(Electronic-COMMERCE) Doing business online, typically via the Web. It is also called "e-business," "e-tailing" and "I-commerce." Although in most cases e-commerce and e-business are synonymous, e-commerce implies that goods and services can be purchased online, whereas e-business might be used as more of an umbrella term for a total presence on the Web, which would naturally include the e-commerce (shopping) component.
E-commerce may also refer to electronic data interchange (EDI), in which one company's computer queries and transmits purchase orders to another company's computer. See m-commerce, microcommerce and clicks and mortar.
The First E-Commerce?
In 1886, a telegraph operator was able to obtain a shipment of watches that was refused by the local jeweler. Using the telegraph, he sold all the watches to fellow operators and railroad employees. Within a few months, he made enough money to quit his job and start his own store. The young man's name was Richard Sears. His company later became Sears, Roebuck.
E-commerce may also refer to electronic data interchange (EDI), in which one company's computer queries and transmits purchase orders to another company's computer. See m-commerce, microcommerce and clicks and mortar.
The First E-Commerce?
In 1886, a telegraph operator was able to obtain a shipment of watches that was refused by the local jeweler. Using the telegraph, he sold all the watches to fellow operators and railroad employees. Within a few months, he made enough money to quit his job and start his own store. The young man's name was Richard Sears. His company later became Sears, Roebuck.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Freeway Pro (php)
- A purpose-built page layout application for the Web, Freeway gives you all the legendary ease-of-use and features that launched the desktop publishing revolution. With Freeway, you can quickly and effortlessly lay out your Web site, embed images and content, then publish your work as clean, standards-compliant HTML, and upload to...
- Software downloads 2008-07-02
- Effinities E-Commerce Engine (exe)
- The Effinities e-commerce solution is a fully hosted site management and shopping cart system developed to provide professional on-line selling for small and medium sized businesses. The system is a fully packaged enterprise standard solution designed, built and supported by a team with over ten years of experience in the...
- Software downloads 2008-06-30
- Shaolin temple kick starts online store
- China's Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of kung fu and the star of many martial arts films, has set up an online store to flog its wares. SHANGHAI--China's Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of kung fu and the star of many martial arts films, has set up an online store to...
- News items 2008-06-25
- Information Protection - Protecting Sensitive Data With Active Directory Rights Management Services in Windows Server 2008
- As more and more of the world's information, commerce, and communications moves to digital form, it will open the door to a new world of connected experiences. Increasingly, people envision a world of anywhere access - a world in which the information and the content that they value is available...
- Webcasts 2008-06-18
- SunSpider JavaScript benchmark and ACID 3 compatibility charts - Firefox 3.0 RC 3 and Opera 9.50 added
- SunSpider JavaScript benchmark and ACID 3 compatibility charts - Firefox 3.0 RC 3 and Opera 9.50 addedMy sentiments exactly... ntntToughts? Yeah...IE 7 sucks.My Java 6 in Advanced is pulling off three other java proteges.It seems to be broke-in an in stalled correctly.RE: SunSpider JavaScript benchmark and ACID 3 compatibility...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-16
- Password Safe Pro (exe)
- Password Safe Pro is designed to make it easy for users to manage usernames and complex passwords for Web-sites, e-commerce sites, and desktop applications. Password Safe Pro removes the security risks of routinely using the same password or storing passwords in a text file, spreadsheet, or unencrypted database. Password Safe...
- Software downloads 2008-06-13
- China says it's incapable of hacking Reps' computers
- The folks who brought you the Great Firewall of China and the Golden Shield are wholly incapable of breaking into the cyber-fortress that is the U.S. House of Representatives. So they say. Accused by U.S. Reps Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) of hacking into their...
- Blog posts 2008-06-12
- Will it work with Office?
- Will it work with Office?Very little need for training with Open OfficeI think you can safely go for Open Office all the way. I think that only very little training will be needed. The user interface of Open Office has been designed to pose as small a barrier as possible,...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-11
- Jobs' Apple as premier platform mantra to accelerate
- Jobs' Apple as premier platform mantra to accelerateNo, ZDNet talkbacks are the reason[i]So, instead, they declare the Mac user irrational.[/i]5 minutes on ZDNet talkbacks are all we need to declare Mac users irrational. :)False on many frontsWhy PC users are not excited about their machines? Completely wrong. Plenty...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-09
- ColorPlus Printer Driver - 32 Bit Windows Servers (exe)
- The ColorPlus printer driver is designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving, faxing, or raster image capturing applications by converting any printable file into a supported image format. The ColorPlus driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use...
