Issue 60, July 15, 2002
Microsoft Commerce Server 2002

Dear Friends,

In this issue:

• Review: Microsoft Commerce Server 2002
• How Useful Is Card Verification Value (CVV2) for Fraud Protection?

This month we complete five full years of Web Commerce Today, the Internet's premier e-commerce newsletter. We've seen lots of changes in that time. For one, e-commerce tools have become much more sophisticated. In this issue you'll find a detailed review of Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 by an expert developer Bob Christensen. He's a long-time Internet friend whom I met in person at my Doctor Ebiz Seminar in Atlanta in May.

Today I launched a new site -- NetAssisted Local Marketing. As a paid subscriber to Web Commerce Today, you've been working at national and international marketing. NetAssisted.com, on the other hand, focuses on combining traditional advertising with Internet marketing strategies to "NetAssist" local businesses and churches, so their advertising dollars go farther. If you have clients in strictly local businesses, please let them know about the site. http://www.netassisted.com

God bless you,
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Editor

Review: Microsoft Commerce Server 2002

Here's an in-depth, 1,800-word review by Robert Christensen, who gives you pretty good idea of the wide range of capabilities -- and a few weaknesses -- of this mature e-commerce software. Christensen has worked with Microsoft's e-commerce products since the early years of the commercial Internet, and has been deeply involved helping larger companies develop and re-engineer their online stores. Read the Review.

How Useful Is Card Verification Value (CVV2) for Fraud Protection?

Credit card companies now have a 3- or 4-digit code (called variously CVV2, CVC2, or CID) that is designed to cut fraud for online merchants, since it requires the purchaser to have the physical card in hand. Here's my brief assessment of its usefulness as of July 2002. Read the Article.

New Ecommerce and Web Marketing Articles

Each month our team of link editors scours dozens of online periodicals and resources to find key information on e-commerce and Web marketing. With so much new literature available to you, how do you find what you need quickly and painlessly? Here's a selective and searchable database of article and resource links to help your research and keep you up-to-date in the field. (Links gathered in a given month are usually available during the second week of the following month.)