How long had business-centered electronic commerce developed?

W: When did the age of electronic commerce begin?
M: Business-centered electronic commerce began more than two decades ago with the introduction of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between firms (sending and receiving order, delivery and payment information, etc.). Even consumer-oriented electronic commerce has a rather long history: each time you sue automatic teller machines or present your credit cards, you transact business electronically. These EDI and ATM, however, operate in a closed system; they are of a more convenient communications medium, strictly between the parties allowed in. The World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet’s client-server, opened up a new age by combining the open Internet and the easy user interface. WWW was created at the CERN Lab for Particle Physics in Geneva in 1991 (with its Mosaic, the predecessor of Netscape). It took two years for Mosaic to penetrate the Internet, and another two years before businesses and the general public took notice of its potential.
W: Is EC here to stay? Will it be here but gone tomorrow?
M: EC, and the Internet, is not a fashion because of its widespread effects. Some may find it useless to open a web store; but web stores do not make electronic commerce or the digital economy. There will be new types of interfaces (browsers and protocols) and new (privatized) network, but what the WWW represents is our march toward the digital economy and knowledge-based society. Technologies, the Web and other processes are but a means of achieving that goal.
W: Will EC be limited because not many people can afford PCs and/or get access to the Internet?
M: Today’s EC processes are based on personal computers because of their origin within the Internet, a network of computers. First stage of EC expansion is that within the installed base of computer users (more "connected" users). The second wave will come when more people get access to computers (via lowered computer prices or cheaper devices). The third, and more important, expansion is predicted to be from those with non-computer access to the global network: through broadcast TVs, cable TVs, telephone networks and new appliances. A widespread use of these cheaper access media represents the phase of "bringing workplace computers into the living room". However, the affordability of these devices, the easiness of use or the mode we access the network is less of an issue than how we will use these devices. Turning the computer into a convenient device like a TV is a goal in itself. For example, the speech-to-text technology will eventually make manual inputting unnecessary. In terms of productivity, it is hard to convince that computer hardware and software have met our expectation for making our work and life easier or more productive during the last decade. But what will we do with new inventions when we get them? Delivering the same information but more conveniently? Selling the same entertainment and TV programs but with more efforts? The limiting factor will be our limited vision about the electronic future.
W: Are there different kinds of e-money?
M: Yes. In general, there are two distinct types of e-money: identified e-money and anonymous e-money (also known as digital cash). Identified e-money contains information revealing the identity of the person who originally withdrew the money from the bank. Also, in much the same manner as credit cards, identified e-money enables the bank to track the money as it moves through the economy. Anonymous e-money works just like real paper cash. Once anonymous e-money is withdrawn from an account, it can be spent or given away without leaving a transaction trail. You create anonymous e-money by using blind signatures rather than non-blind signatures. To better understand blind signatures and their use with e-money, I highly recommend reading Chapters 1～6 of Bruce Schneier’s book Applied Cryptography. It is quite readable, even to the layman. He doesn’t get into the heavy-duty math until later in the book. Bruce does a very good job of describing the wide variety of interesting things you can do when you combine computers, networks, and security. There are two varieties of e-money for each type: online e-money and offline e-money. Online means you need to interact with a bank (via modem or network) to conduct a transaction with a third party. Offline means you can conduct a transaction with out having to directly involve a bank. Offline anonymous e-money (true digital cash) is the most complex form of e-money because of the double-spending problem.