- Software downloads 2008-06-05
- ColorPlus Printer Driver - 64 Bit Windows Servers (exe)
- The ColorPlus printer driver is designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving, faxing, or raster image capturing applications by converting any printable file into a supported image format. The ColorPlus driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use...
- Software downloads 2008-06-05
- Metafile Printer Driver - 32 Bit Windows Servers (exe)
- The Metafile printer drivers are designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving applications by converting any printable file into EMF format. The Metafile printer driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use since 1989, and is not based...
- Software downloads 2008-06-05
- Metafile Printer Driver - 64 Bit Windows Servers (exe)
- The EMF Enhanced Metafile printer driver is designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving applications by converting any printable file into EMF format. The EMF printer driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use since 1989, and is...
- Software downloads 2008-06-05
- An anthropological view of SOA rituals
- An anthropological view of SOA ritualsSOA is not a distinct level of architecture“SOA is technology, of course, "No, it is not. It's not even necessarily *about* technology. One may apply SO principles to technology. One may apply SO principles to architecture. One may define an architecture for a technology project....
- Discussion threads 2008-06-04
- An anthropological view of SOA rituals
- Remember reading "The Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" in your college sociology class? That's the paper that stepped back and coldly analyzed the bizarre cultural rituals among a strange tribe residing somewhere in North America. Of course, the tribe being analyzed was modern-day American Nacerima backwards. So,...
- Blog posts 2008-06-04
- IBM's Zollar: SOA, Web 2.0 drive IT 'industrialization'
- Last week, I posted some countervailing views on the topic of software industrialization. Some say it represents the inevitable future of IT operations and software development; others say software needs to have elements of craft, since it's so highly specialized. 'Industrialized' IT needed to handle the coming...
- Blog posts 2008-06-04
- Microsoft OOXML opponents won't back down
- Microsoft OOXML opponents won't back downIt lies with the winner?Microsoft didn't win--it did it's usual thing of lying and cheating to steal a result it couldn't earn. E.g.,http://deepakphatak.blogspot.com/2008/05/this-is.htmlNot a standard, yetWith the appeals and the lack of publishing, it's still not a standard.OOXML is largely irrelevant and will "die"ISO...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-04
- ColorPlus Printer Driver - 64 bit XP/Vista (exe)
- The ColorPlus printer driver is designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving, faxing, or raster image capturing applications by converting any printable file into a supported image format. The ColorPlus driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use...
- Software downloads 2008-06-04
- ColorPlus PDF Printer Driver - 32 bit (exe)
- The ColorPlus printer driver is designed for developers and end users to build document imaging, e-commerce, archiving, faxing, or raster image capturing applications by converting any printable file into a supported image format. The ColorPlus driver is based entirely on Black Ice Printer Driver technology which has been in use...
- Software downloads 2008-06-04
- Business-friendliest states: Delaware, Nebraska, Maine
- US Chamber of Commerce named Delaware, Nebraska, Maine, Indiana, and Utah among the top US states to incorporate businesses in. At the bottom of rankings were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Illinois, with West Virginia being the worst US state to do business in. by AM
- Blog posts 2008-06-03
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Which solar technology will survive?
-
At the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco, Todd Glass of Heller Ehrman moderates a discussion, among tech execs, on the various solar technologies making a difference in the green movement.
- Watch the video >>
- The Cisco Mobility Resource Center is your source for FREE mobility solutions
-
The Cisco Mobility Resource Center offers FREE videos, downloads, podcasts and more, all designed to help small and medium businesses get mobile connectivity solutions, improve productivity and drive sales and revenue.
- New mobility solutions at the Cisco Mobility Resource Center
- BNET Industries
- Check out BNET's newest resource for managers and executives. Need to do research on your competitors? Don't have time to read every trade pub? BNET Industries is the new source for daily news, insights, and research on 11 major industries and 9,000 public companies.
-
- The technology industry from a different angle
-
- See what's hot in the auto industry
-
- Stay on top of the energy industry
