Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a standard protocol for securing credit card transactions over insecure networks, specifically, the Internet. SET is not itself a payment system, but rather a set of security protocols and formats that enables users to employ the existing credit card payment infrastructure on an open network in a secure fashion.
SET was developed by VISA and MasterCard (involving other companies such as GTE, IBM, Microsoft, Netscape, RSA and VeriSign) starting in 1996. SET is based on X.509 certificates with several extensions. SET makes use of cryptographic techniques such as digital certificates and public key cryptography to allow parties to identify themselves to each other and exchange information securely. SET uses a blinding algorithm that, in effect, lets merchants substitute a certificate for a user's credit-card number. This allows traders to credit funds from clients' credit cards without the need of the credit card numbers.
SET was heavily publicized in the late 1990's as the credit card approved standard, but failed to win market share. Reasons for this include:
Network effect - need to install client software (an e wallet).
Cost and complexity for merchants to offer support and comparatively low cost and simplicity of the existing, adequate SSL based alternative.
Client-side certificate distribution logistics.
SET was said to become the de facto standard of payment method on the Internet between the merchants, the buyers, and the credit-card companies. When SET is used, the merchant itself never has to know the credit-card numbers being sent from the buyer, which provide a benefit for e-commerce.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
LinkShare
LinkShare Corporation is a provider of technology solutions to track, manage, and analyze the performance of sales, marketing, and business development initiatives.
Linkshare boasts that it has created the largest network of affiliate partners of any program provider -- over 10 million partnerships -- in addition to becoming the first affiliate network provider to achieve sustained profitability. Linkshare also lays claim to being a pioneer in online affiliate marketing. The Linkshare network is touted by the company as the largest pay for performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet [1].
LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and prominent companies doing business online, and include J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, Avon Products and many others.
Linkshare boasts that it has created the largest network of affiliate partners of any program provider -- over 10 million partnerships -- in addition to becoming the first affiliate network provider to achieve sustained profitability. Linkshare also lays claim to being a pioneer in online affiliate marketing. The Linkshare network is touted by the company as the largest pay for performance affiliate marketing network on the Internet [1].
LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and prominent companies doing business online, and include J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, Avon Products and many others.
The Blue Network
The Blue Network was the on-air name of an American radio production and distribution service from 1942 to 1945, which traced its formal origins back to 1927. It was born of a divestiture, arising from anti-trust litigation, of one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Company, and is the direct predecessor of American Broadcasting Company.
Early history
The Blue Network can, in one sense, date itself to 1923, when the Radio Corporation of America acquired WJZ, Newark from Westinghouse (which had created the station in 1921 [1]) and moved it to New York City in May of that year. When RCA commenced operations of WRC, Washington on August 1, 1923, the root of a network was born, though it did not operate under the name by which it would later become known. Radio historian Elizabeth McLeod states that it would not be until 1924 that the "Radio Group" formally began network operations. [2]
The core stations of the "Radio Group" were RCA's stations WJZ and WRC, the Westinghouse station WBZ, then in Springfield, Massachusetts, and WGY, the General Electric station in Schenectady, New York. [3]
RCA's principal rival prior to 1926 was the radio broadcasting department of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. AT&T, starting in 1921, had been using this department as a test-bed for equipment being designed and manufactured by its Western Electric subsidiary.
The RCA stations operated at a significant disadvantage to its rival chain; AT&T used its own high-quality transmission lines, and declined to lease them out to competing entities, forcing RCA to use the telegraph lines of Western Union, which were not as well calibrated to voice transmission as the AT&T lines. [4]
Nevertheless, the WJZ network sought to compete toe-to-toe with the AT&T network, which was built around WEAF (today's WFAN). For example, both stations sent announcer teams to cover the 1924 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City. [5] Promotional material produced in 1943 claimed certain "firsts" in broadcasting by WJZ, such as the first educational music program in April 1922, the first World Series broadcasts in 1922, and the first complete opera broadcast, The Flying Dutchman, from the Manhattan Opera House.
