(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