The market for corporate interactive distance learning-now known as "e-learning"-has boomed along with the growth in the Internet and corporate intranets (Morri. A,1997). According to Allison Rossett (2001), E-learning is defined as Web-based training (WBT), or on-line learning. It is a technology based training that resides on a server or host computer that is connected to the World Wide Web; training is delivered partially or entirely through electronic hardware, software, or both. In short E-learning is learning that involves the acquisition, generation and transfer of knowledge using information and communications technology.According to the U.S. Department of Education 63.4% of all colleges and universities in the United States now offer distance learning courses, However, Geteducated.com, a consulting agency for distance educators, estimates the online student dropout rate at around 35%, while the average attrition rate for college freshman at U.S. universities is around 20%. Just like anything else, E-Learning has its pros and cons, and in this section we will discuss it in the perspectives of students.

Disadvantages

Material warehouse-Virtual Learning environment are being used primarily as repositories for materials rather than being used in more imaginative ways to support learning. This would make the learning process very boring and causes students to lack enthusiasm and motivation easily.

Minimal communication- Lower interaction between students since social interaction is replaced with non face to face communication with full use of technology such as instant messaging, discussion forums and email. Students will face difficulties in expressing themselves verbally, which will later affect the process of cultivating relationship. Furthermore, online classes, conferences and discussions are limited in time and totally exclude emotional interactivity.

Poorer understanding- According to a survey carried out by Professor Brown from Michigan University, it was reported that online students had as much as 10-percent of poorer understanding of the material. Reasons attributing to this findings include online students had jobs and other responsibilities that pulled their attention away, resulting in a 0-3 hours of study per wee

Additional hardware and hardskills-Requires computer, software programs and connection to the internet to attend class. Poor internet connection or system failure will turn impact the learning process adversely. On top of this, students are required to learn new or enhance computer and troubleshooting skills constantly.

Higher discipline- Distractions are easily available in terms of attending class and logging in into other programs such as facebook, turning on a movie or doing other works simultaneously. Students also require high discipline to manage their time and studies efficiently.

Education credibility-ELearning experience in the enrolled college/university might not be properly accredited. This cause the students to bear the risk that their certificate will not be recognize.

Advantages

Pervasive and integrated: E learning has become an important tool that makes learning easier. Technologies are being used extensively by students to find, manage, produce and support their work. They also use the internet to access expert knowledge and have an expectation of being able to communicate with anyone, about anything, when they want to.

Personalized: Students can mix and match between the various technological tools such as media, sites, tools, content, etc to suit their individual need. They can use the computer, internet and books simultaneously. Learning is now interactive and multifaceted especially with the strategies such as annotation and adaptation of materials.

Social: Students are part of a wider networked, community of peers. They are members of a range of communities of practice to share resources, ask for help, peer assess as well as job opportunities. Networking is easier as students have both university connection and statewide folks.

Changing skills set: Students need and are demonstrating new skills in terms of harnessing the potential of technologies for their learning. These include developing skills of evaluation and an ability to critique and make critical decisions about a variety of sources and content. Students are becoming sophisticated at finding and managing information.

Flexibility and mobility: Technologies provide students with more flexibility in terms of being able to undertake learning anytime, anywhere. Some students also work part time/full time, live hours away from campus or has family obligation that do not allow them to pursue campuses degree. Learning options are no longer constrained by their geographic.

Sources:

“We’re living What We’re Learning”: Student perspectives in Distance Learning Degree and Certificate Programs in Public Health, Margaret M Cannon; Karl E Umble; Allan Steckler; Saundra Shay, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice; Jan 2001 retrieved from http://www.ksu.edu.sa/sites/Colleges/CollegeofPharmacy/Documents/Literature/English/AHS_Education/55.pdf

Online Students Don't Fare as Well as Classroom Counterparts, Study Finds, Dan Carnevale, The Chronicle of higher Education, February 25, 2002, retrieved from chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002022501u.htm

An in-depth case study of students’ experiences of e-Learning-how is learning changing? Conole. G. The University of Sydney: ascilite 2006,retrieved from http://ascilite.org.au/conferences/sydney06/proceeding/pdf_papers/p127.pdf

Prepaid credit/cash card is a payment card pre-loaded with your own money, which you can then use wherever the payment card is acceptable. A prepaid card is not a credit facility, so you do not need to pass a credit check. Even if you have bad credit you are guaranteed to be approved for a prepaid card. Prepaid cars differs from debit card which is linked to your saving accounts and credit card where credits are extended. Its benefits include:

• Safe alternative to carrying cash – just carry a plastic card
• Keep track and control spending – Limit depends on the amount reloaded into the card. In other words, no money no talk!
• Usage – pay bill, purchase via online, withdraw cash from ATM, transfer money and etc
• Portability – usable as long as Visa/ mastercard is acceptable, depends on the type of prepaid card, Replaces traveler’s cash
• Fringe benefits – cash back programmes, points earning

Examples of application of pre-paid cash card for consumers in Malaysia are:

