls an experimental service. More: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,62897,00.html
Bill Gates Toppled From World's Richest Man Spot
Bill Gates might soon be lunching on boiled potatoes and vinegar - the diet poet Lord Byron resorted to when short of cash. The man behind Microsoft has been toppled from the world's richest man spot by Ingvar Kamprad, the Swede who founded furniture retail chain IKEA.
According to Swedish business weekly Veckans Affarer, Kamprad (77) has a personal fortune of $58 billion (£32 thousand million). Whereas Gates's fortune is put at £26.9 billion, according to the latest list of the world's rich in Forbes magazine.
Kamprad lives in Switzerland and no longer takes part in the daily running of IKEA, but has kept ownership of the company in the family with more than 180 stores in more than 30 countries.
The dollar's slide against other currencies, however, is the main reason why Kamprad has now overtaken Gates. More: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/10108114?source=Evening%20Standard
Technology news
Shoppers Hit By "Whiff" Cannon
An air cannon that targets the nose with enticing smells could soon be used to tempt customers in department stores and shopping centres. Developed by Yasuyuki Yanagi at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute in Japan, the device is so accurate it can target people standing 50 centimetres apart with different smells.
It tracks the person it is aiming at with a camera which follows the target's eyes. Software analyses the video images and steers the gun in three dimensions. Once it has a fix on the eyes, it aims low to direct a jet of air at the nose.
Pleasant smells, such as the aroma of freshly baked bread, are already used by stores and supermarkets to attract customers and keep them lingering longer. But the air cannon could take psychological marketing a stage further by allowing different scents to be fired at individuals. While one person smells coffee, another nearby could be receiving a nose-full of eau de toilette. More: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994834
Geniuses at the Click of a Button
Scientists have developed a "thinking cap" device they believe can turn anyone into a genius. It's based on a process called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and works by switching off part of the brain. According to the theory, this allows hidden talents to come to the fore.
Allan Snyder, director of Australia's Centre for the Mind, hit on the idea after investigating the phenomenon of autistic savants - severely mentally impaired people who display amazing skills in art, language or mathematics. Snyder believes that in some people, autism damages a part of the brain that allows unconscious raw data to shine through.
Under normal circumstances, the conscious mind simplifies this information to prevent the "aware" brain being overloaded. But an autistic savant is able to access the "raw" information almost like a computer, making it possible to perform incredible feats of calculation or draw astonishing pictures. By achieving the same result artificially, Snyder believes it may be possible to find the creative genius buried in everyone.
The implications for business are enormous. You could turn any member of staff into an Einstein or even a Bill Gates. But then again, so would your competition, which means we'd all be back at square one. More: http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9170676%255E2862,00.html
Off-beat news
Dial 999 - Hamster Stuck In Printer
German police must have thought someone was playing an April Fools joke on them when a distraught woman rang them in the early hours of the morning. The woman (48) told them her hamster Teddy had crawled into her printer and was a touch too chubby to get out again.
She told police she had tried calling out the local animal shelter but got no reply. She did manage to get her vet out of bed, but he told her it was more a case for a printer technician. So she dialled the German equivalent of 999. More: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_909429.html
The Plain Words eLetter is purely a technology and e-business news source. It does not endorse any of the companies, products, or services that are mentioned in news shorts and articles.
Subscribe to Plain Words' FREE eLetter for a round up of the month's Tech & eBiz news.
now.
