THE extent of the Internet's branches is at the heart of our feature articles this month where differing issues of security, marketability, and diffusion are explored. Segev, Porra, and Roldan tell of a pilot project conducted at the Bank of America that shows how it is possible to exchange critical financial transactions over the Net in a secure, stable, and speedy manner. Riggins and Rhee contend the Internet opens so many avenues of marketing potential, it's not often clear what really constitutes e-commerce. However, the recent emergence of extranets will help redefine e-commerce practices as the technology steers internal and external uses of the Net. A couple of years ago I mentioned here how estimating the growth potential of the Internet had become a cottage industry, one that continues to proliferate.
Truth is, tracking the Internet's diffusion is very slippery business.
There are so many elements influencing growth that accurate numbers tend to be quite elusive. We look at two sides of this issue with articles that show the strengths and weaknesses of working models. Rai, Ravichandran, and Samaddar claim most current tracking methods lack credibility because they often do not incorporate some mighty important factors. A special section on high-performance computing. The issue will also present articles on identifying software project risks, new designs for an intelligent Internet, a virtual design team, and employment and salaries of recent CS Ph.D.'s.