Tune Money Prepaid Visa Card

• First prepaid visa card targeting at students aged 18 and above
• Launched by Tune Money Sdn Bhd ( Related to AIrAsia
• Earns Tune points and has cash back program
• RM 9.99 annual fees + transaction fees per reload charges at selected bank and ATM withdrawals
• Acceptable anywhere where Visa is acceptable
• To apply, go to www.tunemoney.com/publicPageAction.do?value=page.ppc.public.cardbenefits

Red Card

• Launched by Tune Money Sdn Bhd as a complement to Tune Money Prepaid Visa Card
• Prepaid visa card in Malaysia targeting for students aged 15-17
• Works like an electronic wallet which helps parents to keep track on their teenaged kids spending
• online tracking system with online statements which makes it easy for the parents to keep close track of their children's spending.
• Only parents can apply for their teenaged kid.
• Rates are similar with Tune Money Prepaid Visa Card
  
  

AmBank NexG Prepaid Mastercard

• Launched by AmBank
• The Starter Pack currently retails at RM25 each, each starter pack carries discount and cash vouchers worth RM300 and NexG cardholders will enjoy RM10,000 free PA upon registration
• Reload Limit of RM10,000

Touch and go

• Used mainly to pay toll
• Can be used to pay for parking as it substitutes the ticket
• Usable for public transportation payment such as Rapid KL, KTM and LRT provided the machine is functional.

Prepaid calling card

• Used to make both domestic and international phone calls
• No connection nor hidden charges
• Distributed by eCallChina
  

Sources:
http://www.what-prepaid-card.co.uk/features/compare-cards-prepaid.html
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=316556

Privacy and confidentiality had always been an issue with the advancements in technology. The threat of privacy invasion by hackers leads to an increasing need in protecting important personal and financial data with effective measures. More often than not, the problems include stealing data for illegal usage either from database or when it is being transferred over the network. Listed below are the safeguards one can employ to reduce the risk of successive information abuse.

Password protection
· The most common protection consisting of alphabets and numbers
· Although this protection is still susceptible to automated attacks, it is still effective because it can slow down the attacker, which increase the probability that the attack will be detected and/or attacker abandon the attack and turn to easier targets
· To increase the strength of this protection, hard password should be used whereby it contains 6 or more character with at least 1 special character or digit and mixed case sensitivity, and not forming a name, date, acronym, or pronounceable word.

Firewall
·A protected gateway that stands between the resources requiring protection and the “outside; a filter between private network and the internet
·To be effective, a firewall must guard all access to the internal network, including modem connections as well as remote network access.
· Always keep the firewall on.

Encryption
· The process a message is scramble in a difficult, expensive or time consuming way for an unauthorized person to decipher it.
· Can use either public or private key to encrypt and decrypt the message
· Provide security to both stored and transmitting data.

Packet filters
· Rules that can accept/reject incoming packets based source and destination address and other identifying information
· If suspicious attachment were found to be accompanying an email, only the email will be accepted on the condition that the attachment is to be rejected.

Antivirus/Antispyware software
· The number of known viruses is increasing exponentially, including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, trapdoors, and logic bombs.
· Hidden spyware are also being embedded into the data.
· Install antivirus and antispyware to detect these malicious codes and to remove it such as Norton AntiVirus, Doctor Spyware, Avira, AVG and etc.
· Free antivirus software can be easily obtained from the internet.
· Also, always keep the software updated to eliminate new malware of which the older version of the software is incapable of detecting it.

Virtual Private Network
· Public internet is used to carry information but network remain private by using encryption to scramble for communication, authentication by ensuring information transmitted not altered, and access control to verify the identity of anyone using the network.
· Security is also given when using this safeguard

Intrusion Detection System (IDS)
· A special software which monitors the activity across a network or host computer,watching out for suspicious activity and taking automated action based on what it encounters
· Include shutting down the server if found necessary

Be educated
· Take time to keep update with the latest strategy in how hackers hack into database.
· Be aware of the popular phishing methods to prevent leaking sensitive information to third party accidentally.

All in all, practice using private communication lines when possible to limit public eavesdropping and potential intrusions, facilitate the usage of passwords, access restrictions, and user authentication to guard against unauthorized access and also secure systems with virus scanners, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems if possible. Never forget to read on the current issues of how data were being stolen.

Source: CONCERNS ABOUT INTRUSIONS INTO REMOTELY ACCESSIBLE SUBSTATION CONTROLLERS AND SCADA SYSTEMS by Paul Oman and Edmund O. Schweitzer Deborah Frincke , retrieved from http://www.csds.uidaho.edu/deb/SCADA.pdf

Revenue models are techniques used to generate profits, and its component consists of sales, transaction fees, subscription fees, advertising fees, affiliate fees and other revenue sources.

