(BUS 13) Comments Regarding the Written Assignment
Several students have asked questions about the written
assignment, so I wanted to provide the same information to everyone.
A. Your paper should be based on the case and any
personal information you possess -- just like your preparation
for a class discussion. There is no need for additional research.
B. The paper should cover only the study questions.
The "Instructions for Written Assignments" mentions
"Recommended Actions (if applicable)" -- they are not
applicable for the case assigned for your paper.
C. One classmate asked for some help with terms
specific to the Internet and these are the answers I provided:
1. What is beta? **SEE THE CLASS NOTES. IT'S A
TEST BEFORE SHIPMENT, BUT WITH REAL CUSTOMERS** Are numeric numbers
only added to signify developer changes, like Navigator 3.0 Beta
3, or are they added for other reasons? **TYPICALLY JUST TO DENOTE
THE LATEST VERSION, "DEVELOPER CHANGES" IN YOUR WORDS.**
2. When companies like Microsoft, Navigator, Yahoo!,
etc.. request customer feedback, do "newsgroups" and
other testers have to agree to/sign a confidentiality release
form? **TRADITIONALLY IN THE PAST THEY DID, IT'S LESS COMMON
NOW. **
3. What is the difference between an internet service
provider **THEY OWN THE CONNECTION, THE PHONE # YOU DIAL TO** and internet browser **THE SOFTWARE RUN ON YOUR PC TO BROWSE THE WEB--THE SOFTWARE YOU USE
TO VIEW THE CLASS WEBSITE IS A BROWSER**? Where do search engine
firms fall into these categories **THEY ARE NEITHER AN ISP NOR
A BROWSER--THEY'RE A SITE LIKE THE CLASS WEB SITE, ONLY THEY ARE
DESIGNED TO HELP YOU FIND THINGS**?
4. The case study indicates networking technology
was developed in the 1960's, but did it become "mainstream"
in the 1980's or early 1990's. The case seems to infer the 1990's.
**THE INTERNET BECAME MAINSTREAM IN THE 80'S, BUT THE WEB (FANCY
GRAPHIC PAGES THAT YOU JUST CLICK ON TO MOVE FROM SITE TO SITE)
HAPPENED IN THE 90'S**
5. What are development tools? **THEY HELP SOMEONE
BUILD A WEB SITE** To whom does NetDynamics provide these tools? Are companies the only end users? **PRIMARILY -- THERE ARE SMALLER PRODUCTS FOR
END USERS -- I USE SOMETHING CALLED "HOMESITE"**
6. What is a scripting language **A PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE THAT LETS YOU PROGRAM A WEB PAGE TO DO ONE THING FOR "SAM" AND "SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR "DEBBIE" DEPENDING ON
THEIR BROWSER OR THE INPUT THEY PROVIDE?
7. What does it mean to make a product more "robust?"
**A ROBUST PRODUCT HAS EITHER MORE FUNCTIONALITY OR IT IS MORE
RELIABLE -- THE MEANING DEPENDS ON THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE TERM
IS USED**
Stn_0525.doc
5/25/98