Early history
The Blue Network can, in one sense, date itself to 1923, when the Radio Corporation of America acquired WJZ, Newark from Westinghouse (which had created the station in 1921 [1]) and moved it to New York City in May of that year. When RCA commenced operations of WRC, Washington on August 1, 1923, the root of a network was born, though it did not operate under the name by which it would later become known. Radio historian Elizabeth McLeod states that it would not be until 1924 that the "Radio Group" formally began network operations. [2]
The core stations of the "Radio Group" were RCA's stations WJZ and WRC, the Westinghouse station WBZ, then in Springfield, Massachusetts, and WGY, the General Electric station in Schenectady, New York. [3]
RCA's principal rival prior to 1926 was the radio broadcasting department of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company. AT&T, starting in 1921, had been using this department as a test-bed for equipment being designed and manufactured by its Western Electric subsidiary.
The RCA stations operated at a significant disadvantage to its rival chain; AT&T used its own high-quality transmission lines, and declined to lease them out to competing entities, forcing RCA to use the telegraph lines of Western Union, which were not as well calibrated to voice transmission as the AT&T lines. [4]
Nevertheless, the WJZ network sought to compete toe-to-toe with the AT&T network, which was built around WEAF (today's WFAN). For example, both stations sent announcer teams to cover the 1924 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City. [5] Promotional material produced in 1943 claimed certain "firsts" in broadcasting by WJZ, such as the first educational music program in April 1922, the first World Series broadcasts in 1922, and the first complete opera broadcast, The Flying Dutchman, from the Manhattan Opera House.
The Death Merchant
The Death Merchant is the title and lead character of a series of men's action-adventure books written by Joseph Rosenberger. Richard Joseph Camellion, as described in the books is a master of disguise, the martial arts and wet-work. Cynical and lethal in equal measure, his normal employer was the CIA - at a cost of $100,000 tax free bucks a mission.
He is described on the back of the books as "Richard Camellion, master of death, destruction, and disguise. He gets the dirty jobs, the impossible missions, the operations that cannot be handled by the FBI, CIA, or any other legal or extra-legal force. He is a man without a face, without a single identifying characteristic...except that he succeeds by being a Merchant of Death!"
Additional information about the Death Merchant is sprinkled every now and then in the series of books as follows:
Birthplace: #30, The Shamballa Strike reveals that Camellion's birthplace is St. Louis, Missouri. As an adult, Richard Camellion keeps a ranch in Texas where he lives when not on a mission.
Education: Two books, #30 The Shamballa Strike and #53 The Judas Scrolls mention Camellion studying at St. Louis University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. It is also stated in the former book that Camellion holds a degree in engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Two books (#1 The Death Merchant and #9 Laser Mission) mention that Camellion is an ex-teacher of history, but this may simply be a cover story.
Hobbies: Gardening, Martial Arts, Amateur archaeology (mentioned in #9 Laser Mission and #61 Bulgarian Termination). Camellion is very interested in the occult, and especially the prophecies of Nostradamus.
Alias: James Valdorian, Chester Giffwangle, Leonard Higgdon , Emil Milrich , Cempt Tobtocpam , Thomas Wang-Ji. On two occasions, when asked if Camellion is his real name, he replies that it doesn't matter. #63 The Soul Search Project reveals that Richard Joseph Camellion is not the name on his birth certificate.
Frequently disguises himself (and fellow mercs) during operations
Worked with: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence), NSA , CIA , MAD (West German counter-intelligence) Known enemies: the KGB , SWAPO , GROB (Indonesian Political Security Service), various terrorist organizations.
The Death Merchant has two pet pigs, known as Damon and Pythias.
The Death Merchant is notable in being rather more nihilistic than many of his 70's and 80's action series counterparts; he normally doesn't think twice about killing innocent people if it is the quickest way to get the mission accomplished. For example, #62, The Soul Search Project sees The Death Merchant's team cold-bloodedly killing over 50 New York Police Department officers who try to stop them during a mission.