Google rake in a total of US$ 21.8 billion in revenue for in 2008. In a flash, the breakdowns of revenues in figures and percentage are:

1. Advertising- 97% (21.1 billion)
2. licensing and other revenues -3% (667 million)

which consist of:

1. Subscription fees whereby monthly or yearly fixed amount is paid to get services. Services offered by Google include internet ad serving and management services to advertisers and ad agencies

2. Advertising fees where payment is derived from advertiser for placing ads in both Google websites and Google Network websites. Example of this is Google AdSense, an online programs that aids in distribution of advertisers’ AdWords ads for display as well as programs to deliver ads on television and radio broadcasts. This program includes:

· AdSense for search (display relevant search results) as well as for content (display ads relevant to content on Google websites). Advertisers will pay each time a user click on it, unless they choose the pay based on cost-per-impression pricing.

· Google TV Ads enables advertisers, operators and programmers to buy, schedule, deliver and measure ads on television. Fees will be charged each time an ad is displayed on television.

· Google Audio Ads enables the distribution of advertisers’ ads for broadcast on radio programs

3. Affiliate fees whereby commissions is earned for referring customers to client’s website. Google Adwords (an automated online program that allows advertisers to place targeted text-based or banner ads on its websites) clearly illustrates the type of fees earned in this section, which are:

· cost-per-click basis - payment due when a user clicks on any of its ads

· cost-per-impression - payment due when a user clicks on any of its ads. Alternatively, payment depending on the number of times advertiser ads appear on its websites as specified by the advertiser

· cost-per-click pricing - advertisers will be charged every time a user clicks on one of the ads which appear next to the search results

Detailed information can be obtained via http://investor.google.com/fin_data.html

As one of the leading e-commerce platforms in the world, E-bay delivered 8.5 billion in revenues in 2008 from e-commerce, payments (PayPal and Bill Me Later) and Internet voice communications(Skype). Revenue generated from non sales totaled to US$1 billion. E-bay’s model revenue include:

· Sales – revenue from marketplaces, where sales transaction of goods and services takes place as well as online auction where bids are placed via internet.

· Advertising fees – ads of text and graphical, global classifieds sites including LoQUo.com, Intoko, and Netherlands-based Marktplaats.nl, and Kijiji

· Other revenue sources – interest earned from banks on certain PayPal customer account balances, interest and fees earned on the Bill Me Later loan portfolio and from contractual arrangements with third parties that provide services to all of E-bay users

· Subscription fees- Skype, one of the business unit generates revenue through its premium offerings, such as calls (using its software) made to and from landline and mobile phones; voicemail; call forwarding; and personalization, including ringtones and avatars. Fees are charged to users to connect Skype’s VoIP product to traditional fixed-line and mobile telephones. These fees are charged on a per-minute basis or on a subscription basis

· Transaction fees - commission is paid on volume of transaction. For E-bay, net transaction revenues are derived primarily from listing and final value fees paid by sellers.

Detailed information can be obtained via http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ebay/663797116x0x281367/1b773a7c-8c14-45b8-915a-1716ca37dda0/eBay_2008AR.pdf

Amazon delivered $645 million in revenue for 2008. Amazon core business resides in its retails websites where wide range of products and services to customers are being sold. Thus its revenue model is quite simple:

· Sales - purchased merchandise and content for resale from vendors and products offered by third party sellers

· Advertising fees - miscellaneous marketing and promotional offers, such as online advertising, where Amazon is not the seller but instead earn fixed fees, revenue share fees, per-unit activity fees, or some combination thereof

· Other revenue sources- shipping revenues, co-branded credit card agreements

More information can be obtained from :

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9MjAyN3xDaGlsZElEPS0xfFR5cGU9Mw==&t=1

Hey, I am Chew Pei Ni, an ordinary Malaysian citizen living quietly in Selangor. Like any other females of my age, I am still studying at this point of my life. As an undergraduate in University Tunku Abdul Rahman picking up accountancy, I hope, and will be jobless by May 2010. Before my "forced retirement", I aim to equip myself with all the necessary armors to fight for my survival in the workforce. My family is like an ancient court: I am answerable only to a dictatorial emperor and a loving empress while I rule over 3 mischievous but taller than me jesters and a dog (cheh).

No doubt, I like to eat, sleep and play! Other than that, I also enjoy traveling, reading, dancing and etc. Basically, all activities are my hobbies (I think), except those detrimental to my health and well-being, like smuggling and humantrafficking(but I must admit that the money involved is very, very tempting...*evil grin*)

My internet activities are basically searching for information, keeping in touch with my friends, watching online movies, listening to online music as well as gaming! With internet, information is but a click away. You will be amazed by the volume and type of information you can get by typing a very simple and innocent word...try googling your name to test it out^^I like watching movies and listening music via the internet, I bet mountains of people are practicing this and even downloading it illegally. Why? Because it is Free-Of-Charge!!!Seriously violating the copyright and patent right happily. It's obvious why we named this blog Pirates In UTAR. We don't steal gold, snatch pretty maidens or manslaughter. We just..you know...(laugh out loud)

PS:when I mention "we", it means my whole group lor~ahaha