Another interesting thing about the Death Merchant is that he seems to have little interest in women or sex; there is no "love interest" for Richard Camellion of any sort in any of the books. In an early book, however, he does mention a former girlfriend, "the one true love of his life" who had been killed by the KGB, however, in the first book "The Death Merchant", He has a relation with a disabled girl and show true feelings for her. He on one occasion states that he will not feel truly satisfied until the Soviet Union is "a sea of radioactive glass."
He has sex a few times in the books, although considerably less than many of his counterparts -- He does have sex aboard a boat in one book (The Billionaire Mission) and with a CIA staff girl in The Iron Swastika Plot.
The Death Merchant's face is not described in great detail, and it is mentioned that he has had plastic surgery to alter his appearance numerous times. He does, however, like his men's action adventure counterparts Remo Williams and Mack Bolan, have blue eyes which are occasionally described as "icy." The Death Merchant is described as being about 6 feet tall and having a slender, wiry frame.
He is described on the back of the books as "Richard Camellion, master of death, destruction, and disguise. He gets the dirty jobs, the impossible missions, the operations that cannot be handled by the FBI, CIA, or any other legal or extra-legal force. He is a man without a face, without a single identifying characteristic...except that he succeeds by being a Merchant of Death!"
Additional information about the Death Merchant is sprinkled every now and then in the series of books as follows:
Birthplace: #30, The Shamballa Strike reveals that Camellion's birthplace is St. Louis, Missouri. As an adult, Richard Camellion keeps a ranch in Texas where he lives when not on a mission.
Education: Two books, #30 The Shamballa Strike and #53 The Judas Scrolls mention Camellion studying at St. Louis University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. It is also stated in the former book that Camellion holds a degree in engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Two books (#1 The Death Merchant and #9 Laser Mission) mention that Camellion is an ex-teacher of history, but this may simply be a cover story.
Hobbies: Gardening, Martial Arts, Amateur archaeology (mentioned in #9 Laser Mission and #61 Bulgarian Termination). Camellion is very interested in the occult, and especially the prophecies of Nostradamus.
Alias: James Valdorian, Chester Giffwangle, Leonard Higgdon , Emil Milrich , Cempt Tobtocpam , Thomas Wang-Ji. On two occasions, when asked if Camellion is his real name, he replies that it doesn't matter. #63 The Soul Search Project reveals that Richard Joseph Camellion is not the name on his birth certificate.
Frequently disguises himself (and fellow mercs) during operations
Worked with: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence), NSA , CIA , MAD (West German counter-intelligence) Known enemies: the KGB , SWAPO , GROB (Indonesian Political Security Service), various terrorist organizations.
The Death Merchant has two pet pigs, known as Damon and Pythias.
The Death Merchant is notable in being rather more nihilistic than many of his 70's and 80's action series counterparts; he normally doesn't think twice about killing innocent people if it is the quickest way to get the mission accomplished. For example, #62, The Soul Search Project sees The Death Merchant's team cold-bloodedly killing over 50 New York Police Department officers who try to stop them during a mission.
Another interesting thing about the Death Merchant is that he seems to have little interest in women or sex; there is no "love interest" for Richard Camellion of any sort in any of the books. In an early book, however, he does mention a former girlfriend, "the one true love of his life" who had been killed by the KGB, however, in the first book "The Death Merchant", He has a relation with a disabled girl and show true feelings for her. He on one occasion states that he will not feel truly satisfied until the Soviet Union is "a sea of radioactive glass."
He has sex a few times in the books, although considerably less than many of his counterparts -- He does have sex aboard a boat in one book (The Billionaire Mission) and with a CIA staff girl in The Iron Swastika Plot.
The Death Merchant's face is not described in great detail, and it is mentioned that he has had plastic surgery to alter his appearance numerous times. He does, however, like his men's action adventure counterparts Remo Williams and Mack Bolan, have blue eyes which are occasionally described as "icy." The Death Merchant is described as being about 6 feet tall and having a slender, wiry frame.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Credit card terminal
A credit card terminal is a stand-alone piece of electronic equipment that allows a merchant to swipe or key-enter a credit card's information as well as additional information required to process a credit card transaction. A credit card terminal is a dedicated piece of equipment that only processes credit cards although it is common for related transactions including gift cards and check verification to also be performed. A credit card terminal typically must be plugged in to a power supply and connected to a telephone line. However, some terminals may be powered by batteries, communicate over the Internet or through the cellular phone networks. When a credit card is processed (either swiped through the magnetic stripe reader or keyed in to the keypad), it contacts the network to verify if the credit card can be authorized. The most popular credit card terminals consist of a modem, keypad, printer, magnetic stripe reader, power supply and memory card. They have had the same basic design since the 1980s. As with computers, there is a wide range of memory capacities and other features like built-in printers and debit card pinpads that affect the manufacturing cost of a credit card terminal.
A merchant may lease or purchase the terminal, or receive it free in exchange for a long-term contract or higher processing fees. Some providers use the general lack of knowledge regarding the cost of a credit card terminal to inflate prices into the thousands of dollars for a few hundred dollar device. They may also provide the merchant with a credit card terminal that is "locked" into only one provider, making it useless if the merchant wants to switch service.
When a terminal is leased there is usually a 3rd party leasing company involved and it is not uncommon in many U.S. states for these leases to be non-cancellable and possibly never ending unless notice is given to the leasing company at the end of the original term.
A merchant may lease or purchase the terminal, or receive it free in exchange for a long-term contract or higher processing fees. Some providers use the general lack of knowledge regarding the cost of a credit card terminal to inflate prices into the thousands of dollars for a few hundred dollar device. They may also provide the merchant with a credit card terminal that is "locked" into only one provider, making it useless if the merchant wants to switch service.
When a terminal is leased there is usually a 3rd party leasing company involved and it is not uncommon in many U.S. states for these leases to be non-cancellable and possibly never ending unless notice is given to the leasing company at the end of the original term.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
"Threat" to traditional affiliate networks
Affiliate marketers usually avoid this topic as much as possible, but when it is being discussed, then are the debates explosive and heated to say the least.[31][32][33] The discussion is about CPA networks (CPA = Cost per action) and their impact on "classic" affiliate marketing (traditional affiliate networks). Traditional affiliate marketing is resources intensive and requires a lot of maintenance. Most of this includes the management, monitoring and support of affiliates. Affiliate marketing is supposed to be about long-term and mutual beneficial partnerships between advertisers and affiliates. CPA networks on the other hand eliminate the need for the advertiser to build and maintain relationships to affiliates, because that task is performed by the CPA network for the advertiser. The advertiser simply puts an offer out, which is in almost every case a CPA based offer, and the CPA networks take care of the rest by mobilizing their affiliates to promote that offer. CPS or revenue share offers are rarely to be found at CPA networks, which is the main compensation model of classic affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is a web-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts.
Affiliate marketing is also the name of the industry where a number of different types of companies and individuals are performing this form of internet marketing, including affiliate networks, affiliate management companies and in-house affiliate managers, specialized 3rd party vendors, and various types of affiliates/publishers who promote the products and services of their partners.
Affiliate marketing overlaps with other internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, email marketing and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques like publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.
Affiliate marketing — using one site to drive traffic to another — is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail and RSS capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers' marketing strategies.
Affiliate marketing is also the name of the industry where a number of different types of companies and individuals are performing this form of internet marketing, including affiliate networks, affiliate management companies and in-house affiliate managers, specialized 3rd party vendors, and various types of affiliates/publishers who promote the products and services of their partners.
Affiliate marketing overlaps with other internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, email marketing and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques like publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.
Affiliate marketing — using one site to drive traffic to another — is a form of online marketing, which is frequently overlooked by advertisers. While search engines, e-mail and RSS capture much of the attention of online retailers, affiliate marketing carries a much lower profile. Still, affiliates continue to play a significant role in e-retailers' marketing strategies.
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